Ever since Yugi Moto’s initial match against Seto Kaiba in the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, Exodia the Forbidden one has become one of the most recognizable icons in the franchises’ history. To summon Exodia all five pieces of the Forbidden One must be in the player’s hand. This win-condition once met is inescapable, and over the trading card game’s history many players have sought to use Exodia to his fullest potential. However summoning Exodia is a harder task than initially thought, and so in this blogpost I will go over recommended strategies and cards for playing Exodia.
Stalling your opponent and drawing as many cards as possible is the main goal of an typical Exodia deck. With the five Exodia cards in your deck you’re aiming to add 35 more to your deck, after all going above the mininum requirement of 40 cards only decreases your odds of drawing Exodia. While Exodia may not be competively viable, the sheer excitement of Exodia obliterating your opponent is undeniable.
Recommended Yu-Gi-Oh! Monsters
Exodia the Forbidden One is a no-brainer to have in your Yu-Gi-Oh deck if you want to summon Exodia. However for each piece of Exodia there is, players are limited to only having one each in their decks. The Exodia cards can be played as monsters, however their stats are lacking. It’s best to keep your Exodia cards in your hand if you aqquire them.
Sangan is a classic Yu-Gi-Oh monster akin to Exodia. Sangan along with Witch of the Black Forest are both useful monsters to throw into an Exodia deck. If Sangan is sent from the field to the graveyard, the player adds one weak monster to their hand. The five pieces of Exodia are lacking in stats, allowing Sangan to add them to the player’s hand. The Witch of the Black Forest has a very similair effect to Sangan and is recommended aswell.
Royal Magical Library has no attack points, and is mainly useful for it’s passive effect. After the player plays three spells with Magical Library on the field, they can draw an extra card. In an Exodia deck, spells will make up majority of your deck, and an extra card drawn can be invaluable.
Recommended Traps
Jar of Greed is the awkward little brother of Pot of Greed, though that’s not to say it’s bad. It’s a trap card with a very simple effect of drawing one card from your deck. While this card may not be anything crazy, never underestimate the value of drawing one more card.
Obliterate!!! is a continous trap card, meaning the player can activate it’s effect multiple times. When activated Obliterate!!! sends one monster on the field back to it’s player’s hand. To activate this effect you must send one piece of Exodia from your deck or hand to your graveyard. While having a piece of Exodia in the graveyard isn’t ideal, certain spells can turn this in your favor.
Recommended Spells
Dark Factory of Mass Production is a useful card for when a piece of Exodia ends up in your graveyard. Dark Factory allows the player to target 2 normal monsters in their graveyard and add them to your hand. Exodia’s Arms and Legs count as normal monsters, this spell letting you save them from the graveyard.
Pot of Duality allows the player to search the top three cards of their deck, add one card to their hand, and then shuffle the remaining cards back into the deck. In a world where Pot of Greed is on nearly every Yu-Gi-Oh banlist imaginable, Pot of Duality is the second best thing. Being able to choose which of the three cards to draw in your hand is very useful, allowing you to have more control over your hand. The downside to this card forbids the player from special summoning after this spell is played. However an Exodia player shouldn’t need to worry about special summons in the first place.
Messenger of Peace is a continous spell meaning it remains active on the field unless removed by a card’s effect. At the cost of 100 Life Points each turn, all monsters with 1500 attack or more are unable to attack. This is a powerful tool in any Exodia player’s arsenal, sabotaging your opponent’s most powerful Yu-Gi-Oh monsters from attacking. An Exodia deck often can’t go toe to toe in battles with other monsters, making this card a must-have.
Recommended Cards (cont)
Upstart Goblin is an ultra-rare spell card which allows the player to draw 1 card at the cost of giving the opponent 1000 life points. While giving your opponent life points may not be ideal in most decks, an Exodia deck’s main focus isn’t on bringing their opponent’s life points to zero. If your goal is summoning Exodia, Upstart Goblin is a no-brainer to use.
Chicken Game is a field-spell that either player can take advantage of, however it often benefits Exodia decks especially. The main effect of Chicken Game is that the player with the lowest life points takes no damage, and it’s very likely Exodia players will have lower life points. During each Main Phase the turn player can pay 1000 life points to either draw a card, destroy chicken game, or to give their opponent 1000 life points. Most Exodia players will be using Chicken Game to draw an extra card each turn, however the player with the lowest life points taking no damage can keep an Exodia player safe for many turns. However Chicken Game is a banned card at most real Yu-Gi-Oh events.
Magical Mallet lets you send any number of cards from your hand back into your deck, shuffling your deck and drawing the same number of cards back. Magical Mallet can help refresh your hand when in a tight spot, being especially valuable in an Exodia deck.
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With these cards added to your deck you should hopefully have an easier time summoning Exodia, but do keep in mind it’s a risky strategy. If you’re looking for nothing but victory I’d recommend a more meta deck, however summoning Exodia is very rewarding to pull off for Yu-Gi-Oh players dedicated enough.
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