Fans of TCGs or trading card games would most likely look at Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel as a dream come true, especially for the extremely vast TCG that is Yu-Gi-Oh! Compared to the likes of Magic: The Gathering that more or less had the same mechanics through and through. Yu-Gi-Oh! likes spicing things up for its fans with various new mechanics and various summoning methods that allow players to approach the game in vastly different ways.
Such was the vast nature of Master Duel that players can actually recreate popular decks that Yu-Gi-Oh! characters use in their respective series. For fans of the anime franchise, just which decks from fan-favorite Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime is worth recreating in Master Duel?
10 Joey Wheeler (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters)
Of all duelists in Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, it’s Joey Wheeler and his Red-Eyes Black Dragon that best represent potential, compared to Seto Kaiba’s Blue-Eyes that symbolize power. As such, a decent recreation of his Battle City deck reflects a lot of Joey’s straightforward luck-based strategy. However, just because Joey loves pushing his luck doesn’t mean he’s particularly careless.
In this non-meta Joey Wheeler Deck, fans can enjoy staple powerhouses to accompany the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. These include the likes of Gearfried the Iron Knight, the Flames Swordsman, and even Thousand Dragon. While not necessarily super-powerful cards, synergies with Spells and Cards such as Block Attack, Change Of Heart, Fissure, and even Trap Hole can help Joey turn the odds in his favor for an all-out attack.
9 Playmaker (Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS)
Thanks to Playmaker from Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS, dueling has just gotten virtual. And through his expertise in Link Summoning, his personal deck contains wonders that allow him to get the upper hand through sheer synergies. Through his ace monsters such as the Decode Talker, Cyberse Magician, and Firewall Dragon, Playmaker has a lot of tools at his disposal to achieve victory in any duel.
At its core, this Playmaker Deck relies heavily on utilizing Cyberse creatures to Link Summon heavy-duty creatures to bring in the pain to opponents. This relies on a lot of repetitive cards to unleash Extra Deck mayhem, so this can be pretty easy to craft in Master Duel.
8 Yuya Sakaki’s Deck (Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V)
The Dueltainer Yuya Sakaki from Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V is a born entertainer, and he’s always wanted to give his audiences the best dueling shows of all time. Armed with his expertise on Pendulum Summons, and aided by his trusted comrade the Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Yuya can call forth a variety of monsters at once via Pendulum Summoning and aid them with a swath of Spell Cards along the way.
As with the anime, this Yuya Sakaki Deck needs viable setups from Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician to set up the right Pendulum scale and summon Odd-Eyes. However, other cards also stack the odds against the opponent, such as Performapal Sword Fish that can continuously decrease ATK/DEF values of opponent monsters. Among fierce Spells and Traps include Star Pendulumgraph that makes Spellcaster-Types on Yuya’s side immune to effects, meanwhile Bubble Barrier makes Performapal and Performage monsters indestructible once per turn.
7 Yuma Tsukumo (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL)
Despite being an amateur duelist, Yuma Tsukumo of Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL has the drive and the guts to train to become the very best. Thanks to his partnership with the Dueling spirit Astral, Yuma and his friends pursue “Numbers” to help Astral recover its memories and improve his dueling along the way. Relying on his Xyz Summoning skills and his trusty Number C39: Utopia Ray V, Yuma isn’t the type to back down, and neither is his deck.
Compared to other decks, this Yuma Tsukumo Deck has a lot of monster synergies that can help Yuma get to Utopia Ray V or whip out other effects to help him in combat. For instance, Gagaga Gardna can be summoned to protect Yuma from a direct attack. Meanwhile, Gogogo Giant is a “Gogogo” revive card. And even ZS - Ascended Sage can help Yuma summon a monster when he has nothing on the field. Combined with his assortment of deadly Xyz Monsters, this Yuma Tsukumo Deck is a savage combatant on the battlefield.
6 Yusei Fudo’s Deck (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5DS)
When Yusei Fudo rides a Duel Runner, no one can stop him from revving it up. As the main protagonist of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5DS, Yusei is a master of Synchro Summoning. And as a Signer, he’s one of the few people tasked with saving the future from total damnation. As with any kind of Yusei Fudo Deck, his ace monster is the Stardust Dragon, and a lot of his cards are equipped with precisely the means to help him summon it.
Being a Synchro Summoner, a lot of his monsters are often Tuner Monsters, which are Summoning Materials needed to summon more potent Synchro Monsters. Even his Spells and Traps are designed to aid in his Synchro Summon supremacy, with cards like Tuning letting him get any Synchron Tuner from his Deck, or Limit Overdrive that lets him Synchro Summon by returning cards to the Extra Deck.
5 Jaden Yuki (Yu-Gi-Oh! GX)
Prior to the complexities of post-Synchro mechanics, it’s Jaden Yuki of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX and his Fusion Deck that showcases the game’s potential when it comes to unique decks. Thanks to his Elemental HERO Neos, this Jaden Yuki Deck can rely on a wide variety of Fusions to help secure the victory on his end. And even then, other Elemental HERO monsters can help Jaden shift the tide of battle to his favor should he ever find himself in a tight spot.
For instance, the likes of Elemental HERO Bubbleman, Captain Gold, and Flash can help Jaden secure various components he may need for his Fusion combos. It doesn’t help that while Normal Monsters such as Elemental HERO Avian, Burstinatrix, and Clayman are in his deck, he can use all of them for all sorts of Fusion craziness. On top of that, a lot of his Spells and Traps are built specifically to help him facilitate these deadly combos.
4 Yami Marik (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters)
Of all the holders of the Egyptian God Cards, Yami Marik of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters is probably the most terrifying, particularly for his efficient and ruthless use of the Winged Dragon of Ra and his undead-themed deck. Even before possessing the components to summon his feared God Cards, this Yami Marik Deck from Battle City can decimate opponent decks when left unchecked.
For instance, while Yami Marik seems to have “ordinary” Normal Monsters in his deck, the presence of outliers such as the enemy-damaging Lava Golem, the hand-trap activator Makyura the Destructor, and the disruptive Holding Legs and Holding Arms can stop an enemy’s advance. Not only that, Spells and Traps like Nightmare Wheel, Malevolent Catastrophe, and even Coffin Seller can hemorrhage through an opponent’s deck in no time.
3 Declan Akaba (Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V)
Essentially acting as Yuya Sakaki’s primary rival, Declan Akaba of Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V is a prodigious duelist and just as much a master of Pendulum Summoning as Yuya. However, whereas Yuya relies on summoning trusty monsters to gain the upper hand, Declan’s strategy involves heavy risk-reward, often putting his own Life Points at risk to gain the ultimate advantage.
This Declan Akaba Deck relies on D/D/D Chaos King Apocalypse as its ace monster, but it needs some viable cards as setups for this ultimate combo. As with the anime, Declan often stakes 1000 LP worth of damage per Standby Phase with Dark Contract With The Gate and Dark Contract With The Swamp King, in place of being allowed to conveniently add monsters from his deck to his hand and even Fusion Summon monsters from his Extra Deck.
2 Seto Kaiba (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters)
Who better for fans to create a Master Duel deck than Seto Kaiba himself, the most vicious rival of Yugi Muto? Armed with both his Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Obelisk the Tormentor, Kaiba’s ruthless deck is home to a wide array of vicious monsters, as well as Spells and Traps designed specifically to help him summon his deadliest monsters.
In this particular Seto Kaiba Deck, a lot of his Monsters, Spells, and Traps come from his Battle City Tournament experience. As such, some cards from the ban list such as Monster Reborn and Pot of Greed are still placed there.
However, in the context of pre-Synchro dueling, a lot of Seto Kaiba’s synergies on this deck allow him to switch from his straightforward god-crushing strategy via Obelisk the Tormentor to his ages-old Blue-Eyes Devastation. And in case of emergencies, Crush Card Virus can obliterate an opponent’s deck without even forcing Kaiba to try. This deck gives Kaiba all the opportunities to defeat his opponents, something very reflective of his cunning personality.
1 Yugi Muto (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters)
Recreating the Battle City Deck of the King of Games himself, Yugi Muto of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters can be a wonder to create and even a bigger joy to play. Through the help of his ever-faithful companion Dark Magician and the power of Slifer the Sky Dragon, this Yugi Muto Deck can enjoy a wide variety of strategies to secure the victory - be it through brute force, or good ol’ fashioned Heart of the Cards.
Being a deck that relies on a three-sacrifice God Card, it makes sense for Yugi to include the three-strike combo of Queen’s, King’s, and Jack’s Knight, as well as Alpha, Beta, and Gamma the Magnet Warrior. And even then, the Knights can instantly give Yugi the field advantage through numbers, while the Magnet Warriors can summon the more powerful Valkyrion. Even Yugi has rather situational yet useful cards, such as Buster Blader and Dark Paladin against dragons, and even the ever-reliable Kuriboh to save him from trouble.