Images courtesy of KONAMI

Heading Into the Maze of the Master

We’ve had a few weeks to enjoy the new cards from Maze of the Master now. This set hasn’t done much to shake up a meta dominated by ever-present Ryzeal and Maliss decks. Nevertheless, Maze of the Master provides support for a wide range of archetypes from the game’s past. It also introduced a brand new set of “Odion” cards, based on the deck of Marik’s favorite minion.

Let’s take a look at the archetypes supported in Maze of the Master, and weigh how impactful these new cards might be.

The Odion Archetype

Odion was a character in the original Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters anime. He ran a Trap-themed deck that utilized Temple Of The Kings to activate monster Traps like Embodiment of Apophis on the turn he set them. His deck had an Egyptian theme, incorporating monsters like Mystical Beast of Serket and several Anubis-based Trap cards. There isn’t really a tremendous amount of synergy between these old cards. The new support in Maze of the Master transforms these disconnected old cards into a true modern Yu-Gi-Oh! archetype.

The Man With The Mark fetches Temple Of The Kings, or its retrained Continuous Spell counterpart Treasures Of The Kings. It also provides protection for the temple itself, and any Apothis monsters you control. Serket has been reborn as Merciless Scorpion Of Serket, and can now be fused into the Divine Scorpion Beast Of Serket. The Apothis archetype now has a new Trap monster, Apophis The Serpent, and a new Fusion monster, Divine Serpent Apophis.

Even the Egyptian Gods are getting in on the action, like Anubis The Last Judge, the archetype’s boss monster. Dangers Of The Divine provides a means of summoning The Winged Dragon Of Ra which is unfortunately more concerned with recreating an iconic anime scene than it is with being practical.

These new Odion cards are reasonably impressive, but they lack the raw power to dethrone decks like Maliss or Ryzeal from their positions of metagame dominance. Maybe if the ban hammer comes down on cards from those two archetypes, it might get a moment in the sun. If you’re eager for more info about Odion, we’ve already written a full article with an in-depth analysis about this archetype.

A-to-Z

This is an update to a beloved archetype from the Duel Monsters era. Seto Kaiba played X-Head Canon, Y-Dragon Head, and Z-Metal Tank during his iconic showdown with Yugi in the Battle City semi-finals. Contrary to the letters in their names, these cards have absolutely nothing to do with XYZ summoning. Instead, these LIGHT Machines were Union monsters, able to slot onto each other like Equip spells. They were also the game’s first contact-based Fusion monsters, able to be combined without casting Polymerization. V-Tiger Jet and W-Wing Catapult were later added to the archetype in 2005. Then in 2016 A-Assault Core, B-Buster Drake, and C-Crush Wyvern were thrown into this messy mechanical alphabet soup.

Maze of the Master brings us retrained versions of Kaiba’s original three mighty morphin’ machines. X-Cross Cannon, Y-Yare Head, and Z-Zillion Tank offer significantly upgraded effects, compared to their original counterparts. These cards possess modernized searching effects, enabling them to assemble their new combined form XYZ-Hyper Dragon Cannon much more rapidly.

There’s also a new draw spell for the archetype in the form of A-to-Z Energy Load. Union Activation also provides new support for LIGHT Machine Union monsters. Finally, the cards get a truly bizarre new combined fusion in the form of Union Controller. Part reference to Enemy Controller, another card employed by Kaiba during his Battle City duel against Yugi, and part archetypal enabler that fetches relevant Spells and Traps from the deck, while enabling LIGHT Machine monsters to be special summoned.

While robot-dragon-tanks are always cool, in practice they can be quite fiddly. Unfortunately, XYZ-Hyper Dragon Cannon doesn’t have its name treated as XYZ-Dragon Cannon. The word “Hyper” in its name prevents it from being used to fuse A-to-Z-Dragon Buster Cannon or even VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon. Unfortunately nonbo-ing with the most powerful recent additions to the A-Z archetype majorly hamstrings the viability of these new Union Machines. 

Tachyon

The Tachyon Dragons are an XYZ-based archetype of level 8 LIGHT Dragon monsters. They were used by Mizar in Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL, and overlap with the Galaxy Eyes archetype. 

The most exciting new addition here is Seventh Tachyon, an incredibly versatile searcher that can slot into any XYZ-focused deck. It reveals a Number XYZ monster from the Extra Deck with a value between 101 and 107, then you add a monster to your hand with the same type, or the same attribute, as the revealed card. The card then XYZ locks you for the turn. Every attribute, apart from WIND, is represented by the Number Monsters from 101 to 107. They also encompass six different attributes, which means that Seventh Tachyon is certain to fetch something useful.

It’s not just Seventh Tachyon though; the archetype gets several fun new toys. Schwarzschild Infinity Dragon is a level 8 that can special summon itself, alongside another level 8 LIGHT or DARK Dragon, enabling quick and easy XYZ summoning. Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Primal is a very versatile card, serving as a searcher for archetypal Spells and Traps, an overlay unit that can be slotted under any Dragon XYZ monster, and a 3000 ATK threat in its own right.

Tachyon Cloudragon provides a means of recurring Tachyon XYZ monsters, while overlaying itself beneath them, and of searching out Tachyon main deck monsters in the early game. Divine Golden Shadow Dragon Dragluxion is a helpful XYZ monster that stacks itself, and all of its XYZ materials, beneath a Rank 8 XYZ Dragon monster. Dragluxion supports the powerful suite of Tachyon threats in the extra deck, rather than attempting to rival them.

As well as Seventh Tachyon, there are two new pieces of Tachyon spell/trap support. Lord of the Tachyon Galaxy is a devious trap that resets the opponent’s progress for the turn by returning the monsters they’ve summoned to the deck. Meanwhile, Tachyon Spiral of Destruction provides a small selection of beneficial effects. Seventh Tachyon does steal the show here, but it’s an evergreen card that doesn’t draw players toward the archetype. Tachyon players aren’t getting forgotten, but their most exciting new card will see more play in other more popular archetypes. 

Trickstar

Trickstars are an infamous burn archetype based on fae idol singers. They were used by Blue Angel in Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS, although it’s generally considered that the writers never really let the cards show off their full potential in that show. Trickstars saw far more success in real life, with Chia Ching Wang incorporating them into his deck that won the 2018 World Championship.

The new support here ramps up the archetype’s removal options. There are some new burn effects that also destroy opponent’s monsters, like Maiden of Blue Tears, and Trickstar Colchica. There’s also a removal effect that’s triggered by effect damage, namely Trickstar Noble Angel. Trickstar Band Drumatis is a new Fusion monster that can drop the Attack Points of an opponent’s monster to 0 when they take effect damage. Then there are two small utility monsters, Trickstar Aqua Angel and Trickstar Hoody, that protect your Link monsters and search up archetypal fusion spells respectively.

Speaking of archetypal fusion spells, Trickstar Diffusion enables Trickstar monsters in the graveyard to be fused, and then immediately allows a Trickstar monster to be Link Summoned. Not only that, but it can also be banished from the graveyard to make opponents attack a specific Trickstar monster. This keeps the many smaller members of the archetype safe. This packs huge value into a single card, although since it’s a Trap it can’t go off straight away.

This support isn’t enough to push the Trickstars back into the meta-relevance that they once enjoyed, but maybe they can have a few moments back in the spotlight at locals.

Clear

The Clear archetype is a collection of DARK attribute creatures encased in crystals. They were used by Yusuke Fujiwara in the undubbed fourth season of the GX anime back in 2007. The cards Clear World and Clear Vice Dragon were printed in 2009, then the archetype received no further cards for more than 15 years. Now Maze of the Master is finally giving us the rest of the Clear cards. 

The archetypal field spell Clear World penalizes players with a variety of negative effects based on the attributes of the monsters they have in play. While Clear monsters themselves are all DARK, they all make their controller immune to the effects of Clear World, meaning only the opponent will be effected. Five new cards have been printed for the archetype:

• Clear Wall afflicts the opponent with every single penalty that Clear World has to offer, regardless of the attributes of monsters they have in play, so long as you control a level 7 or higher Clear monster. It also fetches a Clear monster when it hits the field and prevents them from being destroyed in battle.
• Clear Phantom can fetch cards that care about Clear World from the deck, ensuring that you can quickly get both Clear World and Clear Wall online.
• Clear Vicious Knight can disable the effects of the opponent’s special summoned monsters, and gains Attack Points equal to the highest original ATK amongst monsters they control.
• Clear Rage Golem enables Clear monsters to attack directly and has a small burn effect.
• Clear Cube provides an additional Normal Summon for Clear Monsters and searches out a Clear monster when an opponent’s card causes it to leave the field.

This archetype still feels like it’s stuck in 2009. Clear World’s penalties are certainly annoying, but they’re too conditional. Both Clear World and Clear Wall need to be up, alongside a level 7+ Clear monster, meaning there are far too many hoops to jump through to get the effect online. The Clear cards also fail to meaningfully protect themselves, making it far too easy to disrupt and destroy them. Contrary to their name, the prospects for this deck are deeply unclear.

Performage

Not to be confused with the Performapal archetype, Performages are a series of circus-based Spellcasters. Dennis McField (or Mackfield for those who watched the sub) used them to entertain opponents in Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. Maze of the Master gives the Performages new Pendulum, XYZ, and Fusion monsters. A variety of new Performages are coming to the circus, but unfortunately, it’s far from the greatest show on earth.

Performages Fire Dancer, Water Dancer, and Wind Drainer, and are the new pendulum cards. Fire Dancer provides a neat searching ability, alongside a less useful ability to have Performages inflict piercing damage. Water Dancer can change the opponent’s monster into Defense Position, and can fetch polymerization. This helps to bring out the new Performage Fusion monster Performage Trapeze Witch. Wind Drainer manipulates the levels of Performage monsters. This helps summon their old Rank 5 XYZ monster Performage Trapeze High Magician, and the new Performage Shadow Maker.

Finally, the new spell Rank-Up-Magic Magical Force can transform a rank 4 XYZ Spellcaster in the graveyard (e.g., Performage Trapeze Magician into a rank 5 XYZ Spellcaster from the Extra Deck).

The Performages had their time at center stage back in 2016 when Pendulum-focused archetypes had more room to breathe. Performage Plushfire, one of their more impactful cards, was then banned and later nerfed by an errata. Unfortunately, the Peformages have been lurking offstage ever since, and it looks like these new cards aren’t going to be enough to bring them out for an encore. 

Allure Queen

The Allure Queens are a GX-era archetype of LV monsters. LV, or “level,” monsters start off weak and then gradually transform into stronger and stronger forms. As well as leveling up, the Allure Queens have a second gimmick where they equip opponents’ monsters to protect themselves from destruction in battle. Allure Queen LV3 has 500 Attack Points, and can only equip monsters level three or below; Allure Queen LV5 has 1000 Attack Points and can equip monsters level five or below; and Allure Queen LV 7 has 1500 ATK and can equip monsters of any level.

Since 2006, the Allure Queens have sat around gathering dust. They weren’t strong in their time, and years of power creep have done them no favors. Chaos Allure Queen, printed last year, did little to reverse their misfortunes. In 2019, a Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS character, appropriately named Queen, played an Allure Queen deck. The cards she used were anime-exclusive, but now Maze of the Master has brought them into the TCG. They only have three new cards, but each of them does a lot of work.

• Golden Allure Queen is a new boss monster for the archetype. This sparkling queen can be Link Summoned by using three Spellcasters as link materials, and when Link Summoned successfully, she brings another Allure Queen into play from the deck or the graveyard. She then gains 1500 attack until the end of the next turn. She has a once-per-turn destruction effect that also prevents Allure Queens being destroyed by card effects. Most notably though, she turns the signature equip ability of the Allure Queens into a Quick Effect. This makes them much more frustrating to destroy, since the moment the monster equipped to them gets destroyed, they can steal another card to replace it. 
• Allure Palace is a new archetypal field spell. It boosts the ATK and DEF of all of its controller’s Spellcasters by 500. Thrice per turn, at the cost of discarding a card, it can bring an Allure Queen from the deck into your hand, or onto the opponent’s side of the field. Why would you want to give your Allure Queens to your opponent? Well if you control an Allure Queen, you can equip it with the Allure Queen that you’ve just handed over. Finally, Allure Palace lets you tribute an equipped Allure Queen monster you control to Special Summon a Spellcaster with 1500 or less ATK (i.e., any Main Deck Allure Queen) from your deck. This gets Allure Queen LV 7 into play, and Allure Queen LV 3 and LV 5 into your graveyard. This combos potently with…
• Allure Dance is a Continuous Spell with a variety of effects. It works as a starter, by fetching any Allure Queen, or a copy of Allure Palace. It makes the equip ability of the Allure Queens significantly better by granting them the ATK of their equipment. Its final effect brings back as many Allure Queen monsters with different names as possible from the graveyard. This resurrects the cards dumped there by Allure Palace and sets you up to Link Summon Golden Allure Queen.

Despite only getting three new cards, the Allure Queens have done pretty well for themselves. They’ve gone from a forgotten afterthought into an archetype that can rush into play and steal the opponent’s best monsters. These sorcerer queens won’t be top-eighting any major tournaments, but since none of them cost more than a dollar, it’s worth trying them out.

Maze of the Master Meta

Maze of the Master is not a tremendously powerful set. Its flagship Odion cards are strong, but not quite powerful enough to rise to the top in the extremely cutthroat world of  2025 Yu-Gi-Oh!. Not every archetype needs to be meta-definingly powerful, and Maze of the Master has breathed new life into so many strategies. From beloved archetypes like the A-Z mechs to some former top contenders like the Trickstars, to completely obscure nonsense from 2006 like the Allure Queens.

These seven archetypes aren’t even the only ones to get new support in Maze of the Master. A scattered selection of one-off cards were printed for everything from Exodia, to Ancient Gear, to Gimmick Puppet. If you’re a tournament grinder looking to maximize on power, there’s not a lot here to interest you outside of Seventh Tachyon. If you’re a fan of any of the old archetypes this set is dusting off though, it may be worth wandering into the Maze.

Wanna learn more about Yu-Gi-Oh!? Check out our guide to every summoning method here.