Yu-Gi-Oh! Online Hopeless Dragon Guide

Yu-Gi-Oh! Online Hopeless Dragon Guide by Nichigo

1. OVERVIEW

I am writing up this guide as I’ve seen many people asking for tips on how to build their own Hopeless Dragon deck, so I figured I’d gather all the information in one place and make it easier for everyone. I am by no means an authority on this deck type. However, I’ve made a couple variants of this deck and know the basic strategies involved.

The main goal of this deck is to quickly swarm the field with high level dragons using the effect of Red-Eyes Metal Darkness Dragon (REDMD). This deck is meant to overwhelm the field before your opponent can setup the necessary defenses to counteract your attack. The longer it takes to setup, the more advantage you lose.

In order to use REDMD’s ability to the fullest, the player needs to fill his graveyard quickly with high level dragons. The easiest and most common way to accomplish this is using Future Fusion with F.G.D. as a target. You get 5 dragons in the grave in one turn and can potentially summon a 5000atk beat stick. However, due to Future Fusion being limited to 1, other burial methods need to be incorporated – Dark Grepher, Armageddon Knight, Foolish Burial, Trade-In just to name a few.

Here are a few tips before we begin:

-Skill Drain and Royal Oppression decks are strong against Hopeless decks. Be sure to have Twisters in your side deck for these.

-Always run the spell/trap destruction staples: Mystical Space Typhoon, Heavy Storm, and Giant Trunade.

-“Cannot be destroyed by battle” cards can be a major pain. Fissure + Lightning Vortex should be added as a bare minimum.

-Using traps will always slow this deck down. However, they can prove beneficial when used wisely. Make sure that any traps you add are worth the speed that you lose.

-Hopeless decks are predominantly DARK, but there are variants that utilize a mix of elements like Simorgh Lockdown.

-Balance is KEY. ALOT of testing is needed to determine the correct card ratios for the deck. There is alot of potential for dead hands…so make sure your draw cards have enough targets and your hand is constantly moving.

-Hopeless is an extremely (if not the MOST) expensive deck to make. Be sure that you really want to make it before you throw all your eggs in the basket

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2. The Monsters

There are many different ways to build a Hopeless deck, so obviously these aren’t the only monsters you can use here. However, these are the most commonly used monsters for a traditional build.

Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon
A Hopeless Dragon deck can’t exist without REDMD. This should be in your deck at 3 strong.

Dark Horus
REDMD target, Trade-In Target, Allure Target, 3000 Attack…yes please. His ability can also help swarm the field with level 4 darks.

White Night Dragon
Trade-In Target. This dragon has potential, but really only works well if you play spell/trap cards that stay on the field. Dark Horus is usually a better choice over this in most cases.

Van’Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord
Dark, Trade-in Target. However, his attack is lower than Dark Horus’ or White night Dragon. Add if you need more trade in targets and higher attack dragons in the deck. Run 3 if you are using counter traps as his abilities are godly.

Twin-Headed Behemoth
Its ability to special summon itself after being destroyed is priceless. Always run one.

Masked Dragon
Great deck thinner and tribute fodder for REDMD. Run 0 or 3.

Exploder Dragon
Good for defense or getting over a large monster that would otherwise be difficult to destroy. Exploders work great against Gladiator beasts since they are suckers for face down monsters

Infernal Dragon
LV4 Dark 2000 ATK beatstick. Target for Dark Horus. It’s effect might seem like a downfall, but it’s a great way to fill up your grave OR pull a weak monster off the field (i.e. Phantom of Chaos after he’s done his work).

Axe Dragonute
Another LV4 Dark 2000 ATK beatstick. Also a target for Dark Horus. Some people might prefer his effect over Infernal Dragon’s.

Blizzard Dragon
Has a really nice effect for stalling. Good in a Hopeless deck that exercises more control.

Dark Armed Dragon
This is a great addition to the deck due to the graveyard control potential this deck carries. Works well with Phantom of Chaos

The Dark Creator
One of the best opening hands with this deck involves The Dark Creator + Future Fusion. Also a Trade-In/Allure target and can be used by Phantom of Chaos.

Phantom of Chaos
Used to abuse the effects of DaD/REDMD/Dark Creator in the graveyard. Using POC to put REDMD out of play can also be used to the player’s advantage in conjunction with D.D.R.

Dark Grepher
This guy loves to bury things. His ability to put 3 DARK monsters in the grave on the turn he is summoned and 2 Dark monsters every turn after is a huge asset to this deck.

F.G.D.
Use with Future Fusion.

Other monsters to consider:

-Gorz, Emissary of Darkness
-Morphing Jar
-Necro Gardna
-Judgment Dragon
-Dark Simorgh
-Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter
-Card Trooper
-Sky Scourge Norleras
-Armageddon Knight
-Troop Dragon
-Decoy Dragon
-King Dragun/Lord of D./Divine Dragon Ragnarok

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3. The Spells

The spells are where the magic happens (pun intended). These will determine the pace of the deck. Keep speed in mind while choosing these, but don’t forget to add the appropriate protection as well.

Future Fusion
This is considered a must have card in any hopeless deck. Easy way to bury 5 dragons in one turn. Getting F.G.D. out is a bonus

Allure of Darkness
A draw engine is needed in any fast/OTK deck. Run these @ 2-3. A great combo for this card is Allure –> REDMD –> D.D.R.

Trade-In
Fills up the grave and nets you 2 cards. Run 2-3 depending on how many level 8’s you have in the deck.

Premature Burial (BANNED WAAAAAAH T_T)
Run one…no exceptions.

D.D.R.- Different Dimension Reincarnation
With all the cards removed from play by Allure, Phantom of Chaos, REDMD special summon, D.D.R. becomes a valuable asset. A must have in this deck.

Arms Hole
Use and abuse Premature burial and D.D.R. with this spell. This card is also great cuz it does a 1 card mill to the top card of your deck (hopefully a dragon).

Mystical Space Typhoon/Heavy Storm
Standard spell/trap destruction. Always run these to clear the field for attack and also to remove troublesome traps like Skill Drain and Royal Oppression.

Giant Trunade
Same use as MST and Heavy Storm, but has the added advantage of abusing Future Fusion and Premature burial by adding them back to your hand from the field.

Fissure/Lightning Vortex/Smashing Ground
Gets any pesky resistance out of the way. Good for use against “cannot be destroyed by battle” enemies that can put the brakes on a hopeless deck.

Reasoning
This card is often overlooked, but has many uses. With the diversity of level in this deck, there’s a good chance you will get a free summon (possibly a high level dragon). If your opponent guesses the right level, at least you added another monster to your graveyard…which isn’t a bad thing at all.

Foolish Burial
Use this if you feel you don’t have enough graveyard filling power.

My Body as a Shield
Life saver…staves off any spell/trap/effect that destroys monsters and can be played from the hand during your turn. Even works on CCV if you have a monster on the field! Can’t be stopped by Royal Decree

Cold Wave
This can be useful in some cases. However, it could end up being a dead draw as you’ll be playing spells almost every turn.

Dragon’s Mirror
Used by some to quickly summon F.G.D. Removing 5 dragons from play might not be worth it though unless you are running Burial from a D.D. and/or Return from the Different Dimension.

Burial from a Different Dimension
Comes in handy if too many cards are being removed from play. Good side-in option if you end up playing a Macro deck.

Card of Safe Return
Can give you a good hand advantage if you can manage to get it out early enough.

Other spells to consider

-Book of Moon
-Shrink
-Card Destruction
-Hand Destruction

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4. The Traps

As stated earlier, traps in general tend to slow this type of deck down. However, with some creativity, traps can add another dimension to this deck that can throw your opponent a curve ball.

Royal Decree
This is the “safe” choice for a trap. Running 3 can give you piece of mind and it won’t slow down the deck too much.

Solemn Judgment/Dark Bribe/Divine Wrath
Recommended to use if you’re running Van’Dalgyon’s in your deck.

Bottomless Hole/Mirror Force/Torrential Tribute
Common traps that can be used if your deck permits. Usually not needed though as the attack power of your dragons is enough to run over any of your opponents monsters. Keep in the side deck.

Return from the Different Dimension
When timed right, this can result in a swift OTK to your opponent.

Reckless Greed
Can speed up the deck immensely if used correctly.

Deck Devastation/Eradicator Epidemic Virus
Since it’s easy to summon such high level monsters, these virus cards can really put your opponent in a world of hurt.

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5. Decklists

  • Pure Dark Hopeless Dragon – Straight forward build…get REDMD out and kick some arse (many times in the form of an OTK!). Abuses Arms hole, DDR and Premature Burial to keep REDMD coming back for more.
  • Hopeless -9- Dragons – Uses the destiny draw engine to quickly get the ideal hand. No Future fusion or Premature Burial used here
  • Counter Hopeless – A hopeless spin off that utilizes counter traps in conjunction with the effects of Van’Dalyon and Bountiful Artemis.
  • Hopeless Control – LordMelchett’s unique build focusing on game control over speed.
  • Hopeless Twilight – This build focuses on using Lightsworn’s milling ability to get dragons in the graveyard quickly.

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6. Videos

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7. Conclusion

Whew that was alot of typing!

I hope this guide helped some people out. This definitely isn’t a comprehensive guide, so please let me know of any ideas to make it better.

Free free to post questions and comments here

Happy Dueling,
Nichigo

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