So you want to learn how to play the game of Yu-Gi-Oh!, but find yourself asking the question ‘What is the deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!’? Well you’ve come to the right place! In this article I will explain the three different decks used to play Yu-Gi-Oh! (yes there are 3, not just 1!) and what starter and structure decks are. So here we go, let’s find out: What is the Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!?
Decks used to play
Main Deck: I like to think of the Main Deck as the “Playbook”. Just as a football coach has a playbook filled with strategies and plays they try to execute in a given situation, one’s Main Deck serves as your means to defeating your opponent through executing clever plays and cunning strategies.
The Main Deck must consist of at least 40 cards. There is no limit but most competitive players keep their deck as close to the minimum as possible so they have better chances at drawing the cards they need in critical situations.
Your Main Deck contains your custom combination of Monsters, Spells, and Traps that you want to use to attempt to defeat your opponent. Only Normal, Effect, and Ritual Monsters may be placed in the Main Deck.
On the field the Main Deck sits to the right of the player and dictates where the rest of the field is set up. Konami playmats show all card spaces but most custom playmats do not. The Main Deck is under the Graveyard, and to the right of the players monster and spell/trap zones.
Extra Deck: The Extra deck is the second Yu-Gi-Oh! deck necessary to take into consideration. Prior to the release of Synchro Monsters the Extra Deck was known as the Fusion Deck. This is because the Deck consisted of a players’ Fusion monsters.
Once Synchro monsters were released the Fusion Deck was changed to the Extra Deck to make for less confusion. In the game of Yu-Gi-Oh! a player does not include Fusion, Synchro, or XYZ monsters in their Main Deck. Instead these cards sit in the Extra Deck and can be summoned once a player meets the requirements to play the card.
The Extra Deck has a 15 card limit. At one point there was no maximum for the Extra Deck but Konami decided to limit the number of cards a player could use in their Extra Deck to create more strategy. Many players believe this move was also made to limit Elemental Hero Decks and their army of Hero fusions.
Side Deck: The Side Deck is another maximum 15 card deck that one uses to supplement their Main and Extra decks in between rounds. Yu-Gi-Oh! is played in matches, and each match consists of three rounds. After each round concludes both players may access their side deck and make changes to their Main and Extra Decks.
When using your Side Deck their are rules one must follow. Firstly the number of cards in ALL decks must be the same before and after accessing your side deck. This means if you have 40 cards in your Main Deck, 13 in your Extra and 15 in your Side, you cannot finish with 41 in your Main, 15 in your Extra, and 12 in your Side.
Next you cannot include in your side deck extra copies of cards if it would create more copies in your deck then allowed by the official Forbidden/Limited list. Black Luster Soldier- Envoy of the Beginning is Limited to 1 per Deck. However this means you can only use 1, you cannot put 1 in your Main Deck, and another in your Side deck.
Make sure you adhere to these small but important rules because an oversight could get you anywhere from a round loss to a disqualification in sanctioned tournaments.
Starter and Structure Decks
Starter Decks are basic pre-constructed decks created to introduce younger, newer players to the game. These decks generally have basic beatdown strategies supported by an almost random assortment of monsters, spells, and traps.
To appeal to the newer generally younger players Starter Decks are meant to bring the deck of a main character in the Anime/Manga to the TCG.
Structure Decks are a bit more advanced than Starter decks, generally having more complex strategies while focusing on an Attribute, Type, or Archetype.
Structure Decks are a way for new Archetypes to be introduced into the TCG/OCG such as the Onslaught of the Fire Kings Structure Deck which introduced the Fire King Archetype. Structure Decks will also support existing Archetypes as we saw with the Dragunity Drive Structure deck, which supported the Dragunity Archetype first released through Hidden Arsenal.
Understanding the different decks is imperative to becoming a successful duelist!
What is your favorite Starter or Structure deck? I’d love to find out, so please leave a comment below! That’s all for today, thanks for visiting, and see you soon!