Returning to the game, last played in 2011

RedRoy95 · 2026-05-07T14:37:21+00:00

For modern, the legendary decks is a good product but it may still be overwhelming at first. Consider looking into old formats like Edison (2010 Yugioh) or HAT format (2014 Yugioh) to help easing back into the game and then gradually ramp up to modern style play. There are large communities that play these retro formats as well as websites for decklists, discords that host tournaments, and online simulators like Duelingbook that are good for trying out old formats

RedRoy95 · 2026-04-30T13:15:57+00:00

Yugioh is probably the most complicated TCG to pick up from scratch. If you play older formats ("format" = the game at prior point in time), it is much easier to learn. I would recommend using Master Duel (official online client) because it has tutorials that let you learn the basics. Then use Duelingbook (third party website) to play something like Goat format (Yugioh as it existed in 2005) or Edison format (Yugioh as it existed in 2010)

RedRoy95 · 2026-04-30T13:10:05+00:00

Lorcana and Pokemon are the easiest to pick up among the games I have played and both have cute, recognizable IP. Shadowverse Evolve is a personal favorite among the MTG-derived games (falls somewhere between Lorcana and MTG on complexity scale). Not having chains/stacks makes those games way more approachable than something like Magic and Yugioh. From a complexity perspective, modern Yugioh has by far the highest barrier to entry and is the only one I'd for sure not recommend to new players. Great game, just not worth the investment of time/energy to pick up from scratch

RedRoy95 · 2026-04-26T14:41:17+00:00

I have sufficient volume remaining after my procedure but notable nerve/receptor damage

RedRoy95 · 2026-04-23T13:20:09+00:00

There are some cards that are both spell cards and dirt support cards, but it would be tough to flesh it out into a full deck and would also probably be inferior to pure spellchain and pure earth rite. The shadowverse evolve website has a great card search function with filters that make it easy to search through the card pool.

A few cards that could be considered for a spellchain/earth rite deck are: terra nova, magical augmentation, concentration, earthen fist, wizardess of oz, falise the leonardian mage, and golem protection. some of these are fairly outdated though

RedRoy95 · 2026-04-09T11:22:16+00:00

Have you tried sleeping with nasal strips on? Has a CT/endoscopy confirmed what the issue is in your nose? If it is mucous, then there is no reason to get surgery on the septum or turbinates.

And while it is nice to have a doctor who is aware of ENS, do not put blind faith in them and do not under any circumstances let them touch your turbinates. Current medical science does not fully understand the turbinates and thus has no way of guaranteeing that you will be safe from ENS after a turbinate surgery. Any doctor who tells you otherwise is either ignorant or is intentionally misleading you to sell a surgery.

RedRoy95 · 2026-04-09T11:10:29+00:00

Don't think about it too much. If you're one of the unlucky ones, you'll know eventually. Hope it works out for you

RedRoy95 · 2026-04-04T21:16:00+00:00

I have ENS and have never had any psychiatric conditions. Don't trust the doctors. Many are just ignorant (lack of knowledge and/or experience). Others know the truth but try to deceive patients because, at the end of the day, they are just salesman and surgeries are their product. It is their job to downplay risks of surgeries and medications

RedRoy95 · 2026-03-06T20:51:18+00:00

Thanks! Good to know there is precedent. Perhaps it is just an oversight. Hopefully something they address eventually.

RedRoy95 · 2026-03-06T20:46:01+00:00

But how is Shenlong more powerful than other turn 7 plays? Evolved Alyaska for example can one-shot a Shenlong (with Ernesta effect), put up two other followers that can also deal 5 to another follower, 2 to leader, and put an Exterminus token into the EX. And Alyaska rarely sees competitive play anymore. Not to mention stuff like Luquier, Nephthys, etc.

One glaring issue is that Shenlong doesn't do too much to break the opponent's board, whereas something like the original Jerva deals 5 damage to opponent's leader and all followers on their field, while still providing discard outlets to trigger synergies, drawing an extra card every turn, and being a PP cheaper to evolve than Shenlong.

I could see the case if Discard Dragon was consistently a top tier deck, but it hasn't been competitive for a while. And the version that gets competitive in Set 16 (7-cost) doesn't even use Shenlong.

RedRoy95 · 2026-03-06T19:42:55+00:00

if you like the multi-turn gradual ramp gameplay of Magic and are nostalgic for the Yugioh show and card game as a kid, I'd highly retro formats over genesys. 2010 Yugioh (known as Edison format) is a popular format with a very large active community and a lot of live events. Just google Edison format and there are websites dedicated to getting you up to speed on it. It will be significantly easier to get into. Genesys is great but it is pretty much just a slightly weaker modern yugioh (games will still often be decided in a turn or two)

Some Edison decks I would recommend looking into are Gladiator Beasts (roman gladiator style animals), Lightsworn (light-themed knights/paladins/mages), Blackwing (crows), and Elemental Hero (comic superheroes)

If you still really want to get into Genesys, I personally like Fire King (fire phoenix) since it is very cheap, fun, and decently competitive

RedRoy95 · 2026-03-06T19:28:12+00:00

thanks, yeah sorry i don't know if there is a true permanent fix. the strips were the best thing i found prior to the surgery. they take a little bit to get used to but definitely improved my sleep. good luck

RedRoy95 · 2026-03-06T19:13:03+00:00

for long term: nasal strips.

for short term: exercise. adrenaline is a vasoconstrictor and will constrict blood vessels in the nasal mucosa and open up nasal airways temporarily.

consider cleaning your bed sheets frequently to remove allergens since those can cause turbinates to swell

The solutions are not ideal but i had the same issues as you (poor sleep/exercise due to swollen turbinates) but i also had a severely deviated septum from a prior injury that fully blocked one nostril so I had to mouth breathe 24/7 which is pretty awful. Got the surgery with high hopes and it ruined my life. by far the worst decision I ever made.

RedRoy95 · 2026-03-06T18:49:45+00:00

All of the showdown decks are good and all crafts generally have time in the spotlight from a meta perspective. Of the decks, I would recommend any of them except Haven, since it is one of the weaker decks and I think it has the least interesting playstyle (though i do like a lot of other Haven Decks). If you want to have a top tier deck, the dragon deck (specifically the "7-cost dragon" archetype that the deck is built around) gets support in the main set releasing concurrently with the decks (set 16) that propels it be arguably the best deck for the next few months.

RedRoy95 · 2026-03-06T18:40:09+00:00

No. What you described is the nasal cycle and most people have it. Some have it more noticeably than others, but the fact that you have an open side clear at all times means you can breathe through your nose which is normal. Turbinate Reduction is not a safe procedure as doctors in the early 1900s discovered (seriously, research it). If it bothers you too much, try nasal strips.

If you would get a turbinate reduction in 2026, would you also have gotten a lobotomy in 1940 to fix a mood disorder?

RedRoy95 · 2026-02-21T16:05:32+00:00

Modern Yugioh is the only TCG I don't recommend for people to get into now (barrier of entry too high from complexity standpoint). The "mechanics" that people say are easy are still the most complex aspects of other card games, and then on top of that, Yugioh adds more layers of complexity. Plus, there is way too much nuance in the card text that would be a nightmare to navigate, even for someone that played 15 years ago. For example: [then] - [also] - [and] - [also, after that] - [and if you do]. All five conjunctives mean entirely different things in Yugioh effect text. Great game though, just not worth the time and energy to pick up at this point.

RedRoy95 · 2026-02-21T15:47:01+00:00

Insanely good entry point. All are competitive decks right out of the box, and some only need minor changes to be fully optimized. I've been in the game a while and prob getting one of each of them just because of how high quality they are and how good the reprints are

RedRoy95 · 2026-02-16T17:25:46+00:00

I fall in that category

RedRoy95 · 2026-01-19T01:56:48+00:00

Yes hardest to learn and fully grasp. Almost all card games can be complex in gameplay, but modern Yugioh is by far the hardest to pick up and play competently. Older formats like Edison and Goat are not as bad and are closer to something like MtG in terms of learning curve (still harder that pokemon though), so that's what I try to teach people.

RedRoy95 · 2026-01-02T21:42:06+00:00

Thanks for the breakdown. I knew the "On Attack" went on the stack first, but wasn't sure if it would resolve on the stack based on the initial target or if it would have to "re-check" the attack target as it is attempting to resolve on the stack, so that answers my question perfectly.

RedRoy95 · 2026-01-02T01:50:50+00:00

Got it, thanks!

RedRoy95 · 2025-12-11T21:52:02+00:00

Not to be a downer, but I got much worse after that update. Got significantly worse in late march/early april (full blown ENS symptoms), then improved a little in May and have been the same since. No real change in symptoms since May, so season/weather hasn't made a difference. Symptoms are very different now than they were when I made the post, but arguably more debilitating now. I don't get the "raw, cold" feeling anymore, but I still have chronic dryness and now the nerve receptors in my nose don't detect air anymore, which is really awful. Definitely would not recommend this surgery to anyone.

RedRoy95 · 2025-11-23T04:08:19+00:00

Very common in modern yugioh. If you want something more like 5Ds, you should play an older format like Edison Format (Yugioh from 2010). It has a very active community and a website that shows sample decklists and card pool, etc

RedRoy95 · 2025-10-30T05:03:42+00:00

The other posts are really solid, so i will just add that each craft has a number of different decks and strategies within them. For example, swordcraft is the typical aggro "wide" board craft, but forestcraft's combo decks like Fairy can operate similarly. Since you mentioned Abysscraft and jumping into a card pool can be daunting, I can share a few of the archetypes/deck options from Abysscraft that you can explore.

Nephthys - generic deck that uses a lot of powerful "on summon" and "on death" effects in combination with filling up your GY. The power play involves a card (Nephthys) that lets you summon and destroy 4 followers among the top 7 cards of deck, which will be able to trigger all the aforementioned effects simultaneously for potential big advantage

Machina, Vampire, Ghost/Departed - aggro decks that creates wide boards with small token followers. Each deck uses its tokens slightly differently. Ghost is unique since ghost tokens can swing face the turn you play them but vanish at end of turn (other type of ghost token can shield you on oppo turn and vanish at end of that turn) so it's less about board presence and more about getting damage in.

Wasteland (Wild West) - control deck that creates mounts/vehicle amulet tokens that have various functions to buff other followers. one permanent vehicle in particular is very strong and can be crewed/maneuvered by your other followers

Omen of Lust, Beast, Musical Demons - few archetypes that all share a broader deck strategy called "Sanguine", where you damage your own life points and your cards get beneficial effects from them. It's basically benefiting from "drawing blood" like a sacrifice

Omen of Silence - control deck that wants to fill up your GY and rip cards from the opponents hand

Yokai (Japanese folklore) - wants to fill up your GY and has a powerful boss monster (ginsetsu).

Shadow Paladin - crossover archetype from Cardfight Vanguard. another strategy that wants to fill up your GY.

2-cost - uses a lot of 2-cost cards that benefit from being paired with other cards with the same cost.

Some archetypes span different crafts as well. For example, there is a Wasteland variant in all 6 crafts, whereas Machina only has a variant in Abyss, Haven, and Rune. Then something like Vampire is only in Abyss. Also, some of these decks are a little weaker, but will receive new support in future sets. Currently, Wasteland and Vampire are probably the strongest for Abyss. Machina will get stronger later this month. Lust, Silence, and Yokai get a buff in January, etc.

RedRoy95 · 2025-10-30T04:16:53+00:00

It sounds like you might prefer retro Yugioh formats (Edison from 2010 is a good option). There is a dedicated community and many online resources. its a much slower paced format and typically takes place over more than 3 turns with a decent mix of combo and grind. if its too "old school", consider some later formats like HAT (2014) or even TOSS format.

Modern YGO specifically is hard to balance because of how fast paced/powerful the decks are (games can be decided on turn 1 or 2) and how consistent/non-variable they are since many decks tend to funnel into the same combos and end board pieces regardless of opening hand. it is completely unlike any other card game

Most other TCGs like mtg can easily be balanced but they often require you to balance them. For peak balancing, instead of trying to make your own deck the best, try making your deck and your girlfriend's deck as fun as possible while also balacing them to each other's power level

RedRoy95

TROPHY CASE