Drytron is a Ritual-focused archetype of LIGHT Machine monsters named after the stars of the Draco constellation and their respective Greek letter designations. There are 2 primary categories of Drytron monsters: Level 1 Effect Monsters with 2000 ATK and 0 DEF, and Level 12 Ritual Monsters with 4000 ATK and DEF.
Drytron was brought into MD upon its initial release, and immediately it became one of the most powerful decks in the meta, and due to the numerous flaws present in MD at the time, it has earned a notorious reputation from the playerbase. Today, three years after its reign of terror, Drytron has gotten new support cards to work with. Will it rise to Tier 1 status once again to burn its enemies to ash? No, not really, especially not while the meta has evolved to become overloaded with 1 card combo decks with 15+ non-engine slots. Currently it wouldn't be accurate to say that Drytron is a meta deck (especially considering future releases), but that doesn't mean that the deck hasn’t evolved to adapt to the changing meta with the numerous cards that have been released to MD over the course of three years.
Playstyle
The deck’s general playstyle is dictated by the restrictions present in the effects of the Level 1 Drytrons:
Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must be Special Summoned with the effect of a "Drytron" card. You can Tribute 1 other "Drytron" monster, or 1 Ritual Monster, from your hand or field; Special Summon this card from your hand or GY in Defense Position, then you can [effect unique to each Drytron]. You cannot Special Summon monsters, except monsters that cannot be Normal Summoned/Set, the turn you activate this effect. You can only use this effect of [this Drytron] once per turn.
Yes, that is the entire effect text of the Level 1 Drytrons.
These restrictions essentially prevent the use of any engines that involve Special Summoning Main Deck monsters barring Rituals, while allowing the use of the Normal Summon for the abundant pool of Ritual support cards since Drytron has no in-archetype Normal Summon. On top of this, almost every play the deck has requires at least 2 Drytrons in your hand, since you need to have something to Tribute for the effect of the 1st Drytron.
Their playstyle revolves around Ritual Summoning individually powerful Ritual Monsters, such as the deck’s very own boss monster, Loading..., and being able to continue doing so every turn due to every Level 1 Drytron being able to summon themselves from the GY. Now you might say, how can a deck of Level 1 monsters Ritual Summon a Level 12 Ritual Monster? This is possible due to the deck’s unique take on Ritual Summoning, which uses the ATK of the Tributed monsters instead of their Levels in order to perform a Ritual Summon. This interesting gimmick, alongside the generic nature of the deck’s Ritual Spell, Loading..., allows the deck to be able to summon almost any Ritual Monster in the game with only 1 or 2 Drytrons as Tributes, something the deck is easily able to provide.
That is not all the deck can do, however, as the Drytron monsters happen to be fantastic for using a variety of Extra Deck monsters due to their ability to swarm the field. This, combined with the deck’s ability to access any Ritual Monster in the game, means that the amount of things you can feasibly accomplish with Drytron is quite absurd. For the purposes of this guide, however, I will only be talking about the newest variant presented to the deck via the newly released support cards.
Core Cards
Drytrons
Fairies
Extra Deck
Something important to know about deckbuilding with Drytron is the ratio of Level 1 Drytrons to everything else in the deck. Drytron is a deck that has a single 1 card combo, and as such it has to run a lot of Drytrons to be able to consistently open hands that don’t immediately brick. A good way to measure how consistent your deck will be is by looking at this ratio. The ideal ratio of Drytrons to non-Drytrons is 1:1, meaning that ideally half your deck should be the Level 1 Drytrons or cards that can search them.
Allows you to search any Ritual Monster from your Deck, and as such is one of the most important Drytrons to have due to the fact the added Ritual Monster can be used to summon another Drytron. Run at 3 copies at all times.
Allows you to search any Ritual Spell from your Deck. Run at 3 copies at all times for having consistent access to the archetype’s Ritual Spell.
Allows you to Special Summon another Drytron with 2000 ATK from the GY. This effect might not seem as important as Alpha’s or Zeta’s, but it is an invaluable effect for the general gameplan of the deck, which is swarming the field to generate advantage and provide fodder for Ritual Summons. Run at 3 copies at all times.
Allows you to draw a card by revealing a Ritual Monster or Ritual Spell in your hand. While Delta isn’t integral to most combos, the additional draw you get for free can snowball into an immense resource advantage over the course of a Duel. Run at 2 or 3 copies depending on your deck size.
The newest addition to the Drytron deck, revolutionizing how the deck plays. Nu2 allows you to search any Drytron monster on Special Summon, an effect that the deck has dreamed of having access to for many years, and without having to jump through hoops to get to it. In addition, its effect to summon itself from the hand or GY only requires you to control a Drytron card and not Tribute something in hand or on field, but it gets banished if it leaves the field afterwards. Nu2 provides an incredible amount of consistency to the Deck, with the downside of preventing the Ritual Summon of non-Machine Rituals during the turn you activate either effect. This part of the effect is why this guide will only be talking about the newest variant of the deck, because it directly contradicts with the strategies of Drytron's previous variant. In this newest variant, however, it is mandatory to run 3 copies of this card due to the consistency it provides.
The archetype's only Ritual Spell. Allows you to Ritual Summon any Ritual Monster from your hand or GY by Tributing Machine monsters whose total ATK equal or exceed the ATK of the Ritual Monster. Something noteworthy is the ability to use Xyz or Link Monsters as the cost for this effect, as the card checks for the ATK of the Tributed monsters instead of their Level. It can also return itself to the hand from the GY by targeting a Drytron on the field and reducing its ATK by 1000, which allows you to Ritual Summon twice with only one Ritual Spell, which is handy to have if your first Ritual Summon is prevented. Despite the power and flexibility of the card, you don’t want to draw it in your opening hand as the card does nothing by itself, not to mention that it’s mega searchable in the deck. Running 1 copy is perfectly enough, although if banishing cards from the top of the deck ever gets popular again you can consider a 2nd copy.
The new boss monster of the archetype, affectionately called DAD by the community. It is a Level 12 Ritual Monster with 5000 ATK and DEF, which means that it requires 3 Drytrons to be Ritual Summoned using Loading.... DAD makes up for Nu2’s lock by allowing you to negate your opponent’s monster effect by banishing a number of Drytrons from the GY whose total ATK equal or exceed the monster’s ATK. That’s right, the archetype has its very own negate now. One negate wouldn't make up for the loss of every non-Machine Ritual Monster, however, and that's why this effect can be used twice per turn. It has two other effects as well, one of which prevents your other Drytrons from being destroyed by your opponent’s card effects, and the other being that it allows you to cheat out any Ritual Monster with 4000 ATK from your Deck upon being destroyed by your opponent’s card effect. While not very strong, these two effects are very nice added bonuses to the interruption it already provides. Thanks to its power, the latest variant of the deck not relying on the disco ball of negation is able to properly exist on its own. Run at 1 copy for the same reasons as the Ritual Spell, except it's even more searchable somehow.
The archetype’s previous boss monster, a Level 12 Ritual Monster with 4000 ATK and DEF that can be Ritual Summoned with 2 Drytrons using Loading.... Despite the newly released DAD, Draconids is distinct enough from its successor that it earns a spot in the deck, and also because DAD can cheat it out from the Deck with its floating effect. If summoned going 1st, either off of DAD or on its own, it acts as non-destruction removal with the cost of banishing up to 2 Drytrons from the GY. If summoned going 2nd, it acts as an imposing board clearer and OTK tool due to its massive 4000 ATK and ability to attack every Special Summoned monster your opponent controls. Something that occasionally comes up with both DAD and Draconids is the fact that they both can be used for the effect of Loading... in order to summon one another when necessary. While DAD is most certainly the superior card in general when going 1st, if your combo gets interrupted Draconids can be used as a fantastic backup Ritual to end on due to its more lenient material cost. You can’t really go wrong with including 1 copy of it in your deck, even if used exclusively for DAD’s floating effect.
The archetypal “searcher” of the deck, which allows you to Special Summon a Drytron from your Deck. Pair this with Nu2 and you have a 1 card combo, something Drytron has never had access to for many years. This interaction alone is enough to warrant running all 3 copies.
The Field Spell of the deck, of which it has the effect of allowing you to search a Drytron Spell/Trap on activation, which is usually just Nova and occasionally Meteonis. None of the other Drytron S/T are worth playing, and as such the card is mostly just used as additional copies of Nova, which is exactly what you want with Nu2 in the equation. It also has a very funny secret effect that lets you reduce the Level of a Summoned monster by 1 per 1000 ATK it has if you control a Drytron. This effect can be game winning in certain matchups if they cannot play around it. Running 3 copies is required for the simple fact that it searches Nova.
The actual searcher of the deck, since every Drytron is a LIGHT Machine that cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. In addition, if the card’s activation is negated, you can discard a card to get it back to your hand and use it again, which is perfect for the deck. Run at 3 copies at all times.
Because each Drytron you want to search is Level 1, Jack is another piece of consistency you can add to your deck if you need more Drytrons to meet the 1:1 ratio. This is the least powerful consistency enabler of the deck due to its reliance on the opponent.
An unplayably bad card in the previous versions of the deck now revitalized due to Nu2’s effect. Ursatron allows you to Special Summon itself from the hand and search any Drytron Spell/Trap as long as you control a Drytron card. This pairs extremely well with the Nu2 that searches it on summon, essentially allowing you to access Fafnir/Nova if you haven’t gone through them yet. Despite this interaction, it’s still only used at 1 copy due to its inability to summon itself from the GY.
The worst Drytron name in the deck, but due to its ability to recycle your banished Drytron monsters it can be considered as a one of to offset your constant banishing of Drytrons with DAD or Nu2's own effect.
Nu2 can be summoned with any card effect, which is distinct from every other Drytron. You can’t really go wrong with this card as a result.
Surely being able to send any monster to the GY is good in a deck filled with monsters that can activate in the GY.
The card that ties the deck together. It is searchable by Alpha, and it allows you to nullify the summoning cost of Drytrons after you get it into rotation with its ability to search any LIGHT Fairy upon being Tributed, which includes itself. It doesn’t matter which variant of the deck you are playing, Benten is simply one of the best cards in the deck due to its ability to mitigate costs and enable all sorts of shenanigans with the plethora of powerful search targets.
While in the GY, Natasha can target and steal a monster your opponent controls at the cost of banishing a Cyber Angel from the GY, while also Special Summoning itself. This effect is extremely powerful and versatile, being able to remove an opponent’s monster while giving you valuable board presence, on a very cheap activation cost. In addition to that, the effect is not a “once per turn” effect, meaning that you can use it multiple times as long as you have Cyber Angels to banish for its effect. However, this effect cannot be activated if Natasha has not been summoned properly prior to meeting the activation condition, meaning that you have to actually Ritual Summon Natasha first. Natasha also has two other effects, one of them being the ability to gain LP equal to half the ATK of a monster you control and the other being the ability to negate attacks declared on Ritual Monsters. These 2 effects are not nearly impactful enough on the format of MD, so they can be thought of as bonus effects (the LP gain effect especially). Despite clashing with Nu2’s lock, Natasha is such a good going 2nd card that it earns itself a spot in the deck.
Despite not relying on Fairies for the endboards the variant makes, Diviner is still an invaluable card to be searched off of Benten’s effect. Diviner can send any Fairy from your Deck or Extra Deck to GY to increase its Level by the Level of the monster sent to the GY, of which the sent monsters then have their own effects. The Level increase is used to great effect in the variant, although not in the traditional way you might remember. Run 1 copy just to search off of Benten.
Everyone knows what he does. This card’s inclusion is primarily due to the presence of Loading..., since you’re able to summon it while only Special Summoning twice during the process and as such is your best answer to it. If your opening hand is really good you can search it over Diviner for a truly disgusting board.
This slot’s purpose is to be a Level 1 LIGHT Fairy that you search off of Benten when you need the extra body to make Mu Beta. Eva lets you search Diviner for the next turn when sent to the GY, while Guiding Light can summon Nu2 with its effect to allow for a wider variety of plays, and is more valuable going 2nd.
For some reason all Artifacts are LIGHT Fairies, so that means you technically have a searchable floodgate in the form of Lancea. This card’s inclusion in the deck depends on the what the meta is. If there is a deck that really loves banishing their cards in the meta, you can easily consider running this. Lancea also happens to be a great answer to Loading... since most Shifter decks cannot actually play under Lancea.
When Xyz Summoned, Mu Beta is able to send any Drytron card from the Deck to the GY. This effect by itself is incredible for the deck, as it allows you to get an additional Drytron in rotation for the turn, allowing you to extend much further. This effect can also send your archetypal Ritual components when the situation calls for it, which is another bonus. Mu Beta has an additional effect, that being the effect to detach Xyz Materials from itself instead of Tributing cards from the hand or field when Ritual Summoning. This effect is the real star of the show, especially considering the hefty material cost of DAD. Speaking of DAD, when paired with each other Mu Beta can negate a Spell/Trap Card your opponent activates by detaching a material. This card is simply invaluable for the deck, providing immense amounts of extension and interruption, and running 2 copies is highly advised for the simple fact that you will summon it multiple times, whether in just one turn or over the course of multiple turns.
Diviner’s primary target in the deck, as Arc Light allows you to search any Ritual Monster or Ritual Spell when sent to the GY. Arc Light is also Level 4, meaning that Diviner becomes Level 6 after sending it, the perfect level for your endboard.
Diviner makes itself Level 6 after sending Arc Light to the GY, and the Drytrons that swarm the field are Level 1, meaning that Dragster takes no effort to summon. While you can technically summon any Level 7 Synchro with this combination, Dragster’s ability to negate any Spell/Trap your opponent activates pairs really well with DAD’s monster negation, and it does not add otherwise unnecessary cards to your deck to enable this effect.
Turns Diviner into spot removal while still allowing Diviner to become Level 6, there is no reason to not include this card.
This is what every Drytron turns into when they grow up, a fact made apparent by the fact that it’s a LIGHT Machine, which coincidentally allows for some hilarious synergy with the deck.
+1 Zeus material.
These cards all serve one primary purpose: make Zeus. Pick the one that you prefer more/suits your tech cards.
This slot’s primary purpose is to allow Nova to fully act as a searcher, by linking off the summoned Drytron. Linkuriboh points downwards, so you can summon I:P under it. Anima can force out disruption when going 2nd while only using a single Drytron. They are both UR so choose your fighter.
Do I have to say what this card does at this point?
You would run both of these cards, and they both serve a similar purpose. Dyna Mondo pairs extremely well with DAD, because DAD’s negation effect is a soft twice per turn. That’s right, you can negate 4 monster effects with the same card. It’s like Herald never left. S:P in return is far more versatile, especially considering your Link 1s. It does have the downside of preventing OTKs if summoned going 2nd however.
If the Yu-Gi-Oh! DB website asks to login with Game Card ID just click "I don't have a game card ID" and fill some basic information to proceed
Export Guide
- Via the MDM extension (Recommended): Download on Firefox, or Chromium Browsers For Chromium browsers (Chrome/Edge/Opera/Brave...etc) just click "Add to chrome" on the store page and it'll work on most if not all chromium browsers. After using the extension, go to the Master Duel game => Main menu => Deck option => The Card database option at the top right corner => locate the deck you exported and copy it
Once the deck page loads click Edit then do one of the following based on the platform your device is running:
(PC Only): Press F12 to open the DevTools window => Navigate to the Console tab in the window => Paste the export code => Hit Enter
OR (Other platforms/PC): In the address bar of the current tab remove the URL and type "javascript:" without the quotations then paste the export code, then if you're on mobile look for the *globe* icon and tap on it to run the code (Chrome only), for PC users just hit enter.
The deck will save automatically
Go to the Master Duel game => Main menu => Deck option => The Card database option at the top right corner => locate the deck you exported and copy it
Yes, the complete deck is 50 cards. Going to anything below 50 would make your deck worse due to not running enough non-engine.
Combos
There are too many combos in this deck due to the different combinations of Drytrons you might draw in your opening hand, and as such I have decided to make a Drytron Combo Sheet filled with every relevant combo you might need.
Conclusion
I would like to thank everyone that has helped me polish out the guide and provide me with deck building advice. Drytron is quite a hard deck to build and pilot optimally, and I hope that this guide will be able to alleviate the barrier to entry slightly.
