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Gem spending guide

Duel Links how to use Gems, the best packs to buy, cards you should get by spending gems, duel links meta decks.
update 23/04/2018

Gem guide & Easily Accessible decks

Currently there are 10 main boxes (200 packs/box), 10 mini boxes (80 packs/box) and 5 structure decks available in the game, which could seem pretty overwhelming when you first start out. If you feel kind of lost this guide might help you get a sense of direction on what to go for first.

The most important question you first have to ask yourself is what do you want to play. In the end it’s just a game and you should try to get the most enjoyment out of it. If you enjoy being competitive then you should focus on making one of the meta deck first. If you enjoy the nostalgia this game has to offer and just want to play with your favorite cards like Dark Magician of Chaos there is nothing wrong with that. Just look through ea ch of the boxes for the cards that you loved when playing with friends or in the TCG and go for them.

If you’ve never played Yu-Gi-Oh! before or don’t have any preference for certain cards or decks, but want to enjoy the PvP aspect this game has to offer you should first check out what decks are relevant in the meta.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links is in a great state right now because there are countless decks that are relevant in the META and able to hit KoG (King of Games, the highest rank on the PvP ladder).

Not only are there a lot of decks viable right now, but a lot of the core of these decks can be made by just buying packs from one box instead of having to dig through multiple decks.

If you just started playing you might first want to check out our guide on what packs a new player should buy; http://duellinks.gamea.co/c/f3w62204?tpage=2 . This guide will get you started when you acquire your first gems without the need to farm for cards or get ranked rewards.

In this guide we’ll advise you what decks to invest in when you receive more gems through events and levelling up characters, and when you start picking up cards from the Card Trader and Ranked Rewards.

Current meta decks

DeckCostTier

Cyber Angel
Expensive1

Sylvan
Budget - Expensive1

Masked HERO
Expensive1

Geargia
Budget-Expensive1

Spellbook
Expensive1

Amazoness
Budget1

Alien
Budget2

Archfiend Emperor
Expensive2

Sea Stealth Attack
Expensive2

red eyes zombie
Expensive2

Golden Flying Fish
F2P - Budget2

Gaia Plate
Budget - Expensive2

Hazy Flame
Budget2

Sea Stealth Attack, Aliens and Abyssal Encounters

If you followed our guide when first starting out, you might have invested in the main box Abyssal Encounters to make an Alien deck. This deck is without a doubt the strongest F2P friendly deck right now because the core cards are Normals or Rares , on average the core of this deck can be assembled after buying just 100 packs.

EXAMPLE DECK - CORE

The remaining slots are best filled with Powerful Rebirth and Wall of Disruption, or other defensive cards.

Alien OverlordAlien TelepathAlien TelepathAlien TelepathAlien WarriorAlien Warrior
Alien WarriorAlien Grey"A" Cell Recomposition Device"A" Cell Recomposition Device"A" Cell Recomposition DeviceEnemy Controller
Enemy ControllerEnemy ControllerBrainwashing BeamBrainwashing Beam

Since you already bought packs from this main box, you could continue to invest to create a very powerful water deck revolving around arguably the strongest card in Duel Links “Sea Stealth Attack”.

Below we will show you an example deck if you bought out this box just once , and also an optimal build which requires you to reset that box.

EXAMPLE DECK

Citadel WhaleCitadel WhaleThe Legendary Fisherman IIAbyss SoldierGishki ChainHammer Shark
Hammer SharkHammer SharkFishborg PlanterFishborg PlanterFishborg PlanterOyster Meister
Beautunaful PrincessWarrior of AtlantisWarrior of AtlantisA Legendary OceanEnemy ControllerEnemy Controller
Sea Stealth AttackSea Stealth Attack
[Skill] descriptionUser
Mythic Depths
Begins Duel with the Field Spell "Umi" activated.
Mako Tsunami
Mako Tsunami

EXAMPLE DECK - OPTIMAL BUILD

Citadel WhaleCitadel WhaleCitadel WhaleAbyss SoldierAbyss SoldierAbyss Soldier
Gishki ChainGishki ChainHammer SharkHammer SharkHammer SharkFishborg Planter
Fishborg PlanterFishborg PlanterOyster MeisterBeautunaful PrincessEnemy ControllerEnemy Controller
Enemy ControllerSea Stealth Attack
[Skill] descriptionUser
Mythic Depths
Begins Duel with the Field Spell "Umi" activated.
Mako Tsunami
Mako Tsunami

When you bought packs from Abyssal Encounters, you’ll also pick up the monster card Golden Flying Fish, which a whole deck can be made around of as well, but to run that deck you’ll need to pick up some spells/traps from other boxes like Powerful Rebirth. A guide on this deck can be found here: http://duellinks.gamea.co/c/47cwi97h .

Sylvans and Rampage of the Forest

Another new powerful deck that can be made by just investing in the mini box Rampage of The Forest is a Sylvan deck. You will need to pick up Rose Lover from the Card Trader but beside that, most cards (which are monster cards) can be obtained from this mini box. You’ll need to reset this box though because you’ll want at least 2 copies of Sylvan Komushroomo (optimally 3).

Example Deck

Sylvan KomushroomoSylvan KomushroomoSylvan KomushroomoSylvan MarshalleafSylvan MarshalleafSylvan Marshalleaf
Sylvan HermitreeSylvan HermitreeSylvan HermitreeSylvan FlowerknightSylvan FlowerknightSylvan Flowerknight
Sylvan GuardioakRose LoverRose LoverRose LoverWorld Carrotweight ChampionEnemy Controller
Hey, Trunade!Dark Core
[Skill] descriptionUser
Restart
Can be used only once after starting hands are dealt. Reveal and redraw your starting hand.
Yugi Muto
Yugi Muto

Gladiator Beasts & Cosmic Origins

If you invest in the main box Cosmic Origins you’ll pick up the core monsters needed for a Gladiator Beast deck, which although has lost some momentum, is still a very powerful deck in the right hands. Below we’ll show the core of the deck if you would buy out this main box just once without resetting.

Example Deck Core

But just like some other decks you’ll have to fill up those remaining slots with strong defensive cards from other boxes, most notable wall of disruption.

Gladiator Beast LaquariGladiator Beast LaquariGladiator Beast BestiariGladiator Beast BestiariGladiator Beast MurmilloGladiator Beast Murmillo
Gladiator Beast DimacariImpenetrable AttackImpenetrable AttackEnemy ControllerEnemy ControllerEnemy Controller
------
--

Aromages

Some archetypes are locked behind the Card Trader or Farm Events and not packs.
One of those archetypes, Aromages, can be made almost entirely by obtaining cards from the Card Trader and ranked rewards, which require no gem investment.

Example Deck Core

this build leaves room for 6 cards, those slots can be filled with cards such as The Spell Absorbing Life, which is a Rare card from Ultimate Rising. But if you don’t want to invest in that box you could just use good spell/traps you picked up while going through other boxes, like Wall of Disruption, Super Rush Headlong, Floodgate Trap Hole, … Or even Inverse Universe, a card that dropped during the Syrus event, which has proven itself to have great synergy with this deck.

Aromage JasmineAromage JasmineAromage JasmineAromage RosemaryAromage RosemaryAromage Rosemary
Aromage BergamotAromage BergamotRose LoverRose LoverRose ArcherAroma Garden
Aroma GardenAroma Garden----
--

Dinos

Another archetype that has proven itself to be very resilient are dinosaurs. Although you will need to pick up some good spells/traps to support your high attack dinosaurs (thanks to the field spell with Rex Raptor), the core of this deck can be acquired by exchanging tickets and levelling up Bastion. If you missed out on Evilswarm Salamandra you’ll unfortunately have to wait until he becomes available again.

Example Deck Core

Some good cards to fill up the remaining slots are; Super Rush Headlong, Mirror Wall, Wall of Disruption, Fire Formation - Gyokkou, Xing Zheng Hu, Cosmic Cyclone, Powerful Rebirth. As you can see there are a lot of options so as soon as you start investing in some boxes for other decks, you will automatically pick up good cards for this deck as well.

Evilswarm SalamandraEvilswarm SalamandraEvilswarm SalamandraBlack BrachiosBlack BrachiosBlack Brachios
HydrogeddonHydrogeddonHydrogeddonEnemy ControllerEnemy ControllerEnemy Controller
------
--
[Skill] descriptionUser
Dinosaur Kingdom (skill)
Begin duel with the field spell "Jurassic World" activated.
Rex Raptor
Rex Raptor

Boxes not worth investing in

Currently these are the boxes we would NOT advise you to spend gems on if you want to focus on being competitive first;

Age of Discovery, Wonders of the Sky, Chaotic Compliance, Land of the Titans, Echoes of Silence, Resonance of Contrast

Although these boxes have cards that might see use again in the future they currently don’t hold many (or any) UR/SRs that are viable in this meta or hold an archetype around which a META deck can be made.

Valkyrie’s Rage isn’t a great box ether currently, it holds some good cards like Soul Exchange and Nobleman of Extermination, but no cards that are actually needed right now in meta decks. So for now you might want to skip it and maybe buy from it in the future when the cards in that box become more relevant.

We also do not recommend buying any of the structure decks as they simply are not good, except for the latest structure deck, Destiny Rulers which does hold a lot of potential however you’ll have to buy it multiple times, which isn’t possible which just gems.

Cards to consider getting before resetting

If you are very new to the game, you might not know this but every card you see on the summary screen of a box with a number written on top of it, is the amount of times that card is in that box, meaning if you buy every last pack from a box you will get every card that you saw, this is a great system because it means that you will get the cards you want at some point, yes there is still a bit of luck involved, but you won’t be that unlucky that you never would get the card (which is the case for other games). Because of this system you can actually decide when to reset a box and put in all the cards again to try and get multiple copies.

If you are going to go multiple times through a box (for example Neo-Impact to build a Cyber angels deck) I’ll provide a list of cards for each box that you maybe should consider going for in case you are already deep into the box. If you are only 20 packs into a box and got the card you want you should of course reset, but if there are only 50 cards remaining in a box after you have gotten the card you want, you should carefully consider if it’s worth it to continue for a card you might need in the future. I’ll only include URs for the main boxes as you’ll probably get every SR 3 times when going through a box more than once. However since mini boxes only contain the SRs once I’ll also include those in the list.

Additional Notes

As you can see there are a lot of cards spread out that have a lot of potential, but like I said, focus on one deck first, don’t try to get everything all at once.

Just remember, a new player can currently unlock 25 playable characters, and each character alone gives about 2300 gems just by getting to max level. That’s a total of 1150 packs just by leveling up everyone to lvl 40. If you don’t care for current cards available through level up, focus on getting all characters to lvl 30 first to get the most gems in the shortest amount of time.

If you first buy a box (when all the packs are still in the box) don’t immediately buy 10 at a time, buy them one at a time, that way if you open a good card in the first few packs it might already be worth it to reset the box.

At the bottom of the screen when looking at a box, there is an option called “bulk settings” , it is best not to tinker with this too much if you don’t buy 30 packs at a time, only use it when buying in bulk like it says.

When a new event is added to the game, people will always try and “farm” that character. When doing such a farm, people try to acquire the most points (Duel Assessment) at the end of the duel to get as much rewards as possible (8 being the maximum). To do so people build special decks that counter the cards used by that NPC and stall until the very last card before doing a combo. These decks often use cards that normally don’t see any competitive play and require you to buy packs for them. However, because the droprate of cards from NPCs seems to have been increased, and Konami has added special missions during these events to gain these cards anyway, I do not think it is worth it to spend thousands of gems just to be able to farm one event. GameA will always try and provide the most optimal farm decks and also cheap farm decks, however if you are not able to make such a deck, just try and aim for a duel assessment of 3-4k and in the end you will get the cards as well , but it’ll take a bit more duels than the average player.

Comments

Hot New Top
candend
IMO, You must buy cards for farming at first because there are lots of good cards from defeating LD's which also good in PvP. Such as E-con (Kaiba), Amazoness Swords Woman (Mai), Dark Necrofear (Bakura) since dueling in PvP (Ranked Duels) is too difficult at first time. After that, you can focus on Ranked Duels
Anonymous
I agree with AG being good for new players. But CA, Ninjas and REZ which are way too expensive decks. Also Phoenix is not really expensive, it is mid budget at most. Pulling 3 Phoenix is way easier than making CA, Ninjas or REZ. Also you will get SRH and Heavy Knight which are always awesome. Besides that, the deck only needs cheap Yaksha and Island. You can jam ECon, SRH, Heavy Knight and get a cheap tier 1 deck with just 1 pack.
<< Anonymous
Armend Reply
Still got KOG with Phoenix though
<< Anonymous
Armend Reply
Still got KOG with Phoenix though
<< Anonymous(Armend)
Anonymous Reply
pretty much any deck can get kog (especially at the end of the month when all the good players are already kog), doesn't mean that it's top tier
<< Anonymous
St0rm Reply
Depends on what you want to accomplish. Phoenix won't get you far in the meta anymore, but it's still a very powerful deck, and the set of SRH is crazy good. Part of what you want to look for in a "first pack" isn't just the decks it leads to but the removal. The meta shifts, but removal is always more or less useful.
BWC
Best deck in this "Meta" would be a destiny draw burn deck with the only monsters being Lava Golem and Fire Princess. Just throw a bunch of burn and defensive cards in the deck and a few Monster Reincarnations to make up for only having 1 copy of the two main burn monsters. Deck would dominate Cyber Angel because that decks entire strategy is based on protecting the monsters with the ritual spell and Dakinis effect of forcing player to remove a monster on their side of the field. With a Destiny draw burn deck that only runs two monsters with neither intending to attack opponent, all that is useless. I won't be playing PVP much aside from the 100 wins to get the 3 SR's for the month until I get the Destiny draw skill so I can dominate. Hopefully they don't nerf the skill by then like changing the life point requirement
<< Anonymous
BWC Reply
So the Meta stays the same?. Ok, got it.
<< Anonymous(BWC)
Anonymous Reply
Gladiator Beast would absolutely stomp that deck. Stall doesn't work vs it.
<< Anonymous(BWC)
Anonymous Reply
Atm, what you said has become true. New ddraw burn is in the meta. Until CA being nerf, it would be top tier deck in pvp
<< Anonymous(BWC)
Anonymous Reply
LOL, which part of "if you don't even have that skill and experience it for yourself, you are not qualified to make any statement to conclude D Draw burn deck is the best deck" did you not get?
Anonymous
My Ancient Gear deck differs from this one and it works better at shutting down the opponent's back row

Ancient Gear Golem 2x
Ancient Gear Beast 2x
Ancient Gear Engineer 2x
Ancient Gear Knight 3x
Ancient Gear Soldier 3x
Ancient Gear Box 1x
Ancient Gear Tank 1x
Ancient Gear Castle 1x (+1 from Middle Aged Mechs)
Machine Assembly Line 1x
Anti-Magic Arrows 2x
Half Shut 1x
Mirror Wall 1
Wall of Disruption 1x
Anonymous
Meanwhile me openning chaotic compliance box just to get Crystal seer. I'm planning to open all box little by little. Maybe i wont be able to do that tho, cuz Im only free player.
<< Anonymous
helper Reply
just keep leveling characters you get a lot of gems from just that i have cleared 4 box and i have only been playing about a month and haven't spent a dime build a good beater deck to farm with Warriors and A.Force and level the hell out of your character and unlock as many as possible play the events and the meta decks suck balls dont use them unless your playing pvp the Ai eats them alive
someone who actully
Wow these Meta decks suck
Alex the Asshole
Greys spend all of their gems to Ultimate Rising box.
<< Anonymous(Alex the Asshole)
Anonymous Reply
Ok Magenta
Anonymous
The notes part are repeated. There's also some mistake like listing CA and Ninja as "realitively F2P" and budget when both are really expensive while Phoenix, Venus, and Parasite burn listed as expensive and F2P when they're actually budget-mid.

Also missing stuff like DDraw OTK and control decks which are decent. Also should've listed Secret Pass to the Treasures from Ultimate Rising is crucial for farming decks and should be get early.

That said, this article is much better than most other articles on this site. Just keep it up to date
<< Anonymous
Anonymous Reply
yea.. ok so you shouldn't inform a new player about the good decks and what they should run to even have a slight chance at being succesful in PvP early on? you think new players that don't know how to beat meta decks and are sitting in gold are happy? no they aren't, most of them are frustrated and would quit the game because of it.
<< Anonymous
OP Reply
Those decks aren't bad. Yes, they're tier 2 but its not like they don't do well in the meta. Many of these decks do reach top 200 in the KC cup which flooded with CA and ninjas. Problem with the top 2 decks(expecially CA) is they require lots of UR from bad packs that is questionable to spend on. While tier 2 decks are enough if you just aim for KoG while being much cheaper to build. Your choice.
<< Anonymous(OP)
Anonymous Reply
but you can actually make cheap versions of them that still would be better than tier 2-3 decks (and then later players can decide to continue to invest to make it better or not) . also tier 2 and 3 decks (to have an optimal build) are very expensive as well , so your argument doesn't make any sense
<< Anonymous
OP Reply
Cheap version of CA and ninja is worse than suboptimal tier 2 decks cause they're really prone to bricks without the core cards which are UR. Good tier 2 decks like AG and GB is actually quite cheap since there's no need to reset on big box to get their core cards. And the cards to make them optimal are staples S/T that is useful for other decks too and possibly for decks in the future as well
Anonymous
Really hard to get over the recommendation of an Ancient Gear deck as the best option for new players, since the only means to get those cards is having Vellian Crowler unlocked as a playable character which could only be done during the event BEFORE duel links was on Steam. . . seriously you folks put all the effort into all the write up for this page, and you can't sort out that hang up...
<< Anonymous
Anonymous Reply
hm if only that exact thing was written in the guide and what to go for if you missed that event :thinking: , maybe try to actually read it next time
Breno
Muito boa a matéria, com certeza auxiliará os iniciantes que lerem com atenção. E eu adoto esse mesmo pensamento sobre jogar duel links de modo racional. Comecei o jogo, mais uma vez, no evento do Crowler e peguei o deck de mecanismo, tendo, por isso, conseguido pegar KoG na mesma temporada e na seguinte, isto é, dois kogs em 15 dias de conta.
Anonymous
Venus/Red Lotus is F2P?
Free to pay
Anonymous
What about the new mini box coming out? Six Samurai meta may be here
<< Anonymous
Anonymous Reply
No, they are too slow to shake things up.

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