Anti-Meta

An anti-meta deck is any deck that is built to counteract the most popular decks being played. Oddly enough, using an anti-meta deck can be considered metagaming (acting on knowledge that for whatever reason you shouldn't have). Knowing the popular deck types, you are metagaming by using a deck specifically to counter those deck types, even though an opponent's deck should be a mystery to you.

There are many different Anti-Meta decks, such as "Little City", "Gadget Oppression", and "Stun". The usual theme of Anti-Meta decks is to prevent the opponent's Special Summon, as many current decks in the meta focus on Special Summon. Some Anti-meta focuses on removing from play your opponent's monster since most meta decks require the graveyard to work or can't function while Removed from play. This changes occasionally every banlist and usually isn't the same every banlist.

The Current Meta appears to be Arcanite Cat, Twilight, Gladiator Beasts, Lightsworns, Blackwings, and Teleport Dark Armed decks. There are also many rogue decks splashed in such as the Beast King Barbaros Skill Drain decks and Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode decks. This is based on the latest Shonen Jump results which had Dark Armed Dragon on top yet again.


 * Thunder King Rai-Oh is arguably one of the best anti-meta monsters, with 1900 ATK, it can also jam Reinforcement of the Army, Sangan, Charge of the Light Brigade, Gladiator Proving Ground, E - Emergency Call, Black Whirlwind and other cards that add cards from your deck to your hand other than drawing. It can also be sent to the graveyard to negate a Special Summon which can usually be game ending.
 * Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo and Jowgen the Spiritualist both can prevent Special Summoning. They both can destroy Special Summoned monsters already on the field by Flip Summon or discarding a card.
 * King Tiger Wanghu can destroy weak monsters before your opponent even gets to used them, common ones include Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner, Plaguespreader Zombie, Krebons, and Test Tiger.You can also make an awesome combo using one or two Burden of the Mighty.
 * Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer can remove from play 2 Lightsworn monsters, 2 DARK monsters, and maybe even up to 2 Gladiator Beasts from your opponent's graveyard just by inflicting damage which can cause a lot of damage to your opponent if used at the right time. This card can also null Dark Armed Dragon's effect and other monsters that focus on removing from play.
 * D.D. Crow and The Transmigration Prophecy can be chained to things like a Gladiator Beast Darius, Judgment Dragon, Dark Armed Dragon, and Call of the Haunted and disrupt their plays.
 * D.D. Warrior Lady can be used to remove monsters like Stardust Dragon to make the duel easier for you.
 * Prime Material Dragon's first effect is good if your opponent uses a card that inflicts burn damage, but the main reason it's here is because it can negate your monster's from being destroyed by a card effect by simply discarding a card.
 * Cyber Valley can be annoying at certain times, you can negate an attack and draw a card and ending the battle phase, or you can remove it and another monster you control or took with Brain Control or Enemy Controller and draw 2 cards, or your can remove it from play and 1 card from your hand to add a card that can be vital from your graveyard to your deck.
 * Banisher of the Radiance is like a Macro Cosmos except it is a monster, this card can be quite annoying if you can keep it long enough for your opponent to remove vital cards from their deck by milling or destroying a gladiator beast they can't get back.
 * Neo-Spacian Grand Mole can be a very annoying card since you can return your opponent's monsters easily like Stardust Dragon or Goyo Guardian.
 * Raiza the Storm Monarch can spin one card with just one tribute, select a monster that can't be summoned the same turn they draw it and they have lost a draw for a turn.
 * Caius the Shadow Monarch can remove from play a monster like a Gladiator Beast, Lightsworn, or a DARK monster and inflict damage at the same time.
 * Gravekeeper's Commandant is mainly here to search out Necrovalley. Gravekeeper's Guard is here because it can return a monster to your opponent's hand when flipped which can be harmful if you select cards like a Synchro. Gravekeeper's Spy has a solid 2000 DEF and a flip effect that allows you to search another Gravekeeper's Spy as defence and for tribute. Gravekeeper's Watcher is hear because it can negate the effects of monsters in the hand likeBlackwing - Kalut the Moon Shadow, Honest, and D.D. Crow.


 * Shrink is a good anti-meta card because it can be used to destroy monsters with high ATK and are out of your monster's reach like Goyo Guardian.
 * Burden of the Mighty can be used to slightly weaken your opponent's monster and can be combined with King Tiger Wanghu for a wider range.
 * Giant Trunade can return all spells and traps on the field so you are clear for attacking for one turn (excluding Honest).
 * Cold Wave can stop spells and traps for one turn allowing you to make a easy ATK and to prevent your opponent from winning easily.
 * Book of Moon can flip a card face-down such as Gladiator Beast Laquari and can save you from different situations.
 * Enemy Controller can switch the position of a monster when about to attack or your can tribute a monster and take control of a monster for the turn.
 * Dimensional Fissure will remove from play all Lightsworns your opponent mills if activated early and will remove Gladiator Beasts so your opponent cannot get them back.
 * Lightning Vortex can be used to clear your opponent's field of monsters because the current meta does not set monsters that often.
 * Necrovalley can negate Dark Armed Dragon's effect and other monsters that rely on the graveyard.

With some changes to the March 2009 Lists, the meta has changed a bit so the anti-meta has also changed.
 * Royal Decree is a good anti-meta card mainly because most decks use traps and negating them can damage the deck a lot and your opponent will usually be defenseless.
 * Royal Oppression can negate Special Summons which can usually win the game and almost all meta decks special summon often.
 * Bottomless Trap Hole can be used in response to a special summon and remove it from play instead of normally sending it to the graveyard.
 * Trap Dustshoot can turn a opening hand with a good monster into bad ones by simply activating this card, you also get to see what cards your opponent might set.
 * Macro Cosmos removes from play every monster that goes to the graveyard, most of the meta deck these days send a lot of monsters to the graveyard or can get harmed when monsters are removed from play.
 * Divine Wrath can negate a monster effect with a cost of just discarding one card which can save you from losing.
 * Torrential Tribute can ruin your opponent's swarming just by chaining this card to a summon.
 * Dimensional Prison can save your monster and remove from play your opponent's monster at the same time.
 * Threatening Roar and Waboku are chainable traps that can make you survive the battle for 1 extra turn.
 * Phoenix Wing Wind Blast can spin a card to the top of your opponent's deck so they can't draw a new card for the next turn.
 * Compulsory Evacuation Device can do almost the same thing except it goes to the hand which is good for getting rid of Stardust Dragon.
 * Skill Drain is a great Anti-Meta card. It takes away all of the power from the decks out there today. If they bring out a Murmillo and you use skill drain you now have a free attack target.
 * Koa'ki Meiru Guardian was used in many rock STUN builds because it is a Doom Caliber Knight that you can choose when it goes off.
 * Protector of the Sanctuary can stop Solar Recharge, Destiny Draw, Pot of Avarice and Trade In.

Monsters

 * Thunder King Rai-Oh
 * Breaker the Magical Warrior
 * Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo
 * Jowgen the Spiritualist
 * King Tiger Wanghu
 * Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer
 * D.D. Crow
 * D.D. Warrior Lady
 * Prime Material Dragon
 * Cyber Valley
 * Banisher of the Radiance
 * Neo-Spacian Grand Mole
 * Raiza the Storm Monarch
 * Caius the Shadow Monarch
 * Gravekeeper's Commandant
 * Gravekeeper's Guard
 * Gravekeeper's Spy
 * Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter
 * Koa'ki Meiru
 * Elemental Hero Neos Alius (For Little City)
 * Elemental Hero Wildheart (For Little City)
 * Elemental Hero Captain Gold (For Little City)
 * Honest (For Little City)
 * Exiled Force (For Little City)
 * Red Gadget (For Gadget Oppression)
 * Green Gadget (For Gadget Oppression)
 * Yellow Gadget (For Gadget Oppression)
 * Beast King Barbaros (For Skill Drain)
 * Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast (For Skill Drain)

Spells

 * Shrink
 * Burden of the Mighty
 * Giant Trunade
 * Cold Wave
 * Book of Moon
 * Enemy Controller
 * Dimensional Fissure
 * Lightning Vortex
 * Necrovalley
 * Limiter Removal (For Gadget Oppression)
 * Skyscraper (For Little City)
 * E - Emergency Call (For Little City)
 * R - Righteous Justice (For Little City)
 * Reinforcement of the Army (For Little City)
 * Smashing Ground
 * Fissure
 * Soul Taker
 * Hammer Shot

Traps

 * Royal Decree
 * Royal Oppression
 * Bottomless Trap Hole
 * Trap Dustshoot
 * Macro Cosmos
 * Gozen Match
 * Divine Wrath
 * Torrential Tribute
 * Dimensional Prison
 * Threatening Roar
 * Waboku
 * Phoenix Wing Wind Blast
 * Compulsory Evacuation Device
 * Skill Drain (Recommended for Little City)
 * Mirror Wall
 * Mirror Force
 * Solemn Judgment
 * Dark Bribe
 * Mind Crush

=Side Deck=

Monsters

 * Legendary Jujitsu Master (Against Gladiator Beasts)
 * G.B. Hunter (Against Gladiator Beasts)
 * Brain Golem(Against Lightsworns)
 * Neo-Spacian Dark Panther
 * Scary Moth (Against Blackwings)
 * Dimension Fortress Weapon

Traps

 * Imperial Iron Wall
 * Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror (Be careful not to use these in large quantities if you have DARK monsters in your deck)
 * Light-Imprisoning Mirror (Be careful not to use these in large quantities if you have LIGHT monsters in your deck)
 * Grave of the Super Ancient Organism
 * Mirror of Oaths (against Gladiator Beasts)