Fans of theYu-Gi-Oh!series have encountered a multitude of games that try to adapt the acclaimed TCG in digital platforms, with modern titles such as the card game-accurate mechanics ofYu-Gi-Oh! Master Dueland faster-pacedDuel Linksoffering dynamic experiences to players. However, players looking for a real challenge might want to giveYu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duela shot. In this game, four (4) players duke it out in a deathmatch, where Monster Zones point towards a prospective opponent, and where everything is about speed.
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Players ofCross Duelinterested in dominating the game can’t necessarily rely on traditionYu-Gi-Oh!rules to make winning decks, especially sinceCross Dueldecks have an Ace Monster and 19 other cards. With such a limitation, alongside the inclusion of special Skills, just which decks should players rely on?
10Multi-Move Domination
With a limited deck size of 20 cards including the Ace Monster, it’s important for decks inYu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duelto be as efficient as possible. While Trickstar Holly Angel (Ace Monster)at first glance in thisMulti-Move Dominationrelies heavily on the capabilities of Snipe to spam damage against opponents directly, other cards within the deck ensure players can approach combat in different ways to secure the advantage.
For instance, VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon is a nifty Fusion that only requires three (3) Machine-types to summon instead of its strict components. This gives room to Machine-types with Snipe such as Etoile Cyber, further diversifying play in thisMulti-Move Dominationdeck. Meanwhile, acquiring Ultra RareExodia the Forbidden Onegrants yet another surefire victory condition, in that drawing five (5) Normal Monsters across five (5) turns practically guarantees a win.
Decklist:
9Negation Hand Shuffle
Due to the limited card size of decks in theYu-Gi-Oh!game, it’s important for players to ensure they’re able to maximize their available resources. In thisNegation Hand Shuffle, players rely on Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon (Ace Monster) to continuously apply Negation to Skills of a chosen Monster, and subsequently gain 200 ATK/DEF for each negated Skill. This immediatelytransforms Galaxy-Eyes into a formidable foe, especially when targeting the right multi-Skilled Monster.
And even without Galaxy-Eyes, other Monsters in the deck facilitate shuffling from the Graveyard and back to the hand. This effect is largely courtesy of Trickstar Narkissus, Debris Dragon, Soprano the Melodious Songstress, and Junk Synchron. This can help summon another dangerous Monster in thisNegation Hand Shuffledeck, namely Red-Eyes Black Dragon that can devastate enemy foes rather quickly.
8Pause For Effect
In the fast-paced battles ofYu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duel, it’s important forYu-Gi-Oh!decks to facilitate effects and attacks quickly to secure the advantage. While it’s helpful to have potent Monsters who can attack quickly, it’sPause For Effectthat emphasizes that even forcing enemies to pause on their tracks can severely affect their performance in battle. Key to the performance of this deck are cards specifically capable of forcing opponents to slow down, such as Aria the Melodious Diva, Time Wizard, Enemy Controller, and Swords of Revealing Light.
This works well with the other cards ofPause For Effectthat capitalize on slowing opponents down while giving players room for fast-paced attacks, such asMonster-destroying Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Blaze-possessing Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and Skill-negating Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon. For the kicker, all these Monsters can enjoy Extra Attacks, specifically from Multistrike Dragon Dragias (Ace Monster) and Extra Attack boosts from Sportsdragon Slugger.
7All-Terrain Monsters
A play on the all-terrain vehicle concept, theAll-Terrain MonstersdeckinYu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duelmetaallows players to maximize the apparent benefits of the game’s recently-released “Terrain” mechanic. This focuses on transforming lanes into the Light or Forest Terrain with the Radiant Power or Arboreal Power Skills, respectively. Key to this mechanic is Lyna the Light Charmer, where all Monsters on Terrain will gain immunity to destruction effects.
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This immediately transforms most Normal Monsters in this deck into juggernauts, as a myriad of destruction effects from other creatures won’t necessarily affect them. What’s more enjoyable in thisAll-Terrain Monstersdeck is how this buff ties specifically into Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, which negates all Skills while applying 200 ATK/DEF to itself per Skill negated.
6Black Rose Nuclear
With gameplay inYu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duelhaving players participate in a four-way duel, gamers are able to attack multiple opponents at once with the right setup. And withBlack Rose Nuclear, deck superstar Black Rose Dragon (Ace Monster) is capable of destroying all Monsters located on the same “Terrain” and dealing damage to each opponent equal to the number of destroyed enemies x 300.
When used with the proper units,Black Rose Nuclearcan deal devastating damage to opponents on the get-go. And Black Rose Nuclear works well with Terrain-transformers, such as Great Moth, Traptrix Artax, Traptrix Nepenthes, Twilight Rose Knight, Whispering Fairy, Blue Rose Dragon, and Cocoon of Evolution. This deck becomes all the more broken with Stargazer Magician which, when summoned, gives all Monsters immunity to destruction effects. In turn, Black Rose Dragon’s Monster-destruction effects won’t affect the rest of the player’s monsters - making for a nasty counter-offensive.
5Cocoon Offensive
Combos form a major staple in ensuring victory in anyYu-Gi-Oh!match, and this becomes more apparent with smaller decks like inYu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duelgameplay. This is something easily achieved withCocoon Offensive, which relies on combos that players can easily fulfill with two (2) to three (3) cards, especiallywithYu-Gi-Oh!’s Great Moth(Ace Monster) that can quickly remove two (2) Monsters from play.
The rest of theCocoon Offensivedeck gives players the chance to set up the Forest Terrain quickly, giving Great Moth the advantage of being a high-level boss monster for enemies to face. A secondary play here involves Black Rose Dragon that can destroy all Monsters in Terrain (with the right cards, this means everyone’s Monsters), whereas Lyna the Light Charmer exempts all Monsters of the player from card destruction effects.
4Teleportation Switcheroo
Unlike usualYu-Gi-Oh!games,Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duelgameplay involves fighting against three (3) players at once, especially with Monster Zones now connected to another opponent’s through lanes. This adds a dynamic where Monsters in one lane can only attack Monsters connected to them - something that Cyber Blader (Ace Monster) takes advantage of withTeleportation Switcheroo. With theTeleportation Switcheroodeck, Cyber Blader can gain various offensive advantages when switching to a lane, depending on the Monsters located there - from ATK buffs to forcing ATK debuffs on foes.
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This works quite well with the rest of the deck’s Monsters, a lot of which are Normal Warrior-types that are equally fodder when necessary. Other key components to the deck are Creature Swap that switches the location of Monsters, Dark Magician that damages all opponents based on Spell Cards activated, and Stargazer Magician that makes all Monsters immune from damage effects.
3Link For Extra Measure
Link Monsters are also introduced inYu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duel, and while they carry the usual direction-based effects as their originalYu-Gi-Oh!TCG counterparts, their effects are more straightforward. This is seen evidently inLink For Extra Measure, where the deck relies on Firewall Dragon (Ace Monster)’s ability to gain special effects based on the number of Link Monsters in the user’s field or in the GY.
Ideally, this works well with the other Link Monster in theLink For Extra Measuredeck, Trickstar Holly Angel that ensures Monsters with Snipe likeX-Head Cannon, Trickstar Lycoris, and Trickstar Lilybell deal direct damage to all opponents. This deck becomes more formidable with various immunities granted by its other cards, such as immunity to destruction effects from Stargazer Magician, Security Block, and even Shield Handler.
2Assured Destruction
One of the best ways to create a deck in a card game likeYu-Gi-Oh!is to have a definitive endgame for the most straightforward play, and this is somethingAssured Destructionfacilitates inYu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duel. While Black Rose Dragon (Ace Monster) banks on its assured destruction effects whenever Monsters are in Terrain, players who acquiredExodia the Forbidden Onecan secure victory after five (5) turns of drawing a Normal Monster.
And outside Normal Monsters,Assured Destructionrelies on cards that secure Terrain transformations within the game. That way, Black Rose Dragon destroys all of them upon summoning before dealing damage to all foes per each card destroyed. Not only that, players can easily secure advantage with numbers through Junk Synchron, which can return clower-level cards to the hand.
1Attack Punishment
It’s one thing for aYu-Gi-Oh!deck to dominate opponents through hard combat, and another thing entirely to punish them for even attempting an offensive. This is the playstyle ofAttack PunishmentforYu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duel, and one that relies on Firewall Dragon (Ace Monster) to gain various advantages depending on the number of Link Monsters on its user’s field and the Graveyard.
However, where theAttack Punishmentplaystyle shines isn’t throughbuffing Firewall Dragon’s ATK, but for debuffing the enemy’s cards. Accompanying Firewall Dragon is Linkuriboh that, when destroyed, reduces the ATK of all opponent Monsters in their lane to 0 ATK. On top of this effect are Spells and Traps like Shield & Sword, Wall of Disruption, and Trap Dustshoot that either forces enemies to lose ATK, use low DEF as an ATK value, or even return high-ATK Monsters to the hand. On top of these are Trickstar cards that rely on Snipe to reduce opponent Life Points regardless.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duelwas released last July 13, 2025 for iOS and Android.
