Notes & Combos

Welcome to this shrine of neverending pain and affliction everyone calls F/X's Galaxy Photon list.

And if I call it Galaxy Photon instead of Galaxy, it's not because I'm being pedantic: it's because it's really 2 archetypes in 1, for reasons not addressed by ZEXAL itself, which, by itself, speaks volumes about how little thought out the whole deal was given to.

Given that Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, much like Kaito Tenjou himself is of Seto Kaiba, is a recycles of Blue-Eyes White Dragon, you'd think this would be a no-brainer level 8 spam deck, much like 8-axis: a more expensive form of what Numeron and Mikanko already do. But, hahaha, ha, ha, no.

Believe me, every Galaxy Photon would wish it were like that, but, you see, this deck has quite an issue, which isn't known, or rather, most of the players luckily don't have to know, as the incentive to play this deck mostly comes from sheer curiosity, of, instead of sticking to a simple "Go from point A to point B" plan, complicating itself in a series of strange mechanics (like the "Harmony" one, which I'm going to elaborate on later) and lines, at the end of which you wonder what you were planning to do at the start, before revaluating your life choices. This is really because Galaxy Photon was really a result of Kaito's gargantuan plot armour in the anime, which, not being replicable in real life, meant that Konami had to connect the 2 (technically 3, given Galaxy-Eyes) sub-archetypes by making a series of connections via later support cards that would make Dragonlink jealous, which spawned this combo abomination of a deck.

As a result, if the Galaxy Photon wins, you know that win is absolutely hard-earned, and the players themselves, therefore, self-loathing, as every single basic action, like Special Summoning from anywhere, or adding from Deck to hand, requires an unbelievable amount of requirements, forethought, and precision in actual gameplay.

Now for the two main mechanics of the deck:

NOTE: from now on, archetypes will be referred by their initial letter: G is Galaxy, P is Photon, GE is Galaxy-Eyes, C is Chaos (Number), and GEPD is Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon

• The first is "Harmony". Harmony is a mechanic unique to this conjoined abomination of a deck, where a card of one sub-archetype specifically insists on, (and won't work otherwise without) the other sub-archetype, to activate its effect: that means that a Galaxy card won't activate without a Photon one and a Photon card won't activate without a Galaxy. Harmony, fortunately, isn't universal to the deck, but only present in 3 cards: GBrave, GTrance and GEPLord (by technicality), with the very same Galaxy-Eyes Photon Lord and GEPD acting as the deck's jokers, cheating the whole premise by being both G and P (although GEPLord is only played at 1). Everyone else either insists on the same sub-archetype (Photon), or works with both (now if only this were the norm...)
• The second is searching the searcher, where the deck, as a result to specific activation conditions, has to go through multiple hoops to achieve the same or at least a similar board result. The amount of stuff you do with GWizard, GSoldier and PJumper in sequence is truly magical

The premise having been clarified, you can play Galaxy Photon can be played in 2 ways: going first stall and OTK hard-second.

My list is clearly a going first stall, albeit with a lack of Nova-Infinity and the integration of Draglubion-Numeron and Tiras (Zeus enabler from Xyz Festival/s reward) for budget reasons (Purrely/Mikanko pack having these cards). The only ever constant between the two versions is that PJumper (or Pjama, as I like to call him) will absolutely destroy your sanity. I'm not joking.

The most notable factor of this event is the lack of GESolflare (or Bujinki Ahashima for that matter), which hurts several cyclings and combo lines that involved it, as well as an overall increased difficulty in fixing GSoldier's's level, falling back on either GSummoner or GPDragon to summon Xyz.

Finally, the detailed explanation of each card:

• Maxx C keeps on being legal, but somehow the pots are all banned. God knows what Konami's thinking these days
• Ash Blossom exists to spite us, Maxx C and every other deck's searcher. But mostly us.
• GWizard might not start as the main searcher at first, but he becomes so in the later phases of the convo lines, as he's not once per turn, although, admittedly, that doesn't come up as often as one wished it would, as he requires to tribute himself to do the search, and the level raise conflicts with said search. But the latter enables GExpedition, and that cannot be overstated.
• POrbital is the less costly but monster-restricted version of GWizard, equipping itself for a useless 500 ATK boost and sending itself from the S/T zone to the GY to search. Unfortunately, while the equip from hand is infinite, the search is OPT. And if you're thinking of Full Armor, forget it.
• The anime would make you think searching the ace monster would lead to interesting plays, but the emblem of Kaitoposting, PVanisher, who "LETS YOU ACQUIRE GEPD", cannot work alone, due to not being Normally Summonable, and can ONLY add GEPD, which only exists to be fodder. But you know, searching fodder does have value.
• PJumper, or pjama as I'd like to call him, has the dubious honour of being both good and trash at the same time, due to that EXTREMELY irritating Battle Phase skip effect you cannot avoid (Swift Scarecrow too broken amirite?), forcing you to turn every Galaxy Photon game that doesn't end quickly into a staring context, gifting the opponents two precious turns of effects (may God help you if it's against Branded's Mirrorjade). However, he's also the one who turns GHundred into a 1-card combo, searches G/P S/Ts upon being sent to the GY by either Hundred, Foolish or Soldier, and the Harmony enabler with Wizard for Trance, so you gotta embrace the pain.
• GSoldier was once a very good card, that suffers the unstoppable march of power creep the most, as Cyber Dragon would confirm, as the minus can be truly felt even in spite of the search effect (assuming no Ash in between), and a level that is just wrong, due to being neither 4 or 8. Even then, he enables a lot of cards, like PEmperor, PJumper, GExpedition, and dumps both GEPD and GEAfterglow, and does progress the lines, so you have to tolerate his existence... much like the rest of this deck.
• What can be said about GEPD, the most gameplay-irrelevant ace monster in the whole history of Yu-Gi-Oh? Maybe that his effect is at its best on this event due to Xyz monsters being almost everywhere? Maybe that he's anywhere but where he should be, on the GY, or that his own summoning condition is NEVER an option when it comes to the lines? Maybe that, once in a blue moon, you can use him to summon Afterglow, or that his summon activates Hundred, but getting there without elaborated setups is quite the task? Indeed, handling Kaito's ace is the maximum expression of the Galaxy Photon player's skill, having thousands of ways to be summoned, but none of them being reliable, playing the role of the fodder when and if he ever comes up. If anything, the support made it much easier to get him to the GY, but that's not saying a lot. His main benefit, nonetheless, is that, being every sub-archetype ever at once, he can trivialise GTrance by being summoned twice, or setting up Afterglow
• GBrave is quite the inconsistent extender, given he needs to reveal a P from hand, thus being plagued by Harmony, and yet technically one of the best, if only because the other extenders from the hand tend to be even more specific on the requirements, so you're just taking him as well for that, even if the level becomes the one of the P you revealed, which can lead to quite some complications.
• GE Afterglow has the most awkward summoning condition, requiring specifically GE, something reserved for GEPD and the Xyzs, but, being the insane GEPPrime OTK enabler he is, it's not really something you can refuse, so you just have to use and accept him, even if it may lead to some bricks. If anything, GEPD cheating GTrance means you can sort of assure his presence, one way or another.
• GSummoner is the other enabler of PJumper for Trance, although it'd be a waste as it would get his effects negated, and one of the finest extenders given the revival effect, PEmperor synergy and level modulation, albeit limited to 4
• PEmperor is a splendid extender, who unfortunately only works if used as material, fodder or sent straight from the deck to the GY. But that double summon + self revival is just chef's kiss.
• HFD gets rid of important backrow, especially for GEPPrime. Simple, clean, and efficient.
• ROTA can add PJumper or PVanisher, making it a valuable starter and extender for no cost.
• GExpedition is that fantastic spell whose efficiency is hampered by the level 5+ requirement (thus forcing you to use GWizard and GSoldier, unless the level 8s are around). But it's still a rank 8-enabling deck summoner, so, you have to make the effort of working towards its activation condition.
• GTrance is probably the best spell in the deck after GHundred, but plagued by bricking and fully locking you to the Harmony mechanic for the full turn, not allowing anything other than G (or GE) or P retroactively, but, in spite of that, versatile with either level 4 or 8 for the corresponding Xyz plays, even if significantly harder to pull the latter in the event without Solflare, thanks to PJumper on the board, truly kick-starting the board-making, even if played at just 1 for consistency reasons.
• Foolish is for PJumper, PEmperor or anything you plan to use from the GY, once again, for no cost.
• GE (yes, it's a GE) Number Last Hope is an ace-in-the-hole card and pocket comeback option to keep around, (although unable to cheat as the level condition will have to be respected), being useful for either the dead times of PJumper, a last ditch GEPC-Prime, or a Bagooska summoner to buy time.
• GHundred is the most broken card of the deck, something that is impossible to give an exhaustive idea of, to anyone who hasn't seen it, turner of PJumper into a 1-card combo, and Diablosis on steroids, banishing ED or stealing a Number on each turn GEPD is summoned on, thus setting up many many plays and slowly tearing the opponent to pieces. Truly has to be seen to be believed.
• Hyper Galaxy, even if jank looking at first, can make miracles, even if a bit specific on the requirements and needing to be searched, turning a mat-less GPDragon into an extender + ED rip with Hundred. A card that's definitely worth playing even at just 1
• Impermanence is just needed to have a chance against the opponent if you lose the coinflip. And I guess the zone negate is nice.
• Numeron Dragon is here purely for budget reasons, being a valid target and OTK cheeser whenever GEPPrime isn't around because of GEPC-Prime, and thanks to GELast Hope allowing it. Big number is good, indeed. Just make sure you didn't use Jumper's skip the turn before.
• PBlast does many things: protects monsters from targeting, including Veiler and Imperm, summons Photon bricks from hand, and, with the new support, both gives a meaning to summoning GEPD, and can benefit from his own protection thanks to GPDragon. Depending on the starting hand, he may be part of the main end board or being saved for later because of GTrance shenanigans.
• Given the existence of PJumper's skip and the effectiveness of Plan B in an event without Link monsters, as well as being valid target for GELast Hope, Bagooska is definitely a valuable Extra Ddfk monster, even in spite of GTrance's lock.
• GPDragon is one of the new toys of the deck, and right from his release, the second best card of the deck, after GHundred, due to being a universal searched as well as a 4/8 level fixer, even if just for Special Summons, most notably GSoldier's.
• Tiras, much like his counterpart Adreus, comes from Legacy Pack/Xyz Fes' reward, being nothing more and nothing less of a mat-costless to summon Zeus. If you have Cydra Infinity, you can use him at his place, alongside Nova, but that protection and lack of material cost to use both effects is quite underrated.
• GEPPrime was the main Xyz goal before the new support wave, being quite the OTK machine, albeit annoyingly insistent on GEPD and Afterglow to do anything work of note. Now he's "just" a OTK enabler and potential vessel for GEPC-Prime. Of the two, GEPPrime is better for single targets, as he gets 200, instead of 100, from anywhere on the field, instead of his own materials.
• GHarbinger (yes, he has G at the end of the name. Freaking localisation) is one of the finest R8 Xyz, second best after GEPLord, providing both protections from spells, absorbing them instead of detaching a material, and attacks (this does detach), and being quite the beatstick himself. While at times having to give the summoning priority to GEPLord, Harbinger is indeed the broken Xyz he is, and due to having G as last word of his name, unaffected by GTrance's lock.
• GEPLord is the best Xyz boss of the deck, granting searches, PJumper for starting context, or Xyz material for himself for several shenanigans (most of the time involving GEPD himself), monster negates, especially against Nibiru, and superior Defense compared to the rest, to dodge Lightning Storm.

Before completing the list, a little digression to explain the "Cipher package". The "Cipher package" is a series of cards deployed for multiple uses, mostly going-second disruption, composed of GECipher and its evolutions + GEPFull Armor. The idea behind the package is to use the various evolutions of GECipher + Full Armor, all summonable by Xyz Summoning on top of each other by preserving the previous stack, Xyz and material, without having to use a Rank-Up Spell, to benefit from the various effects, and being able to use all of them without worrying about once per turn clauses, as they're all differently named:

• GECipher Dragon was already notable to be a significant step up in quality compared to the pre-existing rank-8 Xyzs before ARC-V, not just for the evolutions that ARC-V Kaito would play, but even as a card itself, being a generic rank-8, able to steal 2 monsters at once at the affordable cost of 1 material and giving up any direct attack not coming from the OG GECipher himself. While most often kept and used for the upgrade, GECipher's steal is good enough to be worth mentioning
• GEP Full Armor is more of an acquired member of the Cipher family, and somehow overshadowed by the other members due to his effect only working on face-up cards, Full Armor is not only one of the few to actually hit the 4k threshold, but, thanks to his synergy with GECipher Blade, is able to break deep into the opponent's board, as well as a good late game cleaner in general, even contributing to OTKs (although he's not a Number). No, don't think of using POrbital for the other effect. It's useless.
• GECipher Blade is easily the best one, being a universal targeted pop with 200 more ATK than the original form, immediately summonable off any GE Xyz, not just in Galaxy Photon, but even in Blue-Eyes, given his synergy with Jet. Truly the crown jewel of the whole package and capable of the best comeback in coordination with Full Armor.
• GECipher X is the less known but definitely useful, more defensive (effect-wise) version of GECipher, with a protection effect for every LIGHT monster you currently control (due to OCG ruling) and another who hits the 4k ATK threshold, practical for both OTK and holding the line, if not the problem of specifically requiring a GECipher monster, thus excluding GEPFull Armor from the equation, complicating the possibilities opened by the package. Unfortunate.
• Draglubion is once again for budget reasons, much like Numeron Dragon to make the thing work, but he has the privilege of being a number, thus being a valid target for GELast Hope. Tachyon is clearly ages better, but, as a budget option with the cards from the Selection, he does his job, even if it's quite situational, much like GELast Hope
• GEPC-Prime. This guy... The "new trump card of Galaxy" as the Steam's tagline puts it... He certainly led to a lot of confusion about his power, due to very resonating word that is "unaffected" and an acquired effect that would make you think of him being a straight upgrade of GEP-Prime. Unfortunately, said unaffected only applies for monsters, gets less boost on average than the "base form", and that boost only works if GEPD is attached to him, as opposed to Prime simply dealing half damage without GEPD (which can be compensated with Alternative anyway), and is more of a sight upgrade than anything, really useful to attack multiple times with a beatstick, Borrelend Dragon-style. But extra protection is extra protection, and GEAfterglow and GELast Number do exist, so we take it.
• Wrapping up the list, "Arsenal ANTI AIR-ZEUS - Sky Thunder" is a card that somehow didn't get banned on this event, for the nth time, despite breaking every event he was in, because he's a Xyz and all (just like Machinex, and yet he got axed), so we're here to abuse the **** out of his non-OPT Quick non-destruction nuke here...assuming GTrance isn't in the way.