Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel

Slifer Arcana Knights Deck List & Card Guide

Master Duel - Slifer Arcana Knights Top Image

Summon the three Arcana Knights to call upon the legendary Egyptian God, Slifer the Sky Dragon! Slifer Arcana Knights is an Aggro deck in Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel. Check out the core deck list, key combos, as well as how to play & counters!

Slifer Arcana Knights Deck List

Main Deck: 44 cards
Queen x3 King x3 Joker x3 Imperial Bower x3 Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring x3
Effect Veiler x3 Jack x2 PSY-Framegear Gamma x2 PSY-Frame Driver x1 Arcana Triumph Joker x1
Royal Straight Slasher x1 Slifer the Sky Dragon x1 Joker x3 Royal Straight x3 Thunderspeed Summon x2
Unexpected Dai x2 Called by the Grave x2 Double or Nothing! x1 Living Fossil x1 Reinforcement of the Army x1
Joker x2 - - - -
Extra Deck: 15 cards
Arcana Knight Joker x1 PSY-Framelord Omega x1 Number 39: Utopia x1 Number 39: Utopia Double x1 Number S39: Utopia the Lightning x1
Number 60: Dugares the Timeless x1 Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder x1 Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights x1 I:P Masquerena x1 Knightmare Phoenix x1
Arcana Extra Joker x1 Draco Masters of the Tenyi x1 Knightmare Unicorn x1 Mekk-Knight Crusadia Avramax x1 Accesscode Talker x1

Slifer Arcana Knights Breakdown

Tier List Evaluation

Tier Ranking
RogueRogue Tier
Deck Archetype Deck Difficulty
Aggro Hard
Deck Evaluation
CheckmarkArcana Knights can swarm the field; a proper combo can let the player have three monsters on the field easily

CheckmarkThis benefits Slifer the Sky Dragon, which gets stronger for every card on hand

CheckmarkThere is dedicated support for the Egyptian God Card, which ties the two archetypes together cohesively

Slifer Arcana Knights Deck Guide: How to Play

Playstyle and Win Condition

The Arcana Knights were once seen as support to a legendary King of Games, being fodder for tribute for a certain Egyptian God Card. This Deck takes that strategy and fleshes it out more, providing more aggression while paving the way to more powerful monsters to be summoned.

Main Deck Monsters

King Queen Jack

These three monster cards are the core basis of the Deck's strategy. Most of the strategy comes from having all three of the "Arcana Knight" monsters out on the field.

Usually, King's Knight is summoned whenever Queen's Knight is on the field. Once summoned while the latter is on the field, it triggers the effect, and players can summon Jack's Knight from the Deck for free.

Joker Imperial Bower

Joker's Knight is a cheat to complete the trio of monsters. It takes on the name of the card it sends from the Deck to the GY after being Special Summoned through its own effect, thereby often being a filler monster.

Imperial Bower helps getting monsters on the field as soon as possible, and a great monster to lead at the start of the Duel. It can only activate its effect when it's the only monster on the field, but being able to search or Special Summon two monsters from the Deck is extremely useful.

Slifer the Sky Dragon Royal Straight Slasher Arcana Triumph Joker

Having the three knights on the field is the center of the strategy, so players have to find some flexibility in utilizing the monsters on the field.

For example Slifer the Sky Dragon is the associated Egyptian God Card with them, and is often brought out with the help of a Quick-Play Spell. This monster forces the opponent to think about how they summon monsters once it's on the field.

Royal Straight Slasher can only be brought out through a certain card, and has an effect with an extremely hard condition to fulfill. When it does, however, it's a free field wipe, and when destroyed by battle it can Special Summon up to 3 LIGHT Warrior monsters--which is basically all of the "Arcana Knight" monsters.

The last main Deck boss monster would be Arcana Triumph Joker. This monster gets stronger for every card in both players' hands, which is extremely good if the opponent plays Maxx "C". By discarding a card, it can also destroy all cards the opponent controls with the same type--Monster, Spell or Trap.

Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring Effect Veiler PSY-Framegear Gamma

The hand traps, besides providing control against the opponent's shenanigans, also have a secondary use in fulfilling the effect of Royal Straight Slasher of having one monster each from Levels 1 to 5.

Spell and Trap Cards

Joker Unexpected Dai Reinforcement of the Army Living Fossil

Joker's Straight is the most crucial Spell Card in the Deck, Special Summoning a Queen's Knight from the Deck, adding either a King's Knight or Jack's Knight to the add, and providing an additional Normal Summon afterwards. It may lock the player out of non-LIGHT Warrior monsters from the Extra Deck, but it is well worth getting immediate card advantage on the field.

Unexpected Dai is a quick way to get Queen's Knight on the field, while Reinforcement of the Army can search out a Level 4 Warrior monster--ideally King's Knight or Imperial Bower.

Royal Straight Thunderspeed Summon Double or Nothing!

Royal Straight provides an easy way to summon key monsters like Royal Straight Slasher, Arcana Triumph Joker or Arcana Knight Joker easier. It can summon any of those monsters from basically anywhere.

Thunderspeed Summon is the card that can help you cheat out Slifer, the Sky Dragon, and the best part is that it can be activated during the Battle Phase, thereby being able to launch an attack as soon as it is Normal Summoned.. This card also works with Arcana Triumph Joker.

The Utopia OTK is also possible in this Deck, thanks with the effect of Double or Nothing! possibly raising the ATK of Number 39: Utopia to at least 10,000 ATK. That might be enough for an OTK.

Joker

The only Trap Card in this Deck, Joker's Wild takes on the effect of a Spell Card that mentions all three of the "Arcana Knights", making them able to activate those effects even during the opponent's turn.

Extra Deck Monsters

Arcana Knight Joker

Arcana Knight Joker is the only Fusion Monster in this Deck Recipe, and can be cheated out with Royal Straight. It has a once-per-turn omni-negate, but the player has to discard the same type of card that matches the activated effect.

PSY-Framelord Omega

If PSY-Framegear Gamma manages to trigger its effect during your own turn, the player can use it and PSY-Frame Driver for PSY-Framelord Omega. Banishing a random card from the opponent's hand once per turn can disrupt their plans if the banished card is very important.

Number 39: Utopia Number 39: Utopia Double Number S39: Utopia the Lightning Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder

If a Deck runs Number 39: Utopia, then its most common variants like Number 39: Utopia Double are also expected to be added. The former can be used for an OTK strategy, with a possible 10,000 ATK if all conditions are met.

Number S39: Utopia the Lightning is another common variant of Utopia, and besides its ATK-boosting effect, is the perfect card to transition into Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder

Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights Knightmare Phoenix I:P Masquerena Knightmare Unicorn Draco Masters of the Tenyi

For Link Monsters, the Deck uses quite a lot of staples. Knightmare Phoenix, Knightmare Unicorn and I:P Masquerena are popular across any Deck that can Link Summon, and it remains no different in this Deck.

Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights is an extra addition because of the Warrior-type focus of this Deck, and provides a free search of a Warrior monster from the Deck. It also synergizes well with Living Fossil and Infernoble Knight - Renaud.

Draco Masters of the Teny is also a special addition, being completely safe in battle against any Effect Monster. It also provides card destruction equal to the number of non-Effect monsters you control and are in your GY, which can add up really quickly.

Arcana Extra Joker Accesscode Talker Mekk-Knight Crusadia Avramax

Arcana Extra Joker is the archetype boss Link monster, and it needs three Warrior-type monsters with different names as material. It provides protection to itself and monsters in Main Monster Zones it points to, and can provide a Special Summon and a search when it is destroyed by battle.

Accesscode Talker and Mekk-Knight Crusadia Avramax are staple LINK-4 monsters that match the Deck's aggro playstyle. Both monsters are very strong in battle, and enjoy specific immunities from card effects if conditions are fulfilled.

Core Combos and Interactions

Master Duel - Slifer Arcana Knights Banner

The aim of this Deck is to get the three "Arcana Knights" monsters on the field as soon as possible, providing the plays like going into Slifer the Sky Dragon, Arcana Knight Joker or Arcana Extra Joker.

The following combos are meant to be openers to get those three monsters on the field as soon as possible.

Unexpected Dai and King's Knight Opener

So long as you have these two specific cards, you can get all three Arcana Knights on the field in one turn. This is the simplest combo of the Deck, and can go into different plays depending on the game state.

Card(s) Needed
King Unexpected Dai
Step Description
1 Activate Unexpected Dai, to Special Summon a copy of Queen's Knight straight from the Deck.
2 Normal Summon King's Knight afterwards. Its effect triggers because Queen's Knight is already on the field; Special Summon a copy of Jack's Knight straight from the Deck.

Joker's Knight and King's Knight Opener

Joker's Knight can work as an alternate option if it's in your hand, since it can take up the name of an "Arcana Knight" monster.

Card(s) Needed
King Joker
Step Description
1 Activate Joker's Knight from the hand; send a copy of Queen's Knight from the Deck to the GY, and Special Summon Joker's Knight afterwards. Through its effect, it adopts the name of "Queen's Knight" on the field until the End Phase.
2 Normal Summon King's Knight afterwards. Its effect triggers because Queen's Knight is already on the field; Special Summon a copy of Jack's Knight straight from the Deck.
### Imperial Bower and Joker's Knight Opener Players can still get three of the "Arcana Knights" on the field if the player starts off with the support cards Imperial Bower and Joker's Knight.
Card(s) Needed
Imperial Bower Joker
Step Description
1 Normal Summon Imperial Bower. Make sure it's the only monster you control upon being summoned.
2 Activate its effect, tribute it, and Special Summon from the Deck a copy of King's Knight and Queen's Kight.
3 Activate Joker's Knight from the hand; send a copy of Queen's Knight from the Deck to the GY, and Special Summon Joker's Knight afterwards. Through its effect, it adopts the name of "Queen's Knight" on the field until the End Phase.

Imperial Bower into Utopia

Just in case the only playable card you have on hand is Imperial Bower, players can make use of its effect to switch into playing Number 39: Utopia.

Card(s) Needed
Imperial Bower
Step Description
1 Normal Summon Imperial Bower. Make sure it's the only monster you control upon being summoned.
2 Activate its effect, tribute it, and Special Summon from the Deck a copy of King's Knight and Queen's Kight.
3 Using King's Knight and Queen's Knight as materials, Xyz Summon Number 39: Utopia Double.
4 Activate the effect of Number 39: Utopia Double; detach one material, and search out a copy of Double or Nothing! from the Deck. Then, using itself and its attached material, Xyz Summon Number 39: Utopia.
As Utopia Double is being used as material, the ATK of Number 39: Utopia is doubled.
5 Go into Battle Phase, and launch an attack with Number 39: Utopia, but activate its effect to negate its own attack.
Then, activate Double or Nothing!, further boosting its ATK by double again. It should have 10,000 ATK as it is able to launch a second attack.

Boss Monsters

Slifer the Sky Dragon
Slifer the Sky Dragon The ATK of Slifer the Sky Dragon is determined by the number of cards on the player's hand. Immaculate card advantage has to be maintained to give this monster proper strength. It also reduces the ATK of Special Summoned monsters by 2000, and are automatically destroyed if it reaches 0 via this effect.
Arcana Knight Joker
Arcana Knight Joker Arcana Knight Joker is the only Fusion Monster in this Deck Recipe, and fortunately players don't need any Polymerization-esque cards to bring it out. It brings power on the field, as well as control through negating effects that target this card.
Arcana Extra Joker
Arcana Extra Joker Arcana Extra Joker is a retrain for Arcana Knight Joker, and has the same negation effect, only this time providing it to monsters on Zones this card points to. When destroyed by battle, it provides a free Special Summon and search of Level 4 Warrior monsters at the same time.
Accesscode Talker
Accesscode Talker A staple for Decks that can run LINK-3 monsters, Accesscode Talker is a great endgame boss monster. Often it can be summoned with 5300 ATK since it can be brought out using a LINK-3 monster as material, and the opponent cannot respond to this monster's card-destroying effect.
Number 39: Utopia
Number 39: Utopia Number 39: Utopia is in this due to the quick combo involving Number 39: Utopia Double and Double or Nothing!. When played right, an attack from this monster can hit for 5000 ATK, or even 10000 AKT when boosted further with Number 6: Dugares the Timeless.
Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder
Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder After attacking with an Xyz Monster, players can bring out Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder. It has a quick effect that completely clears the field of all other cards without destroying them, and provided it has enough materials attached, it can activate this effect multiple times in one turn.

Slifer Arcana Knights Counters: How to Beat

Best Decks to Use Against Slifer Arcana Knights

Branded Despia

Branded Despia Top Image

Most of the Main Deck monsters and boss monsters from the archetype are LIGHT monsters, and the Branded Despia Decks will most certainly take advantage of this in some way. Cards like Fallen of Albaz or Super Polymerization will take advantage of this fact.

Branded Fusion Decks
Branded Tri-Brigade Branded Despia
Branded Cyber Dragon Branded Zombies
Branded Ishizu Branded Dragonmaids

Spright

Master Duel - Spright Top Image

As of writing, Sprights are the dominant control Deck, with a near-unbreakable board when it manages to commit to a full combo. If this Deck manages to go first, it will be extremely hard to defeat the Spright monsters that have swarmed the field because of their negates.

Spright Deck Lists
Pure SprightPure Runick SprightRunick Evil★Twin Spright PartialEvil★Twin
Tri-Brigade SprightTri-Brigade Master Duel - Melffy SprightMelffy Master Duel - Gishki SprightGishki

Runick

Runick Top Image

If Runick manages to go first against the Slifer Arcana Knights Deck, they will be able to set up their Spell Cards on hand and in the GY for their loop of constant resource refreshing. If they go second, they have ways of responding against your own cards. Their Spell Cards have to be dealt with first.

Runick Deck List & Card Guide

Best Cards to Tech Against Slifer Arcana Knights

Nibiru, the Primal Being
Nibiru, the Primal Being Depending on how the Deck's combo goes, it can absolutely break five summons in a single turn. That's the perfect time to activate Nibiru, the Primal Being and clear their field of monsters in one fell swoop.
Effect Veiler
Effect Veiler Most of the effects coming from monsters are triggered on the field. Effect Veiler can effectively neutralize a combo before it can even start when used at the right time.
Naturia Beast
Naturia Beast Aside from monster effects, the Deck is reliant on Spell Cards to complete their field. Naturia Beast can negate Spell Cards multiple times in one turn, and all it needs is to mill two cards from the Deck to the GY. This Synchro Monster is especially dangerous if the Deck likes to be milled.
Summon Limit
Summon Limit When active, both players are restricted to only two overall summons per turn. Summon Limit effectively limits the number of monsters that can be brought out per turn, forcing the player to choose the monster to summon very carefully.
Anti-Spell Fragrance
Anti-Spell Fragrance Anti-Spell Fragrance serves as a floodgate against the activation of Spell Cards, delaying them for a turn. This is perfect for Stun Decks and Control Decks that like to disrupt the opponent as much as they can.

Related Packs to Slifer Arcana Knights

Champions of Hope Dragon Spirit
Guided by the Noble Blade Legacy Pack
Master Pack New Step for Duelists
Number Recall Pledge of Sword
Soldiers from the Storm Space-Time Transcendents
Star-Studded Futures The Great Olds

Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel Related Guides

Deck Pages Banner.png

Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel Deck Archetypes

Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel Decks

Deck Tier List: Best Decks for Season 27

List of All Covered Decks

Aggro Decks

List of All Aggro Decks
D/D/D Aggro Code Talker / Prank Kids Zoodiac
Blue-Eyes Virtual World SPYRAL Control
Toon Kingdom Red-Eyes Blue-Eyes
Zoodiac Prank-Kids Zoodiac Tri-Brigade
Pure Tri-Brigade Ancient Gear Dragonmaid
Tri-Brigade Lyrilusc (Bird Up) Dinosaur Raidraptor
HERO Dragon Link Despia
Magikey Adamancipator Black Luster Soldier
Pendulum Magician Stardust Dragon Tenyi Swordsoul
Cyberdark @Ignister Cyber Dragon
The Winged Dragon of Ra Despian Predaplant Despia Darklord
Odd-Eyes Performapal Numeron FTK Six Samurai
ABC Trickstar Windwitch Blackwings
Fluffal Cupid Pitch Turbo Lunalight
Vampire Ultra Athletes Thunder Dragon
Z-ARC Pendulum Magician Adventurer Rose Dragon Tenyi Adventurer P.U.N.K.
Suship Pure D/D/D Numeron Egyptian Gods
Galaxy Eyes OTK Borrelend Dragon Link Vaylantz
Beetrooper Icejade Ra Therion ABC
Libromancer Mathmech Spright Evil☆Twin
Spright Tri-Brigade Ishizu Chaos Slifer Arcana Knights
Gaia OTK Vernusylph Ancient Warriors
Ghoti Springans 8-Axis Gizmek Orochi
Danger! Dark World Mikanko Scareclaw Kashtira
Zombie World P.U.N.K. Hungry Burger Nouvelles Obelisk the Tormentor
Mannadium Gate Guardian Gold Pride P.U.N.K.
Superheavy Samurai Nemleria Dragon Rulers
Snake-Eye T.G. Diabellstar Skull Servant
Kaiju Resonators Earthbound
Malefic Kozmo -

Control Decks

List of All Control Decks
Invoked Shaddoll Eldlich Control Drytron Fairy
True Draco Dark Magician Traptrix
Phantom Knights Madolche Relinquished
P.U.N.K. DPE Scythe Evil★Twin
Paleozoic Frog Salamangreat Gravekeepers
Monarch Tellarknight Agent
Exosisters Darklord Plunder Patrol
Rikka Floowandereeze Adventurer Phantom Knights
Dinomoprhia Tri-Brigade Gladiator Beast Adventurer Witchcrafter
Dark Magician Gravekeeper Branded Tri-Brigade Branded Despia
Zombie Vampire Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon Spellbook
Branded Cyber Dragon Branded Zombies Pure Scareclaw
Dinomorphia Runick Labrynth
Harpies Buster Blader Umi Control
Endymion Nekroz Spright
Spright Runick Ishizu Runick Branded Ishizu
Crystal Beasts Orcust Altergeist
Witchcrafter Subterror Krawler Mayakashi
Ishizu Tearlaments Evilswarm Melffy Spright
Bystial Branded Dogmatika Bystial Naturia Runick
Generaiders Kashtira Purrely
Ninja Rescue-ACE Gishki Spright
Prediction Princess Vanquish Soul Jinzo
Egyptian God Ojama Control Aromage
Ghostrick Kuriboh -

Burn Decks

List of All Burn Decks
Red-Eyes Burn Timelord Burn Chain Burn
D.D. Dynamite Igknight OTK Cubic
Dinosaur Bishbaalkin FTK Anti-Meta Stun

Alt-Win Decks

List of All Alternate Win Decks
Crooked Cook Exodia Flower Cardian Exodia Treasure Panda Exodia
Suicide Defense OTK

All Budget Decks

List of All Budget Deck Guides
Budget Shark Xyz Budget Eldlich Budget Hippo Turbo
Budget Despia Budget F.A. Metalfoes Budget Blue-Eyes White Dragon
Budget Chain Burn Budget Majespecter Budget Yosenju
Budget Flower Cardian Budget True Draco Budget Amorphage
Budget Ishizu Tearlaments

Best Cards for Decks

Lists of Best Cards for Deck Building
Best Staple Cards Best Searchers Best Hand Traps
Best Board Wipes Best Negates Best Fusion Monsters
Best Synchro Monsters Best Xyz Monsters Best Link Monsters
Best Structure Decks Best Decks to Go 1st or 2nd

Author

    Walkthrough Menu

    All rights reserved