I'm here to talk to you today about Deck "Balance".


This essentially means using a certain number of cards in your deck in a certain way to maintain consistency.

Consistency is very important in a deck because you need to reliably be able to summon your biggest beatsticks as often as possible. To accomplish this, your deck has to be built around it.


How do I do that?
Simple.
You have to consider deck size vs the number of cards you need to pull off your combos.
You will hear from all directions that 40 card decks are the only pro decks.
Reason being is that statistically speaking, you have a better chance of drawing a card you need the smaller your deck is.
However, if 40 cards isn't enough to fit your combos, either:
1- Rethink your combos. If your deck is going to tangle (when one or more strategies to summon two different, yet powerful monsters negatively impact each other mid-game and you're sitting there getting pounded with a dead hand), you need to get rid of whatever is going to be causing the tangling.
or
2- Feel free to use more than 40. But, be warned, if you deaddraw it is your own fault. You will be mocked by the dueling community if you whine about dead draws with a 60 card deck.


but.. what cards do I put in, and how many?
Usually the neatest answer is two. However, some cards are more versatile than others and can be ran consistently at three, while others are so inconsistent they must be ran at one.

To better explain, I'll just give examples.
(I'm using Elemental HEROes because these are cards I'm much more familiar with.)
Elemental HERO Bladedge

A card most people would call very inconsistent. Reason being: it's a level 7 monster, so it requires 2 tributes. When it doesn't require tributes, it requires Necroshade in the graveyard.
Despite it's high attack strength and powerful effect, he's not someone you need three copies of in your hand.
So, most decks (if he is ran at all) run him at one.

Elemental HERO Bubbleman

This HERO is fairly consistent as compared to a majority of his associates.
reason being: He is a level 4, so he can be thrown onto to the field relatively easily, and his effect allows him to Special Summon himself, great support for a Rank 4 Xyz-centric deck (like Rabbit Heroes).
Why not run at three? Well, he's consistent, but he might not be that consistent. He can Special Summon himself to the field, but he has to be the only card in your hand. So, being stuck with 3 bubblemen in hand could be a nasty situation.
All things considered, this Hero's earned two slots in my deck.

Miracle Fusion

This HERO support card is a very versatile card, as there is few restrictions and a lot to summon. Any Omni-Hero, and even a few Classic Heroes (all depending on the grave).
This HERO card, even if it has to sit in your hand for a little while, is very potent and worth the wait in most cases.
Many Heroes duelists run this card at three, and Miracle Fusion has earned each one of those deck slots.


Thats nice and all, but what do I do about MY cards?
Easy, read your cards, determine the use, cost, and effectiveness of each card in your deck, and how each card interacts with one another in your deck, making others more consistent, and making others useless, needing to be tossed out of the deck.

Example: Rescue Rabbit.

This lil Rabbit packs a big punch, as it allows you to Special Summon two level 4 or below Normal Monsters from your deck straight to the field, ready for Xyzing.
A card this powerful is not only consistent at any number of slots, but creates consistency with other other cards in deck.
This card creates the need to run a usually inconsistent Kazabauls or Elemental HERO Sparkman at three.
It also creates the need to run other cards to help create more consistency for when you do not draw Rabbit. Like Polymerization for when you draw two Sparkmen or Pot of Avarice when you need to recycle the monsters for Rabbit.

Overall, the best way to go about it is to analyze your deck and try the best you can to create the most consistent deck as possible.
The better analysis you perform, and the better and more knowledgeable builder you are, the better your deck will run.