Ancient Warriors is a Warrior-type Aggro deck in Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel, specializing in Special Summoning players in either player's turn, and gets advantages if the opponent has more monsters than you. Check out the core deck list, key combos, as well as how to play & counters!

Ancient Warriors Deck List

Main Deck: 44 cards
x3	x3	x3	x3	x2
x2	x2	x2	x1	x1
x3	x3	x3	x3	x2
x3	x3	x1	-	-
Extra Deck: 15 cards
x2	x1	x1	x3	x1
x1	x1	x1	x1	x1
x1	x1	-	-	-

Ancient Warriors Breakdown

Tier Evaluation

Tier Ranking
Rogue Tier
Deck Archetype		Deck Difficulty
Aggro		Easy
Deck Evaluation
Ancient Warriors can Special Summon themselves one after another depending on game state Extra Deck can be added, but is more often support than a win condition Beast-Warrior support is vast, and this Deck can take advantage of it

Ancient Warriors Deck Guide: How to Play

Playstyle and Win Condition

The Ancient Warriors are an interesting archetype, whose aggressive playstyle of Special Summoning monsters feels like commanding an army, providing support and reinforcements to win the war. They can easily swarm the field with multiple monsters, which can beat down the opponent on their own, or become fodder for Extra Deck Special Summons.

Each monster of the archetype has their own unique effect, letting the Deck be able to deal with just about any scenario that can happen in a Duel.

Main Deck Monster

Ancient Warriors - Masterful Sun Mou is the Deck's main searcher, and the most frequently Normal Summoned monster. It also has a bounce effect if another "Ancient Gear" monster controlled.

Ancient Warriors - Ingenious Zhuge Kong is a combo extender that can Special Summon itself if it is searched via an "Ancient Warriors" card, and doubles as a negate if you have a Continuous Spell on the field.

Meanwhile, Ancient Warriors - Virtuous Liu Xuan becomes immune if you control other "Ancient Warriors" monsters, and can Special Summon a different "Ancient Warriors" monster straight from the Deck.

The high-level "Ancient Warriors" monsters are considered boss monsters in their own right, and immediately makes its presence felt when they hit the field. For example, Ancient Warriors - Loyal Guan Yun provides protection to your "Ancient Warriors" monsters from targeted effects, and a free monster destruction if the opponent controls more monsters than you.

Ancient Warriors - Savage Don Ying is a pseudo-Masquerade, forcing the opponent to pay LP in order to activate and resolve effects, and searches out "Ancient Warrior" Spells or Traps.

Ancient Warriors - Ambitious Cao De becomes unaffected by battle or card effects if you control another "Ancient Warriors" monster, can steal a monster it destroys by battle, and can Special Summon itself from the hand if another monster you control is destroyed by battle. *Ancient Warriors - Valiant Zhang De gets stronger if your opponent has more cards, and can launch multiple attacks.

The most important of the bunch is Ancient Warriors - Rebellious Lu Feng, who can be Special Summoned if you control the "Ancient Warriors&quotl monster with the highest ATK on the field. It can also destroy the monster with the highest ATK that the opponent controls as a Quick Effect.

The classic staple hand traps are mandatory in the current meta of Master Duel. Unless you have a workaround in not having them, always run three copies each of Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, and Maxx "C".

Spell and Trap Cards

The archetype likes its Continuous Spells, and some monsters make use of them in their effects. As of May 1st, 2023), Fire Formation - Tenki can now be played at 3 copies in a proper Duel. This is one of the best overall support cards for Beast-Warrior Decks, providing a search upon activation, and a small ATK boost while on the field.

Alongside them are Ancient Warriors Saga - Deception and Betrayal, which can Special Summon an "Ancient Monster" from the hand at the cost of LP. Ancient Warriors Saga - Three Visits on the other hand, is a free searcher that lets you get an "Ancient Warriors" monster differen than the one you summoned.

Ancient Warriors Saga - Defense of Changban is the only Continuous Trap in the Deck, and it's only at one copy, but it's more than enough. When face-up and active, it prevents the opponent from using Spells and Traps if your "Ancient Warriors" monsters. It also has additional effects; it can prevent "Ancient Monsters" monsters from being attacked this turn, and it can Special Summon an "Ancient Monsters" monster straight from the Deck.

The rest of the Spells and Traps in the Deck is more of preventing the opponent from gaining advantages wherever. Dark Ruler neutralizes the opponent's monsters from using their effects, and Called by the Grave stops monster Graveyard effects on top of banishing them as well.

Evenly Matched punishes the opponent from having a full field but no response to its activation. Infinite Impermanence can be activated fromo the hand if you do not contrl any cards on the field, and can negate monster effects that trigger while on the field.

Extra Deck Monsters

Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Tiger King shares some synergy with the Ancient Warriors, being both Beast-Warrior-type monsters. Upon being Xyz Summoned, it can search out a Fire Formation Spell or Trap in the Deck, which is unanimously Fire Formation - Tenki. By detaching one material from itself, it can negate all non-Beast-Warrior monsters until the end of the turn.

Abyss Dweller prevents any Graveyard effects from triggering, especially with Ishizu Tearlaments running rampant in the current meta. Number 41: Bagooska the Terribly Tired Tapir bottlenecks non-Link Monsters from their effects, forcing them in Defense Position as well when placed in Defense Position.

As for Link Monsters, a couple of Beast-Warrior Link Monsters can synergize well. Fire Fighting Daruma Doll gets stronger for each Beast-Warrior monster on the field, on top of destroying a Spell/Trap from each side of the field.

The Tri-Brigade Link Monsters work perfectly with Ancient Warriors. Both Tri-Brigade Ferrijit the Barren Blossom and Tri-Brigade Rugal the Silver Sheller let you Special Summon a Beast-Warrior monster from the hand, and provide a free draw if it is sent to the GY.

I:P Masquerena is a great monster to use when summoning the LINK-3 or LINK-4 monsters in the Extra Deck. Knightmare Unicorn is usually seen as a similar stepping stone, but it can also work as a target.

As for LINK-4s, the usual candidates in an Extra Deck are to be expected--Accesscode Talker, Apollousa, Bow of the Goddess, and Mekk-Knight Crusadia Avramax all work as endgame boss Link Monsters.

Core Combos and Interactions

The Ancient Warriors Deck specializes in being aggressive with their Summons, sometimes even doing them during the oppoonent's turn. Here are some basic combos to get a feel for the Deck before expanding on its playability.

Simple Deception and Betrayal Combo

Cards Needed On Hand
Step	Description
1	Activate Ancient Warriors Saga - Deception and Betrayal; use its effect to Special Summon Ancient Warriors - Savage Don Ying.
2	Upon being Special Summoned, activate the effect of Ancient Warriors - Savage Don Ying; use its effect too search and add a copy of Ancient Warriors - Rebellious Lu Feng to your hand.
3	Because you control another "Ancient Warrior" monster on your field, you can Special Summon Ancient Warriors - Rebellious Lu Feng.

This combo should work with any monster outside of Ancient Warriors - Rebellious Lu Feng, depending on the state of the Duel. This simple Combo gets you a free monster on the field, as well as a free search effect.

No Active Field Spell
	X		X
-	-		-	-

Simple Three Visits Combo

Cards Needed On Hand
Step	Description
1	Activate Ancient Warriors Saga - Three Visits, then Normal Summon Ancient Warriors - Masterful Sun Mou.
2	Upon Masterful Sun Mou being Normal Summoned, activate the effect of Ancient Warriors Saga - Three Visits; target Masterful Sun Mou, and search out an "Ancient Warriors" monster that has a different name. Our suggestion is to search out Ancient Warriors - Savage Don Ying.
3	Activate the effect of Ancient Warriors - Masterful Sun Mou; send Ancient Warriors Saga - Three Visits to the Graveyard, and search out a copy of Ancient Warriors - Ingenious Zhuge Kong.
4	Because Ancient Warriors - Ingenious Zhuge Kong was searched out via card effect, you can Special Summon it to the field..
5	As you control the "Ancient Warrior" monster with the highest ATK on the field, you can Special Summon Ancient Warriors - Savage Don Ying from the hand.
6	Upon being Special Summoned, activate the effect of Ancient Warriors - Savage Don Ying; use its effect too search and add a copy of Ancient Warriors - Rebellious Lu Feng to your hand.
7	Because you control another "Ancient Warrior" monster on your field, you can Special Summon Ancient Warriors - Rebellious Lu Feng.
8	Use Ancient Warriors - Masterful Sun Mou and Ancient Warriors - Ingenious Zhuge Kong as materials for an Extra Deck Monster summon. Link: Ancent Warriors Oath - Double Dragon Lords or Fire Fighting Daruma Doll Xyz: Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Tiger King or Abyss Dweller.

These two cards can get you quite a presence on the field, and even more if the opponent still has more monsterso n their field compared to you.

No Active Field Spell
			X
-	-	-	-	-

Boss Monsters

	Ancient Warriors - Rebellious Lu Feng
	Ancient Warriors - Rebellious Lu Feng is the strongest monster in the archetype in terms of stats, and can be Special Summoned from the hand if you happen to control the monster with the highest ATK on the field. It has a Quick Effect that destroyes the highest ATK monster the opponent controls.
	Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Tiger King
	Upon being Xyz Summoned, Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Tiger King can immediately Search and Set Fire Formation - Tenki, which will be of great advantage to the Deck's playstyle. It can also negate the effects of non-Beast-Warrior-type monsters on the field for one turn.
	Tri-Brigade Rugal the Silver Sheller
	Tri-Brigade Rugal the Silver Sheller Special Summons a Level 4 Beast-Warrior monster from thhe hand during the opponent's turn, which can be a good wall against monster attacks. When sent to the GY, it can make the opponent's monsters lose ATK for each monster you control upon effect resolution.
	Accesscode Talker
	The classic choice for Decks that can Link Summon, Accesscode Talker is a staple for Decks with its uninterruptable card destruction effect, and the ability to boost its own ATK after being Link Summoned.
	Mekk-Knight Crusadia Avramax
	Another staple boss monster and one of the more frequently-used LINK-4 monsters, Mekk-Knight Crusadia Avramax excels in battles between monsters. It also enjoys a special combo with I:P Masquerena to become even harder to remove from the field by ordinary means.

Ancient Warriors Counters: How to Beat

Best Decks to Use Against Ancient Warriors

Floowandereeeze

Floowandereeze is a very tricky match-up due to them getting advantages via Normal Summons, especially if you start off your turn with one. If they can properly set up, this Deck will have a hard time against their chain of Summons and hand traps.

Floowandereeze Deck List & Card Guide

Spright

Spright Decks can be very hard to deal with due to them being able to easily do a full combo with just a few cards. Their ability to synergize with other archetypes that use Level 2 monsters also makes them quite unpredictable, as each variant can play quite differently from one another.

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

Umi Control

Umi Control will be a big problem against Ancient Warriors due to their easy set-up and plethora of floodgates and negates. This is what makes it especially hard to deal against this Deck.

Umi Control Deck List & Card Guide

Ishizu Tearlaments

As of writing, Ishizu Tearlaments is the most played and the strongest Deck in the current meta. Ancient Warriors do have a chance against this Deck, but that relies on the opponent not haivng the cards needed on hand, or sent to the GY via effect. Expect to play the Duel of a lifetime against this Deck.

Ishizu Tearlaments Deck List & Card Guide

Best Cards to Tech Against Ancient Warriors

	Nibiru, the Primal Being
	Due to how quickly an Ancient Warriors Deck can Special Summon monsters one after another depending on the state of the Duel, getting to 5 Summons total would be easy. Nibiru, the Primal Being is an easy punish against this Deck, completely wiping the field of all their monsters.
	Maxx "C"
	The strongest hand-trap in the game that requires quite a number of counters and answers for its counters, Maxx "C" punishes each Special Summon by providing a free draw. If this Deck can't answer this hand trap, it might cost you the game.
	Dark Hole
	The Deck does not have a lot of negates against dangerous effects like card destruction. Dark Hole is more notable here over its banlist-hit relative, Raigeki, because of monster effects that can trigger upon being destroyed and/or being sent to the GY.
	Summon Limit
	Summon Limit is a popular Trap Card floodgate that a lot of Control Decks use to stop their opponent from summoning too much. Both players are restricted to two summons per turn, forcing both players to think carefully on which monsters to Summon.
	Mirror Force
	Mirror Force, and nearly all of its variants are pretty strong against Ancient Warriors since they punish aggression. If the opponent cannot respond against this card, this might very well turn a game-ending attack into a severe punish that leaves them with no monsters left on the field.

Related Packs to Ancient Warriors

Alba Abyss	Cosmic Mechanical Entities
Echo Chamber Nation	Legacy Pack
Legends of Old	Master Pack
Soldiers from the Storm

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