North American duelists have been waiting for the arrival of Structure Decks for years, and now they’ve finally hit our shores in a big way! The Dragon’s Roar and Zombie Madness structure decks have become one of the top-selling Yu-Gi-Oh! products of all time, and today I want to talk a bit about my favourite of the two.

Zombie movies define coolness in my mind. From the calm collectedness of Duane Jones to the immortal one-liners of Bruce Campbell, zombies have been the catalyst for some of my favourite cinematic moments. Though it’s part of a long legacy of undead awesomeness that can be hard to live up to, the Zombie Madness Structure Deck doesn’t disappoint those who’ve come to associate the word “zombie” with “quality product” . . .

 . . . This is why I retired from advertising last year.

The cool thing about both Structure Decks is that they’re really versatile. You can play them on their own in Sealed Pack formats, you can add a few cards of your own to make a playable tournament-level deck, or you can pick them up for the wide range of powerful cards each includes. Though both decks excel in all three of these categories, I really feel Zombie Madness edges out Dragon’s Roar for a few reasons.

First up, whether it’s a tournament or just some casual play with your friends, the Zombie Structure deck has much more resiliency than the Dragon deck. While Dragon’s Roar does have a slightly greater level of control over the opponent’s spells and traps as well as two very powerful level 4 monsters in the form of Luster Dragon, the Zombie Madness deck still gets out large monsters on a more frequent basis. Its recursive effects let you abuse the big monsters you summon while providing you with more tribute fodder. Double Coston can even pull double duty as both an attacker and a fast way to get out huge Zombies. The result is a deck that starts a little slowly but then opens a floodgate of high-ATK monsters that an opponent will find difficult to deal with.

The deck’s also pretty tricky. Creature Swap lets you gain some serious board advantage over an opponent when combined with Pyramid Turtle, and it can quickly net you a win if the monster you force the opponent to take is an attack position Spirit Reaper. On top of that, you’ve also got Vampire Lord, Vampire Lady, and Soul-Absorbing Bone Tower to mess around with your opponent’s deck. While deck disruption isn’t a tier-one strategy in Constructed, it can be devastating in Sealed Pack.

You can make a playable tournament deck out of the Zombie Madness Structure, too, since almost everything you need for a tournament-ready Zombie deck is right at your fingertips. Vampire Lord, Book of Life, and other previously high-cost staples of the archetype are included, so with just a few cards of your own, you’ll have a really great deck at your disposal. The cards you’d want to add in are pretty inexpensive: Patrician of Darkness, a couple more copies of Spirit Reaper, Regenerating Mummy, and maybe another Double Coston are the big needs, and they’re just normal rares or commons! If you’ve ever wanted to try a Zombie deck but didn’t want to shell out for all the cards you’d need, Zombie Madness has you covered.

Both Structures also have a ton of cool spells and traps that work well in any deck, but Zombie Madness has several that aren’t available in Dragon’s Roar. Dust Tornado, Magic Jammer, Compulsory Evacuation Device, Giant Trunade, Card of Safe Return, Heavy Storm, Creature Swap, and the mighty Torrential Tribute can only be found in Zombie Madness! The price of a holographic Torrential Tribute alone is usually more than a Structure deck anyways. For duelists on a budget, or for those who don’t want to wear out their expensive cards, this deck is an absolute boon.

Not to mention that you also get a copy of Vampire Genesis, an exclusive promo only to be found in Zombie Madness. Though it’s a bit tricky to get into play, it’s a real bruiser once it’s summoned, and even if you don’t want to include it in a deck, promos always make great trade bait.

Whether you’re a veteran duellist, a collector, or a new player who wants to slide into the game quickly and start taking tourneys, Structure Decks are the way to go! Though both decks warrant a purchase, if you only want to pick up one, give Zombie Madness a shot. It’s a resilient deck right out of the box, it can be converted to a tournament-winning beast with a minimum of work, and it’s packed with great cards!

-Jason Grabher-Meyer