See Compiled DM Cards List

I had been thinking of compiling a list of all the Duel Masters Cards I own, so that I know what cards I have and how many copies of each I own. I have thus prepared an Excel Sheet list for that matter. I have been a great fan of Duel Masters Strategic Trading Card Game, and have been playing for a few years now. I have contributed various Duel Masters Articles, including Deck Strategies, Theme Decks, Card Mechanics, and how-to-play Duel Masters Tutorials. I have reached more than 5000 Duel Masters cards copies, and I am willing to trade DM for a fair price.

Billion Degree Dragon from Dragon Deck

I presented my Duel Masters Dragon Theme Deck in my previous article. The deck comprises of three civilizations: Fire, Darkness and Water. Here, I explain some winning strategies that you can follow using this deck.Dragon cards of the Killer Dragon Deck Überdragon Bajula is the trump card in this deck but there are other powerful creatures in the deck, which can win you the game. If you have not read the deck formation, and the idea behind this deck, I would recommend reading Arnold’s Killer Dragon Theme Deck article first. I have put enough dragon creatures in this deck so that we can easily evolve them into Bajula if our opponent manages to destroy some. Bolmeteus Steel Dragon, Bolshack Dragon, and Garkago Dragon are all power cards, and if you are able to play these early or in mid-game, you can surely own the zone.

Fire Creature - Bolshack Dragon

Dragons are the creatures with most power in Duel Masters Trading Card game. I have constructed a Dragon deck that has been unbeatable so far. Most DM players like to play with Fire Civilization as it has creatures with “Speed Attacker” ability, and comes with some creature destruction spells. However, a mono-civilization deck is usually weak. I thereby, combined Fire with Darkness and Water, to present you the Arnold’s Unbeatable Dragon Theme Deck.

Print a Duel Masters Card

I have been playing Duel Masters Card game for some time now, and I have collected around 5000 cards. However, this strategy card game is so vast, and includes so many cards that you cannot get hands onto every single one of them. Therefore, I came up with a proposal of trading Duel Masters cards previously, and now with the idea of printing Duel Masters card copies that I do not possess. My friends and I agreed upon using pirated copies of the cards in the play, for the sake of keeping interest in the game, and having the opportunity to tryout different cards, which we could not get even after spending a good sum of money. The idea is to get the card image available over the internet or from the Wizards of Coasts; Duel Masters Card Database.

Crystal Lancer - Liquid People

The great thing about CCG (Collectable Card Game) is that you can build your own deck and put any card in it. Duel Masters Trading Card Game is no different; out of the available five civilizations, I discussed a mono-nature deck strategy that can overcome almost any other mono deck, the last time out. My friends opted to build a Darkness Civilization Deck, which in theory is the second strongest civilization when it comes to mono-civilization strategy decks. The strongest of all is the Water Civilization, and I thought of a plan and built my first Mono-Water Deck to execute it to perfection.

Fighter Dual Fang - Nature Civilization Card

Last time out, we organized a Duel Masters Booster Draft Tournament, in which I took first place. There, I was thrown an idea of having a mono-civilization tournament. Many other duelist were in the favor of this format, so I thought why not make a deck that comprised of only one civilization cards out the five available; fire, water, darkness, light and nature. I chose to build a Nature civilization deck.

If you are new to Duel Masters, you might want to learn the basics of Duel Masters Trading Card Game first.
Nature civilization creatures are usually the rushing weenies; cheap, low power creatures that are playable early in the game, and help in early assault at your opponent’s shields. Also, due to the mana acceleration it provides, I choose to try a pure-nature deck.

After a lot of thinking and planning, I came up with a deck strategy. The idea is to use mana acceleration cards to get early mana, destroying some of the opponent’s mana using Mana Crises spell mid-way in the game, and raise mana up to 9 as quickly as possible. The idea then is to summon Fortress Shell that destroys two of the opponent’s mana, leaving him with no way through to play his monster creatures. After controlling the opponent’s mana, the plan is simply to play big creatures such as Fighter Dual Fang and Ancient Giant to finish the opponent.

I decided to use mana acceleration cards such as Bronze-Arm Tribe, Ultimate Force and Faerie Life. Bronze-Arm Tribe is a Beast Folk that cost 3 mana for 1000 power, however, it’s not the power that count, it is the effect it possesses. When it hits the battle zone, you immediately get 1 more mana; you put the top card of your deck into your mana zone untapped, interesting? Faerie Life is a spell, with the shield trigger ability, and does the same thing as Bronze-Arm Tribe, and it only costs 2 mana, fair enough.

Since, I planned to use Bronze-Arm Tribe, which is a Beast Folk, I decided to run 2 copies of Fighter Dual Fang; the evolution creature for Beast Folk race, that also given me additional mana. It is an 8000 power creature at the cost of 6 mana, and is a ‘double breaker’.

Also, that I was using too many cards which let me put the top card(s) of the deck into my mana zone, I decided to run another race of creatures; Giant Insect. The best Giant Insect card in my opinion is Obsidian Scarad. When this creature is destroyed, if you have another Obsidian Scarad in the mana zone, you can put it into your battle zone from there. This fits perfectly with my strategy. Imagine, 3 copies of this creature in the mana zone, and one in the battle zone, your opponent would really find it hard to remove this creature since, you can always but another Obsidian Scarad from your mana zone into the battle zone once it is destroyed. Due to the fact that it was Giant Insect, I ran 2 copies of ‘Ultra Mantis, Scourge of Fate’, which evolves on Giant Insect and is a massive 9000 power creature for just 6 mana. Adding to that, it cannot be blocked by any creature that has power 8000 or less, thus any darkness slayer blockers cannot bother me. Only Light civilization has the creatures with more power. Therefore, it justifies its place in the deck, as Obsidian Scarad can easily be evolved into Ultra Mantis.

Since, Nature civilization does not offer blockers, it makes sense to keep unblockable creatures to even out the competition. That’s why I choose Xeno Mantis that is thankfully a Giant Insect as well. It’s a double breaker with a decent 6000 power, and cannot be blocked by creatures having power 5000 or less. It cost 7 mana to summon, which is somewhat debatable but since, I won’t be short of mana anyway, I decided to run 2 copies of it.

Creatures cannot win battles alone; they would need some kind of support from spells. The best of the Nature spells is ‘Natural Snare’. So, I ran 4 copies of this card since it would allow me to remove some big monsters my opponent plays in the mid-game. To counter Darkness hand-control spells, I have put 4 ‘Dimension Gate’ spells that would let me search my deck and take a creature of my choice. My other spells being Mana Nexus, Mana Crises, Faerie Life, and Ultimate Force let me own the zone. Mana Nexus lets me put one card from my mana zone into my shields zone. I can therefore put ‘Natural Snare’ into my shields if it went into the mana zone accidently by any card affects, or was put by me early in the game.

So you see, this deck is a fairly balanced one; having both low cost and power creatures with some effective spells. See the complete list of cards in this Mono-Nature Civilization Deck below:

Creatures:
3x Burning Mane
1x Crow Winger
4x Bronze-Arm Tribe
2x Charmilia, the Enticer
2x Whip Scorpion
4x Obsidian Scarad
2x Scissor Scarab
2x Nocturnal Giant
3x Storm Shell
2x Xeno Mantis
1x Dawn Giant
2x Ancient Giant
2x Fortress Shell
Evolution Creatures:
2x Fighter Dual Fang
2x Ultra Mantis, Scourge of Fate
Spells:
2x Faerie Life
4x Dimension Gate
2x Mana Crises
2x Mana Nexus
3x Ultimate Force
4x Natural Snare

Creatures = 34
Spells = 17
Total = 51 cards

Statistics:
Best Against:
This deck is best against Fire and Light decks, with some marginal victory over Darkness.

Worst Against:
You might find it difficult to defeat hand-control and creature-removal decks. I have not had a chance to battle any player with pure-water deck, but I think it would be hard to defeat that too.

I only lost 10% of the battles with this deck, and I overcame mono darkness, fire, and light decks comfortably. Darkness and Light decks were hard fought though. Try it out yourself, and remember to have fun. If you have tried it already, put some new cards while taking out some other cards that did not help you. Experiment with the deck, play as much as possible to learn what fits best in your deck.

I have reached 8000 Duel Masters cards, and have decided to trade or sell them. I have many cards, but I do not have all. If you are a duelist, and are willing to buy or sell Duel Masters cards, I am your guy!

The card image was provided by Wizards of the Coasts.

Duel Masters Booster Pack - Base Set

On Saturday, we held our first ever Duel Masters Booster Draft Tournament at my place, for ages 15+. Six players participated in total, both male and female participants. The entry fee for the tournament was PKR 100/- and the prizes for the winners were the following: -    1st Prize – PKR 350/- -    2nd Prize – 2 Booster packs (one each of Base Set DM-1 and Evo Crushinators of Doom DM-02 -    3rd Prize – 1 Booster pack of Rampage of the Super Warriors DM-03 -    4th Prize – 1 Booster pack of Thundercharge of Ultra Destruction DM-07 Previously, we had been dueling 1-on-1 or triple threats, even 2-on-2 battles at times, but we all enjoyed this booster draft format in Duel Masters. I will surely explain theory of drafting in my other post.

Ready to Duel?

In my earlier post, I discussed the basics of Duel Masters Trading Card Game. Now, I am going to brief you about the game setup, and the steps a player must follow on his turn. Deck Shuffling: Before the game begins, each player must shuffle his/her own deck. Then each player should present his deck to the opposing player for any additional shuffling or cutting. If the opposing player shuffles the deck, you may cut your deck one last time. If he cuts, then you may shuffle your deck again.

Fire Creature: Bolmeteus Steel Dragon

If you are interested in trading card games, then you are surely going to enjoy playing this one. Duel Masters is a collectible card game (CCG), and can be played with two or more players. Each player must have a minimum of 40 cards in his deck.

Before you can start, you need to learn the game play, and the terminologies used in the game, some of which I will describe here that should help you getting started.

The Game play

In Duel Masters, two players play the role of duelists, using the ‘art’ of “kaijudo”, which supposedly describes the “art of battling with giant monsters”. Players battle each other by playing cards in their “mana zone” (read below), and then using that mana to pay the cost of summoning creatures or casting spells. Each player has five shields that protect the player from damage, once all shields have been broken; it only takes a one successful attack to win the duel. In other scenario, as soon as a player draws his last card from his deck, that player loses the game automatically. Does not this sound interesting?

DM Game Play Mat - Courtesy of DM Wiki

The Game Play Mat

-    The library
The play area to the right of the Shields Zone is called the Library. This is where your deck is placed.

-    The Shields Zone
At the start of the game play, each player takes top five cards from his deck without looking, and places them in front of him faced down. These cards are called shields, and the zone is thus called the ‘Shields Zone’.

-    The Mana Zone
The zone below the shields zone is called the mana zone. The cards placed in this zone are used to generate mana, and thus a player uses it to pay the cost of summoning creatures and casting spells. The cards are placed here upside down, so that the mana-number faces towards you.

-    The Battle Zone
The battle zone is where the creatures are put when they are summoned after paying their cost. Only creatures can be put in the battle zone, spells are casted, not summoned. This battle zone is above the shields zone.

-    The Graveyard
The graveyard is where the destroyed creatures or casted spells are placed. The graveyard is to the right of the ‘library’.

-    The Hand
Once the top 5 cards have been placed in the shields zone, each player draws another five cards, which form a ‘Hand’. The hand is for the player to see, but do not show it to the opposing player.

Type of Cards:
There are two types of cards in Duel Masters, creatures and spells. Creatures are put into the battle zones when summoned. Each creature has a race to which it belongs such as Dragon, Earth Eater, and Guardian. Spells go to the graveyard after they have been casted.

The Five Civilizations:
Duel Masters Cards represent five different civilizations in the Duel Masters world namely: Fire, Light, Nature, Water and Darkness. Each civilization has its own type of cards (creatures and spells), and each have their own advantages and disadvantages. You can build a deck with one, two or even three civilizations. If used properly, the civilizations can complement each other nicely.

Each civilization has a zone that most cards of that civilization affect: Fire – Battle Zone, Light – Shields Zone, Nature – Mana Zone, Water – The Hand, and Darkness – The Graveyard.

Light Creature: Siri Glory Elemental

The Duel Masters Card:
As briefed already that a Duel Masters card could be either a creature or a spell. Let us talk about the creature card first, see the image on the right.

-    The card name
The card name is mentioned at the top-middle section of the card.

-    The mana cost
The mana cost is at the top left corner of the card. This digit represents the price of summoning the creature, i.e. the number of cards you need to tap in the mana zone. You need to tap (tapping refers to rotating the card 90 degrees to the right, indicating that it is being used) at least one card of that civilization, and rest can be of any other civilization in order to summon a creature. Same method applies to paying costs for spells.

-    The mana number
A card when put in the mana zone, generates one mana. This 1 digit is written at the lower-mid section of the card.

-    The creature’s race
Each creature has a race to which it belongs. This is mentioned just below the card name. This does not apply to spell cards.

-    The power
Each creature has a power, which is mentioned in the lower left corner of the card. This term does not apply to the spell cards.

-    The Color
The color of the card represents the civilization to which it belongs. Fire cards are red, Light cards are yellow, Water cards are blue, Darkness cards are black, and Nature cards are green in color.

I think, this is enough information about Duel Masters Trading Card Game for now. I will talk about the civilizations in another post, the card effects, and the setup of the game once more. Then we will move onto how each player plays his turn. Until then, collect some Duel Masters Cards, and get familiar with the game a little bit.

By the way, I am a collector myself, and own around 5000+ cards. Moreover, I am willing to sell my Duel Masters Cards. Are you interested in buying some?

Below are some useful links that should also help you in understanding the game:

Duel Masters Wiki
Learn about Duel Masters Trading Card Game

Duel Masters Trading Card Game

I am a huge fan of Duel Masters trading card game, and it has been a couple of years since I started playing it. It is a strategy game, and can be played with two or more players. There are a number of cards available that you could use, but a player’s deck must be comprised of forty cards, at minimum. I prefer it to all other card games such as Pokémon, Ben 10 or even 5-card Poker and Color. Like in Pokémon, Ben 10 and a few other cards games where you have many cards to play with, Duel Masters is no different. There are 40-card starter decks available for beginners, along with booster packs for expert duelists. Unlike other card games, Duel Masters has evolved from time to time, introducing above forty different sets, each introducing at least 60 new cards. The Base Set contained 120 cards. This game is Japanese; however, twelve different sets have been translated in English to date.