Spirit monsters are one of the most under-represented sub-types in Yugioh with only 33 individual spirit monsters in the entire game. As such, you very rarely see a deck based around them as they don’t have many choices when it comes to effectiveness. I fully believe there’s still a huge array of options available for spirit monsters, they have a natural weakness as they return back to the hand, allowing for a bigger power budget when it comes to their advantages. Regardless, we have to make do with what we have…
I looked through the rather small pool of spirit monsters and decided on the 10 best in the game!
10. Kinka-Byo
As you can tell, the first few entries will be quite severely underwhelming. Kinka-Byo may be effective for certain combos, spirit monsters could do with some low levels that are easy to summon. Having access to level 1 monsters opens the door for plenty of new strategies so it’s worth taking this monster into account when building a spirit deck.
9. Tsukuyomi
Tsukuyomi has a surprising amount of amazing combos to make the most out of its effect. We’ve seen Book of Moon be popular for many years for its flipping effect and this spirit monster has something similar. I’d say this monster should make any deck based around the spirit sub-type.
8. Rasetsu
So many monsters have “cannot be destroyed” effects nowadays, most boss monsters are considered to be bad if they don’t have access to such an effect. Rasetsu doesn’t care for such effects, returning any of your opponent’s attack position monsters back to their hand, so long as you can reveal a spirit monster. With a decent DEF stat, this spirit monster brings a few advantages to the table and should be considered on this list.
7. Yaksha
Sometimes a low level, high ATK beater is a game-changer in Yugioh. Using combos to get big monsters are fine but having a back-up monster like this can make a big, big difference. Returning a spell/trap to the hand is actually quite crazy, so many spell/traps have effects when they’re destroyed so Yaksha can help you get around these efficiently!
6. Nikitama
Spirit monsters are all about their summoning effects, otherwise the trade-off of them being returned to the hand would make them more unusable. Nikitama boosts the viability of any deck containing spirit monsters, giving you another normal summon after its summoned. You can summon this monster, tribute it for a level 5 or 6 monster and also draw a card. Every spirit monster deck should contain at least a single copy of Nikitama.
5. Amaterasu
Amaterasu can only be normal set (face-down) but don’t let that deter you from taking a second look. If it manages to survive a turn, you can flip it into face-up attack, banish all other cards on the field and draw 1 card. Such a powerful effect opens the door for many combos that result in OTKs, as your opponent will have no cards on the field. Summoning it can be a challenge though, which is why it’s only 5th on this list.
4. Yamata Dragon
What a crazy card, Yamata Dragon was released many years ago yet I never actually heard of this card until I started researched options for this list. My jaw dropped when I read its effect, which it allows you to draw cards until you have 5 in your hand whenever Yamata Dragon deals battle damage to your opponent. But this card has never been over-powered or anything, it has disadvantages in the form of it returning to your hand. Still though, it’s one of the best spirit monsters in the game.
3. Dark Dust Spirit
Not just a great spirit monster, Dark Dust Spirit works well in a zombie deck too. It does have particularly low ATK/DEF stats for its level but that’s understandable, given it nukes all other face-up monsters when its summoned. Combine this with Nikitama (entry number 6) and you have can easily make your opponent’s face go red. Dark Dust Spirit brings a ton of power to any spirit monster deck.
2. Ama-No-Iwato
I’m technically cheating with this card as it isn’t yet released in English (Soon™). When it is released though, we may see a resurgence in spirit monster popularity, however unlikely. A monster that negates all other monster effects is insanely good in this era, preventing many decks from doing their “Once per turn, during either player’s turn” effects that are so common nowadays. With 1900 ATK, Ama-No-Iwato will serve as a good attacking monster too.
1. Yamato-No-Kami
I’d argue this is the only card on the list you’d definitely put three copies of in a spirit deck. While its effect isn’t the best on the list, the summoning conditions are easy to meet, allowing you to get Yamato-No-Kami on the field without trouble. Imagine summoning two of these monsters after flipping Amaterasu (entry number 5), that’s an easy OTK. Also, being able to destroy your opponent’s spells & traps is really good, even if it does require you to destroy a monster by battle!