July 2007

How to Build a Great Deck - Derek Semeraro

The target audience is Novice to Intermediate. This will teach the reader how to build good decks.

1) Pick a theme a stick with it.
I guarantee you that an Elemental Hero / Neospacian /
Crystal Beast / Six Samurai / Archfiend deck will not work.
Pick one idea and try to support it.

2) Remember all of things your deck needs.
Speed. Defense. Offense. Synergy. Card Advantage. Flow.

3) Try and find good combos to add into your deck. The
Marauding Captain / Sacred Crane combo works great in my
Crystal Beast deck. Although, it's not a Crystal Beast,
it is a good combo. Dig through your card box and try to find
some killer combos. But the combo shouldn't only work with itself.
It should work with other cards in your deck.

4) Find a good ratio of monster, magic, and trap cards to use.
In most decks, 20/12/8 works well. But it depends on the deck.
Destiny Hero decks use more magic cards and hand destruction
decks use much more trap cards. Keep your deck under 43
cards in most cases.

5) Check the forbidden and limited list to make sure your deck
is legal to play.

6) Don't exclude a card for personal reasons such as other
people not using it, or the card doesn't look nice, or
it's not shiny. If the card works in the deck, use it by all means.
For example, Guardian Sphinx is not a popular card, but,
I use it in my Monarch deck because it helps. It is not prone
to the activation of Pulling the Rug and it's a surprise
to many.

7) If a card only works less than half of the duels you draw it,
it is not worth it. Beware of costly cards. Like Inferno
Reckless Summon. The first game, it might cause your field
to flourish. The next few games, it might just sit in your hand.
Cards like that are not good. You need a card that will always
work for you. Otherwise, it is not worthy. In an intense duel,
every card counts.

8) Look at what the champs use, so you can get an idea of what
you are up against. And it will give you ideas for your deck.
Don't copy them, though!

9) There is no such thing as a staple!

10) Trial and error works. Check on every single card.
See what it did for you. If it did little for you,
then take it out.

Contact me.

Email - Newlightink@Aol.com
AIM - Newlightink