I am a self confessed fanatic when it comes to TCGs and I love one more so than the rest: Yu-Gi-Oh! I’ve been playing since the start of the game, and I instantly fell in love with it’s visual style, quirky Monsters, and fast-paced gameplay.

Yu-Gi-Oh! has been going for nearly 15 years now, so it can seem bewildering at first where to get started with the game. That’s why I’ve stepped up to share my experiences and hopefully offer some worthwhile advice to all the fledgling duelists out there. Hang on to your hats, because it’s time to d-d-d-duel!

Introduction to the Game

The Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game is a turn based card game where you Duel an opponent and their Deck. Your main objective is to Summon cards and eventually reduce their Life Points to zero.

Yu-Gi-Oh!, originally referred to as Duel Monsters in the popular animated TV series, saw a protagonist fight off the forces of evil using his deck and a little help from the magical power of the bond between friends (such clichés sadly only exist in the realm of the show and play no part in the actual card game, which at the highest competitive level can be quite brutal). Unfortunately, there are no millennium items, dueling motorcycles, or even dueling partners from another realm, but the TCG game is still exciting nevertheless.

For a thorough guide on the basics of card design and the rules on how to play the game in detail, I would recommend that you look at the official website, or read the rulebook. I will glance over a few of the basic elements, but this is not a comprehensive guide on card types or rules. This is a more general introduction into the game, and to help you get started with some basics on how to play at a decent level at the start.

Card Basics

When I first started playing the game over 10 years ago, it was a very basic TCG that didn’t have the highly competitive player base that it does today. I remember picking up both Yugi and Kaiba Starter Decks for myself and my younger brother, who had got me into the game using cards he’d borrowed from his friend.

Our decks mainly consisted of Non-Effect Monster cards, which are commonly referred to as “vanillas” due to not having any effects on them. There very few Effect Monster cards at the time – these have additional effects beyond their basic attack (ATK) and defense (DEF) values. These Monster cards formed the main core of the deck and were usually powered up using Equip Spell cards, which back then were called Magic cards (Wizards of the Coast, who owns Magic: the Gathering, quickly took issue with that, so it was changed!). There were additional Spell cards that help in other ways, and then a few Trap cards played face-down that spring a surprise when you activate them in response to other actions.

Monster cards are the bread and butter of a deck, and they put in most of the work when you’re trying to win a Duel. They contain various effects that will benefit you or hinder your opponent. Sometimes their effects are specific to their archetype (cards that are linked by theme and mechanics which work best together in a deck) and that’s when things get really interesting.

Spell and Trap cards will usually make up the rest of the deck. You’ll also have up to 15 extra cards in a Side Deck that you’ll use for changing your game plan in-between Duels of a Match (which is best of 3 Duels).

You’ll also want to have an Extra Deck (which is, confusingly, different from the Side Deck!). The Extra Deck has a 15 card limit and can only contain ‘Fusion’, ‘Synchro’, and ‘Xyz’ Monster cards. Your regular Monsters in the deck are the tools used to bring out these cards and they often have effects far greater than regular Monster cards. These are the cards that can often turn the tide of a Duel, and most competitive decks rely on a strong, flexible set of Extra Deck cards to Summon during the game.

The Playing Field

Yu-Gi-Oh! Keeps the playing field simple and has only changed recently to include a new zone (called the Pendulum zone). Each player’s side of the field is exactly the same, as you would probably expect. You have five Monster, and five Spell/Trap card zones, a dedicated zone for your Main Deck, located to the right of these, and directly above that is the Graveyard, which is where you’ll place destroyed Monsters and used Spell/Trap cards. To the left is where you’ll have an Extra Deck and Field Card zone. The new Pendulum zones are located between the Extra and Field, and Main Deck and Graveyard zones. Banished cards have never been given the grace of an official zone, a bit like being exiled!

Although there are official locations for cards, some players tend to not follow these and it really isn’t all that wrong. You’ll see this even at high level events where players will have their Main Deck in a horizontal position instead of vertical, which is the official position. Graveyards will be spread out so they can see at a glance what’s been used, or to remind them to activate an effect. You’ll probably find yourself using the same shortcuts later at some point too, so don’t get too hung up on the layout. I myself like to have my Graveyard spread out a bit so I can see what cards I can activate and bring back with effects.

Building Your First Deck

A great way to start building your first deck and understanding synergies between cards is to use Structure Decks as your blueprint. These usually consist of a thematic deck type (called an ‘archetype’) along with cards that will support that theme, and then some generic cards that are useful in any deck. More recently the Structure Decks have started to include more powerful cards that appeal even to veteran players because of their ability to be placed into meta decks.

When you begin to build your first deck, you will want to have a good balance of all the cards available with the ability to make plays on every turn. Think of your cards and Life Points as much of a resource as Magic: the Gathering players use Mana as theirs. You will run into trouble if you fill your deck with high level, powerful monsters and neglect the ability to be able to Summon them using weaker cards as per their Summoning conditions. I made that mistake when I first started playing, as I thought the higher the ATK, the better. We can’t all be like Kaiba and screw the rules by summoning a bunch of monsters in one turn… Wait, now we can due to the power level and speed of the game today!

Deck Building : An Example

Let’s take the Realm of Light Structure Deck, released in late 2014, as an example for theme, synergy, and powerful cards. The Lightsworn archetype mills cards (sending from the top of the deck to the Graveyard) in order to activate their abilities and effects of other Lightsworn cards. The deck’s goal is to be able to summon their “boss monster”, Judgment Dragon by having 4 different named Lightsworn Monsters in the Graveyard.

Here you’ll see Monsters that will summon themselves if milled, or spells that will mill and then let you draw. Lightsworns have often been referred to as ‘Sacksworn’ due to their ability to win from nowhere and through the luck of their milling. They’re often able to quickly summon three Judgment Dragons and swing for massive damage. (Sacking is a term used to refer to winning due to sheer luck.)

What Lightsworns do well is swarming the field quickly and then pushing for the win, but in order to do this, they need a lot of Graveyard setup. This can often be their downfall, as they’ll not mill the right cards in order to summon better monsters.

The meta today is roughly the same, with swarming the field being the main emphasis of the top decks. If you look at deck lists for big events from Konami (Yugioh! Championship Series) and non-sanctioned events (ARG Series), you’ll see a lot of the same decks. This is because there will be an overall consensus of what the best decks are, and this pushes people to play those decks if they want to win.

In essence, what this also does is to create what is known as the ‘Tier’ list. If a deck is ever Tier 0, it is widely considered the only deck to play that format with everything else being Tier 1, 2 or lower (the higher a number it is, the less competitive it is and “lower” down the Tier list). However, it’s not uncommon for lower Tier decks to win against the higher Tiered decks, as it can often come down to the cards drawn.

Being able to draw the right cards and remain consistent is a huge part of being successful at Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards that let you draw or search out other cards are going to be at the core of the deck (outside of the archetype). Next you’ll want cards that will disrupt your opponent’s plays with cards that can negate effects or prevent your opponent from summoning. There are cards, referred to as Floodgates, that do this very well and there is a huge debate as to whether these types of cards are healthy for the meta-game.

Sometimes cards will become more powerful the older they get or due to other interactions with new cards. This is due to the evolving nature of the game as new cards are released. Konami tends to keep these in check though, as they can be banned or limited in their quantity in your deck. You can see all of the cards that have been placed on the official Forbidden & Limited list here.

Unlike all other events, the World Championship has its own Forbidden & Limited list because of the difference in the OCG (Official Card Game) and the TCG. The OCG is played in the Asian territories such as Japan and South Korea. They have a different meta to us because of this and they also get their set releases about 6 months before the Western TCG. Observing the OCG is a great way to see how the meta will change once we get those cards. It isn’t always going to follow the OCG though, as we do get our own exclusive cards in the TCG that can put other decks into the top tiers that weren’t ever part of the OCG meta (such as the Burning Abyss archetype).

Buying Your First Cards

I have been a seller of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards for many years, but before that I was a consumer and that meant trying to source the best places to buy cards. I didn’t have the luxury of buying online and had to go to a local store that sold booster boxes, booster packs and even single cards. Cards were somewhat expensive back then, but never hit the ludicrous prices some cards have reached in recent years, but I should mention that things are more stable now.

Looking into buying for the first time can be extremely daunting, as there are a lot of different sets out there. What I would suggest is (as mentioned before) to buy a few copies of one Structure Deck and also look into sets that contain reprints. This will give you a good start with an archetype that you can play right out of the box, without the headache of trying to find cards that work together. The reprint set will give you access to cards that you can put into the deck to improve its consistency and power.

If you’re left with any spare cards that you may not use, you can trade these to other players at local events and pick up more cards to support your deck, or start to build a new one once you’re confident enough to do so. It would also be a good idea to join forums and look up information on the official site and its blog, as they sometimes have articles written by expert players that contain great strategies and information on the latest set releases.

You’ll eventually build up a collection of cards to call your very own. I have a huge collection from over 10 years of playing and even more because I sell the cards, too. Having a collection you can look at and admire can give you a great feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. I like to share my collection with other people, show them the cards that I have, and even allow my friends to use the cards I have collected to play at local events. I would only suggest you do the same with people you know and trust, as you will want to keep your cards safe and well protected from thieves.

Playing Against People : Attending Events

This is probably the hardest thing to do for a first time player, or even someone who has been playing for a while online, but now has physical cards and wants to play against people face-to-face. Some people will find this easy to do, as they’re naturally outgoing, but whatever your disposition, there are a few things you need to know before playing against ‘real’ people.

Know your basic rules and how to play the game by looking at the rulebook or official website. This obviously goes without saying in most cases, but sometimes I have sat across the table from an opponent who clearly didn’t understand the rules adequately.

If you ever find yourself in a similar position, I would like to ask you to help that player and not criticize them. Remember that people learn things in different ways, and this may just be their way of learning. You don’t want to deter others from playing the game and we want to promote a healthy atmosphere to all who want to come and play.

If you ever intend to play at larger, official events, you’ll need to invest in some deck sleeves. These are soft plastic sleeves for each individual card in your deck. They not only protect your cards from regular wear and tear, or getting damaged, but they also prevent cheating by ensuring the back of cards is consistent. There are a lot of brands to choose from and some are more costly than others, but I do recommend you get a good brand. My personal preference on sleeves are the ‘Ultra Pro: Pro Matte’ sleeves. These have an anti-glare front and a non-stick back coating which means your cards won’t stick together when shuffling.

Konami runs the biggest sanctioned events, one of which is the Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series (YCS). This is an event that can have over 1000 players and they are a great place to buy cards, trade with other players, make friends and perhaps earn some notoriety by topping the event (finishing in the Top 32). Another non-sanctioned event that draws a high caliber of players is the ARG series. Here you’ll find players who take the game very seriously and are sometimes even sponsored to play, kind of like MLG (Major League Gaming) players for video games.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Also has a World Championship where competitors from around the world play against one another after qualifying from their respective National Championships. If you ever make it that far, I wish you the best of luck and hope that my guide somehow helped you get there, and that you’ll credit me in your winning interview!

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