Want to get into Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel but don’t know where to start? Konami’s newest card game simulator provides new and returning players with a streamlined PvE mode, where they can learn about the lore and mechanics of some of the game’s most popular archetypes. What’s more, as they complete this Solo Mode the game rewards players with an avalanche of gems so they can build their first decks. But with over 10,000 Yu-Gi-Oh! cards released, it can be hard to decide which ones to buy. Read on to find out about 10 excellent deck types for you to use to begin competing for the title of King of Games!
The decks on this list are ones whose core components can be found either in Master Duel’s Solo Mode rewards, in the Structure Deck shop, or in a specific Secret Pack. These Secret Packs can be unlocked by crafting one of the archetype’s cards.
Through crafting, you can use N, R, SR, or UR crystals to create any card of that particular rarity. SR and UR crystals are very limited, though, so it’s better to use gems from Solo Mode or Missions first to build most of your chosen deck. You can easily raise over 10,000 gems in your first few days playing, enough to collect the main pieces of your chosen deck.
All these decks have very clear strategies and goals, from swarming the field with an army of monsters, to boosting their attack points exponentially, or decimating your opponent’s field. They also get you acquainted with the Extra Deck mechanics that give Yu-Gi-Oh! the depth and complexity it’s known for: Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, and Link Summoning.
For each deck, there is a sample decklist for you to build around. But as you gain more experience in dueling, you can add your own cards to make it even stronger!
10. Exodia OTK
But this one does contain... the unstoppable Exodia!
Even if you’ve never seen or played Yu-Gi-Oh! before, you may remember hearing the phrase “Exodia, obliterate!” One of the card game’s iconic monsters, and present since the very beginning, Exodia the Forbidden One is a legendary being from Ancient Egypt with magic so powerful he had to be locked away. If you gather all five of its sealed pieces into your hand, Exodia’s infinite power will instantly grant you victory!
This type of Exodia deck is a classic variant, filled to the brim with powerful draw cards to maximize your chances of getting all five pieces on your first turn. The key element in this strategy is Royal Magical Library, an effect monster that lets you draw a card for every three Spell Cards you activate.
Here’s the catch: every single card in this deck that is not a Library or an Exodia piece is a Spell! Most of them are deck thinners like Upstart Goblin, which lets you draw an extra card. If you activate these spells, then use Library’s draw effect, then play more draw Spells you just drew and repeat, you can possibly draw through your entire deck and guarantee getting Exodia!
Exodia OTK is the weakest deck on this list, because of how much it relies on a lucky opening hand. But it’s also one of the cheapest. There are few UR rarity cards here, so it’s very easy to craft all the cards that you need.
Exodia OTK excels at:
- Packing many draw engines together. Cards like Card of Demise and Golden Bamboo Sword will let you draw two cards each under the right circumstances. And if you can summon two Libraries with the Double Summon spell, you’ll have doubled the amount of extra draws you receive.
- Alternate ways of gathering the Exodia pieces. You can discard Exodia pieces so that Magical Stone Excavation can recover a spell in your Graveyard, or use Foolish Burial to send a piece directly from the deck to the graveyard. Then, Dark Factory of Mass Production will put those Exodia pieces back into your hand!
- Multiple ways of getting to your Royal Magical Library. Besides your normal draw spells, you have Magical Mallet, which shuffles as many cards as you want back into the deck and lets you draw that same amount of cards. There is also Piri Reis Map, which lets you search for any monster with 0 Attack Points (which is the case for Library).
Choose Exodia OTK if…
- You want a taste of the power that gave Yugi’s victory in the very first duel of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime!
- You want to understand why draw effects are so powerful in the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game. There is a reason many draw cards, such as Pot of Duality, are on the Forbidden & Limited List. The ones that are allowed at three copies usually have heavy downsides, like Into the Void, which lets you draw one card at the cost of discarding your entire hand when your turn ends.
- You want to get used to Yu-Gi-Oh! before learning how to use Extra Deck mechanics. This decklist foregoes any Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, or Link monsters in favor of focusing on winning only through Exodia. Having no Extra Deck is what allows Anchamoufrite to use its draw one effect, and it greatly cuts down on the cost of building the deck.
Exodia OTK cards
Main Deck:
- Exodia the Forbidden One (x1)
- Left Arm of the Forbidden One (x1)
- Right Arm of the Forbidden One (x1)
- Left Leg of the Forbidden One (x1)
- Right Leg of the Forbidden One (x1)
- Royal Magical Library (x3)
- Anchamoufrite (x1)
- Upstart Goblin (x3)
- Magical Stone Excavation (x2)
- Chicken Game (x3)
- Foolish Burial (x1)
- Foolish Burial Goods (x1)
- Into the Void (x3)
- Dark Factory of Mass Production (x1)
- Magical Mallet (x2)
- Double Summon (x1)
- Pot of Duality (x1)
- Card of Demise (x1)
- Piri Reis Map (x2)
- Pseudo Space (x3)
- Golden Bamboo Sword (x3)
- Broken Bamboo Sword (x1)
- Cursed Bamboo Sword (x3)
9. Eldlich Control
"Oh? Are you approaching me?" Eldlich uses the Golden Land's many curses to haunt outsiders.
Early on, Trap Cards used to be what set Yu-Gi-Oh! apart from other card games, as they were the tools that surprised your opponent on their turn and disrupted their plays. Since then, the speed of monster effects and Spell cards has increased to the point where many players lack the patience to play most Traps. But the Eldlich deck promises to restore traps to their rightful place, dismantling your opponent’s strategies while you raise a Zombie army with your trump card, Eldlich the Golden Lord.
Eldlich decks work best when going first. When you have the Golden Lord in your hand, you’ll want to use his effects to send himself to the graveyard, retrieve him again, and then Special Summon him onto the field. Once summoned this way, Eldlich will have 3500 Attack Points and will be immune to destruction effects, making him a tough obstacle for your opponent.
There are two archetypes of Trap cards that support Eldlich the Golden Lord. The Eldlixir cards, like Eldlixir of Scarlet Sanguine, special summon Eldlich from the deck or Graveyard, or other Zombie monsters if you include them in your deck. The Golden Land cards will Special Summon themselves as Zombie monsters and cause detrimental effects to your opponent, such as destroying your opponent’s cards or banishing them from their Graveyard.
Once these Traps have gone to the graveyard, you can banish them to add cards of the other archetype from your deck to your hand. This ensures that you have a steady stream of Trap cards to surprise your adversary with. The rest of the deck mainly consists of more Traps to make their life difficult, such as Solemn Judgment, which can negate a monster summon or a Spell/Trap activation.
The core of your deck, the Eldlich cards, can be found in a single secret pack: Immortal Royalty.
Eldlich Control excels at:
- Controlling the pace of the game. Eldlich the Golden Lord can always revive himself if he is sent to the Graveyard, and the more archetype Traps you activate, the more you can replenish your hand. So as your opponent’s resources dwindle, yours will increase.
- Playing the game by your rules. With strong floodgates like Skill Drain, which negates the effects of all monsters on the field, and Gozen Match, which restricts both players to only one attribute of monsters, your opponent will often be unable to perform their main combos. Since yours is a Trap deck, these restrictions will barely harm you at all.
- Playing around Maxx “C”. This omnipresent staple allows players to draw a card whenever their opponent Special Summons. It’s a card that can win games on its own, but since this deck barely Special Summons, it’ll be a dead card for your opponents.
Choose Eldlich if…
- You adore Trap cards. It’s always a good feeling when you flip a Set card on your opponent’s turn and ruin their plans. Activate Torrential Tribute, and watch as all monsters on the field are destroyed—which will be devastating to your opponent, while you can just revive Eldlich on the next turn.
- You want to practice the basics of Yu-Gi-Oh! at your own pace. Summon Limit and other floodgates like it will limit the amount of monsters being played on each turn. This forces both players to play the game the way it was in its early years, when duels could frequently go over 10 turns and victory was reached gradually.
- You’re not yet confident in playing from the Extra Deck. Fusions, Synchros, Xyz, and Links can make matches interesting, but can definitely be overwhelming for new and returning players. This list contains an Extra Deck, but the main plays can be done entirely through your Main Deck only.
Eldlich Cards
Main Deck:
- Eldlich the Golden Lord (x3)
- Lord of the Heavenly Prison (x3)
- Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring (x3)
- Cursed Eldland (x2)
- Eldlixir of Scarlet Sanguine (x3)
- Huaquero of the Golden Land (x2)
- Conquistador of the Golden Land (x2)
- Polymerization (x1)
- Pot of Extravagance (x2)
- Pot of Duality (x2)
- Solemn Strike (x3)
- Solemn Judgment (x2)
- Skill Drain (x1)
- Torrential Tribute (x2)
- Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror (x2)
- Rivalry of Warlords (x1)
- Gozen Match (x1)
- Anti-Spell Fragrance (x2)
- Dogmatika Punishment (x3)
Extra Deck:
- Eldlich the Mad Golden Lord (x1)
- Elder Entity N’tss (x3)
- Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max (x1)
- Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Juggernaut Liebe (x1)
- Constellar Pleiades (x1)
- Dragonecro Nethersoul Dragon (x1)
- Mudragon of the Swamp (x1)
- Wind Pegasus @Ignister (x1)
- Link Spider (x1)
- Dharc the Dark Charmer, Gloomy (x1)
- Lyna the Light Charmer, Lustrous (x1)
- Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder (x1)
- Accesscode Talker (x1)
8. Numeron OTK
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger... literally.
Numerons are a deck type used by one of Yu-Gi-Oh!’s archvillains, and many players may indeed see you as a villain for playing them! But their strategy is simple, direct, and a great introduction to Xyz Monsters–powerful cards that can be formed by stacking two or more monsters with the same level.
As a deck, Numerons prefer to go second in a match and to wipe out their opponent’s life points on their very first turn (a One-Turn-Kill or OTK). The crucial piece that makes this all possible is their Field Spell, Numeron Network, which allows the player to activate a Numeron Calling spell from anywhere in their deck to call forth 4 Xyz Monsters at once.
These monsters, the Numeron Gates, can’t be destroyed in battle, and their attack doubles when any one of them battles. That means that the second Numeron Gate you attack with will have 2000 Attack Points, the third one will have 4000, and the fourth one will have a whopping 8000!
The Numeron cards can all be found in the Number Recall secret pack.
What Numerons excel at:
- Defeating many enemy boards that look quite strong. Your Numeron Xyz monsters can’t be destroyed by battle, so it makes little difference if your opponent controls multiple high Attack monsters. And if you can’t outright win on your turn, you always have backup plans in the form of near-invincible Extra Deck monsters like Mekk-Knight Crusadia Avramax or Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS.
- Closing games quickly; whether victory is yours or you’re destined to lose, it won’t take long to know the result. Combos are short, and duels will rarely go into turn 3 or 4.
- Adapting to the current metagame. With only one central game plan and plenty of deck space, players can fill out the rest of their decks with cards tailored to combat the dominant archetypes in any format. For example, they can slot in Soul Drain to prevent those pesky Tearlaments from activating their Graveyard effects.
Choose Numerons If…
- You’re a fan of Xyz summoning or the Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL anime. This deck cheats out Xyz monsters with ease, and you can overlay them for more Xyz summons later in your turn. This was also an archetype famously used by Don Thousand, the main villain in ZEXAL.
- You prefer to stick to a single, straightforward strategy instead of coming up with different plays for different adversaries. With Numerons, you’ll always be looking to activate Numeron Network and to summon your Numeron Gates for lethal damage. Any other cards you play are simply there to help obtain your Field Spell, to interrupt your opponent, or to ensure your main plays go through.
- You like playing quick matches. Even if your win rate is pretty average, being able to finish games in under five minutes means you can climb up the rankings faster than many other decks that win more but with drawn-out games.
Numeron OTK Cards
Main Deck:
- Numeron Wall (3x)
- Planet Pathfinder (3x)
- Lava Golem (3x)
- Gameciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju (3x)
- Maxx “C” (3x)
- Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring (3x)
- Numeron Network (3x)
- Numeron Calling (3x)
- Memories of Hope (1x)
- Small World (3x)
- Limiter Removal (1x)
- Magical Mallet (2x)
- Infinite Impermanence (3x)
- Lightning Storm (3x)
- Harpies’ Feather Duster (1x)
- Forbidden Droplet (2x)
Extra Deck:
- Number 1: Numeron Gate Ekam (2x)
- Number 2: Numeron Gate Dve (2x)
- Number 3: Numeron Gate Trini (2x)
- Number 4: Numeron Gate Catvari (2x)
- Number C1: Numeron Chaos Gate Sunya (2x)
- Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder (1x)
- Mekk-Knight Crusadia Avramax (1x)
- Apollousa, Bow of the Goddess (1x)
- Accesscode Talker (1x)
- Underworld Goddess of the Closed World (1x)
7. Dark Magician
"DARK MAGIC ATTACK!"... is actually a useful Spell card found in this deck.
Fans who grew up watching the original Yu-Gi-Oh! series on TV definitely remember this card. Yami Yugi’s ace monster, the Dark Magician, was a trusted servant of the Pharaoh, and it was often present at the climax of his duels. A beloved archetype by fans, Dark Magician decks are very versatile, and they’re constantly receiving new cards every year.
As the name implies, your strategy will rely on bringing out the classic Dark Magician. Many cards, such as Magicians’ Souls, make this much easier. There are two other main pillars for this deck: the Spell card Dark Magical Circle, which will banish an opponents’ card whenever you summon Dark Magician; and Eternal Soul, which lets you revive him once per turn.
When you have this loop in place, you can use your Dark Magician for powerful Fusion or Ritual summons, and then bring him back with Eternal Soul. When your magician is revived, Circle will remove your opponent’s cards, and you can repeat this turn after turn! What’s more, Eternal Soul will also protect Dark Magicians from being affected by the opponent’s card effects.
And if you manage to bring out Dark Magician The Dragon Knight–a 3000 Attack Point monster that protects your Spells and Traps from being destroyed–then you’ll have an almost impenetrable defense!
Dark Magician is one of the cheapest decks for new players to build. You can buy three copies of its structure deck for a total of 1500 gems at the shop.
What Dark Magician excels at:
- Using the heart of the cards. Well, almost. Yugi always seemed to draw the perfect card for every situation, and this deck is filled with ways to get the cards you need. Magicians’ Souls brings out Dark Magician from the deck; Illusion of Chaos will trade a card in your hand for a monster in your deck connected to the Dark Magician; and both Dark Magical Circle and Soul Servant will let you draw into his personal collection of Spells and Traps.
- Controlling the pace of the game. Compared to many modern decks, this one doesn’t summon a lot of monsters early on. But with each important card you put into play, your options increase, and your opponent’s become more limited. For example, the Field Spell Magician’s Salvation allows you to revive a Dark Magician or Dark Magician Girl when you summon the other one, and Eternal Soul can search out the spell Dark Burning Magic. When you have both magicians on the field, this spell will destroy all your opponents’ cards!
- Playing powerful Fusion Monsters and Fusion Spells. The spell Eye of Timaeus will let you go into a Fusion Monster with only a single Magician instead of two monsters, and Secrets of Dark Magic, being a Quick-Play Spell, will let you fuse your monsters as a way to dodge your opponent’s harmful effects. The Dark Magicians is a great supportive Fusion Monster, drawing a card when a Spell card is activated; and Master of Chaos is able to banish all your opponent’s monsters!
Choose Dark Magician if…
- You’re a nostalgic fan of the original show, of Fusion and Ritual monsters, or of the playstyle of early Yu-Gi-Oh!, which this deck still emulates quite well.
- You like using a wide variety of powerful Spell cards to support your plays. As a Spellcaster deck, it’s only natural that these Spells are so important.
- You’re looking for a very quick and cheap way to have fun duels and climb up to the middle ranks of the ladder.
Dark Magician Cards
Main Deck:
- Dark Magician (2x)
- Dark Magician Girl (1x)
- Illusion of Chaos (2x)
- Magician of Chaos (1x)
- Magicians’ Souls (3x)
- Apprentice Illusion Magician (1x)
- Magician’s Rod (3x)
- Timaeus the United Dragon (1x)
- Maxx “C” (3x)
- Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring (1x)
- D.D. Crow (2x)
- Dark Magical Circle (2x)
- Eternal Soul (1x)
- Soul Servant (3x)
- Magician’s Salvation (1x)
- Secrets of Dark Magic (1x)
- Eye of Timaeus (1x)
- Secret Village of the Spellcasters (2x)
- Preparation of Rites (3x)
- Infinite Impermanence (3x)
- Skill Drain (1x)
- Soul Drain (2x)
Extra Deck:
- The Dark Magicians (3x)
- Master of Chaos (1x)
- Dark Magician the Dragon Knight (2x)
- Dark Cavalry (1x)
- Ebon High Magician (1x)
- Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder (1x)
- Black Luster Soldier - Soldier of Chaos (1x)
- Starving Venom Fusion Dragon (1x)
- Artemis, the Magistus Moon Maiden (1x)
- Imduk the World Chalice Dragon (1x)
- Dharc the Dark Charmer, Gloomy (1x)
- Day-Breaker the Shining Magical Warrior (1x)
6. Dragonmaids
Time to take out the trash! These maids will clean up your opponent's field for you.
Here’s one for the fans of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid. This deck consists of unassuming housemaids–except for the unusual tails coming out of their backs–who transform into powerful dragons during the Battle Phase, and can turn back immediately after. The constant tagging out of your monsters is a clever way to teach inexperienced players about the accelerated tempo of modern Yu-Gi-Oh!, while still revolving around clear strategies and simple Fusion-based summoning.
The maid forms of the monsters work together to increase your resources, adding cards from your deck to your hand and filling up your Graveyard. Once you’ve gathered a whole team of them on the field and you’re ready to battle, they’ll return themselves to the hand and summon their dragon forms from either the hand or graveyard. These dragons are powerful beings, each having more than 2500 Attack Points, and if you control a Fusion Dragonmaid monster, they’ll be protected from your opponent’s destruction effects.
Speaking of the Fusion Dragonmaids, they’re your ace in the hole when piloting this deck. You’ll first be looking to fuse two monsters to summon Dragonmaid Sheou, a titan with 3500 Attack Points that can bring out another Dragonmaid to your field on your opponent’s turn! It can also cancel out any effect your opponent tries to activate, after which it will revert to its human counterpart, the House Dragonmaid.
This Fusion monster is the perfect finisher for your combo, because whenever your other dragonmaids tag themselves out, it’ll destroy one of your opponent’s monsters!
Another cheap option for players, Dragonmaids can also be bought at the Structure Deck shop for 1500 gems in total.
What Dragonmaids excels at:
- Keeping your opponent guessing. The human maids–Parlor, Laundry, Kitchen, and Nurse Dragonmaids–all have an ability to search out or summon other cards, so an unknowing opponent will have a tough time finding a weak point in your combo.
- Playing the numbers game. The more maids you bring out, the more ways you’ll have to bring out more cards and interrupt your opponent. Once you bring out your Sheou, your board will be a very tough one to crack!
- Being comboed with other dragon monsters. Dragons and their support cards have some of the most powerful strategies in the game. If you tech in some of these other cards, like Hieratic Seal of the Heavenly Spheres or Dragon Ravine, you’ll be able to increase your field presence and gain more of an advantage against your opponent.
Choose Dragonmaids if…
- You want an accessible way to start playing decks with larger combo lines. A Dragonmaid deck can do many things on both turns, but your goals are very intuitive and you’ll learn to play this deck very quickly.
- You’re a fan of Fusion Summoning and want to do it like a pro player. The cornerstone of this deck are its fusion monsters, and getting to them is very easy. The fusion spell Dragonmaid Changeover can be searched by Chamber Dragonmaid, and after it’s activated, you can add it to your hand again, to Fusion Summon a second time!
- You happen to be a fan of dragons or maid cafés, two things this deck loves to indulge in.
Dragonmaids Cards
Main Deck:
- Parlor Dragonmaid (x3)
- Chamber Dragonmaid (x3)
- Kitchen Dragonmaid (x1)
- Laundry Dragonmaid (x1)
- Nurse Dragonmaid (x1)
- Dragonmaid Ernus (x1)
- Dragonmaid Nudyarl (x1)
- Dragonmaid Tinkhec (x1)
- Dragonmaid Lorpal (x1)
- Maxx “C” (x3)
- Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring (x2)
- Effect Veiler (x1)
- Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon (x1)
- Black Metal Dragon (x1)
- Noctovision Dragon (x1)
- Fantastical Dragon Phantazmay (x1)
- Rokket Recharger (x2)
- Dragonmaid Hospitality (x3)
- Dragonmaid Changeover (x1)
- Dragonmaid Tidying (x3)
- Dragonmaid Downtime (x1)
- Dragon Ravine (x1)
- World Legacy Guardragon (x2)
- Pot of Prosperity (x1)
- Crossout Designator (x1)
- Infinite Impermanence (x1)
- Quick Launch (x1)
Extra Deck:
- Dragonmaid Sheou (x1)
- House Dragonmaid (x2)
- Hieratic Seal of the Heavenly Spheres (x2)
- Striker Dragon (x2)
- Dragunity Knight - Romulus (x1)
- Guardragon Pisty (x2)
- Twin Triangle Dragon (x1)
- Knightmare Phoenix (x1)
- Dharc, the Dark Charmer, Gloomy (x1)
- Accesscode Talker (x1)
- Underworld Goddess of the Closed World (x1)
5. Zoodiac Tri-Brigade
Tri-Brigades' mulit-type support proves that three heads are better than one.
Ok, so maybe you think you’ll get bored playing a deck focused on only one archetype? Then this is the one for you! This deck combines two animalistic archetypes with a surprising amount of synergy: the Zoodiacs and the Tri-Brigades. They’re an easy deck for beginners to learn, and, at the same time, a VERY competitive deck to play when mastered.
The Tri-Brigades are the main players for this deck, and the ones you should be obtaining first. This archetype focuses on dumping monsters of three specific types–Beast, Beast-Warrior, and Winged-Beast–from the hand or deck into the graveyard. From there, Tri-Brigades banish these cards to Special Summon their versatile Link Monsters, like Tri-Brigade Shuraig the Ominous Omen, using them to search out even more cards and to banish your opponent’s cards.
The Zoodiacs are another powerful archetype that, with all of them being Beast-Warriors, fit in perfectly into Tri-Brigade combos. Their specialty is using a single Zoodiac monster to perform an Xyz Summon, using the resulting monster to Xyz Summon again, and continuing this chain until you have an Xyz Monster with a huge number of monsters as materials.
The main deck Zoodiacs also grant special effects to your Xyz Monsters, such as negating a Trap, or banishing a monster when it battles–and these can be used again with each new Xyz Summon!
Tri-Brigade cards can be found in the Echo Chamber Nation secret pack, while Zoodiacs can be crafted or pulled in Those Who Stand Against Kings secret pack.
What Zoodiac Tri-Brigade excels at:
- Versatility. While most decks do better by either going first or going second, mixing two distinct archetypes gives this deck the ultimate flexibility. Going first, you can use the Tri-Brigades to restrict what your opponent can do. But going second, you can use Zoodiacs to break through your opponent’s defenses and undo many of their plays.
- Creating chokeholds for your opponent. As a control deck, you’ll steadily create chances to Special Summon monsters at many points, even during your opponent’s turn, through cards like Tri-Brigade Revolt and Tri-Brigade Rugal. With all the monsters you’ll be bringing out, you’ll easily be able to Link Summon Accesscode Talker, a boss monster whose Attack Points can go over 5000, or Apollousa, Bow of the Goddess, a formidable creature that can negate your opponent’s effects multiple times in a turn!
- Pushing Xyz Summoning to its limit. Normally, you overlay two monsters of the same level to Xyz Summon, but with Zoodiacs, you can just use one monster of any level. An Xyz Monster typically detaches materials in order to use its effects, but with this mechanic, you can eventually reach an Xyz Monster with five or more materials. If you summon Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder this way, that means you could use his effect to destroy all other cards twice or even more times!
Pick Zoodiac Tri-Brigade if…
- You want a deck that has a good chance of winning in all your matches, rather than just your going-first or going-second duels.
- You want a deck that is enjoyable to learn and which can potentially take you all the way to the big leagues!
- You’d like to get a huge value out of your gems. Having cards from two different archetypes means you’ll be spending more gems out-of-pocket, but in the process you’ll also be collecting cards from other strong archetypes, such as Dogmatika, Crystrons, and Metalfoes!
Zoodiac Tri-Brigade Cards
Main Deck:
- Tri-Brigade Fraktall (x3)
- Tri-Brigade Nervall (x3)
- Tri-Brigade Kitt (x3)
- Tri-Brigade Kerass (x3)
- Zoodiac Ramram (x3)
- Zoodiac Whiptail (x1)
- Zoodiac Thoroughblade (x3)
- Maxx “C” (x3)
- Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring (x2)
- D.D. Crow (x1)
- PSY-Framegear Gamma (x2)
- PSY-Frame Driver (x1)
- Tri-Brigade Revolt (x3)
- Fire Formation - Tenki (x3)
- Pot of Desires (x2)
- Foolish Burial (x1)
- Infinite Impermanence (x1)
- Forbidden Droplet (x1)
- Harpies’ Feather Duster (x1)
Extra Deck:
- Tri-Brigade Shuraig the Ominous Omen (x2)
- Tri-Brigade Ferrijit the Barren Blossom (x2)
- Tri-Brigade Bearbrumm the Rampant Rampager (x1)
- Tri-Brigade Rugal the Silver Sheller (x1)
- Zoodiac Drident (x1)
- Zoodiac Chakanine (x1)
- Zoodiac Boarbow (x1)
- Zoodiac Tigermortar (x1)
- Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder (x1)
- Apollousa, Bow of the Goddess (x1)
- Accesscode Talker (x1)
- Ancient Warriors Oath - Double Dragon Lords (x1)
- Salamangreat Almiraj (x1)
4. Blackwings
These Blackwings make you feel like you're actually playing a Turbo Duel with them
Famously piloted by Crow Hogan in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s, the Blackwings were incredibly popular with the fanbase and were even a meta deck when initially released. This deck is geared around Synchro Summoning, where you combine a Tuner monster with other monsters to special summon a Synchro Monster with a level equal to the combined levels of your tuned monsters. These birdmen can quickly swarm the field, burn your opponent’s life points, and dismantle their armies in a flash!
The modern day Blackwings are easily Special Summoned from the hand, and can bring out their teammates from the Main Deck for Synchro Summoning. Many Blackwings will also search out Black Whirlwind and Black Feather Whirlwind, staple spell cards that increase your ability to Special Summon and provide protection for your monsters. What sets Blackwings apart from other archetypes is that Black Whirlwind’s effects can be stacked on top of each other if you play multiple copies.
Once you call your many Synchro Monsters, your opponent will be left with nowhere to hide. Boreastorm the Wicked Wind and Blackwing Full Armor Master can take control of your opponent’s monsters, while both Nothung the Starlight and Black-Winged Dragon will lower their stats.
Your boss monster, Black-Winged Assault Dragon, inflicts burn damage to the opponent’s life points and accumulates special counters whenever they activate a monster effect. With four or more Black Feather counters on it, your dragon can destroy all their cards, even on their turn!
Blackwings are another deck that can be built with ease, by buying three copies of the Blackwing’s Pride structure deck for 1500 gems total. Blackwing - Nothung the Starlight is a UR card that will have to be crafted, though.
What Blackwings excel at:
- Securing Turn 2 victories. With their swarming abilities and many destruction effects, you stand a good chance of OTKing your opponent if your combo goes unchallenged. Together, the Blackwing Synchro Monsters can easily surpass 8000 Attack Points.
- Playing around disruptions. Even if your opponent has a mighty field presence, Blackwings have so many options that you’ll always be able to have a battle plan, even if it’s not the most ideal.
- Working as a team. Many other decks rely on a single card or two to execute their strategy. But Blackwings share enough responsibilities between their cards that it can be difficult for your opponent to find weak points in your plays.
Choose Blackwings if…
- You love Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s or prefer Synchro Summoning to the other Extra Deck mechanics. This is a remarkably faithful deck when it comes to roleplaying as a Yu-Gi-Oh! character, while still adapting to the modern game.
- You like playing with counters. Many of the Blackwing Synchros, like Full Armor Master and Black-Winged Dragon, gain counters for specific actions your opponent takes, and they can later be used to activate their effects. The new Black Feather Whirlwind spell also takes advantage of these counters, letting you use them to protect your monsters from destruction.
- You want an easy way to access Extra Deck monsters outside of your archetype. Blackwings work very well together, but unlike other decks, they don’t restrict you to only summoning monsters in their archetype. Since this deck can summon many monsters to your field, you have an easy engine to Link, Synchro, or Xyz Summon all kinds of powerful monsters, such as Baronne De Fleur or Arc Rebellion Xyz Dragon. The possibilities are endless!
Blackwings Cards
Main Deck:
- Blackwing - Simoon the Poison Wind (x3)
- Blackwing - Sudri the Phantom Glimmer (x3)
- Blackwing - Vata the Emblem of Wandering (x3)
- Blackwing - Shamal the Sandstorm (x3)
- Blackwing - Zephyros the Elite (x1)
- Blackwing - Chinook the Snow Blast (x1)
- Blackwing - Harmattan the Dust (x1)
- Blackwing - Sharnga the Waning Moon (x1)
- Blackwing - Oroshi the Squall (x1)
- Maxx “C” (x3)
- Ash Blossom and Joyous Spring (x2)
- D.D. Crow (x1)
- Radian the Multidimensional Kaiju (x1)
- Black Whirlwind (x3)
- Black Feather Whirlwind (x2)
- Blackwing - Twin Shadow (x1)
- Small World (x3)
- Pot of Prosperity (x2)
- Allure of Darkness (x2)
- Called by The Grave (x1)
- Crossout Designator (x1)
- Evenly Matched (x1)
Extra Deck:
- Black-Winged Assault Dragon (x3)
- Black-Winged Dragon (x2)
- Blackwing Full Armor Master (x1)
- Blackwing - Boreastorm the Wicked Wing (x2)
- Blackwing - Nothung the Starlight (x1)
- Blackwing - Silverwind the Ascendant (x1)
- Blackwing Tamer - Obsidian Hawk Joe (x1)
- Blood Mefist (x1)
- Baronne de Fleur (x1)
- Abyss Dweller (x1)
- Time Thief Redoer (x1)
3. Salamangreats
Feed the fire within you with this army of Salamangreats!
Salamangreats are quite possibly the #1 best structure deck for a new player to use. This midrange deck was featured prominently in Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS, wielded by one of Playmaker’s best friends, Soulburner. These fire monsters were so competitive on release that even the anime’s producers said it was challenging to script climactic duels around them.
Being a very modern deck, Salamangreats are entirely focused on Link Summoning. You’ll swarm the field with many Main Deck Salamangreat monsters, then use them as materials for their Link Monsters, such as Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf. A key card of the deck is its Field Spell, Salamangreat Sanctuary, which lets you Link Summon monsters with the same name as Link Materials.
So, for instance, you can summon a monster like Salamangreat Gazelle, link it into Salamangreat Balelynx, then link that into another Salamangreat Balelynx. When you Link Summon this way, you open the door to special effects of many of this archetype’s cards. Will of the Salamangreat and Salamangreat Roar, which, like a reincarnating phoenix, will Special Summon more monsters or retrieve cards from the Graveyard, respectively.
You can end on a powerful card like Salamangreat Heatleo, which can boost your monster’s Attack Points and remove one of your opponent’s Spells or Traps. Or, if you’re ready to end the game, you can choose to go into Accesscode Talker to deal more than 5000 damage!
Like the other structure deck archetypes, you can build Salamangreats by buying three copies of Burning Spirits from the shop for 1500 gems.
Salamangreats excel at:
- Their unique Link Summoning method, dubbed “Reincarnation Link Summon”. By using a Link monster to Link Summon another monster with that same name from the Extra Deck, you can extend your Link combos a lot more easily than other decks.
- Steady resource-building. When you reincarnate your Link Salamangreats, you’ll be filling up your Graveyard while you build board presence. And Salamangreats are full of tools to revive your Graveyard cards, such as Salamangreat Jack Jaguar and the spell Salamangreat Circle.
- Attacking and counter-attacking when the time is right. When your offense is set, you’ll be wielding cards like Salamangreat Miragestallio, which can return a monster to the hand. And when the time is right, you can use Update Jammer to allow a monster like Accesscode Talker to attack twice in the same turn!
Choose Salamangreats if…
- If you’re looking for an easy entry into modern Yu-Gi-Oh! Link Summoning is the simplest Extra Deck mechanic, allowing you to use your monsters as materials without the need for a Fusion spell, a Tuner monster, or checking their Levels. But this simplicity also creates the possibility to create complex combos, something you’ll learn very quickly as you play this deck.
- You want a low-cost deck that will take you all the way to the top! Out of all the structure decks in the shop, Salamangreats is the one that will take you the furthest up the ladder, and can quite feasibly lead you into the Master ranks.
- You want a deck that’s a jack-of-all-trades. With Salamangreats, you can swarm the field, climb into powerful Link monsters, use Traps and effects to disrupt your opponent’s turn, and recover quickly in longer games.
Salamangreat Cards
Main Deck:
- Salamangreat Gazelle (x3)
- Salamangreat Spinny (x3)
- Salamangreat Jack Jaguar (x2)
- Salamangreat Foxy (x3)
- Salamangreat Falco (x1)
- Maxx “C” (x3)
- Ash Blossom and Joyous Spring (x2)
- Effect Veiler (x1)
- Lady Debug (x2)
- Parallel eXceed (x3)
- Flame Bufferlo (x3)
- Salamangreat Circle (x3)
- Salamangreat Sanctuary (x1)
- Will of the Salamangreat (x2)
- Salamangreat Roar (x1)
- Salamangreat Rage (x1)
- Cynet Mining (x3)
- Harpies’ Feather Duster (x1)
- Called by the Grave (x1)
- Infinite Impermanence (x1)
Extra Deck:
- Decode Talker Heatsoul (x1)
- Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf (x3)
- Salamangreat Balelynx (x3)
- Salamangreat Heatleo (x1)
- Salamangreat Miragestallio (x1)
- Splash Mage (x1)
- Accesscode Talker (x1)
- Update Jammer (x1)
- Linkuriboh (x1)
- Transcode Talker (x1)
- Number 41: Bagooska the Terribly Tired Tapir (x1)
2. Swordsoul Tenyi
It's like playing Genshin Impact all over again...
At the top of the list we have decks that have dominated the tier lists since being introduced to Master Duel. Swordsoul is one of them, being present at the game’s launch and fairing well even back then. The Swordsoul are warriors of Chinese inspiration, being part-dragon and wielding majestic swords that channel their own spirits.
A Swordsoul deck is focused entirely on Synchro Summoning, and to that end they each have the ability to Special Summon Level 4 Tuner Tokens. With cards like Swordsoul Mo Ye and Swordsoul Longyuan being able to create their own tuners, you can fill the deck space that would have been occupied by those tuners with other support cards instead.
Swordsoul monsters can banish your own cards to activate their effects, and they also have additional searcher effects that activate when being banished. When you get to your Synchro Monsters, you can use the banishing powers of the Swordsoul against your opponents, with Swordsoul Supreme Sovereign - Chengying, which banishes a card from both their field and graveyard!
Your Swordsoul cards will have to be crafted until it becomes available in a selection pack again, but the needed core is quite small and contains only a few UR cards. The two sub-engines for this deck, the Tenyi and the Yang Zing, can be found in the secret pack Dragon Spirit.
Swordsoul excels at:
- Pushing Synchro Summoning to the next level. In contrast to other Synchro Summoning decks, Swordsoul doesn’t have a need to include tuners in its own deck, because its main deck monsters create their own tuner tokens when on the field. This guarantees your Synchro plays and gives you room to play an extra engine in the form of the Tenyi.
- Harnessing the power of banishing. Cards in the Graveyard can be retrieved or revived quite easily, but once a card is banished, it is much more difficult to recover it. Swordsoul cards can banish themselves from the Graveyard to activate additional effects, and boss monsters like Chengying and Draco Berserker of Tenyi can banish your opponent’s cards, leaving them with no hopes of turning the tables.
- Putting up multiple, near-insurmountable defenses. Swordsoul Grandmaster - Chixiao and Baronne de Fleur can both negate your opponent’s monster effects, while the Yang Zing dragons can remove their monsters from the field. And it’s quite possible to have all these Synchro Monsters on the field at the same time!
Choose Swordsoul if…
- You like Chinese culture and mythology. There are not one, not two, but three archetypes inspired by Chinese warriors, dragons, and spiritual practices. They synergize amazingly with each other.
- You enjoy Synchro Summoning and want to use it to face the metagame. This deck uses powerful Synchro staples like Baronne de Fleur and Chaos Ruler, and is very frequent on the higher ranks of the ladder.
- You like to deal with threats once and for all. Most decks have a hard time recovering resources that are banished. The only question is whether you’ll be able to complete your combos, because once you bring out your Synchro army, your opponents will find themselves desperate for options!
Swordsoul Cards
Main Deck:
- Swordsoul of Mo Ye (x3)
- Swordsoul Strategist Longyuan (x2)
- Swordsoul of Taia (x2)
- Incredible Ecclesia, the Virtuous (x3)
- Tenyi Spirit - Ashuna (x3)
- Tenyi Spirit - Adhuna (x2)
- Tenyi Spirit - Vishuda (x2)
- Tenyi Spirit - Shthana (x1)
- Maxx “C”(x3)
- Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring (x3)
- Effect Veiler (x2)
- Destrudo the Lost Dragon’s Frisson (x1)
- Archnemeses Protos (x1)
- Swordsoul Emergence (x3)
- Swordsoul Blackout (x2)
- Heavenly Dragon Circle (x2)
- Triple Tactics Talent (x1)
- Called by the Grave (x1)
- Pot of Desires (x3)
Extra Deck:
- Swordsoul Supreme Sovereign - Chengying (x1)
- Swordsoul Grandmaster Chixiao (x2)
- Swordsoul Sinister Sovereign - Qixing Longyuan (x2)
- Draco Berserker of the Tenyi (x1)
- Shaman of the Tenyi (x1)
- Tenyi Monk (x2)
- Baxia, Brightness of the Yang Zing (x2)
- Yazi, Evil of the Yang Zing (x1)
- Chaofeng, Phantom of the Yang Zing (x1)
- Baronne de Fleur (x1)
- Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon (x1)
1. Branded Despia
Use this Fusion Dragon-based deck, and you'll quickly be branded the victor in your matches!
At the top of the list, we have Branded, a Fusion-based deck that has been solidly crushing most contenders for over a year. This deck revolves around the Fallen of Albaz, a mysterious boy with the ability to transform into many dragons. Through his effect, or that of the spell Branded Fusion, you can fuse him and other dragons from the deck to bring out your mighty Fusion dragons.
Normally, you’ll be using Albaz to bring out Lubellion, the Searing Dragon, which has the ability to shuffle itself and monsters in the grave to Fusion Summon another monster. This will certainly be Mirrorjade, the Iceblade Dragon, a behemoth that can banish an opponent’s monster by sending another Fusion from the Extra Deck to the Graveyard. With 3000 Attack points, Mirrorjade is a tough beast to beat–but if your opponent manages to do so, it will destroy all of their special summoned monsters at the end of the turn!
The optimal version of this deck is supplemented by the Despians, corrupted versions of the Dogmatika hunting Albaz. Aluber the Jester of Despia can also search for a Branded spell, and, if in the Graveyard, can revive itself and negate a monster’s effects simultaneously.
If, instead of searching for Branded Fusion, you decide to search Branded in Red or Despia, Theater of the Branded, you’ll be able to summon the powerful Despian fusions. Despian Quaeritis can potentially reduce all other non-Fusion monster’s attack points to 0, and Despian Proskenion can even steal Extra Deck monsters in your opponent’s grave!
The Branded cards can all be found in the Alba Abyss secret pack. The Despia cards will have to be crafted, but the only UR Despians are Quaeritis and the less necessary Masquerade the Blazing Dragon.
Branded Despia excels at:
- Summoning extremely powerful Fusion monsters. Your Branded and Despian boss monsters can quickly rid the field of any threats, and Masquerade forces your opponent to pay 600 Life Points to activate any effects. You can also choose to summon Guardian Chimera, which will simultaneously draw you cards and destroy your opponent’s cards!
- Filling the field with Fusion monsters. With these archetypes, you don’t need to gather Fusion materials in your hand or field before fusing. Fallen of Albaz, if summoned, can use your opponent’s monsters to fuse, and Branded Fusion will fuse directly from the deck.
- Generating card advantage. Main deck Despians, such as Despian Tragedy and Ad Libitum of Despia, will search for extra cards for you after they’ve been used for other effects. The Branded Opening and Branded Lost spells will do the same thing, and even protect you Fusion monsters too.
Choose Branded Despia if…
- You want to unlock the true power of Fusion monsters. The Branded and Despian Fusion monsters are among the strongest there are in the game currently, and most of them have effects that activate when they leave the field too. As soon as you get one on the field, you can start a non-stop onslaught of Dragons and Fiends that replace themselves as soon as they’re dealt with.
- You’d like to strengthen a weaker Fusion-based deck. The Branded cards can start so many 1-card combos that they can be combined with other archetypes without weakening your plays. Even a more rogue deck like Dark Magician can benefit from teching them in!
- You’re fully committed to reaching the top. Branded Despia has been at Tier-1 status in the past, and even now, with Tearlaments and Sprights in the game, the deck is still a top contender in the Diamond and Master ranks. And their potential will still rise as the new Bystial monsters are released.
Branded Despia Cards:
Main Deck:
- Fallen of Albaz (x3)
- Aluber the Jester of Despia (x3)
- Despian Tragedy (x3)
- Despian Comedy (x1)
- Ad Libitum of Despia (x1)
- Dramaturge of Despia (x1)
- Albion the Shrouded Dragon (x1)
- Incredible Ecclesia the Virtuous (x1)
- Tri-Brigade Mercourier (x2)
- Springans Kitt (x1)
- Maxx “C” (x3)
- Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring (x2)
- Branded Fusion (x2)
- Branded Opening (x2)
- Branded in Red (x3)
- Branded in White (x1)
- Branded Lost (x1)
- Branded Sword (x1)
- Branded Retribution (x1)
- Branded Banishment (x1)
- Despia, Theater of the Branded (x1)
- Super Polymerization (x1)
- Fusion Deployment (x3)
- Crossout Designator (x1)
Extra Deck:
- Mirrorjade the Icejade Dragon (x2)
- Lubellion the Searing Dragon (x2)
- Albion the Branded Dragon (x2)
- Despian Quaeritis (x1)
- Despian Proskenion (x1)
- Titaniklad the Ash Dragon (x1)
- Sprind the Irondash Dragon (x1)
- Brigrand the Glory Dragon (x1)
- Guardian Chimera (x2)
- Starving Venom Fusion Dragon (x1)
- Predaplant Dragostapelia (x1)
