- Marijn van Duivenboden
- 2021-02-23
Over the past couple of months a number of Yu-Gi-Oh! Extravaganzas and Yu-Gi-Oh! Day tournaments took place. They act as the replacement for the Regionals and YCS events that we're missing during this crisis. Remote Dueling might not be the same as what we're used to, but it is all we have. And it isn't half bad.
Over the last few months the new organized play system also got way more support than when Konami first announced it. With multiple locals throughout Europe hosting weekly events and the huge success of the Extravaganzas, it looks like Remote Dueling is here to stay.
Extravaganza!
The Yu-Gi-Oh! Extravaganzas were the first real events open to everyone that aimed to be bigger than locals. Several countries in Europe were organizing Extravaganzas at the end of 2020, always with public events on Saturday and a main event on Sunday. You could win a Giant Card, multiple playmats in the win-a-mat, and the 2020 National Championship playmat on the main event. The top players of the event would also qualify for an invitational event that would happen in February. The stakes were high, and so was the turnout. A lot of people showed up.
Our first Extravaganza in the Netherlands had 73 attendees and it was a blast. It was so much fun to talk to everyone again and to play the game physically. I'll always prefer using my own cards over any dueling simulator. The event went really smoothly and there were no issues whatsoever. I was super happy to have given Remote Duels a chance and I managed to get third place.
It was almost strange to duel in real life again. After a long stretch of absence and no competitive play, this tournament was one of the most interesting I've ever participated in. Two days before the event started was the release of Genesis Impact. The set brought the powerful Drytron archetype to the TCG, and it was ready to shake up the game. Coupled with the long absence of competitive play, this meant that you had no indication what decks people would bring.
The breakdown of our playing field after round two looked as follows:
- 8 Eldlich Variants
- 7 Virtual World
- 4 Dinos
- 3 Drytron
- 3 Zoodiac
- 3 Paleo
- 3 Salamangreat
- 3 Subterror
- … and 20 other decks
If that isn't variety, I don't know what is. Needles to say is that it was near impossible to prepare well for this tournament. The event concluded with Drytron in first place, using Vanity's Ruler, Cyber Angel Benten, and Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder. It was a deck that nobody knew and no one was ready to deal with. Second place went to Paleozoic. This deck capitalized on the slower format heavily dominated by Virtual World and True King of All Calamities. It featured board wiping from Torrential Tribute, negates with Toadally Awesome, and a lock with Barrier Statue of the Torrent. The third place was also a slower strategy, my Subterror Guru deck. With zero hand traps because combo didn't really exist, I chose to use cards like Dimensional Barrier, Ice Dragon's Prison, and Dogmatika Punishment to maximize on removal and disruption.
Extravaganza 2: Extravaganza Boogaloo
The second Extravaganzas took place at the start of February 2021. The format was way more refined than at the first Extravaganza and all players were more settled in. This time people were more sure about what decks they could expect to play against. However, in true Yu-Gi-Oh! fashion, nobody's expectations were met.
Everyone was expecting a high number of Drytron decks. was in almost every main deck and hand traps were back in fashion. However, out of 79 participants only eight players chose the deck. Eldlich variants were at an all-time high with up to thirteen decks featuring Eldlich the Golden Lord. There were ten Virtual World decks and seven Bird-Up players. With the release of Blazing Vortex, Tri-Brigade had become more popular and it was showing too. Despite just a small card pool change, the metagame had evolved a lot since 2020.
The event, strangely, was won by Phantom Knights, with two in the top eight, alongside two Dinosaurs and one each of Eldlich-Zoo, Drytron, Dragon Link, and Virtual World. Quite a diverse meta. For a more detailed look at the second Benelux Extravaganza be sure to take a look at my colleague Ryan's article!
The Big Invitational
Duelists from all across Europe are invited to the Yu-Gi-Oh! Remote Duel Invitational Qualifier. For this event, Europe is divided into four separate regions to streamline the tournament experience. Eastern Europe & Italy, UK & Ireland, Germany & Nordics, and Western Europe. Each of these regions will be represented by players invited either via a top performance at their country's Extravaganza or the finals of the local Yu-Gi-Oh! Days. This means that only a small group of people will be attending.
Through its prize pool this event aims to be the top of competitive Yu-Gi-Oh! play. With currently 67 participants for Western Europe, I'm excited to represent the Netherlands. This tournament will be the ultimate test in these times. Normally you can really prepare for an event. Whether it is a Regional or a YCS, you either know the meta of your country or the metagame that is currently played throughout the world. You know what to expect. For this event, however, everything is off the table.
The top decks of this format are pretty defined. Eldlich, Drytron, and Virtual World all loom large at the top of the food chain. These aren't the only viable decks, though. Many rogue strategies have had success these past months. Between countless online tournaments and the Extravaganzas, one has to analyze a lot of data to make a proper meta call. I still have some time to go, but I'm unsure of what deck I should play. It's really difficult to pick a deck this format. With multiple cards that counter multiple decks, the diversity makes it hard both to build a main and a side deck.
Yu-Gi-Oh! in 2021 is weird. If you told me one year ago this would be the main way to play the game I wouldn't have believed you. I'm focusing on doing research now. What decks topped the Extravaganzas in other countries? See what the competition was up to. We do have a rough sketch of the meta, but you will properly never know what to expect. So far it has been a lot of fun building decks for the respective Extravaganzas, and I'm looking forward to the invitational.
I hope you're having fun with Remote Dueling. And if you haven't tried it out yet, be sure to do so. It's worth it. I've met a lot of new people that I wouldn't have met if it wasn't for the ease of Remote Dueling. It might have its flaws, but it's all we have right now. We'd better make the best of it. Will you be participating in the invitational?
Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily Cardmarket.
6 Comments
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SnifferDragon(23.02.2021 09:29)
At our Extravaganzas in Slovenia VW topped, ofc xD
SnifferDragon the deck is pretty good
SnifferDragon(24.02.2021 08:30)
Tatsym that's true but it's kinda boring to play against...
moximav(23.02.2021 01:49)
I've never seen the meta so stable and diverse. Gotta love it
Reaper007(23.02.2021 00:05)
Kinda sad how new decks need to be unfair in order to sell and after they got sold the banlist destroy the new decks and the circle starts again....
meta3(23.02.2021 09:21)
Reaper007 exactly...
FAQs
Konami reports this is a 9.9% increase in total revenues compared to Fiscal Year 2021's 272.7 billion yen. As far as actual operating profit goes, the company reported 36.6 billion yen last year and 74.4 billion yen this year, which is a massive 103.6% jump.
What is the most competitive deck in Yu-Gi-Oh? ›
As of February 2022, Swordsoul Tenyi is the best competitive deck in Yu-Gi-Oh. Consistent search and summon power that goes into some of the best Synchro monsters in the entire game, backed up by powerful hand-traps and other disruption cards is too good to beat.
Why is Yu-Gi-Oh so fast? ›
Basically Yu-Gi-Oh is such a fast paced game because its lack of a resource system means that players have the most choices and actions at the start of the game as that is when they have the most actions.
Is Yu-Gi-Oh still popular? ›
Yea, yugioh is still popular. Globally, it's more popular than magic the gathering but not in North America. It seems like yugioh is being fased out because it has to compete with magic and Pokemon.
How old is the average Yu-Gi-Oh player? ›
The average tournament player is in their 20s, and the vast majority of the top 100 players of all time are closer to 30 than to 20.
What is the strongest Yu-Gi-Oh deck 2022? ›
The Tri-Brigade Zoodiac Deck is perhaps the best deck for Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel. Its game-defining strategies for going first or second make it super strong. If you are playing first, begin with the Tri-Brigade arm of the deck.
What is the number 1 card in Yu-Gi-Oh? ›
Number 1: Numeron Gate Ekam | Card Details | Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME - CARD DATABASE.
Why is Yu-Gi-Oh so hard now? ›
Yu-Gi-Oh doesn't have a resource system so the cards themselves have to act as resources. This means that the card designers have to add a lot of the complexity to the card text itself such as restrictions and costs which make them more complicated.
Is Yu-Gi-Oh skill or luck? ›
I'd say it's about 50% Skill, 50% Luck. Luck is obviously factor. Luck in what cards you pull from packs, luck in what you draw, luck in what your opponent draws, luck in the coin flip, but luck isn't everything. Most meta decks are generally pretty consistent.
How much do pro Yu-Gi-Oh players make? ›
Top Players
| Player ID | Total (Game) |
|---|
| 1. | Jason | $2,815.98 |
| 2. | EugenHeidt | $2,551.20 |
| 3. | Glading | $1,820.00 |
| 4. | Whilipino | $1,675.00 |
21 more rows18 Feb 2017
On average, Pokemon cards are worth more than Yugioh cards. Pokemon cards have a larger fan base, and there is a larger number of rare cards to buy, sell, and collect. Pokemon cards have a lower cost of entry, increasing their popularity and raising the demand for rare cards.
What country is Yu-Gi-Oh most popular? ›
Top Countries For Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links
| 1. | United States | $19,983.28 |
|---|
| 2. | Germany | $6,516.31 |
| 3. | Japan | $2,271.82 |
| 4. | China | $1,956.52 |
| 5. | Brazil | $1,918.75 |
40 more rows18 Feb 2017
After Kaiba witnessed Yugi defeat all three God cards in one turn (which Kaiba admitted that he could not do), he officially recognized Yugi, rather than Yami Yugi, as the true King of Games.
Who is the oldest Yu-Gi-Oh protagonist? ›
Perhaps the original King Of Games, Yugi Muto serves as the protagonist of the first Yu-Gi-Oh!
Who is the youngest Yu-Gi-Oh protagonist? ›
At 11 years old, Yuga is the youngest main protagonist of any Yu-Gi-Oh! series. He is also the first main protagonist to be a preteen instead of a teenager at the start of his series.
How old is Yugi now? ›
Yugi Mutou (manga)
| Names |
|---|
| Birth | June 4, 1980 [note 1] |
| Age | 18 (DSOD) |
| Height | 1.53 m <br />5.02 ft <br />60.236 in <br />153 cm |
| Weight | 42 kg |
39 more rowsCrush Card Virus' Prize Card version is by far the rarest and most valuable Trap Card, and it's not even close. Thanks to its iconic status in both the anime and the actual TCG, the Shonen Jump version will fetch you a pretty $115,033 penny.
What is Yugi strongest card? ›
An incredibly powerful God Card, Slifer the Sky Dragon becomes Yugi's go-to card after he wins it in his duel against Strings. Its attack and defense points aren't listed, and that's because Slifer gains 1000 attack and defense points for every card in its owner's hand.
Who is the Yu-Gi-Oh World Champion 2022? ›
And the Winner Is…
Hansel Aguero wins the 2022 North America Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Championship! Eleven years after his 2011 World Championship Qualifier victory, Hansel Aguero has just used his Swordsoul Tenyi Deck to claim another Championship title here in Chicago!
Can anything beat exodia? ›
If they're playing Trap Stall Exodia, Royal Decree and Trap Stun will kill them. When they're relying on Battle Fader or Swift Scarecrow to block attacks, negate them with Solemn Strike, etc, or prevent them from activating entirely with a card like Utopia the Lightning, Armades, or Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon.
4/10 WEAKEST: Thousand-Eyes Idol
It may have an unsettling design, but Thousand-Eyes Idol is just pathetically weak, literally unable to beat any monster in battle at all. Even other weak monsters can take out this card with no trouble, though Thousand-Eyes Idol is not useless.
What is the most broken YuGiOh card? ›
Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring is regarded as arguably the most broken, it can negate pretty much any search or draw card, or any attempts at milling, all at the simple cost of discarding this card from the hand, making it difficult to negate. Its power left it semi-limited in the OCG.
Are Yugioh cards increasing in value? ›
As long as there's a demand for Yu-Gi-Oh cards, they will always be worth something. The trading card game first started in 1996 - and it's still going strong. So, rest assured, Yu-Gi-Oh cards will be worth plenty of money in the foreseeable future. But that doesn't mean that every card will hold its value, though!
What is the rarest YuGiOh card ever? ›
Tournament Black Luster Soldier (1999)
According to Zen Market this card is worth over $9,000,000 and is classed as the rarest Yu-Gi-Oh card in the world. The Black Luster Soldier card was an exclusive winning card awarded at the first ever Yu-Gi-Oh tournament back in 1999 in Japan, making it a one of one.
Is Master duel pay to win? ›
Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel is pay to win. The good news is for free to play duelists, creating a single deck desired to climb is very much possible. By using the crafting system and the base amount of currency that the game allots, well informed players can definitely build decks to climb the ranked ladder.
Will Yu-Gi-Oh cards rise in value? ›
So, certain rare cards will be reprinted, and thus lose their value. Fortunately, if you own a card that doesn't get reprinted, it'll become more and more valuable over time! Also Read: ARE POKEMON CARDS WORTH MORE THAN YU-GI-OH? Simply put, Yu-Gi-Oh cards will be worth something in the future.
Is Yu-Gi-Oh or Pokémon more popular? ›
On average, Pokemon cards are worth more than Yugioh cards. Pokemon cards have a larger fan base, and there is a larger number of rare cards to buy, sell, and collect.
Is Yu-Gi-Oh making a comeback? ›
Yu-Gi-Oh Has Had A Massive Gaming Comeback. Now It's Pokemon TCG's Turn | GGRecon. We're making improvements to your experience, and we'll have new features ready for you in the near future! Want to be the first to here about it?
What country is Yu-Gi-Oh most popular in? ›
Top Countries For Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links
| 1. | United States | $19,983.28 |
|---|
| 2. | Germany | $6,516.31 |
| 3. | Japan | $2,271.82 |
| 4. | China | $1,956.52 |
| 5. | Brazil | $1,918.75 |
40 more rows18 Feb 2017
1. Tournament Black Luster Soldier - $2,000,000 (reportedly) Easily the most valuable card on this list, the Black Luster Soldier was an exclusive prize card awarded at the first-ever Yu-Gi-Oh! tournament in 1999.
Selling your Yugioh cards can be a lengthy process, but there is definitely money to be made if you're willing to do it. As a side-hustle or way to make money online, it's a good option if you're passionate about it.
What is the rarest Yugioh card ever? ›
Tyr, The Vanquishing Warlord is the rarest and most valuable Prize Card that could be obtained from a Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship, with Tyr being the prize for the 2008 event.
How many people still play Yu-Gi-Oh? ›
The game hit an all-time peak player count of 219,368 earlier today and is currently sitting at just under 160,000 players right now, placing it as the fourth most concurrently played game at the time of writing.
Which is harder Yu-Gi-Oh or Pokemon? ›
For me, Yugioh is simpler, since the cards have descriptions of what they do. There's some terms you need to memorise, like banish and excavate, but that's it. All in all, I would say that Pokemon is easier for younger people, but yugioh is easier for the more experienced card game player.
What TCG has the most value? ›
Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps SGC 9.5 ($12,600,000) Pictured above is the first trading card to sell for eight figures. Mickey Mantle's 1952 Topps rookie card has cemented itself as a pivotal piece of Americana. While dozens of these '52 Mantles trade throughout the year, none have ever sold that were graded above a 9.
Is Yu-Gi still the king of games? ›
Yugi still retains the title in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX and has become an icon because of his many Dueling feats. Many Duelists such as Jaden Yuki and Chazz Princeton hope to claim the title for themselves and defeat Yugi.
Why was Yu-Gi-Oh Cancelled? ›
Konami made the announcement on the game's official Twitter page, citing the “current global situation,” which we're going to assume means the ongoing global pandemic. ”In light of the current global situation, the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2022 will not be held this year,” wrote Konami.
Who is the top Yu-Gi-Oh player? ›
- Top 8 YCS Bochum.
- Weng Tran overcame Scraps and advanced to the Top 8!
- Patrik Rieder, representing Austria!
- Eden Zamir, putting Israel on your Yu-Gi-Oh! ...
- Stefan Faust is packing Blackwings!
- Michel Grüner, jack of all trades!
- Greece is the only European nation who has both won a European and a World Championship.
MTG Card Sizes. Yu-Gi-Oh cards are much smaller than Magic cards. While you could use the same kinds of sleeves to protect your cards, smaller sleeves are much more effective.
What is the number 1 Yu-Gi-Oh card? ›
Number 1: Numeron Gate Ekam | Card Details | Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME - CARD DATABASE.
