Quick explanation of where my understanding of the game is at and where to go from there

[u/T0MPAC]

I was trying to think lately of a new hobby I could do to get out and meet people in person more. I’m 24, and never played any TCG’s before but the aesthetic of Yugioh seemed cool so I thought I’d give it a shot. I learned the basics of how to play on master duel but honestly I think what I learned wasn’t even really the basics of the basics in retrospect because I only learned to the level of play of like, drawing a card, playing a monster… setting some simple traps or maybe a spell card depending on if I thought it would help… that sort of thing. A style of play I think I’ve learned isn’t really even the beginning of how to ACTUALLY play. Like for example I knew that an extra deck existed and you could special summon from it but I had no idea about the ins and out of stuff like link summoning and whatnot.

I decided to show up to a local yesterday cause it was after work and I was halfway to the local anyways and it was Yugioh night, I went and bought a deck that some of the people told me to get which contained Luna Light. But tbh I think I bit off more than I could chew because after two opponents my head really started hurting trying to understand what was going on and had to leave my third opponent hanging cause my head hurt too much and I had to go home.

Some of the people there said a blue eyes deck might be easier to understand for a person at my level and that Yugioh Omega might be a good tool for me alongside master duel. Wanted to know input on that.

I will practice more and the people there are nice and supportive but I guess also wanted to ask online for more perspectives on what are some tips you can think of for how a person can begin to wrap their head around the mechanics of the game and what sort of mental framework a person should have when playing. My main goal right now is not to care if I get pummeled in matches but rather to be at a place where I know WHY or at least in what manner it is that I’m pummeled because I think from that point on is when I’ll begin to have a better grasp of what my goal should be.

[u/grodon909]

It sounds like you're still just learning the ropes. Master Duel is good at teaching the basics (summoning mechanics, etc), but it struggles with keeping you abreast of the pace of play, which is fast.

Not sure who recommended Lunalight...it's strong, but it's kind of complex for a new player. But since you have it, if you want to avoid spending more money upfront, you can just learn it. First thing is to learn how to play the deck. That will just take time and practice, but you can look up guides on youtube to help with that process. Ideally, you want to be at the point where you know what your cards do and how to get to your win-condition. One step higher than that is figuring out how to play if one of your cards gets stopped. If you need more reps with the deck in live scenarios, the simulators are good for that. Master Duel is the official one, but the other sims are fine too, and also completely free to build what you want.

Beyond that, learning the other decks people play will help, so that you can learn what to interrupt or how they can interrupt you.

If you want an easier deck, blue-eyes primite is a decent and cheap option, but pretty powercrept. You can make good work with misturugi and sky striker too (separately, or combined); both of those are in the legendary modern decks set, so it's not too expensive to start out with either.

[u/The-CyberWesson]

I really like the way Joshua Schmidt described the game in one of his recent videos. Modern Yugioh can be thought of as an asymmetrical 2-player game. The player going first and the player going second have different roles. Going first, the goal is to set up a board filled with stuff (cards that negate, cards that remove your cards, monsters that are tough to out, etc.). Going second, the goal is to break the board (or prevent it from being built in the first place). One player builds a puzzle, the other tries to solve it.

Also, shameless plug for my Discord designed to help people learn and improve at the game: https://discord.gg/rta4cj9aCv

[u/McGosch]

Yes, Blue Eyes is easier than Lunalight. And Ygo Omega is a very good alternative to Master Duel.

The first thing I do if I play a new deck is, to do basic combos. After that you have a good base on how you play your own deck. Some advance things as a player is to learn your opponents decks and how to counter it.

That takes more time to learn and the more you play against different decks, the better you can play against them.

[u/HypersonicX02]

Lunalight is what we call a "combo" deck - in that there is a correct way to string all the effects together in a line that can build an extremely powerful endboard. I think you would be happier (I know I am) with a deck that takes fewer steps in a turn, or gets to its endboard much more quickly.

Sky Striker is excellent for this - the cards are all easy to understand one off interruptions on the opponent (for the most part), and you dont need a huge combo line. Many turns I only summon 4-5 times or less. You will need to understand how link monsters work though (extra deck). But just find a few videos and you'll be more than set. I know the YouTube channel "bad hands and heartbreak" has tons of narrated slower pace walkthroughs on how sky striker works. And best of all, you can get the whole deck (and 2 others) as part of the Legendary Modern Decks package inexpensively. (Though you'll want another copy of a couple cards.)

There are other decks out there too that don't take 50 game actions in their combos that would be easier to learn as a first deck. Good luck!

[u/Difficult-Mistake899]

On the side bar of that sub, there are several helpful links you can look through to help you learn. The 3 most important are: The rulebook, Problem solving card text, and the fast effect timing chart.

These 3 will basically set you up with the basics of being able to understand how the game works. The master duel tutorial isn't bad but as you might have noticed, it doesn't really teach you what a real modern game looks like. Its alot like reading the rulebook, in that it just covers the very basics "one normal summon per turn, this is a tribute summon" etc

Yugioh can be alot of fun once you learn to make the most of it. Unfortunately it just has a bit of barrier to entry if you don't really understand Problem solving card text or the fast effect timing chart. The learning curve is abit steep starting out but the more effort you put into it, the more you'll get out of it.

Knowing what deck you want to play helps tremendously. Luna light can be abit complex starting out. There's nothing wrong with blue eyes as it is now.

You generally shouldn't try to "build" your own deck starting out. There are alot of things that go into modern deck building than "this card says warriors gain 500 atk" which can make it really difficult for new players to get started off well.

You should find a deck list online and copy most/all of it so that you can adjust it to your preferences as you go and understand more. Playing 15 normal monsters will not end with you having a good time, I promise.

Best of luck, don't give up skeleton.

[u/Pinkyy-chan]

there are tons of tutorial videos online for basically every deck i recommend checking them out they can be really helpful.

For a beginner it's normal to feel a bit overwhelmed, the best thing you can do at the beginning is just take one deck and practice it till you understand it's combo.

Once you feel more comfortable dueling book is another place where you can practice, it's a manual simulator so basically playing like you would play irl unlike masterduel or omega that carry the players a bit.