5 Hero Squad!

HERO" (ＨＥＲＯ(ヒーロー) Hīrō) is a group of five archetypes introduced in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. In the anime, Jaden uses "Elemental HERO" and "Neo-Spacian" monsters, Aster uses "Elemental HERO" and "Destiny HERO" monsters, and Jaden as The Supreme King uses "Elemental HERO" and "Evil HERO" monsters. In the manga, Jaden uses "Elemental HERO" and "Masked HERO" monsters while Aster uses "Vision HERO" monsters.

At first they were divided into "Elemental HERO", "Evil HERO" and "Destiny HERO", "Masked HERO" and "Vision HERO", but later they shifted towards unification of the five archetypes.

Cards whose text specifically reference this unification include "Elemental HERO Stratos", "Elemental HERO Ocean", "Elemental HERO Divine Neos", "Evil HERO Infernal Prodigy", "Elemental HERO Absolute Zero", and "HERO's Bond", where the effects are based on cards present on the field whose names contain "HERO", allowing them to be used with "Elemental HERO", "Evil HERO", "Destiny HERO", "Masked HERO", and "Vision HERO" monsters.

The Japanese cards use 「Ｅ・ＨＥＲＯ(エレメンタルヒーロー)」, 「Ｅ－ＨＥＲＯ(イービルヒーロー)」, 「Ｄ－ＨＥＲＯ(デステニーヒーロー)」, 「Ｍ・ＨＥＲＯ(マスクドヒーロー)」 and 「Ｖ・ＨＥＲＯ(ヴィジョンヒーロー)」 at the start of their names so only those five would work with 「ＨＥＲＯ(ヒーロー)」. Note that "Elemental HERO" and "Evil HERO" use 「Ｅ・ＨＥＲＯ」 and 「Ｅ－ＨＥＲＯ」, and their furigana is different: "Elemental HERO" monsters have 「エレメンタルヒーロー」 and "Evil HERO" monsters have 「イービルヒーロー」.

The Korean cards use "히어로" to indicate "HERO". "Elemental HERO" and "Evil HERO" monsters are denoted by "엘리멘틀 히어로", and "Destiny HERO" monsters are denoted by "데스티니 히어로". How ever, "엘리멘틀" doesn't mean "Elemental", it is a transliteration that is pronounced "Elrimenteul". The real translation would be "엘리멘탈". And further, the only card that shows "Evil HERO" translated into Korean proper is "Evil HERO Inferno Wing" and only in the Ultra Rare version of this card. So the proper translation of "Evil HERO" is "이블 히어로".

In English and other languages they have changed the text to allow only "Destiny HERO" and "Elemental HERO" monsters to work with these related card effects. Most cards still need to be updated with the release of the "Evil HERO" to include them. "Elemental HERO Stratos" and "Elemental HERO Ocean" have been errata'd to support each type of "HERO". They were originally spelled in lower case, but as of the "Generation Force" booster pack, they were changed to have "HERO" in all capital letters to distinguish them from cards such as "Oscillo Hero" and "Hero Kid", who had "Hero" in their names but are not part of this archetype.

The "Masked HERO" and "Vision HERO" monsters made their debut in the fiftieth chapter of the GX manga.

"HERO" monsters are often based on comic, cartoon, or movie style heroes.

The "HERO" archtype is are one of the three biggest one, the other are the Blackwings and Numbers.

1.

HERO Beat Deck is a build inspired from what the OCG players call "Meta Beat", which is what TCG players know as a Stun Deck. It has also been called "LIGHT Gemini Beatdown".

"HERO Beat" uses several swiss-knife-like monsters alongside a basic "HERO engine" to control the field through several card effects and high-ATK-low-Level monsters.

Playing StyleEdit

The Deck was born through the interaction of "Elemental HERO Neos Alius" and "Gemini Spark". Elemental HERO Neos Alius has very high ATK for a Level 4 monster and is blessed with several good properties. Being a Warrior, it can be searched with "Reinforcement of the Army". It's also an Elemental HERO, so it can be searched with "Elemental HERO Stratos" and "E - Emergency Call", while it can be recycled with "Elemental HERO Ocean" and, since it's a Gemini monster (and thus, treated as a Normal Monster while in the Graveyard), "Hero Blast". Speaking of its "Gemini" status, being a Level 4 Gemini monster enables him to be used with "Gemini Spark". "Miracle Fusion" allows Neos Alius to access all the powerful Fusion arsenal of the Elemental HEROes too. Finally, being a LIGHT monster, it receives benefits from "Honest". Neos Alius is probably the best supported monster in the whole game from a "competitive" stance.

Due to this, several cards that work well around Neos Alius and are powerful on their own are included in the build. "Photon Thrasher" is sometimes used for its large attack and immediate special summon, while still supporting the light attribute."Thunder King Rai-Oh" shares its LIGHT support and it's a terrific card on its own, stopping most of the commonly-used threats. "D.D. Warrior Lady" also shares the LIGHT and Warrior support, while being able to get rid of whatever you don't want on the field. "Cyber Dragon" provides quick muscle, the ability to swarm and access to "Chimeratech Fortress Dragon" whenever needed. "Evocator Chevalier" is used for sharing the Warrior and Gemini traits, while "Crusader of Endymion" shares its attribute instead of its type, but keeps the Gemini status.

Besides monsters sharing stats with Neos Alius, other "Stunning" monsters are used. "Doomcaliber Knight" and "Effect Veiler" make their appearance to stop monster effects, while "Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo" stops Special Summons. All-around good cards are usual suspects as well, like "Breaker the Magical Warrior" and "Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind", known for fitting easily in several decks and having high utility on their own.

The build also runs a heavy arsenal of defensive and disruptive Spells and Traps. Since Neos Alius has virtually no effects and the monsters that run alongside him are either too weak to survive (like Fossil Dyna) or work by removing themselves from the field (like Rai-Oh or Doomcaliber), you need Spell/Trap support to make the Deck work. Besides the Neos Alius-specific tricks like "Hero Blast" and "Gemini Spark", "Bottomless Trap Hole", "Dimensional Prison", "Forbidden Lance", "Shrink" and several others are commonly used in order to stop various threats. Also, as the Deck runs little to no Special Summons, "Pot of Duality" is maxed out to increase consistency. While it conflicts with Rai-Oh, it's a risk worth taking to get your needed combo pieces as fast as possible. Triple Duality paired with the searching power of Stratos, Emergency Call and "Reinforcement of the Army" as well as the draws provided by "Gemini Spark" and the recycling of "Hero Blast" make the build extremely consistent. Due those excellent searching capabilities, these kind of builds like to run a very small monster count, sometimes being as small as 8-9 monsters (with the usual being around 14).

As most of the monsters are Level 4, Xyz Monsters granted this Deck a big boost, letting them to Summon powerful monsters without resorting to Synchros. Without the need to include monsters they normally wouldn't only for the Synchro access, the Deck is now capable of unleashing powerhouses like "Gem-Knight Pearl" or control-type monsters like "Steelswarm Roach" without effort.

With the introduction of "generic" Elemental HERO Fusions, "Super Polymerization" has become a very powerful tool in any build running Elemental HEROes. Absolute Zero, Gaia, The Shining, Great Tornado, Nova Master and Escuridao give the player an option to fuse Neos Alius (and Stratos or any other E-HERO you might be playing) with whatever their opponent can throw at them, except DIVINE monsters. Thanks to "Super Polymerization" being basically unable to be negated or countered at all, this trick allows the player to escape from virtually any pinch, granting them a powerful Fusion Monster as a bonus. Other Fusion Monsters can also be useful, like "Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste" which benefits from the Warrior lineup and steals a lot of the most powerful Synchro Monsters around.

The Deck is naturally capable of Summoning The Shining and Great Tornado thanks to Neos Alius, Stratos and Rai-Oh, but Absolute Zero and its powerful effect made players consider WATER options. Cards like Snowman Eater and Penguin Soldier have slipped into the monster lineup of some builds, boasting very good effects and providing access to Zero. Ocean is also a good pick if you're running a bit more defenses than usual, since it can recycle Stratos for more uses and provides the WATER requirement for Zero. Alternatively, "Elemental HERO Ice Edge" can be useful too with his effect to attack your opponent directly and destroying potential Spell/Trap-based threats while providing a WATER component to the Deck.

There are other properties of the build that lets it ramify into several variants.
Gate HERO and Dimensional HEROEdit

Some builds like to use "Fusion Gate", allowing them to fuse their monsters instantly. When using this Field Spell, "Elemental HERO Voltic" is an excellent pick since he's a good material to make The Shining and allows Special Summoning of banished Elemental HERO monsters, which you'll be banishing via "Fusion Gate". "Parallel World Fusion" also lets you fuse banished monsters, returning them to the Deck for future uses and/or searching.

Since the build rarely needs its Graveyard (besides Miracle Fusion), "Dimensional Fissure" can be used on the Deck without too many drawbacks. While you lose access to the Special Summon-negating effect of Rai-Oh, you still keep the effects of monsters like Breaker or Warrior Lady while disrupting a lot of common strategies that rely on the Graveyard. Again, "Elemental HERO Voltic" and "Parallel World Fusion" are excellent picks when using "Dimensional Fissure". Combining this Continuous Spell with "Fusion Gate" allow the player to create a Voltic-based toolbox, removing his/her HERO monsters to Summon powerful Fusions, then recycling them with Voltic so they can be fused again, all that while messing with your opponent's plans thanks to "Dimensional Fissure".
Drain HERO (Little City)Edit

Since Neos Alius has virtually no effects, "Skill Drain" can be used without many drawbacks. Rai-Oh doesn't prevent searching anymore (which actually benefits you, as it allows "Pot of Duality" to work with him on the field), but it still can negate troublesome Special Summons. You still keep the ability to Xyz Summmon and Fusion Summon in case you need a big monster too, and "Skill Drain" takes care of most troublesome monsters commonly played. "Honest" still works too.

In order to make up for the lack of effects, some builds like to go with raw muscle instead. "Beast King Barbaros" is THE card to play alongside Skill Drain as it can essentially be Normal Summoned with 3000 ATK. "Cyber Dragon" is unaffected by Drain at all so he can still provide quick muscle as usual. "Elemental HERO Captain Gold" can also be useful, since it's a 2100 ATK Lv4 LIGHT Warrior-type monster. It needs "Skyscraper" on the field to survive though, but that doesn't matter if "Skill Drain" is active. You can use "Skyscraper" though, as it powers-up your E-HERO monsters so they can beat basically any monster in battle, so having Captain Gold double as a searcher isn't bad at all. Since "Skyscraper" is a Field Spell, you can also run Malefic monsters. "Malefic Stardust Dragon" is good for protecting "Skyscraper, while "Malefic Cyber End Dragon" is better if you want muscle over utility. Cyber End is particularly better with "Skill Drain"
Debris HEROEdit

Since the March 2012 banlist banned "Glow-Up Bulb" and "Spore" this Deck was rendered useless.

It abuses the fact that the "generic" HERO Fusions ask for an Elemental HERO plus any monster from any attribute to use "Future Fusion" as an improved "Foolish Burial" (although Foolish is still used). "Glow-Up Bulb" and "Dandylion" can be used for Gaia, "Spore" for Great Tornado, "Lonefire Blossom" allows to fuse Nova Master, while "Snowman Eater" is compatible with "Debris Dragon" and makes Absolute Zero while enabling "Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier". With The Shining being naturally Summoned thanks to Neos Alius, "Blackwing - Zephyros the Elite" completes the suite by adding Escuridao to the possible "Future Fusion" targets. Of course, the "Plant engine" is useful on its own, and all of their components make excellent "Miracle Fusion" targets once they're in the Graveyard, while sending Neos Alius to the Graveyard enables "Hero Blast" instantly.

There's a particular combo with this build that allows the player to swarm the field with Synchro and Fusion monsters by activating "Future Fusion" several times in a single turn thanks to "Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier" and drawing many cards thanks to "T.G. Hyper Librarian". It requires a certain degree of luck, as you're required to not drawing any of the cards you need to send to the Graveyard with "Future Fusion" (as well as having "Future Fusion", a limited card, on the first place), but it's extremely powerful once performed and it can even lead into an OTK.
Bubbleman HEROEdit

A card considered "bad" before, "Elemental HERO Bubbleman" is now a powerful addition to the Deck. Thanks to its Special Summon ability easily fulfilled with the low monster count of the Deck, this monster can easily be Special Summoned, which leads to very quick Rank 4 Xyz Summons. Not only that, it's also an Absolute Zero material, which leads to Zero being possible with the Main Deck only and using only HERO cards.

"Photon Thrasher" is a common pick for this build, as it can be Special Summoned easily as well. Combined with Bubbleman, this Deck can Xyz Summon faster than it can Fusion Summon, and those same Xyz set up "Miracle Fusion". "Mask Change" is also a common pick for these builds, as it lets you use Bubbleman more effectively to grab "Masked HERO Vapor" and "Masked HERO Acid", which have powerful effects.

One of the best tricks of this variant is the ability to Special Summon "Blade Armor Ninja" really quickly, which leads to quick damage and even an OTK if your opponent isn't careful. This build can also run Skill Drain, as it won't hinder Bubbleman's Special Summon, actually benefits "Photon Thrasher" and you can just Xyz Summon "Gem-Knight Pearl" instead for more muscle.
Masked HEROEdit

Similar to the above build, this Deck is more devoted to getting successful activations of "Mask Change". Since this Deck likes a lot having Neos Alius on the field, "Elemental HERO Wildheart" is a common pick for its trap immunity and access to "Masked HERO Dian", which gives you access to Neos Alius or Stratos if it destroys a monster in battle. "Masked HERO Goka" is usually accessed with "Elemental HERO Heat", which is itself desirable because it provides access to "Elemental HERO Nova Master" and its effect might come in handy as it can become a very big beater.
Typical CardsEdit
Monster CardsEdit

   Elemental HERO Stratos
   Elemental HERO Neos Alius
   Thunder King Rai-Oh
   D.D. Warrior Lady
   Cyber Dragon
   Doomcaliber Knight
   Breaker the Magical Warrior
   Effect Veiler
   Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind
   Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo
   Neo-Spacian Grand Mole
   Elemental HERO Ocean
   Elemental HERO Ice Edge
   Elemental HERO Bubbleman
   Snowman Eater
   Penguin Soldier
   Evocator Chevalier
   Crusader of Endymion
   Beast King Barbaros (if using Skill Drain)
   Elemental HERO Voltic (if using Dimensional Fissure and/or Fusion Gate)
   Elemental HERO Heat (if using "Mask Change")
   Elemental HERO Wildheart (if using "Mask Change")
   Elemental HERO Captain Gold (if using Skyscraper and/or Skill Drain)
   Malefic Stardust Dragon (if using any Field Spell)
   Malefic Cyber End Dragon (if using Field Spells and/or Skill Drain)
   Blackwing - Zephyros the Elite (if using Future Fusion; Traditional Format only)
       The "Plant Engine" (if using Future Fusion; Traditional Format only)
           Debris Dragon
           Lonefire Blossom
           Dandylion

Spell CardsEdit

   Reinforcement of the Army
   E - Emergency Call
   Gemini Spark
   Smashing Ground
   Forbidden Chalice
   Forbidden Lance
   Shrink
   Pot of Duality
   Super Polymerization
   Future Fusion (Traditional Format only)
   Miracle Fusion
   Dimensional Fissure
   Fusion Gate
   Mask Change
   Parallel World Fusion (if using Dimensional Fissure or Fusion Gate)
   Skyscraper (if using Skill Drain)
   Skyscraper 2 - Hero City (if using Ocean)
   One for One (if using the Plant engine)
   Foolish Burial (if using the Plant engine and/or Zephyrus)
   The Warrior Returning Alive (if using other Warriors; good with Stratos)

Trap CardsEdit

   Hero Blast
   Bottomless Trap Hole
   Dimensional Prison
   Compulsory Evacuation Device
   Solemn Warning
   Starlight Road
   Skill Drain
   Call of the Haunted

Extra DeckEdit

   Elemental HERO Absolute Zero
   Elemental HERO Gaia
   Elemental HERO The Shining
   Elemental HERO Great Tornado
   Elemental HERO Nova Master
   Elemental HERO Escuridao
   Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste
   Chimeratech Fortress Dragon
   Masked HERO Acid (if using "Mask Change")
   Masked HERO Vapor (if using "Mask Change")
   Masked HERO Dian (if using "Mask Change")
   Masked HERO Goka (if using "Mask Change")
   Cyber End Dragon (if using Malefic Cyber End Dragon)
   Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier (if using Debris Dragon or Lv 1 Tuner Monsters)
   Scrap Dragon (if using Debris Dragon)
   Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier (if using Debris + Snowman)
   Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
   T.G. Hyper Librarian (if using the Future Fusion combo)
   Stardust Dragon (if using Starlight Road, Malefic Stardust and/or Tuner Monsters)
   Ally of Justice Catastor (if using Effect Veiler)
   Blackwing Armor Master (if using Gale the Whirlwind)
   Black Rose Dragon (if using any Lv3 Tuner)
   Gem-Knight Pearl
   Number 39: Utopia
   Steelswarm Roach
   Kachi Kochi Dragon
   Evigishki Merrowgeist
   Blade Armor Ninja

WeaknessesEdit

The weaknesses of each particular variant depend on the variant itself. For example, the Synchro-based one is reliant on the Graveyard, while a typical one doesn't really need it and a Dimensional one doesn't even have cards in the Graveyard. Nonetheless, there are several traits that can be traced to each one of the builds.

The first of them is that they run less monsters than the usual, with some builds having an abnormally low monster count. Thus, limiting their Summoning abilities and/or taking down their monsters as soon as they appear is a good strategy. "Summon Limit", "Rivalry of Warlords" and "Gozen Match" work against the variants which swarm the field. Against the slower builds that perform one or two Summons per turn, cards like "Bottomless Trap Hole" and even the classic "Trap Hole" are enough to stop them on their tracks.

Another particular trait is the heavy reliance on Spell and Trap Cards, so limiting their use and/or destroying them is very useful. "Trap Stun", "Mystical Space Typhoon", "Dust Tornado", "Seven Tools of the Bandit", "Magic Drain" and several others are very useful against these Decks. "Heavy Storm", "Malevolent Catastrophe" and (to some extent) "Fairy Wind" are useful too, but these builds tend to run "Starlight Road" to prevent mass destruction, so be careful of them. "Eradicator Epidemic Virus" is particularly useful, as it clears completely Spells or Traps for 3 whole turns.

These builds also rely heavily on searching, so cards like "Trap Dustshoot", "Drastic Drop Off" and "Mind Crush" usually shatter their plans. They're especially disrupting on these builds, as they run very few monsters. If you take the only one on their hand, they could be without any monster for several turns.

Another good idea against these builds, as odd as it sounds, is to bring out something they can't take down. Monsters with extremely high ATK, protection effects and/or effects that trigger when dealt with like "Red Nova Dragon" or "Machina Fortress" are very tough to deal with for these Decks, since you force them to wait until they can bring out a Fusion/Synchro/Xyz Monster strong enough to deal with the threat. Even a well-timed "Cyber Dragon" is extremely hard to deal with for these Decks. As long as it has more ATK than Neos Alius/Rai-Oh, it's a difficult wall.

On the other side of the picture, monsters with very high DEF are equally as hard to take down. "Snowman Eater" in particular is a nightmare, as it has the same DEF as Neos Alius's ATK and it destroys it in the Damage Step, right when Gemini Spark can't be chained. "Gravekeeper's Spy" (and any Gravekeeper as long as "Necrovalley" is active) can be also a tough wall to surpass.

2.

masked hero
Masked HERO" (Ｍ・ＨＥＲＯ(マスクドヒーロー) Masukudo Hīrō) is a "HERO" sub-archetype mostly consisting of monsters used by Jaden Yuki in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX manga.

They are currently the only monsters shown to perform Transformation Summons and Double Attacks.

Rather than Fusion Summoning like most Fusion Monsters do, they use cards like "Mask Change" to Special Summon themselves from the Extra Deck.

So far, the archetype consists of five Normal Monsters and five Transformation Monsters. It favors a fairly straight-forward Beatdown strategy, with "Goka" gaining 100 ATK for every "HERO" in the Graveyard,"Acid" destroying all spells and traps the opponent has and decreasing their monsters ATK and "Vapor" being unable to be destroyed except by battle and "Dian" Special Summoning more "HERO" monsters to the field. "Dark Law" is the only Transformation Monster who has no special ability, and is the only one not to have been released in the TCG/OCG.

While the "Elemental HERO" archetype is said to be based off of American superheroes, it can also be assumed that the "Masked HERO" archetype is a salute to Japanese Super Sentai or Kamen Rider heroes. In addition to "Kamen" meaning "Masked", there are several similarities between the two, such the recurring "form changing" and transformations of Kamen Riders. The Double Attacks are also similar to the original Kamen Riders' (1 and 2) "Rider Double" techniques.

3.

ELEMENTAL HERO

"Elemental HERO" (Ｅ・ＨＥＲＯ(エレメンタルヒーロー) Erementaru Hīrō) is a "HERO" sub-archetype of mostly Warrior-Type monsters, used mainly by Jaden Yuki in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime and in its manga adaptation. Aster Phoenix and Koyo Hibiki have also used them in the anime and manga, respectively. They were designed by Kazuki Takahashi, and are themed after comic-book superheroes from the anime and are based off natural elements in the manga. "Elemental HERO" Decks focus heavily on Fusion Summoning. Most of the primary "Elemental HERO" monsters can be fused with one another, allowing for an enormous amount of flexibility in a dedicated Deck.

In the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime, Jaden Yuki first used the following "Elemental HERO" monsters: "Avian", "Burstinatrix", "Sparkman", "Clayman" and "Bubbleman", relying on their numerous fusions including "Flame Wingman" and "Thunder Giant" to win. Then came "Bladedge", "Wildheart" and "Necroshade" later on, giving way to new Fusion Monsters including "Wildedge", "Necroid Shaman" and "Wild Wingman".

In episode 62, following his loss to Aster Phoenix, Jaden Yuki acquired "Elemental HERO Neos", Neo-Spacians and their new Contact Fusions.

The Yu-Gi-Oh! GX manga was based off the anime but is unrelated and completely different from the anime. Jaden Yuki's monsters are more nature based. These monsters have been released later than the Elemental HEROs from the anime including "Stratos", "Ocean", "Woodsman", "The Heat", "Lady Heat" and "Voltic".

The fusions used in the manga are different because instead of specific monsters, each required any one "Elemental HERO" (with the exception of "Elemental HERO Absolute Zero" which can take any "HERO" Monster Card) and one monster of the required Attribute. Fans often call these cards "Omni HERO", the unofficial term for these cards. They are "Elemental HERO The Shining" (LIGHT), "Elemental HERO Absolute Zero" (WATER), "Elemental HERO Great Tornado" (WIND); "Elemental HERO Nova Master" (FIRE); "Elemental HERO Gaia" (EARTH) and "Elemental HERO Escuridao" (DARK) Jaden Yuki also used other Fusion Monsters like "Elemental HERO Inferno" and "Elemental HERO Terra Firma", both of which required specific "Elemental HERO" monsters.

DesignEdit

The Elemental HEROes' designs are based after the western comics' heroes. In the Japanese version, their nomenclature is "Elemental HERO (term related to its element)man" (for the masculine heroes, with the only exception of "Prisma"). The only feminine hero is "Burstinatrix, who has "Lady" instead of "Man" in her Japanese name. Some of the names are changed in the English version.

As the name says, the "Elemental HEROes" each represent an element of nature. In western culture, the main elements are fire, water, air, earth, light and darkness, but in eastern culture, more elements are considered, such as lightning, wood, metal and ice, though ice is many times not considered, since it's part of "water".
Hero Original name Element
Avian Featherman Air/Wind
Burstinatrix Burst Lady Fire
Clayman Clayman Earth
Bubbleman Bubbleman Water
Sparkman Sparkman Lightning
Bladedge Edgeman Metal/Gold
Wildheart Wildman Wood/Plant
Prisma Prisma Light
Necroshade Necro Darkman Darkness

The manga doesn't follow the same theme as the anime, but the heroes still are based after those same elements.
Playing Style Edit

"Elemental HERO" Decks mainly focus on using cards like "Fusion Gate", "Miracle Fusion", "Polymerization", and "Super Polymerization" to Fusion Summon a variety of Fusion Monsters. For "Elemental HERO" Fusion Monsters with specified names, "King of the Swamp" and "Elemental HERO Woodsman" can be used to search/recycle copies of "Polymerization". It has also become common to play Xyz Monsters like "Number 39: Utopia", "Steelswarm Roach", "Blade Armor Ninja" and "Maestroke the Symphony Djinn".

"Elemental HERO" monsters can be Searched from the Deck using Elemental HERO Stratos, E - Emergency Call, Reinforcement of the Army, A Hero Lives, Hero Signal, and Summoner Monk (who would also be a good qualification, since "HERO" decks rely on a lot of Spell Cards to add Fusion-Material Monsters to your hand and Fusion Summon).

Recycling Fusion Material Monsters will allow you future use of fusion material. Elemental HERO Voltic is perfect for recyling Banished Elemental HERO monsters and is perfect for comboing off of Fusion Gate and Miracle Fusion. Elemental HERO Ocean and The Warrior Returning Alive will allow recycling HERO monsters from the Graveyard.

Elemental HERO Neos Alius is not only a LIGHT target for Elemental HERO The Shining, but it also allows you to beat down your opponent with Gemini Spark and allows you to use Hero Blast to recycle Elemental HERO Neos Alius and destroy one of your opponent's monsters with 1900 Attack or less. This also makes a good set up for Miracle Fusion or light material for Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning.

Most tech cards you use in a "HERO" deck like (EX: Miracle Fusion;E - Emergency Call; Destiny Draw) are Normal Spell Cards. You can mill these type of cards using Destiny HERO - Diamond Dude to activate them from the Graveyard on your next turn. Since you are activating them from the Graveyard, you do not have to use the Cost or Condition Effect. This means if you Mill Destiny Draw with Destiny HERO - Diamond Dude, you do not have to Discard a Destiny HERO, since that is the Cost of the card, and you just get to Draw 2 additional cards from your Deck. Since you are activating the Spell Card from your Graveyard, your opponent cannot Negate it, unless by obscure means, such as Skull Meister.

Since cards like Torrential Tribute, Bottomless Trap Hole, or Mirror Force can cause the downfall of the deck (by destroying your Fusion Monster(s)), a great way to protect them is with Safe Zone. Not only does it protect your monsters, but it allows for a number of combos. If your opponent activates a Card effect that would destroy this set card, you can Chain it to one of your opponent's monsters and banish that monster upon the card's destruction. You can use Safe Zone to make an almost indestructible Elemental HERO Ocean and keep returning Elemental HERO Stratos to your hand, then Summon it to search for any "HERO" card, or even blow up a (minimum) of one Spell/Trap Card. You can also equip Safe Zone to one of your opponent's monsters so it can't be destroyed by battle, and continue to attack the targeted monster with Vision HERO Trinity in order to deplete your opponent's life points.

When playing "Elemental HERO" Decks, you find that a lot of times (with Fusion Gate and Miracle Fusion) that you are Banishing your monsters. Return from the Different Dimension and D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation can easily take advantage of this. If things aren't going your way, or you need a back up plan, Return from the Different Dimension would allow you to Special Summon as many banished monsters as you want, and turn the tides in your favor. This is also good for when you don't have many Fusion Material Monsters and you need to Fusion Summon. You can activate this card, get out Fusion Material Monsters, and use Fusion Gate to Fusion Summon with those monsters.

When using a variety of "HERO" monsters, Mask Change can help for a quick and powerful summon using WATER, EARTH, or FIRE Elemental HERO Monsters to special summon Masked HERO Acid, Masked HERO Vapor, Masked HERO Dian, and Masked HERO Goka.

There is a great combo using Mask Change, Elemental HERO Absolute Zero, and Masked HERO Acid. First fuse any HERO monster and a water attributed monster with Polymerization, or any card that can fuse monsters, to get Elemental HERO Absolute Zero. An easy way to get the two monsters you need is with Elemental HERO Stratos's effect to search for any HERO monster that has a water attribute. Use Mask Change to send Elemental HERO Absolute Zero to the grave and summon Masked HERO Acid, remember that when Elemental HERO Absolute Zero is removed from the field he destroys all of your opponents monsters, and Masked HERO Acid's effect says that when he is summoned to the field all of your opponents traps/spells are destroyed effectively clearing your opponents field. This combo works perfectly because Masked HERO Acid only needs a water attributed monster like Elemental HERO Absolute Zero and Mask Change to be summoned. If your opponent tries to get rid of Elemental HERO Absolute Zero before you can summon Masked HERO Acid remember that Mask Change is a quickplay spell card, so you can chain it to any move your opponent makes.

Weaknesses Edit

"Elemental HERO" Decks, while being strong in the long run, lack the beginning strength. The effect of "Kinetic Soldier" increases its ATK by 2000 when it battles with Warrior-Type monsters, and thus is a great choice as a counter to most of these decks, so heavy trap support like the Solemn series, "Bottomless Trap Hole", "Dimensional Prison" are recommended so the Heroes will able to survive in the early game. Since most "Elemental HERO" Decks heavily rely on Fusions to remain in the game long enough to bring "Elemental HERO Neos" and his fusions out, a good anti-spell Deck will eliminate the activation and use of "Polymerization" and Fusion Spells. Also a Deck with the ability to destroy Fusions, before and after summoning, will also make it easy to take down an "Elemental HERO" Deck. The trap card "Non-Fusion Area," for example, is nothing short of crippling to most "Elemental HERO Decks". "Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell" is another example because it negates the activation and the effect of a Spell Card (in this case a Fusion Spell Card) and destroys it and stops the player from using the Fusion Spell Card that he/she tried to use again. Another example is "Armageddon Designator "De-Fusion" will stop Fusion Monsters because the Fusion Material is in the controller's Graveyard, and the other player is able to return the Fusion Monsters without summoning the Fusion Material Monsters. Since Fusion Summons are Special Summons, cards like "Royal Oppression", which can negate the Special Summon of a monster, can cause the downfall of this Deck. However, cards such as Call of the Haunted are great for Elemental Hero decks because they can bring back Stratos and activate his effect to search for a HERO monster, or activate the effect to destroy cards such as Non Fusion Area, Level Limit Area B, and more. Call of the Haunted can be used to bring back a monster such as Bladedge as well. And, a player can use fusion monsters such as Absolute Zero so that the opponent can not destroy him or risk losing all of their monsters, or Great Tornado to weaken all opponent's monster(s) attack and defense power.

Monsters

Elemental HERO Neos Alius
Elemental HERO Stratos
Elemental HERO Wildheart
Elemental HERO Ocean
Elemental HERO Bubbleman
Thunder King Rai-Oh
Elemental HERO Sparkman
Elemental HERO Flash

Extra Deck:

Elemental HERO The Shining
Elemental HERO Absolute Zero
Elemental HERO Great Tornado
Elemental HERO Nova Master
Elemental HERO Gaia
Elemental HERO Escuridao
Vision HERO Adoration
Vision HERO Trinity
Masked HERO Goka
Masked HERO Acid
Masked HERO Vapor
Masked HERO Dian
Number 39: Utopia
Blade Armor Ninja
Heroic Champion - Excalibur
Maestroke the Symphony Djinn
Gem-Knight Pearl
Steelswarm Roach
Number 50: Blackship of Corn
Heroic Champion - Kusanagi
Number 16: Shock Master
Vylon Disigma
Gagagigo the Risen
Gagaga Cowboy

Spells

Gemini Spark
Fusion Gate
Miracle Fusion
Super Polymerization
Mask Change
E - Emergency Call
Reinforcement of the Army
The Warrior Returning Alive
A Hero Lives

Traps

Chain Material
Hero Blast
Mirror Gate
Return from the Different Dimension
Safe Zone
Paradox Fusion

4 evil hero

Evil HERO" (Ｅ－ＨＥＲＯ(イービルヒーロー) Ībiru Hīrō) is a series of cards that are part of the "HERO" archetype used by Jaden Yuki in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX after he becomes possessed by The Supreme King. They are twisted versions of Jaden's "Elemental HERO" monsters. Most of the "Evil HERO" monsters are Fusion Summoned by fusing existing "Elemental HERO" monsters with "Dark Fusion", instead of the traditional "Polymerization". The "Evil HERO" archetype is the most powerful "HERO" archetype, possessing improved versions of the "Elemental HERO" monsters' effects, or the same effect with an extra effect of their own; plus, the effect of "Dark Fusion" prevents "Evil HERO" Fusion Monsters from being targeted by card effects the turn they are Summoned. However, they aren't all powerful as they lack the support of the "Elemental HERO" and "Destiny HERO" archetypes. They were released in Gladiator's Assault, but were mainly featured in Duelist Pack 6: Jaden Yuki 3. The only "Evil HERO" monsters that do not have a separate counterpart are "Evil HERO Infernal Prodigy" and "Evil HERO Infernal Gainer".

An "Evil HERO" Deck is a Deck that focuses on combining "Elemental HERO" cards to form powerful "Evil HERO" Fusion Monsters. These cards are stronger than regular "Elemental HERO" Fusions, and, although they lack the luxury of choice "Elemental HERO" Fusions possess, the few choices are powerful ones.

"Evil HERO" (Ｅ－ＨＥＲＯ(イービルヒーロー) Ībiru Hīrō) is a series of cards that are part of the "HERO" archetype used by Jaden Yuki in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX after he becomes possessed by The Supreme King. They are twisted versions of Jaden's "Elemental HERO" monsters. Most of the "Evil HERO" monsters are Fusion Summoned by fusing existing "Elemental HERO" monsters with "Dark Fusion", instead of the traditional "Polymerization". The "Evil HERO" archetype is the most powerful "HERO" archetype, possessing improved versions of the "Elemental HERO" monsters' effects, or the same effect with an extra effect of their own; plus, the effect of "Dark Fusion" prevents "Evil HERO" Fusion Monsters from being targeted by card effects the turn they are Summoned. However, they aren't all powerful as they lack the support of the "Elemental HERO" and "Destiny HERO" archetypes. They were released in Gladiator's Assault, but were mainly featured in Duelist Pack 6: Jaden Yuki 3. The only "Evil HERO" monsters that do not have a separate counterpart are "Evil HERO Infernal Prodigy" and "Evil HERO Infernal Gainer".

An "Evil HERO" Deck is a Deck that focuses on combining "Elemental HERO" cards to form powerful "Evil HERO" Fusion Monsters. These cards are stronger than regular "Elemental HERO" Fusions, and, although they lack the luxury of choice "Elemental HERO" Fusions possess, the few choices are powerful ones.
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Playing style

A good "Evil HERO" Deck relies on using "Dark Fusion" and then copying the fusions with "Dark Calling". A commonly seen strategy is to use "Dark Fusion" to Summon "Evil Hero Malicious Fiend" then equipping "Vicious Claw" onto it to buy time for your other "Evil HERO" monsters. Then if "Evil HERO Malicious Fiend" was ever destroyed, Special Summon it with "Dark Calling".

While "Evil HERO" Decks cannot draw out fusion cards like "Elemental HERO" Decks can, due to the absence of an "Evil HERO"-based "Elemental HERO Woodsman", you can use "Gold Sarcophagus" to draw out "Dark Fusion" and "Dark Calling".

Generally, this Deck utilizes an all-out aggressive style. The opponent may counter with various destruction effects and Trap cards, so use cards like "Royal Decree", "Trap Stun", or "My Body as a Shield" to protect your monsters. "Shrink" can help your material monsters to destroy the opponent's key monster if you cannot perform a Fusion Summon yet.

Diversity is everything in a Fusion Deck. As such, it's best to include Fusion-substitute monsters. The most recommended cards are any of the Hex-Sealed Fusion cards, because not only are they useful for Fusions, but they are also Rock-type monsters, so you can use "Evil HERO Dark Gaia". Versago the Destroyer is a good Fiend-type fusion substitute. It's also recommended that you use "Gorz the Emissary of Darkness" in an "Evil HERO" Deck as he is a high-level Fiend-type monster compatible with "Evil HERO Dark Gaia" and "Evil HERO Malicious Fiend". Its effect is also handy for a Fusion-based Deck as it gives the main deck the added punch it needs to overwhelm "Monarch" Decks and low-level Synchro Monsters.

Another good Rock-Type monster to add is "Koa'ki Meiru Guardian" – with 1900 ATK and the ability to sacrifice himself in order to negate the effects of cards like "Judgment Dragon" or "Dark Armed Dragon", it can be extremely useful.

The "Koa'ki Meiru" cards can actually supplement this Deck with astonishing effectiveness. By using copies of "Koa'ki Meiru Guardian", "Koa'ki Meiru Sandman" and "Koa'ki Meiru Wall", you can effectively shut down, at least for a while, your opponent's Spell, Trap and monster effects, thus allowing you more time and safety to create your Fusion Monsters. If they do get removed from the field, either by use of their effect or by a maintenance failure, they can be used from the Graveyard via "Dark Calling" to make "Evil HERO Dark Gaia". Not only that, but they each possess 1900 attack points, allowing them to defeat almost any non-Tribute monster.

You can also use "Evil HERO Inferno Wing" along with "Ojama Trio". With its effect, your opponent takes the difference of the monster's DEF and the ATK of "Inferno Wing". As "Inferno Wing" has 2100 ATK and the DEF of the tokens is 1000, your opponent takes 1100 from piercing damage and 300 more damage from the token being destroyed, totaling 1400 Life Points lost each time "Inferno Wing" destroys one of the tokens. Besides that, you can use the tokens with "Evil HERO Dark Gaia". When "Evil HERO Dark Gaia" declares an attack, the opponent's Defense Position monsters can be switched into Attack Position. If you Fusion Summon it with cards like "Darkness Neosphere" then you can increase its ATK to over 4000.

The Gates of Dark World makes for some draw power and powering monsters like Evil HERO Wild Cyclone.

Though a Evil Hero Deck isn't as flexible as an Elemental HERO Deck, you can use Elemental HERO Prisma to give it more speed.

Strengths and weaknesses

"Evil HERO" Decks often have the potential to be enormously powerful and, with a little luck, can completely annihilate an opponent before they can even begin to defend themselves. The majority of the "Evil HERO" Fusions are of regular non-Fusion "Elemental HERO" monsters, so any "Elemental HERO" searching option will work just as well in an "Evil HERO" Deck to speed the process of Fusion (Currently, the only searching option for non-Fusion "Evil HERO" monsters is "Elemental HERO Stratos" and "Elemental HERO Ocean"). There are also a smaller number of Fusion Monsters for the "Evil HERO" archetype compared to their original counterparts, mostly based upon the "core" "Elemental HERO" Fusions. However, the non-Fusion "Evil HERO" monsters have potent enough effects that they splash well into other Decks besides those dedicated to using "Dark Fusion", as well.

Since "Dark Fusion" and "Dark Calling", unlike "Polymerization", have no way of being quickly added to the Hand or of being quickly recycled from the Graveyard, and although the Material Monsters may be supported by basic "Elemental HERO" support, there is almost none for the "Evil HERO" archetype itself, making these monsters far less flexible than their original counterparts. However, a recent card called "Synchro Fusionist" can help with searching the fusion cards, though including Tuners in this Deck will clutter its strategy. A clever opponent that specializes in using Counter Traps (esp. "Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell") to make "Dark Fusion" unusable will ruin their strategy and make it difficult to recover. You should definitely side "Counter Counter" and such. Another non-Counter Trap way to render this Deck useless is for your opponent to activate "Non-Fusion Area", which is just as catastrophic to this Deck as their original "Elemental HERO" forms.

5.
Destiny HERO

"Destiny HERO" (Ｄ－ＨＥＲＯ(デステニーヒーロー), Desutenī Hīrō) is a "HERO" sub-archetype of mostly DARK Warrior-Type monsters used by Aster Phoenix in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX and released in Enemy of Justice, with further support in Duelist Pack 5: Aster Phoenix and Phantom Darkness. Since their debut, they have been believed to be an anti-thesis to the "Elemental HERO" archetype, as specific cards somewhat resemble certain "Elemental HERO" monsters.

The main focus of "Destiny HERO" Decks revolves around taking defensive action and stalling while increasing the user's card advantage and field presence. This is necessary to summon "Destiny HERO - Dogma" and "Destiny HERO - Plasma", both of which are extremely powerful monsters that require three Tributes to be Special Summoned from the Hand. The majority of all other "Destiny HERO" monsters have low ATK and are poor offensively, but often have great utility for maintaining field presence and forms of card advantage over the opponent. For example, the first "HERO" monster to be Forbidden, "Destiny HERO - Disk Commander", has very weak ATK and DEF but lets its controller draw two cards when it is Special Summoned from the Graveyard, and "Destiny HERO - Defender" has such an enormously high DEF that most monsters cannot destroy it by battle (thought it does allow the opposing player to draw more cards per turn if it is in Defense Position).

References to British culture Edit

These cards resemble British anti-heroes and there are several references to British culture within the cards. There is an emphasis in the passage of time in most "Destiny HERO" card effects, as opposed to the more immediate effects of "Elemental HERO" monsters.
Destiny HERO Reference
Diamond Guy/Diamond Dude Stereotypical British "dandy"
Dash Guy/Dasher Spring Heeled Jack
Departed Guy/Departed The Invisible Man
Devil Guy/Doom Lord Spawn (comics)
Double Guy/Double Dude Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Dread Guy/Dreadmaster Man in the Iron Mask
Bloo-D/Plasma The vampire Dracula
Clock Tower Prison Westminster's Clock Tower Big Ben
D - Time British "Tea Time"
Drain Time Stereotypical Dandie's pocket watch
Naming Edit

In the OCG, the names of all "Destiny HERO" monsters begin with the letter "D" and end with "Guy" with a few exceptions such as "Destiny HERO - Bloo-D" and "Destiny HERO - Dread Servant".
Appearances Edit

The "Destiny HERO" monsters were designed by Aster Phoenix's father. After he was killed, Aster inherited the cards, although one was stolen by The D.

The stolen card was known as the "Ultimate D Card". Aster made it his business to find this card in order to avenge his father.

The "Ultimate D Card" was "Destiny HERO - Plasma", while the "Final D Card" was "Destiny End Dragoon".
Relation to other "HERO" monsters Edit

Currently, the only "Destiny HERO"-related card that involves the "Elemental HERO" archetype is "D - Time". However, "Elemental HERO" cards such as "Elemental HERO Stratos", "Elemental HERO Ocean", "Elemental HERO Divine Neos", "HERO's Bond", and "Elemental HERO Absolute Zero" all support "Destiny HERO" monsters, as does the "Evil HERO" "Evil HERO Infernal Prodigy". "Elemental HERO Phoenix Enforcer" and "Elemental HERO Shining Phoenix Enforcer" can be considered pseudo-"Destiny HERO" monsters as they have only been owned and used to date by Aster Phoenix, and their Japanese name also have "Guy" at the end. "Destiny HERO" monsters are also supported by the "Masked HERO" and "Vision HERO" monsters, such as "Masked HERO Goka", "Masked HERO Vapor", "Mask Change", "Vision HERO Trinity" and "Vision HERO Adoration"
Strengths and weaknesses Edit

The "Destiny HERO" archetype is perfect for stalling an opponent until you draw key cards you need to resolve a tight situation or to finish an opponent off. Some classic examples of "Destiny HERO" effects are that they cannot be destroyed by battle during the turn they are Special Summoned with the effect of "Destiny HERO - Dreadmaster", or that when "Destiny HERO - Fear Monger" is destroyed by battle, it can Special Summon a "Destiny HERO" monster during your next Standby Phase etc. With the Field Spell Card "Clock Tower Prison", in 4 turns you will be impervious to Battle Damage and when it is destroyed, you can Special Summon a "Destiny HERO - Dreadmaster" to swarm the field with "Destiny HERO" monsters and overtake your opponent's card advantages.

Despite this, they have 2 great weaknesses: Their ATK points are very low and a player can be defeated easily with Battle Damage if they don't have a card like "Clock Tower Prison" to protect themselves with. For example, "Destiny HERO - Dasher" has ATK points of 2100, but in-order to power it up, you need to tribute 1 other monster. That will make you lose Field Advantage and when it attacks it must be changed to Defense Position. The other weakness is that they defend too much which allows an opponent time to draw cards that have the ability to destroy Destiny HERO defenses. For example, "Destiny HERO - Defender" has a colossal DEF of 2700 and can be Normal Summoned or Set, but its effect is that during each of your opponent's Standby Phases, they get to draw 1 card.

"Destiny HERO" monsters also have several advantages due to their weaknesses: Since they are DARK monsters and they usually have 1500 ATK or less, they can be Special Summoned through the effect of "Mystic Tomato" and "Dark General Freed". Since their card effects usually activate in the Graveyard, you can let them activate first then remove them from play to Special Summon "Rainbow Dark Dragon" which will give you a chance to defeat your opponent.

Deck types Edit
Basic Destiny HERO Deck Edit

Basic "Destiny HERO" play revolves around stalling the opponent (using "D-Shield", "Destiny HERO - Defender" or a 4-counter "Clock Tower Prison") long enough to gain enough hand and field advantage to summon "Destiny HERO - Dogma" and "Destiny HERO - Plasma" and sometimes even "Destiny HERO - Dreadmaster". "Foolish Burial" is an important staple in this Deck to get Malicious and Dasher into the Graveyard, as is "Elemental HERO Stratos". The quickest way to get the top-level cards summoned is to have one monster on the field (usually Defender or a D-shielded monster), Special Summoning another monster to the field using one of the many available effects, then Normal Summoning "Elemental HERO Stratos", and using the effect of "Stratos" to search out "Dogma" or "Plasma" before tributing all three for the top-level summon.

"Destiny HERO" Decks, when properly used, have immense drawing power, thanks to the effects of "Destiny Draw" and "Destiny HERO - Disk Commander" (now banned). You can also use cards like "Allure of Darkness" or "Veil of Darkness", both of which work for Dark Monsters. The former removes the monsters from play, so it isn't always the best card for the decks, but "Veil of Darkness" will put your monsters right into the Graveyard and allow you to draw another card. It is not uncommon to be ten or more cards ahead of your opponent thanks to this. Using "Appropriate" in combination with the effect of "Destiny HERO - Defender" can allow you to draw even more cards while stalling your opponent. You could also combine the effect of "Destiny HERO - Defender" effect with "Greed" to stall your opponent and do an additional 500 points of damage a turn. A wonderful, general use counter trap card, "Dark Bribe" can also be coupled with "Appropriate". For example, you can use Destiny Draw on your Destiny Hero Malicious and then draw two cards and you can special summon a malicious from your deck.

In addition to that they can be easily used with powerful cards like "Dark Armed Dragon", "Allure of Darkness" and other "DARK" support cards.

Other staples important for "Destiny HERO" Decks include "Reinforcement of the Army", "The Warrior Returning Alive", "Dandylion", and, due to their low ATK and DARK attribute, "Crush Card Virus" (Traditional Format only).

"Fires of Doomsday" may be used as tributes to Special Summon "Plasma" or "Dogma".
Diamond Dude Turbo Edit
Main article: Diamond Dude Turbo

Diamond Dude Turbo (DDT) is a popular Deck type that takes advantage of the effect of "Destiny HERO - Diamond Dude". Because costs are not necessary for using Spell Cards with the effect of "Diamond Dude", players can gain card advantage with cards such as "Destiny Draw" and "Magical Stone Excavation". Also, using the effect of "Destiny HERO - Diamond Dude" effect with "Convulsion of Nature" will allow you to see what Spell Cards you will use.

"Destiny HERO - Dasher" and "Destiny HERO - Malicious" (whose effects can be activated in the Graveyard) are included, since the Deck features many discard effects capable of sending "Malicious" and "Dasher" to the Graveyard.

"Divine Sword - Phoenix Blade" is used to Banish "Destiny HERO" and other Warrior-Type monsters from your Graveyard. "Dimension Fusion" would be used to Special Summon the removed monsters. Using the effect of "Destiny HERO - Diamond Dude", players could get around the large costs associated with "Dimension Fusion".

With the release of Phantom Darkness, players gained access to "Allure of Darkness" and "Dark Armed Dragon" which provide more ways to Banish. "Allure of Darkness" also works well with the general theme of the Deck as the main focus of the Deck is quickly drawing cards and overwhelming your opponent with powerful monsters. "Dark Magician of Chaos" was also a popular monster to have in the Deck as it helps to bring back powerful Spell Cards. "Fires of Doomsday" can help you summon powerful monsters like "Jinzo" and "Destiny HERO - Dasher".

Currently this Deck is no longer viable, since most of its key cards (namely "Reasoning" and "Monster Gate", "Dimension Fusion", and "Return from the Different Dimension") were either Limited or Banned.
Perfect Circle Edit
Main article: Perfect Circle

A popular type of Destiny HERO Deck that used to be in tournaments was popularly known as Perfect Circle. This Deck utilizes "Destiny HERO" monsters that can generate a lot of resources and field advantage, such as "Destiny HERO - Disk Commander" and "Destiny HERO - Malicious". Other cards that help the player getting these cards out quickly include "Reinforcement of the Army" and "Elemental HERO Stratos". "Destiny HERO - Fear Monger" is also used to help use the effect of "Destiny HERO - Disk Commander". The revived "Destiny HERO - Disk Commander can then be Tributed to Tribute Summon any "Monarch" or "Light and Darkness Dragon".

"Destiny HERO - Disk Commander" was Forbidden as of the 1st of September 2008 on the Forbidden and Limited Lists, thus severely damaging this Deck.

However, with the September 2009 Lists, "Raiza the Storm Monarch" is no longer Limited, making this Deck more powerful, but "Malicious" is still restricted to 2.
Destiny End Dragoon Decks Edit

This Deck revolves around the card "Destiny End Dragoon" and its abilities to revive itself and inflict damage while destroying a monster. This type of Deck can have many variations, from a traditional beatdown to a control Deck with the Virus cards ("Crush Card Virus", "Deck Devastation Virus" and "Eradicator Epidemic Virus").

This Deck has an enormous amount of Deck-thinning, using searching abilities that Warrior-Type monsters are famous for, and using cards to draw from your Deck. "Destiny HERO - Dogma" and "Destiny HERO - Plasma" are the two best fodders in the game for drawing power, since they can use all of these cards: "Trade-In", "Destiny Draw", and "Allure of Darkness". Since you will be needing those monsters to fuse into "Destiny End Dragoon" ("DED"/"D-End"), you can also use "Pot of Avarice" to recover them, but the best option is to use "Chain Material" to make Fusion Summoning easier while the effect of "DED" makes the drawback nearly non-existent. Also, with "Fusion Gate" on the field, it is possible to Fusion Summon up to three copies of "Destiny End Dragoon" to the field in a single turn, at the cost of removing all the copies of its Fusion Material Monsters from your Deck. However, with enough "Destiny HERO" monsters in the Graveyard, each "Destiny End Dragoon" will simply revive themselves and wreak havoc on your opponent next turn. Try to use "Future Fusion" to get "Dragoon" out quickly. If your opponent tries to return "Dragoon" to your Extra Deck or remove it from play, which most likely will get rid of it permanently, use "Destruct Potion" to not only save your Dragoon but gain 3000 Life Points. "Dragoon" is easy to resurrect from the Graveyard, but it is harder to Fusion Summon him again or bring him back into play.

For more ideas on how to use/make a "Destiny End Dragoon" Deck, see Card Tips:Destiny End Dragoon.
Dragoon Rush Edit

Just like a typical "Destiny End Dragoon" Deck, this deck is focused on calling out "Destiny End Dragoon" as soon as possible. Unlike the original though, this deck does not use the "Chain Material" "Fusion Gate" combo, and rather relies on the traditional "Polymerization". Due to this deck not using cards like "Trade-In" it is recommended to run "Elemental HERO Prisma" as well as "Destiny HERO - Plasma" and "Destiny HERO - Dogma" in threes. In order to quickly get the cards required, a good combo to use is "Elemental HERO Ocean" "Elemental HERO Woodsman" and "Elemental HERO Stratos". With these cards you can quickly gather the cards for "Destiny End Dragoon" into your hand.

In the event that your opponent's deck is moving faster than yours, due to the high amount of "Elemental HERO" monsters used, you may want to use "Super Polymerization".
Plasma Perfect Lockdown Edit

A lockdown that involves "Destiny HERO - Plasma" is as follows: "Destiny HERO - Plasma", "Sorcerer of Dark Magic", "Secret Village of the Spellcasters". "Sorcerer of Dark Magic" is a Spellcaster that has an effect that negates traps, thus fulfilling the requirement for "Secret Village of the Spellcasters" which negates any spell card of your opponents as long as a spellcaster is on your side of the field. This leaves only monsters effects, which "Destiny HERO - Plasma" covers. To summon "Sorcerer of Dark Magic" you can use Fortune Ladies Levels 1-4 to summon for his two Level 6 or higher summoning requirement.

Another lockdown strategy involving "Destiny HERO - Plasma" is to cancel out your opponent's cards. This uses "Destiny HERO - Plasma", "Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8", and "Royal Decree". "Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8" is a Dragon that has an effect that negates spell cards, and "Royal Decree" is a trap card which negates any trap card on the field. This leaves only monster's effects, which "Destiny HERO - Plasma" covers. "Spell Canceller" is a way to cancel out spells if you're not willing to go with the "Horus the Black Flame Dragon" route, but it has only 1800 ATK so it might be hard to keep on the field.

In order to summon "Destiny HERO - Plasma", cards like "Dandylion", "Fires of Doomsday", "Scapegoat" and "Phantom Skyblaster" help you accomplish this as quickly as possible
Destiny Darks Edit

This Deck is similar to a regular "Destiny HERO" Deck, but swaps out some "HERO" monsters for strong DARK monsters like "Spirit Reaper", "Dark Resonator" and "Tragoedia" to swarm the field in order to provide fodder for the Deck's aces, "Destiny HERO - Plasma" and "Destiny HERO - Dogma". Cards like "Allure of Darkness" and "Destiny Draw" help draw the right cards, and being dark monsters with a lot of potential speed means that "Dark Armed Dragon" works very well. "Foolish Burial" can send either a Malicious or a "Dandylion" to the grave to provide tokens, and "Fires of Doomsday" can summon tokens to your side of the field.
Cyber Destiny Edit

Cyber Destiny is a deck based on the combination of Cyber Dragon, and Destiny Hero's. Because Destiny Hero's lack attack points, Cyber Dragon's make up for it. The deck also can be played with Chaos Sorcerer and Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning. Considering Cyber Dragon's are LIGHT Attribute monsters, and Destiny Heroes are DARK Attribute. Destiny Hero - Plasma and Destiny Hero - Dogma are recommended, because Cyber Dragon's are special summoned quickly to the field. And then can be tributed. This is why Destiny Hero's Defender, and Fear Monger are also very usable.
Destiny Ditch Edit

A Deck that puts cards like "Destiny HERO - Malicious" and "Destiny HERO - Dasher" in the Graveyard to summon out "Destiny HERO - Plasma" or "Destiny HERO - Dogma". Cards like "Vortex Trooper", "Evil HERO Infernal Prodigy", and "Elemental HERO Stratos" help draw cards like "Destiny HERO - Dasher" and "Destiny HERO - Malicious". Then, cards like "Lightning Vortex", "Destiny Draw", "Allure of Darkness" and "Hand Destruction" can get rid of Malicious and Dasher to get out Plasma and Dogma.