Top 10 Budget Decks for the March 2013 Format

Are you poor? That's alright, you can still compete! Decks in the meta nowadays are extremely pricey, but why would you spend the money on that when you can spend a fraction of it and get a deck that works just as well, if not better?

The criteria for these decks: Main deck cannot cost over $100, extra deck is not considered, except for mandatory cards the deck runs.

=====================================================

10. Blackwings

Blackwings are a deck that has been around for a very long time, and the deck refuses to give up without some kind of a fight. The deck is very simple, and has been gaining extra tech support in recent years and has been getting more and more of their toys back in the recent banlists. With Kalut back to 3, Shuras and Boras have become even bigger of an issue, and with heavy beatdown decks coming out recently, Armor Master will become more and move viable. The deck can still do a lot, and still puts a lot of punishment on the board.

Cost: Low
Speed: Mid

9. Prisma Glads

Glads have lost a lot of their steam because of the hit on Bestiari, but the deck by itself is still explosive and is still a force to contend with in the right hands. This is not the version of the deck that runs Fire Fist monsters, but, the deck can run a lot of the Fire Formation commons, such as Tenki and Tensu for extra power on the field. The deck can still accomplish a lot and is still one of the best standalone beatdown decks in the game.

Cost: Mid
Speed: Mid

8. Hazy Flame

This deck is a bit weird. The deck runs like an Xyz version of Lavals, and can go absolutely nuts if it's given the chance. The deck can draw into bad hands a lot of the time but it's boss monster is extremely useful. If you beef it up to its full potential, Hazy Flame Basilitrice is nearly unkillable, and can detach material to banish cards on the field or in grave and STILL be able to attack afterwards. Not only that, but the monsters can be Rekindled and used for Xyz summoning again. The deck also has access to a lot of Rank 6 monsters such as Photon Strike Bounzer and the upcoming Gauntlet Shooter.

Cost: Low
Speed: Mid

7. Frognarchs

Frogs are a deck that has withstood the test of time like no one's business, and has the best recycle power of any deck type in the entire game. Even though Mass Driver and DSF are banned, the deck remains alive due to its incredible ability to run tribute monsters such as Caius, Raiza, Jinzo, Vanity's Fiend, and Obelisk the Tormentor. Swap Frog, Treeborn Frog, and Ronintoadin allow the deck to be extremely versatile and resiliant, and allows for weird tech choices like main decked Enemy Controller and Creature Swap. The deck's only downside is that it doesn't run any traps due to Treeborn Frog's effect.

Cost: Low
Speed: Mid

6. Infernities

This is one of my favorite decks in the game. The deck works by abusing synchro summoning loops, and has one of the most powerful defensive trap cards in the game. With the reprint of Infernity Barrier, the deck has become even more useable, and can still explode and drop massive Synchro boss monsters on the board. With the decks reliance on having no cards in hand, the deck also techs in Void Ogre Dragon, which locks down a lot of options your opponent has.

Cost: High
Speed: High

5. E-Hero

Heros are a deck that have been around a long time and are one of the most expansive and versatile decks in the game. Whether you run Hero Gate or Bubble Beat, the deck is extremely good and extremely flexible. A lot of the cards are common or have been reprinted in recent sets, and there are always new variants coming out. Xyz monsters have also given this deck a major boost. The deck went from a Fusion heavy deck to an Extra Deck toolbox, and it's very hard to corner the deck in a situation where they can't get out.

Cost: High
Speed: High

4. Madolche

This is a deck that is going to start exploding onto the scene when LTGY comes out. With the addition of Hootcake, the deck can now drop Tiaramasu with almost no effort or cost, and allows it to main deck powerful hand traps like Veiler and Maxx "C". The deck can drop a lot on the board and maintains costant massive hand advantage. The monsters refuse to die and most of the deck recycles and reuses itself, and searches out most of itself as well. It's almost impossible to get a Madolche player down and out in terms of card advantage, and that lends them to be able to toolbox from almost any situation.

Cost: High
Speed: Mid

3. Inzektors

Inzektors are deck that used to spell horror for the meta, but have now been reduced to a much more tame form. The deck is still a major force to be reckoned with, however. When the deck gets the chance to go off the deck goes absolutely bonkers, and can spam the field with extremely powerful monsters and blow up everything your opponent has at the same time. The deck recycles itself through use of the Inzektor Sword and Giga Mantis, and Hornet and Dragonfly is still a doomsday scenario against most any deck. The deck has lost speed because of Macro decks and heavy siding of Macro, but it still can wreck when it gets the chance to.

Cost: Mid
Speed: High

2. Lightsworns

Lightsworns will never stop being a thing. Lightsworns are and always will be a major force to contend with, and with the addition to Lightrays, the deck has become even faster. The deck has destruction power in the form of Lyla and Ryko, and has recycling power in the form of the now at 3 Lumina. The deck also boosts one of the most powerful boss monsters in the game, Judgment Dragon, a boss monster so powerful people to this day continue to clamor for it to have a spot on the banlist.

Cost: Mid
Speed: Mid

1. Fire Kings

Fire Kings, because of their structure deck, have become very cheap to build a skeleton of, and are extremely powerful under the right plays. Garunix is a sight that all players should fear, and with very good reason. When Yaksha and Wolfberk come out in the TCG, the deck will go very far, and cause a lot of damage. The deck constantly recycles itself and is very adept at spamming its boss monster over and over again, and if you get 2 Garunixes looping, the game is pretty much over.

Cost: Low
Speed: High

STOP SPENDING MONEY ON DROLL AND LOCK BIRDS

It's an average side deck at best against Spellbooks, and there are cheaper, much better ways to side against the deck.

Everyone knows that Spellbooks are gonna be a huge problem in the future, and Divine Judgment of the Spellbooks is just fucking stupid, but spending $20 on 2 Droll and Lock Birds just for the slight benefit of being able to hinder their searching for ONE extra turn. The problem is not the searching, the problem is Priestess and Spellbook of Fate. It feels like treating the symptoms and not the disease.

Here are 3 common side deck cards you probably already have and work just as well against Prophecy and can work against other decks as well:

Prohibition
Mind Crush
Thunder King Rai-Oh

Simple. Play Prohibition and call Spellbook of Secrets. Now they can't activate that or have Spellbook of the Master copy it. It doesn't completely shut them down, but it significantly hurts them. The most searching power they have at this point is Spellbook Magician, who has almost no power on his own unless they waste the resources to beef him up with Spellbook of Powers.

As for Mind Crush, this is honestly a better alternative to Droll and Lock Bird as far as stopping the opponent. When they reveal 3 Spellbooks to summon Priestess, chain Mind Crush and call Priestess. Search all the Spellbooks you want. Without Priestess, the deck can't do anything. Spellbook of Life can be a bitch in this regard, but it still accomplishes what you set out to accomplish.

Thunder King speaks for himself. They can't search, he stops the summon of Priestess, and they can't summon anything that can run it over. It got Semi'd with the new list, but really, who is going to side into 3 T-Kings?

Don't just follow the hype over a rare from an old set that may help you when siding against Prophecy. It's like assuming that Gemini Imps are the only good side against Dark Worlds. Think for yourself and make your own sides and see what you can come up with!

Siding Against Dark Worlds in One Simple Card

People bitch about Dark Worlds all the time, and will good reason. They're not really all that fair, and they have a truly obnoxious play style. All they do is discard cards and draw cards to replace them. The entirety of the Dark World engine is drawing and discard over and over again, and they even have monsters dedicated to this draw engine.

The problem with them is that they constantly keep fucking with YOUR hand as well. I see a lot of people saying to side in Gemini Imps against them, but I think there's a better option.

See, the problem with Gemini Imps is that you only negate ONE of their effects, which still leaves them to the other 10 ways they can dump your hand and their own monsters to do stupid things.It stops their Card Destruction, which is probably their best card, but it doesn't stop them from the going into their Dragged Downs and Dealings directly afterwards.

No, I prefer to use this little shithead here:

Ain't he cute?

Beast/Effect/Level 1/0 ATK 0 DEF

"During your opponent's turn, when this card is sent to the Graveyard by the effect of your opponent's Spell, Trap, or Monster Card, your opponent's turn ends."

Wow! That's fucking amazing!

90% of the time a Dark World Player will open with Gates or Dealings. Why open with Dragged Down blindly when you can fix your own hand with Dealings and Gates and then play it when you're sure you'll plus or break even? If you side in Mane King, they'll open dealings, you'll discard King, and their turn rocket straight to the End Phase with a wide open field.

And you know none of those guys are running Gorz in their decks.

Now, Mane King does have its disadvantages, obviously. It doesn't prevent Card Destruction from dumping your hand nor does it prevent Dragged Down. In fact, Mane King is completely worthless with Dragged Down because no Dark World player in their right mind would discard a Mane King unless it happened to be the only card you had in your hand.

However, it's a common in every print that it comes in and I think it's equally as viable as Gemini Imps. It does different things but it gives your opponent far less options. If you can draw into it Game 2 in your opening hand, and then open with Dealings, prepare for lulz. They will ensue.

Next time you're playing Dark Worlds, give the card a shot. They won't see it coming and gives you open range to punish them hard next turn.

Thoughts on playing Evols

I decided after a failed attempt at tins that I would try and make an Evol deck. They're really cheap, they look cool, and the extra deck cards are easy to find and trade for. So I made one, messed with it, fussed with it, and made it on YGOpro.

I love the damn thing.

I'm still learning the plays and getting used to how the deck runs, and what cards do what, but I had a ton of fun with it, and I'm definetly gonna make it in real life once I get all the cards in my possesion, which won't be hard at all. Almost all the cards are either commons or rares.

Even the Xyz monsters wont be hard to get. I'm making a Solda build, primarily, because Solda is just a cool looking motherfucker.

Look how sexy he is.

Also primarily because he pretty much does Laggia's job for him and then some. He stops inherent special summons and cant be blown up by card effects when he has material, which means he stops Torrentials, Dark Hole, Mirror Forces, Bottomless, Ryko, Snowman, and a bunch of other shit. I love him. 10/10.

But they deck is really cool. I've always been a control player and I love how the deck offers that level of control.

As for the downsides to the deck, there are a lot of them. If you draw a hand of nothing but Eliases and Darwinos then you better hope you draw Evo-Diversity or draw into a Najasho because if you don't you're gonna get spanked, and hard. The other downside is that if you don't draw into your good evoltiles or evolsaurs first few turns you're going to get your ass handed to you. It's a rare occasion, but it will happen where you're draw absolute garbage. The deck does that more often then I'd like it to, but that's also why were running Dualitys in the deck.

I'll post a deck list once I feel like I have one perfected, or at least to my liking. It's not gonna replace madolche, but I really do like it.

More to come later.