Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG - 5 Budget Decks for the Advanced Format

Recently, after a series of cards were reprinted in different sets, many budget-friendly decks have become viable for Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG's Advanced format. These decks are strong enough to compete against other meta decks, and won't hurt your wallet as much as other decks.

To help you pick the deck that best fits your style, we prepared this list with budget-friendly decks. If you want to compete in local tournaments and get a few wins here and there, this article is perfect for you!

Check out below our top 5 competitive budget decks in Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG!

Runick Stun

Runick was inspired by TTRPGs (tabletop role-playing games) and Norse mythology. It is also related to another archetype, Generaider - more specifically, its lore.

Your goal is to activate your field spell so you can use other spells from your hand, where they're less vulnerable than your backrow. One of its main weaknesses is that you'll need to "skip" your battle phase, but, in turn, your win condition is banishing cards from the top of your opponent's deck and making them lose through deck out.

This deck "stuns" because of its floodgates; they stall the game until you can banish all the cards from your opponent's deck. Though simple, this strategy is quite efficient.

Vanquish Soul

Vanquish Soul centers around monsters with the Fire, Dark, and Earth attributes. Its aesthetic and game style were inspired by characters from many popular fighting game franchises.

The mechanic that sets Vanquish Soul apart from other archetypes is its main ability: this quick effect forces you to reveal monsters of specific attributes in your hand so you can activate their other effects. For instance, a few monsters in this archetype summon themselves from your hand by returning another Vanquish Soul monster from the board to your hand. This can be very useful to protect your monsters from effects that target them.

This deck's game style focuses on creating an advantage and exhausting resources from your opponent bit by bit, and is very versatile. Furthermore, its main strength is Dimension Shifter, which is one of the strongest cards in the game.

Branded

Branded focuses on spells/traps and Fusion monsters that are related to Fallen of Albaz and a few other cards from its own lore.

It is a combo deck that doesn't have a lot of space for techs, but often breaks boards effortlessly. Furthermore, when you go first, it is very stable, and can play a FTK combo that scares off even the best decks in the game.

Branded Fusion might have been limited recently, but this deck is still competent, even if it is less consistent now, precisely because many cards in it get Branded Fusion for you.

Centur-Ion

Centur-Ion is a Synchro archetype whose design was inspired by classic "mecha anime", like Gunbuster, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, and Darling in the Franxx. Furthermore, its name references real life Roman centurions, who led the centuries, groups of exactly 100 soldiers.

Centur-Ion focuses on playing monsters on the spell/trap zone as continuous trap cards to summon, as fast as possible, level 8 or 12 Synchro monsters, both in your turn and the opponent's.

It is a classic midrange deck that has a lot of space for tech cards and can play around high-impact interactions, like Mulcharmy Fuwalos, really well. It did lose its FTK play when Hot Red Dragon Archfiend King Calamity was banned, but it recently got a few support cards that made it more resilient against interactions, and improved its final board.

Tenpai

Tenpai is an archetype that focuses on Dragon monsters of the Fire attribute and Synchro summons. It's also an OTK deck.

Its strategy focuses completely on special-summons and synchro-summons during the battle phase - your main goal is to finish the match in a single turn. As a result, anyone who plays this deck prefers to go second in their duels.

This strategy is quite clear and simple, so it's perfect for beginners and anyone who wants to try out a meta deck for the first time. It might be easy to learn and easy to play, considering its linear combo, but you're forced to go second, so you'll have to plan out your plays to the last details and make the right decisions. Otherwise, you'll probably lose.

I'd like to stress that, if any card included in the decks above is not part of your budget, you can swap it for a cheaper alternative that is still useful to your strategy. I hope you liked the decks we brought you!

To access further information about the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG universe, keep browsing our articles.

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