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Carrotizer on YuGiOh
YGO TCG…Yu-Gi-Oh Tennis Chess Game?
October 16, 2006

             Whew, I’m back, after having to memorize “What a Piece of Work Is Man” from Hamlet for my English class…sorry for being so late XD

             I want to say this really bad. I was impressed by the number of e-mails I received. Apparently people cared a lot more about their decks than I expected. However, a feeling of dismay swept through me as I looked through the mails. Some of them were brilliant, fun, and potential tourney-worthy ideas. I’m not talking about competitiveness. I’m talking about creativity. People, especially the ones who sent me these already, I will NOT edit your deck if you just copy, paste your deck and tell me that you really need help. I’m not a deck maker. In fact, I’m not necessarily better at Yu-Gi-Oh than you all are. I just played it a bit longer, that’s all. I believe the fact that you needed to include basic information stopped many people from e-mailing. Nevertheless, there were countless number of e-mails that I received without name, deck’s purpose, and anything.

            Also, please don’t say I want deck’s size to be 40-44…I mean I rarely use decks with 45 cards, and that means I don’t care how many cards you use. There was only handful of e-mails that I thought was worth reading. No offense, and nothing personal, but guys, we are both wasting our times.    Also, I am going through them and sorting out, so please don’t e-mail me again if I didn’t fix it yet. I will try my best.

            Anyway, I wanted to write about a concept today. As you may have noticed, I play tennis and I am pretty much addicted to any kinds of board games but especially chess. What I noticed was that although I played chess first then tennis, Yu-Gi-Oh has many similarities with those two mind sports, being one as well.

            First you have to practice to get better. Deck-building is not a skill, although experience or creativity will impact the content and fun of your deck considerably. Yet aside from that, experience is pretty much what sharpens your instinct. For example, I use Water-Hand-Control deck, and when I sometimes have to chain Mind Crush, I have a little chance of guessing right if the opponent’s hand is 1 or 2. However, after duel 1, I would generally know what kind of theme it is and what are the “techs” and key support cards run in 2’s or 3’s, thus, tremendously increasing my chance of seeing opponent’s hand and discarding a card after checking the graveyard. Nobleman of Crossout is added bonus. 

            Second, you must be able to anticipate what is coming. Have you ever watched Roger Federer and Andy Roddick play? Or Rafael Nadal? They know what’s coming most of the time, because they know each other so well. Well, I should say because they are world-class players. Yet, sometimes surprising bluffs or mis-hits will catch your opponent buy surprise. 

            Finally, in all three types of games, we have our individual tastes or strategies. Generally we have our unique styles. Some of us like to play very aggressively, but some like to have the control of the duel. Don’t try to change this type because you feel as though yours is inferior. It is not. We just have to get around weaknesses, not abandon them as well as our strength. You can’t just make a super creative deck and win. Why? It’s not because you are not creative enough, but it is because you need a lot of experience with your decks. What cards are left? What cards did I use? Dark Maltos has written a splendid article about how to get used to your deck, and thus improving your knowledge throughout the game. Personally, I think that is one of the most important thing. You have to know what are the chances of doing this if I make this move against this move. Just like tennis. You slice it, and assuming your opponent comes to the net offensively, you would then lob it, thus draining opponent’s energy. This can get risky if you cannot follow opponent’s tempo.  

            From now on, when I analyze decks, I’ll use this format; I’ll see the weakness, how to counter opponents countering your moves, and how to be consistent. After all, consistency, and along with killer moves, is what wins you the game. 

            Hopefully, this has given you some information about decks. I’ll constantly writing about these, so don’t wait for me, go for it! You will learn it in few weeks, and possibly master it in few months. I’ll gladly duel you whenever possible, assuming they fix my darn DSL connection so that I don’t disconnect whenever I try to think for few minutes TT_TT 

            Peace out! You can reach me @ paulyeem@hotmail.com

By |S|Carrotizer!