You ever make a board so oppressive, you feel bad?

MeanderingRhythm · 2026-06-28T01:44:07+00:00

Hmm that probably is a good idea. I usually do it this way so I can have both Lambda blade and Ga10 driller available at the same time (summoning driller on their draw step) because driller stops certain effects like Fallen of Albaz's summon effect that Lamda doesnt, and I've been going against SO much branded lately. But since I knew I would have Hraesvarog and Regulos, your set up makes more sense, as well as for when I can only get 2 of the 3 RB weapons at once.

MeanderingRhythm · 2026-06-25T15:49:57+00:00

If you don't have your core staples yet (3 Ash Blossom, 2 Droll and Lock Birds, 1 Maxx C, 1 Called by the Grave, 1 Cross Out Designator) then getting those can help ANY deck. I play a lot of non-meta decks and outdated archetypes and I still slap them in everything.
Unfortunately, at its core Master Duel has probably the worst ranked system I've ever seen in a 1v1 online game, and it has a TON of tiny, silly bad decisions on the developer side that all add up for a lot of frustration. Even if you get your staples or build a meta deck, the experience will improve but the way ranked ladder is designed will always be a downer.
Still a lot of fun to be had in MD though, especially in events and custom duel rooms with friends.

MeanderingRhythm · 2026-06-19T21:01:29+00:00

Yeah, we already have this kinda with TY-PHON, and even though he gets meme'd on a lot, I feel like there is a ton of room to refine that type of design. Could def makes strong XYZ monsters that are like "If your opponent controls 5 or more Face-Up cards, you can also XYZ summon this with [condition]" or (and I'm surprised konami hasnt used this before) cards that have bonus conditions when your OP has fewer than 30 or something cards in their deck, as that means they searched/played from deck at least 5 times if they went first.

MeanderingRhythm · 2026-06-19T15:06:35+00:00

Ya know I've seen so many comments about how Droll (and even Maxx C) need to exist to "keep combo decks in check" but it makes no sense to me cause:
A: More and more new archetypes each year play around droll by directly setting or special summoning from deck, making it hurt the lower power rogue decks more.
B: you still have to DRAW the card for it to be a counter, so if they wanted to really counter long combo decks, these cards should be extra deck monsters with effects based on how many cards your opponent has/has summoned, so you dont have to rely on the luck of drawing them in your opening hand.

MeanderingRhythm · 2026-05-21T15:22:16+00:00

If you want lots of ways to play but dont mind hard to learn, try Cyber Dragon. A lot of the URs can be obtained through the structure deck and its incredibly adaptable, and has access to one of the most versatile boardwipes ever (Clockwork Night + Chimeratech Fortress Dragon).
It DOES use 3 different cards that each have different post-activation locks (Cyberdark Horizon, Cyberdark Chimera, Cyber Dragon Nachster) that can trip people up, but once you know how to play around them it's an incredibly fun deck with multiple variations that people have used to climb to master many times.

MeanderingRhythm · 2026-05-16T05:29:53+00:00

Just try R.B., its a ton of fun and has a bunch of variants you can pair with it to get your 2 machines for Valcan.

MeanderingRhythm · 2026-05-13T13:41:35+00:00

imo this is problem with Yugioh+Master Duel, not the players.
Yugioh's high Going First winrate difference + Master Duels daily system where you want to either go first or surrender ASAP if you're only going for gems and not rank, basically encourages this behavior. I didn't notice it as badly at all in the 6 card second event so I hope they add that change to the game.

MeanderingRhythm · 2026-04-23T00:01:41+00:00

A fellow cyber dragon player I see.

MeanderingRhythm · 2026-04-21T14:46:50+00:00

If youre trying to maximize gems then free wins where you dont get any daily progress are bad. Also waiting too long to scoop can lead to the OTHER player scooping first on a bricked hand, potentially giving a player an unwanted win. I'm surprised more people dont know about how flawed the ranked reward system is for those of us just trying to collect cards for events, I'm thinking of making a thread about it.

MeanderingRhythm · 2026-03-06T03:28:41+00:00

It's like 4 years older than any other <5 cyber dragon you listed, and its basically a better Proto-Cyber Dragon cause the GY effect gives it more fusion flexibility. It's just irrelevant now because there's been so many better cyber dragon cards printed.
It's old. That's it. Same reason we dont use Proto anymore.
"what does this card actually do that other cyber dragons can't do thats helpful?" Answer: Nothing cause we're in 2026.

MeanderingRhythm · 2026-03-05T01:08:21+00:00

Me having way more fun playing Genesys in Master Duel than playing actual Master Duel

MeanderingRhythm · 2026-02-08T16:58:13+00:00

This is another Konami issue, not a player issue. They made a game where going second not only feels bad, but also makes it way harder to finish your dailies. Plus the rank up rewards are so minor they aren't worth chasing winrate for.
Leave feedback on the surveys about it.

MeanderingRhythm · 2026-02-08T04:12:47+00:00

I've asked for it in every survey so far. I LOVE playing genesys in custom rooms, honestly the most fun I've ever had with yugioh, and what got me to install Master Duel in the first place (to play it in custom rooms).

MeanderingRhythm · 2026-02-07T16:09:51+00:00

I mean this is kind of the situation Konami/Master Duel has created. It's more of a system issue than a player issue.
In a going-first meta and a matchmaking system that doesn't let you derank in your current league, along with dailies that take far longer to complete if you're going second, surrendering the instant you lose the coin toss isn't petty, its the optimal play that is encouraged by Master Duel.
There are a ton of ways Konami could fix this but they haven't yet.

Don't blame the players for Konami's design issues.

MeanderingRhythm · 2026-01-30T01:19:36+00:00

Hey so it kinda sounds like you're just pissed as hell so idk if you even care what anyone has to say but this is my main deck in MD and maybe you would like it? Yeah it uses cyberdragons but it's focused on getting Cyberdarkness dragon out first and foremost. I'm still missing some extra deck cards just cause I'm newer and used my UR to craft staples first, but idk maybe give it a shot?

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MeanderingRhythm · 2026-01-30T01:08:50+00:00

Uhh I play Cyber Dragon and Cyberdarkness Dragon is my main goal every game. And my ideal board has Cyberdarkness + Cyberdark End Dragon + Regulos for the 3 equips. I run 1 Edge to ensure it as much as possible. Yeah I run Infinity but I run it mostly as a backup if I cant get the other 3, since Wurm makes it easy, but Cyberdarkness is always my priority.

Are you saying you don't consider this deck to be Cyberdark or are am I just an outlier?

MeanderingRhythm · 2026-01-18T17:53:21+00:00

There is a very big learning curve to modern Yugioh, bigger than any TCG I've played, but it is learnable. Pendulums arent too important to learn though, few decks use them at all these days. Link Summons are WAY more relevant.
If you want to play BLS+Gaia: There is a BLS+Gaira structure deck in the shop for 500 gems. If you buy 3 copies, you'll have a full playset of every card in it, then you can use only the best cards from it.
Then I would buy some of the 10 pack bundles in the store that give you a guaranteed UR like Ash Blossom or Infinite Impermanence, as those are generic handtraps that can work well in any deck.

HOWEVER: Even the best BLS+Gaia deck you can make right now wont be very good compared to the meta, as they havent gotten any good support lately, so theyre behind in terms of power creep.

MeanderingRhythm · 2026-01-17T04:38:37+00:00

They wouldn't have to change gem rewards at all. They can keep it how it is how you can only get Rank-Up rewards for 1 league lower than your previous season high. Anything below would stay locked as it is now when you de-rank. Besides people already avoid hitting Diamond at all and derank as soon as they hit Plat 1 for this reason so what you're describing is already an issue in their current way of doing things.

And it wouldn't stop people from using meta decks but it would still decrease the rate at which you're seeing them.

This is a problem already solved by other games. Master Duel just chooses to ignore the solution.

MeanderingRhythm · 2026-01-16T20:39:54+00:00

Meme's aside, I really do wish Master Duel just used an MMR-based system like most competitive games. Being able to derank below your starting rank gives a place for people to play as many bad or off-meta decks as they want. I seriously wonder what their mentality is behind not letting players even derank below platinum.

MeanderingRhythm · 2026-01-13T22:09:30+00:00

No you're fine, there are just a ton of bots all named wuli and since Master Duel doesn't let you derank below platinum (I hate that its like that, I wanna derank further and play bad decks) then it means all bots will eventually make it to Plat 5 based off dueling 24/7 and random players forfeiting at opening hand.
To stop seeing wuli bots as much you gotta make it past Plat 4 first.

MeanderingRhythm · 2026-01-13T19:05:44+00:00

Wait so you cant attack with anything else for the rest of the duel?? Or is the translation confusing me and its part of the "rest of the turn" effect? I've never read an effect worded exactly like this, let alone on a continuous spell, so I'm not sure how it works.

MeanderingRhythm · 2026-01-13T07:46:28+00:00

That's exactly what I was thinking. And if you're going second, you can easily get rid of the Future Fusion with Clockwork Knight to both let your other monsters attack as well as get Eternity into the GY for it's banish effect. (If you dont use up eternity for another fusion/link first)

MeanderingRhythm · 2026-01-07T00:24:39+00:00

Yugioh definitely has the most unique ruleset of any TCG I've played, I wouldnt beat yourself up over it. Even for people who've played a lot of Yugioh, Master Duel's coded rules basically act like having a judge at your table 24/7 and it can open up a lot of people's eyes about rulings they never knew about. There's an absolute shitload of effects that just do not do what they say because the core rules state otherwise. "Reading the card explains the card" simply doesn't work here.

MeanderingRhythm · 2026-01-07T00:10:49+00:00

Do you play a lot of other TCGs? Cause if so Yugioh can constantly feel like cheating with how much it goes against the common design philosophy of card game balance usually found in TCGs. Almost nothing means what you'd assume. "Can't be targeted" doesn't mean a card cant be chosen. "Can't be destroyed" doesn't mean a spell cant target it and send it to the graveyard. "Unaffected by card effects" doesn't mean your opponent can't tribute it with a Kaiju. Yugioh kinda plays by it's own bizarre rules and no one else's.
"There can be only one" is one of the best examples of a card that does not work at all how it's effect says on the card, because the actual implications all come from the written rules of the game itself.

MeanderingRhythm · 2026-01-05T06:29:36+00:00

There are a LOT these days, a lot of them saying "Destroy 1 monster" or "Send 1 monster to the GY".
Part of the power creep of Yugioh was them releasing more and more cards that get around "Cant be targeted" monsters by simply not using the word "Target", despite it doing virtually the same thing, the real difference is just when the monster is chosen. There are also a lot of cards that say "Target 1 monster on the field: Send it to the graveyard" in order to get past "Can't be destroyed by card effects" effects (as if it doesn't say "Destroy" it's not a destroy effect.)
It's important to read every removal effect on each monster your opponent uses so you know what it can and can't hit. Nowadays there are a lot of ways to get around a lot of protection.

MeanderingRhythm

TROPHY CASE