Being Good at Yu-Gi-Oh is Overrated

[@hooty6038]

Joey Wheeler was having fun with a deck that had no spells or traps.

[@jaytheshadowpaladin]

Didn't he have all the luck cards? Skull dice and the quick spell dice and all the anime exclusive dice cards?

[@hooty6038]

@@jaytheshadowpaladin It was just in the second episode lol. Joey was getting schooled by everyone until Yugi checked his deck out and found out he had nothing but monsters. After that he begged Yugi’s grandpa to train him.

[@jaytheshadowpaladin]

@@hooty6038 oh yeah you're right i forgot it's something i just gloss over kind of

[@u.a.perfectace7786]

@@jaytheshadowpaladin Yeah he had a lot of luck based cards in his decks. Skull Dice, Graceful Dice, Time Wizard....i think there is more but thats what i remember him using the most.

[@SimpxSlayer-Police]

Joey sucked lol

[@zerrathdragneol3364]

"You don't have to be good at yugioh to-" Every toxic competative player: "They won't find your body

[@josephsandoval1400]

@iiYonko I don't think he implied that all competitive players are toxic. Moreso he's just pointing out the competitive players that ARE toxic.

[@zerrathdragneol3364]

@iiYonko dude... it's a joke about the toxic competative players not competative players overall that's why i said "toxic competative players" not competative players overall

[@CadmonAlima]

It's those nice guys that try to lead you to victory are the ones I hate the most. Taking a loss is fine, but I don't want to be treated like an idiot for choosing a road of almost certain defeat. I can accept pratical advice from people who get what I'm going for, but people really gotta understand what works best is more a chore to me.

[@josephsandoval1400]

@iiYonko huh? I never implied that casual players aren't toxic either, I know that. I'm just clarifying what the original commenter said since he's only pointing out the competitive players that are toxic. And to each their own, your experience with who you've seen to be toxic and who isn't is entirely different from someone else's experience. At my locals for example, we have mostly competitive players, of which a few are known to be toxic. Does that mean there aren't toxic casual players at my locals? No, there definitely is, they just don't come around often because they don't usually seek to play at locals as often as our competitive players.

[@zerrathdragneol3364]

@@CadmonAlima ye i know right those back seat players are HORRIBLE

[@KikiCatMeow]

"You don't have to be good at Yu-Gi-Oh to enjoy it" Me, a Digital Bug player: *cries a single tear of joy*

[@chosenonea2992]

My friend, constantly getting schooled by my digital bugs in Duel Links: You're too good. Me, a generalist casual player: No, I'm not, I just enjoy this deck and it happens to hose yours.

[@Diego-vv2jh]

not playing a meta deck ≠ bad player

[@mightymaz966]

Much respect for your Flying Momoncarpet profile pic.

[@KikiCatMeow]

@@mightymaz966 Momoncarpet supremacy

[@victorapontejr.8244]

Other Digital Bug players exist? Rejoice!

[@selkenshin]

I’m not a Yu-Gi-Oh! player, I’m a Yu-Gi-Oh! collector who happens to play.

[@NeutralGuyDoubleZero]

Probably one of the healthiest mindsets you can have in a TCG. Enjoying the game but game wins aren't the 1st goal at all times. Assuming your wallet can handle it lol

[@TheQuilava96]

Likewise. I just love trying to pull and collect all of the variety of rares (if I can at least)

[@BurningFlamesofDivineDragon]

I love collecting Yu-gi-oh cards and plying the video games.

[@johnwalker1058]

Same. For me, dueling is more about living out the anime and immersing myself into it over a simple competition that I feel like I must win.

[@soupcitybudgetcollecting6146]

"Practice self awareness" good advice for Yugioh and life.

[@octavarium008]

This is basically why I try to avoid the Yugioh subreddit as much as possible. A good portion of the people on that sub tend to have a negative view point or just look down on any deck that is essentially not "meta" or even remotely competitive. And I recently noticed that whenever these same people see someone that is getting back in to Yugioh, they always seem to have this assumption that EVERYONE that wants to get into this game is in it compete at the highest level and nothing less. For instance, one of the most common advice I see is "You should play deck A as oppose to deck B because deck A sees more competitive play. And you should avoid deck B because you're just not going to win many duels with deck B". And I just think this isn't always a great advice for people who are both getting introduced and getting back into the game.

[@lightning2279]

Agreed. My experience on reddit is similar.

[@KingScarletYGO]

This exact topic is what led to me making my latest two videos haha. Some people DID interpret my videos as "Yep, competitive people suck!" which WASN'T the point though. You're absolutely right, self-awareness and understanding the time/place is key in facilitating a welcoming environment.

[@bobbym1799]

@iiYonko can you give examples because the most toxic is competitive infact most casual players don't care about skill because its casual skill level don't matter.

[@SunnyHF-nf4bc]

@@bobbym1799 I think he’s associating casuals with the people who have been complaining about how much the game has changed in the last 5 years. Me, I could care less. I’m trash at the current format, but I’m still enjoying the game.

[@Saixjacket]

Dude has the word king in his handle, you should disregard anything he says. TRASH!!!

[@goofygoober77]

The complexity of understanding humanity and their reactions and consequences to those reactions are based upon the ethical and moral decisions we make thusly and moreover to say one way or the other would be subjective but also having King in your name must mean you’re royalty thusly there is a built-in sense of respect in which we must show you, king❤️

[@Habeev07]

Ill have to ask to read the cards every move. I built an Hieratic Dragons Deck with Horus Lvl 4,6, and 8. Its not powerful compared to modern standards. Like I said... I WILL SADLY HAVE TO READ EVERY CARD SOMEONE PLAYS THESE DAYS to understand anything. Idk how someone can go through 20 cards on turn 1... but thats sadly the gm. Im yet to DUEL anyone even though I have built that deck since December. I came back to the game last fall/winter. I stopped in early 2005 I think and wanna come back but I need to find an LGS and DUELISTS

[@andrijor]

I'm getting new budget decks at the moment but I don't get to play with anybody and my friends don't really have the interest to learn how to play. Just having my decks and doing test hands makes me so happy :')

[@thegreenman8216]

Same my bros not into it as much as me and wont play most of the time

[@TheDucky101]

I run into the same problem

[@u.a.perfectace7786]

Same. I have budget decks but no close by locals or friends to play with. I have the physical cards, just happy to test them : ]

[@scythermantis]

Dang same wish you were around... Southern U. S. perhaps or on the West Coast maybe

[@lightning2279]

I'm basically the same. I usually just duel myself in real life. I do spend a lot of time dueling on yugioh pro tho.

[@joshuawenninger6439]

3:54 Paul: Fundamentally you're aiming to win. Self Destruct Button players: Excuse me!!

[@MsMiDC]

drawing a duel always gets you to the next duel, so if you have no way to win, you draw a game, go on to the next one to win again. Cant win game 3? Go to game 4 then.

[@KrowdesAlexander]

In the words of a guy I used to play with; "if you're Not Having Fun, you're playing with the wrong cards or people. If you just can't seem to win, then you just need to improve your game."

[@austinmooney98]

That man must have been a very good anime side character.

[@curlydolltv]

@@austinmooney98 😭

[@angelemmanuelperezmuniz1474]

@@austinmooney98 I bet he is the protagonist.

[@jeesejames5916]

“What you reading your cards for? They can’t help you.”

[@TheGoldenConnorific]

Slams table PAY ATTENTION

[@TheQuilava96]

“What do you mean you didn’t read your card?!”

[@typhoon3377]

Thank you for addressing this! I literally just enjoy dueling. I know my lightsworns and gravekeepers won't be winning alot, but its about the having fun for me!

[@ciboTHI]

Gravekeepers are winning more than you think right now :)

[@randomprofile5853]

I'd like to see some more support for these archetypes they are fun.

[@typhoon3377]

@@ciboTHI yeah I just love throwing people off with necrovalley and hidden temples

[@typhoon3377]

@@randomprofile5853 right? I'm still waiting on a gravekeeper link monster haha

[@theogking8309]

@@typhoon3377 Same, that's the only way I'll get into using links. 😂

[@bbro43]

I agree with this wholeheartedly. I love Yugioh, love playing the video games, I love watching the anime. Every deck I own is a structure deck or worse. I don't care to make a super competitive deck. Hell I spent half the pandemic going through all my old spare cards, and making decks the quality I would have used on the playground. sure I bought a few cards the spice them up and give them a Xyz or a Synchro. I guess I enjoyed the Yu-Gi-Oh the anime gave me, not the hyper-competitive Yu-Gi-Oh that is the meta.

[@Klunkyman]

There's a time and a place for everything. I think what a lot of "competitive" players don't think about is that the VAST majority of players will never step foot inside a game store, let alone participate in any tournament. Most games are played by friends around a kitchen table and not at a "competitive" event. Tournaments are a great part of any game's profile, but definitely not the be all end all of any game.

[@yato7030]

They know it like I and my friends play competitive and we also sometimes play structure deck duels, older format, etc they also enjoy playing for fun. I don't think anyone thinks competitive yugioh is everything

[@antman2443]

Preach. I remember when I came back to the game with a buddy of mine... we were soooooo bad dude. But we had fun, we laughed and made jokes. It was great. That was 3 years ago, we've both gotten a LOT better at the game and still have fun with it

[@joshcooper467]

We live in a society where the game became too stale and samey to the point where picking up a random anime deck and dueling with your friends mimicking the anime and its charisma is better than the real thing.

[@joshcooper467]

@@Hychra semantics.

[@johnwalker1058]

This is essentially one of the main reasons why as a returning player, especially as someone who leans more favorably towards older series arcs and the more classic cards related to them, I have gotten into speed dueling and collecting speed duel cards.

[@Habeev07]

Me: "shoot I already normal summoned... end turn"

[@chrisshorten4406]

I remember that one of in one of my earliest tournaments, after I had lost against one particular opponent, he saw how bad and inconsistent my deck was, and he used some of his own cards to help me build a new beatdown deck. He was so nice.

[@UntamedDragon02]

Honestly I can't even remember the last time I played YuGiOh but I still enjoy it. I collect the cards, enjoy the art, assemble decks just for the fun of making a strategy. That's my form of fun.

[@drizzt04]

“You don’t have to be good at Yugioh to enjoy Yugioh” Uhhhh yes the hell I do!!! 🤣🤣

[@crossdaboss8914]

But who is really good at yugioh the guy who got top 4 with dragon link or the guy who beat that dragon link player with charmers

[@randomprofile5853]

@@crossdaboss8914 Both are good.

[@bobbym1799]

Trell love this comment

[@OmegaRpg953]

Sup trell

[@JT5555]

don't make me come over there.>:.O

[@MikeJr9284]

I’m a Yu-Gi-Oh novice (my only exposure to Yu-Gi-Oh growing up was the anime), but I enjoy watching both others play it. I also enjoy looking at the card art, especially the spell and trap card art.

[@keio4456]

I think the problem is that people in casual environment looking at competitive environment and vice versa. Both environments are waaaaay different tho

[@Habeev07]

Ill have to ask to read the cards every move. I built an Hieratic Dragons Deck with Horus Lvl 4,6, and 8. Its not powerful compared to modern standards. Like I said... I WILL SADLY HAVE TO READ EVERY CARD SOMEONE PLAYS THESE DAYS to understand anything. Idk how someone can go through 20 cards on turn 1... but thats sadly the gm. Im yet to DUEL anyone even though I have that deck since December. I came back to the game last fall/winter. I stopped in early 2005 I think and wanna come back but I need to find an LGS and DUELISTS

[@lethalshinigami]

@@Habeev07 One day pur boy horus will get more support

[@Pa3kC]

I enjoy making "anime style" decks on legacy of the duelist and using those against the ai. The 50 chain combos while using 3/4 of your deck aren't fun for me personally, I do enjoy watching actually good players play the game from time to time but for me its a super casual hobby.

[@brettsmith9772]

As a player who prefers building up the lore and theme of my decks over consistency and functionality I appreciated this video! (This isn't just a problem in Yugioh, I really like making VGC Pokemon teams themed as well). I don't mind those who try to be the best and play at there best when they are doing it for them. When such players attack me with words (with literal insults (smooth brain, scrub, noob, dummy, idiot, and FAR FAR WORSE) and even abundant profanity), after I have explained my preferences and thoughts process, I get super peeved and demotivated to participate in Yugioh events and discourse. The less toxic and more welcoming a game is, the more likely it is to grow and maintain a sustainable player base. Not every Yugioh player is a hyper critic, however the minority that are Speak volumes above the others and seemingly aren't held accountable for their rudeness and aggressive personalities.

[@justinmadrid8712]

Toxic Elitism in Yugioh is the most cringey shit. These people see themselves as Seto Kaiba, but in reality they are more like Sheldon from Big Bang Theory.

[@mekk-knightsarecool222]

It goes both ways, it sucks. “Competitive scrub you ruin this game” “Lmao casual, look how bad you built your deck”

[@harperusyt420]

you are right.. its just a fun game with endless possibilities... there really is no wrong answer or wrong way to play..

[@darkwolf9637]

4:36 if they released lunalight statues i garentee they would sell ridiculously well but uh... not for the right reason

[@emperorhadrian6011]

Isn't that the problem now.

[@queda5331]

The point of playing YuGiOh in the first place is to have fun. When the game stop giving you fun, you gotta let the game go.

[@elliotgreen3203]

exactly

[@JT5555]

testify. i don't know if it's just hard focus or what,but every time i see anyone at a tournament or something they ALL look so miserable and soulless. like,if you can't enjoy a game unless you win than you shouldn't even be playing games at all.

[@rocketimpossible5196]

I absolutely agree. The people that are getting their self-esteem and self-worth from winning at a card game are beyond pathetic. It's a game. For fun. Arguably for children.

[@dezkightz]

Was explaining this to my friend the other day and he just wasn't having it. It's really disheartening because most of the time the criticism feels more like a judgment of my fundamental decision making skills, rather than simply "Hey, that's a bad move". It's kind of annoying having someone in your ear telling you how dogshit the cards you choose are all the time, or how you don't have good enough cards to trade, etc. I remember back in the day when I couldn't afford my own cards but everyone else got their parents to buy them stuff, and I made it work with my shitty warrior copium deck, and I had fun. Hell I even had a Zane vs Jaden moment on the last day of school that year where I ended up beating the strongest duelist we had (he'd been to multiple regionals, and was running chaos dragons around a format after they had started to decline). I like deckbuilding, I like playing rogue and I like thinking outside of the box. I just hate constantly getting shit for it.

[@shinodax7123]

6:53 & 7:32 really hit home with me personally, it's the main reason I stopped going to locals years ago & why i just play online these days instead.

[@ManosUngidas1]

I love this game at a casual level. I love having merch of Yugioh. It’s amazing that with this 1 game we can enjoy it from different aspects from playing casually, playing competitively, to collecting, to cosplaying, there is so many avenues where we can enjoy this game

[@JT5555]

and all of it started because some japanese guy decided to parody magic: the gathering in his game based manga and it just happened to interest his fans.XD

[@wintorz01]

Thanks for making these videos and having these kinda discussions. Its usually stuff that doesn't get said enough!

[@marshalkagami]

In the grand scheme of things were all 3rd rate duelists w 4th rate decks

[@Lazzle-Dazzle]

I agree 100% There's over 10,000 cards in the game. God forbid you use anything that isn't meta. God forbid you misplay. God forbid you have a style or preference. Every deck I play has EGCs in them. I even play DM with Mahad & Mana with the goal of trying to draw 4 with soul servant. Winning isn't important. Enjoying the game is. If you're going to spend money on this game, play for your own reasons.

[@drstrangejove637]

I loved the Battle Pack series because of this sentiment. The difference in skill between a casual player and the competitive ones isn't that great to begin with; taking away strategies and decks that people are experienced with and the playing field gets leveled pretty quickly. The sad part is that also quickly shows who are the toxic players because the "Good" players Are Going To Lose matches playing that type of format, and it quickly drains everyone else's fun.

[@TheClaiborneJones]

I appreciate this video, a lot of what you had to share about the community is true. Its an interesting phenomena because it seems to be generally the case regardless of the region. I hate that this is the experience for a lot of players and I personally wish it would change. You’re starting the conversation that could lead to that change. Kudos to you, well wishes!

[@megadiamond6691]

I play ancient gears and while It’s not the best deck and I’m not the best player, But I like playing it and I like the cards so I will keep making it better but because it’s not “good”/a meta deck I feel like I can never take it to any kind of event without being looked at like a bad player.

[@randomprofile5853]

It could be good if you are playing at locals.

[@kingknightisbestknight7398]

It's hard to have fun if everything you do get's negated and destroyed before you can even end your own Turn.

[@Ovinee100]

This is frustrating asf, especially online playing with random people who use meta on the casual server.

[@kingknightisbestknight7398]

@@Ovinee100 Yup. I tried out my Necrofear Deck that only has Monsters that can Shit it out in one Turn and one of each FINAL Card with the Support Cards. It's not even a Bad Deck but it gets really depressing when you can't even have your second Turn uninterruptet.

[@TheAshofdarkness]

An interesting conversation would be what is considered being "good" in yugioh? Of course not misplaying or playing around cards would be a quality of a good player, but I find so often people equate being good with playing hand traps and going to tourneys, but is it possible to still be good with a bad deck? Does being a good deck builder or knowing every ruling possible factor into what makes a good player, or does money really determine how good a player can be?

[@Kryptonian42042]

All you said is legit why I watch your channel

[@pxylphilia]

Hey so I'm teaching a friend how to play and he's really enjoying it. I 100% agree. Thanks for these videos btw. I like hearing your perspective on these things.

[@RyansResolve]

I will give my take because it might be of some value. As a pokemon player that was not happy with the state of the game through all of 2020, I ventured out and tried both MTG and YGO. MTG was easy to learn, I picked it up quickly and was able to play within a day or two. I spent a few days trying to understand just the very basics of YGO and ultimately realized there was no way I was going to figure it out without being taught by someone that knows and can answer my questions. Upon asking around, I then realized no one in the game wants to teach a new player, so I gave up. I would love to learn but there is just a massive information wall to get through in order to get to the point where you start having fun.

[@randomprofile5853]

If you have a pc or a console I recommend buying Legacy Of The Duelist LINK EVOLUTION the game is very new player friendly and is a good teaching tool.

[@redranger8107]

Don't Scoop; Before 2008 sure playing a kid at the time; I was down to 50LP and top decked what I needed. Still had to talk him into winning with a monster never would win with and he messed up and I drew what I needed and he could not draw anything he needed as I came back to win. Very rare, but still don't scoop, you really never know if you can do it until you actually do it.

[@RenniganEagle]

That opening line just described be and why I only play the yugioh video games 😂😂

[@Jewao]

It’s the same logic, people might suck at sports but still play them because they enjoy them. You can’t bash others if they aren’t good, if they enjoy it who cares. Most players in yugioh are casual players, who like to have fun and play what they want.

[@ocha6309]

Dude, as a casual player that kind of grew into a casual-competitive player to keep up with my friends, I REALLY appreciated this video. It was reassuring. I play heroes and salamangreats because they're my favorite cards from the anime. I love the game and getting to play with friends but I've always been kind of too scared to go to locals because I'm not very amazing at the game. Maybe once locals start opening up again I'll give em a go and see where that takes me :) Also I definitely understand where you're coming from with the playing more competitively in private so youtube commenters don't go ballistic seeing slight misplays or somethin. That can't be great for your enthusiasm.

[@Zero-eo8pq]

Just because I play a fun deck doesn't mean I don't want to win. I just care about the fun more. I could play dragon link, but it seems really boring.

[@johnathonrouse7581]

Dl is a deck thats fun to play but sucks to play against

[@HucksterYT]

@@johnathonrouse7581 Eh, I agree with OP. Dragon Link is a combo deck that really just boils down to, "Try to do anything to me with all my negates" kind of deck. That's just not fun to go against or even play in my opinion. I want to feel like I actually outplayed my opponent, not just said, "Effect: Negate" 4 times and then OTK next turn. I see why people love playing it, but I'm not one of them.

[@johnathonrouse7581]

@@HucksterYT well see dragon link settimg up four negates through an intricate line of play is imo a lot better than set four backrow that are obvious stun cards. Normal summon alister to get invocation make decently strong fusion pass.

[@HucksterYT]

@iiYonko I mean, in my opinion, yeah. Its like Bujins with Yamato. It's sort of a "protect the castle" kind of strategy where if you can crack their defenses and pop Eternal Soul you feel like you actually did something.

[@HucksterYT]

@@johnathonrouse7581 to each their own. If you can play through handtraps with Dragon Link and roll with the punches then its interesting but if they have nothing to stop you and you open full combo then it's essentially just a) summon this monster, b) activate this spell, c).... n) end turn.

[@haxmode6935]

you just need to be about as good as the people you are playing

[@inspectorcode5165]

Facts

[@tombuglear8094]

Grandpa Moto?

[@haxmode6935]

@Oligoden it's not people being asses, it's decks having different power levels and someone with a good deck vs a structure deck is a really unfun time

[@Zero-eo8pq]

It's also important to remember that Yugioh doesn't give straight cash prizes, precisely to try and discourage over-competitiveness

[@randomprofile5853]

See Yu-Gi-Oh is owned by Konami,Kazuki Takahashi & I think the guys that have V Jump or Nihon Ad Systems. And the thing is that Kazuki Takahashi didn't want the tournaments to give cash prizes due to fear of toxicity. Although even without cash prizes pre-covid tournament numbers were rising so imagine the numbers if they would do cash prizing. Although if you ask me cash is cool but it's the dueling part where it's at.

[@Ser--]

Dunno about that one. Japan can't give out cash prizes. And I'm pretty sure international yugioh is just cheap.

[@Daniels216]

Paul, say that shit louder for the people in the back to hear!!! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🗣

[@timbitz079]

I honestly enjoy friendly duels more than competitive duels. I’m a person who plays decks that are, in Cimoooo’s case, Decks in everything in his tier list. Because they’re decks I’ve been playing for awhile and when I take them to events and if I ever win a round against players with Tier 1-2 Deck, they get upset. That’s what I don’t like about going to events.

[@thecowboyofoklahoma5866]

"Don't play to win...." Yeah, I've been told to just kill myself for that line.

[@thecowboyofoklahoma5866]

Or this line... "If you're not playing top tier, your not a real duelist."

[@nemo0036]

@@thecowboyofoklahoma5866 Then you point out creators who routinely do well with rogue and off-beat decks (PAK and Yishan come to mind). OR if they are losing... "You're losing to a non-meta deck. So what ARE you?"

[@thecowboyofoklahoma5866]

@@nemo0036 exactly. Yugioh amino is all about fancy decks with meta or tournament builds in mind. Got most of my personal toxic haters from there. They called me toxic because I was talking about how the game was played in its early days, how we didn't know the rules very well and the whole fusion material wasnt a thing until later and we considered it a form of tributing.

[@thecowboyofoklahoma5866]

@iiYonko when did I say "all online players?" Pretty sure I just said I've been called certain things or heard things.

[@nemo0036]

@@thecowboyofoklahoma5866 I know right? Most of us basically just went with how the game was portrayed in the anime! I remember I basically had to struggle to trade cards when I was younger (i.e. start from scratch) because I couldn't justify buying them, let alone asking my parents to buy them for me. Yeah, I really don't see how it's toxic to reminisce on the past. I get that the ages of YGO players can range from pre-adolescent to middle-aged, but sometimes the behaviour makes it hard to discern people. It's strange when you realize us older players (though I'm kinda casual) grew up in a time before Facebook and KZbin, let alone the Smartphone.

[@shawnjavery]

Its relative. Any game where you don't have at least a good chance to win isn't fun over the long term.

[@TheBossManBoss319]

I want to be good at Yugioh, but I’m so far behind on how the game is played I need an informational series to get caught up, but there just isn’t any. Like I understand the summoning mechanics, but I don’t understand the thought process on modern deck building and play.

[@TheQuilava96]

I recommend stopping by a card shop and talking to some yugioh players there for advice. Also when it comes to deck building it all depends what you want your deck to do and keep in my the ratio of cards you want. The best way to know what ratio you want for each card is to test duel with your deck. You’ll start to see how useful a card is to you that way. Hope I could help a little bit :)

[@HongFeiBai]

You don't have to be good at Yugioh... If you believe in the heart of the cards.

[@lethalshinigami]

Such a breath of fresh air that you talk about alot of the things I'm sure many of us have been thinking, but that i don't really see discussed (personally).

[@theebagger4425]

From an outsider looking in, that also comes from a Magic: the Gathering background, I appreciate that the top “pro” players are barely mentioned or discussed. Professional play, in general, seems like an afterthought. Which honestly I believe is healthier for a TCG than having celebrity-status pro players take control of the conversation.

[@TrianglePants]

Too bad both games are being run into the ground alongside Pokemon. Long live the fanbases, I guess.

[@gearhead6042]

I've been playing the game since the beginning of the TCG in the US but I took a huge break from about 2010 to 2017. Around the time I quit I was actually trying to play more competitively and I actually did pretty well for someone just starting out at majors and bigger events but the problem was that I was just miserable. I couldn't play the decks I wanted, I had to spend whatever money I had to keep current with the meta and I was so miserable that I was salty even when I was winning. This wasn't the only factor for why I decided to quit as I was just starting college at the time and needed to focus on other aspects of my life. However when I came back to the game around Spring 2017 after a long absence it was mostly because I felt nostalgic after watching DSoD and decided that I needed a hobby again that took me out of the house and would let me interact with other people. At that point I realized that I still had genuine love for the game and everything I love about it is something that stops being a factor at highly competitive levels of play. While I wouldn't call myself a casual player, there is a lot of room between competitive and casual and most people seem to think it's a binary between the two. The truth that I found is that the ultra competitive scene of just about every game, TCG, video game, ect. statistically segregates themselves into their own sub community and it becomes a situation where an absolute minority of the player base has a monopoly on being "the voice" of a game's community. Really you just have to ask yourself why you play a game and what you get out of it that you enjoy. For me, it's playing at a semi-competitive level. If a game isn't fun on at least some level then it's a waste of time. A repetitive, unrewarding task that you do for the expectations of others is what we call a dead end job. Not a hobby.

[@johnwalker1058]

Well said. Games are for fun. If you aren't having any fun playing, the whole purpose of participating in the game is undermined and defeated.

[@TheJmack90]

Yeah the try-hards are highly annoying. Had a discussion yesterday with a guy about Mystic Mine and Dragoon that devolved into him flipping his shit and calling me all types names. I’m like bruh...you’re seriously angry over pieces of paper.

[@whambamduel]

This is something that I've kinda secretly believed for as long as I can remember. Y'all can have your tournaments, I'll be over here with my 3 different Blue-Eyes decks. And ya know what? I dropped $30 on ice barriers. I think they're *cool.* And I might even drop another $30 on an Obelisk deck, just because I think it's also pretty neat.

[@Zack4343]

There was a second of silence at the end of the video lol, super funny. Good video though. I love hearing ya'lls perspective on this stuff.

[@lordseitsemas3867]

I'm a competitive player and a yugituber with an ok following (around 3k subs) and wow this video is so accurate. The toxicity in this game is probably its biggest turn off and discourages many new players. Just alot of gatekeeping and judgment when it's, in my opinion, supposed to be about fun and continuing to get better instead of needing to be perfect.

[@randomprofile5853]

True, although toxicity is in every media. There is no media or franchise that has a perfect fandom. Been in groups like (Attack on Titan, PlayStation,Xbox, Nintendo) and honestly speaking I rather talk to the Yu-Gi-Oh community over any other.

[@lordseitsemas3867]

@@randomprofile5853 excellent point as I've made some really good friends through the cardboard

[@Yeshyouwa]

only a third grade duelist with a third grade deck would think being good at ygo is overrated

[@TheRoninKaz]

I can totally agree with this. I'm not really that good at this game at all, but I still find plenty of enjoyment just playing what I like even if I lose. I've had some bad experiences with people both online and at locals, those are just the type of people you gotta ignore and not let them ruin it for you.

[@JT5555]

i also just play what i like: i got my MANY theme decks (cause i'm a huge anime nerd and speed duels have made it SUPER easy) but i also have my main deck and my main deck ONLY has cards i personally like in it (hell,just today i ordered three spy monsters despite not having anything that goes with them: i just like the monsters). i still try to make them actually work,mind you but i would NEVER sacrifice personalizing a deck just to keep up with the "meta".

[@yourturn5059]

I think as a global community we need to practice one thing: respect others for playing the same game you love the way they love! I love casual play but I won't hate on competitive players. At the end of the day it's just shows how broad of a game yugioh is that so many different minded people are able to play the same game. King Scarlett did an excellent video on this a few days ago showing its possible to get along with both casual and competitive players!

[@randomprofile5853]

True but some competitive & casual elitists don't get that or don't want to do that and that's why there's some toxicity but those are just a vocal minority.

[@yourturn5059]

@@randomprofile5853 I think you just nailed the problem; casual/competitive "Elitists". These type of people will never accept other people's views or opinions but you find them everywhere in life. Unfortunately they are always the loudest in the room and hard to ignore. That's why we need people like Paul and Scarlett to counter the noise and promote diversity in the game.

[@Nikpredmi]

I got back into Yugioh heavily last fall and tbh i dont even duel much. I build decks and collect what i feel like collecting and i love it! ill go on my switch and play the yugioh game if i want to keep up with current tactics in yugioh. Its all about how you make it!

[@johanandersson8252]

Know what. You and your team got me to build the Ultimate Obedient Fiend deck and this is my twist on it. MONSTERS. 3x Agent of Creation - Venus. 3x Mystical Shine Ball. 3x Ultimate Obedient Fiend. 3x Herald of Creation. 2x Hiita the Fire Charmer. 2x Familiar - Possessed - Hiita. 3x Red Resonator. SPELLS. 3x Star Blast. Monster Gate. Foolish Burial. Lightning Vortex. Instant Fusion. Monster Reincarnation. 2x Axe of Fools. Card Destruction. Mystical Space Typhoon. TRAPS. Divine Wrath. Compulsory Evacuation Device. Bottomless Trap Hole. Call of the Haunted. (The Hiita Package is backup if i can’t negate the Ace monster)

[@davidsparling9631]

Card games are based on statistics and overall information gathering. Its not about winning or losing all the time. Its about learning and getting better while having a good time on your journey

[@justanotherguy1782]

If anything, you got to be careful of players who'll likely assault you if they lose a duel. Remember that one story in the original manga where Yugi got beaten up by this unnamed villain known as "Street Fighter" since he won against the guy for a couple of rounds? That can also happen in real life.

[@pamoon_]

I play Dustons to punch my opponent in the JAW for 8 stacks with a Goblin King. The deck dies to one Ash Blossom but damn is it fun. And I don’t care if the deck isn’t good or isn’t meta. It’s fun!

[@Dreadwyrm]

Success has always been associated with worth in every aspect of life. Like it doesn't matter what it is even if it's not competitive, people will make it competitive.

[@JT5555]

it's a children's card game: people aren't ALLOWED to be that arrogant about it.

[@floridaman6982]

People are like that with everything too, like you can optimize literally anything not worth it imo.

[@samwilkins4569]

I don't care about 'backseat duelists' or whatever...I just love seeing duels. I've never played tcg but I've played a lot of the video game versions, growing up. Yugioh is so different nowadays, and watching people play the current format (especially with TeamAPS' personalities), is fun and informative. Please never stop posting duels!

[@Cagne123]

I've loved Yugioh and never had anyone in my life that I could play it with. I have a friend who has gotten into it now and he had help building a few decks by a competitive friend of his. It is frustrating to lose to those competitive decks (lair of darkness and Sacred beasts) when I'm committed to playing my deck archetype (Albaz Lore is very interesting to me), but at the same time I prefer the fact that I can get better with edits here and there. An I am proud to say that I have beaten Sacred Beasts 3 times in a row recently while still losing to Lair of Darkness. This is also showing me that my deck can counter and drive at a balanced pace. I have plans to participate in a local event next week! I can't wait to see other players strategies and work my way around them!!

[@freddyinferno2]

This is the reason I stopped playing smash bros. My brother would keep trying to tell me what I did wrong and why I couldn’t beat him and it just made me hate the game for years. I play very casually now but it drove me from the game for a long time. I feel like the same applies to this as well.

[@daviddent5662]

Recently in commander I had a sort of positive backseat playing moment. I was playing a theme/political strategy deck (Among Us in card games basically) and it brand new to me despite having played paper MTG for more than year now. I cast an artifact and would have used all my mana but my opponent in my commander pod leaned over and untapped it then tapped my artifact showing me that while it could be used to give others mana it could also be used on their turn so I could keep some floating. Just a really nice thing to do despite the fact it gave me a little edge. This is the kind of backseat playing I wan to see. I will say when I'm in a live stream I sometimes chuckle and say "Uh if you do that you die you realize right?" or "Ugh...Not this clan. They give me PTSD!" and stuff and this Paul-cast makes me think perhaps I should try to be a little less like that next time. Thanks for that, Paul.

[@Ahloveyafuhso]

Been playing the game for 19 years... I have to be somewhat good at the game to enjoy it.. I'm casual and semi competitive at best.. but not meta level. I make alot of character decks and a few are anime based with a morden twist I love it though. It helps me think outside of the box... and create different builds.

[@TheItalianoAssassino]

I enjoy playing rogue decks with friends or custom formats with friends.

[@vincere_]

Do tell more about these custom formats, please.

[@simas4609]

It's true. I was at one tournament and I was 7th out of 10 players and it was amazing experience. I enjoy Yu-Gi-Oh even though I'm losing. Of course it's better to win but still Duel itself can be more interesting than winning.

[@leeeyles1864]

Some challenge ideas for the main channel; monsters with less than 1000/500 atk only, only normal monsters, only level 3 and below monsters, $10 challenge - both players have $10 to spend on singles and build a deck to then use. You could do 1v1 or tournaments with these ideas since the pool of cards are massive.

[@Bopnan]

Preach it, Paul. I don't play Yu-Gi-OH, the last time I did was before I finished high school over ten years ago and I actually never played by the rules (my friends and I played by anime rules). My entire interaction with the franchise boils down to YGO KZbinrs like you or Cimo, The Abridged Series, the YGO Forbidden Memories speedrunning community and me buying the cards because "oooh, shiny cardboard :)". I just enjoy seeing stuff about this insane franchise. I've wanted to learn how to play the game but I don't know where to start, I can't find people to play locally because of the pandemic and online tools like DuelingBook and YGOPro are made for the experienced players (I tried Duel Links but I don't like freemium mobile games with microtransactions).

[@NARFNra]

I think this is really important as someone who's new to YGO from other card games because... among other things this game is really hard, even amongst card games! It's full of crazy combos and rulings that aren't always consistent and stuff like that. You can't get good at the game unless you just spend tons and tons of time practicing it, and idk, not everyone has time to do that lol

[@randomprofile5853]

If you're going at it competitive, yes it's complex. But casually it's super basic.

[@NARFNra]

@@randomprofile5853 i mean it really depends, like, if you're talking about cards released in the last few years, playing any archetype usually requires a lot of practice beyond learning the basic rules. obviously it's one thing to play the game with just your friends, but i feel like this whole topic revolves around enfranchised spaces - game stores, etc, where "people getting more involved with the game" actually happens. and it's especially important in this era when people mostly have to play online too because you don't see all that much casual play online. can't even really do it easily on duel links, which is a much easier meta to learn. it's just not super inviting for people so it think it's important not to be a jerk to people for not being good at it

[@MrBagboy007]

I think you are right still a shame that you won't do deck profile because of this issue, I have found your channel with your Exodia deck profile and from that I got back into the game

[@MrMisterJW]

Also, some of us aren't bad, we just purposely play decks we enjoy the most. Cyber Dragon Power Bond OTK is my favorite build of the deck, so what if it's not what's topping? I enjoy it. Let me play my deck, and you just play your deck.

[@mahtorta2095]

Paul, making you better at life and inadvertently making you better at YGO

[@andrewc8663]

This is the main reason why I am a locals player. Everyone at my locals have known each other for 10+ years, and we all for the most part play different decks that are outside of the meta. It makes things a lot more fun, and enjoyable especially for new players who show up. We never, and I mean NEVER bash anyone for not having knowledge on certain aspects. As far as backseat dueling, we use it more so for helping new players learn. If all you say is " that deck is trash, " that is not constructive criticism, and most of the time makes new players not want to play anymore.

[@frosttheweavile461]

It’s shame because I got a lot of my deck ideas from this channel. But I understand. You were right about everything you said. When I started playing around the tail end of plant synchro, people were far too serious about this game. Like to the point of bullying (which is ironic if you ask me) and it almost made me quit. Now it’s more chill and people are willing to help (at least at my locals) newer players.

[@TeamSNGYuGiOh]

Paul I love this. This whole philosophy of everyone should play the way they want is why I started yugitubing. I wanted to show off casual more fun and creative decks and give everyone a platform to do this too.

[@vareos9874]

i often play "bad decks" just for fun. nothing wrong with losing a couple of matches if youre having fun

[@Ambibop]

At my locals there are a ton of people who show up every week just to play the decks they want to play. And just as many who show up just to show up. Not even to play, just for the community aspect of it.

[@chz1696]

Can you do a video on how it's hard to find products at your local dept stores? Card scalping is on the rise now and I'd like to know your take on it.

[@JT5555]

they already kinda did on the main channel: wal-mat mystery decks vs target mystery box.

[@TheDucky101]

I'd say this is true to a degree. I don't think anyone wants to be bad at the game, but no, I don't think you need a 1,000 dollar deck to like the game. I'll use mortal kombat as an example. I like to be good enough to play online but not competitively because at that it feels less like a game and more like a job. Then the curve becomes so huge that your friends can't play you because then you're "too good"

[@angelcandelaria6728]

I appreciate this video. I agree with you very much. Thank you brother. Keep up the good gatekeeper work! We need more of us. Protect the newbies they are the future!

[@moe3120]

I wish my store had a casual ygo scene,it's either dead on most days or fully comp, I'm an MTG player wanting to get into ygo but the store just ain't it

[@mattmors8025]

playing with friends, having fun, if we missplay we laugh and gg.

[@SeanandStephaniesAdventures]

Yeah :D

[@joselira7779]

when you talked about backseating and stuff and issues with streamers, it reminded me of why "Yummy Bakura" now "sleepy gibz", quit streaming/playing duel links. Besides not getting much support to keep making content from Konami, people were straight up back seating and being a complete ass to her it was ridiculous, so she can't stand the game anymore

[@WhoEatsZombieBrains]

getting back into Yugioh, i gotta say playing those more classic archetypes before archetypes were really a thing is what I missed most about the game and building decks around that has been so much fun, i dont worry about all the synchro link xyz pendulum shit yet and just play something most people could learn in a day

[@michaelnelson1127]

I agree with this. My favorite deck has been Odd-Eyes for several years, but I’ll admit it doesn’t have the best track record (at least with my build). 2 weeks ago, I went to my first locals since the pandemic, and I brought my Odd-Eyes deck as a sort of “welcome back” gesture. However, everyone else I went up against was playing meta decks, and I proceeded to lose every match and ended up in dead last (and I’ll admit I got a bit pissed). Despite that, I still love the deck due to the versatility of it and the plays it can do if it’s able to do so, and I’d still be willing to duel with it in casual matches. But hopefully I’ll do better next time with my new Dragunity deck.

[@DemonLlama25]

Love this, I get soo much crap for giving my 2 cents when it's asked because I suggest "bad cards" for decks or enjoying a "bad deck" or "bad sets." But whatever. I'm having fun.

[@mastermtl936]

Sounds like at locals I was waiting for firewall to come back because I play code talkers. I was told I shouldn’t really play the deck to sum it up but I enjoy the deck and the combos all the different ways to end on some crazy boards