A guide to building some fun decks to try.

Some decks with different tactics to play with. Rank legal builds with side decks for match play planned out. A mage build that stalls, a fast synchro and tricky warrior build, and a powerful build that tries to get a jump on your opponent with heavy hitters being summoned up fast. Also a Odd-Eyes/Magicians pendulum deck I threw together.

Introduction

Hi! My name is Randall a.k.a. Zandyr_Kayne. I'm 39 years old and have been playing Yu-Gi-Oh! video games for around 10 years. I've not really watched the anime series or played the TCG in real life. I do like anime though and would love to play the game with real cards someday.

These are a few decks I've been playing with for awhile with new additions from this game and one I've been working on some trying to make it somewhat competitive. I'll add more decks to the list as time allows. Most of these are just for fun and aren't going to win in some duels.

PenUltimate is probably the best of the bunch. Scented Garden is likely second best. While Ultimateness Squared is a high risk one shot deck that comes in 3rd for the top 3 picks.

The first deck Mage Lock is one I used to get started it's full of tricks to stall and mess with your opponents head. It isn't a very good deck but I play more for fun than to win all the time.

The second is a tribute to a deck I used while playing DS version of Stardust Accelerator. I called it Dirty War. It's an all earth attribute/warrior type build that uses Rivalry of Warlords and Gozen Match. I've added some new synchros and xyz to the deck and changed a few spells to make it rank legal. It uses Marauding Captain to stall and fast summon synchros.

There's the deck I used in rank matches that involves bringing heavy hitters out easily. I call it SkillN/A because it doesn't require a lot of skill to learn how to use it effectively. It can also sort of do well under Skill Drain's effects. Though the deck only has Skill Drain as a side deck card because it interferes with much of the fast summon swarm effect cards used to get synchros and Zubaba General an XYZ that can equip other warriors to gain their strength. There's quite a few support summons as well like Stardust Dragon and Heiratic Sun Dragon Overlord of Heliopolis. Beast King Barbaros is a useful card with skill drain or as a field clearer.

The deck I use as of now is an Odd-eyes pendulum deck and it's listed under the title Penultimate.

Mage Lock

This deck uses some stalling tactics to try to win. It has some decent tricks to it like: Gravekeeper's Servant and Dimensional Fissure, Unhappy Girl and Spirit Barrier, two or more Magician's Valkeria to guard all mages from attack. The Side Deck has a Toon World swap for the Fortune Ladies. The deck has four ways to win: Attack Damage (lvl 12 Fortune Lady Dark or Earth and Downerd Magician), Effect Damage (Ebon Magician Curran, Fortune Lady Earth, Tempest Magician), Empty Deck (Draws one card at a time so it'll be last to run out unless opponent has full deck or deck destruction effects.), Final Countdown (You win after your opponents 10th turn after activating.), and I suppose a fifth win is people rage quitting after taking so much of their time. LOL

Still working on duelist farming.

Mage Lock

Main Spells: Attrafic Control (Tsukumo), Clock Tower Prison (Jaden), Dimensional Fissure (Duelist Kingdom DLC), Double Summon (Yusei), Final Countdown (Bakura), Gravekeeper's Servant (Kaiba), Level Limit - Area "B" (Grampa), Messenger of Peace (Kaiba), Mist Body (Jaden), Raigeki (Grampa), Soul Charge (Grampa), Swords of Revealing Light (Yugi), The Seal of Orichalcos (Yugi)

Main Traps: Brutal Potion (Syrus), Dark Bribe (Jaden), Mirror Force (Kaiba), Rivalry of Warlords (Grampa), Scrap-Iron Scarecrow (Yusei), Spirit Barrier (Bastion), Wall of Revealing Light (Yugi)

Main Monsters: Blizzard Princess (Yugi), (2x) Ebon Magician Curran (Mai), Effect Veiler (Jaden), Fortune Lady Dark (Jack), Fortune Lady Earth (Jack), Fortune Lady Wind (Jack), Geomancer of the Ice Barrier (Trudge), Ghostrick Witch (Cathy), Injection Fairy Lily (Grampa), Magician of Faith (Yugi), (3x) Magician's Valkyria (Yugi), Pixie Knight (Joey), Sage of Silence (Jesse), Solitaire Magician (Jack), The Unhappy Girl (Chazz), (2x) White Magician Pikeru (Mai)

Extra Monsters: (2x) Tempest Magician (Yusei), Alchemic Magician (Tsukumo), (3x) Downerd Magician (Tsukumo), (3x) Ghostrick Socuteboss (Cathy), Slacker Magician (Tsukumo)

Side Deck: Mystical Space Typhoon (Yugi), Raregold Armor (Alexis), Toon World (Kaiba), Gravity Bind (Akiza), Card Ejector (Duelist Kingdom DLC), Magical Exemplar (Yugi), Maiden of Macabre (Yugi), Toon Dark Magician Girl (Kaiba), (2x) Toon Gemini Elf (Kaiba)

Dirty War

Another themed deck I use for stalling and speedy sychro summoning. A tribute to a deck I used a lot in Stardust Accelerator. Using Marauding Captains it can either lock down your opponents attack or summon fast synchros. Your opponents will suffer not being able to summon monsters face up if their decks are mixed type/attribute with Gozen Match and Rivalry of Warlords. Deck is all Earth Warriors so you're free to summon as you wish. There's some stalls in this one as well to slow down an opponent if they don't nuke you with Raigeki or Mirror Force too often. With Dimensional Fissure and Gravekeeper's Servant on field they can't attack. Dimensional Fissure prevents the card from going to grave to satisfy Gravekeeper's demand. Mist Body on a Spell Striker is a good stall as well. He takes no damage from battle and can attack directly. Just watch out for effects. The deck doesn't work well against heavy destruction effects.

Still working on duelist farming.

Dirty War

Main Spells: Attraffic Control (Tsukumo), Bait Doll (Bastion), Burden of the Mighty (Mai), Dimensional Fissure (Duelist Kingdom DLC), Final Countdown (Bakura), Gaia Power (Grampa), Gravekeeper's Servant (Kaiba), Mage Power (Yugi), Messenger of Peace, Mist Body (Jaden), My Body as a Shield (Joey), Mystical Space Typhoon (Yugi), Raigeki (Grampa), Reinforcement of the Army (Grampa), Soul Charge (Grampa), The "A" Forces (Grampa), The Warrior Returning Alive (Grampa)

Main Traps: Gozen Match (Bastion), Rivalry of the Warlords (Grampa), Royal Decree (Bakura)

Main Monsters: Armor Breaker (Chazz), (3x) Comrade Swordsman of Landstar (Joey), (2x) D.D. Assailant (Chazz), D.D. Warrior (Chazz), (2x) Dream Clown (Yugi), Field-Commander Rahz (Joey), Goblin Attack Force (Bakura), Hayabusa Knight (Quinton), Jutte Fighter (Trudge), 3x Marauding Captain (Grampa), Spell Striker (Syrus), (2x) Turret Warrior (Yusei), Warrior Lady of the Wasteland (Joey)

Extra Monsters: Driven Daredevil (Trudge), Goyo Guardian (Trudge), Gravity Warrior (Yusei), Mighty Warrior (Yusei), (2x) Scarred Warrior (Yusei), Comics Hero King Arthur (Quinton), Gauntlet Launcher (Tsukumo), Heroic Champion - Kusanagi (Kite), Zubaba General (Tsukumo)

Side Deck: Fusion Sword Murasame Blade (Joey), Trial and Tribulation (Kaiba), Dark Bribe (Jaden), Spirit Barrier (Bastion), Wall of Revealing Light (Yugi), Amazoness Sage (Mai), Dododo Swordsman (Tsukumo), Jutte Fighter (Trudge), Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (Joey), Samurai Sword Baron (Trudge)

Zandyr_Kayne's Flippin' Out

Okay this one's just an experimental deck for fun. It won't win most of the time but when you're up against an opponent that doesn't have any trap/spell killing effects this one can be nasty. It takes the effect of Ghostrick Doll to reflip all monsters on the field to facedown to turn a few one off flip effect monsters like Needle Worm, Mask of Darkness and Magician of Faith into multi-use effect cards to return your spells and traps from the grave and burn your opponents deck. I haven't added anything to the extra deck, (yet.) Might go better with a few xyzs/synchros might not. It spends most of it's time face down in defense anyway and burns through your opponents cards by reusing Needle Worms. Key cards are Ghostrick Doll, Astral Barrier and Spirit Barrier. Spirit Barrier plus Astral Barrier along with a monster on the field and your opponent can't hit you to damage health. Protect them with Imperial Custom. There's also Level Limit Area - B and Messenger of Peace. Guardian Sphinx could be pretty useful as well and there's a Spring of Rebirth to go with him if you need health, but only one of each in deck so it's not always there when needed. Can burn their LP with Stealth Bird. Use of Swords of Concealing Light and Prediction Princess Astromorrigan can be a good field clear combo. Untouchable (due to Barrier cards) Ghostrick Doll, Mask of Darkness, Magician of Faith, Prediction Princess Astromorrigan, Quaking Mirror Force and Raigeki anyone? Just watch out for Royal Decree, field wipers (like Black Rose Dragon) and cards that ignore effects (Gravekeepers Heretic with Necrovalley.)

Spells: Level Limit Area - B, (2x) Messenger of Peace, (3x) Pot of Duality, Raigeki, Spring of Rebirth, (2x) Swords of Concealing Light

Traps: (3x) Astral Barrier, (2x) Imperial Custom, (2x) Quaking Mirror Force, (3x) Spirit Barrier

Monsters: (3x) Cat of Ill Omen, (3x) Ghostrick Doll, Guardian Sphinx, (2x) Magician of Faith, (3x) Mask of Darkness, (2x) Needle Worm, (2x) Prediction Princess Astromorrigan (DLC ARC League Championship), (2x) Spear Cretin, (2x) Stealth Bird

Extra Deck: ---WIP--- If needed.

Collapsing Hope

Okay, so this one is all about putting big red NOPEs on your opponent's monster zones. It uses cards like Timebreaker Magician and Thousand Eyes Restrict that can remove monsters from their field and allow you to use Ground Collapse, Freezing Grub of the Ice Barrier and Zany Zebra to place blockades. Then you can kill them off with direct attacks.

There's a couple of Soul Absorption cards from Duelist Kingdom DLC in the deck and Aroma Jar from Awaken the Dragons Yugi's Journey. Can sub Marshmallon (Yugi) and Solemn Wishes (Jesse) I guess.

45 card deck

Spells: (2x) Ground Collapse (Chazz), (2x) Instant Fusion (Alexis), (2x) Kaiser Colosseum (Bastion), (2x) Messenger of Peace (Kaiba), (3x) Secret Village of the Spellcasters (Yugi), (2x) Soul Absorption (DK DLC), Terraforming (Grandpa)

Traps: Call of the Haunted (Bakura), Imperial Custom (Crow), Jar of Avarice (Zuzu), (2x) Ojama Trio (Chazz), (2x) Spirit Barrier (Bastion)

Monsters: (3x) A Cat of Ill Omen (Kaiba), (2x) Aroma Jar (AtD:YJ DLC), (2x) Drill Barnicle (Reginald), Ebon Magician Curran (Mai), Ghostrick Witch (Cathy), Neo Spacian Grandmole (Jaden), (3x) Numbing Grub of the Ice Barrier (Trudge), (3x) The Unhappy Girl (Chazz), (3x) Timebreaker Magician (Gong), (2x) Timegazer Magican (Yuya), (3x) Zany Zebra (Gong)

Tips:

Instant Fusion summon Thousand Eyes Restrict and then use him to capture a card then use Timebreaker Magician to banish Thousand Eyes Restrict until the next turn. You'll save T.E.R. from the end phase kill effect of Instant Fusion and reset him to take another card from your opponents field. T.E.R. also prevents attacks except for his own.

With the field spell Secret Village of the Spellcasters you should have no problems with spell cards from you opponent unless they have a spellcaster of their own or manage to kill/remove your spellcasters with other effects such as traps or monster effect.

Scented Garden

This one's a plant deck with Aromage and other support. It's good at healing LP and getting some strong plant monsters out and adding piercing effect to them all when your health is higher using Aromage Bergamot. This one requires Awaken the Dragons: Yugi's Journey DLC.

60 card deck

Spells: (3x) Aroma Garden (DLC Awaken the Dragons: Yugi's Journey), Foolish Burial (Grandpa), Miracle Fertilizer (Akiza), Miracle Fusion (Jaden), One Day of Peace (Quinton), One for One (Yusei), Reinforcement of the Army (Grandpa), Terraforming (Grandpa), (2x) Twin Twisters (Zuzu)

Traps: Bottomless Trap Hole (Bakura), (2x) Dried Winds (DLC AtD:YJ), (2x) Humid Winds (DLC AtD:YJ), (2x) Phoenix Wing Wind Blast (Mai), Solemn Strike (Gong), Time -Space Trap Hole (Bakura), Wall of Thorns (Akiza)

Monsters: (2x) Aroma Jar (DLC AtD:YJ), (2x) Aromage Bergamot (DLC AtD:YJ), (2x) Aromage Cananga (DLC AtD:YJ), (2x) Aromage Jasmine (AtD:YJ), (2x) Aromage Rosemary (AtD:YJ), (2x) Botanical Lion (Akiza), Dandylion (Jaden), Dark Verger (Akiza), (2x) Fleur Synchron (Akiza), (2x) Gigaplant (Akiza), Glow-Up Bulb (Akiza), (2x) Golden Ladybug (Mai), Koa'ki Meiru Gravirose (Joey), (3x) Lonefire Blossom (Akiza), (2x) Lord Poison (Akiza), Naturia Bamboo Shoot (Crow), (3x) Naturia Cherries (Crow), Neo-Spacian Grand Mole (Jaden), (3x) Rose Lover (DLC AtD:YJ), (2x) Talaya, Princess of Cherry Blossoms (Akiza), Twilight Rose Knight (Akiza)

Extra Deck: Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste (Yusei), Ancient Fairy Dragon (Leo/Luna), Ancient Pixie Dragon (Leo/Luna), (2x) Black Rose Dragon (Akiza), Black Rose Moonlight Dragon (Gong), Chevalier de Fleur (Akiza), Leo, the Keeper of the Sacred Tree (Crow), Mist Bird Clausolas (Crow), Queen of Thorns (Akiza), Splendid Rose (Akiza), Battlecruiser Dianthus (Kite), Castel, the Skyblaster Musketeer (Yuya), Diagusto Emeral (Akiza), Number 50: Blackship of Corn (Tsukumo), Traptrix Rafflesia (Zuzu)

An ideal hand would be Foolish Burial, Lonefire Blossom, Aroma Garden and Aromage Jasmine. Bury Rose Lover and have her special summon Lonefire Blossom. Use Lonefire Blossum to special summon Giga Plant and then gemini summon it. Use it's effect to return Lonefire Blossum and bring out Talaya, the Princess of Cherry Blossoms. With your next turn you can special summon Lonefire Blossum for another special summoning of the second Talaya which will negate all destruction effects even against one another. Summon Jasmine and use Aroma Garden to add 500 attack to all monsters and boost health beyond your opponent and Jasmine's effect will let you normal summon one more plant to the field and draw a card when you heal. If you have Aromage Bergamot she'd be the perfect summon at this point. Just tribute Jasmine and then you'll have Bergamot's effect to add piercing damage to all plant monsters you control when health is higher than opponent. If you can heal yourself she also gains a bonus of 1000 atk on top of the 2400 she starts with.

BanHammer

This one is a fairly old school D.D. deck. Duelist Kingdom and Awaken the Dragons: Yugi's Journey DLC is required. The Timebreaker Magician cards are pendulum monsters but not really used for spell zones unless boosting Mage Power or protecting one of the other pendulums on the field from destruction effect. They mostly help banish a card for one round and with Soul Absorption adding 1000LP to your health. They can also protect a Golem Sentry or Guardian Spinx that can't reflip for a turn. The Macro Cosmos/Dimensional Fissure or Banisher of Radiance/Dimension Fortress Weapon paired with a Gravekeeper's Servant prevent your opponent from attacking you. They can't send the card from the top of their deck to the graveyard to meet the requirement of Gravekeeper's Servant in order to attack since it would be banished or unable to be thrown to grave. Degenerate Circuit plus Golem Sentry or Guardian Sphinx let's you banish monsters from your opponents field but beware the life cost. Use Savage Colosseum, Aroma Jar and Soul Absorption to heal. Savage Colosseum can also kill any monster that they can't attack with that isn't in defense at the end of turn. Make use of D.D. Assailant/Warrior/Warrior Lady to trap your opponent into sending their monster out of play or if you don't mind taking damage use them to attack a foe and remove them.

Card Count: 40

Spells: Degenerate Circuit (Trudge), Dimensional Fissure (DK DLC), Future Visions (Jack), (3x) Gravekeeper's Servant (Kaiba), (2x) Mage Power (Yugi), (2x) Savage Colosseum (Jaden), (3x) Soul Absorption (DK DLC)

Traps: (2x) Dimensional Prison (Chazz), Macro Cosmos (Bastion)

Monsters: (2x) Aroma Jar (AtD:YJ DLC), (2x) Banisher of Radiance (DK DLC), (3x) D.D. Assailant (Chazz), (2x) D.D. Crazy Beast (Chazz), D.D. Guide (Chazz), D.D. Survivor (Chazz), (2x) D.D. Warrior (Chazz), (2x) D.D. Warrior Lady (Chazz), (2x) Dimension Fortress Weapon (Leo/Luna), (2x) Golem Sentry (Leo/Luna), (2x) Guardian Sphinx (Yugi), (3x) Timebreaker Magician (Gong)

Banished Hope

This one is a fairly iffy win scenario deck. It has the potential to summon some heavy offense though. It's not awful, but I think it needs some work. Otherwise it is fun to watch your opponent's reaction as all the monsters from their deck and graveyard are stripped by Inferno Tempest and removed from play along with your own and maybe 10 more cards because of Necroface. Then use Escape From the Dark Dimension to return Earthbound Immortal Ccapac Apu (if you have a field spell) and summon up either Gren Maju Da Eiza or Necroface. Necroface is great with Macro Cosmos (or Dimensional Fissure) and Chaos Zone on the field. Just get him banished and watch the counters add up. Also can banish Necroface with Allure of Darkness to set off a reaction. It can be a bit awkward to work this all out but when it does work... <evil laughter commenses> I've seen Gren Maju Da Eiza with over 11000 attack. It requires Duelist Kingdom DLC for some cards.

No Extra Deck 45 cards.

Spells: (2x) Allure of Darkness (Jesse), (3x) Chaos Zone (Duelist Kingdom DLC), Dimensional Fissure (DK DLC), (2x) Gravekeeper's Servant (Kaiba), (3x) Inferno Tempest (Chazz), One Day of Peace (Quinton), (2x) Soul Absorption (DK DLC), Upstart Goblin (Mai)

Traps: (2x) D. D. Dynamite (Chazz), (2x) Escape From the Dark Dimension (Jesse), Macro Cosmos (Bastion)

Monsters: (3x) Battle Fader (Yusei), (2x) D. D. Assailant (Chazz), (2x) D. D. Survivor (Chazz), (2x) D. D. Warrior (Chazz), (2x) D. D. Warrior Lady (Chazz), (2x) Dimension Fortress Weapon (Leo/Luna), (2x) Earthbound Immortal Ccapac Apu (Yusei), (3x) Gren Maju Da Eiza (DK DLC), (3x) Grinder Golem (Syrus), (2x) Necroface (Challenge Mode - Don Thousand Exclusive), (2x) Timebreaker Magician (Gong)

SkillN/A

Card Packs/DLC required added to this section of the guide. Duelists to farm not yet added.

This used to be my main deck. It packs a punch but is a little weak in defenses.

Deck uses special summoning cards like Marauding Captain and Goblindbergh to bring out more powerful Extra deck monsters. Also uses Forbidden Chalice to negate Beast King Barbaros' effect that let's him come on to the field at full power without tributing. Rare but still a possibility is the chance to summon Zubaba General, equip Goblin Attack Force and then a Buster Blader, the Destruction Swordsmaster by the thrid turn, activate Gaia Power to get an attack of 7400 damage, 7800 with Comrade Soldier of Landstar and then you can use Corrupted Keys to make 3 clones. That's a ton of setup though to pull off. Best to just add a Goblin Attack Force etc. and setup Corrupted Key tokens. Preferably with Stardust Dragon on the field. Added Gameciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju (YGOGX Leaders DLC), but you can substitute any of the monster cards in Side Deck except perhaps Arcana Force 0 - The Fool. The Fool can be used with Creature Swap to put a beat down target on your opponents field. I'd sub Creature Swap or Light of Intervention for Final Attack Orders or Spirit Barrier. Use Gameciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju with Goyo Guardian to clear a tough foe and gain another level 8 defensive card that can be used to XYZ summon Hieratic Sun Dragon Overlord of Heliopolis. Tip: Corrupted Keys tokens can't be tributed for Hieratic Sun Dragon's effect. You can tribute tokens to summon Beast King Barbaros and Buster Blader, the Destruction Swordsman, though. Barbaros & Buster are good for kill effects. Valkyrian Knight, Marauding Captain and Scarred Warrior can be used for a chance to make warrior type immune to attack if two or more in any combo are on the field. Driven Daredevil can be an effective wall for heavier hitters. If anyone attacks harder than his attack he'll survive and retaliate with an effect to kill them. Uses some traps but not really necessary to win. There's a Golden Lady Bug for healing or to use as a synchro fodder. Beast King Barbaros (3 tributes), Black Rose Dragon and Twin Twisters can take out those pesky Level Limit Area "B" and Messenger of Peace spells as well as several trap, spell or other cards. Avoid decks like Majespecter and Kozmo. Little chance if any of beating those. Wins occasionally against Red-Eyes, Blue-Eyes and Cyber Dragon decks. (1 in 3-5 maybe.) Works well against a lot old school decks. Like ones that are pre-Zexal and 5Ds.

TL:DR - Power hitter deck, but a little bit low on effect/trap/spell defense. Empty hand will likely not recover if field gets cleared. Can potentially manage under Skill Drain but not recommended. One DLC card that can be swapped for something in side deck. Easy to learn to use it.

Still TL:DR - Hulk SMASH! Hmph, puny god. Effect bad. Stardust good.

SkillN/A - Main 40 / Extra 15 / Side 15

Main Spells: (2x) Forbidden Chalice (Mai), Gaia Power (Grampa), Raigeki (Grampa), Reinforcement of the Army (Grampa), Soul Charge (Grampa), (2x) Twin Twisters (Zuzu)

Main Traps: Corrupted Keys (Kite), Dark Bribe (Jaden), Final Attack Orders (Kaiba), Quaking Mirror Force (Gong), Solemn Warning(Challenge Mode Only: Odion, Strings, Adrion, Breo), Spirit Barrier (Bastion), Starlight Road (Yusei)

Main Monsters: (2x) Beast King Barbaros (Bastion), Breaker the Magical Warrior (Yugi), Buster Blader, the Destruction Swordsmaster (Gong), Comrade Swordsman of Landstar (Joey), Effect Veiler (Jaden), Gagaga Gardna (Tsukumo), Gameciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju (DLC GX Leaders), (2x) Goblin Attack Force (Bakura), (3x) Goblindbergh (Tsukumo), Golden Ladybug (Mai), (3x) Marauding Captain (Grandpa), (2x) Rose, Warrior of Revenge (Akiza), (2x) Toraport (Trudge), (2x) Turret Warrior (Yusei), (2x) Valkyrian Knight (Quinton)

Extra Monsters: Ally of Justice Catastor (Jack), Ally of Justice Decisive Armor (Jack), Black Rose Dragon (Akiza), Driven Daredevil (Trudge), (2x) Goyo Guardian (Trudge), Red Dragon Archfiend (Jack), (2x) Scarred Warrior (Yusei), (2x) Stardust Dragon (Yusei), Blade Armor Ninja (Quinton), Hieratic Sun Dragon Overlord of Heliopolis (Kite), (2x) Zubaba General (Tsukumo)

Side Deck: Creature Swap (Bakura), Forbidden Chalice (Mai), The Warrior Returning Alive (Grampa), United We Stand (Yusei), Light of Intervention (Quinton), Skill Drain (Grampa), Arcana Force 0 - The Fool (Chazz), Command Knight (Grampa), Comrade Swordsman of Landstar (Joey), Kagetokage (Tsukumo), Schwarzschild Limit Dragon (Kite), Spell Striker (Cyrus), Unhappy Girl (Chazz), Valkyrian Knight (Quinton)

Ultimate Squared

This one's an Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord and Herald of Ultimateness build. It's probably been done before by others. I know I got the idea from a friend using something similar one time. It's primary goal is to one shot with Exodius doing 12k+ damage. I usually start 2nd and hope to have an Exodius, one fairy card for effect stoppage and Gale Dogra to send Herald of the Arc Light to the grave to get the ritual cards in hand. You could also fish out Exodia parts using Dark Factory of Mass Production and Monster Reincarnation from the grave. Basics: Get ritual cards in hand with Dogra or Manju... Summon Exodius then ritual summon to send 12 normal cards to grave for him to power up with. One Shot kill. (Hopefully without crashing your opponents game.) IT'S OVER NINE THOUSAND!!! Game can't take the abuse... sometimes. LOL

Try not to overdraw normal types or you'll have to kill them off for Exodius to send back to deck. You need at least 12 normal monsters in deck to summon Herald of Ultimateness. Including Exodia's arms and legs you have 20 normal cards. Also... Exodius needs at least one monster in the grave to summon him. It doesn't have to be a normal type for Exodius summon just Herald. Try to keep at least one Fairy type in hand to protect yourself from traps using Herald's effect. Beware of Solemn Warning, Solemn Strike, Vanity's Emptiness, and other cards that make special summoning impossible. Also banishment. Else there's not much you can do but try to fish for Exodia and survive with weak sauce cards. It's usually One Shot or lose. Be the Saitama. ONE PUNCH!

Spells: (2x) Advanced Ritual Arts (Joey), (3x) Dark Factory of Mass Production (Alexis), Foolish Burial (Grandpa), Magical Mallet (Chazz), Monster Reincarnation (Yugi), Upstart Goblin (Mai)

Traps: N/A

Monsters: (3x) Cloudian - Smokeball (Chazz), (3x) Dancing Elf (Grandpa), (3x) Key Mace (Jesse), Left Arm of the Forbidden One (Grandpa), Left Leg of the Forbidden One (Grandpa), ( (3x) Mokey Mokey (Bastion), Right Arm of the Forbidden One (Grandpa), Right Leg of the Forbidden One (Grandpa), (3x) Aroma Jar (DLC WTD: Yugi's Journey - Aromage Challenge Mode Yugi), Exodia the Forbidden One (Grandpa), (3x) Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord (Grandpa), (3x) Gale Dogra (Joey), (3x) Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands (Joey), (2x) Herald of Ultimateness (Yuya)

Extra Deck: (2x) Herald of the Arc Light (Yuya)

Can use a different card like Marshmallon (Yugi) in place of Aroma Jars. Aroma Jars are better for their healing effect. Gale Dogra requires 3000LP to activate its effect to send Herald of the Arc Light to grave. If things go bad for health Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands may be only hope of getting a ritual card from deep in the deck. If cards fall right it isn't necessary since you should have 2000LP left when you get both cards with Gale Dogra or if you have a ritual card already at hand and only need the other one.

Penultimate

from Arc V shop booster packs. Couple of DLC cards not necessary for deck to work. Just swap them for more of the other Xyz cards. A beginning level Pedulum deck that can be pretty powerful at times. I'm using this one in as my main as of now along with a few others I haven't added to guide yet.

It uses mostly Magicians pendulum monsters as its base to summon up Odd-eyes monsters. Timegazer and Timebreaker Magician being one of the better combinations for the pendulum zone. Otherwise there's Dragonpit and Dragonpulse Magician for backup as well as others. Xiangsheng is tricky but can be used in a pinch. Her pendulum number drops to 4 from 8 if you control more cards than your opponent does on the field. The rest are mostly low end from 2-4.

Pedulum effects for Dragonpit/Dragonpulse destroy a card on the field. Spells/Traps for pit and monsters for pulse. You have to send one pendulum monster from hand in order to activate the effect. Where as Timebreaker negates one effect against pendulum monsters on field per turn and Timegazer stops traps from activating when a pendulum monster attacks your opponent. Oafdragon Magician's effect returns Magician and Odd-eyes monsters from the grave to the hand upon normal/special summoning him. Xaingke Magician in the pendulum zone allows you to use Xyz monsters as if they were level instead of rank monsters in order to summon other Xyz monsters.

Tip try getting a full field equipping Odd-eyes Pendulum Dragon with United We Stand and attacking an attack position monster on your opponents field. Almost guaranteed one-shot KO. 6500 attack power and damage done doubled. Careful it doesn't crash the game for you or your opponent. In the event it wasn't enough to take down all their health and heavy monsters if you had Xiangsheng Magician on field she can copy the attack power but is only able to kill monsters and not do damage to your opponents health. She returns to 500 attack at the End Phase as well so be careful. Oafdragon Magician can be useful in a resurrecting cycle by tributing him or using him as material for Sky Iris so he returns to extra deck to be summoned again and return a card to hand from grave.

Beware of Anti-Spell Fragrance, Vanity's Emptiness, Solemn Strike, Solemn Warning, monster effects that negate special summons and banishing effects. This is pretty much the bane of any pendulum deck though. Twin Twisters should help against the traps if not Dragonpit Magician.


Main Spells: Monster Reincarnation (Yugi), Odd-Eyes Fusion (Gong), Pendulum Call (Gong), Return of the Dragon Lords (Gong), (3x) Sky Iris (Gong), Terraforming (Grampa Muto), Twin Twisters (Zuzu)

Main Traps: Eradicator Epidemic Virus (Kaiba), Solemn Warning (Challenge Mode Strings, Odion, Adrion, Breo), (2x) Storming Mirror Force (Gong)

Main Monsters: (2x) Mist Valley Apex Avian (Crow), (2x) Odd-Eyes Sabre Dragon (Gong), Sinster Sprocket (Jack), (2x) Dragonpit Magician (Gong), (2x) Dragonpulse Magician (Gong), Archfiend Eccentrick (Gong), Nobledragon Magician (Gong), (2x) Oafdragon Magician (Gong), (3x) Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon (Yuya), Performapal Odd-Eyes Phoenix (Gong), Performapal Odd-eyes Unicorn (Gong), (2x) Timebreaker Magician (Gong), (2x) Timegazer Magician (Yuya), Wisdom Eye Magician (Gong), (2x) Xiangke Magician (Gong), (2x) Xiangsheng Magician (Gong)

Extra Deck: Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon (Gong), Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon (Yuya), Beelze of the Diabolic Dragons (Akiza), Ancient Pixie Dragon (Leo/Luna), Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon (Gong), Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon (DLC Arc V: Yuya v Crow), Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack (Quinton), Number 101:Silent Honor ARK (Tsukumo), Number 11:Big Eye (Tsukumo), Number 52:Diamond Crab King (Zuzu), (2x) Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon (Gong), Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon (DLC Awaken the Dragons Joey's Journey), (2x) Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon (Gong)

Tips for earning DP.

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Challenge Mode opponent Tania is probably the easiest AI opponent to beat. I got first turn. I played Level Limit Area "B". I won by deck out by ending my phases each time they came up. She can't deal with traps/spells except with Amazon Sage which is a level 4. You can also use Downerd Magician to simply attack her defense position Amazon Paladin while she also has Amazon Queen on the field "protecting" her. Gravity Bind will also work along with direct attack cards that are level 3 or lower. Just keep a counter spell/trap like Dark Bribe handy for her single Raigeki. Yet another "1 card" victory using Geomancer of the Ice Barrier set to Earth as her guarded type. My Dark Bribe on the field went unused as Tania filled her trap zone before she used Raigeki.

Ideas for a deck: (3x) Level Limit - Area B, (3x) Gravity Bind, (3x) Messenger of Peace, (3x) Drill Barnicle, (3x) Raging Flame Sprite Those and whatever else you might need. These would coast through on there own without any other support against Tania.

Tips for Ranked Match games:

1. Be courteous and don't disconnect when your opponent is winning. Either surrender or finish as best as you can. You aren't being scored for your losses and you're only wasting your opponents time and taking points from the better player. Also they'll likely remember your name and ignore you later on. (I've thought of putting names in a Hall of Shame section but don't feel like being that mean. Besides it can be hard to tell when someone is legitmately disconnecting or have crashed. The game can be buggy at times.)

2. You're not very likely to win with a starter deck. Take some time to get through the Story Mode and learn how some of the cards work. Earn some DP and buy as many cards as you can. The more variety you have the more you can try to find combinations that'll make an awesome deck. Ask for advise from other players who don't mind helping others build a good deck. Like me for instance. ;) Feel free to add me to your friends list.

3. Friends help make finding a duel easier. A lot of times the Rank Lobby seems like a dead zone. Having some friends to duel in ranked or player matches is always a good way to keep the action going. See recommended section for a game group that will help you find more players.

4. Have fun! It's just a game. Don't let a loss get you down. Learn from other players and improve your game.

5. Old school or new there's always something you can find to counter a tough deck.

6. I may not post disconnects... BUT I WILL POST BLATANT HACKERS!

Recommendations

Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist Cardhub[thecardhub.net] for any card [e.g. DLC cards, Challenge Mode only cards] you can't find in the following:

Full Card Pack Breakdown for base game shop information.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist Wikia[yugioh.wikia.com] for other information about cards and stuff.

Yu-Gi-Oh! LOTD Friend Finder meet more duelists.

Blatant Hackers

Da Real Yugi http://steamcommunity.com/id/OG_JIGGA/

[Neosstrat]

sucks that the game is just dead as could be in multiplayer but cool guide

[Zandyr_Kayne]

Though the game wasn't so dead back when I was up in the ranks.

[Zandyr_Kayne]

Yeah it happens... I'm not playing much anymore anyway. Mostly play YGOPro or other games now.

[Fifty Shades of Hacks]

gz ure rank 10 in a dead game xDD

[Zandyr_Kayne]

Yeah, I realize you can just surrender. You only get one card at a time that way where as you can get about 3 by winning a duel. A bit faster if you're trying build a deck from the AI pool. Otherwise I just like to pick on Tania's weak deck for easy wins.

[Nocsu]

Hey man, i like your guide. But if you want to farm GP there is a much faster way.
Pick one of the challenge mode duelists and just surrender to them over and over again.
A loose gives you between 500 and 1000 GP, a win like 1000-2000.

[DrAfterl]

but excellent

[DrAfterl]

so long

[Michi]

Good decks keep up the work!!!

[Zandyr_Kayne]

Made first page of the Leaderboard at rank 13 with 380 wins today.