Last updated: 26.03.2021
In Yugioh, archetypes are sometimes confusing. On one hand, there are groups like the “Numbers” archetype that is incredibly big but clearly not meant to work as one unified archetype and then there are groups like “Monarchs”, who are as far as I know technically not even an archetype because no support card specifically asks for a “Monarch” card. Because that is how a series becomes an archetype: Specifying the “archetype” in the card text. Which brings me to the subject of this article: “Celtic Guard”.
Disclaimer: None of the information given by me is set in stone. Having an open mind in deck building and including creative ideas is always helpful, if only to further understand the playstyle and strategy of the deck you are about to build. There are probably choices that I list which can be labled as debatable, but no platform I know of gives a broad overview over both the archetypes and all the card choices, so I aimed to do just that. I will try to keep this page (as well as the other ones, once they are made) up-to-date, so if any reader feels like I skipped some amazing tech choice or a crucial card, just drop me a note and I will add the missing information if necessary. Furthermore, I use a number of sources for ideas and information, so a list with links that I deem useful is attached to the end of the page and credit is given whenever I can point to a source to do so. In this specific case though, building a deck is fairly unlikely.
Archetype:
“Celtic Guard” is an Earth Warrior archetype consisting of three cards. The deck, should you call it that, works with a card draw gimmick printed on the card that actually made this group of cards an archetype. So, let us see what these three cards have to offer:
Name: “Celtic Guardian“
Level/Rank: 4
ATK/DEF: 1400/1200
Attribute/Type: Earth Warrior
An elf who learned to wield a sword, he baffles enemies with lightning-swift attacks.
“Celtic Guardian” should be familiar to anyone who watched the first series of the anime, because it was one of Yugi’s main monsters. If you are now wondering what this has to do with anything, “Celtic Guardian” is obviously a member of the “Celtic Guard” archetype, sharing most of his name with the title. The monster itself was never spectacular, since it was not only missing an effect but even lacking in stats when it first came out; and that was quite some time ago. It is a Warrior monster, so it belongs to one of the best supported monster types in Yugioh, but other than that and the option of using “Unexpected Dai” or other generic Normal Monster support cards, the card really has nothing going for it. So, under normal circumstances I would suggest playing zero copies of “Celtic Guardian”, no matter what deck you play. However, if you actually want to play a “Celtic Guard” deck you will have to use three for the lack of other options and for the synergy that exists with one other cards that I will talk about in a moment.
Recommended copies: 3
Name: “Obnoxious Celtic Guard“
Level/Rank: 4
ATK/DEF: 1400/1200
Attribute/Type: Earth Warrior
Cannot be destroyed by battle with a monster that has 1900 or more ATK.
And that is what happens when you talk smack about Yugi’s monsters: Suddenly they turn obnoxious. Bad jokes aside, “Obnoxious Celtic Guard” is the … well, upgrade to “Celtic Guardian“, switching the possibility of synergizing with generic Normal Monster support against the effect of being indestructible in battle if the monster it battles with has 1900 or more ATK. That effect was somewhat helpful back in the day, but nowadays it is rather lacking with removal effects around every corner, “Kaijus” being handed out like cheap rice, and decks actually having access to decent monsters with under 1900 ATK. Examples include, but are not limited to, the Link versions of the “Charmers”, who all have 1850 ATK, are widely played due to their usefulness and will therefore kick the butt of “Obnoxious Celtic Guard”, regardless of what adjective he will put in front of his name next. The same I said for “Celtic Guardian” is still true for “Obnoxious Celtic Guard” though: You should play zero copies in any deck other than a “Celtic Guard” deck, in which you need three copies due to a severe lack of options and the aforementioned synergy with the next card in line.
Recommended copies: 3
Name: “Celtic Guard of Noble Arms“
Level/Rank: 4
ATK/DEF: 2100/700
Attribute/Type: Earth Warrior
Cannot attack while you have any cards in your hand. Once per turn: You can Special Summon 1 "Celtic Guard" monster from your hand. When this attacking card inflicts battle damage to your opponent: You can draw cards equal to the number of "Celtic Guard" monsters you control.
This is the culprit that actually forces me to view these cards as an archetype: “Celtic Guard of Noble Arms”. With 2100 ATK, he actually has some beatdown power available, but his effect is as weird as most of the Movie Pack cards he is a member of: “Celtic Guard of Noble Arms” cannot attack while you have any cards in hand. That is pretty abysmal right away, due to me pretty much drawing and then trying to get rid of my cards to allow this guy to attack. Or I might be stuck with a card that I cannot just set in the backrow or summon right away, in which case this “Noble Arms” bearer goes on strike. He tries to make up for it though: Once per turn, you can Special Summon a “Celtic Guard” monster from the hand and when he finally decides to attack and manages to inflict battle damage, you can draw cards equal to the number of “Celtic Guard” monsters you control. Which will then prohibit him from attacking and therefore starts the cycle anew. With a total of nine “Celtic Guard” cards maximum at the time of writing, drawing more than one or two cards comes close to a miracle though. This card is still what makes this deck playable: Run some weird version of “Celtic Guard Stun” with the minimum amount of monsters, set everything in the backrow and summon the potential other “Celtic Guard” via the effect of “Celtic Guard of Noble Arms” and you should be free to attack while having plenty of options to stop the opposing schenanigans; all while drawing a sizeable amount of cards as backup. Long story short, should you really want to build this deck just to make use of the draw effect of “Celtic Guard of Noble Arms”, play three copies. You will need them.
Recommended copies: 3
Recommended Engines:
The first question you want to ask yourself in this section is if the deck itself should not be something else that you fit the “Celtic Guard” engine into, since they have so little cards to work with. In that case, any archetype that uses Warrior monsters, can use or abuse Level 4 monster for Xyz plays and brings enough fighting power to still deal damage while playing the gimmick that is the “Celtic Guard” engine will work just fine. At least as fine as it can with up to nine copies of seemingly random monsters built into a functioning strategy. But if you really want to give it a spin on its own, I can only think of one engine that would massively help:
“Bamboo Sword”: Yes, “Bamboo Sword”. There is a number of reasons why these cards can actually help you fulfilling the dream of building a “Celtic Guard” deck. The “Golden Bamboo Sword” is obviously the goal, playing a “Pot of Greed” whenever you deem necessary, but aside from the mandatory “Broken Bamboo Sword” you can also profit from “Burning Bamboo Sword” skipping the opposing Main Phase 1 and therefore either attacking with what is available at the time or not attacking at all for the turn, and any of the other Equip cards this engine has to offer can help fuel the effects of “Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights“.
Further useful cards:
Main Deck monsters:
“Barrier Statue of the Drought“:
If you decide to run the Control variant of the “Celtic Guard” deck, you might find yourself Normal summoning this monster to keep the opponent in check.
“Marauding Captain“:
Further swarming and a way to get your hand emptied, what else do you need?
Spell cards:
“Foolish Burial“:
Setup for both “Monster Reborn” and “The Warrior Returning Alive“, since you need every option to get into your main monster.
“Monster Reborn“:
More swarming and a solid option to get “Celtic Guard of Noble Arms” back on the field if he leaves it prematurely.
“Reinforcement of the Army“:
The deck focusses on Warrior cards, so there is no reason not to play one of the best searchers in the entire game.
“The Warrior Returning Alive“:
Less powerful than “Reinforcement of the Army“, but in the case that your “Celtic Guard of Noble Arms” gets destroyed, you have an easy way to get him back where he belongs.
Trap cards:
“Common Charity“:
More card draw. You can also decide whether you want to banish a copy of “Celtic Guardian” or discard your entire hand to give “Celtic Guard of Noble Arms” a go.
Extra Deck monsters:
“Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights“:
You play a Warrior deck with Equip cards? Of course you want to include “Isolde” for search and additional Special summons.
Playstyle/Combos:
“Celtic Guard” technically has no playstyle to speak off on its own. In the best case scenario, you managed to blast your hand onto the field, summoned an additional “Celtic Guardian” monster via “Celtic Guard of Noble Arms“, kick with it, deal battle damage, draw two cards and think about how you can get rid of the cards you have drawn to repeat the process. Should any disruption or destruction of any sort take place, the entire strategy crumbles; and in this special case, even forcing the “Celtic Guard” player to draw a card would be devastating disruption.
Weaknesses/Counters:
As mentioned above, your strategy not only relies on the success of “Celtic Guard of Noble Arms“, it is very much the only strategy you have on offer. “Effect Veiler” or any other effect negation, any “Solemn” Counter Trap or way to stop the summon of that monster, “Negate Attack” or any other way to negate attacks, a Defense Position monster with 2100 or more DEF, any form to prevent battle damage, the number of counters against the idea of “Celtic Guard of Noble Arms“, and therefore the entire archetype, is sheer endless.
Sample Decklist (March 2021):
If you are not sure what certain cards are or if you would like to download the deck, you can find anything necessary under this link: https://ygoprodeck.com/celtic-guard-deck/.
I personally do not have any sample decklist to feature here, but I thought why not give you the decklist that actually caused all the commotion in the OCG when it took second place? This is pretty much “Celtic Guard” stun, since it runs lots of options to keep the opponent from getting onto the board, which would need to be changed slightly for the TCG, since we cannot run the deck as it is listed above due to clashing with the banned/limited list. I would say that you can do such a build with a lot of small engines, but being able to draw consistently by using “Celtic Guard of Noble Arms” while also simply setting the entire hand each turn to allow the guy to attack again is a smart move. Is this deck going to win in the long run and change the meta in any way, shape or form? Probably not. But it is a smart thought experiment by a creative deckbuilder and I give the creator of this deck my respect for their idea. The deck cannot be played as it is at the moment, but feel free to switch the limited/banned cards for similar options and see if the entire thing still works.
Monster (10):
3x “Celtic Guardian“
3x “Celtic Guard of Noble Arms“
1x “Obnoxious Celtic Guard“
3x “Barrier Statue of the Drought“
Spell/Trap (30):
3x “Card of Demise“
3x “Pot of Desires“
2x “Pot of Duality“
2x “Supermagic Sword of Raptinus“
1x “Reinforcement of the Army“
1x “Heritage of the Chalice“
2x “Scapegoat“
3x “Compulsory Evacuation Device“
3x “Storming Mirror Force“
2x “Crackdown“
3x “Solemn Judgment“
3x “Solemn Warning“
1x “Solemn Strike“
1x “Imperial Order“
Extra Deck (15):
1x “Number 41: Bagooska the Terribly Tired Tapir“
1x “Tornado Dragon“
1x “Number 39: Utopia“
1x “Number S39: Utopia the Lightning“
1x “Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS – Sky Thunder“
1x “Link Spider“
1x “Linkuriboh“
1x “Security Dragon“
2x “Missus Radiant“
1x “Aussa the Earth Charmer, Immovable“
1x “Knightmare Phoenix“
1x “Knightmare Unicorn“
1x “Borrelsword Dragon“
1x “Mekk-Knight Crusadia Avramax“
Cubic Creativity 
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