Well, if you read last week’s article, you learned how to organize your Yu-Gi-Oh! card collection. Once you’ve got all those cards organized, then what? Well, if up to now you’ve only had one deck, or if your deck is a five-inch-high stack of your favorite cards with three Blue-Eyes White Dragons added in, then this article is one you’ll really get a lot out of. We’re going to go over the basics of deckbuilding!

First off, there are a few variables to take into account when building your deck: deck size, deck proportion, and deck theme. We’ll take a look at all three of these variables and explain how they fit in the overall scheme of deckbuilding. By the time you’re done reading the article and have taken a look at your own decks, you’ll see where they can be improved, and you’ll have some ideas for future decks.

Let’s get started with deck size. A legal Yu-Gi-Oh! deck must contain at least 40 cards. While there is no maximum legal size, a duelist will want to keep his or her deck as close to 40 cards as possible. Why is that? Well, a small deck increases a duelist’s chances of drawing needed cards. "But all the cards in my deck are good, and I like them, and I need them all!" you might say, especially when a new expansion comes out and introduces even more powerful and appealing cards. It can be a hard series of decisions, paring a large deck full of cards you really, really like down to 40–43, but once you understand the theory of deck building, it will be easier to figure out what to keep and what to set aside for a different deck. While a deck with a lot of cards in it might seem stronger than a deck with fewer cards in it, once a duelist thinks carefully about the cards that will be the most effective and removes the rest, he or she will find that the deck is greatly improved.

All right, from deck size we move on to deck proportion. Deck proportion is the number of monster cards (level 4 or less, tribute, effect, and so on) to the number of spell and trap cards in a deck. Different deck types run different proportions of cards, but it’s a good idea to look at between 16–18 monsters, including plenty that are level 4 or less; and the remainder as spell and trap cards.

One of the most important parts of deck proportion is the number and types of monster cards you choose to include. While big, powerful tribute monsters might seem like the ideal basis for your deck, don’t focus on them to the exclusion of smaller, level 4 and under monsters. Heavy-hitting tribute monsters with powerful effects won’t do you any good if you don’t have smaller monsters that can be summoned each turn to help protect your life points, and later serve as tributes. Fusion monsters are the same—while many Fusion monsters have high ATK and DEF or good game effects, the component monsters are sometimes very weak. Think about whether or not you’ll be able last long enough in a game to summon the powerful Fusion monster if the Fusion material monsters are not particularly powerful.

There is a core of spell and trap cards that are common in almost any deck, like Pot of Greed, Harpie’s Feather Duster, Raigeki, and Imperial Order. Most duelists like to include those, since they are pretty much standard in the game, but the balance is made up of spell and trap cards that will suit the theme or type of the deck. There are a lot of intriguing or strong spell and trap cards available in the game, but not all will fit into your deck, so it’s best to choose the ones that will work the most effectively with the other cards you’ve chosen to play.

Your deck proportions will be influenced by the cards you own, your style of play, the theme or type of your deck, and what cards and decks other duelists in your area like to use. Experiment with increasing and decreasing the proportions and see what happens. That will make choosing a final proportion a much easier and more informed decision, and it will give you useful insight into how the game can change.

Now then . . . deck theme! A well-built Yu-Gi-Oh! deck is more than just a haphazard jumble of cards. It has a theme, or a basic idea, around which the card choices are made. Also known as an archetype, a deck theme defines what the deck is designed to do, what strategies the duelist will employ, and what cards will work most effectively. A duelist could choose a deck theme based on what cards he or she has, a strategy he or she particularly likes, or what deck themes are popular in the area he or she plays.

Some popular deck themes are Beatdown, Exodia, Control, and Chaos, but there are many, many others. In upcoming weeks, we’re going to take a look at the current popular deck themes and what cards work best in them. You’ll learn what deck themes will make the best use of the cards you have, and how to build and play them.

You’ve learned about deck size, proportion and theme. What else is there? Well, there’s practice, practice, and practice. Look through your current deck, evaluate the number and proportion of the cards, and take note of what cards work well together and which ones don’t seem to help you very much. If you don’t have certain power cards, like Mirror Force or Magic Cylinder, see what you do have that can work as a substitute, like Waboku. Playtest your final result—that means find some opponents and duel! Take notes on what works well and what doesn’t, then change your deck some more and test again. Ask a more experienced duelist or the leader of your local league to take a look at your deck and offer suggestions. Keep up on new sets by reading set reviews and spoilers, to see what other cards are out there, and think about how they might work with the cards that you have.

Another occasionally overlooked way to improve your deckbuilding skills is through Limited play. The smaller card pool limits the number of cards you can choose, makes you think about the cards in new ways, and encourages you to be creative. Seeing what choices other duelists are making with the same limitations can give you more new ideas.

Look over the decks you have now, and apply what you’ve learned in today’s article. Then, plan to read over the articles in the coming weeks to further hone your deckbuilding skills. We’ll cover lots of different types, lots of different strategies, and lots of different cards, so by the end you’ll have a solid understanding of what decks there are, how they work, and how to build and play them. Stay with us, because it’s going to get even more interesting in weeks to come!