The importance of Mystical Space Typhoon

So there is an ongoing debate about this card, not really I'm just kidding, but people don't see that this card being unlimited has a very important impact on the game. Monsters at this point have built in effects that are inherently a plus 1.  The only thing stopping you from gaining that advantage are your opponents backrows.  With Heavy storm floating around your opponent usually won't commit more than 3 backrows unless they can protect them.  End phase Mystical on an opponent's sole backrow is also very commanding when you have the set up and card economy to push. Don't underestimate the potential of this card with all the decks running around that are negation based. Mystical space typhoon forces thought so keep that in mind when you blindly activate it.

Phases

Calling out phases in games is a great tool to use to get reads on your opponents and reduce your margin of error significantly. Your opponent, believe it our not, responds to interaction. By naming phases, you condition your opponent to associate each phase with a reaction that will divulge information about the game state. Understanding the phase interactions plays an important role in your perception development and bring your game to the next level.

Card tech talk part 1 (pre-March)

Going against the grain is never an easy task when the decks that are running rampant are Inzektors and Wind-Ups! You need cards that will stop them in they're tracks and keep you alive for that turn. There are many viable options to work with but Effect Veiler is the stand out!  Even with its drawbacks Veiler says NAH UH no effect to they're Centipede, Dragonfly, Hunter, Rat, and Zenmaity!  No loop, no win.

Trust me I'm a doctor!

The importance of shuffling

In today's segment, we will be going through the basics of shuffling. In events and tournaments that drag on forever shuffling can get very tedious.  Some even make it a habit to just tap, not shuffle, their opponents' deck and without realizing it you invite cheating, intentional or not. Shuffling is the act of randomizing a deck and/or hand to prevent alterations to the game state. Anytime you search through your deck you must shuffle unless specified. The same goes for card(s) that are returned to deck(s).  While shuffling you are not allowed to look or arrange cards. It's easy to remember by touch where cards are during shuffling. It is you and your opponent's responsibility to shuffle and/or cut each other's deck to put equal footing between each other to prevent all levels of cheating.

If not I'll draw this on you all day!!! :p

Picking up on the subtleties (part 2)

In today's segment, I will be addressing the learning curve in Yu-Gi-Oh for side decking.  It is important to analyze your deck's card lineup and its interactions with one another.  Maximizing the synergy in the main and the side deck should be as equal as possible going into games 2 and 3.  Siding into cards that ruin the synergy no matter how good it is for the match-up will slow down your deck ability to combat certain match-ups.  Siding into Thunder King Rai-Oh in a deck that revolves around search is a perfect example.  It is really hard to change the complete makeup of a deck when you are limited too a 15 card side to address the whole meta so avoiding cards that disrupt the synergy of deck will go a long way.

Moving on, the idea of siding is simple, you side out cards that may have a negative or no impact on the match-up for cards that will have a positive impact.  I identified 6 different ways to side:

Side decking - Generic siding, take out and put in cards that will put you in the best position to win, some people use the opportunity to side into a completely different deck to catch opponents off guard.  Not many decks can pull this off but when they do the rewards could be well worth the the risks.  Also playing mind games with your opponent and making obvious assumptions out loud could shaken and/or deter your opponent mentally when they side; they could be make a mistake or a bad judgment call that you could capitalize on.  A strong presence is invaluable games 2 and 3, especially when the players are equally skilled.

Ghost siding - Credit to my friend Nathan for revolutionizing the way I side.  As the name suggests, ghost side decking is siding in mystery.  When you do this, nothing should be what it seems.  You want to make it blatantly obvious how many cards you are siding without revealing what they are and side a fraction or none of the cards you revealed without alerting your opponent.  The pressure it provides on your opponent is absolute and will increase proportional to what game it is.  In their mind, they will be trying to side and counter side against your ghost side.  More often than not, will cause them to over-side and commit to more than they needed too; committing to much will be the demise of most decks because of the lack of synergy in the deck.  This also gives you a little leeway to side and make the appropriate judgment calls.  Ghost siding is all about mind games and secrecy is key.  You may have sided 0, maybe 3, or 15, your opponent will never know.

No siding - Not siding has its benefits in favorable match-ups and avoids disrupting your deck's synergy.  More oftern than not Yu-Gi-Oh is luck based so siding or not are ways to combat that luck.  In good match-ups you can deliberately not side and use the time to observe your opponent side.  You should always do this but more so when you do not side.  Being aware of what and how your opponent sides will help you have the in game adjustments to fend off his/her side.  Of course there is the down side that your opponent might have the card lock you down, but if you know/feel that you could take the risk going into the next game then why not do it.

Counter-Siding - Games 2 and 3 can be full of surprises and mind games.  Sometimes in mirror matches, the one that sides the best will win.  The victor is determined by anticipating what the opponent is siding and the answers his/her side has for them.  Take for example Six Samurai, side decking is crucial!  Kinetic soldiers, Snowman eaters, Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo, monster hate, backrow hate, etc. will dictate the pace of the game.  The appropriate counter measures will almost always win you the game(s).

Over side - This is absolutely the worse way to side unless your deck auto-loses to the match-up you are facing.  I don't like doing this because of its implications and the side-effects to your deck's synergy, but sometimes siding 15 cards can put you in a position to win.

Unsiding - Depending on the game, some cards are better when you go first or second because they are proactive or reactive and/or helpful or useless.  Siding out cards you sided in can dictate the tempo if you made the right reads.

Side decking can be an effective tool in winning games and should not be overlooked.  You will learn through experience how to handle every situation and what cards to side against the meta.  If you have other ways to side leave them in the comment section below and as always this is E from The Team Misplay signing off.

Picking up on the subtleties (part 1)

Everyone has habits.  Some of us have good ones, others have bad ones.  One of the habits you should take a closer look at is shuffling.  Yu-Gi-Oh players can be very careless when they are dueling especially when it comes to shuffling.  Some shuffle their cards facing their opponent and give away very vital information about what is in their deck, hand, and field.  Take a look at this picture for example.

This person special summoned Laquari.  He has 3 cards in his hand and a Book of Moon, Monster Reborn, and a Laquari in his graveyard.  As he shuffles, he reveals to you that he doesn’t have Starlight Road and Mirror Force in his hand.  He also revealed that he had 2 Dimensional Prison in his deck as he shuffled and you might of caught a glimpse of a War Chariot.  At this point, you determine what kind of situation you are in and strategize accordingly to capitalize.  Now take a look at the next picture.

Same scenario only this time he is shuffling his deck the appropriate way, card faces facing down away from you so not to reveal any cards and you can only guess what he has in his hand.  At this point you can only play it out.  Information can be game breaking in close games so watch your habits or else they'll lose you games!

The essence of understanding in Yu-Gi-Oh! comes when you start to understand how everything interacts with one another.  Once you grasp the concept, you'll be better equipped to win.  So don't give up.  Keep learning.  Keep dueling.

E from The Team Misplay signing off