GUIDES - Yu-Gi-Oh - The Card Game

[EliteDevil]

Post any help stuff you have and ill do the same have fun!

[Snuph]

If you are new to Yu-Gi-Oh! or just want to search for cards and improve your deck/collection visit this site: http://www.yugiohcardguide.com/

The site is a complete database of every card in the game (I hope).

[EliteDevil]

cool thanks for shearing that!

[ichimoto]

A great site for card values would be www.yugico.com

A great site for card rulings would be "">www.netrep.com

Of course the two best resources on the net would be www.deckstudio.net and www.roninpro.com. They are the two sites to go to if you want to download the RONIN (Rulings Online Networked Information Node) and Deckstudio programs. RONIN uses the netrep.com database for its rulings but does not need and internet connection except for updating. Deckstudio is a nifty program that uses the same Tournament Card Registry as RONIN to give the users a way to build and test decks before they even buy the cards. Deckstudio even has a feature that allows you to export your deck list into one of several formats, even a YVD format (though that feature is still a bit buggy). The RONIN program is a must for anyone who wants to be a judge at tournaments, and the Deckstudio program is great for perfecting and testing those deck ideas for serious duelists.

[ichimoto]

quick correction on the hyperlink for netrep. this will get you there: www.netrep.net

[ichimoto]

here are a few articles I found to be useful, though the cheat sheet to cheaters may not really apply here since the majority of the cheats require actual cards and the majority of duels here are electronic. Even so, I found the article, as well as the other two articles, to be very helpful

[ichimoto]

Deck Balance For The Beginner

A lot of duelists out there will tell you what ratio of cards to use, and what deck size is needed to win. Now most of what is said is true most of the time, but each deck type has its own parameters to keep with. Rather than go into detail about the parameters for each individual deck type. i am going to lay out some the general rules to follow when building you first deck.

The first rule is deck size. I cannot tell you how many time I went to a trounament and was paired with some kid who had a deck so big, I couldn't even shuffle it right. Thankfully UDE has nearly eliminated this with the new deck size limit of 60, but large decks are still a major problem. I suggest sticking to what I like to refer to as the 4 magic numbers: 40, 41, 42, and 45. If you stick to a deck size of one of these numbers, you shouldn't have many problems. I personally stick to a strict deck size of 42, but feel free to use one of the other deck sizes for you deck.

The second rule is deck composition. In other words, how many of each type of card to run in your deck. This again depends on the type of deck you are using. The official rule book suggests 20 monsters, 10 spells, and 10 traps. Now, this may seem like a good idea at first, but it can have a devastating effect on whether or not you win or lose. My philosophy is never to use more than 8 traps, given how many pro duelists out there run multiple Royal Decrees and Jinzos. I try to stick to 21-23 monsters, and then fill out the rest of the deck with spells. As I said before, although this may seem like a good idea from the start, not all decks will require the same ratio of cards. I have personally seen decks that won consistently that didn't have a single spell card (or trap card or monster card) in them. Now, i would not recommend that kind of deck for a beginner, but don't be afraid to try something like those decks, as long as you properly test play the deck first (which I will cover in my next beginner players guide).

Of course the side deck and extra decks have even more strict size limits (for the side deck, 0 or 15 no more no less. for the extra deck, no more than 15), but the composition of each would be determined by what kind of deck you are running and what kind of deck your opponent is running.

Until next time, this is Ichimoto saying, "Play hard, play fair, and most importantly, play with your clothes on!"

[ichimoto]

Proper Deck Test Playing

As I mentioned in my first article, this article is all about test playing your deck, once you have it put together. Proper test playing can show you what works or doesn’t work in your deck, as well as giving you a chance to see how your deck runs. This step is crucial to complete before you ever take a deck to a tournament. There are two major types of deck testing, testing your deck by yourself and testing with a friend. Let’s take a look at these two testing types.

The first type of deck testing is testing done by your self. There are several different methods to testing your deck by yourself, many of which you can combine to gain a deeper understanding of your deck. The one method for self-testing I like to start with is memorizing your deck. First, you start by organizing your deck, which ever way is most comfortable to you. Next, flip through your deck one card at a time and try to memorize each card. Then, you want to write down the card names of all the cards in your deck. Fell free to abbreviate card names, as long as the abbreviations you use make sense to you and don’t conflict with each other. After you have written down your deck list, on a separate sheet of paper, try rewriting you list from memory, repeating this process until you can write and say your complete deck list without looking at the cards or your original list. Once you have your deck list memorized, it is time to move on to the second method of self-deck testing. For this method you will want to use that copy of your deck list you wrote down in the first method, putting two columns next to the list, one column for positive and one for negative. You then flip through each card in your deck and mark down whether or not the card would help you win if you had no other cards in your hand at the start of your turn. If the card does help, put a check in the positive column next to that cards name on the list. If the card would not help, put a check in the negative column. After you complete this look at your list and if the negatives outweigh the positives, you will have to take a second look at your deck at take things out and put things in, then repeat the first and second methods until the positives outweigh the negatives to your satisfaction. Once this happens, it is time to move on to method three of self-deck testing, the final flip through. In the final flip through, you will thoroughly shuffle you deck (which I will cover in my next article), and then flip the first 6 cards of your deck. You then will take those six cards, which simulate your opening hand, and figure out what you can do with them, both as if yours is the first turn and if your opponent goes first. Repeat this process until you come to a hand of less than 6 cards, writing down on a piece of paper if each hand was good (you had plenty of options) or bad (you had almost no options). Run through this method several time before restructuring you deck, as proper shuffling may fix any bad draws you may get.

The second type of deck testing is testing with a friend. For this type of deck testing you will need a friend with another deck (which they hopefully went through the three methods of self deck testing after building). You then duel each other ten times using your own decks, then ten times after switching decks with each other, marking down how many times you win and how many times your friend wins. This type of deck testing will allow you to see how your deck works against someone else’s deck and how other decks work against yours.

Keep testing your deck using these two types of testing, and your deck will be ready to take to your first tournament. As I mentioned before, I will be talking about proper shuffling techniques. Until next time, this is Ichimoto saying, "Play hard, play fair, and most importantly, play with your clothes on!"

[ichimoto]

slight correction on this last paragraph

Keep testing your deck using these two types of testing, and your deck will be ready to take to your first tournament. As I mentioned before, I will be talking about proper shuffling techniques in my next article. Until next time, this is Ichimoto saying, "Play hard, play fair, and most importantly, play with your clothes on!"

[ichimoto]

bump, so more of the newbies will see my guides and maybe get a little better than they are now.

[ichimoto]

Shuffling Techniques for the Beginner and Pro

As I mentioned in my last article, this article will about the proper ways to shuffle one's deck. At the end of this article I will include ways in which you the readers can get in touch with me to submit your own suggestions for my next article. Now, back to what we were talking about.

There are many forms of shuffling decks of cards, from the classic bridge shuffle to the more complicated pile shuffle. For this article I will be talking about each kind of shuffling, as well as analyzing which will be best for each skill level, beginner, intermediate, and advanced.

The first type of shuffling is the bridge shuffle. This is the most commonly known form of shuffling out there, and it is all fine and well for the decks out there made of nothing but commons and rares or for the deck filled with cards that are already trashed. i would not recommend this technique for those deck that are in pristine condition and full of holofoils. You start by dividing the deck into two relatively equal parts (commonly known as cutting the deck). You then hold the two parts end to end and let the cards fall together, forming a third pile which will end up being the entire deck combined together. The reason this is bad for holofoils is that in order to perform this type of shuffling, one must bend the cards, even if it is only slightly.

The next form of shuffling I will be covering is the pile shuffle. I call this one of the more complicated shuffles because of the length of time it takes and the amount of skill involved in order to prevent accusations of cheating. You start by counting out your deck into individual piles, hence the name of this technique. Some will use as little as three piles, while others will use as many as eight piles. You can make these piles in a straight line, or in a grid. Where the skill in using this technique comes in is the order in which you place cards in the piles. Too consistent a pattern and your opponent can accuse you of cheating by stacking your deck. I tend to start with a clockwise pattern for the first round, then go to a crisscross pattern, then switch to a counter clockwise pattern.

The third form of shuffling is a side shuffle. You take your deck, face down, in your left hand. You then grip all but the last 3 or 4 cards with your right hand and then shuffle the cards in your right hand overtop the cards in you left. You will want to do this several times to thoroughly mix the cards together.

Most people will consider just one of these methods to be sufficient, but it is always a good idea to combine one of these three. If anyone has any other methods they prefer to use, please send them to me.

Now, as promised, I will tell you how to get in touch with me to send in your ideas for my next article. I will pick one of the submissions to use, and the person who submits that suggestion will receive a super rare card from my personal collection. You can email your suggestions to me at [e-mail]. Well, that's all for now, so as always, "Play hard. play fair, and for all our sakes play fully clothed!"

[ichimoto]

The Pitfalls of Equip Spells, Continuous Spells, Field Spells, and Continuous Traps

In this article I will be taking a look at the pitfalls of all the non-monster cards that get to remain on the field: equip spells, continuous spells, field spells, and continuous traps. (Hint: Anytime a card is mentioned by name, simply cut and past that card name into the "Name Contains" field at www.netrep.net to read all of its effects and all the current rulings for that card. I will underline and make bold any card names to make them easy to pick out)

In the current metagame there is so much spell/trap removal that to rely too heavily on these types of spells and traps can mean the difference between victory and defeat. And some of the monster traps (those continuous traps that are treated as monsters) have even more vulnerability now with cards like Caius the Shadow Monarch out. When making your deck, take into consideration the amount of spell/trap removal that is used in your local metagame and build your deck accordingly, hopefully using the deck testing methods I mentioned in one of my early articles. Some of the more common cards have already been added to the banned/restricted list, cards such as Premature Burial and Call of the Haunted, so you won't have to worry about whether or not to add those cards to your deck as UDE has made that decision for you. (Note: Be sure to check the banned/restricted list often, found at entertainment.upperdeck.com, to make sure you deck is always up to date.)

Some of the spell/trap removal cards to look out for are Mystical Space Typhoon, Heavy Storm, Giant Trunade, Cold Wave (which completely prevents spells/traps from being activated or even played facedown for two turns), and Mobius the Frost Monarch. It is usually a good idea to run two or three of these cards in your own deck. Of course there are other, more complicated cards out there as well, but these are more often than not the most commonly used spell/trap removal you will see.

For the spell/trap removal cards that are themselves spell cards or trap cards, spell and trap negation is the key to defeating them. Cards such as Magic Drain, Magic Jammer, and Trap Jammer are useful in this respect, so if you know people play a lot of spell/trap removal in spell or trap form, these cards are your best bet to saving yourself that crucial one last turn that could mean victory. Also, don't forget Seven Tools of the Bandit for you trap negation.

For the spell/trap removal found in monster form, your general summon negation cards and monster effect negation cards are key. Cards such as Solemn Judgment (also good for spell/trap negation), Horn of Heaven, and Black Horn of Heaven all would negate the summoning of a monster, whereas a card like Divine Wrath would be used to negate the summoned monsters effect. (Note: Some spell, trap, and monster effects cannot be negated, so if you are looking at spell/trap/monster effect negation, make sure you know all of the spells, traps, and monsters that cannot be negated to avoid any confusion, and save any judges an unnecessary trip to your table during a tournament.)

Follow these simple rules and you will no longer have to worry about spell/trap removal as much as you do now. In my next article I will be taking a look at the pitfalls of theme decks, which ones work and which ones don't. So until next time, "Play hard, play fair, and for all our sakes, play fully clothed!"

[will rogerz]

nice, destiny hero - plasma negates monster affects too.