History of Duel Links - The 5Ds Era - Part 2

A deep look into the History of the releases of Duel Links, their impact on the game, and the overall meta over the course of the 5Ds Era.
Come catch me live on Twitch! / the_law_ttv
Thank you all for watching, this has been a labor of love over the past few months and I'm just so happy that it came together in the end.
Playlist of Music in Order Played: • History of Duel Links ...
Resources Used for Research:
www.duellinksmeta.com/
duellinks.gamea.co/
yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Yu-Gi-...
yugipedia.com/wiki/Yugipedia
A special thanks to all of my friends who helped me with all the different stages of development, it truly means the world.
Video Chapters:
Recap and Intro: 0:00
Warriors Unite: 0:37
KC Cup - April 2019: 3:31
Neos Fusion: 8:51
Lords of Shinning: 10:51
Tag Duel Tournament: 15:40
Return of the Red-Eyes: 17:32
Blazing Rose: 20:00
RRQ 2019: 25:20
Guardians of Rock: 29:06
The Flames of Vengeance: 33:11
Cybernetic Rebellion: 34:38
Full Metal Desperado: 38:08
July 2019 Balance Update: 39:43
Soul Polymerization: 41:45
World Championship 2019: 43:03
Curse of Dread: 44:16
Destiny Decided: 46:45
Valhalla Calling: 47:55
KC Cup - September 2019: 51:04

[@FagnerLSantos]

Another travel in this time machine of memories, Shiranui and Invoked are coming in the next videos.

[@nikoleunig7932]

😢

[@SilentBower]

Oh god

[@alfian4653]

Still can't believe they released Invoked in DL, a deck that's still relevant in TCG right now. That was their worst mistake

[@idosarts_and_krafts]

N O R M A L S U M M ON A L I S T E R 🤣 sorry but i had to make that joke! even tho i didn't play invoked i know the meme

[@enzojose4001]

@@alfian4653 And they din't even released the good fusions, only the worst ones, and it still become tier 1 either way.

[@albertomarine2023]

I never knew this series existed but I'd like to add some information since I grinded my ass during RRQ and had the honor of being humilliated in group phase of wcs 2019. For RRQ, lava golem cheese was nowhere near as ubiqutous as suggested, the only player abusing it really was Dkayed (we weren't region locked so I would have known otherwise, I hope). Instead, neos koaki was a lot more popular as the emblematic neos deck (still using the lizard otk too). For RRQ, being powerful isn't as good as having fast wins, so for example metaphys and buster blader were seen as viable rogue decks that barely did anything (despite a good red eyes matchup) while a deck like Ancient Gear was still being used to climb due to its very favorable subterror matchup. Subterror shaped the meta because it was the best f2p deck by far, so it was "overrepresented" and, therefore, countered often. Regarding rrq, there was also important hybrid decks like subterror neos (which carried me to second place EU) and koaki blue eyes (using melody to search maximus and koaki ice as a snipe hunter replacement). For the WCS, a very important factor was that not only were we forced to play 5 completely different decks (2 of them with legendary rules), we also were unable to register decks containing cards we didn't own. This is why I ended up with vampire and metaphys in my lineup, or how the guy from Egypt ended up playing Yubel...and we both got destroyed (1-8 and 2-7 iirc). Magnets were a pretty much mandatory legend option, and the second strongest was assumed to be ancient gear (Kobayashi sweeping everyone with crystron changed our mind pretty quick lol). For standard options, premium decks were those that didn't rely on staples like tth, so for example spellbook was attractive even though it wasn't very powerful in the meta. Triamid was the cheap deck everyone used (except Kobayashi) so there was actually an argument for using ancient gear as standard instead of legend too, but this was unincentivised as soon as we knew deck ordering would be declared at the start of each matchup (the only rule being you were forced to play in the order: standard-legend-standard-legend-standard). We were also upset to find out each round was given less than an hour to finish since a lot of us had played bo3 tournaments that took longer per round and this was a bo5. In the end, there were no issues miraculously because we played either too fast or losing to the in-game timer instead of the round one, plus there were no hardcore stall decks like in the past. Either way, glad to see someone interested in duel links history, will watch following ones to see what's been of the game since I quit right after wcs since I believe a f2p player like me (only spent money on structure decks for cards unobtainable otherwise) has no chance of ever winning a wcs that forces owning 5 strong decks for their format

[@jayveasey]

I know this is 6 months old but damn I always wondered how would I as a F2P player ever make it if I have to own multiple decks that can actually compete without spending alotta money. Basically only whales and decent playing whales can win worlds or even compete at that level when you need multiple expensive decks. Crazy but it's awesome you made it that far! #Respect

[@albertomarine2023]

@@jayveasey correct, basically anyone can qualify (most important factor being mental strenght), but only whales can win it all (and you probably need whale friends to test the format too)

[@birdbr4in_383]

Watching these videos is like looking in to the past and experiencing it at the same time, even though I joined during the xyz era so I am looking forward to the xyz video Edit: spelling

[@nunocarvalho6671]

I remember these times

[@thecursed_1lordofcats738]

Onomat was relevant throughout all of Zexal.

[@Bigg_frigg2.]

I started early dsod era. I enjoy these videos

[@galesturms]

Seeing Red Eye’s Fusion without the Dragoon alongside it is so strange. It’s likely not gonna swing in for a while, but I look forward to the nightmare that might bring.

[@Андория]

I hope we never see Dragoon in DL

[@zzxp1]

They might as well nuke the servers that day, that card should not hit the game in a 20 deck size and 4k lp format.

[@riroufudo]

Even rainblw neos with neos fusion might be really dangerous if anaconda comes out

[@riroufudo]

Wait if yuri comes out what if he had a skill that ados anaconda but you can only spécial predaplants and fusion dragons

[@thej9589]

This is my favorite era of Duel links. So many different metas, so many cool archetypes with different playstyles.

[@Lightmaster677]

I remember Fortune Ladies all too well. I went all-in on that deck and Carly Carmine was the first character I worked to max out the level on. Soon after, I had to switch phones and couldn't transfer my account. Devastating. Also, Red-Eyes Fusion requires that you can't summon at all that turn, not just after you use it.

[@shuckelsfph3180]

Omg I am going through this exact situation 😞... Fortune lady deck was so much fun and milling out the packs for the 3rd fortune lady calling was a nightmare...

[@ricardofernandez8485]

The first time I played Duel Links was when the Six Samurai Decks were Tier 0. I had developed my own Six Samurai Deck (Doing a combination of Shinai, Kageki and Mizuho, instead of focusing on the classic Shien Synchro) and using Six Strike - Triple Impact magic card to either destroy the front or back row. The combination brought me up to Legend 3.

[@Springy05]

Since i have been away from the game since DSOD, its great to see a recap for what I lost, while I struggle to build a blue eyes deck

[@raina1848]

Idk wtf they were thinking with those Lumis and Umbra skills. Masked Tribute and Light and Dark were WAY too good then. I was seeing these two f-kers absolutely everywhere and not loving it. Same with some of these structure decks with the start of "uSe tHe bRaVe nEoS" in just about everything and the start of Sartorius' coin flip BS with Desperado.

[@thecursed_1lordofcats738]

Even after Sartorius was nerfed, Bandit Kieth would still allow coinflip decks to be viable.

[@yugi.boomer]

Fuck desperado man. That card made head judging/cup of ace fucking BROKEN

[@flameconvoy7424]

Still using six samurais today, though I will admit it’s not exactly a top tier deck, it’s still a lot of fun

[@nunocarvalho6671]

Without the consistency, the deck is pretty sad

[@flameconvoy7424]

@@nunocarvalho6671 it’s still pretty consistent with a single dojo, but a bit weak without multiple enishi and generally can’t beat over more powerful meta decks

[@nunocarvalho6671]

@@flameconvoy7424 if you play less then 2, you're playing wrong

[@flameconvoy7424]

@@nunocarvalho6671 less than 2 dojo or enishi? they're both 2-limited.

[@V-Jes]

@@flameconvoy7424 I mean, if you go first and get a Dual wield on the field it's still very likely an easy win if the opponent doesn't start with 2 backrow removal cards because how BS that trap card is...

[@IrregularHunterDash]

This was where I started playing the game again. I was wondering what where the meta decks during this time.

[@AngelGomez-bw7fs]

I remember playing cipher soldier in every deck in six sam era

[@adriannaranjo4397]

_Going fast makes me feel alive~_

[@ChrisLaKujo]

My heartbeat in hyper drive~

[@princesscrystal6410]

@@ChrisLaKujo if you think you can win

[@juanrios6479]

@@princesscrystal6410 only if I lose

[@flamewizard9022]

@@juanrios6479 Just let destiny choose

[@nunocarvalho6671]

Light/dark was hit cause of six sam cause enishi and the dark lv4 non tuner that summon itself when a tuner is summoned can search each other, so the deck was stupidly consistent

[@spider-lad5572]

I remember joining duel links during the end of the last video so this video is just a blast from my beginning and me getting stomped because I had no idea what I was doing. 😂😂😂

[@drizzho]

This was my peak era of duel links, thank you for the memories. So many six samurai nightmares, loved when I figured out how to counter it and still lost duels 😂😂 Triamid was my only KoG deck. Had a lot that got me to legends but never won 5 in a row. Triamids with Balance was an answer to all the meta at the time.

[@kionafu]

this videos are amazing man, i've enjoyed this series so much and i'll be sad when we get to present day. keep doing what you're doing!

[@worstspytf2824]

This series makes me sad I didn't get into Yu-Gi-Oh until recently but also fascinates me with what I've been missing.

[@Alv2329]

Damn, this hits right on the feels, my first meta deck in the game was Six Sams, good memories

[@thundermarisol]

Same, love Six Sams so much

[@theinternetofficer6594]

My first deck was pre-berserkion magnet warriors. I remember having to play against subterrors, dlords and 6sams. So many memories

[@thundermarisol]

@@theinternetofficer6594 The memories indeed

[@avatarwansweirdclone457]

Bad memories for me, I despised them and I stopped playing DL for awhile because of them. I came back again recently and still kind of loathe going against them despite them not being close to meta anymore.

[@theinternetofficer6594]

@@avatarwansweirdclone457 i play 6sams because tristan needs SOMETHING as his deck

[@IWriteTooMuchForBleachIGuess]

36:57 You're *drowning* me in puns here. You know for as much as I love Synchros, I could never figure out how to use Crystron, or maybe I just lacked the higher rarity cards to make the deck work, or *maybe* I'm just dumb. Anyways, love your content.

[@mr.protagonist5639]

I figured it out and man was it strong when you did

[@sarthakarora3212]

You will never be able to play any deck made since 2014 then, actually since 2007.

[@IWriteTooMuchForBleachIGuess]

​@@sarthakarora3212 It's ironic because I play Archetypes introduced after the years in question and I'm sure *they are* more complicated. Learning a new Archetype takes time. Hell, why do you think players need to stop and read cards in the middle of matches?

[@deathgrinn001]

Liked and subscribed. Please continue the series. I like being able to listen to this in the background especially since I continue to enjoy Duel Links. Thank you.

[@lordwarryl5712]

I love your series, I just can't put it in to words

[@michaeldeeping2452]

I've waited so long for this, I know it's gonna be great

[@golderzoa]

Been really enjoying this series also i was one of those all monster anti meta sphinx players but i didn't have time to do Stage 2 lol Mad respect on the research you have done for this must take a long time and the edits make it easy for others to understand experiencing these metas and remembering parts of metas that gave me PTSD remembering how much i raged at certain decks and playing against them i did manage beating a f2p six sam deck with ojamas which was kinda funny been playing this game since it released in America after i watched DSOD movie and downloaded the game as soon as i got home all these series give me so many memories thanks for providing this series for people that don't know what the metas were like back then i still play the game and enjoy playing in duel rooms more then ranked now in days hopefully we can play sometime. well done sir! listened to every part of this video!

[@hyperspacesushi]

The fact Koa'ki Meru were ever like,, meta is just...mindblowing--

[@yugi.boomer]

Yeah they literally did nothing in the tcg but less deck space means you can find the cores easier lets them be op af in duel links

[@LynnLyns]

We're getting closer to the eternal format of the unkilleable zombie deck

[@stardust9470]

Funny how both games had an eternal format in 2019

[@kevand2898]

This is when I started playing. I was nostalgia baited into Dark Magician and 6 sams and Geartown were the bane of my existence 🤣

[@SusPyro1]

i drop the game in june of 2019 and a im back now in late october 2021. this videos saga really help me to understand some things, so i really appreciate the work.

[@banyuwangy232]

This was the time i started playing, so it was nice to recollect old memories

[@GM_Rusaku]

Yay! I've been waiting for this!

[@evantherandom3169]

Not even one minute into the video and I'm already getting Six Sam war flashbacks And minutes later we have Neos Fusion which I don't wanna talk about

[@tylersteak]

Amazing video. Took me back

[@PatricioMarino]

Loving the series. Just a little correction, Block Golem protects rocks from destruction by Card Effects, not battle. It's worded oddly but that's the effect.

[@TheKiryuverse]

33:11 that's where it all began and to think only soon after the birth of DSOD world would it go on to be a pretty popular deck

[@pokeperson1000]

Beat birthday upload ever. Thank you

[@ereainfrozenrain829]

Keep em coming brother. These might be some of my favorite videos on duel links every since I got back into yugioh a few months ago.

[@esmo9728]

this is the era i came back to duel links one of my favorites

[@zainy_inc154]

Great video man

[@fameman1239]

Great series!

[@herohunter64]

As soon as the end of 5D’s was coming, boy did September 2019 to forward was big one. Good thing I was there to experience it all.

[@ctusiard9755]

I have such love for Fortune Laies, my first meta deck, KOG and KC Cup 2nd stage.

[@goodandfren3926]

Man i was late yo te party since i was in late 2019. Well thanks to show us how did the duel links meta worked.

[@CharmCityGamer]

Hooray its here! And may I say I DESPISE Six Sams, those things are impossible to combat! Thank you so much for this series, its so informative!

[@xrounder1235]

Thanks for the vid

[@ElPikminMaster]

36:46 Hello my favorite deck and my favorite card in that deck!

[@74URS74]

Cant wait for normal summon aleistar

[@pieromorantearenaza4801]

Next episode: the eternal format

[@runningoncylinders3829]

Feels like just yesterday we had the 6 Sams and Desperado formats. BEWD and TD soon to come.

[@DamnItMarco]

Happy for the success of this series from you law! You've gotten better each video and the growth has been insane. I know the hard work you've done and the outcome has been insane. Keep up the work!!

[@ThePencilWizard]

I remember seeing the Lapis Lazuli deck once and looking at the ban like "who asked for this?" cause I never saw her.

[@Ramon____OC]

Oh my gosh, i want more and more

[@golderzoa]

also the music choices fit every chapter of the video i wanted to mention that as well

[@genkeikyou]

Your voice is so good, its really suite for document video xD

[@BigE1293]

I joined duel links when it first came out then deleted the app around the time synchros were added. Unfortunately when I redownloaded the app, Konami didn't have a way to recover old accounts that weren't linked to a Konami ID so I had to start fresh right when Six Sam was tier 0. My fondest memories of that time we're playing F2P cipher soldier decks just to counter six sam and amazoness, setting 3 spike shield with chain, then watching smol brain players swing in for game 😂 Thanks for this trip down memory lane

[@frankalba8036]

"Amazoness refuse to die" that is now Thunder Dragon

[@aidenlin2817]

This was the good old time when Konami released two boxes every month, and almost every one of them has some degree of meta impact. Recently, we are just looking at almost the same meta for months :(

[@zzxp1]

For one part it sucks, for the other i feel relieved not every box is relevant because keeping yourself in the game is extremely expensive.

[@tlsenator1221]

The real g’s watch this episode a day early 😎

[@mountain8337]

How did you watch this 1 hour earlier like what???????

[@GhostieCROChannel]

After you finish making ZEXAL era you will need to wait for ARC-V era to be complete

[@yaccothetaco720]

I remember the Six Sam Meta. It was VERY stressful when you were going second. You just know you won't be able to establish a board without getting negated/bounced back.

[@chrisf.9595]

I think this is around when I first started playing Duel Links This thumbnail gives me Vietnam flashbacks istg

[@alisethera9349]

My very first deck was fortune ladies, and it never once occurred to me to use the skill so I didn’t have to a second spellcaster in my hand.

[@imnotayoutuber8494]

I started playing like 2 months ago and I just can't wait to see the onomats era along with thunder dragons out, harpies. Watching this just seems so crazy as to what is out now lol

[@davidmitchell2421]

You think this is crazy just wait till we get to dsod with invoked element saber and shiranui which are 2 of the most powerful decks ever printed in the game.

[@zzxp1]

My boy dodged shiranui at their peak, you are so lucky.

[@I_Am_Bowi]

hyped

[@aominedaiki8916]

Ur vids r superb. When is the next episode bro

[@Miss_Eldritch]

Omg this is when I joined and I can confirm this

[@Bigg_frigg2.]

Tag duel tournament is so fun

[@ChaoticMeatballTV]

This series is so dope as someone who's only played Advanced and Speeds, so thank you for making this!

[@SaltedNeos]

And from here, my boi had the only impact on any meta in any version of yugioh he'll ever have.

[@aominedaiki8916]

Can u make video on Ranking the strongest decks in dueling in their prime

[@engame1702]

i dont get why this channel dont upload videos like this more often... these are like their magnum opus

[@bodkimalone]

eyyy amazoness was still meta here back in 2019? as a modern amazoness player, I am a happy boy :)

[@rizki4077]

Next video is DSOD era Or must I say Invoked era

[@lordvaust5830]

God, I remember these metas. Playing through them as a free-to-player was a nightmare. It was Shien this, Neos, that, Red Eyes here, Subterrors there. The meta during that time was one of the most aggressive and unfriendly I’ve ever played in. Especially if you couldn’t pay to play the best meta decks at the time.

[@josephdoria5237]

Shien we’re the bane of my existence back then.

[@takeikun8200]

you nailed the pronounciation on tez

[@dimitris1601]

Nice video , dsod next pog

[@AnimeNewsRadio101]

Remember when everyone summon one monster to avoid dual wield and what a foolish move they did. I didn't play dual wield when play six samurai, even those weevil players I'm smart to avoid that golem in play and use debunk to stop kuriboh plays. Also, I was invited to WCS 2019 and did not see it. 😅 Sooooo? Yeah.

[@kenthartig7065]

Wait wasn't mask change unrestricted and nerfed after a while because of certain decks? Or did it start like this and later get buffed?

[@kerwinwarner2743]

The hero has uploaded again. That you dueling hero

[@Naschduelist]

Six samurai still hurt me to this day, just dominant for a short period of time before getting their first nerf.

[@fluff5]

I love your videos

[@DraganDE]

I have never played Duel Links and thus really enjoy these videos even tough I have no intentions to start the game anytime soon. One thing that strikes me is how frequent a new set releases in DL. I always wonder how it is possible for any player to stay on top of all these releases. Isnt that very draining to always have to adjust to new cards being added quickly?

[@JustsomeDUTCHdude]

It depends on how serious you play the game and are baited into getting every deck as soon as it becoms meta. You can be spending roughly 300 bucks every month whenever a new box gets released if you want to yh. Personally I have spent only 90 bucks on this game since april 2019 (which happens to be the start of this video) and I can still easily get to legend 1 every month. Which is 1 tier lower than the highest rank.

[@DraganDE]

@@JustsomeDUTCHdude Thank You very much for the clarification. 90 USD seem well spent especially in comparison to the advanced TCG formats.

[@zzxp1]

Yes it is, the game is not wallet friendly at all, if you want to stay relevant you must spend wisely and even then some of the best cards on the meta are behind paywalls like selection boxes. Playing 'fun' like dark world is out of the question as those decks are usually dispersed through multiple boxes.

[@montolonzo3836]

the dark lord meta was fkn wild

[@ToaArcan]

Red-Eyes Fusion _and_ Crystrons? The TGC players are having their... well, I was gonna say PTSD, but it's more like _ongoing_ traumatic stress disorder...

[@r4nd0mguy99]

Red-Eyes and Crystrons were also annoying in Duel Links. Especially Power Of The Guardians and Ametrix, also Quariongandrax. Fuck those cards!

[@TheSandwhichman108]

What was the most painful banlist update in your personal opinion? Like for example finally being able to get a certain card only to see it’s been hit by the tri limit mark or something?

[@ferdinandpurczeld234]

We finally reached stuff that I actually used, but we are still not up to the point where I joined. Man, I joined late to the party. >_>

[@hexie5620]

51:26 it's me smile :)

[@wilfridekoue1405]

good times with six sams meta i miss it so

[@najate2]

i love your videos

[@betoverse8370]

Nice

[@doomadreadon]

Everytime I faced Six Samurai on the ladder they piss me off Everytime I faced Subterrors on the ladder they piss me off Everytime I faced Ancient Gears on the ladder they piss me off Everytime I faced Amazoness on the ladder they piss me off Everytime I faced Darklords on the ladder they piss me off I was very surprised that Ancient Gears and Subterrors did not get hit though they were very strong

[@coryinthehouse2960]

I LOVE Darklords, it was the first deck i built when playing duel links, the archetype is so fun and the concept is really neat. Its a shame what they did tho, running hang on mach and star seraph just made the deck a target of a banlist that would kill forever my dark faries :c

[@pkwytv]

I’m excited for you to get to invoked

[@nomnom2407]

Those were some great times when Red-Eyes was top tier.

[@raina1848]

It's still one of my favorite structure decks, too. I love red-eyes.

[@DemonGiraffe95]

20:00 this is when I started playing and to this day is still my favorite era of the game. The meta was super diverse after a series of strong sets and continued to be after a few more good boxes and the Desperado deck before DSOD was released. Sets always had at least a couple tier worthy archetypes that were strong without breaking the game or stalling the meta for a year (unlike the DSOD boxes). I wish Konami released cards this way.

[@o0oABEL]

I'm always played 六武衆 (Rōkubushu - Six Sam) deck ever (level up character starter)

[@renzo4753]

God i remember the first day i played duel links seriously lmao darklords and six sams were rampant and my yee yee as$ darck magician deck back then couldn't do a thing

[@mohwe1007]

Rise Six Samurai Attack!

[@idosarts_and_krafts]

36:01 oh! Hey halquifibrax! 👋(Quan)

[@retro.7673]

I’ll never forget getting more Six Samurai support 💜I didn’t expect it and I was so happy.

[@ratchetandclankfan2]

I personally was traumatized by six samurais in their prime And I only really encountered a couple pay to win Kaiba Corp bling komiaramu decks