Last updated: 07.03.2021
I have to admit that I am fascinated by bad archetypes in Yugioh. Konami proved more than once that they are are to make pretty much anything playable (“B.E.S.” for example), which makes the existence of certain sets of cards that cannot perform on any level rather puzzling. Nevertheless, there are a few archetypes that rightfully obtained the title of “bad archetype”, many of them coming from the Duel Terminal/Hidden Arsenal line of editions. One of the worst archetypes stemming from this time was already mentioned on the blog in form of “Ally of Justice“, but lore-wise they were formed to fight an archetype that is pretty much equally as bad in the card game: “Worm”.
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.
“Worm” is actually both a series and an archetype: There is a small group of Insect-type “Worm” monsters with no real focus at all aside from a loose Mill theme, but the actual archetype consists of Light Reptile monsters, which predominatently work with one of the most unsupported monster types in the game: Flip monsters. In terms of naming the various cards the archetype has to offer the card designers really outdid themselves with “Worm”, giving them all names according to the 26 letters of the alphabet. Genius move, really. But let us not get spiteful before we looked at any cards and let us open the stage to the “Worm” archetype:
Archetype:
Name: “Worm Apocalypse“
Level/Rank: 1
ATK/DEF: 300/200
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
FLIP: Target 1 Spell/Trap Card on the field; destroy that target.
“Worm Apocalypse” is the first member of the archetype and it gives a good impression of what one can expect of the “Worms” in general. “Worm Apocalypse” is pretty much a “Mystical Space Typhoon” in monster form, which is terribly underwhelming as the effect on a Flip monster. Flip monsters on their own are a very undersupported monster type, so there is really not that much to hope for from that front, but even if you were able to flip them whenever you would like to do so as a quick effect, “Worm Apocalypse” would still suffer from low stats and therefore cause you to take immense damage during the damage step. Conclusively, “Worm Apocalypse” is a “Man-Eater Bug” for the backrow, which in modern day Yugioh makes it pointlessly slow und unreliable and therefore normally not worth a contender for any deck space.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Worm Barses“
Level/Rank: 3
ATK/DEF: 1400/1500
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
When this card is Normal Summoned: Target 1 Defense Position monster; change that target to face-up Attack Position.
“Worm Barses” is next and there is really not much to that guy either. With 1400/1500 in stats, it pretty much underperforms in both and being a Level 3 is not really giving access to any cards that you would want to run in the Xyz department. Finally, its effect can force any one monster from Defense Position into Attack Position, screwing any opposing defense walls over or allowing you to force a Flip effect if you choose one of your own monsters. Unfortunately, this effect only triggers on Normal Summon, which makes it slow and unreliable, but allows you to still combo it with “Worm Call” mentioned further down in the article. But usually, with its low stats and rather unhelpful effect “Worm Barses” falls short of being a useful card and therefore finds no deck space available for itself.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Worm Cartaros“
Level/Rank: 4
ATK/DEF: 1200/500
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
FLIP: Add 1 Level 4 or lower Reptile-Type "Worm" monster from your Deck to your hand.
The first option actually worth thinking about is “Worm Cartaros”. Level 4 gives you access to the powerful Rank 4 Xyz toolbox and specifically “King of the Feral Imps” for some more consistency, and while “Worm Cartaros” is nigh unusable in the stat department, it happens to be your in-archetypal searcher. Granted, the search effect is chained to a Flip effect and therefore, like the rest of the archetype, sluggish in execution, it cannot search any of the numerous higher-level monsters, but at least you have a search to work with at all. The idea of waiting a turn and potentially losing a monster just for a search is rather far-fetched, but it is the best searcher you have available so run it by preference.
Recommended copies: 1-3
Name: “Worm Dimikles“
Level/Rank: 4
ATK/DEF: 1700/1400
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
FLIP: This card gains 300 ATK and DEF.
“Worm Dimikles” is next and it really shows how odd some of the ideas were that went into the creation of “Worms”. “Worm Dimikles” is your Level 4 beater and reaches stats that are higher than normal if you summon the guy via flip effect, bringing it all the way to 2000 ATK and 1700 DEF. Otherwise, it is pretty much “Ally of Justice Garadholg“-levels of bad, only being an effect monster to gain a miniscule stat boost. You can play better monsters with 1700 or 1800 ATK, so “Worm Dimikles” can be skipped entirely.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Worm Erokin“
Level/Rank: 6
ATK/DEF: 2400/1200
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
This card cannot be Special Summoned. Once per turn, select 1 face-up Reptile-Type "Worm" monster on the field and change it to face-down Defense Position.
“Worm Erokin” actually shows promise: It needs a tribute, but for a tribute monster from the Duel Terminal times it actually still sports 2400 ATK and is therefore able to trade with cards like “Monarchs”. The effect is pretty much the reverse of “Worm Barses” in that “Worm Erokin” can take a face-up “Worm” Reptile monster and change it back into face-down Defense Position, effectively reusing its Flip effect. Being unsummonable via Special summon actually hurts, but “Worm Erokin” could possibly pull its own weight, depending on how many actual Flip effect “Worms” you run in your deck. But in most scenarios you will think about how easier it would have been to get the guy on board via “Worm Call” or revive it with “Monster Reborn“, which at least for me means that “Worm Erokin” does not get any deck slot.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Worm Falco“
Level/Rank: 2
ATK/DEF: 500/800
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
FLIP: Change all face-up Reptile-Type "Worm" monsters you control to face-down Defense Position, except this card.
From the same notion as “Worm Erokin” stems “Worm Falco”, since it also tries to reuse its own archetype. Level and stats can be completely ignored on this guy, since there is really not much to show in that department, but the effect flips every face-up “Worm” monster face-down when “Worm Falco” is flipped face-up. It excludes itself to stop some nasty endless flipping business from happening, but the effect is still rather good, if you can fill the board with a number of “Worms”. “Worm Falco” could and would be helpful in times when the field is rammed with monsters; but in any normal “Worm” deck that will be close to impossible. Therefore, “Worm Falco” normally clocks in at zero copies.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Worm Gulse“
Level/Rank: 4
ATK/DEF: 1500/300
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
Each time a face-down Defense Position monster is flipped face-up, place 1 Worm Counter on this card. This card gains 300 ATK for each Worm Counter on it.
“Worm Gulse” is a beater like “Worm Dimikles“, but with a rather different approach. It starts out with 1500 ATK, but gains Worm Counters for every time a face-down Defense Position monster is flipped face-up. It does not only count your monsters though and also gains counters whenever the opponent flips something or whenever you ram something into a face-down Defense Position monster on the other side of the field to force a flip. Unfortunately, it needs at least two counters to become worth playing and at the end of the day all “Worm Gulse” has to offer is stats, since there is no other effect in the archetype that “Worm Gulse” could use its counters for. The card has an interesting idea in an archetype with a focus on Flip Summons, but there are simply better options available, leaving “Worm Gulse” at zero copies.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Worm Hope“
Level/Rank: 1
ATK/DEF: 800/1500
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
FLIP: When this card is flipped face-up by an opponent's monster's attack, draw 1 card. When this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard, send 1 card from your hand to the Graveyard.
“Worm Hope” is supposed to be the draw option in the archetype by giving you a card draw when it is flipped up due to a monster’s attack. That means that “Worm Hope” will not give you a card when being flipped face-up during your own turn since it was not attacked, making it a bad joke at best regarding Flip effect monsters. More confusingly even, if “Worm Hope” is sent to the graveyard from the field it forces you to send a card from your hand to the graveyard aswell, pretty much nullifing the draw. The same applied when used for Link Summons and the like, causing it to simply be a minus in card economy terms at pretty much any time in the game. I have no idea how “Worm Hope” got its name, but hoping for something better is the only thing you can do when playing this guy. Simply skip “Worm Hope” in deckbuilding.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Worm Illidan“
Level/Rank: 5
ATK/DEF: 2000/1800
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
Each time a card is Set on your side of the field, place 1 Worm Counter on this card. You can remove 2 Worm Counters from this card to select 1 card your opponent controls, and destroy it.
Next up is “Worm Illidan”. With a Level of 5, it is already kind of on the chopping block considering how hard a time the “Worm” archetype has when it comes to Tribute Summoning due to a lack of monsters on the field. The effect you get for summoning it is as follows: For every card you Set “Worm Illidan” gets a Worm Counter and by removing two of those you can choose an opposing card and destroy it. The effect certainly does not blow anyone away, but there are two factors that make it somewhat playable: It uses any Set card for counter generation, meaning you can simply fill your backrow and generate counters that way; even setting Spell cards and then activating them right afterwards is generating counters. Furthermore, the effect is not limited to once per turn, so you could theoretically apply it twice if you can gain enough counters during the turn. “Worm Illidan” still is rather weak in stats, has no amazing effect and needs a tribute to enter the field most of the time, making it rather weak. I mean, the idea of summoning “Worm Illidan” and then setting four cards for two destruction effects sounds rather lovely in “Worms”, but that is the exception rather than the rule. In any normal scenario, “Worm Illidan” is rather underwhelming and is therefore skipped like many others.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Worm Jetelikpse“
Level/Rank: 3
ATK/DEF: 1200/0
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
FLIP: When this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard this turn: Special Summon it from the Graveyard in face-up Defense Position.
“Worm Jetelikpse” is another gimmicky card with the following effect: When it is destroyed and sent to the graveyard during the turn it was flipped face-up, you can re-summon it to the field in face-down Defense Position. This obviously means that “Worm Jetelikpse” never really leaves the field as long as the opponent runs into it, but there are a few issues with the card: Negating its effect will take care of it immediately, any non-battle destruction or removal effect will deal with it and even if it stays on the field, the impact this will have on the game is limited at best. “Worm Jetelikpse” is another gimmick fest, but nothing you would really need to get the deck running. Simply skip this one.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Worm King“
Level/Rank: 8
ATK/DEF: 2700/1100
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
This card can be Tribute Summoned in face-up Attack Position by Tributing 1 Reptile-Type "Worm" monster. You can Tribute 1 Reptile-Type "Worm" monster to select 1 card your opponent controls, and destroy it.
“Worm King” is the main target for your Spell/Trap support when it comes to summoning high-level monsters. It can be summoned with just one tribute, which will rarely be the way this guy enters the field but certainly is nice to have, but the fact that you have a handy destruction effect paired with 2700 ATK makes “Worm King” an ideal choice for some beatdown. It also is Level 8 and therefore makes “Trade-In” a solid card draw option. Overall, “Worm King” can be considered an important part of your damage output and is playable at about one to two copies.
Recommended copies: 1-2
Name: “Worm Lynx“
Level/Rank: 2
ATK/DEF: 300/1000
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
FLIP: During each End Phase, if this card is face-up, draw 1 card.
The gimmick route continues with “Worm Linx”. Level 2 and subpar stats are not as shocking anymore, but the effect still amazes me: You have to flip “Worm Linx” to even activate the effect with a delay, which then lets you draw a card in each End Phase. This means both the opposing End Phase and your own, yes, but do you seriously believe that this thing is going to survive face-up while the opponent has free reign over playing whatever they want? No, “Worm Linx” will be smashed into the ground like the bug it resembles, stopping any free card draw, wasting your Normal Summon, and potentially even losing you a whole lot of your life points. “Worm Linx” is simply terrible and playing cards to keep it alive is an equally terrible idea, so just skip this one.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Worm Millidith“
Level/Rank: 4
ATK/DEF: 400/1600
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
FLIP: You can equip this card to a monster your opponent controls as an Equip Card. Inflict 400 damage to the controller of the equipped monster during each Standby Phase.
Talking about terrible gimmicks, we have “Worm Millidith”. Terrible ATK paired with decent DEF, a Level of 4 that actually helps with Xyz Summoning, and one of the worst effects I have read so far: When flipped face-up, you can equip this card to an opposing monster and the controller of said monster will take 400 damage during each Standby Phase. That is one “Ookazi” for every time you start your turn again, but in all honesty how long do you think this thing will survive on board in times where anything can be easily worked into a Link Monster; and how much more damage is your opponent going to do with one less monster on your side of the field to keep whatever they play at bay? No, “Worm Millidith” is simply another gimmicky and quite seriously bad card and continues the trend of not getting any deck space to do its thing.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Worm Noble“
Level/Rank: 6
ATK/DEF: 1500/2400
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
FLIP: If this card is flipped face-up by an opponent's monster's attack, inflict damage to your opponent equal to half the attacking monster's ATK.
Since the “Worms” start in Defense Position anyway, someone in the design team at the time must have thought of the glorious idea of simply making the best of it and working with battle damage that comes from running into monster with too much defense. “Worm Solid” is one of those candidates further down the article, but here we have “Worm Noble”, a tribute monster who’s Flip effect deals damage to the opponent equal to half the ATK the attacking monster had when it caused “Worm Noble” to flip face-up. This will cause the opponent to not only take damage for the difference between ATK and DEF but also add a rather small and insignificant amount of burn damage most of the time. Note here that “Worm Noble” has no effect whatsoever when it is flipped during your turn; in addition to really not contributing much to anything after resolving its effect with 1500 ATK. I hate to repeat myself, but “Worm Noble” continues the trend of being gimmicky for the sake of being gimmicky and deserves no deck space for the lack of doing anything meaningful.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Worm Opera“
Level/Rank: 2
ATK/DEF: 400/800
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
FLIP: All face-up monsters on the field lose 500 ATK, except Reptile-Type "Worm" monsters.
“Worm Opera” is taking a different approach to allow beating over the opposing monsters: by decreasing their stats. “Worm Opera” itself is Level 2 and has abysmal stats, so there will be no more action than flipping face-up and applying its effect. Effect-wise, it will decrease the ATK-stat of any non-Reptile “Worm” monster by 500. Unfortunately, the attack decrease does not make up for the cost of a Normal Summon, then waiting a turn to apply its effect or allow the opponent to run into it and then still needing something that can actually still beat over whatever monster you decreased the ATK of. So, “Worm Opera” is as gimmicky as many of its kin in the “Worm” archetype and is also normally played at zero copies.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Worm Prince“
Level/Rank: 6
ATK/DEF: 2200/400
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
If this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle, you can add 1 Reptile-Type "Worm" monster from your Deck to your hand. Destroy this card during the End Phase if you do not control another Reptile-Type "Worm" monster.
“Worm Prince” is the other searcher the “Worm” archetype has to offer. With 2200 ATK as a Tribute Monster, it does not really blow anyone away, but not only does it need to destroy opposing monsters in battle to activate the search, but it also features an effect that automatically destroys it during the End Phase if no face-up Reptile-type “Worm” monsters are on the field besides “Worm Prince”. There is a very useful support card in the archetype that I will talk about further down in the article that turns all “Worms” face-down and that you definitely want to play in any “Worm” deck. I am telling you all this here to show you how little “Worm Prince” interacts with its own archetype: If you activate the card while “Worm Prince” is already on the field, it gets turned face-down and is probably killed due to only having 400 DEF. If you summon it afterwards, it will destroy itself due to the lack of any other face-up Reptile-type “Worm” monsters. In my opinion, “Worm Prince” is in my opinion the worst clusterfuck the “Worms” have to offer and does not deserve any deck space or further thoughts of play.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Worm Queen“
Level/Rank: 8
ATK/DEF: 2700/1100
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
You can Tribute Summon this card in face-up Attack Position by Tributing 1 Reptile-Type "Worm" monster. Once per turn, you can Tribute 1 Reptile-Type "Worm" monster to Special Summon 1 Reptile-Type "Worm" monster from your Deck with a Level less than or equal to the Tributed monster.
“Worm Queen” is the summoning counterpart to the destructive “Worm King“. Both stats and Level are identical, so “Worm Queen” could be another useful option to play in the deck, right? Well, sadly her effect is nowhere nearly as useful as the one “Worm King” sports: “Worm Queen” also needs to tribute a Reptile-Type “Worm” monster, but instead of destroying a card and therefore clearing the way for an attack, “Worm Queen” Special Summons a member of the archetype from the deck with equal or lower level to the monster you tributed. If you could tribute to get something higher out of it this would be a different conversation, but the way “Worm Queen” works she is mostly useless to the deck. “Worm Queen” can be run for more high-level beaters and further “Trade-In” fodder, but I would personally skip her and use the more superior “Worm King” instead.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Worm Rakuyeh“
Level/Rank: 4
ATK/DEF: 2100/1200
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
This card can only declare an attack the turn it was flipped face-up. If this card attacks, it is changed to face-down Defense Position at the end of the Battle Phase.
Another beater in the “Worm” archetype is “Worm Rakuyeh”, making pretty much all types of beaters during the old days of Yugioh available to “Worms”. “Worm Rakuyeh” is the type of monster that already starts with higher than average stats having 2100 ATK, but is regulated by a drawback: It can only declare an attack during the turn it was flipped up, meaning you had to set it first, and after attacking with it it is changed to face-down Defense Position again, meaning the opponent is very much aware that a 1200 DEF body is ready for destruction on your side of the field. Since the game itself evolved towards more speedy approaches and “Worms” have to obey those terms aswell, “Worm Rakuyeh” is not worth any deck space.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Worm Solid“
Level/Rank: 4
ATK/DEF: 1000/1600
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
This card gains 100 DEF for each Reptile-Type "Worm" monster in your Graveyard. If your opponent takes Battle Damage from attacking this card, at the end of the Damage Step select 1 Spell or Trap Card your opponent controls, and destroy it.
“Worm Solid” takes the gimmicky approach the “Worms” and ramps it up the eleven. “Worm Solid” is supposed to be a defense wall that the opponent hopefully runs into expecting some low-stat Flip effect monster. With 1600 DEF plus 100 DEF for any Reptile-type “Worm” monster, it potentially survives an attack and that is exactly what it wants to do, as you can destroy one card in the opposing backrow when your opponent takes damage due to attacking “Worm Solid”. But I will be honest: “Worm Solid” is hot garbage and should not be considered over cards like “Twin Twisters” as backrow removal, due to being unreliable, not particularly helpful, and potentially just being run over with resistance.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Worm Tentacles“
Level/Rank: 4
ATK/DEF: 1700/700
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
Once per turn, you can remove from play 1 Reptile-Type "Worm" monster in your Graveyard to allow this card to attack twice during the same Battle Phase.
And yet another beater comes in form of “Worm Tentacles”. But this one is actually alright: For the cost of one Reptile-type “Worm” monster in your graveyard that you have to banish “Worm Tentacles” is allowed to attack twice in the Battle Phase of that turn. It only has 1700 ATK, but with cards like “Solidarity” or “Honest” you can push it to higher stats and clean the field of pesky monsters; or kick the opponent directly for quite some damage. Therefore, “Worm Tentacles” is, like the rest of the archetype, not the best in its field, but it certainly gets the job done. Run by preference, but I would keep the numbers for this card low.
Recommended copies: 0-1
Name: “Worm Ugly“
Level/Rank: 1
ATK/DEF: 100/100
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
When you Tribute Summon a Reptile-Type "Worm" monster by Tributing this card, you can Special Summon this card from your Graveyard to your opponent's side of the field, in face-up Attack Position.
This fittingly named ball of snot is “Worm Ugly”, your tribute engine of sorts. Level and stats are again irrelevant (though it should be said that you could fetch “Worm Ugly” with “One for One” if really necessary) since the effect is all that counts here: When you use “Worm Ugly” as the tribute for a Tribute Summon, you can summon it again from the graveyard to the opponent’s side of the field in Attack Position. This is clearly meant to push some damage through, since 100 ATK will be run over by most monsters and could therefore edge you closer to a victory. The main problem is that it does nothing else: It does not count as two tributes, it gives no benefit in form of tokens, nor does it grant the summoned monster any stats or effects. It simply exists to be gifted to your opponent and that is not good enough. Run zero.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Worm Victory“
Level/Rank: 7
ATK/DEF: 0/2500
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
FLIP: Destroy all face-up monsters on the field, except Reptile-Type "Worm" monsters. This card gains 500 ATK for each Reptile-Type "Worm" monster in your Graveyard.
“Worm Victory” is a “Worm” monster whose title might be a little over-ambitious but the monster itself certainly helps the deck in closing out games. With a Level of 7, this guy would normally need two tributes, deeming him unplayable in my opinion, but thankfully “Worms” do actually have Spell/Trap support that can put him on board without much hazzle. For that, you get a field nuke that leaves any Reptile-type “Worm” monsters intact, a defense wall that actually survives some attacks and then triggers the destruction effect, all while still having a potentially beefy beater at the end since it gains ATK for each Reptile-Type “Worm” monster in your graveyard. “Worm Victory” is as solid of a monster as you can get in the “Worm” archetype. It would be a little bit better with one more Level, since “Trade-In” is a thing, but it should work just fine at up to two copies.
Recommended copies: 1-2
Name: “Worm Warlord“
Level/Rank: 6
ATK/DEF: 2350/1800
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
This card cannot be Special Summoned. Negate the effects of Effect Monsters destroyed by battle with this card. If this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle, it can attack once again in a row.
“Worm Warlord” is yet another Tribute Monster with a weird ATK-stat of 2350 to lose to any normal Level 6 monster. Effect-wise, it is pretty much the upgrade of “Worm Tentacles“: It can attack once more if it destroys a monster via attacking and it negates the effects of monsters that would trigger when destroyed. Oh, and it has one more effect: “Worm Warlord” cannot be Special Summoned, so you are actually forced to summon it via tribute. Honestly, “Worm Warlord” would actually be a fine beater if it was Special Summonable, even with its lacking ATK stat, but the effect line that prohibits it from being summoned that way makes it worthless to “Worm” decks.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Worm Xex“
Level/Rank: 4
ATK/DEF: 1800/1000
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
When this card is Normal Summoned, you can send 1 Reptile-Type "Worm" monster from your Deck to the Graveyard. If you control a face-up "Worm Yagan", this card cannot be destroyed by battle.
And finally, after a long list of unplayable to mediocre cards, there is hope for the archetype and it comes in form of “Worm Xex”. It basically works as a “Foolish Burial” for Reptile-Type “Worm” monsters and has the added bonus of being immune to battle destruction as long as you have a copy of “Worm Yagan” on the field. For anyone who is now puzzled why I talked about hope in card form when mentioning “Worm Xex”, it should be mentioned that it pairs wonderfully with “Worm Yagan” as you can see below. But even on its own “Worm Xex” is one of the limited options “Worms” have to gain some consistency and should be run at two to three copies.
Recommended copies: 2-3
Name: “Worm Yagan“
Level/Rank: 4
ATK/DEF: 1000/1800
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
If the only monster you control is "Worm Xex", you can Special Summon this card from your Graveyard in face-down Defense Position. If you do, remove it from play when it is removed from the field. When this card is flipped face-up, select 1 face-up monster your opponent controls, and return it to it's owner's hand.
Part two of the consistency combo comes in form of “Worm Yagan”. If you only control “Worm Xex“, you can Special Summon “Worm Yagan” from your graveyard in face-down Defense Position. Remember “Worm Xex” being able to put “Worm” monsters directly into the graveyard? Well, choose “Worm Yagan” for that effect and simply summon it right after. Any copy of “Worm Yagan” summoned that way will be banished instead of entering the graveyard again, but that is only a small price to pay and is supposed to stop any summoning degeneracy from happening. “Worm Yagan” can also bounce opposing monsters via its semi-Flip effect, which adds further welcome effects to an already useful monster. Overall, “Worm Yagan” is one of the best monsters the “Worm” archetype has to offer and should always be played at three copies.
Recommended copies: 3
Name: “Worm Zero“
Level/Rank: 10
ATK/DEF: ?/0
Attribute/Type: Light Reptile
2 or more Reptile-Type "Worm" monsters For each Fusion Material Monster with a different name used to Fusion Summon this card, it gains 500 ATK, and also gains these effects: - 2+: Once per turn, you can select 1 Reptile-Type monster in your Graveyard, and Special Summon it in face-down Defense Position. - 4+: You can remove from play 1 Reptile-Type monster from your Graveyard to send 1 monster on the field to the Graveyard. - 6+: Once per turn, you can draw 1 card.
And for the last letter in the alphabet we have the archetypal boss monster “Worm Zero”. “Worm Zero” needs a lot of material to actually get rolling, since it not only gains 500 ATK for every differently named Fusion Material, but also gains its effects on that basis. For at least two materials, “Worm Zero” can basically revive a Reptile-Type monster in face-down Defense Position, which allows you to directly resummon one of the materials. For at least four materials, “Worm Zero” can banish one Reptile-Type monster to send one monster on the field to the graveyard; works perfectly well with the materials, can be instantly fueled with cards like “Snake Rain“, and is not a “once per turn”-effect so you can just keep removing to clear the opponent’s board of any pesky monsters. Lastly, for six or more monsters as materials, you can simply draw a card once per turn. All this sounds nice, but the chances of getting this thing even close to three materials will be a major problem in an archetype that spams as little as “Worms”. This is where “Future Fusion” comes into play: Even in its nerved form, it is still a solid way to get “Worm Zero” on board with about 3000 ATK and all its effects and cards like “Worm Victory” highly profit from the extreme increase of “Worm” monsters in the graveyard. Granted, “Worm Zero” needs some cards and setup to get running, but if you are able to get it one the field unnegated, you have yourself a very strong tool that is both capable of clearing the path and helps building the board. In decks that can afford to play “Future Fusion” to get this guy on the field, one copy is perfectly fine.
Recommended copies: 0-1
Name: “Worm Call“
Type: Continuous Spell
Once per turn, if your opponent controls a monster and you control no monsters, you can Special Summon 1 Reptile-Type "Worm" monster from your hand in face-down Defense Position.
The archetype’s personal “Call of the Mummy” comes in form of “Worm Call”. The card simply allows you to Special Summon a Reptile-Type “Worm” monster from your hand in face-down Defense Position. This allows for some Swarming at least, giving you the option of either summoning a monster with a Flip effect to gain mileage out of any attacks it might suffer and certain interactions with other in-archetypal cards, or you summon one of the bigger members of the archetype to move around the need for tributes. A powerful option to summon via “Worm Call” is “Worm Victory“, since it ticks both boxes: Together with a previously activated “Future Fusion” for “Worm Zero“, “Worm Victory” will gain enough ATK to do some serious damage while its base DEF of 2500 might be enough to stop attacks from smaller monster due to your opponent thinking it is one of the weaker members, all while also blasting the opposing monster line-up when flipped due to its effect. “Worm Call” is not the best support card imaginable, but in “Worms” it certainly gets the job done and allows for some creative plays, so run it by preference.
Recommended copies: 1-3
Name: “W Nebula Meteorite“
Type: Normal Trap
Change all face-down monsters on the field to face-up Defense Position. During the End Phase this turn, change all face-up LIGHT Reptile-Type monsters you control to face-down Defense Position, then draw 1 card for each. After that, you can Special Summon 1 Level 7 or higher LIGHT Reptile-Type monster from your Deck.
The last card in the “Worm” archetype is “W Nebula Meteorite”, a Trap card that is actually pretty powerful for “Worm” standards; and is honestly quite powerful even when compared to generic cards. When activated, you can first turn all face-down Defense Position monsters face-up, an effect that also shows the opposing monsters and triggers any Flip effects on the field. During the End Phase of that turn, you turn all Light Reptile-type monsters face-down again, which allows you to reuse them in the next turn, then you draw a card for every monster that was turned face-down again using this effect, which is a massive gain in resources if you do it right. Keep in mind that you even draw cards for monsters that did not activate any effects, so “Worm Xex” or similar monsters can be turned face-up and face-down again and this still nets you a card. Additionally, because the effect does not stop there, you can then choose a Level 7 or higher Light Reptile monster and Special Summon it to your side of the field, meaning that this card even fetches you “Worm King” or “Worm Victory” without the need for any tributes. And all this is made even more controllable with the release of “Trap Trick“, which allows you to fetch it right when you need it. Needless to say that “W Nebula Meteorite” is an amazing support card and should be used to the fullest. Depending on the deck, you might not have that many Level 7 or higher monsters, but there is really no reason to play less than two copies.
Recommended copies: 2-3
Recommended Engines:
“Worms” are in a strange position when it comes to the use of engines. They themselves work as a decent Stun deck with some beatdown potential, even without the addition of any other archetypes. The major reason they pair so badly with other archetypes is their reliance on playing specifically Light Reptiles: There is almost no card not asking for “Worm” in particular and at the very least the cards used have to be Reptile monsters for “Worm Zero“, with the addition of the Light Attribute on pretty much anything else. This disqualifies a huge number of archetypes right away. And even in fellow Reptile circles, “Worms” rather go it alone: Why anyone would consider adding “Venom” cards to a functioning deck is beyond me and there is simply not enough stat-manipulation available to make “Reptilianne” a sensible pick. The only archetype that would fit the bill of Light Reptile would be “Alien”, but what card would one add to a “Worm” deck that A: “Worms” themselves cannot already do better and B: Has enough impact on its own without the usage of A-counters? I can think of none and so “Worms” normally decide to work as a pure deck with generic support cards.
Further useful cards:
Main Deck monsters:
“Evilswarm Azzathoth“:
What is better than one “Worm”? All of them in one card. Jokes aside, despite “Evilswarm Azzathoth” not being searchable and being Dark instead of Light Attribute, it is technically a nice addition to the strategy and could be the starting point of a “Chaos Worms” deck.
“Honest“:
The Light-based stat-boosting handtrap. Use this guy whenever you need to run something massive over or when your opponent decides it would be a wise move to simply attack your monsters without fearing retaliation.
“Kagetokage“:
“Kagetokage” is more of a ‘meh’ candidate in “Worms”, but I felt like I should list it anyway. A sizeable number of cards that you actually want to play in “Worms” is Level 4, making the Special summon condition rather easy to fulfill. Just keep in mind that it is unsearchable and Dark Attribute.
Spell cards:
“Book of Moon“:
One of the more classic ways to get rid of attackers by simply flipping them face-down before they can do any harm. In “Worms”, you can even use “Book of Moon” to flip “Worm Cartaros” face-down again to reuse the search effect.
“Card of Demise“:
Easy card draw. Empty your hand, play “Card of Demise”, set everything in the backrow, pass with a lot of Trap cards activatable.
“Future Fusion“:
The main and pretty much only way to get “Worm Zero” on board with decent stats and effects.
“Monster Reborn“:
The classic revival card. Reusing a “Worm King” or even just fetching a “Worm Xex” to allow for the summon of another “Worm Yagan” is always solid.
“Raigeki“:
THE board-wipe. Killing the entire opposing monster row in one swoop is rarely bad and it certainly is not in “Worms”.
“Reasoning“:
The “Worm” archetype has various levels to consider and at the very least normally features Level 4, 7, and 8, which gives you a solid chance for a summon even if the opponent knows exactly what levels they should call. And that is not even necessarily always the case, seeing how unpopular “Worms” got over time.
“Snake Rain“:
Fill your graveyard with Reptiles. “Worm Victory” will be pleased, you can drop additional “Worm Yagan“, setup revival effects and so on.
“Solidarity“:
Might be an odd choice and prohibits you pretty much from using “Honest“, but “Solidarity” gives your entire monster line-up a significant power boost without you ever fearing that they could lose it due to wrong monsters entering the graveyard. That is, unless you heavily use the Extra Deck.
“The Monarchs Stormforth“:
Any archetype that has potential Tribute summons can also use “Stormforth” to clear the way for the beatdown as well as summoning bigger monsters. Win/win.
Trap cards:
“Alien Brain“:
The only “Alien” card worth considering in “Worms” in my opinion (aside from the Link Monster). You just lost a “Worm” to an opposing attack? Trigger “Alien Brain” and simply snatch that monster from your opponent, giving you further resources in form of their biggest beater and start smacking them senseless with their own weapons.
“Gozen Match“:
Since the entire deck consists of Light monsters, you will have no issue with this card on the board. The opponent, however, might has to sacrifice necessary cards and will get barred from playing others, making “Gozen Match” a fine control-centered addition.
“Lost Wind“:
Blocks the effects of Special Summoned monsters and halves the ATK stat. Perfect combination for the “Worms”, since it stops the big bad monster your opponent put on board from applying its effects and can be beaten over that much easier. Also, “Lost Wind” can be reused once, giving you even more mileage out of one card.
“Mind Crush“:
Anti-meta card, which forces the opponent to discard cards if you can name them. Works against decks that search a lot, since you will normally see what they have chosen, otherwise it can hit handtraps just fine.
“Offering to the Snake Deity“:
The “Icarus Attack” for Reptiles. Counting the “Offering to the Snake Deity”, you trade two cards against two, but sometimes this might be enough to open the opposing defenses.
“Rivalry of Warlords“:
Same as “Gozen Match“, but for Types. And the same applies here: Your deck consists entirely of Reptile monsters, the opposing deck might not have only one type in its arsenal.
“Solemn Judgment“:
As a Stun deck, you need to stop the opponent at the right time to deal maximum damage both to their board and later to their life points. The “Solemn” cards allow you to do exactly that and the life point cost is a small price to pay for a significantly better board state.
“Solemn Strike“:
Same as “Solemn Judgment“.
“Solemn Warning“:
Same as “Solemn Judgment“.
“Trap Trick“:
A Trap searcher. “Trap Trick” can basically replace itself with any Normal Trap card as long as you have two copies of that card in your deck, which gives you a certain flexibility and consistency that was not available before.
“Waboku“:
The “get-out-of-jail-free” card of this deck. You need some more time for “W Nebula Meteorite” to trigger? You don’t want to lose your entire field to the opposing monster line-up? “Waboku” got you convered and it is surprising how well it still works regarding the age of the card.
“Waking the Dragon“:
Another Anti-meta card. Place this in your backrow and wait for the opposing “Twin Twisters” to pop this card summoning monsters like “Naturia Exterio” or “Raidraptor – Ultimate Falcon“.
Extra Deck monsters:
“Alien Shocktrooper M-Frame“:
The one card that potentially turns “Snake Rain” into mass revival. The quick effect of ditching a monster to distribute A-counters might seem stupid until “Alien Shocktrooper M-Frame” hits the graveyard and summons a small army of “Worm” monsters to your field.
“Hip Hoshiningen“:
The option to go into if you have a lot of monsters and need a little extra in pushing power. Also an amazing option against the sizeable amount of Dark decks in existence.
“King of the Feral Imps“:
This is pretty much “Gear Gigant X” for Reptiles. Detach a material, search a Reptile is a pretty simple effect but certainly helps in issues of consistency.
“Reptilianne Echidna“:
Despite the archetype itself being quite unhelpful to the overall “Worm” playstyle, “Echidna” is actually pretty solid. Make an opposing monster’s ATK 0, search directly afterwards for a Reptile monster to add to your hand, then beat the weakened monster into a pulp while reusing “Echidna” in some other Link monster (for example “Alien Shocktrooper M-Frame“) for more pushing power.
“Subterror Behemoth Fiendess“:
Not a Reptile-type monster, but the effect certainly makes up for that. Ditch a “Worm Cartaros” from your deck to place a “Worm Victory” from your hand in face-down Defense position and wait for the opponent to do the fatal mistake. “Subterror Behemoth Fiendess” also searches when Flip effect monster in her zones are flipped face-up, so you can get even more mileage out of her once she is on board.
Playstyle/Combos:
The “Worm” archetype is not really known for its capability to spam massive amounts of monsters and using Flip effects is a slow mechanic from the start, so they evolved into a more Control- and Stun-heavy deck. The “Worms” themselves do not add anything to the Stun part of the deck, this is completely done by added the right traps to the party. The “Worms” actually do the finishing bit of chipping away the opponent’s life points, and at that they are actually decent.
“Worm Victory” is a dangerous option that might fly under the radar of certain players, since it is both a field nuke and a beatstick. “Worm Xex“, “Worm Yagan” and “Worm Cartaros” build the peasantry of the deck, with “Worm Xex” setting up “Worm Yagan“, which adds removal in form of bounce and “Worm Cartaros” is one of the few Flip monsters you will actually play and will search the other two. Last in the monster line-up is “Worm King“, who can open himself a path through the opposing board and kicks for a solid amount of damage. All of this is played to the maximum efficiency as soon as “W Nebula Meteorite” is added to the equation: “Worm Cartaros” can search, “Worm Yagan” can bounce”, “Woem Victory” nukes the board, all flip down again for another use and the summoned “Worm King” or “Worm Victory” can then bring the pain.
The backup comes in form of “Solemns“, “Waboku“, “Lost Wind” and other cards like for example “Mirror Force“-variants if you want to add those; all with the goal to catch the opponent off-guard and use the situation to its fullest. The Extra Deck is filled with options that can either get rid of certain threats or, in case of the Link monsters, a number of helpful effects that interact nicely with the rest of the deck.
You absolutely have to keep in mind that you are normally the odd one out when it comes to archetype matchups. “Worms” are certainly capable of plays and are not hopelessly lost like other “bad archetypes” when push comes to shove, but in terms of fighting power and consistency you will probably lose against a lot of other decks.
Weaknesses/Counters:
“Worm”, like many other archetypes, uses Special Summons to fill board with monsters. This means that cards like “Archlord Kristya“, “Jowgen the Spiritualist“, “Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo“, “Vanity’s Ruler“, or “Vanity’s Fiend” can hinder or even halt the strategy and leave the deck stunned with no way of getting monsters on board. Since the entire archetype consists of Light Attribute monsters, cards like “Light-Imprisoning Mirror” or “Barrier Statues” can put a stop to the board. Furthermore, the “Ally of Justice” archetype was specifically made (at least story-wise) to counter the “Worm” archetype and has a range of cards that were made to counter Light Attribute monsters. While not all of the “Allies” are equally good at doing their job of countering Light monsters, they do have certain cards that can significantly harm the plans of “Worm” players.
“There Can Be Only One” is also a way to keep the Reptile-based “Worms” in check, since they can only place one monster on the board without losing out on resources. Also, since they tend to work extensively with Trap cards, counters like “Jinzo” come into mind. Lastly, “Dark Simorgh” is an incredibly potent counter to almost everything the “Worms” try to achieve. Without their traps in the backrow and a ban on setting monsters, they will have no defense to speak of, while certain effects in the archetype will simply refuse to work due to “Dark Simorgh’s” ban on placing anything face-down.
Sample decklist (August 2020):
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/worm-stun-2/.
This is the version of a “Worm” deck I would run. Obviously, pretty much anything here is up for debate, but I wanted to include one copy of “Future Fusion” for “Worm Zero” schenanigans and as a solid boost for “Worm Victory“. The deck works decently well and has capabilities to slow play itself to victory, but you have to be absolutely aware that “Worms” are prone to quite a number of effects and cards. This will in fact normally cause them to have a rather steep hill to climb in-game. “Worm Tentacles” is simply there to have extra material for “Worm Zero” via “Future Fusion“, but is the only monster out of all the “Worms” I have not already added to the deck that I could still live with if I drew drawn into it and had to play it in a pinch due to the potential multi-attack effect. Other than the “Worm Zero” and “Worm Victory” shenanigans, there is a simple but solid “Worm” core consisting of “Worm Cartaros” for searches upon flip, which will normally be on death but with “Waboku” will trigger with the monster still intact, “Worm Xex” to ditch “Worm Yagan“, which then will revive itself. “Worm King” is another boss monster option with a solid monster destruction effect and sizeable stats for something that can be summoned of “Worm Call” and cards like “Reasoning“. “Honest” rounds up the jolly group by giving potentially deadly stats to any Main Deck monster featured in this deck that might need it. On the generic card front I added quite a few Trap cards like “Solemns” to keep the opponent from doing stupid things, “Lost Wind” to keep anything in check that actually managed to be summoned, “Waboku” against sudden death on my part or to prevent the destruction of my monsters and “Trap Trick” to potentially some of those Traps and make them available instantly. The archetypal “W Nebula Meteorite” is an absolute beast if you manage to get it off and supports all manner of plays, and “Waking the Dragon” shows the more destruction-heavy opponents why it is not always the best idea to clear the board, spawning monsters that might end the game due to their strong effects.
Monster (14):
2x “Worm King“
2x “Worm Victory“
3x “Worm Xex“
1x “Worm Tentacles“
2x “Worm Cartaros“
2x “Honest“
2x “Worm Yagan“
Spell/Trap (26):
1x “Raigeki“
1x “Pot of Desires“
1x “Reasoning“
1x “Card of Demise“
1x “Monster Reborn“
2x “Pot of Duality“
1x “Twin Twisters“
2x “Worm Call“
1x “Future Fusion“
2x “Waking the Dragon“
2x “Waboku“
2x “Lost Wind“
2x “Trap Trick“
3x “W Nebula Meteorite“
1x “Solemn Judgment“
3x “Solemn Warning“
Extra Deck (15):
1x “Naturia Exterio“
1x “Worm Zero“
1x “Raidraptor – Ultimate Falcon“
1x “Number S39: Utopia the Lightning“
1x “Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon“
1x “Number 39: Utopia“
1x “King of the Feral Imps“
1x “Tornado Dragon“
1x “Number 41: Bagooska the Terribly Tired Tapir“
1x “Castel, the Skyblaster Musketeer“
1x “Gagaga Cowboy“
1x “Subterror Behemoth Fiendess“
1x “Alien Shocktrooper M-Frame“
1x “Hip Hoshiningen“
1x “Reptilianne Echidna“
Cubic Creativity 
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