Summary
Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG’s Side Deck options give players a chance to make a comeback after their first round goes wrong. It can also be a chance to prepare to meet the challenges when facing a specific deck in the meta. In an official tournament or even casual play, you have a limit of 15 cards you can side in. This is where you put in powerful hand traps and board breakers that can help you secure victory.
There are cards that can stop your opponent from reaching their full power. Other cards can be used to break down your opponent’s end board and make it easier to get through. Here are ten Side Deck options that can help you win more duels in Yu-Gi-Oh!
10Nibiru The Primal Being
Prevent Long Combos
If your opponent’s deck revolves around long combos that Special Summon Monsters for their effects, then Nibiru The Primal Being might be a good side option. Nibiru gives your opponent a summon limit before this card becomes live.
Once they have Summoned five or more Monsters, you may activate Nibiru from your hand and tribute your opponent’s Monsters to give them a token. This is a good card to side in if you’re forced to go second, and most of the time will weaken your opponent’s ceiling.
9Dark Ruler No More
Negate All Monster Effects
If you can’t stop your opponent from building their board, sometimes it is best to put a stop to all their Monster’s negates that would otherwise stop you from playing the game. Dark Ruler No More negates the effects of all your opponent’s face-up Monsters.
This card cannot be responded to by Monster effects, which stops most of the things that can negate it. However, it is still susceptible to Spells or Traps. You also won’t be able to attack directly for damage the turn you use it, but breaking a full board can be enough to deplete your opponent’s options.
8Evenly Matched
Banish Your Opponent’s Cards
Evenly Matched is a risky move but one that pays off if it goes through. It forces your opponent to banish their own cards until they control just as many as you do. If you play this while you control no cards, this leaves your opponent with just one card remaining.
Evenly Matched is a good way of permanently removing cards since it banishes them face down. This means any effects they have when leaving the field do not trigger. A well-timed Evenly Matched will help you win more games.
7Gameciel, The Sea Turtle Kaiju
Tribute Over Their Most Powerful Monsters
Many cards can tribute one or more of your opponent’s Monsters. However, they often come with restrictions, such as giving up your Normal Summons or letting your opponent draw a card. These often have their own specific decks that can utilize them best.
Gameciel, The Sea Turtle Kaiju is a good generic and low-attack Monster that can easily be beaten over. It can remove one monster on your opponent’s side of the field while still allowing you to perform your own Normal Summon.
6Droll And Lock Bird
Limit Your Opponent’s Hand Size
Droll and Lock Bird is an essential card to have in your Side Deck. Once your opponent adds at least one card to their hand, it stops your opponent from being able to draw cards or add any from the deck. This can prevent your opponent from performing a full combo.
Droll also affects you as well, since it applies to both players. It also doesn’t prevent players from getting cards from their graveyard or playing cards directly from the deck. Regardless, it will give your opponent a harder time building their board.
5Dimension Shifter
Keep Your Opponent’s Graveyard Empty
Dimension Shifter is one ofthe nastiest hand trapsto play and can beat so many decks. Discard it from the hand while your graveyard is empty and any card sent to the grave will be banished instead. This puts a stop to any deck that needs graveyard effects and can even guarantee a win.
Dimension Shifter’s only downside is that it affects both players, but some decks such as Floo can utilize it to their advantage. Dimension Shifter may be a Side Deck option, but in some cases, it can even be played going first.
4Kurikara Divincarnate
Break Boards Easily
Kurikara Divincarnaterecently got a reprintingand is an excellent card to use after your opponent has activated multiple effects during your turn. This could be to negate your other plays or move around pieces on their board. Kurikara can then tribute your opponent’s Monsters that activated their effects this turn.
Kurikara gains 1500 attack for each Monster tributed this way allowing you to have a beat stick on your side of the field. It can also Special Summon a Monster from your opponent’s graveyard at the end of your turn to your side of the field.
3Super Polymerization
Fuse Your Opponent’s Monsters
Using your opponent’s Monsters as fusion material is a great way to get rid of them as well as using them to access some of yourExtra Deck Monsters. Super Polymerization requires you to discard one card but packs a punch.
This card cannot be negated once it goes live, making it one of the best removals in the game. It can also be combined with Predaplant Dragostapelia or Mudragon of the Swamp, since both cards have fairly simple requirements that can be met with ease.
2D.D. Crow
Manipulate Your Opponent’s Grave
D.D. Crow has always been a useful card for sculpting your opponent’s graveyard. Being able to remove one card can be enough to break your opponent’s full combo. However, this requires you to also know the different decks in the current meta.
Some decks send a card to the grave so they can Special Summon it later. Other times, there is a Trap or Spell that can be banished from the grave to activate an effect. Banishing it before it can do anything can be vital towards destroying your opponent’s game plan.
1Ghost Orge And Snow Rabbit
Destroy A Card
For a while, Ghost Ogre did not see to much play. However, with the ramping up of decks that utilize field spells and continuous back row, Ghost Ogre is a great way of getting rid of those cards. When your opponent activates an effect, you’re able to discard Ghost Orge to destroy that card.
This can get rid of Spells and Traps already on the field, or get rid of Monsters. While it doesn’t negate the effects, removal during either turn can go a long way when those cards are needed for your opponent to go all out.
