We're diving right back into Justice Hunters to explore different ways to play with the new Yu-Gi-Oh! crime-fighting architype, K9.

K9 is an archetype all about Xyz summoning, specifically rank-5 Xyz monsters. Traditionally, summoning level 5 monsters is a bit tricky since they require 1 monster as tribute, however, K9 monsters always show up on time. Many of the main deck monsters have the ability to normal summon themselves without tribute if your opponent has 2 or more cards in their hand. This theme of "punishing" your opponent for their actions doesn't stop there. K9-17 Izuna can quick-effect special summon itself if your opponent has activated a monster effect in the hand or GY this turn.

Each of the 3 K9 boss monsters have an effect to discipline your opponent for activating monster effects in the hand or GY. K9-17 "Ripper" can negate the effect, K9-00 "Hound" can gain ATK for each monster effect activated, and K9-X "Werewolf" can banish a card from the field or GY, or hand depending on whose turn it is. It's clear that playing from the hand or GY is the easiest way for the K9 strategy to capitalize on a given game state. With the option to step into a variety of powerful Rank 5 monsters, K9 is a force to be reckoned with. Let's look at some archetypes that might also be showing up at the crime scene alongside the K9s.

K9 Vanquish Soul

Let's begin by looking at one of the top meta contending decks in Vanquish Soul K9. The recent support in Duelist's Advance that brought cards to the game like Vanquish Soul Hollie Sue to the game has elevated VS to new heights. Now with K9 support, the ceiling gets even higher. K9-66A Jokul's effect allows you to reveal itself and 1 other level 5 monster in your hand to special summon both, however, they cannot be used as material for the Xyz summon of a LIGHT monster. With this effect, you can bring out cards like Hollie Sue or Vanquish Soul Jiaolong with ease to step into either strategy's plays.

We see even more synergy with the two themes since the K9 monster are EARTH and DARK attributes; fulfilling 2 of the 3 attributes Vanquish Soul monsters need to activate their effects. Also, since many of the K9 cards search, you're left with even more resources to keep using those powerful Vanquish Soul effects, even on your opponent's turn. In addition, the K9 strategy brings with it a suite of strong Rank 5 monsters to bolster the Extra Deck, something that Vanquish Soul lacked. Overall, Vanquish Soul K9 has enough pure strength and layered interruptions to give any opponent a run for their money. While not totally infallible, Vanquish Soul K9 has cemented itself as a powerhouse in the current format.

K9 Crystron

Another meta deck that has seen great success this format is K9 Crystron. Crystron is a deck that can take advantage of its low engine count to pair with K9 along a suite of hand traps to counter many matchups. Unlike Vanquish Soul, Crystron's main win condition is to use its powerful and generic Extra Deck boss monsters to finish off your opponent or stop them in their tracks. The Extra Deck toolbox for Crystron is wide, using a variety of summoning mechanics such as Synchro and Link, not just Xyz.

Once again, we see the powerful allure of the K9 cards and their ability to summon other level 5 monsters beside them.Crystron Sulfefnir and Crystron Sulfador are the primary targets for these effects as they can kickstart your Crystron plays. K9-66B Lantern can reborn one of your level 5 Crystron Monsters from the GY to get extra value after it's already used its effect. Even if you only have access to K9 cards, you can make the Rank 5 Infinitrack River Stormer to add Scrap Recycler to the hand. On summon, it can send any machine monster from the Deck to the GY, which acts as another way to start your Crystron plays. Overall, Crystron is a powerful graveyard-based strategy that benefits from the dual purpose of the K9 cards, a powerful engine in its own right, but one that can bridge into the Crystron strategy.

K9 Cyber Dragon

The third strategy we'll go over is K9 Cyber Dragon. Cyber Dragon has been a long-time fan favorite deck ever since Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. Due to its popularity, Cyber Dragon has continued to get support cards often and even recently from Alliance Insight. Cyber Dragon may be the original go-to Level 5 monster, and the Rank 5 boss monster Cyber Dragon Infinity is still one of the most powerful Xyz monsters in the game. It's one reason so many players are looking to give the Cyber Dragon strategy an oomph with some shiny new Level/Rank 5 support with K9s.

As mentioned with the previous strategies, the K9 monsters like K9-66A Jokul and K9-66B Lantern allow you to easily summon your Level 5 Cyber Dragon monsters from the hand or GY. You do, however, need to be mindful of the restriction of being unable to Xyz into a LIGHT Xyz monster like Cyber Dragon Infinity with them after using their effects. Luckily, there are ways to play around this. For example, the DARK level 5 K9 can be paired with the LIGHT level 5 Cyber Dragon to make a LIGHT and DARK Chaos Angel. You also are still free to use the bread-and-butter combo of K9-17 Izuna and K9-00 Lupis on your opponent's turn to Xyz summon into something disruptive. Lupis also gives targeting protection if it's being used as material under an Xyz monster.

The K9 cards give Cyber Dragon players enough tools to keep up with many strategies in the game. Chimeratech Rampage Dragon is still an OTK machine and is a level 5 that can be used to make K9-17 "Ripper" if needed. Clockwork Night enables Cyber Dragon's unique way of board clears by contact fusing into Chimeratech Fortress Dragon, a niche but effective solution to many of the current game's toughest monsters.