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.

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. That is the raison d'être of toolbox though...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).

Command Knight
Basic monster for enhancing warriors attack. 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 face-up Command Knights.

D.D. Assailant
Most often used late-game, to assist in finishing off an opponent with his 1700 ATK, he 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. 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.

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 and Reinforcement of the Army.

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.

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.

Marauding Captain
Previously a good form of Swarm, but his 1200 ATK has largely been put to shame with Cyber Dragon's 2100 ATK, which when combined with Warriors, constitutes the same basic Swarming ability.

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, such as 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.

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.

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 ranks as high as Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6, but the ability of Silent Swordsman LV7, is not as good as Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8.

Mataza the Zapper
A 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.

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.

Elemental Hero Neos Alius
Elemental Hero Neos Alius is essentially a Level 4 1900 ATK monster, useful only as a beatstick.

The A. Forces
Best used in a pure Warrior Deck, this can provide a further boost to a Swarm-based Warrior Deck.

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.

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