Railway Support [6/6] [Written]

[VCR_CAT 19]

Who didn't see this coming?

Manic Minotaur Modalohr
Level 4 - EARTH
Machine/Effect
During your Main Phase or when your opponent’s monster declares an attack (Quick Effect); You can send 1 Spell/Trap on your field to the GY, and if you do, Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can target 2 EARTH Machine monsters you control with the same Level; Immediately after this effect resolves, Xyz Summon 1 Machine Xyz Monster using those targets. You can only use each effect of “Manic Minotaur Modalohr” once per turn.
ATK 1800 | DEF 1000
Based off the Modalohr railway system. While I wouldn't choose this card if I had to choose one to become real, I know deep down that this card has some really crazy possibilities, especially with Revolving Switchyard. The self-summon, however, I feel would give actual usability to the sent-to-grave effects that the Schedule cards possess.

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Tenacious Track Trailblazer
Level 10 - EARTH
Machine/Effect
Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) while you control no monsters, but its original ATK/DEF become halved. You can send this card from your field to the GY; Special Summon 1 Level 4 EARTH Machine monster with 1800 or more ATK from your Deck, but you can only Special Summon Machine monsters for the rest of the turn. You can only use this effect of “Tenacious Track Trailblazer” once per turn.
ATK 3600 | DEF 2000
Based off of a Jordan Spreader, a type of train used to build track banks. This is the card where if I could only choose one of my customs to be real, it would be this card. The biggest weakness of Railway, and EARTH Machine for that matter, is an incredible reliance on their Normal Summon. Between Infinitrack Harvester, how Derricrane and Bullet Express rely on a previously established field, Machina Metalcruncher-- every single one of the cards that all 3 themes need to properly start a combo or play NEED a card that's Normal Summoned first, and in a gamestate where negation and disruption are rampant and easily played for cheap, having something that can allow you to start a play without completely screwing over all prospects in your turn are in high demand. Functionally, Trailblazer is a 1-card Rank 10 that does not use your Normal Summon and this makes the card incredibly strong. I understand this. I feel, however, that a good trade-off is that said Rank 10 you make lacks Bullet Express or Derricrane-- two cards that turn Number 81 from an average wall to a strong card. It's powerful, for sure, but the only cards it overshadows and renders obsolete are Night Express and Rainbow-- which, to be quite frank, are not difficult cards to render obsolete and kind of deserve it. The flavour of this card is supposed to depict it literally building the track for the Level 4 monster it summons.

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Prudent Schedule
Quickplay Spell
Special Summon 1 Level 10 EARTH Machine monster from your hand, and if you do, draw 1 card. If this set card is sent from the field to the GY: You can send 1 EARTH Machine monster from your Deck to the GY. You can only use each effect of “Punctual Schedule” once per turn.
Another card in my set is additional support for the "Schedule" spells, and I felt having a third option really rounds them out. Again, another card that helps with starting plays and some versatility, though I wouldn't really say it's necessarily as strong as Urgent.

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Adamant Chopper Shunter
Earth - BOTTOM LEFT
Machine/Link/Effect
If this card is Special Summoned: You can set 1 “Revolving Switchyard” or 1 “Schedule” Spell from your Deck or GY to your field. If a Machine Xyz Monster is Special Summoned to your field while this card is on the field or in the GY: You can target that monster; attach this card to that monster from your field or GY as material. You can only use each effect of “Adamant Chopper Shunter” once per turn. A Machine Xyz Monster with this card attached as material gains 300 ATK/DEF.
ATK 750 | LINK-1
Like Double Header, Chopper Shunter is based off of a Chopper Coupling and a Shunter Train. I feel like the set mechanic makes Special Schedule a bit better compared to these other two, though while I would run the other 2 closer to 3 each I would still only run 1-2 of Special. I like the material effect because it makes 81 a nice round 3500 don't worry about Gustav while also preventing the issue of "I use 81's effect now it's immune AND has even beefier stats" because this card's effect doesn't grant the effect, it's just a normal passive.

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Dreadnought Dreadguard
Rank 4 - FIRE
Machine/Xyz/Effect
2 Level 4 Machine monsters
When your opponent activates a monster’s effect (Quick Effect): You can detach 1 material from this card; destroy that monster, and if you do, negate its activated effect. You can only use this effect of “Dreadnought Dreadguard” once per turn. At the end of a turn that this card destroyed an opponent’s monster with its effect: You can Special Summon from your Extra Deck, 1 Rank 10 or higher Machine Xyz Monster by using this face-up card you control as material. (This is treated as an Xyz Summon. Transfer its materials to the Summoned monster.)
ATK 1000 | DEF 2200
I knew if I was adding more Level 4 support that I needed to better validate the use of Level 4's in a Trains deck. I waffled on the design a lot until I settled on looking at Dreadnought Dreadnoid and decided to... validate some of its weirdness compared to everything else that supports R10 Machines. Dreadguard is the more defensive option, while also helping fill in that niche of disruption-style protection that the Trains lack. Having the destruction occur BEFORE negation was intentional-- I feel it's a small change that adds quite a bit of nuance to an otherwise mundane function on cards, and also reduces its potency enough to warrant being a 2-material R4, even if it requires machine materials. For some quick ruling-- for monster effects that activate in the hand or deck but do NOT have sending itself from those locations to the GY/banishment as a cost, this would work. But this effect will not work on effects that activate when banished/in the grave, or effects that would send the card to those locations as cost. Like handtraps.

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Superdreadnaught Rail Cannon Suppressor Seigfried
Rank 10 - EARTH
Machine/Xyz/Effect
2 Level 10 monsters
Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can detach 1 material from this card and choose 1 zone on the field; turn any face-up card in that zone face-down (Monsters are changed to Defense Position), and until the end of the next turn, cards cannot be activated or Summoned in that zone. Face-down cards in that zone cannot be activated in response to this effect's activation.
ATK 2800 | DEF 2000
Based off of another early-20th-century Krupp railway-based artillery platform the 38cm Seifried K. Again, EARTH Machine and Railway decks specifically lack hard in disruptive effects, but I wanted something that operated... differently. The flavour I worked with before refining my idea was an artillery shot that would literally destroy a Card Zone-- not necessarily the card IN the zone, but the zone itself. Forcing what is established there to go into hiding until the smoke clears. In the end, I was quite happy with the outcome of this card, and knowing the deck and how it operates even with my support a player couldn't deploy more than 2 of these on a field, tops. While the zone lock-out wouldn't matter as much as shutting down the cards in that zone already, it's worth noting that this card DOES work on field zones. Do with that information what you will.