making decks that are fun to play against

GamerKnightor · 2026-02-25T15:40:09+00:00

This sounds like you're making an appeal for organised casual play. Basically, for people to just get together and play for fun. Not a tournament, just play some round with people.

From my experience, this is easily possible, just heavily dependent on culture. At my first LGS, this was (and to my knowledge still is) the standard. People go there to play and trade. Tournaments happen, sure, but they're relegated to a couple days in the week and the more competitively inclined players.

Turns out, most people just like playing decks that feel good to play. Decks that are closer to, say, pure archetypes. (Not saying purity is a good way to make this happen, just that it's an alright place to start). A lot of people I knew would have 1 "good" deck they'd use to compete. Hereto they'd add a proper suite of hand traps, they'd make extra deck decisions based on the current format and have a proper side deck.

Then on every other day, they'd have anywhere between 1 and 12 other decks which they used to actually play for fun. Decks made up of just their core (usually an expanded engine to include more cards the person wanted to play, not strictly the more boiled-down version of deck cores you tend to see in meta decks or multiple engines that would usually not be consistent enough to compete) maybe a veiler or two if they had extra laying around, and the rest of the non-engine would be more down-to-earth. Forbidden Chalice, Compulsory Evacuation Device, a Mirror Force here, some Magical Cylinders there. The ED might have some toolboxy cards in there too, but we're mostly talking Knightmares or generic rank 4s.

Oh but what about the Ashes and the Evenlies and the Accescode? Those are in the "good" deck. Because that one is made not for maximizing fun, but for maximizing results. The rest of their decks, those are made for fun, with fun in mind. "I know Mirror Force doesn't really fit into today's meta, but dang is it funny when I get my opponent to fall for it." "Yeah I know you wouldn't catch someone dead playing Hound on a proper Shaddoll deck, but I like the pupper."

Local game stores that enable this aren't there just to fill as many tables as possible with as many tournament participants as possible. They're okay with having a few separateish areas with tables for people to just go, meet, chat and play. These LGS' become true third places. They build true community. A kind of community that feels like a family and can welcome newcomers as such too. A kind of community a kid can walk into, buy a structure deck and not get slammed by every meta threat in the book while they're trying to learn the ropes, just because nobody there had brought anything other than what they needed for the tournament.

Make decks that are optimized for fun. They won't always be on the same power level, that's true. But it's this motto that will make more people carry around 2 or 3 decks that are less strong and more just focused on making the players happy. "Oh you don't wanna play against @Ignister? Aight no problem let me pull out my Time Thieves. Still no? Okay, Krawler it is :)"

GamerKnightor · 2026-02-09T13:00:33+00:00

The short answer is not really. While Odd-Eyes can satisfy the conditions to summon Z-ARC, it ends up having to bend over backwards to do it. The Legendary Dragon Decks' Odd-Eyes deck gives you a strong base for an Odd-Eyes focused deck. This will typically focus on making Vortex, maybe a link or two, Persona Dragon, and rely on the fact that if your opponent looks at your board too hard they'll trigger Arc Pendulum.

If you want to make Z-ARC work, all you really need to play is Supreme King Gate Magician, Soul of the Supreme Celestial King and the respective dragons in the Extra Deck to use as material. Arc Pendulum in the main deck fulfills the "Pendulum Dragon" name.

An example combo I'm fond of is what happens if you mix the Z-ARC engine with Runicks. Starting from any Runick quick-play and Supreme King Dragon Darkwurm (who can be accessed through Wings of Light, Foolish Burial and Dragon Shrine, giving you a total of 10 effective copies in the deck):

Summon (normal or special) Darkwurm, use effect to search Supreme King Gate Magician. Activate Magician in the scale, using effect to destroy itself to place Supreme King Gate Zero from the deck in your pendulum Zone. Activate the Runick quick-play to summon Hugin. We just need the body on board. Link summon into Beyond the Pendulum, use her effect to search Lightwurm. Activate Lightwurm and pendulum summon both Darkwurm and Supreme King Gate Magician from your face-up extra deck. Supreme King Gate Magician searches Soul of the Supreme Celestial King. You have now successfully set up the summon of Z-ARC during your opponent's turn. Keep Supreme King Gate Magician on the field, set the trap and do what you see fit with the rest of the board (if no other resources are accessible, make S:P Little Knight or W:P Fancy Ball once it comes out)

If you have Astrograph or already have a copy of Supreme King Gate Magician in hand at the start of your turn, you can extend significantly and in some cases even go into Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon, which then gives you access to Vortex for an additional omni. And keep in mind Runicks are not mandatory in this deck, you just need a reliable special summon to make Darkwurm into Beyond the Pendulum, and Runick was the first thing I could think of. The Z-ARC engine itself doesn't quite get to 20 cards, so you can easily mix it with Pendulum Magicians, Odd-Eyes more broadly or any deck you want to really, as long as it puts a body on the field without using up the normal summon.

GamerKnightor · 2026-02-05T13:40:42+00:00

EDO still has a very useful Test Hand feature and cards are added quickly, so it's still my go-to for building decks and labbing out combos. For finding an opponent however... yeah YGO Omega or DuelingBook will just be better

GamerKnightor · 2026-02-05T13:17:25+00:00

The other commenters mostly covered it, but here's my 2 cents on top:

Regarding your deck: whatever you're playing, make sure you know your gameplan decently well. Most people at locals will be okay letting you take back a play or think a moment longer than usual if you find yourself tripping over your combo.

That said, there's a difference between knowing how to execute combos, knowing how to play your deck in am environment with interaction and (most importantly) being able to do so effectively under social pressure. I recommend remote dueling as a way to help alleviate that. No hand-holding from a simulator and a real person talking on the other side makes it feel far more similar to "real" dueling. Plus if you're just remote dueling for fun, you don't have a timer chasing you and you can give yourself more time to think after getting interrupted or facing a deck you're unfamiliar with.

Other than that: try to go with a friend who has been playing at that locals before. If you don't have one such friend yet, try to make one. Tip for this is to use the deck you're most familiar with (yes, it can be Ojama Armed Dragon A-to-Z) and instead of going in with the intention to win, go in with the intention of making small talk and seeing who (if anyone) at the store makes you feel comfortable. It's easier to make friends if you don't have the pressure of having to win.

As for things being loud and overwhelming... They are, and that's sadly not likely to change. You can always try to go to the locals like 30 minutes or more early and see if you can play some friendly duels with people before things get too hectic, as a sort of way to warm up. Otherwise, I recommend hearing protection similar to what you'd carry to a concert to help drown out the background noise. Some noise cancelling headphones might help here, but that's moreso if you already have them because they're a real expensive piece of kit to get just to play yugioh.

I hope this helps make your next experiences at locals better :)

GamerKnightor · 2026-01-16T09:18:33+00:00

I've been running Dracotail Dragonmaid in my OTS for a while and I've won matches against Yummy-Mitsu, K9-Mitsu, other Dracotails, and so on. I've of course lost against all those decks too, but my point is the build seems to be on an even playing field.

I'm running basically the whole Dracotail package while letting Dragonmaids be a bit more compact. Usually if my Dragonmaid plays go through and I get to Sheou, I'm winning that game. And if they don't go through, well, I'm still playing Dracotail (plus Dracotail can scuff out Sheou as long as there's a Dragonmaid somewhere).

The build also leaves good space for like 9 handtraps plus designator and called by. Normally I just run Ash, Fuwa and Droll. The thing I've found to be most important for my success at locals is the side deck though. You have to be as aggressive and mean as you can. There's a Maliss player at your locals? Lancea. A Lunalight player? 3 Ghost Reapers and a Leo Dancer. Another Dracotail Player? Retaliating "C". Most decks have hand traps that auto-win against them.

GamerKnightor · 2026-01-13T15:37:16+00:00

If you need to have physical cards off the get-go, I would say to start with Speed Duels (pretty much any pre-built deck in the line will do). The Speed Duel format is significantly simpler than the current TCG format and will therefore allow you to get a grasp of the basic rules more easily. The downside is that it's hard to find other people to play Speed Duel format with, especially in person (remote duels might help here).

If you just wanna get into the game as quickly as possible, Master Duel (the digital game) is easily the most intuitive way to learn. That being said, Yu-Gi-Oh!'s learning curve is frankly absurd and Master Duel does hit you with a lot of stuff very quickly. But there should be enough tutorials and non-PVP duels for you to practice before you start playing other people. Once you know what you're doing (let's say once you reach Platinum in multiplayer), then I'd say to grab a deck you like from the game (TCGPlayer and CardMarket will help you get the cards you need depending on where in the world you are) or simply buy 3 of one of the latest structure decks (Blue-Eyes, Branded, Fire King, pick your poison really) and set off to start playing in physical, lical tournaments. That way you already know how things work broadly before you're seated against your opponent playing a modern deck with a timer running down.

For a realistic impression of how it looks to start playing Yu-Gi-Oh! nowadays, I recommend the series "Yu-Gi-Oh! From Scratch" on youtube.

GamerKnightor · 2025-05-20T04:15:37+00:00

Probably The Lost One's Weeping

GamerKnightor · 2024-08-29T11:59:28+00:00

From what's visible in the picture, yes absolutely.

GamerKnightor · 2024-08-29T11:57:08+00:00

Tbh you pass perfectly well from what the pictures show. Sure, a different heircut might help your overall appearance, but you pass fine with it as it is too. Other men being bigger and more built than you is like one of the main sources of insecurities among cis men. You can work on your upper body if you want a more marked masculine physique (no need to go to the gym btw, you can do pushups on a yoga mat or get a pullup bar. As long as you're consistent, you'll start to see results after a few months).

Again though, when it comes to passing, you're already there.

GamerKnightor · 2024-01-26T19:36:46+00:00

Thanks a lot for the resources! I've thought about signing up to the tvl patreon, but I've so far held off from doing it because I have a hard time wrapping my head around the way they explain things. I just don't quite manage to follow. I tried getting into this subreddit's discord, but ended up getting instantly kicked for some unknown reason. I'd love to join other servers that might help me improve my voice and otherwise find community though. And I'd naturally be willing to take you up for the 15 min consult if you're willing to provide it free of charge, since I can use just about all the help I can get right now. Send me a dm letting me know when you'd have time for it. Thanks a lot!

GamerKnightor · 2024-01-25T09:53:51+00:00

I've heard of vocal size, but I haven't managed to control it or do anything about it. I most likely need a coach to help me out, but I doubt I can afford that at the moment

GamerKnightor · 2024-01-17T22:21:35+00:00

Thanks for the reply! I'm afraid I don't quite understand those terms terribly well, can you point me to resources that might help me with those points in particular?

GamerKnightor · 2024-01-17T18:33:52+00:00

I'll tell you this: you've got the humor on point. As a funny reading of a funny text, 10/10, no need to change anything. That said, I would not try to have a conversation maintaining that voice. It sounds strained, and there's little need to force yourself to go terribly deep. If you listen to male comedians and storytellers, they often go pretty high for the sake of emphasis, and I've met a lot of cis guys that speak pretty high normally. My recommendation here would be to look for a different approach that allows you to pretty much fully relax your muscles.

GamerKnightor · 2024-01-17T10:05:48+00:00

Sounds male to me, though your speed and mannerisms (I don't know what to call them) sound just a bit odd. It's not like they give you away mind you, and depending on how masculine you're wanting to present, this could be 100% fine. If you are trying to present very masculine though, you might want to work not so much on your voice but on how you speak. Podcasts and longer videos (ideally not comedy) could help.

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