- Introduction
- Core Nordics
- Other Nordics
- Variants
- Other Cards
- Example Decks
- Combos
- Conclusion
Introduction
Welcome to the Nordic guide written by
and proofread by and .Nordic is an archetype that Summons the Aesir Synchros by using the Link 1 monster Loading... . With that, the deck aims to quickly reach its end board of Gullveig pointing to an Aesir and a Set Loading... , while there's an Loading... and a respective Nordic Tuner in GY for recovery. To offset the heavy reliance on Gullveig and banishing so many cards this Deck requires cards and engines that protect Gullveig and grant free cards to banish, and thus Nordics are always played with other engines, or as the engine itself.
Pros
-
Consistency. Nordics take pretty much any 1 Nordic on the field to make their full combo.
-
Easy to learn. You will not have to memorize 20 different lines for every different card you open. You can recommend this Deck to beginner/returning players; in fact that's how I learnt the TCG.
-
Very high power. The lowest ATK of an Aesir is 3300, and highest is 4000, which easily lets them run over most monsters. Opening your other engine(s) can even let you go for an OTK.
-
Splashability. If your Deck can make Loading... and/or Tribute Loading... , it can be played with Nordics. Alternatively if your Deck doesn't take your Normal Summon (and/or lets you Pendulum Summon) and ends on some cards that don't do much, it too can be played with Nordics.
-
Recovery vs cards like Loading... , Loading... , Kaijus etc. All thanks to Alviss' hard once per Duel GY effect.
-
The element of surprise. You will face many opponents who don't know what your cards do and they'll misplay as a result. This is very important because the slightest error will result in your opponent staring at their completely negated field.
Cons
-
Heavy reliance on Gullveig. It won't be easy playing through multiple disruptions and you'll struggle going second.
-
Extremely limited built-in draw power. Odin can draw 1 if it revives with its own effect. That's it.
-
The Nordic end board on its own is not enough to contend with the meta and you'll have to open your other engines as much as possible. This is because of many reasons:
-
- Without them, if Gullveig cannot banish only Alviss you'll be at a card disadvantage. If you open multiple good cards like handtraps you'll have to choose which one(s) to keep.
-
- Nordics can't do anything to cards that do stuff outside of the field.
-
- A lot of Decks can play after getting hit by Svalinn, which can easily be forced or outed in the first place: Loading... forces Svalinn. Loading... can banish it on Summon and dodge it too. Loading... can pop it or negate and pop it. And there are Bystials who eat Alviss and all the Nordic Tuners.
In this guide you will find the recommended Nordic cards, ratios, and combos. These are carefully constructed by the best Nordic players to make the most out of this archetype since a lot of the Nordic cards are better off staying in the Deck. Remember:
What's a bad hand in Nordics?
Nordics.
Core Nordics
Extra Deck
Guides usually start with the Main Deck first but I don't think I can emphasize enough how crucial Loading... is for Nordics. I'll start with Extra, then move to Main.
Gullveig
A Link 1 that Special Summons up to 3 monsters from the Deck would break any other archetype. Nordics just become playable instead. Imagine if it also searched the Field Spell :^)
Gullveig is your main, and most of the time, only playmaker. Nordics on their own can't really make much aside from Gullveig, so run as many copies as possible. If your Extra Deck space is tight you can run 2; but there will be Duels where you'll have to make 2 Gullveigs in 1 turn to lose 1 less card.
GULLVEIG DOES NOT BANISH AS COST!
You can banish Gullveig itself as one of the cards, which means you can get any Nordic from the Deck whenever you want by simply Summoning 1 Nordic, Linking it into Gullveig and banishing that Gullveig.
The Aesir-lock is part of Gullveig's effect. If it is negated you can still Summon/Set non-Aesirs.
...and the Aesirs
You end your first turn on one of these guys. They require 1 Tuner from a Nordic branch and 2+ any non-Tuners, and they use those Tuners to revive.
Generally you'll end on Odin because this Deck has two very important Level 4 non-Tuners (Alviss and Ivaldi), and only Nordic Ascendants have a playable Level 2 Tuner (Valk). Odin has the highest stats of the Aesirs, and draws 1 on revive which is this Deck's only built-in draw power. Its effect is not a Quick Effect but it comes up vs Trap Decks.
You can end on Thor instead of Odin if you resolve Ivaldi before Gullveig, already have an Alviss in GY, or are going second vs a monster-heavy board and you want to banish only Alviss. Thor has the second highest ATK but the lowest DEF. Only Nordic Beasts have a Level 3 Tuner (Bursti). Thor is a Loading... on your turn, which is also not a Quick Effect, but combining this effect with Svalinn is very powerful.
Unless you're on a dedicated strategy you won't Summon Loki much. It is the lowest ATK Aesir but has more DEF than Thor, which comes up if your Odin is removed and you suspect an OTK, so you can use Alviss' GY effect to Summon Loki in DEF instead of Thor in ATK. Loki's effect is a Quick Effect but it's also only during your Battle Phase, which means all Aesirs are big vanillas during your opponent's turn. At least Loki can protect the rest of your board from cards like Loading... on your turn. Alfar Tuners are really bad, so even in dedicated Loki decks it'll hardly, if ever, revive.
Always run all 3 Aesirs, and 1 more Aesir than your number of Gullveigs (1 Aesir per Gullveig plus 1 Aesir for Alviss in GY). So if you're on 3 Gullveigs, run a 4th Aesir, preferably another Odin since 2 Odins are lethal vs an empty board.
Main Deck
Those 4 are the only Nordic/Aesir Extra Deck monsters. The Main Deck is where the real chaos begins, since there are so many Nordics to choose from. The core is listed below.
Alviss
Both of Alviss' effects let you cheat out any Aesir, meaning you cannot revive them at all. Its second effect is why you should run all 3 Aesirs.
You use its first effect when you have this card and any other Nordic in hand without fodder cards like Loading... , Loading... etc. In doing so you will play around Loading... by ending your turn on exactly 4 Summons.
The second effect is why getting your Aesir's Summon negated, getting Kaiju'd, getting Super Poly'd, or even having your opponent mill an Aesir chilling in your Extra Deck aren't a threat... once per Duel. This effect cannot be used during the Damage Step.
If you banish only Alviss you'll still have to send another Alviss from the Deck to the GY. For that reason you should run at least 2. Run 3 if you're not using Nordics as just an engine.
You don't have to send exactly 1 Tuner and 2 non Tuners for this effect; just reach Level 10 with any three Nordics that have a Level.
Don't use its effect under cards like Loading... . You'll banish 3 instead and NOT Summon an Aesir.
Ivaldi
Ivaldi can easily Special Summon itself and search a Nordic Relic on Summon. This means Gullveig can get you any Nordic monster(s) and any Nordic Relic you want from the Deck.
Ivaldi can be Special Summoned from the Deck with Loading... which is extremely useful.
If you're using Nordics as an engine, Ivaldi is better off in your Deck because of Invoker. If not, you'll always want to open and draw into Ivaldi. So you should run 2 and 3 copies in those Decks respectively.
If you banish only Alviss with Gullveig's effect and Special Summon Ivaldi, you get to choose the Chain Link order of the banished Alviss and the Ivaldi on the field. CL1 Ivaldi CL2 Alviss plays around cards like Loading... and Loading... .
Bursti
Bursti lets you Synchro any Aesir (only revives Thor), unbrick your Nordic riddled hands, get another Nordic from your GY to hand, and even keep one more card in hand after using Gullveig in rare cases.
Bursti can add Ivaldi from GY so it Specials itself and adds a Relic, then you can make a Level 7 Synchro, Link 2, an Aesir etc. Or it can add Alviss from GY so you can make a "banish only Alviss" play with Gullveig, and of course, add a Relic.
Bursti's effect means Gullveig can get you any Nordic monster(s) and Nordic Relic you want from the Deck plus another Nordic monster from the GY!
Opening Bursti isn't entirely useful but you always always always want to draw into it, even more than Ivaldi and even more than Alviss, since it can get either from the GY anyway. Bursti too is a 3-of. Cut it to 2 in Nordic engines since other stuff are the focus.
Bursti can Special Summon another Bursti from hand. Bursti cannot get another Bursti from GY.
Black Goat
Black Goat used to be the Nordic playmaker. It is a handtrap that is used more for its Level 3 non-Tuner status. Bursti is going to need a Level 3 non-Tuner to make an Aesir because it always uses either Alviss or Ivaldi.
If you manage to use Black Goat's effect, you will be able to Special Bursti from Deck, which can Special another Nordic from hand, then get a Nordic from GY, and if that is Ivaldi it too can Special itself and add a Relic, then you can make something like Loading... (or an Aesir I guess) without even using your Normal Summon! It is extremely difficult to pull off but if you do it'll give you a huge swing in momentum.
You generally want to keep a Goat in the Deck for Gullveig and another in the GY/hand for Bursti, so running 2 Goats to not "brick" by opening your only copy is just fine for all Nordic strategies.
Its effects are soft once per turn. However, you can only activate one Black Goat in hand at a time.
Its second effect works if it is Flip Summoned. It will only miss timing if its battle position is changed to from Defence to Attack as Chain Link 2 or higher.
Valk
Valk is a garnet. It's there for when you have to get both Ivaldi and Alviss from the Deck, which is the most common play outside of Nordic engines. If you open all copies of your Valk without a way to put one more Nordic on the field, you'll lose out on either Ivaldi's Relic search or an Alviss in GY.
If your Deck uses Nordics as an engine you don't have to run any Valk; you'll always go for Bursti + Alviss + Black Goat even when banishing only Alviss, thanks to Invoker Summoning Ivaldi. Some Nordic engines can search or Special Summon Valk from the Deck via Loading... and Diviner respectively, so they can choose to run 1. If Nordics are the main strategy in your Deck, you should run 2 copies just to be safe.
You're never using Valk's effect. But if you do resolve it, you can do some ridiculous crap with Isolde + Spright Elf etc. Its Tokens don't have "Nordic" in the name so you can't make Gullveig with them and Loading... cannot use them for a Synchro.
Dverg
Dverg is the first card in the game that after being Normal Summoned lets you gain an extra Normal Summon for its archetype that turn. Cool huh?
A Link 1 turbo Deck hardly ever needs another Normal Summon. Its Level is too low to Summon Aesirs conventionally. Your best Relic stays on the field and is usually removed by Loading... banishing it.
Those aside, it can be used to unbrick your hands like Bursti. It can add Relics from your GY to your hand, which isn't once per turn. There's even a way to recycle Gungnir over and over.
It's up to you if you want to run Dverg. So is its ratio.
Its extra Normal Summon effect cannot be negated with Loading... , Rite etc. Some of your opponents won't know this so they'll waste a card they should have used on Gullveig.
Dverg's GY effect is mandatory and always puts itself to CL1.
Nordic Relics
Ivaldi singlehandedly reminded people that this branch exists.
Svalinn 🛡
A mass negate you can use every turn. It has a second effect there somewhere, you won't be activating it much, if at all, because you can only choose one effect per turn. You can get it from the Deck with Ivaldi, and you can get it from the GY with Dverg (or Loki).
The best field Nordics can put on their own is Gullveig pointing to an Aesir, and this Set. It just takes a single Summon so it's pretty cool.
You must run Svalinn. It's the whole reason you're playing this Deck. You can run the second copy as a backup plan if your first one is gone (if your opponent banished it with SP, you had to banish it with your Gullveig because you had no other card to banish, etc.), since it isn't that difficult to get an Ivaldi from the Deck/GY to add the second Svalinn from the Deck.
🔫gnir
It's a pop 1! Gungnir turns any Nordic/Aesir into a dollar store DPE and enables Scythe lock if you want to go that route.
This is the only other good (very loosely speaking) disruption Nordics have (it's the only disruption Nordics have since Svalinn requires an Aesir). Gullveig is the prime cost for it since you don't end on any other Nordic, and you shouldn't lose your Aesir for 3-4 turns unless you have no other option.
You can Normal any Nordic, Link into Gullveig, banish it, Special Ivaldi, and add Gungnir. Basically means you can Normal Summon a pop 1. It's like Drident. Wow.
It can be recycled (if you run at least 1 Dverg and Hlid) so you won't ever need more than 1 copy. If your Deck does not keep Gullveig on the field, then it's not worth running.
If Gungnir's activation or effect is negated, the monster you banished will not return. If Gungnir resolves but the target is not destroyed, your banished monster will return.
Recycling Gungnir: Special Ivaldi with Hlid, add Gungnir. On your next turn, banish Hlid from GY to add Dverg, Normal Dverg. Link Gullveig with it. CL1 Dverg gets Gungnir from GY, CL2 Gullveig banishes itself and Specials Bursti from Deck. Bursti gets Dverg from GY. On your next turn, Normal Dverg. You get the idea. You can repeat this as long as you have Gullveigs in Extra and Burstis in Main Deck.
Hlid 🪑
A card nobody asked for and everybody wishes was a Quick-Play. Hlidsfgsdfgsdlh makes one card Aesirs without using Gullveig, but not really on your first turn! Bummer.
After turns 1 and 2 pass (and 3 if you're going second, ugh), assuming you're still controlling a Nordic/Aesir, you can Special Ivaldi from hand, add Hlid, use it to Special Bursti from Deck, add Goat from GY to hand, then Normal it for an Aesir. Alternatively at any point you can Normal Bursti, add Ivaldi from GY to hand, Special it, add Hlid, and use it to Special Goat from Deck for an Aesir. After you make an Aesir you can extend into a Rank 10 or something.
Its second effect is the only way you can instantly search a Nordic because this Deck's searcher is a Normal Trap. You have to shuffle a card after; at least you can put a garnet back in the Deck. You can add Bursti to add from GY either Ivaldi so you can end on a Lv 7 Synchro/Link 2/Typhon + a Relic from Deck, or Alviss to end on Gullveig + Aesir + a Relic from Deck. Or you can add Dverg instead to end on 1 Relic from GY and 1 from the Deck, and an Aesir too maybe.
There are some strategies that run up to 3 because simply having Ivaldi in hand lets you put 2 monsters on the field with the help of Loading... removing Hlid's restriction. Otherwise you don't have to run Hlid since it doesn't really do anything on your first turn, but if you want to anyway, just 1 should be enough.
Gungnir removes Hlid's restriction even if that monster returns to the field.
Gullveig prevents you from using Hlid's first effect for the rest of the turn. Hlid prevents you from Summoning Gullveig while the monster you Summoned is face-up on the field.
A basic, big core of Nordics as the main strategy looks like this:
The Nordic engine is this:
Other Nordics
"I have a plan" Monsters
You're not meant to run any copies of these cards in an optimized, modern Nordic Deck, unless you have a plan in mind.
Technically nothing is stopping anyone from running 🐐. It's a Level 3 non-Tuner with a rarely-used effect just like Black Goat. You can run 1 Black 1 White or 0 Black 2 White if you really like this card. Adventure might appreciate the Tokens since Loading... can be used if equipped on one of them. These Tokens have "Nordic" in their name unlike Valk's, so they can be used to Link Summon Gullveig and make Synchros with Vanadis.
Vanadis can make any Aesir while milling Mimir for a 2+4+4 Aesir. They are taken out to not bloat the Deck that much because Bursti too can make any Aesir, Mimir's effect hardly ever comes up, you can simply just run Valk(s) as your Level 2, and especially because some Nordic Decks don't even run any Level 2s.
Mara's terrible, unnegatable effect has anti-synergy with Gullveig. Despite that it is the only good Alfar Tuner and SHS Nordic runs Vanadis to mill Mara, instead of only running Valk, because they end on Loki with Loading... . The real power of Mara comes from the fact that Ivaldi is a 1 card Loading... (and was a 1 card Loading... ) because Ivaldi can add Hlid to Special Mara from the Deck, and then Special Loading... from the hand/Deck, and bring Mara from the GY.
You can Normal Summon Svartalf by Tributing Gullveig, put it back to the Extra Deck and Link into it right after. Aside from that Vanadis can mill it to make Loading... with Nefa. This is because Tzolkin is not Synchro Summoned (just like Loading... and all the Ursarctic Synchros), so Vanadis' restriction does not apply. Or you can go 5+4+1 / 5+3+2 for an Aesir.
Jorm has Youtube FTKs. Bish is banned in Master Duel but Vanadis can still become a Level 8 for other Extra Deck plays. You can use 8+1+1 for an Aesir: 2 Dvergs and either Alviss or Vanadis milling Jorm from the Deck.
Loading... is the better Fenrir. Vanadis can mill this to make a Rank 10 with your Aesir I guess.
horsey can Special Summon itself going second sometimes and that's about it.
Bursti is completely better than Ljosalf. Ljosalf is the only Light Spellcaster in this Deck so that might be worth looking into in the future.
Garmr may be useful in Tri-Brigade Nordics. You can use just 3 Beasts to make your Aesirs: Bursti, Black/White Goat, and Garmr. This gives you 3 monsters for your Loading... , and your 4th for Loading... is probably something that Gullveig banished. Thor also happens to be a Beast-Warrior so that too can be used after it is removed from the field. Just make sure you have a zone to Link Summon with your Revolt.
To not let Tyr indulge in its self-destructive behaviour you may be inclined to play a Warrior Nordic Deck, since Dverg and Ivaldi are pretty cool. Loading... ftw
Other Nordic Relics
Really bad cards except for Draupnir in Warrior Nordics. Draupnir and Dverg together are so close to being broken. Isolde can Summon Dverg by milling Draupnir, and Dverg can always get that Draupnir back. Draupnir's effect and Dverg's second effect are not even once per turn!
Other Nordic Backrow
Bruh.
Gleipnir used to be a 3-of staple for obvious reasons but now we can make our full combo with literally any Nordic while being able to put any Nordic we want on the field and in GY so such a slow card is no longer needed.
Mjollnir is just sad. It doesn't even do 1000 burn for each monster it destroys by battle like in the anime smh
Odin's Eye is cool but it brings zero card advantage.
March Towards Ragnarok is decent protection but it's unsearchable, only for Aesirs, and you can protect anyone from anything you want by negating with Svalinn.
Solemn Authority artwork means Nordics are canonically against Darklords, and all Solemn Counter Traps are part of the Nordic archetype for featuring this guy :^) Gullveig exists so this card sucks.
Activate Gotterdammerung. Give Odin to your opponent. Your opponent activates Odin's effect. Odin is now unaffected by Gotterdammerung. Odin will not be destroyed, you won't banish your opponent's field, and your opponent keeps Odin. Sick.
Thanks for making my unattackable Gullveig indestructible by battle. The Nordic Lights is truly the worst Field Spell in Yugioh. It makes White Goat not work, Black Goat only work after a non-Nordic is destroyed by battle, and makes all Nordics die to backrow removal too as if they weren't vulnerable enough.
Nordic Variants
Nordics can be played alongside many things. They can be supported with other engines, or they be an engine to support other Decks.
Adventurer
Adventure is amazing for Nordics. Every card here does something for them. It's not just "lmao omninegate".
This engine protects Gullveig with Gryphon, can chainblock with Fateful, gives Gullveig 2 free cards to banish in Fateful and Dracoback, adds 4000 damage which lets Nordics OTK through an empty board, and can bounce a card with Dracoback. In addition to all of this, this engine's searcher Ench is Level 3, which means it can be used for Invoker (it can Special itself if you control the Token already), and be milled with Loading... .
In rare cases Illegal can be better than Gryphon. If going second, Gryphon at worst trades 1 for 1 by getting itself negated and at best trades 1 for 1 by shuffling itself to negate and pop something, while Illegal at worst also trades 1 for 1 for the same reason, but at best it trades 1 for 2 with its bounce. It's also a nice thing to side in vs backrow Decks if you're going first, since you can bounce 2 backrow on your opponent's End Phase, then use Dracoback to get Illegal back to your hand to Special it right after. However, Nordics want to go first so for ladder it's not a good choice to run for a going second scenario and backrow Decks can simply make Typhon to force or run over Illegal. For these reasons it's not preferred.
The "restriction" of Rite hardly matters because Dverg's effect is not an activated effect, Nordics don't really do anything on Normal Summon, and you can just Special Summon the Nordics that do from the Deck anyway.
3-axis
If you're playing Nordics you're always going to pack some Level 3s. This is nothing new. Even all the way back in 2011 Nordics were played with a bunch of Level 3s as a small engine. It was because Black Goat can Summon White Goat from the Deck. Today it's because Invoker can Summon Ivaldi from the Deck.
Terrortop Specials itself and adds Borg to Special that too. E-Tele can Special all sorts of great Level 3s like Hu-Li, PUNKs, Ghost Ogre etc. Mikankos can be Special Summoned easily from anywhere, including banishment. PUNKs have their own searchable backrow which are good disruptions. Other freely Summonable stuff like Evil Eye (explained below), Tsuchinoko, Wheeleder and Tracker are good too.
Invoker Summons Ivaldi, then can extend into Armored Xyz stuff. Cherub mills a Level 3 like Enchantress. Bamboozle can give you protection vs handtraps etc. Totem Bird can be made after getting hit by Maxx C, because you can Loading... for Loading... and potentially buy a whole turn.
They're just that good.
Evil Eye
Shoutout to
. This is another Deck with a bunch of Level 3s.Serziel, Gorgon, and Zerrziel become Quick Effect disruptions if equipped with Selene, plus you'll have access to Svalinn and Ivaldi followup next turn thanks to Invoker. In addition to all that you can use Retribution and Defeat, and you don't ever have to worry about Gullveig preventing you from Link Summoning further.
Superheavy Samurai
SHS prevents you from using any backrow while their combo is going. This means most handtraps will resolve vs you.
SHS Nordic uninterrupted, by opening a SHS starter and any Pendable Nordic, ends on:
- 3 mat Loading... ,
- Svalinn with the necessary Nordics in GY for your Aesir but no Gullveig,
- Loading... /Loading... /Loading... /Loading... /Loading... depending on preference,
- A Field Spell of choice; which is generally Loading... but can be Loading... , Loading... etc. depending on the meta.
Honourable Mentions
Runick
Hey guys, Runicknamed here telling you that things just gets Norse from this point.
You can chain your Runick Quick-Plays to Gullveig and banish them right after.
Best case scenario you chain Runick Tip to Gullveig, add something and banish the top card of your opponent's Deck, then banish Tip, the card you searched, and probably Gullveig. After that the EMZ is reserved for Runicks.
Yeah you'll lose out on Gullveig's target protection and probably never get to attack with your big ass Aesir, but now your mill deck is backed up by Svalinn. Brilliant!
You can also use Geri with Ivaldi/Alviss for a Rank 4, and Hugin with Valk for Spright Elf.
Sweden's Ministry of Tourism offers an all-costs-paid one week trip to Malmö for anybody who reaches Master 1 in Master Duel with a 60 card Runick Nordic Generaider Deck. Source
Libromancers
Libromancers did it before Evil Eye. They actually didn't even use Invoker back then.
Geek Boy is a Level 3 E-Tele target and Firestarter is a Level 3 Ritual Monster. You can use Intervention, Displaced, Prevented, and Baronne as disruption in addition to Svalinn. On your turn you can also use Origin Story, Mystigirl and Doombroker. All Libros can Special themselves so your Normal Summon can be reserved for Loading... or a Nordic. If Diviner is Tributed it can Special Valk from your hand or Deck! Loading... can also add Valk.
Gullveig cannot banish Firestarter if it used a monster on the field to be Ritual Summoned.
Tri-Brigades
Nordics sure have a lot of Beasts, and they can use 3 of them to make Thor who's a Beast-Warrior. Gullveig clogs your Link Zones so that sucks, not to mention the best Nordics are a Fairy, a Warrior and a Spellcaster. At least you'll be able to return your banished Nordic Beasts etc to GY with Revolt.
Warrior Combo
Isolde can do everything. Dverg, Ivaldi, Draupnir and Dracoback make this one interesting. Getting Isolde negated has the same impact as getting Gullveig negated, so keep that in mind.
Spright
Gullveig and Gigantic lock each other so you're just playing Spright here.
Ivaldi is a 1 card Spright Elf. Summon Ivaldi, add Hlid, Special Mara with it, Special Loading... from hand/Deck by using Ivaldi and Mara, Nefa revive Mara, make Elf.
Bonus points if you open a Level 2 Nordic (or Vanadis) alongside Ivaldi. You can Normal your Level 2 and Special Ivaldi, do the 1-card Elf, then the Nordic you Normal Summoned and the Level 2 can make Gigantic.
Metaphys
When Gullveig was announced Metaphys players looked at it and went "hell yeah", for opening 1 Nordic meant that the rest of your hand was now ready to get Metaphysing all over the place.
Ghoti
Metaphys, but worse. At least it can be used alongside Adventure since the Token lets them Synchro climb.
Other Cards
Handtraps
Yeah.
The Adventure Nordic endboard is completely unaffected by D Shifter (as in, you still end on Svalinn + Gryphon) so it is not an outlandish idea to run it. Not having a GY may haunt you if you cannot win the Duel asap.
Board Breakers
Nordics prefer handtraps over board breakers because they want to go first. If you can resolve a handtrap(s) to stop the opponent what's left of the board to break?
If you want to run board breakers in Nordics try to pick the ones that put you in a card advantage if resolved: you're still gonna have to banish stuff for Gullveig after dealing with the opponent's board. So don't run cards like Loading... in Nordics.
Other Main Deck Monsters
It's called Fenrir so it's a Nordic card thanks. Free body, eats Apollo for breakfast going second, and can be used for a Rank 7 with Gryphon.
Eldlich is a decent removal tool for going second and can make Rank 10s with your Aesir. Both of its costs can be fulfilled with Dracoback.
Nefa can Special itself from the Deck. How cool is that? It lifts Hlid's restriction, revives a monster (almost always a Nordic), and probably gets banished by Gullveig. It is better off in combo oriented Nordic builds like SHS.
You can chain E-Tele to Gullveig and Summon Telepon to banish both it and E-Tele. After that you can chainblock your Ivaldi with the banished Telepon to banish Psi-Blocker from your Deck until your next Standby. When Psi-Blocker comes back, you'll be able to negate any 1 card in the game.
Psi-Blocker prevents activating the declared card, also negates ALL the effects of that card for 2 turns. For example you can declare Loading... to make it targetable, unable to gain attack, and unable to shuffle anything, also your opponent won't be able to Summon it or another copy of it.
Rescue Cat is unusable in Adventure Nordics due to Rite, but outside of that it's fine.
Formud Skipper is the one non-Nordic you can use to Link Summon Gullveig, and then chainblock Gullveig to search a Cyberse monster.
IOC + Souls turn the Adventure engine into a mulligan 2 at worst, and a draw 1 at best (if Gullveig banishes itself). It also let Nordics make the super copium 4 card combo of "Souls + Dverg for Loading... -> Loading... -> Loading... , wipe the field once or twice, then activate Rite and Normal another Nordic in MP2 and pretend nothing happened" when going second.
They were mostly used during the Halq era since the Halq combo required banishing Gullveig. Nowadays you can run them if you're on Mikanko.
Speaking of free Level 1 bodies on board, Adhara too lets you make the copium play going second, and it alternatively can make Loading... with Adventure Token/Ivaldi etc.
If you're running Herald in Nordics, you can add Sauravis instead of IOC. It's a defensive handtrap for your monsters.
Other Spells
You can chain Quick-Play Spells to Gullveig and banish them after. Called and Crossout can protect Gullveig from handtraps so they're especially good.
Prosp is the only Pot card you can run in this Deck. You don't often OTK your opponents so it's fine. It'll help you dig into a card you really need.
You can chain Eagle Booster to Gullveig so it is protected from everything as you banish it. You can also chain Hornet Drones to banish both it and the Token. Engage searches them.
Don't forget that you're supposed to control nothing in your Main Monster Zone to use these.
Can add Dverg and Ivadi (and Tyr but cmon).
This is a funny one. If you equip to this your Aesir as Gullveig points to it, your opponent won't be able to target anything anywhere with card effects. Can be a Side Deck option.
This does not have anti-synergy with Odin's effect because you can equip cards to unaffected monsters, and this card affects only your opponent.
Putting this here just for its novelty. Yeah this card can add Rescue Cat but more importantly it can add Bursti!
Other Traps
If you resolve Gravity Collapse you (almost always) win the Duel. You can revive your Aesir with Svalinn (provided you Synchro Summoned it) on the same turn you used this card, or you can use its negate that turn, then revive on your turn. This card is unplayable if you go second.
This card is commonly sided in Nordics. It's the only Synchro Deck in which Gravity Collapse is a win condition rather than a win more card.
Red Reign is what Gotterdammerung should have been. Assuming your Aesir(s) is the highest Level monster on the field, this card will protect your Aesir(s) (and other Level 10s on the field) from everything and banish every other monster! Kind of sucks if you have other important monsters on the field. You may want to play a DARK Dragon Synchro to get this card back from the GY. Or use Loki's effect. Or not.
Other Extra Deck Monsters
Fusion Monsters
Super Poly targets.
Ultimate Slayer targets, and cards that make your opponent regret milling your Extra Deck. N'tss is also good if you're on Diviner.
Give Cyber Dragon players the middle finger.
Give Branded players the middle finger. Maybe.
Synchro Monsters
Nordics have always been good at Summoning Level 7 Synchros. Flipping Black Goat for Guldfaxe passed the torch to Bursti adding Ivaldi from GY.
Dragster can negate any Spell/Trap card or effect and does piercing damage. Clear Wing negates certain monster effects and can get huge in doing so.
Cyberse Quantum makes all of your other monsters untargettable and unattackable as long as you control a Link Monster. Additionally it can return an opponent's monster to hand and attack again. It is in the same secret pack as Loading... so that's neat.
Zeta is a f2p option that removes an opponent's Attack Position monster. Can help push for lethal.
Wind Pegasus pops 1 of your opponent's backrow without targeting. It's also yet another Ultimate Slayer target.
Sometimes you can make a Level 10 Synchro without locking yourself into Aesirs such as by flipping Black Goat to Attack position and Bursti + Gryphon.
Baronne is the best choice, and Chengying has amazing synergy with Nordics thanks to their cards that banish and the sheer number of cards they send to the GY.
Bursti + Ivaldi is a Level 7 Synchro. But what if you also had another Level 4 like Adventure Token lying around?
You'll usually use 3 monsters to make these. PEP targets a monster you control and a card your opponent control to banish both, so you'll use 4 monsters to out 1 card. Trish on Summon banishes up to 3 of your opponent's cards without targeting, so you'll use 3 monsters to out 3 cards. If removal is not your concern you can always stick with PEP for its huge ATK.
Just keep in mind that this Deck is most likely in a winning position to consider Level 11 Synchro plays so PEP may not have its protection. It's up to you if you need the high attack or the mass removal to close out the Duel.
Bursti + Ivaldi + Mimir makes Trish. Alternatively you can use the Lv11 Trish's effect to Summon it and permanently halve the attack of all of your opponent's monsters and negate their effects.
Herald of the Arc Light can be made with Dverg + Bursti. It is a floodgate that shuts down cards like Veiler and more such as your own Alviss, plus it is an omninegate. You can use its Level 4 Synchro status for various Extra Deck plays. If it is sent to the GY you can add a Ritual Monster or a Ritual Spell which some Nordic builds can utilize.
SHS Nordics can make Level 8 Synchros.
Borreload Savage can equip Loading... or Loading... .
Accel Synchro simply climbs into Baronne.
Omega can leave the field and handrip in doing so for when you need 3 empty zones for Gullveig.
Packbit is another Ultimate Slayer target.
Naturia Beast can be made with Adhara + Adv Token/Ivaldi etc. It negates all Spells your opponent activates. lol. lmao.
Xyz Monsters
Typhon is your other Link 1. Helps immensely in extremely simplified gamestates, such as when your Aesir is gone and you topdeck a random monster. It also helps going second; you can get a fighting chance vs some boards with SP and/or Typhon.
It will prevent you from using your Aesirs' effects too but if you're resorting to Typhon it shouldn't matter.
Since it is very possible to have 2 Aesirs on the field, you can totally overlay them for some trains. Attacking with 2 Aesirs and then using Gustav for game comes up sometimes. Liebe not so much, though it may help having a 6000 ATK monster that can attack monsters twice or thrice. Liebe permanently gains the ATK/DEF boost.
You can use the Armored Xyz package to draw 1, attach an opponent's monster as material, convince your opponent that Crystalzero Lancer is Thor, and close out games. Good choice if you're on Invoker.
SHS Nordics can make Rank 4s. Shutting your opponent's field with Svalinn and their GY with Dweller is very powerful. Bagooska is for when you get Maxx C'd.
What's one more god in your Deck, right? It shouldn't matter that it's from Greek mythology.
Zeus wipes the whole field. It has a secret effect that lets you fuel it back. 3-axis Nordics (and the super copium play) can Summon it with 4 mats thanks to Downerd (Gustav Liebe can do it too if you don't use their effects).
While extremely rare, you can make Rank 7s in Adventure Nordics. There are plenty of good Level 7s you can freely Summon like Gryphon, Illegal Knight, Kashtiras, Loading... , and Level 7 Synchros. FMD will make the fire rise by constantly burning the opponent and win in time. As for the other one...
- "If I pull that off will you die?"
-
- "It would be extremely painful..."
- "You're a Big Eye."
-
- "...For you."
If you're too hipster for Armored Xyz.
copium
Ultimate Slayer target.
Link Monsters
SP is one of the greatest Link 2s ever. Banishing a card your opponent controls or in their GY is very good. You can pretty much always use its on-Summon effect thanks to the constant access to Gullveig. SP will clog your Link Arrows like Gullveig, but if you can manage to use its second effect to leave the field then you'll be just fine.
You can attack directly, then make SP on your MP2 and use its on-Summon effect.
These cards are Link 2s that can be made with Gullveig and then leave the field, so you can make another Gullveig to that zone right after to have another Aesir on the field. All of them remove a card in doing so, and they have decent arrows if their effects are negated (Agent Moon can still Tribute itself). Donner is the easiest one to Summon in theory but Agent Moon can be made with Gullveig and Adv Token which is a more common scenario. Donner can only pop your opponent's monster while Agent Moon can pop any of your opponent's cards, and Azalea can pop anything on the field.
Sometimes you'll want one of these over an SP.
More stuff so you can get rid of Gullveig. Instead of any of the cards above, you can go for a nuclear option and Lyna -> Selene -> Accesscode your opponent. Lyna is preferred because Gullveig is Light. This play generally requires your opponent to have a Light monster in GY, at least 3 Spells on field/in GYs, and a Spellcaster in your GY that isn't a Link Monster (Alviss, Veiler, Loki etc.). You'll have an Acesscode with 5300 ATK and it can pop cards uninterrupted. It can also banish itself to free the Extra Monster Zone.
Link Spider can turn the Adventure Engine into an SP with banish on Summon, or turn a Token into Typhon. It can also open up a Main Monster Zone if your opponent is playing some janky Loading... combo that clogs all of your Main Monster Zones.
Link away your opponent's problem monster. It has great effects too. Also happens to be a goddess in Mesopotamian mythology so the more gods the merrier.
Linkuriboh and Anima can out Destiny HERO - Dark Angel.
Knightmare Corruptor Iblee outs.
If you have nothing else to run.
Ultimate Slayer target. Mills Garura to draw 1 after. There are no good Pendulum targets for Ultimate Slayer so just run your favourite Extra Deck Pend for that. I suggest Loading... for Norse authenticity.
Example Decks
All of them go over 40 cards because Nordics have a lot of stuff to keep in the Deck. 42-48 is considered a sweet spot for most Nordic builds, but in the end it's up to you if you want to stick to 40 or go all the way to 60. It works regardless.
Adventure Nordics
Armored Nordics
Based on this tweet of a Master 1 List from 25.07.2024 with some changes.
Evil Eye Nordics
Based on Berserker's Master 1 List from 16.01.2024 with some changes.
SHS Nordics
You should regularly adjust your Deck against the meta.
You can always reach out to me or the Nordic channel on the Master Duel Meta Discord for the most updated Nordic lists.
Combos
Nordics are always played with another engine as the final step of those engines' combo, and they don't change their combos much, if at all. Listing all the combos of all the different engines would make this guide too long, so I will only list what Nordics can do on their own, which you'll use no matter the build.
Combo 1: The bread and butter
You just need 1 Nordic. If you have Ivaldi do Combo 2. If you have 2 Nordics at least 1 of which Alviss you can do Combo 3.
- Normal Summon your Nordic.
- Link it into Gullveig.
- Banish 3 cards (you can banish Gullveig if the rest of your hand and/or board is too good). Special Summon Valk, Alviss, Ivaldi.
- Add Svalinn with Ivaldi's effect.
- Synchro Summon Odin to where Gullveig points to.
You have an untargetable Aesir and an unattackable Gullveig (if you kept Gullveig). You have Svalinn as a negate. You can revive Odin with Valk in the GY. You can float into another Aesir with Alviss in the GY.
If you Linked Alviss into Gullveig you can instead Special Bursti, Ivaldi and Black Goat, not use Bursti's effect, and make any Aesir, preferably Thor.
Combo 2: Ivaldi sets a follow-up play
You need an Ivaldi whose effect you can activate.
- Normal/Special Summon Ivaldi. Add Svalinn.
- Link Ivaldi into Gullveig.
- Banish 3 cards (you can banish Gullveig if the rest of your hand and/or board is too good). Special Summon Bursti, Alviss, Black Goat.
- Use Bursti to add Ivaldi from your GY to your hand.
- Synchro Summon an Aesir of choice, preferably Thor, to where Gullveig points to.
On your next turn you can...
- Special Summon Ivaldi with its own effect. Add Hlid.
- Use Hlid to Special Summon Bursti from your Deck.
- Use Bursti to add Black Goat from your GY to your hand.
- Normal Summon Black Goat.
- Synchro Summon an Aesir of choice, preferably Thor.
- After that you can do anything you want with the two Aesirs on the field, like a Rank 10.
You have an untargetable Aesir and an unattackable Gullveig (if you kept Gullveig). You have Svalinn as a negate. You can revive Thor with Bursti in the GY. You can float into another Aesir with Alviss in the GY. You have an Ivaldi follow-up for your next turn.
Combo 3: Alviss' 1st effect
Don't do this play if you're under a card like D Shifter or Macro Cosmos! You can do this play if you have 2 Nordics, at least one of which is Alviss. If you opened Ivaldi and Alviss you can choose to do Combo 2 for the follow-up.
- Normal Summon your non-Alviss Nordic.
- Link it into Gullveig.
- Banish only Alviss. Special Summon Ivaldi.
- You choose the Chain Link order of Ivaldi and Alviss. CL1 Ivaldi CL2 Alviss will play around Ghost Ogre etc. and if Alviss gets negated Ivaldi can add Gungnir to still have disruption, so choose this CL order.
- CL2 Alviss sends Ivaldi from the field + Alviss & Valk from your Deck to your GY and cheats out an Aesir of choice to where Gullveig points to.
You should mill yourself, NOW!
-Gullveig, to Alviss
- CL1 Ivaldi adds Svalinn.
If you did not Summon anything before, you have played around Nibiru by Summoning exactly 4 monsters! You have an untargetable Aesir and an unattackable Gullveig. You have Svalinn as a negate. You cannot revive your Aesir because it was not Synchro Summoned. You can float into another Aesir with Alviss in the GY.
If you opened 2 Alvisses you don't have to mill your final Alviss. You can choose to reach Level 6 by any other means, such as Bursti + Black Goat. This one is preferred in this case because you can do an Ivaldi follow-up next turn for having the Goat in GY.
Combo 4: The Elusive Double Gullveig
This one is extremely niche, since it's only done in hands where you open 2 Nordics one of which is Bursti and the other is not, you want to keep 1 more card after using Gullveig's effect, and you did not open any other engine.
If your other Nordic is Ivaldi, you can do Combo 2 instead. If your other Nordic is Alviss, you can do Combo 3 instead.
- Summon Bursti. Activate it to Special your other Nordic.
- Link Gullveig with that other Nordic. Don't activate its effect.
- Activate Bursti's second effect to add the Nordic in your GY to your hand.
- Link another Gullveig by using Bursti. Use its effect to banish itself, the Nordic you just added to your hand, and 1 other card (you can banish the other Gullveig if the rest of your hand and/or board is too good). Special Summon Valk, Alviss, Ivaldi.
- Add Svalinn with Ivaldi's effect.
- Synchro Summon Odin to where Gullveig points to.
Same as Combo 1, you have an untargetable Aesir and an unattackable Gullveig (if you kept Gullveig). You have Svalinn as a negate. You can revive Odin with Valk in the GY. You can float into another Aesir with Alviss in the GY.
Combo 5: Adventure Time
Adventure Nordic is a common variant so I'll write its combo too. You just need a way to get both 1 Nordic and 1 Rite.
- Activate Rite. Place Fateful on the field.
- Normal Summon your Nordic. Activate Fateful to add (not equip) Dracoback from your Deck.
- Activate Fateful again to add Gryphon, and send Dracoback to GY.
- Activate Dracoback in GY to equip to Adv Token. You can use it to bounce your opponent's card.
- Special Gryphon in hand.
- Link Summon Gullveig. Banish Fateful, Dracoback, and 1 other card (you can banish Gullveig if the rest of your hand and/or board is too good). Special Valk, Alviss, Ivaldi.
- Add Svalinn with Ivaldi's effect.
- Synchro Summon Odin to where Gullveig points to.
You have an untargetable Aesir and an unattackable Gullveig (if you kept Gullveig). You have Svalinn as a negate. You have Gryphon as an omninegate. You can revive Odin with Valk in the GY. You can float into another Aesir with Alviss in the GY.
If you open Rite + 2 Nordics 1 of which is Ivaldi, you can Special that and add Svalinn, then follow Combo 2 after Gryphon.
If you open Rite + 2 Nordics 1 of which is Alviss, you can follow Combo 3 after Gryphon. You'll keep Fateful and Dracoback in doing so.
If you open Rite + Valk + Ivaldi, you can do a double Gullveig play to have an Odin that can revive itself. Summon both Nordics and follow Combo 2 after Gryphon, and Synchro Summon Odin to where Gullveig points to.
If you open Rite + Dverg + Alviss, you can do a double Gullveig play to have a Dverg for your next turn. Normal Summon both Nordics, Link both into Gullveig, use the 2nd Gullveig to Special Bursti + Ivaldi + Black Goat, use Ivaldi to add Svalinn, use Bursti to add Dverg from GY to hand, and Synchro an Aesir of choice, preferably Thor to where Gullveig points to.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading the guide! I hope you will enjoy playing Nordics. Shoutouts to all the Nordic regulars out there. If you have any questions about the archetype you can reach out to the Nordic channel on the Master Duel Meta Discord (check the pins); I'll be there.
#nordicsweep