Anti-Meta

An anti-meta Deck is any Deck that is built to counteract the most popular Decks being played.

There are many different Anti-Meta Decks, such as, "Little City" "Gravekeeper's", "Gadget Oppression","Meklords" and "Stun (Anti-Meta)". 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.

Negating Effects

 * "Thunder King Rai-Oh" is arguably one of the best anti-meta monsters. It has 1900 ATK and it can 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.
 * "Doomcaliber Knight" is a great beatstick with 1900 ATK and a solid 1800 DEF, and tributes itself to negate a monster's effect. This can be really annoying for your opponent to work around; if they drop a big monster like "Dark Armed Dragon" or "Judgment Dragon", they'll have to use up extra cards to destroy it or your back row before they can use their effects. This card can also negate monster effects that activate from the hand like "Honest" and "Gorz the Emissary of Darkness". Just make sure not to use your own monster effects when this card is on the field.
 * "Book of Moon" flips a monster into face-down defense position which has many useful purposes such as negating attacks, stopping effects and preventing your opponent from Synchro Summoning by flipping the Tuner face-down.
 * "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 weak monsters such as "Gladiator Beast 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 its effect is similar to "Doomcaliber Knight" except that you can choose when to use it.
 * "Maxx "C"" is a card that can give an opponent the choice of going for an OTK or not making a play unless they don't want you to draw.
 * "Black Ray Lancer" is a new option for Anti Meta Decks, with a powerful 2100 attack points, the ability to negate effects and being rather easy to summon with only two level 3 Water Monsters.

Preventing Special Summons

 * "Thunder King Rai-Oh" again for his repeated success against the Meta game.
 * "Royal Oppression" can negate Special Summons which can usually win the game and almost all meta Decks Special Summon often. However, it is banned.
 * "Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo" holds back any powerful monsters that can be Special Summoned, including all Synchro Monsters, "Gorz", "DAD", "JD", and most other key finishers in meta Decks. The advantage of this card is its high defense which means your opponent has to use up a destruction effect or Normal Summon a high attack monster to kill it.
 * "Vanity's Fiend", "Vanity's Ruler", and "Archlord Kristya" can completely block Special Summons.
 * "Jowgen the Spiritualist" can also prevent Special Summons but it's far weaker than "Fossil Dyna" and requires a cost.
 * With the debut of "Solemn Warning" in Duelist Revolution, preventing Special Summons becomes much easier. For a cost of 2000 LP not only can it negate the summon of a monster, but also a card effect that Special Summons a monster.
 * "Koa'ki Meiru Drago" is able to jam the Summon of LIGHT and DARK monsters, such as "DAD" or "Judgment Dragon". It can be paired with "Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8" or "Tyrant Dragon" for maximum effectiveness.
 * "Steelswarm Roach" can negate the Special Summon of a Level 5 or higher monster by simply detaching one of its two Xyz Materials.
 * "Mirror of Oaths" a sweet trap to negate the special summon of an opponent's monster(s) from their deck, like "Gladiator Beast", destroy them and draw 1 card

Banishing
Almost all Meta Decks use the graveyard, so removing cards from play can be the ultimate negation. Cards like "Banisher of the Radiance" also prevent the activation of cards that send a card to the graveyard as a Cost, such as "Honest". Also, cards like "Dimensional Prison" are handy because they cannot be negated by "Stardust Dragon" or "My Body as a Shield".
 * "D.D. Crow" can be chained to cards like a "Gladiator Beast Darius", "Debris Dragon", "Junk Synchron", and "Call of the Haunted" and disrupt their plays.
 * "D.D. Warrior Lady" and "D.D. Assailant" can be used to remove monsters like "Stardust Dragon" to make the duel easier for you.
 * "Macro Cosmos" removes from play every card that goes to the graveyard, most of the meta Deck these days send a lot of cards to the graveyard or can get harmed when cards are removed from play.
 * "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.
 * "Dimensional Fissure" removes from play every monster that goes to the graveyard. Most of the meta Deck these days send a lot of cards to the graveyard or can get harmed when cards are removed from play. Unlike "Macro Cosmos", it can be activated the turn it is drawn.
 * "Crevice Into the Different Dimension" removes from play two monsters but is generally outclassed by "D.D. Crow" due to having to set it on the field, as well as the fact that there has to be two monsters of the same Attribute in the graveyards to remove.

Others

 * "Gorz the Emissary of Darkness" is useful for stopping OTKs, and is a good last-minute save.
 * "King Tiger Wanghu" can destroy weak monsters before your opponent even gets to used them. Common ones include "Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner", most Tuners, and "Test Tiger". You can also combine it with "Burden of the Mighty" to increase the targets for this card.
 * "Neo-Spacian Grand Mole" can be a very annoying card since you can return your opponent's monsters easily like "Stardust Dragon".
 * "Nobleman of Crossout" can take out any cards that the opponent sets, such as "Ryko", "Super-Nimble Mega Hamster" or "Sangan".
 * "Nobleman of Extermination" removes a face-down Spell/Trap card which acts like a "Mystical Space Typhoon" and if it was a important Trap Card you choose then you won't have to deal with it for the rest of the duel.
 * "Compulsory Evacuation Device" can do almost the same thing except it goes to the hand which is good for getting rid of "Stardust Dragon" or high-level monsters.
 * "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.
 * "Cold Wave" keeps the opponent from using any Spells and Traps during your Anti-Meta strategy.
 * "Burden of the Mighty neutralizes the opponent's monsters ATK as they already have their effects negated by cards such as SkD, thus granting an edge for the Anti-Meta.
 * "Breaker the Magical Warrior" makes a 1900 beatstick while it has a Spell Counter which can also be removed to destroy a Spell or Trap Card.
 * "Real Crusader" acts like a "Thunder King Rai-Oh" or "Doomcaliber Knight" as he Tributes himself to negate the Special Summon of a high-level monster as well as preventing Synchro Summons. However, as it does not negate the summon, his effect can be stopped by cards such as "Stardust Dragon".
 * "Starlight Road" not only protects your monsters from the commonly used mass-destruction cards but it also gives you a "Stardust Dragon", which is both a 2500 monster and can be used one more time to negate a destruction effect.
 * "Chivalry" is able to negate any Monster Effect that activates during the Battle Phase, such as "Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter" or "Necro Gardna", making battles easier. It yet prevents Honest and Blackwing - Kalut the Moon Shadow from working.
 * "Zombie World" or "Closed Forest" are both great cards to include. Both are useful against  "Dragunity", "Gravekeepers" or other decks that rely on Field Spells.   Zombie World also prevents the Tribute Summon of Non Zombie Type monsters, useful against "Monarchs".  "Closed Forest" is an even better choice against Field Spells then "Zombie World", as it prevents the activation of new Field Spell Cards while it is face up on the field, and new Field Spell Cards cannot be activated the same turn that "Closed Forest" is destroyed.

Monsters

 * Banisher of the Radiance
 * Breaker the Magical Warrior
 * D.D. Warrior Lady
 * Effect Veiler
 * Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo
 * King Tiger Wanghu
 * Neo-Spacian Grand Mole
 * Thunder King Rai-Oh
 * D.D. Crow
 * Tribe-Shocking Virus

Spells

 * Book of Moon
 * Dimensional Fissure
 * Enemy Controller
 * Smashing Ground

Traps

 * Compulsory Evacuation Device
 * Crevice Into the Different Dimension
 * Dark Bribe
 * Dimensional Prison
 * Macro Cosmos
 * Mind Crush
 * Royal Oppression traditional format
 * Skill Drain

Side Deck
The Side Deck is used to counter any effects which the Anti-Meta cannot counter. For example, "Legendary Jujitsu Master" is a great choice against "Gladiator Beasts" as he has 1800 DEF and any "Gladiator Beast" that battles him is returned to the Deck, thereby being unable to activate their effects.

Monsters

 * "Legendary Jujitsu Master" (against "Gladiator Beasts")
 * "Dimension Fortress Weapon" (against "Lightsworns")
 * "Tualatin" (against "Blackwings" or single attribute archtypes)
 * "Reign-Beaux, Overlord of Dark World" (against "X-Sabers")

Spells

 * "Corridor of Agony" (against "Gladiator Beasts")
 * "Zombie World" (against "Monarchs" or single-type Decks)
 * "Closed Forest" (Prevents the activation of many key Field Spell Cards, such as "Dragon Ravine" "Necrovalley" and "The Sanctuary in the Sky" while active on the field. Even if your opponent destroys "Closed Forest", they will have to wait until their next turn in order to play their deck's respective Field Spell Card)

Traps

 * "Light-Imprisoning Mirror" (Used to counter any LIGHT Decks)
 * "Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror" (Used to counter any DARK Decks)
 * "Imperial Iron Wall" (against "Macro Cosmos" Decks)
 * "Chain Whirlwind" (destroys "Necrovalley", "Macro Cosmos", "The Sanctuary in the Sky" and many key cards)
 * "Grave of the Super Ancient Organism" (Is able to stop most Nomis and Synchros, such as "Dark Armed Dragon", or "Stardust Dragon", making them easy targets)
 * "Mask of Restrict" (against "Monarchs")
 * "Crevice Into the Different Dimension"
 * "Starlight Road"
 * "Light of Destruction" (against "Lightsworn"s) combined with Macro Cosmos or Dimensional Fissure your opponent will mill his/her deck very quickly and his/her monsters will not go to the graveyard, they will be instead banished, and so it will be much more difficult for him/her to summon their trump card Judgement Dragon