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", 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.

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 limited and relatively easy to destroy.
 * "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" and "Vanity's Ruler" 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.
 * "Archlord Kristya" can prevent Special Summons but it's only useful in a few decks.
 * 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.

Removing from play
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 things like a "Gladiator Beast Darius", "Judgment Dragon", "Dark Armed Dragon", 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 slightly outclassed by a D.D. Crow compared to its effect.

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" or "Goyo Guardian".
 * "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 which acts like a "Mystical Space Typhoon" and if it was a important Trap Card you chose 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.
 * "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.
 * "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.

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

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
 * Skill Drain