Welcome back duelists! This article will discuss the importance of your Side Deck and Extra Deck choices, and how they have become even more crucial to you winning the game than ever! The Side Deck is ever evolving, and constantly changes based on the state of the Meta at that time. In my opinion there are only two ways you create a Side Deck. The Extra Deck also has now become a matter of not only staple Synchros every deck has to use, but also based on the deck itself. For example X-Sabers need at least 3 different Synchros in their Extra Deck, and Plant/Debris decks need at two to three Black Rose Dragon’s in theirs. That too will be discussed in this article. 

Side Deck Option 1: Side to Beat the Current Meta 

This is the most common form of Side Decking tactics. A player using this strategy forms their Side Deck based on the Tier 1 decks in the game and will decide on using specific card choices to beat them. No matter what cards you choose though, it always comes down to personal preference. Currently the top decks to side against are Plant/Debris, X-Sabers, Gravekeeper’s, Blackwings and a bit of Lightsworn still. Here are a few overall good cards for players to side deck that can be used in multiple situations, depending upon which deck you may have to go up against.

Doomcalibur Knight – This card is an overall good side deck choice in general. The 1900 atk stat is a great thing to have obviously, but its effect is even better. You negate the effect of an effect monster and destroy it by tributing this card. So if you know your opponent has a face down Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter, a Super Nimble Mega Hamster or something similar, just summon this guy and push! There is one slight catch though, his effect is mandatory, so you cannot stop his negation effect from going off, so be careful when putting him on the field. If for some reason you have an effect monster activate on your side of the field, he will negate it and you’ll be out two monsters! Either way though, definitely worth side decking and well overdue for a reprint again.

Nobleman of Crossout – I would consider this card a staple for the side deck right now. With many players out there setting monsters now, this card can completely wreck a player’s strategy if they were banking on that face down effect going off. Common cards that people set now are Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter, Super Nimble Mega Hamster, XX-Saber Darksoul, XX-Saber Emmeresblade, Gravekeeper’s Spy/Guard, Dandylion and many more. If you hit even one of these with a Crossout, you’ve already devastated a major play they were going to possibly pull off next turn.

Cyber Dragon – Gadget and Machina builds may not be top tier right now, but they’re still around and rather annoying when you have to go up against them. This card allows you to not only special summon a 2100 atk beater, but if you get him out there while your opponent has a machine or two on the field, then you’ll automatically gain advantage by being able to special summon Chimeratech Fortress Dragon! Plus the special summoning of a Cyber Dragon is a real momentum shift, as it can force your opponent to play their Bottomless Trap Hole or use a resource to deal with him they may have been saving for a later turn. And you get your normal summon for the turn on top of him! He alone can really change who has the clear field advantage in a game.

Consecrated Light – This card alone almost completely shuts down Blackwing and Infernity decks. It now has yet another use in being able to slow down Gravekeeper decks as well. This card is self explanatory as to why it should be sided; at least two copies if not three.

Blackwing Sirocco the Dawn/Deck Devastation Virus – These two cards are a personal side deck favorite of mine. Sirocco not only is a great card to side deck against Blackwings, but with the combo of DDV, you can hurt even more decks out there. You can use Sirocco’s attack boosting ability when your opponent has Blackwing monsters on their side of the field as well! So if they have their own Sirocco, a Bora and Gale on the field, you summon your own Sirocco and pump it up for a huge amount of possible damage! 

Side Deck Option 2: Change Your Deck! 

            This is a strategy many players find beneficial because it can complete catch an opponent off guard and ultimately win you the duel. If you start out by playing Plants, side deck and turn your deck into a burn hybrid, your opponent definitely will not see it coming and will most likely be confused as to how to beat you! Basically this strategy makes your deck into a sort of hybrid deck. Since the side deck is only 15 cards you can’t really change a deck entirely, but rather implement two ideas and create a new kind of synergy between two. Here is a side deck example if you’d want to combine burn into a main deck.

Side Deck:

2 Magic Cylinder

3 Dimension Wall

1 Gravity Bind

1 Level Limit Area-B

3 Secret Barrel

2 Ojama Trio

1 Morphing Jar

2 Just Deserts 

            This side deck covers all the basic areas of a burn deck and allows you to combine it with your main. Magic Cylinder and Dimension Wall cover possible battle phase damage, Gravity Bind and Level Limit slow down the games pace to further benefit your new strategy, and three Secret Barrel go well alongside the Gbind and Level Limit because the slower game state will ultimately cause a lot of draw and pass plays until the opponent can draw an out to destroy either of them. Two Ojama Trio’s can clog the opponents’ field and is especially good if you go up against decks that special summon a lot, like X-Sabers. Morphing Jar is like a catch 22, it allows you to draw more burn cards and other possible power cards, but at the same time it can allow the opponent to draw an out to your Gbind or a possible Royal Decree if they play any. Just Deserts not only combos well with the Ojama Trios, but also applies the same concept if you go up against a deck that special summons a lot. 

The Extra Deck: Now More Important Than Ever

            When Synchro monsters first hit the scene, there weren’t too many options and pretty much every extra deck had the same monsters in them. Now, the amounts of Synchros are so abundant, it may be hard for some players out there to choose which to use now. Decks like X-Sabers require a minimum of 4 slots in the extra deck to function properly. Dandy-warrior and Hime decks also require a certain amount of space based on the build.

Many once common Synchros that were in every extra deck are now just another card in the binder. Cards like Thought Ruler Archfiend, Tempest Magician, Magical Android and Gaia Knight the Force of Earth have all but been ruled out and extra deck staples. Black Rose Dragon is now played in multiples, and Chimeratech Fortress Dragon is commonly Side Decked because Machina Gadget builds aren’t very popular anymore.

Here is an example of an average Extra Deck in today’s Meta:

1x Ally of Justice Catastor

1-2 Stardust Dragon

1-2 Black Rose Dragon

1 Mist Wurm/Red Dragon Archfiend (You usually don’t see both, normally one or the other)

1 Colossal Fighter

1 Armory Arm

1 Goyo Guardian

1 Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier

1-2 Scrap Dragon

 

After that, the Extra Deck is normally broken down by the type of deck being played.

X-Sabers will usually have these specific cards in their extra decks:

1-2  XX-Saber Gottoms

1 XX-Saber Urbellum

2 XX-Saber Hyunlei

1 Naturia Beast

Dandy-Warrior decks will usually have these specific cards:

1-2 Drill Warrior

1 Iron Chain Dragon

2 Formula Synchron

1 Shooting Star Dragon

2-3 Black Rose Dragon

Blackwings will usually have these specific cards in their extra decks:

2 Blackwing – Armor Master

2 Blackwing – Armed Wing

1 Blackwing – Silverwing the Ascendant

1 Infernity Doom Dragon (Not many builds play this though)

1 Dark End Dragon 

            So as you can see, the extra deck is now geared towards the type of deck you play vs a commonly made or general made extra deck. The game is ever changing and you always have to adapt to new tactics and decks that come out down the road. And as you can see, you have to choose your cards wisely. Hopefully this prepared you a little more next time you play in a sanctioned tournament, and you took a little something from this.

            The next article I write will discuss a future deck that everyone is talking about. The True Samurai’s!

            And to the people that have made it this far into my article, I am bringing back the a segment many people replied to and liked that I will call “ask a duelist”. I will pose the Pojo Community a question, and I will showcase the best answer that I receive in my next article. So here goes…

Q: Konami unbanned Monster Reborn and a lot of players are not very happy with this card coming back. If you had the choice to unban any other card AND ban any card of your choice, what would they be? Give an example of both, and the best answer I receive will see their response here!

So til next time, play every game like it’s game 3!

Nick “wwncd” Curtis

ssjtrunks756pojo@gmail.com

Youtube.com/wwncd