Introduction to Madolche

Published on September 27th, 2024 by

Updated on September 27th, 2024

Madolche is an archetype of EARTH monsters of various types that were initially released into Duel Links in Burning Nova, and received additional support in Dimension of the Wizards. It was then abandoned for about 4 years, until Lord of Borrel and the Card Trader added in most of the archetype's missing cards all at once. Madolche remains quite unique among other Decks, both for their aesthetic and playstyle, as they revolve around shuffling both player's cards into the Deck, and primarily aim to win by utilizing their most well-known boss monster, Loading... , to break through opposing boards.

The Cards
Standard
Striker
Sorcery
Weaknesses
Combos
Tips and Conclusion

The Cards

The Good Monsters

Loading... is the archetype's newest Main Deck monster (despite being 5 years old), is a starter, and in Duel Links, is the lifeblood of the Deck. She can Special herself if there are no monsters in your GY, and can Special another Madolche with a reduced Level after being Special Summoned, usually being Loading... for 2 Level 4s. While strong, her GY restriction heavily restricts Deck building, as being unable to Special her at the start of the game may as well be an instant loss in most circumstances.

Loading... is the Deck's only other raw starter. She searches on Normal or Flip (comes up sometimes), and usually adds Peting. She has a higher combo ceiling than a raw Peting, but do note that Peting + any Level 4 Madolche can perform the same combo lines. Also, if there are monsters in your GY, Magi usually can't accomplish much without the Skill Overlay Control due to her reliance on Peting.

Loading... is only really ran to enable Peting and an Xyz we'll get to later on. She's a huge brick that, unless you're running the Skill Level 5 Reload , does absolutely nothing in hand. That being said, her effect to destroy a card if she battles a monster absolutely comes up, and should always be kept in mind.

Loading... is an important combo piece, and is also great for starting follow-up plays. Hoot can banish any monster from your GY to Special another Madolche from the Deck. You may notice that this requirement is the exact opposite of Peting, so when Peting isn't live, Hoot is. Do also note that Peting only needs to be Specialed to Special another Madolche; this isn't strictly tied to her Summoning herself. Playing more than 1 Hoot isn't really necessary since you can add it to hand for follow-up, but the right number to run comes down to personal preference.

Loading... is the last commonly used Main Deck Madolche monster, and on Special adds a Madolche Spell/Trap, but only if you control a Beast-Type Madolche. This is usually Hoot, who can Special out Messen and set up his effect easily. Notably, Messen's effect, and Magi's too, aren't once per turn, though this can't easily be utilized as of yet. Messengelato unfortunately also functions as the Deck's other primary brick when drawn together with Magi, but this can be turned into an advantage using Overlay Control . Lastly, Messen's search can miss timing, so be careful of that.

Loading... is the only other playable Beast-Type, and can return a Madolche card to hand to become a Level 4 for Xyz plays. In a grind game, Cruff is one of the best cards to have around, as it acts as follow-up similarly to Hoot, by returning Loading... to hand, which can then be reactivated to recover resources in your GY and turn Peting back online. The only real problem with this is that Madolche doesn't usually aim to play a longer Duel. Still, Cruff brings more to the table than many other Madolche monsters. Run by preference.

Loading... is the option for those who want to try to cheesing people out of the game. He stars in an inconsistent combo alongside Peting, since that's the only way to realistically Normal him to search out any Field Spell, which could be Loading... , but in this case is usually Loading... . Bricky, but it's one of the highest ceiling combos the Deck has access to.

The Trash Monsters

Loading... Specials a Madolche from hand on Normal, and while Special Summons are good, Mew doesn't achieve anything that a more viable Normal Summon can't already do. Unfortunately, Specialing Messen then making nothing of value isn't a viable strategy in [current year].

Loading... 's pros: Has a large 2000 DEF. Cons: She's a slow flip monster that doesn't even benefit from Flip support, plus there aren't really any Madolche Spell/Traps worth returning with her effect in the first place. This effect does activate Loading... though, which is quite funny.

Loading... is such a selfless warrior that he can't protect himself even if he wanted to. Due to the choice of words in his effect, two Choux don't cause a deadlock. His best use case would perhaps be Specialing him when your opponent attacks a more important monster to cause a replay and potentially save it.

Loading... locks most likely itself and an opponent's monster into DEF for a turn. In a deck packing one of the most historically revered removal effects in the game, Baaple, being both an archaic removal and stall tool, looks even worse than it otherwise would. The best use I ever had for it was cheesing missions against bad AI Decks by switching things to DEF to avoid dealing damage. Stand proud, Baaple.

PERMANENT NEGATE?! OP?! Jokes aside, Loading... is the single worst Madolche card. The biggest reason is that the requirement of flipping another Madolche face-up is extremely hard to pull off since there's no in-archetype way to easily do it, and especially not on a Quick Effect. The saddest reason is that even if there was, the opponent can play around Chicko by just Summoning in DEF.

The Extra Deck

Here she is, in all her glory. Loading... 's effect allows her to non-targeting shuffle up to 2 of the opponent's cards into the Deck, on a soft OPT. This effect is still extraordinarily powerful despite being nearly 12 years old at this point, and it should be used and abused. The main thing to keep in mind is that Tiara's effect requires a Madolche card already in your GY to work, but to help compensate, her own detach easily sets up a second target.

Loading... is the deck's only Quick Effect monster, and an important end board piece. She can detach to protect any Madolche from monster effects for a turn, which serves dual purpose as both protection, and as a way to dump a Madolche name into the GY for combos. Inspired by Tiara, Glass can also shuffle 2 cards from either GY into the Deck when a Madolche is sent to your GY. This can be activated by her own detach, but can also be activated through any other means of sending a Madolche card, such as Link Summoning or using a Madolche Trap. Glass can only interrupt certain types of cards due to her shuffle activating on a new Chain, but it's an important effect nonetheless.

Loading... , besides having one of the longest names in the game, holds most of the Deck's combo potential. While a-la-Mode has regular Pudding as material, she can detach when a Madolche shuffles into the Deck to Special another Madolche from the Deck, on a non-OPT. She can also shuffle a Madolche from GY into the Deck to fuel her own effect. Notably, both her and Tiara can also shuffle a Madolche Spell/Trap to activate their effects, which should be kept in mind. Also, her effect requires a Madolche to be shuffled specifically into the Main Deck, so both Extra Deck monsters and monsters returned to hand with Loading... won't let her activate. Running more than 1 isn't necessary, but many people enjoy the insurance of having 2.

Loading... is entirely protection effects. While she points to a Madolche, your Madolche backrow can't be targeted or destroyed by card effects. This only protects face-up cards for ruling reasons, so it's quite narrow protection, but still helpful. She can also protect herself from destruction by shuffling a Madolche from GY into the Deck, which can act as an important line of defense. Sistart's best use case is that she's a Link Monster, allowing Madolches to be sent to GY on command. In some matchups though, she can be a detriment as she's a target for huge monsters to one-shot you, so watch out. Lastly, if you're running Cruff, her effect has anti-synergy with it, so be careful of that too.

The Good Backrow

Loading... is the only backrow I'd call a must-play, as the use of each of the others generally comes down to personal preference. I'd recommend running at least 2 different Madolche Spell/Traps. On activation, Chateau shuffles all Madolches in your GY into the Deck, which is useful for both combos and for recurring resources. It also boosts all Madolches by 500 ATK/DEF, which is a significant stat boost. Lastly, it allows monsters that would be shuffled into the Deck by Madolche monsters (including themselves) to be returned to the hand instead, great for securing follow-up or for reusing monster-based interaction such as handtraps.

Loading... is Madolche's only other Spell at the moment. If a Madolche returns to your hand or Deck from your field or GY, Ticket adds a Madolche to hand, or can Special it if you control a Fairy, which happens to be all of the Extra Deck, so it's quite easy to fulfill that requirement. Notably, it activates if an effect such as Cruff returns a Madolche card from field to hand, which is an interaction to keep in mind. It's one of the only options we have to extend plays, and it also benefits from Sistart's protection effect, but can sometimes also be useless in hand if you can't get your plays going.

Loading... is Madolche's best option for a negation effect. It's a standard monster negate, but requires you to have no monsters in your GY to activate it, similar to Peting, so using it requires set-up. Additionally, Nights has a bonus effect to hand rip the opponent if you control Pudding (but NOT a-la-Mode, they're different). The easiest way to do this is by Specialing Peting/Pudding with Ticket during the opponent's turn, but otherwise you'll have to go for a generally suboptimal board to make use of this effect.

Loading... is generally used as a meta call. It shuffles a Madolche from GY to grant all Madolches a permanent +800 ATK/DEF, then allows you to shuffle 1 extra monster from your GY. It also offers some versatility, as this effect can activate both Ticket and Glass (since it sends itself to GY) without needing to use Glass's detach. Against some decks, Lesson's board wide buff can make the difference in preventing your opponent from breaking your board, but other times it does absolutely nothing.

The Trash Backrow

Loading... is simply an extender that's generally too slow to use. Making use of it could theoretically be possible, but considering how much Spell/Trap removal is running around nowadays, its best use case would probably end up being trying to chump block an OTK with the random Madolches sitting in your hand. If Palooza was a Spell rather than a Trap, or if it Specialed from the GY too, perhaps it would actually be viable, but alas.

Loading... is a card widely known for being terrible, and Loading... nearly has the same effect with a no monsters in your GY restriction stapled to it. The best way to try to use Tea Break is as a slow protection card on your turn, as since it negates activations, the disruption aspect doesn't really work. It's best feature is the bonus effect with Pudding to destroy a card, but even that isn't as strong as the hand rip effect offered by Nights.

GX called, they want their random archetypal burn card back. Loading... is a card so bad that Duel Links didn't even nerf its damage. The only accolade Waltz has going for it is an infinite burn combo using 2 Messengelatos and/or Chouxvaliers, Chateau, and Loading... , dubbed Desperate Waltz. You'd have to be desperate, all right.

Standard Build

The standard variant of Madolche is the deck's main core alongside standard staples. It's easily the most popular way to play the Deck, and for good reason; it's simply the most reliable. There are also plenty of flex spots to do whatever you wish with since Madolche's core is so compact. Most commonly, that space is filled with whatever staples aid against whatever you most commonly play against. Simple but effective.

Limit 3 Staples

When considering which staples to run in your Standard Madolche Deck, you should usually prioritize cards that have utility going second, to aid in playing through established fields. With this in mind, Loading... is by far the best Limit 3 staple to run. Exceptions can be made in cases where the staple is game-endingly powerful, such as with Loading... , but generally this rule shouldn't be deviated from too much. Do note that Eclipse could potentially draw your opponent into a deadly handtrap, so be careful of that.

Most Decks are playing disruptive backrow of some sort, so running some amount of these cards is oftentimes mandatory; Loading... is usually the most consistent option. It also has an additional point of synergy with Loading... , where if you use both effects on the same target, it'll be completely unaffected by card effects.
Loading... is the other main option, as hitting face-up backrow, or hitting backrow before it has a chance to activate in front of your monsters is utility that Loading... can't replicate. There's nothing wrong with running varying counts of both cards if you so choose, so feel free to experiment.
Loading... is a lot worse than the other two, because the LP cost tends to matter quite a bit. It's much easier to obtain since you can get it with Box Chips, though.

If you're running Loading... , then Loading... probably isn't necessary. If not, then you can run it, and it'll serve you the same quality performance it always has. Also, Moon, and Eclipse by extension, can additionally be used to set and Flip Summon Loading... for an additional search. It's an interaction worth keeping in mind!
Loading... is the other primary option, and with the ever increasing number of scary effects stapled to Link Monsters, Chalice will likely never really stop being a viable pick. Add to that the fact that it can be obtained with Box Chips, and you have yourself an easy, powerful pick.
Loading... is an option to run if you ever need a Quick-Play Spell that destroys a monster instead of keeping it around, but it has the drawback of skipping your next Draw Phase. Despite that, its added versatility still leaves it in a better position than most standard Trap Cards. If you can't get a hold of Loading... and are in need of more monster removal, Offerings is an option that's also available using Box Chips.
Loading... is naturally a very strong card, and can also perform well should you own it. Going first, Madolche adds plenty of extra fodder to discard for it, and going second, it can potentially turn Loading... into a starter.

Magical Mallet?

Loading... is certainly an option that looks sketchy at first glance, but is definitely a staple. Running at least 1 copy of Mallet boosts your average chance of finding a starter over the 80% threshold, which makes a big difference. It's obtainable from the Card Trader too, so there's little reason to not toss in a copy.

The Handtrap Dilemma

The use of handtraps in Madolche is quite complicated. Due to Loading... 's GY restriction, using them when going second is very risky without Loading... already in hand. On the flipside, you can return them to your hand and reuse them via Loading... and Loading... , making them stronger than they would otherwise be. At the end of day, using them comes down to personal preference; though they're still better than using standard Trap cards, since they're great in the same contexts, with added recyclability.
Special mention goes to Loading... though, as it happens to be a handtrap that doesn't go straight to the GY, and going first, Loading... can protect a Madolche from its boardwipe. Definitely worth consideration if you happen to own it.

Extra Deck Options

It's important to run at least one of Loading... or Loading... , or else you could sometimes find yourself clogging your zones and being unable to play your Xyz Monsters. Besides that, their removal is a good way to bait effects away from more important cards.
Loading... is an option that mainly comes up if you have 2 Level 4s and are unable to extend into anything else. It can set up for Loading... , and its 1500 ATK paired with Loading... 's 2500 ATK can make for an exact kill.
A generic R4NK such as Loading... or Loading... can make for an alright pick, thanks to being Summonable using the Skill Overlay Control . However, without that Skill, there isn't much reason to consider one.
Loading... is also an option that can be used since Loading... happens to be a Spellcaster. She can be used if you'd want to either send a Madolche name to the GY, or free up space in your Main Monster Zones.

Other Options

Loading... is a surprisingly effective option in Madolche. As proven by Loading... in other formats, Madolche can do a lot with an extra Normal Summon, and it's one of the best extenders you can throw into your Deck. I recommend playing no more than one copy though, so it won't brick your hands, while still letting it put in work when you do see it. Also, being available via Box Chips is always a benefit.
Loading... and Loading... are both options if you want to play more Madolche monsters, although I wouldn't recommend running both. Both of them also work great alongside Double Summon, as it can make for more combo lines using Cruff, and more hands that can open with Butler's Loading... combo.
Loading... is an option that can both draw a new card, and place a Madolche into the GY to either extend combos or fuel your Xyz Monsters. It is quite risky though, as the opponent gets to benefit off of it too.
Loading... has utility as both a way to deal with GY interaction/recovery, and as a way to clear your own GY in desperate situations. GY interaction isn't very common right now, but I could definitely see it rising in usage as more time passes.

Skill Options

Overlay Control is the most used Skill in Madolche lists, and it's mostly for the first effect of Loading... , allowing an extra Special Summon of a Level 4. It enables things such as making an early Loading... , or extending into two Loading... . The second effect isn't bad either, as it can also be used to extend when a Normal Summon hasn't yet been used, to help set up an empty GY for Loading... , or to grab an extra card to shuffle back with Loading... .
Level 5 Reload was the most used skill before Overlay Control , and while it isn't exactly worse, most people prefer using the latter. Level 5 Reload gives utility to Loading... in hand by shuffling her in for a draw every other turn. The main reason to consider using Level 5 Reload is that, unlike Overlay Control , it's likely to be activated in every game due to most combos adding Pudding back to hand, as well as just being a standard consistency booster. If you're running Loading... , though, you should always be choosing Overlay Control .
Dark Adjuster is mostly just a funny option that allows you to Xyz Summon using Loading... or a raw Loading... , allowing for some interesting combo lines.
This one is less of an option and more just futureproofing, but if Konami releases an EARTH variant of Precious Cards of the Wind , it'd be an excellent option for Madolche, being a greatly improved version of Level 5 Reload .

Overlay Control

20 cards

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Sample Deck

This given sample list is a good baseline for anyone looking to try out Madolche. There are plenty of flex spots available, and it includes the 3 most commonly used Madolche backrow to help see which ones you'd most enjoy using. If you don't own any of the staples in this list, replacing them with something else shouldn't cause a dramatic effect on performance. For the Extra Deck, the flex spots would be the 2nd Loading... and either Knightmare Link.

Striker Build

The Striker build is a Madolche variant pioneered by yours truly that trades off first turn board strength, due to dropping most generic staples, for a better capacity to break through boards when going second or as follow-up. Madolche has more synergy with these cards than it would initially appear, as they can easily clear their Main Monster Zones through use of Loading... and Loading... , as well as through the staple Knightmare Links they would be running anyway.

As recent leaks have shown even more new Striker support on the horizon, it's possible that changes to the deck may occur soon after this guide's release. If so, I'll try to make an update to this page, or leave a comment explaining the changes if that isn't an option.

The Primary Striker Cards

Loading... is the primary card that makes this build function. Running it at 3 greatly increases the chance of finding the right card to help deal with a given boardstate. It can also draw a card to help locate a starter ala Loading... , but requires the use of certain other cards for it to actually be viable.
Loading... and Loading... are the standard board breaking options, mirroring each other's effects. Jamming Waves is generally the more versatile of the two, as it also has interactions when destroying your own cards. It can fill the GY before it fully resolves for its own second effect, or even fuel an early Loading... . I like using 2 Jammings, but you could get away with running 1.
Loading... is mostly used to negate what the prior two cards can't destroy, as well as occasionally saving you a turn after drawing a bad hand. Its primary purpose is board breaking, as the standard Madolche endboard can't utilize it without making some unfavourable concessions. I recommend running 1 in place of a second Afterburners to go alongside the 2 Jammings, but you could run 2 if you prefer.