Yu-Gi-Oh! is an original in the card game scene at this point. It's stuck through since 1996 when the first manga was published. Through the years, the rules of Yu-Gi-Oh! have been twisted and turned, shifting the strategies of the game and the decks used to play.

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Some Decks have risen from obscurity and taken their place in the light. While some once-powerful decks have taken a hit and been lost to time. This ever-changing field means that players have to keep an eye out for trends in deck builds. No one wants to get caught using an obsolete strategy and being crushed in one turn.

Updated September 16, 2021 by Johnny Garcia: Yu-Gi-Oh! continues to be one of the fastest-growing card games out there, and there are a ton of new ways to play Yu-Gi-Oh! on the horizon. Master Duels is upon us, as well as the localization of Rush Duels and the premiere of Cross Duel. It's an exciting time to be a fan of Yu-Gi-Oh!, especially when it comes to upcoming Yu-Gi-Oh! video games. New sets continue to be released, releasing entirely new Archetypes and support for old ones. The 2021 Mega Tins have made the game more accessible than ever, with plenty of fantastic decks to play with during your duels.

10 Salamangreat

yugioh salamangreat gazelle balelynx

Salamangreat is a Link-era Archetype that offers a ton of consistency. Thanks to their Field Spell, you can easily cycle through your wide pool of Link Monsters all while being searchable by both Terraforming and Salamangreat Balelynx. They have a lot of solid Main Deck Monsters as well, allowing for easy setup.

Since Salamangreat uses a smaller amount of Main Deck Monsters, they have the space to run a lot of interruption in the way of Trap cards and Hand Traps. Salamangreat is a fantastic control deck, allowing you to out-tempo and out-resource your opponents.

9 Blue-Eyes

yugioh blue eyes white dragon and blue eyes alternative dragon

Blue-Eyes White Dragon is one of the most iconic cards in all of Yu-Gi-Oh!, and has received a large number of support cards throughout the years. As such, Blue-Eyes has become a formidable Archetype, and one of the best to use in Legacy Of The Duelist: Link Evolution.

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There are plenty of different ways to play a Blue-Eyes deck, such as Synchro and Ritual versions. As such, it's easy to find a deck you'll have fun with when playing Blue-Eyes. They hit hard, are versatile, and have a ton of generic support cards, making it a solid and consistent deck to utilize.

8 Sky Striker

yugioh sky striker raye and kagari

Sky Striker is one of the strongest Archetypes that have come out in recent years, and remain playable despite multiple cards being restricted — be they Limited or Banned. Sky Strikers are a Control deck and they focus on Spell cards instead of Trap cards.

The Sky Striker Archetype has a ton of recursion thanks to their Main Deck Monster Sky Striker Ace - Raye, and will almost always find its way back to the field if one of your Sky Striker Link Monsters is removed from there. They can shut down a ton of your opponent's play, and with so few Main Deck Monsters, can run a ton of Hand Traps as well.

7 Paleo Frogs

swap frog and toadally awesome

Paleo Frogs is the mixture between the Frog series of Monsters and the Paleozoic Trap cards. Paleo Frogs are one of the most interesting Control decks, as their main plays get going on their second turn rather than their first.

The deck makes use of powerful Xyz Monsters like Toadally Awesome, which steals the cards it negates in order for you to use them later. The Frog engine has a ton of recovery options, so even if it gets wiped out it can very easily flood the field once more.

6 Cyber Dragon

cyber dragon core and infinity

Introduced in the GX Era, Cyber Dragons have gotten plenty of support to keep them relevant in the metagame. Cyber Dragon Infinity is still one of the best Xyz Monsters ever printed, and the Cyber Dragon deck can easily make it.

Cyber Dragons are a fantastic deck for going second, and can easily OTK with Chimeratech Rampage Dragon paired with Cyber Dragon Sieger. The deck can be played as a control variant as well due to how powerful its Trap Cybernetic Overflow is. This makes the deck incredibly versatile, with two viable ways to play it.

5 Counter Fairy

sanctuary in the sky and bountiful artemis art

Fairy Type cards don't tend to be the most aggressive, and that still holds true in this deck. However, for the duelist that likes testing people's patience, Counter Fairy might just be for you. Often times it will send your opponent into fits if you use it effectively.

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The Counter Fairies themselves aren't particularly effective — what you're employing is basically a great support team. They work off of Counter Traps (hence the name) and their effects will help your real hitters out. Those aids will be what helps you gain the advantage and take over. It also gives you the 1-2 punch effect that really grates on certain opponents.

4 Crusadia

crusadia maximus and equimax

This deck is a quick worker, with the end game being an OTK (one turn kill). The thing that makes Crusadia such a catch is its roster of backup plans. Many decks have one big punch, but few can keep fighting after they've thrown it.

Your main goal is to build up Crusaida Equimax. You do this by using other Crusadias to summon it, finally delivering the game-ending blow. However, if you can't, then you have Crusaida Maxima, who will deliver a hefty blow. Or you have Crusadia Spatha, which gives you mass swarming abilities. This continues until you're ahead and in winning the position.

3 Fur Hire

beat and rafael fur hire

Now, Fur Hire may sound like the cutest name for an Archetype. And while you might be right, your opponent won't think so — especially when they're being swarmed by the front line.

The main strategy of the deck is to swarm the Monster zones with your ''Fur Hire'' Monster cards. These cards have different effects, spanning from destroying other cards to giving you LP. While the low-end Monsters will trigger summonings, the higher end will protect other ''Fur Hire'' creatures, resulting in your attacking crowd.

2 Dark Warrior

armageddon knight and isolde

While Dark Warrior has different variations on how you execute its main strategy, they all meet at the same place in the end. It just releases the player from having to get a specific card and broadens your options. Many consider this one of the best paths to victory in the game.

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Some common cards you'll see pop up in this deck variation are Phoenix Blade or Isolde. If you manage to get Isolde on the field in your first turn then it's all gravy from there on out. The more cards you send to the graveyard, the higher level Warrior card you can summon and crush your opponent.

1 Lightsworn

raiden and judgement dragon

For the Do-gooders among us, Lightsworn is the deck for you. Self-sacrifice is something that will have to be done if a player wants this deck to be effective.

Though the look of this deck would lead you to believe its all sunshine and rainbows, the true power of this deck lies in the Graveyard — and sending your cards to it, more specifically. It's all for the Judgement Dragon, which can be special summoned once 4 Lightsworn Monsters are in the Graveyard. A big gamble, but it's easy to set up.

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