Ishizu Runick is a Control Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel, combining two powerful Deck engines that can recycle cards from the GY. Check out the core deck list, key combos, as well as how to play & counters!

Ishizu Runick Deck List

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

Ishizu Runick Breakdown

Ishizu Runick Alternate Options

Spright Engine

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For players that want stronger presence on the field, they can opt to run the Spright Engine instead. However, to maintain consistency, the player be forced to drop the hand traps intead, relying on the Runicks and Ishizu Cards to deny any possible plays.

Ishizu Runick Deck Guide: How to Play

Playstyle and Win Condition

The Runick Engine provides consistent card advantage, being able to recover their various Quick-Play Spells with the help of their signature Field Spell, Runick Fountain.

But sometimes, getting Spells in the Graveyard is the hard part; without it, it can take a while to keep generating card advantage.

Enter, the Ishizu Cards.

Ishizu Cards & Main Deck Monsters

With Keldo the Sacred Protector and Mudora the Sword Oracle having their recycle effects as Quick Effects, players can use this effect proactively and defensively.

Unfortunately, this Deck Engine is pretty much dead in the water, as Agido the Ancient Sentinel and Kelbek the Ancient Vanguard have long since been banned from proper play for a good while now.

Maxx "C" is the classic hand traps that are basically mandatory in the current Special Summon-heavy meta in Master Duel. No other hand traps are here, as most of your control comes from the floodgates and the Quick-Play Spells from the Runick cards.

Spell Cards

Players must get Runick Fountain activated and on the field as soon as possible to take advantage of the Ishizu Cards milling its respective Deck. Three copies is mandatory, and the Field Spell must be protected as much as possible.

Runick Allure just stacks on the punishment by banishing an additional card for every "Runick" Quick-Pllay Spells.

The various Runick Quick-Play Spells provide different ways to cause disruption, thus making it a situational basis to activate each of these cards. Flashing Fire, Destruction, Dispelling, and Freezing Curses in particular punishes the opponent for merely having presence on the field.

While Smiting Storm and Slumber are also good cards, they are not as disruptive as the other cards; in most cases, these are the cards you will be using to Special Summon the "Runick" Fusion Monsters.

Even more disruption comes in the form of Card Destruction , forcing the opponent to let go some or all of their cards on hand. Sure, it can give them new cards from the Deck, but having to let go key cards like hand traps or combo pieces can mess up their combo even before it begins.

Trap Cards

There's only two Trap Cards in the entire Deck, and it's to support the Ishizu Cards. Gravekeeper's Trap in particular can be activated immediately face-up with the help from Mudora.

Unless there's too many cards in the GY, Exchange of the Spirit is a lot better being in the GY instead. While there, it boosts the effects of the Ishizu Cards, whether it be milling cards or recycling them back to the Deck.

Extra Deck Monsters

The "Runick" Fusion Monsters are mandatory when running the Runick Engine. Hugin is your main searcher for Runick Fountain, and Geri recycles the Field Spell from the GY back to your hand.

Munin provides additionalLP every End Phase, searches out Runick Allure and protects Runick Fountain from being targeted.

If you want additional control, Number 41: Bagooska the Terribly Tired Tapir in Defense Position provides two turns maximum of Effect Monsters not being able to activate their respective effects.

For more draw power, Number 60: Dugares the Timeless can let you draw 2 cards for the price of discarding 1, and not being able to draw in your next Draw Phase.

Core Combos and Interactions

The play style of both the Runick and Ishizu Engines are reactive in nature, making combos for the Deck very dependent on the current state of the Duel. Thus, instead of combos, we'll be looking at the best times to activate certain cards and disrupt any plays the opponent might attempt.

Mudora and Keldo's Recycle Effect

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Cards being moved out of the Graveyard via effects is a crucial part of strategies in the current meta of Yu-Gi-Oh. With it becoming a popular place to pool resources in, the best way to deny the opponent would be to shuffle those cards back to the Deck before they can take advantage.

For example, you can decide to shuffle back against the targets of Spright Elf and Monster Reborn, just before it's about to Special Summon a monster from the GY. It denies them the ability to Special Summon back those targets, while being able to shuffle back a couple of Runick Spells back to your Deck.

Players can also use the shuffle effect against Called by the Grave, returning the targeted card from the GY to the Deck and preventing its effect from being negated.

Runick Cards

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Runick Destruction is great against Spells and Traps that stay on the field after their effects have been activated. Anti-Spell Fragrance and Gravekeeper's Trap are both prime targets for this card, as well as Field Spells like Necrovalley.

It also works on Pendulum Monsters placed in Pendulum Zones; Performapal Five-Rainbow Magician is one worth keeping an eye on for monsters in Pendulum Zones.

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Runick Dispelling punishes players that try to add cards from the Deck to their hand outside of their Draw Phase. Cards like Reinforcement of the Army, Runick Fountain and Pot of Prosperity will have their provided card advantage basically negated as they're forced to discard a card.

Even Maxx "C" is not safe here; once the player gets to draw because of its effect, the Runick Quick-Play Spell can be activated afterwards.

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Runick Freezing Curses are for pesky Effect Monsters that can only activate their effects while on the field. Cards like Aleister the Invoker, a fellow Hugin the Runick Wings and a Gigantic Spright will be easy pickings for this Quick-Play Spell.

Even Quick Effects like Baronne de Fleur's omni-negate can be stopped with this card, provided the player activates the Spell after the Synchro Monster activates their own effect.

Boss Monsters

	Number 41: Bagooska the Terribly Tired Tapir
	Most of the Ishizu Cards are Level 4, which makes it easy to bring out Number 41: Bagooska the Terribly Tired Tapir. Best to summon this in Defense Position to act as a floodgate against Effect Monsters, negating their effects and forcing them to Defense Position so long as this card has materials.

Ishizu Runick Counters: How to Beat

Best Decks to Use Against Ishizu Runick

Spright Decks

Once a Spright Deck manages to get to its full combo, it will be extremely hard to break their field--let alone be able to do anything because of their sheer number of negates and control over the field. They are some of the strongest Decks in the current meta, regardless of the variant.

Spright Deck Lists
Pure		Runick		Evil★Twin
Tri-Brigade		Melffy		Gishki

Branded Despia

Branded Despia Decks are quite a hassle to deal with, for they somehow have an out for just about any situation. They can punish whatever presence there is on the field, and can wreck combos with their Fusion Monsters, which is is not good against a Ishizu Runick Deck.

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

Gravekeeper's

A Gravekeeper Deck will most definitely have Necrovalley somewhere in their Deck, which will shut down the strong recycling ability of the Ishizu Runick Deck. So long as that Field Spell, or any card that has that effect, it will be hard to maintain resources and keep up control over the field.

Gravekeeper's Deck List & Card Guide

Mathmech

As of the current meta, Mathmech has one of the most consistent combos in the game. Sure, it can be interrupted by shuffling key cards from the GY back to the Deck, but that lets them pivot into a different combo. They equal the Branded Despia Decks for having outs for almost any situation.

Mathmech Deck List & Card Guide

Best Cards to Tech Against Ishizu Runick

	Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit
	Thanks in part to the popularity of the Runick Spright Deck, Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit has risen to popularity as a hand trap, being able to destroy Runick Fountain to stop its recycling effect.
	Necrovalley
	Necrovalley guarantees that cards that have been sent in the GY will not be going anywhere else as long as this card is active. This stops both the Ishizu and Runick Engines, preventing any card recycling back to the Deck.
	Abyss Dweller
	Abyss Dweller serves as counters for Graveyards, preventing any effects from activating there if this card manages to activate its own effect. This is a hard counter against the Ishizu Cards that are in the GY.
	Droll & Lock Bird
	Once this hand trap is activated, the opponent cannot get any more cards from the Deck outside of the Draw Phase for the rest of the turn. Runick Fountain's effect is essentially useless unless the player passes the turn, or if it manages to negate Droll & Lock Bird's effect before it resolves.
	Macro Cosmos
	So long as Macro Cosmos is active, cards sent to the GY are instead banished. This single Continuous Trap can ruin the strategies of both the Ishizu and Runick engines. However, this is a double-edged sword if the Ishizu Runick player somehow incorporates this Trap Card to their own strategy.

Related Packs to Ishizu Runick

Crystal Serpentry	Justice from Light
Legacy Pack	Master Pack
Miraculous Advent	Number Recall
Record of Noble Spirits	Souls of Sublime Gods
Space-Time Transcendents	Spiritual Mastery
Strong Will

Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel Related Guides

Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel Deck Archetypes

Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel Decks

Deck Tier List: Best Decks for Season 35

List of All Covered Decks

World Champion Decks

2024 World Champions: Team 7
Horus Tearlaments	Yubel	Fire King Snake-Eyes
Salamangreat	Purrely	Vanquish Soul

Decks Used in Worlds 2024

Decks Used By All Teams in Worlds 2024
snipehunters	CER	Hero's Future
BOTB	MYYGO	Thank Love
CER 2 x FCG	BRAZ IL	Maxx “Yee”
Double Noir	Rogue Ruler

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	Armored Xyz Shark
Unchained	Battlin' Boxer	Chimera Illusion
Fire King Snake-Eyes	Vaalmonica	Memento
Horus Tearlaments	Centur-Ion	Dragon Master Magia
Ice Barrier	Infernoid	Lightsworn
Ogdoadic Ragnaraika	Genex	Tenpai Dragon
Goblin Biker	Infernoble	Armed Dragon
Flame Swordsman	Melodious

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	Anti-Meta Stun
Runick Spright Fur Hire	Horus Control	Toy Box Dark Magician
Yubel	Voiceless Voice	Rikka Ragnraika
Ritual Beast	Shining Sarcophagus

Burn Decks

List of All Burn Decks
Red-Eyes Burn	Timelord Burn	Chain Burn
D.D. Dynamite	Igknight OTK	Cubic
Dinosaur Bishbaalkin FTK	Volcanic Snake-Eyes	Transaction Rollback Burn

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