Recently, the Yu-Gi-Oh TCG metagame has gone through major upheaval. The effects of the removal, strengthening, or weakening of prior bans and restrictions have begun to take full effect and have now left the meta in a wildly different position from where it was just two months ago. The deck archetypes which are now on top of the ladder are thus now completely different from those which had commonly featured among the leading deck archetypes for quite some time now.

As of right now, these decks are the ones to beat:

Ryzeal

Following the release of Supreme Darkness, the Ryzeal deck almost immediately soared to the top of the meta. This is because the changes that the set’s release brought to the meta greatly enhanced the deck’s Xyz Summoning capabilities, especially when used to set up high-level monster cards with effect negation and card destruction effects.

This highly adaptable deck’s most important card is the Ryzeal Deadnader card from Deck Build Pack: Crossover Breakers which is primarily used for disruption and board control. It also sets up board scenarios in which the player becomes more able to bring in monsters that suit the game situation and can be used to specifically counter the opponent’s setup.

Maliss

A deck mainly built around Cyberse-type monster cards, the Maliss deck makes heavy use of Link Summoning. This deck contains many cards with effects which banish monster cards from the deck in ways that open up opportunities for the player to gain greater board control. Although this deck plays at a relatively slow pace, it more than makes up for its lack of speed with impressive raw offensive power once the deck’s strongest monsters have been set up.

Many of the cards in this deck make use of effects involving negation of opposing card effects, removal of opposing monster cards, and prevention of opponents’ attempts at removal of the deck’s own monster cards. Each of these effects work in tandem to play to the deck’s main strategy—one which typically gains traction in the mid-game before building to a big finish.

Memento

From seemingly out of absolutely nowhere, the Memento deck has rocketed to the top of the Yu-Gi-Oh TCG tournament scene. This deck makes use of a somewhat complex yet highly effective strategy that involves destroying the player’s own monsters as well as using cards from the Graveyard to their maximum effect.

The Memento deck’s most important card is Mementoal Tecuhtlica – Combined Creation from Deck Build Pack: Valiant Smashers. As long as the player doesn’t control any other monsters, it can be used to attack all monsters controlled by the opponent once each. Additionally, the player can use it to Special Summon a Memento monster from the hand or Graveyard once per turn when the opponent activates a card or effect (except during the Damage Step). This often better positions the deck to overcome disruptive tactics used by the opponent.

In other TCG-related news, check out the Nekroz of Trishula card from Terminal World 2. Alternatively, you can also head over to the SNKRDUNK App via the banner below and find the top trending and latest single cards and boxes.