Yu-Gi-Oh! Maze of Muertos: Full Card List Reveal & Set Preview for Duelists

It seems my calendar (and the UK weather) are finally signalling the Winter is over and the sun has finally won its fight against the darkness of the long nights. However, the world of Yu-Gi-Oh! has been engulfed in darkness and the undead are starting to roam the Shadow Realm once more. Bonz, "Ghost" Kozuka would therefore finally be pleased to see the overwhelming amount of support released for its favourite Archetypes in the new set of Yu-Gi-Oh!, “Maze of Muertos”. With the set just released Magic Madhouse shelves, we thought of taking a look to all new cards and interesting mechanics featured in a set so good to die for.

Set Overview

Maze of Muertos is the latest anime-inspired set released for Yu-Gi-Oh! The Trading Card game. This set follows the one released last year, “Maze of the Master” and revives some old favourites Characters and cards from the Anime and Manga series while also adding some new level of threat as a treat for all the fan of the Zombie theme.

The new set features a total of 141 cards including 20 Super rare, 19 Ultra rare, 15 Collector rare, 70 Rare, 16 Secret Rare, and 1 Starlight Rare (“Uria, Lord of Searing Flames”). Statistically, each case of Maze of Muertos should include four Collector’s Rare and one Starlight Rare that is very similar to what observed in previous similar sets.  

Full Card List Highlights

As it is pretty easy to imagine, Yu-Gi-Oh! Maze of Muertos card list focuses on the undead theme and to provide support to graveyard-centred strategies. The new support cards aim to streamline recursion, enhance combo lines, and to essentially modernised the more classic Zombie/Undead mechanics. Good examples of this approach are the new “Dark Magician of Destruction” is a Fusion Monster that can fit perfectly in a Dark Magician-focused deck, allowing Players to recovery key cards and providing the Deck more more versatility and consistency. The new “Masked HERO” forms are also pretty interesting with “Masked HERO Dusk Crow” that brings other Masked HERO monsters to the playfield, “Masked HERO Furnace” that search for “Mask Change” or “Polymerization”, and “Masked HERO Atomic”, that can summon a non-FIRE Masked HERO from your graveyard or banished zone.

However, the biggest highlight of the set is the modern take on PUMPKING and it ability to really be the King of the Zombie horde (no PUM intended). “Pumpking, The King of Grave Ghost” for example can be revealed from hand to set (and eventually activate) a "Call of the Haunted" from the Deck or GY by discarding one card. Moreover, if the KING is Special Summoned, the Player can also Special Summon a Level 6 Zombie monster from the Deck as far as they do not have 1950 ATK. A great target for this effect can be “Pumpking, the King of Ghosts” that can allow the player to XYZ Fusion Summon “Pumpking the Great Ghost King”. Together with all other effect the Great Ghost King prevent all the Player Zombie monster to be targeted by Monster effect as far as a Call of the Hunted is on the field.

Final thoughts: is Maze of Muertos for you?

Yu-Gi-Oh! Maze of Muertos is an interesting set with a overall good gameplay value and featuring some very good support to the Zombie Archetype together with some very interesting Spell and Trap cards. However, Duellists and Collectors alike will find this set is filled with a massive Nostalgia value celebrating a great portion of Yu-Gi-Oh! Story.

From this point of view, the main emotional aspect of Maze of Muertos is its direct link to the early days of the anime series. The Zombie/Undead Archetype surely is a major contribution to this nostalgia value, although there are a number of other cards whose artwork is thematically link back to the Duellist Kingdom tournament era. The set also features a few cards everyone directly associate to the anime like the three Electromagnetic Warriors, Kuribo, Gaia etc.

Together with the Nostalgia value, we should also consider that this set includes a lot of premium rarities that make opening some Maze of Meurtos booster packs genuinely exciting. On this note, most recent marketplace listings clearly shown that this set can provide some really good hits with pretty good resale value.  

On the gameplay side, Yu-Gi-Oh! Maze of Muertos card list features cards that can be interesting also for non-Zombie Decks. “The Gaze of Timaeus”, and the new “Dark Magician of Destruction” are pretty obvious ones as they can add value to any Dark Magician deck. I also quite loved to find “Chronicle Sorceress” in this set considering this cards instantly binds the two biggest icons of this game, “Blue-Eyes White Dragon” and “Dark Magician”. “Illusion Gate” is another nice card I would love to have in my deck just to create that dramatic payoff that you expected to see in any of Yugi's matches. Last but not least, the reprint of the Spell card “Lightning Storm” is always welcome considering how good this card can be as board breaker when going second.

Overall, this set has a good strategic depth and a bit of something for every fan, in particular if you love the anime themes and the early days of the Duel Monsters.