I Made My Friends Try Yu-Gi-Oh and... 

start them off with the OG structure decks that you and alec would play with. That way they get the base game down before getting into the complex extra deck monsters, thats what usually turns people off is big combos and extra deck monsters

You should see if the pokemon or magic starter set is better or not and why in another video with em. Maybe see which they prefer too.

You know what would have been just easier Way for people to learn how to play yugioh Just use master Dual. Like you ever played the computer ones where like you have to fight a robot and like the robot head like five Deck They lyrically can show somebody How to play from scratch I'm talking about making this thing as basic as they possibly Can. I mean even to the point where's teaching you how to make deck, Is how many goes in one Extra decks, spells, traps I'm talking about Baby level teaching. And just lyrically let them learn that for like a day. And then the next day teach him the next lesson. That way they can lyrically just go back and play that same one. That same day learned it well enough to the point where they are ready for the next interaction. Also this would also give people a chance to test decks. And lyrically learn new strategies

@@Ratchetfan321 I play both, (started pokemon a week ago) and those games don't even need starter sets the way yugioh does. You can just get the basic rules down by playing a game or two on a simulator (tcg live / mtg arena) and reading the cards (which takes seconds to do). While both of those games can become complex you don't need a whole lot to get going. Even the most complex parts can be understood without help, just a bit of logic upon first seeing it. Yugioh lacks the solid core rules those two have, so it has this insane barrier of entry even to people that played before. People harp on the summoning mechanics, but realistically, those are all simple. The problem is that each deck/archetype is it's own game to an extent with very little knowledge that can transfer from one to another. In pokemon or magic you can get a grasp of an opponents deck when you first see it. In yugioh unless you know the deck, you have no way to intuit out what the hell they are trying to do or what they try to end on because so many cards are just a part of a lengthy sequence with little value on their own nowadays.

**IDEA!!!!** Make your own preset decks for beginners, making EVERY card low tier without complicated alternative summoning, and try it again with your two friends. Heck, don't use synchros or xyzs monsters for a different experience.

The fact that you are not supposed to crow the eldlich is completely moronic. If they let newcomers perform a play, at least make that authentic and explain the reasoning properly.

Yeah, I was really surprised. It's not like it costs them a lot extra, it's just paper. Are they afraid people might want to buy this product? 🤔

Yes. The cheap playmats that old starter decks came with.

There are tiny ass penny sized tokens you have to cut out from a page at the end of the book lmaooooooo

Hey man I know the last time we tried Yugioh you hated it and it was awful and confusing but come over again and try the new product I got. Withers: No They had 1 chance with this product for people to introduce their friends, Not many people will want to give it another try after this.

Props to dad

Damn I guess that's the retirement money gone

What strategy did he like

@@ashikjaman1940 lol

Thats pretty cool.

That’s practically the game’s signature trait.

@@Armann_ Considering the art style is going more towards generic anime waifus and traps are basically useless, it's the only trait it has left.

@@SomeRandomJackAss Well, it’s always been a Japanese brand/culture. I’m not an anime fan at all, but I like it because my favourite “mythical creatures” mid-evil ages was _Dragons_ (however each their own, witchcraft, whatever dabble of the likes). Also, early 2004’s/06 whenever this was introduced to the western culture I appreciated how it is. I believe it’s well worth the investment [like the “Magic” cards is.]. Personal preferences, but tightly competitive.

This is why they should have added keywords lmao

They should have made an ANIME styled video that you watch before you play. And there should have been a paper play mat.

Not even a little arts and crafts page for making a DIY mat out of some paper or something lmao

I swear every other Yu-Gi-Oh product that isn't a booster pack/box comes with some kind of playmat. Konami must've been rly proud of that "Comic".

To be fair they add graphics of how the field looks

@@DeathlyBioShockI have countless paper mats from the various decks and boxes. It’s not expensive or hard to fit two of them into the box.

They should’ve put in like a thick game board mat.

Konami is too cheap for that

I'll never tell. 😉

@@TeamAPS 🫡

Seal of Orichalcos ftw

Aren't we all

Legitimately considering this myself! I feel like R&D had a good idea here, and I'm serious about that. A scripted duel makes a lot of sense on paper! It just feels like they kind of... gave up? So many missing mechanics and a duel that just kind of... ends, abruptly. And then outright exclusion of a playmat. This thing needed more time in the oven.

@@TeamAPSi’d totally watch you guys make a scripted duel video, i’m seeing it where could use structure decks, and maybe pick 2 that have equal level of complexity and use them for the script, it would be a better showcase of intermediate yugioh while also being something thats as affordable as the starter set that has a better time scaling up in the future.

Maybe instead of trying to cover so many mechanics in one duel they could've had sets for a handful of mechanics each? Theres too much to cover in one duel.

I think the ship has all but sailed at this point. Its such a nerdy game that either needs dedicated retro formats or a complete reboot overhaul.

Magic has like two hundred words with rules meaning, double-faced cards, and infinite loops that come about in the the stupidest fashions, and IT'S still more intuitive than this nonsense.

THANK YOU. It's impossible to learn how to take a turn when you don't even know what a turn is yet.

Not that the phases are a bad place to start but wouldn't it be more straightforward to begin with explaining the cards and the field (Main and Extra deck and where which card can end up)? The phases are about what you can do with the cards and when, so it seems helpful for this to already have a grasp of what cards there are.

​@@xCorvus7x yes, everyone that play yugioh with me was taught how to play by me, and it is a pretty big group, lile 12 people. Everytime I start by showing monsters, spells and traps, then I show the different types of said card (quick play, field, etc). Then I show the playmat, explain a little bit more and move to the phases

@@levicastro1412 Yeah. This frontloads a lot of info at once but that seems inevitable. It's normal to spend some time learning the fundamental rules whenever you pick up a new game, so the question is how this is done in the most understandable, most sensible fashion.

​@@xCorvus7xthe card types are most pretty intuitive, which helps. Only confusing one is counter-trap or maybe ritual spell

Bro we all be sick of Konami’s lack of attention to the TCG side. It’s why I’ve pretty much quit at this point and only play casually

@@ignisofficialgaming agreed, it's why I went to mtg. Sure the power creep is rough sometimes, but they balance it almost immediately the next block

And it’s a concept that pokemon already executed better

I mistook your pfp for ltg 🌩🌩🌩

Seems to be a constant problem whenever Konami experiments. And sadly the Game is Largely THAT! An Experiment!

@@sRtAoIrNm pokemon is wildly more simple tbf

Yup exactly i bet you can make a better one victor.

Bro I've been playing yugioh since 2003 and duel links since 2018 and I have no clue about pendulum summons 😂😂

​@@ducky_vx1_gamingand, realistically, you'll probably never have to learn. Pendulum as a whole has been kicked behind the shed like a wounded animal by Konami. Pend without Electrumite is ok at best and, with every floodgate that stops pend at 3 after the 2023 end-of-year banlist, it likely will never be good again.

Pendulum as a mechanic isn't necessary. The only time you might do it is if you have two pend monsters with really good pend effects that just happen to synergize in a deck. I use fluffal angel and one of the predplant dudes in a frightfur deck and I think ive pend summoned maybe five times in a hundred or so matches lol

You can always play older formats like Goat or Edison

Edison is definitely a great format to introduce new players to the game with. It’s slow enough that everything isn’t done by turn 3 but it’s swingy enough that you have big moves happen and feel really powerful even if you’re entry level.

Classic YGO story lol

​@@Telados Play them where? Without knowing/having someone else avaliable who's also interested in _only_ playing those formats, you're stuck with the standard game.

@@gabeitches87 dueling book has edison now

Yeah, one sneeze and the whole game state is fucked.

It's pretty good but I think there should be tutorials about lingering effects, chains, more in depth tutorials for each summoning mechanic and extra deck type, and of course an entire section about handtraps. Also a section about how to out floodgates or monsters with protection would be invaluable to new players. As a returnee who's adjusted over the past year and a half I'm getting pretty good. Imagine a new player who faces avramax for the first time though. They need to know how to beat cards like that, they absolutely will face them sooner or later.

This really is a better way to teach new players, but Konami is still stuck on paper like it's the 90s.

It should have been more board game-like, like the Pokemon starter thing.

Someone at Konami didn’t think this through and just wanted to make some quick money…

It’s how I learned and taught my kids. It really is a great product with all the components to help get new players familiar with the game. Even the gameboard is marked with helpful information for newbies.

The number of things Pokémon does right compared to the competition is staggering.

Agree, Pokémon is also way easier to learn, me and my gf had a great time learning Pokémon, but learning learning was way to complicated for her lol

I’ll be your friend

@@Knytewish I'll be both your friends

@@Jakoby777 nothing can overcome the power of friendship 💪

Can i be your friend?

Me too!

They are literally a card game company. Printing cards is literally their ONLY JOB. THEY HAD ONE JOB. AND THE SAID “here print out these hilariously small black and white jpegs”

Yes this exactly

Indeed. They should just make a second book on more advanced stuff but also keep the original with its basics. I still have mine and they taught me how to play.

@@Merilirem I tried getting into master duel, its been a decade+ since I played. Really wish MD started you out with like old school yugioh and then allowed you to work your way up instead of throwing you in almost immediately to modern cards

Different time tbh but your'e right. As an 8 year old kid I would just read the book lmao. That along with playing irl with my friends and playing the video games came a long way. YGO really is a game where you have to genuinely enjoy it and consume it in a few different ways. It was also just a great time to be a kid back then lol. Couldn't imagine trying to get into it now.

Those Pokemon theme decks were supremely ass for the most part, I'll admit.

Back then the cars were simpler, if you add a "real deck" now, new players will give up as soon as they see the cards.

Incredibly based deck choices

Skull servant best deck!

Probably you will do. It is a shame the most souless and incompetent people to ever live are the ones working for a greedy and corrupt corporation instead a real player. It is nuts.

the tag force games did a great job at teaching the basics

If people play through and progress through the solo mode, it can be quite handy for just getting some practice in. Your starter deck is basic enough, maybe you resolve some spells and win with 1600ATK beatdown. then you play more and unlock a tribute summon structure deck, then you keep going and unlock a ritual structure deck, then fusion, then another fusion that breaks the rules(gladiator beasts), then an xyz structure deck, then finally a synchro structure deck. Nothing for links besides what comes in the starter deck (they really should have made a world chalice structure deck, idk what they were thinking), but they at least give you all the world chalice cards once you get to that point in solo mode. One big issue is they need to put some beginner friendly structure decks in the shop, as even dark magician is confusing for a new player

@@phoenixvance6642 i see, i think it's pretty cool that they do so, but the issue still remains that you can't really take the same experiences from Master duel to a locals because of the difference in formats. Understandable they'd face the same type of decks like branded, Labrinth, etc but they build decks to counter different problems in each format, so while not impossible it is an adjustment, where you could have just taken a new player through to the TCG format at the beginning. I feel like they need to have a better distinction between types of players. The new player issue in Yu-Gi-Oh is an average experience of someone finding Yu-Gi-Oh, wanting to try it, finding a store to play at, buying a structure deck because they don't know better, then getting 2-0d every match and then leaving because it's not an environment they're able to squeeze into. I feel if we had like a ranking system like Master duel has but for the TCG, it'd be a lot easier to play because you're paired with people of the same caliper and those who aren't can play people in their caliper until they're ready and able to play someone who's in a higher level than themselves, there are definitely drawbacks to this as well, but it's just food for thought on the issue of new player retention

Master Duel does a better job just because it has several solo modes in a intuitive videogame setting... but they aren't that great tbh. they keep making the same mistake of having janky unplayable decks , over and over again. it's not simpler, it's frustrating

However, the idea of a scripted duel is probably good since it lets you gradually introduce mechanics as you go instead of throwing someone into the deep end or making them read a rule book. That comic looked more like an overly wordy & obtuse rule book though

They also taught me about more subtle mechanics like missing timing from "When" and "If" cards or Extra Deck monsters that were not Special Summoned properly are unable to be brought back. The NDS games are still my all time favourite. They weren't head scratching hard but could still provide real challenges as you go on while teaching you through directly dueling instead of reading walls of text. Those games having actual story is also a big bonus since you're basically replacing the protagonist from the series the games are based from like Jaden and Yusei.

Eternal Duelist soul from over 20 years ago is where I learned the game. And that basis of knowledge was enough backing to learn the modern game off of

I think from the discussion around this product and especially watching this video, it’s pretty clear to me that a video series you can watch with a QR code would work much better than a scripted duel or product. I get the idea behind having you physically handle the cards as you learn, but I think the reality of having to flip from book to cards and back seems like too much of a hassle to be worth it. A video could walk you through phases and explain the rules, including some of the more niche interactions (like the scripted duel does) in ways that are much easier to follow than big walls of text.

Those scripted duels already exist in Master Duel. They're the Tutorial for new players.

​@@SakuraAvalon Yes, they are. I always forget those exist there.

This is actually a good idea. Back in the day me and the mates played the game like it was on the anime. Battle City blew our brains! Not to mention what you suggest sound slike it will be very easy to explain ala let's say start with school trounament (starter decks, basic rules, slight changes to decsk via trading). Then go regional with more complicated rules, more changes to decks and adapting to new format. Then let's say something like battle cityr where not only is the game already complicated as irl but you have to quickly adapt, change decks engines, introduce bans and somehwere along the line a master plotline has been introduced slowly brewing to veer its head in this situation. It does sound like a typical shonen progression. Not to mention that if they care and the anime is successful they cna even give love to other formats, Speed Duels etc byt having side-arc with them (ala we visit a city where they play Edison and our band of plucky heroes wants to participate in a local tournament).

True, but... imagine Konami trying to market the game by teaching how it's ACTUALLY played. "Hi kids. Here's how to play Yu-Gi-Oh!. First. You'll need a few hundred dollars. Go online and purchase this list of cards: Got them? Excellent. Keep in mind that we'll make them obsolete in a year. So keep an extra hundred dollars handy. :) Step 2 is to play this exact combo. Do this and you'll win. "What do I do if I don't draw the cards needed? What if the combo gets countered?" Don't worry. You simply place your hand on top of your deck and declare you surrender. Now go out there and give us your money!" Sure it's accurate to the current competetive scene, but NO-ONE without would ever want to play a game like that and Konami knows it.

Yup. Pretty much. I figured that the product held your hand long enough for the players to continue on their own.

@@seekertosecrets "to continue in their own" as if the decks were playable without the script

I believe it is also the Vagabond sprite in Duel Links.

@@sovest555 word, a real nameless protagonist

In other words, it's a cheap, stock asset. lol

@@SakuraAvalon Rather it is meant to represent a generic, faceless duelist devoid of true branding.

the most iconic nameless guy in yugioh

Yep I only ever played duel links and ymd and honestly it's better especially for newer players it tells you the phases, what cards can be activated highlights what effects are being used and other stuff

I assume this is their rationale. Even including the crappy paper tokens on the same page where they’re summoned in the scripted duel would have alleviated a lot of the issues, I think.

Even Duel Links helps more for learning the game, and that's not even the standard/master duel format lol

I was thinking the same thing.

My only critique is no premade world chalice structure deck to help develop link climbing knowledge and the shiranui being a weird synchro deck to start with if you didnt pick the synchro struct. deck and get prior practice with them

Also that is free not like this one...

Wouldn’t even need a DVD. Just a QR code to a RU-vid video everyone can access using their phone.

@isidoreaerys8745 that could also work. Or if they don't want it on RU-vid, then Konami could have it on their official site and still use the QR code to access it. Both this option and the one you mentioned would be cheaper than the DVD and no real extra cost to the deck. It's really bad when the fans could come up with better ideas and run Konami better than the actual US branch of Konami.

The problem with master duel is that is a best of 1, wich creates a lot of degen strats to win 1 game and thats it, while atleast in person you can side things for duel 2 or 3

"Some reason" being that the cards arent OP with half a dozen effects

@@Tylerm1013 yeah and sadly on the other end the common cards they included weren't very good they could've easily given much better cards than these

I stopped playing yugioh years and years ago. The way in which master duel lets you incrementally learn as you go through the game is actually fantastic. It's all about those small increments that let you build on what tou learned previously.

@@eeyuup thats exactly why I say the master duel tutorial section is the absolute best way to teach yugioh

I think the only way to introduce friends into YugiOh is...we gotta start from the bottom. "Bottom" as in old school stuff like..Man Eater Bug, old school 1800 to 1900 Beat down sticks, let them play at their paste and slowly teach them the other formats.

@@SCH292 Exactly also just make cards easier to read and maybe add bullet points or something to help people more.

@@Kekocola nah, I think they should do something like a "speed duels" with 20 cards and 5 extra deck cards type decks(fusion, xyz, synchro and links) starting with 4000 life points. Then, add some staples like ash blossom, droll, nibiru, evenly match, etc. So they get familiar for handtraps and broad breakers. Later on, they can use these common rarity staples and choose their favorite type of summoning. But, knowing konami, this is too hard to ask for.

I have tried Magic welcome decks and i can definitely say it's way smoother, however these products are built with the intention and purpose of introduction, you'd still need to buy a proper deck to play in a locals environment. And as for Pokemon, the beginners decks are really good for learning how to play but like ygo has the same ratios issue where you'd need a minimum of 2 (in my opinion) to have a decent enough deck to consistently do things you need to do with any given strategy.

@nikylannaidu1861 I'd argue tho at least with these and the magic starter sets neither deck is really local playable as you would get pummeled. The welcome decks in magic are for beginners yes but they also make 2 player starter sets too so those may also be a viable option to do a vid with

@@Ratchetfan321 yeah, my point wasn't really for tournament viability so much as the experience of learning how to play. When i first tried to teach my brother MTG, i went to locals asked for 2 welcome decks and made him follow the instruction cards, while explaining terms and abilities. They do a good job of explaining turn order and those types of details that the Yu-Gi-Oh rule book would have sufficed in doing, but Konami dropped the ball on that in this 2 player starter decks. When it comes to magic and pokémon they also have 2 player sets as you've pointed out, but those are generally marketed at people to play them together, like a casual game at home with a friend or sibling, this product is intended only for the purpose of learning in my opinion, whereas the magic and pokémon ones can facilitate both needs, learning and playing (albeit in a private capacity, which is fine) I'm not trying to argue that any one game does it the best, I'm just pointing out for how long this product took since it's reveal, it should have been a bit better in the basics department, like mats and rulebooks instead of solely relying on their "manga" to teach them how to properly do things. I think this was more marketed to preexisting players who what to get their friends into Yugioh more than someone discovering it on their own

Yes. Ghoti, Melffy, Swordsoul, Mannadium, ursarctics, Mayakashi all have completely different synchro summoning techniques.

lol

Same 😂

Fucking exactly.

Embezzlement. The Whole thing is a money laundering scheme at this point.

Also. Rather than selling a realistic scripted duel between two constructed decks. Like Spright vs. Swordsoul. Which you could shuffle and acrually attempt to play on your own. They are these weird normal monster soup piles which have unplayable ratios of cards with no synergy. So there’s no way for the decks to be shuffled and played after the initial duel. Nothing is stopping them from printing a Spright- Swordsoul deck where player one opens ash, called by, Mo ye, Taia, desires. And the other opens blue, evenly matched, Lightning storm, nimble beaver, and kurikara. You know like actual Yugioh is played. And then just put all the search targets on the bottom of the deck with a little notice (normally you shuffle your deck after finding your search target but because this is a scripted duel you will find the card you’re looking for on the bottom of your deck so no need to break up the deck order)