Basic Advice in Creating a Deck (2 of 5)
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Deck Types

   Now that you picked your favorite cards, let’s determine your deck type. Deck type is the basic strategy of your entire deck.
There are generally four types:

1) Beat-Down
   This Deck Type is common to most beginning duelists. The strategy is to lower or "beat-down" your opponent’s Life Points with strong monsters. Obviously, you need monsters, but also you need cards that protect or enhance your monsters. For example, a protection card would be a "Mirror Force" Trap Card and an enhancement card would be an "Axe of Despair" Magic/Spell Card that increases the ATK of your monster.

The quickest way to defeat your opponent using a Beat-Down deck is having cards that destroy his Monster, Magic/Spell and Trap Cards. You don’t want to attack with 2 "Summoned Skull"'s and then have a "Mirror Force" Trap Card waiting for you.

"Resurrection" Cards like "Monster Reborn", "Call of the Haunted", "Premature Burial", "The Shallow Grave", is also a definite must.

Some of the staple or most common Magic/Spell and Trap Cards in Beat-Down decks are the following:
- Raigeki
- Dark Hole
- Change of Heart
   - Harpie’s Feather Duster
  - Heavy Storm
  - Mystical Space Typhoon
   - Mirror Force
  - Waboku
  - Call of the Haunted		   - Premature Burial
  - Monster Reborn
 

   Another important tip is to keep the number of high-level monsters low, even the Rulebook recommends it. Generally, having five or six high-level monsters is good enough. My recommendation is having one or two Level 7 or higher Monsters, and three or four Level 5-6 Monsters. Level 5-6 Monsters are quick to tribute rather than Level 7 or higher Monsters. Level 4 monsters of ATK 1900 or more is also recommended for quick attackers.

   However, if you like high-level monsters, there’s an alternative to tribute. Duelists who use high-level monsters Special Summon them onto the field. A common combo is using Magic/Spell or Trap Cards that require you to discard a card, and then using a "Resurrection" Card to bring your high-level monster from the Graveyard to the field.

   For example, on your turn, you use "Tribute to the Doomed".This requires you to discard a card from your hand and then you can destroy a monster on the field. Let’s say, you discard "Blue-Eyes White Dragon". After using "Tribute to the Doomed", you use "Monster Reborn", and bring "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" on the field. This combo not only brings "Blue-Eyes" onto the field, but also destroys your opponent’s monster blocking it.

IMPORTANT:
There are restrictions in using "Resurrection" cards on certain monsters that are discarded from a duelist's hand to the Graveyard.
Here's a list of some Monster Cards that have "Resurrection" restrictions:
- All Fusion Monsters
- All Ritual Monsters
- All Toon Monsters
- Gate Guardian (MRD-000)
- Red-Eyes Metal Dragon (FMR-001)
- Harpie Lady Sisters (MRD-009)

If you summon the monster according to the instructions on the card, and if it is destroyed at some point during the duel, only then can you use any of the "Resurrection" Cards to bring it back from the Graveyard.

a) Beat-Down ~ Theme
   A sub-category of Beat-Down is a Theme Deck. A Theme Deck is using Monsters of either the same Monster Type (Fiend, Spellcaster, Dragon, etc.) or the same Attribute (Dark, Light, Earth, etc.). Card recommendations for General Beat-Down Decks are the same for Theme Decks.
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