The Hard Truth About Competitive Yu-Gi-Oh

[@purewhiteloverbizarrejelly]

Whenever I need to get in the competitive mindset, I just imagine what it would be like if I was raised by parents that didn’t love me and topping this event is the only way to get them to even look in my direction

[@wbrodie55]

Sounds like you've never won anything a day in your life.

[@ducky36F]

To deep bro… 😂😂

[@Spanluver]

Paul’s parents obv don’t love him. Dude sells his soul and never topped YCS wtaf

[@Spanluver]

@@wbrodie55 won? You think you win by net decking? Go back to Diablo immortal chump

[@anthonyfantanoisacuckifuck2536]

@@Spanluver You're obviously a triggered Yugiohcel. Take a deep breath and step away from the keyboard for five minutes. You'll recover.

[@BloodPatternBlue]

Netdecking is actually a crucial step in the Yu-Gi-Oh learning process, and does reduce your viability as a win if you follow it too strictly. If you're a beginner and you copy a decklist online to try out, you're able to learn the ins and outs of why that deck works and what makes the pieces inside it good. You're able to learn basic strategies and interactions you're likely to see at the competitive level. You can learn why people run 2 copies instead of 3 for certain cards, what's useful and what isn't. It's like looking at code written by another programmer. While the deck you copy might be powerful and effective, however, without a full understanding of the metagame it can also be your undoing. If (I'm a bit old, so pardon the ancient references) a Quasar OTK deck is topping the charts, expect that not only will people be running it, but they'll be specifically building their own decks to hard counter too prevalent an archetype. From the second that decklist goes up, people are trying to take it down or else tweaking heir own build of it to counter the counters in a rock/paper/scissors manner or beat each other in a mirror match. It's these complexities that lend depth to the competitive environment. Where your choice of archetype isn't an expression of creativity, but your ability to innovate and make effective choices on a card by card basis within the same framework as everyone else. Where it matters whether you chose to run one Test Tiger or three, Gyzarus or not. When in doubt, remember the words of MaRo: "Restrictions breed creativity"

[@kylephaneufmusic]

Netdecking ruined creativity and unique opponents.

[@scorpfgc]

@@kylephaneufmusic learn from your betters it's like learning how to play a sport from a pro then you change those techniques around yourself if you don't know how to learn from others I feel sorry for you in life because you have a scrub mentality

[@ZidaneTribal1989]

Solid point. An example I can provide to this is viewing an opponent's deck list on master duel and seeing it consist of 3 Ash Blossom, 3 Maxx C, 2 Crossout Designator, etc. The way yugioh is today most games you'll win you'll most likely use a card once and if you choose the right time to play a card vs using, you can takeover a game. Most players don't know how to bait and switch.

[@BloodPatternBlue]

​@@kylephaneufmusic playing a unique deck is fine and all, but, playing in a tournament specifically isn't a competition for who can put together a set of 40 cards nobody else has combined before. The goal is to win. Uniqueness and creativity are also very separate things. Building a deck of nothing but level 1 normal monsters is unique, but not especially creative. Nor does it win. Instead, restrictions breed creativity, and the sign of true creative influence can be subtle. Instead of just playing your favorite cards and getting mad when they don't win, having to innovate and evolve a deck from what it was at the last tournament to something that can win is a skill. The metagame is always changing, and changing out one or two cards makes a huge difference at the competitive level. Understanding that deck and why those changes matter requires you to copy those decks and test them out using proxies or software. Netdecking isn't the end all be all, it's the process of providing a canvas on which to innovate.

[@Cetra29]

"Its like looking at code written by another programmer." You are probably not a programmer. If you copy code you need and just use it you understand nothing. It goes so far that code commenting is essential. Even programmers who return to their own code often understand nothing they wrote after a while which is why very clearly written code and thorough comments help. So the equivalent of Yugioh would ve a deck with a very proper explanation and not just a deck you copy and then understand eventually. Copying code and finding out what ia going on is horror and not what programmers want even though it happens.

[@rezaghassemi3044]

As someone already said, this can be applied to any competitive setting As long as it’s fair game, you should expect other people to do their best and you should do the same (if you plan to win)

[@Throrma]

Well the problem in yugioh that sometimes it's not fair but legal... so you have to do some stuffs what you don't feel right

[@GundamShinobi00]

The only “fair” thing in YGO is the deck card limit since you inherently have the power to change that. That’s why people are still complaining about everything else, except deck card limit.

[@EpsilonUnitGaming]

Even just on master duel I got a super hateful message cause I used dragonmaids from the structure deck cause I beat someone using a super old slow exodia floodgate strat. Like bruh

[@pn2294]

@Joseph no it’s a fair game

[@Sage16226]

Ahhh yes. best meaning I'm going to copy pasta. Much skills indeed

[@OniValxntinx666]

I’m somewhere between casual and competitive (I think). I play the most with my friends because we bounce duels off of each other for practice for locals on Saturdays. I only enter locals because I love the game and wanna have fun, so even if I have a terrible night duel-wise, I always end up having fun playing different decks, learning about new cards or cards that I’ve never seen before, different people’s play styles, and learning more about my decks in turn. After every match, every single match, I always wish my opponent luck in further rounds with a smile and a handshake because at the end of the day it’s a community thing and it’d be a waste to have a negative attitude towards an event for a game I love

[@siftheadsdude]

I feel like I can relate. I dont really take the game seriously enough/put in the time to truly be competitive, I prefer to play casually and have fun with friends. But my locals is super competitive so Im kinda forced to play meta decks just so I can at least have a chance to compete

[@ZeonicZaku1-Zeon_Grunt_Suit]

I'm just gonna choose to have fun in my own way. I will enter a big tournament with a meme deck or fun deck, I'm not gonna get salty if I get pummeled by *insert tier 1 deck* but at the same time there's a certain breed of competitive players who just can't understand "having fun" in the sense of bringing a bad deck to a tournament, whether by choice or because of budget constraints. Like one time I had this guy ask me in the most snide manner possible if I was a returning player but I've playing Yugioh in some capacity since I could walk. I feel like some folks just can't empathize with people who aren't sore losers. Like my locals is super competitive so when I enter and go like 1-4 or something to me it's satisfying because I was actually able to win one match with this abysmal deck and I can't believe how many people question how that could be any fun. Believe it or not, while it's nice to win you can also have fun losing. Everyone can set their own standards, it's up to their discretion.

[@tmoney1487]

I enjoy playing ignisters. Something about spending 2 minutes on a combo that ends on an big towers and nothing else is fun to me.

[@theswordoftheevening9865]

Better than EM where you play solitaire not my thing. I play BW/RR with all the broken Synchro's... takes 3 min to build a crazy board.

[@r3zaful]

@@theswordoftheevening9865 @ignister got 3rd place yokohama ycs, do you know how it got that far? Searching vanity emptiness. Its a floodgate deck and combo deck

[@ak47dragunov]

It really shouldn't take all that long, but your opponent typically asks to read every card bc they have no idea what any of them do

[@machina5]

Watching stuff like this makes me appreciate Vanguard more

[@Noojtxeeg]

As a reminder that during the Djinn Nekroz format, people were known to make a gentleman's agreement to side out the Djinn lock, and they were also known to side out Djinn with another copy of the same Djinn. People are definitely going to play dirty, so you'll have to be prepared.

[@7cross288]

lmao

[@randommaster06]

Not getting salty is important for both your tournament performance and for the community. Getting mad impairs your judgment and will make you more likely to mess up again. It's also good for the community as a whole to not be filled with salty players. You don't have to be happy the whole time, but you shouldn't be getting mad.

[@davidvaldovinos1969]

This is why I’m slowly transitioning to Pokémon. The game just feels more relaxing and it doesn’t feel devastating when you lose. In Yugioh you feel your soul leaving you when you lose because you spent so much money on a “competitive deck” when in Pokémon you can build a deck for 40-50 dollars and win with it. That is almost impossible in Yugioh

[@anonymousmods5890]

Facts!!

[@ajshiro3957]

This is true for competition in general. I take martial arts, and one thing I tell people when they ask about getting into martial arts is this. "Do you want to win? Are you ready to lose?" If the answer is no, then don't compete. Your heart has to be in it. Nobody likes a unpassionate opponent.

[@colgatelampinen2501]

Are you saying thah casuals should not exist?

[@bobjones4469]

Yeah but if floodgates aren't legal then it's just gonna be the same 2 decks all the time. Floodgates allow certain lower level decks to be somewhat competitive. Some people play Mystic Mine but it's mostly to annoy people cuz Mystic Mine decks never win big, but it's nice to see some variety.

[@goobiehome3235]

Calorie dense snacks and plenty of water/caffeine to keep you going will also give you an edge over the people that are mentally/physically drained towards the end.

[@darnelltucker9163]

I normally play for the fun of it. I never played a local, but in a regional a few months ago. I saw the difference. I agree that the mindset is different and I've learned to accept that.

[@Sp3llmen]

I've had a lot of experience on both sides. First regionals I went to I played a deck to counter the meta and most people were upset even if I wasn't winning. Then I played 3 different FTK decks at regionals and 1 was with exodia and only a single player got upset. Everyone else wanted to see me get to exodia and say they lost to it as a funny story. From all my decks I've had, I've had people get mad at me for playing the most off meta garbage decks, and mad at me for playing the best deck at the time. No matter what, everyone cant be happy, so just play what YOU want to play. My current deck is meta mixed with bs, and its really fun. But even now I've seen people get mad.

[@ExiorasMusic]

Playing to have fun is the gigachad mindset. If you have fun playing meta - that's great. If you have fun playing casual - that's great. Just have fun with the people around you. If someone is getting salty it's just because they are invested in the game you are having. Taking Ls in stride is classy. If you're salty during the game, that's fine as long as you can laugh it off. If you can't, you have lost the plot and should probably go join the cesspool of league of legends bronze players.

[@yugiohlegend]

I just have to say that please play whatever deck you want at a “major” event. It doesn’t matter if you play Mystic Mine at a regionals, etc. If you need your invite, then you can get it however you’d like. Competitive Yugioh should never be limited as long as cards are legal. On the other hand I don’t think you should show up to a locals playing Mystic Mine since it’s usually more chill and more so for the social aspect as opposed to the competitive aspect, although some locals are super competitive and ignore what I just said 😂

[@rorschach4502]

I get it. I'm literally the only drytron player at my locals and when I win some people just go on and on about how unfair the deck is...as if it's the most unfair or best deck in the current meta

[@mcginger9613]

I’m so glad they added casual mode on Master Duel. Now I can actually practice unique decks without facing as many people just playing to win

[@prestigeicathius4660]

If only that were the case, the sad reality is that a lot of people will still play these unfun decks in casual mode under the pretense of them simply being afraid of rank even with a meta deck.

[@Alexia-ys6yx]

Casual is just Ranked without consequences. It often turns out worse than ranked because of that.

[@NewtBannner]

11:54 Paul hosts the spirit of an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh… Confirmed

[@MikoLotte]

When the Duelist Cup came around in Master Duel, I realized I'd need a different mindset from just playing the decks I thought were fun if I wanted to reach the high levels... and then I finally started using the Adventure Virtual World deck that I had sitting around for weeks

[@WinterShorts0]

I feel like this can be applied towards ANY form of competitive environment, not just Yu-Gi-Oh!. Smash Bros. Ultimate's competitive scene, for example, has Steve, a character that everyone hates basically because of his unique mechanics and tools forcing other players to play differently against him, whereas not respecting what he does can get him to add up a ton of damage on you (and possibly your stock), up to the point where some people want him banned. Doesn't even have to be character-specific: "Lame" play styles like just not interacting with your opponent with a ton of ledge play or running away from your opponent a lot of the time frustrates a lot of players. The thing is though, none of this is banned or cheating, and your opponent is allowed to pick any character on the screen or choose to play the way he/she may do, and no amount of complaining will ever fix that. They're trying to win under any means necessary, and they'll do whatever works. Accepting that stuff like this can happen and learning how to deal with it is one step towards a better competitive mindset.

[@ChadKing69]

Yugioh just suffers from an insufferable fanbase that don't shower

[@moojza]

@@ChadKing69 funny enough as a person in both communities thats a big similArity

[@adamcogan211]

PREACH!

[@nu--13]

Especially ban items and certain characters. 🤙

[@thrillhouse4151]

I can’t stand competitive smash and Pokémon, it’s like my childhood minus all the fun, so all it reminds me of is PAIN.

[@overlystrategic]

This is a great mindset to have. I've always tried to avoid playing what I consider to be "toxic" cards, (banned in ocg but not master duel), because I know how much I hate playing against them, but ultimately since noone else cares maybe I shouldn't either. It's just unfortunate how poorly designed the game is that you ahve to basically sacrifice your own values in order to win.

[@jabermogwai5996]

the current Duelist Cup event make me feel that master duel should update their banlist ASAP, there is no way the bo1 format that have VFD, Scythe, verte, halq don, Io, vanity emptiness and bunch of other floodgates exist at the same time will be fun to play, not to mention the arrival of adventure engine just make every deck basically a handtrap city with some spalshable adventure card, verte DPE and halq don to summon generic extra deck boss monster.

[@pn2294]

Values? This is a game. Values are superfluous to begin with.

[@GundamShinobi00]

@@pn2294 Sounds like something someone with no values would say. >_>

[@prestigeicathius4660]

In a competitive game there are no values. In casual lobbies sure, but in rank modes/tournaments playing fair may as well be playing to lose. This doesn't apply to just yugioh, this applies to every game, even sports. Now, I'm not saying you should cheat but if you notice a weak point in their team, you may want to push over on that side rather than trying to go toe to toe with their star player. That's what it means to win.

[@brianaguilar8283]

@@pn2294 if you need to win at this game to feel a sense of satisfaction, you might have deeper issues going on

[@melvinbrookins6313]

the reason why i disagree with super poly being banned is because the boards that are made sometimes impossible to play through. super poly gives you a chance. it doesnt guarantee victory and it also doesnt guarantee that you will have a target for it for what you are playing against.

[@Amor13267]

This is a *great* video, and I really agree with you on these points. Especially that blame for unfun cards and decks should be pointed at the publisher of the game, not the players. I play Mtg these days in a pretty competitive local scene, and I find it a ton of fun, because we can spend more time playing the games and less time endlessly arguing about what is and isn't fun or should or shouldn't be allowed at this or that level (the reason why I despise commander, tbh). Sure, now and then we lose badly and get salty about a combo deck, but no one then starts telling the player they shouldn't bring that deck--they start discussing about how to beat it the next time. What is so tiring about all these arguments: "Everyone should play their own favourite thing and try to win with that" is a fantasy that I understand the appeal of completely, but one that fails to understand that there WILL always be decks and cards that are better than others. So if everyone should play what they like thematically or whatever, then the player who likes Nekroz or Orcust or whatever is the strongest archetype now gets to win. And alternatively, if they should *not* bring those decks, now they're the ones who can't play their favourite cards, right? In the end, any format will always have a meta, the optimal strategies to use. And whether they use those strategies or not is up to each player---but trying to hold others to a decision they one-sidedly made just to entertain *their* personal ideas of fun or fairness is just a load of bull.

[@somerando86]

I definitely appreciate this video. I definitely know I'm not someone who would do well at being competitive, but it gives me a better understanding as to why some people seem "too serious" at times when I'm watching them play a game.

[@JamesReborn2023]

Your mindset on playing for fun and building fun decks is exactly why my friends and I find ourselves asking each other to duel rather than play ranked on master duel. We have the meta decks for it but we hardly have interactive duels unless it’s against each other with our old school decks and whacky creations we come up with.

[@anonymousmods5890]

Losing is a part of life in general people have to learn to have fun first. I’m not gonna lie I hate it when your playing competitively the person your playing against is serious to the point where he doesn’t smile show some respect to your opponent regardless of the win or loss. Btw this isn’t me complaining it’s just have some sportsmanship. When I lose or win at my locals I always smile shake the players hand and then I move on. Moral of the story just remember it’s a game it’s competitive but don’t forget who you are! Losing is frustrating but you learn from your mistakes! Just keep pushing your limits and grow! Loved the video bro keep up the good work ! Galaxy Eyes FTW! Peace ✌🏼

[@Merilirem]

I just always enjoy playing. I never understood the mindset of hating specific cards or playstyles. I use whatever and my opponents use whatever. Feels like people just like to make up rules and force them on others.

[@jairovera8065]

Hate the cards, not the player. I hate floodgates but they’ve won me games against strong meta decks.

[@anthonyfantanoisacuckifuck2536]

Yugiohcels love using said cards they complain about, they just don't like when other people use them

[@flovibe6950]

Floodgates are fun

[@ManiakGear]

I put all the extra deck monsters I hate in my extra deck and run ghost reaper. Banishing their DPE or Barron while they are in the middle of comboing into them is a satisfaction you must experience.

[@JohnDoe-km9vx]

Paul, when you play yugioh for fun with the new archtypes does it not feel that without hand traps almost every deck just goes off even if they are pure decks. Unlike older decks.

[@elpismi5811]

I just got a deck put together, and am getting back into it. Super fun game.

[@gwyn4534]

People need to understand that when a decklist tops a rly big event, it usually means that there have been a lot of playtest before the event eith various people and decks alongside with a lot of valuable advice for rly strong players behind that decklist. And that is something that noone can achieve just by thinking by themselves how good they thing a decklist is. So yes pls netdeck but also have in mind that that particular decklist was made for the specific event

[@Kris_King]

I'm definitely the "2 sides" type of person, but I both love the duels where you can laugh and embrace the side thats out for blood

[@JohnnyCProduction]

Totally agree! You play in a tournament to win, so prepare to see the same decks and strats. You need to be pretty rich to compete and have a chance.

[@sandycrash8868]

The thing is with yu gi oh is your have to have a sleeper side deck and kidna think out side of the box when making a side deck i personally use fossils fusion as my sleep side deck because so many cards these days go to the grave yard can I can pull out an otk fossils dragon skullgipus and 1 other monster just gotta make sure skullgious hits a monster with under 1000 att or defense

[@skailerderkonigderdiebe5499]

I'm a seasonal competitive YuGiOh player. My favorite deck was Herald of Perfection (pure). When Eva got banned, I switched to Drytron still playing Perfection. Nowadays I can't compete in formats where Maining Dark Ruler No More is almost mandatory. I don't like this format. So depending on the format and whether Herald Drytron is viable, I just choose whether or not to play competitively. I guess this makes me a bad competitive player. Or maybe a bad player in general.

[@CadmonAlima]

You made a good list of reasons why I haven't played the physical game since the first year of Vrains. I'm certainly the type of person who wants to build things optimally, but I also really despise being given steps or being told what to do. It's the journey of learning how to improve my deck through dueling that makes it fun. Can you think of a reason why I should return Paul? A reason why I should be competitive? Because there really doesn't seem to be any room for trial and error.

[@HiroofDeath]

People usually do the testing with friends, at locals or online. Thats where you have room for trial and error. Once you go to regionals and higher you should have a good list worked out.

[@unknownuchi1945]

I've been experimenting with Exosisters because of the amount of cards immune to destruction and the graveyard restrictions it puts your opponent under. Returnia also just such a good trap to help with dealing with monster Negates when trying to break boards. I agree entirely with everything you've said in the video, it's a harsh reality I've only recently come to really accept and I think that's the problem with a lot of newer players

[@Jamal.O]

I have picked the archetype up when it was introduced to master duel but I do not know a good strategy for the deck. I may look for others for help. Like you said, it is capable of graveyard restrictions and immune destruction but I am trying to figure out how to work around the exosister's weaknesses.

[@unknownuchi1945]

@@Jamal.O I could help you, I play tcg so I don't know master duel stuff much. Do you have discord?

[@Jamal.O]

Yes, I do

[@7eraser7]

"Blame the cards, not the player" is a great motto for tournaments. Players will and should always play the best cards available and often these are cards that are unfun for their opponent. And it's ok.

[@Ben-eh6tm]

Hey man I don’t print the cards, I just play em

[@thezestylime0989]

or out of my price range cause I cannot justify spending 450 dollars on 3 peices of shiny cardstock

[@animegx45]

I still blame the player for playing them at locals where the stakes are basically non-existent.

[@phoenixkai9862]

@@animegx45 that's fine, I'll play whatever is legal wherever even at locals.

[@Neptune8]

As a new player , I’ve only played at my locals a handful of times. But I’ve played competitively at other TCGs. I can say yugi is the only card game that I’ve been rule sharked at a locals so o can’t imagine what happens at tournaments that have actual money or invites as a part of the prizing

[@igmz777]

You were spot on about leaving complaining for after the game as complaining in general won't promote progress in ones life, sure complaining can bring up an issue but when it doesn't have a solution in mind, then that's when complaining isn't healthy. Better to find a solution rather than continue wallowing in negativity; better to grow stronger than stagnate.

[@casual_bill8749]

I've been playing yugioh for years right, I've done locals and regionals and I've played at home with friends and family. Me and my wife play each other regularly too. I've met tons of different players and had amazing duels and terrible duels but I've always enjoyed myself for the most part. I think at the end of the day and I've been praised and agreed with by many but honestly every payer must know deep down Firstly you should always play Yugioh for you above all things, because you enjoy playing the game and not because someone else is making you participate. Enjoy the game the way you like to play it. I would encourage everyone to try locals and that path at least one time but if getting together with some friends every now again to pit those crystal beasts against harpies or have a four way last deck standing game then more power to you just enjoy Yugioh and try everything and be decent to other people because this isn't a game you can fully experience on your own. I promise you that if you keep this in mind you will always have fun... Oh! Yes.. And believe in the heart of the cards and get your game on! Go fast if it makes you feel alive rev it up! Summon Your Xyz's swing your pendulums of destiny and link summon to your hearts content.

[@Lucarivyle]

I think that is probably why I play at tournaments so rarely, I prefer seeing many different decks, not always the same. I want to have fun and not to be frustrated and bored.

[@gekkouga-sl7lb]

Paul, could you do a discussion video on proxy/OCG card use at locals? Is this something you've encountered? I had my 2nd locals last week & a guy asked if he could use his OCG cards & he had the translations to hand. I wasn't overly keen on the idea but I let him .After all, if I've spent time collating the TCG cards I need to run my deck, shouldn't my opponent? (I appreciate cards costing £100 is a joke on Konami's part but that's another issue). Anyway he then proceeds to DPE spam. Another guy then asked if he could use some proxy cards for the adventure engine because he didn't own them? Is this common? I appreciate its just locals & mine is very lax (no deck lists, no deck check to ensure min/max) but surely a line needs to be drawn somewhere. Cheers,

[@Jps927]

I wish we had more control over rules/formats for duels , especially in master duel . I find this to be the the best answer to this crazy game and please everybody

[@Samantha_yyz]

I'm not really someone that can really commit to being all that competitive. Like I do get competitive to a degree, but my first priority in all things is do I like what I'm doing. For me whether I'm playing 10hrs of 8 player Twilight Imperium or ranking up in Duel Links and Master Duel, my first priority is to have a play style I enjoy and then see how far I can go with that. When it comes to Yu-Gi-Oh I just can't get myself to care about the meta, I just want to play the archetype I want to play today and see how it does. Cuz when that archetype that I know isn't all that powerful does get some wins, it feels so great!!

[@antman2443]

Even if you Net deck, if you don't know how to use it then you're not gonna win... Skill is still required to pilot it.

[@emperorhadrian6011]

I already have my frog deck prepared for splight format, this will be my format. 💪💪💪💪

[@Law34prez]

This was very grounding and informative. Thanks for sharing your personal perspective

[@TopDeckVillains]

When you sign up and play in a tournament you are there to kick ass and chew bubblegum, but you're all out of bubblegum. Nothing matters except wins if winning is the goal, and everyone who enters and sits at those tables is an equal that deserves no mercy as they will give you none. LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

[@ThatSillyToast]

For me even at local tournaments whether it's pay or not doesn't change the mindset I have of I'm just trying to have fun if my opponent gets mad because they lost more joy for me. Also taking in a lot of the competitive decks I don't find most of them fun so I have to try to find something that's fun for me to play.

[@zacbowen4770]

I remember my first tournament I made it to the top four and I got knocked out by a Phoenix deck and since I had three shots to the world championship tournament with my dragon deck and I will say it is the kind that had trap's don't really bother me from getting a the w in fact since I made the completion of it 6 year's ago it still has been beat only when I let someone else borrow it

[@DrQuatsch]

I will always be a casual player. So I play decks that are rogue tier at best, simply because I like playing those. If I play a tournament I'll adapt my deck to have hand traps and lines to negates and such. However, it will still be the rogue deck I'm playing. It just gives me the most amount of joy. I don't need to win, but if I do win, that makes me more happy than after sweating it out with a top strategy.

[@angelogrotti]

The part about the ego and morale of playing certain decks/cards was good

[@snuggstcg]

It's crazy how many times cards like summon limit, anti-spell fragrance and D shifter have just straight up won me games because they lock out the opponent. I feel bad sometimes for it, but you got to fight broken with broken.

[@meijinx9673]

I wouldn't mind playing a true tier 1 meta deck, but I absolutely refuse to pay $1,000+ for the necessary cards. I'm also somewhat of an accidental meta gamer. I bought Albaz Strike on a whim, and got a Spright Blue in my first POTE pack. I didn't realize at first how respected these cards were. I just thought they looked cool.

[@RipAndShipPokemon-x1]

Money is probably one of the biggest factors, trying to build a new deck such as spright or tearalaments can end up costing so much, and that's not including side-deck or extra deck yet..so unless you have the money to spend on these decks in the first place, you really can't even compete at your LCS without dropping $600-700+..

[@TheBossManBoss319]

I live in a small town. I thought my locals would be casual and laid back but actually people come from 2 larger towns one north and one south to play here at my small locals because it’s crazy competitive here.

[@2001coolchemist]

As a previous "serious" yugioh player I get exactly what you say. I used to have 2 types of decks, my tournament decks which have the most broken cards, and my fun decks which I basically played what I liked and used when I'm dueling friends or in side "at home" tournaments. I do remember the negativity associated with my playing a "meta" or a "net-copy" deck, to the extent that once I brought a copy of a YCS deck list and told a tournament organizer that this is my deck list lol. But like you said, when I'm there to win, why would I play what I believe is second best?

[@subnauticstudios697]

As a Neo-Spacian player the best mindset is "Im not winning this but if my cards provide a large enough migraine than there is a chance they slip up"

[@Ulysses96331]

Rogue decks in a nutshell, otherwise me with Flower Cardians for sure.

[@AusCleric]

As someone that’s come back into TCG and looking into getting in more you provided some great tips especially the tips on playing for fun and playing to win mentality.

[@Aerese1]

Yugioh having one single competitive format complicates the dichotomy of playing for fun and playing competitively because the only format is designed to force one player to win and one player to lose. MtG for example has this a lot easier, particularly with commander/EDH. It's easy to have a whole format that people say "this is for fun" (sure cedh is played, but it's almost an entirely different format). I've seen you on the professor's channel, so if you're not familiar with the rule 0 discussion, I would check out his video on it. I think that would help a lot of casual players in non-competetive environments (like locals with low/no stakes) know what kind of match they're getting into before the game and swap decks accordingly, and if your locals doesn't allow swapping decks, normalize it or just play competitive.

[@slacker101]

I think this can be applied to anything competitive, you need to be cutthroat, before and after the match you can be friendly but during the duel all you should care about is playing efficiently and optimally, good video !

[@slacker101]

@Team APS Plus! seems like a bot lmao

[@Lucifer_isthereal_god]

Personally never see myself dueling competitively, or even going to a locals. I'm not a people person in the slightest I enjoy watching competitive duels though I watched the championships that are aired here on youtube EVERY DUEL. Love that stuff because I enjoy learning, but I only like super rogue decks rogue may not even fit them so I'll stick to having a little fun on master duel and dueling my siblings every once in awhile.

[@meijinx9673]

Agreed. I've never played in a tournament, the strongest deck I have is tier 2 at most, and the only reason I'm trying to collect the Sprights is because I think their artwork is cool as hell. I may or may not ever build a deck around them.

[@RrraverCrow]

If you want to be competitive, you gotta be ready to be bored.

[@theofficialk.a.m...p4760]

It's a money Pit. That loses value. It's not a good investment. Even competing. If there is no real value outside of the game competing becomes useless. No money prizing for a game that consists on constantly spending money.... winning product is a slap in the face.

[@Slothptimal]

You bring up an interesting tournament idea - your position in the tournament gives X points, and the cards in your deck have negative point values. Let's say 1st place awards 100 points, but each Ash Blossom is -3 points. DPE is -7. Every Floodgate is -5 points. And cards not on the list are neutral.

[@3clipser]

I like what Paul's saying here I'm much the same way in wanting to have fun as a preference yet we are the same in the competitive sense that we like to win. My personal issue is that I don't have the money to compete.

[@rashodmasters4299]

I understand the need to turn on the competitive mode for tournaments etc. But to me personally it takes away from a core pillar of the game: creativity. I started building a Dark Magician deck to play competitively a long time ago, back when Magician's Rod was first released, and I spent hours combing through cards looking for tech options which brought me to my favorite card to this day (Jester Confit) because back then you had to figure out routes to get your desired boards with nominal effort. Nowadays when Konami wants an archetype to be competitive they'll release two or three cards that straight up give you unbreakable board advantage off of a single draw. I know it's my opinion but I'd rather watch a first turn Zushin/Gate Guardian or first turn summoning every Summoned Skull vs. Seeing the Adventurer Token Engine for the 30th time because at least in the former examples the player spent time trying to Crack the code and succeeded

[@NewtBannner]

I hated when people got shame for net decking… the game evolves too fast for decks to be effective from a certain lists

[@ChadKing69]

That’s why older formats like Goat and Edison are perfect

[@NewtBannner]

@@ChadKing69 in what regard?

[@ducky36F]

@@ChadKing69 goat format competitive is like 90%+ chaos decks. Its a lot slower sure, but in terms of deck variety and “playing the best cards” its really not as different as people say.

[@Spanluver]

paul: anything goes Cried when people steal his cards Me: hey it’s free real estate, right? You SAID anything to win at tourney, so why should I cry for you TL; DR Don’t play competitive tcg. Ever. In your life.

[@ChadKing69]

@@ducky36F Sure but you don't see people spending over 1,000 bucks on a GOAT or Edison deck every couple months just to compete unlike the current meta

[@1starfalco1]

imagine spending over $2000 for a plane ticket /hotel /transportantion / food. to enter a tournament just to have driver in your opening hand. its really hard for me to be competitive about things that are MASSIVELY rng dependant. how do u know if you where truly outskilled and that ur opponent is better than u when rng says u didn't open any handtraps/ lost the die roll.

[@1starfalco1]

@DRUMMABOY51 "they can play thru them and they can still win a lot of situations" they can only play thru them if rng blesses them with the "out". that's where the joke "just draw the out" comes from. its the reason why a lot of high level competitive duals mostly just end turn 1 or turn 2 because the opposing player just didn't draw the right cards to win. lets take the competitive fighting game tekken 7 for example. there are no rng elements in tekken 7 so the more skilled player is more likely to win everytime. unlike in yugioh where some of the best players just lose turn one because rng screwed them over

[@jairovera8065]

RNG is involved and you can’t remove it 100%. That’s how the game is. What you can do is reduce your chances of bricking by playing a competent deck that can kick off with any 1-2 cards and you’re still left with 2-3 HTs/disruptions in hand. And in your example, don’t play gamma package or go over 40 cards to reduce the chance of opening the brick. Also, some people just really love the game to the point where they don’t mind dropping $$$ on cards and tournaments.

[@ChadKing69]

imagine spending $2000 just to travel to play Yugioh

[@tristantristan8934]

toping one ycs or regional does not make you a good player you need to top consistent and have a good win ratio in yugioh to be great

[@simonpetrikov3992]

@@ChadKing69 traveling is not cheap at all especially across countries like the USA

[@Nghtmare30589]

Same I like the back and forth. I know that you play to win, but OTKing or getting OTK is boring. I miss the older Yugioh were matches felt like a Chess game.

[@kingdragoonmk10]

I feel like a lot of Toxicity Ive seen and felt come from decks purely designed to shut down your opponent to a Unrecoverable (and I dare say Unfair) degree, wether it be Wind ups of old erasing your entire hand , or recently these decks that focus on spamming so many negates and flood gates onto the board that unless you drew "the 1 card that MIGHT reset the odds in your favor but would be a dead draw otherwise" you lose period... And Mind you these decks are often built to handle your 1 "cute little" Ash Blossom... (,-_-,) Playing in first phase of the Master duel Duelist Cup and got floored by some weird Yangxing, phantom beast, Borreload savage, Adventure deck ... Even as I used my reasonably well stocked hand to carefully burn through his Negates , only for him to suddenly bust out Herald of the Arc light in the middle of my turn shutting down any remaining plays I had! Even now I feel like the only hope I would of had to win is having Drawn Nibiru , which doesn't feel healthy if your only option to even play is drawing 1 specific card out of 40 ... (And thats counting Drawing Maxx C to hope it draws you your out ) One of the many reasons I criticize Yugioh Card Design that lends itself to exploitation due to poor future proofing or making Archetype cards with potent and easy to access effects, far to easy to splice into other decks (such as yet another omni negate...)

[@PiePie453]

The frustrating part about card value is that without it, you lose a lot of the competition and what that brings to the table. Some people play just for that value and historically, when card values were low, we saw massive downturn in turnouts, playing to win packs by that point is just wasting time for a subset of players.

[@Radegastly]

I personally want to play the top decks but the issue is the big staples are EXPENSIVE because of their rarity. It should be a card should get their high rarity in a set as well as an easy to get common that way people can use them too and those who want the "bling" can do so. This will most likely help with getting some new players in too since they won't immediately get slammed with the hundred dollar cards in the first tournament they go to.

[@MarioLopez-xs3vc]

It's honestly shocking how the differences in banlists between Charlotte and Hartford turned the deck I main in Master Duel from a Small World hyper toolbox that I'm currently on a format modified version of there into one of the most aggravating stun decks to face since Eldlich realized how potent Skill Drain was in their strategy. I don't know if I'd be able to run Sky Striker as Stun when their toolbox control was the reason I originally picked up the deck there, it gave me heavy Warrior Toolbox vibes and can even run a lot of classic cards well enough. And while running Adventure and DPE stuff in the deck is the current norm anyway, I didn't think 40 cards would be enough to cover all my bases in a Bo1 Ladder so I had to improvise, running a huge variety of hand traps and Kaijus that served as both interruption and Small World bridges. In a format where you only have once chance to take on people, I feel like having more options is especially important when you never know what you're going to face next(and already know how to deal with the most common threats).

[@jordan20910]

I love yu-gi-oh and kinda stopped following it since GX tho were doing friendly matches and play the video games (sill the GX era). Now I'm back, playing and enjoying Master Duel (just solo cause I'll be wooped) but for me I don't think I would be able to play competitively since 1. I don't know how to build a deck and 2. I want to play competitively with my own deck and yeah like the video says to let go of your pride and ego but for me if I copy a deck or use cheap ways I'll feel like I didn't won and like a sham. So for now I'll focus on learning the old mechanics that I avoided and becoming better at playing.

[@yamiyoussouf6154]

Paul ur vids on this channel for sooooo good thanks for your content

[@aizensa9708]

Super casual here, started tcg the past 2 months or so. Playing Domain Monarchs with extra floodgates (Summon Limit, Majestys Fiend, Vanitys Fiend) and yeah people do get irritated at seeing these kinda cards. When you can't afford these expensive meta cards/good staples, sometimes the annoying stuff is affordable. Luckily the people at the locals I attend are super nice, so it wasn't anger but more humorous irritation which i understood, having something just say you can't summon more than twice and you're playing a combo deck is extremely frustrating

[@Efgand0894]

I'm a try hard and get mad if any of my plays gets negated, that's a me problem and a reason why I can't play any competitive games

[@damionbaxter4912]

I would have to say originally matters even in a tournament setting. I was at a major tekken tournament where the top 8 was bob it was so hated in nearly killed the series all together. It was a real up hill struggle coming back from that.

[@damionbaxter4912]

But tekken isn't a card game so the example probably doesn't exactly apply.

[@theWIIISEguy]

Netdeck shaming is cancerous. Imo Its such a valuable tool.

[@Mr.WarwickBot]

I feel like I'm a rouge player. I like the cards I like and I try and make them work. But I understand this... A dream isn't worth eating, if the person you took it from didn't believe in it. To me a win is only worth the effort of the other person tried their best to also win. I want my opponent to kill me if I misplay once, because if I win... It means that in this particular space time. I was the better duelist. And yes deck building is part of the duel. Side decking and deck building in general is what I typically lose the most sleep over lol. All in good fun, but I want you to feel the heat of battle as well.

[@Trick0ut]

if you are showing up to a tournament, and paying to enter and expect to face anything other then the top meta decks then that's a you problem.

[@Prince19912]

Personally though this is what I don't like about competitive Yugioh; its leading people towards the same cards, a lack of variety, and with the prevalence of floodgates and other such cards people are basically unable to actually play the game. If everyone's using cards that say, "Your opponent cannot do x" it sometimes doesn't matter how much money you spent or what cards you brought to the table, you just draw for turn and pass. The idea of "stop your opponent from having fun" is the mentality in Yugioh players' minds that needs to go in my opinion. I should be able to have fun and my opponent should be able to have fun too. That fun should be maintained in a healthy and fair environment and game dynamic that doesn't lead to one player completely shutting out another player's opportunities entirely. Just throwing our hands up and saying, "Well it is what it is" and accepting it is how we got to this power creep lopsided situation in the first place. Why players never actually banded together to say, "Hey, game is headed in a terrible direction, implement something to slow things down or fix these glaring issues" is something I don't understand. But *shrugs*

[@theofficial-twilightdrough1987]

Here’s the thing though man, no matter how much you complain, you have absolutely NO control over what the developers want to do with the game. So if you can’t accept that, then you can’t be mad because as it stands, it’s legal so it’s fair, that’s just all it is. As much as I also hate fighting Meta things in Video-games, that’s just what it is and I just have to remind myself that it’s just a game and they’re trying their best to win. As a Sophomore in high school I really don’t have time to be stressing out about games so it’s a lot easier for me to just get over it and go next.

[@TR_Justino]

I always try to differentiate between competitiveness at locals versus at a regional/YCS, etc. I'm trying to win at locals, but I'll let my opponent know where the imperm column is. I'll remind them of effects I have available on the field. At a bigger event, you can bet that I won't be giving reminders on little things here and there against my opponent.

[@PsychoKern]

We need official "No Meta" tournaments from Konami themselves. Tier 1 meta decks are forbidden. Some generic extra deck monsters are forbidden including some main deck monsters and other cards are forbidden and are on an additional banlist. Rogue decks only, LET'S GOOO!

[@pamoon_]

Playing to win using any tactic possible is always a possibility. I’ve seen a few comments about how this applies to other games or even sports, such as Jigglypuff in Melee or Hack-a-Shaq in basketball. They’re all legal unless the rules are changed, and while the audience and salty losers may hate it, a legal win’s a legal win.

[@animegx45]

I've know about these hard truths for years and years and years and it's for that reason that I've been permanently turned off by major tournaments. I just want to enjoy the game.

[@Docscardcorner]

When I make decks I try to make them as competitive as possible cause I dont see the reason to purposely neuter a deck just for someone else's idea of fun

[@shapeoffour2319]

I feel a switch between playing games i play for fun and then there's that One competitive game where i Just give It my all and It brings a level of stress that often surpasses the fun, so... I tend to play competitive much less

[@scarecrowdem3046]

I'm a casual Player but I'm kinda in this weird in between on one side I wanna have fun with my original decks and try out different strategies but they can also tend to be quite clunky and slow but on the other side I also wanna win because it is quite satisfying to win with my original deck, but if I see a strategy that can help my deck I will adopt it to make my deck flow better. Honestly when I see someone playing for example dpe it may be a bit annoying but I could be playing dpe as well but I don't because I just don't like playing dpe and see no reason to add him to my decks. Also on the the price of cards it's kinda a circle. If a card is strong and works well it will be played. Then if the card establishes more players want to play it meaning more players want to aquire the card. This leads to increasing the price the more players try to aquire it. Also rarity of a card is important here. Let's say a card is UR in one set and it and maybe a C in another of course the C will not cost as much as the UR because the UR is more difficult to aquire, but the UR will probably cost less than if the card only exists in one set as a UR because of the option to play the C version of the card

[@J3rs3y_G1rl]

Honestly, "winning" with cookie cutters deck isn't true winning. It doesn't matter what the excuse is and really, originality needs to be honored way more. Also, let's not forget, there have been plenty of YCS "winners" that had their titles stripped when discovered they were cheating. It happened recently if I'm not mistaken. So not every has noble intentions about "winning". Many have and do cheat.

[@kagemarudono]

When nothing happened but your only opening cards gets negated: "okay I concede"

[@colesmith7230]

Paul I appreciate your sober thoughts on these things. It’s basic logic and common sense. Like you said, maybe these things aren’t enjoyable but it comes with the environment. I appreciate your realism and sharing it with the community.

[@FranciscoSanchezXO]

What’s a floodgate? I’m a Yugioh boomer who got master duel a few months ago and I’m loving it. The game has changed so much , but I made my first deck with flowwandereeze cards and I’m not losing as much anymore! Lol

[@Raminator243]

Floodgates are cards that have continuous effects that restrict the board state. Vanity’s emptiness is the one you might be most familiar with as a floowandereeze player

[@FranciscoSanchezXO]

@@Raminator243 thanks bro I’ll look into it

[@rolandsantos1816]

This is true, that's why we need a lot of hits to make competitive or meta less lean and to actually encourage people to find the next best thing without relying on just new sets. Konami shouldn't protect players investments in cards and properly hit the overused current good cards regularly. I mean 6 months meta of a good strat then hit it hard then let the players find the next one, let it thrive a bit and repeat. Keeps meta fresh at least or until a better balance is created.

[@Bird1912]

They should reprint staples and keep the archetypes expensive in order to make money. But if you want to play a deck that is not using all the generic extra deck stuff then I think marincess is the way to go. It does play generic water stuff like Kragen bahamut and toad but the rest of the deck is just marincess or water extenders depending on list. There are even some water specific cards like white howling that are crazy and marincess wave is like a busted imperm.

[@kuvjason7236]

TCG Konami NEEDS to adopt the printing methods that OCG does. Where the chase card has multiple rarities so that way ALL the players can afford the game. Those who want to bling out their decks will chase the Ultis/Ghosts/Secrets, while budget players will chase for the Ultras. This will ensure everyone is happy

[@angemonblue]

i wanna add another thing, dont be upset with yourself if you dont "perform" well, there are just also things as draw luck and matchups which play a big role too, so try to be realistic about what you couldve done and what not

[@erinmccarthy6434]

For me I’m a casual but if I ever decide to go to a tournament I’d expect all the meta decks. It’s a tournament that’s just how it is