The Best Cards For OTKs In Yu-Gi-Oh!

Summary

• Some cards enable one-turn kills (OTK).
• Examples include Primal Seed, Armed Samurai Ben Kei, and Butterfly Dagger Elma.
• OTK combos exploit cards like Magical Explosion, Morphing Jar, and Substitoad to secure wins.

The Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG gives players access to thousands of cards that all interact with each other in different ways. While some can be used to boost the ceiling of compatible decks, others have been too efficient at enabling some legal but frustrating plays.

These are strategies that can kill you in one turn, commonly referred to as OTK. Of course, with every OTK strategy, there is always one card that helps enable it. Some are balanced and intentional, while others allow some combos to be too deadly, not even allowing your opponent to make any plays before the duel is over. So prepare to play some solitaire.

10

Ryoku Guardian

A Duel Monsters Themed OTK

If you love Gate Guardians, then Ryoku Guardian is a must-have in your deck. This is because it is easily searchable through the archetype and is your ticket to a one-hit kill.

If you have a Gate Guardian Monster on your side of the field, you can use this to halve your opponent’s life points, then add it as attack for one of your Gate Guardians. If that monster could already beat over another one of your opponent’s monsters, then an attack results in a game over for them.

9

Primal Seed

An OTK From Chaos Format

Primal Seed is an important element in a one-turn burn strategy, since it can be used more than once per turn and can fetch another copy of itself. With Black Luster Soldier or Chaos Emperor Dragon on the field, you can use Primal Seed to get two cards from your banish pile and add them to your hand.

With the right setup, you play Primal Seed to get another Primal Seed and a burn card from your banish pile. Use the burn card to hit your opponent’s life points, while you have another card that banishes cards instead of sending them to the grave. Doing this, you can infinitely loop the same cards over and over again until your opponent has no life points left.

8

Cyber Stein

Proved That Life Points Don’t Matter

Paying half or more of your life points to activate an effect once seemed like a massive price to pay. However, cards like Cyber-Stein proved that it could be worth it just to secure victory. Cyber-Stein lets you pay 5000 to bring out a Fusion Monster with very few restrictions.

This is when you combo it with Megamorph to double that monster’s attack now that your life points are lower than your opponent’s. This can net you a one-turn kill, but it wasn’t the only useful strategy. Cyber Dragon Fusions could also be brought out and powered up using Limiter Removal.

7

Armed Samurai Ben Kei

Equip Cards Galore

Armed Samurai – Ben Kei’s ability to attack multiple times for each Equip Spell attached to it makes it the perfect monster to dump these kinds of spells on. While Equip Spells have never been the most powerful, attaching it with multiple attack-boosting Spells can let you win the game in a clean hit.

Essentially, Armed Samurai – Ben Kei just increases in power and gets an additional attack. Then it’s a matter of bashing your opponent over and over until you win.

6

Butterfly Dagger Elma

A Broken Dagger Equals A Broken OTK Method

There are many cards in an Exodia one turn kill, or even a first turn kill, deck. However, none pose as much of a threat as Butterfly Dagger Elma. When this card is destroyed, it comes back to the hand. With no once per turn clause, this means it can repeatedly do this in a single turn.

With Gearfried the Iron Knight and Magical Library on the field, Butterfly Dagger Elma could abuse the combination’s ability to keep drawing cards. If your opponent can’t stop you, it usually guarantees that you can get all the Exodia pieces. Of course, this also got it banned.

5

Evigishki Mind Augus

Winning With Ritual Monsters

If you came face to face with Evigishki Mind Augus and have no way to interrupt the combo that follows, then you might as well forfeit and move on to game two. This is because the OTK combo would take more than 40 minutes to perform.

Evigishki Mind Magus would be able to recycle cards back into the deck when Summoned. With no once per turn clause, you could get cards into your hand that force your opponents to deck out or burn. Your choice. Of course, this recycling also allowed it to be Summoned multiple times per turn.

4

Magical Explosion

Make Use Of Every Spell In The Graveyard

At 200 damage for each Spell Card in your graveyard, it would take dumping 40 cards for this Trap to wipe out your opponent’s life points in one go. However, since you can have up to 60 cards in a deck, all it really takes to see this work is enough draw power.

With cards that can let you dig deep into your deck and others that can search out other copies of themselves, you could eventually get to Magical Explosion. If this was your first turn, then the game is pretty much over once this card is set.

3

Morphing Jar

Dump Your Hand, Draw, Repeat

Morphing Jar could potentially cause your opponent to deck out, since it forces players to discard their hand and draw a new set. Combined with any other card that could help you flip it over and over again, you could make sure your opponent has nothing left to draw.

This strategy, however, got worse over time, since graveyard effects have become more common and hand traps could potentially stop you from performing the game-winning combo. Regardless, it serves as a nice piece of Yu-Gi-Oh! history.

2

Substitoad

The Power Of Frogs

Substitoad could potentially allow you to cycle through your whole deck by tributing a frog to get a frog. As long as you have one other monster to start the chain, Substitoad could tribute it and get a frog from the deck. Then tribute that frog to get another frog.

To make this lethal, you would need a copy of Ronintoadin in the graveyard and a copy of Mass Driver on the field. This is like Catapult Turtle where Ronintoadin can keep coming back by banishing one of the frogs in the grave. Then Mass Driver just keeps tributing Ronintoadin and inflicting damage until your opponent is no more.

1

Magical Scientist

Taking Advantage Of Free Summons

Magical Scientist is busted in a variety of different ways. It can get bodies on the board as long as you can pay life points to do so. This card is the most problematic piece of the Catapult Turtle method of wiping out your opponent in one turn.

All you need to do is get Magical Scientist to spam monsters while Catapult Turtle essentially launches them at your opponent to deal burn damage. Eventually, you’re dealing more damage to your opponent’s life points than you’re paying and you win.