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All of the characters in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX play decks that reflect their personalities. Dr. Crowler’s deck demonstrates his passion for ancient knowledge, Alexis’s reflects a give-and-take attitude to life combined with her own feminine grace, and Syrus uses monsters that aren’t much on their own, but can dominate the duel through confidence and teamwork. Jaden Yuki, the main character, wields a deck that is no exception to this rule.

Jaden’s deck is based around the Elemental Heroes, which are monsters that were made available in The Lost Millennium and Cyber Revolution. Though they’re not particularly strong on their own, the Elemental Heroes can be complemented by other cards that are specifically designed to level the playing field, allowing them to take down monsters far larger than themselves. They can also team up to create powerful fusions. The monsters themselves are creatures of purity and heroism, and though each has a very different nature (as represented by their different attributes), they are all representations of heroes in their own rights. This diversity is closely tied to Jaden’s ability to see the best in those around him, even in duelists who would count him as an enemy.

Here’s a deck you can put together that’s very similar to the one that Jaden plays. The numbers have been changed from Jaden’s exact counts, but he’s used every card in the deck at one time or another. It’s a playable (and fun!) representation of Jaden’s deck shortly after his arrival at Duel Academia.

The Elemental Hero cards are the heart of this deck’s offense, and we’re running two of each Hero that’s available in both The Lost Millennium and Cybernetic Revolutions. The exception to this rule is Elemental Hero Clayman. With its 2000 DEF, it makes a great opening monster to set on the first turn, so we’ll run three copies.

The single Hero that can’t be fused is Elemental Hero Bubbleman, a new card found in Cyber Revolution. It makes up for its lack of fusion synergy with a cool effect—when it’s the last card in your hand, you can special summon it for free. Better yet, if you do so and it’s the only card left on your side of the field, you get to draw two cards! It can help you overextend to finish off an opponent in the mid-game, but it can also give you a distinct advantage if you find yourself in topdecking situations in the late game.

Dark Catapulter is another hot card from Cyber Revolutions, and its effect is Jaden’s main source of spell and trap removal. You wouldn’t want to send any of your big fusion monsters into Sakuretsu Armor or Mirror Force, so Dark Catapulter is invaluable. Try to defend it once it hits the table—if you can keep it around, it can quickly force an opponent to either give up card advantage or abandon the notion of setting spells and traps!

Wroughtweiler helps this deck use multiple fusion monsters in a single duel. While it might not be immediately useful in your opening hand, hold onto it. It can compensate for the high investment that Jaden’s fusions demand.

The last monsters in this deck are Winged Kuriboh and its Cyber Revolutions companion Winged Kuriboh LV10. Along with Transcendent Wings, which is the spell card that’s necessary to level up Winged Kuriboh, this pair of monsters gives Jaden an alternate win condition! Winged Kuriboh LV10 gives massive board control through its monster-destroying effect, but it can also dish out a huge amount of damage if its effect really goes off. Winged Kuriboh itself can also stall an opponent, so don’t underestimate how useful it can be when it helps you get to your important Hero cards. Jaden routinely uses it for just that purpose, and it works just as well in real life as it does in the TV series!

Dark Factory of Mass Production, Monster Reincarnation, and The Warrior Returning Alive pick up where Wroughtweiler leaves off, giving you increased access to Elemental Hero cards in the graveyard that you can use for your fusions. Once you’ve got the Heroes that you need, both Polymerization and Cyber Revolution’s Miracle Fusion will let you turn them into their powerful combined forms.

Perhaps you prefer to hedge your bets? Skyscraper is the card that every Elemental Heroes fan has been waiting for, and it will finally be released in Cyber Revolution! It’s a powerful field spell that, when active, gives outmatched Elemental Hero attackers +1000 ATK! It makes virtually all of the Elemental Heroes into real powerhouses in battle, and it makes Sparkman so deadly that it can take down Jinzo without incurring a scratch.

Spark Blaster and Bubble Shuffle are new spell cards, and each is linked to Sparkman and Bubbleman, respectively. They’re tricky control cards that can throw an opponent off balance, but you need to have the proper Heroes around to use them. Both cards do some neat things with the positions of your opponent’s monsters, and they’re interesting cards that most opponents won’t see coming.

Three of the five traps in the deck are copies of Hero Signal. Though Skyscraper makes your Elemental Heroes absolutely brutal on offense, they’re still susceptible to being attacked, so Hero Signal can replace Heroes that fall in battle. The cool part about this is that you get to choose which Hero comes to the rescue, so it’s a great way to get that last bit of fusion material you need! You can even throw up a wall with Clayman. A Hero Emerges also maintains your board presence, and Mirror Force (conveniently reprinted in Dark Beginnings 2) can protect you from one big attack while giving you a huge advantage on the following turn!

Just like in the TV series, Jaden’s deck takes a bit of time to get going. You’ll need to carefully balance the risks of playing weaker Heroes on the field with their potential benefits. This deck can really go off if it gets a single Elemental Hero Flame Wingman or Elemental Hero Thunder Giant, and if that monster can stay on the field for a few turns, victory is virtually guaranteed. Be careful, though—you probably won’t have the cards you need until you’re a few turns into the duel. Take advantage of Winged Kuriboh and Elemental Hero Clayman to hold off aggressive opponents in the early game.

Miracle Fusion and Polymerization aren’t the only cards that let this deck tear into an opponent. Don’t underestimate the value of Skyscraper. A handful of Heroes with lower ATK suddenly become an elite fighting force as soon as Skyscraper hits the field, so keep that in mind when you’re deciding whether to summon several monsters or to hang back.

Try and keep an opponent off balance while you wait for a fusion spell or a Skyscraper. A single Smashing Ground or Lightning Vortex will instantly undo the work you put into an Elemental Hero Flame Wingman or Elemental Hero Thunder Giant, so play boldly when possible to draw out those threats early on. You’ll have to play this deck the way Jaden does in order to overcome some opponents—throw caution to the wind and play with the heart of a hero to see it really shine!

The best part? If you build this deck now, it’s only going to get stronger. November’s upcoming set, titled “Elemental Energy,” looks like it will include even more cards for Hero decks. This strategy will become increasingly viable as time goes on!