Every time Yugioh adds a new mechanic, there’s some resistance from old-school fans. Xyz Monsters are known to confuse people with their Ranks and Materials. However, these mechanics do serve a specific purpose. In this article, AlphaKretin analyses the design of Xyz Monsters and discussing if the cruft is worth the confusion.

Whenever Konami releases a new banlist, one can count on the creativity of the players in finding out what the new “flavor of the format” deck is. Along with this brainstorming of new decks comes the search for counters or improvements to the deck. In the past, some of these “side deck” or “tech” options proved to be a fleeting fad that faded away, but there have been examples of cards that became integrated into future deck profiles. We will be going through a short history of how some cards came to be used to counter or help the meta, and whether they were effective.

Duelingbook now has a custom cards feature! This article covers the essential custom card creation skills, such that you can augment your custom archetypes and decks!

Konami introduced many new archetypes with the release of Soul Fusion. Of the 4, I decided to write about Orcusts, a DARK Machine archetype revolving around the banish mechanic. Just recently, Konami revealed new support for the deck.

When a banlist is rumored to be released, predictions for what will be hit are always interesting to see. Whether one thinks that Firewall Dragon‘s banning or El Shaddoll Construct‘s freedom is imminent, it is always a mystery how the next banlist will shake up the meta.

Pendulum monsters are some of the oddest cards in Yu-Gi-Oh!, boasting multiple effects and applications. There are a ton of moving parts, such as maintaining scales and knowing which combo pieces can survive disruption. Due to this, Pendulum-based decks can be disrupted easily. Additionally, because of their need for a mix of combo pieces and scales, the room in their deck to counteract disruption is limited. For the purpose of this article, I’m going to refer to Pendulum Magicians as currently they are the most relevant Pendulum deck.

The first main set of 2019 will be no other than Savage Strike, a set full of powerful cards to spice up the game. It includes the set’s cover card, Borreload Savage Dragon, a very solid monster that boasts a strong effect, powerful stats, and very cool artwork.

Speed Dueling is a new format that is similar to Duel Links, in that the Deck and playing field is smaller, starting LP is 4000, and players have access to skills. Only “speed duel” cards can be used in this format, which are going to available in Starter Deck: Destiny Masters and Starter Deck: Duelists of Tomorrow. Before we look at the meta-relevant cards in the format and skills, let’s look at what the rules are and how they change from Advanced format.

The year is 2019. Trickstars have now been meta viable for nearly eighteen months and – remarkably – very little has changed. Since the last time we took a peek at our Fairy friends, builds have cut cheesy win conditions like Chain Summoning for more consistent game-enders like Cyber Dragon and Dinowrestler Pankratops. The deck boasts an impeccable rogue matchup alongside hyper-specific maindeck answers to meta decks. If you’re looking for a deck with staying power, Trickstar remains a viable option.

Sidedecking is oftentimes overlooked as an important part of the game. This is despite the fact that the majority of your games at an event are going to be played after siding. Here we will be looking at the very fundamentals of building a sideboard and why these rules matter. This article is not about the best techs to beat the current meta but rather the tools you can use to side in any meta. This includes the trends at your locals where more people could be on Dinos or Orcust than all the meta decks combined.