For the original Monarchs, see Monarchs
The Seven Emperors
Majestic Dawn
The Monarchs have risen again! Unleash the power of the Dukes and Emperors! And Summon the most powerful of all rulers: The Fusion Monarchs!
New Forms and Effects
The Prince monsters are all Level 4 monsters, with the exception of "Zaborg the Thunder Prince" which is Level 3, with an effect that mimics their corresponding Monarch's but with a cost that usually relates to the effect in hand. For example, "Caius the Shadow Prince" requires a card to be removed from play from its controller's hand in order to remove from play a card on the field and inflict damage.
The next evolution is the set of Duke monsters, all Level 5 Gemini monsters (there is no 'Duke' form of "Granmarg the Rock Monarch" or "Zaborg the Thunder Monarch") which gain a similar, though slightly less powerful version of their Monarch's effect when they are Gemini Summoned, along with being treated as a Monarch. In addition, they possess an effect that activates if they are Tributed for the Tribute Summon of a monster with their name in it (e.g. "Caius the Black Duke" being tributed for "Caius the Dark Emperor"). A pair of turns after that monster was summoned, the Duke can be removed from play to activate that monster's effect once again, ignoring the activation conditions.
Above the Monarchs are the Imperators. Based on the practices of the later Roman Empire (once again cementing the relationship between that and these monsters) in which rulers went into battles, they have more powerful versions of their Monarch's effect, but can only be Tribute Summoned by Tributing the corresponding Monarch and another monster. There are currently only two Imperator monsters, "Caius the Shadow Imperator" and "Kuraz the Light Imperator".
The final forms of the Monarchs are the Emperors (Overlords in Japanese), all possessing 3000 ATK and effects that can clear the field of any obsticles. They can be Tribute Summoned with one Tribute, but that Tribute must be the corresponding Monarch monster. Also, to unleash their full strength, they must be Tribute Summoned with three Tributes. However, that does render them immune to card effects for a turn.
The Fusion Monarchs are a selection of Fusion Monsters that are, as their name suggests, fusions of Monarch monsters. They all have effects that are a combination of their materials' effects and when they are destroyed, they can re-summon one of their material monsters and if their controller removes from play another monster, that Special Summon is treated as a Tribute Summon, activating the Monarch's effect.
Play Style
Although similar to standard Monarch Deck-builds, the Majestic Dawn additions allow the Monarchs to become far more aggressive, due to their lower forms easily being searchable, ready to be Tributed. The new Fusion Monarchs also add a beat-down edge to this Archetype, combining powerful effects and impressive ATK and DEF.