If you decide to play a zombie deck, there are a whole bunch of routes you can go down – Zombie Burn, Zombie Beatdown, and Zombie Synchro, just to name a few! With so many different Zombie strategies to choose from, it can get a little confusing on where to start… Which is why we’re here!
15. Zombie World
Zombie World is the centerpiece of any Zombie strategy. While it’s on the field, every single monster on the field or in the graveyards becomes a zombie type – and this card prevents the tribute summon of any non-zombie monster too. This field spell is amazing for two reasons: First, it allows you to play some non-zombie cards in your deck and still get to utilize the broken synergy that zombie decks have! And second, loads of decks benefit from having monsters of a particular type. Just take a look at dragon link! Pretty much every Link monster in a Dragon Link extra deck requires dragon monsters to summon, meaning if you’ve just turned all their monsters into zombies, they’re practically locked out of their extra deck.
14. Spirit Reaper
An oldie but a goldie, Spirit Reaper is a classic zombie card worthy of a spot in any deck – Zombie or otherwise! While this guy’s stats are nothing to write home about, his effect sure is. Spirit Reaper cannot be destroyed by battle, meaning that if you just set this guy in defense position you’ll have a defensive wall that’s impossible to beat in combat. What’s more, if you do decide to keep this guy in attack position, every time it inflicts battle damage to your opponent by direct attack, they’ll have to discard one random card from their hand. This is a great way of putting the pressure on your opponent, controlling their hand, and making it less likely they’ll make a comeback.
13. Enma’s Judgment
This nifty little trap is a great way of getting expensive monsters out fast, while also disrupting your opponent in the process. Enma’s Judgment destroys any monster when it’s special summoned (for free!), and then allows you to banish 5 Zombies from your graveyard to special summon a level 7 or higher Zombie from your hand or deck. This is pretty costly. But definitely worth it. Zombie decks work best when the graveyard is absolutely stacked with different Zombies – so you’ll always have 5 spare Zombies to spare to activate this amazing effect.
12. Doomkaiser Dragon
At the start of the synchro era, Zombies were the go-to deck. With one of the best tuners ever printed (Plaguespreader Zombie), these guys could make synchro summons pretty consistently. One of the best synchro options these decks had was Doomkaiser Dragon. At level 6, all you need is a level 4 monster and Plaguespreader Zombie. And given that level 4 is the most common level for main deck monsters, this is a breeze to achieve. Remember how Zombie World turned all monsters in your opponent’s graveyard into Zombies? This guy exploits that effect, because once it’s summoned successfully, you’re allowed to special summon any Zombie monster from your opponent’s graveyard.
11. Pyramid Turtle
One thing you may have noticed about Zombie monsters is that while they’ve all got pretty good attack stats, most of them have awful defense stats. Well, it turns out that’s actually strength of this deck, not a weakness. When Pyramid Turtle is destroyed by battle, you can special summon any Zombie monster with 2000 or less defense straight from your deck. 2000 is a seriously high bar. And this’ll open up so many options for whatever sort of plays you need to do! You could bring out some big beat-stick monsters to hit your opponent with, or maybe some tuners to get started on your synchro plays. The options are endless!
10. Il Blud
Il Blud is probably the only gemini monster I’d ever play. Most of the gemini monsters are way too slow, having to normal summon them twice to get their abilities… but Il Blud is such a good monster that it’s definitely worth waiting around for. Here’s how it works: Once per turn, you can special summon any Zombie monster from either graveyard or your hand, but when this card leaves the field you must destroy all Zombies special summoned this way. This is a fantastic way of swarming the field. Because not only can you bring out any powerful Zombies chilling in your hand or graveyard, but you can also steal your opponent’s strongest monsters and turn them right back against them. The fact that you can do this every single turn makes Il Blud a staple for any Zombie deck.
9. Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon
This guy spits in the face of tribute summoning, allowing you to summon it by tributing only one Zombie monster – instead of the usual two monsters that most level-7 monsters would require. Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon also makes use of Zombie World in the most broken way possible. Whenever this card destroys a Zombie monster in combat, you can immediately take that monster for yourself, special summoning it to your side of the field in any battle position. This is pretty much a Goyo Guardian for Zombie decks, allowing you to absolutely trample your opponent (and with their own monsters no less).
8. Shiranui Solitaire
Shiranuis are one of the latest zombie decks to hit the Yu-Gi-Oh scene, making their debut in the Arc-V era. They’re also one of the best synchro decks out there, and definitely worth checking out if you’re looking to play a coherent Zombie deck. But even if you’re not playing pure Shiranui, this guy is an amazing addition to any Zombie strategy. By tributing another Zombie monster you control, you can special summon any Zombie tuner from your deck with 0 defense. This sets you up perfectly for a synchro summon. Summoning a card like Uni-Zombie off of this effect allows you to synchro summon into level 7,8, or 9, allowing to access a whole bunch of insanely powerful synchro monsters.
7. Book of Life
While Zombies are absolutely amazing at bringing their own monsters back from the dead, it never hurts to have a little more help. This card is pretty much a Monster Reborn for zombies, except way better. Book of Life allows you to special summon a Zombie monster from your graveyard, while also banishing a monster from your opponent’s graveyard. Most decks in modern Yu-Gi-Oh! will make use of the graveyard like it’s a second hand. Being able to banish cards from it will ensure that you opponent doesn’t have access to mostly all of those cards for the rest of the game. Pretty great for you, not so great for them.
6. Uni-Zombie
Getting the levels right for synchro summoning is an absolute pain. I always find myself either 1 level above or below what I need to actually synchro summon the monsters I want. Well with Uni-Zombie it’s not a problem anymore! This card comes with two ways you can change the levels of monsters on the field, which you can use once each per turn. Firstly, you can discard a card from your hand to increase the level of any monster on the field by 1. Secondly, you can send a Zombie monster from your deck to the graveyard to also increase the level of a monster on the field by 1. This second effect allows you to get your levels set for a synchro summon, and it loads up your graveyard perfectly for whatever plays you’ve got coming next. It’s a Foolish Burial and a synchro enabler. I don’t think tuners can get much better than this!
5. Mezuki
Mezuki is one of the first Zombie monsters to ever hit the scene in Yu-Gi-Oh, introduced all the way back in Premium pack 2. And it is still one of the best Zombie monsters out there! While this card is in the graveyard, you can banish it to special summon any other Zombie in your graveyard. This effect isn’t even once per turn, meaning if you have multiple copies of Mezuki in your graveyard, then you can summon multiple Zombies in a single turn. Given how easily Zombie decks can load up their graveyard with whatever monsters they like, Mezuki is a must-have at 3 copies per deck.
4. Plaguespreader Zombie
This guy isn’t just the best tuner in Zombies – he’s one of the best tuners of all time! Plaguespreader Zombie is ludicrously easy to bring out onto the field. While it’s in the graveyard, you can place any card from your hand onto the top of your deck to special summon it from the graveyard – but you must banish it when it leaves the field. This makes synchro summoning incredibly easy. All you need to do is have this guy in your graveyard, normal summon a monster, then boom! You’ve got yourself a powerful new synchro.
3. Glow-Up Bloom
If you thought Glow-Up Bulb was a powerful synchro enabler, just wait till you see what this card can do for Zombies. When this card is sent to the graveyard (i.e. by sending it from the deck, synchro summoning, or even just being destroyed in battle) you can search any level 5 or higher Zombie monster from your deck to your hand. If you’ve got Zombie World up on your side of the field then this effect gets even better, allowing to special summon that monster straight to your side of the field. This is one of the best methods that Zombies have for getting high-level monsters out onto the field fast. You can make this combo even quicker by special summoning Glow-Up Bloom with One for One, allowing you to grab Glow-Up Bloom straight from the deck.
2. Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring
There isn’t a single deck in modern Yu-Gi-Oh that isn’t main-decking a playset of this card – and it’s easy to see why. Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring is easily the best hand trap out there, and should be played at 3 copies in any deck Zombies. Here’s what it does: You can discard this card from your hand to negate any effects that move cards out of the deck, be it special summons, drawing, or even sending cards from the deck to the graveyard. This card only gets better when played in a pure Zombie deck. Because once it’s discarded to the graveyard, most decks will just leave it there. But with the graveyard-manipulating powers that Zombies have, you can special summon this card right back to the field to use as a tuner for your synchro summons.
1. Eldlich the Golden Lord
Eldlich the Golden Lord is the latest zombie to be released in Yu-Gi-Oh (as of this writing) that reminds us all about just how powerful zombies can be. While it’s in your hand, it’s an incredibly powerful piece of non-destruction removal. You can discard it alongside one spell or trap to send one card on the field to the graveyard. More and more monsters in Yu-Gi-Oh have effects preventing them from being destroyed by card effects – so Eldlich the Golden Lord is the perfect way to work around that. And while this card is in your graveyard (you know, after you just discarded it) you can send another spell or trap from your hand to the graveyard to bring this card right back to your hand – while also special summoning a Zombie monster from your hand as well. The broken thing about this effect is that Eldlich can technically summon himself to the field, providing you with a free 2500 attack monster! On top of that, whatever monster you summon gets a 1000 attack point boost and protection from card effects – leaving you with a seriously strong monster no matter what. You can either special summon another Zombie monster and have free non-destructive removal in your hand every single turn, or you can special summon it and have a free colossal monster to smack your opponent with. You really can’t go wrong here.
