Counters to Meta and Anti-Meta Decks

Sorry readers. I’ve been busy with university assignments.

I was going to discuss the ban list and what sort of qualifies a card to be banned, but as the new ban list comes in on April 1, I’ll leave it until then. Instead, I’ll talk about some strategies to defeat some of the Meta decks in the game right now. This can of course change with the new ban list.

For those who don’t know, Meta is basically any popular deck. So that’s your Lightsworn’s, your Evilswarm’s, your Dark World’s. So, you have your Meta, and you have the anti-Meta, if there is a such a thing. So your anti-Meta decks are decks like Madolche and Masked Heroes. The reason I say there isn’t really such a thing called “anti-Meta” is, because most players play the Meta decks, the anti-Meta becomes popular and as a result moves from anti-Meta and becomes Meta. Currently, the most popular Meta deck is Nekroz, though Six Samurai and Lightsworn do still see a lot of play, at least in the duels I’ve played and seen on the Dueling Network, almost every second duel is against either Nekroz, Six Sam or Lightsworn. The popular anti-Meta right now is Masked Heroes and Satellarknights. I’m currently working a new deck to defeat them, but below are some of the tactics I’ve come across that at least level the playing field, if not tip it in your favour.

Lightsworn Decks

The ultimate strategy of a Lightsworn deck is to summon “Judgment Dragon” (JD). I don’t care what you say. There is not one player who uses Lightsworns without running at least one JD in their deck. So you do you counter JD? If they get it out, you’re done basically, so to be effective, you have to stop it before it hits the field, so I advise a trap card called “Skill Drain”. This card will negate monster effects, so your opponent can’t mill their deck each turn, so they have to go and get the four Lightsworn monsters into the graveyards traditionally, either via tribute or battle, which gives you a bit of control of when JD hits the field. Should your opponent manage to get JD out, “Skill Drain” will negate its destruction effect, turning it into a 3000 attack point beatstick. Still dangerous, but a bit more manageable because you can now “Mirror Force” it (or “Dimensional Prison” or “Magic Cylinder”, your pick really). “Skill Drain” doesn’t negate effects that activate off the field though. For example, it won’t stop your opponent from using the discard effect of “Honest” because it activates in the hand/graveyard (which is not considered part of the field). It will not negate the equip effect of “Vylon Prism” because the effect activates in the graveyard and it is then considered to be an equip spell card, not a monster. It won’t negate “Wulf, Lightsworn Beast” summoning condition, because it is not an effect. It is a condition. So “Skill Drain” basically cripples this deck. Downside is it will negate your Monster effects as well.

Another good card to use is a monster called “D.D. Warrior Lady”. If your opponent summons JD, you can summon this (after they blow up the field) and attack JD. You will take damage, but you can then banish “D.D Warrior Lady” and that will banish JD. If you have “Skill Drain” active, you can still do this because the banishment effect of “D.D. Warrior Lady” activates in the graveyard, not on the field. If you do this, make you sure you have something to protect yourself with.

Evilswarm Decks

I have never successfully defeated an Evilswarm deck. My deck is probably going to become obsolete in the next few days, so I’ll be experimenting a bit to defeat these decks. One killer property of Evilswarm decks is that they prevent you from special summoning level 5 or higher Monsters. One way around that is to use a deck that doesn’t rely on special summoning strong Monsters. Lightsworn is a good way to go. Lightsworn, I’m not too familiar on when it was released, probably started out as the anti-Meta for Evilswarms, and then became Meta itself.

Make sure you load your deck with destructive spell and trap cards, especially “Bottomless Trap Hole” and “Mirror Force” for traps and “Tribute to the Doomed” and “Dark Hole” for your spells. All four of those cards will allow you to disrupt your opponent’s strategy and possibly deck them out if you can’t win by other means. I don’t aim to deck an opponent, but if I get desperate enough, I do. It’s a last resort thing for me, and it is really easy to deck out with Lightsworn if you mill JD to the graveyard.

Nekroz Decks

The last Meta I’m going to talk about is Nekroz. I’ve defeated it once and that was by luck. The key to the prevent them from using their Prophets which can devastate your strategy. One stops you from special summoning, another prevents their Monsters from being destroyed by card effects. It’s a strong deck, but not unbeatable. Remember what I said before, there’s a way to beat everything if you have the cards.

I suggest a lot of traps and spells. Since the key is their Prophets (whose effects activate when they are banished for Ritual Summons), you can use a trap card called “Imperial Iron Wall”. That stops cards from being banished from anywhere so it can delay them or stop them entirely. “Negate Attack” is good as well. Their monsters can be protected from destructive card effects, but they can still be affected by them if they don’t destroy. If you can, use a “Soul Release” spell card to banish the Prophets from your opponent’s graveyard preventing them from using them to Ritual Summon. That’s all I’ve got for now. Nekroz is very popular on DN so if you play on it, be prepared to face Nekroz. Have a strategy in mind because they can easily FTK or OTK. For those who don’t know: “OTK” stands for “One Turn Knockout” which is when then take you from 8000 to 0 in one turn. “FTK” stands for “First Turn Knockout” which is exactly the same as an OTK, but they do it on their first turn.

Anti-Meta Decks

Madolche

Madolche decks are very difficult to deal with. Very difficult to get Monsters into the graveyard. There are the Crystal Beast 2.0 essentially and can be just as destructive even though the Monsters a relatively weak. If they get “Tiramisu” out, you’re gone. You are gone. Very few ways to counter it because it can shuffle anything back into your deck and you can’t chain to it, because to start a chain, the card must be destroyed or in some cases banished.

Rely heavily on trap cards against a Madolche Deck, “Fiendish Chain” in particular because it will stop the effect of “Tiramisu” and allow you to destroy it, but you have to activate it before the effect of “Tiramisu” is activated (because you can’t chain it). Use decoys to try and bait the effect out and then hit it with “Mirror Force”. “Dark Hole” works too. You’re not going to overpower it unless you manage to Syncro or Xyz Summon in one turn. “Skill Drain” will also work to your advantage.

Masked Heroes

Masked Heroes are another deck I struggle against and will probably still be popular for a while. “Dark Law” in particular will cause you headaches, though relatively simple to defeat, its banishment effect will create a lot of problems for you. You can only add cards by drawing them in your Draw Phase, or you lose one random card. I’ve come close to beating a Masked Hero a few times. It’s not an easy deck to play against. In terms of how frustrating it is, I have it up there with Burn Decks.

In some ways, the counter to it is similar to Madolche. Lots of defensive traps. Use “Bottomless Trap Hole” to deal with “Dark Law”. “Dark Hole” won’t go amiss either, but prepared for a long duel. A Masked Hero deck won’t be defeated easily.

Basic Deck Building

Ok, so everyone is going to have their own style of play. Everyone will have their own type of Monsters that they play with, especially with Satellarknight, Lightsworn, Darkworld, etc Meta around these days. I personally like to use as many different types of Monsters as I can but I normally centre around Warrior-types and Spellcaster-types. I use as many different types as I can for two reasons: 1) It keeps my opponent on their toes. If they prevent me from attacking with one type, I can replace with another type, and 2) It makes it easier to Syncro and Xyz Summon because I can throw any combination of Monsters together and use them rather than having to wait until I get a certain type of Monster on the field.

As I said, everyone is going to be different in how they play, so I can't really say which cards are good and which cards are bad because everyone will use them differently. So instead, I'm going to take you through how I build a deck. The Main Deck has to be at least 40 cards and a maximum of 60 cards. The less cards you have in your deck, the better your chances of drawing what you need. That being said, there are some very effective 60 card decks out there.

I set myself a 55 card limit and I select 25 Monsters, 15 Spells and 15 Traps and I try to pick cards that will combo well together. On the Dueling Network, you have access to every card that has ever been made (so long as it's real. Be aware, some cards you might come across in real life are fake and there are ways to tell, even though they are getting better), so if you're running Zombie-types in your deck, you can click in the description box and type "Zombie" and it will give all the cards that have the word "Zombie" in their description. If you're building in real life, it's a bit harder because you might not have access to the cards that you want or need. Once I have my 55 cards, I have a look at what I think I'm going to be using most often and what I might rarely use, if I use it at all. I then take out 5 Monster cards, 5 Spell Cards and 5 Trap cards. That then gives me a 40 card Main Deck and my 15 card Side Deck. This Side Deck you are not allowed to touch during a duel but you can between duels, but you must make sure that you keep the same number of cards in both your Main Deck and Side Deck as you did before swapping cards.

For the Extra Deck, I decide if I want Fusion Monsters, or Syncro Monsters or Xyz Monsters. You might want 5 of each, or you might want to run exclusively Syncro or exclusively Xyz. You might not want to run any Extra Deck at all, which is perfectly fine.

There are certain cards that I do advise that you put in your deck:

-Mystical Space Typhoon
-Dark Bribe
-Dust Tornado
-Mirror Force
-Negate Attack
-Swords of Revealing Light

It's up to you, which cards you use and how you use them and you can always take out cards you don't use or even change the ratios. You might not need a lot of Trap Cards, so throwing a "Royal Decree" would largely hinder your opponent while barely affecting you. And you can replace the trap cards you throw out with Monsters or Spells.

If you want to build a Meta Deck, there are plenty of builds on Google, but I think it's better to build your own and make it stronger. I think it is far more satisfying to do it that way.

Difficult Cards to Defeat

So, now that Chaining and Spell Speeds are understood, it's time to talk about cards that are difficult to defeat in the game. Some of these Cards are popular and you'll come across them often, while some aren't so popular right now but you'll come across them semi-regularly and some others are just ones that aren't widely used but you may come across them every once in a while. It's important to note that every card in the game (excepting those with AVC's) have at least one card that can defeat it and you're not going to be able to prepare your Deck for everything.

Beelze of the Diabolic Dragons

- Monster Card
- Synchro/Effect
- Dragon
- Level 8
- 3000 ATK, 3000 DEF
- Effect: Cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects. When you take damage from an attack involving this card, or from an opponent's card effect, this card gains ATK equal to the damage you took.

I can not believe this card is completely legal. It's not even limited so you can have three copies in your Extra Deck. The reasons why this card is difficult to defeat is because its effect. You can't destroy it by battle, and even if you do attack it with a stronger Monster, "Beelze" will just gain ATK points equal to that damage. You can't "Mirror Force" it, You can't "Dark Hole" it. You can't destroy it with any effects. Period.

So how do you beat it? Well, there's a few ways. The easiest way is to use a Trap Card called "Compulsory Evacuation Device" and this works because it doesn't destroy "Beelze", it just forces it to back to the Extra Deck. However, your opponent can chain a Quick-Play Spell Card called "De-Syncro" which works in exactly the same way as "De-Fusion" except it's for Syncro Monsters, not Fusion Monsters. "De-Syncro" will resolve first, returning "Beelze" to the Extra Deck and replacing it with the Monsters used to Syncro Summon it. Then "Compulsory Evacuation Device" would activate but because it Targeted "Beelze" and "Beelze" left the field by "De-Syncro", "Compulsory Evacuation Device" will resolve meaninglessly. Cards that Target with their effects can not change Targets if their Target leaves the field in a chain. If it's your opponent's turn, they can then simply re-Syncro for "Beelze" and you're back to square one.

So another way to deal with this card is use effects that would Banish it instead of destroying it, since "Beelze" can't protect itself against Banishment. So, if "Beelze" attacks, you can activate "Dimensional Prison" in response. When "Beelze" is summoned, you can activate "Bottomless Trap Hole" to Banish it (since "Beelze" has more than 1500 ATK). You can summon "Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning" and use its effect to Banish "Beelze" (though "BLS" won't be able to attack this turn).

Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning (BLS)

- Monster Card
- Effect
- Warrior
- Level 8
- 3000ATK, 2500DEF
- Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing 1 LIGHT and 1 DARK monster from your Graveyard. Once per turn, you can activate 1 of these effects.
● Target 1 monster on the field; banish that target face-up. This card cannot attack the turn you activate this effect.
● During the Damage Step, if this attacking card destroys an opponent's monster by battle: It can make a second attack in a row.

Yes, Ironically, one of the cards to combat "Beelze of the Diabolical Dragons" is on this list because, like "Beelze", the effect is very dangerous if not prepared for it. It can banish any Monster you have, it can be a Set Monster and if it's a Flip Effect Monster, its effect won't activate because it is not attacked. Or, it can attack twice, which is dangerous. You might have 1000 Life Points left and you have "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" in Defence mode because of your opponent's "Dragon Capture Jar" trap card. "Blue-Eyes" has 2500 DEF points and so you might think you're safe. Your opponent summons "BLS" and attacks "Blue-Eyes" and then attacks you directly for game. It's just too good of a card when you're not ready to counter it.

"Bottomless Trap Hole" can stop this card when it is summoned (and it can't chain its Banishment effect to take one of your Monsters with it because the effect isn't a Quick Effect). You can "Mirror Force" it. You can "Compulse" ("Compulsory Evacuation Device") it. There are plenty of counters to it, but if all else fails you can use the effect of "D.D Warrior Lady" to banish it but this will cost you 1500 Life Points at least, unless you power up "D.D Warrior Lady").

Guardian Dreadscythe

- Monster Card
- Effect
- Fiend
- Level 8
- 2500 ATK, 2000 DEF
- Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must be Special Summoned by its own effect, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. If a "Guardian Eatos" is destroyed by battle or by card effect and sent to your Graveyard: You can Special Summon this card from your hand. When this card is Special Summoned: You can equip 1 "Reaper Scythe - Dreadscythe" from your Deck to this card. You cannot Normal or Special Summon monsters (but you can Normal Set). When this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard: Send 1 card from your hand to the Graveyard, and if you do, Special Summon this card from the Graveyard.

This is a card that you will rarely come across for two reasons: 1) It is very difficult to summon and 2) it is rarely used anyway. I run it it two of my decks and it steals games very well. "Guardian Dreadscythe" is very easy to abuse as it fairly easy to time the destruction of "Guardian Eatos" to summon "Dreadscythe" (such as by "The Seal of Orichalcos" or "Dark Hole". "Dreadscythe" then gets its very own weapon in the "Reaper Scythe - Dreadscythe" Equip Spell Card which gives "Dreadscythe" an extra 500 ATK for every Monster in both Graveyards, and you can equip "Reaper Scythe - Dreadscythe" from the Deck upon summoning "Dreadscythe" and on top of that, "Dreadscythe" can revive itself by discarding a card from your hand. So that means you can't "Mirror Force" it without it reviving itself. You can't "Dark Hole" it without it reviving itself. You can't destroy it by battle without it reviving itself by discarding a card. And, if "Dreadscythe" is destroyed by "Mirror Force" it can be revived and attack again (because any Monster summoned is treated as a new Monster, even if it was previously destroyed that turn, and can attack).

This card's effect means that you potentially have to destroy it up to 7 times in one turn depending on how many cards your opponent holds. There are several ways to do this. Double "Dark Hole" will force them to discard 2 cards (the revival effect of "Dreadscythe" is mandatory). You can can then use cards like "Monster Reborn", "Premature Burial", "Call of the Haunted" etc... to Special Summon Monsters from your Graveyard (or your opponent's if you use "Monster Reborn"), This will also allow you to weaken "Dreadscythe" by 1500 ATK and potentially give you three Monsters to destroy it with. But this way costs you a lot of cards, so either "Compulse" it back to the hand or use a banishing effect like "Bottomless Trap Hole" or "BLS" to deal with it.

Bottomless Trap Hole

- Trap Card
- Normal Trap Card
- When your opponent Summons a monster(s) with 1500 or more ATK: Destroy that monster(s) with 1500 or more ATK, and if you do, banish it.

So, this Trap Card allows your opponent to deal with beatstick you might bring to the field at no cost to them, so try and destroy it with "Mystical Space Typhoon" or you can summon "Jinzo" so that "Bottomless Trap Hole" can't be activated due to the effect of "Jinzo"

Those are just four cards and a lot of the above suggestions can be used to counter a lot of other difficult cards. Over time you should be able to develop your own strategies to deal with dangerous or difficult to beat cards, but always remember: No card is unbeatable, it just comes down to if you have the card(s) in your Deck or not.

Spell Speeds and Chaining

So by now you should have basic understanding of what each card does. It important to note that if the text on a card contradicts a rule of the game, follow the card text. It's important to note that because we are about to bend the rules and talk about an area not really covered in the anime: Chains.

Before we talk about Chains, we need to do a quick over view on a little quirk of the cards called "Spell Speeds" (SS's) There are three SS's: SS 1, SS 2 and SS 3. These dictate how a Chain is constructed and therefore how it works.

Spell Speed 1

These have the slowest SS's of all and can only be the first card in a Chain. Any Spell Card that isn't a Quick-Plat Spell Card is SS 1, as is any Monster Effect (generally). In order to be considered SS 1, the effect has be something that only the turn player can use and can only activate during the Main Phase. "Pot of Greed" for example is SS 1 because only the player who activated it can use it and can only activate it during the Main Phase. Some Cards are still SS 1, even though they can not be activated during the Main Phase and affects both players. "Curse of Fiend" (http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Curse_of_Fiend) is one example. It is a Normal Spell Card and that is largely what will dictate a SS. Monster Effects on the other hand are also SS 1. This is because only one player can activate it. The search effect of "Mystical Tomato" for example is a SS 1 because only the player who controlled "Mystic Tomato" can activate and use the effect. If two "Mystic Tomatoes" battle each other, their effects will activate simultaneously. SS 1's can only be Chain Link 1 (unless two SS 1 effects are activated simultaneously). Flip Effects are also SS 1.

Spell Speed 2

These are faster than SS 1, but not the fastest. Quick-Play Spell Cards, Trap Cards (except for Counter Trap Cards) and Monster Quick Effects (Like "Kuriboh") are SS 2. More or less, anything that isn't a Counter Trap card or already SS 1, is going to be SS 2. If you're not sure, Google will help you or check with your opponent.

Spell Speed 3

These are the fastest SS's. Counter Trap cards are the only SS 3 cards in the game.

Chains

Ok, so if you understood all that, congrats, because now it is about to get more confusing. You can not activate a SS 1 in response to an SS 1, even if the second SS 1 card is yours. This breaks one rule of Chains: you can only chain equal or greater SS's, except for SS 1's. This means that you can chain an SS 2 to an SS 1. SS 2's can be chained to each other, and SS 3's can be chained to SS 2's or SS 1's. You can not chain a SS 2 to an SS 3 because SS 3 has the highest SS. Only SS 3's can be chained to each other. Now, chains resolve in reverse. so we'll start with a start with a simple one:

Your opponent activates "Pot of Greed" and you chain "Mystical Refpanel" and your opponent chains "Dark Bribe". "Dark Bribe" will resolve first because it is the last card effect activated and therefore resolves first. So your opponent's "Mystical Refpanel" is destroyed and they draw 1 card. "Mystical Refpanel" would normally activate now, but its effect was negated and it was destroyed by "Dark Bribe" and therefore "Mystical Refpanel" does not resolve. Lastly, "Pot of Greed" activates and you draw two cards.

A bit more complicated now:

You have a set "Threatening Roar" Trap Card. Your opponent activates "Mystical Space Typhoon" and targets your set "Threatening Roar". You chain "Threatening Roar" to "Mystical Space Typhoon". Your opponent chains "Dust Tornado" and lastly you chain "Solemn Judgement". "Solemn Judgement" resolves first and negates and destroys your opponent's "Dust Tornado". As "Dust Tornado" is now destroyed, its effect does not resolve. "Threatening Roar" then resolves as it no longer being destroyed by "Dust Tornado" and lastly "Mystical Space Typhoon" has it's effect resolve meaninglessly.

Last one, and a bit more complicated again:

You attack your opponent's set "Man-Eater Bug" which then Flips and its effect activates (SS 1). You then activate 'Skill Drain" in chain. Your opponent then chains "Call of the Haunted" to summon "Jinzo", you then chain "Solemn Warning" to "Call of the Haunted" to which your opponent chains "Wiretap". "Wiretap" will resolve first, shuffling your "Solemn Warning" into your Deck. As "Solemn Warning" has left the field, its effect does not resolve so "Call of the Haunted" is not negated, though "Jinzo" is not summoned because he "misses the timing" (because summoning "Jinzo" is not the last thing to occur in the chain. "Missing the timing" is also something not explained in the anime) and so "Call of the Haunted" resolves meaninglessly. "Skill Drain" then activates which negates the effect of "Man-Eater Bug" which now can no longer activate and it is destroyed while your targeted Monster remains on the field.

If you understood all that, well done.

Game Play Rules

Ok, so now you know what the card types do and the basic rules of summoning, you next need to know the rules and how the game is played.

Game Play

The game is played in turns, which consist of 6 phases of play. In the old days the youngest player had the first turn, but now who goes first and second is decided through "Rock, Paper, Scissors". Follow the phase rules and you should avoid most arguments.

Draw Phase

This is the first phase of the game. Both players start with 5 cards in their hand and draw 1 card during their Draw Phase unless it is the first turn of the duel and you have the first move. Personally, I don't see what difference it makes if the first player draws a card or not. I don't get too upset if they do. If you're playing in a tournament, you will not be allowed to draw, but if you're playing against friends for fun, I don't think it matters, but ask them first. The turn then continues to the Standby Phase.

Standby Phase

Nothing happens in this phase unless it is mentioned in a card effect. You can use this phase to plan the rest of your turn. In most cases you can skip this phase. As soon as you play a card, it becomes your Main Phase 1.

Main Phase 1

Your first Main Phase is when you can Summon your Monsters and Set your spell and Trap cards (face down, vertical). You can also activate Spell Cards during this phase. Many Effects can activate during this phase and there is no limit to the number of effects that can be activated in a turn.

Battle Phase

This is the phase where you can attack your opponents Monsters or attack them directly and cause damage to their Life Points. Most Trap Cards can be activated during this phase, so be wary when attacking.

Main Phase 2

This phase works exactly like Main Phase 1. You can activate more spells, set more Traps or Monsters and Normal Summon a Monster (if you haven't already). You can not Flip Summon a Monster if you Set it during your Main Phase 1. You can continue to Special Summon during this phase.

End Phase

This is the last phase of your turn. Some effects activate during this phase, normally allowing you to add cards from your deck to your hand or inflict more damage to your opponent's Life Points. The Rules only allow for a maximum of 6 cards in your hand at the end of a turn, so if you have 7 cards or more, you must discard until you have 6 cards in your hand. There is no restrictions on what cards can be discarded, so if you find yourself in this situation, try and discard high level Monsters that you can Special Summon from your Graveyard or rid your hand of "Dead Draws". It then becomes your opponent's turn and they will go through the same 6 phases.

Winning (or Losing) the Duel

You win the Duel when you meet 1 of 4 Victory Conditions. You lose the Duel when your opponent meets 1 of the 4 Victory Conditions.

Life Points

Both players start the Duel with 8000 Life Points. Life Points can be depleted through Battle Damage (which occurs during the Battle Phase) when you attack, or opponent attacks. Battle Damage is calculated in one of four ways.

1) If you attack an opponents attack mode Monster (your Monster must be in attack mode to attack) and your opponents Monster is weaker, your opponents Monster is sent to the Graveyard and the difference between the two Monster's ATK points is subtracted from your opponents Life Points. For example, your Monster has 1700 ATK points and your opponent's Monster has 1300 ATK points. 1700-1300=400 so your opponent will subtract 400 Life Points from their total.

2) If you attack an opponent's attack mode Monster and your Monster is weaker (due to your opponent activating an effect or you decide to suicide your Monster) your Monster is sent to the Graveyard and you take the difference between the two Monsters from your Life Points. For example, if your Monster has 2000 ATK points and your opponents Monster has 3000 ATK. 3000-2000=1000 so you will subtract 1000 Life Points from your total.

3) If you attack an opponents defence mode Monster who is stronger than your Monster (their Monster may have been face down when you attacked which flipped it and the Monster has more DEF points than your Monster's ATK points, or your opponent activates an effect) neither Monster is sent to the Graveyard and you take damage equal to the difference between your Monster's ATK and your opponents Monster's DEF. For example, your Monster has 1800 ATK points and your opponents Monster has 2500 DEF points. 2500-1800=700 so you subtract 700 points from your total.

4) Your attack mode Monster attack your opponents Life Points directly. When this occurs, your opponent subtracts the ATK points of your Monster from their Life Points. For example, your Monster has 2500 ATK points so your opponent subtracts 2500 points from their total.

Life Points are not lost if the attack is negated, if both Monsters have equal ATK points (this results in both Monsters being sent to the Graveyard) or if you destroy an opponents Monster whose DEF points is lower than your Monsters ATK points.

Life Points can be lost by other means. Your opponent may activate Spell, Trap or Monster effects that inflict damage to your Life Points (or you can do the same to them). You or your opponent may activate Spell, Trap or Monster cards effects that require the player to pay Life Points to use.

You win the Duel if your opponents Life Points reach 0 before yours. You lose the Duel if your Life Points reach 0 before your opponents. If both players Life Points reach 0 at the same time due to a card effect, the Duel is declared a Draw.

Surrender

If you or your opponent place a hand on top of their Deck and do not Draw a card they are considered to have Surrendered and you are declared the winner (or your opponent is declared the winner of you Surrender) regardless of Life Points.

Deck Out

The game requires each player to Draw a card at the start of every turn. If you or your opponent have no cards left in your deck, the other player wins the Duel regardless of Life Points. To make this clearer, if you can not draw a card at the start of your turn, you lose the Duel. If your opponent can not draw a card at the start of their turn, you win the Duel. There are cards that have effects that don't allow you or your opponent to draw a card. This does not result in a Deck Out because you may still have cards in your Deck, however, if this effect activates while you or your opponent have no left in your deck, you (or your opponent) will not Deck Out when the turn begins because the effect would prevent the player from drawing a card so they wouldn't be able to draw even if they could. Instead, they will Deck Out on their next turn.

Alternate Victory Condition (AVC)

Some Cards allow a player to be declared the winner if they complete a specific requirement, or a set of requirements, legally. A common AVC is Exodia. If a holds all 5 pieces of "Exodia the Forbidden One" then that player is declared the winner. A less common AVC is to summon "Horakhty, the Creator God of Light". I have pulled this off in the Traditional Format where banned cards are allowed to be used, but I am yet to see this done without the use of cards like "Return From the Different Dimension". Even using banned cards it requires a large amount of planning and a bit of luck. To summon "Horakhty" you must tribute three Monsters whose original names are "Obelisk the Tormentor", "Slifer the Sky Dragon" and "The Winged Dragon of Ra" (the three Egyptian God Cards) so to do it legally requires you to tribute 12 Monsters (3 for each God Card and then the Gods themselves). "Horakhty" is a Special Summon Only Monster and when legally summoned, the player wins the Duel.

Summoning Methods

So now that you know what each card does, it's time you knew how summon Monsters to attack your opponent with. There are many kinds of summoning, each with their own ways of being done.

Normal Summoning

The easiest way to summon Monster is Normal Summoning. This is when you play a Monster Card on the field face up and vertically. This is position is referred to as Attack Position (or sometimes "Attack Mode"). The card should be facing so that it is right way up to (i.e. the name of the Monster is at the top of the card, rather than at the bottom). You can Normal Summon Normal and Effect Monsters. Under the current rules, you can only Normal Summon in Attack Mode. You can only Normal Summon/Set once per turn.

Tribute Summoning

The number of stars at the top of the card reveal the Monsters level. Monsters of level 1 to 4 can be Normal Summoned his way. However, Monsters of level 5 or higher require tributes from your side of the field to summon. Level's 5 and 6 require 1 tribute, while Monsters of level 7 or higher require 2 tributes to summon. The Egyptian God Cards and certain other Monsters require 3 tributes summon. If your Monster is one of these, the card description will tell you. Tribute Summoning is a form of Normal Summoning and as such uses your 1 Normal Summon/Set per turn. You can Tribute Summon Normal and Effect Monsters. Under the current rules you can only Tribute Summon in Attack Mode.

Setting

You can summon a Monster face down and horizontally. This is called a Set and the position is considered to be Defence Position (sometimes called Defence Mode). You can set Normal and Effect Monsters. There are two reasons why you might Set a Monster. 1) The Monster might have a Flip Effect which will activate when your opponent attacks it, or 2) The Monster has a high amount of Defence points and little to no Attack points. You can also Tribute Set, but this does not override the tribute rule. If you wish to Set a level 5 or 6 Monster you will need to tribute 1 Monster, level 7 or higher Monsters will still require 2 tributes to Set. You can not set Egyptian God Cards or any Monster that says the card can not be Normal Set (though they can be Special Set through card effects). Setting uses your 1 Normal Summon/Set per turn.

Flip Summoning

Flip Summoning is when you flip a Monster you had set. Monsters that are Set must remain Set for 1 turn before you can Flip Summon them and you can only Flip Summon into Attack Mode.This form of summoning also activates any Flip Effects the Monster might have. Flip Summoning does not use your 1 Normal Summon/Set per turn. Some Monsters have abilities that allow you to reset them in the same turn that you Flip Summon them. This effect also does not use your 1 Normal Summon/Set per turn, but will not activate if your opponent attacks the Monster(s).

Special Summoning

Special Summoning is when you summon a Monster by a card effect, including its own effect. Special Summoning does not use your 1 Normal Summon/Set per turn and their is no limit to the number of Special Summons you can perform per turn (excluding having 5 Monsters on the field already). Special Summoning also breaks the Tribute Rule, meaning you can Special Summon level 5 or higher Monsters without tributes. You can Special Summon in Attack or Defence Mode (horizontal face up).

Fusion Summoning

You can perform a Fusion Summon if you have a "Polymerisation" Spell Card and the required Fusion Material Monsters either on the field or in your hand. The Monsters and "Polymerisation" are all sent to the Graveyard and you place the correct Fusion Monster on the field in either Attack or Defence Mode. Fusion Summoning is a form a Special Summoning and so does not use your 1 Normal Summon/Set.

Ritual Summoning

You can perform a Ritual Summon when you have both the correct Ritual Spell Card and Ritual Monster in your hand. You must also have Monsters who levels at least total the level of the Ritual Monster. You send the tributed Monster(s) and the Ritual Spell Card to the Graveyard and summon the Ritual Monster to the field in either Attack or Defence Mode. Ritual Summoning is a form of Special Summoning and so does not use your 1 Normal Summon/Set.

Xyz Summoning

You can perform an Xyz Summon by overlaying the required number of Monsters of the same level which forms and Xyz Network and then placing the desired Xyz Monster on top of this Network in either Attack or Defence Mode. Xyz Summoning is a form of Special Summoning and so does not use your 1 Normal Summon/Set per turn.

Syncro Summoning

You can perform a Syncro Summon when you have at least 1 'Tuner' Monster on the field and at least one other 'Non-Tuner' Monster on the field. When Syncro Summoning, the levels of the 'Tuner' and 'Non-Tuner' Monsters must combine to equal the level of the Syncro Monster. When this condition is met, you send the 'Tuner' and 'Non-Tuner' Monsters from the field to the Graveyard and place the Syncro Monster on the field in either Attack of Defence Mode. Syncro Summoning is a form of Special Summoning and so does not use your 1 Normal Summon/Set per turn.

Pendulum Summoning

You can perform a Pendulum Summon when you have 1 Pendulum Monster in each of your 2 Pendulum Zones. Each Pendulum Monster has its own Pendulum Scale and you can Special Summon any number of Monsters from your hand that are between those two Pendulum Scales in level. For example, let's say you have a Pendulum Monster with a Pendulum Scale of 1 and the other Pendulum Monster has a Pendulum Scale of 8, you can Special Summon any number of Monsters from your hand as long as the levels of those Monsters are between 2 and 7. Pendulum Summoning is a form of Special Summoning and so does not use your 1 Normal Summon/Set per turn.

Summoning Conditions

Some Monsters require certain conditions to be met before they can be summoned to the field. "Photon Thrasher" (http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Photon_Thrasher) for example require you to control no Monsters to Special Summon (this includes and Set Monsters). It is also a "Special Summon Only" Monster meaning you can not Normal Summon "Photon Thrasher" even if you have not used your 1 Normal Summon or Set. You can not Set this Monster either, but you can Special Summon it in defence mode. Some Monsters, like "Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning" (http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Black_Luster_Soldier_-_Envoy_of_the_Beginning) require you to banish one Dark and one Light Monster from your Graveyard to summon it. This obviously requires your deck to use both Light and Dark Monsters if you are planning on using this card. One more Summoning Condition Monster is "Judgment Dragon" (http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Judgment_Dragon) require you to have a specific number of Monsters in your Graveyard before you can summon it. In the case of "Judgment Dragon", you require a minimum of 4 'Lightsworn' Monsters, while others might require you to have a minimum number of Light Attribute Monsters in your Graveyard. All Summoning Condition Monsters are Special Summon only and so do not use your 1 Normal Summon/Set per turn.

Basic Game Mechanics (Trap Cards)

The last assortment of cards you will need in your Deck is Trap Cards.  Trap Cards come in only three types: Normal, Continuous and Counter. All Trap Cards can be activated on your opponent's turn unless the card specifically says that the card can only be activated on your turn. Unlike Spell Cards, Trap Cards must be "Set" for 1 turn before they can be activated. Trap Cards have a pink border and the same layout as Spell Cards.

Normal Trap Cards

Your Normal Trap Cards are essentially the same as your Normal Spell Cards. They activate for 1 turn at most and are then sent to the Graveyard. "Mirror Force" (http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Mirror_Force) can only be activated in response to the attack of an opponents Monster. "Mirror Force" will protect your Monster and destroy all attack position Monsters your opponent controls. After this effect resolves, "Mirror Force" is sent to the Graveyard. Normal Trap Cards have no symbol.

Continuous Trap Cards

Continuous Trap Cards aren't very common, but they work in the same way as Continuous Spell Cards in that their effects remain active for as long as they are on the field BUT, there are other ways certain Continuous Trap Cards can be destroyed without being targeted themselves. "Call of the Haunted" (http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Call_of_the_Haunted) for example, allows you to summon one Monster from your Graveyard in attack mode and can be activated during your opponents turn, however, if the Monster summoned by "Call of the Haunted" is destroyed or leaves the field, "Call of the Haunted" is also destroyed (If the summoned Monster is used as an Xyz Material, "Call of the Haunted" is destroyed even though the Monster summoned by its effect is not considered to be destroyed or to have left the field). Continuous Trap Cards have an infinity icon as their symbol and are sent to the Graveyard when they are destroyed.

Counter Trap Cards

Counter Trap are rare to see to played, but the most common one is "Dark Bribe" (http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_Bribe) which will negate and destroy Spell or Trap Cards your opponent activates (it can not destroy previously activated Spell and Trap Cards). Counter Trap Cards have a turning arrow as their symbol and are sent to the Graveyard after they are used.

Basic Game Mechanics (Spell Cards)

As part of your deck, You'l need Spell Cards to complement and strengthen your Monsters. Spell cards come in 6 types: Normal, Equip, Continuous, Quick-Play, Field and Ritual. The Layout of the card is: The card's name at the top, underneath is a symbol (unless it is a Normal Spell), then a picture depicting the spell followed by an explanation of what the card's effect does. All Spell cards have a pale green border. You can only control 5 spell (or trap) cards maximum active at any one time (this limit does not include Field Spell cards).

Normal Spells

These are spell cards that are sent to the Graveyard after they are used. One example of this type of card is "Card Destruction"(http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Card_Destruction) which forces both players to discard their hands and draw the same number of cards they had. Once this effect resolves, the spell card is sent to the Graveyard. Normal Spell cards have no symbol

Equip Spells

These are spell cards that change the ATK of DEF points of your monsters. "Black Pendant" (http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Black_Pendant), for example, increases the ATK points of the equipped Monster by 500 points. Equip Spells can only be used on one Monster (they do not apply to all monsters), or a specific type of Monster. Equip Spell cards stay on the field until one of the two following situations occur: 1) the Monster it is equipped to leaves the field or, 2) The card itself is destroyed. In both cases, the spell card goes to the Graveyard when one of those two situations occur. Equip Spell Cards have a plus sign as their symbol.

Quick-Play Spells

Quick-Play spell cards are the only Spell Cards that can be activated on your opponent's turn (normally, you can only activate Spell Cards on your turn). A common Quick-Play Spell Card is "Mystical Space Typhoon" (http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Mystical_Space_Typhoon). This Spell Card allows you to destroy one of your opponent's Spell or Trap Cards. Quick-Play Spell Cards are sent to the Graveyard after their effect resolves and a lightning bolt is their symbol.

Continuous Spell Cards

These are Spell Cards that remain active on the field until they are destroyed. "Card Trader" (http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Card_Trader) is a Continuous Spell Card that allows you to shuffle and redraw one card at the start of every turn. Continuous Spell Cards have an infinity icon as their symbol and are sent to the Graveyard when they are destroyed.

Field Spell Cards

Field Spells give bonus ATK points (and sometimes DEF points) to all Monsters on the field, including your opponent's, while some Field Spells apply only your Monsters. "The Seal of Orichalcos" (http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/The_Seal_of_Orichalcos) for example will give all your Monsters a 500 ATK point boosts for as long as it stays in play, but it destroys all Special Summoned Monsters you control at the time of its activation and prevents you from summoning from your Extra Deck. However, there are Field Spells which don't power up either player's Monsters but give the controller advantages. Understanding these cards and how to use is critical in a deck that relies on field enhancement. Unlike other Spell (and Trap) Cards, you destroy an activated Field Spell you control to play another. Under the current rules, each player may control only one Field Spell at a time. Field Spell Cards have an almost three-dimensional star as their symbol, and go the Graveyard when discarded or destroyed.

Ritual Spell Cards

Ritual Spell Cards are cards that are required to summon Ritual Monsters. Using "Black Magic Ritual" (http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Black_Magic_Ritual) will allow you Ritual Summon "Magician of Black Chaos" (see the "Basic Game Mechanics (Monster Cards) post for "Magician of Black Chaos") as long as you meet the requirements of the card. Ritual Spell Cards go the Graveyard after the Ritual Monster has been summoned. Ritual Spell Cards have a flame as their symbol.

Basic Game Mechanics (Monsters)

Alright, so before you start playing you need a deck and before you build a deck, you might find it useful to know what each card type of card does. Generally I will provide links to at least one example of a card, but if for whatever reason I haven't, the cards and types can be easily found with a quick Google search. The first type of Card I'll be covering is Monster Cards. A quick guide to the layout of a Monster Card is this: The Monsters' name appears at the top of the card, followed by the Monsters' Attribute (of which there are 6: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Dark and Light), below the name and attribute there is a row of stars indicating the Monsters' Level (or Rank for Xyz Monsters). Below that is a picture of the monster, then there is a box that will tell you the type of the Monster and whether or not the Monster has any effects. Lastly there is the attack (ATK) and defence (DEF) points of the Monster in the bottom right corner. You can only control 5 monsters maximum at any one time (overlaid monsters for Xyz Monsters do not count in this limit)

Types of Cards:

Normal Monsters

Normal Monsters don't see much play in today's game, which is a shame because I enjoy pulling out the old "Dark Magician" (http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_Magician) or "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" in duels (occasionally these specific cards see some play with cards like "Maiden With Eyes of Blue" or "Skilled Dark Magician"). Normal Monster cards are the basic attack and defence cards of the game. They have no effects that impact the game. While normally useless by today's standards, they can be useful to pull out some quick Syncro or Xyz summons. Normal Monsters are indicated by a yellow border.

Effect Monsters

Effect Monsters, as the name suggests, have effects that impact the game. For example, "Solar Flare Dragon" (http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Solar_Flare_Dragon) can not be attacked while the player controlling it also controls another Pyro-type Monster, and "Solar Flare Dragon" also inflicts 500 points of damage to the opponent's Life Points at the end of every turn as long as it stays on the field. Effect Monsters are the most common type of Monster you'll face in today's game, due to the popularity of Archetypes like "Lightsworn" and "Evilswarm" (both of which will cause you headaches, Archetypes will be discussed in later posts, this is just a basic overview). Effect Monster can also be hard to summon as some have Summoning Conditions. These will be discussed in the "Summoning" post. Effect Monsters are indicated by an orange (some times a browny-yellow if it's a very old card). There are also Flip Effect Monsters. These Monsters have their effects activated when you flip them or when they are attacked while Set (Setting will be explained in Summoning Methods). These also have an orange border.

Fusion Monsters

Fusion Monsters are Monsters that require two or monsters to be sent to the graveyard by a special spell card named "Polymerisation" (there are substitute cards, but again, this is a basic overview). Fusion Monsters sort of went out of popularity after the Yugioh GX series ended and cards like Syncro Monsters and Xyz Monsters were introduced, but they have come back mostly due to "Masked Hero" decks. A Fusion Monster may be a Normal Monster, like the "Flame Swordsman" and have no real impact on the game other than giving you a semi-strong beatstick, however others, like the "Dark Paladin" (http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_Paladin) have effects which might swing the game in your favour, depending on your situation. Fusion Monsters must be correctly Fusion Summoned first before they can be summoned from the Graveyard. Fusion Monsters are indicated with a Purple border and they are placed in the Extra Deck.

Ritual Monsters

Ritual Monsters have recently come back into the game thanks to Nekroz decks. They are special monsters that are Special Summon only and must be summoned by a Ritual Spell Card. "Magician of Black Chaos"(http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Magician_of_Black_Chaos) is a strong Ritual Monster that requires tributes that equal level 8 or higher (for example, two level 4's. The layout's of each card will be described later). Ritual Monsters can be summoned from the Graveyard, but they MUST BE SUMMONED CORRECTLY FIRST. I cannot stress that enough. For example, you can summon "Magician of Black Chaos" from the Graveyard if you correctly Ritual Summoned it first, but you CAN NOT summon it from the Graveyard if it was discarded from your hand or deck by a card effect. Ritual Monsters are indicated with a blue border.

Xyz Monsters

Xyz Monsters are some of the most recent additions to the game. They require a certain number of Monsters of the same level to be overlaid to summon. For example, "Number 39: Utopia" (http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Number_39:_Utopia) requires two monsters, each of Level 4 to summon. Xyz Monsters do not have Levels, but rather have Ranks. All Xyz Monsters I am aware of have effects which can massively impact the game. Xyz Monsters (like Fusion and Ritual Monsters) CAN NOT be special summoned from the Graveyard unless the are properly summoned first. Xyz Monsters are indicated with a black border and they are placed in the Extra Deck.

Syncro Monsters

Syncro Monsters are also new additions. They require at least one 'Tuner' and another monster to summon but the Levels of the 'Tuner' Monster and the other Monster(s) must equal the Level of the Syncro Monster. For example, "Lightning Warrior" (http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Lightning_Warrior) requires 1 'Tuner' and at least 1 other monster and the levels of all the monsters used must equal 7 in order to summon it. All Syncro Monsters I am aware of have effects. Syncro Monsters (Like Fusion, Ritual and Xyz Monsters) CAN NOT be summoned from the Graveyard unless they were correctly Syncro Summoned first. Syncro Monsters are indicated by a white border and are placed in the Extra Deck.

Pendulum Monsters

Pendulum Monsters are new additions and I'll admit, I don't know much about them. You can have two Pendulum Monsters in what is called a "Pendulum Zone" each Pendulum Monster has a Pendulum Scale. I'll explain all of this more thoroughly when I go through each summoning method. When Pendulum Monsters are destroyed while in the Pendulum Zone, they are placed face up in the Extra Deck and can be special summoned from that moment onwards to the field (not back to a Pendulum Zone). Pendulum Monsters are indicated with a Yellow-to-Green border (or Orange-to-Green if it is an Effect Pendulum Monster).

Introduction

I am an experienced Duelist, but I am by no means an expert at the game. The first few posts will cover basic gameplay mechanics, such as Normal Summons/Sets, Special Summons, Syncro/xyz/Pendulum Summons, Fusion Summons, etc. As well as the types of cards and their effects on the game. In a sense, the first few posts will be aimed at new players and getting them familiar with the game. Later posts will involve basic chains and little known rulings of common cards (an uncommon cards in some cases). If you wish to duel me, I am on the Dueling Network (http://www.duelingnetwork.com/) and my Alias is Big Dub. I am on most days so if you want to duel me or just have a general chat, feel free to message. I normally play in the Pool, but I am happy to set up specific duels (preferably no banned cards, but I will make exceptions for cards I have no issues with, like "Pot of Greed" for example). I hope as you read the posts, you will find them useful to help you with your game play and style of play.