Flame Swordsman is an Aggro deck in Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel, featuring one of the original Fusion Monsters in the card game and its retrains to become a fully-fledged Deck of its own. Check out the core deck list and key combos, as well as tips on how to play, alternative card options & counters against this specific Deck!

Flame Swordsman Deck List

Main Deck: 42 cards
x3	x3	x3	x3	x2
x2	x1	x1	x1	x1
x1	x3	x3	x2	x2
x2	x1	x1	x1	x1
x1	x1	x2
Extra Deck: 15 cards
x2	x2	x1	x1	x1
x1	x1	x1	x1	x1
x1	x1	x1

Flame Swordsman Breakdown

Flame Swordsman Deck Guide: How to Play

Playstyle and Win Condition

Flame Swordsman is an iconic card, and one of the first Fusion Monsters in the history of Yu-Gi-Oh! Since then, it has gotten retrains to expand the monster's use. With the release of the Geas of the Light Selection Pack, it finally becomes an archetype of its own, meant to be as strong as possible during the Battle Phase.

Flame Swordsman Cards

Salamandra, the Flying Flame Dragon is a retrain of the original Equip Spell that doubles as a monster. It will boost the ATK of the monster it's equipped to, but the more crucial effect lies in its search effect when sent to the GY.

More often than not, it'll be equipped to Fighting Flame Swordsman, which also searches out a Spell/Trap Card mentioning "Flame Swordsman". When sent to the GY, it acts as a Foolish Burial or Foolish Burial Goods, which will be crucial later.

Mirage Swordsman acts as a floater for the Deck if a FIRE Fusion monster (which is most often a Flame Swordsman Fusion monster) you control gets destroyed. It can crash itself into a monster by battle and destroy it and itself in the process, and as a floating effect can summon a monster that mentions "Flame Swordsman" from the Main Deck or Extra Deck.

Flame Swordsman acts as a floodgate whenever you Normal Summon a FIRE Warrior monster, and acts as a free way to get the titular Fusion Monster onto the field without having to do a Fusion Summon (even though it is treated as one).

The Deck's more versatile Spell Card is Fighting Flame Sword; it can either be a searcher, a card destruction counter to battles, and a negate if an effect targets a Flame Swordsman or a monster that mentions it.

Salamandra Fusion is primarily and Equip Spell that boosts a monster's ATK, but this also doubles as a Fusion Spell using itself and the monster it is equipped to.

Flame Swordsman is fairly easy to summon now even without doing the traditional Fusion Summon, and getting it on the field is crucial to getting the other Fusion Summons out.

Fighting Flame Dragon acts as additional firepower support for the main boss monster. It can become an Equip Card to Flame Swordsman, giving an ATK boost and providing a second attack during the Battle Phase. Have this equipped to Ultimate Flame Swordsman as much as possible, which gets a card destruction effect as a Quick Effect when it has an Equip Card attached.

Kashtira Deck Engine

Enough space is in the Deck to make use of the Kashtira monsters, a small package that makes use of powerful mosnters that are vital when attacking, or when punishing the opponent when using monster effects.

Pressured Planet Wraithsoth provides a small ATK boost for every monster with a different Attribute is on your field, but it mainly a way to search out Kashtira Fenrir or Kashtira Unicorn. The latter gets to search Kashtira Birth, which ensures you can keep Special Summon a Kashita monster from the GY.

Infernoble Deck Engine

Considering the Deck revolves around a Warrior-type monster in Flame Swordsman and its retrains, in theory some support from the Infernoble Deck Engine! A single Infernoble Knight - Renaud could result into an Isolde, and making use of its iconic Equip Spells in Almace and Durendal.

Core Combos and Interactions

Flame Swordsman Sample Hand 1

Card on Hand
Step	Description
1	Normal Summon Infernoble Knight - Renaud. Then, activate Salamandra, the Flying Flame Dragon from the hand to equip it to Renaud.
2	Activate Flame Swordsrealm onto the field. Use its effect; send Infernoble Knight - Renaud to the GY to Special Summon Flame Swordsman from the Extra Deck.
3	Upon being sent to the GY, activate the effect of Salamandra, the Flying Flame Dragon; add Salamandra Fusion to the hand from the Deck. Activate Salamandra Fusion, and equip it to Flame Swordsman.
3	Use the effect of Salamandra Fusion; send itself and Flame Swordsman to the GY; Special Summon Ultimate Flame Swordsman. This effect is treated as a Fusion Summon.

No Field Spell Active
			X
-		-	-	-

Flame Swordsman Sample Hand 2

Card on Hand
Step	Description
1	Special Summon Kashtira Unicorn. Then, activate its effect to add Kashtira Birth from the Deck. Activate Kashtira Birth on the field.
2	Normal Summon Fighting Flame Swordsman. Trigger its effect; add Fighting Flame Sword from the Deck to the hand. Activate it afterwards; add a second copyof Salamandra, the Flying Flame Dragon from the Deck.
3	Activate Flame Swordsrealm from the hand. Use its effect, then discard one of the two copies of Salamandra, the Flying Flame Dragon from the hand, to Special Summon Flame Swordsman from the Extra Deck.
4	Trigger the effect of Salamandra, the Flying Flame Dragon from the GY; add Salamandra Fusion from the Deck to the hand.
5	Activate the second Salamandra, the Flying Flame Dragon from the hand; equip it to Fighting Flame Swordsman.
6	Activate Salamandra Fusion from the hand, and equip it to Flame Swordsman. Then, activate its effect; send itself and Flame Swordsman to the GY, to Special Summon Ultimate Flame Swordsman. This effect is treated as a Fusion Summon.
7	Using Fighting Flame Swordsman and Ultimate Flame Swordsman as mateirals, Link Summon Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights.
8	Chain Link 2: Trigger the effect of Fighting Flame Swordsman upon being sent to the GY; send Fighting Flame Dragon to the GY from the Extra Deck. Chain Link 1: Upon being Special Summoned, activate its effect on Link Summon; add a copy of Infernoble Knight - Renaud to the hand.
9	Using Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights and Kashtira Unicorn as materials, Link Summon Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames. Then, use its effect to Special Summon Ultimate Flame Swordsman back onto the field.
10	Activate the effect of Fighting Flame Dragon'; equip itself to Ultimate Flame Dragon.

No Field Spell Active
			X
-				-

Boss Monsters

	Ultimate Flame Swordsman
	Ultimate Flame Swordsman has a targeted monster destruction effect, deals burn damage when it succeeds, and it becomes a Quick Effect while an Equip Card is equipped to this Fusion Monster. It also has the option to go all out and boost its ATK by double, at the cost of being destroyed by the End Phase.
	Mirage Swordsman
	Mirage Swordsman is more of a conditional boss monster, being able to Special Summon itself from the GY or hand if a FIRE Fusion monster you control (which is most likely your Flame Swordsman or Ultimate Flame Swordsman) is destroyed. Once it launches an attack, it can take itself and the monster it battles out via effect.
	Worldsea Dragon Zealantis & Salamangreat Raging Phoenix
	These two monsters are peas in a pod, and make up for quite a combo for FIRE monsters. Getting into Salamangreat Raging Phoenix first, then use it by itself as material for Worldsea Dragon Zealantis to send it to the GY and reset the field, where it waits until it can use its own effect to revive itself from the GY if a FIRE monster you control is destroyed by battle or card effect.

Flame Swordsman Counters: How to Beat

Best Decks to Use Against Flame Swordsman

Centur-Ion

Centur-Ion going first might be a little problematic, as its combo will almost always end up with a set-up featuring Centur-Ion Auxila, the ends up summoning Cosmic Blazar Dragon during your own turn.

If you can bypass or bait out the omni-negate, and perhaps a Centur-Ion Phalanx if the opponent has it, then the Flame Swordsman player has a chance to beat down this Deck with a powerful Ultimate Flame Swordsman. Otherwise, this is a rough match-up for the Deck.

Centur-Ion Deck List & Card Guide

Fire King Snake-Eyes

Fire King Snake-Eyes is one of the strongest Decks in the meta, especially if it goes first and manages to set up its monsters properly. Any card destruction effect is also welcomed by this archetype, which makes cards like Legendary Fire King Ponix, Sacred Fire King Garunix unleash into combos during even your own turn.

Do not give this Deck a chance to get into Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings through the effect of Fire King Sanctuary. Be prepared to either grind out the game, or end things as quick as possible with overwhelming offense once it's your turn.

Fire King Snake-Eyes Deck List & Card Guide

Buster Blader

In theory, Flame Swordsman and Buster Blader should have some really good synergy, as both archetypes make use of Warrior and Dragon-type monsters in their archetype. However, Buster Blader has a little more power in it because of its combo involving Buster Dragon and Buster Blader, The Dragon Destroyer Swordsman.

Once those two monsters are out on the field, all of your monsters become Dragon-type, which makes them easy pickings for Buster Blader. However, if it manages to brick itself long enough, you can win by rushing the early game.

Buster Blader Deck List & Card Guide

Kashtira

Kashtira is a nightmare for Flame Swordsman to go up against due to the fact that Kashtira Shangri-Ira messes with the card zones. Do it enough times, and it can block off all card zones on your field. Especially dangerous are its Main Deck monsters, whose effects banish cards from you face-down--which in turn trigger Shangri-Ira's zone-blocking effect.

Kashtira Fenrir, Kashtira Unicorn and Kashtira Arise-Heart are especially punishing due to their effects coming from situations on the field. The former two monsters in particular punish monster effects--which this Deck often relies on.

Kashtira Deck List & Card Guide

Best Cards to Tech Against Flame Swordsman

	Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring
	Most of the strategy of Flame Swordsman involves getting the cards needed on hand in order to pull off even its simplest combo. A well-timed Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring would automatically mean the end of their combo, if they do not have any other way to extend combos.
	Clockwork Night
	For very controlling Decks like Anti-Meta Stun, or perhaps any Machine-type Deck like Ancient Gear would be happy to run Clockwork Night onto the field. It turns the monsters on the field into Machine-type monsters, gives an ATK boost to the opponent's monsters, and decreases your own.
	Yubel
	The entire Yubel Deck would probably be a worthy addition here, but a special shoutout has to be mentioned. So long as Yubel is on the field, any monster you control will only reflect back battle damage to your own LP if they try to attack this monster. Try to destroy it, and it gets replaced with a better version of itself in Yubel - Terror Incarnate. Get that off the field, and The Ultimate Nightmare is even worse to deal with.
	Skill Drain
	So long as Skill Drain is face-up and active on the field, both players' monsters are effectively negated once they are on the field. This is especially dangerous for Flame Swordsman Decks as a number of their Main Deck monsters need to resolve their effects on the field.

Related Packs to Flame Swordsman

A Warrior of Seething Anger	Colossal Mech
Cosmic Mechanical Entities	Geas of the Light
Guardians of the Sacred Sky	Guided by the Noble Blade
Legacy Pack	Master Pack
Raging God of the Sea	The Noble Knights of Crimson Flowers
Transfigured 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