Basic Deckbuilding FAQ - Illustrated Edition

[CrabHelmet]

I've seen so many decks with extremely basic mistakes in them in the Your Deck section that I think it's necessary to make this, especially since the current deckbuilding sticky is highly outdated and contains little more than an outdated list of staples.

 

The images may not relate as closely to the paragraphs they precede as the ones in the Fusion Monster Summoning FAQ do, since the subject matter here is more abstract and less based on specific cards. For example, the first section begins with Infinite Cards because it describes the problems with decks containing large numbers of cards.

 

 

A lot of beginning players think that a good Deck Size is whatever size will allow them to include all the cards they want. Some even think that larger decks are better, on the grounds that they permit a wider variety of cards.

 

Simply put, this is wrong. Smaller decks are superior to larger decks.

 

The thing about larger decks is that, though there are more cards available, you have a significantly lower chance of drawing any given card. If you are unable to draw the cards you need with some degree of consistency, the deck will be unable to win with some degree of consistency. Furthermore, since you can only have three copies of each card in your deck, and many staples can be run only in one or two copies, your chances of playing your best cards are slim.

 

This is not just my opinion; this is a commonly accepted standard among better duelist. If you look at large tournaments, such as Shonen Jump Championships, all the best decks have low numbers of cards; most have 40, generally the best number, and none has more than 45.

 

 

Most good decks should have 40 cards; having more is permissible, but 40 is generally ideal. Of course, there are a few exceptions, depending on the decktype being used. Gadget decks, for example, often run more cards to reduce the player's chances of drawing redundant copies of the Gadget monsters; however, even these decks do not run more than 45 cards.

 

 

Each deck needs a theme of some sort. Some new players will simply throw together cards that they like; however, these decks, commonly described as "HOLY PILE OF RANDOM, BATMAN!", suffer from a severe lack of synergy. Synergy is the way in which the cards in a deck work together and complement one another; random decks generally do not have this support, leaving them at a huge disadvantage.

 

A deck's theme could be anything from a series of cards that were specifically designed to work together as a set, such as the Crystal Beast cards, to cards that all support a specific win condition.

 

 

Each deck needs a win condition, also called a deck goal, or a manner in which that deck is designed to win the duel. Keeping this win condition in mind when building a deck helps to make that deck more focused.

 

Something like "attack and make the opponent's Life Points zero" is not a specific enough win condition; something like "rapidly gain field advantage to defeat the opponent" for Six Samurai or "use the effect of Crystal Abundance to attack the opponent and win" for Crystal Beasts would be more appropriate. Even though both involve attacking the opponent to obliterate his or her Life Points, the manner of doing so is drastically different.

 

Of course, some decktypes do not involve reducing the opponent's Life Points. Decks focused on cards like Exodia, for example, win by fulfilling different conditions; in this case, fulfilling those conditions by a certain method is the deck's win condition.

 

 

When constructing a deck, it is important to have a good ratio of monsters, spells, and traps. In a standard 40-card deck whose win condition involves attacking the opponent and reducing his or her Life Points in a non-OTK method, a good balance usually involves 18-22 monsters (16-24 at the outside), with the remainder divided between spells and traps, usually with about 2 spells for every 1 trap.

 

Of course, there are many exceptions. For example, decks including Jinzo and/or Royal Decree should run low numbers of traps. A deck's win condition can also affect the ratio; DDT decks, for example, usually run about 11 monsters, a large number of Normal Spells, and almost no (if any) traps.

 

 

When constructing a deck, individual card choices can be almost as important as the overall deck structure. As an example, observe the Hero Barrier card above. Many beginner Elemental Hero decks use this card, but it is, in actuality, a very bad card. The following cards serve a purpose that is exactly like that of Hero Barrier, except better:

 

* Mirror Force

* Negate Attack

* Threatening Roar

* Waboku

* Sakuretsu Armor

* Dimensional Prison

* Magic Cylinder

* Draining Shield

 

There is never any reason that Hero Barrier should be used, since any one of these cards can do the exact same thing except with an added bonus and no restriction.

 

Of course, even within the cards that are superior to Hero Barrier, some are better than others. Mirror Force and Dimensional Prison are both superior to Sakuretsu Armor, and Mirror Force is also superior to Negate Attack, Threatening Roar, and Waboku. Since Magic Cylinder and Draining Shield do not provide any advantage and can only negate one attack, they are often considered inferior to the other cards that serve similar purposes (outside of a Burn or Life Point Increase deck, respectively).

 

This is just one example of how card choices can weaken or strengthen a deck, depending on whether they are done properly.

 

 

Situational cards can only be used under specific circumstances. For example, Amplifier can only be used while Jinzo is on the field. Situational cards are generally considered weak, as unless specific conditions are fulfilled, they are completely useless dead draws.

 

 

Nomi monsters contain the text "This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except..." with a summoning condition described on the card.

 

A Nomi's usefulness depends on the balance between how easy its summoning condition is to fulfill and how powerful its effect is. For example, Dark Armed Dragon is easy to summon and has an extremely powerful effect, so it is considered a good Nomi, worth running in a compatible deck. Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth, on the other hand, is extremely difficult to summon and is nothing more than a beatstick once it hits the field; it has no useful effect at all. This makes it not worth running in most cases.

 

 

Normal Monsters, sometimes called Vanilla due to their yellow background color and bland lack of effect, are sometimes added to decks due to their ATK points and possibly their names; however, these can often hurt the deck goal. For example, Gladiator Beast Andal has good ATK and has "Gladiator Beast" in its name, but it lacks a Special Summoning effect common to the other Gladiator Beasts, which means that it doesn't support the deck goal.

 

Of course, there are some situations in which Vanilla monsters make sense. Elemental Hero Fusion-based decks usually use Elemental Hero Sparkman and Elemental Hero Clayman, since they are needed as Fusion Material. Similarly, some Spellcaster decks have a focus on Dark Magician due to the large amount of support available, ease in summoning, and high ATK.

 

Vanilla monsters are fine, but only as long as they make the deck stronger.

 

 

Polymerization is widely considered one of the worst of all cards that can perform a Fusion Summon, as it costs at least three cards to summon one monster, a net loss of at least two cards of advantage, and provides no extra effects.

 

Some Fusion cards, such as Vehicroid Connection Zone, come with an added benefit, while others, such as Miracle Fusion, can use Fusion Material Monsters that are already in the graveyard, and therefore do not result in a loss of advantage. When possible, these alternate Fusion cards are preferable to Polymerization; however, some Fusion Monsters, such as Dark Paladin, cannot benefit from any of them, and so Polymerization must be used.

 

 

If you are using Ritual Monsters, the regular Ritual Spells are not very good; Advanced Ritual Art is the best way to summon them, as this does not cost as much advantage as regular Ritual Spells.

 

Since Ritual Monsters and Ritual Spells are useless if one does not have the other, it is important that you be able to search them out to make them more usable. Therefore, most decks that run Ritual Monsters will include Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands for its search effect.

 

Obviously, to use Advanced Ritual Art, Vanilla monsters are also necessary; this is one of the cases where their use is acceptable.

 

 

Staples are highly splashable cards that will make most decks stronger when included. Heavy Storm, Mystical Space Typhoon, and Mirror Force are the most splashable of these; however, many others, though not quite as universal, can benefit decks just as much.

 

Many staples are Limtied and Semi-Limited cards on the banlist; however, not all Limited and Semi-Limited cards are so splashable. For example, Night Assailant was Limited because two copies of it could be used in an infinite loop.

 

 

In Traditional Format, all of these rules are even more important. Since decks are incredibly fast and powerful, a good balance with strong cards and many staples in a 40-card deck.

 

 

And that's it. Sticky would be nice, since this topic is far more informative than topics like "The Art of Deck Making".

[Azuh]

once again... nice FAQ... i cant wait to see more 10/10

[Shaco]

And that's it. Sticky would be nice, since this topic is far more informative than topics like "The Art of Deck Making".

 

 

Agreed, very effective FAQ... well it's not really an FAQ, but a very effective deck building guide, or something like that.

[RedSceptile]

It's not bad.

 

I don't know if you know Chrono(Well Iron Chef did it originally but I digress), but he used to make these rly good deck-building guides. Just check out the YGO Nightmare Troubador sticky and you'll see one his guides (all though, it is outdated)

 

If you can get that level of detail, then you truly win.

[MasterOfMagicians]

This section doesn't need to be here.

You can very easily direct someone to the appropriate yugioh-card website, which has rulebooks, walk throughs, FAQ, and even go through your very first duel with you.

There really is no reason that you need to have this posted here.

[Static]

This section doesn't need to be here.

You can very easily direct someone to the appropriate yugioh-card website' date=' which has rulebooks, walk throughs, FAQ, and even go through your very first duel with you.

There really is no reason that you need to have this posted here.

[/quote']

 

Human laziness requires this to be posted here. We are quite honestly tired of reading bad decks, and if the information is readily avaliable, with pretty pictures at that, it should be.

[Guest PikaPerson01]

This section doesn't need to be here.

You can very easily direct someone to the appropriate yugioh-card website' date=' which has rulebooks, walk throughs, FAQ, and even go through your very first duel with you.

There really is no reason that you need to have this posted here.

[/quote']

 

Stop trolling.

[CrabHelmet]

This section doesn't need to be here.

You can very easily direct someone to the appropriate yugioh-card website' date=' which has rulebooks, walk throughs, FAQ, and even go through your very first duel with you.

There really is no reason that you need to have this posted here.

[/quote']

 

By this logic, every post on the site should be deleted, since other Yu-Gi-Oh forums exist.

[EHERO Andrew]

I think you should publish a book about the game!

 

Title: Yu-Gi-Oh for Dummies

 

LOL!

[HORUS]

I think you should publish a book about the game!

 

Title: Yu-Gi-Oh for Dummies

 

LOL!

 

you have a great need for it.

[CrabHelmet]

I think you should publish a book about the game!

 

Title: Yu-Gi-Oh for Dummies

 

LOL!

 

you have a great need for it.

 

XD

 

This post wins.

[Flame Dragon]

Once again great job. Can not wait to see more 10/10.

[Shaco]

I think you should publish a book about the game!

 

Title: Yu-Gi-Oh for Dummies

 

LOL!

 

you have a great need for it.

 

As epically funny as that was, it wasn't particularly nice :(

But most epically funny things aren't.

[RedSceptile]

Dude this is the internet.

 

The laws of normal interraction does not apply here.

[Gravitize Me Cap'n!]

Advanced Ritual Art is the best way to summon them, as this does not cost any advantage.

 

Go fix. ARA is -1.

[CrabHelmet]

Advanced Ritual Art is the best way to summon them' date=' as this does [b']not cost any advantage.[/b]

 

Go fix. ARA is -1.

Fine, it doesn't cost the advantage that the others do. >_> Of course, if you're summoning Demise, it's probably a plus anyhow. <_<

[wilson91]

Wow this guide will help a heck of a lot of newbs ( And don't dare anyone come back with some awesome come back! Lol XD)