It's always a challenge to determine the most excellent decks in the Yu-Gi-Oh TCG as the meta is constantly evolving (and that Banlist is always looming), but I’m here to break it down.
What would be considered the best deck one month may be less successful the following month due to changes in the game.
However, there are always those decks that stay at the top consistently.
Whether it’s their incredible power, Tier 0 status, or even their ability to adapt to any format, let’s dive into what 10 excellent decks strike fear into the hearts of players across the Yu-Gi-Oh TCG.
10. Sky Striker
Image
Ah yes, good ol’ Sky Striker. You’ve got to love it. Raye is Bae after all.
Sky Striker is a control-based Spell deck that thrives in any format because of its toolbox playstyle. Its main pilot, Sky Striker Ace – Raye, is arguably one of the best Level 4 Monsters ever printed.
The ability to tag out with its Quick-Effect means she can dodge cards that target, and instantly turn herself into one of the four Links available in the Extra Deck; Sky Striker Ace - Shizuku, Hayate, Kaina or Kagari.
Even with multiple Sky Striker cards on the Forbidden & Limited List, it’s still a formidable deck of choice in today’s game.
How It’s Played & How It Works:
Sky Striker is extremely unique in that it must have the Main Monster Zone free to activate most of its Spells. Every card in the archetype has this condition written on it.
Each card typically has two effects and gains the additional effect when the GY (Graveyard) has three or more Spells in it.
Opinion & Analysis:
Sky Striker thrives in the long game. The more you play, the better it gets. It builds momentum and snowballs with card advantage. It can keep up with most decks past and present due to its ability to adapt card choices based on what’s currently meta.
While it suffers against the top decks right now, it’ll always be a solid go-to deck choice for more skilled players with a knack for smart gameplay.
Advice On Using It:
Keep it Spell heavy: Always make sure you get three Spells in the GY as quickly as possible.
Be resourceful: Make sure you don’t overextend your resources, you’re in it for the long game.
Get to Raye quickly: “No Raye no play” is a popular saying amongst the Sky Striker community, and it’s very true. If you don’t have Raye, you don’t play. Simple as.
What Sky Striker Excels In:
1. Adapting to any format – multiple tech choices are interchangeable in your deck based on the current meta.
2. Engage is Pot of Greed – the ability to draw 1 additional card will always be extremely strong.
3. Longevity – it’s been around since May 2018 and still competes today.
Key Cards:
Sky Striker Ace – Raye
Sky Striker Ace – Kagari
Sky Striker Mobilize – Engage! (Limited)
Sky Striker Mecha Modules - Multirole (Limited)
9. Scareclaw
Image
Scareclaw is a part of the Visas Starfrost lore. It’s a Link strategy similar to the ‘protect the towers’ style of play. It’s a very unique deck that thrives under specific game mechanics.
It relies on Defence Position monsters to protect and power up their ‘towers’ monster, which I’ll touch on in the next section. I’ll get too carried away talking about this awesome deck otherwise.
How It’s Played & How It Works:
The deck revolves around their big boss monster in the form of Scareclaw Tri-Heart and its many different companions.
Tri-Heart is a floodgate monster that can turn all monsters to Defence Position and is unaffected by the activated effects of those monsters.
Each Scareclaw monster gives Tri-Heart an additional effect, boosting it up and making it better the more you summon it.
Opinion & Analysis:
This deck is a cool one. I’m a huge fan of ‘towers’ style decks because of how satisfyingly strong they are, and how everything else around it is designed to protect them.
While it’s not currently the strongest, it’s certainly got potential. That’s the main reason I included it on this list.
Being full of Beast-Type monsters, it can be splashed and played in other strategies such as Tri-Brigade but thrives best in its purest version. More support on the horizon makes it a great choice for the upcoming meta.
Advice On Using It:
Can’t function without Tri-Heart: It’s a towers-style deck for a reason, so Link up into Tri-Heart quickly.
Mix and match: It’s another deck that’s got a lot of options open to it. Add in your own spice.
More support coming: It’s not at its most powerful just yet, so play around with variants until it's at full power.
What Scareclaw Excels In:
1. Floodgate Boss Monster – Locking your opponent into only summoning in Defense is really strong.
2. Consistency - Everything is searchable, there’s lots of draw power and Tri-Heart is easy to make.
3. Tech choice – Change your tech choices easily to suit your style of play.
Key Cards:
Scarecrow Tri-Heart
Scareclaw Light-Heart
Scareclaw Reichheart
Visas Starfrost
8. Naturia
Image
It’s so weird that in 2023 I’m saying Naturia has made it to the top of the food chain, but here I am.
Naturia is an Earth Attribute deck that can flood the field with stun monsters like Naturia Beast, which can lock out the most important Spell cards in the game.
It can out-grind, deck out and counter the top Tier decks of the format, while also being able to summon powerful Synchro Monsters. Don’t take this deck lightly.
How It’s Played & How It Works:
Naturia Beast is a game-ender. Summon it against certain decks and they’ll scoop it up immediately before you’ve even finished your turn.
With new support recently released, almost every Naturia monster has an effect that can respond to actions your opponent makes. This gives it a reputation as a stun-esque deck that could be worth play-testing.
Opinion & Analysis:
I have PTSD from Naturia Beast. My opinion is biased because I play Spell-heavy decks that instantly lose to it. I have to respect it though, as it's no longer just a Naturia Beast turbo deck.
I’d better do my homework on all of the niche interactions with the Naturia cards because I feel it’s going to be a deck everyone will be seeing more of as we move forward into the next format.
Advice On Using It:
Aim for Naturia Beast: It really does win games, so aim to summon it as soon as possible.
Extremely versatile: There are many variants of Naturia, making it something that can adapt easily to any format.
Include the Ishizu cards: Effortlessly splashable at no detriment to your strategy.
What Naturia Excels In:
1. Adaptability – So many variants to explore, all catered to different playstyles.
3. Stun responses – Reactive to almost anything your opponent does.
Key Cards:
Naturia Beast
Naturia Mole Cricket
Naturia Camellia
Naturia Sacred Tree
7. Exosister
Image
No Graveyard for you my friend.
The Exosisters are a collection of GY-hating sisters that use the XYZ Summoning mechanic in a very unique way.
Martha, Sofia, Elis, Irene & Stella make up your Effect Monsters and transform into Mikailis, Kaspitell, Asophiel, Gibrine or Magnifica whenever a card is moved from the opponent's GY. Or you can simply overlay two of the five sisters during your turn.
How It’s Played & How It Works:
Moving cards from your GY is a staple in today’s format, which is exactly why Exosister is on this list.
It’s a direct counter to Tearlaments and most meta decks because of the sister's unique effects that trigger when the GY is interacted with.
It can play meta-warping cards like Necrovalley, Macro Cosmos and Dimensional Fissure with no problems. The banishing abilities of Exosister are second to none, making it a solid counter to most decks you’ll face today.
Opinion & Analysis:
While it’s a powerful counter to the meta, it tends to struggle against rogue decks that don’t really interact with their GY.
It’s a really strange deck. You could play against four Tearlaments decks and win a tournament, or four rogue decks and get stomped.
Overall it’s a fun deck that’s not too complicated. If you hate the GY and love cute anime girls, this is the deck for you.
Advice On Using It:
Learn the sister counterparts: Irene summons Sofia and vice versa, while Elis summons Stella and vice versa. Martha is unique in that it only summons Elis.
Necrovalley turbo: In most situations, if you just get Necrovalley on the field you’ll win.
Go first: In my experience playing Exosister, setting up a board has always felt better than trying to break one.
What Exosister Excels In:
1. Stunning GY formats – If it’s a GY-heavy format, this deck will always excel.
2. Very consistent - It’s rare you’ll brick with Exosister.
3. Amazing Tearlaments matchup – They abuse the GY, so you abuse them.
Key Cards:
Exosister Marth
Exosister Magnifica
Exosister Pax
Necrovalley
6. Branded Despia
Image
The Despia/Fallen of Albaz/Branded/Dogmatika lore (it gets very confusing) in YuGiOh is so widespread that I think it's safe to say it's one of the most supported strategies the game has ever seen.
I could be here for months talking about the lore behind these cards, but the basic premise is that Albaz fuses with Monsters of every kind, creating powerful Dragons with wicked effects.
The depth of choice this deck gives a player is second to none, so if you love Fusion Summoning, this is the deck for you.
How It’s Played & How It Works:
Branded Fusion is your key card, alongside Fallen of Albaz. It fuses Albaz and a card from your deck by dumping them into the GY. This one card alone can bring out monsters like Mirrorjade The Iceblade Dragon or even Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon.
Its power lies in Fusion Summoning and is perhaps the most powerful deck to ever do it.
With the release of Bystials, its power grew even further by using them as Fusion fodder and giving them the ability to further counter Tearlaments.
Opinion & Analysis:
This is a really fun deck to play and to play against. It’s not overpowered and doesn’t do anything degenerate or unfair.
Whenever I play against Branded Despia, it’s a genuinely fun time and I go into the game knowing I’ve got a chance, while also knowing I could get absolutely bodied.
Overall, it’s a deck that’s balanced and well designed that does nothing inherently unfair. And if you’re into the lore behind the pictures on YuGiOh cards, this is the perfect deck for you.
Advice On Using It:
Resolve your Branded Fusion: Try to bait Ash Blossom or cards that negate Branded Fusion because without it you’re going to have a rough time.
Fusion strategy cards: Edge Imp Chain and Frightfur Patchwork are basically Branded Despia staples.
Hold your Super Polymerization: Timing your Super Poly can be devastating for opponents and literally steal games.
What Branded Despia Excels In:
1. Super Polymerization – I said it before and I’ll say it again. Utilise this insane card.
2. Very versatile - Run the Branded package as an engine or as a deck.
3. So many options – It’s one of the most supported archetypes in the game.
Key Cards:
Fallen of Albaz
Mirrorjade The Iceblade Dragon
Branded Fusion
Super Polymerization
5. Runick
Image
It’s so weird talking about Runick because you have to talk about it in its variants.
It’s not even really a meta deck (it would be a rogue strategy in its pure form), it’s more of an engine used in other strategies to improve the way they play. All of this is done at the cost of your Battle Phase (which doesn’t even matter because they don’t need it anyway).
The basic premise of Runick is that it banishes cards from the top of your opponent's deck, with its win condition being they have no cards left to draw.
How It’s Played & How It Works:
Much like Sky Striker, Runick is a Quick-Play heavy Spell-based deck where each card has a few effects.
You can either summon a Runick Monster or banish cards from the opponent's deck after it performs something like destroy, negate, protect, etc.
The main appeal is the Field Spell, Runick Fountain, which gives players the ability to draw up to 3 cards based on the number of Runick Spells in the GY and lets you activate Spells from hand during the opponent's turn.
That’s crazy good.
Opinion & Analysis:
I detest Runick. Having your cards banished from your deck is such a degenerate strategy that never needed to be in the game. It’s genuinely unpleasant to play against. Toxic even.
However, in the name of objective journalism, I admit the cards are very strong. Their ability to summon powerful monsters or break a board is a rare and valuable strategy that makes them splashable in most decks.
Advice On Using It:
Protect Runick Fountain: Not having this on the Field means you can’t activate spells from hand or draw. This card needs to be on the Field at all times.
Summon first, then Spells: Your Monsters protect your Fountain, make sure they’re on the Field before playing Spells.
Hold Spells in hand: Rather than Set them, holding your Spells in hand is generally the better option because they have less chance of being destroyed.
What Runick Excels In:
1. Quick games – Banishing your opponent’s Deck is surprisingly very quickly done with Runick.
2. Splashable engine - Runick can be played in practically every single deck with ease.
3. Draw power – Drawing 3 cards per turn is insanely strong in YuGiOh.
Key Cards:
Runick Fountain
Runick Tip
Runick Freezing Curses
Hugin The Runick Wings
4. Kashtira
Image
Kashtira plays like a stun deck, but at the same time, you get to play some really big boys that have great removal effects. Break boards, attack directly with your big swingers, floodgate opponents to death - Kashtira does it all.
This deck is in a really strange position. It’s really good right now, but it’s going to get even better in the coming months with more incredible support.
It deserves a place on this list for how good it already is even in its weakest iteration.
How It’s Played & How It Works:
When you can freely Special Summon cards like Kashtira Fenrir, then gain an additional summon using Kashtira Birth for an instant Rank 7, you know this deck is absolute fire.
As mentioned, it’s played like a stun deck, effortlessly utilising the newly unlimited Dimensional Fissure and Macro Cosmos.
It does a lot of banishing, a lot of Level 7 spamming, and abuses a lot of really powerful XYZ Monsters. If you’re not prepared for this deck now, you’re in for a shock when the new support is released.
Opinion & Analysis:
Kashtira Fenrir is one of the most powerful monsters I’ve ever read. I feel it’s destined for the F&L List eventually, but while it’s at three in the TCG it makes Kashtira a really formidable deck by itself.
More support is on the horizon, but its current iteration remains a powerful contender in today’s meta by being competition to GY-reliant Tier 0 & 1 decks.
Advice On Using It:
Fenrir is a beast: This card alone literally wins you games. Get to it as soon as possible.
Sticky hands: There will be times when your hands are so dead you’re wondering why you ever built the deck to begin with.
Banish everything: It’s a direct counter to the meta. Banish all those pesky GY-reliant cards.
What Kashtira Excels In:
1. Stun Ability – Floodgates that banish are your best friend.
2. Level 7 Spam - There are so many powerful Rank 7s in the game, and Kashtira can use most of them.
3. Meta counter – It will always be a counter to the meta while the GY acts as a second hand.
Key Cards:
Kashtira Fenrir
Kashtira Birth
Kashtira Unicorn
Kashtira Shangri-Ira
3. Floowandereeze
Image
Cute birds. Who would have thought they’d be so powerful?
Floowandereeze is a Wind Attribute-based deck that uses the Normal Summon mechanic over and over and over again. It’s a cycle of gaining an additional Normal Summon with each monster you Normal Summon.
I never thought I’d get tired of using the words ‘Normal Summon’.
Oh, and it also Banishes its cards instead of sending them to the GY. Pretty cool to be honest.
Eventually, you summon your way up to Floowandereeze Empen, a powerful floodgate monster that stops Special Summoned attack position monsters from activating Effects.
How It’s Played & How It Works:
Being a deck that abuses the Normal Summon mechanic, it's able to play some cool tech choices. Cards like Raiza The Mega Monarch and Wind Barrier Statue have become staples in Floo.
Many people dislike Floo for quite a few reasons, the main being that it plays in both players' turns and always ends on a powerful floodgate monster.
It really is quite annoying.
Opinion & Analysis:
I think my opinion on this deck might already be clear. It’s just annoying. Really annoying. This seems to be the general consensus amongst the YuGiOh TCG community too.
Objectively speaking, it’s actually a really good deck. It doesn’t fall victim to lots of the GY-relevant effects in the format as it doesn’t really use its GY at all.
Advice On Using It:
Dimension Shifter wins games: Drop a Dimension Shifter against a deck like Tearlaments and you’ve probably won.
Sometimes it just bricks: Be cautious of its weird bricky hands.
Learn where to chain block: By chain blocking with your cards, you avoid getting hand trapped after every activation.
What Floowandereeze Excels In:
1. Playing on both turns – You’ll always have a board set up.
2. Draw power - It can play Pot of Duality, Extravagance, Desires & Prosperity.
3. Floodgates – it’s a deck that can adapt its floodgate choice to beat the meta.
Key Cards:
Floowandereeze & Empen
Floowandereeze & Robina
Barrier Statue of the Stormwinds
Dimension Shifter
2. Spright
Image
No, I’m not talking about lemonade.
Spright is a Tier 1 deck that spews out a bunch of resources that can continuously be recycled, all while having double omni-negates on top of that. Delicious.
Its gimmick is based on Special Summoning very powerful Level 2 monsters, Link climbing and recurring.
Spright effortlessly utilises Toadally Awesome turn after turn, along with so many other cute (and devastating) Level 2s.
How It’s Played & How It Works:
Spright Starter is its main tool. A Quick-Play Spell card that Special Summons from the deck at any moment during the game. Once a Level 2 is on board, you’re able to summon more Spright Level 2 monsters for free, without their effects even activating.
From there, you spam more Level 2s onto the board, XYZ Summon into Gigantic Spright, locking you and your opponent into only summoning Level 2s.
No problem for Spright, a big problem for you.
Eventually, you build your board into an absolute weapon that’s really hard to break.
Opinion & Analysis:
This deck is the second-best in the game right now. If you want to win your local tournaments, a regional tournament, or even a YCS, Spright is a very promising deck to choose from if you know what you’re doing with it.
It’s a deck that hard-loses to board breakers like Dark Ruler No More and Lightning Storm, but also one that counters pretty much anything else currently in the format.
Advice On Using It:
Spright Starter in Draw Phase: Remember that Quick-Play Spells can be used whenever during either player's turn. This will dodge handtraps and get your turn going quicker.
Always play Toadally Awesome: Ronin Toadin being hit on the F&L List didn’t matter. Always play Toadally Awesome.
Summon effects don’t Activate: The Spright effects to summon themselves is a summoning condition, not an activated effect. Never forget this.
What Spright Excels In:
1. Consistency – Every hand will likely have some sort of play available to you.
2. Recursion – Spright Elf is a recursion machine.
3. The long game – it’s a deck that can grind and grind and grind.
Key Cards:
Spright Starter
Gigantic Spright
Spright Elf
Toadally Awesome
1. Ishizu Tearlaments
Image
Boy oh boy. This really is an undisputed Tier 0 deck. While people have found ways to counter it, its absolute power and recurability make it the best deck of the last format, this format, and likely a few more formats to come.
Its milling/fusion strategy is very difficult to counter. It relies heavily on the GY, which makes some of its plays the most frustrating the YuGiOh TCG has ever seen.
Mill, fuse, recur. Mill, fuse, recur. Repeat. Get used to this style of play with Ishizu Tearalements because it’s exceptional at it.
How It’s Played & How It Works:
Fusing from the GY. Who would've thought that would ever be a thing?
Well, here we are.
Your Monsters mill cards from the top of the deck to the GY, then fuse with those Monsters by recurring them back into the deck or Extra Deck. Ishizu cards also mill from your deck - so fun.
Super simple premise, and very powerful.
The Ishizu cards also added a lot of controversy to this deck, making it so much more consistent and difficult to counter. Let’s pray that Banlist is coming soon.
Opinion & Analysis:
Countering Ishizu Tear is quite a problem for most decks, hence its current Tier 0 status. Cards like Bystials, D.D. Crow, Ghost Belle & Haunted Mansion, and Called By The Grave are exceptional at checking this deck, but only in a limited capacity.
It chainblocks and it recurs, making it extremely difficult to actually use your counters effectively.
Overall, this deck is one hell of an opponent. It’s rightfully earned its spot at the top of this list as arguably the most powerful deck YuGiOh has ever seen.
Advice On Using It:
Kitkallos is key: Ensuring Kitkallos resolves is absolutely key to this strategy. Milling 8 cards is so explosive.
So many tools: This deck is a toolbox master. Ensure you have an answer for every situation that could occur.
It’s the deck to beat: Everyone is out to get you. People side and main cards specifically for this deck. Keep that in mind when siding yourself.
What Ishizu Tearlaments Excels In:
1. Ripping opponent's deck – Milling your opponent's deck to make the Ishizu cards live is really frustrating, but incredibly powerful and almost impossible to counter.
2. Turn 0 play – It’s one of the only decks that can effectively play on Turn 0.
3. Hardly any counters - Only a few cards, and basically no decks, really counter it. It’s running around unchecked and free right now.
I often summon the powers of the Shadow Realm when I'm writing. I dive deep into the darkness within me, making sure I conjure creativity and passion through words. Welcome to my profile. Let’s take
