What deck should a new duelist build? 

Duel Links is a fun way to duel friends and master the game of Duel Monsters. However, certain cards and decks can be expensive and, understandably, not everyone is willing to shell out real money for virtual cards. Luckily Duel Links has many decks that can be built without costing a dime. 

Here, I have compiled some of the best starter decks. All these decks are free-to-play. By this, I mean that they are easily obtained using gems, character drops, events, or the card trader. 

While all these decks are attainable for free, there are multiple ways to upgrade and improve each deck as you make your way to becoming the King of Games. 

5. Cyber Angels 

Beautiful and deadly, Cyber Angels were once the queens of Duel Links. 

This deck has a history in Duel Links, as it was once the most powerful deck in the game. This deck used to be pay-to-play, but through various events, their cards became available to all. However, because getting these cards are dependent on events, this deck is at the bottom of this list. It is worth noting that some Cyber Angels are available through card tickets, which are earned as free prizes for dueling or simply logging in. 

This deck is great because: 

• It is a ritual deck, using ritual cards to summon powerful monsters. It’s not a common type of deck and will catch an opponent off guard. 
• There are many Cyber Angels of different levels, so you can always summon something, and many cards that let you ritual summon so you are not dependent on only one card. 
• The ace, Cyber Angel Dakini, is difficult to defeat. 

How to play this deck: 

• The goal is to ritual summon powerful Cyber Angels. 
• The Machine Angel Ritual card can summon any Cyber Angel from your deck, as long as you tribute monster cards with a level equal to or above the Cyber Angel you’re summoning. 
• Cyber Tutubon can be summoned by tributing a warrior or Fairy-type monster, and if tributed for a ritual summon, it can add a ritual spell from the graveyard to your hand. 
• This helps you get Machine Angel Ritual back to your hand to summon another Cyber Angel. 
• Cyber Angel Dakini is very powerful; when summoned, it forces your opponent to send one of their monsters to the graveyard, inflicts battle damage on monsters in defense mode, and lets you return ritual cards to your hand from your graveyard at the end of your turn. 
• This deck works well with the “Level Duplication” skill, which can change a monster’s level to the same as any monster in your hand. 

List of Cards

4. Subterror 

For some ground-shaking flip effects, use a Subterror deck. 

This deck is compiled through the card trader and incorporates several cards from the Blazing Rose box. It can cost many gems to get them all, but all the cards are in only one box.

This deck is great because: 

• The Subterror decks have been used by finalists worldwide. 
• This deck uses banish removal to get rid of your opponent’s cards. 
• There are several hybrid versions, incorporating Neos or, most popular, Invokers.

How to play this deck: 

• This deck works well with the “Labyrinth Builder” skill, which lets you play Labyrinth Wall, a monster with an enormous DEF of 3000. 
• The strategy relies on flip effects and large monsters. 
• Subterror Final Battle is a trap that changes any Subterror monster’s position or increases their ATK and DEF, but after it is used it’s flipped back over, not sent to the graveyard. 
• When flipped, Subterror Behemoth Stygokraken destroys as many monsters on your opponent’s field as you have Subterror Behemoths on yours. 
• Subterror Behemoth Umastryx is the ace of this deck: when flipped, it can banish one card from your opponent’s field. 

List of Cards

3. Yubel Deck 

"When Yubel - Terror Incarnate leaves this dimension, a stronger form descends: Yubel - The Ultimate Nightmare is upon you! In my ultimate form, I cannot be destroyed by battle!" - Yubel

Yubel and its other forms are obtainable through events or as drops after battling Yubel. It is acknowledged as one of the more powerful free decks in the game. 

This deck is great because: 

• This deck requires your opponent to have a way to stop you from summoning Yubel. If they fail, they lose.
• It is based around the three forms of Yubel, which are overwhelming and nearly impossible to battle. 
• While the deck uses cards from the Absolute Inferno and Dawn of Destiny boxes, most of the cards are easy to get, as they are not overly rare. 

How to play this deck: 

• The goal of this deck is to summon Yubel, a level 10 monster, then destroy her. 
• By destroying Yubel, you can special summon Yubel - Terror Incarnate to the field: this card cannot be destroyed by battle, does not take battle damage, and inflicts damage on the opponent’s LP when it battles. 
• If your opponent manages to destroy Yubel - Terror Incarnate, you can then summon Yubel - The Ultimate Nightmare, which is just as powerful. 
• The most common way of using this deck is by playing Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys monster cards.
• Another strategy is to destroy your opponent's deck, by summoning Warm Worm, which sends 3 cards from your opponent's deck to the graveyard. 

List of Cards

2. Aromage 

Every Aromage has a special effect, so watch those life points to use them. 

The Aromage monsters are unique for their reliance on LP and their chained special abilities. As a result of their many abilities, each turn can take a long time to go through every monster and spell card. 

This deck is great because: 

• As long as you have higher LP than your opponent, Aroma monsters have special abilities to keep you safe.
• This deck has a Synchro monster, Aromaseraphy Rosemary, and several tuner monsters: this makes this deck easily converted into a Synchro deck. 
• Most of these cards are found in the Fortress of Gears Mini Box or at the card trader, making this deck relatively inexpensive. 

How to use 

• Aroma Garden is a field spell. When you have an Aroma monster on the field, this card gives you 500 LP and adds 500 ATK and DEF to your monsters. 
• Many Aroma spell and trap cards increase your LP: this triggers multiple Aromage monsters’ abilities. 
• When your LP is higher than your opponent's, Aromage Canaga decreases your opponent's monsters’ ATK and DEF by 500. 
• Aromage Marjoram prevents you from receiving any battle damage from attacks involving your plant-type monsters.
• Tribute to summon Aromage Bergamot, which gains 1000 ATK and DEF when you gain LP and inflicts battle damage on opponent’s monsters when you have higher LP. 
• Aromaseraphy Rosemary gives 500 ATK to all plant type monsters on your field. 

List of Cards

1. Blue Eyes 

"Prepare for annihilation! Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, attack! Neutron Blast Attack!" - Seto Kaiba (DSOD)

The Blue-Eyes deck is a classic deck from the early days of Yu-Gi-Oh! It has gone through several remakes and has many different forms and ways to play it, making it possible to compile without costing money. Because it is so changeable, this deck can be upgraded as you grow as a duelist. 

This deck is great because: 

• This is the most upgradable deck. It can be built in many ways, thus you can use cards from the card trader, from various boxes, or from character drops. 
• There are many Blue-Eyes support cards, so this deck can be improved over time. The Judgement Force Mini Box has many useful cards, but none are required to build this deck. 
• It’s perfect for new players to explore the game, especially if you choose Seto Kaiba as your starting character, as Blue-Eyes White Dragon is already in his deck. 

How to use this deck: 

• No matter what type of Blue-Eyes deck you play, the general strategy doesn’t change much: tribute weaker monsters to summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon. 
• Many skills work with Blue-Eyes decks, especially Seto Kaiba and Mokuba Kaiba’s skills, including “Dragon Rebirth,” “Alternate Evolution,” or “Peak Performance.” 
• Enemy Controller is a spell card that lets you tribute a monster to control your opponent’s monster for one turn, or changes a monster’s battle position. 
• Lord of D. prevents the opponent from targeting dragons with effects on the field. 
• With Lord of D. on the field, Flute of Summoning Dragons is able to summon any two dragons from the deck. 
• Using this method, you can summon multiple Blue-Eyes White Dragons to the field. 
• You can build this up into a Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon deck. This can be done with Seto Kaiba (DSOD)’s “Ultimate Dragons” skill. 

List of Cards

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