To encourage players to take advantage of XYZ Summons and to prevent the prolific use of decks that prevent these summons, a special ban list is in effect for the Exhibition. This event-specific ban list bans all Fusion, Synchro and Link Monsters while banning or limiting various cards designed to limit the functions of decks that use XYZ summoning or don’t use XYZ monsters, such as Eldlich and Monarchs. This has also impacted Ritual monsters found commonly in Blue-Eyes and Gishki decks. One powerful monster still open to all players for the XYZ Festival is the XYZ monster Divine Arsenal AA-Zeus - Sky Thunder. This Rank 12 XYZ monster should feature in all decks due to its powerful effect and the ease to which it can be summoned to the field. This monster can be summoned in your Main Phase 2 by overlaying the monster on top of any XYZ monster involved in battle this turn. Zeus’ quick effect allows it to detach materials in order to send all other cards to the graveyard and can also be activated during your opponent’s turn. For those who wish to find victory and rack up points to exchange for prizes in this limited-time in-game event, here are our top recommendations for the best decks to use in the Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel XYZ Festival:
Zoodiac
For those using the Zoodiac Tri-Brigade deck in ranked mode, adapting this into a pure Zoodiac deck is the most cost-effective and powerful choice for the XYZ festival. Much of the deck relies on loading the board with multiple Zoodiac monsters in a single turn in order to summon powerful XYZ monsters like Zoodiac Drident that can overpower the opponent’s cards. By removing Tri-Brigade monsters from the deck (due to their reliance on Link Summoning for a deck made up purely of Zoodiac monsters and support cards), this becomes one of the most intimidating matchups in the festival. These cards can be replaced by additional monsters like Zoodiac Kataroost and Zoodiac Bunnyblast, and support cards specific to the Zoodiac archetype like the field spell Zoodiac Sign. One benefit stemming from the inclusion of monsters like Kataroost and Bunnyblast in the deck are their unique effects, allowing them to to protect Zoodiac XYZ monsters from your opponent’s monster and spell cards. With this protection, crucial XYZ monsters like Drident will be even more difficult for your opponent to overcome.
Lyrilusc
For those who use a Lyrilusc Tri-Brigade deck in standard Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel ranked play, we would recommend adapting this deck for use in the XYZ Festival. The strength of the Lyrilusc archetype is its ability to swarm the field with numerous powerful Rank 1 XYZ monsters that can overwhelm your opponent. One weakness of the deck without Tri-Brigade support cards is the weaker strength of many archetype-specific XYZ monsters. By removing the various banned Tri-Brigade monsters and replacing these cards with support cards and monsters like Lyrilusc - Birds of a Feather, you can protect and strengthen these monsters. As an additional support card, we recommend using Slower Swallow, thanks to its ability to special summon itself if you control two other monsters of the same level.
Numeron
The strength of this deck comes from the ability to special summon a wave of Rank-1 Numeron XYZ monsters with powerful effects that can be used even without detaching cards from these monsters as material. The aim of the game with the Numeron deck is to swarm the field with Number 1: Numeron Gate Ekam, Number 2: Numeron Gate Dve, Number 3: Numeron Gate Trini, and Number 4: Numeron Gate Catvari. These can be summoned to the field easily using the effect of Numeron Calling and Numeron Network. Network is a field spell whose secondary effect allows you to activate the effect of Numeron XYZ monsters without detaching materials. Menawhile, Calling allows you to special summon four Numeron Gate XYZ monsters without using level 1 monsters on the field as material. The strength of these cards comes from their stackable ability to double the attack of all Numeron monsters until the end of turn if they battle an opponent’s monster. With up to four Numeron Gate XYZ monsters potentially being summoned to the field using Calling, this final monster will have 8000 attack when it enters battle or attacks your opponent’s life points. If necessary, you can also summon Divine Arsenal AA-Zeus - Sky Thunder during Main Phase 2 to make additional problems for your opponent to manage during their turn.
Pendulum Magician
While all Link Summon and Synchro Summon monsters are banned in this limited-time XYZ Festival, Pendulum Summoning is still a valid summoning condition. Taking advantage of the ability to swarm the field with Pendulum Monsters for multiple XYZ summons is key for victory when using this Pendulum Magician deck. This is also a very cost-effective deck for those unwilling to buy additional cards for the event, with the structure deck available for 500 gems in the in-game store. It should be noted that the deck can’t be used as-sold due to its inclusion of Synchro monsters and cards designed to support these monsters. However, with amendments such as the inclusion of cards like Black Fang Magician and additional XYZ monsters like Number 50: Blackship of Corn and Abyss Dweller, this can be transformed into an intimidating deck thanks to its swarming potential to unleash multiple powerful XYZ monsters in a single turn.
Madolche
While one of the more difficult decks to play in the festival due to the high rarity of many of the cards, the primary reliance of the archetype on XYZ boss monsters like Madolche Queen Tiaramisu and its ability to inflict non-targeted removal make it a difficult deck to overcome. Madolche decks rely on their abilities to search and summon numerous Madolche main deck monsters in a single turn in order to bring out Tiaramisu and Madolche Puddingcess Chocolat A-La Mode. By strengthening the effects and attack of these monsters further with spell cards like Madolche Chateau and Madolche Ticket, these monsters can easily clear an opponent’s board with ease. The blanket ban on Link Summoning within the XYZ Festival does weaken the deck slightly due to being unable to protect Madolche spell and trap cards using Madolche Queen Sistart. However, the strength of its XYZ monsters make it a formidable deck to overcome even without this support. Focus on summoning Tiaramisu and shuffling problematic cards your oppenent controls back into the deck in order to achieve victory. That’s everything you need to know about the best decks to play to ensure victory in this limited-time XYZ Festival exhibition mode. Why not check out our guides on the best staple cards to use to enhance your deck and counter your opponent’s plays, as well as our deck guides on Lyrilusc Tri-Brigade and Zoodiac Tri-Brigade for ranked duels. If you wish to use Lyrilusc or Zoodiac decks during the festival, these guides will introduce you to some basic strategies that can help you learn the deck quickly.
