Starter Decks and Structure Decks
Starter Decks are used to help beginners. Starter Decks were released in order for new players to learn most of the basic gameplay and mechanics, also named after various characters from the second animated series. Structure Decks, however, are for more advanced players, as they are focused on a single strategy and tend to have powerful cards and combos. Each Starter Deck contains forty or fifty different cards, a game mat, and a rule book. Each Structure Deck contains exactly forty cards, a game mat, a rule book and a small leaflet with recommendations for cards, strategies and booster packs to improve the deck. Structure decks are usually built to adhere to the current Advanced-Format Forbidden Card list.
[edit] Character Starter Decks
There are currently seven Starter Decks available in the United States:
Yugi Starter Deck (SDY): features Yugi's Dark Magician.
Kaiba Starter Deck (SDK): features Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
Joey Starter Deck (SDJ): includes Joey's Red-Eyes Black Dragon.
Pegasus Starter Deck (SDP): has Pegasus' "Toon" monsters and his Relinquished card.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Starter Deck 2006 (YSD) & Yu-Gi-Oh! Starter Deck 2007 (YSD2): include Elemental Hero cards and old spells and traps. Based on the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX series.
Jaden Yuki Starter Deck (YSDJ): includes cards used by Jaden in the show.
Syrus Truesdale Starter Deck (YSDS): includes cards used by Syrus in the show.
5D's Starter Deck (5DS1): includes the new Synchros and Tuners card types, as well as older cards. Based on the new Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's series.
[edit] Character Structure Decks
There are also eight character-based Structure Decks released in Japan. They are similar to their U.S. counterparts except that they contain different cards and are called Structure Decks. These decks tend to be more powerful than the Starter Decks and have been notable among fans as being "playable from the box".[citation needed] The Structure Decks are:
Yugi Structure Deck (YU): features Dark Magician Girl, the Dark Magician family, and other cards used by Yugi in early parts of the Battle City arc of the anime.
Jonouchi ("Joey") Structure Deck (JY): This deck may be a bad choice for beginners, but for experienced players it can be a shining grace.
Kaiba Structure Deck (KA): features the Vampire Lord, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Blue-Eyes White Dragon (three in the deck, one with Japanese writing, one with Chinese writing, and one with English writing, referencing the Manga, which mentioned the previous owners of the BEWD's were from those countries[citation needed]), and other cards used by Kaiba in early Battle City arc of anime. Also includes a coin with the Millennium Puzzle printed on it, usually for card effects which needs a toss coin.
Pegasus Structure Deck (PE): features cards that are used by Pegasus in the Duelist Kingdom arc of the anime. Examples include the "toon" monsters and Relinquished. Also includes the three (non-playable) "invitation" cards that were sent to Yugi before the Duelist Kingdom.
Yugi Volume 2 Structure Deck (SY2): features cards used by Yugi later in the Battle City arc in the anime. Some examples are Dark Paladin and Dimensional Magic.
Kaiba Volume 2 Structure Deck (SK2): features cards used by Kaiba later in the Battle City arc in the anime. Some examples are XYZ Dragon Cannon and Shrink.
Jonouchi ("Joey") Volume 2 Structure Deck (SJ2): features cards used by Jonouchi later in the Battle City arc in the anime. Some examples are Gilford the Lightning and Foolish Burial.
Marik Structure Deck (SDM): features cards used by Marik in the Battle City arc in the anime. Some examples are Lava Golem, Magic Shard Excavation, and Unholy Calamity.
[edit] Evolution Starter Decks
The Yugi and Kaiba Starter Decks have been re-released with slightly different cards since their initial release in the U.S., and the second set is known as the Evolution series. It is generally thought that the Evolution series improved the respective deck of each character, and they are more readily available than the initial release.[citation needed] The codes for the Evolution Series decks are:
Yugi Evolution Starter Deck (SYE): contains the Ritual Monster Black Luster Soldier, the Ritual Spell Card Black Luster Ritual, and Dark Magician (LOB artwork)
Kaiba Evolution Starter Deck (SKE): includes a Kaiser Sea Horse card along with the Continuous Trap Card Shadow Spell and Blue-Eyes White Dragon (LOB artwork)
Type Structure Decks
The Type Structure decks contain forty cards each. These decks do not follow the theme of being based on a character from the show, though some characters from the show may use similar decks. Instead they are based on a specific Monster type or attribute. The main purpose is to help new players start the game with stronger cards and combos.[citation needed] These decks may also contain multiple copies of same named cards and common versions of ha