A CASUAL GLANCE AT MASTER DUEL

TONY T. - Managing Editor, 3rd Year, Economics and Data Science

"my least favorite card is still gamaciel fuck gamaciel"

Probably like the majority of the casual player base, my recent interest in Yu Gi Oh! Master Duel comes not from continued consistent interest throughout the years and more a renewed intrigue for a childhood hobby. Given the card game’s lack of a set rotation system, I’d say that economic incentives exist for Konami to pander to those with similar situations. It’s no secret that renewed support for classic archetypes like those used by the characters of the original Duel Monsters anime was released in an era where fans of that series were old enough to feel nos talgic. Newer Dark Magician or Blue Eyes cards clearly exist for that reason. However, as someone who was never really all that enthralled by Duel Monsters, I wasn’t really caught up in the waves of nostalgia that presumably entrapped many millenni als a few years back. The recent interest I’ve expressed in the game kind of comes down to two reasons. First, the game is extremely accessible in a digital format at no cost, in a manner which makes it easy to frame as a social activity with friends. Second, and perhaps more important, there’s more HERO sup port. My childhood is now marketable as nostalgic and hence GX archetype support is plentiful, which is a factor that I abso lutely cannot deny in terms of why I’ve become more interested in the card game once again at my ripe old age of twenty.

While Master Duel is a great platform to play Yu Gi Oh on that I’ve been enjoying with friends, it’s made me acutely aware of certain large issues with the game. To clarify, I don’t really fo cus on the most meta relevant decks, but I do play HEROes, which, while not the best deck, is consistent in spamming boss monsters out onto the field. Because I run a mishmash of var ious things in that large archetype that may or may not work together, I primarily focus on getting at least one of Dark Law, Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer, or Sunrise out on my first turn. This is something that is remarkably easily done, yet in practice, takes an absurd amount of time. The combo-heavy decks of the current era are certainly better than beatdown decks from the game’s genesis, but the ridiculous amount of cards in the current pool have resulted in an absolute cluster of madness with endless combos. Frankly, given how I thought the game seemed unsustainable ten years ago, it’s remarkable that Yu Gi Oh is still limping on, but the current game looks more like Solitaire than a fun trading card game. Certainly, my current experience with the game is the best I’ve ever had because I no longer need to guess card effects (I played the OCG). Still, since I mostly play with my friend who primarily plays a degenerate Trickstar burn strategy, games kind of just come down to who has the best luck with their first hand and not any deliberate game theory-esque strategy of decision making.

Beyond that, while I generally dislike gacha systems, I actually appreciate the one within Master Duel for limiting what most players can assemble. It kind of levels the playing field in terms of how extreme most people’s decks can be early on, albeit I’d obviously appreciate it more if you couldn’t bypass that inher ent pacing with actual cash. I genuinely feel a sense of satis faction from obtaining new valuable cards in a way not unlike (but far cheaper than) the way buying packs with my saved lunch money used to feel. The process of assembling a deck itself is by far the greatest strength of Master Duel as the pro gression from being destroyed by random beatdown decks to mercilessly cyber bullying young children playing Sky Strikers is very appealing. Perhaps the game could use more single player content, showing players key decision points and making them consider tactics more clearly. Those scenarios would not only be fun as logic puzzles, but it could genuinely elevate the level of gameplay for the format as a whole, which would be great. Still, talking about Master Duel as a single player experience misses the point – Yu Gi Oh as a card game has always thrived as a social activity with friends. And in that way, while sessions probably consist of more bashing on the card game itself than the developers intended, Master Duel is a fantastic activity that I’ve been enjoying recently, even though I barely know what a Link or Pendulum is.