If you’re not familiar with the term “Flood Gate,” it’s a word for a card that seeks to shut down an opponent’s gameplay mechanic. It can prevent them from drawing, using cards/effects, or even summoning monsters.
Mainly used in outpost covers like Exodia, some floodgates offer so much power that they see competitive viability. If you can go first and set the right trap gate, you’ve pretty much already won, if your opponent doesn’t have spell/trap removal.
However, keeping track of the best and most meta gates is very important. It will help you figure out what your best deck is vulnerable to, and give you ideas for countering other decks!
So to help you out, I’ve put together a list of the top 10 floodgates in Yu-Gi-Oh!
10. The Demon of Vanity
Most useful in a Monarch deck, Vanity’s Fiend can be placed in any deck that can summon it efficiently. If you can summon this monster on the first turn, your opponent will have very limited options when it’s their turn.
Being unable to Special Summon monsters is an absolute killer, few decks can deal with that without wasting so many resources.
9. Barrier statues
Each attribute has its own barrier statue, which can stop your opponent’s strategy almost completely.
Of course, if your deck contains monsters of the same attribute, you’ll have a bit of a problem.
That rarely happens though, so overall it’s an extremely cheap and easy way to avoid Special Summoning.
8. Mystic Mine
Famous as one of the most hated cards in Yu-Gi-Oh right now, thanks to its ability to completely shut down entire decks.
Opponents need to specifically play spells/traps that can destroy a spell or they will lose the duel outright.
Most commonly used in burnout decks, Mystic Mine is an amazing budget gateway to many decks that don’t rely on monsters.
7. Anti-Spell Fragrance
Another gate to go first. Activating or setting your own spell cards allows you to set the anti-spell fragrance without worrying about being left out. As soon as your opponent draws, flip this Trap card over to prevent their Spell activations. Against spell-heavy decks like sky strikers Y true drakeFew gate cards will be as effective as this one!
6. Gozen Party
Since the release of knight mares, many archetypes look for Link to efficiently raise FTK or establish an unbreakable board. Fortunately, Knightmares are all different attributes, so Gozen Match lets you play Yugioh as well.
Of course, not all decks have separate attributes. Many of them, like Blue-Eyes, only use a single attribute, so overall Gozen Match is situational!
5. Skill Drain
The original gate, Skill Drain, provides complete and reliable effect negation across the field. Limited to 1 copy per deck, this card is still so good that it’s a good choice competitively, especially in decks that like to spam high-ATK scouts.
Paying 1,000 health in return is nothing for the control it gives you over the duel.
4. Macrocosm
Macro Cosmos is a card that can win games on its own, against the right decks. How many archetypes, competitive or not, revolve around your graveyard today? Almost all of them. Flipping this card over after your opponent starts combos on him will give you the game right there. Just don’t use it too much against your friends, as they’ll hate dueling with you afterwards!
3. Necrovalley
Of all the field spells in the game, Necrovalley is in a league of its own. you can ignore the gravedigger aspects of this card, as the secondary effects are incredible.
As I mentioned earlier, pretty much every half-decent strategy uses the graveyard, so keeping cards from affecting it is awesome.
A good strategy is to also add An ominous cat in the deck, as it will set any Trap cards from your deck as long as Necrovalley is on the field.
2. Warlord Rivalry
A more reliable Gozen Match (mentioned earlier in this list), Rivalry of Warlords can’t withstand Knightmares but stops Link’s other forms of escalation.
Some archetypes suffer against this Trap card, such as Lightsworn, cubic Y Burning Abyss. H
Having said that, many Knightmare decks are based on Warriors, so Rivalry of Warlords is effective against them as well.
1. Imperial Order
Imperial Order is limited to 1 copy per deck for good reason, it’s unusually strong. Completely stopping all spell and effect cards, this gate will close almost every deck in the game if you can set it up on the first turn.
Sure, it doesn’t give you the option to remove it from the field, but if you’ve already used your best spell cards, you’ll already have a real head start on winning the game!