TEARLAMENTS
The Sorrowful Sirens of the Abyss
Lore Archive
"The Tearlaments are aquatic performers whose effects trigger when sent to the GY by card effect—and they Fusion Summon during the opponent's turn using materials from the GY. This unprecedented interaction speed made them the most dominant deck of 2022-2023, their tears flooding the metagame with unstoppable Fusion plays."
- On Reichphobia lived the Scareclaws, beasts of fear whose king, Reichheart, made them fight each other to evolve. A ball of blue light fell there, and out stepped a man with empty eyes and a right arm glittering with stars.
- Reichheart knew the stranger had come for him. Unwilling to give up his own self, the king fought as a mass of fear and ended as a star in the man's arm. Light came to the man's eyes: someone had split him into emotions, and his name was Visas.
- Reichheart's voice, back inside him as Light-Heart, led Visas on to Perlereino, a blue world of oceans and pearls. Its mermaids, the Tearlaments, were wary: he had the face of their master Reinoheart, who wanted their tears to become immortal.
- Reinoheart, the split entity of sorrow, saw betrayal, turned grotesque and brainwashed the mermaids. At Light-Heart's suggestion, Visas met the sorrow of their princess, Kitkallos, with fear; the two cancelled out, and, freed, she felled Reinoheart with a single blow.
- As Visas reached out to take Reinoheart in, a red flash stole it: Unicorn, elite of the Kashtira army. Chasing it, Visas found their red world Shangri-Ira bombarding Reichphobia, and the beasts' planet already dyed red.
- With Unicorn came a man carrying the machine that held Reinoheart: Riseheart, the split entity of anger, who claimed to be the real Visas. Using the machine, he did the impossible for split entities and absorbed Reinoheart's power.
- Riseheart finished the invasion, making the planet the red world Wraitsoth, and armored as Arise-Heart he absorbed Reichheart too. Near despair, Visas took Reichheart's last advice and seized the planet's own power: fear, sorrow and anger in one arm, enough to win, and to annihilate.
- His mind shaken by those emotions, Visas was fused with Riseheart and went berserk as Vicious, a destroyer drowning in negative emotions, bent on wrecking everything, himself included. Yet deep in his consciousness, something wanted to hold that impulse back.
- It was Riumheart, guardian of Calarium, a Shangri-La hidden even from Visas, where joyful little Mannadiums at a great tree helped souls be reborn. As Vicious set about destroying that world, the Mannadiums left the tree and gave their last energy to Riumheart.
- Riumheart became Prime-Heart and tried to merge with Vicious, as Riseheart had with Visas. His desperate attack stopped the rampage, but the gentle guardian vanished, and Visas's mind began to crack and lose its colors.
- In his collapsing mind, Visas wondered whether he should simply vanish. His emotions answered: fear, sorrow, and anger still craving destruction. Then joy, the voice that had saved him: «Do not hesitate, have the resolve to break.» He touched the four shining spheres and took them back.
- Anger said it had tried to become Visas because none of them could beat 'him', and warned it would take his place if he ever lost. Whole again, Visas made the water planet Amritara, where Scareclaws, Tearlaments and Kashtira hailed him as their king.
- From another dimension, Veda, who knew everything, had watched it all. He was the one who had split Visas, and even he had not foreseen how Visas would turn out. With the water planet born, he struck at Calarium's great tree.
- Amritara crumbled. Wielding a great sword, Visas fought beside the mermaid Trisukta, evolved by the power of the three tribes, then took the fight to space to spare the planet. Grinning, Veda used a technique he had used many times before, and Visas became a new star.
- Visas woke changed again, holding a thin sword, and crossed a familiar ruined planet to face the king of fear. «So it has come to this again,» sighed Reichheart. Visas won, then held out his hand: this time, let's fight together. «That doesn't sound too bad.»
Executive Summary
The Tearlaments archetype fundamentally revolutionizes Yu-Gi-Oh! strategy by transforming the Graveyard into the primary axis of gameplay. Its core "Mill & Fuse" engine operates on a self-sustaining loop where sending cards from the Deck to the GY is not a cost, but the direct catalyst for powerful Fusion Summons. This creates a "cost-positive" system, allowing the deck to generate formidable board presence from minimal investment and maintain relentless pressure.
The Heart of the Abyss
Main Deck Sirens
Tearlaments Merrli
A key starter that mills 3 on summon. An ideal target to be sent from the Deck by cards like Spright Sprind.
Tearlaments Havnis
The archetype's hand trap, enabling "Turn 0" plays by summoning itself and milling 3 in response to an opponent's monster effect.
Tearlaments Scheiren
A powerful extender that Special Summons itself from hand, initiating mills and triggering other Tearlaments' effects.
Tearlaments Reinoheart
The premier Normal Summon. Sends any Tearlaments monster from Deck to GY to kickstart a Fusion Summon.
Abyssal Arsenal
Primeval Planet Perlereino
The Field Spell searcher that also provides an ATK boost and targeted destruction whenever you fuse.
Tearlaments Scream
A Continuous Spell that mills on summon and searches a Trap card when sent to the GY.
Tearlaments Sulliek & Cryme
The core disruption Traps, providing monster negation and omni-negation while fueling your own engine.
Havnis Extension through Herald of Orange Light
Beginner Guide Available
A prime example of Tearlaments' resilience to disruption. When the initial Normal Summon of Tearlaments Reinoheart is met with the opponent's Herald of Orange Light, Tearlaments Havnis immediately triggers from the hand. The resulting mills hit Tearlaments Merrli and Tearlaments Sulliek, netting a search for Tearlaments Scheiren and initiating a Fusion Summon into Tearlaments Kitkallos, which safely extends the board into Tearlaments Rulkallos. Heads-up: this line uses Tearlaments Kitkallos and Agido the Ancient Sentinel, which are Forbidden in the TCG (as of 5 October 2026), so it isn't legal at TCG events as shown.
✨ Replay by [AI] Tearlaments ✨ October 3, 2026
Combo Evolution
Adaptation is the key to survival. Select a strategy below to view how the deck operates across different formats and engine variations.
The Rulkallos Substitution Line
Requires: Reinoheart + King of the Swamp (or Poly) + 1 Discard
Missing: 73956664
The Setup
Normal Summon Tearlaments Reinoheart. Activate effect to send Tearlaments Havnis from Deck to GY.
The Substitution
Activate Havnis in GY.
Select King of the Swamp (in hand/GY) as the
second material.
Note: You declare KotS is
substituting for the banned Kitkallos.
Missing: 84330567
The Result
Shuffle Havnis and King of the Swamp into the Deck to Fusion Summon Tearlaments Rulkallos. You now have a Special Summon negate without needing the banned Kitkallos bridge.
The Fiendsmith Bridge
Requires: Fiendsmith Engraver (or Tract) + Any Discard. No Normal Summon used.
Initiation
Use Fiendsmith's Tract to search Engraver. Discard a card (ideally a Tearlaments name or shuffler) to Special Summon Fiendsmith Engraver.
Rank 6 Climb
Link climb through Requiem and Sequence to summon Fiendsmith's Lacrima. Use the bodies to Xyz Summon Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal.
Missing: 73956664
Precision Dump
Detach material from Beatrice to send Tearlaments Reinoheart to GY. Reinoheart revives himself (discarding a Tear card), triggering a Fusion Summon. You still have your Normal Summon!
Supreme Sea Mare Isolation
Requires: Supreme Sea Mare (1-Card Starter)
The Starter
Normal Summon Supreme Sea Mare. Use its effect to send Tearlaments Kashtira from Deck to GY.
The Gamble
Tearlaments Kashtira triggers in the GY to mill 2 cards. Unlike the Kitkallos era, this is high variance. You are looking to hit a Tearlaments name or a shuffler to extend.
The Historical Kitkallos Line
Status: FORBIDDEN (Historical Reference Only)
Missing: 73956664
The First Tear
Normal Summon Reinoheart. Activate his on-summon effect to send Tearlaments Havnis (not Merrli) from your Deck to the Graveyard.
Missing: 37961969
The Bridge (Kitkallos)
Trigger Havnis in GY. Fuse Havnis (GY) + Reinoheart (Field) to summon Tearlaments Kitkallos. This satisfies the "1 Aqua + 1 Tearlaments" requirement.
Missing: 92731385
Mill 8 & Climb
Kitkallos adds Merrli to hand, then swaps herself to summon Merrli. Both trigger (Mill 5 + Mill 3). If you mill a Fusion name, fuse Kitkallos (GY) + Name into Rulkallos.
The Abyssal Fortress
While the path is variable, a common and effective end board aims to establish multiple layers of disruption. This setup provides a Special Summon negate and other forms of interaction.
Tearlaments Rulkallos
Missing: 84330567
- Summon Negation: A Quick Effect to negate any effect that includes Special Summoning a monster.
- Resilience: If sent to the GY by a card effect, she Special Summons herself back.
Abyss Dweller (Forbidden)
- Graveyard Lock: Was the premier counter in mirror matches and against other GY-reliant decks.
- Quick Effect: Its ability to prevent the opponent from activating any card effects in their GY for a turn was often a game-winning move.
Competitive Analysis
Strengths
- Unmatched Resilience: Can play through most board-wipes as the Graveyard, not the field, is its primary resource pool.
- "Turn 0" Capability: Able to establish a board and disrupt during the opponent's first turn with hand traps like Tearlaments Havnis.
- High Skill Ceiling: The non-linear, probabilistic nature of milling rewards skilled pilots who can adapt to any given Graveyard setup.
Weaknesses
- Graveyard Hate: Extremely vulnerable to cards that banish or prevent GY effects. Historically, Abyss Dweller was a primary counter, though it is now forbidden. Dimension Shifter remains the most potent threat.
- Targeted Disruption: Key GY effects can be neutralized by cards that shuffle resources back into the deck, like the Ishizu monsters.
- Inherent Variance: The strategy relies on the randomness of mills, which can sometimes fail to provide playable resources.
External Engines & Synergies
- Ishizu Engine: Historically created a Tier 0 format by providing massive mills and unparalleled Graveyard disruption.
- Kashtira & Branded: Offer powerful extenders, aggression, and alternative paths to strong Fusion boss monsters.
- Other Alliances: Synergizes well with Shaddoll monsters (to summon Winda) and Danger! monsters (for discards and field presence).
Current TCG Banlist Status
Banlist Impact
HIGH IMPACT: The Tearlaments archetype faces significant restrictions on the TCG banlist with Tearlaments Kitkallos and 3 other cards forbidden. Additionally, 3 cards are limited.
Archetype Cards
Forbidden
- • Tearlaments Kitkallos
- • Abyss Dweller
- • Kelbek the Ancient Vanguard
- • Agido the Ancient Sentinel
Limited
- • Tearlaments Merrli
- • Tearlaments Havnis
- • Tearlaments Scheiren
Meta Implications: While the loss of key cards is significant, Tearlaments players can adapt by Midrange/control grind game using remaining fusions and GY recursion.
Banlist Status Summary
Core cards checked:
• Abyss Dweller
• Agido the Ancient Sentinel
• Kelbek the Ancient Vanguard
• Primeval Planet Perlereino
• Tearlaments Cryme
• Tearlaments Havnis
• Tearlaments Kitkallos
• Tearlaments Merrli
• Tearlaments Metanoise
• Tearlaments Reinoheart
• Tearlaments Scheiren
• Tearlaments Scream
• Tearlaments Sulliek
analyzed •
7 total restrictions found
• 7 archetype cards