Best Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel deck for beginners

(Image credit: Konami)

The best Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel deck for beginners isn't obvious when a choice of three is presented to you after blasting through the tutorials. These decks are pretty different, too, so picking one at random might make things more complicated, depending on how familiar you are with Yu-Gi-Oh games in general. Though don't forget you can unlock secret packs to start customising your own deck later.

You can have a look at the cards each deck offers before you make your final decision. But if it all seems a bit daunting and you're not sure what to look for, I'm here to guide you in the right direction. Here's the best Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel starter deck for beginners, as well as some things you might want to consider before making your choice.

How important is your Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel starter deck choice?

Similar to other CCGs, you unlock the other two starter decks by playing the game—completing ten ranked duels and ten gates in the solo mode. This also a good opportunity to unlock more cards to incorporate in your deck, and earn gems that you can use to buy decks, packs, and secret packs.

As with any card game, the starter decks themselves aren't always that useful, but you can use the card selection they give you to fashion something that's a little more competitive or suits your prefered playstyle.

Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel deck: The best for beginners

The three starter decks offered are:

Power of the Dragon
Synchro of Unity
Link Generation

As you want to get the best starter deck for your playstyle, your choice will come down to your skill level and how familiar you are with Yu-Gi-Oh.

Power of the Dragon is best for complete beginners and new to card games in general. The cards in this deck allow for the most straightforward gameplay without overwhelming you with more complex playstyles as you learn the game's basic mechanics. And at the opposite end of the scale, Yu-Gi-Oh veterans might prefer the Link Generation deck, which features some of the latest cards, and are likely to get more enjoyment from the challenge and playstyle it offers.

If you're still unsure which to choose, Synchro of Unity is the best all-rounder deck and offers a playstyle somewhere in the middle of the two others. It doesn't provide as complex a playstyle as Link Generation, but has more of a learning curve than the beginner-friendly Power of the Dragon.

Sarah started as a freelance writer in 2018, writing for PCGamesN, TechRadar, GamingBible, Red Bull Gaming and more. In 2021, she was offered a full-time position on the PC Gamer team where she takes every possible opportunity to talk about World of Warcraft and Elden Ring. When not writing guides, most of her spare time is spent in Azeroth—though she's quite partial to JRPGs too. One of her fondest hopes is to one day play through the ending of Final Fantasy X without breaking down into a sobbing heap. She probably has more wolves in Valheim than you.