UNION ARENA Demon Slayer Decks Ranked from Strong to Strongest
UNION ARENA’s Demon Slayer set is here and for many this is going to be a big one. Demon Slayer is after all one of the biggest anime shows of all time, and this set does it some serious justice from a collectibility and playability standpoint.
But which of the Demon Slayer decks is best?
Below, I’ll be ranking each of the main Demon Slayer decks from strong to strongest!
#5 Yellow Hashira
If I had to choose one deck from Demon Slayer that was the biggest disappointment to me, it would have to be this Hashira deck. After all, the Hashira are just so cool and formidable in the anime you would think that would be matched by an equally formidable deck in UNION ARENA.
Jokes on us I guess, because the Yellow Hashira deck from the Demon Slayer set clocks in dead last on this deck hierarchy.
And honestly it’s not even that the deck is so bad – it’s got decent bones just no follow through, with the biggest issue being the complete lack of raid characters available to it.
That might not be so bad if we were given two AP characters that come in active like we have in the other energy colors in Demon Slayer. But no. None of that here! Instead we are forced to play the Hashira deck entirely without the raid mechanic which is a bummer to say the least.
Yellow Hashira highlights
Mitsuri has a decent removal effect reminiscent of Kenpachi from the BLEACH set only without the Impact.
Muichiro is arguably this deck’s strongest card and his effect is much like Toshiro’s only stronger in some ways because it activates when played and when sidelined. If only Muichiro entered play active!
Yellow Hashira Lowlights
No raid characters and no additional effects to really justify that.
#4 Muzan Demon deck
The Muzan Purple deck feels so good in theory but lacks the tools it needs to succeed in a very competitive meta. Although the sidelining your own characters mechanic is a very interesting one to enter the arena, ultimately it becomes something of a pain throughout your game as you are forced to make the tough decision between weakening your ranks to speed up the rate at which you can field Muzan and whittling your opponent’s life away to get them in reach of a one turn lethal attack.
This deck’s strategy is so intriguing that I poured much, much time into it trying to see if I could get it to work reliably. At the end of the day, however, even if you do manage to get 20 cards into your sideline (which is surprisingly hard to achieve even with the vast amount of effects at your disposal), that doesn’t guarantee your victory. Muzan is just as prone to removal as any other card, and as you play this deck you’ll start to feel like killing all your characters and waiting until you have twenty cards in your sideline might be a high price to pay for what a few characters with Impact or Damage 2 could have achieved at a much lower cost.
Muzan deck highlights
Draws tons of cards easily.
Unique sideline mechanic is fun and challenging to master.
Muzan is one of the strongest characters in the game.
Decent removal if you get the pieces in play for it.
Access to the powerful Akaza two AP character with Snipe/Impact.
Muzan deck lowlights
Sideline strategy forces you to field low powered, zero trigger characters.
Muzan is too late game dependent to be a reliable attacker.
Managing the number of cards in your sideline is distracting when trying to fight a battle against an aggressive meta.
#3 Red Tanjiro and Friends
The deck I’ve been most surprised by in Demon Slayer is the red Tanjiro and friends build. It can actually be pretty scary good. As long as you have the right characters on the field, your motly band of Demon Slayers are quite strong, gaining access to unique effects like standing rested characters, drawing cards, or even gaining insane BP levels.
On that note, two-cost Tanjiro is this deck’s most remarkable card. For only having an Inosuke and Zenitsu in play, Tanjiro becomes a 2500 BP character. At only two cost that’s pretty solid. It also makes him an ideal target for raid Inouske who can ready resting characters. Play Tanjiro from your hand to resting on the front line and see how quickly you can cut through your foes.
Beyond that you have Tenzen for insane board clearing/life taking via Double Attack, and Rengoku for added removal.
If you like decks that run fast and furious, give this one a try.
Highlights
A retinue of powerful attackers to choose from
Aggressive gameplay
Strong card search and powerful double attack keyword
Lowlights
Limited removal
Lackluster color trigger card (two AP for a card return)
#2 Gyutaro/Daki
Now we’re getting to the really good stuff. The Gyutaro/Daki deck is my personal favorite from the set and it’s really strong. The main issue in this deck is (surprise) removal! That seems to be a trend in Demon Slayer in general where the only deck with halfway decent removal is the number one deck on this list.
Meanwhile, what Gyutaro/Daki lacks in the removal department it makes up for in other areas. Raid Gyutaro, for example, is arguably the most effective character in all of Purple with an effect that works almost as well as Double Attack along with a neat draw engine.
Fielding plenty of trigger heavy cards isn’t an issue in this deck like it seems to be with other Demon Slayer decks so that’s a plus, and the synergy between the demonic sibling duo is a fun and powerful mechanic that will carry you through many games.
Highlights
Strong core of attackers, including Gyutaro who is arguably the most effective attacker in the set.
Powerful draw engine to help you keep pace with your opponent’s.
Early game rush potential.
Lowlights
Limited removal in the shape of two AP Gyutaro is the main issue plaguing this deck.
While Gyutaro helps you work around it, you are also lacking Impact characters, meaning you may have to tech in Demon Powers to grant it that way.
#1 Yellow Tanjiro/Nezuko is the strongest Demon Slayer deck
Apart from limited removal, the other trend in Demon Slayer as a set is that cards play off of one another. Daki and Gyutaro unlock added effects when used together, as do Tanjiro and his friends. In this deck, Nezuko and Tanjiro are the main event, helping each other move characters in and out of the front line to attack over and over again while defending key characters.
What makes this deck function particularly well is that it actually has a halfway decent removal option found between combining Nezuko’s BP reduction effect with Tanjiro’s when played sidelining effect.
If you’re looking for a deck from Demon Slayer most capable of competing with the current meta, Yellow Demon Slayer is likely your best bet.
Highlights
Decent removal.
Powerful aggressive tactic via raid Nezuko.
Lowlights
Lacks a high end attacker and powerful finishing, especially against decks with high BP characters.
