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‘Burn’? ‘Control’? ‘Beatdown’? If you’ve searched online to find out what YuGiOh! cards you need to play your way to victory then you’ve probably stumbled across a hidden language with words like these. With this article, we’ll help you navigate the different playstyles in YuGiOh! and provide a few examples of where you might like to start on your duelling journey, whether that’s casual player or King of Games!
BEATDOWN
‘Beatdown’ decks are based around using high ATK power monsters, known as ‘beatsticks’, to take your opponent down to 0 LP as quickly as possible before they can form a counter.
Although there is the temptation to assume that every monster with high ATK is prime ‘beatstick’ material, the best monsters for this style have effects that allow you to summon the monster earlier than usual (with ‘Cyber Dragon’ a prime example of this) or effects that protect the monster from spells & traps.
This style isn’t too common at higher levels (being particularly vulnerable to effects that weaken or destroy monsters) but it is still a solid basis to allow you to learn the game. EXAMPLE: The ‘Red Dragon Archfiend’ archetype from ‘The Crimson King’ Structure Deck features an arsenal of cards with high ATK power, neat supporting effects and Spell/Trap cards (like ‘Absolute Powerforce’ or ‘Red Zone’) to reinforce your monsters. If you want to play with power then ‘The Crimson King’ deck is built for you!
BURN
The aim of ‘Burn’ decks is use effect damage to take down your opponent. These can vary from brutal OTKs (one turn kills) to damage that slowly drags the other player down to defeat. The slower ‘Burn’ decks also often feature cards to prolong the Duel whilst slowing chipping away at LP. Beware though, since effect damage is the name of the game ‘Burn’ decks often only have a few strong monsters to protect against a direct assault. EXAMPLE: The ‘Volcanic’ archetype from the ‘Legendary Duelists: Soulburning Volcano’ booster packs are a treasure trove of effect damage. From ‘Volcanic Scattershot’ delivering 500 LP of damage when sent to the graveyard to ‘Volcanic Doomfire’ which can wipe your opponent’s entire board and doing 500 LP for each card destroyed, ‘Volcanic’ is perfect for sending your opponent’s LP up in flames!
CONTROL
The main aim of the Control style, as the name suggests, is to control the duel so you can steer it the way you want by disrupting your opponent’s actions and limiting their plays. The method may vary from disabling zones on your opponent's field (such as the ‘Ojama’ archetype) or negating your opponent’s effects (as with the ‘Raidraptor’ archetype) but the important part is to make the duel dance to the beat of your drum. By limiting the options of your opponent, you can take the momentum and guide yourself to the win!
EXAMPLE: If you can make up the 3 tributes to summon it, ‘Slifer the Sky Dragon’ from the ‘Egyptian God Decks – Slifer’ deck is a powerful part of a control deck with the devasting ability to destroy any monster your opponent summons with 2000 or less ATK. Get ‘Slifer the Sky Dragon’ on the board and you can instantly put your opponent on the defensive!
META
YuGiOh! is always changing with new cards and archetypes coming out on a regular basis. Despite the never-ending parade of fun new cards, every once in a while, a particularly strategy will become the ‘go to’ for competitive players. Expect to see ‘meta’ cards at every local or regional competition but don’t expect them to be used the same way. Where one player may see a monster as valuable due to its attribute, another may care more about the DEF!
(I know technically this isn’t so much a strategy as a comment on the popularity of a deck but still worth knowing) EXAMPLE: The ‘Fire Kings’ Structure Deck firmly established itself on the ‘Meta’ throne throughout 2023 with invaluable staples like ‘Infinite Impermanance’ and ‘Droll and Lock Bird’ and a cadre of powerful ‘Fire King’ cards which produced a solid foundation for a myriad of strategies. Even today it still makes appearances in decklists, due to its great synergy with other archetypes like ‘Rescue-ACE’, ‘Snake-Eyes’ and ‘Diabellstar’.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Just remember: this is only a small selection of play styles but, with new booster packs and decks popping up on a frequent basis, expect to see even more new and innovative strategies enter the YuGiOh! world.
If you’re in any doubt: there is no wrong play style as long as you’re enjoying the deck!
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