Thanks to Cloudstrife 189. Source of this article came from http://www.pojo.biz/board/showthread.php?t=767706
Disclaimer
*This concept is very hard to explain fully. A lot of people use this concept all the time but I don’t think it has been properly named so I’m going to name it. I’m going to try my best to explain it as I see it. All comments and suggestions to better fix my understanding of this concept would be much appreciated.
Welcome to my next article, The secret to dueling: Hidden Advantage.
Sorry that it took so long for my next article but I hope it doesn’t disappoint.
I was going to post this article prior to SJC Austin to inform players on what to expect. However, I’m very happy that I didn’t. After going X-2 at yet another SJC, and not topping once again *sigh*, I feel that I have even more insight to share with you. I truly feel that the secret to this current format lies in this concept of hidden advantage and knowing what card(s) can produce it. First, let me share with you hidden advantage as I see it. Hidden advantage can be looked at in two ways: the concept itself and the cards that help generate the concept.
Hidden advantage is the concept of cards (either itself or other cards) gaining advantage off the fact that either itself or other cards have gone back to the deck/grave/rfg.
A few examples of popular monster cards creating this advantage are as follows:
Mezuki
Dimensional Alchemist
Necro Gardna
Vayu
Mystic tomato
D.D. Survivor/scout plane
Gladiator Beast Equestte
Almost all boss monsters (Judgement Dragon, Dark Armed Dragon, Gyzarus, etc)
Etc…
The reason I call these cards hidden advantage is because of the fact that they don’t always create advantage, thus, they aren’t a “plus 1.” These cards only have the potential to create advantage. Cards like Mezuki and Vayu aren’t very good on their own, but if their equivalent counterparts exist in the grave as well, then they will indeed continue to create advantage even after they are destroyed. You can’t count on all these cards to always create advantage, but if you manage to get your initial combo(s) initiated, they will add more power to your arsenal. Cards like Mezuki/Vayu can at least attack for some damage and block a few attacks as well. However, their real potential shines once you have them in the grave. Just like necro gardna, being able to choose when to activate their effects is critical in maximizing their potential.
All boss cards, but more specifically, monsters, tend to create an insane amount of advantage, but once again, only if your combo hasn’t been disrupted. Cards like DAD will create advantage assuming that you can summon it. If your opponent disrupted you earlier with Macro Cosmos/Royal Oppression/Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror/Etc, DAD will be the last card you want to draw.
Hidden advantage for spells/traps is any card that has the potential to create more advantage then just the average 1-for-1 trade off. However, I feel that we need to also go a little more specific on this definition. These cards usually create more advantage based upon how successful your strategy has been going so far this duel.
Example of some popular spell/traps that create hidden advantage:
Beckoning Light
Charge of the Light Brigade
Burial from the Different Dimension
Etc
Once again, if your combo has been executed properly this duel, these cards will add even more advantage to your team. Cards like beckoning light/burial from the different dimension are extremely weak at the beginning of the duel, but become border line broken towards the end. Charge of the Light Brigade creates its hidden advantage by setting your graveyard up for future use while also granting you a free lightsworn monster in the process.
Now, these cards are called HIDDEN advantage because the amount of advantage generated by these cards tend to come as a shock. Cards like Mirror Force and Torrential Tribute use to be “hidden advantage” a few years ago when they use to catch people off guard. However, because they are so heavily played in almost EVERY deck these days, I don’t think there is much “hidden” about them. They just create PURE advantage. Same can be said about Pot of Greed. I just want to emphasize my point an additional time, Hidden advantage cards are “Hidden” because they MAY or MAY NOT create advantage. I find all hidden advantage cards to be combo specific.
Now, let me start connecting some pieces together. I’m going to list a few examples of how hidden advantage may be generated. When I duel against a player and I just destroy and send their third dark monster to the graveyard, I don’t usually think twice about it because it was something that eventually had to be done. However, when they proceed to drop a Dark Armed Dragon on me, they start gaining much more advantage from that third dark monster then I initially planned. HOWEVER, if they don’t have Dark Armed Dragon, then I’m in a very safe place to be. Another example that happens a lot comes from dueling against Lightsworn duelists. If they mill 2 Judgement Dragons, and three honest, that can either be VERY good or VERY bad depending on if they have their hidden advantage card Beckoning Light. Without beckoning light, I’m in a very safe spot knowing that I can attack with immunity from honest and without the fear of them dropping a JD in retaliation. However, if they do have Beckoning Light, then I just lost because they now have access to the strongest cards in their deck. My last example deals with Gladiator beasts. Sometimes it is very good to know that their Bestari is in the grave and only accessible to them by two other cards (equestte and darius). I know that they won’t be searching for it via Proving Ground or tagging out to destroy a spell/trap anymore. However, if they do manage to get access to one of those two monsters, then their bestari is going to be right where they want it followed by Gyzarus.
Obviously this list goes on and on because a lot of people are exploiting this concept this format. Now, if we look at SJC Austin specifically, almost every deck was focusing on this concept and these cards in one way of another. Some decks I dueled against tried using the Lightsworn concept of milling an insane amount of cards to load their grave with Mezuki/Vayus/etc. If they were successful, then they got more advantage than normal. They had the normal advantage that the lightsworn monsters posses but also received the advantage of the “Mezuki” they just sent to the grave. The problem with this concept comes from what I expressed in my last article: The secret to dueling: Coming up to tier. By playing too many “hidden advantage” cards, their decks tend to be too inconsistent. Their hands get clogged with cards like Mezuki,Beckoning Light,necro gardna,JD and burial from the DD. All of them can be game breaking at the right time, but obviously there isn’t enough “circulation” to get the combo rolling in the first place. However, once they got their combos going, I was quickly overwhelmed by them, their full field, and the myriad of cards still left in their hands.
To start wrapping things up, hidden advantage can be a hard concept to understand. The cards that generate this concept can be good because they can serve multiple purposes even after they’re destroyed. They can be very bad because they take time to set up and can slow down your initial strategy before you can initially get it flowing. How many hidden advantage cards you play should be based on how often you’re use to getting your combos off. If you play with a LS deck and never have problems milling effectively, then you could afford to play some more monsters that trigger while in the grave like vayu/mezuki. However, if you’re playing in a Meta where people constantly main deck “Dimensional Fissure” and such, then these cards may be very poor choice to play. This concept is best countered by disrupting the flow of their deck. If their hidden advantage card(s) can no longer create that extra advantage, then they become just a minimal threat. If my opponent can’t keep any zombies in his graveyard to combo with Mezuki, then I won’t mind destroying Mezuki without hesitation. However, if my opponent has 20 other zombie monsters in the graveyard, then I start second guessing myself before graving the Mezuki.
In conclusion, it is your choice on whether to make your deck more focused on this concept or not. There are definitely pros and cons that should be considered that I expressed prior. A lot of expert players are exploiting this concept and it seems to be working in their favor. However, if you’re having consistency problems already, then this concept will only slow your deck down further. As always, any comments and tips are greatly appreciated and I’ll end again with a famous quote.
"Test,fail,adjust..."
Monday, June 27, 2011
The secret to dueling: Coming up to Tier
Thanks to Cloudstrife 189. Source of this article came from http://www.pojo.biz/board/showthread.php?t=760721
Let’s start this article off by defining tier:
a series of rows or ranks rising one behind or above another
Now, in YGO, lots of duelists have started classifying decks as Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3. A good example of Tier 1 would be all the most competitive mainstream decks like Blackwings, Lightsworn, and Gladiator Beast. A good example of Tier 2 decks would be something like Plants or X-sabers. A tier 3 deck is something along the lines of Morphtronics or Skull Servants.
I’m one of the few duelists in my community known for creating very successful original decks. Lots of people have asked me for advice on what to do when attempting to make their own “original” decks more competitive or where even to start. I’m going to reveal a few of these “secrets” today in hopes of encouraging a lot more people to break from the norm and try something fun and unique, and of course, competitive, at their next competition.
*These tips are for people who seem to need a little extra help getting started. Obviously, you can and should adjust these suggestions as you feel fit.
Skeleton Structure:
First, figure out what primary deck style you want to be playing. A lot of people come up to me and say that they want to build a “Dragon” deck and I always ask “What kind?” Few people seem to understand that you can have an unlimited amount of different strategies embedded into that one concept. Here’s a rough breakdown of the type of skeletons you should start with based on your personal preference. (These skeletons were also mentioned in my previous article, the secret to dueling: Deck Cycle Theory.)
Control (do you like to control the pace of the game? Play control based monsters and a good amount of spells and traps to protect/support them.):
Monsters: 18
Spells: 12
Traps: 10
Aggro/Beatdown (do you like to attack often and bring out big attackers? Play a few spells/traps to make sure your attacks are successful but don’t focus much on protecting your monsters. Their high ATK power should do just fine):
Monsters: 23
Spells: 12
Traps: 5
Speed/Swarm (do you like to invest everything in one supersonic flash furry of cards and overwhelm your opponent? Play lots of special summon monsters and lots of spells because you can play them instantly. Traps will only slow you down because they take a turn before you can even activate them):
Monsters: 16
Spells: 20
Traps: 4
Stall/Burn (do you like to take things slow and patiently wait for your strategy to slowly piece together? Hide behind stall cards like “Gravity Bind” and “Messenger of Peace” and make sure they have protection so they’re not easily destroyed. Monsters aren’t as important because your spell/trap cards should suffice at stalling):
Monsters: 10
Spells: 15
Traps: 15
As you probably noticed, all decks seem to run approx. 40 cards. I have found this to be critical because consistency in YGO is everything. Any deck can pull off a victory occasionally; however, you should focus on being able to pull it off on a regular basis. By having a 50+ card deck, your combos would change duel after duel, and it might be hard for you to set up and count on a particular one. Once you have chosen a basic skeleton, regardless of your theme/concept, you will be ready to begin the next step, synching.
Sync it up!
Now, I’m not talking about synchros, but the same concept is used. You must make sure that all your monsters, spells, and traps all flow together and work together perfectly. Ex. If you’re playing a “Spell Canceller” control deck, it doesn’t make sense for you to play a lot of spells. It’s very critical that most of your cards have high synergy between a good majority of other cards in your deck. It’s inconsistent to have only two BEWD, one Lord of D, and one Flute of Summoning Dragon in a regular deck. However, maybe if you played a lot more dragons, then the Lord of D would be more justified because it would serve an additional purpose of protecting your creatures as opposed to just that one combo. It’s really crucial to find high synergy cards because they will increase the flow of your deck drastically. In my dark deck for example, I love the synergy that Scapegoat gives me by being able to combo with a lot of cards like my 3 Cyber Valleys, Destiny Hero Plasma, all my Tuners as well as just being a good attack blocker. Every time I draw that card, it is a live card and that’s how I can tell that Scapegoat has very high synergy in my deck. The more synergy cards like these you can find, the more successful your overall deck will be. However, you do need a few things to reward your hard work, and yes, I’m talking about a “Boss.”
Give it a Boss
Now, I find a Boss card to not just be a monster card, even though that is how it’s usually referred to. I find a Boss to be any card that will give you an insane, massive amount of advantage, when your strategy is working to help push for that game winning play. The Boss card may change from deck to deck. In a Lightsworn deck for example, their Boss Cards might be Judgement Dragon and Beckoning light. They are both ridiculous powerful on their own, but only if you have managed to do your central strategy and mill a lot of cards. In my current deck, I play 3 Bosses. I play Return from the Different Dimension, The Dark Creator, and Dark Armed Dragon. For my deck, drawing any of those Boss cards at the beginning of the game usually only creates a temporary dead card in my hand. I much prefer to draw “The Dark Creator” or “Dark Armed Dragon” after I have had a few turns to set up my combos. “Return from the Different Dimension” is only helpful after I have managed to remove from play a good majority of my creatures. However, after I have managed to do so, any of those above cards usually set up a game breaking play for me. It is very important to remember, however, that the more Boss cards you play, the less synergy your deck may have. You still need to make sure that you include a lot of cards to potentially turn the Boss cards “online.”
Now, let’s look at one deck that became semi successful by following a similar concept. I only choose to speak about the following duelist because I have firsthand knowledge of this account. Derek Rouse took a Dark Red Enchanter deck to SJC Columbus in 2008. He first decided that he should play a control oriented deck because of other duelist’s extreme need of hand advantage during the current format. He then decided that he should focus on the Theme of using cards to control his opponent’s hands and opted to play cards like Don Zaloog and Thestalos. To help bring out Don Zaloog and tribute fodder for Thestalos, he used cards like 3 Mystic Tomatos. Because he ran tomatos he could afford to run cards like Creature Swap and Newodria to control his opponent’s field. So his Don Zaloog could score more battle damage, he played 3 copies of Shrink. He also chose to play more high synergy cards like Soul Exchange. Now, if this was his only strategy, he would have done “okay” but not nearly as successful as he did. He chose to play 3 boss monsters that would maximize his deck’s overall synergy. By playing 3 Dark Red Enchanters, he could capitalize on his deck’s overall concept of hand control. If he could manage to bring out an early Dark Red Enchanter or 2, every time he played one of his other cards like creature swap/soul exchange (which was already creating advantage), he would gain even MORE advantage with the discarding ability of Dark Red Enchanter. All his plus 1’s would quickly become plus 2’s and 3’s and would quickly become too much for his opponent to handle. This was a prime example of an original deck almost coming up to tier 1.
Conclusion
So, you’re trying to make a new deck to be as competitive as possible. First, give your deck life by giving it a “brain”. Figure out what you want your deck to include whether it’s the theme of “Dragons” or the strategy of “Hand Destruction.” Give the deck some structure by starting with a “skeleton.” If you’re starting with a new/original deck then possibly start with the above “skeletons” I’ve established based on your appropriate playstyle (Aggro, Control, Beatdown, and Swarm). If you’re trying to play a different variant of a current Tier 1 deck, then maybe check on the forums to see if there is a better skeleton available. After you have the “brain” and “skeleton” of your deck, you need to give it “blood” by creating synergy and making sure all the cards all work together. Finally, you need to give your deck a “heart” in the form of a boss card. Remember that it may sound like a good idea to have multiple “hearts”, but if your “blood” ever starts to get clogged, then your hearts won’t work properly, so make sure you have enough white blood cells to keep everything in proper circulation. The final thing you need to do is give your deck a jump start to make it come alive. Where you plug in the jumper cables? I’ll leave that up to you…
Let’s start this article off by defining tier:
a series of rows or ranks rising one behind or above another
Now, in YGO, lots of duelists have started classifying decks as Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3. A good example of Tier 1 would be all the most competitive mainstream decks like Blackwings, Lightsworn, and Gladiator Beast. A good example of Tier 2 decks would be something like Plants or X-sabers. A tier 3 deck is something along the lines of Morphtronics or Skull Servants.
I’m one of the few duelists in my community known for creating very successful original decks. Lots of people have asked me for advice on what to do when attempting to make their own “original” decks more competitive or where even to start. I’m going to reveal a few of these “secrets” today in hopes of encouraging a lot more people to break from the norm and try something fun and unique, and of course, competitive, at their next competition.
*These tips are for people who seem to need a little extra help getting started. Obviously, you can and should adjust these suggestions as you feel fit.
Skeleton Structure:
First, figure out what primary deck style you want to be playing. A lot of people come up to me and say that they want to build a “Dragon” deck and I always ask “What kind?” Few people seem to understand that you can have an unlimited amount of different strategies embedded into that one concept. Here’s a rough breakdown of the type of skeletons you should start with based on your personal preference. (These skeletons were also mentioned in my previous article, the secret to dueling: Deck Cycle Theory.)
Control (do you like to control the pace of the game? Play control based monsters and a good amount of spells and traps to protect/support them.):
Monsters: 18
Spells: 12
Traps: 10
Aggro/Beatdown (do you like to attack often and bring out big attackers? Play a few spells/traps to make sure your attacks are successful but don’t focus much on protecting your monsters. Their high ATK power should do just fine):
Monsters: 23
Spells: 12
Traps: 5
Speed/Swarm (do you like to invest everything in one supersonic flash furry of cards and overwhelm your opponent? Play lots of special summon monsters and lots of spells because you can play them instantly. Traps will only slow you down because they take a turn before you can even activate them):
Monsters: 16
Spells: 20
Traps: 4
Stall/Burn (do you like to take things slow and patiently wait for your strategy to slowly piece together? Hide behind stall cards like “Gravity Bind” and “Messenger of Peace” and make sure they have protection so they’re not easily destroyed. Monsters aren’t as important because your spell/trap cards should suffice at stalling):
Monsters: 10
Spells: 15
Traps: 15
As you probably noticed, all decks seem to run approx. 40 cards. I have found this to be critical because consistency in YGO is everything. Any deck can pull off a victory occasionally; however, you should focus on being able to pull it off on a regular basis. By having a 50+ card deck, your combos would change duel after duel, and it might be hard for you to set up and count on a particular one. Once you have chosen a basic skeleton, regardless of your theme/concept, you will be ready to begin the next step, synching.
Sync it up!
Now, I’m not talking about synchros, but the same concept is used. You must make sure that all your monsters, spells, and traps all flow together and work together perfectly. Ex. If you’re playing a “Spell Canceller” control deck, it doesn’t make sense for you to play a lot of spells. It’s very critical that most of your cards have high synergy between a good majority of other cards in your deck. It’s inconsistent to have only two BEWD, one Lord of D, and one Flute of Summoning Dragon in a regular deck. However, maybe if you played a lot more dragons, then the Lord of D would be more justified because it would serve an additional purpose of protecting your creatures as opposed to just that one combo. It’s really crucial to find high synergy cards because they will increase the flow of your deck drastically. In my dark deck for example, I love the synergy that Scapegoat gives me by being able to combo with a lot of cards like my 3 Cyber Valleys, Destiny Hero Plasma, all my Tuners as well as just being a good attack blocker. Every time I draw that card, it is a live card and that’s how I can tell that Scapegoat has very high synergy in my deck. The more synergy cards like these you can find, the more successful your overall deck will be. However, you do need a few things to reward your hard work, and yes, I’m talking about a “Boss.”
Give it a Boss
Now, I find a Boss card to not just be a monster card, even though that is how it’s usually referred to. I find a Boss to be any card that will give you an insane, massive amount of advantage, when your strategy is working to help push for that game winning play. The Boss card may change from deck to deck. In a Lightsworn deck for example, their Boss Cards might be Judgement Dragon and Beckoning light. They are both ridiculous powerful on their own, but only if you have managed to do your central strategy and mill a lot of cards. In my current deck, I play 3 Bosses. I play Return from the Different Dimension, The Dark Creator, and Dark Armed Dragon. For my deck, drawing any of those Boss cards at the beginning of the game usually only creates a temporary dead card in my hand. I much prefer to draw “The Dark Creator” or “Dark Armed Dragon” after I have had a few turns to set up my combos. “Return from the Different Dimension” is only helpful after I have managed to remove from play a good majority of my creatures. However, after I have managed to do so, any of those above cards usually set up a game breaking play for me. It is very important to remember, however, that the more Boss cards you play, the less synergy your deck may have. You still need to make sure that you include a lot of cards to potentially turn the Boss cards “online.”
Now, let’s look at one deck that became semi successful by following a similar concept. I only choose to speak about the following duelist because I have firsthand knowledge of this account. Derek Rouse took a Dark Red Enchanter deck to SJC Columbus in 2008. He first decided that he should play a control oriented deck because of other duelist’s extreme need of hand advantage during the current format. He then decided that he should focus on the Theme of using cards to control his opponent’s hands and opted to play cards like Don Zaloog and Thestalos. To help bring out Don Zaloog and tribute fodder for Thestalos, he used cards like 3 Mystic Tomatos. Because he ran tomatos he could afford to run cards like Creature Swap and Newodria to control his opponent’s field. So his Don Zaloog could score more battle damage, he played 3 copies of Shrink. He also chose to play more high synergy cards like Soul Exchange. Now, if this was his only strategy, he would have done “okay” but not nearly as successful as he did. He chose to play 3 boss monsters that would maximize his deck’s overall synergy. By playing 3 Dark Red Enchanters, he could capitalize on his deck’s overall concept of hand control. If he could manage to bring out an early Dark Red Enchanter or 2, every time he played one of his other cards like creature swap/soul exchange (which was already creating advantage), he would gain even MORE advantage with the discarding ability of Dark Red Enchanter. All his plus 1’s would quickly become plus 2’s and 3’s and would quickly become too much for his opponent to handle. This was a prime example of an original deck almost coming up to tier 1.
Conclusion
So, you’re trying to make a new deck to be as competitive as possible. First, give your deck life by giving it a “brain”. Figure out what you want your deck to include whether it’s the theme of “Dragons” or the strategy of “Hand Destruction.” Give the deck some structure by starting with a “skeleton.” If you’re starting with a new/original deck then possibly start with the above “skeletons” I’ve established based on your appropriate playstyle (Aggro, Control, Beatdown, and Swarm). If you’re trying to play a different variant of a current Tier 1 deck, then maybe check on the forums to see if there is a better skeleton available. After you have the “brain” and “skeleton” of your deck, you need to give it “blood” by creating synergy and making sure all the cards all work together. Finally, you need to give your deck a “heart” in the form of a boss card. Remember that it may sound like a good idea to have multiple “hearts”, but if your “blood” ever starts to get clogged, then your hearts won’t work properly, so make sure you have enough white blood cells to keep everything in proper circulation. The final thing you need to do is give your deck a jump start to make it come alive. Where you plug in the jumper cables? I’ll leave that up to you…
The secret to dueling: A fight against time
Thanks to Cloudstrife 189. Source of this article came from http://www.pojo.biz/board/showthread.php?t=755450
Last year, my friend developed a really effective deck. It was a Final Countdown Deck that utilized on stall until the 20 turns were up. During the play testing, he constantly defeated us, time after time again. He then decides to take this deck to his first ever regional and proceeds to lose round after round until he eventually drops. The reason why? Time!
A lot of duelists who play, tend to only play casually, and never have to realize the importance of the time limit. This is mostly because those matches are played until a victor is declared. However, after going to a major completion, many duelists quickly learn the importance of the clock. Many, many duels are lost because duelists did not defeat their opponent fast enough and were forced into the end of match procedure. This article is going to address what to do to prevent that, and what to do when time is running out.
First, I’m going to begin this article with a little bit of uncertainty. I'm going to state my mere opinon that I think winning due to time isn't a win condition to strive for. In professional football/basketball, it is a skillful tactic to use the clock to your advantage. It is very wise to change your playstyle and start stalling things out before time is called. In fact, that is a strategy that needs to be exploited effectively to win in those types of sports. However, the major difference between those sports and YGO is that for those sports, your win condition is based upon time being called, in YGO, it is not. In basketball/football, players will keep playing until the buzzer finally goes off. In YGO, it is very likely that you will complete your match way before then. I believe that YGO only has a time limit in tournaments to keep the matches flowing at a decent pace, so you can complete all your matches on one given day. The problem comes up when players try to exploit the time limit like people do in basketball/football and purposely try winning during the end of match procedure. I find this approach to be unethical and downright cheating. If players continue to play cards, and keep the game moving, that is one thing, but if players start to spend 2-3minutes thinking about each move, constantly checking and rechecking the graveyards, etc, then this is where I must draw the line.
Now, there are a few things I must first clarify. In the above story about my friend playing a Final Countdown Deck, I still can’t say whether he was cheated or if he lost on his own accord. On one hand, his deck does take at least 20 turns to win each duel, which means it’s going to be a long duel. However, on the other hand, most of his moves consisted of “draw, pass” and I can’t imagine his opponent’s having too much to think about when they’re locked down by Skill Drain, Clock Tower Prison, and 3 Solemn Judgments. All I know is that he lost every duel due to time because his life points would always be lower than his opponents thanks to the steep costs of Final Countdown and Solemn Judgment.
To help being a victim of slow play yourself, make sure that you are playing at a good pace yourself. If your opponent seems to be thinking a lot in between plays, you have to ask him to make a choice. Try to be as polite as possible, but let him know that you have no intention on having this game go into time. If he continues to stall, you must inform a judge. That may piss your opponent off, but that will ensure that you won’t be cheated by time this duel. If enough people complain about the same person enough times, then they WILL fix the problem. I understand that some players do need to think about their plays to make sure that they don’t misplay, however, I like what a judge told us at my last regionals during the player meeting:
“This is a major tournament. I understand sometimes you might want to check a “Lightsworn” player’s graveyard 8-9 times a turn because it’s constantly changing. However, because this is a major tournament, you are expected to make your plays in a timely manner. This isn’t “practice.” This is the real deal…You must try to make all your plays in a quick manner and keep the game constantly flowing. Slow play WILL NOT be tolerated…”
Now, I must admit, this is kind of harsh for the new players. However, the judge did make a very good point. If this was another practice duel, then they would have “x” amount of time to read all the cards and think about what the best play is. However, this is not a practice duel. This is a tournament. The same thing can be said about taking tests. During the homework, you can spend however long you want doing it until you get the correct answer, but during the test, you have a time limit. The same thing applies in YGO. If you would have done your “homework” enough times, you wouldn’t need to spend as long making any particular play. Just because you failed to allot enough time to doing your “homework” during your off time, doesn’t mean that you get to take all day during the tournament, “test” ,until you eventually get to the correct answer.
It may get to the point during the duel, where both players are indeed keeping the game flowing but time is still about to run out. If this is happening, then I recommend that you change your strategy. Just like during a test, if you only have one minute left, then try to go for the big point questions while you still can. Once again, the same thing applies in YGO. Once time is called and the End of Match Procedure is applied, the victor will be decided by lifepoints so it is very wise to keep yours much higher than your opponent’s. Now, without slow playing and cheating yourself, you must do a 360 degree turn-around with your playstyle. All those “Solemn Judgments” and such become offline. If the duel is going to be over with any minute now, you can’t afford such a steep cost unless you can make up for it in a turn or two. You must try really hard to do one of two things: defend or over extend. If your life points are higher than your opponent’s, then you must try to protect them at all cost. If your life points are less than your opponent’s, you must try to drop theirs down as much as you can. There’s no use in trying to save cards for later at this point. The duel is about to be forced to end, so you must have the “now or never” attitude.
Conclusion:
This article is not meant to scare you. Before going to a competition, ask yourself if your deck can complete a match in under the 40minute time restraint. Don't try to start playing too fast and make a lot of misplays. You are alloted a fair amount of time to think between plays. All this article is meant to do is to encourage you to get good at what you do, dueling. The more you duel, the faster you get. The faster you get, the less of a problem the time limit will be for you. If your opponent appears to be “thinking” a lot, ask him once to speed it up. Tell your opponent that you understand that it’s a hard choice, but he must keep the game flowing because we’re playing under a time restraint. If he continues to slow play, you have to get a judge involved. This is my only recommendation to avoid being cheated by slow play. Winning because of time is not a win condition that should be exploited in YGO. When the clock is getting dangerously close to sounding, change your playstyle to 100% aggro or 100% defensive, accordingly. Abandon all thoughts of “card advantage” and “plus ones, minus ones.” All that matters after time is called, is who has the most life points.
I’ll end with a famous quote from Andrew Jackson,
"Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.”
Last year, my friend developed a really effective deck. It was a Final Countdown Deck that utilized on stall until the 20 turns were up. During the play testing, he constantly defeated us, time after time again. He then decides to take this deck to his first ever regional and proceeds to lose round after round until he eventually drops. The reason why? Time!
A lot of duelists who play, tend to only play casually, and never have to realize the importance of the time limit. This is mostly because those matches are played until a victor is declared. However, after going to a major completion, many duelists quickly learn the importance of the clock. Many, many duels are lost because duelists did not defeat their opponent fast enough and were forced into the end of match procedure. This article is going to address what to do to prevent that, and what to do when time is running out.
First, I’m going to begin this article with a little bit of uncertainty. I'm going to state my mere opinon that I think winning due to time isn't a win condition to strive for. In professional football/basketball, it is a skillful tactic to use the clock to your advantage. It is very wise to change your playstyle and start stalling things out before time is called. In fact, that is a strategy that needs to be exploited effectively to win in those types of sports. However, the major difference between those sports and YGO is that for those sports, your win condition is based upon time being called, in YGO, it is not. In basketball/football, players will keep playing until the buzzer finally goes off. In YGO, it is very likely that you will complete your match way before then. I believe that YGO only has a time limit in tournaments to keep the matches flowing at a decent pace, so you can complete all your matches on one given day. The problem comes up when players try to exploit the time limit like people do in basketball/football and purposely try winning during the end of match procedure. I find this approach to be unethical and downright cheating. If players continue to play cards, and keep the game moving, that is one thing, but if players start to spend 2-3minutes thinking about each move, constantly checking and rechecking the graveyards, etc, then this is where I must draw the line.
Now, there are a few things I must first clarify. In the above story about my friend playing a Final Countdown Deck, I still can’t say whether he was cheated or if he lost on his own accord. On one hand, his deck does take at least 20 turns to win each duel, which means it’s going to be a long duel. However, on the other hand, most of his moves consisted of “draw, pass” and I can’t imagine his opponent’s having too much to think about when they’re locked down by Skill Drain, Clock Tower Prison, and 3 Solemn Judgments. All I know is that he lost every duel due to time because his life points would always be lower than his opponents thanks to the steep costs of Final Countdown and Solemn Judgment.
To help being a victim of slow play yourself, make sure that you are playing at a good pace yourself. If your opponent seems to be thinking a lot in between plays, you have to ask him to make a choice. Try to be as polite as possible, but let him know that you have no intention on having this game go into time. If he continues to stall, you must inform a judge. That may piss your opponent off, but that will ensure that you won’t be cheated by time this duel. If enough people complain about the same person enough times, then they WILL fix the problem. I understand that some players do need to think about their plays to make sure that they don’t misplay, however, I like what a judge told us at my last regionals during the player meeting:
“This is a major tournament. I understand sometimes you might want to check a “Lightsworn” player’s graveyard 8-9 times a turn because it’s constantly changing. However, because this is a major tournament, you are expected to make your plays in a timely manner. This isn’t “practice.” This is the real deal…You must try to make all your plays in a quick manner and keep the game constantly flowing. Slow play WILL NOT be tolerated…”
Now, I must admit, this is kind of harsh for the new players. However, the judge did make a very good point. If this was another practice duel, then they would have “x” amount of time to read all the cards and think about what the best play is. However, this is not a practice duel. This is a tournament. The same thing can be said about taking tests. During the homework, you can spend however long you want doing it until you get the correct answer, but during the test, you have a time limit. The same thing applies in YGO. If you would have done your “homework” enough times, you wouldn’t need to spend as long making any particular play. Just because you failed to allot enough time to doing your “homework” during your off time, doesn’t mean that you get to take all day during the tournament, “test” ,until you eventually get to the correct answer.
It may get to the point during the duel, where both players are indeed keeping the game flowing but time is still about to run out. If this is happening, then I recommend that you change your strategy. Just like during a test, if you only have one minute left, then try to go for the big point questions while you still can. Once again, the same thing applies in YGO. Once time is called and the End of Match Procedure is applied, the victor will be decided by lifepoints so it is very wise to keep yours much higher than your opponent’s. Now, without slow playing and cheating yourself, you must do a 360 degree turn-around with your playstyle. All those “Solemn Judgments” and such become offline. If the duel is going to be over with any minute now, you can’t afford such a steep cost unless you can make up for it in a turn or two. You must try really hard to do one of two things: defend or over extend. If your life points are higher than your opponent’s, then you must try to protect them at all cost. If your life points are less than your opponent’s, you must try to drop theirs down as much as you can. There’s no use in trying to save cards for later at this point. The duel is about to be forced to end, so you must have the “now or never” attitude.
Conclusion:
This article is not meant to scare you. Before going to a competition, ask yourself if your deck can complete a match in under the 40minute time restraint. Don't try to start playing too fast and make a lot of misplays. You are alloted a fair amount of time to think between plays. All this article is meant to do is to encourage you to get good at what you do, dueling. The more you duel, the faster you get. The faster you get, the less of a problem the time limit will be for you. If your opponent appears to be “thinking” a lot, ask him once to speed it up. Tell your opponent that you understand that it’s a hard choice, but he must keep the game flowing because we’re playing under a time restraint. If he continues to slow play, you have to get a judge involved. This is my only recommendation to avoid being cheated by slow play. Winning because of time is not a win condition that should be exploited in YGO. When the clock is getting dangerously close to sounding, change your playstyle to 100% aggro or 100% defensive, accordingly. Abandon all thoughts of “card advantage” and “plus ones, minus ones.” All that matters after time is called, is who has the most life points.
I’ll end with a famous quote from Andrew Jackson,
"Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.”
The secret to dueling: Absolute Value
Thanks to Cloudstrife 189. Source of this article came from http://www.pojo.biz/board/showthread.php?t=775058
Absolute Value: The distance away from zero
This article is going to go into the very unique details of card advantage and all those plus 1’s, minus 1’s people seem to talk about. Welcome to the secret to dueling: Absolute Value.
The basics of YGO may have changed through the formats especially with the inclusion of synchros. However, all cards seem to have one thing in common, they can generate plus 1’s or minus 1’s.
This may initially seem very hard to understand, but once you do, it’s priceless.
The basic formula goes like this:
Each turn we have the potential to generate plus 1’s by drawing a card, adding cards to our hand, adding cards to our field or by sending cards from your opponents field or hand to the grave/deck/RFG.
Each turn we have the potential to generate minus 1’s by paying a “discard” cost, tributing for a monster, having our own cards destroyed or by playing a card that immediately goes to the graveyard.
Here’s a few examples:
I play Fissure. That is a minus 1 because it instantly goes to the graveyard. Fissure’s effect destroys a card on my opponent’s side of the field so that generated a plus 1. In the end, it becomes a 1 for 1.
I play Pot of Greed. It is instantly a minus 1. I draw 2 cards, thus adding to my hand presence so that becomes a plus 2. If you add your -1 and your +2, you get a +1.
I play Phoneix Wing Wind Blast. It’s a minus 2 (one for the card itself and one for the card you have to discard). It removes one card your opponent controls back to the top of their deck which is a plus 1. In the end, it is a 2 for 1 or a minus 1.
You tribute a monster for monster for Caius the Shadow Monarch. That is a minus 1. You remove from play your opponent’s monster. That’s a plus 1. Once again, that resulted in a 1 for 1.
Now, you should understand the basic principle behind it. However, let’s start making it a little more complex:
I summon Caius the Shadow Monarch (-1) and target to remove my opponent’s f/d bottomless traphole (potential +1). My opponent responds with his bottomless traphole (-1) to destroy and remove my Caius (+1). My Caius no longer removed a card from my opponent so he generated no advantage and I'm still at a (-1).
However, let’s look at this:
In the same situation, I use Caius to remove from play my opponent’s monster and he still responds with bottomless traphole. My Caius (-1) got rid of 1 of my opponent’s cards (the monster) so my Caius instantlly became a 1 for 1 this situation. My opponent also used his bottomless traphole, another 1-1, meaning that we both broke even. (This is why a lot of players tend to use Caius/Raiza’s effect to always remove creatures before spell and traps).
Obviously, there are a lot more situations that arise on a duel to duel basis. However, this basic formula remains the same. A lot of the boss cards, however, tend to generate the most broken advantage of “X”, where X can be any amount. Cards like Judgement Dragon can destroy anywhere between 0 and 11 of your opponent’s cards at any given point and can continue to do so every turn. Same can be said about Dark Armed Dragon. Some cards like Grand Master of the Six Samurai can continue to return to your hand over and over again creating a plus 1 for each additional time he does.
*I know there are a lot more examples but this article was just aiming to give people a basic understanding of the principle.
Obviously, players tend to focus on creating as much advantage as possible. However, not all advantage is good advantage. You may have 6 cards in your hand and 5 cards on the field but still have no way to deal with "Judgement Dragon" meaning that all that advantage you have is useless. Advantage is only good at raising the odds you have to counter your opponent and win the duel. If you’re playing a Vennominga deck, it may be wise to waste all your resources early to bring our Vennominga because no matter how much advantage your opponent has, they most likely still can’t destroy her meaning that she’s eventually going to generate all that advantage back. In addittion, because your ultimate goal is to win the duel, eventually try to turn all your advantage into a game winning play.
In conclusion, I call this article “Absolute Value” because you should be trying to generate as much advantage as possible in YGO. The more advantage you have (the further you’re away from 0), the more hope you have at winning the duel. However, don’t forget that there is Hidden Advantage that I spoke about in one of my previous articles that throw some things out of whack and make calculating the exact advantage generated very difficult. I wish you guys best of luck and will end with this,
"In every adversity there lies the seed of an equivalent advantage. In every defeat is a lesson showing you how to win the victory next time.”
Absolute Value: The distance away from zero
This article is going to go into the very unique details of card advantage and all those plus 1’s, minus 1’s people seem to talk about. Welcome to the secret to dueling: Absolute Value.
The basics of YGO may have changed through the formats especially with the inclusion of synchros. However, all cards seem to have one thing in common, they can generate plus 1’s or minus 1’s.
This may initially seem very hard to understand, but once you do, it’s priceless.
The basic formula goes like this:
Each turn we have the potential to generate plus 1’s by drawing a card, adding cards to our hand, adding cards to our field or by sending cards from your opponents field or hand to the grave/deck/RFG.
Each turn we have the potential to generate minus 1’s by paying a “discard” cost, tributing for a monster, having our own cards destroyed or by playing a card that immediately goes to the graveyard.
Here’s a few examples:
I play Fissure. That is a minus 1 because it instantly goes to the graveyard. Fissure’s effect destroys a card on my opponent’s side of the field so that generated a plus 1. In the end, it becomes a 1 for 1.
I play Pot of Greed. It is instantly a minus 1. I draw 2 cards, thus adding to my hand presence so that becomes a plus 2. If you add your -1 and your +2, you get a +1.
I play Phoneix Wing Wind Blast. It’s a minus 2 (one for the card itself and one for the card you have to discard). It removes one card your opponent controls back to the top of their deck which is a plus 1. In the end, it is a 2 for 1 or a minus 1.
You tribute a monster for monster for Caius the Shadow Monarch. That is a minus 1. You remove from play your opponent’s monster. That’s a plus 1. Once again, that resulted in a 1 for 1.
Now, you should understand the basic principle behind it. However, let’s start making it a little more complex:
I summon Caius the Shadow Monarch (-1) and target to remove my opponent’s f/d bottomless traphole (potential +1). My opponent responds with his bottomless traphole (-1) to destroy and remove my Caius (+1). My Caius no longer removed a card from my opponent so he generated no advantage and I'm still at a (-1).
However, let’s look at this:
In the same situation, I use Caius to remove from play my opponent’s monster and he still responds with bottomless traphole. My Caius (-1) got rid of 1 of my opponent’s cards (the monster) so my Caius instantlly became a 1 for 1 this situation. My opponent also used his bottomless traphole, another 1-1, meaning that we both broke even. (This is why a lot of players tend to use Caius/Raiza’s effect to always remove creatures before spell and traps).
Obviously, there are a lot more situations that arise on a duel to duel basis. However, this basic formula remains the same. A lot of the boss cards, however, tend to generate the most broken advantage of “X”, where X can be any amount. Cards like Judgement Dragon can destroy anywhere between 0 and 11 of your opponent’s cards at any given point and can continue to do so every turn. Same can be said about Dark Armed Dragon. Some cards like Grand Master of the Six Samurai can continue to return to your hand over and over again creating a plus 1 for each additional time he does.
*I know there are a lot more examples but this article was just aiming to give people a basic understanding of the principle.
Obviously, players tend to focus on creating as much advantage as possible. However, not all advantage is good advantage. You may have 6 cards in your hand and 5 cards on the field but still have no way to deal with "Judgement Dragon" meaning that all that advantage you have is useless. Advantage is only good at raising the odds you have to counter your opponent and win the duel. If you’re playing a Vennominga deck, it may be wise to waste all your resources early to bring our Vennominga because no matter how much advantage your opponent has, they most likely still can’t destroy her meaning that she’s eventually going to generate all that advantage back. In addittion, because your ultimate goal is to win the duel, eventually try to turn all your advantage into a game winning play.
In conclusion, I call this article “Absolute Value” because you should be trying to generate as much advantage as possible in YGO. The more advantage you have (the further you’re away from 0), the more hope you have at winning the duel. However, don’t forget that there is Hidden Advantage that I spoke about in one of my previous articles that throw some things out of whack and make calculating the exact advantage generated very difficult. I wish you guys best of luck and will end with this,
"In every adversity there lies the seed of an equivalent advantage. In every defeat is a lesson showing you how to win the victory next time.”
The secret to dueling: Its not the Deck...
Thanks to Cloudstrife 189. Source of this article came from http://www.pojo.biz/board/showthread.php?t=769608
I believe that the player, ultimately, decides the outcome of the duel. How he chooses to control that outcome (via the deck), is up to him. Now, sometimes, there is a better way for him to control this outcome via A Direct Correlation. Through this concept, I emphasized the fact that a player can best do this through a proper alignment of his deck with their playstyle.
When a player wins a duel, I want them to be able to say that “I won” as opposed to “My deck won.” Just imagine playing a tennis game and saying that the only reason you beat Federer is because of your racquet. It would suck. It takes away from the personalization of your victory. I always hated playing with a Lightsworn deck because people always made me feel bad afterwards by saying comments like “You’re deck is cheap” or “Anyone can win with LS.” So now I play with a deck where my skill shines through on all fronts. I know that I didn’t have to change decks to please these duelists; however, I like people to see my skill and expertise of the game through complex combos and procedures and felt like a Lightsworn deck wasn’t doing me justice.
Right now, I tend to receive constant Emails/Pm’s/Phone Calls/IM’s/etc about people asking me to review their deck and ask for deck advice. Each and every one of them initially hates my advice. I always tell them the exact same thing. I ask them to spend less time trying to make their deck “perfect” and spend more time working on themselves as a duelist. I tell them, that when I duel, I don’t see my deck as a weapon. I am the weapon. By removing my deck from me, you are not handicapping me in any way, shape or form. Regardless of the deck that I play, I know that my superior knowledge of this game will ultimately unlock a lot of the deck’s potential. If I could get a “Direct Correlation” with that deck, it would unlock the rest. People like to try and prove me wrong and ask me to switch decks with them and I tend to still obliterate them. This is because I have invested so much time into this game that I understand how to unlock almost every deck’s maximum potential. This is because I have experienced so many different players, decks, and playstyles that a lot of the “complex” plays aren’t that complex for me anymore. I’m sure that a lot of other advance/elite duelists could do the same and pick up a random “Skull Servant” deck and figure out the strongest combos/plays pretty fast and play it quite effectively as well.
There are secrets to YGO that can only be gained through experience, whether that be the average strong opening of the “T-set (f/d monster f/d spell/trap)” or concept of “Field Equilibrium (not investing more cards to the field then your opponent).” Figuring out all of these “secrets” is a lot more important than figuring out whether to main deck 1 or 2 “D.D. Crows” in your BlackWing deck. Now, I must be honest, deck construction is a huge thing in YGO, but only at the very end. Once you have maximized YOUR potential, then, and only then should you start working on maximizing your deck’s potential through concepts like synergy and “hidden advantage” to better suit your correlation. I find it a more productive use of your time to spend hours reading Tournament reports and articles like this than it is to go back and forth swapping cards in/out your main deck all night. Just try get to a skill level where regardless of the card that you play, you will play it to the best of its ability.
I see a lot of players that don’t even understand the concepts of Priority or Missing the Timing and they ask me to make them better by fixing their deck. I say “sure” and toss them a rulebook. They read and then ask if we’re ready to fix their deck. I toss them the advance rulebook. They sigh and read it and they ask again. I sarcastically say “sure” and start pounding them with intense questions like:
Do you know every card in your deck?
Why do you play this card?
What deck(s) is your deck best against?
What is your worst matchup?
How would you handle a mid to late game Judgement Dragon?
Is your deck a responsive deck or an Aggressive deck?
Because there is an increase play of “Skill Drain”, how does this card interact with it?
How do you picture yourself winning the duel?
Etc…
By about the third or fourth question, they say “forget it” and ask somebody else. However, that just tells me that they don’t seriously want to get better. This tells me that all they want to do is play with a deck that anyone off the street can play with. I ask these questions because I’m trying to get them to understand that their deck is an extension of themselves. How I make a deck for “A” is not the same how I would make it for “B”, especially if “A” and “B” are on two different skill levels. Building a deck is no easy feat and should not be handled lightly. Now, I’m sure that I could just netdeck some Lightsworn deck and hand them the deck list and that would make them initially happy. I could tell them to just understand the Damage Step and don’t worry about missing the timing because none of your cards can. However, think about it. They didn’t go through all the trials and tribulations to understand why people chose to play with such cards. Only through trial and error can people truly learn. By trying to have them cut all the steps to get to the finish line, they may be good temporarily, but when a new race begins, they’re further behind than ever before. But if you were to drill into their heads a few concepts stated above (T-set, Field Equilibrium, Priority, etc), then if they ever had to change decks again, they would instantly be able to make strong plays and tell the deck’s potential instantly.
To conclude things, I want to restate my high belief in IT’S NOT THE DECK, ITS THE PLAYER! Yes, some beginner with a strong deck may beat you from time to time, however, if you can see that he doesn’t understand some things, exploit them and use them against them.
“I summon Judgement Dragon and pay 1000 LP to blow up the field.”
“Um…do you call priority..?”
“Um..priority, what’s that? Um, no, I don’ t need to…”
“Oh, okay, I’ll respond with Bottomless Traphole.”
…
Now, I’m not saying that you’ll still win that duel, but I’m sure you’ll just be that much ahead in the long run. In YGO, I find it to be more beneficial to focus on consistent victories and take the sporadic losses with a grain of salt. Just remember how pointless the car is without the driver. It’s a cool looking piece of metal, but without you, it just sits there. Like my friend Jack told me, It's bad to take the "new driver, fast car" approach to YGO. Let’s end this article with my revised version of the USMC Rifle’s Creed:
This is my deck. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
My deck, without me, is useless. Without my deck, I am NOT useless….
I believe that the player, ultimately, decides the outcome of the duel. How he chooses to control that outcome (via the deck), is up to him. Now, sometimes, there is a better way for him to control this outcome via A Direct Correlation. Through this concept, I emphasized the fact that a player can best do this through a proper alignment of his deck with their playstyle.
When a player wins a duel, I want them to be able to say that “I won” as opposed to “My deck won.” Just imagine playing a tennis game and saying that the only reason you beat Federer is because of your racquet. It would suck. It takes away from the personalization of your victory. I always hated playing with a Lightsworn deck because people always made me feel bad afterwards by saying comments like “You’re deck is cheap” or “Anyone can win with LS.” So now I play with a deck where my skill shines through on all fronts. I know that I didn’t have to change decks to please these duelists; however, I like people to see my skill and expertise of the game through complex combos and procedures and felt like a Lightsworn deck wasn’t doing me justice.
Right now, I tend to receive constant Emails/Pm’s/Phone Calls/IM’s/etc about people asking me to review their deck and ask for deck advice. Each and every one of them initially hates my advice. I always tell them the exact same thing. I ask them to spend less time trying to make their deck “perfect” and spend more time working on themselves as a duelist. I tell them, that when I duel, I don’t see my deck as a weapon. I am the weapon. By removing my deck from me, you are not handicapping me in any way, shape or form. Regardless of the deck that I play, I know that my superior knowledge of this game will ultimately unlock a lot of the deck’s potential. If I could get a “Direct Correlation” with that deck, it would unlock the rest. People like to try and prove me wrong and ask me to switch decks with them and I tend to still obliterate them. This is because I have invested so much time into this game that I understand how to unlock almost every deck’s maximum potential. This is because I have experienced so many different players, decks, and playstyles that a lot of the “complex” plays aren’t that complex for me anymore. I’m sure that a lot of other advance/elite duelists could do the same and pick up a random “Skull Servant” deck and figure out the strongest combos/plays pretty fast and play it quite effectively as well.
There are secrets to YGO that can only be gained through experience, whether that be the average strong opening of the “T-set (f/d monster f/d spell/trap)” or concept of “Field Equilibrium (not investing more cards to the field then your opponent).” Figuring out all of these “secrets” is a lot more important than figuring out whether to main deck 1 or 2 “D.D. Crows” in your BlackWing deck. Now, I must be honest, deck construction is a huge thing in YGO, but only at the very end. Once you have maximized YOUR potential, then, and only then should you start working on maximizing your deck’s potential through concepts like synergy and “hidden advantage” to better suit your correlation. I find it a more productive use of your time to spend hours reading Tournament reports and articles like this than it is to go back and forth swapping cards in/out your main deck all night. Just try get to a skill level where regardless of the card that you play, you will play it to the best of its ability.
I see a lot of players that don’t even understand the concepts of Priority or Missing the Timing and they ask me to make them better by fixing their deck. I say “sure” and toss them a rulebook. They read and then ask if we’re ready to fix their deck. I toss them the advance rulebook. They sigh and read it and they ask again. I sarcastically say “sure” and start pounding them with intense questions like:
Do you know every card in your deck?
Why do you play this card?
What deck(s) is your deck best against?
What is your worst matchup?
How would you handle a mid to late game Judgement Dragon?
Is your deck a responsive deck or an Aggressive deck?
Because there is an increase play of “Skill Drain”, how does this card interact with it?
How do you picture yourself winning the duel?
Etc…
By about the third or fourth question, they say “forget it” and ask somebody else. However, that just tells me that they don’t seriously want to get better. This tells me that all they want to do is play with a deck that anyone off the street can play with. I ask these questions because I’m trying to get them to understand that their deck is an extension of themselves. How I make a deck for “A” is not the same how I would make it for “B”, especially if “A” and “B” are on two different skill levels. Building a deck is no easy feat and should not be handled lightly. Now, I’m sure that I could just netdeck some Lightsworn deck and hand them the deck list and that would make them initially happy. I could tell them to just understand the Damage Step and don’t worry about missing the timing because none of your cards can. However, think about it. They didn’t go through all the trials and tribulations to understand why people chose to play with such cards. Only through trial and error can people truly learn. By trying to have them cut all the steps to get to the finish line, they may be good temporarily, but when a new race begins, they’re further behind than ever before. But if you were to drill into their heads a few concepts stated above (T-set, Field Equilibrium, Priority, etc), then if they ever had to change decks again, they would instantly be able to make strong plays and tell the deck’s potential instantly.
To conclude things, I want to restate my high belief in IT’S NOT THE DECK, ITS THE PLAYER! Yes, some beginner with a strong deck may beat you from time to time, however, if you can see that he doesn’t understand some things, exploit them and use them against them.
“I summon Judgement Dragon and pay 1000 LP to blow up the field.”
“Um…do you call priority..?”
“Um..priority, what’s that? Um, no, I don’ t need to…”
“Oh, okay, I’ll respond with Bottomless Traphole.”
…
Now, I’m not saying that you’ll still win that duel, but I’m sure you’ll just be that much ahead in the long run. In YGO, I find it to be more beneficial to focus on consistent victories and take the sporadic losses with a grain of salt. Just remember how pointless the car is without the driver. It’s a cool looking piece of metal, but without you, it just sits there. Like my friend Jack told me, It's bad to take the "new driver, fast car" approach to YGO. Let’s end this article with my revised version of the USMC Rifle’s Creed:
This is my deck. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
My deck, without me, is useless. Without my deck, I am NOT useless….
The secret to dueling: Soft Cheating
Thanks to Cloudstrife 189. Source of this article came from http://www.pojo.biz/board/showthread.php?t=749873
I've been playing the game for over 7 years and have attending tons of regionals/ and a nice handful of SJC's. One of the biggest controveries I have ever encountered has been invovling cheating and which ones are allowed and which ones aren't. I've been told by a handful of "pro" players that lots of pros soft cheat and that there's nothing wrong with it. I'm going to go detailed into soft cheating, and at the end, allow you to make your own choice.
I have come to understand soft cheating as a type of cheating that can't be easily detected. People can always justisfy soft cheating by playing dumb and acting like it was an accident or mistake. By this approach, it will be nearly impossible to prove it was intentional, thus not making it cheating. Here are some examples of what I have found to be soft cheating. I will list 5 examples(there are MANY, MANY more) .
Example #1 (Lifepoints)
Player A: Opponent summons Dark Armed Dragon and Player B responds with Solemn Judgement.
The game continues and "x" amount of turns go by.
Player B: "We both haven't took any life point damage yet right?"
Player A: "I don't think so..."( as he hits "clear" on his calculator and resets the lifepoints...)
At this point, Player A has clearly cheated. But what's the worst that could happen? Player B says "wait, you took 4000 from solemn right?" in which case all Player A would have to say "oh yeah...I forgot about that...my bad"...once again, its impossible to tell on if he honestly forgot or if he was attempting to cheat his opponent.
Example 2 (Normal Summons/sets)
Player A: Attempts to normal summon a monster and its bottomless trap holed. He plays some more spell/trap cards, special summons a lot more monsters and in mainphase 2, sets a monster.
Now, I'm sure you guys are saying how can this happen, its so obvious to see that he has summoned already. However, sometimes going against zombies with mezuki's, book of lifes, pyramid turtles, zombie masters, burial from the different dimension,etc it gets really hard to remember what happened 5 cards ago or so. Once again, if Player B attempts to call Player A on it, all Player A has to do it say "oh, I forgot" and just shrug it off and pick his monster back up. Even if a judge was close by watching, the judge could never tell if it was an intential mistake (thus making it cheating) or seriously an honest accident.
Example 3 (Complex Rulings)
Player B: "Attacks with Stardust Dragon into a face down ryko."
Player A: "Destroy Stardust Dragon with ryko's effect."
Player B: "Wait, can't I chain with Stardust Dragon's effect?"
Player A: "No, I don't think so, not in the damage step. Only cards that increase/decrease ATK/DEF can be played in damage step."
Player B: "Oh, that sounds right"(and puts Stardust Dragon in the grave)
Just like before, it is impossible to prove if Player A really knows the rulings for Stardust Dragon and the fact that he CAN be played in damage step, or if he truly thought only increasing ATK/DEF cards can be played in damage step. The way Player A made his argument did seem pretty persuasive and could easily catch beginners to some intermediate duelists off guard.
Example 4 (drawing an extra card)
Player A: Draw for my turn
Announcer: "Has anyone seen a lost black book bag......" (the game gets slightly side tracked and everyone pauses their duels....)
Player A: "Wow, I hope the guy finds his bookbag...Have I drew yet?"
Player B: "I dont think so..., but i'm not sure..."
Player A: " I don't think so either...you just ended your turn. Can I go ahead and draw and start my turn?"
Player B: Sure
This kind of soft cheating can be tricky. What player A did was very clever. He put all the pressure on his opponent before he did an illegal play. By asking his opponent's permission, they both came to an agreed game state. If in 5 turns, Player B remembers that Player A already drew prior to the announcement, it will be hard for him to hold his argument in front of a judge since both players agreed at the time that Player A hadn't drew yet...
Example 5 (milling)
Player A: He has 4 cards remaining in his deck and summons Judgement Dragon.
Player B: Chains threatening roar.
Player A: Ends his turn and "forgets" to mill
Player B: Draws for his turn and passes
Player A: "Attack for game"
Player B: "GG"
Player A: Quickly shuffles his cards together...
Player B: "Wait, did you remember to mill last turn? I think you might of forgot?"
Player A: "Oh, I think I did. Besides, I had 5 cards left in my deck anyways. Its too late now..sorry..."
This happens a lot against lightsworn players. Because so many of their cards mill, its easy to forget one endphase here and there. Most of the time the opponent is so focused on dealing with JD that he forgets to pathetic mill effect at the end phase as well. Once again, unless there was an audience watching, this could be very hard to catch and might just blend right in...
There is a billion more ways to "soft cheat" and I just covered a couple so you guys would have a broad understanding of it. Ultimately, soft cheating is so dangerous and effective because it can rarely be caught or detected. Many times you can't tell if the person is out for blood or seriously just made an honest error. Even after calling over a judge, much can't be done if it's too far past the incident where it occured and if Player A plays dumb. The best way to soft cheat is to ask a question. Ask your opponent if he will allow you to do a move and if so, then its agreed upon.
Example X
You already normal summoned in main phase 1.
Main phase 2 comes along "I set a defense monster and end my turn k?"
If your opponent says "k" then you're good to go..
Now, here's where ethics come into view. If you're dueling in a major competition and some "free" advantage came to you, would you really deny it. If you wasted $300 on your trip to Gen Con Indy, and your opponent is really going to let you activate a costless solemn, or draw an extra card, would you really deny it and lose the duel? Right now, you might say yes, but when you're dueling on the bubble and you might qualify at your first ever SJC/Regional, your better judgement might be agianst you. I must admit, I use to soft cheat A LOT and even convinced me and my friends that it was part of the game. I use to tell them that if your opponent doesn't know all of their rulings and the proper procedures of the game, then it isn't your job at this major competition to educate them midgame. Take all the advantage you can get and play at THEIR skill level. If your opponent tries to summon without tribute and says that this is the way how they were taught how to duel, maybe you should agree with them and proceed to crush them with your hopeless dragon deck, free of tributes for that duel. Does anyone remember those old days where you could draw til you had 5 cards in your hand every endphase? Can anyone say "Exodia!"
However, a lot of things have changed in my life since then and I no longer find it valuable to soft cheat. I admit, because I do know a lot of card rulings, I don't always want to act like I know the proper ruling(s) when I can get away with a more benefical one, but even that has started to change. I have come to respect myself and my team mates a lot more for winning the old fashion way by plain skill. So my question for you fellow pojoers,
To Cheat or not to cheat? That is the question.
I've been playing the game for over 7 years and have attending tons of regionals/ and a nice handful of SJC's. One of the biggest controveries I have ever encountered has been invovling cheating and which ones are allowed and which ones aren't. I've been told by a handful of "pro" players that lots of pros soft cheat and that there's nothing wrong with it. I'm going to go detailed into soft cheating, and at the end, allow you to make your own choice.
I have come to understand soft cheating as a type of cheating that can't be easily detected. People can always justisfy soft cheating by playing dumb and acting like it was an accident or mistake. By this approach, it will be nearly impossible to prove it was intentional, thus not making it cheating. Here are some examples of what I have found to be soft cheating. I will list 5 examples(there are MANY, MANY more) .
Example #1 (Lifepoints)
Player A: Opponent summons Dark Armed Dragon and Player B responds with Solemn Judgement.
The game continues and "x" amount of turns go by.
Player B: "We both haven't took any life point damage yet right?"
Player A: "I don't think so..."( as he hits "clear" on his calculator and resets the lifepoints...)
At this point, Player A has clearly cheated. But what's the worst that could happen? Player B says "wait, you took 4000 from solemn right?" in which case all Player A would have to say "oh yeah...I forgot about that...my bad"...once again, its impossible to tell on if he honestly forgot or if he was attempting to cheat his opponent.
Example 2 (Normal Summons/sets)
Player A: Attempts to normal summon a monster and its bottomless trap holed. He plays some more spell/trap cards, special summons a lot more monsters and in mainphase 2, sets a monster.
Now, I'm sure you guys are saying how can this happen, its so obvious to see that he has summoned already. However, sometimes going against zombies with mezuki's, book of lifes, pyramid turtles, zombie masters, burial from the different dimension,etc it gets really hard to remember what happened 5 cards ago or so. Once again, if Player B attempts to call Player A on it, all Player A has to do it say "oh, I forgot" and just shrug it off and pick his monster back up. Even if a judge was close by watching, the judge could never tell if it was an intential mistake (thus making it cheating) or seriously an honest accident.
Example 3 (Complex Rulings)
Player B: "Attacks with Stardust Dragon into a face down ryko."
Player A: "Destroy Stardust Dragon with ryko's effect."
Player B: "Wait, can't I chain with Stardust Dragon's effect?"
Player A: "No, I don't think so, not in the damage step. Only cards that increase/decrease ATK/DEF can be played in damage step."
Player B: "Oh, that sounds right"(and puts Stardust Dragon in the grave)
Just like before, it is impossible to prove if Player A really knows the rulings for Stardust Dragon and the fact that he CAN be played in damage step, or if he truly thought only increasing ATK/DEF cards can be played in damage step. The way Player A made his argument did seem pretty persuasive and could easily catch beginners to some intermediate duelists off guard.
Example 4 (drawing an extra card)
Player A: Draw for my turn
Announcer: "Has anyone seen a lost black book bag......" (the game gets slightly side tracked and everyone pauses their duels....)
Player A: "Wow, I hope the guy finds his bookbag...Have I drew yet?"
Player B: "I dont think so..., but i'm not sure..."
Player A: " I don't think so either...you just ended your turn. Can I go ahead and draw and start my turn?"
Player B: Sure
This kind of soft cheating can be tricky. What player A did was very clever. He put all the pressure on his opponent before he did an illegal play. By asking his opponent's permission, they both came to an agreed game state. If in 5 turns, Player B remembers that Player A already drew prior to the announcement, it will be hard for him to hold his argument in front of a judge since both players agreed at the time that Player A hadn't drew yet...
Example 5 (milling)
Player A: He has 4 cards remaining in his deck and summons Judgement Dragon.
Player B: Chains threatening roar.
Player A: Ends his turn and "forgets" to mill
Player B: Draws for his turn and passes
Player A: "Attack for game"
Player B: "GG"
Player A: Quickly shuffles his cards together...
Player B: "Wait, did you remember to mill last turn? I think you might of forgot?"
Player A: "Oh, I think I did. Besides, I had 5 cards left in my deck anyways. Its too late now..sorry..."
This happens a lot against lightsworn players. Because so many of their cards mill, its easy to forget one endphase here and there. Most of the time the opponent is so focused on dealing with JD that he forgets to pathetic mill effect at the end phase as well. Once again, unless there was an audience watching, this could be very hard to catch and might just blend right in...
There is a billion more ways to "soft cheat" and I just covered a couple so you guys would have a broad understanding of it. Ultimately, soft cheating is so dangerous and effective because it can rarely be caught or detected. Many times you can't tell if the person is out for blood or seriously just made an honest error. Even after calling over a judge, much can't be done if it's too far past the incident where it occured and if Player A plays dumb. The best way to soft cheat is to ask a question. Ask your opponent if he will allow you to do a move and if so, then its agreed upon.
Example X
You already normal summoned in main phase 1.
Main phase 2 comes along "I set a defense monster and end my turn k?"
If your opponent says "k" then you're good to go..
Now, here's where ethics come into view. If you're dueling in a major competition and some "free" advantage came to you, would you really deny it. If you wasted $300 on your trip to Gen Con Indy, and your opponent is really going to let you activate a costless solemn, or draw an extra card, would you really deny it and lose the duel? Right now, you might say yes, but when you're dueling on the bubble and you might qualify at your first ever SJC/Regional, your better judgement might be agianst you. I must admit, I use to soft cheat A LOT and even convinced me and my friends that it was part of the game. I use to tell them that if your opponent doesn't know all of their rulings and the proper procedures of the game, then it isn't your job at this major competition to educate them midgame. Take all the advantage you can get and play at THEIR skill level. If your opponent tries to summon without tribute and says that this is the way how they were taught how to duel, maybe you should agree with them and proceed to crush them with your hopeless dragon deck, free of tributes for that duel. Does anyone remember those old days where you could draw til you had 5 cards in your hand every endphase? Can anyone say "Exodia!"
However, a lot of things have changed in my life since then and I no longer find it valuable to soft cheat. I admit, because I do know a lot of card rulings, I don't always want to act like I know the proper ruling(s) when I can get away with a more benefical one, but even that has started to change. I have come to respect myself and my team mates a lot more for winning the old fashion way by plain skill. So my question for you fellow pojoers,
To Cheat or not to cheat? That is the question.
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