Vanquish Soul 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!

Vanquish Soul Deck List

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

Vanquish Soul Breakdown

Tier Evaluation

Tier Ranking
God Tier
Deck Archetype		Deck Difficulty
Control		Hard
Deck Evaluation
A Deck themed around tagfighting games with constant switching of monsters Tags out monsters between the hand and field Effects rely on having the monsters with the right Attribute on hand

Vanquish Soul Deck Guide: How to Play

Playstyle and Win Condition

Main Deck Monsters

Vanquish Soul has a unique playstyle revolving around swapping monsters between the field and the hand, and they can be used both offensively or defensively.

Their playstyle is heavily inspired on tag-based fighting games, with the monsters on the field being the main fighter, and those on hand being available assists.

These three cards are key monsters in the Deck, and should be always run at 3 copies each. Besides swapping between a "Vanquish Soul" monster on the field via Quick Effect, they also have effects that vary depending on what attributes the monsters you have on your hand.

Most often you will start with Vanquish Soul Razen or Vanquish Soul Dr. Mad Love, then switch into Vanquish Soul Heavy Borger for its draw effect while you have a DARK monster on hand.

Monster	Different Effects
	DARK: This card cannot be destroyed by card effects for the rest of the turn. FIRE & DARK: Destroy all monsters on the same column as this card.
	DARK: A face-up monster the opponent controlls loses 500 ATK & DEF. DARK & EARTH: Return a monster the opponent controls with the lowest DEF back to he hand.
	DARK: Draw 1 card. EARTH & FIRE: Deal 1500 Damage to the opponent.

The rest other "Vanquish Soul" monsters are fine as is at one copy each, due to the supportive nature of their effects.

Special mention goes to Vanquish Soul Jiaolong, which provides a search for a "Vanquish Soul" card, and Vanquish Soul Pantera, which can destroy Spells and Traps on the same column.

Monster	Different Effects
	FIRE: Change the battle position of 1 monster on the field. 2 FIRE: Add 1 "Vanquish Soul" card from your Deck to your hand, except a copy of itself.
	EARTH: This card cannot be destroyed by battle for the rest of this turn. EARTH & FIRE: Destroy all Spells/Traps in the same column as this card.
	FIRE: This card gains 3000 DEF until the End Phase. DARK & EARTH: This card gains 3000 ATK until the end of this turn.

The boss monster of the Deck is Vanquish Soul Caesar Valius, having the highest stat points among the archetype, as well as the only one that requires three Attributes on hand in its second effect.

Monster	Different Effects
	EARTH: This card becomes immune to the opponent's activated card effects for the rest of the turn. EARTH, FIRE, & DARK: Destroy a card other than itself on the field.

Setting this monster on the field is imperative, providing advantage while being a hard monster to remove from the field.

The rest of the monsters in the Main Deck are support for Vanquish Soul--mostly hand traps to hinder the opponent from their resources. Maxx "C" and Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring are mandatory aditions; Droll & Lock Bird locks out the opponent from getting more cards, Special Summon combo Decks can be countered with Kurikara Divincarnate and Nibiru, the Primal Being.

A good thing to note also is that Maxx "C", Ash Blossom and Kurikara can all fulfill the conditions asked by the "Vanquish Soul" monsters' effects!

Spell Cards

Stake your Soul! is Vanquish Soul's most crucial Spell Card, as it Special Summons out a "Vanquish Soul" monster with a different Attribute than the monster it revealed from the hand as cost straight from the Deck.

It has to return to the hand by the End Phase, however, so players have to act fast in utilizing the monster it summoned.

Vanquish Soul - Continue? serves as either a recycle or a free Special Summon if you have a "Vanquish Soul" monster in your GY. It being a Quick-Play Spell can make this card a game-saving or game-winning play, depending on the situation.

There is only one copy of Vanquish Soul Dust Devil, but one is enough. Simply by changing the battle position of one of your "Vanquish Soul" monsters, it can force a monster the opponent controls to face-down. Each different "Vanquish Soul" monster you control means another monster forced face-down.

As for searchers, Reinforcement of the Army should be an easy way to get Razen, while Pot of Prosperity gives a preivew of what could be the next few draws from its excavate effect.

Trap Cards

Just one of each of these "Vanquish Soul" Trap Cards will be enough. Snow Devil gets more effects that more monsters with mentioned Attributes. If all three requirements are met: that's 1800 Damage to the opponent, a free Special Summon, card destruction immunity for your "Vanish soul" monsters, and all monsters on the field destroyed--all in a single activation

Vanquish Soul Trinity Burst is an unorthodox choice, but being able to bounce two columns' worth of cards back to the opponent's hards can be a game-changing effect.

Infinite Impermanence is great to counter monster effects, so long as they trigger on the field. If they are activated after being Set on the field, it negates the entire row from Spell and/or Trap activations for the rest of the turn.

Providing further control is There Can Be Only One, which locks the opponent out of using multiple monsters of a certain type. If they run a single-type Deck, it can be extemely hard to deal with this Continuous Trap floodgate.

Extra Deck Monsters

Realistically, the Extra Deck options for a Vanquish Soul Deck are rather flexible--considering the Deck is sufficient enough on its own to not rely on Extra Deck Monsters.

The only important monster to have at three copies is Rock of the Vanquisher, which can either recycle a "Vanquish Soul" monster from the GY to the hand, or Special Summon one from the hand during either player's Main Phase.

Lastly, while this Link Monster is active, the opponent can only attack the monster you control with the highest ATK.

The rest of the Extra Deck is up to the players' tastes. In this Deck Recipe, the chosen for their support and effects. For example, Tornado Dragon and Evilswarm Exciton Knight provides field control by destroying cards, while Bagooska the Terribly Tired Tapir acts as a floodgate forcing monsters to Defense Position, negating their effects at the same time.

The Deck can also make use of the Zoodiac Xyz Monsters, particularly Zoodiac Chakanine and Zoodiac Boarbow. Their Xyz stacking can also be a great pivot into Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder to give it as many materials as possible.

The Knightmare Link Monsters are all good generic fits into the Deck, slotting in perfectly because of their generic material requirements. Cerberus deals with monsters, Phoenix destroys a card in the backline, then either can be used to Link Climb into Knightmare Unicorn to use its bounce effect.

Security Dragon can work with some synergy with Rock of the Vanisher, as co-linking it with another Link Monster can let it bounce a monster the opponent controls back to the hand.

For LINK-4 options, options include Accesscode Talker for the clean-up effect, huge ATK boost if it uses a Link Monster as material, and its effects locking the opponent out of responding.

Unchained Abomination provides further control on the field by destroying cards on the field in each effect it has.

Core Combos and Interactions

Vanquish Soul Basic Combo

This is the Deck's most basic combo, which can start with just a single Vanquish Soul Razen; depending on what other cards you have on hand, it can branch out to other options.

Card(s) Needed on Hand
+ one other DARK Monster
Step	Description
1	Normal Summon Vanquish Soul Razen. Then, activate its effect to search a copy of Vanquish Soul Heavy Borger from the Deck.
2	Activate the effect of Vanquish Soul Heavy Borger from the hand; target Vanquish Soul Razen, send it back to the hand, then Special Summon Heavy Borger onto the field.
3	Activate the second effect of Vanquish Soul Heavy Borger while on the field; reveal a DARK monster from the hand, then draw 1 card.
4	Using Vanquish Soul Heavy Borger as material, Link Summon Rock of the Vanquisher. Then, activate its effect; retrieve Heavy Borger from the GY back to the hand.
5	If you have any Spells or Traps on hand--particularly Vanquish Soul Dust Devil or Vanquish Soul Snow Devil--set them.

No Active Field Spell
			X
-	-	-	-	-
(Set)	-	(Set)	-	-

Boss Monsters

	Vanquish Soul Caesar Valius
	Vanquish Soul Caesar Valius is the boss monster of the archive, and the monster you want on the field as soon as possible. Depending on what cards you have on hand, it can either be immune to the opponent's activated effects, or provide a free card destruction on the field.
	Kurikara Divincarnate
	Kurikara Divincarnate is a powerful hand trap that punishes the opponent from using monster effects on the field. It tributes all monsters that have activated their effects during your Main Phase, and gets stronger for each tributed monster. Better is that during the End Phase, it summons a monster straight from the opponent's Graveyard.
	Unchained Abomination
	Unchained Abomination can destroy a card if another card gets destroyed while this monster is on the field. It also destroys another card on the field during the End Phase, making this card dangerous to the opponent.
	Accesscode Talker
	Accesscode Talker is a LINK-4 monster, and by its own it can end games outright. It boosts its ATK depending on the Link Monster it used as material, and can destroy cards up to the number of Link Monsters with different Attributes it can banish. The cherry on top is that the opponent cannot respond with card or effects to this card's effect activation.

Vanquish Soul Counters: How to Beat

Best Decks to Use Against Vanquish Soul

Hungry Burger Nouvelles

Depending on how well this Deck starts in its first turn, Hungry Burger Nouvelles can stop Vanquish Soul due to its sheer number of interruptions--including their various Ritual Monsters.

The best shot against this Deck as Vanquish Soul is to set up as much as possible if it manages to go first.

Hungry Burger Nouvelles Deck Guide

Kashtira

Kashtira is one of the most powerful Decks in the current meta, with a full combo causing every card sent to the GY to be banished instead through Kashtira Arise-Heart.

Vanquish Soul players need to time thier effects right to stop the combo, and not leave any chance for the opponent to play through interruptions.

Kashtira Deck Guide

Sky Strikers

Sky Strikers have a powerful combo that can interrupte anything through its numberous Quick-Play Spells, especially Sky Striker Mecha - Widow Anchor. Even worse, a certain combo can enable this Deck to go into an OTK attempt.

Players will have to be weary of the numerous Spell Cards it can throw at the monsters on their side of the field.

Sky Strikers Deck Guide

Labrynth

One of the strongest Decks in the current meta, Labrynth becomes near unstoppable once it manages to set up its Trap Card recursion. A basic combo between Lady Labrynth of the Silver Castle and Big Welcome Labrynth can immediately mess up a Vanquish Soul combo.

If the Vanquish Soul player can stop the Deck from using their Trap Cards, it should be a fair Duel between the two Decks.

Labrynth Deck Guide

Best Cards to Tech Against Vanquish Soul

	Skill Drain
	For the Deck's strategy to work, there has to be at least one "Vanquish Soul" monster on the field to trigger Quick Effects. With Skill Drain active, this effectively stops any and all monsters on the field to trigger any effects.
	Forbidden Droplet
	Not only will Forbidden Droplet negate monster effects on the field, the opponent can't respond with the type of cards the user discarded as cost, and it also slashes the monster's ATK in half.
	Maxx "C"
	For a Control Deck, Vanquish Soul does need a couple of Special Summons--usually from the Quick Effect of Rock of the Vanquisher. Maxx "C" is the best counter against all Special Summons, providing a free draw for each one that happens after its effect resolves.
	Kashtira Fenrir
	Kashtira Fenrir is the one Monster Card this Deck should fear, as it banishes a card on the field face-down if a monster effect is activated while this is on the field. Monster effects triggering while you control one on the field is the main strategy for Vanquish Soul, making this one of the best hard counters.

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Number Recall	Roused from Destruction
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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
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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

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List of All Burn Decks
Red-Eyes Burn	Timelord Burn	Chain Burn
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Alt-Win Decks

List of All Alternate Win Decks
Crooked Cook Exodia	Flower Cardian Exodia	Treasure Panda Exodia
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List of All Budget Deck Guides
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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

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Best Board Wipes		Best Negates		Best Fusion Monsters
Best Synchro Monsters		Best Xyz Monsters		Best Link Monsters
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