Zombie

Zombie, or Undead Tribe in the OCG, is a Type of monster representing undead beings, mostly mummies or apparitions. They are perhaps the best type at Swarming the field. Zombie monsters are known for having many cards that revive other zombies, most notable "Zombie Master", "Il Blud", "Plaguespreader Zombie", "Mezuki" and "Book of Life". They are usually DARK monsters, although a noticeable number are EARTH. Zombie monsters often have low DEF, a factor that works in their favor, since "Pyramid Turtle" and "Goblin Zombie" can search out high-level monsters with low DEF quickly. Although they have the ability to be summoned or revived quickly, most zombie monsters have difficulty getting over 2500 ATK, besides the cards "Skull Flame" (which can be searched using "Pyramid Turtle"), "Red Ogre", "Despair from the Dark" and "Vampire Genesis". The best way to overcome this weakness is by adding a "Gorz the Emissary of Darkness" for the sudden beatstick or a "Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter" to blow up 1 card on the field, then mill the top 3 cards from your deck and chance of putting Zombies in the graveyard.

Zombies also have two of their own Structure Decks, Structure Deck 2: Zombie Madness and Structure Deck 15: Zombie World.

There are also several Zombie counterparts, notably "Revived King Ha Des", "Doomkaiser Dragon" and "Archfiend Zombie-Skull". A common theme among Zombie Counterparts is that they would be statistically identical to the monster (in the case of "Dark Ruler", even having a similar effect tailored to suit the monster's new type). A recent aesthetic theme that has emerged can be found in the new "Burning Skull" Archetype which include monsters such as "Burning Skull Head" and "Skull Flame" used by Hunter Pace in the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's anime. So far, all Zombie-Type Synchro Monsters need "Plaguespreader Zombie" as their Tuner Monsters (Synchro Material Monsters). With the release of Generation Force, "Pain Painter" can be used as a substitute for "Plaguespreader Zombie", and can some times be more powerful than "Plaguespreader Zombie".

Also released in Generation Force was Blue-Blooded Oni", which goes hand in hand with "Red-Blooded Oni", released in Galactic Overlord". These two monsters work with Xyz Monsters, detaching Xyz material from Xyz monsters both you and your opponent controls when they are Summoned. If/when a Zombie-Type Xyz monster is released, a devastating combination could be run with these two monsters. Based on their own effects though, they could be run as a pair in any deck by themselves if the focus is Xyz Monsters.

In the OCG, Zombies are Undead, although close examination shows that it is actually Undeat. This probably resulted from staff from Konami mistakenly printing 「アンデット」 instead of 「ゾンビド」 on every Zombie card in Vol.1, and came into the spotlight when "Undeat Warrior" was released in Vol.2.

While this stirred confusion back then, it is now treated as a long running joke by the OCG community.

In the Yu-Gi-Oh! The Falsebound Kingdom, Zombies are treated as Fiend monsters.

Pure Zombies are generally not run, as they have access to only two good Zombie Tuners ("Plaguespreader Zombie"-"Pain Painter") but are instead usually supported with other archetypes.

Zombie Monsters are used by Bonz in Yu-Gi-Oh!, Hunter Pace in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and Flip in Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL. The Zombies Flip uses focus on Flip Effects

Debris Zombies
Perhaps the most prevalent of Zombie decks at the moment, this deck uses the recurring nature of Zombie non-tuners and Plant tuners while also using armed dragons as field control, to quickly Synchro summon a wealth of monsters. It generally uses the Hamster/Ryko engine to help set up both Zombies and Plants.

Monsters

 * Mezuki
 * Plaguespreader Zombie
 * Goblin Zombie
 * Zombie Master
 * Pyramid Turtle
 * Dark Armed Dragon
 * Chaos Sorcerer
 * Super-Nimble Mega Hamster
 * Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter
 * Glow-Up Bulb - Forbidden-Traditional only
 * Dandylion
 * Spore - Forbidden-Traditional only
 * Lonefire Blossom
 * Card Trooper
 * Debris Dragon
 * Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning
 * Double Coston

Spells

 * One for One
 * Burial from a Different Dimension
 * Allure of Darkness
 * Book of Life
 * Foolish Burial

Traps

 * Call of the Haunted

Lightsworn Zombies
A Zombie deck that has weathered many banlists, this deck uses the milling power of the Lightsworn monsters to set up plays with Zombies.

Monsters

 * Mezuki
 * Plaguespreader Zombie
 * Goblin Zombie
 * Zombie Master
 * Pyramid Turtle
 * Dark Armed Dragon
 * Chaos Sorcerer
 * Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning
 * Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress
 * Jain, Lightsworn Paladin
 * Necro Gardna
 * Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter
 * Glow-Up Bulb - Forbidden-Traditional only
 * Card Trooper

Spells

 * Charge of the Light Brigade
 * Solar Recharge
 * One for One
 * Burial from a Different Dimension
 * Allure of Darkness
 * Book of Life
 * Foolish Burial

Traps

 * Treacherous Trap Hole

Diva Zombies
Once again using the Hamster/Ryko engine, this deck seeks to use "Deep Sea Diva's" ability to bring out multiple copies of itself and the recurring nature of Zombies to set up big plays.

Monsters

 * Mezuki
 * Plaguespreader Zombie
 * Goblin Zombie
 * Zombie Master
 * Pyramid Turtle
 * Dark Armed Dragon
 * Chaos Sorcerer
 * Super-Nimble Mega Hamster
 * Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter
 * Glow-Up Bulb-Forbidden-Traditional only
 * Card Trooper
 * Deep Sea Diva
 * Spined Gillman

Spells

 * Burial from a Different Dimension
 * Allure of Darkness
 * Book of Life
 * Foolish Burial

Traps

 * Call of the Haunted

Striker Zombies
Striker Zombies, while not too notable, have enjoyed some recent success in Japan. Being one of the only Zombie decks to not run a mill engine, they rely greatly on their search power to make plays, The deck was first seen at top 32 YCS Orlando 2011 and was ran by Blake Brown.

Monsters

 * Mezuki
 * Plaguespreader Zombie
 * Goblin Zombie
 * Zombie Master
 * Pyramid Turtle
 * Dark Armed Dragon
 * Glow-Up Bulb-Forbidden-Traditional only
 * T.G. Striker
 * Summoner Monk
 * Destiny Hero - Malicious
 * Unknown Synchron
 * Sangan
 * Blackwing - Zephyros the Elite
 * Armageddon Knight

Spells

 * One for One
 * Reinforcement of the Army
 * Burial from a Different Dimension
 * Allure of Darkness
 * Book of Life
 * Foolish Burial

Traps

 * Call of the Haunted

Additional Zombie Decks

 * See: Zombie Deck

Strength and Weaknesses
Depending on the type of Deck its strength can vary, but the overall power of a Zombie Deck remains: its ability to quickly swarm the field with monsters (it is not uncommon to clog up one's entire Monster Cards zone in one turn) and gaining quite powerful draw power through "Allure of Darkness" and/or "Shutendoji".

Excluding the Zombie Mill variant, however, a Zombie Deck has some weaknesses. The most notable weakness of the Deck is its dependence on the Graveyard. While the extreme swarming capabilities of the Deck can overcome the aforementioned lack of sheer power, cards like "Macro Cosmos", "Dimensional Fissure", "D.D. Crow", and nearly every other card that can banish monsters or lock the Graveyard can effectively put a Zombie player at a severe disadvantage, if not outright disrupt one's strategy and cause the loss of a duel. "Burial from a Different Dimension" and "Imperial Iron Wall" can help to partially solve the problem (though the latter keeps "Plaguespreader Zombie" in the game, it makes "Mezuki" and "Book of Life" completely useless). In other words, the banish Deck can be the worst enemy for zombies because the cards that target the Graveyard are totally useless. But the Zombie Deck has another weakness in cards like "The End of Anubis" that disable your Graveyard, or cards like "Vanity's Fiend" that don't allow you to perform Special Summons.

"Banish" oriented decks and "Gravekeeper's" decks stand as direct opposition of what Zombie decks stand for. "Necrovalley" is an extremely devastating card that can put any deck at a disadvantage, but none more so than Zombies; it essentially puts the Graveyard off limits (as well as making "Mezuki" useless in the Graveyard).

Another weakness is the fact that Zombies tend to have low ATK power for their level, compared to other Types (Examples include "Il Blud" and "Vampire Lord"). This can severely hamper a Zombie Deck player if his/her opponent uses high DEF monsters to stall the game. There are a few cards that can help counteract this problem, most notably "Burden of the Mighty", "Solidarity" and "Pyramid of Wonders". The final, "Temple of the Sun", is a slightly more situational card that still would sit rather well in a Deck focused on Graveyard power.

The March Banlist has crippled the Deck even further by moving "Mezuki" back to Limited and keeping the ban for "Card of Safe Return", which continues to take away a major draw force in Zombie Decks. However, the release of the Zombie World Deck provides opportunities for the player to gain field, Graveyard, and swarming advantage over his opponent, making Zombies an extremely powerful and effective Type.

Also, Zombie decks get a boost from the release of the Xyz Monsters in the TCG, this is because of the great number of level four Zombies such as "Goblin Zombie" and "Zombie Master". However, "Goblin Zombie's" effect will not activate when it is detached, because Xyz Material are not considered as being in play. Along with new support such as "Blue-Blooded Oni" and the like, players can pull off some good combos for the Type.