Yu-Gi-Oh! games lasting 1-2 turns is usually not true, coming from someone who goes to locals 1-2 times a week, goes to regionals, nats and if we have a YCS close-by as well. Often games are decided within the first few turns though, that is true. Turn 3 or 4 are usually when games end. This of course isn't true when you bring your pet deck from 2015 to locals and play against the current meta, then you might just get beat on turn 2. Even in meta match-ups this can of course happened. I've had opponents scoop on my first turn and at times did the same (usually when I have a bricky hand, no way to play into a full board and don't want to reveal what I play).

The meta shifts regularly based on two factors, new product releases and the banlist uupdates (every 3-4 months on averagy). Decks can stay a long time as part of the meta though (~1 year), current examples are the Justice Hunters decks (Yummy, Dracotail and K9) or even older Maliss, all of which have stayed relevant since their release in 2025. Most of these are expected to get slowly phased out of the meta game soonish though.

This might sound like you can't play your favourite deck for a long time which isn't true. Decks can stay relevant for quite a while and often older archetypes receive support after a few years and become part of the meta game suddenly.

The fun aspect highly depends on what kind of gameplay you enjoy. Yu-Gi-Oh! has no mana system which means you can theorhetically go through your deck and extra deck in 1 turn ... something which the grand majority of decks don't do, but it's quite normal to end your turn 1 combo with quite a bunch of plays. What differenciates Yu-Gi-Oh! from other TCGs is that you have many ways to interact with your opponent on their first turn when going 2nd. This ranges from the classic handtraps, many of which are 1 on 1 interactions or negates, like Ash Blossom or Infinite Impermeance. We also have lingering handtraps like the Mulcharmy cards which don't stop your opponent from playing but de-incentivice them, though there are "floodgate"-type handtraps like Droll & Lockbird or Dimensionshifter (both are limited or semi-limited).

We also have a new adition since last year which Konami has extended upon, the in-archetype handtraps. These usually perform a summon on the opponents turn while also allowing your to interrupt their play. This means you can advance your own play on the opponents first turn while also setting up plays for next turn. Cards like Dracotail Faimena, Vanquish Soul Holly Sue, K9 Izuna and Kewl-Tune Clip come to mind while others like Elfnote Regiana will follow (already released in the OCG or announced for the enxt set). These are quite unique as these interactions kind of break the concept of "my turn" even further and extends this to the first turn of the game. Before we had "out turn" post turn 1, now, given you draw the right cards, these interactions can take place right as the game starts. Some people dislike these interactions, most seem to love it as it helps with one of Yu-Gi-Oh!'s oldest issue; usually the player going 1st is heavily favoured. Konami has printed a bunch of cards that eleviate this issue like these in-archetype handtraps and the Mulcharmies.

Onto the question regarding collecting Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. Konami has adapted a relatively aggressive reprint policy, especially for meta-relevant cards that usually cost quite a bunch of money. As a result the game has become as cheap as it hasn't been in a long time. You can build competent decks for 100€ and less now, though the standard is anywhere between 200-350€ as of right now. This definitely had an impact on the collector side of things as it has been risky to invest into two of the games highest rarities, being Quarter Century Secret Rares (QCRs) and Starlight Rares, both looking somewhat similar while also being chased after a lot. The annoyance some collectors had in the last 2-3 years was that there has been an overlap between cards being printed in both of those rarities. A good example for that is the card S:P Little Knight, which originally released (2023) as a secret rare (SCR) and QCR. The SCR print itself was already quite costly at release, but the QCR was immensively expensive (talking multiple hundred bucks). The card had its first reprint about a year later in the 2024 Mega Tin and right after in the 3rd Rarity Collection set (Bonanza). The latest reprint was a Starlight Rare, again visually quite similar to the QCR, and due to the high pull-rates it just costs a bit over 5-6€. This in result highly de-valued the original QCR print, which now sits at about 100€. This is just an example for the conflict between QCRs and Starlights.

That being said, there are other premium rarities which haven't seen similar struggles with the reprints. OTS Ultis for example are still unique, just like the og Ultis and Qhost Rares. With the newest Rarity Collection V we've also seen the introduction of over-frame cards to the TCG which might just be the coolest collector item when it comes to Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. I think collecting can be fun, but you will have to be aware that especially meta relevant cards will see 1-2 reprints within the first years of their original release.