A Guide to Fire Kings

by arqalite (Antonio Curavalea), with contributions from the Fire King Discord server

Last updated: October 2024

This book is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

If you have any suggestions, corrections and/or improvements - please raise an issue on the GitHub repository for this book or reach out to arqalite on Discord.

You can find me on the Fire King Discord server.

Introduction

Hi there!

This guide is meant to be a comprehensive resource for anyone who wants to learn to play a pure Fire King deck, either casually or competitively.

It assumes you already know how to play Yu-Gi-Oh! at a basic level and that you have a decent grasp on most gameplay concepts. We do want to make this book a valuable read for all types of players, so we'll try to explain more advanced concepts where applicable, but beginners should expect to Google some things here and there.

Note that this guide focuses on the TCG. While most of it will apply for the OCG as well, there might be some details that differ between the two formats.

We'll begin by talking briefly about the deck as a whole - its history, its defining characteristics, and its strategy (following the current consensus on how the deck should be played).

Then, we'll zoom in and go through all the cards of the archetype, discussing whether they are recommended in a modern deck, their role in it, and suggested ratios to start deckbuilding with.

We'll also discuss the non-archetypal cards you'll encounter in various deck lists, explaining their role and determining how important they are to the strategy, so you can decide on whether you want to use them or not.

Finally, we'll get to actually playing the deck. We'll showcase the most important combos and helpful variations on them, play through some common hands you will encounter more frequently, and discuss how to play around various types of disruptions your opponent might throw at you.

With all that out of the way, let's get started!

So, what are Fire Kings?

Well, they are a Yu-Gi-Oh! archetype revolving around destruction by card effects. The deck gives you access to plenty of effects that let you destroy cards, and your monsters usually have an effect that triggers when they (or other cards!) are destroyed by card effect.

Because of that, you usually start out by destroying your own Fire King cards in order to get even more cards in rotation, then setting up a board with plenty of effects that destroy both your own cards, and your opponent's. Finally, it all culminates in summoning our boss monster which destroys all monsters on the field.

By carefully sequencing these destruction effects, you generate and maintain card advantage while preventing your opponent from doing so. It's a layered, interactive strategy that is easy to pick up, but certainly rewards skill.

It's also a ton of fun - hopefully, by the end of this guide you'll reach the same conclusion!

The Fire King cards

At the time of writing, there are 18 Fire King cards in the TCG (and 2 lore-related cards we'll touch on briefly) - some of them see usage nowadays, but some unfortunately cannot keep up with the modern game.

We'll go through each one, starting with the monsters, and ending with the spells and traps, explaining why each card is played or not, and things you should know about each one.

The goal is to help you understand the role of each card in the Fire King strategy, so you can make your own decisions when building your deck. We'll provide recommended ratios but we'll stop short of saying they are the correct ratios. The correct ratios are always the ones that work out for you, and for the goals you want to achieve with the deck.

More competitively-oriented players that want to do well at tournaments might end up with a deck that follows these given ratios, but there is always room for personal preference, so always experiment and try things out.

Remember, this is a game first and foremost, and the point of a game is to have fun. Feel free to deviate from the ratios and reasoning given in this guide if you think they aren't right for you. All that matters is that you're having fun playing the deck.

Either way, we're sure there's something for you here - let's go through each card and see what the Fire King archetype has to offer.

The Monsters

There are 12 Fire King monsters - 11 Main Deck ones, and one Extra Deck monster.

We'll first cover the essentials of the Fire King engine, cards like Legendary Fire King Ponix and Sacred Fire King Garunix. Then we'll talk about extenders, mainly Fire King High Avatar Kirin and Fire King Avatar Arvata, and we'll end the Main Deck with the cards that see less play nowadays, for one reason or another.

We'll then switch to the Extra Deck and look at the final boss of the Fire King deck - Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings.

Keep in mind that most, if not all of the commentary will be focused on the card's usage nowadays; some cards had their time to shine through the archetype's history but now aren't as useful anymore. Some could be underpowered now, but future players might find a way to make them powerful. This is normal and is bound to change as the game evolves in speed and depth of effects and interactions.

Without further ado, let's start with the cutest member of the bunch - Legendary Fire King Ponix!

Legendary Fire King Ponix Level 1 FIRE Winged Beast If your monster(s) that was originally FIRE is destroyed by battle or card effect: You can Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can add 1 "Fire King" Spell/Trap from your Deck to your hand. During the next Standby Phase after this card was destroyed and sent to the GY: Add this card from the GY to your hand. You can only use each effect of "Legendary Fire King Ponix" once per turn. ATK 500 | DEF 200

He's not just the cutest Fire King, he's also one of the most important cards in the deck too.

Ponix is one of your starters - you'll almost always want to summon him during your first turn to search Fire King Sanctuary, which will get the Fire King engine started (see the Combos section).

If destroyed during your combo, it will return to your hand during the next Standby Phase - this ensures you constantly have a FIRE monster or Fire King in hand to destroy for effects like Fire King Avatar Arvata's negate, or Fire King High Avatar Kirin's effect to Special Summon itself, both of which require you to destroy a FIRE monster in your hand or field.

Later on, you can make use of his effect to search Fire King Sky Burn or Circle of the Fire Kings to destroy your opponent's cards, extend your board, or push for an OTK.

It's recommended to always run 3 copies.

Sacred Fire King Garunix Level 8 FIRE Winged Beast If your monster(s) that was originally FIRE is destroyed by battle or card effect: You can Special Summon this card from your GY (if it was there when the monster was destroyed) or hand (even if not). If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can destroy 1 FIRE Beast, Beast-Warrior, or Winged Beast monster in your hand, Deck, or face-up field, except "Sacred Fire King Garunix", and if you do, this card gains ATK equal to half the destroyed monster's ATK it had there, until the end of this turn. You can only use each effect of "Sacred Fire King Garunix" once per turn. ATK 2700 | DEF 1700

If Ponix is the spark that starts the fire, Sacred Garunix is the fuel. He's a crucial component of the deck and the main way to get other Fire Kings into rotation.

99% of the time you will be searching him with Fire King Island, ideally after destroying a FIRE monster. This causes his first effect to trigger and Special Summon himself immediately from hand. Note that he can Special Summon himself from the GY too, provided he is already there when a FIRE monster gets destroyed.

Over the course of longer games, you'll constantly summon and destroy Fire Kings, which means Sacred Garunix will always hit the field every turn, bringing reinforcements via his second effect.

Most often, you will destroy Fire King Avatar Arvata or Fire King High Avatar Kirin, both of which allow you to Special Summon a Fire King from the GY.

You can also destroy his younger self - Fire King High Avatar Garunix, causing Sacred to have 4050 ATK - sufficient to run over most monsters. (Watch out for High Avatar Garunix blowing up the field in the next Standby Phase, though!)

A third option is destroying Fire King Courtier Ulcanix, which gets High Avatar Garunix even faster on the field (albeit without clearing the board), to be used as Link/Xyz Material as needed. Or, depending on the game state, you can keep him and wait for an optimal moment to Xyz Summon Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings via Fire King Sanctuary, disrupting your opponent in the process.

Last but not least, an important part of the 1-card Ponix combo is destroying Fire King Avatar Barong with this effect, so you can search [Fire King High Avatar] during the next Standby Phase.

Keep in mind that Sacred Garunix can be a brick by himself - thus you will either want to keep him in the deck, or ensure you draw Ulcanix, Ponix or Island alongside him.

Finally, beware of the Green Baboon ruling - if you have this card in the hand (or GY) alongside another Fire King that can Special Summon itself from the hand, you will only be able to activate one of them.

We recommend running 2-3 copies.

Fire King Courtier Ulcanix Level 4 FIRE Winged Beast If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can destroy 1 other FIRE monster in your hand or face-up field, and if you do, add 1 FIRE Beast, Beast-Warrior, or Winged Beast monster from your Deck to your hand, except "Fire King Courtier Ulcanix", then you can make this card's Level become that added monster's. If this card is destroyed and sent to the GY: You can Special Summon 1 "Fire King High Avatar Garunix" from your Deck in Defense Position. You can only use each effect of "Fire King Courtier Ulcanix" once per turn. ATK 800 | DEF 2000

Garunix's most trusted partner and most definitely your best starter. Her TCG debut in Rage of the Abyss gave a substantial consistency boost to the deck, ensuring access to Legendary Fire King Ponix and making Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale even easier to make.

The 2-card Ulcanix combo is currently the strongest combo the deck has and you should seek to perform it every time you open Ulcanix and another FIRE.

Her first effect is what gives you access to Ponix. You'll often want to destroy a FIRE in your hand to grab him, and use his first effect to Special Summon him to the field (because a FIRE monster was destroyed by card effect).

Later on, you can make use of it to search any Fire King you might need. One great example is Fire King Avatar Rangbali, whose first effect is the same as Ponix - meaning you can immediately Special Summon him to the field for a quick Spell/Trap negate.

Ulcanix's second effect also comes in handy as her destruction brings Fire King High Avatar Garunix to the field immediately, albeit in Defense Position and without his board clear effect. Most of the time you'll intend to make use of this effect to search a card with Island without sacrificing Xyz/Link material on the field.

One last trick she can do is enabling access to Kikinagashi Fucho as a last resort if you encounter Dimension Shifter, or Ponix/Island are negated. By using her first effect to search Ponix, she becomes a Level 1, which lets you overlay into Fucho. That way you can try to survive your opponent's turn and avoid playing into Shifter.

Running 3 copies is recommended. Running 2 copies is fine too, if deck space is tight.

Fire King High Avatar Garunix Level 8 FIRE Winged Beast Once per turn, during the next Standby Phase after this card was destroyed by card effect and sent to the GY: Special Summon this card from the GY. If you do: Destroy all other monsters on the field. When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the GY: You can Special Summon 1 "Fire King" monster from your Deck, except "Fire King High Avatar Garunix". ATK 2700 | DEF 1700

Before Fire King Courtier Ulcanix, this card was somewhat useful in case you needed Sacred Fire King Garunix to gain a significant ATK boost, maybe to beat a large monster.

The field clear was still useful too, but you'd more often reach for Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings before you'd reach for this card, thus most people would run 1 copy, or even 0.

With Ulcanix, he's now a necessary piece for her combo line as she Special Summons him from deck if Ulcanix is destroyed by card effect. Thus, running 1 copy is pretty much mandatory.

However, you mostly want him to sit quietly in the deck until he's needed, so going over 1 copy isn't recommended.

The second effect rarely comes up, if ever. Smart opponents will try to avoid battling it, and you'll end up using this card as Xyz or Link material long before it would have a chance to be destroyed by an opposing monster.

Fire King High Avatar Kirin Level 8 FIRE Beast During the Main Phase, if this card is in your hand (Quick Effect): You can destroy 1 other FIRE monster in your hand or face-up field, and if you do, Special Summon this card. If this card is destroyed and sent to the GY: You can Special Summon 1 "Fire King" monster from your hand or GY, except "Fire King High Avatar Kirin", then you can destroy 1 card on the field. You can only use each effect of "Fire King High Avatar Kirin" once per turn. ATK 2400 | DEF 200

High Kirin plays an important role as both an extender, and as on-demand card removal.

His first effect enables to you destroy any of your FIRE monsters to Special Summon it to the field. In practice this either means blowing up your Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale and raining fire on your opponent, or getting Kirin next to Sacred Fire King Garunix to... rain fire on your opponent using Fire King Sanctuary and Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings. Either way, your opponent won't like it.

Another trick you can do with it, is destroying Legendary Fire King Ponix or Fire King Courtier Ulcanix to dodge targeting negation like Effect Veiler or Infinite Impermanence by chaining to them and resolving the destruction effect before they can resolve. Thus, Ponix/Ulcanix will be able to resolve their effect, denying your opponent's negate.

His second effect lets you revive any other Fire King from your GY while also destroying a card on the field. You'll make use of this often via Sacred Garunix, either to extend your combo, to remove an opponent's card, or as a tactical nuke on Hyang to Special Summon even more monsters.

Furthermore, it can form a fun loop with Fire King Avatar Arvata. Provided Kirin is in the GY, whenever Arvata is destroyed you can revive Kirin, then destroy it during the End Phase, letting you revive Arvata. Making use of this interaction can help you preserve resources in the deck by just looping the cards you already have in the GY.

Running 2-3 copies is recommended. Most people run 3 because opening Kirin never hurts, and it can be useful to have more copies available during longer, grindier games.

Fire King Avatar Arvata Level 4 FIRE Beast-Warrior When a monster effect is activated while this monster is on the field (Quick Effect): You can negate the activation, and if you do, destroy 1 other FIRE monster in your hand or face-up field. If this card is destroyed and sent to the GY: You can target 1 FIRE Beast, Beast-Warrior, or Winged Beast monster in your GY, except "Fire King Avatar Arvata"; Special Summon it, but negate its effects, also destroy it during the End Phase. You can only use each effect of "Fire King Avatar Arvata" once per turn. ATK 1800 | DEF 200

Another nice extender, and the archetypal source of monster negation.

Both roles are very important to the strategy, as you'll often use Arvata's effect to Special Summon a Fire King from the GY in order to gather enough material for your Xyz/Link Summons.

In certain combos, it's also part of your endboard. His first effect lets you negate a monster effect once per turn, then destroy one of your FIRE monsters. This can mean you have yet another way to destroy your Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale besides Fire King High Avatar Kirin and Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames.

If you see it in your starting hand, it can also help you play through Nibiru, the Primal Being and protect your field, provided you get it on the field at or before the 5th summon.

We recommend running 1-3 copies.

Fire King Avatar Barong Level 4 FIRE Beast-Warrior If a face-up "Fire King" monster(s) you control is destroyed by card effect (except during the Damage Step): You can Special Summon this card from your hand. Once per turn, during the next Standby Phase after this card was destroyed by card effect and sent to the GY: Add 1 "Fire King" card from your Deck to your hand, except "Fire King Avatar Barong". ATK 1800 | DEF 200

Barong, along with most of the Avatars, has the following issue - because of the Green Baboon ruling, this card's first effect will compete for attention with other Fire Kings that have the same effect - most often with Sacred Fire King Garunix, meaning you'll rarely end up choosing to summon Barong this way.

His second effect, albeit very slow, still has use in today's Fire King decklists - for example you'll search Fire King High Avatar Kirin with it at the end of the 1-card Ponix combo.

Thus, only 1 copy should be sufficient.

Fire King Avatar Rangbali Level 4 FIRE Beast-Warrior If a face-up "Fire King" monster(s) you control is destroyed by card effect (except during the Damage Step): You can Special Summon this card from your hand. When a Spell/Trap Card or effect is activated, while this card is on the field (Quick Effect): You can negate the activation, and if you do, destroy 1 other FIRE monster in your hand or face-up field. You can only use each effect of "Fire King Avatar Rangbali" once per turn. ATK 1600 | DEF 200

Just like Barong, because of the Green Baboon ruling, the first effect isn't that great on its own.

However, because his second effect is a Spell/Trap negate (being the counterpart to Fire King Avatar Arvata's monster negate), you usually want to have him around.

Probably the most likely way you'll bring him out is by using Fire King Courtier Ulcanix's effect to search him, and use his first effect to Special Summon him. Just be careful - if you also have Sacred Garunix, or any other Avatar in hand (except Arvata), you'll have to pick which card you want to Special Summon!

Running at least 1 copy is recommended.

Fire King Avatar Yaksha Level 4 FIRE Beast-Warrior If a face-up "Fire King" monster(s) you control is destroyed by card effect (except during the Damage Step): You can Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card is destroyed and sent to the GY: You can destroy 1 card in your hand or field. You can only use this effect of "Fire King Avatar Yaksha" once per turn. ATK 1800 | DEF 200

Hopefully you got the hang of it - like the other Avatars, Yaksha is forced to deal with the consequences of the Green Baboon ruling. Thus, this card's first effect will compete for attention with other Fire Kings that have the same effect, meaning you'll rarely end up using it.

Sadly, the second effect is also not enough - nowadays we usually want our card effects to destroy and do something else, not just destroy, meaning Yaksha very rarely finds a place in modern Fire King decklists.

Don't get us wrong - it can sometimes be useful, but it's just that most of the time you will not make use of Yaksha at all, instead wishing he was literally any other card in your deck.

Fingers crossed we get a retrain someday, because he looks too cool to gather dust with the rest of your bulk. :(

We don't recommend running any copies of this card.

Fire King Avatar Garunix Level 3 FIRE Winged Beast If a face-up "Fire King" monster(s) you control is destroyed by card effect (except during the Damage Step): You can Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card in your possession is destroyed by an opponent's card and sent to your GY: You can Special Summon 1 "Fire King Avatar" monster from your Deck. ATK 700 | DEF 1700

The younger form of Fire King High Avatar Garunix.

Once again, because of the Green Baboon ruling, it will compete for attention with other Fire Kings that share a similar effect. Thus, you will often choose to summon another monster, causing Avatar Garunix to just sit in your hand.

The second effect is too impractical for the modern game, requiring your opponent to destroy it, and it limits the type of monsters you can summon due to requiring a "Fire King Avatar" specifically (so, no Sacred Fire King Garunix or Fire King High Avatar Kirin).

This means it doesn't really have a place in today's decks - we don't recommend running any copies of this card.

Fire King Avatar Kirin Level 4 FIRE Beast If a face-up "Fire King" monster(s) you control is destroyed by card effect (except during the Damage Step): You can Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card is destroyed and sent to the GY: You can send 1 FIRE monster from your Deck to the GY. ATK 1000 | DEF 200

The younger form of Fire King High Avatar Kirin.

Unfortunately it has the same issues as Fire King Avatar Garunix. Because of the Green Baboon ruling, it will fight for attention with other Fire King cards that Special Summon themselves from the hand, like Sacred Fire King Garunix, meaning you'll often just stay with it in the hand or use it as Island fodder.

The second effect can enable some shenanigans by sending non-archetypal FIRE monsters with GY effects, but in a pure Fire King deck it really doesn't do much for you (remember - these cards want to be destroyed by card effects, not just sent to the GY). You could technically set up a Sacred Garunix in the GY with this card, but more often than not you'll get it into rotation by other means.

In some cases you can run this alongside [Volcanic Scattershot], which burns your opponent for 500 damage if it's sent to the GY. That way you can try to win if time is called by summoning Sacred Garunix, destroying Avatar Kirin with it, which can send this card to the GY. It's a Side Deck option if you find yourself going to time very often.

This card is pretty much a searchable Foolish Burial for FIRE monsters - but in order to make the best use out of this card, you'd have to dedicate your combo to it, which means most of the strategies we'll talk about here will not apply. Feel free to experiment with it, but it's out of the scope of this guide.

We don't recommend running any copies of this card.

Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings Rank 8 FIRE Pyro 2+ Level 8 monsters If this card is Xyz Summoned: You can destroy all other monsters on the field. You can detach 1 material from this card, then target 1 Spell/Trap on the field; destroy it, and if you do, this card gains 500 ATK. If this card is destroyed while it has material: You can Special Summon "Fire King" monsters from your GY, up to the number of materials this card had. You can only use each effect of "Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings" once per turn. ATK 3000 | DEF 2000

The big boss of the archetype, and our only Extra Deck monster.

If this card is Xyz Summoned, you can destroy all other monsters on the field, just like Fire King High Avatar Garunix. The appeal of this card though, is that you are not forced to use it in the Standby Phase only, giving you more control over when to blow up the field.

In the best case scenario, you will make this via Fire King Sanctuary during your opponent's turn, ideally during a vulnerable moment where clearing their board shuts them down completely, or at least leaves them with little options for recovery.

You can also Xyz Summon it manually during your turn, which can be good if you need to wipe some of your opponent's disruptions, or push for game (see the OTK combo).

The Spell/Trap destruction effect, with the associated ATK boost, is helpful but comes up rarely, as you usually will prefer to preserve the materials so the third effect is more explosive.

Yes, you read that right - by destroying Hyang with both of its materials still attached, you can Special Summon 2 Fire Kings from the GY - a game-changing effect in the proper circumstances.

You can run 1 copy or 2 copies, depending on how often you think Sanctuary's effect will come up.

The Spells & Traps

The Fire King archetype has 6 backrow cards, 5 of which are Spells, and one being a Trap card.

There are also two lore cards, 1 Spell and 1 Trap, and we'll talk about them too (spoiler alert: they're not particularly good).

Of notable highlight are Fire King Island and Fire King Sanctuary, both of which are mandatory parts of the Fire King engine. They help you get cards into rotation, and in the case of Sanctuary, it ensures follow-up during the opponent's turn.

Let's get started by talking about them first!

Fire King Island Field Spell If this face-up card in the Field Zone is sent to the GY or banished: Destroy all monsters you control. You can only use 1 of the following effects of "Fire King Island" per turn, and only once that turn. ● During your Main Phase: You can destroy 1 monster in your hand or field, and if you do, add 1 "Fire King" monster from your Deck to your hand. ● If you control no monsters: You can Special Summon 1 FIRE Winged Beast monster from your hand.

If Ponix is our main Spell/Trap searcher, Island is our main monster searcher. It's hands down the card that makes all the magic happen.

You'll want to use its first bullet effect every turn; during the first turn to search Sacred Fire King Garunix and get him on the field if you destroyed a FIRE monster, and later on to search any Fire King you need (sometimes Sacred Garunix again).

The second effect comes up much less often. Even if you have a FIRE Winged Beast in your hand, you're still better off destroying it with the first effect so you can search Sacred Garunix. In fact, you'll often destroy Sacred Garunix in your hand too, just to grab it from deck a moment later - getting his Special Summon effect to go off is just that crucial to the deck.

(If you destroy Fire King High Avatar Garunix in your hand, don't worry about it clearing your board - you can just dump Fire King Avatar Arvata or Fire King High Avatar Kirin from the Deck with Sacred, and revive High Garunix, thus turning off its board clear effect.)

There's just one problem - if this card goes to the GY or is banished face-up, it takes all your monsters with it. As such, Fire King Sanctuary is essential to ensure you have a way to protect Island.

Sometimes you can use this effect to your advantage, maybe even pop Island yourself with High Kirin. However such cases are rare, most of the time you want Island to stay in the Field Zone.

Running at least 2 copies is mandatory.

Fire King Sanctuary Normal Spell When this card is activated: You can place 1 "Fire King Island" from your Deck face-up in your Field Zone. Once per turn, if a card in your Field Zone would be destroyed by card effect, you can destroy 1 FIRE monster in your hand or face-up field instead. Once per turn, if your opponent Special Summons a monster(s), you can: Immediately after this effect resolves, Xyz Summon 1 FIRE Xyz Monster using only "Fire King" monsters you control. You can only activate 1 "Fire King Sanctuary" per turn.

This card grabs Fire King Island, and makes sure it stays protected, provided you have a FIRE monster available to sacrifice.

...and it also nukes the entire board if your opponent dares to Special Summon a monster while you control 2 Level 8 Fire Kings.

How, you may ask? Because the only Xyz worth making with this card's last effect is Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings. The rest of the FIRE Xyz Monster pool isn't even worth looking at.

Generally you will want to hold onto this effect as your last disruption, using up your handtraps, negates and other disruptions first, and then clean up the mess with Hyang at the very end. Hopefully this will clear the way for a nice OTK, see the 3-card OTK combo for more details.

Running 1 copy is mandatory, but 2-3 copies is recommended.

Fire King Sky Burn Quick-Play Spell Target an equal number of "Fire King" monsters you control and cards your opponent controls; destroy them. If a "Fire King" card(s) you control would be destroyed by card effect, you can banish this card from your GY instead. You can only use 1 "Fire King Sky Burn" effect per turn, and only once that turn.

This is just really good removal - since most of our cards do something when they are destroyed, (or in the case of Sacred Fire King Garunix, any FIRE monster), you will usually end up better off using it.

Of course, you still need to make sure you destroy the right monsters, and remember that you need to target Fire King monsters with this card, so you can't pop Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale or Duelittle Chimera with this.

The GY effect is also really useful and can save you in a pinch - just make sure you don't forget about it as you keep adding cards to the GY.

Anything between 0-2 copies is fine. Remember you can search it off Legendary Fire King Ponix, so you can probably do well with just one copy. Experiment and find what's best for you.

Circle of the Fire Kings Quick-Play Spell Target 1 FIRE monster you control and 1 FIRE monster in your GY; destroy that monster you control, and if you do, Special Summon that other monster from your GY. You can only activate 1 "Circle of the Fire Kings" per turn.

Circle is a fun card, with two main uses.

The first one is being an OTK tool, for example in the 3-card OTK combo. You can destroy Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings to revive a FIRE monster from the GY, and then using Hyang's effect you can revive even more monsters to quickly fill up your side of the field.

Additionally, Circle can be used to dodge any kind of targeting disruption on your FIRE monsters. This is most useful on Legendary Fire King Ponix and Fire King Courtier Ulcanix, helping you use their effects through an Effect Veiler or Infinite Impermanence for example.

1 copy is recommended, 2-3 copies could be potentially bricky. Remember you can always search this card with Legendary Fire King Ponix.

Echelon of the Fire Kings Normal Trap Special Summon 3 FIRE monsters (1 Beast, 1 Beast-Warrior, 1 Winged Beast), 1 each from your hand, Deck, and GY, but their effects are negated, also destroy them during the End Phase. You can banish this card from your GY; this turn, your opponent cannot activate cards or effects when you Normal or Special Summon a "Fire King" monster(s). You can only use each effect of "Echelon of the Fire Kings" once per turn.

This card is more of a novelty than an actual playable card.

The fact that it Special Summons one monster of each type is a reference to Fire King Avatar Kirin (Beast), Fire King Avatar Barong (Beast-Warrior) and Fire King High Avatar Garunix (Winged Beast) being the first three Fire King cards ever released.

However, it negates their effects, which makes it hard to justify using this card. Furthermore, it requires you to have 1 each in your hand, Deck and GY, so it's actually very difficult to activate this card in the first place.

The GY effect is actually kind of nice, however we don't have a way to send it there so we can protect ourselves whenever we need it.

We don't recommend running any copies of this card.

Onslaught of the Fire Kings Normal Spell If only your opponent controls a monster: Special Summon 1 FIRE Beast, Beast-Warrior, or Winged Beast monster from your Deck, but its effects are negated, also destroy it during the End Phase. You can only activate 1 "Onslaught of the Fire Kings" per turn.

Onslaught has two main issues nowadays, that make it very difficult to justify playing.

One issue is that we really want to go first so we can set up, then disrupt the opponent during the second turn. However, this card requires your opponent to be the only one controlling a monster, so it's only useful going second. And you can't summon Legendary Fire King Ponix to search this card, because having Ponix on the field makes the card unusable.

You could make a Fire King deck that focuses on going second and attempting to OTK, and this card could be useful there, but the second issue with this card is that it negates the effect of the summoned monster, which makes it only useful as Island fodder, or Link/Xyz material.

As such, we don't recommend running any copies of this card.

High Tide on Fire Island Normal Trap If you control a Level 7 or higher WATER or FIRE monster: Apply the appropriate effects, in sequence, depending on the Attributes of monsters you control at that time. ● WATER: Special Summon as many WATER monsters as possible that were sent to your Graveyard to activate monster effects this turn, then destroy 1 monster you control. ● FIRE: Destroy 1 monster on the field, then if you have any cards in your hand, discard 1 card to the Graveyard.

This is a lore card that Konami probably intended you to play in either Fire Kings or Atlanteans, but it sucks in both?

Anyway, the FIRE effect of this card is just bad - you have to wait a turn in order to destroy a card, then discard a card. Assuming you destroy an opponent's monster, you just went -1 (used the trap and discarded a card, to remove your opponent's monster), and if you destroy one of your own cards you could potentially go plus, but definitely less than if you just played Fire King Sky Burn instead.

We don't recommend running any copies of this card.

Firestorms Over Atlantis Normal Spell Activate 1 of these effects; ● Discard 1 WATER monster to the GY, then target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; destroy it. ● Destroy 1 FIRE monster in your hand, then you can draw 1 card. If only your opponent controls a monster: You can banish this card from your GY, then target 1 Level 7 or 8 WATER or FIRE monster in your GY; Special Summon it. You can only use each effect of "Firestorms Over Atlantis" once per turn.

Another lore card that does a lot of things, but it just isn't good at any of them.

The FIRE effect is just Upstart Goblin with extra steps. You could argue that you could destroy a good monster and combo off it, but most of the time you will have better ways to destroy that monster, making this card either redundant, or an outright brick.

The GY effect would have been nice, if it didn't require you to not control any monsters. They intended this as a comeback effect instead of being an extending effect, but the restriction makes it too situational to ever come up.

We don't recommend running any copies of this card.

Support Cards

While the Fire Kings on their own can form a functional (albeit very bricky) deck, the strategy really levels up when you add various cards from outside the archetype - so let's talk about them!

As usual, we'll cover each card individually and talk about what makes it great, alongside recommended ratios where applicable.

Keep in mind that this section won't be able to cover all the cards that people might be using, especially as time goes on. If you feel we missed a pretty important card, reach out to us in the Fire King Discord server and let us know, so we can write a page about it.

A note on generic staples

We will not cover generic staples (think Effect Veiler and Infinite Impermanence), with the sole exception when the card plays an additional role in our deck besides its usual function.

Ready? Let's dive in.

The Main Deck

On average, a pure Fire King deck will have about 12 spots for generic non-engine. For the most part you'll want to fill up that space with handtraps like Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, consistency cards like One for One, and defensive cards like Called by the Grave.

A build focused on going second could forgo the handtraps and defensive cards for board breakers like Lightning Storm and Dark Ruler No More.

Alternatively, you could dedicate some spots for a second engine that helps you reach Legendary Fire King Ponix, like the the Diabellstar/Sinful Spoils cards, or mix in another archetype, like Kashtira. We consider such decks to not be pure Fire King anymore, and as such we will not cover them here. However, keep them in mind if you think you require more power/consistency than the pure variant can offer.

Let's explore some of these cards and see what they can do for us.

Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring Level 3 FIRE Zombie | Tuner When a card or effect is activated that includes any of these effects (Quick Effect): You can discard this card; negate that effect. ● Add a card from the Deck to the hand. ● Special Summon from the Deck. ● Send a card from the Deck to the GY. You can only use this effect of "Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring" once per turn. ATK 0 | DEF 1800

Hands down the most popular handtrap in the game, and probably by a long shot.

Ash Blossom, and the rest of the Yo-kai Girls, set the standard for how powerful effects that trigger in the hand can be, and because of that she's been competitively viable ever since her release in 2017.

We won't spend much time talking about her effect - almost every strategy interacts with the Deck in a way that can be negated by Ash Blossom. What is important for us is that besides being amazing disruption, she's also a FIRE monster.

That means we can use her as Island fodder to grab Sacred Fire King Garunix and get his effect to trigger, helping us unbrick when we don't open anything useful besides her and Island.

We recommend running 3 copies of this card.

Book of Eclipse Quick-Play Spell Change all face-up monsters on the field to face-down Defense Position. During the End Phase of this turn, change as many face-down Defense Position monsters your opponent controls as possible to face-up Defense Position, then your opponent draws cards equal to the number of monsters changed face-up by this effect.

Book of Moon Quick-Play Spell Target 1 face-up monster on the field; change that target to face-down Defense Position.

Both of these are really versatile cards, if you think about it.

They can protect your monsters from effects that target, like Effect Veiler. It's the same trick we talked about when discussing Fire King High Avatar Kirin and Circle of the Fire Kings and it can be a godsend when Legendary Fire King Ponix is vulnerable.

You can also use them as an interruption during your opponent's turn. With Eclipse, you'd ideally use it before pulling the trigger on Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings so he can wash away all the cards flipped face-down by this effect. (Keep in mind that your opponent can Set a monster face-down and it will count for this card's End Phase effect, getting them a draw. Not many people do this, though.)

Finally, they're good board breakers if you go second.

Depending on your personal preferences, you might prefer one over the other or neither at all.

One for One Normal Spell Send 1 monster from your hand to the GY; Special Summon 1 Level 1 monster from your hand or Deck. Limited to 1 copy in the TCG.

Pitch a handtrap, grab Ponix - 'nuff said.

It's a minor, but helpful consistency boost, so throwing one copy in your deck never hurts if you have the space.

If you run this, we also recommend running Relinquished Anima in your Extra Deck - you cannot Link Summon Salamangreat Almiraj using a Special Summoned Legendary Fire King Ponix, as Almiraj specifically requires a Normal Summoned monster. Anima can fulfill the same role as Almiraj in your combos, alongside its monster-stealing effect, so it's worth having around.

The Extra Deck

We only have one in-archetype Extra Deck monster - namely Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings - which means we have 13-14 spots to fill up with generic/non-archetypal cards.

The strategy outlined in this guide does make some Extra Deck monsters mandatory, like Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames and Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale, so realistically, most decks will have about 6-8 spots where you can run anything you want.

As before, we'll cover plenty of options so you have what to choose from. The mandatory/heavily recommended cards will have a note that looks like this, so keep an eye out for it.

Let's get started!

Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale Link 4 FIRE Machine 2+ Effect Monsters Gains 200 ATK for each Link Monster in the GYs. You can only use each of the following effects of "Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale" once per turn. ● If this card is destroyed: You can target 1 Link-3 or lower monster in either GY; Special Summon it. ● If a Link-3 or lower monster(s) on the field is destroyed by battle or card effect while this card is in your GY: You can banish this card from your GY; destroy 1 card on the field. ATK 2600

It's our main endboard piece, and it has one single job - to blow up spectacularly.

What does that mean, you ask? We use it as a target alongside one of the opponent's monsters for Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames's GY effect, destroying both and reviving Princess. (Alternatively, you can pop it with Fire King High Avatar Kirin's in-hand effect.)

In the process, a Sacred Fire King Garunix in your GY will trigger too, leading to our field filling up very quickly.

Then, when Princess (or any Link-3 or lower) is destroyed, you can banish it from the GY so you can destroy 1 card on the field. Neat, isn't it?

Finally, a cute trick you can do is Xyz Summon Dingirsu, the Orcust of the Evening Star later on in the duel, to attach Amblowhale to it as material, then detach it whenever needed - basically resetting it in the GY to be banished again.

We consider this a mandatory card - run 1 copy if you own it.

Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames Link 3 FIRE Fiend 2+ Effect Monsters You cannot Special Summon monsters, except FIRE monsters. You can only use each of the following effects of "Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames" once per turn. During your Main Phase: You can Special Summon 1 FIRE monster from your GY. If a monster(s) is Special Summoned to your opponent's field, while this card is in your GY (except during the Damage Step): You can target 1 FIRE monster you control and 1 monster your opponent controls; destroy them, and if you do, Special Summon this card. ATK 2700

Quite the amazing card, to be honest. It's both an extender, and an endboard interruption once she's in the GY.

You will often use her effect to revive a monster in order to Link Summon Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale more easily, as the final step in your combos.

Then, during your opponent's turn, when they Special Summon, you will use her other effect to target Amblowhale and one of their monsters in order to destroy both and revive Princess. This will trigger Amblowhale's effect, and ideally a Sacred Fire King Garunix in your GY.

Just keep in mind she locks you into Special Summoning FIRE monsters only. If you have an I:P Masquerena in your GY waiting to be revived by Amblowhale, you will need to use a different method to destroy Amblowhale (things like either one of Fire King High Avatar Kirin's effects, or an Fire King Avatar Arvata negate), otherwise you will not be able to revive Masquerena.

We consider this a mandatory card - run 1 copy. Putting 1 extra copy in your Side Deck can be helpful in some matchups too.

Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf Link 2 FIRE Cyberse 2 FIRE Effect Monsters If a monster(s) is Normal or Special Summoned to the zone(s) this card points to (except during the Damage Step): You can add 1 FIRE monster from your GY to your hand, but for the rest of this turn, you cannot Normal Summon/Set or Special Summon monsters with the added monster's name. During your Main Phase, if you control this card that was Link Summoned using "Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf" as material: You can add 1 "Salamangreat" Spell/Trap from your GY to your hand. You can only use each effect of "Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf" once per turn. ATK 1800

Sunlight Wolf is a crucial part of our combos as he can return any FIRE monster from the GY to our hand. More often than not, that would be Fire King High Avatar Kirin (so you have a second way to pop Amblowhale, especially if you plan to summon back I:P Masquerena with its effect), but in some situations you can grab an Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring or any other Fire King, as needed.

What matters is that he's awesome at recovering resources from the GY, so seize any opportunity to use him, and use him wisely.

We consider this a mandatory card - run 1 copy if you own it.

Relinquished Anima Link 1 DARK Spellcaster 1 Level 1 monster, except a Token You can target 1 face-up monster this card points to; equip that face-up monster to this card (max. 1). You can only use this effect of "Relinquished Anima" once per turn. This card gains ATK equal to that equipped monster's. ATK 0

Anima enables us to perform Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf lines much more easily, in case we had to Special Summon Legendary Fire King Ponix instead of Normal Summoning it (remember, Salamangreat Almiraj requires a Normal Summoned monster as its Link Material).

And besides that, he's just a good staple to have around. His monster-equipping effect can come in handy against opponents who don't manage their zones correctly.

We consider this a mandatory card - run 1 copy if you own it.

Salamangreat Almiraj Link 1 FIRE Cyberse 1 Normal Summoned monster with 1000 or less ATK (Quick Effect): You can Tribute this card, then target 1 monster you control; it cannot be destroyed by your opponent's card effects this turn. When a Normal Summoned monster you control is destroyed by battle, while this card is in your GY: You can Special Summon this card. You can only use this effect of "Salamangreat Almiraj" once per turn. ATK 0

Almiraj, alongside Relinquished Anima, enables us to perform Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf lines much more easily.

Furthermore, Almiraj allows the 2-card Ponix combo to use any FIRE monster, not just Fire Kings, as its second card.

And lastly, it can turn any handtrap into a FIRE monster, to make Fire King Island plays with, in case you didn't open a good hand.

Its effects aren't too relevant but in some situations you can protect a monster from being destroyed by card effects, so that never hurts to have.

We consider this a mandatory card - run 1 copy if you own it.

Hiita the Fire Charmer, Ablaze Link 2 FIRE Spellcaster 2 monsters, including a FIRE monster (This card is always treated as a "Familiar-Possessed" card.) You can target 1 FIRE monster in your opponent's GY; Special Summon it to your zone this card points to. If this Link Summoned card is destroyed by battle, or is destroyed by an opponent's card effect while in its owner's Monster Zone: You can add 1 FIRE monster with 1500 or less DEF from your Deck to your hand. You can only use each effect of "Hiita the Fire Charmer, Ablaze" once per turn. ATK 1850

Hiita is a godsend when it comes to helping us recover if we're hit with an Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, or extending further against other FIRE decks.

You can summon this, steal a FIRE monster, make Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames, revive a monster, and make Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale.

Later on she can help you Link climb a little easier, if you're running other Link-3 or higher monsters and you need to summon them.

And if she's ever destroyed (usually you Link her off immediately after using her effect so this doesn't come up that often), she can search any FIRE monster with 1500 DEF or less.

We heavily recommend playing 1 copy if possible, as she makes the deck much more robust.

Kikinagashi Fucho Rank 1 WIND Winged Beast 2 Level 1 monsters Unaffected by other cards' effects. Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can detach 2 materials from this card; for the rest of this turn, this card cannot be destroyed by battle, also you take no battle damage from attacks involving this card. ATK 0 | DEF 0

This guy is determined to ignore your opponent for an entire turn - which is exactly what we need when Dimension Shifter is out and about.

You'll always make it as a last resort if you didn't draw into any counters for Shifter, like Called by the Grave or Crossout Designator (if you're willing to run 1 copy of Shifter yourself).

By Xyz Summoning it in Defense Position and using its effect during your opponent's turn, they won't be able to deal any battle damage to you, increasing your chances of survival until Shifter wears off.

To summon him, you'll just need Ponix/Ulcanix and a FIRE monster in hand - see the page dedicated to countering Shifter for the combos.

We highly recommend running this card.

Dingirsu, the Orcust of the Evening Star Rank 8 DARK Machine 2 Level 8 monsters You can only Special Summon "Dingirsu, the Orcust of the Evening Star(s)" once per turn. You can also Xyz Summon this card by using an "Orcust" Link Monster you control as material. If a card(s) you control would be destroyed by battle or card effect, you can detach 1 material from this card instead. If this card is Special Summoned: You can activate 1 of these effects; ● Send 1 card your opponent controls to the GY. ● Attach 1 of your banished Machine monsters to this card as material. ATK 2600 | DEF 2100

Dingirsu is like a Swiss army knife; he has 3 effects that are all relevant for us, but which come up rarely.

First of all, he has non-targeting removal which can come in handy if you face a monster that can't be targeted by card effects.

Then, he can detach 1 material whenever one of your cards would be destroyed, which can combo nicely with Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings or Fire King High Avatar Garunix, or can just protect you from your opponent's effects.

Last but not least, he can recycle a banished Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale by attaching it as material, then detaching it at the first opportunity to do so. It comes up very rarely, but it does enable an extra disruption that could tip the scales in your favor.

Feel free to experiment with him to see what's best for you.

Duelittle Chimera Link 2 FIRE Beast 2 FIRE monsters All FIRE monsters on the field gain 500 ATK/DEF, also all WATER monsters on the field lose 400 ATK/DEF. If this card is destroyed by battle or card effect: You can target 1 FIRE monster in your GY; add it to your hand. You can only use this effect of "Duelittle Chimera" once per turn. ATK 1400

500 ATK may not seem like much, but when we're able to fill up the field in a matter of seconds, it adds up quick. This makes Duelittle Chimera a surprisingly underrated tool for quickly closing out games in the mid-to-late game.

If summoned off Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale during your opponent's turn, it can also help boost our defenses, forcing some decks that can't generate large amounts of ATK to clear our monsters by other means before heading into the Battle Phase.

Its second effect is nice too, as it can help us recover something from the GY to either extend further or set up our next turn if Duelittle is destroyed by any means (this includes your effects!).

It's certainly a valuable tool in our toolbox, so try running it and see if it works out for your playstyle.

I:P Masquerena Link 2 DARK Cyberse 2 non-Link Monsters During your opponent's Main Phase, you can (Quick Effect): Immediately after this effect resolves, Link Summon 1 Link Monster using materials you control, including this card. You can only use this effect of "I:P Masquerena" once per turn. A Link Monster that used this card as material cannot be destroyed by your opponent's card effects. ATK 800

Masquerena's role is simple - become an interruption during your opponent's turn, by Link Summoning a card like S:P Little Knight or Knightmare Unicorn (both of which let you remove a card from the field).

Keep in mind that she's a DARK monster - so if you plan to summon her with Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale's effect, you need to make sure you aren't FIRE-locked by Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames.

S:P Little Knight Link 2 DARK Warrior 2 Effect Monsters If this card is Link Summoned using a Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, or Link Monster as material: You can target 1 card on the field or in either GY; banish it, also your monsters cannot attack directly this turn. When your opponent activates a card or effect (Quick Effect): You can target 2 face-up monsters on the field, including a monster you control; banish both until the End Phase. You can only use each effect of "S:P Little Knight" once per turn. ATK 1600

Probably the most generically useful Extra Deck card at the moment.

You make it with another Extra Deck monster as material and banish a card on the field or in either GY, and then you have another disruption ready whenever your opponent activates a card or effect.

She's obviously meant to be summoned with I:P Masquerena, but oftentimes you'll make her without Masquerena too.

If you have one, play 1 copy. It's not a mandatory card per se, but it's too useful to pass up.

Number 38: Hope Harbinger Dragon Titanic Galaxy Rank 8 LIGHT Dragon 2 Level 8 monsters Once per turn, when a Spell Card or effect is activated on the field (Quick Effect): You can negate that effect, and if you do, attach that card to this card as material. When an opponent's monster declares an attack: You can detach 1 material from this card; change the attack target to this card and perform damage calculation. If another face-up Xyz Monster(s) you control is destroyed by battle or card effect: You can target 1 face-up Xyz Monster you control; it gains ATK equal to 1 of those destroyed monsters' original ATK. ATK 3000 | DEF 2500

This card can be used as the third piece of the Numeron Dragon OTK package, alongside Number 97: Draglubion and Number 100: Numeron Dragon.

In that role, Hope Harbinger is just the Xyz Material for Numeron Dragon, it doesn't do much. However by itself, it's certainly not a bad card, and since it requires 2 Level 8s, it's something we can make easily.

First off, it's a Spell negate, which is nice to have, but keep in mind Fire King Avatar Rangbali is easier to access in most situations.

The second effect forces your opponent to get rid of it first, or prepare to attack into it. It's unfortunate that it doesn't have any protections, so it can be easily removed.

The third effect doesn't come up that often for us since we don't usually end up with 2 Xyz Monsters on the field at the same time, but it can mean giving itself a lot of ATK which isn't something that can be easily ignored.

Overall, if you're including the Numeron Dragon package, this is the best choice for the 3rd card, but keep in mind you will rarely, if ever, summon this card by itself. You could go into it mid-to-late-game when you need a Spell negate and Rangbali is inaccessible for any reason.

Number 97: Draglubion Rank 8 DARK Dragon 2 Level 8 monsters Your opponent cannot target this card with card effects. You can detach 1 material from this card; take 2 Dragon "Number" monsters with different names from your Extra Deck and/or GY, except "Number 97: Draglubion", Special Summon 1 of them and attach the other to it as material, also for the rest of this turn you cannot Special Summon other monsters, or declare an attack, except with that Special Summoned monster. You can only use this effect of "Number 97: Draglubion" once per turn. ATK 3000 | DEF 3000

This card is part of the Numeron Dragon OTK package, alongside Number 100: Numeron Dragon and any Dragon "Number", like Number 38: Hope Harbinger Dragon Titanic Galaxy. It's a fun way to deal 9000 damage with any 2 Level 8s.

Draglubion itself is just the enabler for the OTK, helping you bring Numeron Dragon out without bothering to properly Xyz Summon it.

The fact that it's an untargetable 3000 ATK beater comes up very rarely as you'll usually use its effect as soon as you summon it, meaning you're only allowed to attack with the Special Summoned monster, and in the context of the OTK, your opponent won't have a next turn to be able to target this guy with effects.

Number 100: Numeron Dragon Rank 1 LIGHT Dragon 2 "Number" Xyz Monsters with the same name and Rank Once per turn: You can detach 1 material from this card; this card gains ATK equal to the combined Ranks of all Xyz Monsters currently on the field x 1000, until the end of your opponent's turn. When this card is destroyed by card effect: You can destroy as many monsters on the field as possible (min. 1), then each player Sets 1 Spell/Trap from their GY to their field. When an opponent's monster declares an attack while this card is in your GY and you have no cards in your hand or field: You can Special Summon this card. ATK 0 | DEF 0

This card is part of the Numeron Dragon OTK package, alongside Number 97: Draglubion and any Dragon "Number", like Number 38: Hope Harbinger Dragon Titanic Galaxy.

Numeron Dragon is the centerpiece of the OTK, as its effect allows it to gain ATK equal to the sum of all Ranks on the field x 1000. Since you'll be bringing it out via Draglubion, it will usually have 9000 ATK, letting you end the game in one single attack if your opponent has an empty field.

Should the OTK fail, his second effect makes sure to blow up the field if it's destroyed by card effect, although letting your opponent Set 1 Spell/Trap can be dangerous.

The last effect comes up very rarely, and it usually doesn't mean much as Numeron Dragon is a 0/0 monster by itself, but it could save your life if your opponent just had one monster left to attack with.

Playing the Deck

Now that we discussed all the cards we need to know about, let's see the deck in action!

The Fire King strategy, as it's currently played by most people, focuses on going first and setting up multiple layers of interaction with which to disrupt the opponent during their turn, then pushing to win the game during the third turn.

In practice, the goal is to set up Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale via Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames, while also having Sacred Fire King Garunix in the GY and Fire King Sanctuary on the field. This gives you multiple opportunities to destroy your opponent's cards while building board presence, then wiping the entire board with Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings so your opponent is left wide open for attacks.

Going second, we attempt to disrupt the opponent with the handtraps we have available, then attempt to clear their board and push for an OTK on the 2nd turn.

This can mean turboing out Hyang for a board clear and/or using cards like Fire King Sky Burn and Circle of the Fire Kings to dismantle your opponent's board and cycle through enough monsters to deal 8000+ damage.

Keep in mind that this deck performs its best when going first because we need to be able to set up our engine, and going first means fewer interruptions to worry about. When going second we're very vulnerable to many more interruptions and we struggle against boards with multiple negates, for example.

However, we have a very strong grind game - if correctly piloted, the deck can keep reusing resources from the GY for multiple consecutive turns while also consistently destroying cards on both sides of the field. Thus, surviving past the first few turns significantly tips the scales in our favor - keep this in mind as you learn the deck, and recognize when you should go for less explosive but safer plays so you can grind your opponent out later.

First up, we'll take a look at some play patterns you will find yourself doing often, then integrate those patterns into a few complete combo lines to showcase what the deck can do. Finally, we'll discuss various options for handling interruptions and common situations you might find yourself in, so you're prepared for anything that might come your way.

Let's dive in!

Reading this Section

Going forward, every play and combo showcased is performed using a sample deck list which you can find in the Extras section.

It might look different from what you will ultimately build for yourself, but that's alright. For the bread-and-butter patterns and combos we included a list of required cards, so as long as your deck has those cards, you should be able to perform the plays discussed here.

We do recommend playing everything out as you read this section. Probably the easiest way is through a simulator - EDOPro was used to test, perform and record these combos, as it lets you set the order of the cards in the deck, disable shuffling, and draw a specific number of cards - perfect for learning (and writing a guide!)

You can also use other simulators, like Dueling Book or even Master Duel (if you have the time, patience and/or money to craft all the URs needed for the deck).

If you are learning the deck to play the physical card game, we definitely recommend following along and performing the combos with real cards. Practice waiting for your opponent's response between actions, and say each action out loud before doing it. This will quickly build your muscle memory and will make playing at tournaments much easier.

In short, don't just read how to play the deck, put it in practice too by playing along.

With that out of the way, let's talk about patterns - the building blocks of the Fire King combos.

Patterns

So what are patterns (or play patterns)?

They're bite-sized sequences of actions you commonly take while playing a deck. Some of them can be coupled together to form a combo line, while some are stand-alone and serve to help you advance your game plan in a certain way.

While it can be easier to get started with the full combo lines directly, it's easy to fall into the trap of memorizing the combos right away and treating them like gospel, applying the first available combo every single time you duel without much thought.

That can lead you to play suboptimally a lot of times and certainly doesn't help you understand what each card truly does in your deck. The game gets a lot more fun when you can recognize these patterns and when it makes sense to perform them.

Don't get us wrong - combos are important! - but it's just as important to see them as combinations of patterns, each achieving something to further your goal during the duel. This way, you'll eventually learn when to diverge from the bread-and-butter combos into something a little more custom for your specific matchup and/or situation.

Enough talking - let's play the game, shall we?

Starting the Engine

As mentioned before, the deck really prefers to set up first, in order to put all the engine pieces into play. But what is the Fire King engine?

The way we see it, Sacred Fire King Garunix alongside Fire King Island are the main pieces of the engine - Sacred's ability to revive each turn when a FIRE card you control is destroyed, while also destroying another Fire King from deck, is what makes the deck tick and is the action you'll perform pretty much every turn.

Fire King Island enables all this, by destroying a FIRE every single turn, searching Sacred (and later on any Fire King you need) and triggering Sacred's effect.

How do we get these cards into play? Most often, it'll be through our favorite birb, Legendary Fire King Ponix. Let's see it in action.

Base pattern - Ponix

Requirements

• In hand:
  • Legendary Fire King Ponix
• In Main Deck:
  • Sacred Fire King Garunix
  • Fire King Sanctuary
  • Fire King Island

Steps

• Normal/Special Summon Legendary Fire King Ponix.
• Activate Ponix's effect to search Fire King Sanctuary.
• Activate Sanctuary from hand, place Fire King Island in Field Zone.
• Activate Island's effect to destroy Ponix and search Sacred Fire King Garunix.
• Activate Sacred Garunix's first effect to Special Summon itself from hand.
• Activate Sacred Garunix's second effect to destroy any Fire King from deck.

Variation 1 - Ponix + Any FIRE monster in hand

This variation is used when performing a larger combo. By destroying a FIRE in hand instead of the Legendary Fire King Ponix on the field, you have 1 additional monster on the field to use as material for Link Summons.

Requirements

• In hand:
  • Legendary Fire King Ponix
  • Any FIRE monster
• In Main Deck:
  • Sacred Fire King Garunix
  • Fire King Sanctuary
  • Fire King Island

Steps

• Normal/Special Summon Legendary Fire King Ponix.
• Activate Ponix's effect to search Fire King Sanctuary.
• Activate Sanctuary from hand, place Fire King Island in Field Zone.
• Activate Island's effect to destroy the FIRE monster in hand and search Sacred Fire King Garunix.
• Activate Sacred Garunix's first effect to Special Summon itself from hand.
• Activate Sacred Garunix's second effect to destroy any Fire King from deck.

Variation 2 - Ponix + Arvata/Kirin

When Fire King Avatar Arvata or Fire King High Avatar Kirin are destroyed, their effects let you Special Summon a Fire King from the GY. To ensure you have a valid target for these effects, we Link Summon Salamangreat Almiraj or Relinquished Anima to send Ponix to the GY.

This gives you yet another material for Link plays, and it is the main way to reach the Arvata + Amblowhale endboard.

Requirements

• In hand:
  • Legendary Fire King Ponix
  • Either Fire King Avatar Arvata or Fire King High Avatar Kirin
• In Main Deck:
  • Sacred Fire King Garunix
  • Fire King Sanctuary
  • Fire King Island
• In Extra Deck:
  • Salamangreat Almiraj or Relinquished Anima

Steps

• Normal/Special Summon Legendary Fire King Ponix.
• Activate Ponix's effect to search Fire King Sanctuary.
• Activate Sanctuary from hand, place Fire King Island in Field Zone.
• Link Summon Salamangreat Almiraj or Relinquished Anima using Ponix as material.
• Activate Island's effect to destroy the FIRE monster in hand and search Sacred Fire King Garunix.
• A Chain forms:
  • Activate Fire King Avatar Arvata or Fire King High Avatar Kirin's effects to Special Summon Ponix from the GY.
  • Activate Sacred Garunix's first effect to Special Summon itself from hand.
• Activate Sacred Garunix's second effect to destroy any Fire King from deck.

Outcome

Sacred Fire King Garunix is into play, allowing you to continuously revive him after he gets sent to the GY and bring other Fire Kings into play, via Island or any other destruction effect.

Furthermore, Fire King Sanctuary is activated, allowing you to Xyz Summon Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings during your opponent's turn (provided you have 2 Level 8s on the field).

The two variants make use of a monster in hand to generate additional Link material, helping you make a stronger endboard.

Notes

You will notice later on that the first variant is pretty much the 1-card Ponix combo. This is because this pattern is the building block that all the combos will expand upon.

The variants are the start of the 2-card Ponix combos, ending on Amblowhale, or on Amblowhale + Arvata.

Recycling cards with Sunlight Wolf

You're using up a lot of cards as you perform your combos. Thus, making use of Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf to recover one of these cards can strengthen your endboard or help you get enough fuel for the next turn. Don't hesitate to use this card, if you have resources available.

In a nutshell, you want to summon Sunlight Wolf in the Extra Monster Zone, then summon another card below it in order to trigger this effect.

One way to do this is through Ponix + 2 other FIRE monsters. Let's take a look.

You can also do this with any 4 monsters (at least 2 FIREs). This has the advantage that you can Link Summon I:P Masquerena under Sunlight Wolf, which can be used further as Link Material for Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames into Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale. Then, when Amblowhale gets destroyed, it can bring back Masquerena to act as an additional interruption.

When to perform this pattern

• If you aim to end your turn on Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale, retrieving a Fire King High Avatar Kirin can act as a safety net if you're unable to use Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames's GY effect.
• If you had to use Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, either as interruption or as Island fodder, getting her back into the hand forces your opponent to play around her next turn, giving you an advantage.
• You can also just go for it you just have a lot of material around and you're not afraid of Nibiru, the Primal Being.

Requirements

Enough material for:

• Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf
• A Link-1 or higher of your choosing

Steps

• Link Summon Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf using 2 FIRE monsters.
• Link Summon any Link-1 or higher under Sunlight Wolf.
• Activate Sunlight Wolf's effect to add a FIRE monster from the GY to your hand.

Outcomes

You add back a FIRE monster from the GY to your hand, while still preserving enough material for a Link-3 like Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames.

Notes

Generally you should look to perform this pattern as often as possible, however in certain cases (an opponent with Nibiru, the Primal Being for example) it might be worth skipping and going directly for the endboard. Use your best judgement and your intuition.

Keep in mind you cannot Summon the monster added back to your hand or any monsters with the same name - thus, if you add back a Fire King High Avatar Kirin, you cannot use its effect that turn.

Sometimes it might be more advantageous to summon something from the hand or GY under Sunlight Wolf - keep an eye out for such opportunities, but in the vast majority of cases, Link Summoning something is your best bet to trigger Sunlight Wolf.

Finally, Sunlight Wolf's effect also works if your opponent summons something next to one of its links - there are very few ways to take advantage of this, but if you see it happen, be sure to use its effect.

The Amblowhale Endboard

The main strategy outlined in this guide goes as follows: set up the Fire King engine, then set up multiple, layered interruptions to disrupt your opponent with before pushing for an OTK.

We've seen how to set up the engine, we've recycled cards with Sunlight Wolf, but how do we reach the endboard? The key is Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames alongside Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale.

Requirements

• On the field: materials for a Link-3 (3 monsters, or a Link-2 + another monster)
• In the GY: at least 1 FIRE monster
• In the Extra Deck:
  • Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames
  • Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale

Steps

• Link Summon Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames using materials on your field.
• Activate Promethean's effect to Special Summon a FIRE monster from the GY.
• Link Summon Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale using Princess and the revived monster.

Outcomes

You have set up 3 interruptions (or more, depending on how the duel progressed until this point):

• First, Promethean's effect to Special Summon herself from the GY by destroying 1 monster on each side of the field.
• By using Amblowhale as her target, you can activate Amblowhale's effect to Special Summon a Link-3 or lower from the GY (this could be I:P Masquerena or Duelittle Chimera or anything else).
• Finally, when a Link-3 or lower is destroyed, you can banish Amblowhale from the GY to destroy a card on the field.

Coupled with the other interruptions set up in previous patterns (Sacred Fire King Garunix in GY, Fire King Sanctuary ready to Xyz Summon a Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings) and any handtraps you may have in your hand, you have lots of ways to hinder your opponent's plays.

Notes

In some circumstances (under Mulcharmy Fuwalos, or against a player that runs Nibiru, the Primal Being for example), it might be more beneficial to remain with Promethean on the field and the monster she revived (especially if that monster is Fire King Avatar Arvata as it can make up for Amblowhale's absence with its negate). As you get better at the game, be on the lookout for occasions where this might be worth it.

Link-climbing with Hiita

It's your turn, you start setting up your board, and your opponent decides it's time for an Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring. That sucks!

Fortunately, if you can manage to get 2 monsters on the board, you can recover, thanks to Hiita the Fire Charmer, Ablaze.

When to perform this pattern

Generally you only want to do this if you get interrupted in such a way that your usual combos can't be performed anymore.

If you can continue the combo, it might be worth continuing as-is in order to avoid over-extending, although having the extra material from Hiita does make things easier.

Requirements

• 2 monsters, at least 1 FIRE
• A FIRE monster in your opponent's GY

Steps

• Link Summon Hiita the Fire Charmer, Ablaze using 2 FIRE monsters.
• Activate Hiita's effect to Special Summon the FIRE monster in your opponent's GY to your side of the field.
• Link Summon Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames using Hiita and the stolen monster.
• Activate Princess's effect to revive a FIRE monster from your GY.
• Link Summon Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale using Princess and the revived monster.

Outcomes

You can still end on Amblowhale while getting interrupted by an Ash Blossom, although it does lead to a weaker endboard (no Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf recycling, no I:P Masquerena in the GY to revive later).

About Dharc the Dark Charmer, Gloomy

You can do the same thing with [Dharc the Dark Charmer, Gloomy], if your opponent has a DARK monster in their GY, and one of your monsters is Ponix. You Link Summon Relinquished Anima using Ponix, before continuing the pattern.

Because there aren't too many DARK handtraps going around, this is usually something you get to do going second, against decks that play DARK monsters.

Still, it's worth experimenting with Dharc to see if it's a good fit against the current meta.

Hyang Self-Destruction OTK

You managed to set up a killer board, you interrupted your opponent with all you got and finally managed to clear the board with Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings.

Let's turn 3000 damage into an OTK with a neat trick.

When to perform this pattern

After Xyz Summoning Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings and you want to attempt to OTK your opponent.

Hyang must have Sacred Fire King Garunix as material, and Sacred's effect must be available this turn.

This pattern gives you up to 9000 (or more!) damage, depending on Hyang's materials.

Requirements

• Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings
  • Material 1: Sacred Fire King Garunix
  • Material 2: Any Fire King
• Fire King Island and Fire King Sanctuary active on the field
• Fire King High Avatar Kirin or Fire King Avatar Arvata in the Main Deck

Steps

• Activate Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings's effect, detaching Sacred Fire King Garunix in order to destroy Fire King Island.
• Using Sanctuary's effect, destroy Hyang instead of your Island.
• A Chain forms:
  • CL1: Hyang's effect, Special Summoning 1 monster - usually itself - from the GY.
  • CL2: Sacred's effect, Special Summoning itself from the GY.
• Activate Sacred's effect to destroy either Fire King High Avatar Kirin or Fire King Avatar Arvata.
• Activate Kirin/Arvata's effect to revive a monster from the GY.
• Attack for game.

Outcomes

You turn 1 monster into 3 monsters, with a total ATK close to, or surpassing 8000, ideally OTKing your opponent.

Notes

This works best when Hyang's second material is either Kirin or Fire King High Avatar Garunix, as they have a lot of ATK.

This same result can be achieved with Circle of the Fire Kings, destroying a 2-material Hyang for a Fire King in your GY. Hyang's effect triggers, Special Summoning itself and Sacred. Sacred can then pop another monster from the deck, giving you even more monsters to play with. This is covered as the 3-card OTK combo later on in the guide.

Keep in mind that Hyang can be summoned with any number of materials. Depending on the game state, you might be able to make a 3-material Hyang, making this OTK even deadlier.

Combos

In this section we'll focus on the bread-and-butter combos you'll perform most of the time, focusing on our two starters - Legendary Fire King Ponix and Fire King Courtier Ulcanix.

First we'll talk about the 1-card Ponix combo, the simplest combo that all the other ones build upon. Then we'll discuss the 2-card variant, where we use a FIRE monster in hand to extend the combo much further and end on a much stronger board.

Following that, we'll talk about the 2-card Ulcanix combo, which builds upon the 2-card Ponix line, making you a bit more resilient to interruptions or making your endboard even stronger again.

We'll also include 2 variations under Mulcharmy Fuwalos, which trade the optimal endboard for a weaker one, but also prevents your opponent from drawing too many cards.

Finally, we'll close out this section with a 3-card OTK, which is great when going second, or during the mid-to-late game where you're confident you can end the game right there and then.

Let's dive in, starting with the basics - the 1-card Ponix combo.

1-card - Ponix

Our most basic combo, this gets Sacred Fire King Garunix into rotation, and sets up Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings to wipe the board when needed.

This video doesn't cover interrupting your opponent with Hyang, read the Opponent's turn section below.

Requirements

• Cards in hand:
  • Legendary Fire King Ponix
• Cards in main deck:
  • Sacred Fire King Garunix
  • Fire King High Avatar Kirin
  • Fire King Avatar Barong
  • Fire King Sanctuary
  • Fire King Island
• Cards in extra deck:
  • Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings

When to perform this combo

Generally you'll only want to go this route if Ponix is the only FIRE monster in your hand, otherwise the Ponix + any FIRE monster combo is preferred.

You could also go this route if you suspect your opponent has Nibiru, the Primal Being as we perform only 2 Special Summons. However you will need to draw sufficient interruptions to assist Hyang's board clear against most meta decks.

Steps

Your turn

• Normal Summon Legendary Fire King Ponix.
• Activate Ponix's effect to search Fire King Sanctuary.
• Activate Sanctuary from hand, place Fire King Island in Field Zone.
• Activate Island's effect to destroy Ponix and search Sacred Fire King Garunix.
• Activate Sacred Garunix's first effect to Special Summon itself from hand.
• Activate Sacred Garunix's second effect to destroy Fire King Avatar Barong from deck.

Opponent's turn

• In Standby Phase:
  • Activate Ponix's effect to add itself back to hand.
  • Activate Barong's effect to add Fire King High Avatar Kirin from deck to hand.
• During Main Phase 1:
  • Activate High Kirin's effect to destroy Ponix from hand and Special Summon itself.
• Whenever your opponent Special Summons and you're ready to clear the board:
  • Activate Sanctuary's effect to Xyz Summon Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings by overlaying Sacred Garunix and High Kirin.
  • Activate Hyang's effect to destroy all monsters on the field.

Notes

• This is the most basic combo of the deck, and most other combos build on top of it.
• This combo plays under Nibiru, the Primal Being's 5 summon threshold, making it an option if you drew into multiple interruptions (handtraps or trap cards) and you suspect your opponent might have Nibiru in their hand.

Chokepoints

• This combo ends immediately if either Ponix or Island get negated.
  • If you have High Kirin in hand, you can dodge targeting negation on Ponix (think Effect Veiler or Infinite Impermanence) by chaining High Kirin's effect to destroy Ponix before the negation resolves.
• If Sacred Garunix's 2nd effect gets negated, you will be unable to search High Kirin, and thus summon Hyang. You will need other methods to reach High Kirin, or rely on the interruptions you have in your hand to survive until the next turn.

2-card - Ponix + any FIRE monster

Requirements

• Cards in hand:
  • Legendary Fire King Ponix
  • 1 FIRE monster (ideally a Fire King, if not, you will also need Salamangreat Almiraj in your Extra Deck.)
• Cards in Main Deck:
  • Fire King Sanctuary
  • Fire King Island
  • Sacred Fire King Garunix
  • Fire King Avatar Arvata
  • For follow-up, one or both of:
    • Fire King Courtier Ulcanix
    • Fire King High Avatar Kirin
• Cards in Extra Deck:
  • Salamangreat Almiraj (optionally, if the FIRE in hand is not a Fire King)
  • Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf
  • Relinquished Anima
  • Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames
  • Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale (optionally, if you don't want to end on Princess + Arvata)

When to perform this combo

This is the most common combo you will perform if Fire King Courtier Ulcanix is not in your hand.

NOTE: Depending on what the FIRE monster is, this line can branch out into multiple routes, the one detailed below is the one you can expect to perform most of the time.

Steps

Your turn

1. Normal Summon Legendary Fire King Ponix.
2. Activate Ponix's effect to search Fire King Sanctuary.
3. Activate Sanctuary from hand, place Fire King Island in Field Zone.
4. If the FIRE monster on your hand is NOT A Fire King, Link Summon Salamangreat Almiraj using Ponix as material.
   • You can still Link Summon Almiraj if you have a Arvata or High Kirin, and this will let you Special Summon Ponix from GY using their effects.
5. Activate Island's effect to destroy the FIRE monster in your hand, and search Sacred Fire King Garunix.
   • If the destroyed monster was a Fire King, like Arvata and Kirin, you may be able to use their effects.
6. Activate Sacred Garunix's first effect to Special Summon itself from hand.
7. Activate Sacred Garunix's second effect to destroy Fire King Avatar Arvata from deck.
   • NOTE: If the FIRE monster in your hand was Arvata already, destroy Fire King High Avatar Kirin instead, as Arvata cannot Special Summon itself.
8. Activate Arvata/Kirin's effect to special summon a Fire King from GY (either Ponix or the card you destroyed from hand)
9. Link Summon Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf using either Sacred Garunix + Almiraj, or Sacred Garunix + the Fire King destroyed from hand.
10. Link Summon Relinquished Anima using Ponix, in the zone directly under Sunlight Wolf.
11. Activate Sunlight Wolf's effect to add a FIRE from your GY to your hand (except Arvata!).
12. Link Summon Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames using Sunlight Wolf and Anima.
13. Activate Princess's effect to Special Summon Arvata/any FIRE from GY.
14. Optionally, Link Summon Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale using Princess and the FIRE you revived.

Notes

• If you opt to stay on Princess + Arvata, you can expect to have the following interruptions:

  • A monster negate off Arvata, destroying Princess,
  • Sacred Garunix Special Summoning itself from GY, destroying a Fire King from deck.
    • You could go for High Kirin to revive another Fire King and destroy a card on the field.
    • Or you could go for Ulcanix to Special Summon a Fire King High Avatar Garunix, to set up the Xyz Summon of Hyang via Sanctuary later on.
  • Princess' effect to Special Summon herself by destroying 1 card on each side of the field.
    • You can pop your Arvata here after it used its negate, to revive another Fire King.
  • If you have Kirin in hand, you can use its effect to Summon itself by destroying a FIRE monster.
  • If you have two Level 8s on your side of the field, you can activate Sanctuary and Xyz Summon Hyang using them as material, then using its effect to destroy all monsters on the field.

• If you end on Amblowhale, you have the following:

  • Princess effect to pop Amblowhale and an opponent's card to Special Summon herself,
  • Amblowhale effect to Special Summon a Link-3 or lower, probably Sunlight Wolf or Almiraj.
  • Sacred Garunix Special Summoning itself from GY, destroying a Fire King from deck.
    • If you pop High Kirin here, you can revive Arvata for a monster negate.
    • Or go for Ulcanix to set up 2 Level 8s via Fire King High Avatar Garunix.
  • If a Link-3 or lower is destroyed, Amblowhale can banish itself from GY to destroy a card on the field.
  • If you have Kirin in hand, you can use its effect to Summon itself by destroying a FIRE monster.
  • If you have 2 Level 8s, you can make Hyang to clear the board.

Chokepoints

• This combo goes past Nibiru, the Primal Being's 5 summon threshold, making this combo potentially risky.
  • If the FIRE monster you destroyed from hand is Arvata, Special Summon it when using High Kirin's effect (step 8.). This provides you with a monster negate exactly on the 5th summon (assuming you also used Arvata to summon back a card), but at the cost of another Fire King from hand or field.
• As with the 1-card Ponix combo, a negate resolving on Ponix or Island can stop you entirely.
• If Sacred Garunix's 2nd effect gets negated, you will have only 2 bodies on the field. If Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring was used against you, you could Link Summon Hiita the Fire Charmer, Ablaze and steal their Ash Blossom so you can still make Princess, then Amblowhale.

2-card - Ulcanix + any FIRE monster

Requirements:

• In hand:
  • Fire King Courtier Ulcanix
  • Any FIRE monster
• In main deck:
  • Legendary Fire King Ponix
  • Sacred Fire King Garunix
  • Fire King High Avatar Garunix
  • Fire King Avatar Arvata
  • Fire King High Avatar Kirin (if Arvata is your FIRE monster)
  • Fire King Sanctuary
  • Fire King Island
• In the Extra Deck:
  • Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf
  • Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames
  • Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale
  • For Route 1, I:P Masquerena (and a valid card to Link her into, like S:P Little Knight, or Knightmare Unicorn), or a Link-2 of your choice.
  • For Route 2, Relinquished Anima

When to perform this combo

Whenever you have Ulcanix and a FIRE monster in hand (even if it's Ponix).

If you have Arvata, you are protected from Nibiru provided you don't meet other interruptions.

Steps:

• Normal Summon Fire King Courtier Ulcanix.
• Activate Ulcanix's effect, destroying the FIRE monster in your hand to search Legendary Fire King Ponix.
• Activate Ponix's first effect, to Special Summon itself from the hand.
• Activate Ponix's second effect, to add Fire King Sanctuary from deck to hand.
• Activate Sanctuary, place Fire King Island in the Field Zone.
• Activate Island, destroying Ulcanix for Sacred Fire King Garunix.
• A chain forms with Sacred Garunix and Ulcanix:
  • Ulcanix Special Summons Fire King High Avatar Garunix from deck.
  • Sacred Garunix Special Summons itself from hand.
• Activate Sacred Garunix's second effect to destroy Fire King Avatar Arvata from deck.
  • If the FIRE monster you destroyed with Ulcanix was Arvata, destroy Fire King High Avatar Kirin instead.

Route 1 - sets up a Link-2 in GY to revive with Amblowhale

1. Activate Arvata/High Kirin after being destroyed by Sacred Garunix, to Special Summon Ulcanix from GY.
2. Link Summon Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf using any 2 monsters.
3. Link Summon a Link-2 of your choice (for example I:P Masquerena or Duelittle Chimera) under Sunlight Wolf, using the other two monsters.
4. Sunlight Wolf effect to add a FIRE monster from GY to hand.
5. Link Summon Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames using Sunlight Wolf and the Link-2.
6. Activate Princess effect to Special Summon a FIRE from GY.
7. Link Summon Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale using Princess and the FIRE monster.

Route 2 - trades the Link-2 in GY for a negate with Arvata

1. Activate Arvata/High Kirin after being destroyed by Sacred Garunix, to Special Summon Ulcanix from GY.
2. Link Summon Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf using any 2 monsters, except Ponix.
3. Link Summon Relinquished Anima using Ponix, in the zone under Sunlight Wolf.
4. Sunlight Wolf effect to add a FIRE monster from GY to hand, except Arvata.
5. Link Summon Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames using Sunlight Wolf and Anima.
6. Activate Princess effect to Special Summon Arvata from GY.
7. (Optionally) Link Summon Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale using Princess and the remaining monster besides Arvata.

Route 2, extended - if Arvata was the FIRE monster; can play into Nibiru and negate it

1. Activate High Kirin after being destroyed by Sacred Garunix, to Special Summon Arvata from GY. This is the 5th summon, so Nibiru is now online.
2. If Nibiru is activated, negate with Arvata and destroy Sacred Garunix.
3. Resume Route 2 by Link Summoning Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf with High Garunix and Arvata, and continuing with Step 3.

Notes

You should have most of the interruptions from the 2-card Ponix combo. If all goes well you will also have an additional Link-2 or an Arvata alongside them.

If you chose to Link Summon I:P Masquerena, you will need to sequence your interruptions differently. Ideally, you returned a Kirin to hand with Sunlight Wolf, so you can use it to pop Amblowhale instead of popping it with Princess. Otherwise, you cannot revive Masquerena using Amblowhale's effect while Promethean Princess is on the field, because she locks you into FIRE monsters only.

Chokepoints

• The same issues from the previous two combos apply to this one. Ulcanix, Ponix and Island can be easily negated and will stop your combo.
• If Sacred Garunix is negated on the field, you have 3 monsters on the field, so you can make Sunlight Wolf and Anima, then Link into Princess. You just won't be able to get Arvata on the field.
• If Sunlight Wolf is destroyed before you can summon the other Link monster, you are left with 2 monsters on the field and little way to progress. If your opponent has a FIRE monster in their GY, look to summon Hiita the Fire Charmer, Ablaze and steal it, so you can make Princess and Amblowhale.

3-card OTK (going second, or during mid-late game)

Requirements

• Cards in hand:
  • Legendary Fire King Ponix
  • Sacred Fire King Garunix (can be in the GY too)
  • Fire King Island (or it can active on the field; or have Fire King Sanctuary in hand instead)
• Cards in deck:
  • Circle of the Fire Kings
  • Fire King High Avatar Kirin
  • Fire King Avatar Arvata
• Cards in Extra Deck:
  • Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings

When to perform this combo

You can attempt this OTK if your opponent has no monsters that are unaffected by card effects or that cannot be destroyed by them, otherwise you will need to calculate the damage output after battling that monster to ensure you can win the game this turn.

Mid-to-late game this should be much easier to perform as Island should be on the field, and Sacred Garunix will be in your GY, thus requiring just Ponix to pull off.

Steps:

Main Phase:

• Normal Summon Legendary Fire King Ponix.
• Activate Ponix's effect to add Circle of the Fire Kings to hand.
• (if needed) Activate Fire King Island; or activate Fire King Sanctuary and place Island in the Field Zone.
• Activate Island's effect to destroy Ponix and add Fire King High Avatar Kirin to hand.
• Activate Sacred Fire King Garunix's effect to Special Summon itself (from hand or GY).
• Activate Sacred Garunix's second effect to destroy Fire King Avatar Arvata.
• Activate Arvata's effect to Special Summon Ponix from GY.
• Activate Kirin's effect to destroy Ponix and Special Summon itself from hand.
• Xyz Summon Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings using Sacred Garunix and Kirin as material.
• Activate Hyang's effect to destroy all other monsters on the field.

Battle Phase:

• Attack with Hyang for 3000 damage.
• Activate Circle of the Fire Kings, destroying Hyang and Special Summoning Arvata from GY.
• Activate Hyang's effect, to Special Summon itself and Sacred Garunix from GY.
• Attack with all 3 monsters for game.

Notes

• Watch out for monsters that cannot be destroyed by battle. If they have enough ATK they can either reduce your damage output enough to make your opponent survive, or can cause you to be unable to run it over with all your monsters.
• Beware of your opponent's interruptions if attempting this going second! Any handtrap or negation can stop this combo immediately.
• Because we summon 5 times during the Main Phase, this combo triggers Nibiru, right as we Xyz Summon Hyang. However, we can recover using Circle.
  • Chain Circle to Nibiru's activation, destroying Hyang for Arvata/Ponix.
  • Nibiru resolves, tributing everything. Pray your opponent misplays and summons both Nibiru and the token in Attack Position.
  • Hyang activates, and you have two options.
    • If your opponent is below 4500 LP, Special Summon Hyang and Sacred Garunix from GY. Destroy Nibiru by attacking with Hyang, then attack with Sacred and the token for 4500.
    • Otherwise, Special Summon Arvata + Kirin. Here you can pass, having a negate off Arvata, a Special Summon + card pop from Kirin, a Ponix in hand during Standby, and Sacred in GY, enabling some follow-up. If you think you're able to pull it off, you can try for a second Hyang by destroying Ponix with Arvata instead of destroying Kirin, Special Summoning Sacred from GY with his own effect, then using Kirin and Sacred for Hyang via Fire King Sanctuary.

Making plays with Island

All the combos we went through so far required you to open Legendary Fire King Ponix or Fire King Courtier Ulcanix.

They are your simplest way to get started (requiring just them and a FIRE monster to do the full Fire King combo), but after playing some games you will realize they are not perfect in every situation (like when your opponent runs Droll & Lock Bird - more about that here.).

Also, you have only 3 copies of each - even with cards like One for One and [Pot of Prosperity], you just might not be able to get to either of them. What do you do then?

Well, if you look a little deeper, you quickly realize that Fire King Island is actually the key card in all our combos, and that opening it or Fire King Sanctuary, with an assortment of monsters, can often be everything you need to make a decent board.

There are also cases where you might not want to start with Ponix or Ulcanix, even if you have them in your starting hand. For example, if you open Fire King Avatar Arvata alongside Sanctuary, it's preferable to Normal Summon Arvata so you're more resilient against handtraps.

We'll play through three starting hands, to see what all that means:

• One in which Normal Summoning Arvata is better than Normal Summoning Ponix/Ulcanix;
• One where we opened neither starter, but we did open Island and 2 Fire Kings;
• And one where we opened Island and 4 non-engine cards.

Let's get started!

Sanctuary, Arvata, Ponix

Let's look at this hand:

• Fire King Sanctuary
• Fire King Avatar Arvata
• Legendary Fire King Ponix
• Any other 2 cards

You might think Ponix go brrr here, and that's not necessarily wrong, it could get you to Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames and Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale just fine - see the 2-card Ponix combo.

But what happens if it gets negated by Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring here? If the other two cards in your hand can't deal with her, you're missing out on Ponix's search. You can continue the combo at least, since you have Sanctuary already.

Now, what if your opponent waited until you activated Island, and then Ash Blossomed it instead? You're now stuck with Ponix in Attack Position, and no follow-up. This isn't ideal - and we had the counterplay in our hand this whole time.

Let's restart the game, and play this instead:

• Normal Summon Fire King Avatar Arvata.
  • We now have a monster negate online, since we have Ponix in hand, who's a FIRE monster.
• Activate Fire King Sanctuary, and place Fire King Island in your Field Zone.
• Activate Island's effect, to-...
• Your opponent chains Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring to negate Island's effect.
• Chain Arvata's effect to negate Ash, and destroy Ponix from hand.
• Ash is negated, so you resolve Island; destroy Arvata to search Sacred Fire King Garunix.
• A Chain is created:
  • CL1: Activate Arvata's effect to Special Summon Ponix from the GY.
  • CL2: Activate Sacred Garunix's effect to Special Summon itself from hand.
• Activate Sacred Garunix's effect to destroy Fire King High Avatar Kirin from Deck.
• Activate Kirin's effect to Special Summon Arvata from the GY.
• Link Summon Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf with Arvata and Sacred.
• Link Summon Relinquished Anima with Ponix.
• Activate Sunlight Wolf's effect to add Kirin from GY to hand.
• Link Summon Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames.
• Activate Princess' effect to Special Summon Ponix from GY.
• Activate Ponix's effect to add a Fire King Spell/Trap from Deck to hand.
• Link Summon Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale.

As you can see, we made use of Arvata's effect to negate the opponent's Ash Blossom, ensuring Ponix can search a Spell/Trap.

With this hand you'd usually get either Fire King Sky Burn to further interrupt your opponent during their turn, or Circle of the Fire Kings to attempt an OTK during your next turn - meaning your Ponix's search wasn't essential, but it's still very nice to be able to resolve it, since it means you get to do more things later on.

Isn't Arvata neat? Look for this pattern in your games, and make use of it to thwart your opponent's handtraps.

What if I have Ulcanix instead?

The line is similar - just replace Ponix with Fire King Courtier Ulcanix. The main difference is that the chain after resolving Island will have 3 effects:

• CL1: Ulcanix's effect to Special Summon Fire King High Avatar Garunix from Deck.
• CL2: Arvata's effect to Special Summon Ulcanix from GY.
• CL3: Sacred Garunix's effect to Special Summon itself from hand.

Then after you activate Sacred to destroy Kirin from Deck, you'll revive Arvata and have 4 bodies on the field instead of 3. This means instead of Link Summoning Relinquished Anima, you can Link Summon I:P Masquerena instead using Ulcanix and High Garunix.

This trades Ponix's search for an additional interruption, as you'll Special Summon Masquerena off Amblowhale's effect, and you can use her Quick Effect to go into S:P Little Knight or Knightmare Unicorn.

Island, Sacred Garunix, High Kirin

Next up, this hand:

• Fire King Island
• Sacred Fire King Garunix
• Fire King High Avatar Kirin
• 2 other cards

At first glance, this hand can look pretty bad - no Legendary Fire King Ponix, no Fire King Courtier Ulcanix, and no Fire King Sanctuary which means no Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings.

How do we play here?

Well, it's Kirin's time to shine. We haven't really looked at his Quick Effect in practice besides mentioning it can be used to dodge targeting negation, but it can do so much more. Let's see it in action.

• Activate Fire King Island and place it in the Field Zone.
• Activate Fire King Island's effect.
• Chain Fire King High Avatar Kirin's Quick Effect, to destroy Sacred Fire King Garunix in our hand, and Special Summon itself.
• Island resolves - destroy Kirin to add Legendary Fire King Ponix.
• A Chain forms:
  • CL1: Sacred Garunix's effect to Special Summon itself from GY.
  • CL2: Kirin's effect to Special Summon Ponix from hand.
• A second Chain forms:
  • CL1: Sacred Garunix's effect to destroy Fire King Avatar Arvata from Deck.
  • CL2: Ponix's effect to search Fire King Sanctuary.
• Activate Arvata's effect to Special Summon Kirin from GY.
• Activate Fire King Sanctuary.

Does this board look familiar? We turned this hand into the same result as Step 8 of the 2-card Ponix combo. We can now go into Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf and Relinquished Anima to retrieve Kirin from GY, then Link into Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames, revive a monster, and Link into Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale.

We have all our usual interruptions, and the hand we started with looked completely different from what we were used to so far! Isn't Kirin awesome?

Island, Ash Blossom, Effect Veiler

Last but not least, let's look at this one:

• Fire King Island
• Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring
• Effect Veiler
• Droll & Lock Bird
• Infinite Impermanence

These are the consequences of playing too much non-engine, and yet there's an awesome way out.

This combo could be standardized as follows:

• Fire King Island,
• 1 FIRE monster (here it's Ash Blossom)
• 1 Level 4 or lower monster with 1000 or less ATK (here, that's Effect Veiler)

• Normal Summon Effect Veiler.
• Activate Fire King Island.
• Activate Island's effect to destroy Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring in your hand to add Sacred Fire King Garunix from Deck to hand.
• Activate Sacred Garunix's effect to Special Summon itself from hand.
• Activate Sacred Garunix's effect to destroy Fire King Courtier Ulcanix from Deck.
• Activate Ulcanix's effect to Special Summon Fire King High Avatar Garunix from Deck.
• Link Summon Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf using both Garunix monsters.
• Link Summon Salamangreat Almiraj using Effect Veiler.
• Activate Sunlight Wolf's effect to add Ash Blossom back to hand. (Why not Ulcanix? You'll see.)
• Link Summon Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames using Sunlight Wolf and Almiraj.
• Activate Princess' effect to Special Summon Ulcanix from GY.
• Activate Ulcanix's effect to destroy Ash Blossom and add Legendary Fire King Ponix from Deck to hand.
• Activate Ponix's effect to Special Summon itself from hand.
• Activate Ponix's effect to add Fire King Sanctuary from Deck to hand.
• Link Summon Duelittle Chimera using Ponix and Ulcanix.
• Link Summon Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale using Princess and Duelittle.
• Activate Sanctuary, and pass turn.

Once again we got full combo from a hand that looked terrible at first. Are Link Monsters too powerful? Probably, but I'm not complaining.

Handling Interruptions

Sometimes, things go wrong. Sometimes things go very wrong.

It's important to know how to handle various interruptions your opponent might throw at you, and also how to deal with various unexpected situations you might find yourself in.

The biggest thing you should worry about are handtraps your opponent might have. Ranging from monster negates like Effect Veiler and Infinite Impermanence, to board-destroying effects like Nibiru, the Primal Being, to the ever-frustrating Dimension Shifter, and more recently, the Mulcharmy cards, these cards can either end your turn outright, or give your opponent sufficient advantage to win the game next turn.

Of course, going second you are faced with your opponent's set up board. Depending on what deck they're playing, you might need to adapt your playstyle accordingly in order to avoid playing into their strategy. We won't cover other decks' endboards as these will continuously change with the meta.

In fact, even our coverage about handtraps will probably continuously evolve as the meta shifts, new cards are introduced, and decks fall in and out of favor. Consider coming back once in a while to get a refresher on what to look out for, but at the same time, don't treat this as the only resource you have available.

The best way to learn about what's played right now is to engage with the game and its various communities, from Discord servers like the Fire Kings server, to the /r/yugioh subreddit and local communities you might have access to. Make sure to participate in them and keep an eye on what's happening.

Okay, let's talk handtraps, and how to recover after encountering one.

Dealing with negations

Nobody likes being told "no" - and to be frank, Yu-Gi-Oh! revolves around when and how to tell your opponent "no". Careful sequencing and management of interruptions is key to playing the game at a high level.

As such, you'll often encounter players running cards with effects that negate your cards' effects and/or activations. Knowing how to avoid them (or even when to let them resolve) can make the difference between a win and a loss more times than you'd think.

Every seasoned Fire King player knows the pain of Normal Summoning Legendary Fire King Ponix and activating its effect, only for an opponent to chain an Ash Blossom. If left to resolve, it can end our turn right there, which is pretty bad as we have to rely on handtraps to survive until the next turn.

Thankfully, we have solutions. Cards like Called by the Grave and Crossout Designator are great at dealing with any handtraps thrown our way, so running them in either Main Deck or Side Deck is recommended.

For effects that target, we also have Fire King High Avatar Kirin - we can Chain its Quick Effect to destroy our own card and make the negating effect lose its target, thus be unable to negate. Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames's GY effect can also fulfill this role in limited circumstances.

Cards that target before negating include Effect Veiler and Infinite Impermanence - be on the lookout for these kinds of effects.

However, you need to keep in mind there are negations that do not target, like Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring. Kirin cannot save you from those, as the effect is negated regardless of where your card ends up.

No matter how you slice it, you're often vulnerable to these kinds of effects, so it's good idea to anticipate and prepare for them. For example, if you open with Arvata, sometimes Normal Summoning Arvata to make its negate online can be the right play and save you from getting interrupted.

However, you also need to acknowledge that sometimes you just don't have any way to play around this. You are at the mercy of your opening hand - bad hands are just as common as good hands, so learning how to make the most out of any hand is an essential skill.

Don't give up immediately - you'd be surprised how many decks cannot kill you even with just a Ponix on board, especially if you have some other Fire Kings in hand, and your own selection of handtraps. Persevere through games and you'll find wins where you least expect them.

In competitive tournaments you also need to learn when to surrender to save time, but that's another discussion. In fact, we would be inclined to say that as a beginner, sticking through every match will be more beneficial in the long run than immediately scooping when you brick or end on a poor board.

Droll & Lock Bird, and the dillemma of your opponent's hand

Droll & Lock Bird is frustratingly annoying for us, as having it activated after resolving Ponix or Ulcanix usually guarantees we can't continue our usual combos.

The biggest pain point is that we cannot resolve Fire King Island afterwards

• as such, if we suspect that our opponent runs Droll, we might have to opt for different plays than usual.

Let's take this hand for example:

• Sacred Fire King Garunix
• Fire King Avatar Rangbali
• Droll & Lock Bird (gotta love irony)
• Fire King Island
• Legendary Fire King Ponix

Going for the 2-card Ponix combo would be the best play here normally, but what if you know your opponent runs Droll? How do you play around it?

Let's see one possible solution.

• Normal Summon Fire King Avatar Rangbali.
• Activate Fire King Island.
• Activate Island's effect to destroy Ponix and add Fire King High Avatar Kirin from Deck to hand.
• A Chain forms here:
  • CL1: You activate Sacred Fire King Garunix's effect to Special Summon itself from hand.
  • CL2: Opponent chains Droll & Lock Bird since you added Kirin from Deck to hand.
• Activate Sacred Garunix's effect to destroy Fire King Courtier Ulcanix from Deck.
• Activate Ulcanix's effect to Special Summon Fire King High Avatar Garunix from Deck.
• You have 3 bodies on the field now, and you kept Kirin in hand.

The unfortunate part is that this play causes you to miss out on getting Fire King Sanctuary off Ponix, which leads your endboard to be so much weaker (as Island is vulnerable to getting destroyed, and you cannot summon Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings during your opponent's turn).

It's also not ideal to proactively limit your plays, as you'll miss out on opportunities where summoning Ponix would have gotten you the full endboard, because your opponent didn't have anything in their hand.

That said, playing into your opponent's handtraps can hurt immensely too, so there is a careful act of balancing that needs to be done here. Probably a blend of your personal preferences plus your ability to read your opponent's actions is the best way to go here.

Figuring out how to gather information from your opponent is a genuine skill that can be developed - does your opponent's actions mean they're waiting to interrupt you, or are they just waiting for you to finish your turn?

Dimension Shifter, and why Fucho is your friend in need

Dimension Shifter Level 6 DARK Spellcaster If you have no cards in your GY (Quick Effect): You can send this card from your hand to the GY; until the end of the next turn, any card sent to the GY is banished instead. ATK 1200 | DEF 2200

This guy says "no ❤️ " to our entire deck, as most Fire Kings' effects require them to be destroyed by card effect and sent to the GY.

Pray you open a Called by the Grave or Crossout Designator (if you're willing to run 1 copy of Shifter yourself).

Otherwise, this forces us to go on the defensive immediately, as trying to play through it is just a waste of resources, and even Ulcanix + Arvata ends up giving you just 2 monsters' worth of Link material, as everything else gets banished before we can make use of it.

Here is where Kikinagashi Fucho comes in. This little fella is unaffected by other card effects (including yours!), and by detaching 2 materials it becomes unable to be destroyed by battle, making it an impenetrable wall if Xyz Summoned in Defense Position.

How do we make him? We have two options, depending which starter we opened (and assuming we got Shifter'd during the Draw or Standby Phase, or before we started our combo).

Try to avoid playing any other cards if you can avoid it. Fucho may be invincible, but your other cards are not, so if it's not a Quick-Play or Trap you can activate during your opponent's turn, you shouldn't place it on the field.

Use your handtraps sparingly too, as you might need them to survive the next turn while you establish your board.

If you opened Ulcanix + a FIRE monster

• Normal Summon Fire King Courtier Ulcanix.
• Activate Ulcanix's effect, to destroy the FIRE monster in your hand and add Legendary Fire King Ponix, then make her Level 1 to match Ponix's Level.
• Activate Ponix's effect from hand to Special Summon itself.
• Activate Ponix's effect to add any Fire King spell you might need.
• Overlay Ponix and Ulcanix into Kikinagashi Fucho.
• Pass turn.
• During their turn, activate Fucho and detach both materials in order to make it invincible.
• Once it's your turn again, Shifter should be gone already, so you can resume play as normal.

If you opened Ponix + a FIRE monster

• Normal Summon Legendary Fire King Ponix.
• Activate Ponix's effect to add Fire King Sanctuary from Deck to hand.
• Activate Sanctuary, place Fire King Island in your Field Zone.
• Activate Island's effect destroy the FIRE in your hand to add another Ponix from Deck to hand.
• Activate Ponix's effect to Special Summon itself from hand.
• Overlay into Kikinagashi Fucho and pass turn.

If you opened Sanctuary/Island + 2 FIRE monsters

• Activate Fire King Sanctuary, place Fire King Island in your Field Zone. (Or activate Island directly.)
• Activate Island's effect to destroy a FIRE monster in your hand and add Fire King Courtier Ulcanix from Deck to hand.
• Normal Summon Fire King Courtier Ulcanix.
• Follow the steps from the Ulcanix + FIRE combo above.

After Shifter is gone

• Hope you either draw another Ponix/Ulcanix, and perform the appropriate combo.
• If you don't, activate Sanctuary/Island if needed, then use Island's effect on any other monster except Fucho to search what you need to proceed further.

Mulcharmy Fuwalos, and how to ignore your Extra Deck

Mulcharmy Fuwalos Level 4 WIND Winged Beast If you control no cards (Quick Effect): You can discard this card; apply these effects this turn. ● Each time your opponent Special Summons a monster(s) from the Deck and/or Extra Deck, immediately draw 1 card. ● Once, during this End Phase, if the number of cards in your hand is more than the number of cards your opponent controls +6, you must randomly shuffle cards from your hand into the Deck so the number in your hand equals the number your opponent controls +6. You can only activate 1 other "Mulcharmy" monster effect, the turn you activate this effect. ATK 100 | DEF 600

To keep it short - you see this card and don't open Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, Called by the Grave or Crossout Designator (if you're running Fuwalos yourself), you stop Special Summoning from the Extra Deck, unless you're confident your opponent won't be able to beat you, even with 3-5 extra cards in their hand.

So, what are our options?

The first option is doing the most basic combo we have, the 1-card Ponix combo. This gives your opponent no draws at all as we don't use the Extra Deck at all during our turn, although it does mean our endboard is much weaker.

Another option depends on our hand. If we open Ponix, the plan is to cut the 2-card combo short, and end on Duelittle Chimera and Salamangreat Almiraj. This is an awkward endboard, but if things go well, you're only giving them 2 draws while you can potentially go +3 and have some interruptions to use on your opponent. Instructions are here.

If you open Ulcanix, good news! You can make Amblowhale with just two draws. See the combo here.

The last, and riskiest option, is to play normally through Fuwalos. Keep in mind your opponent could draw 5 cards from it, which in most cases, puts you at a big disadvantage.

Mulcharmy Purulia, and the inevitable Normal Summon

Mulcharmy Purulia Level 4 WATER Aqua If you control no cards (Quick Effect): You can discard this card; apply these effects this turn. ● Each time your opponent Normal or Special Summons a monster(s) from the hand, immediately draw 1 card. ● Once, during this End Phase, if the number of cards in your hand is more than the number of cards your opponent controls +6, you must randomly shuffle cards from your hand into the Deck so the number in your hand equals the number your opponent controls +6. You can only activate 1 other "Mulcharmy" monster effect, the turn you activate this effect. ATK 100 | DEF 600

Pray you open Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, Called by the Grave or Crossout Designator (if you're running Purulia yourself), or try not to cry as you Normal Summon Ponix and your opponent immediately draws a card.

Yeah, this kinda cooks us. We need to summon from hand at least twice during all of our combos (make that three if we start with Ulcanix), and we have no way to avoid it.

The good thing is that you usually don't give your opponent more than 2-3 draws, so while they will have an advantage, it shouldn't be too much to deal with.

Variants and Engines

So far, we talked about Fire King as a standalone deck, without any other engines or archetypes mixed in. You've seen how it functions, what it can do and both its strengths and its shortcomings.

Some of you might be content with that - pure Fire King is a capable and fun deck on its own, but some players might be looking for a little bit more. Be it a secondary engine to compensate for some weaknesses, or a variant that plays in a unique way - players have tried and tested many of them, and it would be unfair to ignore their efforts.

Let's spend a brief moment talking about these variants and what makes them appealing.

Keep in mind this section is very brief and only serves as an introduction to these variants. If you're looking for more information, check the dedicated channels on the Fire King Discord server.

The Arsenal Falcon Engine (feat. Kashtira)

Raidraptor - Arsenal Falcon Rank 7 DARK Winged Beast 2 Level 7 monsters Once per turn: You can detach 1 material from this card; Special Summon 1 Level 4 Winged Beast monster from your Deck. If this card has any number of "Raidraptor" monsters as material, it can attack up to that many times during each Battle Phase. If this card is sent to the GY while it has a "Raidraptor" monster as material: You can Special Summon 1 "Raidraptor" Xyz Monster from your Extra Deck except "Raidraptor - Arsenal Falcon", and if you do, attach this card from your GY to it as material. ATK 2500 | DEF 2000

Guess who is a Level 4 Winged Beast?

This card can Summon Fire King Courtier Ulcanix directly from the Deck, jumpstarting our combo. As such, any engine capable of making a generic Rank 7 Xyz Monster can find its place in a Fire King deck.

One of the most popular choices for that is the Kashtira cards - almost generic staples that besides swarming the field and being Level 7, can add value to your deck through their disruptive effects. Thus, you might see a tiny Kashtira core in some Fire King lists, like this one:

3x Kashtira Fenrir 1x Kashtira Riseheart 1x Raidraptor - Arsenal Falcon 0-3x Pressured Planet Wraitsoth

Fenrir + any FIRE monster is full Fire King combo:

• Special Summon Kashtira Fenrir.
• Activate Fenrir's effect to add Kashtira Riseheart from Deck to hand.
• Normal Summon Kashtira Riseheart.
  • Why not Special Summon? Because Riseheart locks you into Xyz Monsters for the rest of the turn. Normal Summoning avoids this.
• Xyz Summon Raidraptor - Arsenal Falcon using Fenrir and Riseheart.
• Use Arsenal Falcon's effect to Special Summon Fire King Courtier Ulcanix from Deck.
• Proceed with the 2-card, Ulcanix + FIRE combo.

As you can see, this can be a simple way to increase the consistency of your Fire King deck, as long as you have a playset of Fenrirs available.

A note on Fire King Kashtira

Seeing this combo might prompt you to explore a larger Kashtira engine, adding cards like Kashtira Unicorn, Kashtira Birth or Kashtiratheosis. While these cards are good cards, it's easy to get lost in the sauce and end up with a deck that either plays the Kashtira half, or the Fire King half, instead of both archetypes working in unison towards a single goal.

Whether this is preferable to you depends on your deckbuilding goals.

What about Cursed Fire King Doom Burst?

Cursed Fire King Doom Burst Level 3 FIRE Fiend If this card is destroyed by battle or card effect and sent to the GY: You can target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; it loses 400 ATK until the end of this turn. You can only use each of the following effects of "Cursed Fire King Doom Burst" once per turn. If you control a Fiend Tuner: You can Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card is Special Summoned: You can target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; it loses 600 ATK until the end of this turn. ATK 1600 | DEF 800

So, this guy isn't really a Fire King, he's in fact a Resonator / Red Dragon Archfiend card! It was used by Jack Atlas in the manga, a few months before the Fire King archetype debuted in the OCG.

However, because of his name, he can be searched by any card that searches a "Fire King" card. You don't really have much reason to do so, though. (Unless you're playing a Resonator engine in your deck, in which case, you do you.)

The sins of Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest

Throughout the guide, whenever we talked about the Fire Kings' effects to Special Summon themselves from the hand, we blamed "the Green Baboon ruling" for the reason we can only Special Summon 1 monster, even if we have multiple monsters with the same effect in the hand.

What's up with that?

Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest Level 7 EARTH Beast When a face-up Beast monster you control is destroyed and sent to the GY, while this card is in your hand or GY (except during the Damage Step): You can pay 1000 LP; Special Summon this card. ATK 2600 | DEF 1800

This card is what's up. It was very powerful in the OCG in 2006, causing it to be Limited on its release in the TCG in 2007, and staying that way until 2009.

As a consequence, we now have the following ruling:

Only one Trigger Effect that Special Summons the activating monster itself, and that can be activated in the hand, can be activated in any given Chain. A "Trigger Effect that Special Summons the monster itself, and can be activated in the hand" also includes effects that can be activated in either the hand or the Graveyard.

Regardless of whether the effect is actually being activated in the hand or Graveyard, only one of this kind of Trigger Effect can be activated on any given Chain.

All our Fire King cards that can Special Summon themselves from the hand are affected by this ruling. Thus, we are not able to activate Legendary Fire King Ponix from the hand and Sacred Fire King Garunix from the hand or GY in the same Chain, for example.

Make sure to always keep this ruling in mind as you perform your combos.

Sample Decklist

Main Deck

Monsters

• 1x Fire King High Avatar Garunix
• 3x Sacred Fire King Garunix
• 3x Fire King High Avatar Kirin
• 2x Fire King Avatar Arvata
• 1x Fire King Avatar Barong
• 1x Fire King Avatar Rangbali
• 3x Fire King Courtier Ulcanix
• 3x Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring
• 3x Legendary Fire King Ponix
• 2x Droll & Lock Bird
• 3x Effect Veiler

Spells / Traps

• 1x One for One
• 1x [Pot of Prosperity]
• 1x Called by the Grave
• 1x Circle of the Fire Kings
• 1x Fire King Sky Burn
• 3x Fire King Sanctuary
• 3x Fire King Island
• 3x Infinite Impermanence

Extra Deck

Xyz Monsters

• 2x Garunix Eternity, Hyang of the Fire Kings
• 1x Dingirsu, the Orcust of the Evening Star
• 1x Kikinagashi Fucho

Link Monsters

• 1x Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale
• 2x Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames
• 1x [Dharc the Dark Charmer, Gloomy]
• 1x Hiita the Fire Charmer, Ablaze
• 1x Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf
• 1x S:P Little Knight
• 1x Duelittle Chimera
• 1x I:P Masquerena
• 1x Salamangreat Almiraj
• 1x Relinquished Anima