Red-Eyes Guide Published on May 27, 2019 by buns Updated on November 27, 2019 New Engine and Techs

Overview

Red-eyes is a control-oriented deck that focuses on controlling the board with by sending equip cards to the graveyard to negate any targeting effects from your opponent. Its latest support was from the Return Of The Red Eyes structure deck released in May 2019, including very strong cards like and , as well as the box that contains which is used both as an equip card to your and a searcher for any Red-Eyes card.

Skills

: This is the preferred skill for Red-Eyes in the current meta as it stops the tempo of a lot of decks such as Darklords helping u gain board advantage on the following turn and potentially OTKing them turn 3, it’s also powerful vs Invoked decks as it stops from being able to banish materials from the graveyard.

Sample Decks

Core Cards

Red-Eyes Slash Dragon (3x): The boss monster of the deck. It’s the best target we have for at the moment and its effect is really strong at negating the targeting from most meta decks right now. Red-Eyes Fusion (3x): This is your key card to summoning your boss monster and It’s the main reason this deck became viable again. It has a drawback that you can’t normal summon the turn you use it (but you can still set) so you should remember this effect while playing this deck.

Red-Eyes Insight (2-3x): One of the older Red-Eyes support cards we got during the Super Joey event over Two years ago, but can still be obtained through tickets. It allows you to search any Red-Eyes spell/trap by sending a Red-Eyes monster to the grave. It’s mainly used to send a to the grave then search out a Black Metal Dragon (2-3x): This is a new support card that we received from the “Blazing Rose” box. It gives the deck a very powerful turn 1 by making your 3,400 attack bigger than any other boss monster while also giving your the ability to negate targeting cards. It also has another strong effect to search any Red-Eyes card when it’s sent from the field to the graveyard so if dies it can search out another fusion.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2x): The main reason for using this card is just to be fodder for so you can summon your , you can also summon it with . Power of the Guardians(3x): Power Of The Guardians is very strong with as it provides an attack/defense boost to get over boss monsters as well as giving you protection from destruction either by battle or card effect from cards such as and

A/D Changer (1x): A/D Changer can be really versatile as you can use it to switch your opponent’s monster to defense like to kill it with , and can also be used to flip your opponent’s defense monster face-up to do a lot of damage and put pressure on your opponent. D.D. Warrior (0-1x): This card is very similar to except it banishes through battle in general, it can be very good against Subterrors as they are kept in defense where can’t banish them.

D.D. Assailant (0-2x): D.D. Assailant is similar to except it needs to be destroyed by battle to activate, it’s not as relevant as most of the meta decks usually end their turn 1 with their main boss monster in defense stopping you from banishing it. Red-Eyes Retro Dragon (0-1x): This card can be really strong at recovering your if it gets destroyed. It can also be fodder for in case you already sent a to the grave and need to search out a fusion.

Red-Eyes Wyvern (1x): A good Red-Eyes monster that helps your recovery in case your is destroyed. It’s your main target to send with to help you re summon your

Tech Cards

Cosmic Cyclone: Cosmic Cyclone is a very strong card in the meta to deal with backrow as this deck doesn’t have any inherent backrow removal. Forbidden Chalice: Forbidden Chalice is really helpful for Red-Eyes in the current meta as it stops from searching as well as negating from flipping your facedown before you get to equip cards to it.

Necrovalley: Necrovalley shuts down a lot of graveyard heavy decks such as Darklords, Crystrons, and it can be very useful against Invoked decks. If you can get an equipped before activating you can protect it from removal cards like . Offerings to the Doomed: Offerings to the Doomed is a great disruption card against multiple meta decks like blackwings and Darklords.it also allows you to OTK crystrons under Sealed Tombs if you have a fusion with a or in hand.

Mage Power: Another strong equip as an alternative to . It helps the deck OTK as a equipped with a warrior and has exactly 4000 attack. Red-Eyes Spirit: A strong revival card that special summons any Red-Eyes monster from the grave that can be searched through . It can bring your back similar to in case it gets destroyed.

Treacherous Trap Hole: Another semi-limited card that can win duels on its own. You have to remember you can’t use this when you have other traps in the grave so don’t fill your deck with traps if you want to use this card. Cameraclops: Cameraclops is an alternative to that can destroy most big threats for without having to lose your monster in doing so. Its main weakness is not being able destroy set monsters like to allow OTKs, and its effect isn’t useful turn 1 since it only activates when it attacks.

General Tips:

If you’re fighting an Ishizu, you should always activate if you’re going first as most of them would be blackwing decks that can force your negate with then revive it with to OTK.

If you feel a delay from your opponent (hour glass would light up when activating turn 2) you should equip first before . And if you’re vs Elementsabers with turn 1 it’s better to activate first as you can negate him right away if he tries to flip your slash down, while would just get sent to the graveyard without resolving its effect. Another thing is using your optimally; if you have a (and your opponent doesn’t have any backrow) it’s better to keep in the graveyard over equipping it to use it at a later point to flip a small monster up and go for game by attacking it, or simply to change big monster threats to defense such as .

A small final tip is that you can still set monsters the turn you use , so you can set a then activate on your monster and theirs to search out a to OTK turn 3. this comes up often vs decks like crystrons and plays around which some crystron decks are using.

Matchups

Blackwings

This matchup is very coin-flip reliant where the player going second is likely to win. However you have some tools to survive by activating turn 1 and disruptive backrow like and . If you have a turn 1 with you should summon it in defense turn 1 otherwise with multiple would do over 4000 damage and kill you.

Side Deck/Tech Choices:

Crystrons

Crystrons are very annoying for this deck because they can easily your equips then follow up with another synchro play to kill your . is also very annoying when paired with to switch your slash into defense, as he stops from gaining counters when attacking into it. The key to winning this matchup is activating and destroying their field with either or then OTKing on the following turn. Remember that protects their crystron monsters from targeting cards if it’s in the graveyard so don’t try to pop them unless they’re under .

Side Deck/Tech Choices:

Darklords

Darklords is one of the best matchups for Red-Eyes due to slowing them down a lot and equipped being bigger than any Darklord monster as well as being able to negate . is also very good in this matchup to force out or getting rid of to stop their loop of resummoning their whole board. If darklords have a in their graveyard it’s better to wait for them to try to copy it then chain or on their monster otherwise they’d search and protect themselves, but that play is mainly used if you’ve used and able to OTK on the following turn or get them under 1000 lifepoints. Otherwise it’s better to hold on to the backrow until the right moment when they can’t come back after it or if they negate your then tribute it for .

Side Deck/Tech Choices:

Invoked

There are multiple invoked variants running around so I’ll just separate each one in this section. overall most invoked decks are favored for red eyes due to making annoying to handle as well as being a very strong card against . Invoked ElementSabers: It’s better to save in this matchup for or if possible and not on unless you didn’t open any equips. It’s also important to time your correctly. If you don’t have any protective backrow or your isn’t equipped by when going second you should activate sealed tombs to stop any fusion through play as they can’t banish materials from their graveyard.

Invoked Magician Girls: This matchup can be rather annoying because of negating your but slightly helps with that. A few things to note: second effect to special summon other magician girls would miss timing if you chain other cards to it like or on her searching effect. Another thing is if you’re going to attack into when there are other spellcasters in the graveyard activate first so it’s unable to special summon other spellcasters and halve Slash’s attack or just use on her without getting halved.

Invoked Roids: This new invoked variant starting being popular due to the release of from the tour guide bingo event, roids struggle a lot vs an equipped onto your as their only out to it is double or multiple + boost. A general tip is to just keep that 1 slash on board vs them with any form of backrow set until you’ve taken care of at least 1 of their then activate and summon the second to go for game. Similarly to the invoked e-saber matchup if you don’t have any equips going second you should activate defensively.

A final note vs invoked decks in general is if they’re under and you chain to on their monsters the fusion would be canceled and invocation would just be sent to the graveyard.

Side Deck/Tech Choices:

Ritual Beasts:

This matchup is overall favored for ritual beasts if played correctly but depends on the techs they’re playing, the most popular build right now uses with tech cards like , , and . It’s not worth it playing around lava as they’d just draw into or first and then bounce your Slash with , so just summon 2 ASAP and grind them out before they can draw their outs. Another thing to note when going first is to use or on their and then activate on the following turn to OTK with another monster or a second .

Side Deck/Tech Choices:

Final Thoughts

Red-eyes is a very strong deck with one of the best boss monsters we have right now, and can be very oppressive once it gets going with all the negation, revival and destruction cards. It has a big weakness to battle traps so backrow hate is crucial for this deck to have in certain matchups. Overall, this deck can still get a lot of good support cards to boost its strength even more.