Welcome back everyone, to DeathJester’s Dojo. Today I’m here to talk to you about Deck Theory and Style. I’m going to outline for you the basics of Deck Styles and a little insight on Deck Building that I’ve picked up in the last month.  

A Little History 

I’m well aware that many writers have attempted to explain their reasoning behind their deck building choices and have even devised elaborate systems to explain their reasoning. Off-the-top of my head I can think of Jaelove’s FORCE system and Napay’s Star Diagram system. I made it a necessity to memorize and “digest” these deck theory systems in order to gain a rich understanding of deck building and how cards function with one another. Deck building has always been a troublesome task for me in my YGO career. I could never seem to gain full understanding of how to build a deck to your individual play style. At the same time, I was unable to “stick” to one deck. Those of you how know me personally can testify to this fact. I literally changed deck types once every week for roughly a year and a half. This stage in my career was particularly frustrating because of my lack of knowledge in the deck building field. Thus I turned my attention to the other 2 core aspects of YGO which are: In-Game Skill and Psychology. Being well-versed in these two areas of YGO I thought I could use this knowledge to overcome my misunderstanding of deck building.  

Since the process of deck building was always a mystery to me, I would always ask for help on my decks. Being the perfectionist that I was, I would never believe that what I heard was true. In fact, I would always find a way to disprove any theories involving how certain cards work with each other. Even the most miniscule situations would instantaneously shatter my hopes of building a deck suited to me. Now I find that this was due to my lack of knowledge of how I play. So, in pursuit of this knowledge I literally tried every single deck type known to YGO…well…not really. I tried every “competitive” deck archetype known to YGO. I played deck archetypes that seemed even remotely competitive in the YGO metagame due to my insatiable need to win.  

There was one deck archetype among all others that appealed to me most – Zombies. Those of you who know me personally know that Zombies are one of my favorites and I never seemed to know why. No matter what deck archetype I tried to use, I found myself back to Zombies after weeks of failure with other decks. So recently I thought to myself that I would cease my “deck-hopping” habits and attempt to gain a firm understanding as to why I felt so comfortable with a deck archetype that most players conclude as “Too complicated to play effectively”. I like challenges, so I decided to challenge myself.  

My girlfriend of 5 years, Michelle, would often play a couple games with me when she came to visit or when I visited her. Her decks were not the typical metagame decks that you observe on Metagame.com or Pojo.com’s Forums. She showed her mastery of deck building by being able to create a deck without certain “key” cards and still manage to win and have her deck function effectively. This hit me like a ton of bricks, especially being a respectable player in the YGO community who staked his career on his in-game skill and psychological understanding of the game. So, having my pride injured after she claimed victory a couple of times, I asked her “How does your deck work so well?” She showed me how she built her deck and the thought behind it and it hit me “Oh! Now I understand!” She started me on the path to learning how to make decks, why the work and how they work.  

Then I turned to someone I knew was confident about their deck building knowledge: My younger brother, Kevin. His ball-busting common sense and shrewd sense of direction helped me understand how different cards worked together and why. He often helped me build decks that I wanted to play and showed me his reasoning behind his choices. I tried his way of thinking with moderate success and was still left wanting. Despite his guidance, I still couldn’t grasp the concept of deck-building.  

*Quick Note* 

To some of you, this may seem painfully arbitrary because the majority of players learn deck-building first before they venture into the much more complex areas of In-Game Skill and Psychology. In fact, my struggle with the concepts of deck-building is the same as your struggle with the concepts of In-Game Skill or Psychology. 

*End Note*  

I Found the Answers! 

Just a week ago I thought I would really try to find out how decks work and how to build them. So where else would I turn to find this type of information? Magic: The Gathering. I thought to myself “Surely a game that is so well-established will provide me with accurate information on deck building and deck theory.” As I expected, I found my answers. I’ve found that the key to deck building lies in your knowledge of how different deck styles work against each other.  

In my research, I found that there are 4 Core deck styles in any TCG: 

• Aggro
• Control
• Aggro/Control
• Combo

I’m sure that EVERYONE is aware of these terms. I have always been aware of them but never understood them. Here are their comprehensive definitions to aid in your understanding:

·     Aggro - Short for 'aggressive', Aggro is used to define a deck or archetype which is highly dependent on creature combat and aggressive attacks. The aim is to develop an advantage in the game before the opponent. (Wikipedia.org)

• Control - A deck or archetype which attempts to gain a decisive advantage using control cards to hinder the opponent and protect its victory condition. A control deck makes sacrifices in speed in order to improve chances of playing past an opponent's defenses. (Wikipedia.org)
   
• Aggro/Control – A deck or archetype that seeks to create an environment in which they dictate the terms of combat while remaining the aggressor. (“The” Ben Seck, Metagame.com)
   
• Combo - A deck or archetype which uses a combo as its victory condition. The deck is designed entirely for the purpose of setting up and protecting the combo. (Wikipedia.org)

Let’s Analyze 

Now that we know what the definitions of these terms, aren’t things a bit more clear for you? If you think about it, deck building in YGO isn’t the complex scientific operation that most players make it out to be. It’s quite simple really. Aggro depends on winning the game fast through monster/“creature combat” and massive amounts of damage before the opponent can even do anything about it. Control aims to dictate the flow of the game until they have achieved a decisive amount of card advantage over you; in other words, when they have more answers than you do threats. Aggro/Control can flip-flop between an aggressive approach and a conservative approach according to the deck match-up or field situation. This deck style can be aggressive while being able to control the way your opponent reacts to your threats. It’s everything Aggro and Control want to do, but can’t. Lastly, Combo decks aim go through an elaborate series of card combos to achieve a victory; alternative to normal attacking. This information should clear up the “mysteries” of how decks relate to each other, it did for me.  

How Do You Play? 

Before you construct a deck, you must be sure you know what your individual play style is. Ask yourself these questions: 

1. Do I prefer to play aggressively? Do I prefer to overextend and defeat my opponent quickly? (Aggro)
2. Do I prefer to take a slow, calculated, and methodical approach to the game? Do I prefer to play conservative and gain a victory through gaining a considerable advantage over my opponent? (Control)
3. Do I prefer to play aggressively at the same time being able to control the way my opponent reacts to my threats? Do I prefer to have my deck be able to switch stances during a game to suit the needs of my situation and/or match-up? (Aggro/Control)
4. Do I prefer to play with elaborate combos and achieve victory through alternative means? (Combo)

Pick Your Poison 

The next obstacle you must overcome when constructing a deck is figuring out what deck archetype you will play. You’ve already figured out how you play, so this shouldn’t be too difficult.  

Each monster-type and attribute-type has their own primary strategy/style attached to the cards associated with those types. You could also say that each monster-type and attribute-type has their own core characteristics that can be categorized into one of the 4 deck styles. Take these monster-types for example: 

• Zombie-type: Aggro/Control
• Warrior-type: Control or Aggro (One or the other)
• Beast-type: Aggro
• Spirit-type: Combo
• Aqua-type: Control

Keep in mind that each monster-type has its own core qualities, but that does NOT mean that every card associated with that type MUST share those characteristics. These core qualities are assigned to each type because they are most common among these types. Just because Aqua is naturally Control does not mean that there aren’t any Aggro Aqua cards available to use. It’s much easier to go along with the core qualities of each type when constructing a deck, but by all means you may build an Aggro Aqua deck. Nobody’s stopping you. 

This concept applies to the 6 Attributes in the game. Look at these as an example: 

• Earth – Aggro
• Water – Control or Combo
• Fire – Aggro
• Wind – Aggro/Control

These are their core qualities, but there are Earth cards that fulfill the goals of a Control deck, Water cards that are Aggro in nature, etc. This is what we call variety folks. 

A Minor Disappointment 

Unfortunately due to the lack of attention to detail by Konami, YuGiOh isn’t a game that has a large card pool, nor does it have cards to offer any kind of variety as far as monster types go. Thus, the core qualities attached to these monster and attribute-types are very general and have not been highly elaborated on by the game’s design team. We need different cards that are actually good and fulfill different purposes for each individual monster-type and attribute-type. Fix this please.

Choosing Your Weapons 

So, you’ve figured out how you play AND what monster-type or attribute-type conforms to your play style the best. Now you have to choose the right cards. Keen awareness of what your cards do is vital to your deck’s success. Each card has one or two of the 4 styles/strategies associated with them. This will help you decided which cards are effective in executing your strategy. In the meantime, you have to be aware of how effective these cards are in your respective metagame. Just because Creature Swap is an amazing Aggro/Control card and fits perfectly in your deck does not mean it works well in your metagame. This is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to note when choosing your cards for your deck.  

Here is a small list of cards and what their main purposes are: 

• Berserk Gorilla – Aggro
• Exarion Universe – Aggro
• D.D. Assailant – Aggro/Control
• D.D. Warrior Lady – Aggro/Control
• Tsukuyomi – Combo
• Magician of Faith – Control
• Mobius the Frost Monarch – Aggro
• Jinzo – Aggro
• Legendary Jujitsu Master – Control
• Mystic Tomato – Aggro/Control
• Cyber Dragon – Aggro
• Vampire Lord – Aggro/Control
• Injection Fairy Lily – Aggro
• Cannon Soldier – Combo
• Pyramid Turtle – Aggro/Control
• Spirit Reaper – Aggro/Control
• Dekoichi the Battle-chanted Locomotive - Control

Take a close look at each of these cards and you’ll that these are their general qualities. Berserk Gorilla and Cyber Dragon are Aggro cards. They are simple and efficient beatsticks used to attack your opponent with. There is nothing ‘Control’ about them. Tsukuyomi and Cannon Soldier are Combo cards since they rely on working with other cards in order to achieve great results. Legendary Jujitsu Master and Dekoichi are Control cards. They function solely to gain card advantage over your opponent. Spirit Reaper and D.D. Assailant are Aggro/Control cards; they possess the qualities of both types. You can use D.D. Assailant as an answer to your opponent’s threats or as an effective attacking weapon. The same applies for Spirit Reaper. You can use him to generate advantage for you by discarding their cards or stalling attacks or you can use him aggressively by attacking and forcing your opponent to act; that’s what Aggro/Control do. They can be aggressive while at the same time allowing you to dictate the terms of combat.

Closing Remarks 

• Try looking at your cards and categorize them into these 4 types. You’d be surprised as to how much easier it is to understand this game and the process of deck building.  
• Remember that this is how I see the game. I am in no way; shape; or form, trying to impose my way of thinking upon any of you. The purpose of this article is to hopefully provide a new “perspective” on deck building and deck theory.
• I’m not trying to portray myself as a YGO genius or anything of the sort. I am simply explaining my findings with regards to this game.
• I find that your deck’s success largely depends on how familiar you are with your individual play style and the cards you place in your individual deck. Using your cards for the purposes they are designed for is a good place to start. However ‘Timing’ is a whole science in itself.

I hope what I’ve written helps you in understanding the “mysteries” of deck building. Until next time remember, to play hard, think about your moves, and most importantly…have fun! 

You can email me at deathjester86@gmail.com with any comments, questions, or suggestions.