The "Three Musketeers of Face Cards," an archetype rooted deep in nostalgia, has undergone a profound transformation. Initially the signature trio of Yugi Muto'?Queen's Knight, King's Knight, and Jack's Knight'?their strategy was to swarm the field for Tributes, most iconically for Slifer the Sky Dragon.
The King's Court set introduced "Joker" support cards, elevating the Face Cards into a cohesive and explosive combo engine. This report will deconstruct this engine, map its combo pathways, and illustrate its strategic potential.
The Level 4 Normal Monster and linchpin, Special Summoned by Joker's Straight.
Summons Jack's Knight from the Deck when Normal Summoned while Queen's Knight is on the field.
The Level 5 Normal Monster and payoff for King's Knight's effect.
The premier starter. Discard 1, Special Summon Queen's Knight, add King's Knight, and gain an additional Normal Summon.
An alternative starter. Tribute it to summon two different Royal Knights from the Deck.
Special Summons itself from hand by sending a Royal Knight from Deck to GY. Recycles itself and other LIGHT Warriors from the GY to the hand during the End Phase.
Main deck boss. Gains 500 ATK per card in both hands. Can discard a card to destroy all opponent's face-up cards of the same type.
The Link-3. Protects monsters it points to by discarding, and floats into a search and summon when destroyed by battle.
Fuses Arcana Knight Joker, using a material from the Deck if you control a Royal Knight.
A Normal Trap that copies the effect of a Spell from your Deck (like Face Card Fusion) by sending it to the GY.
This walkthrough demonstrates the deck's fundamental opening play using its best starter, Joker's Straight.
Activate Joker's Straight, discarding one card. Special Summon Queen's Knight from Deck and add King's Knight to hand.
Use the extra Normal Summon from Joker's Straight to summon King's Knight. Its effect triggers, Special Summoning Jack's Knight from Deck.
You now have 3 Warriors. Use two of them to Link Summon Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights. This was the deck's main combo line, but Isolde is now FORBIDDEN.
The Face Card engine's primary purpose was historically to summon Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights. She provided a search and a summon from deck, opening up access to the entire Warrior toolbox.
With Isolde now FORBIDDEN in the TCG, the deck has lost its main power play and is forced to rely on its in-archetype tools and other generic engines.
The deck's most viable strategy is now a "go-second" OTK. By summoning two Level 4 monsters (e.g., Queen's Knight and King's Knight), you can Xyz Summon Number 39: Utopia Double.
The deck retains its nostalgic link to the Egyptian Gods. Thunderspeed Summon can be used to search for Slifer the Sky Dragon or, more competitively, The Winged Dragon of Ra - Sphere Mode.
Using Joker's Wild on the opponent's turn to copy Thunderspeed Summon can search Sphere Mode as a powerful, non-targeting board wipe.
(This board is significantly weaker without generic bosses like Isolde or Apollousa).
The deck's primary modern win condition.
SIGNIFICANT IMPACT: The Three Musketeers archetype faces significant restrictions on the TCG banlist with Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights forbidden.
Meta Implications: The loss of Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights significantly impacts the archetype's power level and consistency. Players will need to adapt their strategies accordingly.
Banlist Status Summary
Core cards checked:
• Arcana Extra Joker
• Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights
• Joker's Straight
• King's Knight
• Number 39: Utopia Double
analyzed •
1 total restriction found
• 1 archetype card
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