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Yu-Gi-Oh!: Top 10 Best Starter Decks

Starter decks are a great of introducing yourself to Yugioh if you’re completely new.

Discontinued in 2018, they’re still worth picking up as cheap budget options to top up your collection.

Providing a few nice rarity cards, staples for any deck and toolboxes to create your own strategies, starter decks are essential for entering Yugioh.

Of course, structure decks are far more viable in a real duel but they can be confusing for new players.

I’ll be listing the 10 best starter decks available, as there’s plenty of old, outdated options, so you need to get the right one.

Some of them will be worth acquiring in groups of 3 boxes, as you’ll get 3 copies of each card!

Game mats are another essential item for a Yugioh player, you should have several to choose from.

Starter decks are also great for younger players, as the strategies aren’t too heavy and you can obtain them for a small price!


10. Duelist Toolbox

Duelist Toolbox, one of the best starter decks in Yugioh

Card list

Containing some decent synchro cards to get your collection going, duelist toolbox offers a bunch of great cards to build a deck around.

Junk Destroyer‘s effect still holds up to this day, clearing the field for you to launch an assault.

Other generic synchro monsters are nice to have to hand.

Get it on Amazon


9. V for Victory

V For Victory, one of the best starter decks in Yugioh

Card list

Technically a Super Starter deck rather than a normal Starter deck, V for Victory comes with two Super Starter Power-Up packs (card list here) which surprisingly contain some awesome cards.

The V for Victory starter deck itself is also pretty nice, revolving around the rank 4 Utopia line which is honestly the easiest way to learn about XYZ summoning!

Get it on Amazon


8. XYZ Symphony

XYZ Symphony, one of the best starter decks in Yugioh

Card list

Konami was generous with this starter deck, giving you five XYZ monsters to add to your collection.

Other cards provided allow you to easily summon your XYZ monsters, as well as introducing you to a few archetypes.

It’s worth investing time into archetypes, they tend to flow together naturally, giving you more options and fluidity.

Get it on Amazon


7. Starter Deck: Yuya

Yuya, one of the best starter decks in Yugioh

Card list

After Yugioh ZEXAL and its XYZ monsters came ARC-V and Pendulum monsters.

Moving over to the new duel field and seeing these half-monster/half-spell cards can be extremely confusing, trust me it was difficult for even pro players to get used to the differences.

Nowadays, Pendulum cards are often seen in the best competitive Yu-Gi-Oh! decks so it’s important to know how to use them. Starter Deck: Yuya introduces Pendulum monsters perfectly whilst also giving you a playmat, 5 holo cards, and even some tokens!

Get it on Amazon


6. Space-Time Showdown

Space-Time Showdown, one of the best starter decks in Yugioh

Card list

Another super starter deck, one that boasts considerably more power than the previous super starter.

It comes with 2 bonus power-up packs, containing yet more cards that every duelist should have.

Ultra Rare variants of Dark Hole and Odd-Eyes Dragon are also included, which are truly epic cards to receive.

Get it on Amazon


5. Dark Legion

Dark Legion, one of the best starter decks in Yugioh

Card list

Beat-down cards are perfect for new players, intricate combos and strategies are confusing so using cards with simple yet effective abilities is crucial.

The Dark Legion starter deck contains plenty of beat-down cards capable of going toe-to-toe with almost any other starter deck.

You’ll also get a Secret Rare card which is arguably one of the best rarities in the entire game!

Get it on Amazon


4. Saber Force

Saber Force, one of the best starter decks in Yugioh

Card list

Saber Force and Dark Legion came out at the same time, as alternatives to each other.

This starter deck brings more to the table though, being slightly more powerful while providing more notable cards.

Odd-Eyes Saber Dragon, featured on the cover art, is an incredible level 7 monster with 2800 ATK that can be summoned with ease.

Quicker, more powerful than the previous entry, Saber Force deserves to be in the top 3 of this list.

Get it on Amazon


3. Dawn of the XYZ

Dawn of the XYZ, one of the best starter decks in Yugioh

Card list

Three shiny cards are included with this starter deck, as are a number of generic cards that can be transferred to other decks if needed.

Dawn of the XYZ gives you plenty of XYZ summoning options with beat-down support cards to keep them on the field.

An emphasis on swarming monsters and level-changing make this starter deck a good choice to learn how to utilise monster effects correctly!

Get it on Amazon


Link Strike, the best starter deck in Yugioh

Card list

Without a shadow of a doubt, Link Strike is one of the best starter decks in the game, even long-time players will have obtained 3 of these when it came out.

Decode Talker, depicted on the cover art, is one of the best budget Link monsters in Yugioh and the inclusion of Link Spider makes this starter deck even better.

You also acquire 5 shiny cards upon purchasing this set and a ton of support for other decks, including hand-traps like Battle Fader and Effect Veiler.

Excellent value for money and a must-have for any Yugioh player!

Get it on Amazon


1. Codebreaker

Card list

The sheer volume of generic good cards in this starter deck is crazy.

Codebreaker gives a huge boost to your Link capabilities, giving 5 Link monsters with link ratings between 1 and 3.

Plenty of monsters, spells, and traps to include in your other decks/strategies are also included.

Marshmallon, for example, is an excellent option for a stall Exodia deck.

Codebreaker provides you with everything you need to get started in Yugioh in 2021. And that makes it the best starter deck in the game!

Get it on Amazon

Heikloman_sama

Monday 19th of April 2021

But where is Codebreaker? In codebreaker are de/- and transcode talker and its op for a starter deck

Ryan McKenna

Monday 26th of April 2021

Yep this list was due an update, which is now complete :)

Jacob

Wednesday 20th of November 2019

Were is soulburner it's in the meta and it very easy to make and it cheap

Ryan McKenna

Tuesday 26th of November 2019

Soulburner is a structure deck :P this list is for starter decks