Warrior Deck

A Warrior Deck is, not surprisingly, based upon the monster Type of Warrior. Warriors make up one of the largest pools of cards in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game. In addition to that they possess some of the most powerful cards in the game. Some of this is due to the fact that there are so many warriors (some are bound to be good), but some of it must be attributed to a favoritism on the part of Konami because an overwhelming proportion (compared to other types) of Warriors are at least playable, if not powerful, and more often than other types, downright broken.

With this in mind, its easy to see why the Warrior Deck is one of the oldest deck types and is still in heavy use today. To be a true warrior deck all a deck needs is a profusion of warriors, but some of the most popular types of Warrior Deck through time have been the Warrior Swarm and the Warrior Toolbox.

Warrior Swarm
A Warrior Swarm Deck is a rather old, and currently outclassed deck type that was popular back in the days of mass removal cards like "Raigeki" and "Dark Hole". With one's field constantly under threat of being wiped it was naturally an advantage to be able to return to numbers as quickly as possible and while you had the chance to grab for as many lifepoints as you possibly could. This deck's main power was rushing the field with Marauding Captain. This combo was particularly deadly with "United We Stand" and if monster removal was available (such as the extra summon of "Exiled Force" through "Marauding Captain"'s effect) then it was a direct hit to the opponent. Mysterious Guard can ward off opposing monsters.

Warrior Toolbox
A Warrior Toolbox Deck revolves around the principles of searching out a Warrior "tool" to counter almost any move your opponent may put into play. Sometimes referred to as merely "Toolbox", Warrior Toolbox is a much more recent and still popular and powerful deck type. This deck type revolves almost completely around loading the deck with utility monsters, cards such as "Goblin Attack Force", "Mystic Swordsman LV2", "Exiled Force", "D.D. Warrior Lady", "D.D. Assailant", "Don Zaloog", and sometimes even "Elemental Hero Wildheart". The reason for this is that the majority of these cards (with a few exceptions such as the D.D.s) have a limited useful outside of specific situations. Toolbox survives and thrives in today's metagame because it is able to reliably search the monsters it needs when it needs them to suit any situation. Most of this searching is done via "Reinforcement of the Army" and "Sangan", but occasionally Toolbox will utilize cards such as "Giant Rat" or "Mystic Tomato" due to the fact that a large majority of its cards may be tutorable by those monsters (including many non-warrior monsters which are seamlessly splashable in the Toolbox deck).

The A. Forces
Its primary use is in a pure Warrior Deck, this can provide a further boost to a Swarm-based Warrior Deck. It's also worthy of note that you receive additional boosts for face-up Spellcasters, although Spellcasters themselves do not receive the bonus.

Armed Ninja
A forgotten Warrior, he can destroy 1 Spell Card your opponent has when he's Flipped. Better yet, he can see set Spell and Trap cards, so you can see what your opponent has if you didn't chose a Spell card.

Buster Blader
This guy, popularized by Yugi Moto in the Duel Monsters Anime, is of course a great card to Side Deck against Dragon Decks.

Colossal Fighter
A powerful monster on its own for a simple Level 8 Synchro Summon, can be done easily with "Jutte Fighter" and "Hero Kid"'s effect and can Special Summon himself, or any other Warrior, from your or your opponent's Graveyard after being destroyed as a result of battle. Not to mention his ability to raise his attack by 100 for each Warrior in your and your opponent's Graveyard.

Command Knight
Basic monster for enhancing Warriors' attack strength. It cannot be attacked if you have another monster and helps out a lot in any Warrior Deck. The ideal situation for a powerful lockdown is to have 2 or even 3 face-up "Command Knight"s. Also this card is a great choice for most warrior decks.

Comrade Swordsman of Landstar
While a weak monster on its own, this Monster powers up other Warriors like "Command Knight". Plus, Special Summoning this card with "Marauding Captain" or to Normal Summon him and Special Summon "Spell Striker" or "The Immortal Bushi" means an easy Synchro Summon of a powerful Level 6 Synchro Monster, most notably "Goyo Guardian".

D.D. Assailant
Most often used late-game, to assist in finishing off an opponent with her 1700 ATK, she can also be used, in a pinch, to remove a strong monster from the field at the cost of some Life Points.

D.D. Survivor
He serves the same late-game purpose as "D.D. Assailant", but is also exceptionally useful at being an exclusive counter to a "D.D. Warrior Lady, D.D. Assailant and D.D. Warrior".

D.D. Warrior
A weaker version of D.D. Warrior Lady, because you have to remove that and the opponent's monster. But it is a good anti-card against Treeborn Frog, Sangan, Destiny Hero - Disk Commander or any other monsters, which abilities are activated when they're sent to the Graveyard (Mother Grizzly, Mystic Tomato, UFO Turtle, etc...).

D.D. Warrior Lady
Serves the same basic removal purpose as "D.D. Assailant", but is also searchable by Sangan, Last Will and Reinforcement of the Army. Her effect is also Optional, so you can use it to remove high Defense monsters.

Destiny Hero - Dasher
An overall great warrior, you can tribute one of your own monster to have him gain 1000 ATK, which can be used to also power up Colossal Fighter. The fact that when he's in the Graveyard, whenever you draw a Monster Card, you can show it to your opponent and Special Summon it makes him a great assist.

Destiny Hero - Defender
He has the most DEF for any non-tribute monster in the game. His effect is less negative (your opponent draws 1 card during their Standby Phase whenever he's in face-up Defense Position) and having 100 more DEF makes him a better choice than Big Shield Gardna, and he should be enough to stall out for a while to get you time to execute your combos. Plus, his negative effect can combo with Appropriate, which is a good card for your Side Deck to be used against Exodia Decks.

Destiny Hero - Plasma
This card makes a good lock down so your opponent can no longer use monster effect, plus this card can stop any high level monster, like Five-Headed Dragon, and gain half of its ATK.

Don Zaloog
"Don Zaloog" is one of the best monsters to search out with "Last Will", if an open-field has been cleared, as an alternative to searching out "Spirit Reaper". Also searchable by "Sangan", "Reinforcement of the Army" and Mystic Tomato.

Elemental Hero Bladedge
Good high level Warrior monsters are hard to come-by nowadays. Elemental Hero Bladedge may be weak for a Level 7 monster at 2600 ATK, but he has a piercing effect, and can be powered up quickly with your Command Knight, The A. Forces and Comrade Swordsman of Landstar.

Elemental Hero Wildheart
Its immunity to traps keeps it safe from monster destruction traps such as "Sakuretsu Armor", and also prevents the effects of cards like "Mirror Force" and "Torrential Tribute" from being effective.

Exiled Force
"Exiled Force" is the exception to just about every lockdown in the game. He's useful for taking out a strong and/or stubborn monster, removing a face-down Defense Position monster from the field, or circumventing Anti-Effect Monster effects, especially when you already have Field Advantage. Also a very strong card when combined with the effect of the now-banned "Last Will". The most common metagame cards that can stop him are Solemn Judgment and Stardust Dragon.

Field-Commander Rahz
He is useful for getting a Warrior you need to the top of your deck, especially combined with draw cards or cards that rely on knowing what is on the top of your deck.

The Fiend Megacyber
This monster's ability is a little weaker than the Cyber Dragon's one. But The Fiend Megacyber has an advantage over Cyber Dragon: You can special summon it even if you have one or more monsters on your field. He also has more attack than Cyber Dragon. So if you prefer a Warrior-type monster, you should choose The Fiend Megacyber. Otherwise, take Cyber Dragon. He can work well after you use a Synchro Summon or a Tribute Summon. He can also be used for those purposes.

Freed the Matchless General
One of the best high-level Warrior-Type monsters. Its ability allows you to search a Warrior-Type monster that's Level 4 or below instead of drawing a card during your Draw Phase. You can see this as a permanent Reinforcement of the Army. Furthermore, Freed the Matchless General is safe from all kinds of Spell Cards which target one monster, such like Shield Crush, Brain Control, Soul Taker or Book of Moon. Freed the Matchless General is a very good card for every Warrior-based Decks.

Gearfried the Iron Knight
When "Snatch Steal" was still Limited, he was a good late-game Beatstick, but as of late, his ability to destroy anything he's equipped with, is too limiting for most to consider playing him, with the exclusive exception of "Blast with Chain". You can also use him to bring out "Gearfried the Swordmaster", although the fact that it requires two extra cards makes it not worth it if you wish to have card advantage.

Getsu Fuhma
Another good Side Deck card, use it against Zombie or Fiend decks as a problem solver.

Giant Rat
Since many Warriors are EARTH-attribute, this card is very useful for getting the ones you want on the field. Having 3 of them in your Deck makes for a decent defense. If you wish to maintain a Warrior theme then "Warrior Lady of the Wasteland" works just as well.

Gilford the Lightning
A decently strong beatstick, its primary purpose is to wipe out all of your opponent's monsters through its effect. Because Warrior-type decks prefer to keep a dominant field, "Gilford the Lightning" is not frequently used, and generally only as a match ender or a clutch. "Hero Kid" is a helpful card to get "Gilford" out. The "The Immortal Bushi"-"Inferno Reckless Summon" Combo is helpful as well. And, if there's no use of "Gilford" anymore, you can use "Trade-In" to get some new hand cards.

Goblin Attack Force
Pure Power, used solely for taking out cards like "Cyber Dragon", or for causing a lot of damage in a direct attack. An alternative is the Goblin Elite Attack Force. It loses some power in exchange for decent defense points, however, the biggest disadvantage of Goblin Elite Attack Force compared to Goblin Attack Force is that Goblin Elite Attack force is not a Warrior-type monster, but a Fiend-type. This makes it non searchable with Reinforcement of the Army which is a big disadvantage.

Goyo Guardian
A Level 6 Synchro Warrior Monster that is easily obtained by Normal Summoning "Marauding Captain" and using its effect to Special Summon a Level 3 tuner such as "Comrade Swordsman of Landstar", Goyo Guardian is unusually powerful for a Level 6 (2800 ATK), plus his special ability lets you steal the opponent's Monsters, putting them at a major disadvantage.

Guardian of Order
Not really the most splashable Warrior, but can work if you got alot of LIGHT Attribute monsters on your side. Some notable LIGHT Warriors are D.D. Warrior Lady, Blade Knight, Kuraz the Light Monarch, Gilford the Lightning, Silent Swordsman, and Luminous Soldier. He also works with Cyber Dragon and Honest.

Hero Kid
While evidently a weak monster, its ability to Special Summon copies of itself can be very helpful. If you Special Summon it with Marauding Captain in Defense mode, your opponent has 3 roadblocks to get through. Plus, if you can Special Summon all 3 copies of Hero Kid without using your Normal Summon, you can Tribute them all to summon "Gilford the Lightning" and destroy all of your opponent's monsters.

Junk Synchron
Allows you to Special Summon Level 2 or lower Monsters from your Graveyard, which is helpful for Synchro Summoning level 5 Synchros such as Junk Warrior (which can only be summoned when "Junk Synchron" is a Tuner).

Jutte Fighter
A level 2 Tuner Monster that's easy to search (Sangan, Reinforcement of the Army, Giant Rat, etc) and can change the Battle Position of one of your opponents monsters to Defense Position to combo with Piercing, or other card effects, like those of Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke or Red Dragon Archfiend

Kuraz the Light Monarch
A great tribute card for a warrior type deck. This warrior can destory up to two cards your opponet controls. The downside of it, is that it will let your opponent draw more cards. Easy to summon if you already have a monster on the field. Unlike other monarchs, it can trigger its effect even when its special summoned.

Luminous Soldier
A good card to Side Deck against decks with alot of DARK monsters in them, as he'll gain 500 ATK when fighting them. He won't stop any Dark-Armed Dragon decks with his effect though, but still good to side deck with. He's also good against Red-Eyes B. Dragon and Dark Magician decks, as his effect will total his ATK to 2600, and he was made to counter Dark Magician.

Marauding Captain
He allows for Swarming with Warriors and his effect to prevent the opponent from attacking other Warrior-type Monsters is helpful; if you have more than one "Marauding Captain" and other Warrior-types on the field, your opponent cannot attack. With the advent of Synchro Monsters, he's useful for easily getting a Synchro Summon by using his effect to Special Summon a Tuner, which is especially useful to get out the very powerful Level 6 "Goyo Guardian".

Mataza the Zapper
An often overlooked card, especially with a clear field, his ability to attack twice means a heavy 2600 damage with an open field, without any Equip Cards.

Mysterious Guard
While not being a warrior type himself, he CAN be used well in a Warrior Deck as a bouncer. He'll return 1 face-up monster on the field of your choice to the top of the owner's deck, and you can chose an additional monster if you have 1 face-up warrior on your side of the field. He's a Spellcaster also, so he'll work with The A. Forces

Mysterious Puppeteer
Yet another forgotten Warrior, this guy shines when you have Ultimate Offering out. You'll gain 500 Life Points each time a monster is Normal Summoned or Flip Summoned, thus negating the Cost of Ultimate Offering. Use him to swarm with warriors to power each other up with The A. Forces, use for Synchro Summons, or for tribute fodder, especially for Gilford the Lightning or Destiny Hero - Plasma.

Mystic Swordsman LV2
The Mystic Swordsman Series were truly a staple amongst Warrior Decks in general, but have largely been dropped in favor of "Shield Crush" and "Nobleman of Crossout". Its ability centers around being able to remove face-down Defense Position monsters from the field, without flipping them face-up, or destroying them by battle. It can take out many monsters that would otherwise constitute a problem, such as Searchers ("Mystic Tomato" and "Giant Rat"), "Magician of Faith", "Old Vindictive Magician", "Apprentice Magician", and any other cards like "Morphing Jar" that have a Flip Effect.

Mystic Swordsman LV4
More powerful than "Mystic Swordsman LV2", he's best placed face-down, or Special Summoned from the Graveyard. He can also be special summoned with "Marauding Captain".

Mystic Swordsman LV6
Best used in a Deck that revolves around him, he can recycle cards back to the top of the Deck, preventing your opponent from being able to draw something to take him down, if they wish to keep their Life Points protected. With a decent 2300 atk, he can cause some real damage.

Penumbral Soldier Lady
She'll gain 1000 ATK when fighting a LIGHT monster, making her great to Side Deck against Blue-Eyes White Dragon (What she was made to counter, as her effect makes her have a total of 3100 ATK), Lightsworn, and Batteryman Decks, or any deck with alot of LIGHT monsters, like Cyber Dragon decks.

Reinforcement of the Army
Perhaps the best searching card out there, it's useful for getting any Warrior-Type monster from your Deck that's Level 4 or below.

Rose, Warrior of Revenge
The only level 4 Tuner Monster is also a Warrior Tuner Monster! Searchable with Reinforcement of the Army, and as the card hints at, is great for summoning Black Rose Dragon. Just Special Summon her with Marauding Captain and Synchro Summon!

Silent Swordsman LV3
The Silent Swordsman Series are good early-game cards, LV3 especially if he can survive for longer than a turn.

Silent Swordsman LV5
"Silent Swordsman LV5"'s ability to be unaffected by Spell Cards is higher than "Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6", because you can equip it still with Equip Spell Cards. But the ability of "Silent Swordsman LV7" is not as good as "Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8".

Spell Striker
This little and weak monster can be, if it's used wisely, very destructive. It has three very useful abilites. First, you can Special Summon it from your hand, if you Remove from Play one Spell Card in your Graveyard. So you can summon another monster to the field, or you can offer Spell Striker for a high-level monster. Furthermore, Spell Striker can attack your opponent's Life Points directly. If you have a Command Knight on your side of the field, or if you have a Equip Spell Card equipped to Spell Striker, it can cause a lot of damage to the opponent. Last but not least, if Spell Striker is attacked by a monster with more ATK, it takes no Battle Damage.

Sword of Dragon's Soul
This card can be used instead of Buster Blader in a Warrior Equip deck if you chose, seeing how it's an Equip Card.

The Immortal Bushi
This card works as a "warrior" Treeborn Frog, very useful for getting high level monsters in the next turn.

The Warrior Returning Alive
Useful for maintaining Hand Advantage, this can take any Warrior-Type monster from your Graveyard and add it to your hand, regardless of its Level.

Trap Master
Another forgotten Warrior, he's good for taking out your opponents Spell Cards and Trap Cards. Even better, he can see them while their set, so he'll also reveal if your opponent is trying to trick you with Quick-Play Spell Cards. Crimson Ninja works just as well, only real difference between these two monsters are the sets they came from and their stats (Trap Master has higher stats, but not really enough to make a big difference usually).

White Ninja
When he's flipped, you can destroy 1 Defense Position monster on the field, whether it's set or not. He can overcome annoying monsters such as Shiba-Warrior Taro, Guardian Sphinx and Spirit Reaper, and any high defense monster you may come across.