A History of Vampires

A general history of the Vampire archetype in comparison to developments occurring with Duel Links - includes any changes to major skills or cards that vampires use.

September 7, 2016: Closed Beta

October 27, 2016: Australia and Singapore release

November 17, 2016: Japan release

January 2017: Worldwide release

June 12, 2017: Crimson Kingdom [Box. 5] released

• Vampire Lord becomes the first vampire monster to be released for Duel Links.
• Gozuki, another UR in the box, would later go onto be a more consistent staple for vampires than zombies.

June 26, 2018: Forbidden/Limited List Changes

• Enemy Controller: moved to semi-limited.

September 21, 2017: Generation Next [Box. 13] released

• Samurai Skull becomes the second zombie-specific, Deck-to-GY search card.

November 17, 2017: PC release

March 14, 2018: Rampage of the Forest [minibox. 10] released

• Hey, Trunade!: becomes the reliable backrow clear in the meta and would later serve as a popular pick in future vampire decks.

August 8, 2018: Empire of Scarlet [minibox. 13] released.

• Vampire support monster cards -such as Vampire Familiar and Vampire Retainer- increase the search capabilities of the Vampire archetype, making card cycling possible.
• Vampire support spell/trap cards -such as Vampire Kingdom, Vampire Domain, and Vampire Takeover- provide efficient value as well as synergetic threats to the theme’s overall arsenal in Duel Links.
• Vampire tribute monsters -such as Vampire Vamp and Vampire Grace- provide new, considerable threats to the meta with Vampire Grimson and Scarlet Scourge giving players the ability to special summon monsters that the two destroy.
• Vampires become a viable archetype from this point on.

October 18, 2018: App Version 3.1.0 Skill Rebalancing

• Cyber Style: Proto-cyber dragons can no longer be tributed, barring vampire play from swinging games with Vampire Vamp and Black Luster Soldier — Sacred Soldier. Mostly, BLS — SS lost play while VV remained in other decks. Overall, Cyber Style has been reduced to an independent skill adding value based on timing when to swarm the field.

October 22, 2018: Forbidden/Limited List Changes

• Hey, Trunade!: moved to semi-limited, conflicting for a spot with ECon.
• Treacherous Trap Hole: moved to semi-limited, reducing the number of Vampire-users with TTH in their decks as precedence favors ECon or Trunade over hole.

The Artwork for Vampire Awakening