As I write this article, I’m trying to work on a suitable side deck for the Shonen Jump Championship in Anaheim this weekend. It’s going to be a huge event so I’m actually quite excited about it.

There are a few approaches to a suitable side deck. Different cards can fulfill different roles. A very helpful rule to follow is that versatility is of primary importance when constructing your side deck. Since you’re limited to fifteen slots, a card that can achieve multiple goals definitely takes priority over one that can’t. Let’s take a look at the three objectives you should aim for with your side deck, ranked roughly in order of importance.

Side Decking Based on Matchup

The simple fact is that the typical top-tier Cyber Dragon, flip effect floater, and Monarch-based strategies have a few vulnerable holes that need to be filled out by the side deck.

Powerful anti-meta strategies such as the burn deck, the Cyber-Stein OTK that uses Giant Trunade to remove its own pieces of lockdown (for instance Level Limit - Area B and Gravity Bind) before unleashing the win condition, and even teched-out decks using triple Royal Decree all have the definite advantage of smashing your standard deck based on matchup. Any player who has not packed extra copies of spell or trap removal into the side deck will be woefully unprepared to deal with lockdown or burn-based strategies that prevent you from attacking.

A general concept to follow is that decks with alternate win conditions favor games where both players have lots of field presence and cards in hand. Since they need to set up their combinations to generate advantage or control, putting your opponent on his or her heels with forced simplification tools like Exiled Force, Dust Tornado, and Drop Off will swing the duel in your favor. After all, a Soul control deck that just had its Monarch discarded from hand can’t use Soul Exchange, a burn deck that had its Gravity Bind destroyed by your Dust Tornado is giving you a free 3000 ATK monster with Lava Golem, and a Cyber-Stein OTK deck that has its Stein discarded by Mind Crush has a few useless Giant Trunade cards in hand, right?

It’s also a good idea to save a few side deck slots to counter the most popular rogue deck of the time. Back in the days of Shonen Jump Championship Houston and Charlotte 2005, the Armed Samurai - Ben Kei deck was the rogue deck to beat. It was the precursor to the now-dominant Cyber-Stein OTK deck. Many of the side deck choices that counter Ben Kei also work against the Stein OTK. Stein OTK is probably the most lethal deck in the format and will bring down the most experienced players regardless of skill level.

Side Decking Based on End-of-Match Procedure

The simple fact is that the time limit of forty minutes for each duel has made it exceedingly difficult to go through an entire day at a top-level tournament without entering the end-of-match procedure. While the system is now much better than its predecessor, it’s still tough to face. The pressure increases considerably during the end-of-match procedure, so many duelists are beginning to pack cards in the side deck in anticipation of a match that goes to time.

Again, if a card can achieve multiple objectives, it’s definitely a winner. Something like Kuriboh will help combat Cyber-Stein OTK and also should be one of your first picks for end-of-match procedure, since any huge swing in life points will likely mean the loss of the match. If you think time will be called during your next game, it’s a good idea to bring in every single card that can protect your life points, provide an avenue to your opponent’s life points, or deal direct damage.

You’ll see many players use cards like Des Koala, Wave-Motion Cannon, Ceasefire, and Magic Cylinder in their side deck for time-based strategies. It’s probably a good idea to consider including a few cards that protect you as well, but make sure the cards are versatile. Nothing’s worse than having a side deck full of time-based cards when the main deck never even goes to time.

Side Decking Based on Tempo and Positioning

You can generally tell the flow of the duel after the first game. A lot of it is tied to whether you go first or second. In fact, by adjusting your main-deck with cards from the side, you can subtly tweak the tempo of the second and third games. Let’s take a look at a few examples of different games with varying paces.

Let’s say your deck features two copies of Cyber Dragon. When you go second, you expect your opponent to open with a set to each zone. You have two options that will determine the pace of play. The first is to bring in eight cards that will create a breakneck pace. Let’s say you bring in a third Cyber Dragon, two Zaborg the Thunder Monarch cards, two Nobleman of Extermination cards, two Exiled Force cards, and a Mystic Swordsman LV2.

Against the opponent’s expected set of one to each zone, you can feasibly expect to remove the defense with one of your four pieces of spell or trap removal, summon Cyber Dragon and either Exiled Force, Mystic Swordsman LV2, or Zaborg the Thunder Monarch, and hit for 2000+ damage in that turn. Because of the rapid use of cards to remove the opponent’s cards from the field, you’ll each have four to five total cards in play by the beginning of the opponent’s next turn. This is a fast tempo game with lots of card exchanges.

If you were to set a monster and two to each zone in response to the opponent’s set of one to each, the game would probably progress much more slowly. Now cards won’t be exchanged, he or she might flip something like Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive to draw a card and conserve life points, and the game slows down considerably. You might even expect to see seven to eight cards in hand and in play for each player by the beginning of the next turn.

Always remember the importance of forcing and dictating tempo based on position. If you go first, you will likely want to create a slow and measured pace because of your extra card. If you go second, you want to force tempo and establish immediate field control. When you’re matched against rogue decks with alternate win conditions, forcing the tempo is often crucial, and if you move too slowly it will lead to your defeat (think Exodia, Final Countdown, Stein OTK, and such).

Examples of Good Side Deck Decisions

We’re going to take a look at some of the best examples of each of my three categories for side decking. You’ll see why they’re so good, since most of the choices will be incredibly versatile and fill numerous categories at once.

Matchups:

Exiled Force—This card actually fits all three categories. Against bad matchups, it gives you the opportunity to force a trade. Stein loses its Nimble Momonga or other defender and takes direct damage, Soul control loses its Monarch or flip effect such as Dekoichi, burn loses its Stealth Bird or Des Koala, and so on. It’s a great card that provides an avenue for escape against numerous monster-based strategies, even the long-forgotten Horus. The card is also great for time situations because it serves as face-down removal in case your opponent goes into turtle mode. It also can help you force a fast tempo when going first or second, especially in conjunction with Cyber Dragon.

Dust Tornado—Dust Tornado is another excellent side deck card. It works incredibly well for several matchups, since it breaks Messenger of Peace and Level Limit - Area B while Royal Decree cannot. It also forces simplification if you want to force tempo (it’s one of the best opening sets in the game if you’re going first), and works great in end-of-match procedure to remove your opponent’s defenses.

Royal Decree—This card does many of the things Dust Tornado does with a few advantages and a few drawbacks. While it can negate the entire contingent of burn-oriented traps (such as Ojama Trio and Secret Barrel), it’s also quite helpless against the continuous spell-based forms of lockdown. It works very well for establishing tempo and nabbing you a quick upper hand in the right situation, but if your opponent does not draw his or her traps, you’re at a loss. Dust Tornado can preemptively take out cards like Premature Burial, Scapegoat, and Book of Moon. So while Royal Decree is definitely more powerful, it’s also riskier.

Kuriboh/Waboku/Threatening Roar—These three options are some of the best for matchup, because they counter Stein OTK. Their secondary function is to shore up your defenses in end-of-match procedure. Soundly fulfilling one category (matchup) and helping out another (end-of-match procedure) is very good. I would personally include three combined copies of these three cards, minimum.

End-of-Match Procedure:

Ceasefire—This card has been a staple of end-of-match procedure for as long as I can remember. While it helps against certain matchups as well (Return from the Different Dimension-based builds in particular), the main goal of Ceasefire is to provide you with some heavy burn damage in the event that time is called. Since it does not require an attack or even a turn to set up, Ceasefire is probably your best tool for dealing swift damage in such a situation.

Wave-Motion Cannon—The Cannon can actually counter burn to some extent, but it is primarily used in the event that time is called. Launching one while setting up a good defense will often spell game for the opponent. I personally don’t like using cards like Cannon in the side deck though, since they’re only limited to time and a few thin matchups.

Many of the cards listed before this—such as Exiled Force, Dust Tornado, and Waboku—are also incredibly solid for end-of-match procedure. You would be able to bring those in for far more matchups than the remaining burn cards I could list. Let’s move on.

Tempo/Positioning:

Drop Off—I’ve gone over this, but a card like Drop Off can force a fast tempo. If you go first, you can bring in multiple copies of Drop Off to amplify the impact of the card you draw on turn 1.

Scapegoat/Swords of Revealing Light—If you don’t main-deck Scapegoat, you might want to consider putting it in the side for when you’re going second. It will definitely slow down the tempo of the game and give you a few precious moments to recover during the opening turns. Swords is also a killer slow-down mechanism that works incredibly well for end-of-match procedure.

Cyber Dragon/Zaborg the Thunder Monarch—These two cards, especially when used in conjunction, will create a breakneck pace for the duel. You might want to max out on these in the side deck if they’re not fully accounted for in the main.

A Sample Side Deck to Close the Deal

Here’s an example of a standard side deck, organized into the three different categories I listed. Have fun building yours!

2 Dust Tornado

1 Mobius the Frost Monarch

3 Kuriboh

2 Exiled Force

1 Mystic Swordsman LV2

1 Reinforcement of the Army

2 Waboku

1 Ceasefire

1 Cyber Dragon

1 Zaborg the Thunder Monarch

That’s an example of a great side deck that can help out against numerous matchups while still maintaining a solid strategy for end-of-match procedure. Check back next week for a few decks from Shonen Jump Championship Anaheim!