In the Yu-Gi-Oh trading card game we normally think about the basic way of winning to be by depleting our opponent’s life points. True this is a common way to win, but there are a few other ways of achieving victory. One such way has been around since the beginning of the Yu-Gi-Oh card game, and actually won Yugi Moto the first battle in his anime appearance. To summon Exodia the Forbidden One is to win the game.
The idea of an Exodia deck is to draw into your hand all five pieces of the creature Exodia. The Left Arm of the Forbidden On, Right Arm of the Forbidden One, Left Leg of the Forbidden One, Right Leg of the Forbidden One, and Exodia the Forbidden One. Once a player has all five of these pieces in his hand the game ends and he or she will be declared the victor. The following is a basic deck designed to use Exodia to his full advantage.
Monsters
3 copies of Mystic Tomato
3 copies of Warrior Lady of the Waste Land
3 copies of Giant Rat
3 copies of Nimble Momanga
3 copies of Emissary of the Afterlife
3 copies of Flying Kaimera #1
3 copies of Troop Dragon
1 copy of Sangan
1 copy of Spirit Reaper
1 copy of Right Arm of the Forbidden One
1 copy of Left Arm of the Forbidden One
1 copy of Right Leg of the Forbidden One
1 copy of Left Leg of the Forbidden One
1 copy of Exodia the Forbidden One
Total 28
Ok so there is a lot of monsters in this deck, but with good reason. Mystic Tomato special summons other Mystic Tomatoes when destroyed. This allows for deck thinning which allows you to draw Exodia and his pieces quickly. Also Mystic Tomato summons Sangan and when Sangan dies he grabs an Exodia piece and places it into your hand. With cards like Pot of Avarice that regenerate cards try and put Sangan back into your deck.
Giant Rats summon other Giant Rats, and Warrior Ladies of the Waste Land. Warrior Ladies summon other Warrior Ladies also allowing for deck thinning. This same principle applies for Flying Kaimara #1, he summons other Kaimars and the Troop Dragons which in turn summon one another. Nimble Momanga also has this ability, but with an added bonus, he gains you 1000 life points when he hits the graveyard. Emissary is also a great card because he searches out any of the Exodia pieces from your deck when he dies. Spirit reaper can also be summoned with the Mystic Tomatoes effect and will protect your life points. Last we have the actual pieces of Exodia. Don’t ever play these to the field, they have to be in your hand in order for you to win the game.
Spells
2 copies of Smashing Ground
1 copy of Heavy Storm
1 copy of Reload
1 copy of Premature Burial
1 copy of Pot of Avarice
Total 6
Smashing Ground will clear out some of your opponent’s field presence allowing your life points to remain safe. Heavy Storm will clear out all spell and trap card zones meaning that any nasty surprises he has waiting for you will be gone in one blow. Premature Burial will call back Sangan and Emissary the Afterlife so you can search out more Exodia pieces. Reload will stop your hand from being discarded due to cards like Card Destruction, Reload will just send your hand back to your deck so you can draw a new set of cards. Pot of Avarice is a good card for limited draw power but regenerates your deck by adding five cards from the graveyard to the deck. This is not good for deck thinning but if used right you can add back Mystic Tomatoes, Sangan and Emissary of the Afterlife to be used later. Also it helps when Exodia or his pieces have been discarded earlier on in the match.
Traps
3 copies of Jar of Greed
2 copies of Backup Soldier
1 copy of Mirror Force
Total 6
So your traps are pretty basic. Jar of Greed is a quick draw card so you can get Exodia faster, very simple. Backup Soldiers are just in case cards, they will return any Exodia pieces from the graveyard to your hand, up to 3. This can be game winning if you lost your hand for one reason of another in the early game. Mirror Force is just the best monster destruction card in the current environment. You are not going to have a lot of field presence, but your opponent will, so this card in a way resets the field.
So this is the basic idea of an Exodia deck. In essence you want to summon as many monsters as possible that will search out and summon other monsters. By doing this you begin to thin out your deck and are more likely to draw the Exodia pieces you’ll need to win the game. Sometimes the pieces may lie close to the bottom of your deck, and that’s where Emissary of the Afterlife and Sangan come into play, searching out those one or two pieces that just seem to elude you and keep you from victory. This deck is very fun and enjoyable to play, although it can be nerve wreaking at times. Anyone who is looking for a new twist on this game should give an Exodia deck a shot
