Summary
TheYu-Gi-Oh! TCGcan be a fast-paced game with all the modern cards in play. If you want slower games or simply feel nostalgic for the 5Ds era, then the Edison format is an excellent choice for alternative play. This format features its own banlist and has a different meta.
With powerful archetypes such as the Blackwings, Zombies, and Lightsworns, you may have strong decks that don’t rely on a long combo that takes half the match. This means more back and forth plays between players rather than the game being over after a turn or two.
Gorz the Emissary of Darkness x1
Honest x2
Judgment Dragon x 2
Book of Moon x1
Charge of the Light Brigade x1
Reinforcement of the Army x1
Tempest Magician x1
Thought Ruler Archfiend x1
One ofthe highlights of the Edison formatis the Lightsworn archetype. This archetype loves sending its monsters to the graveyard for valuable effects. Wulf, Lightsworn Beast Special Summons itself just for being sent to the graveyard. Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner can help you get more bodies on the board while also dumping cards.
Judgment Dragon is the deck’s boss monster, which is one of the easier ones to get on the field. All you need is four Lightsworn monsters in the graveyard for this 3000-attack beatstick. Then, for 1000 life points, you can destroy every other card on the field. This deck has incredible consistency with draw cards that virtually have zero cost.
Tragoedia x1
Cards of Consonance x3
Pot of Avarice x2
Trade-In x3
Trident Dragion x1
Dragon Turbo has an excellent draw engine that lets you get as many Dragons to your hand and field as quickly as possible. Five-Headed Dragon is an excellent beatstick with 5000 attack, but it is most useful as a Future Fusion target. This means one Future Fusion will get you five dragons in the graveyard and a beatstick if it manages tosuccessfully complete the Fusion Summon.
You can keep drawing deeper into the deck with cards like Super Rejuvenation but also have options to thin the deck even further with Trade-In and Upstart Goblin. If you need cards back, Pot of Avarice can get them for you while your hand advantage lets you use Magical Stone Excavation to easily get Spells back.
Mezuki x1
Sangan x1
Allure of Darkness x1
Book of Life x2
Stardust Dragon x1
Zombies are an incredible archetype for Yu-Gi-Oh TCG’s Edison format. This is because of their ability to bring back monsters from the graveyard. Cards like Mezuki, Book of Life, and Zombie Master all facilitate this strategy. In return, you get plenty of bodies on the board to Tribute Summon Caius The Shadow Monarch.
This build also utilizes Deep Sea Diva as a way to get a second low-level Tuner on the field. While this can seem like a brick if you have two in hand, Plaguespreader Zombie’s Special Summoning condition can help you place it back on top of the deck. You could always run three instead. This can help you get top-tier cards like Mist Wurm out for theirboard-breaking effects.
Skyscraper x1
Superalloy Beast Raptinus x3
Stardust Dragon x3
While Edison format revives the gameplay of the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds era, Hero Beat focuses on the good old GX archetype of Elemental Heroes. This means there are an abundance of Fusion Monsters in the extra deck to bring out. Two of these staples include Elemental Hero Absolute Zero and Elemental Hero Gaia.
Elemental Hero Neos Alius may be a Gemini Monster, but with 1900 attack there aren’t many monsters that can beat over it from the get-go. As a Gemini, this gives you access to Gemini Spark, which is a useful card for destroying something on the field and getting a draw out of it. You can also buff it using Honest for some aggressive plays.
Substitoad x3
Mist Wurm x1
Heroes have other ways of being played, so if Gemini Monsters are not your thing, you can instead play Heroes and Frogs together. This gives you access to the Fusion Monsters from Hero Beat while also giving you more room for Synchro plays using the Frog engine’s Special Summoning effects.
One of the best cards in this deck is Substitoad, since it can get your Frog plays going. Soon, you’ll have an army of them, including Swap Frog and Treeborn Frog. This gives you plenty of bodies on the board to use as material. Treeborn Frog even comes back to you each turn so you’re able to use it repeatedly.
Blackwing - Sirocco the Dawn x3
Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind x1
Blackwing - Vayu the Emblem of Honor x3
Burial from a Different Dimension x1
Blackwing - Silverwind the Ascendant x1
Vayu Turbo is a variant of a Blackwing deck that relies on getting Blackwing - Vayu The Emblem of Honor into the graveyard as fast as possible. This is because it can use itself and other Blackwing monsters to Synchro Summon from the graveyard. It is also not once per turn.
To facilitate this strategy, the deck is filled with monsters that can get one or multiple cards from the deck to the graveyard. Armageddon Knight can dump a Dark monster with no once per turn clause. Card Trooper and Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter can hit up to three cards from the top of your deck. Meanwhile, Dark Grepher can help you discard a card from your hand to the grave to Special Summon itself and again once it is on the field.
Blackwing - Bora the Spear x2
Magical Android x1
Blackwings are some of the most represented decks in Edison format. The difference in strategy comes from how you balance your deck. Blackwing in general is pretty well-rounded in what it lets the player do while Vayu Turbo focuses on one specific monster interaction. This deck combines both strategies to give you the best of both worlds.
You have a higher frequency of dumping Vayu into the graveyard but can also take advantage of Special Summoning Blackwings from the deck. This also makes it easier to get your other non-Blackwing monsters out onto the field.
Blackwing - Bora the Spear x3
Blackwing - Vayu the Emblem of Honor x2
Book of Moon x2
Legacy of Yata-Garasu x2
The Blackwing strategy is one of the most consistent for Edison format. It dominated back in the day, and it continues to dominate now. Blackwings have everything you need to make a good deck. This includes ways to get monsters back from the grave, free Special Summons, and attack modulation effects.
Blackwings have a specialty for being able to Synchro Summon easily from either the field or the graveyard. They also have a good selection of exclusive Synchro Monsters they can use to destroy cards, deal piercing damage, and reduce attacks to zero. Consisting of Winged Beasts also makes this deck compatible with Icarus Attack for even more removal options.
