UNION ARENA: Every Sword Art Online Vol. 2 Deck, Ranked
In Sword Art Vol. 2 we have the single strongest Volume 2 ever in the English version of the game. Not one, not two, but three or more hyper powerful decks enter the arena following this set. Once you see how strong some of these decks are you’ll understand just why Bandai waited for so long to release them. Of course, they are also going to be releasing alongside Evangelion – a set that is notoriously strong in the Japan meta. Having both of these sets scheduled to release on the same day in January, 2026 is going to be a tremendous shot in the arm to the English UNION ARENA meta which will likely for ever change from that day on.
Below, let’s look at each and every one of the decks getting an upgrade in Sword Art Online Vol. 2 and rank them from strong to strongest.
A quick disclaimer before we get into the list, however: the full Sword Art Online card list for the UNION ARENA English version has not been revealed yet, meaning we don’t know 100% what cards are going to be in the expansion. While Vol. 2 sets in the English version of the game follow the Vol. 2 for the most part, notable exceptions to occur. For example, the zero-cost Rukia being famously cut from the BLEACH base set and and Vol. 2.
With that in mind, let’s get to the decks, and don’t forget to click the link below to preorder your boxes ahead of time via my partners at TCGPlayer!
#10 Lisbeth, Kirito and the Ingot
If you’re looking for a deck that feels more like a side quest than a competitive one, the Sword Art Online Vol. 2 in Japan has several Lisbeth-centric cards that actually are pretty cool. The best combo you can pull off with them is to use your Lisbeth to grant Kirito Double Attack – use this to power up starter deck Kirito the turn after he is played or just to bolster your five-cost Kirito to new heights!
Vol. 2 also gets some added support for the Silica/Pina combo. If you can find a way to fit that productively into a deck, let me know!
#9 Integrity Knights
If I had to choose one deck that I’m the most disappointed with when it comes to the Vol. 2 it would have to be the Integrity Knights deck. Essentially, this deck looks to do away with the Alice/Kirito/Eugeo buddy theme and put the emphasis instead on cards with the Integrity Knights affinity.
And to help support this strategy we do get an intriguing new card in the form of four energy cost Administrator.
If you haven’t seen the show, the Administrator is actually a fantastic villain for the Alicization arc. As she is the creator of the Integrity Knights (who are good guys despite the Administrator being the main antagonist of the season), we see her card granting her the ability to play up to 1 yellow card with required energy of 1 or less from your outside area to your field. She also lets you then search out key event cards you’ll need to power up your Integrity Knights.
It’s a nice idea but it doesn’t translate very well into a practical strategy, leaving many wanting to just run the original “Integrity Knights” build focused on Alice and friends.
#8 Fairy Dance
Fairy Dance (with Leafa as its star) was never a bad deck. It was never a great one, though, either and it doesn’t get a ton of support in Vol. 2 outside of a very strong new four-cost alternative color trigger that compliments this deck’s strategy well.
Fairy Dance becomes a much more viable deck after the new cards it gets in Vol. 2, but it will seem a little lackluster compared to just how strong the rest of the set is.
#7 Blue Aincrad
The Blue Aincrad deck – with its powerful multi-attack capabilities – has often been considered the strongest Sword Art Online deck in the first set. Following Vol. 2, it’s not that it isn’t still strong – it certainly is. However, of all the core Sword Art Online UNION ARENA strategies, Blue Aincrad actually gets the least additional support – likely because it just didn’t need much more to begin with.
That’s the main reason I’m ranking this as low as I am. Most likely, SAO fans and UA players will choose one of the more powerful, more upgraded Sword Art Online decks when Vol. 2 comes out. There’s just so much good going on in SAO Vol. 2 that rare battles should no longer look like a sea of blue – ultimately a good thing for a game that prides itself on deck variety.
Indeed, the primary net new card entering the deck (that will have the most impact) is a two energy generating raid target for Asuna – one that also has some benefits to attacking. This will replace the two-cost Asuna we’ve used, making it easier and more reliable to raid one of Blue Aincrad’s strongest cards.
Blue Aincrad gets stronger with Vol. 2, but several SAO decks get even stronger.
#6 Mother’s Rosario
I’ve played Mother’s Rosario enough to know that there’s a lot more to this deck than people give it credit for. Even without the Vol. 2 this deck is pretty strong, capable of building up momentum with relative ease, and swing in for Damage 2 attacks that are tough to block.
In Vol. 2, however, we get considerable more utility for this deck, like a very strong new Raid Yuuki that closes the removal gap, as well as a new three-cost energy gen character that lets you draw while also acting as a Raid target.
However, we also finally get a solid zero-cost character to fill the void that was pretty obviously there in this deck pre Vol. 2. This card is the zero-cost ALO Sinon and it’s a card that’s going to be very, very strong in this deck, letting you suss out your Yuuki characters early on and build up the number of named cards much more effectively.
I would not overlook this deck when it comes out with Vol. 2 and expect it to be a very, very solid – albeit unorthodox – option for players.
#5 Alice and Friends
The yellow Alice and Friends deck has often been referred to as the Integrity Knights deck. However, Kirito isn’t an integrity knight and there’s actually a new deck that is actually focused on Integrity Knights, making calling this deck “Integrity Knights” pretty awkward. Anyways, the deck still functions very similarly to how it did in the first volume, but with some very powerful additions that serve to massively enhance the deck strategy.
For example, we get a powerful new Raid in the form of four-cost Kirito, one who lets you draw cards and cannot be blocked by low powered chump blockers. This is a card this deck desperately needs as its strongest effects activate when you have Eugeo, Alice, and Kirito named characters on the field. Previously, this deck only had eight Kirito cards, and thanks to the new Raid and a three-cost character that acts as both Kirito and Eugeo, you should be fullfilling the “Named” requirements with relative ease.
Thanks to a strong, consistent strategy, removal, draw, and solid double attack, this deck remains one of the most well-rounded in the game after Vol. 2.
#4 Sword Art Online Progressive
Purple Progressive is a strong build that’s already seeing modest success in the Japanese meta. In this deck you’re really focusing on Asuna as your primary Raid (which makes sense given Progressive is all about Asuna). There are a lot of very interesting plays in this deck that focus on reducing AP on your foe’s characters to unlock advantages, such as switching characters to active, stopping defending characters from blocking you, and more.
All of this is bolstered by plenty of solid, low-cost draw characters making it a very fast and aggressive that looks to get around your opponent’s board rather than remove characters from it.
#3 Yellow Goddesses
The deck I’m personally looking forward to the most in Sword Art Online Vol. 2 is the upgrade to the formidable Yellow SAO Goddesses deck. While Goddesses has historically been very strong (I’ve piloted it to many wins and to a positive finish at the LA regional), it’s going to be like a whole new deck when Vol. 2 hits the shelves.
The biggest strategic difference right out-of-the-box is the fact that you can heal yourself – the first deck to be able to do so. This means you can add life back into your life area. This is a huge deal for a deck like Goddesses that really needs to be taking its own life to gain resources and access to powerful effects.
The way this deck does this is through the powerful new Leafa raid. This raid adds its raid source to the life area as a way to get additional life. It’s a very brainy sort of move that requires a lot of strategy and decision making to get right, but it pays off massively.
While Goddesses has always been a rogue deck stronger than most players realize, its biggest weakness by far is that in the process of taking your own life you inevitably put yourself at risk of being destroyed by your opponent before they’ve really earned it. However, being able to add life back gives you the protective layer you need to use your powerful effects that take your own life without it being a huge risk.
Goddesses should be an absolute force to be reckoned with following the release of SAO Vol. 2.
#2 Green GGO
The Sword Art Online Gun Gale Online deck featuring the powerful Sinon snipe character was already a forced to be reckoned with when the first set came out. However in SAO Vol. 2 it gets considerably stronger, and will likely be a top tier deck given its strength, consistency, and a new card that makes all of your strongest characters much easier to play.
The new two-cost Kirito doesn’t only act as a solid raid target for your seven-cost Raid Kirito, he reduces the cost of all GGO characters in your hand by one. That’s pretty incredible considering that as long as you have him on the front line you are going to be playing your powerful sniping Sinon for just five energy, making her considerably more attractive to run than she used to be.
Sword Art Online came out at something of an awkward time for UNION ARENA back before there were consistently a lot of big tournaments. However, following Vol. 2 there should be plenty of opportunity for this set to prove itself on the competitive field.
#1 Purple Yuna is the strongest Sword Art Online Vol. 2 deck
You know a deck is seriously strong when Bandai has to impose a restriction onto it. Among the hardened UNION ARENA community, Yuna is all but a legend. The deck was so strong in Japanese meta that Bandai had to restrict how many of the one-cost Yuna you can run in your deck in hopes of limiting this deck’s overwhelming power.
While players are less able to “fix” their deck than they used to, there are still some insane combos that can be pulled off, especially when you use the Kirito to sideline anything on your opponent’s field, and then simply bring him back with your powerful Special, using him to clear out your opponent’s board turn after turn.
As if that weren’t enough, your “Special” also protects the card you brought back from being chosen by affects, enabling some insane removal and staying power.
If any deck from SAO Vol. 2’s impressive repetoire of strong decks is the one to watch to top a regional, it would have to be Yuna and it’s incredible combos that really are one of a kind in the UNION ARENA game to date.
