Runick is a Control Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel. Check out the core deck list, key combos, as well as how to play & counters!

Runick Deck List

Main Deck: 40 cards
x3	x1	x1	x3	x3
x2	x2	x2	x2	x2
x2	x1	x1	x1	x1
x1	x1	x1	x1	x1
x1	x1	x1	x1	x1
x1	x1	-	-	-
Extra Deck: 15 cards
x3	x3	x2	x1	x1
x1	x1	x1	x1	x1

Runick Breakdown

Monsters

Spells

Traps

Extra

Rarity	Name	Qty
	Maxx "C"	3
	Inspector Boarder	1
	Amano-Iwato	1

Rarity	Name	Qty
	One Day of Peace	1
	Card Destruction	1
	Runick Tip	2
	Runick Fountain	1
	Lightning Storm	2
	Harpie's Feather Duster	1
	Raigeki	2
	Runick Golden Droplet	1
	Runick Freezing Curses	2
	Pot of Duality	1
	Runick Flashing Fire	3
	Runick Destruction	1
	Cosmic Cyclone	3
	Runick Dispelling	1
	Runick Slumber	2
	Runick Smiting Storm	1
	Runick Allure	1

Rarity	Name	Qty
	There Can Be Only One	1
	Summon Limit	1
	Soul Drain	1
	Skill Drain	1
	Rivalry of Warlords	1
	Gozen Match	1
	Synchro Zone	1

Rarity	Name	Qty
	Hugin the Runick Wings	3
	Munin the Runick Wings	1
	Zoodiac Drident	1
	Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder	1
	Geri the Runick Fangs	3
	Number 41: Bagooska the Terribly Tired Tapir	1
	Freki the Runick Fangs	2
	Zoodiac Tigermortar	1
	Zoodiac Boarbow	1
	Zoodiac Chakanine	1

Tier Evaluation

Tier Ranking
God Tier
Deck Archetype		Deck Difficulty
Alternate Win Condition		Easy
Deck Evaluation
Runick Quick-Play Spells can constantly interrupt the opponent, then banishes cards from their Deck Runick Fountain enables the Deck by recycling cards from GY, and letting Quick-Play Spells activate from hand anytime Runick Fountain is now set to Limited, hurting the Deck's strength

Runick Deck Guide: How to Play

Playstyle and Win Condition

The Runick archetype is unique in that it is mostly comprised of Spell Cards, instead of Monster Cards being given the focus. In addition, nearly all of the Runick Spell Cards are Quick-Play Spells, so they can be played during the opponent's turn with a proper set-up. All with once-per-turn clauses, the cards lets the player choose between two effects. As a cost, your next Battle Phase after the card's activation is completely skipped, meaning Decks that run this archetype cannot Battle at all, and will have to rely on decking out the opponent to win the Duel.

Runick players punishes the opponent's presence on the field, and has an unrivaled ability to recycle Spell Cards from the Graveyard to keep its advantage. The fact that most of its signature Spell Cards are Quick-Play Spells, which makes it even harder to respond to their activation, means players have to have something prepared on the field to go up against this Deck.

The main enabler of this Deck is its signature Field Spell, Runick Fountain. Having this card on the field allows the Runick player to activate Quick-Play Spells from the hand during the opponent's turn, when it was usually only allowed if the Spell Card was face-down on the field.

However, it's the second effect that makes this card one of the best Field Spells in the entire game: being able to shuffle up to three Runick Quick-Play Spells from the GY back to the bottom of the Deck, and then immediately drawing cards of equal amount.

This effect can also be activated during the opponent's turn should the user activate a Runick Quick-Play Spell, which means that the user has the possibility of drawing three Quick-Play Spells that can be used immediately.

Each of the Runick Quick-Play Spells have a secondary effect built in that provides the win condition for this Deck. A set number of cards from the top of the opponent's Deck will be banished after the first effect is resolved. It's highly recommended to play all of them to cover a lot of bases, but some of the most efficient in the archetype are:

• Runick Freezing Curses negate's a monster's effects until the end of the turn, and banishes three cards;
• Runick Destruction destroys a Spell or Trap the opponent controls, and banishes four cards;
• Runick Golden Droplet lets the opponent draw one card, at the cost of three cards being banished.

Using as much of the Quick-Play Spell Cards is the key strategy of this Deck, as it effectively mills out their Deck of resources, unless the Deck likes having cards being banished.

The importance of having resources on hand cannot be understated for Runick Players. Getting the key cards as soon as possible is important, so resource management is key.

Load up on Spell Cards that provide additional draw power, like Pot of Duality, Card Destruciton and One Day of Peace. Meanwhile, Maxx C punishes Special Summon-heavy combos. In tandem with the second effect of Runick Fountain, and in theory this Deck will never run out of cards on hand.

The Extra Deck Runick Monsters are the only Runick Monsters in the entire Deck Recipe and archetype, and they serve more as support to the Quick-Play Spells as opposed to big, imposing Effect Monsters. Hugin the Runick Wings searches out a copy of Runick Fountain, and provides card protection. Munin the Runick Wings searches out Runick Allure, and provides protection from card effects targeting Runick cards. Geri the Runick Fangs brings back a Runick Quick-Play Spell from the GY, and destroys a card whenever this card is destroyed by battle.

Alternative Options

Floodgate Alternatives

With dwindiling options for way to bottleneck the opponent, there are alternative Main Deck floodgate monsters like Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo and Thunder King Rai-oh. Their continuous effects are strong enough to greatly slow down top-contending decks in the meta.

Boss Monsters

Compared to most Decks, because of the lack of Monster Cards in the Main Deck, there are only a few number of boss monsters that really matter.

	Amano-Iwato
	Amano-Iwato is arguably one of the best Spirit monsters in the game. Easy to summon, restricts monster effects, and a decent ATK state makes for a powerful yet elusive Level 4 monster that can be repeatedly Normal Summoned turn after turn.
	Munin the Runick Wings
	Between the three Runick Fusion Monsters, Munin the Runick Wings is the monster to highlight. 2000 DEF keeps it safe against monsters with decent ATKs, but what makes this card the more important to consider is because of its targeted effect negation. Banishing itself is a small price to pay to protect the archetype's Quick-Play Spells.
	Number 41: Bagooska the Terribly Tired Tapir
	Should there come an instance where there are two Level 4 monsters on your side of the field, (i.e. Amano Iwato and Geri the Runick Fangs), there is an option to go into Number 41: Bagooska the Terribly Tired Tapir as a floodgate against the opponent's Effect Monsters. Anything that can protect the Deck's Quick-Play Spells is welcome.
	Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder
	A monster that can be transitioned into after attacking with Bagooska, Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder is easily the strongest monster in the entire Deck Recipe if looking at mere stats alone. Its Quick Effect is also one of the best field-clearing effects in the game, simply sending cards to the Graveyard instead of destroying them; the wording of the effect bypasses quite a lot of effects that trigger upon card destruction.

Runick Counters: How to Beat

Best Decks to Use Against Runick

Branded Fusion Decks

All of the decks that use the Branded Engine will work against Runick Decks, as they already have an in-built win condition Runick players will have to remember: Masquerade the Blazing Dragon. The effect of having to pay 600 Life Points for every effect that activates will chip away at the opponent. Having two of them at the same time face-up on the field is a nightmare for Branded players.

Gravekeepers

The amazing draw power and resource management of the Runick Deck relies on its Field Spell to recycle the various Quick-Play Spells used in a turn, shuffle them back into the Deck and draw with an equal amount. Gravekeeper Decks lock out Runicks from this part of their strategy with the help of Necrovalley. Do not let Runicks get that chance to Deck you out if you want to beat it alone.

Gravekeepers Deck Guide

Trickstars

Some luck on the draw has to work here, like being able to go first versus a Runick Deck, but any Trickstar Deck has a shot on beating a Runick Deck! It fights fire with fire using a different win condition--burning the opponent down to 0. If they have a certain Continuous Spell active to go with the archetype's consistent burn damage effect, Runick Players might have to pull back from using all of their Quick-Play Spells.

Trickstar Windwich Deck Guide

Best Cards to Tech Against Runick

	Artifact Lancea
	One of the Runick Quick-Play Cards destroys a card in the Spell and Trap Zone, before banishing cards as additional punishment. Players can sneak in Artifact Lancea as bait for that effect. While it can be Special Summoned when destroyed while in the Spell & Trap Zone, its effect from the hand can immediately stop the Runick Deck's playstyle by barring card banishing for the rest of the turn.
	Chaos Hunter
	For players that need a counter against the Runick Deck's penchant to Special Summon without needing that many monsters in the Main Deck, Chaos Hunter can be an unconventional counter to this Deck. Once a Runick player Special Summons, that's the window of opening to Special Summon this monster as a response.
	Anti-Spell Fragrance
	A Runick Deck is mostly composed of Spell Cards, the entire playstyle is centered around the Deck consistent ability to disrupt and use Quick-Play Spell Cards. Anti-Spell Fragrance, when activated, prevents cards from being activated right off the bat, as they need to be set first as a requirement.
	Imperial Iron Wall
	Imperial Iron Wall is a simple Continuous Trap Card that restricts card banishing from both players. This is a good option for Decks that do not need to banish any cards as part of their Deck's lifestyle, keeping your own cards in your Deck safe from Runick's Deck Out win condition.

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