Yu-Gi-Oh! Side Decking: Planning Your 15 Cards

Duel 1 of a Match is your deck against theirs. Duels 2 and 3 are your deck plus 15 more cards, chosen with what you just learned about your opponent. That is the Side Deck, and it is where a lot of Matches are won.

The rules

From Konami’s Tournament Policy, Version 2.5:

• 0 to 15 cards. Your Side Deck is optional, and holds up to 15.
• Count it at the start. When the Match begins, both players confirm the exact number of cards in each other’s Side Deck.
• Swap 1-for-1. Between Duels, exchange Side Deck cards for cards in your Main Deck or Extra Deck, one for one. Your Side Deck must stay the same size, and you count it out in view of your opponent.
• Main stays Main, Extra stays Extra. You cannot move a card between the Main Deck and the Extra Deck, even through the Side Deck. An Extra Deck card in your Side Deck can only swap with an Extra Deck card.
• Not before Duel 1. You cannot side in before the first Duel of a Match.
• Reset after every round. After each Match, restore your Main and Extra Decks to the list you started with.
• Be quick. You have less than three minutes to side and shuffle.
• The 3-copy limit covers all three. Main, Extra, and Side Deck together hold no more than 3 copies of a card, or fewer if it is Limited or Semi-Limited.

One more rule changes how you plan. The Tournament Policy does not allow you to consult a list of Side Deck choices between Duels. Your plan has to be in your head.

Three small plans

Think of the 15 as three groups.

Remember from lesson 10 that the loser of each Duel chooses who goes first in the next. So before you side, you usually know which side of the flip you will play.

1. Cards for going second. Going second, you want board breakers. Lesson 14 covered cards such as Harpie’s Feather Duster, Lightning Storm, Dark Ruler No More, and Evenly Matched.

2. Cards for going first. Going first, you want cards that help your board survive, or that stop your opponent’s answers. Board breakers do little when you go first, since there is nothing to break yet.

3. Answers to specific decks. Some cards are excellent against one strategy and blank against others. Those belong in the Side Deck, not the Main Deck. Pick them for the decks you actually expect to face at your store or event.

What to take out

Siding in is the fun part. Siding out decides whether it works. For each matchup, ask:

• Which cards are weakest in this matchup? A hand trap that answers only Deck searches is weak against a deck that rarely searches.
• Which cards are weakest on this side of the flip? Some cards that help your first-turn board do little going second, and the reverse.
• Am I keeping the deck at its size? Since swaps are 1-for-1, your Main Deck stays at its count. Do not cut so many starters that your plan stops working. Lesson 9’s table shows what each cut costs.

A sample plan, in words

Say your store’s most common deck builds a big board going first. Your plan might be:

• When you will go second against it: side in 3 board breakers, side out 3 cards that only help your own first-turn board.
• When you will go first against it: side in 2 hand traps that stop its key starter, side out 2 board breakers that came in for Duel 2.

That is 5 of your 15. Repeat for the next two most common decks, and you have a full Side Deck with a reason behind every card.

Practice the swap

A good plan done slowly is still a problem, because the round clock does not stop. At home, time yourself:

1. Fan your Side Deck.
2. Pull the cards coming in.
3. Pull the same number going out.
4. Count the Side Deck back to its starting number, in view of your opponent.
5. Shuffle and present.

Under a minute is a good target. It leaves your opponent and the clock happy, and it keeps your head clear for the Duel.

Learn from Duel 1

Duel 1 is your scouting report. Watch which cards your opponent searches, what their end board looks like, and which hand traps they show. Those details tell you which of your three small plans to use.