Summary
TheYu-Gi-Oh! TCGcan be a pretty expensive hobby to get into. Extra deck monsters can cost a pretty penny and some cards will go over $60 with the top decks needing three in order to run properly. Luckily, there are plenty of decks that can be played both casually and competitively without hurting your wallet too much.
Budget decks usually cost less due to reprintings that make the cards less scarce, while other decks are flexible, allowing players to run a more budget variant. Once you get past the staples, here are ten budget decks you can use in Yu-Gi-Oh!
8Nemleria
A Trip To The Candy Store
If you’re looking for an underrated deck no one will expect you to be playing, then check out Nemleria. The entirety of the deck core costs less than a dollar and has a pretty simple strategy to learn; empty your extra deck while Dreaming Nemleria is on it to Special Summon her and banish all your opponent’s cards.
The deck doesn’t needthe Extra Deckwhich helps cut costs and fits many hand traps and board breakers, allowing you to go blind second. Because it doesn’t use a Normal Summon, you can also side in breakers such as Lava Golem or Sphere Mode or use your Normal Summon to bring out Gren Maju, which only gets stronger the more cards you banish.
7Tenpai Dragon
A Meta Challenger
Tenpai Dragons can hit pretty large numbers and the entire deck core can be constructed fairly easily. Tenpai Dragon Paidra is the most expensive component of the deck, with a full play set hitting $30. However, once you get past that hurdle, the rest of the core is pennies.
Tenpai Dragon is great for players who want to hit hard and even OTK their opponents. While some of the bigger budget decks utilize Trident Dragon it is not necessary to make the deck work with cheaper variants being possible. This is a very attack-oriented strategy that has you hitting your opponent multiple times and even bringing back Monsters for an extra swing.
6Purreley
Make Purreley Happy
One expensive deck that became budget is Purreley; since their reprint in Yu-Gi-Oh! Rarity Collection 2, the entire deck core is not only fairly inexpensive, but max rarity is also as cheap as it gets. Purreley likes to draw cards and attach materials to itself in order to make big Monsters such as Expurreley Noir, immune to activated effects.
Purreley Spells also help in giving their in-archetype Monsters extra protection from targeting effects the turn they are Summoned. This helps get your combos off the ground. The deck itself can be difficult to pilot but can stand up to some of the biggest meta threats.
5Dinomorphia
Reduce Life Points To Negate Effects
Another deck that can go for pennies and even put up a good fight is Dinomorphia. There are only two Monsters in the deck and isn’t reliant on heavy combos. Simply get your traps set and play during your opponent’s turn.
The whole strategy revolves around lowering your life points and avoiding burn damage. The lower you get them the better. This makes it ideal for omni negates such as Solemn Judgement. Dinomorphia Rexterm is an easy-to-summon boss monster that can negate your opponent’s effects the lower your life points are.
4Floowandereeze
Banish The Birds
One deck that can still see plenty of play is Floo. Floo consists of many birds that just want to banish themselves in order to kick off effects later on. This makes them perfectly compatible with cards like Dimension Shifter, which is one ofthe best hand traps in the game.
The deck does not utilize the Extra Deck too much, with cards like Baronne no longer legal. However, the strategies are still capable of wholloping opponents who don’t expect it by shutting down Monster’s effects and then running them over by cutting their attack in half.
3Labrynth
Welcome To Ikea
Another Trap oriented deck to keep your eyes on is Labrynth. This deck relies on going first, setting Traps, and then Summoning powerful boss Monsters during your opponent’s turn. The deck core’s most expensive card is Big Welcome Labrynth, but everything else can be acquired for pennies.
The deck features plenty of furniture that can be discarded from the hand to get the Traps you need from the Deck. You can even set them off the same turn that you set them with the help of Labrynth Clockwork, which also returns to your hand as you make your plays.
2Exodia
A Duel Monsters Strategy
If you’re looking for aclassic Duel Monsters era-themed Deck that is also budget, Exodia is back to obliterate. With additional Exodia cards from The Infinite Forbidden, the Exodia strategy no longer hinges on Summoning the forbidden one himself, but on getting out a powerful Fusion Monster using all five pieces.
The Infinite Forbidden contains plenty of Exodia support that relies on having all five pieces in your deck and, luckily, they aren’t too expensive. This can let you get out the Unstoppable Exodia Incarnate, which cannot be destroyed by card effects and has a Spell/Trap negate.
1Runick Stun
How To Annoy Your Opponent
Runick Stun is fairly simple to learn. The fact that the deck itself can be used for its effects as well as a way to get your other cards working is worth the money spent. Runick revolves around setting up Runick Fountain in your Field Zone. This lets you use your Quick Effect Runick Spells as hand traps during your opponent’s turn.
The Runick cards stop you from dealing damage to your opponent, but they do a great job of banishing the cards from their deck. Combined with floodgates such as There Can Only Be One, Rivalry of the Warlords, and Skill Drain, it won’t be long before your opponent simply runs out of cards.
