Elemental HERO: Rush! Gameplay Guide

I started playing Rush Duel when HERO was first introduced with the Go Rush World update , where we could get the Structure Deck Hero's Stage and the Hero Rush Rising skill .

Unfortunately, just a week later , Yuo Goha and the Metarion Script deck appeared, and Metarion Ashurastar completely pushed HERO out of the meta .

The second wave of support came from Box Blazing Chemicalization , which marked the appearance of the Gaia Hero variant. However, the pre-nerf Chivalrous Celerity ability also created the Gaia Metarion variant, a Tier 0 deck, and so HERO was pushed out of the meta once again...

Then, Box Flash of Shining Flare and Pack Miracle Fusion brought a lot of new support for HERO, helping them shine again .

Without further ado, let's dive into this deck!

Sections covered in this guide:

1/ Build Guide

2/ The matches

3/ Summary

Build Guide

I hope the Rush community continues to grow, and so I've decided to write the first Rush deck guide featuring one of the most iconic decks in Yu-Gi-Oh! history — HERO .

In this section, I'll cover every card this deck can use , as well as different options you can consider when building a HERO deck.

Hero Rush Rising (Skill Card) (100%)

Hero Rush Rising is an archive skill (available to all characters) released with Go Rush World . This skill allows you to add "Fusion" from your deck or graveyard to your hand by sending a card on the field to the graveyard , while reducing the ATK/DEF of an opponent's monster by 600 .

While this skill may seem outdated compared to many others released around the same time, it still has some interesting advantages , such as:

Send a Fusion monster from the field to the graveyard to activate a stat reduction effect,
Brings good cards that Rising HERO Argent sent to the bottom of the deck back into circulation with the shuffle effect from the ability.

That makes Hero Rush Rising still have a certain place in the operation of this HERO deck.

Rising HERO Tantalum, Rising HERO Manaccaniter and Rising HERO Argent (.)

Rising HERO is a sub-branch of HERO exclusive to the Rush Duel format . Currently, the game has 3 Rising HERO monsters , including: Argent, Tantalum and Manaccaniter .

Rising HERO Argent (x3) is an extremely powerful search card for the deck , allowing you to see 4 cards from the top of your deck and add up to 2 Normal monsters as materials that match the type of monster you're facing. In most cases you'll want to take Elemental HERO Avian or Elemental HERO Burstinatrix , but depending on your Graveyard setup, you can also choose Elemental HERO Sparkman or Elemental HERO Clayman .
Rising HERO Tantalum (x0-1) is a pretty solid card, with the effect of sending 1 card from the hand to the graveyard to increase ATK by 2900. Additionally, if you control a Warrior Fusion monster , you can return 1 face-up Level 8 or lower opponent monster to the hand . When combined with Elemental HERO Burst Wingman , this duo can threaten to end things quickly. However, with the emergence of new supports and the fact that many decks can now call Level 9 or higher monsters , Tantalum is becoming less effective . If the meta revolves around Level 8 or lower monsters, Tantalum may be used again (even more than 1 copy), but for now, the optimal number should be 0–1 copies .
Rising HERO Manaccaniter (x0-1) is a card that restores Argent and Tantalum from the graveyard , by returning 1 card from the hand to the bottom of the deck . Unfortunately, Manaccaniter is also in the group of suboptimal cards , like Tantalum. Normally, if you play X copies of Tantalum , you will need X+1 copies of Manaccaniter . But if you don't play Tantalum , there is no reason to play Manaccaniter , because Shitotsu the Talismanic Warrior can also restore resources, with the added ability to summon Avian from the graveyard .

Normal monsters (x3)

This is the Normal monster lineup the deck uses, with a bit of flexibility in the number of Elemental HERO Clayman (x1-3) depending on the player's preference.

Excluding Legendary monsters , Elemental HERO Sparkman currently has the best stats among Level 4 and below monsters in the game. Meanwhile, Clayman is a great defensive wall with a DEF of 2000 .

Extra Deck

And here is the Extra Deck monster lineup that most players are using, with the ratio of the number of cards that can change depending on each person's preference .

Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman (x1-2) is the endgame monster that the previous deck lacked, allowing for OTKs and game-ending. Shining Flare Wingman can significantly increase ATK with the number of Warriors in the Graveyard, clear threats on the field, and deal burn damage to finish off your opponent. With Miracle Fusion , you can summon 2 Shining Flare Wingman in the same turn and attack to win — even if your opponent has Buffered Slime on the field.
Elemental HERO Burst Wingman (x1-2) is a powerful card that increases 1000 ATK to 1 Warrior monster (usually itself) and destroys a Spell/Trap card on the field by sending 1 card from the deck to the graveyard. With 3100 ATK , Burst Wingman can stay on the field for quite a while , as it is not easy for the opponent to overcome it in 1 turn.
Elemental HERO Flame Wingman (x1-2) is the first fusion HERO card to appear in Rush. Currently, it is mainly used to lead to the summoning of Shining Flare Wingman , but Flame Wingman itself can still end the game with the burn effect + ATK/DEF reduction from the skill .
Elemental HERO Voltic Wingman (x1-2) is a good card, acting as a temporary Miracle Fusion during the turn it is summoned. Note that Voltic Wingman will shuffle monsters from the graveyard back into the deck , so Flame Wingman must be in the graveyard if you want to summon Shining Flare Wingman.
Elemental HERO Thunder Giant (x0-1) is a pretty solid card. Its effect is rarely used, but its level 6 is very useful , as it can be a target for Elemental Circulation . If it is on the field, Thunder Giant can destroy a face-up monster with an original ATK lower than its current ATK , so a Thunder Giant with an ATK boost from Burst Wingman can handle almost anything.

Elemental HERO Bubbleman, Elemental HERO Mudballman and Elemental HERO Mariner (Other leaves)

Here are the remaining HERO cards in the game, and you'll almost certainly never use them:

Elemental HERO Bubbleman almost never triggers his effects , making it difficult to take advantage of.
Elemental HERO Mariner has the ability to deal direct damage , but the damage is too low to be enough of a threat to opponents.
Elemental HERO Mudballman can be a good defensive wall , but requires too much resource sacrifice to summon. However, it can be used as a target for Elemental Circulation if you really need it.

Other options

When building a HERO deck , you can use some versatile monsters to help increase the stability and flexibility of the deck.

Amazing Dealer (x2-3) , introduced in Rush Selection Box Vol. 03 , is a great card to improve deck stability . By paying 300 LP and when you have a maximum of 3 monsters in the graveyard , Amazing Dealer allows you to send 3 cards from your hand to the graveyard and draw 3 new cards , allowing you to draw deeper into your deck. While this effect may conflict with the Elemental Circulation limit , the rewards are well worth it .
Piercing Samurai (x2-3) is another option that will help you deal defense-piercing damage to your opponent in the first few turns when they set 3 cards, before you deploy the Shining Flare Wingman combo. This is a reasonable alternative if you don't have Amazing Dealer , but you can completely skip this card if you want.
Monsters like Star Replacer , Necroman the Third , Shitotsu the Talismanic Warrior , and Rising Light Angel Essel are primarily used in Tantalum-based decks , and if Tantalum returns to the HERO meta , these cards could return as well .
- Star Replacer can sacrifice itself to summon Tantalum with just 1 card.
- Shitotsu can resurrect Argent or Avian from the grave, while Necroman can resurrect Burstinatrix or Avian , and both can also act as solo sacrifices .
- Essel allows you to "cheat" summoning Tantalum early , giving you an initiative advantage.

Spell

Elemental Circulation (x3) is a new spell introduced in the Flash of Shining Flare box. This is an extremely powerful card , allowing you to discard a normal monster , then draw 3 cards , then discard 1 more card . This card helps the HERO deck draw deeper to find the missing pieces, and at the same time set up the graveyard to prepare to call Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman . If you play 2 copies, it is still an effective economical choice, but 3 copies is optimal .

Miracle Fusion (x1) is a card that comes as a bundle with the Flash of Shining Flare box. Needless to say — Miracle Fusion is the key to summoning 2 Shining Flare Wingmans in the same turn , ending the match instantly .

Curse of the Rising Light (x2-3) is another powerful generic card that was released in Rush Selection Box Vol. 03 , and has been used in many decks since. This card can flip a monster face up or face down if your opponent has 1 or less cards left in their hand , speeding up your turn 2 draw by drawing 2 more cards . You can also draw cards if your opponent activates a trap during your turn likeCompulsory Evacuation Device , Trap Hole or Executie Riding ! However, since this card is difficult to obtain and players often avoid it by keeping 2 cards in hand on turn 1 , Stop Defense is a reasonable alternative that helps you play more offensively .

For Limit 3 slots , the two best choices are Ghost Cyclone and Star Restart :

Ghost Cyclone (x0-1) can destroy 1 spell/trap on the field if you control no monsters , and if you have 3 or less monsters in your Graveyard , you can draw 1 additional card , allowing for deeper draw.
Star Restart (x2-3) is a great recovery card, returning 1 card from your hand to the bottom of your deck , Special Summoning 1 Level 5 or lower Normal Monster from your Graveyard , and adding 1 Fusion card from your Graveyard to your hand . This is a tool to help you recover in difficult situations , and also supports calling Shining Flare Wingman after summoning Flame Wingman . Therefore, Star Restart is preferred over Ghost Cyclone , and if you play 3 copies of Star Restart , you don't need to play the second Fusion .

While Elemental HERO Burst Wingman is powerful enough to destroy your opponent's backrow , there is one exception: Avian Spell Tactics (x0-2) . This card destroys 1 of your opponent's Spell/Trap if you control 2 face-up Warrior monsters , then place a level 8 or lower Warrior on top of your deck . The cool thing about the second effect is that it guarantees the activation of Rising HERO Argent's search effect , allowing you to add 1 normal monster from the grave to your hand .

Talismanic Seal Array (x0-1) also deserves a mention. This card shuffles 4 monsters from the graveyard into the deck , then reduces the ATK of 1 face-up monster on the field by Level × 200. HERO already has many tools to deal with big monsters, but Talismanic can help you avoid deck-out in long games , and reduce enemy ATK when necessary .

Trap

When Genesis Maximum came out back in the day — where Yggdrago the Sky Emperor and Talismanic Seal Array were introduced — The Barrier , one of the few generic options at the time , was pushed out of the meta . Since then, most players have stuck to Legend Rule-limited traps or single-copy traps , depending on the format.

Buffered Slime (x0-1) is a trap card that can prevent all battle damage (but Flame and Shining Flare Wingman still deal effect damage). However, this effect only activates when a level 8 or lower monster attacks , making Buffered Slime increasingly ineffective , as many decks can now summon level 9 or higher monsters and use them to attack.

Rice Terrace Crisis and Call of the Earthbound are both Limit 1 trap cards , so you can only choose 1 of the 2 to play . (x0-1)

Rice Terrace Crisis can set down the DEF of up to 2 face-up monsters on your opponent's side of the field if their total Level is 12 or less , and can stop their turn if used at the right time.
Call of the Earthbound redirects a dangerous attack to another target , sometimes saving you from lethal.

Both of these cards are very situational , but very effective when timed right .

Executie Riding! (x0-2) is a card that looks strong , but is actually not suitable for HERO and can be "bait" .

When your opponent summons a face-up effect monster , you can special summon 1 monster from your Graveyard with ATK less than or equal to that monster, and cause up to 2 of your opponent's face-up monsters to lose 1800 ATK until the end of the turn .
However, the problem lies here: all fusion HEROs must be summoned via Fusion Summon , so they cannot be revived via Riding!. This forces you to only be able to revive 1 small monster , which may not be enough defense against your opponent's follow-up.

Still, Executie Riding! can save the day in certain situations , so it's not completely useless.

Finally, Combustion Crisis and Forever Freeze can be useful if the format meta revolves around Level 7 or Level 8 monsters . These are meta tech cards , so only consider playing them when you see the majority of your opponents using those monster levels.

Select Legend (x1)

We've talked about the monster, spell, and trap options you can use, so now it's time to discuss your Legend card options .

Due to skill limitations , the only monster that can be used in the Legend slot is Flame Ruler because of its decent attack/defense stats. However, Flame Ruler doesn't have any synergy with the rest of the deck , so it's not recommended to use it .

As for Legend spells , Pot of Greed is currently the strongest Legend spell , but it shares the Limit 1 slot with Compulsory Evacuation Device , the strongest Legend trap currently .

You will have 3 options depending on your preferences and strategies:

Use Pot of Greed to draw deeper cards into your deck , combined with traps like Widespread Ruin or Trap Hole to control the board.
Use Compulsory Evacuation Device for stronger defense , and combine with The Warrior Returning Alive as a tool to recover resources from the Graveyard.
Don't use Pot of Greed or Compulsory Evacuation Device , but choose Rice Terrace Crisis or Call of the Earthbound for more tools to disrupt your opponent's strategy .

Depending on the current meta , you can flexibly change your Legend card choice , because no choice is absolute.

The matches

This section will analyze notable matchups in the current meta and will be updated as the meta changes.

🔵 Light Galaxy

This is a tough matchup . Light Galaxy can OTK you on turns 3–4 with Eternal Galactica Oblivion , and Transam Lika can give you a defense-piercing attack , making defense very difficult.

Widespread Ruin can't break Oblivion , and Trap Hole is only really effective with Extra Plorer .
Therefore, Compulsory Evacuation Device is the best defensive option, although Rice Terrace Crisis and Call of the Earthbound can also be used, but all three are limited to Limit 1 .
Recently, some Light Galaxy decks have added Curse of the Rising Light , so you should play cautiously if possible . However, since Light Galaxy rarely kills you on turn 2 , you can still be a little greedy.
Use your first turn to dig and prepare the Graveyard for Elemental Circulation , and hope to use Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman to turn the tables.
If your opponent doesn't find Galactica Oblivion early and doesn't capitalize on Galactica Fusion Draw , you have a better chance of winning in a head-to-head fight.

🔴 High Tech Dragons

It's also a difficult match , but easier than Light Galaxy , can be called 50-50 if played well .

Like Light Galaxy, High Tech Dragons have a higher OTK potential than you, so you need to defend tightly .
However, Widespread Ruin can break their fusion , so other Limit 1 cards besides Compulsory also have a place .
Draw deep with Elemental Circulation to protect yourself from Red-Boot Enhanced Boost Dragon 's OTK combo.
In particular, you should play around Curse of the Rising Light if you don't have a Legend trap available.
The chances of them opening Red-Boot + Striping Wyvern or Fusion + Flap Dragon + monster to discard are very low , so if you defend properly , you will be safe .
If they fuse on turn 2, you can counter and OTK them on turn 3 with a Flare Wingman or Burst Wingman + Thunder Giant combo.

🟣 Spellcasters

This is a brain-tight match , between a stable side (Spellcasters) and a side that reaches a high power threshold (HERO) .

Both decks use similar tools like Amazing Dealer , Curse of the Rising Light , Widespread Ruin , and even Buffered Slime .
However, Spellcasters rely on Straynge Witch to penetrate set boards , and find it difficult to clear 2–3 large monsters at once while still dealing massive damage .
Meanwhile, your Shining Flare Wingman can OTK , making this matchup slightly in favor of HERO.
You should line up with Voltic Wingman and Star Restart to control the board , and be wary of your opponent's Ghost Cyclone .

Summary

Thank you for reading the tutorial!!

HERO is an interesting deck that offers a lot of options for builds and gameplay, depending on the cards you draw. Hopefully you enjoyed this guide and it helped you understand the deck and its gameplay options better.

Thanks for reading this far. Hopefully more people will be interested in Rush Duel, and maybe there will be more deck guides in the future!

And remember that “The HERO always wins in the end” 🦸‍♂️✨

Below is a sample deck for your reference.

Companion unit:

- Yu-Gi-Oh! Guidance Vietnam

Elemental HERO: Rush! Gameplay Guide

Sections covered in this guide:

Build Guide

Hero Rush Rising (Skill Card) (100%)

Hero Rush Rising (Skill Card)

Rising HERO Tantalum, Rising HERO Manaccaniter and Rising HERO Argent (.)

Rising HERO Tantalum

Rising HERO Manaccaniter

Rising HERO Argent

Normal monsters (x3)

Elemental HERO Clayman

Elemental HERO Sparkman

Elemental HERO Avian

Elemental HERO Burstinatrix

Extra Deck

Elemental HERO Burst Wingman

Elemental HERO Voltic Wingman

Elemental HERO Thunder Giant

Elemental HERO Flame Wingman

Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman

Elemental HERO Bubbleman, Elemental HERO Mudballman and Elemental HERO Mariner (Other leaves)

Elemental HERO Bubbleman

Elemental HERO Mudballman

Elemental HERO Mariner

Other options

Amazing Dealer

Rising Light Angel Esser

Piercing Samurai

Star Replacer

Rising Light Angel Essel

Shitotsu the Talismanic Warrior

Necroman the Third

Spell

Star Restart

Avian Spell Tactics

Ghost Cyclone

Curse of the Rising Light

Talismanic Seal Array

Miracle Fusion

Elemental Circulation

Fusion

Trap

Combustion Crisis

Buffered Slime

Excutie Riding!

Executie Riding!

Call of the Earthbound

Rice Terrace Crisis

Forever Freeze