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

Gate Guardian Deck List

Main Deck: x cards
3x	2x	3x	1x	3x
2x	2x	2x	3x	1x
1x	3x	2x	2x	3x
1x	3x	2x	1x	-
Extra Deck: x cards
1x	2x	1x	3x	1x
1x	1x	1x	1x	1x
1x	1x	-	-	-

Gate Guardian Breakdown

Tier Evaluation

Tier Ranking
Rogue Tier
Deck Archetype		Deck Difficulty
Aggro		Easy
Deck Evaluation
Playstyle focuses on getting the three pieces of Gate Guardian ASAP Main boss monster can negate cards or effects thrice per turn Can turn the three pieces into Continuous Spells/Traps to help getting all three at the same time

Gate Guardian Deck Guide: How to Play

Playstyle and Win Condition

The original Gate Guardian was quite a hard monster to summon, as it required the player to have all three Gate Guardian monsters on the field, and the titular monster on hand. Even worse, the monster itself does not do much, despite the extremely hard summoning condition it needs.

With the retrains, alongside Fusion Monsters that make use of only two out of the three monsters, the archetype becomes much easier to play.

Main Deck

These three monsters are the pieces needed to get Gate Guardian and its variations out on the field. Sanga, Kazejin and Suijin all share the same effect where any monster that battles them drains their ATK to 0. Having them somewhere available is key to the Deck's playstyle.

The other monsters are retrains of the "Dungeon" monsters, cards that were meant to support the Gate Guardians.

The most notable between them is Labyrinth Heavy Tank can Normal Summon itself without needing a Tribute, but it cannot attack the same turn it's Normal Summoned that way.

Its second effect is much more crucial; placing one of the Gate Guardian monsters in the Spell/Trap Zone as a way to collect them makes it far easier for the player to accumulate all the necessary monsters.

Meanwhile, Shadow Ghoul of the Labyrinth, acts as a deterrent once it gets an additional effect; while the player also controls Labyrinth Wall, it automatically destroys a monster it battles by banishing itself.

Another way to cheat out the Gate Guardian pieces is Elemental HERO Prisma. Through its effect, it sends one of the pieces from the Deck to the GY, and in turn, it also takes the name of that monster while on the field for the rest of the turn. This essentially provides two copies of that monster through one effect.

Illusion of Chaos Engine

One of the better Deck Engines that can provide card advantage is the Illusion of Chaos Engine, allowing to send Spell Cards to the GY for a little more draw power and get to the Gate Guardian pieces as fast as possible.

Take note that there's no Ritual Spell card in this Deck Recipe, meaning players can't actually Ritual Summon "Illusion of Chaos" under any circumstance.

Hand Traps

As with all Deck Recipes, three copies each of Maxx "C" and Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring is downright manditory. The current meta revolves around the usage of these two cards, and there has to be a very solid reason if players opt not to bring these two hand traps.

Spell & Trap Cards

The most crucial among the Spell Cards is Labyrinth Wall Shadow, which serves as the stand-in for the Normal Monster that has its whole name as part of this Field Spell.

While active, monsters have to wait until their next turn after being Summoned. However, monsters originally Level 5 and above are an exception here. This effectively stops Xyz and Link Monsters from launching attacks when they're summoned during the same turn.

The other Spell Card for this Deck, Riryoku Guardian, needs the user to have lower LP compared to the opponent's. It can cut the opponent's LP in half so long as it can target a "Gate Guardian" monster they control, and that targeted monster gains ATK equal to the siphoned Life Points.

Banishing this Spell Card from the GY allows the player to add any one copy of the three pieces of Gate Guardian that's either banished or in the Deck to their hand.

The rest of the Spell Cards are meant to support the Gate Guardian pieces--usually to get the pieces out on the field as quickly as possible. A Hero Lives can immediately Special Summon Elemental HERO Prisma, which can take on the name of any of the Gate Guardian pieces.

Fusion Deployment expedites the process even further, Special Summoning any one of Sanga, Kazejin or Suijin as they are labeled as materials of a Fusion Monster.

Double Attack! Wind and Thunder!! is a pretty straightforward Spell Card; it can target and destroy a card while the player controls a "Gate Guardian" monster, and it can banish itself from the GY to retrieve one of the pieces.

For more card advantage, Foolish Burial can throw one of the pieces from the Deck straight to the GY for easy access, while Sacred Sword of Seven Stars has the player banish a Level 7 monster they have on hand (which the Gate Guardian pieces are), to be able to draw two cards.

Prey of the Jirai Gumo is the only Trap Card here, and it becomes a Normal Monster as soon as it is activated. After being summoned on activation, it can destroy a card in the same column as this card was placed, and shares the effect of retrieving a piece of the Gate Guardians.

Extra Deck Monsters

For the most part, players have to to bring out Gate Guardians Combined as quicky as possible for its thirice-per-turn omni-negate Quick Effect. This makes it especialy hard for the opponent to activate effects while this card is active.

The other variants of Gate Guardian use two out of the three pieces, all with unique combinations. Should the player only have two pieces on hand, these mosnters should suffice--and often helps with protection with Gate Guardian Combined.

Card	Materials + Effects
	・Sanga of the Thunder + Kazejin ・Adds a Spell/Trap mentioning any of the 3 Gate Guardian pieces ・Special Summons "Sanga of the Thunder" or "Kazejin" if removed from the field
	・Kazejin + Suijin ・Negates a Spell/Trap card or effect once per chain, up to twice per turn ・Special Summons "Kazejin" or "Suijin" if removed from the field
	・Sanga of the Thunder + Suijin ・Changes the ATK of an opponent's monster to 0 as a Quick Effect twice per turn ・Special Summons "Sanga of the Thunder" or "Suijin" if removed from the field

Ideally, the best monsters to have are Gate Guardians Combined and Gate Guardian of Wind and Water, as that providse up to five possible negates as a powerful defensive set-up.

The rest of the Extra Deck is up to the player's imagination; load it up with as many staples to your preference.

Core Combos and Interactions

Sample Hand 1

Sample Hand
Any two Level 2 Monsters on your field
Step	Description
1	Activate Foolish Burial, then send a copy of Sanga of the Thunder from the Deck to the GY.
2	Activate Shadow Ghoul of the Labyrinth from the hand; discard it, then search out a copy of Labyrinth Shadow Wall from the Deck to add to the hand. Activate it immediately afterwards.
3	Activate the Field Spell Labyrinth Wall Shadow; search out a copy of Kazejin, then place it on one of the Spell/Trap Zones, treating it as a Continuous Spell.
4	Using its effect of not needing tributes to Normal Summon itself, Summon Labyrinth Heavy Tank. Then, use its effect to put Suijin in your hand to one of the Spell/Trap Zones.
5	Banish Sanga of the Thunder from the GY, Kazejin and *Suijin from the field; Special Summon Gate Guardians Combined* onto the field.

Sample Hand 2

Sample Hand 2
Any two Level 2 Monsters on your field
Step	Description
1	Activate the Field Spell Labyrinth Wall Shadow; search out a copy of Sanga of the Thunder, then place it on one of the Spell/Trap Zones, treating it as a Continuous Spell.
2	Activate A Hero Lives; Special Summon Elemental HERO Prisma from the Deck at the cost of half your Life Points. Afterwards, trigger its effect; send a copy of Kazejin from the Deck to the GY, then this monster takes on the name of the latter monster.
3	Activate Magicians' Souls from the hand; send a copy of Suijin from the Deck to the GY, then Special Summon itself onto the field.
4	Banish Sanga of the Thunder from the GY, Kazejin and *Suijin from the field; Special Summon Gate Guardians Combined* onto the field.
5	Trigger the second effect of Magicians' Souls on the field; send Double Attack! Wind and Thunder!! from the field to the GY, to be able to draw a card. Then, activate Double Attack!! from the GY; retrieve the banished copy of Kazejin to add to the hand.

Boss Monsters

	Gate Guardians Combined
	The key monster to get onto the field as fast as posible, Gate Guardians Combined can negate cards up to three times in a single turn. The best part is that this Fusion Monster doesn't need Polymerization or a Fusion Spell to be able to summon this card from the Extra Deck.
	Gate Guardian of Wind and Water
	The only two-piece variant of Gate Guardian, Gate Guardian of Wind and Water is the second-best Fusion Monster in this Deck. Being able to negate Spells and Traps once per chain, twice per turn, is extremely valuable especially if this Deck manages to go first.
	Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder
	While this Deck has to Xyz Summon Dark Armed, the Dragon of Annihilation first to get to Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder, its ability to effectively wipe the entire field of cards except itself is a game-changer in its own right.
	Accesscode Talker
	Accesscode Talker is often considered a last resort Link Monster to summon, because of its near-unstoppable card destruction effect. The higher the Link Rating that a Link Monster used to summon this boss monster, the higher the ATK boost it gets.

Gate Guardian Counters: How to Beat

Best Decks to Use Against Gate Guardian

Labrynth

Once Labrynth begins to use its recursion and continuously recycle its Trap Cards, it will be hard for Mannadium players to deal with the constant interruptions and control over the field. They have to tech cards in to deal with the Labrynth Deck's backrow first and foremost.

Labrynth Deck List & Card Guide

Kashtira

Kashtira has a number of very powerful monsters that punish the opponent if either they attack, or their opponent's monsters activate their effects. Even more problematic is their zone-locking tendencies, which the Gate Guardians need to get all three monsters available.

Kashtira Deck List & Card Guide

Mathmech

With the recent support its managed to received with newer Cyberse monsters, Mathmech is one of the strongest Decks in the meta as of writing. Regardless if they go first or second, they always have a line to commit to a game-winning combo.

Mathmech Deck List & Card Guide

Best Cards to Tech Against Gate Guardian

	Gameciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju
	Most of the Gate Guardian boss monsters have negates that activate while they are on the field. Kaiju monsters like Gameciel, and honorrary mentions like The Winged Dragon of Ra - Sphere Mode and Kurikara Divincarnate are great options to go into them.
	Nibiru, the Primal Being
	A usual Gate Guardian combo line can easily go past 5 or more summons in a single turn. Unless negates are properly set up, Nibiru, the Primal Being will be able to wipe out all the monsters on the field with imputiny.
	Maxx "C"
	As a Special Summon-heavy Deck, Maxx "C" becomes the Deck's most problematic counter, and just about every Deck in the current meta runs it. Unless the player has the proper counter or hand trap to deal with this card, each Special Summon grants the opponent more cards to deal with you.
	Dark Ruler No More
	Dark Ruler No More effectively neutralizes every single monster its opponent has, and the best part is that monsters cannot trigger effects in response to this Spell Card's activation. It may cost them the ability to deal damage for the rest of the turn, but it is more than a fair trade.
	Skill Drain
	Most of the monsters in a Gate Guardian Deck trigger their effects while on the Field. Skill Drain effectively neutralizes that strength so long as this Continuous Trap remains active and face-up on the field.

Related Packs to Gate Guardian

Beginning of the Next Journey	Cosmic Mechanical Entities
Darkest Magics	Knowledge of the Mythlords
Legacy Pack	Master Pack
Miraculous Advent	Monster Overdrive
Soldiers from the Storm	Space-Time Transcendents
The First Heroes

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