Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel: Heart of the Card(ians) Guide

Flower Cardians is first and foremost, a combo-heavy deck that doesn’t pair well with other cards (traps, spells, or even non-archetypal cards). Daunting as it may seem they’re really not all that hard to learn, it’s more of just needing to learn key cards and/or interactions (and of course, learning what each card does).

Some of what you can expect:

• Stacking is vital in this deck, spells and tuners can hinder your plays
• Your newly found hatred (and love) for spells
• Opponents leaving because they don’t want to watch you play and/or your opponent Maxx “C”d you
• They revolve around the Level 2 (even though it doesn’t have a Level 2)

As usual, if you think it can be improved or if I left out some information you think should be added in, let me know.

Much like Sylvans, Flower Cardians are the bulk of your deck list and revolve exclusively around drawing Flower Cardian monsters. Each ‘Flower Cardian’ monster draws you 1 card, whether that be through shuffling 1 monster from your GY back into the deck, normal/special summoning it, or by drawing 1 card. This section is exclusively just trying to speedrun what they do and their main points.

[NOTE: There will be a ‘X’ by the monster, that’s their level.]

Flower Cardian Pine with Crane – One of the weaker and less used Flower Cardian cards, you tribute 1 Level 1 (there are only 2 Level 1s), draw 1 card, and then Special Summon it if it’s a Flower Cardian. You’re better off using something that can extend on top of your Level 1 in my opinion rather than using Crane. [1]

Flower Cardian Pine – Pine is your main Normal Summon of the deck, he draws 1 when Normal Summoned and really does help to extend/get your plays rolling. [1]

Flower Cardian Cherry Blossom – If you control a Level 2 or lower ‘Flower Cardian’, you can Special Summon it. You can tribute 1 ‘Flower Cardian’ monster, draw 1 card, then if it’s a Flower Cardian monster you can either Special Summon or add it to your hand. Very important card to help start and extend your plays. [3]

Flower Cardian Cherry Blossom with Curtain – One of the better Flower Cardian cards, you can reveal it in your hand, draw 1 card, then if it’s a ‘Flower Cardian’ Monster, Special Summon it (otherwise send both to the GY). It does function as a handtrap (it even allows during the Damage Step) allowing your Flower Cardian to gain 1000 ATK. [3]

Flower Cardian Peony with Butterfly – Peony is one of the two main deck Tuners for Flower Cardians, and the primary one you’ll be using to start off your plays. You can Special Summon it by Tributing 1 ‘Flower Cardian’ Monster, and if you draw a ‘Flower Cardian’ Monster, you can stack either the top or bottom 3 cards of your opponent’s deck. When it’s used as Synchro Material you can treat it and other Monsters you Control as Level 2. [6] [Tuner]

Flower Cardian Clover with Boar – You can Tribute 1 ‘Flower Cardian’ Monster to Special Summon it, draw 1 card, then if it’s a Flower Cardian Monster, destroy 1 Monster your opponent controls (this doesn’t target). There really isn’t much to be said about it, it does the job. [7]

Flower Cardian Zebra Grass With Moon – Moon is a niche card and I’d say not to run it if you’re planning on doing a burn or Maxx “C” deckout variant. You have to Tribute 1 Level 8 Flower Cardian Monster (Zebra Grass, itself, or the Synchro Lightshower) which by itself is fine, but there are better cards. [8]

Flower Cardian Zebra Grass – Zebra Grass, at least to me, is one of the more important FC cards, as it functions as an extender and a Magical Mallet, but it’s better. If you Control a Level 7 or lower ‘Flower Cardian’ card, you can Special Summon it and shuffle any number of FC cards back into the deck and draw that many, allowing you to have a better chance at getting a spell into your hand. [8]

Flower Cardian Maple with Deer – You can basically read it as this: Tribute 1 Flower Cardian Monster, Special Summon this, draw 1 card, and if it’s a Flower Cardian you can destroy 1 spell/trap your opponent controls (doesn’t target). You’ll mostly be going 1st (or trying to be) so you’ll almost always use it for being able to tribute and draw. [10]

Flower Cardian Willow with Calligrapher – You can tribute 1 Level 11 Flower Cardian Monster (itself or Willow), Special Summon it, then if you draw a Flower Cardian off it being summoned, you can Special Summon that Monster. When used for Synchro Material you can treat it and the other Synchro Materials as Level 2. [11] [Tuner]

Flower Cardian Willow – When you control a Level 10 or lower Flower Cardian, you can Special Summon it (it also locks you into Flower Cardians). You can target a Flower Cardian in your GY, shuffle it back into the deck and then draw 1 card (note that you don’t have to discard if it’s a spell/trap, making him great for recycling and getting spells into your hand). [11]

Flower Cardian Paulownia with Phoenix – Very niche card, since you need to Tribute a Level 12 Flower Cardian Monster (itself or Paulownia). You can draw 1 card and if it’s a Flower Cardian, you can Special Summon it. (If it inflicts battle damage you can draw 1 card, so if you’re going for that then it’s fine). [12]

Flower Cardian Paulownia – If you control a Level 11 or lower Flower Cardian (basically all of them) you can Special Summon it (this is the only card that doesn’t draw on summon). It’s mostly an alright card as it’s a free non-Tuner extender. If your opponent’s Monster does target it for an attack, you can negate it, end their battle phase and draw a card. Very niche second effect but no one ever reads these cards so I’m sure you can pull it off. [12]

Cardian Moonflowerviewing – Easily the most important Monster in the entire archetype, you’ll be seeing her so often you’ll get sick of it. She’s a Level 6 Tuner Synchro Monster that lets you treat your other Flower Cardians as Level 2 when used for a Synchro Summon, meaning she can summon either herself or Boardefly (below) with 2 non-Tuners.

She’ll be your main drawer for the most part as it’s extremely easy to get her out most of the time, and with how often you can summon her you’ll be able to draw into much needed spells. If you draw into a Flower Cardian Monster with her effect you can Special Summon it (ignoring its summoning conditions). [6]

Flower Cardian Boardefly – Often overlooked, he actually has some decent effects and has use. If you need more space on your board you can go into him (if you don’t have a Moonflower in your ED for whatever reason), allows your Flower Cardians to do piercing, and has a lingering floodgate that prevents your opponent from activating effects and special summoning monsters from the GY. [6]

Flower Cardian Lightflare – Lightflare is the big boy of the archetype, weighing in at a staggering 5000 ATK, who can also (quick-effect) negate 1 spell/trap and destroy it. If any of your Flower Cardian monsters battle an opponent’s monster, that monsters effects are negated during that battle phase, and if it somehow dies by card effect, can Special Summon 1 FC Synchro from your Extra Deck.

They really tried to overcompensate with it.

As you’ve come to know, spells are the butter to this bread archetype, and you’re going to drop the butter on the floor like it’s your job. With that being said, though, let’s get into it:

Flower Gathering – Special Summon 4 ‘Flower Cardian’ monsters with 100 ATK from your deck, their effects are negated and they can’t be used for a Tribute Summon (you’re also locked into exclusively FC monsters). You don’t have to worry about not being able to Tribute Summon, Flower Cardians have an effect that lets you tribute 1 ‘Flower Cardian’ Monster, swerving around that issue.

You can absolutely use this to get some fodder to tribute and/or to get cards on board for whatever reason (Pine for Cherry Blossom, Willow to recycle and draw if you need, get something in the GY).

[NOTE: None of the Tuners have 100 ATK so you can’t use it as a 1-card Synchro Summon]

Flower Stacking – This card can be your lifeline in most games, allowing you to stack 3 Flower Cardian monsters on the top of your deck, letting you have a controlled draw and help setup a proper playline(s). The only once-per-turn this card has is when it’s in the GY: you can banish it from the GY, add 1 ‘Flower Cardian’ Monster from your GY to your hand (during your next turn).

Super Koi Koi – The card you’ll mostly be using with ‘Flower Stacking’, reveal the top 3 cards of your deck and Special Summon any Flower Cardian monsters revealed, but their effects are negated and they become Level 2. If you reveal any spells/traps by this effect, they’re banished (face-down) and you take 1000 damage for each.

It can also help extend your plays for whatever reason, when it’s in the GY you can tribute 1 monster you control to Special Summon 1 Monster from your hand (it won’t come up often but it can be something).

Recardination – With no once-per-turn on any of its effects, it’s arguably one of the most important spell cards in the archetype. Target 1 ‘Flower Cardian’ Monster in your GY, add it to your hand, and then you can Special Summon 1 ‘Flower Cardian’ Monster from your hand (ignoring it’s summoning conditions).

When it’s discarded (which will be often) you can excavate the top 5 cards of your deck, and add any 1 spell revealed, and then stack your deck. This makes it fantastic for controlled draws and getting vital spells into your hand.

Super All In! – It’s De-Synchro on crack, you’ll pretty much always want to find or have a copy in your hand. Return 1 Synchro Monster you control to the Extra Deck, summon 4 ‘Flower Cardians’ from your GY, then draw a card, and if it’s a Flower Cardian Monster you can Special Summon it ignoring it’s summoning conditions.

Now everyone knows, that with crack comes consequences, because if you don’t draw a Flower Cardian Monster, you destroy all of your monsters and halve your lifepoints.

[TIP: Make sure to always stack your deck when you use this, if you can manage that then you’re golden.]

Fraud Freeze – No.

Although Flower Cardians aren’t the hardest deck to pilot, they might take some time to get used to more than other decks. You’ll want to continuously practice to get good at it, and hopefully not deck yourself out or lose to the timer. That being said, I’ll be going over some tips/tricks I wish I knew before starting:

It goes without saying that you’ll always want to know and control what’s at the top of your deck, but you’ll need to know the best times to stack your deck and/or what to stack:

• Example 1: Take Moonflowerviewing, you may not always necessarily need/want another Flower Cardian Monster in your hand, but a spell instead. A lot of her importance lies in the fact that she doesn’t need to discard whatever she draws, making her vital for drawing key spell cards like Super All In!, Super Koi Koi, Flower Gathering, etc.
• Example 2: Flower Stacking is both amazing for thinning your deck out and drawing into a Tuner when you really need it. If you have a ‘Flower Cardian Pine’ and a Flower Stacking, barring any interruptions, you can basically draw 3 and get your plays going. (.gif below to help).

  

  • 1. Flower Stacking reveal Pine, Peony (Tuner), and Willow (you can choose something else, but Willow is a free Special Summon and draw.)
  • 2. Ordered Pine (1), Peony (2), Willow (3) (example gif, you may not need a Tuner)
  • 3. Special Summon ‘Cherry Blossom With Curtain’ drawing into Pine
  • 4. Normal Summon Pine, drawing into Peony
  • 5. Tribute Summon Peony over ‘Cherry Blossom With Curtain’ (Curtain over Pine since you can extend off of Pine being a Level 1)
  • 6. Special Summon Willow, Synchro into Moonflowerviewing

Spells in this deck are a hit-or-miss, you’re going to absolutely love drawing into them with things like Zebra Grass, Moonflowerviewing or Willow, but most of your Flower Cardian monsters will toss them into the GY like they were covered in butter. That being said, spells are your main ticket to actually winning. Some helpful things to remember:

De-Synchro – De-Synchro is an absolute gem for this deck, especially since none of the Flower Cardians have once-per-turns, allowing you to keep a steady resource system going. One thing you will need to always keep in mind before you use it, though, is that your Flower Cardian Synchro Monster will have to have been summoned with properly summoned cards.

• Example: You’re Synchro summoning Moonflowerviewing with 3 cards: Peony (Tuner), Willow and Pine. Peony was summoned by the effect of ‘Super Koi Koi’, you Synchro Summon Moonflowerviewing with these 3 monsters and attempt to use De-Synchro on her, the spell will resolve without effect.

Always make sure they’re properly summoned via their own effect before using it. A tip if you need to, do another Synchro Summon, you’ll have more chances to draw into cards that can summon themselves properly.

Super All In! – Being a very important card (though not necessary) you’ll want to maximize your use out of it, since it can Special Summon any 4 Flower Cardians from your GY. Willow, Zebra Grass, and Moonflowerviewing should be your main targets for being summoned, with Willow and Moonflowerviewing being a priority above the rest. You don’t need to hold onto it, but make sure what you need is in the GY beforehand (ie: Moonflowerviewing).

I don’t have much to say about this, but know you will mostly be flooding the board with monsters, and Tuners can hinder you pretty hard. At least in my experience, outside of a few scenarios, you’ll want to keep only 1 Tuner on board, and that’d be Moonflowerviewing.

It’s not the end of the world, or maybe you’ll find yourself not agreeing with this, but with how much real estate this archetype needs you’re probably doing yourself a favor by keeping it at 1. That being said, you absolutely have outs to having an extra Tuner on board, and that’s either by tributing the Tuner or using it for a Synchro Summon for a non-Tuner Synchro (you can make it work if you go into Moonflowerviewing and then into a non-Tuner Synchro but generally that’s my rule, no need for unnecessary extending.)

If you see yourself summoning a Tuner for a draw, you can also use it for tribute fodder for even more drawing.

Flower Cardians are great for being able to constantly loop their cards, recycling and drawing. If you’re doing a burn/Maxx “C” deckout build, then being able to keep your resources going is pretty important:

• 1. Willow, one of your main spell “searchers” and your main recycler, can put back Moonflowerviewing back into your ED so you can re-summon her again, and again, and again, all while netting you more card advantage. Use with ‘Recardination’ to help constantly keep Moonflowerviewing in your Extra Deck. (Recardination > Willow > Willow effect > put back Moonflowerviewing > draw 1)

  

• 2. Pot of Avarice is pretty much a must-have for this deck, as you can draw 2 cards and recycle 5 cards back into your deck and/or Extra Deck. You might want to wait to use it until you absolutely have to, allowing you to recycle more valuable monsters in case you need them.
• 3. Although you might not always be able to summon him, T.G. Hyper Librarian is a fantastic inclusion for this deck. Every time you Synchro Summon a monster, you can draw 1 card (which means you won’t have to discard spells/traps). Make sure you Synchro Summon him before you lock yourself out of non Flower Cardian monsters.

By Blank