Yu-Gi-Oh! may be the only card game where specific card archetypes are so core to deck building. In Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel, these archetypes have been split into different secret packs that can be unlocked by crafting a card from specific archetypes.
However, some secret packs are stronger than others. It's always recommended for duelists to complete their favorites first, but for new players hoping to climb the ranked ladder, there are a few packs that are quicker entries to a competitive deck than others. The top two factors to consider are how competitive the archetypes in the pack are and how many cards players will still need to craft after owning all the cards in the pack.
Mother Nature's Snare
Traptrix and the searchable "hole" traps were a key part of the HAT (Hand-Artifact-Traptrix) deck that dominated much of 2014 competitive Yu-Gi-Oh!, and many years later the archetype has seen a genesis with its new link monster "Traptrix Sera."
While Traptrix may not be the top deck of the meta, it's a solid tier 2 option to climb with and many of the key cards are all in the same secret pack. By using their gems on Mother Nature's Snare, players can also get "Traptrix Rafflesia," a viable rank 4 option in almost any deck that can afford to run trap holes. For upgrades, players only need to obtain staple XYZ monsters like "Timetheif Redoer" and "Divine Arsenal AA-Zeus - Sky Thunder"
Fiendish Encounter
To anyone who has ever played the game competitively, Burning Abyss has two of the most iconic Yu-Gi-Oh! cards in the scene. "Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss," and "Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal" are both UR cards that players can get from this pack. Both cards will help Burning Abyss players and fans of any graveyard focuses strategy alike. Magical Musketeers are the less powerful of the featured decks, but they're a fun deck that doesn't require many new URs to be crafted.
While Magical Musketeers are fairly self-contained, BA players can always add to their deck's strength by adding the popular Phantom Knight archetype from Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V, and "Tour Guide From The Underworld" is practically a must-craft.
Celestial Dragon and Bear
Drytron and Ursarctic are wildly different on the power scale, with Drytron being a consistent meta deck and Urastic being a fun casual synchro deck. Drytron's are an incredibly powerful ritual archetype that abuse the most powerful ritual support cards created throughout the history of the game.
Due to the patchwork nature of the competitive Drytron deck, players will also need to open the Miraculous Advent secret pack if they want to make the deck function true to its capabilities. The most important card to craft by far is the SR "Cyber Angel Benten," a card that's essential for many Drytron turns.
Cross-Dimensional Contracts
Most secret packs feature two or more archetypes, but Cross-Dimensional Contracts is all about the D/D archetype used by Reiji Akaba, one of the best duelists from Arc-V.
The D/D archetype is a combo deck focused on summoning as many D/D/D monsters as possible. For the casual players, the archetype is completely self-contained and a pretty fun deck can be made with just this set. For more experienced players looking to climb, "Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon" would be a useful card to craft.
Enchanted Threads of Shade
After consistent tournament showings in the mid-2010s, Shaddoll lost their strongest monster, "El Shaddoll Construct," to the Forbidden list. In recent years, not only is Construct back, but Shaddolls received a structure deck that has returned the fusion theme to prominence. This secret pack also includes the odd Zefra theme, a series of pendulum cards from various archetypes released around 2015.
For fans looking to strengthen their Shaddoll deck, the Invoked engine is the way to go. Crafting "Aleister the Invoker," "Invocation," and the corresponding fusion monsters will instantly buff the deck. Fortunately for Shaddoll players, those cards are all SR rarity or lower and will be fairly easy to craft.
Immortal Royalty
For fans of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, they may remember the iconic Yu-Gi-Oh! villain Carmella's Vampire deck. The cards have improved a lot since then, and Vampires have some interesting new combos. However, the real star of this pack is the powerful Eldlich deck starring "Eldlich The Golden Lord" and the many traps that assist him.
The Eldlich deck is fairly self-contained within the set, with powerful traps like Vanity's Emptiness being the best crafts for the back row heavy strategy. Vampire fans looking to strengthen their combos should look at zombies that can extend their plays like Shiranui Solitaire.
Singular Strike Overthrow
Mathmechs are the weaker archetype of the two themes featured in this secret pack, but "Primathmech Alembertian" is a unique and versatile card that decks outside of Mathmechs can utilize. However, the star of this secret pack is the Sky Strikers, a spell-heavy theme revolving around "Sky Striker Ace - Raye" and the link monsters that can be summoned with her.
Sky Strikers are a solid deck to climb the ladder with, and most of the best cards in the competitive deck are self-contained in the secret pack. Many of the URs needed for Sky Strikers are staple cards that players should already be crafting due to their power in almost every deck like "Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring" or "Called by the Grave."
Moonlit Avian Dance
Lunalight and Lyrilusc are two of the only archetypes from the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime that competitive players can utilize to climb the ladder. Lunalights focus on incredibly offensively-oriented boss monsters that allow them to end duels quickly, while Lyrilusc is typically used with Tri-Brigade to summon useful WIND-attribute utility monsters.
Both decks benefit from the "Tri-Brigade" archetype, but almost every beast, winged beast, and beast-warrior archetype can say that. For Lyrilusc, players should immediately craft "Simorgh, Bird of Sovereignty" and "Barrier Statue of the Stormwinds." Lunalight players should focus on the SR spell "Fire Formation - Tenki" to search for their best monsters.
Echo Chamber Nation
Dogmatika, Tri-Brigade, and Springans all find their home in Echo Chamber Nation. Springans aren't a terrible archetype by any means, but the other two are what make this pack shine. Tri-Brigade and Dogmatika are two of the best and most versatile archetypes in the game.
Dogmatika is special because they can be splashed into so many decks effectively, especially Shaddoll and Traptrix. Tri-Brigade is an archetype that can function on its own as a deck, but also can be paired with any beast, winged beast, or beast-warrior deck. Tri-Brigade players can look to either incorporate either Lyriluscs or Zoodiacs, the latter of which is a fairly inexpensive engine that will complete the deck.
Those Who Stand Against Kings
Metalfoes, Crystron, and Zoodiac are all included in "Those Who Stand Against Kings." Metalfoes are a decent deck, and Zoodiacs are arguably the best deck in the entire game when paired with Tri-Brigade. However, what makes this set shine is the overwhelming quality in the UR spot. With only four URs per secret pack, a bad UR pull can hurt an early collection. However, Those Who Stand Against Kings has three of the best URs in the entire game: "Heavymetalfoes Electrumite," "Crystron Halqifribrax," and "Zoodiac Drident."
Those Who Stand Against Kings offers 3 incredible cards that players can play in dozens of decks, and each of the trio only needs to be used at one copy. That makes the set perfect for starting players, and the archetypes themselves are cheap to play and easy to upgrade. Zoodiac players in particular will quickly reach the highest ranks by crafting the Tri-Brigade engine and "Divine Arsenal AA-Zeus - Sky Thunder."