Aromages Guide

Published on September 6th, 2021 by

Updated on September 6th, 2021

Overview

The Aroma Archetype is an Archetype in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Franchise that mostly consists of Plant-type monsters (with the exception of one Rock-type monster). For the majority of its existence in Duel Links, the deck has only been available through the Card Trader in some capacity. However, with the release of the Fortress of Gears box, the Aroma archetype received a lot of great support in the form of Loading... , Loading... and more.

Playstyle

The Aroma Archetype focuses around gaining Life Points (referred to as LP in this guide) to use their monster's effects while establishing a strong board that allows it to disrupt its opponent’s plays. The deck’s weakness lies in the early game as it takes some time to set up a decent board. However, in the later stages of the game the deck is at its peak as it can keep outgrinding other decks easily. Every Aroma monster has at least two effects:

Their continuous effect is active while your LP are higher than your opponent’s and you control the monster, with the exceptions to that pattern being Loading... and Loading... .
Normally, their other effect is mandatory and triggered upon LP gain. The only exception, in this case, is Loading... , who can discard itself to gain LP. However, there are some exceptions that have more than two effects, e.g. Loading... or Loading... .

In Duel Links, the deck has split into two main builds:

The Synchro version featuring Loading... and access to Synchro monsters. This version can be considered a bit more aggressive and faster due to the access to monsters such as Loading... or Loading... . However, this version of the deck tends to brick more due to the presence of more monsters that are useless on your first turn (for example Angelica)
The Xyz version. Despite not using Angelica and thus no access to Synchro monsters, this version of the deck can make use of the several newly released Xyz monsters. While not necessarily having the edge over the Synchro version as of right now, this version of the deck will get stronger with each new box as there are a lot of good generic Xyz monsters not yet released in the game.

Skills

Destiny Draw

Since the nerf of Balance , several versions of the deck utilizing Destiny Draw have popped up. While this version of the deck is more bricky than the Balance version it is definitely the more powerful one, given an optimal hand. Not only do the Balance restrictions not apply for this version of the deck, there’s also the benefit of the skill itself. As Destiny Draw states “Can be used when your Life Points decrease by 2000.” it can even be used when your LP drop from 6000 to 4000, for example. And why picking up any card in your deck is incredibly strong is quite self-explanatory as it can give you a huge advantage, especially in a deck as versatile as Aroma.

Balance

When using Balance correctly, you are guaranteed to open 1 Monster, 1 Spell and 1 Trap. This is crucial to the deck as opening either Loading... or Loading... along with a monster is necessary in order to gain LP and establish a solid board early on in the game. Additionally, having access to one of your traps is important to either further extend on your plays or to disrupt your opponent’s plays. However, Balance also has a downside, where you can neither Special Summon nor activate monster effects on your first turn. This nerf to the skill made it a less popular choice as it is extremely beneficial to be able to activate Loading... ’s effect on your first turn.

Core Cards

Main Deck

Aromage Jasmine (2-3x)

Jasmine is the most important monster for the early stages of the match in Aroma decks.

Once per turn on LP gain, Jasmine allows you to draw a card. This effect is useful in the early stages of a match in order to get an advantage over your opponent. However, this effect cannot be used on your first turn due to the Balance restrictions, making it inherently worse and causing Jasmine to only be run at 2 copies in Balance builds. In Destiny Draw and other builds however, Jasmine is still run at 3 copies. While this effect is incredibly powerful, you should be wary of accidentally decking out with said effect as it is a mandatory effect, meaning that you cannot choose whether you want to draw a card or not, but have to do so.
If your LP are higher than your opponent’s, Jasmine allows you to perform an additional Normal Summon of a Plant-Type monster. Because this is a continuous effect, the Balance restrictions (Quote: You cannot Special Summon or activate monster effects until the end of the Main Phase of your first turn.) do not apply. This effect is important to summon another Aroma monster on your first turn to be able to establish a board early on in the match. Unlike the effect of Loading... , this effect can be negated by a card like Loading... .

While Jasmine is absolutely crucial in the early stages of the match, she becomes less important and useful as the match progresses and is primarily used as Synchro / Xyz material during the mid-game and end-game.

Aromage Cananga (1-2x)

Cananga is your main way of dealing with backrow while also weakening your opponent’s monsters.

Once per turn on LP gain, Cananga allows you to return a Spell/Trap card on your opponent’s side of the field back to their hand. This effect is crucial in backrow-heavy matchups. If you have a way of gaining LP on your opponent’s turn, generally you should return a newly set Spell/Trap card back to their hand during the End Phase. This way, your opponent will not be able to set it again until their next turn.
If your LP are higher than your opponent’s, Cananga reduces the ATK and DEF of all your opponent’s monsters by 500. This effect is great to be able to get over monsters with a higher ATK than yours or to just defend yourself from attacks. However, there’s also another way this skill can be beneficial in the Blue-Eyes matchup, which we’ll mention later.

Aromage Rosemary (1-2x)

Rosemary can both slow down the duel and help to swing over big monsters.

Once per turn on LP gain, Rosemary’s effect allows you to change the battle position of a face-up monster on the field. This is especially useful on your opponent’s turn as it can prevent your opponent from attacking. It can also be used on your turn to change the attack position of an opponent’s monster for you to then swing over it. This used to be a terrible effect when going first, but with the Balance restriction, it can no longer trigger on your first turn. Thus, opening up a Rosemary has become a lot better.
Her second effect prevents your opponent from activating any Monster effects until the end of the Damage Step when a Plant monster you control attacks. This can be useful against cards such as Loading... and Loading... . There’s also a fairly interesting ruling involving Marjoram when it comes to Rosemary’s continuous effect, which is of great use in the Thunder Dragon matchup. There’s also another fairly complicated yet sometimes useful interaction with this effect. When your Life Points are lower than your opponent’s, you swing over a Loading... and as a result of that, your Life Points are higher than your opponent’s, the following happens: As Rosemary’s effect is continuous, it is applied immediately within Damage Calculation, as it is here where your LP are now higher than your opponent’s. Now with Rosemary’s effect live, this means that the effect of the D.D. Warrior (which would activate after the Damage Calculation) will be negated.

Aromage Marjoram (1x)

Marjoram is the deck’s best way of dealing with cards in the opponent’s Graveyard while also helping out with Life Point management.

Once per turn on LP gain, Marjoram allows you to banish cards in your opponent’s Graveyard up to the number of Aroma monsters you control. This effect is crucial against decks that heavily rely on their graveyard such as Blue-Eyes.
While your Life Points are higher than your opponent’s, Marjoram prevents you from taking any damage in a battle involving a Plant-type monster you control. This effect helps you with your Life Point management. It’s also helpful against cards such as Loading... that’d normally be able to inflict a lot of damage.
Marjoram’s third effect allows her to be Special Summoned from your hand when a Plant-type monster you control is destroyed by battle. This will also instantly trigger her effect to banish cards in your opponent’s Graveyard. Due to this effect, Marjoram is often your primary target when using Loading... ’s first effect on your opponent’s turn

Aromaseraphy Angelica (0-1x)

Angelica mainly gives you access to Synchro monsters while also allowing for some combos. Thus, this card is only played in the Synchro version of the deck as it is not necessary for the Xyz version of the deck.

Angelica’s first effect allows you to, during either player’s turn, target an Aroma monster in your Graveyard and then discard Angelica to gain LP equal to the ATK of the targeted monster. This gives you an alternative option to gain Life Points, even on your opponent’s turn, besides your Spells/Traps. It’s worth noting that you could theoretically target another copy of Angelica with this effect, although you wouldn’t gain any Life Points in that case.
While your LP are higher than your opponent’s and you control an Aroma monster, Angelica can be Special Summoned from your Graveyard. However, when summoned this way, Angelica is banished when she leaves the field. Due to the fact that Angelica is your only way to access your Extra Deck, it’s recommended to not use this effect, unless you’re in a game-winning position.