Those of us who grew up in the late 90s and 2000s are probably familiar with the card game Yu-Gi-Oh and its related TV show. I was a big fan of the game back in the day but eventually, it was left in the rearview mirror. And that was that for many of us back in the day, but recently, Konami has released a new online version of the game across multiple platforms, from Mobile to Switch to PC. In Master Duel, you have access to most of the cards in the game and play with the current updated rules. A few months after Master Duel came out, I was feeling nostalgic and decided to check it out. Lo and behold, I had my behind handed to me on a silver platter.

For those of us who left Yu-Gi-Oh behind, many things have changed in regards to how the game is played. Back in the day, it was all about who had the biggest beat stick and could whip it out the fastest. The modern meta can be a bit of a whiplash for old fans dipping their toes back in the pool. The current meta revolves around multi-card combos and special summoning literal truckloads of monsters to the field, only to then sacrifice those monsters for bigger monsters with cool effects who then summon even more monsters and so on and so on. After their first turn, a player generally has a field with 3-5 boss monsters and each one will have effects that will cancel, destroy, or negate their opponent’s cards on the next turn. It is then up to that opponent to have a way around those effects and then the ability to build up their board to a similar degree. For reference, back in the day after turn one, you may have one or two non-boss monsters on the field, and most would not have effects to destroy or negate your opponent's cards.

Now, these long combos can create a big problem when it comes to the online aspect of Master Duel. Each card you play has animations for everything it does and you have to click on what you want to do. This leads to some turns being upwards of 5 minutes long. Now for a new player returning to the game, it’s not exactly fun to have to wait 5 minutes when you already know you’re going to lose if you go second. However, that won't be a problem till you reach around gold in ranked duels, as most players below that level won't have too crazy decks.

What I recommend for new or returning players is to look up common meta decks online and decide which interests you the most and build towards it. That brings us to the deck building system. As a free-to-play game Master Duel follows the normal example of having a game currency you earn through quests or events, as well as being purchasable with real cash. This in-game currency is then used to buy packs of cards. After you earn enough currency for some packs I recommend building a deck in the deck builder then clicking on the cards you don't own to see how to obtain them and which packs they are in. Feasibly, right off the bat, you will most likely only be able to afford to build one meta deck with the freely available or earnable in-game currency so choose wisely based on your favorite playstyle.

Overall, with my return to Yu-Gi-Oh in Master Duel, I am enjoying myself with my Blue-Eyes White Dragon Deck. You can never go wrong with big scary dragons, but the case in the end to remember is ‘Screw the rules! I have Money!’

Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel is now available on Mobile via Android and iOS, PC via Steam, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.