In the first episode of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters series, Yugi Muto was able to successfully defeat Seto Kaiba by having all five pieces of Exodia in hand. This allowed Yugi to summon the Forbidden One, and avenge his father’s loss to Kaiba. Since then, Exodia has long been a beloved figure in Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Yu-Gi-Oh! games. Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel does have the five pieces of Exodia in-game, making it possible to re-enact Yugi’s stunning victory and beat opposing players on the ranked ladder.
But, how should you construct an Exodia deck? Let’s go over our recommendations.
Monsters
Here’s a look at the Main Deck Monsters:
- (x1) Exodia the Forbidden One – Limited to one copy. Needed for a win condition.
- (x1) Left Leg of the Forbidden One – Limited to one copy. Needed for a win condition.
- (x1) Right Leg of the Forbidden One – Limited to one copy. Needed for a win condition.
- (x1) Left Arm of the Forbidden One – Limited to one copy. Needed for a win condition.
- (x1) Right Arm of the Forbidden One – Limited to one copy. Needed for a win condition.
- (x3) Royal Magical Library – 0 ATK Monster that gains one Spell Counter for each time a Spell Card is activated. Can take three counters of it, and draw one card. The effect is not once per turn.
Exodia decks, by and large, function much differently than traditional Yu-Gi-Oh! decks. The goal is to get all five pieces of the Forbidden one to hand. Once that’s accomplished, the user can then reveal all five from the hand and win the duel without even declaring an attack.
Because of the unique win condition needed to win with this deck, the key is to use Monsters that can aid in draw power. Draw power is pivotal, as without it, it’s next to near impossible to add all five pieces in short order.
An ideal Monster to use for this deck, outside of the five Exodia pieces, is Royal Magical Library. Because of the widespread use of Spells in this deck, coupled with its ability, Royal Magical Library can be an aid in getting the five pieces to hand. All that needs to be done is get it to hand, summon it, and then go off with the Spells. If you don’t have it in hand to start the duel, then it’s time to crank up the Spells.
Spells
Now for the Spell Cards:
- (x3) Upstart Goblin – Draw one card at a cost of giving the other player 1000 LP.
- (x3) Chicken Game – Pivotal Field Spell. Can lose 1000 LP, and draw one card. Key is to draw into the three copies, and use each card’s effect once.
- (x3) Pseudo Space – Field Spell that can mimic different Field Spell in GY. This is used to gain Chicken Game’s effect and draw additional cards.
- (x3) Toon Table of Contents – Add a Toon card, including itself to hand. Used to the thin deck.
- (x3) Into the Void – Draw a card, but discard the whole hand at end of the turn. The last effect doesn’t matter too much, since Exodia decks rely on getting the five pieces in hand before the effect goes off.
- (x3) Magical Mallet – Can shuffle any number of cards from hand to Deck, and can then draw the same number. Mainly used to get rid of useless cards.
- (x3) Dark World Dealings – Discard one card, and draw another. Can make use of useless cards, like an extra Royal Magical Library or Toon Table of Contents.
- (x3) Golden Bamboo Sword – Can be used when Bamboo Sword Equip Spell is on the field. Draw two cards if you control one.
- (x1-x3) Broken Bamboo Sword – Really only need one or two here, but three copies could be run. Equip Spell that adds 0 ATK to Monster, but mainly used to get Golden Bamboo Sword’s effect off.
- (x2-x3) Cursed Bamboo Sword – Used to get Golden Bamboo Sword’s effect off. Can also add a Broken Bamboo card to hand, when sent to the GY.
- (x2) Double Summon – Used to add the ability to Normal Summon a second copy of Royal Magical Library.
- (x1) One Day of Peace – Each player can draw a card.
- (x1) Terraforming – Can be used to add Chicken Game or Pseudo Space to the field.
- (x1) Pot of Duality (optional) – Not needed, but can be used to add a card from the top three of the deck to the hand.
- (x1) Toon World (optional) – Not needed, but could be used as a last target for Toon Table of Contents.
The Spell Cards that are used for this deck are mainly used to mill out the deck by drawing. Upstart Goblin, Into the Void, and Dark World Dealings are examples of that. However, there are two other key components to watch for.
One is Double Summon. This card is extremely important for this deck. Since Royal Magical Library’s effect is not a once per turn one, making use of it is vital. The best way to make use of it is to get one, and then two by way of Double Summon, out on the field. Then, you’ll be able to just keep activating Spell Cards, and then activate Library’s effect to draw even more.
Second, make good use of the Bamboo Sword engine. The Bamboo Swords cards have been used in Yu-Gi-Oh! games before to add draw power. If you played Duel Links, we don’t need to remind you about the Woodland Sprite OTK strategy that used this engine in late 2017 and early 2018. Make sure to equip Cursed Bamboo Sword and Broken Bamboo Sword to Royal Magical Library, and then combo it off with Golden Bamboo Sword.
Related: Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel: Thunder Dragon deck build (2022)
Traps
Since this deck relies on winning right at the beginning of this duel, Trap Cards are not useful. Instead, focus on just the Spells and the other Monsters needed for the combos.
Extra Deck
Some Exodia deck builds can make use of an Extra Deck, but this one can’t. This part can be disregarded as well.
It really helps to have the option to go first and play in Turn 1, if you do plan on using an Exodia deck. Exodia builds are really not that competitive, but do benefit more from the best-of-one format that exists in Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel. Going first does mean that you won’t have to contend with a roadblock like Borreload Savage Dragon. However, Ash Blossom and Droll & Lock Bird can still be threats.
Exodia is not meta by any means, and many of the support cards needed are either UR or SR rarity. But, Exodia can be extremely fun, especially if you can pull the victory off.
