[RespectYGO] Create The Perfect Harmony With “Melodious”! | Archetype Starter Guide

Create The Perfect Harmony With “Melodious”! | Archetype Starter Guide

"Angel's song! Supreme genius! With the guidance of the baton, gather your power! Fusion Summon! Now come here to the stage! Sing the song of victory! Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir!"

The Melodious archetype in Yu-Gi-Oh! is a series of cards known for their musical and harmonic themes. It is primarily composed of LIGHT Fairy-type monsters, each with unique abilities that allow them to work together in harmony, much like an orchestra. This article will provide an overview of the Melodious cards, a sample deck list, and basic combos for players interested in conducting their own Melodious symphony.

1. Archetype Overview
2. Introducing the “Melodious” Key Cards

• Sample Decklist

1. Sample Combo
2. Summary

1. Archetype Overview

Melodious was one of my first OCG decks back in the Arc-V era, and I like two things about its theme the most: Budget-friendly and music-related. I can recall the number of times I was able to establish the Aria-Elegy lock (where all your Melodious monsters cannot be destroyed by battle and card effects, and players cannot target them with card effects!), which was almost impossible to break back in the day.

Fast-forward: Melodious received its new support in LEGACY OF DESTRUCTION, and the initial cards are now available in Asian English in the CREATION PACK 04 booster pack. It has now received more consistency and interruption, which can be achieved with only a single card. After piloting it in ranking, I’m excited to reintroduce the theme and share what I learned.

Let’s get started!

1. Introducing the “Melodious” Key Cards

The melodious theme is composed of different cards, and to optimize your experience, we will only focus on the cards that see competitive play.

Aria the Melodious Diva

Aria is one of the first Melodious cards introduced in the game. In today’s meta, it is played to solidify your end board and protect your Melodious monsters from targeting effects and battle destructions. It also has a neat play against Rescue Ace, so you are safe from their targeting effects.

Ratio: Play 1 copy.

Elegy the Melodious Diva 

Elegy is the “BFF” of Aria. While this card is on the field, it protects the Melodious monsters you control from being destroyed by card effects. When it is also special summoned, all fairy monsters you control gain 300 ATK. The only downside is that it’s level 5 and has a risk of bricking with it. Melodious has many ways to special summon this card, so you can still end up summoning it to the field to maximize its abilities.

Ratio: Run 0-1.

Sonata the Melodious Diva

Sonata is your best extender that can also serve as an ATK/DEF buff. The 500 boost is no joke, especially when you have multiple Sonatas. YES—The special summon isn’t hard once per turn, and you can have multiple Sonatas on your field 😊 This extra Melodious body can facilitate Fusion Summon or Link Summon.

Ratio: Run 2-3. I run three as drawing Multiples can still help me land on Bloom Harmonist the Melodious Composer.

Canon the Melodious Diva

The other Sonata, but this Melodious Diva, is hard once per turn. It is a level 4 Melodious monster that can help you bring out powerful XYZ monsters. Its second effect isn’t used much, and its primary purpose is to be an additional extender.

Ratio: Run one copy.

Soprano the Melodious Songstress

On the next wave of Melodious, Melodious Fusion monsters were introduced, and Soprano is one of the major ways to access this mechanic in the theme. By itself, it brings back a fallen Melodious monster from your Graveyard back to your hand when it is special summoned. This effect can only be used once per turn. Its second effect is a soft once-per-turn effect that allows you to Fusion summon 1 Melodious Fusion monster from your Extra Deck, using monsters you control as material, including itself. You can fusion summon repeatedly so long as you have a new copy of Soprano ready to do it, which is perfect for easily bringing out your Fusion monsters.

Ratio: Run 2 copies.

Tamtam the Melodious Diva

This is your second Main Deck monster that allows you to fusion summon as it searches 1 Polymerization when special summoned while you control a Melodious monster. If it is sent to the Graveyard as material for a Fusion monster, you can inflict 500 damage to your opponent by reducing the ATK of 1 of your Melodious monsters by 500, which is a small price to pay.

Ratio: Run 0-1 copy.

Shopina The Melodious Maestra

Melodious Maestras are high-level main deck Melodious monsters that are used not just because of their effects but also because they are named Melodious Maestra, which is an important factor in summoning some of our Fusion monsters. Shopina the Melodious Maestra gets a slot in our deck as it can help you climb to more extenders due to its effect of recycling 1 LIGHT Fairy monster in your GY back to your hand.

Remember, you cannot activate non-LIGHT monster effects during the turn you use its effect, so when you already used Ash Blossom and Joyous Spring to negate a Maxx “C,” for example, you can no longer recycle that turn and vice versa (You cannot use non-LIGHT monster effects after you recycle.)

Ratio: Run 1 copy. 

Refrain the Melodious Songstress

Refrain is one of the newest Melodious monsters from LEDE. This card is so good that it has made Melodious very consistent. Its first Monster effect lets you add 1 Melodious monster from your Deck to your hand when it is Normal or Special Summoned (Except itself). Its second monster effect allows you to place it from face-up Extra Deck back to your pendulum zone when a Melodious Fusion monster is Special summoned to your field. You normally would want to use Refrain as one of your initial fusion materials, and it still gives you a free pendulum scale in return!

Its pendulum effect allows you to boost the attack of one of your Melodious Fusion monsters by sending one Melodious monster from your Deck to the Graveyard until the end of the turn. The ATK boost is 200 X the level of the sent monster, so if you send Shopina, it’s a 1400 ATK boost!

Ratio: Run 3 copies. NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

Couplet the Melodious Songstress

Here’s the BFF of Couplet and one of the newest Melodious monsters from LEDE. Like Couplet, it can act as a free pendulum scale. It can also help unbrick your Melodious monsters from your hand or revive a Melodious monster from your GY. Its pendulum effect lets you search any 1 Melodious Spell/Trap from your Deck to your hand. You would normally use it to search for their newest fusion spell, Melodious Concerto.

Ratio: Run 3 copies. Drawing multiple still allows you to Fusion summon Bacha the Melodious Maestra which searches the entire choir of Melodious.

Fusion Monsters:

Bacha the Melodious Maestra

Bacha from LEDE is your newest main go-to Melodious fusion monster to get the orchestra going. The activated effects of Melodious Fusion monsters cannot be negated. At the same time, you control this fusion-summoned card, so you are safe from Ash Blossom and Joyous Spring or a negate specifically responding to the activated effect. When special summoned, you can special summon any 1 Melodious monster from your deck! When it is sent to the Graveyard, you can special summon 1 Melodious monster in your GY except itself. This fusion card is so good that I ran out of good adjectives to describe it. :D

Ratio: Run 3 copies in your Extra Deck.

Schuberta the Melodious Maestra

Schuberta is now your second go-to fusion that uses any 2 Melodious monsters like Bacha. It has an excellent way of controlling the Graveyard as it can banish up to 3 cards in any GY to gain 200 ATK for each permanently! It’s a soft once per turn that you can regain the banish effect when you banish this card with Flowering Etoile the Melodious Grand Choir! It is also perfect to help dodge Called by the Grave when your opponent is targeting your hand trap in your GY.

Ratio: Run 2-3 copies.

Flowering Etoile the Melodious Grand Choir

The newest Melodious boss monster from LEDE and this will serve as your end board’s grand encore!

It requires 1 Melodious Maestra monster and 2 Melodious monsters to fusion summon and this is easy with the help of the theme’s new support. It has two effects: First, a quick effect that allows you to banish any Melodious monsters you control (until the end phase) to return up to that many face-up cards from your opponent’s field back to hand. Since these effects happen on resolution, it can help you dodge a sudden Nibiru the Primal Being or board wipes like Evenly Match or Raigeki. Its second effect ensures you can summon a new Melodious monster from Deck or Extra Deck when it leaves the field due to your opponent. This also works even if it is tributed by a Kaiju so have a safety net that can still help you survive that turn.

Ratio: Run 2-3 copies.

Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir

One of the classics from the anime series, Bloom Diva, is something you would bring out to finish the game. It inflicts burn damage when it battles a Special Summoned monster. Due to its battle and card effect protection, it inherits part of the effects of Aria and Elegy. It is also a pseudo-Yubel, as you take no battle damage from battles involving it.

Ratio: 0-1. I personally prefer to include 1 copy in the Extra deck.

Bloom Prima the Melodious Choir

Bloom Prima comes in handy if you want to push for the game. It gains 300 ATK for each material for its fusion summon and can attack twice. Two materials ensure that at least 2500 ATK can generate a 5000 ATK damage swing. When sent to GY, it can help you return 1 Melodious monster from your GY back to hand. The downside is that you need 1 Melodious Maestra as part of the material cost when you fusion summon this card so use it wisely or just go straight to Bloom Diva or Flowering Etoile.

Ratio: 0-1 copy.

Bloom Harmonist the Melodious Composer

Bloom Harmonist is the lone link monster of the Melodious theme. It can dig for any Melodious monster in your deck. Its material is only two Fairy monsters, and this is where your extenders shine. Often overlooked, it has an interesting effect that prevents your opponent from activating any cards or effects until the end of the Damage Step when a Melodious monster this card points to attacks.

Ratio: Run 1-2 copies.

Spells

Ostinato

This powerful spell card is reminiscent of Fusion Destiny and Branded Fusion. The only difference is that it is unlimited. This Spell card allows you to bring out your powerful Melodious fusion monsters free using two materials from your hand and/or deck. It also instantly sets up the Aria/Elegy lock when you use Aria the Melodious Diva and Elegy the Melodious Diva as materials, as Ostinato can revive the same materials used for the fusion summon by destroying the fusion summoned monster during the end phase.

Run 3 copies.

1^st Movement Solo

This Spell card lets you bring out 1 level 4 or lower Melodious monster from your hand or Deck. This can help you bring out either Refrain the Melodious Songstress or protect yourself from targeting by special summoning Aria the Melodious Diva, as examples of monsters you can special summon. The downside of this card is that you are already limited to special summoning only Melodious monsters the turn you activate this card, so you would most likely prioritize using Ostinato and use this Spell as a backup.

Ratio: Run 3 copies for consistency.

Melodious Concerto

Melodious received its fusion spell, which is searchable by Couplet the Melodious Songstress.

It can use materials from your hand, field, and pendulum zones to make your Couplet and Refrain free materials every turn! It also has its way of recycling itself to the Deck to help you draw an additional card if a Melodious Fusion monster is sent to the Graveyard!

• Sample Decklist

Here is a sample deck following the April 2024 OCG Forbidden & Limited List.

1. Sample Combo

Here’s a combo using 1 “Ostinato”:

Summary

If you’re looking for a deck that is fun to play and can compete in the current meta, Melodious is a contender. Remember, the key to mastering this deck is understanding the unique abilities of each Melodious card and knowing when to play them in harmony.

This has been ArcKnight of RespectYGO. Happy dueling!