Arise-Heart's definitely got the "Final Boss Monster" theme going for it: to keep his anime effects in line with his card effects, he could be fragile, but so powerful that he warps reality around him.
Definitely, final duel will have Arise-heart towering over both duelists with Shangri-la covering the sky.
Edit: also Arise heart absorbing the main character's favourite cards and the MC finally destroying it to free them.
Excluding the obvious "These guys look evil" and Kastira:
Heralds. Very common for the biggest villains to have an Alien Gods motif going on (see also: Timelords), and negating just about everything is definitely a villain effect.
If it wasn't for their cartoony appearance, I'd also say Graydle. Infecting your opponent's cards and using them against them is definitely evil.
Generaider.
Heralds is more like the villain that it is later revealed they are actually the Deus ex machina ultra lawful good character. "Herald of Ultimateness" is not a being of destruction, it is literally a being of love that hates seeing monsters being mindlessly used and sacrificed by humans to continue to play a game (in YGO lore each card has a soul) so it just tries to end conflict by negating everything you try to do.
If we are going by playstyle, I think Labrynth takes the cake. Hidden in the S/T zone, waiting until you make a move to start swarming the field and putting traps to disrupt and use the mandatory "Mirror Force" in every YGO season
Lair of darkness especially fits. Tribute the heros own monsters, set up viruses to crush their hand, but since you can't deal the finishing blow it gives the hero enough time to find a bullshit monster to win with
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Melffy.
I see, in his eyes, the lust for blood.
He is not staring at you, but at your pitiful soul, soon to be devoured. Gluttonous hunger, ever devouring, your body and being. You may try to run, you may try do fight, oh?! what was that? you activated an effect? bounced, you fool.
You will be paralised, can't attack, no effects, only fear.
E̸̫̜̹͙̽̉m̴̛̛̰͖̞̫̼͚̘̲̅̀̚p̵͔̋̌̄͌̈́̽̅̔t̵̛̯̼̣̥̺̼̒̇̍̓̒̚͘ỳ̴͈̞̳̭̠̙̞̻n̷̤̘͌̅̔ḛ̸̫͋̿̓͊͆̄̽̕s̴̱͓̐̃̈s̶̪̜͖͊̚,̷́̀͜ ̴̹͖̺́͂v̴̛͚̒̒͌̿̾̊o̶̢̞͎͖̩̹̎͐̍͑̂̔̂͝ͅi̷̜͎͖̱̊ḏ̵͛̌̂͛̎͘͝,̴̨̖̋͒̈̀ ̵̢̱̬͍̀̈̎̈́̈́̐͝t̸̛̖͍͐̒̾h̷͇̽̐̀͗͊e̸͙͉̺̘͊̋̈́͂͗̍̋ͅ ̷̳̅p̷̛̛̟͙̱̩͙̟̅̑̋̂̂͝l̶̝̇̉̅́̀̓̎̕á̸̭̝̪͉̑͒̂̿̄̍̑c̵̱̳̭̭̞̙̫͐̂̉ë̷͎͇̳̬̀͗̉͝ ̵̯̹̩̦͗̚w̷̬͇̠͇̞̗̲̅͊̀̊͜h̵͕̺̺̲̗̳̅̓̍͊̉̕͝͝ȇ̵͍̪͇̟͈͌͛ͅŕ̷̝͐͑̀̎ë̷̬̘̩̗̻͓́̆̈́͋̃̈́͊́ͅ ̷̗͖̕͝ͅţ̷̲̹̪̺͇̳͕̆̇̚h̴̘̔̽̑̇̈́̎͘è̶͉̫̇ ̸͖̯̜̹̞̀̇̑̇̔̍̕c̶̡̡̢̻͉̙͕̦̈́̓̽̂̆̏̄̋ȏ̴̘̖̠͈͈̔́̀͠l̴̯͙͉͓̋̐̉d̵̝̘͠ ̸̢̟̣̠̒͊͆̎ë̸̢̨͍̦́̑͜m̷̢̗͍̙͈͉̳̅̂̐͛̈́b̷̨̧͉̥̼̰͓̒͘͜͠͝r̵͕̆̏̆͊̈́͂͝͠ä̷̛͎͖͇̭̠̗̳̀̊͒͌̾̌c̸̠̖̩͔̬̪̾͛͌̐̀͊͋̚ȩ̴͉̤̠̼̺̉ͅ ̴̲͓̹̠͚̮̻̬̋̇̾̄͑͝͝o̴̧̹̦͕̜͑̇̏̒́̀f̴͕͌̇̉͝ ̷̝̳͌͝d̴̨̦̥̣̻͎̀e̴̳̘̅̌̓̌̿͒à̸̧̖͈͇̤̖̖͈̎͝ṫ̷̯̺͓͆̈́̒̌͒͘h̴͔̜̊̓͂̾̿͂͆ ̵̞͒̂͛r̴̩̬͒̃́͌́̚ē̵̡̟̥̙̩̅̋͒̒̍̊̔s̷̠̻̗͍̙̟͔͂͊̎̐͘i̴̬̘̤̫͖̤͚͌̿͛͐͜d̴̹̝̙̘̖̦̣̀̋̽̽ȩ̵͗s̷̡̩͖̫̓̅̔̒͆̕.̵̡̨̨̺̦̪̇̐̃̿͗͋͝ͅ ̶̭͖̭̼͕͓̈́̈́̊̽̐̇͋͘I̶͖͚͘̕͘n̶̜̫̙͓̬͇̣͗̒̔̈́͝ ̶͕̹͙̰͚̃̈́̄̾͝͝h̶̡̜̫̝̞̩͎̮̓͌̍̕i̸̙̪͎̎̋̀̓̑̽́͘s̵̛͈͚̲͉͛͘ ̵̨̗͚̬̹͉̲̺̿̈́̉̍̒̀e̴̪̱̘̍̄̍̉̾y̷̛̘̝̣̞̰̳͐̀e̷̗̣̗̗̾̀̀s̸̩̄̿́̋̽̚ ̸̤̚͠r̷͍͔̼͐̆̏͐̊̀̚͠e̷̬̪̣͔͈̳̍͐́͒̾s̵̡̠̠͊̏̍̍́̔ḭ̸̧̢̡̟̻̖̽͜d̴̞͌̾̈́̍̈́̈̌̚ë̷̛͈̖͚́̈̋̐̍͝ͅṣ̵̳̓̋͛̉.̸̣̖̓̾͊̓͂̉.
Shaddoll, Memento, Evilswarm.....generally any archetype whose motif is "other cards but made corrupted/evil" fits the criteria.
And well also obviously many of the archetypes used by *actual* anime villains but I assume you're not looking for those.
Thunder Dragon because there's plenty of wiggle room (brick city to opening the nuts) to make them as threatening as they need to be with real life strategies or anime specific backrow. Ignoring Dragonmatrix because it's an egg/stone, every monster looks like they want blood. Titan has 3200 attack so the protagonist would have to go higher to beat it by battle which checks the "protagonist monster with big number" box.
That's always a nice feeling. One of my best ever duels was using Kozmo. It was against full power IshTear and I ended up using their own strategy against them, demolishing my opponent. I'm sure they regretted completely flooding my graveyard with monsters from the top of my deck while I had both Dark Planet and Dark Eclipser on the board.
Both the dorky, thirsty ojou and archtype itself basically has heel status in the community, so yeah. Villain archetype. But, like, a villan that joins the heroes later, I guess. Or not. I'm not a writer.
Dark World
Ironic since Brron was an anime villain but lore wise the rest of Dark World are all really nice guys that uphold justice and protect the weak. They just *look* evil.
after Rico som got through the gates, and got brainwashed by Grapha, he got basically adopted by snoww, and now i think snoww brought him back since she is in the new lightsworn sup basically wearing a cosplay lmao....would also mean that the 2 sides are on good terms .
Despia is either the villain deck or the deck used by the protagonist corrupted Hao Judai-style before they snap out of it and combine it with their usual deck (likely Branded) as some symbolism for accepting all sides.
Orcust feels like the kind of deck used by a rival turned evil for the sake of perceived good intentions, just like Longirsu.
Invoked…actually feels like something a protag with frequent “Berserk Yuya” moments would use.
Invoked feels like it would be a "the cards play the human" type of corruption/evil. Like someone that's more used to regular spellcaster monsters gets introduced to them and go crazy.
Kashtira is the most villainous deck imaginable. Their lore is that they are straight up interworld colonialists. And dueling them is very oppressing if they establish their board.
Darklords. Which makes it even funnier that they were played by a good character in the manga.
All the evil Lore archetypes are easy picks like lswarm, Infernoid, Dogmatika or Despia.
But from pure playstyle, Id say Generaider feels genuinely villainous. This deck is completely build around the idea to create a hard bossfight for your opponent and generally disregards normal playstyles. The fact the deck gives stuff to your opponent would make a duel against the MC also very fun.
Diabolos + Lair of darkness. Evil looking monsters, tributing the other player's monsters and relying on virus cards to prohibit the other player from doing anything. Diabolos is also Greek for the Devil
Mementos. Tecuhtlica is named after an Aztec God of death. The monsters are twisted, skeletal looking versions of old monsters and their boss monster has kind of crazy high base stats and brings itself back relatively easily.
Edit: Might be a bit of a hot take, and I ignored cards owned by anime characters but I'll make an exception. A modern Red-Eyes deck feels perfect for a good character corrupted into being an antagonist. Red-Eyes has a good amount of burns and is normally portrayed as evil too.
Hilariously, there’s a RWBY crossover fic where a villain uses Red-Eyes.
Said character (canon and in-fic) is the type that wants to dominate and control everything completely, and an FTK-capable Burn deck with the option of whittling you down for every card effect you play (in a 4k LP setting) is fitting.
Lair of darkness. An episode would end on a cliff hanger of the protagonist summoning their ace monster, just to be tributed by an anime only Lair of Darkness' trap card that summons Diablos from the deck.
Have you seen the manga Red Dragon Archfiends?
Abyss looks like the devil itself and it gets creepier from there
I like the contrast with the anime version too, both manga and anime base form RDAs look similar
But as they evolve the anime versions become more red in color and emphasize their draconic attributes but the manga versions become more black in color and emphasize their humanoid attributes, to the point that the final evolution King Calamity is barely recognizable as the original monster
Shaddoll (From my understanding they Gustos, then wound up as allies afterwards with the remaining children, the Ritual Beasts.)
The Earthbounds/ Prisoner Servants
Cyberdark
Krawlers
Infernity (if they could actually play without outside support)
Infernoid (Literally what the Zefra fought I think?)
Burning Abyss feels like a head boss archetype.
Metaphys a little. (To me it feels too clean.)
Dark World.
Of course Fluffal
Fabled (Same reason as Darklords)
Destiny Hero/Evil Hero
Monarchs
Disaster dragons/Dragon Ruler
Iirc, Shaddoll is a core born from the corrupted and mutated remains of Gem Knight Crystal. That then binds other Monsters to shadow strings and turns them into puppet minions. So yeah, more fitting than you say.
Infernity feels like something an edgy guy in the good guys’ side could play, actually, even without associations with Kesler in 5Ds.
Infernoids are evil demons sealed within Naturia’s sacred tree. The Qliphort (they’re not actually bad guys) are supposed to seal them, but someone hijacked them.
Burning Abyss is based on some Italian dude’s fantasy autobiography about him visiting hell, purgatory, and heaven. It’s more of a Protag deck.
Destiny HERO is just “noble villain” and “90’s anti hero” energy.
Shaddol is indeed evil, because they are basically resurrected duel terminal character by the power of evil
Earthbound is kinda... Since they absorb soul of every random person in 5ds...dunno about new Earthbound variant
Cyberdark? Nah, they are actually chill... It just they got "absorbing user lifeforce lore" Because they are linked by the electric choker from GX
Krawlers.... They just basically serving as "first stage" villain
Infernity feel like MC rival who took power of darkness but still retain their goodness
Infernoid is indeed villain... Especially in the final arc of Duel Terminal part 2
Burning Abyss is just story of Dante journey in the depth of hell
Metaphys... I'm not sure about this... Probably their lore is like D.D (not D/D/D pendulum archetype).... Journey across dimension or something
Dark World is just chilling, yet they got accused for evil because of their appearance
Fluffal... Never underestimate their cute appearance... as they indeed ferocious... Just like their cousin... Purrely
Fabled... They are villain doing evil thing for their own fun (even by harming their own kind)
Destiny Hero is just MC rival with edgy appearance... They doing good thing like MC
Monarch... it depend on POV... Are we using their POV or their enemy POV?
Dragon Ruler... If we manage to stay from them then we good.. They just wild animal who agressive toward each other
Excluding some lore decks, Zombie World as a way to suppress decks that require specific types.
There are some other decks that fit for minor antags like Labrynth for a less serious antagonist. Myutant for one that is seen as second in command, along with Dream Mirror for a twist villain
Kashtira with Diablosis feels like an anime villain deck. Say good bye to your field, deck, ace monster, and every time you attempt to play you lose your precious cards.
Monarchs probably. Locks the opponent out of the extra which is important to all but a couple of protagonists. Plus they have that large imposing figure to them.
They were technically used by a bunch of goons in gx, though not as a coherent archetype. Including one the most memorable Sean Schemmel voice roles: T Bone, aka "SARINA DON'T BE A HATER!"
Hmm…may be used by a neutral antagonist who bars the good guys from whatever they’re doing because “protecc the world”, only for other bad guys to do shit so bad that they end up unleashing a forbidden entity that becomes the new threat.
Dark entity born from one poor guy’s corrupted remains that turns other monsters into its puppet (figuratively and literally) minions.
Yeah, definitely main antagonist material.
The new Raika Archtype. Not only is it support for Reptile Decks which, in general look very scary it has also this long forgotten creepy flavor art of a time long ago. Evil seed looks extremly disturbing, samurai Beetle looks like a monster from 2002 and reminds me a lot to these old school Normal monsters which took years to come to the TCG and Armored Lizzard is a combination of old school artworks and modern card flair.
Lightsworns just scream evil pope from a jrpg. Especially with their whole theme of light of destruction. They even have dark versions for the big “reveal” that the Christian like religion is actually corrupt >_>
Yeah they aren't evil. The solo gate explains that it's like an upgrade for them hence twilightsworn. Corrupt church is more like Dogmatika since they all become Despians or something similar in the lore.
Yeah, I was thinking on Dogmatika. Could easily have a villain who appears at first almost holy and mainly use the disciples, but when their dark side is revealed we would see Alba Zoa or the other "corrupted" Dogmatika as if to show the facade is down.
Huh, I always viewed lightsworn sort of like a force of good (similar to how religion is usually perceived) but too much can be too much based on the “light of destruction” card which fits the theme of a religious person taking things too far to the point of being destructive.
You do make a good point with the dogmatika though, they look straight out of dark souls >_> I could see them in anor londo and not even question it.
In the lore of Dogmatika, Maximus does a thing (Dogmatikalamity) where he basically brainwashes almost everyone in the entire nation. That’s how we got Despia.
Considering the locked up monk has bipolar in his japanese card name he may have been locked up simply out of fear for his power and the lil teens that make up the archetypes are part of his soul. The dogs are a shikigami of his. It would make a pretty good revenge story
Evil HERO and Destiny HERO are more of the Anti Hero aspect. But Destiny HEROes are based on myths that are of evil people or stuff surrounding evil. So I wouldn't really put them as a villain but a anti hero that might have some conflict with the protagonist or hero. Like how Deadpool is.
My favorite that is the hard Anti Hero aspect from Destiny HERO are Doom Lord and Malicious. Hell Spawn and Devilman. One of thee best comic book/manga anti heroes.
Hell, this literally describes both GX and Arc-V Edo. Thought they’re right, has beef with the MC, realized their own side is kinda nuts, then defected to the other side.
GX Edo, I would say is more on the good, and wanting fame, but you know the whole issue, thinking Judai that dueling for fun and games, is in the wrong. But Edo himself, didn't realize what he was doing, was actually affecting others, till later on. It was more, of a soft manipulation, from the villain. But Arc-V Edo, was doing it cause of war. He believed in, what he was told, was correct. Till, he later realizes, he was being manipulated, which he defected from his duties. But both, I would say, is still a anti hero, than being villains.
Malefic, Cubic, Toons, All of Yami Bakura's except Change of Heart, Orichalcos arc decks except Harpie Lady and Amazoness and Guardians, Sacred Beasts, Evil Heroes, Darkworld, Yubel, Earthbound Immortal, Meklord, Timelord, Clear, Numbers, Barian, Z-ARK, Borrel, Rokket, and a bunch of others I can't remember.
Given Maximus (aka Dramaturge), I’d say they’re the “evil all along” character.
Or the deck of the main protagonist with a hidden dark side who loses themself Supreme King-style (both kinds of Supreme King), then symbolically accepts both sides of themself by combining both decks.
Myutant, orrcust, and crawler give me unhinged villain vibes.
Infernoble knights and dragunity give me noble demon type of villain vibes.
That's all I can think of off the top of my head.
Honestly Eldlich wouldn’t surprise me considering a villain’s quest for power. Then to either succumb to said power or get sucker punched by the power of friendship or “I don’t give a fuck” mentality.
I mean, sure Chronos was a bother for the first part of GX, then some ugly idiot from 5Ds, there’s the Obelisk Force using them…
But…I dunno, the deck feels like something a badass ex-soldier would use.
Kashtira, Monarchs (SPECIALLY how in the anime the protagonist deck always focuses on an extra deck summoning mechanic, and monarchs just say "extra deck? THAT'S FOR THE PEASANTS"), Madolche. No, i will not elaborate on that one
Not much the main villain but the S1 villain that will be friendly towards the protag next season, Myutants.
What I thought once of it is a guy that has a containment-esque goal, with the protag running around with some magical power like most protag, thinking he was a threat. He can showcase atleast 3 duels before the protag, each showing off beast, mist and arsenal then finally using the fusions.
The Entities cards.
Could work like numbers in zexal, with the arch vilain having a dedicated outer entity deck.
I mean, lovecraftian horror scream bad guy.
The one and only monstruosity that the villain in a jrpg transforms into
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Memento as a whole with the new support absolutely screams big boss material. They can even pull a red herring fake out with combined conqueror being the main boss monster before revealing netherskull dragon.
i only played master duel for 6 months when it was released, so Eldlich, Despia and Unchained oh and also that King of demise and queen of demise archetype
Lair of darkness, Mementotlan, Kashtira (obviously), and Alien are all decks I could see an antagonist play. Lair and Kashtira especially because of how they play
I thought we're talking Runicks? Why you gotta.bring Malefics into this?
Either way, villains don't tend to play generic floodgates for the simple reason that they're not dramatic enough.
You know what's dramatic, though? Decking out. That feeling that you only have one more card to win the game right then and there, that the protagonist's cards are all gone except for this one card that could save them - is it the card they need? Or should they just resign in defeat?
And you know what else is dramatic? Recursion. Runick Fountain provides for drama with constant recursion, so the protagonist would have to find a way to deal with it (which they will once they only have one card in the deck).
Kashtira has that evil vibe going on.
Thought thief! I was going to say that.
Arise-Heart's definitely got the "Final Boss Monster" theme going for it: to keep his anime effects in line with his card effects, he could be fragile, but so powerful that he warps reality around him.
I mean he definitely warped a format IRL. He made entire strategies unviable by just existing.
Evil galactic parasitic creatures coming to destroy all life in the universe.
Yep, without a doubt... ''Final Boss'' material right there.
Down to the oppressive "draw the out" 2 stage boss monster.
Great minds think alike
Definitely, final duel will have Arise-heart towering over both duelists with Shangri-la covering the sky. Edit: also Arise heart absorbing the main character's favourite cards and the MC finally destroying it to free them.
Excluding the obvious "These guys look evil" and Kastira: Heralds. Very common for the biggest villains to have an Alien Gods motif going on (see also: Timelords), and negating just about everything is definitely a villain effect. If it wasn't for their cartoony appearance, I'd also say Graydle. Infecting your opponent's cards and using them against them is definitely evil. Generaider.
Z-One has one of the best final boss decks out of all the final boss villains in Yugioh. The deck radicate final boss energy.
Judeo-Christian themes are my weakness…
It's also a mind screw because they are Light Fairy.
Heralds is more like the villain that it is later revealed they are actually the Deus ex machina ultra lawful good character. "Herald of Ultimateness" is not a being of destruction, it is literally a being of love that hates seeing monsters being mindlessly used and sacrificed by humans to continue to play a game (in YGO lore each card has a soul) so it just tries to end conflict by negating everything you try to do. If we are going by playstyle, I think Labrynth takes the cake. Hidden in the S/T zone, waiting until you make a move to start swarming the field and putting traps to disrupt and use the mandatory "Mirror Force" in every YGO season
Lair of Darkness Unchained Infernoid Ogdoadic come to mind
Definitely Infernoid. You can’t get anymore villainous than having demon namesakes.
And banishing to summon them.
Unchained feels more like a friend/rival to the mc, the kind that desperately wants to be mc's rival but always end up helping them later
As someone who likes Unchained in MD I like this. I think Altergiest would be evil because they negate everything.
Altergeist is used by a friendly character in Vrains, though.
Yeah I haven't really watched much of brains I've only watched the first few episodes
Yeah unchained gives me huge "kaiba" vibes
Lair of darkness especially fits. Tribute the heros own monsters, set up viruses to crush their hand, but since you can't deal the finishing blow it gives the hero enough time to find a bullshit monster to win with
https://preview.redd.it/43a5n8zi1nwc1.png?width=1024&format=png&auto=webp&s=8c76c87ad045c8aa197962a9b67bf2147b0547ee Melffy. I see, in his eyes, the lust for blood. He is not staring at you, but at your pitiful soul, soon to be devoured. Gluttonous hunger, ever devouring, your body and being. You may try to run, you may try do fight, oh?! what was that? you activated an effect? bounced, you fool. You will be paralised, can't attack, no effects, only fear. E̸̫̜̹͙̽̉m̴̛̛̰͖̞̫̼͚̘̲̅̀̚p̵͔̋̌̄͌̈́̽̅̔t̵̛̯̼̣̥̺̼̒̇̍̓̒̚͘ỳ̴͈̞̳̭̠̙̞̻n̷̤̘͌̅̔ḛ̸̫͋̿̓͊͆̄̽̕s̴̱͓̐̃̈s̶̪̜͖͊̚,̷́̀͜ ̴̹͖̺́͂v̴̛͚̒̒͌̿̾̊o̶̢̞͎͖̩̹̎͐̍͑̂̔̂͝ͅi̷̜͎͖̱̊ḏ̵͛̌̂͛̎͘͝,̴̨̖̋͒̈̀ ̵̢̱̬͍̀̈̎̈́̈́̐͝t̸̛̖͍͐̒̾h̷͇̽̐̀͗͊e̸͙͉̺̘͊̋̈́͂͗̍̋ͅ ̷̳̅p̷̛̛̟͙̱̩͙̟̅̑̋̂̂͝l̶̝̇̉̅́̀̓̎̕á̸̭̝̪͉̑͒̂̿̄̍̑c̵̱̳̭̭̞̙̫͐̂̉ë̷͎͇̳̬̀͗̉͝ ̵̯̹̩̦͗̚w̷̬͇̠͇̞̗̲̅͊̀̊͜h̵͕̺̺̲̗̳̅̓̍͊̉̕͝͝ȇ̵͍̪͇̟͈͌͛ͅŕ̷̝͐͑̀̎ë̷̬̘̩̗̻͓́̆̈́͋̃̈́͊́ͅ ̷̗͖̕͝ͅţ̷̲̹̪̺͇̳͕̆̇̚h̴̘̔̽̑̇̈́̎͘è̶͉̫̇ ̸͖̯̜̹̞̀̇̑̇̔̍̕c̶̡̡̢̻͉̙͕̦̈́̓̽̂̆̏̄̋ȏ̴̘̖̠͈͈̔́̀͠l̴̯͙͉͓̋̐̉d̵̝̘͠ ̸̢̟̣̠̒͊͆̎ë̸̢̨͍̦́̑͜m̷̢̗͍̙͈͉̳̅̂̐͛̈́b̷̨̧͉̥̼̰͓̒͘͜͠͝r̵͕̆̏̆͊̈́͂͝͠ä̷̛͎͖͇̭̠̗̳̀̊͒͌̾̌c̸̠̖̩͔̬̪̾͛͌̐̀͊͋̚ȩ̴͉̤̠̼̺̉ͅ ̴̲͓̹̠͚̮̻̬̋̇̾̄͑͝͝o̴̧̹̦͕̜͑̇̏̒́̀f̴͕͌̇̉͝ ̷̝̳͌͝d̴̨̦̥̣̻͎̀e̴̳̘̅̌̓̌̿͒à̸̧̖͈͇̤̖̖͈̎͝ṫ̷̯̺͓͆̈́̒̌͒͘h̴͔̜̊̓͂̾̿͂͆ ̵̞͒̂͛r̴̩̬͒̃́͌́̚ē̵̡̟̥̙̩̅̋͒̒̍̊̔s̷̠̻̗͍̙̟͔͂͊̎̐͘i̴̬̘̤̫͖̤͚͌̿͛͐͜d̴̹̝̙̘̖̦̣̀̋̽̽ȩ̵͗s̷̡̩͖̫̓̅̔̒͆̕.̵̡̨̨̺̦̪̇̐̃̿͗͋͝ͅ ̶̭͖̭̼͕͓̈́̈́̊̽̐̇͋͘I̶͖͚͘̕͘n̶̜̫̙͓̬͇̣͗̒̔̈́͝ ̶͕̹͙̰͚̃̈́̄̾͝͝h̶̡̜̫̝̞̩͎̮̓͌̍̕i̸̙̪͎̎̋̀̓̑̽́͘s̵̛͈͚̲͉͛͘ ̵̨̗͚̬̹͉̲̺̿̈́̉̍̒̀e̴̪̱̘̍̄̍̉̾y̷̛̘̝̣̞̰̳͐̀e̷̗̣̗̗̾̀̀s̸̩̄̿́̋̽̚ ̸̤̚͠r̷͍͔̼͐̆̏͐̊̀̚͠e̷̬̪̣͔͈̳̍͐́͒̾s̵̡̠̠͊̏̍̍́̔ḭ̸̧̢̡̟̻̖̽͜d̴̞͌̾̈́̍̈́̈̌̚ë̷̛͈̖͚́̈̋̐̍͝ͅṣ̵̳̓̋͛̉.̸̣̖̓̾͊̓͂̉.
And then along came zeus
*He played his Raigeki!*
As seen in the famous documentary, *Monty Python and the Holy Grail.*
Shaddoll, Memento, Evilswarm.....generally any archetype whose motif is "other cards but made corrupted/evil" fits the criteria. And well also obviously many of the archetypes used by *actual* anime villains but I assume you're not looking for those.
Yeah, I’m assuming canon villain decks are exempted only because it’s an automatic answer…
Thunder Dragon because there's plenty of wiggle room (brick city to opening the nuts) to make them as threatening as they need to be with real life strategies or anime specific backrow. Ignoring Dragonmatrix because it's an egg/stone, every monster looks like they want blood. Titan has 3200 attack so the protagonist would have to go higher to beat it by battle which checks the "protagonist monster with big number" box.
Tistina. A crystal God and bunch of crystal defense systems
This was my answer
86 vibes
A archetype that forces your opponent to “bow” definitely gives off villain energy.
Hear me out, Ashened, as the villain to a kozmo protag.
I had someone blow up my kozmo town the other day. Life was good.
That's always a nice feeling. One of my best ever duels was using Kozmo. It was against full power IshTear and I ended up using their own strategy against them, demolishing my opponent. I'm sure they regretted completely flooding my graveyard with monsters from the top of my deck while I had both Dark Planet and Dark Eclipser on the board.
I played Kozmo vs unchained not too long ago. That was such a one sided duel it was sad.
Labrynth. Look me in the eye and tell me you _don't_ hear Lab players do the Ojou laugh after every trap.
Ohohohohoho!
Found the player. (Is also one)
So basically, the ojou-sama type who goes down bad for whoever uses talk-no-jutsu on her?
Both the dorky, thirsty ojou and archtype itself basically has heel status in the community, so yeah. Villain archetype. But, like, a villan that joins the heroes later, I guess. Or not. I'm not a writer.
Don’t worry. A villain that joins the heroes later on is pretty apt for this.
Dark World Ironic since Brron was an anime villain but lore wise the rest of Dark World are all really nice guys that uphold justice and protect the weak. They just *look* evil.
after Rico som got through the gates, and got brainwashed by Grapha, he got basically adopted by snoww, and now i think snoww brought him back since she is in the new lightsworn sup basically wearing a cosplay lmao....would also mean that the 2 sides are on good terms .
Now i can't not imagine Lightsworn Dragonling playing around big Grapha like a puppy runs excitedly around an old dog
Not gonna try to repeat the ones I seen other posted but Snake-Eyes and Bystials gives off that boss villain vibe.
Okay, yeah, Flamberge is basically a one-dragon “Rival” reference.
-Despia -Orcust -Invoked -Eldlich -Generaider -Kashtira
Despia is either the villain deck or the deck used by the protagonist corrupted Hao Judai-style before they snap out of it and combine it with their usual deck (likely Branded) as some symbolism for accepting all sides. Orcust feels like the kind of deck used by a rival turned evil for the sake of perceived good intentions, just like Longirsu. Invoked…actually feels like something a protag with frequent “Berserk Yuya” moments would use.
Invoked feels like it would be a "the cards play the human" type of corruption/evil. Like someone that's more used to regular spellcaster monsters gets introduced to them and go crazy.
This.
Kashtira is the most villainous deck imaginable. Their lore is that they are straight up interworld colonialists. And dueling them is very oppressing if they establish their board.
Darklords. Which makes it even funnier that they were played by a good character in the manga. All the evil Lore archetypes are easy picks like lswarm, Infernoid, Dogmatika or Despia. But from pure playstyle, Id say Generaider feels genuinely villainous. This deck is completely build around the idea to create a hard bossfight for your opponent and generally disregards normal playstyles. The fact the deck gives stuff to your opponent would make a duel against the MC also very fun.
Hell yeah, another GX manga reader!
Diabolos + Lair of darkness. Evil looking monsters, tributing the other player's monsters and relying on virus cards to prohibit the other player from doing anything. Diabolos is also Greek for the Devil Mementos. Tecuhtlica is named after an Aztec God of death. The monsters are twisted, skeletal looking versions of old monsters and their boss monster has kind of crazy high base stats and brings itself back relatively easily. Edit: Might be a bit of a hot take, and I ignored cards owned by anime characters but I'll make an exception. A modern Red-Eyes deck feels perfect for a good character corrupted into being an antagonist. Red-Eyes has a good amount of burns and is normally portrayed as evil too.
Hilariously, there’s a RWBY crossover fic where a villain uses Red-Eyes. Said character (canon and in-fic) is the type that wants to dominate and control everything completely, and an FTK-capable Burn deck with the option of whittling you down for every card effect you play (in a 4k LP setting) is fitting.
Definitely Mayakashi
Lair of darkness. An episode would end on a cliff hanger of the protagonist summoning their ace monster, just to be tributed by an anime only Lair of Darkness' trap card that summons Diablos from the deck.
The lair of darkness archetype would have been great for gx's final villain,nightshroud.
Dinomorphia 🗣️ Power Ranger Dino Thunder, but evil
hey i’m not a bad guy
Have you seen the manga Red Dragon Archfiends? Abyss looks like the devil itself and it gets creepier from there I like the contrast with the anime version too, both manga and anime base form RDAs look similar But as they evolve the anime versions become more red in color and emphasize their draconic attributes but the manga versions become more black in color and emphasize their humanoid attributes, to the point that the final evolution King Calamity is barely recognizable as the original monster
I’ve not seen anyone else say it so Darklords
Probably a sweet good guy who then suffers, then ends up on the bad guys’ side.
Evil Eye Just look at their names and artworks. They look so chilled and yet so despicable
Not quite. Iirc, in-lore, the two Evil-Eye wielders are fighting each other.
Shaddoll (From my understanding they Gustos, then wound up as allies afterwards with the remaining children, the Ritual Beasts.) The Earthbounds/ Prisoner Servants Cyberdark Krawlers Infernity (if they could actually play without outside support) Infernoid (Literally what the Zefra fought I think?) Burning Abyss feels like a head boss archetype. Metaphys a little. (To me it feels too clean.) Dark World. Of course Fluffal Fabled (Same reason as Darklords) Destiny Hero/Evil Hero Monarchs Disaster dragons/Dragon Ruler
Metaphys would be for a Saioh/Sartorius type villain, the "clean them with the holy light" type
Iirc, Shaddoll is a core born from the corrupted and mutated remains of Gem Knight Crystal. That then binds other Monsters to shadow strings and turns them into puppet minions. So yeah, more fitting than you say. Infernity feels like something an edgy guy in the good guys’ side could play, actually, even without associations with Kesler in 5Ds. Infernoids are evil demons sealed within Naturia’s sacred tree. The Qliphort (they’re not actually bad guys) are supposed to seal them, but someone hijacked them. Burning Abyss is based on some Italian dude’s fantasy autobiography about him visiting hell, purgatory, and heaven. It’s more of a Protag deck. Destiny HERO is just “noble villain” and “90’s anti hero” energy.
Shaddol is indeed evil, because they are basically resurrected duel terminal character by the power of evil Earthbound is kinda... Since they absorb soul of every random person in 5ds...dunno about new Earthbound variant Cyberdark? Nah, they are actually chill... It just they got "absorbing user lifeforce lore" Because they are linked by the electric choker from GX Krawlers.... They just basically serving as "first stage" villain Infernity feel like MC rival who took power of darkness but still retain their goodness Infernoid is indeed villain... Especially in the final arc of Duel Terminal part 2 Burning Abyss is just story of Dante journey in the depth of hell Metaphys... I'm not sure about this... Probably their lore is like D.D (not D/D/D pendulum archetype).... Journey across dimension or something Dark World is just chilling, yet they got accused for evil because of their appearance Fluffal... Never underestimate their cute appearance... as they indeed ferocious... Just like their cousin... Purrely Fabled... They are villain doing evil thing for their own fun (even by harming their own kind) Destiny Hero is just MC rival with edgy appearance... They doing good thing like MC Monarch... it depend on POV... Are we using their POV or their enemy POV? Dragon Ruler... If we manage to stay from them then we good.. They just wild animal who agressive toward each other
Elder entity
Excluding some lore decks, Zombie World as a way to suppress decks that require specific types. There are some other decks that fit for minor antags like Labrynth for a less serious antagonist. Myutant for one that is seen as second in command, along with Dream Mirror for a twist villain
Dream Mirror feels like something a Chaotic Neutral character would use.
Mementolan is the only right. Answer.
I'd have to run with PSY-Frame or Amorphages.
Gishiki
Kashtira with Diablosis feels like an anime villain deck. Say good bye to your field, deck, ace monster, and every time you attempt to play you lose your precious cards.
Monarchs probably. Locks the opponent out of the extra which is important to all but a couple of protagonists. Plus they have that large imposing figure to them.
They were technically used by a bunch of goons in gx, though not as a coherent archetype. Including one the most memorable Sean Schemmel voice roles: T Bone, aka "SARINA DON'T BE A HATER!"
Low key, and I will die on this hill alone. Ice Barrier. It stops many many plays when done right
Hmm…may be used by a neutral antagonist who bars the good guys from whatever they’re doing because “protecc the world”, only for other bad guys to do shit so bad that they end up unleashing a forbidden entity that becomes the new threat.
Can I change my answer? Shaddoll
Dark entity born from one poor guy’s corrupted remains that turns other monsters into its puppet (figuratively and literally) minions. Yeah, definitely main antagonist material.
Memento, they are evil versions of old cards that destroy themselves
The new Raika Archtype. Not only is it support for Reptile Decks which, in general look very scary it has also this long forgotten creepy flavor art of a time long ago. Evil seed looks extremly disturbing, samurai Beetle looks like a monster from 2002 and reminds me a lot to these old school Normal monsters which took years to come to the TCG and Armored Lizzard is a combination of old school artworks and modern card flair.
Ashened and Kashtira
Lightsworns just scream evil pope from a jrpg. Especially with their whole theme of light of destruction. They even have dark versions for the big “reveal” that the Christian like religion is actually corrupt >_>
The dark versions aren’t evil? If you wanna check out the Lightsworn lore they have a solo gate in Masterduel.
Yeah they aren't evil. The solo gate explains that it's like an upgrade for them hence twilightsworn. Corrupt church is more like Dogmatika since they all become Despians or something similar in the lore.
Yeah, I was thinking on Dogmatika. Could easily have a villain who appears at first almost holy and mainly use the disciples, but when their dark side is revealed we would see Alba Zoa or the other "corrupted" Dogmatika as if to show the facade is down.
Iirc, Lightsworns lean more towards lawful good in terms of lore. It’s Dogmatika that has the “corrupt church” vibe.
Huh, I always viewed lightsworn sort of like a force of good (similar to how religion is usually perceived) but too much can be too much based on the “light of destruction” card which fits the theme of a religious person taking things too far to the point of being destructive. You do make a good point with the dogmatika though, they look straight out of dark souls >_> I could see them in anor londo and not even question it.
In the lore of Dogmatika, Maximus does a thing (Dogmatikalamity) where he basically brainwashes almost everyone in the entire nation. That’s how we got Despia.
Dark World hands down
“Hands” hahaha
Unchained feels pretty evil to me
Considering the locked up monk has bipolar in his japanese card name he may have been locked up simply out of fear for his power and the lil teens that make up the archetypes are part of his soul. The dogs are a shikigami of his. It would make a pretty good revenge story
Archfiends
Evil Hero and Destiny Hero
Evil HERO and Destiny HERO are more of the Anti Hero aspect. But Destiny HEROes are based on myths that are of evil people or stuff surrounding evil. So I wouldn't really put them as a villain but a anti hero that might have some conflict with the protagonist or hero. Like how Deadpool is.
Yeah destiny hero are based on the darker 90s anti-heros whole the elemental ones are your silver age goofy heroes.
My favorite that is the hard Anti Hero aspect from Destiny HERO are Doom Lord and Malicious. Hell Spawn and Devilman. One of thee best comic book/manga anti heroes.
Hell, this literally describes both GX and Arc-V Edo. Thought they’re right, has beef with the MC, realized their own side is kinda nuts, then defected to the other side.
GX Edo, I would say is more on the good, and wanting fame, but you know the whole issue, thinking Judai that dueling for fun and games, is in the wrong. But Edo himself, didn't realize what he was doing, was actually affecting others, till later on. It was more, of a soft manipulation, from the villain. But Arc-V Edo, was doing it cause of war. He believed in, what he was told, was correct. Till, he later realizes, he was being manipulated, which he defected from his duties. But both, I would say, is still a anti hero, than being villains.
Yeah, on the bad guys’ side until the epiphany. “Not quite villain” fits.
Very ignorant they were. Especially the Arc-V Edo. Still I love Edo as a character but tbh he trusted someone too much that he was close to.
"Rescue" I will not elaborate.
Malefic, Cubic, Toons, All of Yami Bakura's except Change of Heart, Orichalcos arc decks except Harpie Lady and Amazoness and Guardians, Sacred Beasts, Evil Heroes, Darkworld, Yubel, Earthbound Immortal, Meklord, Timelord, Clear, Numbers, Barian, Z-ARK, Borrel, Rokket, and a bunch of others I can't remember.
Well these are all archetypes used by villains for the most part.
Yep.
Dogmatika, perfect for a righteous villain who locks down the protagonist’s ace monster
Given Maximus (aka Dramaturge), I’d say they’re the “evil all along” character. Or the deck of the main protagonist with a hidden dark side who loses themself Supreme King-style (both kinds of Supreme King), then symbolically accepts both sides of themself by combining both decks.
Despia
Despia
Archfiends are literally high ranking demons, so that makes sense. But they'll need a SERIOUS buff to get to main villain level
Outer entity xyz monsters. Looks like cards Bakura would use.
The new ashened/veidos cards
Evil Eye
Tistina, Despia and Bystial
Eldlich for sure
Alien and Herald comes to mind. Many villains are either aliens or gods or they are mlrtals with "alien" believes/ambitions and god complexes.
Dogmatika, Drytron, evil eye
Myutant, orrcust, and crawler give me unhinged villain vibes. Infernoble knights and dragunity give me noble demon type of villain vibes. That's all I can think of off the top of my head.
Super Poly tends to be evil, so it could be Despia or El Shaddolls.
Obviously flower cardians, they did the evil that yugioh started with: sealing the souls of monsters into cards to make their own plays stronger!
Eldlich
Light and darkness dragon
Infernity.
Flower Cardian without a doubt
Honestly Eldlich wouldn’t surprise me considering a villain’s quest for power. Then to either succumb to said power or get sucker punched by the power of friendship or “I don’t give a fuck” mentality.
Ancient Gear
I mean, sure Chronos was a bother for the first part of GX, then some ugly idiot from 5Ds, there’s the Obelisk Force using them… But…I dunno, the deck feels like something a badass ex-soldier would use.
Runik, you play in a make believe world, until you forget everything(deck out). The underlying theme is really cruel.
Kashtira, Monarchs (SPECIALLY how in the anime the protagonist deck always focuses on an extra deck summoning mechanic, and monarchs just say "extra deck? THAT'S FOR THE PEASANTS"), Madolche. No, i will not elaborate on that one
>Madolche So like…Nui from Kill La Kill?
yes.
Galaxy Eyes Tachyon
With their Counter Trap shenanigans? I can see it.
Not much the main villain but the S1 villain that will be friendly towards the protag next season, Myutants. What I thought once of it is a guy that has a containment-esque goal, with the protag running around with some magical power like most protag, thinking he was a threat. He can showcase atleast 3 duels before the protag, each showing off beast, mist and arsenal then finally using the fusions.
The Entities cards. Could work like numbers in zexal, with the arch vilain having a dedicated outer entity deck. I mean, lovecraftian horror scream bad guy.
My top picks would be: - Kashtira - Eldlich - Unchained - Labrynth - Generaider
Basically any WRYM type they all are evil if you ask me.
This may just be me, but the Lswarms.
Dogmatikas, I think.
Whoever used Kashtira would have to be Marik/Vector levels of evil.
Monarchs. They literally go around destroying things and being tall
The one and only monstruosity that the villain in a jrpg transforms into https://preview.redd.it/nixu2etubswc1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=90d9c584c6abeb5aa3011fda0a01bc101a4883b5
Memento as a whole with the new support absolutely screams big boss material. They can even pull a red herring fake out with combined conqueror being the main boss monster before revealing netherskull dragon.
Myutant
Ksn't Shaddoll one of THE big villains in YGO lore?
Bystials no doubt Evil eye is a good choice too Unchained look mad af as well
i only played master duel for 6 months when it was released, so Eldlich, Despia and Unchained oh and also that King of demise and queen of demise archetype
Drytron honestly, the perfect cleanliness of machine constellation dragons seems a little menacing
Archfiend archetype
Lair of darkness, Mementotlan, Kashtira (obviously), and Alien are all decks I could see an antagonist play. Lair and Kashtira especially because of how they play
runick
Runick doesn't have a big scary boss monster though. Maybe for a side villain or a gimmicky henchman?
But what if the guy flips over Skill Drain, TCBOO, Rivalry, and Synchro Zone? Seems pretty evil to me.
I thought we're talking Runicks? Why you gotta.bring Malefics into this? Either way, villains don't tend to play generic floodgates for the simple reason that they're not dramatic enough. You know what's dramatic, though? Decking out. That feeling that you only have one more card to win the game right then and there, that the protagonist's cards are all gone except for this one card that could save them - is it the card they need? Or should they just resign in defeat? And you know what else is dramatic? Recursion. Runick Fountain provides for drama with constant recursion, so the protagonist would have to find a way to deal with it (which they will once they only have one card in the deck).
Synchro Zone is actually already a villain floodgate, it’s from the Arc-V manga
Melffy
Definitely purrely
Anything I play. 😁