Triamid

Template:Infobox archetype

"Triamid", known as "Tramid" (トラミッド Toramiddo) in the OCG is an archetype of EARTH Rock-Type monsters that debuted in The Dark Illusion.

Design

Appearance

Visually, the archetype seems to be patterned after common elements of Egyptian culture with a futuristic twist. The revealed Field Spell Cards appear to be a transformed, mechanized pyramid that resembles a "city-bot" from the Transformers franchise in various phases of transformation, starting off with a sealed look and defensive effect, resulting in a heavily-armed appearance and an offensive effect. The "Triamid" monsters are based on figures in Ancient Egyptian mythology.

Etymology

The TCG name "Triamid" is the portmanteau of "Triangle" and "Pyramid", while in the OCG, it is the portmanteau of "Transformation" and "Pyramid".

Members

Triamid	Origin	Unique effect
Dancer	Bastet	Shuffles a "Triamid" card from the controller's Graveyard into their Deck, then all Rock-Type monsters they currently control gain 500 ATK and DEF
Hunter	Anubis	Allows one additional Normal Summon/Set for a Rock-Type monster if there is a face-up Field Spell Card
Master	Pharaoh	Sends a face-up "Triamid" card the controller controls to the Graveyard, then destroys a Set card
Sphinx	Sphinx	N/A

Playing style

The "Triamid" archetype ostensibly focuses on using the effects of its Field Spell Cards to gain a foothold over the opponent by amassing advantage. Each of the archetype's Field Spell Cards has three distinct effects with the following common characteristics. The first effect acts as support for Rock-Type monsters in general, the second effect supports "Triamid" monsters on the field, and the third effect can be used only once per turn, triggering when the card is sent to the Graveyard from the Field Zone.

"Triamid" Field Spell Card	Rock-Type monster support effect	"Triamid" monster support effect	Graveyard effect
Cruiser	The controller gains 500 LP when a Rock-Type monster is Normal Summoned.	The controller can draw 1 card and discard 1 card if they Normal Summon a "Triamid" monster.	The controller can add 1 "Triamid" monster from their Deck to their hand.
Fortress	Rock-Type monsters on the field gain 500 DEF.	Prevents "Triamid" monsters from being destroyed by card effects.	The controller can target 1 "Triamid" monster in their Graveyard, and add it to their hand.
Kingolem	Rock-Type monsters on the field gain 500 ATK.	Prevents the controller's opponent from activating cards or effects until the end of the Damage Step when the controller's "Triamid" monsters battle.	The controller can Special Summon 1 "Triamid" monster from their hand.

The archetype's Level 3 and 4 monsters all have two effects, the first of which is unique to the monster, while the second is a common effect that helps to maintain field advantage, by targeting and sending the controller's face-up "Triamid" Field Spell Card to the Graveyard, and replacing it with another one from the controller's Deck during the opponent's turn. This allows the controller to easily access the Graveyard trigger effects of the "Triamid" Field Spell Cards. During their own turn, the controller can also achieve both this, and avoid having excess Field Spell Cards accumulating in their hand, by simply activating "Triamid" Field Spell Cards in their hand, over the one in their Field Zone.

"Triamid Master" plays a vital role in the deck, as either of its two effects enable the archetype to quickly send its Field Spell Cards to the Graveyard. The unique effect of "Triamid Hunter" also contributes to the archetype's speed and ability to press advantage, allowing the controller to Normal Summon a Rock-Type monster per turn, in addition to the Normal Summon/Set, while there is a face-up Field Spell Card on the field.

In order to ensure that the archetype can continue to generate advantage and cycle through their Field Spell Cards, the unique effect of "Triamid Dancer" returns "Triamid" cards from the controller's Graveyard to their Deck, allowing re-use of their Field Spell Cards, whilst also giving all Rock-Type monsters on the controller's field a permanent 500 ATK and DEF boost. Additionally, "Triamid Pulse" takes advantage of the archetype's tendency to amass their cards in the Graveyard by turning said cards into a utilizable resource, with one of three effects that can be applied per turn at the cost of banishing two Rock-Type monsters and/or "Triamid" Field Spell Cards from the Graveyard. Given its varied effects, "Pulse" is adaptable for several situations the controller may face, either destroying another face-up card, Special Summoning a Rock-Type monster from the controller's Graveyard, or returning three "Triamid" Field Spell Cards to the controller's Deck and allowing them to draw a card. It can also be used to banish non-EARTH monsters if the player uses "Block Golem".

The unique effect of "Master" also lets the controller amass "Triamid" Field Spell Cards in the Graveyard as a means to bolster the ATK of "Triamid Sphinx", which can be easily Special Summoned through its own Summoning condition or the Graveyard trigger effect of "Triamid Kingolem". In addition to boosting its own ATK, the effects of "Sphinx" also prevents the opponent from attacking the controller's other monsters while they control another "Triamid" card, a feat easily achievable given the archetype's propensity to maintain an active Field Spell Card. "Sphinx" can thus easily lock down the opponent by serving as both a formidable attacker and defensive wall.

Weaknesses

As the archetype relies heavily on rapidly sending its Field Spell Cards from the Field Zone to the Graveyard and then activating new ones to maintain advantage, it is especially vulnerable to any cards that prevent the controller from activating Field Spell Cards. Such cards include "Closed Forest", "Field Barrier", and "Gravekeeper's Shaman", which cripple the archetype by slowing it to a crawl and rendering the second effects of Level 3 or 4 "Triamid" monsters useless, until these obstructing effects can be cleared away.