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Miyamoto Musashi's Book of Yugioh Strategy - Nemesis
Miyamoto Musashi's Book of Yugioh Strategy
by Nemesis

Well known to most martial artists, Musashi is considered the Kensei, or sword-saint of Japan. Although his teachings mainly focused on swordmanship, his philosophies can be applied to all martial arts, including karate, judo, fencing... and even dueling. Musashi's book, the Book of Five Rings, explains the frame of mind of a warrior when preparing, partaking in, and contemplating mortal combat. Although a handful of plastic-sleeved cards may not be as lethal, a duel of Yugioh can be as intense. I doubt you'll kill over sixty men in duels like Musashi, but maybe, in his teachings, you can learn how to beat the crap out of your opponent in any duel. Here are his teachings condensed (and translated into Yugioh lingo) from the Book of Fire:

Maintain Control of the Field - Use everything to your advantage at all times. Keep field control. Each move should position you to situation where you have more control and advantage. When you have your opponent backed in a corner and confused, go in for the kill and do not let him regain composure. Know your situation well and always keep a backup strategy for when you lose field control.

Three Strategies to Control the Opponent - (1) Be aggressive and keep him mentally off balance and on the defensive. (2) Step back from his offense and draw him into your strategy (for example, letting your opponent bring out his Jinzo so that you can Snatch Steal him, if Snatching his Jinzo was your plan to start with). (3) When you both play aggressively, be stronger in spirit and force the lead. Even if your opponent carries a monster of a deck, keep your resolve strong and cut his LP down point by point.

Crossing the Ravine - meaning having courage in enter battle at the right place and time. Know your metagame and come prepared and ready to give it your all. If you are aware of your metagame, you will always know when to use which strategy and when, and when to use the right card and the right time.

Knowing the Right time - The better you know the opponent and his strengths and weaknesses, the better equipped you are for battle. You learn this constantly practicing with the attitude of destroying the opponent, knowing your situation at all times, and understanding where you are in the battle. Knowing time means that you can instantly assess a situation and act accordingly.

Stepping on the Opponent's Cards - (Please don't go and dance on someone's cards) Attack while your opponent attacks and you will disrupt his strategy (step on his cards) and make him mentally lose balance and advantage. As soon as you sense an onslaught on your LP, immediately comeback with your own counter-attack on him and his confidence.

Collapsing an Opponent's Spirit - The heart of the cards are underrated and can make even the weakest of decks beat an experienced player. You do this by forcing your opponent to make unnecessary moves under the pressure of your attack. Break his timing and rhythm. Surprise him with an unexpected strategy and don't let him get his footing: rush him, discourage him; make him rethink his strategy and he's bound to lose.

Becoming the Opponent - The Way of the Warrior does not let you accept that you are a worse player or have worse cards than your opponent at any time. Do not allow yourself to be your own opponent and believe that you will win.

Releasing the Grip - When you and your opponent are obviously evenly matched, abruptly let go of your rhythm, timing and strategy (change it completely) and you'll throw your opponent off to regain advantage.

Moving like a Shadow - Sometimes, you will need to veil your true strategy; have you opponent think your strategy is one thing while setting up for another (setting up a "FINAL" on the field while actually collecting Exodia pieces in your hands).

Impress your Attitude - Your opponent can read your attitude and reactions. Always keep calm and confident of your win, and your opponent will play carefully and meekly, making him susceptible to a powerful attack.

Scaring the Enemy - "The difference between a half-hearted scream to scare the enemy and a resolute shout is the difference between bragging and making a commitment to attack with the intent to win." Play to win; not to scare your opponent with big ultra rare holofoil monsters, and not to show off to your friends. Smoke and mirrors don't actually win duels, only create the illusion.

Chip Away at the Edges - Even if defeating your opponent seems impossible, find their weakness and chip away at it little by little, even if it means sacrificing cards. Every deck strategy leaves themselves open because they need flexibility in order to set up their strategy: a deck heavy in Chaos rely on recursion, m/t removal, disruption, and monster removal, but leave themselves open to burn, deck destruction and graveyard removal.

Moving with the Opponent - With every step the opponent takes back, you take one forward, letting them know that you don't think their attacks can hurt you. Never retreat in your strategy, no matter what you opponent does; do this until you act and react without thinking, and you won't let your opponent get a break.

Crush the Opponent's Game and Spirit - This may sound mean, but essential to a constant win against any opponent. Humiliate him the instant before you go for the win. Finish them off with a souped up Kuriboh. Keep your concentration intense and directly focused on the winning moment. You duel to have fun, but you continue to duel to win.

The Sun, Moon, and Stars - When the sun sets, it reflects it continues to bring light to the world by reflecting it's light on the moon. When the moon is eclipsed by the world, there is always another star to shed light on to the world. When you strategy doesn't work, try another way of achieving your strategy; and if that doesn't work, change your strategy completely in the duel to still get the win.

Snake's Head, Snake's Tail - When two opponents become entangled in similar strategies or resolution, one has to be flexible to once again make sense out of the situation, thus re-evaluating your opponent's head and tail (or strength and weakness). Flexibility and understanding that there are more than one path towards a win are key.

Releasing the Cards - The warrior does not depend on any one card to gain them the win; you should depend on yourself and your ability, and not on your cards.

Body and Spirit of Stone - When you understand the Way, you can play the duel any way you want. You can be aggressive like Fire, flexible like Aqua, stealthy like Dark, or defensive like Earth. Play like you're not even in the game. Action by not-acting. Thinking by not-thinking. Once you understand these strategies, you cannot be beaten by any opponent.

Musashi said, "No man is invincible, and therefore no man can fully understand that which would make him invincible." No one can avoid being defeated at some point in their many duels or in life, but you can try. Practice to achieve perfection, but remember that perfection cannot be achieved. There is no one way to play Yugioh, no one deck to defeat all decks, but when you duel to become a better duelist, you'll always win. ( I love cheesy endings! ^_^)

Questions? Comments? Send them to cepeda617@comcast.net