[Legend Series] Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Goal

I've been playing Magic: The Gathering since September. I've also played the occasional game of Cardfight: Vanguard and watched the anime for the latter. However, someone challenged me to a duel and so I went onto DuelingNetwork to do so. But then as soon as I started playing, I realised something.

I remembered every single rule.
I remembered how to play the deck, card-for-card.
I remembered exactly what to do, despite having played many games in the interim.

And then it struck me. That's what Yu-Gi-Oh!'s all about. Simple rules, simple gameplay. It's all about collecting certain cards and using them. There's a reason YGO typically has the same set of people within a top 8 of a tourney (travel permitting, of course, so in each area generally) and why MTG's top 8 lineup varies massively. It's because MTG is focused on strategy, whilst YGO is aimed at being accessible for children. It is a children's card game after all, and it's collectible (and becoming stronger) value only enhances this.

As for Vanguard, it's also designed to be a mix of the two. It's complex enough to hold its own with MTG, but it's got extra rules you need to know at the start and more to learn, hence why I don't believe CFV will last very long, despite its fun nature. The anime and its newness are its current draws, and there is only one card type to really worry about at the minute - monsters. Every card can be played at any time each is permitted, but a lack of a second main phrase within the game erases post-combat strategies, making it an incredibly risky venture. It's all about luck, even moreso than Yugioh or Magic.

You see, Yugioh's based on using certain cards to get specific others for the situation from the deck - going first gives you this card advantage. Magic also works the same way, but the presence of mana and fewer cards for card or mana fixing (and its over-reliance on mana in general) hinders the game a bit for younger players who want to be able to do anything anytime.

And so, Vanguard, by the creators of Yugioh and Digimon (the latter, I believe, but I could be wrong?) focuses more on the story and collectible nature of the game whilst Yugioh's anime and manga focus so much on the story that it almost hides the automated nature of the card game. Thus, Yugioh's main aim is to reach victory by activating a certain string of cards in a row.

Gladiator Beasts is:

[Reach any field situation wherein Bestari ends up on the field -> Gyzarus -> attack -> Summon 2 GBs including Laquari unless one is in hand -> Summon 3rd GB -> Herakilnos -> Repeat

Crystal Beasts is far less obvious, but it is there:

Pegasus -> Ruins -> end -> Pegasus -> Ruins -> end -> Crystal Abundance

Of course, any combination of cards would eventually lead to the beast's victory, but it is a bit more situational than the GB's set, hence its lower win rate. It depends on the opponent attacking you and putting 4 S/Ts in your S/T zone too.

Want another? Sure.
Actually, I think you can figure out Windups and X-Sabers for yourself.

But the point is that the game is easy to learn and pick up despite being away from it for months or even years on end, but impossible to get back into unless you have the correct combination of cards which allows for:

• Consistency
  
• Negation

It is these two factors which will allow you to win nearly every game, alone. Destruction works well against an opponent that has their win condition set up before you, but if you go first, you only need these two.

And so ends my article. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

I definitely wouldn't call yugioh's rules simple... or perhaps they are simple, just with so much ruling dragging it down, I find other card games much easier to play.

The basics are very simple to learn and return to, I'm not talking about the dozens of other rules that define competitive play.

I think you're underestimating the amount of skill it takes to play Yu-Gi-Oh at a high level. I've never played MTG, so I wouldn't be able to say it is more complex than that, but Yu-Gi-Oh isn't all about achieving certain card sequences, it's often about improvisation and adaptation to what the current game state is.

The trouble is that the high level gameplay all seems to amount to automatic decks that win by turn 3, so there is never really a 'game state' to adapt to. I suggest giving MTG a try and you'll see the difference even at the lower levels.

lol, i find yugioh a bit hard to learn, i found the whole summoning bit a little hard to learn. once u have learned it, u never forget. But i do like the article, 10/10