Structure decks are possibly the single best deal a yugi player can get. For 30$, you can get 3 copies of the latest Structure Deck, which is usually enough to make deck perfectly capable of competing with the meta (or, more often than not, "being" the meta).
We will be looking over the decks of the past TEN years, and rating them on performance and style, to see if they are worth their money. Just to be clear I bought about 60% of the ones below during their time X3, making the respective decks, so I do have experience with them. We will be including in this both the new cards introduced that act as the core of their decks AND the generic cards that came along for the ride. Finally, we'll include a "Purchase Recommendation", aka if they would be worth getting today X3 (naturally not at full prices, maybe 5-6$ per box).
Lost Sanctuary (2011)
We'll start with the beginning of the "overpowered boss" trope for SDs. Not only were "Agents" and "Hyperion" perfectly capable of acting as a Deck on their own if you got the SD X3, but cards like "Solemn Judgment", "Torrential" and "Honest" came along with it. I still have the deck stashed somewhere, and it still pulls off a respectable performance.
Link
Performance: 4/5
Link
Performance: 4/5
Style: 2/5
Generic Cards: 3/5
Purchase Recommendation: Sure
Gates of the Underworld (2011)
One of the archetypes with the coolest art in the game (they're H.R. Giger inspired, it's to be expected) "Dark Worlds" were complete powerhouses at the time, dominating the game for a long while. Due to the very nature of "Dark Worlds" the Deck was a bit bricky, and unlike "Lost Sanctuary" and its Counter Traps it has not aged well today, even with the inclusion of "Dangers!". The lack of good generic cards also hasn't helped, with only the typical "Terraforming" and maybe "Mind Crush" being worth getting at the time.
Performance: 2/5
Style: 4/5
Generic Cards: 1/5
Purchase Recommendation: Nah
Dragons Collide (2012)
"Chaos" had always been a popular deck build, and "Dragons Collide" was basically that with a cherry on top. Personally I was not a big fan because it does not have an identity as a Deck, but one cannot deny the amount of good cards that came with it.
Performance: 2/5
Style: 2/5
Generic Cards: 4/5
Purchase Recommendation: Nah
Samurai Warlords (2012)
Boy this did not age well. Hell, even at the time it was a horrible purchase, lacking "Legendary Six Samurai Shi En". A cash grab trying to take advantage of "Six Sams"'s popularity, the Deck's very signature card was a complete bust.
Performance: 1/5
Style: 3/5
Generic Cards: 1/5
Purchase Recommendation: Nah
Realm of the Sea Emperor (2012)
This one I never bought personally, but a friend did, so I did get a good idea of how it works. "Realm of the Sea Emperor" gave us HALF of an actually strong Deck (which also doomed "Mermails" to only be seen as HALF a Deck and drowning their true potential). Lacking generic cards and basically having 6-7 playable cards and 33-34 pieces of toilet paper, the Deck is by no means a favourite.
Performance: 2/5
Style: 1/5
Generic Cards: 1/5
Purchase Recommendation: Nah
Onslaught of the Fire Kings (2013)
While I didn't get them on time, I ended up getting the Deck almost 5 years later and I was impressed by the potential it has. While "Fire Kings" are pretty easy to counter and are generally very susceptible to disrupts, your mind will still go wild with what the deck "can" achieve.
Performance: 2/5
Style: 4/5
Generic Cards: 2/5
Purchase Recommendation: Sure
Saga of Blue-Eyes White Dragon (2013)
It... Happened. Frankly Blue-Eyes has received so much support since then that practically none of the cards in the Deck are relevant anymore, and its performance at the time was average at best, mostly centered on defensive gameplay with "Maiden with Eyes of Blue".
Performance: 2/5
Style: 2/5
Generic Cards: 3/5
Purchase Recommendation: Nah
Cyber Dragon Revolution (2014)
There haven't been many cases where a Structure's deck boss was so underwhelming that they had to release an entire "rewrite" ("Cyber Dragon Infinity"). While the Deck did see plenty of play, personally I didn't even bother buying it. At least it did release some of the Spell/Trap support that still persists for "Cyber Dragon" decks.
Performance: 1/5
Style: 2/5
Generic Cards: 2/5
Purchase Recommendation: Nah
Realm of Light (2014)
Funny thing with "Lightsworns". I'm torn between considering them their own Deck, or as generic support, since they used to be THE archetype people randomly splashed left and right. Regardless, even at the time this came out, running "Lightsworns" as a Deck of their own and not as an engine was seen as mediocre at best. For me "Lightsworns" always had too big a lack factor to be taken seriously.
Performance: 2/5
Style: 1/5
Generic Cards: 3/5
Purchase Recommendation: Nah
Geargia Rampage (2014)
It really is a shame that "Geargias" saw as little play as they did, mostly splashed along "Karakuris" by people hoping to create the next "Mermail-Atlantean", which always disappointed me. The Deck's swarming is impressive, and despite the lack of a common mechanic the amount of Special Summoning they had going on was insane. Perhaps it was due to the lack of Machine bosses at the time, but I genuinely think "Geargias" only need 1-2 good cards today to blow up.
Performance: 3/5
Style: 3/5
Generic Cards: 3/5
Purchase Recommendation: Sure
Hero Strike (2015)
While I think I speak for everyone when I say that "Dark Law" can go f@ck himself, "Masked Heroes" in general were a pretty cool concept, a kind of Fusion-based "Rank-up" Deck. The most impressive part of these things were the amount of consecutive attacks you could (and still can) pull off by continuously "Mask-Changing" in the Battle Phase. It was a cheap move on Konami's part not to include some of the already released and more expensive "Masked Hero"es of the time, but in general the deck was great. A shame that what people got out of an evolving beatdown was a single braindead lockdown.
Performance: 4/5
Style: 4/5
Generic Cards: 1/5
Purchase Recommendation: Sure
Synchron Extreme (2015)
'Tis a sad day when something called "EXTREME" is as tame as it goes. Konami practically released 1 good new card ("Jet Synchron", also known as "another of Needlefiber's victims") and then called it a day, letting nostalgia-baiting do the rest. I suppose 5Ds fanboys don't deserve better, but still.
Performance: 1/5
Style: 1/5
Generic Cards: 3/5
Purchase Recommendation: Nah
Master of Pendulum (2015)
2 cards introduced in this are still banned, and some of the rest are played to this day, 5 years later. Needless to say, this was incredibly strong, and that's coming from someone who always liked "Performapal" much more than "Pendulum Magicians". While they could be more enjoyable to play, you definitely got your money's worth.
Performance: 5/5
Style: 3/5
Generic Cards: 3/5
Purchase Recommendation: Sure
Emperor of Darkness (2016)
I never bought "Emperor of Darkness" despite it breaking the game at the time, mostly because I always found "Monarchs" to be cheap. Their few actually interesting and skill-based cards are eclipsed by an army of braindead searchers and +es to make up for the bricks inherent with proper Tribute Summoning.
Performance: 4/5
Style: 1/5
Generic Cards: 2/5
Purchase Recommendation: Nah
Rise of the True Dragons (2016)
Funny story, while I never bought the Deck myself, nearly all my friends got it, and I cannot for the life of me remember ONE time these things won a duel. The fact that the entire deck was based around exactly 1 specific combo (as easy as it was to pull it off) didn't help.
Performance: 3/5
Style: 1/5
Generic Cards: 3/5
Purchase Recommendation: Nah
Yugi Moto Structure (2016)
To this day, when I consider that Konami might know what they're doing, I remember that they once considered "Magnet Warriors" to be equals to "ABC".
Performance: 2/5
Style: 3/5
Generic Cards: 3/5
Purchase Recommendation: Nah
Seto Kaiba Structure (2016)
The boss of this was considered limit-worthy in the disaster that was 2020, let that sink in. What fascinates me is that despite how overused the Deck was, I never saw people really taking advantage of the Union aspect of "ABCs". The already overplayed Deck had a lot more potential than people gave it credit for (those who have read my other articles know how much I appreciate versatility in Decks, and the existence of "Roll Out" is one that intrigues me to this day, especially in a Deck where the Unions give unaffected.).
Performance: 5/5
Style: 4/5
Generic Cards: 2/5
Purchase Recommendation: Sure
Pendulum Domination (2017)
"D/D/D"s are great and whoever says otherwise is a filthy liar. The only problem was that the SD on its own gave very few of the Extra Deck "D/D/D"s available at the time, but then again they were dirt-cheap even back then, so we can excuse Konami's greediness.
Performance: 4/5
Style: 5/5
Generic Cards: 2/5
Purchase Recommendation: Sure
Machine Reactor (2017)
Another case of Konami's absurdity, thinking the garbage that was tribute-based "Ancient Gears" was on the same level as the sheer stupidity that is "Ultimate Conductor Tyranno". Hell, they even had to advertise it in the anime and it was still a complete failure. At least it gave us cards that would later be used for "Ancient Gear Chaos Giant", possibly the most bad@ss Fusion in the game.
Performance: 1/5
Style: 3/5
Generic Cards: 1/5
Purchase Recommendation: Nah
Dinomasher's Fury (2017)
I sincerely have trouble deciding which one of the cards in this is the really problematic one. The 3500 ATK self-specialling boss that quick-effect "Book of Moon"s your entire field? The Level 4 Dino searcher that's also a "Monster Reborn" that triggers the babies? The babies themselves that Special from Deck when destroyed by a card effect but are not HOPT? The overbloated Field Spell? The other one that has Farfa foaming? "Dinomasher's Fury" reminds me more of a custom Deck than a TCG one.
Performance: 5/5
Style: 2/5
Generic Cards: 4/5
Purchase Recommendation: Sure
Cyberse Link (2017)
"Cyberse Link" always reminded me more of a Starter Deck than a Structure Deck, and I'm not saying that as an insult. While both bosses featured in this ("Encode Talker" and "Dual Assemblewurm") left much to be desired, the contents of the Deck in general are perfectly satisfactory. Just to be clear, it is not a Deck that can easily work on its own without any other cards, but it "is" still a good purchase just for the assortment of generic cards.
Performance: 2/5
Style: 3/5
Generic Cards: 5/5
Purchase Recommendation: Sure
Wave of Light (2018)
I think I speak for most players when I say that noone cares about "Wave of Light". It was a Deck intended for people who play stun decks, and it still fell short of a single "Fossil Dyna"'s performance. Personally I wouldn't pay 10$ for one "Solemn Warning" and literally nothing else worth getting.
Performance: 1/5
Style: 2/5
Generic Cards: 1/5
Purchase Recommendation: Nah
Lair of Darkness (2018)
Well, thank you "Lair of Darkness" (the Field Spell), for preparing us for the bullsh!t that is "Mystic Mine". You reminded us all that Spell/Trap removal with Spells/Traps is precious, and also managed to make our days miserable. May your contributions to the game be erased from my memory, you one-trick cancer pony.
Performance: 2/5
Style: 3/5
Generic Cards: 2/5
Purchase Recommendation: Nah
Powercode Link (2018)
Just like "Cyberse Link" from a year before, I am left wondering why this is a Structure Deck and not a Starter Deck, and once again, I am not saying that as a bad thing.
Performance: 2/5
Style: 2/5
Generic Cards: 5/5
Purchase Recommendation: Sure
Zombie Horde (2018)
At an age when having your monsters be a specific type was mandatory for pulling off Link Summons, there came "Zombie Horde"'s middle finger. Serving as the final product for what "Lair of Darkness" was a prototype for, "Zombie Horde" also featured a self-reviving boss and a powerful Field Spell that floodgates, except both were improved. The rest of the supporting cast was not half-bad either, and the Deck offered many alternatives with its new cards for dedicated players to take full advantage of "Zombie World"'s type change.
Performance: 3/5
Style: 4/5
Generic Cards: 2/5
Purchase Recommendation: Sure
Soulburner (2019)
Many people b!tched a lot about "Salads", but I was never one of them. The archetype has a plethora of great cards and ways to play it even in a pure form, and an actual central mechanic connecting it. The Structure included nearly everything you would need, and given how cheap "Flame Bufferlo" has become with the reprints, it is a definite recommendation. Experiment a lot with it, there are many ways to play "Salads", and readers of this dumpsterfire blog will know how much I appreciate versatility.
Performance: 5/5
Style: 4/5
Generic Cards: 2/5
Purchase Recommendation: Sure
Order of the Spellcasters (2019)
If you have ever wondered how gameplay can be less fun than stun Decks, this is how.
Performance: 5/5
Style: 2/5
Generic Cards: 1/5
Purchase Recommendation: Nah
Rokket Revolt (2019)
Despite being an intergral part of "Guardragons"' overpowered combos (mostly due to "Quick Launch", I don't think people ever appreciated how fun "Rokkets" can be. I had made them into a Deck even before this came out, taking advantage of the continuous self-replacements to see just how much bullsh!t I could pull off. "Rapid Trigger" was a godsent in that department.
Performance: 3/5
Style: 4/5
Generic Cards: 3/5
Purchase Recommendation: Sure
Shaddoll Showdown (2020)
Those who have read the article about archetype designs know how much I appreciate "Shaddolls". They combine effective plays with overabundant versatility and respect for their theme. The Structure did not hold out on us either, including all the cards needed to make the Deck, even having 49 cards instead of the usual 43-44. Near perfection and complete value for money.
Performance: 4/5
Style: 4/5
Generic Cards: 4/5
Purchase Recommendation: Sure
Mechanized Madness (2020)
It... Eeeh... It happened... I... I guess it had some nice generic cards... Eh... I got nothing. The best I can say about this is that it did give us "Unauthorized Reactivation" which obviously works with "Unauthorized Bootup Device", which is easily the best Union... Aaand it's not even included in the Deck.
Performance: 1/5
Style: 2/5
Generic Cards: 2/5
Purchase Recommendation: Nah
Sacred Beasts (2020)
An important note here: Everyone and their mother that I've seen trying to make "Sacred Beasts" aren't getting that you cannot make a deck focused on both "Sacred Beasts" and "Armityle". They have vastly different plays and cards used, running both will only result in bricks or unimpressive combos. Personally I went full on pure "Sacred Beasts", and the Deck definitely packs a punch. So keep in mind with the 4/5 performance, you have to know how to make them, the ratios are by no means obvious. Other than that it's almost impossible not to quote old-Kagemaru's incredibly gay voice from the GX dub whenever you play them. Super fun and anime-y, and while I don't like the overuse of consistency boosters, the Deck is still one of my favourite to play.
Performance: 4/5
Style: 5/5
Generic Cards: 2/5
Purchase Recommendation: Sure
Spirit Charmers (2020)
While I appreciate the moe art as much as the next guy, the SD was completely underwhelming, and I suppose a fitting way to end 2020. The best I can say about it is that it gave us a reprint of "Aururu" to play in "Altergeists".
Performance: 2/5
Style: 2/5
Generic Cards: 2/5
Purchase Recommendation: Nah
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