In celebration of the upcoming release of Elemental Energy, I’ll be reviewing a key set of support cards (in six flavors) that have gone unjustly ignored for a long time. I’m talking, of course, about the field spells that are tied to the six different attributes of Yu-Gi-Oh! monsters. Is this starting to sound like an episode of Captain Planet? Perhaps.

You see, each of the different elements brings something different to the table. The Water, Dark, Earth, Wind, Fire, and Light elements all have corresponding field spells (which were released in Spell Ruler), and other supporting cards, such as the remove-from-graveyard effects found in Labyrinth of Nightmare (Aqua Spirit, Garuda the Wind Spirit) and Invasion of Chaos (Silpheed, Gigantes). There are many excellent developing themes in each of the different attribute groups of monsters, and all of the elemental decks constructed in this series of articles will rely heavily on the two best pieces of attribute support.

Why Play an Elemental Attribute-Based Deck?

The obvious reason is that a themed deck is a lot more fun to play than the deck that results from throwing together a bunch of unrelated cards. However, elemental attribute decks in this new Beatdown-based format are much more viable that they have been in the past. The first key part of the arsenal is what I like to call the elemental self-replacing searchers. These were all released in Spell Ruler, with each searcher packing 1400 ATK and mixed defense values. Each of them will let you bring out a monster of that corresponding attribute with an ATK value that’s less than or equal to 1500.

The benefits of these monsters are obvious. Each time one is destroyed, another springs back in its place! In addition, most of the best monsters in the game have ATK values lower than 1500, and almost every element can search out numerous threats that all spring from one monster. Each of my articles will discuss strategies that each elemental deck can support, and will feature strong monster lineups that exploit those synergies.

The second key to your deck’s strategy is the field spells, which were also released in Spell Ruler. These cards add 500 points of ATK—transforming even mild threats like Don Zaloog into field-dominating powerhouses—and subtract 400 points of defense. Therefore, most elemental decks can’t feature too many defensive monsters. It’s all about attacking from here on out. If that sort of thing floats your boat or finds your lost remote, you’ll love a structured, synergistic deck!

To make sure every elemental deck gets its time in the spotlight, I assigned each of them to a number on a six-sided die. Fire is 1, Earth is 2, Dark is 3, Light is 4, Wind is 5, and Water is 6.

** JAELOVE has rolled a 1.

Wow! In this completely non-arbitrary method of determining what to feature, I rolled a 1. This article, then, will discuss the first of the elements—Fire!

Why Should You Play a Fire Deck?

The Fire attribute is one that has not been fully supported by the powers that be who are in control of Yu-Gi-Oh! There are only some sixty-odd Fire effect monsters in the entire game, and most of them don’t match up with our favorite Dark, Light, and Earth monsters. Running the Fire deck will make you a bit of an underdog, but at the same time, it’ll give you the opportunity to surprise your opponent with all sorts of blood-boiling tricks!

Fire decks are based around Fire monsters’ natural abilities to burn the opponent for life point damage. Burn, of course, refers to any way of dealing life point damage to the opponent outside of battle. This works well with Lockdown strategies and can generally end the game faster than the other elements can. To take full advantage of the Fire theme, the deck will have to feature quick access to the key Fire monsters that are found in the format.

Of course, it wasn’t really until the release of the ultimate-rare–enabled group of sets (starting from Soul of the Duelist onward) that Fire decks got a tribute monster to be proud of. Most of you are probably thinking of Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys by now, but you’ll be surprised to note that the majestic bird doesn’t really belong in a Fire-themed deck. Its 2400 ATK already makes it powerful enough to not require benefits from Molten Destruction, and searching into Flame Ruler just to sacrifice it still nets negative resource advantage, when compared to the more popular Apprentice Magician into Hand of Nephthys route.

Instead, Fire users will have to content themselves with an array of devastating monsters that don’t have the gaudy word “Nephthys” in them. Let’s get to work building the arsenal. Remember, of course, that the entire Fire deck strategy can revolve around the nifty UFO Turtle, which features relatively unimpressive raw stats of 1400 ATK and 1200 DEF—but it can bring all manner of spectacular friends to the fray.

Constructing a Solid Fire Monster Lineup

The first monster choice for every Fire deck should be Solar Flare Dragon. Assuming that it’s brought out by the effect of UFO Turtle, you’ll do an instant 500 points of damage right there! You can assume that one card in your hand “costs” about 2000 life points, which is about the going rate for one resource in this format. Solar Flare Dragon immediately pays for one-fourth of the standard life point cost for one card, then stacks on added damage while boasting a muscular boosted 2000 ATK and Lockdown characteristics.

You see, summoning a Pyro-type monster right after UFO Turtle searches out Solar Flare Dragon insures some sort of lockdown for your opponent. Even better, if you can bring forth two copies of Solar Flare Dragon to the field, it’ll insure 1000 life points of auxiliary burn damage a turn, in addition to the aforementioned 2000 ATK. Now, you must be wondering what type of Pyro monsters you can summon. Don’t be shy—go ahead and ask!

**User has asked JAELOVE a question.

After Solar Flare Dragon, the next best search might be Fox Fire, a nifty common from Rise of Destiny that must be face-up in order to trigger. Of course, searching it out with UFO Turtle and then moving it to defense position is a lot easier than having to summon it in attack position and taking 1000 points of damage or more. Once it’s securely nestled in place, it’ll provide a furry wall that will require your opponent to summon two monsters to successfully deal damage! Fox Fire will never leave the field.

Of course, if that seems a tad too defensive for you, you might find success by searching for Raging Flame Sprite instead. This cute pixie will jump to 1600 ATK after a successful direct attack if you have your field spell on the field. Protect it for one turn, and next turn, you’ll have a 2600 ATK monstrosity! Many decks have been built around this card’s lockdown abilities. Given the power of its effect, it’s not hard to see why.

Some other great all-purpose Fire options include Blast Magician, which you should only run one copy of, and The Thing in the Crater, if you want to go Pyro-heavy. Blast Magician is a decidedly inferior card without the field support spell; it has a piddling 1400 ATK with a rather underwhelming effect. However, the equation changes drastically once you bring in Molten Destruction. You can summon Blast Magician, play Molten Destruction, and then destroy Spirit Reaper! With the Fire deck, plays like these should be common. On the other hand, The Thing in the Crater allows you to bring out any Pyro monster. Of course, focusing strictly on the Pyro sub-type is not really recommended, since Pyro monsters are in short supply. Hopefully, we will see future releases bring more Pyro and Fire monsters to utilize.

Now that the core of the group is set, it would be wise to introduce what’s perhaps the best Fire monster in the game: Spirit of Flames. This card acts as a 2000 ATK powerhouse without the field spell, is a special summon, and jumps up to an incredible 2500 ATK once Molten Destruction is enabled. It will allow you to swarm the board for an immediate jolt of direct damage, or to set up a tribute summon for either Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6 or Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch. Both tribute options are fantastic, and they’re even better when combined with Spirit of Flames!

The pieces are in place! Let’s take a look at a possible monster lineup for a great Fire deck.

Monsters: 18

1 Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch

2 Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6

1 Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4

3 UFO Turtle

2 Solar Flare Dragon

1 Fox Fire

1 Raging Flame Sprite

2 Spirit of Flames

1 Breaker the Magical Warrior

1 Sangan

1 Blast Magician

1 Cyber Jar

1 Morphing Jar

One of the advantages to running this Fire-themed deck is that few Fire monsters are used in other player’s decks. The Earth-based deck would have to worry about opposing D. D. Assailants and Bazoo the Soul Eaters receiving the benefits of Gaia Power, while Dark-based decks would worry about pumping up Mystic Tomato or Breaker the Magical Warrior. However, since few Fire monsters appear in main decks, the field is all yours!

The UFO Turtle approach will generally try to bring out the best answer for the situation. If you’re pushed back on your heels, Fox Fire will suffice. However, if you have the options to get offensive, Solar Flare Dragon or Blast Magician are great options! Any of these, in turn, can then tribute into either Horus LV6 or Thestalos. Let’s take a look at the possible spell lineup for a Fire deck.

Spells: 17

1 Dark Hole

1 Snatch Steal

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

1 Heavy Storm

3 Molten Destruction

1 Nobleman of Crossout

2 Creature Swap

2 Smashing Ground

1 Swords of Revealing Light

1 Premature Burial

2 Messenger of Peace

1 My Body as a Shield

A few cards that are borderline calls in other decks are necessary here. Swords of Revealing Light works great with the Solar Flare Dragon lock, and Confiscation is needed to immediately root out a Heavy Storm or a Breaker the Magical Warrior that can derail your plans. The rest is quite obvious, including the two copies of Creature Swap, which should enable you to easily hit over 2000 damage in one turn with a successful maneuver. Simply swap UFO Turtle for your opponent’s monster. You can then attack it, bring out Solar Flare Dragon to attack with, then deal 500 damage during the end phase.

The copies of Messenger of Peace work both offensively and defensively. Since almost all of your monsters have ATK values below 1500, you can simply bide your time as you wait for an opening to develop. Once you have Molten Destruction or another offensive force ready, simply stop paying the cost and deal some instant damage! Of course, Horus is immune to all spell cards, so the main part of your arsenal is to bring it out and attack successfully with it through the barrier of Messenger of Peace.

Traps: 7

1 Call of the Haunted

1 Ceasefire

1 Magic Cylinder

2 Sakuretsu Armor

2 Dust Tornado

Your trap lineup includes two elements of burn that will help end the games that your monsters open up. The rest of the trap lineup is fairly self-explanatory.

This concludes the overview of part one of the Attribute decks! Fire is the name of the game, and it should surprise your opponents! Each of the decks has their own strengths and weaknesses, so try playing around with the Fire deck to see what you enjoy and what you dislike.