Build a Yu-Gi-Oh! deck from the cards you own

01Choose what you want the deck to do

Look through your collection for cards that work together. An archetype is a useful starting point, but sharing a name is not the whole plan. Read the effects and ask how one card helps you reach the next.

Sort your ideas into three simple jobs:

• Start: a card that gets your main play moving.
• Support: a card that helps you continue, recover, or deal with an opponent.
• Finish: the monster or board you are trying to reach.

Some cards do more than one job. Others need a particular card in your hand, Deck, or Graveyard to work. A suggested build gives you a first draft to explore; you still need to check those requirements and learn its opening play.

Choose TCG or OCG before building. For a standard TCG deck, aim for a legal Main Deck of 40–60 cards, with up to 15 each in the Extra and Side Decks. Our format guide covers the checks to make before an event.

02Separate your deck list from what you own

Your collection records the cards you have. Your deck list records the cards you want to play. Those numbers can be different.

If your list calls for three copies and you own two, you still need one. Adding that third copy to the list helps you plan; it does not put the card in your binder. Update your owned count when you actually get it.

Also check where your copies are. Cards already in another assembled deck may need moving before you can play this one. Different artwork or rarity does not give you a separate copy allowance.

03Give every missing card a reason

Ask one question about each gap: does the plan need this card, or would it just be a nice upgrade?

A required target that your starter summons from the Deck deserves attention before a flashy extra option. If you cannot get a necessary piece, look for another plan you can actually play. Filling the slot with any spare card may reach 40 cards without fixing the missing play.

CHAINZERO’s spending cap helps you compare possibilities. It is a planning tool; you are not buying cards in the app. Prices are estimates, so check the printing, condition, shipping, and taxes before buying elsewhere. An unknown price still needs checking.

You can keep a wish list without buying anything. Use your current collection to learn what you enjoy first.

04Test the hand, then change one thing

Keep a saved version of your first list so you can compare later. Then try a few opening hands and talk through the play: what can you summon, what does it need, and what happens if the opponent stops it?

In Opening Odds, first check which cards count as starters. The percentage tells you how often you might see one, not whether the whole hand works. Our opening-hand guide shows how to use that number.

Try one change at a time. If you keep drawing a card you cannot use, ask what it needs. If your opening play rarely appears, review your starter counts. Keep the change only if it helps the problem you were trying to solve.

The current catalog does not include every card. A missing search result does not mean a card is illegal. For an uncertain interaction, check the official card text; at an event, ask a judge.