Zombie

Zombie, or Undead in the OCG, is a Type of monster representing undead beings, mostly mummies or apparitions. They are perhaps the best type at Swarming the field. Zombie monsters are known for having many cards that revive other zombies, most notable "Zombie Master", "Il Blud", "Plaguespreader Zombie", "Mezuki" and "Book of Life". They are usually DARK monsters, although a noticeable number are Earth. Zombie monsters often have low DEF, a factor that works in their favor, since "Pyramid Turtle" and "Goblin Zombie" can search out high-level monsters with low DEF quickly. Although they have the ability to be summoned or revived quickly, most zombie monsters have difficulty getting over 2500 ATK, besides the card "Skull Flame" (which can be searched using "Pyramid Turtle"). The best way to over come this weakness is by adding a "Gorz the Emissary of Darkness" for the sudden beatstick or a "Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter" to blow up 1 card on the field, then mill the top 3 cards from your deck and chance of putting Zombies in the graveyard.

Zombies also have two of their own Structure Decks, Structure Deck 2: Zombie Madness and Structure Deck 15: Zombie World. Bonz, from the anime also uses a Zombie Deck.

There are also several Zombie counterparts, notably the recently released "Revived King Ha Des", "Doomkaiser Dragon" and "Archfiend Zombie-Skull". A common theme among Zombie Counterparts is that they would be statistically identical to the monster (in the case of "Dark Ruler", even having a similar effect tailored to suit the monster's new type). A recent aesthetic theme that has emerged can be found in the new "Burning Skull" Archetype which include monsters such as "Burning Skull Head" and "Skull Flame" used by Hunter Pace in the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's anime. So far, all Zombie-Type Synchro Monsters need "Plaguespreader Zombie" as their Tuner Monsters (Synchro Material Monsters). With the release of Generation Force, Pain Painter can be used as a substitute for Plaguespreader Zombie, and can some times be more powerful than Plaguespreader Zombie.

In the OCG, Zombies are Undead, although close examination shows that it is actually Undeat. This probably resulted from staff from Konami mistakenly printing 「アンデット」 instead of 「アンデッド」 on every Zombie card in Vol.1, and came into the spotlight when Undeat Warrior was released in Vol.2.

While this stirred confusion back then, it is now treated as a long running joke by the OCG community.

In the Yu-Gi-Oh! The Falsebound Kingdom, Zombies are treated as Fiend monsters.

Pure Zombies are generally not run, as they have access to only one good Zombie Tuner (Plaguespreader Zombie) but are instead usually supported with other archetypes

Debris Zombies
Perhaps the most prevalent of Zombie decks at the moment, this deck uses the recurring nature of Zombie non-tuners and Plant tuners while also using armed dragons as field control, to quickly synchro summon a wealth of monsters. It generally uses the Ryko engine to help set up both Zombies and Plants.

Monsters

 * Mezuki
 * Plaguespreader Zombie
 * Zombie Master
 * Pyramid Turtle
 * Dark Armed Dragon
 * Chaos Sorcerer
 * Armed Dragon LV7
 * Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter
 * Glow-Up Bulb
 * Dandylion
 * Lonefire Blossom
 * Card Trooper

Spells

 * One for One
 * Burial from a Different Dimension
 * Allure of Darkness
 * Book of Life
 * Foolish Burial

Traps

 * Call of the Haunted

Lightsworn Zombies
A Zombie deck that has weathered many banlists, this deck uses the milling power of the Lightsworn monsters to set up plays with Zombies.

Monsters

 * Mezuki
 * Plaguespreader Zombie
 * Goblin Zombie
 * Zombie Master
 * Pyramid Turtle
 * Dark Armed Dragon
 * Chaos Sorcerer
 * Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning
 * Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress
 * Jain, Lightsworn Paladin
 * Necro Gardna
 * Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter
 * Glow-Up Bulb
 * Card Trooper

Spells

 * Charge of the Light Brigade
 * Solar Recharge
 * One for One
 * Burial from a Different Dimension
 * Allure of Darkness
 * Book of Life
 * Foolish Burial

Diva Zombies
Once again using the Hamster/Ryko engine, this deck seeks to use Deep Sea Diva's ability to bring out multiple copies of itself and the recurring nature of Zombies to set up big plays

Monsters

 * Mezuki
 * Plaguespreader Zombie
 * Goblin Zombie
 * Zombie Master
 * Pyramid Turtle
 * Dark Armed Dragon
 * Chaos Sorcerer
 * Super-Nimble Mega Hamster
 * Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter
 * Glow-Up Bulb
 * Card Trooper
 * Deep Sea Diva
 * Spined Gillman

Spells

 * Burial from a Different Dimension
 * Allure of Darkness
 * Book of Life
 * Foolish Burial

Traps

 * Call of the Haunted

Striker Zombies
Striker Zombies, while not too notable, have enjoyed some recent success in Japan. Being one of the only Zombie decks to not run a mill engine, they rely greatly on their search power to make plays

Monsters

 * Mezuki
 * Plaguespreader Zombie
 * Goblin Zombie
 * Zombie Master
 * Pyramid Turtle
 * Dark Armed Dragon
 * Glow-Up Bulb
 * T.G. Striker
 * Summoner Monk
 * Destiny Hero - Malicious
 * Unknown Synchron
 * Sangan
 * Blackwing - Zephyros the Elite
 * Armageddon Knight

Spells

 * One for One
 * Reinforcement of the Army
 * Burial from a Different Dimension
 * Allure of Darkness
 * Book of Life
 * Foolish Burial

Traps

 * Call of the Haunted