If you’re not prepared, it’s easy to get overwhelmed playing against this sort of strategy. But fear not Duelist, for with every strength there’s a weakness. And in this list I’ll be sharing some great pendulum counter cards, plus how you can exploit these to the fullest!
10. Mystical Space Typhoon
This card has been a staple in Spell/Trap removal in all kinds of competitive decks for years. And it’s also a great choice against Pendulum decks! Mystical Space Typhoon simply allows you to target 1 Spell/Trap on the field and destroy it. Easy peasy. This allows you to destroy cards in your opponent’s pendulum scales, and makes their pendulum summons just that little bit harder to pull off. MST is lower on this list because it only removes a single card. But it’s versatile, has no cost, and can fit in any deck. What’s not to love here?
9. Pendulum Storm
The name is a bit of a giveaway, but this card is designed to ruin a pendulum player’s day. Pendulum Storm lets you destroy as many cards in the Pendulum Zones as possible, followed by another Spell/Trap card your opponent controls. Pendulum decks are never out completely. But losing 3 cards in the back row at once can be a game changer.
8. Wavering Eyes
Here’s a great counter to the pendulum strategy, and its effects get stronger if you use pendulums yourself. It also has multiple effects depending on how many cards are in play. Wavering Eyes is a quick play spell card that destroys as many cards in the pendulum zones as possible. If it destroys one card you can inflict 500 burn damage to your opponent. For two, you can draw a pendulum monster from your deck. For destroying three cards you can banish a monster on the field, and if you’re destroying four then you can add another Wavering Eyes from the deck to your hand. If you don’t mind losing some of your cards in the process, this combination of effects can be very hard to come back from.
7. Macro Cosmos
When you’re up against a Pendulum deck, it can feel like you’re battling a never-ending army. Since every monster you destroy can come back on your opponent’s next turn. If your deck can work around having its cards banished, this card can put a stop to your opponent’s strats. Chances are, you don’t use Helios The Primordial Sun. But if you do, Macro Cosmos lets you special summon it. The reason this card is great against Pendulum decks is that stops cards from going to the extra deck after they’re destroyed! When Pendulum monsters are sent to the graveyard, they instead go to the extra deck face up. But if they’re banished that doesn’t happen. Just bear in mind, this affects both players. So if banishing is a problem for your deck, this is a card you want to avoid.
6. Iron Dragon Tiamaton
Cards that can lock your opponent out of using parts of their field are few and far between. But especially against a Pendulum deck, these cards can be devastating. Iron Dragon Tiamaton can only be special summoned when 3 or more cards are in the same column on the field. This monster also has a unique effect that destroys any cards in the column you summon it to, and while the monster is on the field, neither player can use zones in that column! Tiamaton is pretty tough to remove as well, with a decent 2000ATK. And if you can line it up with a pendulum zone then your opponent is going to have a rough time removing it.
5. Zaphion The Time Lord
Pendulum decks often use cards to protect their Pendulum Zones from destruction effects. That’s not a problem though, since this monster has a clever way to get around that. Zaphion The Time Lord can only be summoned when you control no monsters, and comes with a whopping 0ATK/0DEF. Seems great, right? Well this card can’t be destroyed by battle or card effects, and takes no battle damage. When it does battle, though, your opponent has to shuffle every Spell/Trap card they control back into their deck. See where this is going?
4. Lighting Storm
Spell & trap removal is always great against Pendulum decks. But sometimes you want to be able to wipe the field of monsters instead. If only there was a card that would let you choose… Well, fortunately there is! Lightning Storm created quite the ‘storm’ when it first came out, as it’s a ridiculously powerful card. If you control no face-up cards, you can either destroy all of your opponents Spell/Trap cards, or you can destroy all of their face up monsters. These effects give you a bit of freedom, because if your opponent is already low on life points, you may only need them to have an empty field for just one turn so you can claim victory.
3. Harpie’s Feather Duster
Now this card is so strong that it collected dust for 16 years on the banlist. However, in September 2020 it was limited to 1 copy per deck. And Harpie’s Feather Duster is finally playable again. This spell is as powerful as its legacy suggests. Its effect simply destroys all Spells and Traps that your opponent controls. No cost, no negative effects. When you play this card you delete your opponent’s back row. And against a pendulum deck? Well, that’s game!
2. Dimensional Barrier
The ability to lock your opponent out of a summoning type can win a duel outright, if you do it at the right time. And this trap card lets you do exactly that. With Dimensional Barrier you declare a summoning type, and for the rest of the turn, your opponent can’t special summon using the type you declared. If you declare Pendulums, that’s it! No more Pendulums. Your opponent can still summon in other ways, though. So Dimensional Barrier isn’t always an instant win. But locking them out of their best cards is an incredibly strong effect.
1. Anti-Spell Fragrance
Many cards we’ve covered are great at disrupting Pendulum summons, and they give you room to set up for an attack. But if you just want to be straight-up nasty about it, this is the card you need. Anti-Spell Fragrance is fantastic against Spell/Trap heavy strategies. But it truly comes into its own against Pendulum decks. Anti-Spell Fragrance is a continuous trap card that forces any Spell/Trap cards to be set for a turn before they can activate. You may think that effect is good because it delays pendulum summons for a turn. But it’s so much better than that. And here’s why: Pendulum cards cannot be set, full-stop! This means as long as Anti-Spell Fragrance is active, a Pendulum deck can’t do anything. There aren’t many cards in Yu-Gi-Oh that can counter a strategy this hard. And that’s why Anti-Spell Fragrance comfortably takes the number one spot on this list.
