Karakuri Steel Shogun MDL 00X “Bureido” is the Syncho monster that makes Karakuri’s worth playing. At 2800 attack with the ability to plus 2 with a summon of another Karakuri and a draw, Steel Shogun makes a strong case for playing a Karakuri deck. Summoning Steel Shogun is easy. Set Karakuri Soldier MDL 236 “Nisamu” and let it get destroyed in battle to get its effect to special summon Karakuri Watchdog MDL 313 “Saizan”. Then on your turn, summon a level 4 Karakuri monster and tune for Steel Shogun. If you do not have any of these monsters, you can get them easily with Karakuri Merchant MDX 177 “Inashichi” or Karakuri Cash Cache.
 
What is so special about Karakuri Steel Shogun is that the Karakuri theme is all about changing battle positions, so that turns Steel Shogun into a draw engine. As a matter of fact, all you have to do in summon Steel Shogun and use its effect to summon Karakuri strategist MDL 248 “Nishipachi”. Then use that monster’s effect to switch itself to defense so you can draw a card. You can also use Karakuri Cash Cache to change the battle position of a Karakuri monster to get a level 4 or lower Karakuri monster from your Deck and draw a card.
 
While not top tier any more, Karakuri decks are still very powerful and fun decks to play.
 
Traditional: 2/5
Advanced: 3/5

We dug deeper into Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Haunted Mine Gold Series set and hit paydirt with the go to synchro monster for the Karakuri archtype, Karakuri Steel Shogun mdl 00X Bureido. a level 8 synchro, needing 1 Tuner monster and 1 or more Machine-Type non tuner monsters. Bureido is a must for the Karakuris. His ATK and DEF stats are good at 2800 and 1700. When Bureido is special summoned, you can special summon 1 Karakuri monster from your deck, also whenever the position of a face up Karakuri monster you control is changed, Draw 1 card. Karakuris always had a thing for changing positions and field control and Bureido is no different. Drawing cards for what they do best is pretty good, especially when you team them with cards like Enemy Controller, Zero Gravity and No Entry!!. If you are using Karakuris, then I would hope to see a copy of two in your extra deck.
 

Traditional: 2
Advanced: 3.5 *In a Karakuri deck only.
Tomorrow: Lady Bird...

And behold, the strongest Karakuri monster there is, the Steel Shogun ("Big General" in the original name).

Double-oh-ex here is perhaps the most dynamic play Karakuris can pull. First of all, upon his summon, he immediately provides you with any Karakuri out of your deck to compensate for the likely two monsters you used as Synchro Material (usually Kuick + Watchdog or maybe with a Level 3 Tuner). The strongest Main Deck Karakuri is Nanashick, the 2200-attacker. Nanashick itself is a rather lacklustre card, though; if you haven't used her already, you might want to summon Komachi instead, and through her effect continue to swarm further from your hand. After you're done swarming, you can proceed to smash your opponent with that nitojutsu 2800 power.

Oh yeah, and if you change one of your Karakuri's positions (which should happen ideally near every turn), you get a draw, so that's an extra draw every turn! This if you mongus when you combine with Karakuri Anatomy. Usually you will use effects that constantly improve your advantage and simultaneously change your position at the side effects, cards like Cash Cache and the other Karakuri Shogun.

Now...a Level 8 Synchro... Most decks' go-to Synchro is Scrap Dragon, infamous for the one-for-one's it produces even outside of Scrap Decks. While Scrap reduces your opponent's resources, Zero Zero Roman Numeral Ten build them up for you. Sometimes, and perhaps even most of the time, Scrap Dragon is the more reliable effect to roll with, but Robo-Shogun has much more potential for advantage. Really, would have to depend on the situation, but yeah, don't make a Karakuri Deck without The General.

Traditional: 2.25/5 (not quite sure what good Karakuris have, but speed-drawing is good)
Advanced: 3.6/5
Aesthetics: 1.9/5 You know, it's sort of funny not every Karakuri monster is a ninja. It sorta presents a community-sorta feeling, how Karakuri Merchant is actually a merchant and not really a ninja, but is part of the Karakuri family (karakuri means "mechanical"), so it's like a village of robotic puppets! The common effect of being forced to attack and battle positions of most Karakuri illustrate their "ninja puppet" design, their internal gears rotating as they are forced to march forward in the name of the Great Shogun (actually, shogun were leaders of samurai, not ninja). I don't know what's the deal with the whole "Model" thing though. I understand it's an Easter Egg that relates to simple multiplication and puns (for example, Kuick/Quick is mdl 919 and Nanashick is 7749), but...really, it's just so random (nana means "seven," shi sorta sounds like "four," kyu means "nine," and the same pattern can be found in most every Karakuri, but we have three different "Karakuri Ninjas" and it is very damn confusing for the opponents of Karakuri to understand which one does what). Karakuri ningyo are sorta like Japanese wind-up toys back from 1600. Bureido's Japanese name is simply "Karakuri Great Shogun Blade." I forgive the English department for not translating Shogun to General and I guess not translating Karakuri to Mechanical is passable, but they had to incorporate the over-the-top Japanese-accented English of Blade as "Bureido" and then they threw on the completely random "mdl 00X" and they even substituted the word "Steel" over "Great." GAAAAAAH

Philosophy Corner: I like how they didn't remove the horns in the TCG and he sorta looks like Turtle Oath. That is all.
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