New Player Guide: Picking your Ace

So, you've just started playing Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duel. You must be wondering: "What Ace Monster should I pick?". Well Look no further, this guide will quickly run through each of the Ace Monsters you can pick from in the beginning of the game, to best inform your ever-important early-game decision. Before we start you should also check out our new player guide so you have everything you need to start the game!

Dark Magician

Dark Magician is all about casting a lot of spells, using Skills like Wizardry to gain a bunch of ATK on your monsters and dealing a bunch of Damage with Master Skill (Dark Magician) . Unfortunately this deck is a little tricky to run properly given how you need to put both Spells and Monsters that benefit from Spells in your deck, which is especially hard to do as a new player given the lower quality of free-to-play Spell Cards.

Blue-Eyes White Dragon

Master Skill (Blue-Eyes White Dragon) simply destroys a monster on Summon, which is a great ability to have at any stage of the game. This combined with the fact that Blue-Eyes doesn't need any particular type of card for synergy means that you can just put your best cards you have access, making Blue-Eyes White Dragon one of the best Ace Monsters a new player can choose.

Elemental HERO Neos

Loading... is all about constantly summoning itself over and over again over the course of a few turns. Unfortunately, most players want at least two if not three Skill Slots on their Neos to play it optimally, making it a little too expensive for most new players without a lot of patience for rerolling.

Ojama King

Ojama King's Master Skill can completely lock 1 player from summoning monsters for one turn, essentially ending the game for that player if timed correctly. Unfortunately, because of its Summon Requirement and complete lack of usable offensive stats (0 ATK). Ojama King is probably a bit too difficult to use to be a good ace choice.

Stardust Dragon

Stardust Dragon is all about Level 3 and below monsters, letting you add them back to your hand whenever they get Destroyed. Unfortunely, if you use Master Skill (Stardust Dragon) you gain the Summon Requirement that is very difficult to fulfil with Level 3 monsters, making it a little too tricky to play effectively, especially as a new player.

Red Dragon Archfiend

Red Dragon Archfiend's Master Skill destroys all Defense Position Monsters at the end of the Battle Phase. You can use this to make a fairly effective aggressive strategy that is easy to pull off. Its summon requirement is the same as Loading... 's but you can use Level 4 monsters instead, making it a solid Ace Monster for new players.

Number 39: Utopia

Utopia is an Xyz Monster that requires two Level 4 monsters to summon. It's all about making Utopia win combat to gain stacks of ATK Debuff , then using a bunch of cards like Loading... to force monsters into ATK Position to use those Debuffs. The fact that it's Level 4-based gives you access to an effective pool of monsters, making Utopia a solid choice for an Ace Monster.

Number 17: Leviathan Dragon

Similar to Utopia, Leviathan Dragon requires two Level 3 monsters to summon, and gives every monster you control the Focus Skill, which boosts your ATK every turn. Since Level 3 monsters are inherently weaker than Level 4 monsters, Leviathan Dragon is a little harder to build effectively for new players, but when combined with other monsters with the Focus Skill, Leviathan Dragon can be a decent choice.

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon focuses on Pendulum Summoning. This summoning mechanic revolves around the Pendulum (Blue) and Pendulum (Red) Skills in order to summon high-level monsters for no tribute. While Odd-Eyes is incredibly powerful when Pendulum Summoned, since there are so few Pendulum Monsters in the game right now, and half of them are Super Rare, Odd-Eyes will probably be a bit too expensive for most new players.

Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir

Bloom Diva is a very defensive Ace Monster, using LP Gain effects from Skills like Healer in order to build a big wall of Defense. Unfortunately, since Bloom Diva requires Fairy-Type monsters to Fusion Summon, and 4 of those are Super Rare, new players might find Bloom Diva a little too difficult to summon to make it worth the Ace Monsters slot.

Firewall Dragon

Firewall Dragon focuses on Link Summoning, using Link Monsters and monsters with Link Arrow in order to gain various effects. While this strategy can be super powerful when pulled off, too many Link Monsters and Link Arrow monsters are high rarity, making Firewall Dragon a little too inaccessible for new players.

Trickstar Holly Angel

Trickstar Holly Angel revolves around the Snipe keyword, which deals a bunch of damage to each of your opponents. While there are generally more effective strategies than Holly Angel, there are just enough monsters with Snipe to make it a playable strategy for new players.

Sevens Road Magician

Sevens Road Magician focuses on the Inventor Skill, which gives random Skills on Summon, gaining a bunch of ATK in the process. While the randomness of the Inventor skill might be a little off-putting for most players. Sevens Road Magician can be an decent late-game choice for new players.

Multistrike Dragon Dragias

Multistrike Dragon Dragias is an aggressive strategy that focuses on monsters with the Extra Attack Skill, which boosts the ATK of monsters attacking directly. You can build an effective aggressive strategy that's fairly easy to build for new players.