Beginner’s Guide To Shaddolls
Shaddolls are an archetype that punishes the opponent for playing cards from their Extra Deck by Fusion Summoning powerful El Shaddoll monsters using Shaddoll Monsters from their hand, field, or deck. These Shaddoll monsters not only get powerful effects when sent to the Graveyard, but also when flipped face up. Shaddolls have the capability to end duels within one turn by easily spitting out 8000 damage. Let's take a look at the commonly played Shaddoll Effect monsters below.
The Effect Monsters:
Shaddoll Beast
Level 5 DARK Spellcaster
Effect Monster
ATK: 2200
DEF: 1700
(1) FLIP: You can draw 2 cards, then discard 1 card.
(2) If this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: You can draw 1 card. You can only use 1 "Shaddoll
Beast" effect per turn, and only once that turn
Shaddoll Beast acts as your draw engine and is often sent to the Graveyard every turn for a draw.
Shaddoll Dragon
Level 4 DARK Spellcaster
Effect Monster
ATK: 1900
DEF: 0
(1) FLIP: You can target 1 card your opponent controls; return it to the hand.
(2) If this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: You can target 1 Spell/ Trap Card on the field;
destroy it. You can only use 1 "Shaddoll Dragon" effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Shaddoll Dragon acts as a Mystical Space Typhoon when sent to the Graveyard. His flip effect can also
be useful as getting rid of problematic monsters like Vanity's Fiend, Naturia Beast, and others.
Shaddoll Falco
Level 2 DARK Spellcaster
Effect Monster
ATK: 600
DEF: 1400
(1) FLIP: You can target 1 "Shaddoll" monster in your Graveyard, except "Shaddoll Falco"; Special
Summon it in face-down Defense Position.
(2) If this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: You can Special Summon it in face-down
Defense Position. You can only use 1 "Shaddoll Falco" effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Shaddoll Falco allows you to Special Summon any Shaddoll monster (even the fusions) from your
Graveyard face-down, which allows them to activate their flip effects the following turn when you Flip
Summon them, or during your opponent's turn if they attack into them. Unless your opponent banishes
or sends that card back to your hand, you'll be able to get one of that Special Summoned face-down
Shaddoll's effects as they'll have to either attack it (you get the Flip Effect), destroy it (you get the
sent to Graveyard effect), or pass their turn and let you Flip Summon it. Shaddoll Falco most commonly
Special Summons Shaddoll Beast, however depending on the situation you may find yourself getting
another Shaddoll, such as Shaddoll Hedgehog.
Shaddoll Hedgehog
Level 3 DARK Spellcaster
Effect Monster
ATK: 800
DEF: 200
(1) FLIP: You can add 1 "Shaddoll" Spell/ Trap Card from your Deck to your hand.
(2) If this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: You can add 1 "Shaddoll" monster from your
Deck to your Hand, except "Shaddoll Hedgehog". You can only use 1 "Shaddoll Hedgehog" effect per
turn, and only once that turn.
Construct is arguably one of the best Shaddoll Fusions because of its ability to send a Shaddoll card
from your Deck to the Graveyard to activate Shaddoll effects and its high attack. All Shaddoll one turn
kills involve using at least one Construct to finish your opponent off. It's not unlikely to use all three
Constructs in one duel.
El Shaddoll Shekhinaga
Level 10 Light Machine
Fusion Monster
1 Shaddoll Monster + 1 EARTH Monster
ATK: 2600
DEF: 3000
(1) During either player's turn, when a Special Summoned monster activates its effect while you have a
"Shaddoll" card in your hand: You can negate the activation, and if you do, destroy that monster, then
send 1 "Shaddoll" card from your hand to the Graveyard.
(2) If this card is sent to the Graveyard: You can target 1 "Shaddoll" Spell/ Trap Card in your Graveyard;
add it to your hand.
Shaddoll Squamata essentially becomes any Shaddoll card when sent to the Graveyard by a card effect,
making it the most versatile Shaddoll Graveyard effect. When sending a Shaddoll card to the Graveyard
with either Foolish Burial or Mathematician, players often send Squamata first in order to thin the Deck as
well as set up the Graveyard for future Falco plays.
Shaddoll Fusion Monsters
El Shaddoll Construct
Level 8 Light Fairy
Fusion Monster
1 Shaddoll Monster + 1 LIGHT Monster
ATK: 2800
DEF: 2500
(1) If this card is Special Summoned: You can send 1 "Shaddoll" card from your Deck to the Graveyard.
(2) At the start of the Damage Step, if this card battles a Special Summoned monster: Destroy that
monster.
(3) If this card is sent to the Graveyard: You can target 1 "Shaddoll" Spell/ Trap Card in your Graveyard;
add it to your hand.
Between his two effects, Shaddoll Hedgehog can search any Shaddoll card. However, you will more
commonly be using his effect to add Shaddoll monsters to hand, as relying on a Flip Effect to go off is
generally regarded as too slow this format.
Shaddoll Squamata
Level 4 DARK Spellcaster
Effect Monster
ATK: 1800
DEF: 1000
(1) FLIP: You can target 1 monster on the field; destroy it.
(2) If this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: You can send 1 "Shaddoll" card from your Deck
to the Graveyard, except "Shaddoll Squamata". You can only use 1 "Shaddoll Squamata" effect per turn,
and only once that turn.
Not only can he negate multiple effects during either players' turn, but he can also get Shaddoll monsters
to activate their in Graveyard effect. With his negating and destroying effect as well as his 3000 defense,
you opponent will have a hard time getting over Shekhinaga. The EARTH monster used for the Fusion
Summon is usually Mathematician.
El Shaddoll Anoyatyllis
Level 9 WATER Spellcaster
Fusion Monster
1 Shaddoll Monster + 1 WATER Monster
ATK: 2700
DEF: 2000
(1) Neither player can Special Summon monsters from the hand or Graveyard with Spell/ Trap effects.
(2) If this card is sent to the Graveyard: You can target 1 "Shaddoll" Spell/ Trap Card in your Graveyard;
add it to your hand.
This card might as well say that Nekroz (or any Ritual decks) can't play Yugioh. The WATER monster
used for the Fusion Summon is usually Shaddoll Core.
El Shaddoll Winda
Level 5 Light Spellcaster
Fusion Monster
1 Shaddoll Monster + 1 DARK Monster
ATK: 2200
DEF: 800
(1) Cannot be destroyed by an opponent's card effects.
(2) Each player can only Special Summon monster(s) once per tun while this card is face-up on the
field.
(3) If this card is sent to the Graveyard: You can target 1 "Shaddoll" Spell/ Trap Card in your Graveyard;
add it to your hand.
Any deck that Special Summons more than once per turn (Burning Abyss, Satellarknight, Ritual Beasts,
Plants, etc.) will have a tough time addressing Winda and must usually resort to cards like Breakthrough
Skill or Fiendish Chain to deal with it.
El Shaddoll Grysta
Level 7 FIRE Rock
Fusion Monster
1 Shaddoll Monster + 1 FIRE Monster
ATK: 2450
DEF: 1950
(1) During either player's turn, when your opponent would Special Summon a monster(s) while you have
a "Shaddoll" card in your hand: You can negate the summon, and if you do, destroy that monster, then
send 1 "Shaddoll" card from your hand to the Graveyard. You can only use this effect of "El Shaddoll
Grysta" once per turn.
(2) If this card is sent to the Graveyard: You can target 1 "Shaddoll" Spell/ Trap Card in your Graveyard;
add it to your hand.
Grysta is good at stopping Pendulum Summons, which will become very relevant in the next format.
However in this current format, Grysta doesn't see much play
The Fusion Spells
Shaddoll Fusion
Fusion Summon 1 "Shaddoll" Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using monsters from your hand or
your side of the field as Fusion Materials. If your opponent controls a monster(s) that was Special
Summoned from the Extra Deck, you can also use monsters in your Deck as Fusion Material. You can
only activate 1 "Shaddoll Fusion" per turn.
Remember how I said Shaddolls punish the opponent for playing cards from the Extra Deck? This is how
they do so. With Shaddoll Fusion, you can use Shaddoll cards from your deck as Fusion Materials,
effectively making Shaddoll Fusion a +2 in card advantage if your opponent has an Extra Deck monster
out. This is especially relevant when facing Burning Abyss, Satellarknight, or other Shaddoll Decks.
El Shaddoll Fusion
Fusion Summon 1 "Shaddoll" Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using monsters from your hand or
your side of the field as Fusion Material Monsters. You can only activate 1 "El Shaddoll Fusion" per turn.
This card being a Quick Play Spell Card is extremely relevant as is allows for you to perform one turn
kills by activating it during the Battle Phase after all your monsters have attacked as well as allowing
you to Fusion Summon during your opponents turn. Fusion Summoning through a Quick Play allows
you to dodge cards like Bottomless Trap Hole or cards that target by chaining El Shaddoll Fusion to
your opponent's activated card.
Other Cards To Use
Shaddoll Core: Special Summons itself onto the field as a monster that can be any Attribute listed on a "Shaddoll" Fusion Monster Card. When sent to the Graveyard you can add back a different "Shaddoll" Spell/ Trap Card to your hand.
Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning: As Construct is a LIGHT and all Shaddoll monsters are DARK, it's likely that BLS will be live.
Mathematician: A Foolish Burial on legs that allows you to draw when destroyed by battle.
Foolish Burial: Allows you to activate any Shaddoll's sent to Graveyard effect.
Star Seraph Scepter and Sovereignty: These cards allow you to play more aggresively when pushing for damage and are lights for Construct; however, there is an issue of consistency that these cards bring.
Entermage Trick Clown: LIGHT monster for Construct that Special Summons itself back when sent to the Graveyard.
Entermage Damage Juggler: LIGHT monster for Construct that blocks damage and also searches any Entermage monster to your hand.
Entermage Hat Tricker: Searchable by Damage Juggler and helps facilitate Rank 4 plays. It's also an EARTH for Shekhinaga.
Crush Card Virus: Both Shaddoll Falco and Shaddoll Hedgehog are targets.
Denko Sekka: A LIGHT monster for Construct that also helps facilitate one turn kills by disabling your opponent's face down Spell/ Trap cards.
Mistaken Arrest: Shaddolls don't search much and this card can severely hamper your opponent's plays.
Extra Deck:
Besides the Shaddoll Fusion Monsters, Shaddolls have the ability to access Level 4 (with Glow-Up Bulb), 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 Synchro monsters as well as Rank 4, 5, and 8 Exceed Monsters. Because of this diversity, Extra Deck space can be tight. Check my sample Shaddoll Deck for a suggested Extra Deck.
Tips and Plays
Shaddolls may not be overly complicated, however they do have a large amount of possible plays that can be made each turn. As such with so many options, in a Shaddoll mirror match, the better player will likely win.
When playing a Shaddoll mirror match, be careful about leaving a face-up Extra Deck monster on the field. It is recommended to Tribute Set your Fusion Monster for Shaddoll Beast before you end your turn as to not have a face-up Extra Deck monster. As such, when summoning Construct, be sure to send Hedgehog to the Graveyard in order to search Beast to your hand.
When applicable, it's recommended to use El Shaddoll Fusion in the Battle Phase to get around cards like Effect Veiler on your Construct summon. It's also smart to activate El Shaddoll Fusion after attacking with all of your monsters in order to get maximum damage.
As with any deck, you should not make it apparent what you are playing until absolutely necessary. If your opponent knows you are playing Shaddoll, they won't summon from the Extra Deck unless absolutely necessary. Try to hide the fact that you are playing Shaddoll for as long as possible.
It is recommended to activate El Shaddoll Fusion in response to your opponent's card in order to either make that card fizzle (say a Bottomeless Trap Hole or Dimensional Prison) or to ensure your El Shaddoll Fusion will go through (say you chain El Shaddoll Fusion to their Call of the Haunted or Soul Charge so that your opponent can't flip up Vanity's Emptiness without negating their own Special Summon attempt).
