Preparing for Round 2: Side-Decking

For the tournament player, Side-decking is a term almost all know, yet fewer seem to understand its implications and functions. I look through many deck lists, and see several cards in the Side that I feel either should not be there or are best served as other cards to help take down other match-ups. It causes me to wonder if people truly know what they are doing when making a Side. Here, I will strip away the mystery.

First, you need a deck. When your deck is finished, tested, and consistent in fulfilling your strategy, you need to prepare a Side.

Some seem to think the Side is meant to help slice advantages by Meta decks. This is somewhat true, but not entirely. The Side is meant to help you crush the advantages of the match-ups that really hurt you. For example, if you run Six Samurai, mass monster removal via effects or simply Anti-Meta Stun cards like Thunder King Rai-Oh are a real problem.

This is where the Side comes in.

First, before you just throw in cards, carefully think of what these bad match-ups draw on for strength. Using the above deck as an example, Anti-Meta uses few cards to make a big field presence. Cards such as Dimensional Fissure and Royal Oppression can stop you in your tracks as a Samurai player. Depending on the build, their deck can also carry cards like Elemental Hero Neos Alius with Gemini Spark for added annoyance. So, what to do?

Second, think upon the weaknesses of such a deck that can compliment your strengths. All of the Six Samurai are Warrior-type. All of their monsters are different types. There is a single card that can take 2-3 slots in your Side just to help against this match and any deck that revolves around playing different Types of monsters: Rivalry of Warlords.

This card forbids players from controlling more than one single Type of monster. It even wipes the field until each controls only one Type. This can be devastating if they have a face-up Thunder King, Doomcaliber Knight and King Tiger Wanghu on their field.

Now, they tend to have plenty of face-up backfield. The Six Samurai - Kamon can take a single slot in your Side to deal with all of that. He is very easy to retrieve with all the Samurai deck search cards. Kamon will also help with Gravekeepers or any deck that likes face-up backfield.

Finally, you need to think on what they might side against you. Many side in Kinetic Soldier or Puppet Plant. While Puppet Plant is hard to stop, you can do so by Siding 2-3 Dimensional Fissure. Puppet Plant cannot be used when that card is in play. For Kinetic Soldier, Main-decking or Siding 2 Dimensional Prison can get that threat out of the way easily. Finally, Siding 2 Smashing Ground can deal with Thunder King Rai-Oh when they drop it their first turn.

In summary, save slots for the matches that hurt you, not the ones you go even with or just plain annihilate. Unless you are using Samurai, then you need 3 Kinetic Soldier in Side to give every possible advantage against another Samurai player. Additionally, try not to seclude slots to one match-up only.

For example, if you want to rock Plants and Samurai both, side in Chain Disappearance. Plants lose their Tuners forever. Samurai lose Kagemusha forever. No more Synchro problems. This also deals with all the other little monsters that cause trouble in all match-ups.

Try to keep your Side as malleable as you can so that you can Side as hard as you can, every time you run into something unfavorable.

That about does it.

Nice explanation of siding and using sams as an example to back it up.

This is a really good article.

Being a prefers-pictures-person, I think it could be better if there were videos of this in practice. :O Not because it isn't clear in the article (I don't play six sams but I understand a lot of this clearly), but if you're only playing on DN, then you're really not practicing side decking that much. All the help you can get to support the skill is needed. Grammar and prose wise it's very well done, imo.

I give it a 9.5/10.


I don't know if it would be better to use DN or to use a real-life example for this, but I'd guess the latter. I would keep editing the article with any further information you can.

Edit: A good thing for additional information would be "Preparing for Round 3". What do you do when the element of surprise is almost entirely gone and you're merely predicting yout opponent and trying to out think him/her?

Good read, I was waiting for a side decking article, that is my weakest point in matches, I will take your advice!

good read, I really needed to work on my side deck, and this was informative

a +1 to you

I think I'll make this an updated article that will grow into a guide of how to do suggested things. I'll update within the next few days.

Very nice article. Before I participated in my first tournament I never side deck.

Some people just don't understand that siding is what can help you win or screw you over. If you just side the things you didn't have space for you're screwed. If you side for match ups your weak against and match ups you know you'll see a lot then your in good shape. It's than simple.

You forgot about plants. D-fissure won't work that well. Try chain destruction.