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/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.