In a bit of a break from the usual Type-specific substrategies, we also have an approach to Rahi decks that revolves around one boss monster in particular, and the general DARK Attribute by extension. Meet the Rahi Nui – or what is left of it by the time the Toa Nuva come across it, anyway.
3+ “Rahi” monsters with different names Must be Fusion Summoned, or Special Summoned from your Extra Deck by Tributing the above cards, including a DARK monster. This card’s Type is also treated as the original Types of the materials used for its Summon. If this card is Special Summoned, or your opponent Special Summons a monster(s) from the Extra Deck: You can Special Summon 1 Level 10 or lower “Rahi” monster from your Extra Deck that shares a Type with this card, also this card cannot attack for the rest of this turn. You can only use this effect of “Rahi Nui, Vengeful Chimera” once per turn.
Bionicle: Protodermic Evolution (v4.7.3)
Reassembled after once disintegrating through the treachery of one particularly resourceful group of Toa, this amalgamation of Tarakava , Muaka , Kane-Ra , Nui-Rama , and Nui-Jaga wields its might in pursuit of revenge, lurking in the darkness. That about sums up the design concept here, so let’s unpack that in some more detail.
Being a big (hypothetical) combiner means it’s a big Fusion, though the minimum materials are just a more manageable number of 3 different Rahi rather than the 5 canon ones. Since said canon materials span a variety of Types, the Rahi Nui absorbs those Types into itself, much like it clearly shows traits of them all (yes, big punchy fists are a Reptile trait, never seen a crocodile?). Also, because DARK Rahi are kind of rare throughout the whole lore, it has a Contact Fusion clause if you can get those involved.
Once it hits the field, the multiple Types become relevant, because they now let you cheat out (or in the case of Pendulums, simply bring back) other matching Rahi from the Extra Deck. The vibe here is meant to be like fighting a boss that throws other bosses from earlier in the game at you, which doesn’t have a real reason I’m aware of, but just felt right. In any case, it also does that whenever your opponent Special Summons from the Extra Deck, and that’s where the “revenge” aspect comes in.
You see, the Toa Metru that once felled the beast are, at this point in time, living happily in the Extra Deck as Turaga . So when they appear, the Rahi Nui gets “triggered”, flies into a rage, and ends up stuck in a wall so it can’t attack. Just like that one time with Vakama.
Place of Shadow
Continuous Spell
(This card is always treated as a “Rahi” and “Makuta” card.) Once per turn: You can Tribute 1 monster; take 1 “Rahi” Normal Monster from your Deck or GY, and either add it to your hand or Special Summon it. If you Special Summon it, it becomes DARK. If this card is sent to the GY (except during the Damage Step): You can Fusion Summon 1 “Rahi” Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, by banishing materials from your field, GY, and/or face-up Extra Deck. You can only use this effect of “Place of Shadow” once per turn.
Bionicle: Protodermic Evolution (v4.7.3)
The location of that incident was the area known as the Place of Shadow, a section of Mata Nui completely under Makuta’s dark influence where the Rahi Nui made its lair. Speaking of which, this name sure sounds like Lair of Darkness, which is why we have an effect that Tributes a monster to bring out a Rahi and make it DARK – both synergyzing with and mimicking that pre-existing Field Spell. And the fact that it gets only Rahi Normal Monsters, which are of course precisely those species that make up the Rahi Nui, creates a bridge between those intended materials and the DARK Contact Fusion clause. Finally, like on most Rahi (and Makuta) Spell/Trap Cards, there’s a GY effect, in this case also to Fusion Summon … exactly the Rahi Nui, because we don’t have other Rahi Fusions. Yet.
Manas, Monstrous Crab Rahi
Effect MonsterLevel 10 | DARK Aqua | ATK 3200 / DEF 2600
Gains 400 ATK/DEF for each face-up Spell/Trap on the field. You can only use each of the following effects of “Manas, Monstrous Crab Rahi” once per turn. You can discard this card; add 1 “Rahi” Normal Monster from your Deck to your hand. During your opponent’s turn, if you control a “Rahi” Normal Monster Card (Quick Effect): You can Special Summon this card from your GY, and if you do, it is unaffected by other monsters’ effects, also return it to the hand during the End Phase.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
As a side note, there actually was already a DARK-themed support card for the Normal Monsters in the very first wave of Rahi: The Manas, which simply searches them out from the hand and then uses their presence to haul its giant ass onto the field during the opponent’s turn. Nothing too amazing, but a consistency card that can also be a big beatstick or at least a shield if push comes to shove sure is nice to have if we’re already focusing on the right Attribute.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters If a “Rahi” monster you control battles, inflict piercing battle damage. If this card is sent from the field to the GY: You can target 1 “Rahi” Tuner in your GY; Special Summon it. You can only use this effect of “Subterranean Worm Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Protodermic Evolution (v4.7.3)
In addition to the two summoning methods available in the Place of Shadow, there is also one that’s even more splashable by virtue of not requiring any special Main Deck accomodations. Just put a Subterranean Worm in your Extra Deck, find a Level 7 Synchro line that also leaves two additional Rahi out, and there’s your Rahi Nui. Also the Contact Fusion sent the Worm to the GY, so you get back a Tuner to do some Synchro climbing with whatever you’re cheating out.
You do need to put in some work, but having this as an option that’s always accessible is convenient. So convenient that it comes with a slight drawback of both the (supposedly ancient) Worm and the (big and scary) Rahi Nui sharing the Dinosaur Type, meaning you only get to meaningfully inherit Types from the other two materials. Still an excellent choice for something like a Beast deck that easily spams monsters and only needs to access its native Types anyway. Plus, you can always use your Dinosaur-Type Rahi Nui to bring out another Dinosaur-Type Subterranean Worm, in case you need piercing damage.
MKT Fish, Biting Rahi
Tuner Effect MonsterLevel 3 | DARK Fish | ATK 900 / DEF 300
If this card you control would be used as Synchro Material, you can treat it as a non-Tuner. During your opponent’s Main Phase, you can (Quick Effect): Immediately after this effect resolves, Synchro Summon using Fish, Sea Serpent, and/or Aqua monsters you control, including this card. You can only use this effect of “MKT Fish, Biting Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Protodermic Evolution (v4.7.3)
Finally, a DARK Rahi with only tangential relation to this theme: The MaKuTa Fish. You can technically use one of these as Rahi Nui material, but it’s not particularly easy to get on the field, doesn’t provide any benefit to your general strategy, and most importantly there isn’t a single Fish Rahi Synchro in the Extra Deck you’d be able to Summon as payoff. Here, the Attribute really is just owed to the name and dwelling in the deep dark depths; this is meant to be played in Fish/Sea Serpent/Aqua Rahi and nowhere else.
Place of Shadow , Lair of Darkness, same thing really, so here they are both in this Deck. With proper setup, you get to Tribute your opponent’s monster for the effect that fetches a Rahi Normal Monster, and everything is constantly DARK and ready to make a Rahi Nui . Also, Super Poly is a lot easier to use when you know that all monsters are going to have the same Attribute.
However, even without Lair access, this deck is perfectly capable of establishing its big boss monster thanks to multiple routes that get you there. At its simplest, especially a bit later in a game, you just Foolish Burial Goods for a Place and fuse away your spent Rahi. But there’s also combos that provide you with both the setup and the fusion effect from scratch: Special Summon a Taku from the Pendulum Zone, placing either Hapaka or Infernavika in the Extra Deck, use a Fikou to reduce the Taku’s Level by 1 and get to the Level 1+2 = 3 Kirikori-Nui , which on summon sends you (as cost!) a Place of Shadow that can go Taku + Hapaka/Infernavika + Fikou => Rahi Nui. Incidentally, this is the specific interaction that kept me from killing the old mill-as-cost effect of Kirikori-Nui, so expect that stupid line of text to disappear once I wrap my head around a better way to handle this part.
Now, why specifically use Hapaka and Infernavika to fill up the required materials? Because their effects when banished directly offset the banishing cost itself, making them always beneficial in this scenario. The Hapaka returns a monster to the GY, which lets you e.g. maintain Fikou access, while the Infernavika puts a Pendulum back into the face-up Extra Deck so you have it for future plays. Simply pick which fits your situation better. You could also spend those slots on something like an Ussal for a different type of utility, but aside from needing no setup other than the banishing itself, the two I went with are also helpful in other ways: The Hapaka can kind of extend, or at least swap stuff around between hand and field, and by having the Infernavika, summoning a Gukko via Rahi Nui on the opponent’s turn becomes a form of disruption.
Notable inclusions in the Extra Deck are Super Poly targets for the many “DARK” monsters we’ll be facing under Lair (I kinda maybe forgot Starving Venom exists), Mata Nui Cow + Gukko + Nui Kopen (goes crazy with Lair) + Tarakava-Nui as the primary Rahi Nui targets, a Kirikori-Nui for the combo and a Dikapi as an alternative way to get there, and a Subterranean Worm so we have that route as well. Then there’s Crystal Wing and Chengying in case we get to do further climbing with our free Synchro Monsters, but that’s not something that usually happens.
In the Side Deck, we have other bugs we can swap in depending on the matchup, with the Cliff Bug earning itself the default Main Deck spot simply because it could potentially protect us from an Imperm or something going first.
Footage of this deck’s dastardly dark dealings during duels can be found below.
Conclusion
The Rahi Nui itself is a standalone boss monster that, in theory, any Rahi deck can access as an alternative way to bring out other Extra Deck Rahi. Alternatively, Place of Shadow gives you the option to play a dedicated strategy that aims to reliably and efficiently make the Rahi Nui and then spawn Synchros of different Types from there. This approach involves the Normal Pendulum forms of the big ’01 Rahi and a focus on the DARK Attribute, which is a combination that conveniently falls in line with the Manas from BCOR. Also, it goes well with Lair of Darkness, because that’s also quite a shadowy place.
Now that I have your attention, it’s time to cover yet another way to build Rahi. Today’s Type are the Reptiles, lurking in wait and ambushing unsuspecting travelers. As a concept, this is pretty much entirely based on the very memorable Rahi Beasts quote describing Tarakava – “even if you can’t see them, they’re always there”. So let’s start with those, shall we?
Tarakava, Lizard Rahi
Normal Pendulum MonsterLevel 6 | Scale 1/1 | WATER Reptile | ATK 2600 / DEF 1200
[ Pendulum Effect ] When an attack is declared involving an opponent’s monster: You can target 1 Reptile “Rahi” Monster Card in your Spell & Trap Zone; Special Summon it (but it cannot attack directly this turn), and if you do, destroy that opponent’s monster. You can only use this effect of “Tarakava, Lizard Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Flavor Text ] The first thing to remember about Tarakava is that even if you can’t see them, they are always there.
[ Pendulum Effect ] Reptile “Rahi” monsters in your leftmost or rightmost Main Monster Zone gain this effect. ●Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can place this card face-up in your Spell & Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell, or if it is a Pendulum Monster, you can place it in your Pendulum Zone instead. —————————————- [ Flavor Text ] Sand Tarakava are slightly smaller than their Tarakava relatives. Their hunting method is to hide under the sand and wait for unsuspecting prey to come near.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
This pair of punchy Pendulums consists of the classic version that appears from beneath the sea, and the less-known recolor that hides under the sands. Which means the former facilitates the “ambush” – where a lurking Reptile jumps forward to eviscerate an opponent’s monster that has carelessly gotten involved in battle – and the latter sets it up by granting your Reptiles the ability to slide into lurking position. In the simplest case, you have these two cards in the Pendulum Zones, battle occurs, the Tarakava jumps out and starts punching, and then it goes back to do the same thing next turn.
As for less simple cases, you may notice these effects also work with non-Pendulums in the regular Spell & Trap Zones. For example, you could put some Synchros there.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters When your opponent activates a card or effect (Quick Effect): You can target 2 face-up monsters on the field, including this card; place them face-up in their owners’ Spell & Trap Zones as Continuous Spells. You can only use this effect of “Ranama, Lava Lurker Rahi” once per turn. Once per turn, during the Standby Phase, if this card is a Continuous Spell: You can destroy 1 other Monster Card in a Spell & Trap Zone, and if you do, Special Summon this card.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
The Ranama is built for just that purpose. In fact, it dives down in that direction on its own along with its prey when it senses motion (i.e., an effect activation) and also returns on its own once it has finished digesting. Coupled with a Tarakava ready to pounce on anyone foolish enough to attempt the classic out of “just hit over it”, this is sure to be a thorn in an opponent’s side one way or another.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters If this card is Special Summoned: You can target up to 2 cards your opponent controls; this card loses exactly 1000 ATK for each targeted card, and if it does, shuffle them into the Deck. You can only use this effect of “Tarakava-Nui, Lizard King Rahi” once per turn. Loses 1000 ATK during your Main Phase only. While this card is a Continuous Spell, “Rahi” cards you control cannot be destroyed by your opponent’s card effects.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
If you’d like some more impact, how about a Tarakava-Nui? It doesn’t have the built-in mobility in either direction, but with help from its smaller (or rather unmutated) relatives, it can easily be put in the backrow as blanket destruction protection and brought forward whenever you need its service of PUNCH THINGS SO HARD THEY GO BACK TO THE DECK. The way this is paid for with ATK creates a slightly fancy dynamic where you get to punch two things if and only if you bring it out outside your own Main Phase as the Reptiles do – a regular old Synchro Summon any Rahi deck can perform will only get you one.
Okay, but how are we making these Synchros? This is the cue to look at the Reptile Rahi Tuners, and as it turns out, there aren’t any. Shit. Guess we’re playing Insects?
While that works to some extent, having an entire substrategy entirely reliant on that shared toolbox doesn’t feel right either. So, with no Reptile Tuners present or forthcoming, we’ll have to snake our way into tunerless Synchro Summons somehow.
[ Pendulum Effect ] Once per turn: You can destroy up to 2 “Rahi” Monster Cards you control, and if you do, Special Summon 1 Reptile “Rahi” Synchro Monster from your Extra Deck whose Level is less than or equal to their total Levels (this is treated as a Synchro Summon), then place it face-up in your Spell & Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card declares an attack: You can inflict 300 damage to your opponent for each Monster Card in your Spell & Trap Zone. If this card is destroyed: You can place 1 Reptile “Rahi” monster from your GY or face-up Extra Deck face-up in your Spell & Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell. You can only use each effect of “Bog Snake, Venomous Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
The Bog Snake does just that from the comfort of the Pendulum Zone, acquiring the necessary Levels by destroying your Monster Cards – including those stuck in the backrow such as itself, making this a one-card way to access a Ranama. One card more (with at least Level 3), and you’ll even get a Tarakava-Nui. Of course those monsters themselves then immediately go into hiding (before you get a chance to trigger on-Summon effects, it’s worth noting), but bringing them back out is the whole point of this strategy anyway.
In fact, destroying the Bog Snake with its own effect to make a Ranama will also let you put a Reptile into your backrow – even itself, if necessary. That means your lurking Ranama is already well fed and ready to jump to the Monster Zone in the next Standby Phase … which will trigger the Snake again. See, who needs Tuners anyway?
Also if you get it on the field and attack it burns a little, because venomous.
Since there aren’t a lot of Reptiles just yet, the deck is built as a hybrid with Insects, using the usually less splashable Kofo-Jaga engine to get easy access to the Nui-Kopen and thereby a variety of Spells and Traps. The trick here is that we actually don’t particularly care about getting locked out of the monster effects of our Reptiles, because several of our major plays – like making a Synchro with the Bog Snake or ambushing with the Tarakava – are performed entirely through effects those monsters have while treated as Spells, bypassing the lock entirely. The Insect+Reptile combination also meshes well with the use of Samurai Beetle as an additional extender, capable of natively going into a Ranama together with any of the Level 1 Tuners.
To take advantage of our nearly free searches, this build also includes some of the more situational Rahi Spells/Traps. Siege because it meshes perfectly with our goal to re-summon monsters of both high and low Levels from the Spell & Trap Zone every turn (and there’s literally a Tarakava on it), Devastation because it allows trading Rahi for removal even if they’re lying in wait in the backrow, Ussalry as a way to recycle banished cards, and Encounter in the Drifts for that ambush flavor.
The Extra Deck contains the Rahi needed for both the Reptile and Insect halves of the deck, as well as some standard generic links including Beyond and Exceed the Pendulum. There’s also a Ragnaraika Mantis Monk so we have a way to trigger the Beetle’s revival effect, and a Dawn Dragster since sometimes we do get to make a Level 7 Synchro turn 1, and this one can deal with the significant threat that certain Spells and Traps pose to our entire on-field setup. As for the side deck, it’s yet another approach to ratios for swapping between the handtrap Insect Rahi plus general good stuff.
In the usual fashion, there’s a sample video showing all this working.
Conclusion
Reptiles are a fairly small group of Rahi, but one with a clear focus: Moving between the Monster Zones and the Spell & Trap Zones, leading to a general style of play where you repeatedly stow away and resummon the same monsters while getting in the way of anything the opponent tries to do on the field. Since not having many cards means you can’t really make a pure deck out of them, the best in-archetype approach available right now is probably a hybrid with Insects – which happens to be a Ragnaraika combination, so that’s convenient.
They’ve been crawling all over the decklists of the last few articles, so it might be about time to get out our magnifying glass and take a close look at the Insect-Type segment of the Rahi archetype. Actually, forget the magnifying glass, even on the small side these things look pretty large for bugs. Entomophobes beware.
If this card is in your hand or GY: You can target 1 Level 2 or higher “Rahi” monster you control; reduce that target’s Level by 1, and if you do, banish this card, then Special Summon 1 “Fikou, Spider Rahi” from your hand or Deck. You can only use this effect of “Fikou, Spider Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
And arachnophobes too, because we’re starting with a widely beloved little orange spooder. The Fikou is a prime example of Insects acting as splashable Tuners in other Rahi builds, in this case by costing merely a single Level to bring itself to the field – or rather another copy of itself, if we want to be completely accurate. Needing to run multiples is one deliberate weakness this effect has compared to its much more absurd inspiration Level Eater.
Fikou-Nui, Tarantula Rahi
Link Effect MonsterLink-1 [↗] | EARTH Insect | ATK 1000
1 Level 2 or lower “Rahi” monster If this card is Link Summoned: You can target 1 “Rahi” monster in your GY or banishment; add it to your hand, then place 1 card from your hand on the bottom of the Deck. You can only use this effect of “Fikou-Nui, Tarantula Rahi” once per turn. You can Tribute this card; Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower “Rahi” monster from your hand or GY, and if you do, you can increase or decrease its Level by 1.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Now that cost of 1 Level may sometimes mess with your desired Synchro lines, which is where the Fikou’s larger relative Fikou-Nui comes in to fix things. This somehow-canon miniboss from a cancelled video game isn’t just Level modulation, but also a fairly flexible recycling option on summon, letting you add your spent monsters back to the hand at a cost or back to the Deck for free (returning to the Extra Deck doesn’t cost you a card either thanks to the way it’s worded).
If this card is in your hand (Quick Effect): You can banish 1 “Rahi” monster from your GY or face-up Extra Deck; Special Summon this card, and if you do, you can destroy 1 Spell/Trap your opponent controls. You can only use this effect of “Hoto, Firebug Rahi” once per turn.
If this card is in your hand (Quick Effect): You can banish 1 “Rahi” monster from your GY or face-up Extra Deck; Special Summon this card, and if you do, you can make 1 face-up monster you control be unaffected by Spell/Trap effects until the end of this turn. You can only use this effect of “Cliff Bug, Hopper Rahi” once per turn.
If this card is in your hand (Quick Effect): You can banish 1 “Rahi” monster from your GY or face-up Extra Deck; Special Summon this card, and if you do, you can negate the effects of 1 face-up monster your opponent controls, until the end of this turn. You can only use this effect of “Electric Bug, Zapping Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
The other Level 1 Insect Rahi Tuners you’ll see in a lot of builds cover three more Attributes, leaving only DARK and WIND open when combined with the Fikou … for now. All of them work the same way: Banish the leftovers of another Rahi, Special Summon, apply a bonus effect – all Quick Effects so you can use these bonuses for disruption when appropriate.
The Hoto burns through the opponent’s backrow, the Cliff Bug from Ga-Wahi protects monsters in a way that’s just Nokama if you squint, and the Electric Bug zaps effect negation on monsters. Being optional bonus effects, none of these target, so they can be quite tricky to deal with.
What do you banish to fuel these effects? Well, any Rahi will do, so that’s good for splashability. But for actually Insect-centric decks, there’s one particular option that offers top efficiency.
[ Pendulum Effect ] If your opponent Special Summons a monster(s) (except during the Damage Step): You can destroy this card, and if you do, that monster(s) loses 1200 ATK/DEF, until the end of this turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If a face-up Spell/Trap is on the field (Quick Effect): You can Tribute this card; add 1 Insect “Rahi” monster from your Deck to your hand, except “Kofo-Jaga, Scorpion Rahi”. If this card is banished while you control a “Rahi” Tuner: You can Special Summon this card, and if you do, increase its Level by 1, also you cannot activate non-Insect monster effects for the rest of this turn. You can only use each effect of “Kofo-Jaga, Scorpion Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Not only does the heat-loving Kofo-Jaga search you Insect Rahi including all the above Tuners when provided the cozy warmth of a Spell or Trap, it also shies away from the light straight into the face-up Extra Deck, ready to be banished. And once that happens, it’s suddenly right back on the field (and you’re Insect locked). Also it has a stat debuff Pendulum Effect, ya know the drill, beware its stinger tail and all that.
One detail not to be overlooked is the +1 Level gained upon returning, which sets us up for our primary payoff without any cumbersome Fikou-Nui steps in between.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters If this card is Special Summoned: You can take 1 “Rahi” Spell/Trap from your Deck, and either add it to your hand or send it to the GY. During the Main Phase (Quick Effect): You can Tribute 1 monster; Special Summon 1 Level 2 or lower “Rahi” Tuner from your hand or GY, but negate its effects. You can only use each effect of “Nui-Kopen, Wasp Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
That payoff is the Nui-Kopen, an archetypal Spell/Trap search on a Level 6 Synchro, and its targets open up some powerful possibilities. Before looking at the list, let it also be said that its secondary ability to tag out for a Tuner doubles as an Imperm dodge.
Now, Rahi Spells and Traps. These are generally generic support much like the Tuners above, but having an Insect deck whose whole bread and butter is getting them to hand or GY means some options could make the cut that most builds don’t bother using. Here’s a quick rundown.
Rahi Hive Showdown
Rahi Hive Showdown
Spell
If your opponent controls 2 or more monsters with 2000 or more ATK: Take control of the monster your opponent controls with the highest original ATK (your choice, if tied), but it cannot activate its effects while you control it. If you control a “Rahi” Synchro Monster: You can banish this card from your GY, then target 1 monster your opponent controls; take control of it until the End Phase, but it cannot declare an attack. You can only use 1 “Rahi Hive Showdown” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Perhaps the most topical of them all is Rahi Hive Showdown, a monster stealing card themed entirely around Lewa’s brief period under the control of an infected mask – an incident that prominently involved a Nui-Kopen. Accordingly, both that monster and this Spell have some deliberate synergies built in beyond the blatantly obvious: The Nui-Kopen can Tribute whatever you steal for its second effect to get some immediate value, and since it is itself a Rahi Synchro, using its effect to dump Showdown will enable the GY effect that tends to be much easier to use than the main one.
Infection of the Rahi
Infection of the Rahi
Continuous Trap
You can only control 1 “Infection of the Rahi”. Each time a monster your opponent controls activates its effect while you control a “Rahi” Monster Card, place 1 Comet Counter on that opponent’s monster (max. 1) after that effect resolves. Monsters with a Comet Counter cannot attack, also each time 1 leaves the field, inflict 400 damage to its owner. During your Battle Phase or your opponent’s Main Phase: You can banish this card from your GY or your face-up Spell & Trap Zone; take control of all monsters your opponent controls with a Comet Counter, until the end of this turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
While also based on an Insect-related event, Infection of the Rahi is probably too much of a gimmick to be worthwhile even when you can easily search it. The ability to snatch away any monsters that used their effects previously can serve as some decent disruption, but between the turn of setup needed and the potential of playing around it, this is definitely one of those “you have to want it” cards.
Devastation of the Rahi
Devastation of the Rahi
Spell
Destroy any number of other “Rahi” cards you control, and if you do, send the same number of cards your opponent controls to the GY. You can banish this card and 1 “Rahi” monster from your GY, then target 1 card on the field; destroy it, or if you control a “Rahi” Synchro Monster, you can banish it instead. You can only use 1 “Devastation of the Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Based on the battle that once devastated the Charred Forest, Devastation of the Rahi is a removal option that works from both hand and GY, with different dynamics in each case. If activated from the hand, it will clear as many cards as you’re willing to invest while also bypassing targeting and destruction protections, but overall works out to a -1 in card advantage for you. Using it from the GY is much cheaper, but only goes after a single properly designated target, and only offers plain old destruction – unless you have a Synchro out, then it can also banish. Overall, the big consequence of this card’s existence is that it enables the Nui-Kopen to act as removal in a variety of ways, making it more of a threat against established boards.
The Ussalry Arrives
The Ussalry Arrives
Quick-Play Spell
(This card is always treated as a “Rahi” and “Matoran” card.) Target 1 face-up monster you control; Special Summon 1 “Rahi” Pendulum Monster Card with the same Type or Attribute from your Pendulum Zone, GY, or face-up Extra Deck, but banish it during the End Phase. During your Main Phase: You can shuffle this card and 1 of your banished “Rahi” cards into the Deck, then draw 1 card. You can only use 1 “The Ussalry Arrives” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
As hybrid Matoran/Rahi support, The Ussalry Arrives acts as a fairly flexible extender with the rather unique trait of even being able to Summon out of the Pendulum Zone. But the interesting synergy with Insects, particularly the Tuners that banish stuff, lies in its alternate effect to recycle itself from the GY and a banished “Rahi” card for a draw. Note that says card, not monster, so putting your other Spells and Traps back into rotation is also a possibility!
Siege of the Rahi
Siege of the Rahi
Continuous Spell
If a “Rahi” monster(s) is Normal or Special Summoned to your field, except during the Damage Step: You can activate 1 of these effects, based on the Level of that monster(s) on the field; ●4 or lower: Draw 1 card. ●5 or higher: Change 1 face-up monster on the field to face-down Defense Position. If a Level 5 or higher “Rahi” monster you control would be destroyed by battle or card effect, you can banish this card from your field or GY instead. You can only use each effect of “Siege of the Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Siege of the Rahi, while depicting the Reptile-Type Tarakava, theoretically has significant applications in Insects as well. Specifically, our key play of Special Summoning a Level 1 Tuner on the opponent’s turn by banishing a Kofo-Jaga that then returns as a Level 5 monster is by itself capable of triggering both of the on-field options, landing you an extra card and your opponent a face-down monster clogging the field. I say “theoretically” because I wasn’t running this in my test Insect deck, but thinking about it in hindsight it would go kinda crazy.
Then there’s some other targets with no particular application to Insect Rahi, such as Encounter in the Drifts or Rahi from the Depths, and one I left out because it’s much more broadly generic and also segues well into our next point: Rahi Swarm. The segue being that it depicts certain large Insect Rahi that make up one half of this Type’s Normal Pendulum pair.
[ Pendulum Effect ] You can target 1 face-up monster you control; Special Summon 1 Insect “Rahi” monster with a lower or equal Level from your Deck in Defense Position, also you cannot Special Summon monsters for the rest of this turn, except Insect monsters. You can only use this effect of “Nui-Rama, Fly Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Flavor Text ] A harsh buzz fills the air…a rustle of wings…a dark shape flying out of the sun…the warning signs of a Nui-Rama attack.
[ Pendulum Effect ] If an Insect “Rahi” monster(s) is Special Summoned to your field (except during the Damage Step): You can target 1 face-up monster on the field; destroy it, and if it was an Insect “Rahi” monster, you can add 1 Insect “Rahi” monster with a different name from your Deck to your hand. You can only use this effect of “Nui-Jaga, Scorpion Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Flavor Text ] Nui-Jaga commonly hunt in packs, which helps to make up for the fact that they are not very fast. One of the creatures will drive prey forward, usually into a canyon, where others wait to strike. Once the target is surrounded, the Nui-Jaga will call to each other. Their cries have been compared to the sound of glass breaking.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
The Nui-Rama lives up to its swarming reputation by reinforcing the monsters already on the field with an Insect straight from the Deck, at the cost of an Insect lock. I made the target required for this completely generic “to synergize with the Nui-Kopen/Showdown combo”, but realistically the Nui-Kopen itself is all you need in that case, so this really is just a bit of an oversight. Oopsie.
The Nui-Jaga is also direct support for the Insect-centric line of play featuring its smaller cousin Kofo-Jaga, sensibly enough. While it doesn’t apply any further locks, its intent is basically to trigger when you bring out the small Tuners, getting you either an extra hit of monster removal or an opportunity to trade the bug you just summoned for another one that can then act as disruption later in the turn. And if you ever find yourself in a mirror match, the value just goes straight through the roof.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters If this card is Synchro Summoned: You can send 1 “Rahi” card from your Deck to the GY; this card gains 500 ATK. You can only use this effect of “Kirikori-Nui, Locust Rahi” once per turn. You can banish this card until the Standby Phase of your next turn; destroy 1 card on the field.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Finally, a bit of an odd one out: A Synchro monster you can barely Summon on account of its low Level. Nibbling off a Level 3 Rahi with a Fikou will get you there, but it’s not really something that comes up. If you were to make the Kirikori-Nui, though, you’d be rewarded with sending a card from Deck to GY as cost, a frankly pretty broken ability that probably only ended up here for lack of better ideas and because it really doesn’t matter when you barely make the thing. The effect with proper lore significance is actually the second one, where this voracious locust ravages the field and vanishes, only to return at some point in the future. That part isn’t once per turn, so you can properly do this with a whole swarm even. Well, a swarm of 3.
By their nature, Insect Rahi cards appear in all kinds of builds focused on different Types, so for their solo showing I decided to cram them into a good ol’ Insect pile. Which isn’t something I have more than passing familiarity with, so if anything looks off here all I can say is, uh, sorry.
What’s pretty much going on here is that the standard Insect cards – Resonance Insect, Gokipole, Beargram, Samurai Beetle – set up a Link climb into something like Invincible Atlas or even just I:P/S:P stuff, with Picofalena for recycling and plusses along the way. Beetroopers add more extenders and the ability to get Fly & Sting for negation, and finally the Rahi cards supplement all of this with a Synchro Engine as well as the Tuners’ handtrap effects.
Generally, you try to make a Nui-Kopen to get your hand on one of the Rahi Spell cards included. Here, that means the standard option of Rahi Swarm as a searcher and the pair of Rahi Hive Showdown and The Ussalry Arrives for situational utility and flavour. Alternatively, if you procure an additionaly body to fill up the Levels, you can also go into Diabolantis as kind of a bridge into the other Insect stuff. A Kirikori-Nui is here in theory, but looking at this Deck I’m strongly doubting it even has the ability to make that card. You’d have to Fikou-Nui for a Level 3 Kofo-Jaga and then Fikou that further down to 2, I guess? Yeah, probably not happening.
As for stuff that does happen, you can see some of that in the sample video below.
Conclusion
Unlike other Types, most Insect Rahi are explicitly built to be included generically in Rahi deck. In the Main Deck, they offer their services as Tuner/handtrap hybrids. In the Extra Deck, the Nui-Kopen specifically is your Synchro bridge to those Rahi Spells and Traps any of the various builds would love to access. Together, these tools give Insects a place in most any Rahi deck.
Beyond that, however, there are also the Insects who facilitate a more Type-specific playstyle by granting you massive amounts of free material at the cost of an Insect lock. Bug-based disruption and searching Spells/Traps are still the main plays with this approach, but additionally you have ways to easily bring out non-Tuners and refuel the Tuners in your hand. With clever sequencing, it is even possible to use these advantages as a more generic engine, but they’re most at home in something like the Insect pile above that doesn’t care about the locks to begin with.
Coming right off the Beasts of the land and sky, we continue with the … stuff that dwells under the sea. Quite a few Fish and Aqua Rahi made their debut from BCOR / BBTS / BPEV, and in contrast to the Beast-Warrior snub, Sea Serpents are technically included in the range of support because they will be joining the archetype at some point in the future. All that planning in advance is paying off!
So what is it that sets this trio of Types apart from previously considered Rahi to justify being treated as their own deck? Probably the biggest point is that they do not really aim to combo into Synchro boss monsters, but rather directly use their small pieces as recurring disruption in more of a low-investment control style of gameplay. Perhaps the best point to start from is therefore the specimen that mainly achieves this function in an offensive capacity: The Ruki.
Ruki, Fish Rahi
Tuner Effect MonsterLevel 2 | WATER Fish | ATK 700 / DEF 100
If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can add 1 Fish, Sea Serpent, or Aqua “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Deck to your hand, then discard 1 card. You can only use this effect of “Ruki, Fish Rahi” once per turn. (Quick Effect): You can banish both this card from your hand or field and 1 “Rahi” monster in your GY or face-up Extra Deck; destroy 1 monster your opponent controls.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
The magic here is in the last line – “destroy 1 monster your opponent controls”, throwing this fish and its chompy biters as a potentially devastating wedge into their plans. Before that, of course, is a cost that loses you not only the Ruki from hand or field but also requires some banishing fodder in GY and Extra Deck … but then before even that, we have a convenient effect that provides just that setup if you manage to Summon first. So ideally you want to put this on the field to take advantage of that ability, but once things are rolling it’s also capable of lurking in your hand as a nasty surprise.
Of course, if nasty surprises from the hand are what you want, you can’t discount the Ruki’s partner in crime for the very early game. Meet the Shore Turtle.
Your opponent cannot target Fish, Sea Serpent, and/or Aqua “Rahi” Monster Cards you control with card effects. If your opponent activates a card or effect: You can banish 2 “Rahi” cards from your hand and/or face-up field, including this card; Special Summon 1 Fish, Sea Serpent, or Aqua “Rahi” Tuner from your Deck. You can only use this effect of “Shore Turtle, Shelled Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
This flying amphibian (who even came up with that?) is the key that unlocks this deck’s potential for playing on turn 0 – the part of the game that’s often most vulnerable to disruption. Being a slow and harmless creature itself, it won’t react with a Quick Effect immediately when your opponent does something … but once it eventually notices, it does trigger on a new chain to bring out something like a Ruki, which will then also trigger on summon, and suddenly those monsters on the opponent’s field meant to go into a setup combo are looking awfully chompable. Alternatively, you could also go into another Shore Turtle for passive targeting protection if you’re already happy with your destructive capabilities. However, all this only works if you have another Rahi card to banish along with the turtle, so you’ll need to draw the right hand and having it stopped will hurt quite a bit.
Lightfish, Luminescent Rahi
Tuner Effect MonsterLevel 1 | WATER Fish | ATK 700 / DEF 100
While face-up on the field, this card becomes LIGHT. (Quick Effect): You can banish this card from your hand or GY, then target 1 monster your opponent controls; apply 1 of these effects. ●Change its battle position. ●Discard 1 card, and if you do, that face-up monster cannot activate its effects this turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Third in the lineup of small Quick Effect stuff is a Level 1 Tuner original to the recent BCOR overhaul, representing the Lightfish that illuminate the huts of Ga-Koro . This one is more focused on the gimmick of also being useful in that village’s strategy as a very easily accessible, low-cost effect you can use to increase chain link numbers on the opponent’s turn, but it also isn’t totally out of place in the Rahi deck. Here, it acts as a very soft disruption, and possibly another way to enable a Ruki in the hand by discarding with the more powerful of its two effects.
So I think the idea is clear at this point – banish a lot of things, fuck with the opponent’s field, and hope they get annoyed and leave before they notice you’re pretty much out of resources. Right? Not quite, we haven’t yet seen the Pendulum Monsters that bring the essential recursive aspect into this whole loop.
[ Pendulum Effect ] During the End Phase: You can target 1 of your banished Fish, Sea Serpent, or Aqua “Rahi” monsters, except “Makika, Toad Rahi”; add it to your hand. You can only use this effect of “Makika, Toad Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] During the Main Phase, if this card is in your hand (Quick Effect): You can target 1 Fish, Sea Serpent, or Aqua “Rahi” monster you control; return it to the hand, and if you do, Special Summon this card in Defense Position. If this card is banished: You can add this card to your Extra Deck face-up or place it in your Pendulum Zone, then take 1000 damage. You can only use each effect of “Makika, Toad Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Takea, Shark Rahi
Pendulum Effect MonsterLevel 4 | Scale 5/5 | WATER Fish | ATK 1800 / DEF 900
[ Pendulum Effect ] If your Fish, Sea Serpent, and/or Aqua “Rahi” monster(s) is banished: You can target 1 of those monsters and 1 card your opponent controls; place the first target on the bottom of the Deck, and if you do, destroy the second target. You can only use this effect of “Takea, Shark Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can banish up to 2 “Rahi” Monster Cards from your hand and/or field; add that many Fish, Sea Serpent, and/or Aqua “Rahi” monsters with different names from your Deck to your hand, except “Takea, Shark Rahi”. If this card is banished: You can target 1 card you control; destroy that card, also, after that, add this card to your Extra Deck face-up or place it in your Pendulum Zone. You can only use each effect of “Takea, Shark Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
The Makika and Takea form a pair, with the former having a defensive and the latter an offensive focus. This is most apparent in the Pendulum Zones, where the shark sends the things you keep banishing for cost back into the Deck to cause even more destruction, while the toad hands them back to you in the End Phase to enable plays for the next turn. On the field, the main one to watch out for is the Takea, as it pays its own banishing cost to search out just the tools you need, but the Makika’s Quick Effect to Special Summon itself can also put in some serious work such as letting a Ruki safely dodge a boardwipe.
Finally, both of them share an ability that vastly improves the math on the supposed massive loss of cards incurred by all the banishing: If they themselves are used this way, they will, in exchange for some sort of drawback, swim right back to either the Extra Deck or the Pendulum Zone and continue to act as valuable resources. In the voracious Takea’s case, the drawback is that you must offer it another of your cards as food, while the Makika causes you damage with its poisonous skin.
And that was, as far as the initial BCOR wave is concerned, all the pieces involved in the Fish/Sea Serpent/Aqua strategy! Well, except for one that didn’t really ever come up. You see, since the small monsters are, technically, Tuners, we do have the ability to go into Synchros. And there is one really big one that does align with these Types: The Mana Ko, secret guardian of Makuta’s lair.
1+ “Rahi” Tuners + 1+ non-Tuner “Rahi” monsters Control of this card cannot switch. Other cards you control cannot be destroyed by your opponent’s card effects. (Quick Effect): You can banish this card; Special Summon any number of Fish, Sea Serpent, and/or Aqua “Rahi” monsters from your GY and/or banishment, whose total Levels equal 10 or less, and if you do, banish 1 card on the field. You can only use this effect of “Mana Ko, Guardian Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
This Level 11 bungus can, for example, be made by tuning a Ruki, a Shore Turtle, a Takea, and a Makika (2+2+4+3) … and I think you can see just why it never came up. If you were ever to find yourself in that situation, it could kind of be worth it for the big body, blanket protection, and ability to tag out into almost all of its materials with bonus removal (warning: may hit your own cards). But you probably don’t really need it to win the game at that point.
However, the tag-out concept seemed so good that it ended up inspiring the other, much more reasonably positioned Synchro Monster introduced with the BBTS support.
Waikiru, Walrus Rahi
Synchro Effect MonsterLevel 5 | WATER Aqua | ATK 1800 / DEF 1000
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters If this card is Special Summoned: You can banish 1 Fish, Sea Serpent, or Aqua “Rahi” monster from your Deck. (Quick Effect): You can banish this card; Special Summon up to 2 Fish, Sea Serpent, and/or Aqua “Rahi” monsters from your GY and/or banishment, whose total Levels equal 4 or less. You can only use 1 “Waikiru, Walrus Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Beware the Swarm (v4.7.3)
For the much more pragmatic cost of a Ruki/Turtle and a Makika (or a Lightfish and a Takea), you get a topical way to get another monster from your Deck into rotation, and on the next turn you can make a swap into a pair of Tuners, or a single Pendulum, or whatever else you can fit in 4 Levels. Also important to keep in mind that your Pendulum Scales can recycle this after it banishes itself for cost, so you get to do that move repeatedly if everything goes smoothly. And I guess I should note that targeting this with a banished Takea and then chaining it will still let the Takea fully resolve, that’s specifically why that effect is worded the way it is.
Speaking of Pendulum Scales, the second wave also introduced an additional pair of those, though rather than a proper pair like the first two, they act as more disconnected, situational options.
Ghekula, Amphibious Rahi
Pendulum Effect MonsterLevel 4 | Scale 5/5 | WATER Aqua | ATK 1400 / DEF 1400
[ Pendulum Effect ] If another card(s) on the field would be destroyed by card effect while you control a Fish, Sea Serpent, or Aqua “Rahi” Monster Card, except “Ghekula, Amphibious Rahi”, you can destroy this card instead. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is destroyed: You can target 1 monster in your opponent’s GY or 1 of your banished Fish, Sea Serpent, or Aqua “Rahi” monsters; place it on the bottom of the Deck, and if you returned it to your Deck, banish 1 random card from your opponent’s hand. If this card is banished: You can add this card to your Extra Deck face-up or place it in your Pendulum Zone, and if you do, banish 1 card from your GY. You can only use each effect of “Ghekula, Amphibious Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Beware the Swarm (v4.7.3)
The more traditional Ghekula is already somewhat weird in that its Pendulum Effect is destruction replacement to supplement the Shore Turtle’s protection, and only the monster effect that is then triggered by that has the usual capability to recycle your own banished monsters. This is based on the Matoran superstition that harming a Ghekula, even by accident, invites misfortune – so if it “accidentally” blows up while they try to destroy something else, it’s going to take something either out of their GY, or straight out of their hand if you have banishment setup. It also does the usual self-recycle if banished itself, this time demanding payment via the GY (the more thematic option would have been discarding from your hand, but it just isn’t worth it).
Keras, Crab Rahi
Pendulum Effect MonsterLevel 3 | Scale 1/1 | WATER Aqua | ATK 1400 / DEF 500
[ Pendulum Effect ] If a Level 4 or lower WATER monster(s) is banished from your field, GY, and/or face-up Extra Deck, even during the Damage Step: You can target 1 of those monsters; Special Summon it, and if you do, destroy this card. You can only use this effect of “Keras, Crab Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by banishing 1 Fish, Sea Serpent, or Aqua monster from your GY. You can only Special Summon “Keras, Crab Rahi” once per turn this way. Before damage calculation, if a Level 4 or lower monster you control attacks a Defense Position monster: You can banish 1 “Rahi” monster you control; destroy that Defense Position monster.
Bionicle: Beware the Swarm (v4.7.3)
The Keras, on the other hand, entirely abandons the premise of being recurring banish fodder, instead adopting a role of somewhat more generic support that could also go along with Ga-Matoran (who once rode them into battle against the Bohrok). In the Pendulum Zone, it has the most powerful recycling effect out of all of these and Special Summons the banished monster right back to the field, with the two drawbacks that it only works with WATER monsters (so no Shore Turtle or Makika) and destroys itself after doing this once. Being able to Special Summon itself while generating banishment setup (in reference to how they were tamed by feeding them fish) is a good way to get an additional body for a Synchro play, and if you’re up against defensive walls such as Bohrok, this card also acts as a handy way for your low-Level monsters to overcome them. Its regular use in the Rahi deck doesn’t really involve this part all that much, but when it comes up, having a second copy in the Pendulum Zone is funny, as “even during the Damage Step” makes it so your Rahi banished for cost comes right back to get another attack in.
MKT Fish, Biting Rahi
Tuner Effect MonsterLevel 3 | DARK Fish | ATK 900 / DEF 300
If this card you control would be used as Synchro Material, you can treat it as a non-Tuner. During your opponent’s Main Phase, you can (Quick Effect): Immediately after this effect resolves, Synchro Summon using Fish, Sea Serpent, and/or Aqua monsters you control, including this card. You can only use this effect of “MKT Fish, Biting Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Protodermic Evolution (v4.7.3)
Moving on to the next expansion, BPEV gives us just one new monster with the Makuta Fish (abbreviated to MKT to avoid unwanted archetype associations) – basically the Ruki’s larger cousin that only ever appeared in written form. If that sounds like it wouldn’t bring anything new to the table, you’re mistaken, because this Tuner is Level 3, and sometimes not a Tuner, and its disruption consists of a Quick-Synchro that unlocks a whole bunch of Extra Deck options (as we’ll see in the sample deck). It also happens to be one of the few DARK Rahi, but turns out that doesn’t matter much in this particular strategy. Perhaps one last thing for the list of weird traits would be that it’s a Rahi whose effect makes no reference to the Rahi archetype, so really it’s just here to be searchable by e.g. a Shore Turtle.
Rahi from the Depths
Trap
Target any number of “Rahi” monsters you control; all monsters your opponent currently controls lose ATK/DEF equal to the total ATK of those monsters you control (until the end of this turn), then you can destroy 1 monster your opponent controls with 0 ATK or DEF. You can banish this card from your GY; Special Summon 1 Fish, Sea Serpent, or Aqua “Rahi” monster from your GY or banishment, but its ATK/DEF become 0. You can only use 1 “Rahi from the Depths” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Protodermic Evolution (v4.7.3)
The other piece of BPEV support is the archetype’s first Type-specific Trap Card, though its activation effect actually still works with all Rahi. Based on Gali’s encounter with the Great Temple Squid during the search for the Kanohi Nuva, the conceit of this card is that tentacles spring forth to restrain your opponent’s monsters, perhaps outright crushing weaker ones. That means it’s a non-targeting debuff with maybe destruction if the numbers line up right, which for most Rahi decks isn’t all that appealing in Trap form. But those Rahi that truly do hail from the Depths have the additional benefit of being able to use it for revival while it’s in the GY too, so it’s well worth playing with them at least.
The main focus in-engine are the Ruki as our main frontline disruption, as well as the Shore Turtle and Takea that get us access to it. Makika and Keras get two slots each – while we’re generally okay with searching them, the fact that they can be Special Summoned from the hand makes them potentially useful in the opening hand as well. The Ghekula has no such advantage and is thus at a single copy, which also makes the ratios line up nicely at 4 low-scale and 4 high-scale Pendulum Monsters. We also run only 1 each of Light- and Makuta Fish , relying on Shore Turtle and Takea to get them as needed.
That leaves room in the Main Deck for “fun” cards such as the semi-recent roach reincarnation Mulcharmy Purulia (it’s Aqua!) and everyone’s favourite Dimension Shifter. While it wasn’t really my intent, this ended up being perhaps the world’s first Pendulum deck that thrives under Shifter due to the fact that all the Pendulums put themselves back into rotation even if they get banished. Even funnier: You can also play fairly well under Anti-Spell Fragrance (as I noticed in one game against the stun AI), because the scales don’t care about that restriction when they place themselves via their own effects!
The Terrortop package is in here as well, on the one hand for Hikaki access, and on the other because a hard-drawn Taketomborg can Special Summon itself if you have the WIND Shore Turtle on the field. That’s a Level 2 Rahi Tuner and a Level 3 non-Tuner, which adds up to a Waikiru and therefore a straight line into the rest of your Deck.
Otherwise, the Extra Deck space is mostly spent on Synchros that can be made from our various combinations of Levels 1 through 4. Herald of the Arc Light for convenient negation and banishing, Arionpos to get a scale from certain awkward positions, Black Rose (Moonlight) and Tarakava-Nui for removal and disruption (via Makuta Fish), White Aura Whale and Trishula for the same but with more stars, and our rarely seen big boss Mana Ko . There’s also a Rahi Nui in here (because Makuta Fish is DARK), but it doesn’t serve much of a purpose.
In general, a lot of the Extra Deck options here were just experimental and didn’t end up seeing use, so you could definitely cut some names and double or triple up on others – which is why Pot of Extravagance has a comfortable spot in the side deck. Along with some other generic good cards that may come in handy.
A sample video can be found below; the way it ends may surprise you …
Rahi under the Sea
Conclusion
The three Types Fish, Sea Serpent (eventually), and Aqua together form a Rahi deck that mostly forgoes combos and big boss monsters, instead trying to outgrind the opponent with a banishing resource loop that keeps disrupting them while keeping your own cards in play and moving. The general setup you aim for is to put your disruptive Tuners like Ruki and Makuta Fish on the field while backing them up with a pair of Pendulums that trigger various offensive or defensive bonus effects as you play. And whenever you do find Synchro access, you can use the material provided by something like a Pendulum Summon to go into powerful generic Synchro monsters or our very own Waikiru (for setup) or Mana Ko (for protection and pressure).
Well, let’s kick these off. In the glorious year of 2024, the massively bloated Rahi archetype received some expert surgery to split it into a few different more reasonable sub-strategies depending on the Type of monsters involved, and as a result, all the old Theme Guides on the topic are now obsolete. That means it’s time to write up a replacement, starting with one of the largest among these Type groups: Beasts and Winged Beasts.
Now ideally I’d start with some card that exemplifies the central gimmick, but due to being kind of the default for land and sky Rahi, this combined pair of Types ended up wholly inheriting several of the mechanics that I was trying to throw all over the place with the old designs. So you’ll have to bear with me while I go over them all.
Bear, that’s a Beast-Type.
… but not one that’s getting implemented before Mask of Light, so that’s not where we’re starting. Instead, it’s time for smaller critters with our first gimmick: Level 3 Pendulum Monsters with GY and banishment effects!
[ Pendulum Effect ] Once per turn: You can pay 1000 LP; this turn, if you Pendulum Summon while this card and another “Rahi” monster are in your Pendulum Zones, you can also Pendulum Summon up to 1 Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster from your GY. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is sent to the GY: You can Special Summon 1 other Level 4 or lower EARTH monster from your GY, but negate its effects. If this card is banished: You can target 1 Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster in your GY; banish it, and if you do, draw 1 card. You can only use 1 “Ussal, Crab Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Right off the bat, you might be wondering why the hell a crab is in the Beast article. And the answer is that, on every level except physical, the Ussal is just a horse – used extensively especially by Onu-Matoran to transport cargo, as a steed, and in racing. This association with Matoran culture is what motivates its effect when sent to the GY, providing you with a free EARTH body, and the draw when banished also traces back to its digging and tunneling capabilities.
In the Beast Rahi deck itself, either of these effects can be relevant: Either you land on a combo route where both this and another EARTH Rahi hit the GY and you get to do some revival, or you just banish it at some point to get a draw, which is always nice to have (and might get you another banish trigger on the side). The Pendulum Effect is more of a rarely-used gimmick carried over from the old version, but it can serve as one pretty neat way to put a mid-sized Synchro back on the board.
[ Pendulum Effect ] You can target up to 2 “Rahi” monsters you control; destroy 1 Beast or Winged Beast Monster Card in your Pendulum Zone or face-up Extra Deck, and if you do, increase or decrease the targeted monsters’ Levels by 1. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is sent to the GY: You can add 1 Level 4 or lower Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster from your Deck to your hand, except “Mahi, Goat Rahi”. If this card is banished: You can target 1 of your banished “Rahi” cards that was not banished this turn; add it to your hand. You can only use 1 “Mahi, Goat Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Another Beast with a big role in Matoran society is the Mahi, often seen traded on Po-Koro markets. However, this one didn’t end up getting any super generic effects, and instead plays a big role in the Rahi archetype itself by searching when it goes to the GY. The banish effect to recycle something from a previous turn and the Pendulum Effect to modulate Levels are more in a “it may come up” position, but it’s worth noting that the latter is actually one way to properly get these Level 3 Pendulums into the GY by destroying them in the Extra Deck. Bit of an odd hoop to jump through, but hey, it’s funny.
[ Pendulum Effect ] You can target 1 face-up Level 4 or lower monster you control; treat it as a Tuner until the end of this turn, also banish this card. You can only use this effect of “Moa, Bird Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is sent to the GY: You can banish 1 Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster from your Deck. If this card is banished: You can target 1 of your banished “Rahi” cards, except “Moa, Bird Rahi”; place it on the bottom of your Deck. You can only use 1 “Moa, Bird Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
The Moa is kind of scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of relevance, having appeared exclusively in Quest for the Toa back in early ’01. But apparently it has a little story bit there where one kept by a Po-Matoran as a pet gets stuck behind some boulders, which is what inspired the Pendulum Effect that makes it disappear while turning any monster (such as Po-Koro ‘s Rock-Type Sculpture Tokens) into a Tuner.
More often, what you’ll be using this for in-archetype are situations where you’re able to send a monster to the GY, but what you actually need is the banish trigger of one of your Rahi – sending the Moa will let you smoothly bridge from one into the other. Putting a banished card back when it itself gets banished may also come up once in a while, but like the Mahi’s similar effect, it’s mostly a grind game bonus.
[ Pendulum Effect ] You can target 1 Spell/Trap on the field; send 1 Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster from your hand or face-up Extra Deck to the GY, and if you do, destroy that target. You can only use this effect of “Kewa, Vulture Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is sent to the GY: You can Special Summon 1 other Level 4 or lower WIND monster from your GY, but negate its effects. If this card is banished: You can add 1 Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster from your GY or face-up Extra Deck to your hand, except “Kewa, Vulture Rahi”. You can only use 1 “Kewa, Vulture Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Wait a second, this one’s Level 4? Indeed it is, due to a historic mixup between the sizes of the Taku (listed below with the Level 4s) and Kewa. Swapping only the Levels to correct that might actually be useful, because it means that the increments in which you get stars on the field are a bit less strictly tied to the categories of effects you’re using in your combo, thus opening up more freedom for Synchro plays. Or something like that.
Anyway, the Kewa is pretty much the aerial variant of the Ussal when it comes to domestication, so it has the same GY effect just swapped to WIND. Its general usage is also similar, either giving you an additional body in a combo that gets WINDs into the GY or filling up your hand in one that doesn’t. The Pendulum Effect is nice anti-floodgate utility that once again provides a way to send Pendulums to the GY, and you can even use it for that purpose alone going first since it is able to pop itself.
[ Pendulum Effect ] If your Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster battles an opponent’s monster, before damage calculation: You can destroy this card, and if you do, make that opponent’s monster’s ATK 0, until the end of this turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is sent to the GY: You can send 1 Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster from your hand to the GY, and if you do, draw 1 card. If this card is banished: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower “Rahi” monster from your hand. You can only use 1 “Brakas, Monkey Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
As the blurry image suggests, this one’s also from Quest for the Toa, but has a slightly bigger claim to relevance solely on account of the fact that Matau ‘s staff is formally named after the “kau kau” sound they make. And since Matau’s thing is Special Summoning from hand, both the GY and banishment effects on this one interact with the hand – it’s a bit like a hand version of the Ussal, now that I think about it, and used in a similar way in those situations where the stuff you need is stuck up there instead of the GY.
The Pendulum Effect setting a monster’s ATK to 0 is also a Matau reference, and can be handy to OTK once you get your board built up.
[ Pendulum Effect ] Once per turn, at the end of the Damage Step, if your Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster battled: You can inflict 600 damage to your opponent. Each time your opponent activates a card or effect that targets a Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster you control, inflict 200 damage to them immediately after it resolves. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is sent to the GY: You can target 1 “Rahi” monster you control and 1 card your opponent controls; destroy them. If this card is banished: You can banish the top card of your Deck; add 1 of your banished Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” Pendulum Monsters to your Extra Deck face-up. You can only use 1 “Infernavika, Lava Bird Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Beware the Swarm (v4.7.3)
This one comes from the second support wave in BBTS, and other than expanding the Attribute wheel as a FIRE Winged Beast (at the cost of Kewa/Ussal synergy), it brings to the mix an offensive type of GY effect and a more direct way to recycle banished stuff – with a bit of a gamble included. Its lore of being protected by the unbearable heat of the lava streams among which it lives is entirely represented by the Pendulum Effect, burning the opponent whenever they attempt to touch your (Winged) Beasts.
[ Pendulum Effect ] You can target 1 Level 4 or lower Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster you control; return both it and this card to the hand, then Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower “Rahi” monster from your hand in Defense Position. You can only use this effect of “Hapaka, Shepherd Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If a Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster(s) you control would be destroyed by battle or card effect, you can banish this card from your hand, Monster Zone, or GY instead. If this card is banished: You can return 1 of your banished “Rahi” monsters to your GY, except “Hapaka, Shepherd Rahi”. You can only use each effect of “Hapaka, Shepherd Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Beware the Swarm (v4.7.3)
The second BBTS support card introduces WATER to the lineup of small Beast Rahi, and also works slightly differently in terms of its effects. The “GY effect” is actually a passive destruction replacement (that also works in hand and field), in the sense of guarding its fellow Rahi. And if it’s banished – including by that replacement effect – it offers another form of banishment recycling by returning a banished monster to the GY, in the sense of returning it to the herd.
Its Pendulum Effect is kind of a fancy hybrid between Special Summoning from hand, Special Summoning itself, or re-summoning something you already control because it got negated or whatever. It’s pretty flexible, which is always fun.
In general, these are cards with many different types of generally single-action utility that you can access by finding a way to get them into the GY and/or banished – not all that trivial when they’re Pendulums. One major limiting factor is the shared HOPT that makes it so you can’t just send, then banish and get both effects, so you have to make the decision which mode matters more to your current line of play. You can, however, use the Pendulum Effects and one of the triggers in the same turn, so those are additional pieces of (fairly minor) utility that can come up once in a while.
Now before we proceed to larger Beasts, we take a slight step off-Type to look at the Rank 3 Dragon Rahi that serves as one pretty good means of making these Pendulum Monsters actually hit the grave.
2+ Level 3 monsters If this card is Xyz Summoned: You can detach 1 material from this card; add 1 “Rahi” monster from your Deck to your hand. If a “Rahi” monster(s) is sent to your GY (except during the Damage Step): You can detach 1 material from this card, then target 1 face-up card on the field; destroy it. You can only use each effect of “Hikaki, Dragon Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
The Hikaki is support for all kinds of Rahi decks and tends to act as an Extra Deck starter accessible via generic R3 engines, but in the Beast strategy that brings plenty of its own Level 3s, it can actually provide additional services. If you overlay 2 of the above small Pendulums into this, not only do you get the search, but detaching for it also triggers their “sent to GY” effects. Simultaneously, since a “Rahi” monster(s) was sent to the GY, the Hikaki’s own second effect will trigger here, letting you detach again to destroy a card – great going second, but even going first you can just have it pop itself since its job is done. So in total, if you go e.g. Mahi + Ussal into Hikaki, you can detach the Mahi and then the Ussal to get an additional search and bring the Mahi back to the field. And there are many more possibilities when using other combinations of materials.
And for our next category, we have the Level 4s, who have two separate gimmicks: If used as Synchro Material, they grant an effect to the monster that used them, and also to any further Rahi Synchro made by using that monster (but this only goes one layer deep). And most of them have a way to Special Summon themselves from the Pendulum Zone to the field, thus making it easier to use them as material in the first place.
[ Pendulum Effect ] During your Main Phase: You can destroy 1 other Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” Monster Card in your hand or face-up field, and if you do, Special Summon this card. You can only use this effect of “Fusa, Kangaroo Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] A Synchro Monster Summoned using this card as material gains these effects. ● Once per turn, at the end of the Damage Step, if this card attacked an opponent’s monster: You can activate this effect; this card can attack again in a row. ● A “Rahi” Synchro Monster Summoned using this card as material gains the above effect.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
This ‘roo among Rahi makes the jump from back to front row by kicking the shit out of another Rahi monster in your hand or field – including the Spell & Trap Zones. But the most interesting is actually the hand option, since that lets you destroy the Level 3 Pendulums in a way that makes them go to the GY, thereby giving you a trigger on top of the Fusa’s own summon.
A Synchro monster that uses it as material inherits its combatative nature, gaining the ability to hit again after it battles a monster (much like a baby Fusa jumping out of its mother’s pouch to join the fight, if we ignore the absence of biological reproduction for a moment). So this is something that helps you clear boards and maybe secure lethal damage on turn 2 and beyond.
[ Pendulum Effect ] If a “Rahi” card is activated in your other Pendulum Zone: You can target 1 Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” Pendulum Monster in your GY or banishment; add this card to your Extra Deck face-up, then place the targeted monster in your Pendulum Zone. You can only use this effect of “Husi, Ostrich Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] A Synchro Monster Summoned using this card as material gains these effects. ● If it is Synchro Summoned: You can place 1 “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your GY or face-up Extra Deck in your Pendulum Zone. ● A “Rahi” Synchro Monster Summoned using this card as material gains the above effect.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Second tab and we’re already abandoning the premise of self-summoning from the Pendulum Zone. Instead, the Husi swaps itself out for a different scale when another Rahi appears, which is actually based on a tiny lore tidbit about them being placed in Metru Nui’s archives for protection from Muaka. In terms of utility, it’s kinda just a nice-to-have recycling option.
The granted effect is similarly unusual in that it triggers on Summon, and also consist of placing a scale. Since this isn’t once per turn, you can in fact use the two-stage inheritance to set up both of your Pendulum Zones over the course of a Synchro climb!
[ Pendulum Effect ] If you control no monsters: You can Special Summon this card, and if you do, add 1 Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Deck to your Extra Deck face-up, except “Taku, Duck Rahi”. You can only use this effect of “Taku, Duck Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] A Synchro Monster Summoned using this card as material gains these effects. ● Once per turn, when a card or effect is activated (Quick Effect): You can shuffle 1 face-up “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Extra Deck into the Deck; negate the activation. ● A “Rahi” Synchro Monster Summoned using this card as material gains the above effect.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
The Taku is the Kewa’s partner in Level mixup, delivering you the Level 4 effect lineup on a Level 3 body, and its particular take on these effects makes it one of the more essential combo pieces in the deck. The Summon has a somewhat limiting requirement of needing to control no monsters, so you’ll only be using that part if you actually get to it early, but if that does happen, it even gives you some Extra Deck setup for your trouble.
However, you generally should be trying to get this card on the field at some point of the combo even if you don’t manage to start with it, because the effect it grants to Synchros is just a negate. A non-destroying one with an archetypal cost attached, but still a negate. Like all these bonus effects, you can also stack it to get multiple activations, so I really might have gone a bit to far with this one – could see it getting something like a limitation to your own turn in a future update.
[ Pendulum Effect ] During your Main Phase: You can destroy 1 “Rahi” monster you control, and if you do, Special Summon this card. You can only use this effect of “Vako, Rhino Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can send 1 Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster from your Deck or face-up Extra Deck to the GY. You can only use this effect of “Vako, Rhino Rahi” once per turn. A Synchro Monster Summoned using this card as material gains these effects. ● If it battles, your opponent cannot activate cards or effects until the end of the Damage Step. ● A “Rahi” Synchro Monster Summoned using this card as material gains the above effect.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
The Vako is comparatively expensive to Special Summon since it needs to destroy a monster already on the field (it violently charges forward from the backrow since it’s a rhino, that’s the joke here). To compensate for that, it actually does something when Summoned by dumping a Rahi in your GY, giving you yet another way to access those elusive Pendulum GY effects. And since this also triggers on Normal Summon, it doubles as a regular old starter that gets things rolling without prior setup.
As a material, its bonus is a fairly simple lock on the opponent’s effects during the Damage Step, to avoid any nasty surprises when going for game. It’s not much, but given the presence of an on-Summon effect, it also doesn’t really need to be much, right?
The second bullet point on all of these monsters implies the existence of “Rahi” Synchro Monsters, and indeed quite a few of them belong to the Beast and Winged Beast Types. Those, along with more generic options, are the main things our combo lines go through and into.
1 Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters If this Synchro Summoned card would be used as Synchro Material for a “Rahi” monster, 1 face-up Beast or Winged Beast Pendulum Monster in your Extra Deck (and no other monsters) can be used as the other material. If you do this, you can treat this card as any Level from 1 to 5 for that Synchro Summon. If you control no monsters and this card is in your GY: You can target 1 of your banished monsters; shuffle it into the Deck, and if you do, Special Summon this card. You can only Special Summon “Dikapi, Ostrich Rahi(s)” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
The Dikapi is firmly in the “through” camp in that regard. Running through the desert with incredible endurance, this speedy birb is also used as a mount by the scouts of Po-Koro’s guard unit, which means it’s another example of a domesticated Rahi. On Synchro Monsters, that translates to a simple special trait: Generic materials, allowing it to also be used in a regular old Po-Koro deck!
But how is it used in its own native strategy? Well, you make it usually as your first Synchro Summon to serve one or more of a few different purposes. One is that it lets you efficiently climb to higher-Level Synchros by reusing the Pendulum Monster that went to the Extra Deck as material. Another that it smoothens out mismatched Levels by letting you ignore any number of its stars when using it that way. Yet another is “passively” sending a Pendulum Monster from the Extra Deck to the GY by using it as material, letting you trigger a GY effect. And finally, it secures you some followup for later, since it can leverage its great endurance to return to the field as long as you have some banished monsters.
1 Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters If this card is Special Summoned: You can send 1 Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster from your Deck to the GY. If this Synchro Summoned card is sent from the field to the GY: You can target 1 Level 4 or lower “Rahi” monster in your GY; Special Summon it. You can only use each effect of “Gukko-Kahu, Hawk Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
The Gukko-Kahu is the largest of the birds used by Le-Koro’s aerial forces, hence its generic materials. It functions as a combo extender based in the Extra Deck by milling a Beast or Winged Beast Rahi of your choice and then reviving it – or more generally low-Level Rahi of any Type – when you further use it as material. This one is actually kind of legitimately worth using in Le-Koro since it can both send and revive the Kewa , which in turn will also bring back something like a Le-Matoran.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters Once per turn, if a monster(s) is Special Summoned to your opponent’s field (except during the Damage Step): You can target 1 of those monsters; either destroy it or negate its effects. Once per turn, during the End Phase, if this card is in the GY because this Synchro Summoned card was sent there from the field this turn: You can add 1 Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster from your GY or face-up Extra Deck to your hand.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
The artist formerly known as Mukau (I will never forgive Greg Bob) functions as a mid-Level defensive boss monster for our strategy, providing a reactive negation or destruction option for the endboard. Generally the main in-archetype thing you try to make going first is this with a Taku Inside™, ideally even in multiples since everything involved is soft once per turn. A herd of cows, how quaint!
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters Gains 300 ATK for each other “Rahi” card you control. If this card battles an opponent’s monster, at the start of the Damage Step: You can activate this effect; change that opponent’s monster to Attack Position, also negate its effects until the end of this turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
For now the biggest thing in our arsenal, the Kuma-Nui acts as a board breaker and OTK enabler, with a fairly simple effect focused on disabling all defenses to deal solid damage – you can pretty much imagine it as the big rat thing grabbing the opponent’s monsters with its claws and forcing it to Attack Position before biting its head off.
It’s also meant to specifically synergize with the two battle-focused effects that are granted by the Level 4s: Make this with both Fusa and Vako , and you get a 3k+ beater with multiple attacks guaranteed to hit into Attack Position monsters, while your opponent can’t even attempt to activate anything during the Damage Step. It’s not exactly mahjong, but when it works it works.
Those of you who are One With The Speed and well-versed in the arts of Synchro Summoning may already have noticed there’s something crucial missing from this whole equation: Where the hell are the Tuners? Specifically, the “Rahi” Tuners that some of these monsters require? Well, as far as the initial BCOR wave is concerned they’re … not in the Beast or Winged Beast Types, and instead you’d be forced to substitute them with generic Insect Rahi, such as the Fikou.
If this card is in your hand or GY: You can target 1 Level 2 or higher “Rahi” monster you control; reduce that target’s Level by 1, and if you do, banish this card, then Special Summon 1 “Fikou, Spider Rahi” from your hand or Deck. You can only use this effect of “Fikou, Spider Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
The major downside here is obviously that this means the Tuners you need to obtain any Synchro access can’t be found by most of your searchers, and you need to rely on more limited options like the Hikaki to get that whole part of the Deck going. Conveniently, both BBTS and BPEV resolve this issue by suppyling proper Beast and Winged Beast Tuners as legacy support.
If a Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster(s) is Normal or Special Summoned to your field (except during the Damage Step): You can Special Summon this card from your hand, then, immediately after this effect resolves, Synchro Summon 1 “Rahi” Synchro Monster using monsters you control. You can only use this effect of “Pokawi, Flightless Bird Rahi” once per turn. During the Battle Phase (Quick Effect): You can banish this card from your GY; all monsters your opponent currently controls lose 500 ATK for each of your banished “Rahi” monsters, until the end of this turn.
Bionicle: Beware the Swarm (v4.7.3)
This cute little thing was actually created for the nefarious purpose of playing under Nibiru, as Special Summoning it and then immediately going into a Synchro on the same chain link gets you a Taku negate precisely at 5 summons in some of the lines I wrote out in planning. Apart from that, it’s a Tuner you can easily search and bring out, with some bonus battle utility based on the small birds’ strategy of scattering to confuse the enemy – a lot of potential in this small package.
If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can target 1 Level 4 or lower Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster in your GY; Special Summon it, but negate its effects, also if your opponent controls a monster with 2000 or more ATK, you can banish 1 card from either GY. You can only use this effect of “Mata Nui Fishing Bird, Swooping Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Beware the Swarm (v4.7.3)
The Mata Nui Fishing Bird goes a different route from Tuners like the Insects that Special Summon themselves, instead demanding that you find a way to Summon it* and then bringing back another monster to provide material. As it’s known to harass large predators with its swooping strikes, this also comes with bonus GY banish if your opponent has something big on the field.
* For example, it’s a pretty good thing to search with Muaka and then Special Summon with Kane-Ra .
Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can reduce the Levels of all other monsters currently on the field by 1, also they lose 500 ATK. At the start of the Damage Step, if your “Rahi” monster battles an opponent’s monster: You can banish this card from the GY; destroy that opponent’s monster. You can only use this effect of “Lava Rat, Blazing Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Protodermic Evolution (v4.7.3)
The latest addition to the Tuner lineup is the first ever Beast to be included. The Lava Rat’s lore relevance is limited to appearances in the realm of metaphor, and similarly you might not necessarily put it in the Deck because it crucially lacks a way to Special Summon itself or something else. What it does do is turn up the heat on the field so all the Levels and stats go down, which can be used either to modulate for your Synchro Summons or to get in your opponent’s way, since it’s a Quick Effect. Or in the GY, it can grant another monster its defensive ability of self-immolation, destroying whatever tries to battle it. And it is technically a Rekindling target. So you know, some of that might be useful.
Effects aside, I’d also like to say something about the art: It depicts the tale of the Takea and the Lava Rat, where one of these little critters rides a shark across a river and everyone has a bad time. No Lava Rat set or combiner was ever released, so the build you see here is an original by yours truly. I enjoy how it looks a bit like a nerd.
And that concludes our bestiary. For further strategic considerations, let’s look at a …
The simple philosophy behind this one is “we’re testing the Rahi Beasts, so better throw all of them in”. With the exception of the trifecta of fetching stuff from the Deck in various ways – the Muaka , the Vako , and the Taku – everything is represented by only a single copy, to be accessed as required through our searchers. The Terrortop engine enables the Hikaki line for another search opportunity, and since the Speedroids are WIND, they can also be convenient targets for the Kewa revive. For Tuners, the three native ones are actually among the one-copy squad due to their searchability, while a trio of Fikou hopes to let us randomly draw into that extra bit of extension and Level modulation.
Aside from the Synchros covered above, the Extra Deck also contains I:P/S:P and Beyond/Exceed lines on the Link side, as well as a Naturia Beast that can be made by tuning any of our numerous EARTH Rahi with Fikou or Pokawi as appropriate (careful: the latter only makes Rahi when you use its effect to Synchro!). Another interesting inclusion is the small package of Subterranean Worm and Rahi Nui , which is a way to cheat out any of the boss monsters in case we’re sitting on a bunch of material but the Levels won’t line up.
Finally, for this build’s side deck I tried playing all the different Level 1 Insect Tuners (that also act as handtraps), to swap in for e.g. the Fikou depending on the matchup. I’m sure there’s better things you could do, though.
A sample video from one of the earliest test sessions (and thus an older version) may help illustrate the playstyle.
Conclusion
The Rahi variant consisting of Beasts and Winged Beasts is one of the largest and most combo-oriented, aiming to make a board of disruptions and beaters while cycling through a variety of utility effects they can access thanks to numerous searchers. They lean very heavily into the Rahi gimmick of moving cards around all locations from back row to front row to Extra Deck to GY to banishment, and also have a bit of a build-your-own boss thing going with their Level 4 Pendulums that grant Synchros additional effects. A lot happening in here, but that’s to be expected when there are so many monsters.
Usually, a release covers 6, 7, maybe 8 new cards and a few odd updates. Not so this time. This one is already above average from having 10 wholly new creations, and then completely leaves the realm of sanity by updating no less than 55 previously existing cards – the entire Rahi archetype, with no exceptions.
This is … a lot to get through for design notes, so for this article I’ll only give a brief summary of the underlying strategies and mostly focus on what changed from the old version and why. A more detailed explanation of how the various decks are meant to be played will follow in Theme Guides soon™.
Also, general disclaimer: Since I didn’t actually get more time to work on this behemoth of a release than usual (except the coincidental summer benefit of vacation time), testing was a good bit less rigorous than normal. If you see some issue I missed, do leave a comment so I have a chance to fix it eventually!
Structure
As mostly established in our long-running series of Rahi articles, the key to taming the sheer variety of wildlife that inhabits the Matoran Universe is splitting it up by Type (and sometimes other traits), connected by their shared name and Pendulum/Synchro focus. Doing so resulted in five decks on which my design and testing were focused:
Beasts + Winged Beasts
Fish + Sea Serpent + Aqua
Insects
Reptiles
Place of Shadow (Rahi Nui)
Another interesting division here is the multiple expansions spanned by the update – Challenge of the Rahi (BCOR), Beware the Swarm (BBTS), and now with the new additions also Protodermic Evolution (BPEV). While this update affects them all at once, their original releases are far apart, creating something much like the staggered support waves of real-life archetypes. I tried to respect this in the update process by making sure each strategy – except the Rahi Nui one that is only enabled by BPEV releases – already had a functioning gameplan with the initial BCOR wave, and anything further just added options or patched weaknesses.
Finally, there are some fresh standalone non-Rahi cards snuck in here, just because I felt they fit best in BCOR and I might as well add them when I’m already doing stuff there. Actually, let’s start with those, as a digestible appetizer before heading into the pile.
Free Agents
Red Star of Prophecies
Spell
Banish 1 Spell/Trap from your hand, Deck, or GY. When a card, or the effect of a card, with the same name as a card in your banishment that was banished by “Red Star of Prophecies” resolves while this card is in your GY, negate that effect, then shuffle this card into the Deck. You can only use this effect of “Red Star of Prophecies” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
The idea is simple: You banish a Spell/Trap, and when either player uses it (as per your prophecy) this card turns into a negate – mandatory even, so no triggering Swordsoul or Kashtira cards with this. Now why would you ever play this when Crossout Designator does it all and more without the foresight required? Good question – maybe it’s helpful in some archetype that can easily recover banished cards, or you just want to have fun with the fact that the second Red Star you get in the GY is still a negate for the thing the first one banished (that’ll catch them off guard).
But perhaps the real use case for this card still lies in the distant future. Consider it a … prophecy.
(Quick Effect): You can target 1 monster with 2000 or more ATK your opponent controls; Special Summon this card from your hand, and if you do, it gains ATK/DEF equal to that monster’s ATK/DEF, also its Attribute becomes the same as that monster’s. You can only use this effect of “Shadow Toa” once per turn. If this card battles a monster, neither can be destroyed by that battle. Unaffected by the activated effects of monsters with the same Attribute.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Just so the new Illusion Type doesn’t feel left out of the expansion, here it is applied to a little plot element that I skipped over the first time around. The novel-only shadow versions of the Toa Mata are all represented by this single card that summons itself from the hand by copying a high-ATK monster (e.g. a Toa Mata) and is then very hard to remove for monsters of that particular Attribute.
This reflects the “switch opponents” method by which they were defeated in the original novel, rather than the story bible’s “absorb your darkness” method that was later retconned over it. Mainly because the former goes better with the standard Illusion battle protection effects, and doesn’t require me to condense an entire character arc of self-acceptance into a single card text.
Now on to the meat, or more accurately biomechanical tissue-stuff that makes up the true stars of this update.
General Rahi Spells/Traps
Due to our method of division being monster Types, the Spell/Trap cards that fundamentally do not have those are one of the best vehicles for providing generic support to all the different decks. That purpose is served by a lineup of cards from the first expansion BCOR, ranging from essential to gimmicky and listed here in more or less that order.
If your opponent controls a monster and you control no monsters: Add 2 “Rahi” monsters with the same Type, but different names, from your Deck to your hand. For the rest of this turn, your opponent takes no damage. You can banish this card from your GY; Special Summon 1 “Rahi” monster from your GY, but it cannot attack, also it is destroyed during the End Phase. You can only use 1 “Rahi Swarm” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
4.7.3
Rahi Swarm
Spell
Add up to 2 “Rahi” monsters with the same Type from your Deck to your hand, then, if you added 2 monsters including an Effect Monster, banish 1 card from your hand, face-down. You can banish this card from your GY, then target 1 face-up Monster Card you control; Special Summon 1 “Rahi” monster with the same Type and an equal or lower Level from your GY. You can only use 1 “Rahi Swarm” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Your main search card with followup revival in the GY. That was the concept of the old version as well, but the new version frees it from the shackles of its activation condition, allowing it to be applied freely in one of three use cases:
Search 2 “Rahi” Normal Monsters with the same Type.
Search any 2 “Rahi” monsters with the same Type, but say goodbye to a card in your hand.
Mostly you’ll be doing 1. and 2., the latter of which is meant specifically for the pairs of high-Level Normal Pendulums that would be uncomfortably bricky if you always had to find them separately. 3. is something you don’t want to use if you can help it, but could be necessary at times.
Later on, or if it was sent to the GY directly without activating it first, the card allows you to literally “swarm” the field with an additional monster from your GY. This, too, was freed from some restrictions and instead put under new ones that fit into the overall Type-matching theme.
During the End Phase of the turn this card was activated, draw 1 card for each “Rahi” card banished to activate its own effect this turn. If you have 2 or less cards in your hand and this card is in your GY: You can shuffle this card and 1 of your banished “Rahi” cards into the Deck, then draw 1 card. You can only use 1 “The Ussalry Arrives” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
4.7.3
The Ussalry Arrives
Quick-Play Spell
(This card is always treated as a “Rahi” and “Matoran” card.) Target 1 face-up monster you control; Special Summon 1 “Rahi” Pendulum Monster Card with the same Type or Attribute from your Pendulum Zone, GY, or face-up Extra Deck, but banish it during the End Phase. During your Main Phase: You can shuffle this card and 1 of your banished “Rahi” cards into the Deck, then draw 1 card. You can only use 1 “The Ussalry Arrives” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
This one changed quite drastically compared to its original incarnation, from a Super Rejuvenation clone to a more literal interpretation of reinforcements from behind the frontlines. It also gained an archetype clause marrying it into both Rahi and Matoran, and indeed the activation condition of matching either Type or Attribute allows it to be used with both. Not sure if you would, but you technically can.
In contrast, the GY effect stayed the same because I already liked the way it worked. Only thing is that it has been freed of its near-empty hand condition; you already need banishment setup to make it work at all, so it’s not exactly at risk of powercreeping Metalfoes Fusion (a card from nearly a decade ago, I might add).
Once per turn, when your opponent Normal or Special Summons a Level 4 or lower monster(s): You can change 1 of those monsters to face-down Defense Position. During your End Phase, if you do not control a Level 5 or higher “Rahi” monster: Destroy this card. If a Level 5 or higher “Rahi” monster you control would be destroyed, you can banish this card from your GY instead.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
4.7.3
Siege of the Rahi
Continuous Spell
If a “Rahi” monster(s) is Normal or Special Summoned to your field, except during the Damage Step: You can activate 1 of these effects, based on the Level of that monster(s) on the field; ●4 or lower: Draw 1 card. ●5 or higher: Change 1 face-up monster on the field to face-down Defense Position. If a Level 5 or higher “Rahi” monster you control would be destroyed by battle or card effect, you can banish this card from your field or GY instead. You can only use each effect of “Siege of the Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
In positive news, the weird floodgate of the Rahi archetype has been reconfigured to keep the same theming while supporting a more interactive playstyle. Specifically, it rewards you for summoning Rahi during both your and your opponent’s turn, with the small ones getting you ahead in advantage and the big ones doing the traditonal Siege job of locking down the opponent’s monsters. Do note that both of those bullet point effects can be used in the same turn.
The only change to the GY effect, meanwhile, was to also make it work on the field – having a way to get a continuous card out of the backrow might not be a bad idea in a Pendulum deck, I figured.
Destroy any number of other “Rahi” cards you control, and if you do, destroy the same number of cards your opponent controls. You can banish this card and 1 “Rahi” monster from your GY, then target 1 card on the field; banish it. You can only use 1 “Devastation of the Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
4.7.3
Devastation of the Rahi
Spell
Destroy any number of other “Rahi” cards you control, and if you do, send the same number of cards your opponent controls to the GY. You can banish this card and 1 “Rahi” monster from your GY, then target 1 card on the field; destroy it, or if you control a “Rahi” Synchro Monster, you can banish it instead. You can only use 1 “Devastation of the Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Getting into the more gimmick territory now, we have an offensive Spell trading your Rahi for the opponent’s cards, based on the battle that once upon a time burned down the Charred Forest. A serious modern approach to this Type of effect would be a Quick-Play like Fire King Sky Burn, but since it didn’t feel right to copy that, I kept it as a Normal Spell and instead ramped up the impact to make it non-targeting, non-destruction removal.
Even with that, I’ve found myself mainly using it for the GY effect – a cheaper, more convenient piece of standard spot removal with a slight upgrade for controlling a Rahi Synchro.
When your opponent Summons a monster(s), except during the Damage Step: Special Summon 1 “Rahi” monster whose Level is less than or equal to the highest Level among those monsters from your hand or Deck. Cards and effects cannot be activated in response to this Summon. You can only activate 1 “Encounter in the Drifts” per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
4.7.3
Encounter in the Drifts
Counter Trap
(This card is always treated as a “Rahi” card.) When a monster your opponent controls activates its effect, except during the Damage Step: Special Summon 1 “Rahi” monster from your hand, Deck, or GY, then destroy that opponent’s monster if your monster’s ATK is higher. You can banish this card from your GY, then target 1 “Rahi” monster you control; banish it until the End Phase. You can only use each effect of “Encounter in the Drifts” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Our Counter Trap (now properly integrated into the archetype) depicts a Rahi ambush in the snowy wastes , and so it basically lobs wildlife of your choice onto the field when an opponent’s monster dares to move, with lethal consequences provided it’s also sufficiently big. Note the change in condition from the previous on-Summon trigger – turns out that’s not something that usually goes on Counter Traps, those negate Summons instead of responding after they happened. Chaining to an effect activation though? Perfectly legitimate even if we don’t try to negate it!
A cute detail of the theming here was always that this card bypasses the debilitating effects of the Drifts Field Spell linked above. Originally it did so by shutting off all responses to the Summon, but the fact that this also killed your own on-summon effects didn’t sit right with me, so instead I gave it a GY effect to “dodge” whatever misfortune may befall your monster, as if vanishing into the snowstorm. You can imagine this has a lot of neat side utility outside the very unlikely use case it’s secretly made for.
If your opponent controls 2 or more monsters with 2000 or more ATK and you control no monsters with 2000 or more ATK: Take control of the monster your opponent controls with the highest original ATK (your choice, if tied). During your opponent’s Main Phase (Quick Effect): You can banish this card from your GY, then target 1 Level 4 or lower monster your opponent controls that was Summoned this turn; take control of it until the End Phase. You can only use this effect of “Rahi Hive Showdown” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
4.7.3
Rahi Hive Showdown
Spell
If your opponent controls 2 or more monsters with 2000 or more ATK: Take control of the monster your opponent controls with the highest original ATK (your choice, if tied), but it cannot activate its effects while you control it. If you control a “Rahi” Synchro Monster: You can banish this card from your GY, then target 1 monster your opponent controls; take control of it until the End Phase, but it cannot declare an attack. You can only use 1 “Rahi Hive Showdown” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Here we have better Change of Heart … with extra conditions that make its activation effect fairly unusable. I actually dared to get rid of one half of those conditions in the update, so hopefully that didn’t accidentally make it good enough to run generically, seeing how it doesn’t require any Rahi on that end.
Much like Devastation earlier, this one is much easier to use from the GY. While that’s no longer a Quick Effect (because you aren’t supposed to put those on Spell Cards), it now works on anything and can be used during your own turn; just need to control a Synchro to make it work (Spoiler: There’s a real convenient one in the Insects).
Once per turn, before damage calculation, when a “Rahi” monster you control battles an opponent’s monster: You can place 1 Comet Counter on that opponent’s monster, and if you do, it cannot be destroyed by this battle. During the End Phase: Take control of all monsters with Comet Counters your opponent controls. If this face-up card leaves the field: Remove all Comet Counters on the field and inflict 400 damage to your opponent for each, then return control of all face-up monsters on the field to the owner.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
4.7.3
Infection of the Rahi
Continuous Trap
You can only control 1 “Infection of the Rahi”. Each time a monster your opponent controls activates its effect while you control a “Rahi” Monster Card, place 1 Comet Counter on that opponent’s monster (max. 1) after that effect resolves. Monsters with a Comet Counter cannot attack, also each time 1 leaves the field, inflict 400 damage to its owner. During your Battle Phase or your opponent’s Main Phase: You can banish this card from your GY or your face-up Spell & Trap Zone; take control of all monsters your opponent controls with a Comet Counter, until the end of this turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
And this last one is and has always been all gimmick and no utility. It just spreads an “infection” in the form of Counters to your opponent’s monsters, which leads to some inconvenient symptoms and allows you to wololo everything affected at some point.
The specifics of this changed pretty fundamentally, as you can see. Instead of having to battle with your Rahi, you just need to have one hanging around somewhere while your opponent activates monster effects, which is arguably more accurate to how the infection in Po-Koro went down (and even sort of aligns with what Ahkmou does!). Instead of having burn as an outbound “fuck you” if it gets removed, that’s now a proper part of the symptoms and happens when the affected monsters leave (e.g. by being used as material). And instead of needing to wait until the End Phase for the infection to fully take hold, it’s now a one-time move you can fire at a convenient timing. Do note that all the drawbacks associated with the Counters are provided by a continuous effect on the Trap itself, so once you banish to steal, you’re free to do whatever you want with the monsters – but so is your opponent once they get them back.
Insect Rahi
Insects crawl all over the place and into every deck – in other words, they’re the monster side of the shared glue that powers different Rahi variations. Coming right off the Spells and Traps, nothing exemplifies this better than one very important Insect Synchro Monster.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters Once per turn: You can target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; excavate cards from the top of your Deck until you excavate a “Rahi” monster, then, if that monster’s ATK is higher than the target’s, send all excavated cards to the GY and take control of the target until the End Phase. Otherwise, Special Summon that monster and shuffle the remaining cards into the Deck.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters If this card is Special Summoned: You can take 1 “Rahi” Spell/Trap from your Deck, and either add it to your hand or send it to the GY. During the Main Phase (Quick Effect): You can Tribute 1 monster; Special Summon 1 Level 2 or lower “Rahi” Tuner from your hand or GY, but negate its effects. You can only use each effect of “Nui-Kopen, Wasp Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Where the Nui-Kopen was originally just a funny excavation thing (I recall I was pretty into that mechanic at the time I made it) with chances of stealing and opponent’s monster or getting a free Rahi, it has now obtained a new identity as a universally useful searcher for all the Spells and Traps we just went over. It can even send them straight to the GY, so you get free choice which of the two effects on each you’d like to have available – including the Synchro boosts for Devastation and Showdown, because this is, in fact, a Synchro!
Actually, let’s take a closer look at that Rahi Hive Showdown use case. The thing that guided the original design of the Nui-Kopen was its role in putting Lewa under the control of an infected mask, and through that Spell which depicts the same event, this flavoring remains indirectly intact: Simply send the Showdown and steal a monster of your choice. Here’s where the Nui-Kopen’s second effect becomes relevant, the idea being that you Tribute away the stolen monster so your opponent won’t get it back in the End Phase, and you get a Tuner to the field. Incidentally, it’s also a good way to dodge targeted negation, which is very appreciated on such a load-bearing enabler for the entire Rahi archetype.
The other things Insects help with is making Synchros in the first place, namely by supplying some nice splashable Tuner monsters.
You can banish this card from your GY, then target 1 Level 3 or higher “Rahi” monster you control; reduce that target’s Level by 1, then Special Summon 1 “Fikou, Spider Rahi” from your hand or Deck. You can only use this effect of “Fikou, Spider Rahi” once per turn.
If this card is in your hand or GY: You can target 1 Level 2 or higher “Rahi” monster you control; reduce that target’s Level by 1, and if you do, banish this card, then Special Summon 1 “Fikou, Spider Rahi” from your hand or Deck. You can only use this effect of “Fikou, Spider Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
The historic precedent here is the Fikou, which remained unchanged in principle, only receiving some convenience updates. But it is now joined by a few other Level 1 Insect Tuners, adapted from what used to be Level 2 handtraps.
(Quick Effect): You can banish this card from your hand or field and 1 “Rahi” monster from your GY, then target 1 Spell/Trap your opponent controls; banish that target. Your opponent cannot activate the targeted card in response to this effect’s activation. You can only use this effect of “Hoto, Firebug Rahi” once per turn.
If this card is in your hand (Quick Effect): You can banish 1 “Rahi” monster from your GY or face-up Extra Deck; Special Summon this card, and if you do, you can destroy 1 Spell/Trap your opponent controls. You can only use this effect of “Hoto, Firebug Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Let’s look at this via the example of the Hoto. The cost of banishing a spent Rahi remains the same, but extended with the face-up Extra Deck to account for our monsters’ Pendulum nature. The Spell/Trap removal that was previously the main point of the card has been slimmed down and converted into an optional bonus after you Special Summon, meaning it’s now an easily accessible Tuner with upsides going second. A similar conversion has been applied to the Cliff Bug and Electric Bug, making for a quartet of Level 1 Rahi Tuners with different Attributes – very aesthetically pleasing. Though with the Electric Bug (formerly Lightning Bug) in particular, I’m not completely sure of the balancing – a non-targeting negate is a deceptively powerful thing that can even take down boss monsters, rather than just acting as the well-placed disruption it’s meant to be. There’s a chance some future version will amend a restriction to that if I think of one (suggestions welcome!).
Fikou-Nui, Tarantula Rahi
Link Effect MonsterLink-1 [↗] | EARTH Insect | ATK 1000
1 Level 2 or lower “Rahi” monster If this card is Link Summoned: You can target 1 “Rahi” monster in your GY or banishment; add it to your hand, then place 1 card from your hand on the bottom of the Deck. You can only use this effect of “Fikou-Nui, Tarantula Rahi” once per turn. You can Tribute this card; Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower “Rahi” monster from your hand or GY, and if you do, you can increase or decrease its Level by 1.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Now for a new card that builds on the Fikou’s Level manipulation gimmick while bridging some gaps in the size-based assignments of Levels to our Rahi. The recently unearthed Legend of Mata Nui mini-boss Fikou-Nui arrives as a Link-1 you mainly make on top of your small Tuners, optionally recycling a thing (“then” makes it free for Extra Deck stuff!) and then tagging back into another Rahi while granting a 1-Level margin of error. Mostly you’ll use this to bump up one of the aforementioned Level 1 Tuners, and in the small Fikou’s case it fixes the oddity that bringing it out by draining one of your big Rahi always left you unable to go into the Synchro 1 Level above that would represent the appropriate combination model.
That about covers the Insects that go everywhere, but there are also some more advanced options you can play if you’re willing to accept limitations.
Pendulum Scale = 5 [ Pendulum Effect ] When a “Rahi” monster is Normal Summoned: You can add 1 “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Deck to your hand. You can only use this effect of “Kofo-Jaga, Scorpion Rahi” once per turn. If you control no monsters: You can Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] A Synchro Monster that was Summoned using this card as Synchro Material gains this effect. ●When a monster effect is activated (Quick Effect): You can shuffle 1 face-up “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Extra Deck into the Deck; negate the activation, and if you do, destroy that monster if its ATK is lower than the ATK of the monster you shuffled into the Deck.
[ Pendulum Effect ] If your opponent Special Summons a monster(s) (except during the Damage Step): You can destroy this card, and if you do, that monster(s) loses 1200 ATK/DEF, until the end of this turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If a face-up Spell/Trap is on the field (Quick Effect): You can Tribute this card; add 1 Insect “Rahi” monster from your Deck to your hand, except “Kofo-Jaga, Scorpion Rahi”. If this card is banished while you control a “Rahi” Tuner: You can Special Summon this card, and if you do, increase its Level by 1, also you cannot activate non-Insect monster effects for the rest of this turn. You can only use each effect of “Kofo-Jaga, Scorpion Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
The Kofo-Jaga only resembles its original incarnation in that it adds a monster from your Deck, but the way it does so has been changed into a reference to its heat-loving and light-fleeing nature, and the targets have been changed to other Insects … including, of course, the above handtrap-style Tuners, for which it can be the cost and then immediately return to the field ready to Synchro into a Nui-Kopen. Just need to let yourself be a little Insect-locked.
Also its Pendulum Scale is now 6, mainly to accomodate the following two Level 5s.
Pendulum Scale = 3 [ Pendulum Effect ] While you have a Level 5 Insect “Rahi” Pendulum Monster Card in your other Pendulum Zone, your opponent’s cards and effects cannot be activated in response to the Pendulum Summon of a “Rahi” monster. You can target 1 “Rahi” monster you control; Special Summon 1 “Rahi” monster with the same Type and a lower or equal Level from your Deck, but it cannot attack this turn. You can only use this effect of “Nui-Rama, Fly Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Flavor Text ] A harsh buzz fills the air…a rustle of wings…a dark shape flying out of the sun…the warning signs of a Nui-Rama attack.
Pendulum Scale = 8 [ Pendulum Effect ] While you have a Level 5 Insect “Rahi” Pendulum Monster Card in your other Pendulum Zone, cards in your Pendulum Zones cannot be destroyed by your opponent’s card effects. Once per turn: You can add 1 face-up “Rahi” Pendulum Monster in your Extra Deck to your hand, then destroy 1 card in your Pendulum Zone. —————————————- [ Flavor Text ] Nui-Jaga commonly hunt in packs, which helps to make up for the fact that they are not very fast. One of the creatures will drive prey forward, usually into a canyon, where others wait to strike. Once the target is surrounded, the Nui-Jaga will call to each other. Their cries have been compared to the sound of glass breaking.
[ Pendulum Effect ] You can target 1 face-up monster you control; Special Summon 1 Insect “Rahi” monster with a lower or equal Level from your Deck in Defense Position, also you cannot Special Summon monsters for the rest of this turn, except Insect monsters. You can only use this effect of “Nui-Rama, Fly Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Flavor Text ] A harsh buzz fills the air…a rustle of wings…a dark shape flying out of the sun…the warning signs of a Nui-Rama attack.
[ Pendulum Effect ] If an Insect “Rahi” monster(s) is Special Summoned to your field (except during the Damage Step): You can target 1 face-up monster on the field; destroy it, and if it was an Insect “Rahi” monster, you can add 1 Insect “Rahi” monster with a different name from your Deck to your hand. You can only use this effect of “Nui-Jaga, Scorpion Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Flavor Text ] Nui-Jaga commonly hunt in packs, which helps to make up for the fact that they are not very fast. One of the creatures will drive prey forward, usually into a canyon, where others wait to strike. Once the target is surrounded, the Nui-Jaga will call to each other. Their cries have been compared to the sound of glass breaking.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
With these two, we get our first look at the category of Normal Pendulums representing the iconic large Rahi from 2001. These have collectively been updated to remove their pair-matching bonuses, as the small text budget for Pendulum Effects does not at all vibe with that. Instead, you’re encouraged to use them together by the potential +1 from Rahi Swarm and simply because of natural synergies between what remains of their effects.
Here, that means the Nui-Rama gets an Insect straight from the Deck – downgrading the scope of it from what used to be all the Rahi, but also letting you activate it by targeting non-Rahi monsters (to go with the Nui-Kopen/Showdown play, but I am just now noticing that might be pointless since you have the Nui-Kopen anyway in that case). The Nui-Jaga then reacts to that Special Summon to either throw its stinger tail (beware it!) towards the opponent’s field or taking out your own monster to call further allies.
Oh, and all the low-scale Normal Pendulum Rahi such as the Nui-Rama now have a scale of 1. I want putting these cards in the Pendulum Zones to be optimal in those Types that have them, so clashing with Level 2s and 3s would be bad.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters When this card is Synchro Summoned: You can send 1 “Rahi” monster from your Deck to the GY; this card gains 500 ATK. You can banish this card until the End Phase of your next turn; destroy 1 card on the field. You can only use this effect of “Kirikori-Nui, Locust Rahi” once per turn.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters If this card is Synchro Summoned: You can send 1 “Rahi” card from your Deck to the GY; this card gains 500 ATK. You can only use this effect of “Kirikori-Nui, Locust Rahi” once per turn. You can banish this card until the Standby Phase of your next turn; destroy 1 card on the field.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
The final thing, sitting in a bit of a weird standalone position, is the Kirikori-Nui. It used to send a Rahi from Deck as cost and temporarily banish itself to destroy stuff, and that is still what it does. Just the send has been expanded to also work with Spells and Traps, so we can dip into the Nui-Kopen use cases, and the banish now expires at a less inconvenient timing. Also the hard once per turn has been moved to the effect that probably deserves it more.
To be honest, I’m not too happy with this – it’s basically a broken send-as-cost thing ostensibly balanced by the fact that we (currently) can’t go into Level 3 Synchros very easily. But I haven’t figured out what else to do with it yet, and the current design is relevant to some enjoyable combos, so it is what it is for now.
By the way, you can also put these in an Insect pile. I have a demo video even.
Beast and Winged Beast Rahi
Alright, with the shared preliminaries out of the way, here’s the updates to the Rahi that make up the first of the dedicated Type-based strategies. Beasts and Winged Beasts, grouped together for their obvious similarities, are a pretty broad category, so I’ll try to do this via as few examples as I can manage.
In general, the strategy here can be described as a fairly traditional combo deck, aiming to either build a board of disruptive boss monsters going first or to clear the opponent’s field and win with some big beaters going second.
Normal Pendulum MonsterLevel 7 | Scale 8/8 | WATER Beast | ATK 2800 / DEF 1900
Pendulum Scale = 8 [ Pendulum Effect ] While you have a Level 7 Beast “Rahi” Pendulum Monster Card in your other Pendulum Zone, cards in your Pendulum Zones cannot be destroyed by your opponent’s card effects. If a “Rahi” monster you control destroys an opponent’s monster by battle: Gain LP equal to the destroyed monster’s original ATK. —————————————- [ Flavor Text ] This Rahi relies primarily on its claws when hunting. Sinking them into its prey, it forces the unfortunate victim to the ground and then finishes the job with its teeth. The Muaka will then carry its kill off to a nearby lair.
Pendulum Scale = 3 [ Pendulum Effect ] While you have a Level 7 Beast “Rahi” Pendulum Monster Card in your other Pendulum Zone, your opponent’s cards and effects cannot be activated in response to the Pendulum Summon of a “Rahi” monster. While you control exactly 1 “Rahi” monster (and no other face-up monsters), that monster gains 1000 ATK and cannot be destroyed by card effects. —————————————- [ Flavor Text ] Surprisingly, the Kane-Ra Bull is not a herd animal. Unlike some beasts, it does not require others of its kind for protection.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
4.7.3
Muaka, Tiger Rahi
Normal Pendulum MonsterLevel 7 | Scale 8/8 | WATER Beast | ATK 2800 / DEF 1900
[ Pendulum Effect ] During your Main Phase: You can destroy 1 other “Rahi” Monster Card in your hand or face-up field, and if you do, add 1 Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster from your Deck to your hand, except “Muaka, Tiger Rahi”. You can only use this effect of “Muaka, Tiger Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Flavor Text ] This Rahi relies primarily on its claws when hunting. Sinking them into its prey, it forces the unfortunate victim to the ground and then finishes the job with its teeth. The Muaka will then carry its kill off to a nearby lair.
[ Pendulum Effect ] Once per turn, if a monster(s) in your possession is destroyed by battle or card effect: You can destroy 1 card in your Pendulum Zone, then Special Summon 1 Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster from your hand or GY, with a different name from the cards you currently control, and if you do, it gains 1000 ATK until the end of this turn. —————————————- [ Flavor Text ] Surprisingly, the Kane-Ra Bull is not a herd animal. Unlike some beasts, it does not require others of its kind for protection.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
The pair of Normal Pendulums aiding us in this are Muaka and Kane-Ra. The former has changed completely (because what was I to do with battle-focused LP gain?), now providing us with the search power we need to get all our various pieces in play. It’s still roughly themed after “hunting down other Rahi and dragging them off to its lair”, but obviously tilted much more to the utility side. The Kane-Ra, meanwhile, retains some of its identity with that 1000 ATK boost and not allowing duplicate names at least, but now also works in a way that helps you build up your field presence. The obvious synergy of combining them is that the Muaka’s required destruction causes the Kane-Ra to trigger after the search resolved, immediately letting you Special Summon whatever you got – and the fact that this discourages you from having your Muaka destroy your Kane-Ra doubles as a nice representation of the horns that canonically keep the bull safe from the tiger.
On the effect monster side, I actually ended up sticking fairly closely to how Rahi in general used to work previously. In case of the Level 4 Pendulums, that meant an effect to Special Summon itself from the Pendulum Zone and a monster effect that is granted to a Synchro using it as material, and looking at the Fusa, that still is very much the case.
Pendulum Scale = 5 [ Pendulum Effect ] If a card in your Pendulum Zone is destroyed: You can place 1 face-up “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Extra Deck in your Pendulum Zone. You can only use this effect of “Fusa, Kangaroo Rahi” once per turn. If you control no monsters: You can Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] A Synchro Monster that was Summoned using this card as Synchro Material gains this effect. ●Your opponent’s cards and effects cannot be activated during the Battle Phase.
[ Pendulum Effect ] During your Main Phase: You can destroy 1 other Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” Monster Card in your hand or face-up field, and if you do, Special Summon this card. You can only use this effect of “Fusa, Kangaroo Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] A Synchro Monster Summoned using this card as material gains these effects. ● Once per turn, at the end of the Damage Step, if this card attacked an opponent’s monster: You can activate this effect; this card can attack again in a row. ● A “Rahi” Synchro Monster Summoned using this card as material gains the above effect.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
However, it’s also clear that a lot of things changed. Aside from the granted monster effect being swapped out entirely (a double strike fits a Kangaroo more than blocking effects, doesn’t it?), it can now also be passed on through a second Synchro Summon using the monster that gained it as material, provided it’s for a Rahi. This sets the stage for potential Accel Synchro climbs with future support, and already comes up right now with another card that will be mentioned below. The Pendulum Effect has been reduced to only the Special Summon (again, tight text budget), but rather than a generic “no monsters” condition, it now plays into the overall self-destruction thing going on with Muaka and Kane-Ra as well. The specific mechanics of this Special Summon now also differ between Rahi, with the Vako having a more expensive requirement to balance its on-summon effect and the Husi not having one at all, instead electing to spend its Pendulum Effect on other utility.
The Level 3s retain similar miscellaneous Pendulum Effects from before the update, as well as their triggered abilities when either sent to the GY or banished, overall compressing a bunch of different small things you can weave into your lines. Let’s make the Mahi our exhibit of choice.
Pendulum Scale = 2 [ Pendulum Effect ] (Quick Effect): You can send 1 face-up “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Extra Deck to the GY, then destroy this card. You can only use this effect of “Mahi, Goat Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is sent to the GY: You can add 1 Level 3 or lower “Rahi” monster from your Deck to your hand. If this card is banished: You can add 1 of your banished Level 3 or lower “Rahi” monsters that was not banished this turn to your hand. You can only use 1 “Mahi, Goat Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
[ Pendulum Effect ] You can target up to 2 “Rahi” monsters you control; destroy 1 Beast or Winged Beast Monster Card in your Pendulum Zone or face-up Extra Deck, and if you do, increase or decrease the targeted monsters’ Levels by 1. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is sent to the GY: You can add 1 Level 4 or lower Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster from your Deck to your hand, except “Mahi, Goat Rahi”. If this card is banished: You can target 1 of your banished “Rahi” cards that was not banished this turn; add it to your hand. You can only use 1 “Mahi, Goat Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Here we see that the updates were, at least in some cases, pretty minor. The Pendulum Quick Effect to send from Extra Deck to GY (so as to trigger various Level 3s) was rewritten to account for the fact that Pendulum Quick Effects aren’t a thing, now also providing some Level manipulation to make up for the loss of quickness. The search from GY was shifted from the pool of Level 3 or lower Rahi to Level 4 or lower Beast or Winged Beast Rahi, reinforcing the Type association, and I figured the very slow effect to recycle banished cards might as well cover the entire archetype. Some other monsters that didn’t have as much of a clear identity, for example the Moa got more extensive updates, but for the most part we’re looking at small tweaks.
Before we move on from the Pendulums, I need to address one particular pattern break with the Levels here, owed to the fact that I completely mixed up the sizes of Kewa and Taku back in the day.
Pendulum Scale = 2 [ Pendulum Effect ] If you control no other cards: You can add 1 WIND monster from your Deck to your hand, except “Kewa, Vulture Rahi”, and if you do, destroy this card during the End Phase. You can only use this effect of “Kewa, Vulture Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is sent to the GY: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower WIND monster from your GY, except this card. If this card is banished: You can add 1 “Rahi” card from your GY to your hand. You can only use 1 “Kewa, Vulture Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Pendulum Scale = 5 [ Pendulum Effect ] During your End Phase: You can add 1 “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Deck to your Extra Deck face-up. If you control no monsters: You can Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] A Synchro Monster that was Summoned using this card as Synchro Material gains this effect. ● When a Spell Card is activated (Quick Effect): You can shuffle 1 face-up “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Extra Deck into the Deck; negate the activation, and if you do, destroy that card.
[ Pendulum Effect ] You can target 1 Spell/Trap on the field; send 1 Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster from your hand or face-up Extra Deck to the GY, and if you do, destroy that target. You can only use this effect of “Kewa, Vulture Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is sent to the GY: You can Special Summon 1 other Level 4 or lower WIND monster from your GY, but negate its effects. If this card is banished: You can add 1 Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster from your GY or face-up Extra Deck to your hand, except “Kewa, Vulture Rahi”. You can only use 1 “Kewa, Vulture Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
[ Pendulum Effect ] If you control no monsters: You can Special Summon this card, and if you do, add 1 Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Deck to your Extra Deck face-up, except “Taku, Duck Rahi”. You can only use this effect of “Taku, Duck Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] A Synchro Monster Summoned using this card as material gains these effects. ● Once per turn, when a card or effect is activated (Quick Effect): You can shuffle 1 face-up “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Extra Deck into the Deck; negate the activation. ● A “Rahi” Synchro Monster Summoned using this card as material gains the above effect.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
A simple Level swap fixed this mishap, but because the Kewa’s association and thus synergy with the WIND deck Le-Koro was lore-relevant, I ended up sticking with the effect designs based on their original (inaccurate) Levels. So the biggest changes here are just that the Kewa’s broken search for all WIND monsters was replaced with something more restrained and that the Taku has fully taken up the mantle of negation granter from what used to be a trio of Rahi (with the old Hikaki and Kofo-Jaga ) doing that for different card types. The effect has been toned down a little by removing destruction, but I still feel like it might be too much for a semi-free bonus and am considering a further restriction to your own turn only. Also, congrats to the Kewa for finally being photographed from the correct side.
Now for the Synchros … I can’t get out of mentioning all of these, can I? Alright, speedrun time.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters When this card is Synchro Summoned: You can choose a number from 1 to 4; reduce this card’s Level by that number, then take damage equal to that number x 300. When using this Synchro Summoned card as a Synchro Material, you can use 1 face-up “Rahi” Pendulum Monster in your Extra Deck (and no other monsters) as the other Synchro Material.
1 Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters If this Synchro Summoned card would be used as Synchro Material for a “Rahi” monster, 1 face-up Beast or Winged Beast Pendulum Monster in your Extra Deck (and no other monsters) can be used as the other material. If you do this, you can treat this card as any Level from 1 to 5 for that Synchro Summon. If you control no monsters and this card is in your GY: You can target 1 of your banished monsters; shuffle it into the Deck, and if you do, Special Summon this card. You can only Special Summon “Dikapi, Ostrich Rahi(s)” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Synchro Tuner. Enables both stacking of granted effects and triggering of Pendulum GY effects by using a monster from the Extra Deck as material – now limited to only Beast and Winged Beast materials, and only Rahi Synchros. The Level change has also been rolled into this specific use case, as you have other options to make the stars align if you’re working with the field.
Since it’s also domesticated by Po-Matoran and used as a mount for scouting missions due to its endurance, I’ve added a recursion effect that helps you endure long grind games while being generic enough to also work in a Po-Koro deck.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters If this card is Synchro Summoned: Draw 1 card. If this card is sent from the field to the GY: Add 1 “Rahi” monster from your Deck to your hand. You can only use each effect of “Gukko-Kahu, Hawk Rahi” once per turn.
1 Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters If this card is Special Summoned: You can send 1 Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster from your Deck to the GY. If this Synchro Summoned card is sent from the field to the GY: You can target 1 Level 4 or lower “Rahi” monster in your GY; Special Summon it. You can only use each effect of “Gukko-Kahu, Hawk Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Mid-combo body that does something useful when Summoned and when it leaves again. That hasn’t changed from how it used to be, but the useful things are now more tied to the Beast/Winged Beast typing and general playstyle. Like the Dikapi, it can be made with generic materials not because it’s a Winged Beast, but because it has been domesticated and should thus be an option in a Le-Koro deck.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters When this card is Synchro Summoned: You can destroy Spell/Trap Cards on the field, up to the number of “Rahi” monsters you control. If this card is sent from the field to the GY: Add 1 Level 4 or lower “Rahi” monster from your GY to your hand.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters Once per turn, if a monster(s) is Special Summoned to your opponent’s field (except during the Damage Step): You can target 1 of those monsters; either destroy it or negate its effects. Once per turn, during the End Phase, if this card is in the GY because this Synchro Summoned card was sent there from the field this turn: You can add 1 Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster from your GY or face-up Extra Deck to your hand.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Going-first endboard piece offering reactive spot interaction and followup in case it’s removed. Its original effects were a combination of what Gali and Pohatu (its component models) used to do way, way back, and in the same way its current on-field effect combines the on-summon trigger and destruction aspects of Pohatu with the negation aspect of Gali, while also having a general flair of retaliating with its horns when it feels threatened. But floating is nice to have, so that was carried over as well, albeit shifted to the End Phase since you want to keep this one on the field in the opponent’s turn, unlike a certain bird up there.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters At the start of the Battle Phase: You can destroy all face-up or all face-down Spell/Trap Cards on the field, then this card gains 500 ATK for each of your cards destroyed this way, until the end of this turn. You can only use this effect of “Kuma-Nui, Rat Rahi” once per turn.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters Gains 300 ATK for each other “Rahi” card you control. If this card battles an opponent’s monster, at the start of the Damage Step: You can activate this effect; change that opponent’s monster to Attack Position, also negate its effects until the end of this turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Big beatstick for going second or generally finishing out games. Where its activated effect previously allowed it to get big and/or clear backrow, it now gets big all on its own (well, with moral support) and instead only activates during the Damage Step, grabbing the foe with its claws and dragging it into a helpless position to ensure big damage is done.
Alright, that’s done. If seeing these Synchros made you wonder “where’s the Tuners”, you’ve hit on one of the interesting realities of the multi-expansion release cycle on which the current Rahi card pool was built. The truth is, Beast or Winged Beast Rahi Tuners did not actually exist in the original BCOR wave, forcing the archetype to instead rely on Insects beyond the scope of its own native search effects! BBTS fixed this with two Winged Beast Tuners – now freshly updated from handtraps to combo extenders – and BPEV, in this very release, adds a Beast Tuner that’s a bit more gimmicky in design.
(Quick Effect): You can banish this card from your hand or field and 1 “Rahi” monster from your GY; monsters your opponent controls lose 500 ATK for each of your banished “Rahi” monsters, until the end of this turn.
If a Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster(s) is Normal or Special Summoned to your field (except during the Damage Step): You can Special Summon this card from your hand, then, immediately after this effect resolves, Synchro Summon 1 “Rahi” Synchro Monster using monsters you control. You can only use this effect of “Pokawi, Flightless Bird Rahi” once per turn. During the Battle Phase (Quick Effect): You can banish this card from your GY; all monsters your opponent currently controls lose 500 ATK for each of your banished “Rahi” monsters, until the end of this turn.
Bionicle: Beware the Swarm (v4.7.3)
The Pokawi comes in with the ability to come out of the hand and make a Synchro, which exists mainly because one combo I labbed out got a Taku as precisely the 4th summon, meaning this allows you to get a Synchro with a negate to the field before your opponent has a chance to activate Nibiru. On top of that, it also does its original ATK debuff but now from the GY, which, now that I look at the whole package like this, is kind of an insanely big upgrade and might still get dialed back a bit. I will say it never really felt broken in testing, though.
(Quick Effect): You can banish this card from your hand or field and 1 “Rahi” monster from your GY, then target 1 card your opponent controls; banish it until the End Phase, and if it was a face-up monster with 2000 or more ATK on the field, banish 1 random card from your opponent’s hand face-down. You can only use this effect of “Mata Nui Fishing Bird, Rahi” once per turn.
If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can target 1 Level 4 or lower Beast or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster in your GY; Special Summon it, but negate its effects, also if your opponent controls a monster with 2000 or more ATK, you can banish 1 card from either GY. You can only use this effect of “Mata Nui Fishing Bird, Swooping Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Beware the Swarm (v4.7.3)
The Mata Nui Fishing Bird now quite literally “fishes” monsters out of your GY to enable Synchro plays that way, and keeps its theming of harassing large predators in the form of a bonus banish from GY when appropriate.
Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can reduce the Levels of all other monsters currently on the field by 1, also they lose 500 ATK. At the start of the Damage Step, if your “Rahi” monster battles an opponent’s monster: You can banish this card from the GY; destroy that opponent’s monster. You can only use this effect of “Lava Rat, Blazing Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Protodermic Evolution (v4.7.3)
The theming on this one is that it sets itself on fire to ward off enemies, while being immune to the flames itself. That manifests in an on-field effect of turning up the heat to either fix your own Levels or annoy the opponent (though I’m not sure the latter use case is word having it be a Quick Effect rather than an Ignition Effect), and a GY effect to burn an opponent’s monster to the ground if it happens to touch yours.
And with that, we’ve made it through probably the hardest part of the design notes. If you just want a simple look at how this deck actually plays in practice, see the demo video below (though it is from a slightly older version).
Marine Rahi
Another big group that combines three whole Types, though only two of them have actual Rahi at this moment. Sea Serpents sure are elusive.
What we saw so far was a combo deck aiming for big boss monsters using more or less the same design principles as the old Rahi designs did, but things are going to be quite different here. The Rahi of the seas don’t really care about “building boards” or the concept of a “Synchro boss monster” all that much – their idea of gameplay is throwing small fish with sharp teeth at the opponent until only bones are left.
In other words, we’re looking at a grindy control deck that uses its Tuners to disrupt the opponent and its Pendulums to build advantage while that’s happening. Let’s look at how the cards evolve for the new version to make that possible, starting with the prime bity fish itself: The Ruki.
Tuner Effect MonsterLevel 2 | WATER Fish | ATK 700 / DEF 100
(Quick Effect): You can banish this card from your hand or field and 1 “Rahi” monster from your GY; destroy 1 monster your opponent controls. You can only use this effect of “Ruki, Fish Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
4.7.3
Ruki, Fish Rahi
Tuner Effect MonsterLevel 2 | WATER Fish | ATK 700 / DEF 100
If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can add 1 Fish, Sea Serpent, or Aqua “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Deck to your hand, then discard 1 card. You can only use this effect of “Ruki, Fish Rahi” once per turn. (Quick Effect): You can banish both this card from your hand or field and 1 “Rahi” monster in your GY or face-up Extra Deck; destroy 1 monster your opponent controls.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
This, too, was one of those Level 2 Rahi handtrap Tuners, and it has retained both its cost and its way of interacting through non-targeting monster destruction. However, to bring it from just another random Rahi to something that can serve as one centerpiece of a dedicated strategy, it has been upgraded in two ways: One is that there’s no longer a hard once per turn on that destruction effect, so Ruki swarms actually get to be as voracious as they should be. The other is that it also searches the Pendulums of its Type when summoned, with a discard that both keeps it from plussing too much and can set up the Ruki’s own cost in the GY.
The other thing that makes this all work are, of course, the Pendulums. BCOR only has two of them, so we can just take those as our examples.
Pendulum Effect MonsterLevel 4 | Scale 5/5 | WATER Fish | ATK 1800 / DEF 900
Pendulum Scale = 5 [ Pendulum Effect ] At the start of the Damage Step, if a “Rahi” monster you control battles: You can double any battle damage your opponent takes from that battle. You can only use this effect of “Takea, Shark Rahi” once per turn. If you control no monsters: You can Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] A Synchro Monster that was Summoned using this card as Synchro Material gains this effect. ●If this card inflicts battle damage to your opponent: Special Summon 1 “Rahi” monster from your Deck with ATK less than or equal to half the damage inflicted, but it cannot attack this turn.
Pendulum Scale = 5 [ Pendulum Effect ] If a card in your Pendulum Zone is destroyed: You can target 1 card your opponent controls; destroy that target. You can only use this effect of “Makika, Toad Rahi” once per turn. If you control no monsters: You can Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] A Synchro Monster that was Summoned using this card as Synchro Material gains this effect. ●If this card is destroyed by battle: Destroy the monster that destroyed it, and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster’s original ATK.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
4.7.3
Takea, Shark Rahi
Pendulum Effect MonsterLevel 4 | Scale 5/5 | WATER Fish | ATK 1800 / DEF 900
[ Pendulum Effect ] If your Fish, Sea Serpent, and/or Aqua “Rahi” monster(s) is banished: You can target 1 of those monsters and 1 card your opponent controls; place the first target on the bottom of the Deck, and if you do, destroy the second target. You can only use this effect of “Takea, Shark Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can banish up to 2 “Rahi” Monster Cards from your hand and/or field; add that many Fish, Sea Serpent, and/or Aqua “Rahi” monsters with different names from your Deck to your hand, except “Takea, Shark Rahi”. If this card is banished: You can target 1 card you control; destroy that card, also, after that, add this card to your Extra Deck face-up or place it in your Pendulum Zone. You can only use each effect of “Takea, Shark Rahi” once per turn.
[ Pendulum Effect ] During the End Phase: You can target 1 of your banished Fish, Sea Serpent, or Aqua “Rahi” monsters, except “Makika, Toad Rahi”; add it to your hand. You can only use this effect of “Makika, Toad Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] During the Main Phase, if this card is in your hand (Quick Effect): You can target 1 Fish, Sea Serpent, or Aqua “Rahi” monster you control; return it to the hand, and if you do, Special Summon this card in Defense Position. If this card is banished: You can add this card to your Extra Deck face-up or place it in your Pendulum Zone, then take 1000 damage. You can only use each effect of “Makika, Toad Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Gone is the old formula of random Pendulum Effect, self-summon from Pendulum Zone, and bonus effect when used as material. Instead, the Pendulum Effects aim to extract further value from the banishing cost tied to your disruption effects, either by further devastating your opponent’s field or by replenishing your own resources. The monster effects are a combination of miscellaneous utility – here, searching and dodging stuff – and a shared effect that brings the monster back to the Extra Deck or Pendulum Zone at some cost when it is banished, thus ensuring we don’t run out of ammo and keep getting those boosts from the backrow. The Makika even changed both its Level and its Pendulum Scale!
I also can’t quite gloss over BCOR’s other Tuner, the Shore Turtle.
Tuner Effect MonsterLevel 2 | WATER Aqua | ATK 0 / DEF 1200
When a monster declares an attack: You can banish this card from your hand or field and 1 “Rahi” monster from your GY; change the battle positions of all face-up monsters. You can only use this effect of “Shore Turtle, Rahi” once per turn.
Your opponent cannot target Fish, Sea Serpent, and/or Aqua “Rahi” Monster Cards you control with card effects. If your opponent activates a card or effect: You can banish 2 “Rahi” cards from your hand and/or face-up field, including this card; Special Summon 1 Fish, Sea Serpent, or Aqua “Rahi” Tuner from your Deck. You can only use this effect of “Shore Turtle, Shelled Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
While I did enjoy it’s previous position-changing gimmick (originally stolen from Speedroid Menko) and would have liked to keep it, in a post-Link era with a questionably relevant Battle Phase, it just would be totally worthless except for the unlikely case where it totally walls of your opponent, which isn’t very fun and interactive either. So instead, this “slow and harmless” creature has turned into something that slowpoke triggers after your opponent does something (this is not a Quick Effect), bringing you something potentially less harmless to the field, in the best case even a live Ruki on turn 0. Or you can go into another copy of itself and enjoy targeting protection, because this turtle can fly. Also it’s WIND now, because this turtle can fly.
And while I did say this deck doesn’t care about boss monsters, there’s still one for when you’ve managed to spam a whole lot of bodies onto the field.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner “Rahi” monsters Control of this card cannot switch. The ATK of all face-up monsters your opponent controls is halved during their Battle Phase only. When this card that was Synchro Summoned using exactly 1 non-Tuner monster as material leaves the field: Special Summon that non-Tuner monster from your GY. This card that was Synchro Summoned using 2 or more non-Tuner monsters as material cannot be targeted or destroyed by your opponent’s card effects.
1+ “Rahi” Tuners + 1+ non-Tuner “Rahi” monsters Control of this card cannot switch. Other cards you control cannot be destroyed by your opponent’s card effects. (Quick Effect): You can banish this card; Special Summon any number of Fish, Sea Serpent, and/or Aqua “Rahi” monsters from your GY and/or banishment, whose total Levels equal 10 or less, and if you do, banish 1 card on the field. You can only use this effect of “Mana Ko, Guardian Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
The Mana Ko is the biggest thing in our Extra Deck, and is truly exclusive in that all its materials must be Rahi (NEW: multiple Tuners are allowed, works better in Fish/Aqua/Sea Serpents that way). Secretly trained by the Order of Mata Nui, it is immune to mental manipulation … and that’s where the similarities between the versions end. You see, the ATK reduction that follows was meant to represent its disintegration beams (hinting how I’m going to do Guurahk a bit down the line, by the way), but upon rechecking their novel appearance and the guidebooks … it turns out no such thing exists. They just shoot explosive blasts. So back to the drawing board it was, and now it just does something that fits right into the deck’s supposed non-reliance on boss monsters: It fucks right off, bringing back just a smidgen less than the material used on it and making something go kaboom with a banish along the way. While it’s around, though, it does also protect the rest of your field from destruction, because that goes well with both the name “Guardian” and the fact that your opponent can’t steal it.
A total of three more Aqua Pendulums were introduced in BBTS, but curiously, only two of them have remained Pendulums, acting as a secondary pair of scales. Those are the Ghekula and the Keras. No need to say much about their updates, as I really just translated the same ideas they were already based on to the mechanics of the new strategy. The Ghekula causes your opponent bad luck for harming it (even accidentally), and the Keras is generic support for low-Level WATER monsters that hates Defense Position monsters, representing its role as an anti-Bohrok mount for Ga-Matoran. The latter also doesn’t have the effect to recycle itself if banished, instead investing that word count into a way to Special Summon it from hand – having variety doesn’t hurt.
And what of the third new card? Well, the Waikiru became a Synchro.
Pendulum Effect MonsterLevel 4 | Scale 5/5 | WATER Aqua | ATK 1800 / DEF 1000
Pendulum Scale = 5 [ Pendulum Effect ] When the battle position of a face-up monster(s) you control is changed: You can apply this effect until the end of this turn, depending on that monster’s new battle position. ● Attack Position: It gains ATK equal to its Level/Rank x 200. ● Defense Position: It cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects. You can only use this effect of “Waikiru, Walrus Rahi” once per turn. If you control no monsters: You can Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] A Synchro Monster that was Summoned using this card as Synchro Material gains this effect. ●Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can change the battle position of up to 2 face-up monsters on the field that have the same battle position.
Bionicle: Beware the Swarm (v3.15.5)
4.7.3
Waikiru, Walrus Rahi
Synchro Effect MonsterLevel 5 | WATER Aqua | ATK 1800 / DEF 1000
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters If this card is Special Summoned: You can banish 1 Fish, Sea Serpent, or Aqua “Rahi” monster from your Deck. (Quick Effect): You can banish this card; Special Summon up to 2 Fish, Sea Serpent, and/or Aqua “Rahi” monsters from your GY and/or banishment, whose total Levels equal 4 or less. You can only use 1 “Waikiru, Walrus Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Beware the Swarm (v4.7.3)
This is one of the most total redesigns, going from a battle position manipulator to a Gold Sarc on, uh, fins that can alternatively do a miniature version of the Mana Ko’s tagout. However, the lore behind it remains the idea of a creature that is “slow on land and swift in the water” – even though it’s now mostly the latter part with how it can run away from the destruction a banished Takea would attempt. I guess the shared hard once per turn on both effects that I added because it felt broken otherwise could be considered the “slow” portion.
Lastly, three new additions fresh off the virtual printer. One is a stealth-add to BCOR and a Level 1 Tuner: The Lightfish that illuminates the huts of Ga-Koro.
Lightfish, Luminescent Rahi
Tuner Effect MonsterLevel 1 | WATER Fish | ATK 700 / DEF 100
While face-up on the field, this card becomes LIGHT. (Quick Effect): You can banish this card from your hand or GY, then target 1 monster your opponent controls; apply 1 of these effects. ●Change its battle position. ●Discard 1 card, and if you do, that face-up monster cannot activate its effects this turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
It doesn’t do a whole lot, but it’s an easily accessible self-banishing quick effect, which is neat both for the Ga-Koro deck (to get high chain links) and for this one (to trigger Takea or Keras in the Pendulum Zone). Don’t read anything into the part where it becomes LIGHT on the field, that’s just because they glow “as long as they’re alive”. And so it can be a LIGHT Fish in some way at least.
… I just noticed this has the same stats as the Ruki. That’s a copypaste error, should be more like 100/100 probably. Can’t catch ’em all, just one more thing to fix in a future update!
MKT Fish, Biting Rahi
Tuner Effect MonsterLevel 3 | DARK Fish | ATK 900 / DEF 300
If this card you control would be used as Synchro Material, you can treat it as a non-Tuner. During your opponent’s Main Phase, you can (Quick Effect): Immediately after this effect resolves, Synchro Summon using Fish, Sea Serpent, and/or Aqua monsters you control, including this card. You can only use this effect of “MKT Fish, Biting Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Protodermic Evolution (v4.7.3)
What’s those random letters? Those are my refusal to write a “not treated as” clause into this text, because the proper name of this creature is “Makuta Fish“. It’s basically a slightly bigger Ruki that appears here and there in the novels and doesn’t do anything special, so for the effect I just went with what I felt would be fun and made it a way to perform all kinds of Quick Synchro plays in addition to your base strategy – that gives us something to do with the Extra Deck space at least.
Rahi from the Depths
Trap
Target any number of “Rahi” monsters you control; all monsters your opponent currently controls lose ATK/DEF equal to the total ATK of those monsters you control (until the end of this turn), then you can destroy 1 monster your opponent controls with 0 ATK or DEF. You can banish this card from your GY; Special Summon 1 Fish, Sea Serpent, or Aqua “Rahi” monster from your GY or banishment, but its ATK/DEF become 0. You can only use 1 “Rahi from the Depths” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Protodermic Evolution (v4.7.3)
And the final one is a new Trap card, based on the novel-only scene featuring an early (distant) look at Metru Nui’s Great Temple Squid. The idea is to have tentacles restraining your opponent’s monsters, perhaps even crushing one if it’s weak enough – late in testing, I realized this part should probably be 0 ATK and DEF rather than or, otherwise you can take out big threats laughably easily sometimes if they’re only big one way. While this activation effect works with all Rahi, the goal was balancing it so it’s only really worth the space in decks that can also use the Type-locked revival effect in the GY, which I’m not sure the current design achieves.
Reptile Rahi
Reptiles are, and will for a good while remain, a fairly unrepresented Type among Rahi. They do, however, get a pair of Normal Pendulums as early as BCOR, whose old designs already went well with the planned “scale manipulation” gimmick. So I did my best to put together the baseline of a functioning deck with what’s available at this point.
To elaborate on said gimmick a little, it’s a hit-and-run strategy that moves monsters back and forth between the front and back rows of the field, including the Pendulum Zones. In fact, precisely that is what the two Normals sort of did and now absolutely do.
Normal Pendulum MonsterLevel 6 | Scale 3/3 | WATER Reptile | ATK 2600 / DEF 1200
Pendulum Scale = 3 [ Pendulum Effect ] While you have a Level 6 Reptile “Rahi” Pendulum Monster Card in your other Pendulum Zone, your opponent’s cards and effects cannot be activated in response to the Pendulum Summon of a “Rahi” monster. When an opponent’s monster declares a direct attack: You can destroy this card, and if you do, Special Summon 1 face-up “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Extra Deck. —————————————- [ Flavor Text ] The first thing to remember about Tarakava is that even if you can’t see them, they are always there.
Pendulum Scale = 8 [ Pendulum Effect ] While you have a Level 6 Reptile “Rahi” Pendulum Monster Card in your other Pendulum Zone, cards in your Pendulum Zones cannot be destroyed by your opponent’s card effects. Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can target 1 “Rahi” Pendulum Monster you control; place that target in your Pendulum Zone. —————————————- [ Flavor Text ] Sand Tarakava are slightly smaller than their Tarakava relatives. Their hunting method is to hide under the sand and wait for unsuspecting prey to come near.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
4.7.3
Tarakava, Lizard Rahi
Normal Pendulum MonsterLevel 6 | Scale 1/1 | WATER Reptile | ATK 2600 / DEF 1200
[ Pendulum Effect ] When an attack is declared involving an opponent’s monster: You can target 1 Reptile “Rahi” Monster Card in your Spell & Trap Zone; Special Summon it (but it cannot attack directly this turn), and if you do, destroy that opponent’s monster. You can only use this effect of “Tarakava, Lizard Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Flavor Text ] The first thing to remember about Tarakava is that even if you can’t see them, they are always there.
[ Pendulum Effect ] Reptile “Rahi” monsters in your leftmost or rightmost Main Monster Zone gain this effect. ●Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can place this card face-up in your Spell & Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell, or if it is a Pendulum Monster, you can place it in your Pendulum Zone instead. —————————————- [ Flavor Text ] Sand Tarakava are slightly smaller than their Tarakava relatives. Their hunting method is to hide under the sand and wait for unsuspecting prey to come near.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
The Tarakava is the forward motion in this equation, and being a battle-centric effect, I saw fit to give this one a major upgrade. Rather than only springing its ambush on a direct attack and doing it indirectly by destroying itself and then summoning from the Extra Deck (not the best idea under new Master Rules), it just throws a Reptile directly from the backrow at any opponent’s monster that finds itself battling, destroying the unfortunate target in the process.
The Sand Tarakava (a totally different creature, of course) provides the opposite direction of movement, the changes being that I’ve worked around the taboo on Spells having Quick Effects and that it can also put stuff into regular Spell & Trap Zones so it works with our Synchros. Speaking of which:
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters You can target 1 card your opponent controls; banish both that target and this card until the End Phase of your next turn. You can only use this effect of “Ranama, Magma Toad Rahi” once per turn.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters You can target 1 monster your opponent controls; this card loses 1000 ATK, and if it does, shuffle that target into the Deck. You can only Special Summon “Tarakava-Nui, Lizard King Rahi(s)” once per turn.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters When your opponent activates a card or effect (Quick Effect): You can target 2 face-up monsters on the field, including this card; place them face-up in their owners’ Spell & Trap Zones as Continuous Spells. You can only use this effect of “Ranama, Lava Lurker Rahi” once per turn. Once per turn, during the Standby Phase, if this card is a Continuous Spell: You can destroy 1 other Monster Card in a Spell & Trap Zone, and if you do, Special Summon this card.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters If this card is Special Summoned: You can target up to 2 cards your opponent controls; this card loses exactly 1000 ATK for each targeted card, and if it does, shuffle them into the Deck. You can only use this effect of “Tarakava-Nui, Lizard King Rahi” once per turn. Loses 1000 ATK during your Main Phase only. While this card is a Continuous Spell, “Rahi” cards you control cannot be destroyed by your opponent’s card effects.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
The Ranama, now slightly renamed to mask the fact that this isn’t too much of a reptile (I really need it over here, sorry Aquas), still does its thing of dragging an opponent’s monster under the Lava and then staying there until it’s done eating. But “under the Lava” now means the backrow in accordance with the updated mechanics, and mealtime reliably ends in each Standby Phase, where the Ranama properly digests its prey and returns to feed again. Functionally, this results in something best described as “S:P at home”.
The next tier up is the Tarakava-Nui, themed on the concept of punching things so hard they go back to the Deck. That much is unchanged, but it now does so each time it’s summoned, since we’re trying to do that a whole bunch with the regular Tarakava. As a fancy little debuff, summoning it the normal way during the Main Phase only gets you one target rather than two, because it pays with its ATK and is thus limited by that otherwise useless Main Phase stat reduction. And if you somehow get it in the backrow, which it has no way to do on its own, you can enjoy some blanket protection.
The catch is, this is another of these Types without a Tuner, and since we also don’t have the sheer swarming and searching potential of BCOR Beasts, the one and only Main Deck Effect Reptile is forced to pick up the slack.
Pendulum Scale = 5 [ Pendulum Effect ] If your opponent takes effect damage: Draw 1 card. You can only use this effect of “Bog Snake, Rahi” once per turn. If you control no monsters: You can Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] A Synchro Monster that was Summoned using this card as Synchro Material gains this effect. ● Each time your opponent activates a card or effect, inflict 300 damage to your opponent immediately after it resolves.
[ Pendulum Effect ] Once per turn: You can destroy up to 2 “Rahi” Monster Cards you control, and if you do, Special Summon 1 Reptile “Rahi” Synchro Monster from your Extra Deck whose Level is less than or equal to their total Levels (this is treated as a Synchro Summon), then place it face-up in your Spell & Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card declares an attack: You can inflict 300 damage to your opponent for each Monster Card in your Spell & Trap Zone. If this card is destroyed: You can place 1 Reptile “Rahi” monster from your GY or face-up Extra Deck face-up in your Spell & Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell. You can only use each effect of “Bog Snake, Venomous Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
What remains from the old focus on effect damage (you know, the venom) is just a bonus burn effect when attacking – be sure to sequence it correctly with the Tarakava for maximum value. The more important job the card adopted due to necessity is the Pendulum Effect, cheating out our Synchros … into the backrow. I’m sure they’ll find a way to come forward. For one thing, destroying the Bog Snake itself Poplars something into the backrow as well, so that right there gives a Ranama its meal for the next Standby Phase.
Overall, I still feel like there are some adjustments left to try here. For example, granting the Ranama the ability to also snatch stuff out of the GY would enhance its use as disruption and give you a way to put your other Synchros back on the field, which could then free up the Bog Snake to fetch only Pendulums from the Extra Deck and properly place them in the scales. Lacking a way to do that without a Sand Tarakava already in place really hurts the deck’s recovery at the moment.
Rahi Nui
And finally, something completely new introduced by this very release. Coming straight from the Tales of the Masks novel, an enemy of Toa from ancient times rises in a Place of Shadow.
3+ “Rahi” monsters with different names Must be Fusion Summoned, or Special Summoned from your Extra Deck by Tributing the above cards, including a DARK monster. This card’s Type is also treated as the original Types of the materials used for its Summon. If this card is Special Summoned, or your opponent Special Summons a monster(s) from the Extra Deck: You can Special Summon 1 Level 10 or lower “Rahi” monster from your Extra Deck that shares a Type with this card, also this card cannot attack for the rest of this turn. You can only use this effect of “Rahi Nui, Vengeful Chimera” once per turn.
Bionicle: Protodermic Evolution (v4.7.3)
For some reason I can’t quite explain myself, the design on this one is themed around the kind of boss fight where the big guy suddenly throws the bosses you fought previously at you – in this case, the Rahi Synchros. Befitting its chimeric nature, the ones it can get are based on the Types it has absorbed from its materials, and vengeful as it is after its previous defeat, triggering this effect keeps it from attacking that turn, almost like it’s stuck in a wall or something.
The native Type of Dinosaur does not have any targets to Summon from the Extra Deck … or didn’t, until now.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters If a “Rahi” monster you control battles, inflict piercing battle damage. If this card is sent from the field to the GY: You can target 1 “Rahi” Tuner in your GY; Special Summon it. You can only use this effect of “Subterranean Worm Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Protodermic Evolution (v4.7.3)
Also featured in Tales of the Masks, this supposedly ancient creature (whatever that means in Bionicle time) is always available to get with the Rahi Nui and give your whole board piercing. But it’s primary use case actually lies before that: As a DARK Rahi that lives in the Extra Deck, it provides a consistent way to access the Rahi Nui via its Contact Fusion clause. And when you do so, the Worm in the GY will trigger to bring back a Tuner, enabling further climbing with your complementary free Synchro.
Place of Shadow
Continuous Spell
(This card is always treated as a “Rahi” and “Makuta” card.) Once per turn: You can Tribute 1 monster; take 1 “Rahi” Normal Monster from your Deck or GY, and either add it to your hand or Special Summon it. If you Special Summon it, it becomes DARK. If this card is sent to the GY (except during the Damage Step): You can Fusion Summon 1 “Rahi” Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, by banishing materials from your field, GY, and/or face-up Extra Deck. You can only use this effect of “Place of Shadow” once per turn.
Bionicle: Protodermic Evolution (v4.7.3)
Another way to get DARK Rahi is this card, which fetches specifically the Rahi Normal Monsters (which are, of course, the Rahi Nui’s canon components) from the Deck. This comes at the cost of a Tribute, because I thought it would be very funny to have synergy between Place of Shadow and Lair of Darkness. It’s basically the same name, after all!
Alternatively, if you send this card straight to the GY, it works as a traditional Fusion Spell that banishes its materials from field, GY, and face-up Extra Deck, leading to a whole bunch of Types on the resulting monster if you have the setup.
The following demo video also does a good job of showing these features.
Makuta
The cards related to the overlord behind all the infected Rahi terrorizing the island also got some tweaks along the way, just to keep them up to date.
Destroy all other “Kanohi” Equip Spell Cards equipped to the monster equipped with this card. During your opponent’s Standby Phase, if they control the equipped monster: Your opponent can send 1 card from their hand or field to the GY, except the equipped monster; otherwise, take control of the equipped monster. While your opponent controls the equipped monster, it cannot declare an attack unless your opponent sends 1 card from their hand or field to the GY. During your Draw Phase, if your opponent controls a face-up monster and this card is in your GY, instead of conducting your normal draw: You can add this card to your hand.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
4.7.3
Infected Kanohi
Equip Spell
Destroy all other cards equipped to the equipped monster. The equipped monster cannot declare an attack or activate its effects unless its controller sends 1 card from their hand or field to the GY. During your opponent’s Standby Phase, if they control the equipped monster: Your opponent can send 1 other card from their hand or field to the GY; otherwise, take control of the equipped monster. During your Draw Phase, if your opponent controls a face-up monster and this card is in your GY, instead of conducting your normal draw: You can add this card to your hand.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
The Infected Kanohi got what could as this point be called a fairly standard modernization update of also restricting effect activations in additon to attacks. And it now does so even after control of that monster changes to you, because if you think about it, the struggle against the infection doesn’t end even after it manages to turn you against your allies.
You can Ritual Summon this card with “I am Nothing”. Must be Ritual Summoned, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. If this card is Ritual Summoned: Return all Special Summoned Level/Rank 5 or higher monsters on the field to the hand. You can Tribute this card; Special Summon 1 “Rahi” monster from your hand, Deck, or GY whose Level is less than or equal to the number of monsters in your GY. You can only use this effect of “The Makuta” once per turn.
You can Ritual Summon this card with “I am Nothing”. If this card is Ritual Summoned: You can return all Special Summoned monsters on the field with 2000 or more ATK to the hand. You can Tribute 1 DARK monster; add 1 “Rahi” card from your Deck or GY to your hand, then you can Special Summon 1 monster from your hand whose Level is less than or equal to the number of monsters in your GY. You can only use this effect of “The Makuta” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Makuta himself sticks to the concept of being a small Ritual Monster that mass removes large Special Summoned monsters on Summon and brings out a Rahi. But the definition of “large” has been updated to suit the standard Toa identifier of >=2000 ATK – ideally this would just have been Extra Deck monsters, since it’s based on the Toa Kaita coming undone in Makuta’s presence, but I didn’t want to ruin the Kaiju Makuta synergy. The effect to get a monster has also been upgraded to get any “Rahi” card, and after doing that you get to Summon something from hand based on how stacked your GY is, meaning the old use cases are still intact, among many others. And the change in cost is once again meant for Lair of Darkness synergy.
When this card is activated: You can add 1 “Makuta” Ritual Monster or 1 Ritual Spell Card from your Deck to your hand. Once per turn: You can send up to 4 cards from the top of your Deck to the GY, and if you do, increase the Level/Rank of all Special Summoned monsters your opponent controls by 1 for each, until the end of this turn. You cannot Special Summon monsters the turn you activate this effect, except “Makuta” monsters. Summons of “Makuta” monsters and the activation of their effects cannot be negated. If this card is in your GY: You can destroy 1 Spell/Trap Card you control, and if you do, add this card to your hand, but it cannot be activated for the rest of this turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
4.7.3
Mangaia, Lair of Makuta
Field Spell
When this card is activated: You can add 1 “Makuta” Ritual Monster or 1 Ritual Spell from your Deck to your hand. Once per turn: You can send cards from the top of your Deck to the GY, equal to the number of Special Summoned monsters your opponent controls; the ATK of all Special Summoned monsters your opponent currently controls become 2000, until the end of this turn. If this card is in your GY: You can destroy 1 Spell/Trap you control, and if you do, add this card to your hand. You can only activate 1 “Mangaia, Lair of Makuta” per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Speaking of Lairs: The wall of text that was Mangaia got cut down a bit, specifically by removing the clause preventing responses to your Makuta summons and effects – while appropriately villainous, that kind of noninteractive clause is still the thing I’m most ready to cut given the choice. Its generic milling effect has been depowered by tying it to the number of your opponent’s Special Summoned monsters, and adjusted to suit Makuta’s own new text. And rather than not being able to activate it the turn you add it back, you’re just generally limited to activating 1 per turn only.
And I guess this is a fairly reasonable point to bring up one more Rahi that’s technically Aqua, but exists outside that Type’s strategy to instead act as support for all the different Normal Pendulums representing the large sets from 2001. I’m talking about the guardians of Mangaia that did in fact release in that same wave of toys: The Manas.
Effect MonsterLevel 10 | DARK Aqua | ATK 3200 / DEF 2600
Cannot be targeted or destroyed by your opponent’s card effects. Once per turn, if a Spell/Trap Card is activated: This card gains 800 ATK until the end of this turn. During your Standby Phase: Return this Special Summoned card to your hand.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
4.7.3
Manas, Monstrous Crab Rahi
Effect MonsterLevel 10 | DARK Aqua | ATK 3200 / DEF 2600
Gains 400 ATK/DEF for each face-up Spell/Trap on the field. You can only use each of the following effects of “Manas, Monstrous Crab Rahi” once per turn. You can discard this card; add 1 “Rahi” Normal Monster from your Deck to your hand. During your opponent’s turn, if you control a “Rahi” Normal Monster Card (Quick Effect): You can Special Summon this card from your GY, and if you do, it is unaffected by other monsters’ effects, also return it to the hand during the End Phase.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
Initially, this was a big protected beater you were meant to Tribute Summon over whatever you spam with the Pendulum Rahi, to the point where it wouldn’t even stay on the field if Summoned another way. After some thorough reconsidering, its primary function is now discarding it to search a Normal Monster, and on the opponent’s turn it can be Special Summoned as a wall that’s hard to get over (in fact, it’s specifically designed so a Toa Kaita can’t deal with it except by taking out the backrow “heating towers” granting it strength). Doing this still makes it return to your hand, as before, but now that just means you can discard it for another search.
Yes, I am Nothing received no changes. Can’t fix perfection.
The Rest
One Rahi and one ex-Rahi remain, by virtue of not being at home in any of the listed strategies.
The first is a Dragon that can work with them all: the Hikaki.
Pendulum Scale = 5 [ Pendulum Effect ] When a “Rahi” monster(s) is Special Summoned: You can add 1 “Rahi” Tuner from your Deck to your hand. You can only use this effect of “Hikaki, Dragon Rahi” once per turn. If you control no monsters: You can Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] A Synchro Monster that was Summoned using this card as Synchro Material gains this effect. ● When a Trap Card is activated (Quick Effect): You can shuffle 1 face-up “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Extra Deck into the Deck; negate the activation, and if you do, destroy that card.
2+ Level 3 monsters If this card is Xyz Summoned: You can detach 1 material from this card; add 1 “Rahi” monster from your Deck to your hand. If a “Rahi” monster(s) is sent to your GY (except during the Damage Step): You can detach 1 material from this card, then target 1 face-up card on the field; destroy it. You can only use each effect of “Hikaki, Dragon Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
The initial use case this was meant for was getting from Beast combos into those otherwise unsearchable Insect Tuners, so really not too different from its old Pendulum Effect if you think about it. But it also has applications in other decks with multiple Level 3s, like Marine Rahi, and even in those without since it can be made generically with the Terrortop engine.
The second one has been taken out of the Rahi archetype entirely, since it technically isn’t one. “I can’t be a Rahi?”, said the Daikau. “Then I’ll be a Trap Hole, fuck you.”
Pendulum Scale = 2 [ Pendulum Effect ] You can send 1 “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Deck to the GY; all monsters your opponent currently controls lose ATK equal to that monster’s ATK, until the end of this turn. You can only use this effect of “Daikau, Floral Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is sent to the GY: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower WATER monster from your GY, except this card. If this card is banished: You can discard 1 “Rahi” card, then target 1 monster with 2000 or less ATK on the field; destroy it. You can only use 1 “Daikau, Floral Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
4.7.3
Daikau Trap Hole
Trap
When a monster with less than 2000 ATK activates its effect on the field: You can destroy that monster, and if it was Normal or Special Summoned this turn, you can Special Summon this card as a Normal Monster (Plant/WATER/Level 4/ATK 1800/DEF 0). (This card is NOT treated as a Trap.) If this card is in your GY: You can banish 1 Insect or Plant monster you control; Set this card. You can only use this effect of “Daikau Trap Hole” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v4.7.3)
I wonder if anyone would bother playing this in Traptrix.
Closing Thoughts
From the moment I first put out the original versions of these cards in … 2016 I think?, I wasn’t happy with how they turned out. I even said as much in the design notes back then – I didn’t finish, I just decided to be done and move on. So you can imagine I am now very relieved to finally have this done properly. There’s still room for fixes and adjustments, as noted above, but at the very least, the archetype is now in a state where the future support that will surely come has clear design directions to follow.
Aside from that, I have to say this was fun. Way too much work at once, but still fun. I got to nerd out over a spreadsheet, write what is basically a guidebook on Rahi zoology as applied to card games, think up a bunch of cool effects and interactions, and even build some Rahi that only ever appeared in text form – the Lava Rat, Subterranean Worm, Makuta Fish, and Rahi Nui you see here are all original creations. It’s certainly a mix of creative activities I couldn’t be getting any other way.
Now, dear reader, whether you’ve made it this far through all of the above or you just scrolled and skimmed your way down here, I thank you very much for your attention and hope to eventually have it again when the Time comes.
The next update after this will be in a few months.
With the sonorous rhyme of pottery, we enter the final article of Rahi investigation, just in time to start actually working on the update.
The remaining topic is simply all those archetype support cards that provide basic utility and are meant to be played in different strategies regardless of Type or focus, to avoid reimplementing a certain core lineup of effects over and over again.
Our scholarly journey so far has uncovered that it makes sense to group the multitude of Rahi species into a few major Types focused around distinct playstyles. Beast, Winged Beasts, and Beast-Warriors who climb into massive Synchros and win via beatdown. Aqua, Fish, and Sea Serpents who use removal and disruption effects to control the board without centering on singular boss monsters. Reptiles running a focused strategy of moving monsters, particularly Pendulums, between the front and back rows. And Insects, who provide somewhat splashable swarming of small critters and a toolbox of larger ones. All rounded out by the occasional wildcard that’s a Dragon or something.
Now if we want a reusable “Rahi core”, it’s important for it to be smoothly compatible with all of those major strategies, but at the same time it shouldn’t have too much direct synergy with any one of them, as it would just make them feel suboptimal when used in the rest. Also, anything we can put on the intentionally splashable Insects and the various standalone Dragons should be on a good path towards filling the kind of role we are aiming for here.
Other than that, a very simple and straightforward way for a card to support all available Types without belonging to any of them is for it to not have a Type at all – in other words, Spell and Trap Cards. The Rahi archetype already contains several of them, so making use of those slots effectively could lift a lot of the burden off the monster lineup.
But in any case, what needs to be established first and foremost if we want our generics to handle the universally required groundwork is this: What mechanics are actually common to all Rahi strategies, and what can be done to support those in a simple, easy-to-use manner? Here are some thoughts on that.
Synchro Summoning! While I have planned Fusions, Links, Xyz, and even Rituals for certain special cases, the primary representation for combiners and other large Rahi is supposed to be Synchros. Beasts & co go in extra hard on this aspect, but some basic access should be guaranteed and supported for everyone.
Pendulums with GY and banishment effects. One of my earliest Rahi observations on this site was about that design making it so they inhabit every niche of the gameboard ecosystem, which really suits their nature as wildlife. So I’d like to preserve that aspect, and since it doesn’t especially connect to any of the proposed playstyles, it’s probably going to end up a shared trait.
Support Spells/Traps with an additional effect in the GY. Nowadays, this is pretty common, but back when the first version of BCOR was made, it was meant to be a special trait – not of Rahi, but of Makuta. That’s why cards like Rahi Swarm or Rahi Hive Showdown were deliberately themed after instances of Makuta using the Rahi as a tool to attack the villages of Mata Nui. Be that as it may, the concept is still somewhat appropriate for the Rahi archetype in general, since milling and discarding are going to be major ways to actually get your Pendulums into the GY. So it’s possible additional Rahi backrow in the long term will also function like this, and as mentioned before, non-monster cards are a good vehicle for utility across Types.
Assuming I didn’t forget anything, all mechanics beyond that should be specific to a certain Type or other subgrouping of the large Rahi pool. So that restricts the focus for generic support to a few key areas: stuff like searching, revival, and maybe removal that archetypes generally tend to have, Synchro Summoning, and the specific mechanic of getting Rahi monsters, Spells, and Traps into the GY or banishment. Let’s talk about the options we have for each.
Support Directions
Searching
A very straightforward example I tend to think of when I talk about not wanting to repeat universally applicable effects across multiple subgroups is searching, i.e., adding a specified card from your Deck to your hand. Obviously, having a card that just says Add 1 “Rahi” monster is better than having one that lets you Add 1 Beast, Beast-Warrior, or Winged Beast “Rahi” monster, plus one that lets you Add 1 Aqua, Fish, or Sea Serpent “Rahi” monster, plus one that lets you Add 1 Reptile “Rahi” monster, and so on. While we do not quite have such a searcher in the style of ROTA, there are a few cards that get reasonably close.
Rahi Swarm
Spell
If your opponent controls a monster and you control no monsters: Add 2 “Rahi” monsters with the same Type, but different names, from your Deck to your hand. For the rest of this turn, your opponent takes no damage. You can banish this card from your GY; Special Summon 1 “Rahi” monster from your GY, but it cannot attack, also it is destroyed during the End Phase. You can only use 1 “Rahi Swarm” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
One is Rahi Swarm, a double searcher in which a very early flash of Type-based strategy planning can be seen. That is, it searches regardless of Type, so long as both of your targets belong the same one. However, it doesn’t quite get all the way to fitting the current iteration of the concept, since it fails to account for the multi-Type groups around Beasts and Fish. What it does still cover are the Normal Pendulum Pairs for which it was originally designed, and so it will probably continue to work that way in the new version, meaning we should keep in mind that monsters you want in your hand together benefit somewhat from having the exact same Type.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters If this card is Synchro Summoned: Draw 1 card. If this card is sent from the field to the GY: Add 1 “Rahi” monster from your Deck to your hand. You can only use each effect of “Gukko-Kahu, Hawk Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
The Gukko-Kahu gives us a search of just one, but on an Extra Deck monster … when it’s sent from the field to the GY. That’s a bit nonstandard, but basically the idea is to search extension or followup while you use it as material to climb higher. Not out of tune with how Beast-ish Rahi are supposed to work, but may need some more specific limitations to avoid crossing streams with other Types.
Pendulum Scale = 3 [ Pendulum Effect ] While you have a Level 5 Insect “Rahi” Pendulum Monster Card in your other Pendulum Zone, your opponent’s cards and effects cannot be activated in response to the Pendulum Summon of a “Rahi” monster. You can target 1 “Rahi” monster you control; Special Summon 1 “Rahi” monster with the same Type and a lower or equal Level from your Deck, but it cannot attack this turn. You can only use this effect of “Nui-Rama, Fly Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Flavor Text ] A harsh buzz fills the air…a rustle of wings…a dark shape flying out of the sun…the warning signs of a Nui-Rama attack.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
The Nui-Rama offers a different kind of search by Special Summoning from the Deck, and like the Rahi Swarm that references it, it does so by matching another monster’s Type. In principle, this being an Insect does qualify it for being used by everyone and everything, but I kind of see the high-Level Normal Pendulums as something meant to specifically go into the native Type strategy, and their Insect member should be no different. Might end up restricting this one a bit more, but as a Level 5 brick with no monster effects it’s probably not worth running outside of Insects anyway. Side note, the Nui-Kopen also gets something from the Deck, but does it in a weird probabilistic way, so can’t really consider that one seriously.
Encounter in the Drifts
Counter Trap
When your opponent Summons a monster(s), except during the Damage Step: Special Summon 1 “Rahi” monster whose Level is less than or equal to the highest Level among those monsters from your hand or Deck. Cards and effects cannot be activated in response to this Summon. You can only activate 1 “Encounter in the Drifts” per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
The Trap Encounter in the Drifts serves a similar purpose and also does it in a weird reactive way, but as a non-monster I’m much more inclined to preserve it for universal use. The thing is, this kind of Summoning in response to something usually works best when the monsters you bring out actually do stuff immediately when they hit the field, and how much that applies to Rahi is going to vary by strategy. Not sure yet how and where this card is going to be integrated, and in a redesign of the effect it might also be interesting to link it with The Drifts a bit more.
Next up, a known trio of troublemakers makes not trouble, but its return.
Pendulum Scale = 5 [ Pendulum Effect ] When a “Rahi” monster(s) is Special Summoned: You can add 1 “Rahi” Tuner from your Deck to your hand. You can only use this effect of “Hikaki, Dragon Rahi” once per turn. If you control no monsters: You can Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] A Synchro Monster that was Summoned using this card as Synchro Material gains this effect. ● When a Trap Card is activated (Quick Effect): You can shuffle 1 face-up “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Extra Deck into the Deck; negate the activation, and if you do, destroy that card.
Pendulum Scale = 5 [ Pendulum Effect ] When a “Rahi” monster is Normal Summoned: You can add 1 “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Deck to your hand. You can only use this effect of “Kofo-Jaga, Scorpion Rahi” once per turn. If you control no monsters: You can Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] A Synchro Monster that was Summoned using this card as Synchro Material gains this effect. ●When a monster effect is activated (Quick Effect): You can shuffle 1 face-up “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Extra Deck into the Deck; negate the activation, and if you do, destroy that monster if its ATK is lower than the ATK of the monster you shuffled into the Deck.
Pendulum Scale = 5 [ Pendulum Effect ] During your End Phase: You can add 1 “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Deck to your Extra Deck face-up. If you control no monsters: You can Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] A Synchro Monster that was Summoned using this card as Synchro Material gains this effect. ● When a Spell Card is activated (Quick Effect): You can shuffle 1 face-up “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Extra Deck into the Deck; negate the activation, and if you do, destroy that card.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
The Hikaki searches Tuners when you Special Summon, the Kofo-Jaga searches Pendulums when you Normal Summon, and the Taku just puts stuff straight into the face-up Extra Deck. This is all in service of a little mini-engine that stacks bonus negates on a Synchro Monster, but I don’t think I’ll be keeping that around as it lacks any basis in the lore whatsoever.
So, can we at least apply their functionality as searchers generically? The two most relevant ones do happen to be a Dragon and an Insect and are therefore not strictly tied to one strategy, but I think the search utility they offer right now isn’t sufficient to make up for the Type mismatch of including them. They’d need to be cleaned up into something that’s not necessarily stronger, but easier to use and providing a service that’s hard to replace otherwise.
The Taku is out, sorry. Winged Beasts have their own thing going on, and I’m sure it will find an appropriate use over there without needing to fly into other decks.
Pendulum Scale = 2 [ Pendulum Effect ] (Quick Effect): You can send 1 face-up “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Extra Deck to the GY, then destroy this card. You can only use this effect of “Mahi, Goat Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is sent to the GY: You can add 1 Level 3 or lower “Rahi” monster from your Deck to your hand. If this card is banished: You can add 1 of your banished Level 3 or lower “Rahi” monsters that was not banished this turn to your hand. You can only use 1 “Mahi, Goat Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
Similarly, the Mahi searching low-Level Rahi (the handtrap Tuners, mainly) doesn’t really make too much sense for a Beast – those barely even have small ones among their ranks, for one thing. So this is another generic search we’ll end up losing in favour of supporting a specific sub-strategy.
Ghekula, Amphibious Rahi
Pendulum Effect MonsterLevel 4 | Scale 5/5 | WATER Aqua | ATK 1550 / DEF 1400
Pendulum Scale = 5 [ Pendulum Effect ] During your Main Phase: You can add 1 “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Deck or GY to your hand, except “Ghekula, Amphibious Rahi”, and if you do, take damage equal to its original ATK. You can only use this effect of “Ghekula, Amphibious Rahi” once per turn. If you control no monsters: You can Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] A Synchro Monster that was Summoned using this card as Synchro Material gains this effect. ●Once per turn, if you take effect damage: Gain LP equal to the damage you took, and if you do, inflict the same amount of damage to your opponent.
Bionicle: Beware the Swarm (v3.15.5)
The Ghekula is a weird one that only searches because I couldn’t think of anything else useful to include in its Pendulum Effect, where the main point is actually dealing damage to yourself. Once again, it’s Aqua, those aren’t supposed to be generic, and thus there is no need to consider it here any further.
Takea, Shark Rahi
Pendulum Effect MonsterLevel 4 | Scale 5/5 | WATER Fish | ATK 1800 / DEF 900
Pendulum Scale = 5 [ Pendulum Effect ] At the start of the Damage Step, if a “Rahi” monster you control battles: You can double any battle damage your opponent takes from that battle. You can only use this effect of “Takea, Shark Rahi” once per turn. If you control no monsters: You can Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] A Synchro Monster that was Summoned using this card as Synchro Material gains this effect. ●If this card inflicts battle damage to your opponent: Special Summon 1 “Rahi” monster from your Deck with ATK less than or equal to half the damage inflicted, but it cannot attack this turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
Similar things can be said about the Takea, which summons from Deck in the weirdest, most roundabout way possible. Will definitely end up changed into something that meshes with its Fishy friends better.
So, final tally, it looks like we’ll just have three cards – a Spell, a Dragon, and an Insect – that can be used to add search power to any and all Rahi decks. Should be enough since there can always be Type-specific consistency cards to further boost it where needed; we just have to make sure these three slots are used effectively without huge redundancy. For example, if Rahi Swarm takes care of searching monsters, maybe the other two could be variants of Spell/Trap searchers. We don’t have those at all right now, and it kind of makes sense they’d be generic when the backrow is too.
Revival
Oh look, it’s Rahi Swarm again.
Rahi Swarm
Spell
If your opponent controls a monster and you control no monsters: Add 2 “Rahi” monsters with the same Type, but different names, from your Deck to your hand. For the rest of this turn, your opponent takes no damage. You can banish this card from your GY; Special Summon 1 “Rahi” monster from your GY, but it cannot attack, also it is destroyed during the End Phase. You can only use 1 “Rahi Swarm” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
The GY effect on this card is indeed a revive, so it fits two of the categories we’re looking for here. That’s perhaps not a bad approach to take generally, since it will help us keep the package of reusable utility small and in turn leave more room for each deck’s own gimmick. One thing I would change about this is making the revival also dependent on matching Types somehow, to keep that theme consistent.
Pendulum Scale = 5 [ Pendulum Effect ] If a card in your Pendulum Zone is destroyed: You can Special Summon 1 face-up Level 4 or lower “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Extra Deck. You can only use this effect of “Husi, Ostrich Rahi” once per turn. If you control no monsters: You can Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] A Synchro Monster that was Summoned using this card as Synchro Material gains this effect. ●If this card is destroyed by a card effect and sent to the GY: Target 1 “Rahi” monster in your GY with a lower Level than this card; Special Summon it.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
The Husi has revival locked behind a floating effect granted to a Synchro Monster, so even if it wasn’t mostly disqualified by virtue of its Type, using that probably wouldn’t be realistic.
Pendulum Scale = 2 [ Pendulum Effect ] Once per turn: You can reduce the Pendulum Scale of the card in your other Pendulum Zone by 1 until the End Phase; this turn, while this card is in your Pendulum Zone, you can also Pendulum Summon “Rahi” Pendulum Monsters from your GY, but monsters Summoned this way are destroyed during the End Phase. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is sent to the GY: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower EARTH monster from your GY, except this card. If this card is banished: You can Special Summon 1 Level 3 or lower “Rahi” monster from your GY. You can only use 1 “Ussal, Crab Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
The Ussal lets us revive stuff in the fanciest way possible, by rewriting the rules and Pendulum Summoning from the GY. I kind of want to keep that just for the novelty, but it may be refined with a Beast(-ish) lock and more Synchro focus. There’s also a second avenue of revival in the monster effect for EARTH monsters specifically, which kind of bleeds into other Type decks at random points, but this effect, as well as its counterparts for other Attributes, will require careful planning of their interaction with all kinds of decks anyway.
You can Ritual Summon this card with “I am Nothing”. Must be Ritual Summoned, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. If this card is Ritual Summoned: Return all Special Summoned Level/Rank 5 or higher monsters on the field to the hand. You can Tribute this card; Special Summon 1 “Rahi” monster from your hand, Deck, or GY whose Level is less than or equal to the number of monsters in your GY. You can only use this effect of “The Makuta” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
And finally, we should at least mention The Makuta one time. The overlord of the infected Rahi can get any of them to the field from almost anywhere, but I don’t really see that as Rahi support. Instead, you’re meant to use it to easily access Rahi in a deck focused around Makuta, which is something that will have to be worked out in lockstep with the Rahi update as a whole.
Synchro Support
Okay, what does that even mean? There isn’t really a specific phrase I can search to filter the cards that apply, so I guess the play is going through the potential categories of universal support and finding the stuff that interacts with Synchros. For what it’s worth, though, I can already say that none of the currently implemented cards explicitly mention “Rahi” Synchro Monsters.
Siege of the Rahi
Continuous Spell
Once per turn, when your opponent Normal or Special Summons a Level 4 or lower monster(s): You can change 1 of those monsters to face-down Defense Position. During your End Phase, if you do not control a Level 5 or higher “Rahi” monster: Destroy this card. If a Level 5 or higher “Rahi” monster you control would be destroyed, you can banish this card from your GY instead.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
Of the Spells/Traps, the one that gets closest is Siege of the Rahi, which acts as disruption if you control a high-Level Rahi, and as protection for that same group. That does include a lot of Synchros, but not all Synchros are high-Level and not all high Levels are Synchros, so it’s only tangentially relevant.
Since Synchro Summoning is a pretty monster-centric process, I’m not sure backrow can meaningfully contribute to that anyway, outside of general stuff that gets you more monsters. An alternative way they could take advantage of Synchros being used by all Types is gaining additional or stronger effects while you control a Synchro Monster. Something like Devastation of the Rahi may get to blow up additional cards in that case, for example.
One thing that more directly helps us with Synchro plays is, of course, Tuners. As those tend to be at low Levels, Insects may be of some assistance.
You can banish this card from your GY, then target 1 Level 3 or higher “Rahi” monster you control; reduce that target’s Level by 1, then Special Summon 1 “Fikou, Spider Rahi” from your hand or Deck. You can only use this effect of “Fikou, Spider Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
If the Normal Pendulums were the first prototype of Type-specific Rahi support, then the Fikou was the original Type-independent support card to go with them. It’s purpose is simply to duplicate itself next to a high-Level Rahi to enable a Synchro play, which is kind of the key thing we’re going to need for all the different Synchro-based strategies: An easily Special Summonable Tuner.
The rest of the little bug dudes – the Hoto, Electric/Lightning Bug, and Cliff Bug -do not currently satisfy this requirement, instead acting as handtraps with no inherent way to get them on the field for Synchro plays. That leaves the Fikou in an unfortunately load-bearing position, and has just now started bothering me aesthetically because all of these monsters even have different Attributes! They’re missing DARK and WIND, but the powers afforded to me by The Spreadsheet let me know those slots can be filled later with something like Niazesk and Protodites, so really these guys are just asking to be grouped together. Will probably redesign them all so they can get themselves on the field for some Tuning, maybe with a small hint of their original disruptive effects, and possibly change them to Level 1 as well.
If you have your Tuners and non-Tuners assembled, you’re ready to perform a Synchro Summon … if the stars align. Swarming the field won’t help you if you can’t get the right sum of Levels, so ways to modulate those also fall under the category of Synchro support. We’ve already seen the Fikou do it as a drawback that could be cleverly worked into a combo, but there is another card that gives you this ability with much more freedom.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters When this card is Synchro Summoned: You can choose a number from 1 to 4; reduce this card’s Level by that number, then take damage equal to that number x 300. When using this Synchro Summoned card as a Synchro Material, you can use 1 face-up “Rahi” Pendulum Monster in your Extra Deck (and no other monsters) as the other Synchro Material.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
The Dikapi is not only a Synchro Tuner, but can also lower its Level to whatever you need to make the numbers work out. As a Winged Beast, it couldn’t be in a better place to provide that kind of help to its native deck, but meant to be splashable in other Types it is not. As it is right now, I wouldn’t build a Rahi deck without using this, so to keep things orderly it will need some restrictions added.
Where, then, are we to get our Level modulation? Well, for one thing we could simply make sure the Levels on the Synchros and their materials natively line up so that isn’t necessary, just like plenty of archetypes have managed already. But with how much variation there is in Rahi sizes, it might not end up feeling right to strictly tie the best size indicator we have to gameplay maths, so I’d like a plan B just in case. And the most suitable choice for that are probably the Insect Tuners, since you’ll need them for Synchro plays anyway, and the Fikou already changes Levels anyway. My second preference would be the Spells/Traps, where you can cheaply include a bonus Level change as a GY effect or something.
Graveyard/Banishment Support
This last one is actually really important to have freely available with minimal investment, so as to enable smooth operation of the schizoid design choice that is “Pendulum Monsters with GY effects”. In an age where regular monsters can access their postmortem shenanigans simply by becoming Link Material, we can’t afford to jump through any major hoops just to trigger the ones we have on our Pendulums. That means effects, or even better costs, that send from hand/Deck/Extra Deck need to be nearly as accessible as basic game mechanics.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters When this card is Synchro Summoned: You can send 1 “Rahi” monster from your Deck to the GY; this card gains 500 ATK. You can banish this card until the End Phase of your next turn; destroy 1 card on the field. You can only use this effect of “Kirikori-Nui, Locust Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
The Kirikori-Nui offers such functionality from the Insect side, sending straight from Deck to GY as cost. You just need to pull of a Level 3 Synchro Summon, which is going to be a bit tricky without the Level modulation covered in the previous section. As of right now, this is meant to be made by using the Fikou on one of the Level 3 Rahi, which are the ones concentrating all the GY/banish effects. Maybe with a softening of those established statlines, a legitimate Level 2 non-Tuner may also pop up somewhere.
Pendulum Scale = 2 [ Pendulum Effect ] You can send 1 “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Deck to the GY; all monsters your opponent currently controls lose ATK equal to that monster’s ATK, until the end of this turn. You can only use this effect of “Daikau, Floral Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is sent to the GY: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower WATER monster from your GY, except this card. If this card is banished: You can discard 1 “Rahi” card, then target 1 monster with 2000 or less ATK on the field; destroy it. You can only use 1 “Daikau, Floral Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
The Daikau’s Pendulum Effect is a Main Deck example of milling a Rahi for cost, though with the drawback that the associated effect requires your opponent to have a monster first. Its misfit Type of Plant looks like something we’re looking for at first glance, but keep in mind that this is an actual plant and not technically a Rahi – which makes its future inclusion in the archetype dubious. As of right now, I would not count on having this available in this form after the update.
Pendulum Scale = 2 [ Pendulum Effect ] You can banish 1 “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Deck; this card’s Pendulum Scale becomes the same as that monster’s, and if it does, destroy this card during the End Phase. You can only use this effect of “Moa, Bird Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is sent to the GY: You can shuffle 1 of your banished “Rahi” cards into the deck. If this card is banished: You can Special Summon 1 Level 3 or lower “Rahi” monster from your hand. You can only use 1 “Moa, Bird Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
And the Moa is the counterpart to those two for banishing, while requiring nothing but itself on the field to be usable. Unfortunately, it’s a Winged Beast, so we don’t actually want it to be overly generic. That said, I believe birds having a bit of a native banishing focus is an idea that has come up before, so this effect might be worth keeping with some anti-splash restriction.
A brief mention goes to various Beasts that help us bin or banish stuff, but in ways that aren’t really good enough to be worth keeping. The Mahi sends from Extra Deck to GY as its entire Pendulum Effect, the Brakas lets you banish for free if you happen to draw a Rahi while it’s scaled, and the Vako gives you a draw you can discard (thus putting it in the GY) for a stat boost.
(Quick Effect): You can banish this card from your hand or field and 1 “Rahi” monster from your GY, then target 1 Spell/Trap your opponent controls; banish that target. Your opponent cannot activate the targeted card in response to this effect’s activation. You can only use this effect of “Hoto, Firebug Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
More interesting are the Level 2 handtrap Tuners, many of them Insects. The banishing costs on these were initially meant to be how you get the banish triggers, but that idea was always weak on account of requiring Pendulums in the GY first. I don’t see anything wrong with a simple fix of letting you also banish from the face-up Extra Deck, so that’s likely to happen for their update – maybe combined with a way to more easily get them on field as Tuners.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters When this card is Synchro Summoned: You can choose a number from 1 to 4; reduce this card’s Level by that number, then take damage equal to that number x 300. When using this Synchro Summoned card as a Synchro Material, you can use 1 face-up “Rahi” Pendulum Monster in your Extra Deck (and no other monsters) as the other Synchro Material.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
The Dikapi’s additional ability to use Pendulums in the Extra Deck as Synchro Material does cause them to go to the GY by game mechanics, making it the closest equivalent we have to “just linking them off”. As noted previously, this is supposed to be a card exclusive to the Beast strategy, which has two key implications for me. One, there will have to be some (Winged) Beast Rahi that do stuff in the GY to take advantage of this, and two, I might need to come up with a generic equivalent if this really does turn out to be the absolute best Extra->GY mechanism.
One plan I can reveal in that direction already is that the Rahi Nui, big multi-Type Contact Fusion monstrosity that it is, will also come with a kind of Fusion Spell, and that one will allow using materials from hand, field, and/or face-up Extra Deck. So at least there’s going to be an option that can theoretically work in any deck, if it’s willing to run Rahi Nui stuff.
Conclusion
In summary, the following areas in need of generic support have the following cards that can potentially fill that role right out of the gate:
Searching: The Rahi Swarm Spell, the Dragon-Type Hikaki, and the Insect-Type Kofo-Jaga; matching Types may be relevant for monster searches, and a way to search Spells and Traps would certainly be helpful.
Revival: Rahi Swarm again … but nothing else currently, outside the Synchro Spam of the Beast strategy. Maybe we should provide something in the Extra Deck, but whether that’s generic or not and whether that’s part of the initial wave or not is still up in the air. Pendulums do kind of have this built in anyway, but then we send ours to GY and banishment, not to mention the Tuners tend not to be Pendulums at all …
Synchro Support: A way to universally ensure access to Synchro Monsters is implementing various small Insect Rahi as Tuners that can Special Summon themselves. A way to take advantage of having those Synchros everywhere is letting generic Spells/Traps access bonus effects in the presence of Synchro Monsters. Level Modulation is something we might need, but do not currently have a solid home for – may be the Insects as well.
GY/Banishment Support: Methods exist to get Pendulums where we want them in the form of costs, several on them even on cards that are appropriate to be made generic. However, like with the searchers, a way to do this with Spells and Traps is absent and should be added.
Overall, I think it’s best to limit the use of generic Main Deck monsters to key engine-driving features like searching and tuning, as otherwise it will be hard to justify including them despite mismatched Types. Everything more involved should be either Extra Deck monsters, which are easier to fit (but do need to be designed around when it comes to Type locks and such), and Spells/Traps that can trivially go anywhere. There are a few already existing backrow cards like Infection of the Rahi that have not been mentioned here yet because they do absolutely nothing relevant, so certainly those could be reworked to do stuff we’re missing. Not to mention that new ones can be made at any time if I can just find some Rahi-related object/place/event/concept to base it on. A lot easier than monsters.
More precise design decisions will have to wait until the update is further along, because the really challenging part is going to be simultaneously streamlining these generic cards in each and every one of the different strategies. One can only hope that 10 full articles of yapping about Rahi have sufficiently prepared me for this task.
Oh golly, finally a post that talks about something else than Rahi and …
nah, tricked you, still a Rahi post. But only one more to go after this, so we have in fact reached peak penultimacy. I’m not sure that’s a word, but at the very least it’s a combination of letters that has been typed before.
Certain Rahi appear not only in the wild, but also fill significant roles within Matoran society, particularly its more rural incarnation on the island of Mata Nui. Whether they are used as beasts of burden, kept as pets, or handle more specific tasks, that is a relationship that would be nice to reflect in card design.
To some extent, this has already been done from the Matoran side:
When this card is Normal Summoned: You can target 1 of your banished EARTH monsters; place it on the bottom of the Deck, then you can reveal any number of “Matoran” monsters in your hand, and if you do, gain 500 LP for each. During your Main Phase: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Beast “Rahi” monster from your hand or GY, but banish it when it leaves the field. You can only use each effect of “Matoran Racer Onepu” once per turn.
If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can send 1 Winged Beast “Rahi” monster from your hand or Deck to the GY, and if you do, this card can attack your opponent directly this turn. You can only use this effect of “Matoran Pilot Kongu” once per turn. When this card inflicts battle damage to your opponent: You can banish 1 WIND monster from your GY, then target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls with DEF less than or equal to that banished monster’s ATK; destroy it.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.20.4)
These two individuals whose occupations both involve riding certain types of Rahi interact with just that in-game Type, providing a point of synergy that justifies mixing a Rahi or two into an appropriate Koro deck. In the other direction, the interaction is a bit less targeted and stems mainly from that small group of Rahi that provide a generic revival effect for their respective Attributes – as we will see in a moment.
To summarize the question at hand: What is the best way to encode these connections between Matoran and Rahi into designs going forward?
Implemented
For four of the six Attributes, we already have one Rahi each that helps out by bringing back other matching monsters from the GY. Most prominent in this group are the EARTH and WIND ones that are already involved in combos with the Matoran shown above.
Pendulum Scale = 2 [ Pendulum Effect ] Once per turn: You can reduce the Pendulum Scale of the card in your other Pendulum Zone by 1 until the End Phase; this turn, while this card is in your Pendulum Zone, you can also Pendulum Summon “Rahi” Pendulum Monsters from your GY, but monsters Summoned this way are destroyed during the End Phase. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is sent to the GY: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower EARTH monster from your GY, except this card. If this card is banished: You can Special Summon 1 Level 3 or lower “Rahi” monster from your GY. You can only use 1 “Ussal, Crab Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
The Ussal is a crab that sees widespread use among Matoran for … more or less anything you might use a horse for in our world. Transporting passengers or cargo, riding into battle, racing for sport, and all that stuff. Their chief employers are the Onu-Matoran and, on Metru-Nui, also the Le-Matoran. Between being strictly ground-based creatures and their special skill of helping with tunnel-digging, it’s clear EARTH is the most reasonable Attribute to support.
The other effects are specific to Rahi, so a Matoran deck won’t derive any benefit from them (though they do theoretically work with additional copies of the card). This isn’t necessarily a problem, since the synergy already functions fine when built around the single generic effect, but we will have to reconsider the in-archetype interactions in light of the shift to Type-based substrategies. Perhaps in that process, we could take some care to give the Rahi in this little category abilities that, to some extent, still apply in a non-Rahi deck – like recycling themselves, for example.
Pendulum Scale = 2 [ Pendulum Effect ] If you control no other cards: You can add 1 WIND monster from your Deck to your hand, except “Kewa, Vulture Rahi”, and if you do, destroy this card during the End Phase. You can only use this effect of “Kewa, Vulture Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is sent to the GY: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower WIND monster from your GY, except this card. If this card is banished: You can add 1 “Rahi” card from your GY to your hand. You can only use 1 “Kewa, Vulture Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
The Gukko and its subspecies, including the Kewa, are the aerial steeds used in Le-Koro, and thus a close counterpart to the Ussal. It only makes sense then, to make it the WIND representative of the same category, and indeed much of what we said for the crab also applies to the vulture. The Pendulum Effect on this one is actually extremely useful in generic WIND decks, being able to search basically anything as long as you use it on an empty field, but it also definitely isn’t surviving a redesign, so eh.
Pendulum Scale = 2 [ Pendulum Effect ] You can send 1 “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Deck to the GY; all monsters your opponent currently controls lose ATK equal to that monster’s ATK, until the end of this turn. You can only use this effect of “Daikau, Floral Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is sent to the GY: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower WATER monster from your GY, except this card. If this card is banished: You can discard 1 “Rahi” card, then target 1 monster with 2000 or less ATK on the field; destroy it. You can only use 1 “Daikau, Floral Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Pendulum Scale = 2 [ Pendulum Effect ] Once per turn, at the start of the Battle Phase: You can target 1 face-up monster you control; this turn, when that target battles an opponent’s monster, destroy both monsters at the start of the Damage Step, except FIRE monsters. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is sent to the GY: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower FIRE monster from your GY, except this card. If this card is banished: You can banish the top card of your Deck; add this card to your Extra Deck face-up. You can only use 1 “Infernavika, Lava Bird Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Beware the Swarm (v3.15.5)
Now the WATER and FIRE members don’t get more than a footnote in this article, because neither the Daikau nor the Infernavika are in any way utilized by Matoran (and the former technically isn’t even a Rahi). I just gave them these effects to round out the quartet as an afterthought, and they’re probably not keeping them.
Of course, this does raise the question of who should instead fill the niche for these Attributes – would be unfair for only half the villages to have Rahi support, after all. Ta-Koro is a bit out of luck here, since it seems like the only real candidates are an elemental recolor of Po-Koro’s Mahi and an unnamed six-legged fox … not exactly the most worthwhile things to turn into cards.
We do, however, have one more legitimate option for Ga-Koro.
Keras, Crab Rahi
Pendulum Effect MonsterLevel 3 | Scale 2/2 | WATER Aqua | ATK 1400 / DEF 500
Pendulum Scale = 2 [ Pendulum Effect ] At the start of the Damage Step, if a monster you control with 1000 or less ATK battles an opponent’s monster: You can destroy this card, and if you do, that monster you control gains 1400 ATK until the end of this turn. You can only use this effect of “Keras, Crab Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is sent to the GY: You can target 1 Level 4 or lower monster on the field; that target is unaffected by Spell/Trap effects until the end of this turn. If this card is banished: You can target 1 Set card on the field; destroy it. You can only use 1 “Keras, Crab Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Beware the Swarm (v3.15.5)
The Keras are a more aquatic kind of crab that served as special steeds to the Ga-Matoran when they were fighting off the Bohrok swarms. This is reflected by their effects that actually all work generically to either support those with low ATK and/or Levels (Hint: that includes Matoran), or fight against face-down cards (Hint: Bohrok are Flip Monsters). That’s kind of a step up in terms of splashable design compared to what we saw so far, but given the clear parallels to Ussal and Kewa, replacing some part of these abilities with the WATER revive currently held by the Daikau is under serious consideration.
Now, moving on to Rahi that have been implemented, but failed to receive any mechanics reflecting their canon domestication. There’s a surprising amount of these.
Pendulum Scale = 2 [ Pendulum Effect ] (Quick Effect): You can send 1 face-up “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Extra Deck to the GY, then destroy this card. You can only use this effect of “Mahi, Goat Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is sent to the GY: You can add 1 Level 3 or lower “Rahi” monster from your Deck to your hand. If this card is banished: You can add 1 of your banished Level 3 or lower “Rahi” monsters that was not banished this turn to your hand. You can only use 1 “Mahi, Goat Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
Mahi are iconic for the herds of them that can be seen (and heard) in MNOG’s Po-Koro, but their usefulness as livestock has only been adapted here in the sense that they provide a lot of helpful utility effects to the Rahi archetype. One idea I have for an overhaul is to have an effect that not only provides a bit of generic utility, but also resembles some part of what Po-Koro does – the destruction replacement effect, for example, was specifically based off the Mahi trading happening in the village!
Pendulum Scale = 5 [ Pendulum Effect ] If a card in your Pendulum Zone is destroyed: You can Special Summon 1 face-up Level 4 or lower “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Extra Deck. You can only use this effect of “Husi, Ostrich Rahi” once per turn. If you control no monsters: You can Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] A Synchro Monster that was Summoned using this card as Synchro Material gains this effect. ●If this card is destroyed by a card effect and sent to the GY: Target 1 “Rahi” monster in your GY with a lower Level than this card; Special Summon it.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
The Husi plays a similar role as livestock slash trade item, and in this case the effect it gives to a Synchro Monster is based on the idea of “trading”. But again, nothing here in any way works outside the Rahi archetype, so adjustments will have to be made if we want Matoran synergy.
Pendulum Scale = 2 [ Pendulum Effect ] “Rahi” monsters you control gain 700 DEF. If a “Rahi” monster(s) you control would be destroyed, you can destroy this card instead. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If you do not control “Hapaka, Shepherd Rahi”, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand or GY) by changing 1 Level 4 or lower “Rahi” monster you control to Defense Position. If Summoned this way, banish this card when it leaves the field. If this card is banished: You can return 1 of your banished “Rahi” monsters to your GY, except “Hapaka, Shepherd Rahi”. You can only use this effect of “Hapaka, Shepherd Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Beware the Swarm (v3.15.5)
For the protection of their Mahi herds and Husi flocks, the Po-Matoran employed Hapaka. Accordingly, the effects on this one are themed around protecting other Rahi (or in case of the banish one, “returning them to the herd”), but again locked into the archetype specifically. Adjusting it for use with Matoran is going to be a bit awkward because the color scheme and their habitat in the mountains suggest to me that it’s an Ice Rahi, thus WATER … but it’s mainly used in Po-Koro, which wants EARTH. A though nut.
Since these three are so explicitly connected and all belong to the Beast/Beast-Warrior/Winged Beast typings, I could actually see them primarily acting as a small synergistic group within that strategy. Then maybe helping out Matoran could be kept to a largely symbolic level, with effects that can technically work in a Po-Koro deck, but don’t necessarily have to be so good you actually would use them.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters When this card is Synchro Summoned: You can choose a number from 1 to 4; reduce this card’s Level by that number, then take damage equal to that number x 300. When using this Synchro Summoned card as a Synchro Material, you can use 1 face-up “Rahi” Pendulum Monster in your Extra Deck (and no other monsters) as the other Synchro Material.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
On a less prominent note (in fact I wasn’t aware of this previously), the Dikapi apparently were also tamed by Po-Matoran, but as mounts for scouts and messengers rather than for trading. As the resident Synchro Tuner, this is a key piece in the Beast & co Synchro climb strategy, so I’m having a hard time imagining it redesigned in a way that also works with decks using Matoran. But maybe there is a chance if the materials are adjusted to make it feasible? Po-Koro does also want to spam stuff from the Extra Deck, after all. Side note, since the Dikapi’s big selling point is endurancem, and strong grind game is all the hotness in Yugioh these days, it would be nice if it did something related to that.
Pendulum Scale = 2 [ Pendulum Effect ] You can banish 1 “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Deck; this card’s Pendulum Scale becomes the same as that monster’s, and if it does, destroy this card during the End Phase. You can only use this effect of “Moa, Bird Rahi” once per turn. —————————————- [ Monster Effect ] If this card is sent to the GY: You can shuffle 1 of your banished “Rahi” cards into the deck. If this card is banished: You can Special Summon 1 Level 3 or lower “Rahi” monster from your hand. You can only use 1 “Moa, Bird Rahi” effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
To continue and complete the theme that Po-Matoran will tame anything, the Moa also appeared domesticated in the one game that included it. But that was only one individual Rahi, so honestly it’s probably better to just ignore that unless we happen to figure out a really subtle way to include it.
1 “Rahi” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters If this card is Synchro Summoned: Draw 1 card. If this card is sent from the field to the GY: Add 1 “Rahi” monster from your Deck to your hand. You can only use each effect of “Gukko-Kahu, Hawk Rahi” once per turn.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
What we can’t ignore is the Gukko-Kahu, the larger of the birds ridden by Le-Koro’s aerial cavalry. This is another case where the domestication was translated into effects with broad utility, but in this case one of them is a simple draw, so that’s even generic. Once again, an adjustment of materials might be all it takes to make this justifiable in a Le-Koro deck. Those aren’t explicitly about Synchro Summoning, but with Makani in there, they certainly can.
Potential Members
Now on to those candidates that have not yet received cards. This could be because we haven’t reached their part of the story yet, or because they were just deemed too irrelevant.
By that latter category, I really just mean the Lightfish, the shiny little things you see floating in Ga-Koro’s lamps in MNOG backgrounds. If implemented, they would go into the Fish/Aqua/Sea Serpent strategy that centers on effect-based removal and disruption, while also helping the Ga-Matoran playstyle that wants as many quick effects as possible. That does sound like a winning combination at first, but then things stop aligning when you consider the Attribute – wouldn’t this one have to be LIGHT going by the name? When Ga-Koro has one of the most xenophobic Attribute limitations of all the villages? I guess you could work around it a bit if it was able to banish itself from the GY as cost for a quick effect, but still, doesn’t sound too optimal. And just making it WATER feels so boring.
Anyway, I think that does it for the Rahi species that were domesticated on the island of Mata Nui. It’s worth mentioning that the Mask of Light movie prominently figures a specific Ussal and Gukko that are both going to get their own cards in the next expansion, but I already have a fairly solid plan in place to make those work primarily in the Mask of Light deck while having some secondary utility for Rahi decks.
The years of 2004 and beyond, of course, introduced some more Rahi kept by Matoran. With the wolf-like Kavinika, taming them and using them as guard dogs ended in failure, so maybe giving them outside synergy isn’t even the right move. But I think it would be funny if I manage to figure out a technically generic effect that looks enticing to include in Ga-Metru decks, but ends up not working in practice due to debilitating drawbacks that bite you in the ass. Not exactly an easy balancing task, though.
Razor Whales, gentle giants of the sea, can also be tamed and ridden by Matoran once their tail spines fall off in old age. This gives us the interesting case of a Rahi that joins the domesticated group with a delay, which is mechanically problematic in a speed freak game like this one. Perhaps it could work in a way where it has one effect representing its young self, and using that one immediately enables a second one that has it acting as a mount. And like many large Rahi, there’s a good chance this would be a Synchro, so this is another case where we might want it to be generic for use with Matoran.
The Kikanalo is a bit of a questionable inclusion, since they aren’t exactly kept by Matoran. Rather, they’re accidentally beneficial due to the Protodermis they dig up – which is also appreciated by other Rahi like Catapult Scorpions. It stands to reason that this trait may translate into some (semi-)generic way to generate (excavate?) resources, but I don’t think it needs to be tuned to the point where you’d actually use it in a Po-Metru deck or anything like that. There’s also the matter of Toa Lhikan riding a Kikanalo in his set representation, but that never comes up in the lore and is also sufficiently explained by Lhikan being just that badass, so I don’t think it needs to be addressed from the Rahi side.
Moving on to Voya Nui, there isn’t really much worth mentioning – even the native Rock Ussal were never seen domesticated, probably because they’re a more aggressive breed.
But even in this kind of hostile ecosystem, the Le-Matoran Piruk specifically still managed to have a pet, namely a tame Burnak. Since this is such a minor one-time thing in side media, much like Lhikan’s Kikanalo, it should be sufficient to maybe include some unassuming piece of synergy with whatever Piruk ends up doing.
And as the last hurrah of Rahi getting along with Matoran, we dive into the waters of Mahri Nui and find Hydruka at work in the air fields. In a first since Mata Nui, we’re looking at a Rahi that appeared primarily in a domesticated state, so that definitely should be a significant part of the effect design. They harvest the air bubbles that are essential to the survival of the underwater Matoran, which makes me think their role should be to provide whatever in-game resource will end up representing that. Of course, this being 2007 story material that won’t be implemented for ages, the details are still fuzzy at best.
Finally, we do also have two more cases of specific individuals being tamed, rather than a species as a whole.
One is the Energy Hound Spinax, guard dog of The Pit. While their looks and abilities indicate they might very well be serving similar roles in a lot of other places, we only ever see one of them. Since their skill at tracking was always going to be the primary guide for their design anyway, domestication status probably doesn’t even make a difference here. Throwing in a pit (this was a typo but I’m leaving it) of synergy with all the other stuff surrounding The Pit only makes sense, of course.
The other, as I am just realizing, may actually be a throwback to the Ussal and to Pewku in particular, since we’re talking about a Hahnah crab kept by Jaller.
While it didn’t do much other than act as a Cordak mount, I could see it belonging less with other Rahi and more with the Toa Mahri archetype as a “team pet” of sorts. The affinity for heat also suggests FIRE synergy, so you really don’t have to look hard to find generic usage for this one.
Conclusion
Rahi domestication was primarily a focus during the Mata Nui years, so a large part of the cards to consider here have already been implemented. However, since only a select few of them actually incorporate synergy with Matoran, this is going to be a major point to consider in upcoming redesigns. So far, the main direction has been support based on the Attribute, which I intend to keep at least for the Ussal and Kewa, since those already work pretty well with their Matoran handlers. The Keras may also join this group, but at the same time its present incarnation shows a different approach of having the card generically help with the task for which it was tamed.
When it comes to the remaining Rahi, it would of course be nice to have a proper FIRE member so every village gets a helping Rahi, but it’s a bit unfortunate that the first real opportunity for that is the Hahnah all the way in 2007. Others can be categorized either as being domesticated at large scale for a given purpose, or as wild creatures that beneficially interact with the Matoran population in some spots, or as pets that belonged to certain individuals. I believe the Keras model of just doing something generically helpful and thematically appropriate should work fine for the first two types, while the final one is easily handled by synergizing specifically with the pet’s owner.
An interesting thought that cropped up along the way is that large Rahi like the Kahu or the Razor Whale, which are generally expected to be Synchro Monsters, could be made accessible to Matoran and others by simply making their materials fully generic. This potentially simplifies effect design compared to main deck cards, since you can then incorporate them in a combo without needing to justify running a non-archetypal brick.
Finally, I want to make sure that these Rahi, while capable of helping Koro and other non-Rahi decks, do also still have a spot in their native Rahi strategies. After all, a big reason to split those up by Type was always that it simplifies design of anything added to the archetype later, and that’s especially useful when you have the extra challenge of also making it work outside the archetype.
It also helps, as I’m just noticing, that all the Rahi covered here come from only two Type groups: Beast/Beast-Warrior/Winged Beast and Fish/Aqua/Sea Serpent. No Reptiles or Insects to be found, and nothing exotic either if we (rightfully) ignore the Daikau. In other words: We now know everything except those two groups is free to throw around archetype locks and such without having to worry about ruining some lore-friendly hybrid in the distant future!
Boo! Bet you didn’t expect another one of these! What, you obviously did because there are several unaddressed items left in the overview? Shut up and pretend otherwise for the sake of my joke, because this is the Ambush Predator article.
Much like an ambush, this should be relatively quick since it’s such a small group, but let’s see what there is to cover.
The reason I’m specifically highlighting this one as a “behavioral grouping” in addition to those that go by card properties is that it appears prominently in the traits of a few different Rahi, and translates fairly nicely to card game mechanics. So naturally, it would be nice to have a somewhat consistent way of representing ambush predation, though we may need to differentiate based on the broader deck types each Rahi is meant to play a role in. Today’s goal is getting a handle on exactly that.
The Rahi Who Predate Ambushingly
An early and already implemented example of an Ambush Predator is the Tarakava, as evidenced by its flavor text.
Tarakava, Lizard Rahi
Normal Pendulum MonsterLevel 6 | Scale 3/3 | WATER Reptile | ATK 2600 / DEF 1200
Pendulum Scale = 3 [ Pendulum Effect ] While you have a Level 6 Reptile “Rahi” Pendulum Monster Card in your other Pendulum Zone, your opponent’s cards and effects cannot be activated in response to the Pendulum Summon of a “Rahi” monster. When an opponent’s monster declares a direct attack: You can destroy this card, and if you do, Special Summon 1 face-up “Rahi” Pendulum Monster from your Extra Deck. —————————————- [ Flavor Text ] The first thing to remember about Tarakava is that even if you can’t see them, they are always there.
Bionicle: Challenge of the Rahi (v3.15.5)
What’s relevant here is the Pendulum Effect that Special Summons in response to an attack, “ambushing” the opponent with a monster they couldn’t see – but it was always there. Never mind that they could technically see it in the Pendulum Zone, we can’t exactly give a Normal Monster a hand effect.
This effect implements the idea of a sudden Tarakava attack, but also somewhat ties into the broader planned Reptile Rahi playstyle that’s supposed to be all about moving monsters back and forth between Monster and Pendulum Zones (and a future overhaul would probably align with that even more closely). A Beast-Type employing the same hunting tactic, by comparison, may have received a version of the effect that doesn’t mess around with Pendulum Zones in the same way.
We should probably consider a quick statistical rundown of the remaining Ambush Predators, which I have marked as candidates for the “Flip” subtype in the spreadsheet. These make up a modest total of 5 Rahi, consisting of 2 Insects, 1 Reptile, 1 Beast and 1 Winged Beast.
On the Insect side, the general plan calls for making them weird and toolboxy, with the option of integrating them with other Rahi Types or the established Insect pile. The latter has its own prominent ambush predator in Infinite Antlion, popping out of the hand and then popping the opponent’s cards during battle. We could use this as reference, however we must keep in mind there’s a significant difference between this Level 3 and the substantially larger 5- and 6-star Rahi noted down as ambushing Insects.
One is the Chute Lurker, a Visorak combiner that could also be Aqua because it’s amphibious and could also get away with being a Level 4, but my instinct from just looking at it leans more towards a high-level Insect. Its ambushes take the form of grabbing prey that comes flying around curves in the Le-Metru Chute System, so the exact implementation of its effects will hinge on how we end up representing that stuff. In any case, the Flip idea where it would be triggered by the opponent attacking it sounds much too slow for such a speedy context, so more likely it’d be something from the hand again. Maybe related to some measure of speed like when your opponent is drawing/summoning/activating too much stuff in a short period of time.
By comparison, the Tunnel Stalker’s wait-and-lurk approach to hunting would actually go well with it sitting face-down, “under the sand”, and assaulting whatever dares walk over it. The tricky part is also providing enough general utility to be worth playing when your chances to get off the battle effect as planned aren’t exactly going to be high, but I imagine we could just have it offer a weaker version of its gimmick from hand and/or GY as a less high-roll alternative.
There’s actually a third maybe-Insect, which also happens to be our first probably-Beast. You see, typing tends to be a bit uncertain on shapeshifters like the Archives Beast, so my two main options are to go with what’s mentioned in the name or the kind of animal most known for mimicry. Either way, the unique method of ambush by shapeshifting means we’re probably combining the element of surprise with one of copying properties of other cards – maybe more than just monsters, given that its part in the story had it posing as a room. As an Insect, this would probably be implemented in a fairly simple and straightforward manner to work as a standalone tool, while as a Beast, I could see it being more of a inherited effect in the same vein as the current Level 4 Pendulums, aiding that Type’s goal of climbing into big Synchro bosses. And if it’s instead a Reptile – could be – then it might do something like destroying a Spell/Trap to take its zone and then assault monsters from there.
As a sister Type to Beasts, the Winged Beast representative Vahki Hunter would likely be worked into the same Synchro climb strategy, but might up being itself one of the mid-tier bosses since it’s pretty damn big. As previously noted, its diet of mostly machinery should manifest in some kind of bonus against Machines, but the broader effect representation of its ambushing tactics should be generically usable to have any relevance. It attacks the tail end of passing Vahki squads, so maybe something “at the end of the Battle Phase”, to somewhat keep with the beatdown theme?
And finally, the Swamp Stalker is a Reptile that hunts much like a crocodile … which is just the Tarakava all over again. Except this one doesn’t punch and is smaller, even more so when it’s not a mutant specimen. I struggle to think of anything super original it could do while aligning with the scale manipulation gimmick, so maybe the Reptiles just need to cook a bit more before we settle on something here. It’s from Karda Nui, so there’s ample time.
Conclusion
I definitely don’t get the impression that my very first idea of making the Ambush Predators a cohesive Flip-based strategy has any chance of panning out at all. The different types they span simply have too widely varying needs and gimmicks, and mechanics based on ambushing aren’t a strong enough focus to easily work as a completely standalone thing with so few members.
Instead, what’s probably going to happen is that they all end up as unrelated pieces of their own native strategies, offering different takes on ambush-based effects depending on what most helps the decks they’re supposed to go in.
But maybe, just as a little gag, we could set things up so eventually a support card can be made that works for specifically those scattered Rahi? Like by making them all Flip monsters after all (that don’t necessarily rely on flipping), or using a common statline, or have an effect pattern that could be referenced by a “that has an effect that …” clause. We’ll see, not like it matters too much.
If looking at all the card game stuff usually posted here makes you think “man I wish this had more than just cards”, then boy have you come to the right article. In this one we’re covering a full board game that, yes, involves cards, but also a physical board, colorful little marbles, movable game pieces, and a headache-inducing amount of math.
Rahi Overlord is an idea that was sparked during the in-depth Rahi study I’ve been doing for the past year or so. In this game, players take the role of two or more Makuta engaging in what one might call a “Rahi-off”: A showdown where they aim to have Rahi of their creation become dominant in the ecosystem of a certain area.
Now I will say in advance there’s not all that much depth to this yet – I’m obviously less immersed in the board game space than in the card game one, and also ran out of time before I could really start doing the research I’d need to do this properly. But I believe there are still some interesting things to show off, and maybe I’ll come back to build on them one day.
Game Elements
The Board
The field on which the game is played represents the setting of the Makuta’s showdown, perhaps some part of the Southern Continent or a remote island. In any case, it is divided up into multiple individual Zones, each of which has the following properties.
Biome: Dictates which Rahi will thrive in this Zone, as well as what resources players can obtain from it. A wide variety of Biomes is possible, but they all belong to one of the three categories Land, Sea, or Mixed.
Capacity: A fixed number of slots that can be filled with different Rahi species. Different population levels within each slot are represented by printed markers that also provide information on population growth.
Point of Interest (PoI): Randomly distributed across the Zones at the start of the game. Different PoIs (Makuta Lab, Protodermis Pool, Matoran Village, …) have different effects that may positively or negatively affect Rahi and players.
A player is said to control a Zone if the total population of their Rahi within that Zone is strictly greater than every other player’s. In all other cases, the Zone is considered unassigned.
The Points of Interest, represented by something like small tokens at the center of the respective Zone, start the game face-down (with the exception of the Makuta Labs, of which there is one per player) and are flipped face-up once a player takes control of the Zone. It remains that way even if control of the Zone changes or it becomes unassigned later.
Resources
In a game of Rahi-making, the relevant resources are obviously going to be the ones used to make Rahi: Viruses and Liquid Protodermis. I imagine the latter would generally be a static reserve that is not meaningfully depleted with use, so it is only subtly represented as a limit on how many Rahi you can create in a round – a limit that may increase while holding Protodermis Pool PoIs.
That leaves Viruses as the main resource you gather and spend over the course of the game. Physically, they’d be represented by little orbs or cubes or whatever-hedrons in different colors. Mechanically, their main purpose is being mixed and matched into different recipes of Rahi creation, so a color is really the only property they need. Each Rahi lists a combination of Virus colors required to create it, and players periodically gain Viruses whose colors are determined by factors like their controlled Biomes, their Rahi, and a bit of randomness to keep things fresh.
Rahi
Now here lies the main focus and complexity of the game. A Rahi, or rather a Rahi species, is represented by a card that lists several pieces of information.
Recipe: The combination of Virus colors needed to create this Rahi.
Habitat: The Biome in which the Rahi lives. The mechanics of this follow four simple rules:
Rahi whose Habitat is a Land Biome cannot be played into a Sea Biome.
Rahi whose Habitat is a Sea Biome cannot be played into a Land Biome.
Rahi whose Habitat is a Mixed Biome can only be played into Mixed Biomes – they need both Land and Water to survive, basically.
Being in a Biome that exactly matches the Habitat, not just its category, grants some additional bonus.
Diet: Provides the baseline of how the Rahi’s population in a Zone develops over the rounds. Herbivores experience a fixed amount of growth depending only on their location and population level, Carnivores grow by “stealing” population from other Rahi in their Zone, and Omnivores can mix these two sources, but gain less from each alone than the pure Diet types.
Size: A number that mainly plays into carnivorous population growth – wouldn’t make sense to have giant beasts be the prey of tiny critters, after all.
Traits: An assortment of standard keywords that describe in more detail how a Rahi lives, feeds, and grows. Stuff like Flying, Poison, Ambush Predator, and so on would go here. I’d like to keep this to a level of complexity where you just need a reference page in the rulebook to figure it all out.
The Rahi card can basically be considered the blueprint of the species and always remains with the player. The actual physical Rahi populations only come into being once the blueprint is realized by investing Viruses according to its Recipe, and are separately represented by a little plastic stand (colored depending on the player) in which you place a token identifying the Rahi species.
Such an assembled playing piece is then placed into a free slot on the chosen zone, in the lowest so-called population level. Round by round, the combination of Biome matchups, feeding, and traits is used to calculate a population change in each species, and the piece moves up and down the levels on the board accordingly. If a population hits zero, it’s considered extinct and removed from the Zone entirely.
Now the details of all this involve, ugh, numbers, and so haven’t been worked out at all. I do get the impression it may just end up ludicrously complicated no matter how we slice it, but hey, nothing wrong with a game that appeals only to Ecologists and Mathematicians.
Sample Rahi cards:
Makuta
Finally, each player takes the role of a different Makuta, also represented in the form of a card. In this case, though, there are only two key properties to consider.
Affinities: Some combination of Biomes, Diets, Size ranges, and/or trait keywords. When creating a Rahi featuring any of those listed, the Makuta is allowed to substitute one Virus listed on the Recipe with one of any other color.
Ability: A unique effect that the Makuta can apply when certain conditions are fulfilled. Unlike the fixed ability keywords of Rahi, this can be just about anything and is described as text on the card.
Each Makuta also comes with a unique Makuta Lab PoI, which is placed face-up in a Zone by that Makuta’s player at the start of the game and gives only that player a certain bonus to any population calculations happening in that Zone.
Sample Makuta cards:
How to Play
Or, well, as much of an outline of it as I’ve figured out at this point. It’s not exactly an instruction manual.
Setup
Each player selects a Makuta and takes the respective card, as well as the PoI token for that Makuta’s Lab. Place the board on the table, and have each player (in turn order) pick a Zone where they put their Lab, along with a plastic stand in their chosen color (so you can easily tell who has which). It might even make sense to have the Zones be individual board segments that you connect together, so the greater number of Labs with more players can be accounted for using a greater number of Zones.
In any case, once the Labs are placed, add random face-down PoI tokens to the remaining Zones. Shuffle the Rahi cards and form a deck that is also placed on the table. Admittedly, with almost 200 Rahi species, this could end up physically difficult if you’re playing with the full set, but maybe it makes sense to have multiple decks anyway – to ensure more demanding Recipes only appear late in the game, for example.
Finally, each player gets a starting stock of Viruses – something like one of each color, I guess.
Research Phase
This is where blueprints are acquired from the shared deck, one way or another. A lot of fun options like drafting and trading come to mind here, but for this loose description let’s just keep it simple and do the following: Players take turns picking up 3 cards from the top of the deck. They choose one to take, one to place back on the top, and one to place on the bottom. Once every player has done so and thus taken a card, the research phase is complete.
Creation Phase
Players again take turns to create Rahi from a blueprint they have, using Viruses as per the Recipe. They select one of the Zones where they have either their Lab or a population of Rahi, and place a piece (plastic stand + cardboard token) representing the new population into the lowest population level of an empty slot in that Zone. A player may also pass, either voluntarily or for lack of Viruses matching their blueprints.
The creation phase ends once all players have exhausted their maximum creation count – one by default – or passed.
Calculation Phase
This is where you all put your heads together, grab pen and paper, and figure out the population change for every Rahi in every Zone. Most likely some kind of helper sheet should be provided for this purpose.
After all calculations are done and the positions of the Rahi pieces have been updated to reflect the new populations, the calculation phase ends.
Migration Phase
Optionally, players now have the opportunity to split off part of the population of any Rahi species past a certain threshold into an adjacent Zone, putting together and placing a new Rahi piece in the process. This is crucial because it’s how you spread your reach and ultimately approach victory, but since it requires a fair amount of population gain first, activity in the migration phase only really starts a couple of rounds into the game.
Additionally, it could be useful to also have the option to entirely migrate a species, taking its whole population (no matter its size) and shifting it over to an adjacent Zone. This could be used to escape predators, for example. However, we don’t want Rahi zipping all over the map in an endless migration phase, so if we have this mechanic, it should only be once per player and round.
It’s worth nothing that, as it currently stands, this is the only part of the game where a player can actually gain control of an unassigned Zone. Do remember to flip up the appropriate PoI when that happens – its effects will begin applying immediately!
Once no further movements are possible or all players have passed, the migration phase ends.
Extraction Phase
Players obtain fresh Viruses, their colors distributed as per the latest board state. The details are left as an exercise to the reader, but I imagine you could assign colors to Biomes and then distribute Viruses based on the players’ controlled zones, or something with Rahi properties, or have them blindly pick out of a mixed bag. Maybe some combination of those.
Once everyone is stocked up and ready, return to the Research Phase for the next round.
Now you might say it doesn’t look like I have any idea when this game would end, and you would be totally correct. Let’s just say that at some point, perhaps simply after X rounds, the terrible cycle above will have to be broken, and the player who controls the most Zones at that point is crowned the victor of the Rahi-off – the Rahi Overlord, if you will.
