Trading Card Games

The Yu-Gi-Oh Legendary Decks 2 Collection Breathes Life Into Old Favorites!

by Josh JacksonFebruary 8, 2017

It’s become an annual tradition for Yu-Gi-Oh players to expect some kind of grand collection when the end of the year starts to creep up on us. 2016 is no exception, following last year’s trend of releasing a series of theme decks all in one box. Sharing the spotlight with Joey and Kaiba this time around, Yugi and his two Battle City rivals return with decks blending new and old cards, many of which have become much harder to find through other means.

Starting with Joey, who had his own Joey’s World collection a few years ago, his deck naturally focuses on his Red Eyes Black Dragon. His featured cards include The Black Stone of Legend, a card that can be tributed to special summon a powerful Red Eyes monster from the deck. When in the Graveyard, it allows a Red-Eyes in the Graveyard to be shuffled back into the deck while the Stone itself goes back into your hand. Creating an easy way to continuously cycle Red-Eyes monsters in and out of your deck, it’s handy to have both in and out of the grave! Thesecond card, Return of the Red Eyes, is a continuous Trap Card that allows you to Special Summon a Normal Monster in your Graveyard while on the field. When destroyed, you can Special Summon a Red-Eyes monster from your Graveyard to the Field, providing a second way to filter in powerful monsters constantly. Lastly, Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon is an Xyz Monster from the Clash of Rebellions set that can’t be destroyed by card effects AND inflicts 500 damage every time your opponent activates a card or effect after it resolves as long as it has Xyz material attached. When material is removed, you can Special Summon one Normal Red-Eyes monster from the grave, making sure it always has backup in a fight.

The rest of Joey’s deck features many of the classic cards he used throughout the original series, including common variant favorites of Jinzo, Scapegoats, Baby Dragon and Kunai with Chain. Top that off with some powerful staple support cards such as Torrential Tribute and Mystical Space Typhoon, and you have a ready made Red-Eyes deck that can become even more powerful once cards from other booster sets are mixed in.

Next up is Kaiba, who’s trademark Blue-Eyes cards had a resurgence this year thanks to a plethora of new support cards, many of which are represented here. Maiden with Eyes of Blue kicks things off, with the popular card from the Saga of Blue-Eyes White Dragon structure deck bringing its tricks into this package. Don’t let its 0 attack and 0 defense fool you, because it’s used to bait players into attacking it in order to easily summon the powerful Blue-Eyes instantly. When attacked, the move is negated, leading to one of the dragons being Special Summoned from the Hand, Deck or Graveyard. When targeted by a card effect, the same effect comes into play, minus the negation. This can take place once per turn during either player’s turn, so one cycle can have the maximum of three Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards on the field at once! If your opponent isn’t taking your bait, you can always target your own Maiden too! The Melody of Awakening Dragons provides a second option to get your dragons out of your deck, allowing you to add up to two Dragon-Type monsters with 3000 or more attack and 2500 or less defense. This is a perfect set up for Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, the classic fusion monster that’s become a staple of Kaiba’s offense focused strategy. At 4500 attack and 3800 defense, good luck taking it down without a spell handy.

Like Joey, Kaiba’s deck is rounded out by new and old favorites, including the Synchro Monster, Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon, Protector with Eyes of Blue, Master with Eyes of Blue, Beacon of White, La-Jinn- Mystical Genie of the Lamp, Battle Ox, Burst Stream of Destruction and Enemy Controller to name a few. Naturally, it’s also packed with three Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards, each of which are common variants of the first three art styles used for the iconic monster.

But as always, Yugi is the star of the show, which is why he gets six featured cards, three of which are exclusive to this set! The first three are a trio most should be familiar with by now, with the classic designs for Slifer the Sky Dragon, Obelisk the Tormentor and The Winged Dragon of Ra sitting on top of the deck with their Ultra Rare variants. His exclusive cards revolve around Exodia, the all powerful god / meme that Yugi famously defeated Kaiba with in the first episode of the Duel Monsters anime. The Legendary Exodia Incarnate allows you to summon the monster as its own creature rather than the instant win device it has become known for when all of its body parts have been assembled. With 0 defense and fluctuating attack strength, it gains 1000 attack points for every “Forbidden One” card in your Graveyard. At the end of its user’s turn, it asks them to add one “Forbidden One” card from the grave to their hand, making Exodia weaker in the process. While it can’t be affected by card effects, destroying it in battle lets its user draw a card for every “Forbidden One” card in their hand, allowing them to cycle through their deck faster for that precious instant win, all while bringing cards back from the grave that might have been lost otherwise. Ties of the Brethren is a Spell Card that Special Summons two cards of the same attribute and type with different names to the field at the cost of 2000 Life Points, obviously meant to set up two Exodia pieces. Finally, the Obliterate!!! Continuous Trap Card allows you to discard a “Forbidden One” card from your hand or deck to send a monster on the field back to its user’s hand. When destroyed, you can add one “Forbidden One” card from the gave to your hand, but only one of the two effects can be used per turn.

To be honest, I’m struggling with finding the usefulness of these exclusive cards, mainly because their effects don’t seem worth the cost of losing your Exodia pieces, especially when they seem counter productive to other cards in the deck like Exodia Necross, which is destroyed if all pieces aren’t in the Graveyard. It seems like many of the stall and draw decks that currently exist would work much better to accomplish what these cards seem to set up. Outside of Exodia: The Forbidden One and its four limbs, Yugi’s deck also comes with cards used by both his normal form and Atem, including the Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, the Silent Magician series, Swords of Revealing Light, Magic Cylinder and Mirror Force. These should give players plenty to work with when building custom decks, especially to compliment the new magician cards that came out earlier in the year.

The decks aren’t all that come packed with these legendary decks, since three promos and three tokens are included in each set exclusively. Consisting of two Spell Cards and one Trap Card that are meant to power up the Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl, Dark Burning Attack destroys all face up monsters your opponent controls if you control the female variant. If you control both, Dark Burning Magic can act as a quick play spell, letting you destroy all cards on your opponent’s field during either of your turns. Mimicking the magician’s eternal loyalty for the Pharoh in the anime and manga, the Eternal Soul continuous trap card makes sure you always have a Dark Magician at your side. While on the field, Dark Magician can’t be affected by card effects from your opponent, while allowing you to either Special Summon a Dark Magician from your hand or Graveyard, or add Thousand Knives or Dark Magic Attack spells from your deck to your hand. The only drawback is if the trap is destroyed, all monsters on your side of the field go with it. Outside of these cards, tokens featuring the three heroes this set is built on round out this jam packed set, which I’m sure comes in handy for someone like Joey, who would want to line up four Kaiba tokens to have them get taken down during one of his notorious Scapegoat plays.

Overall, this is an excellent set for people who are mostly familiar with the old cards, but want some new ones mixed in to help them get re-acquainted with the game. While the Yugi set is confusing in the way its set up, the other two have excellent synergy, and the three promo cards that support the magicians more than make up for any shortcomings the Yugi deck has. While it pains me to say this as a Blue-Eyes fan, the Red-Eyes deck is the all star this time around, with some fantastic cards that not only play well, but are much harder to get outside of this set

My biggest concern however, is that we might be going to the nostalgia well a bit too often with these sets. Last year’s Legendary Decks had three Yugi decks, and many of the cards here were already released back then. When you add in the previously mentioned Joey’s World, the many Battle City re-releases, the movie cards that offered some reprints of classic monsters, the Duelist Packs featuring Yugi and Kaiba, and the theme decks featuring these characters, it’s starting to feel like we’re buying the same cards over and over again rather than being introduced to new ones. Now I might be biased since I love Kaiba, but this year felt like the perfect time to give him his own set with all of the brand new Blue-Eyes support that has released. Maybe next year?

Nonetheless, you can’t got wrong with over 150 cards of Yu-Gi-Oh goodness. At the retail price of $29.99, you’re getting more than what you paid for considering some of the rare cards that are in this set. What are your favorite cards from the box, and what do you want to see in the future? Let us know in the comments!

Take A Sneak Peak At The Yu-Gi-Oh ‘Dimension of Chaos’ Booster Set This Weekend!

by Josh JacksonOctober 30, 2015

Are you a duelist who needs something to do this Halloween weekend? Konami has you covered with a few treats of their own, thanks to the upcoming Dimension of Chaos booster set. Officially releasing on November 6th, card players will be able to get their usual sneak peak of the set this weekend at participating card and hobby shops.

Typically sold in sets of five boosters and bundled with a special promotional card for $19.99, the event will give Yu-Gi-Oh enthusiasts a first look at the new cards that will grace the game. From the introduction of Majespecters, Pendulum Monsters that use their spell casting prowess to avoid being destroyed by the effects of other Monsters, and Graydles, who can take control of other Monsters, there promises to be plenty of new strategies to rise out of the set. Plus, with the return of past archtypes like Odd-Eyes, Performapal and the popular Blackwings from the 5D’s days, existing decks are sure to get a much needed boost as well!

However, no individual card may be as sought after as much as Black Luster Soldier- Super Soldier, which I can only assume is the Black Luster Solider with its best Captain America costume just in time for Halloween. What’s really scary is its ability to punish opponents who destroy it. All you need is the right ritual conditions to bring it out!

Check out the full press release below for all the details on the upcoming set. Do you plan on attending one of the sneak peaks? Let us know in the comments!

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. (KONAMI) doles out the treats with the Dimension of Chaos booster set, releasing nationwide November 6. Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME (TCG) fans can also get into the Halloween spirit by checking out the Dimension of Chaos Sneak Peek on October 31. The latest 100-card set features brand-new support for the powerful Black Luster Soldier and more, sure to elicit a scream from any opponent.

Dimension of Chaos gives Duelists the opportunity to power-up their Decks with an enormous arsenal of cards allowing players to make Black Luster Soldier more powerful than ever! Plus, impressive Monster, Spell, and Trap cards bring Black Luster Soldier front and center, culminating in the powerful Black Luster Soldier – Super Soldier, a powerful Monster that punishes an opponent should they dare destroy it.

Dimension of Chaos also introduces cards for brand-new Deck themes sure to make Duels more exciting than ever. Players can create powerful new strategies with the Majespecters, spell-casting Pendulum Monsters that can’t be destroyed by an opponent’s Monster effects, or take control of an opponent’s Monsters with Graydles. New cards for existing themes like Blackwings, D/D, Kozmo, Frightfur, Performapal, Igknights, Odd-Eyes and much more make this set no Duelist will want to be without.

As another treat for fans, and a great way for them to get their hands on the latest cards early, participating Official Tournament Store (OTS) locations will be holding Sneak Peeks of Dimension of Chaos on either Saturday, October 31 or Sunday, November 1, depending on the availability of the store. Visit this link to see if an Official Tournament Store in your area is hosting a Sneak Peek: http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/events/sneakpeek.html.

The Dimension of Chaos booster set includes 100 cards (MSRP $3.99 per nine-card pack): 48 Common Cards, 20 Rare Cards, 14 Super Rare Cards, 10 Ultra Rare Cards, and 8 Secret Rare Cards.

Geekscape Games Reviews ‘Yu-Gi-Oh: Legacy Of The Duelist’

by Josh JacksonAugust 11, 2015

Platforms: PS4, Xbox One (Digital Only, Reviewed On Xbox One)

Genre: Trading Card Game

Price: $20.00

Publisher: Konami

Developer: Other Ocean Interactive

Available: Now

What used to be a franchise where multiple releases across nearly every platform every year was considered a sure thing, the world of Yu-Gi-Oh has really dialed it back in the video game department in recent years. For many, (including myself,) the games were always a great tool to gain access to hundreds of potential strategies to experiment with, while developing a firm grasp of new rules as the game evolved. With the recent release of Yu-Gi-Oh: Legacy Of The Duelist, the first game in the series for PS4 and Xbox One is a return to form for the long running series, serving as the most comprehensive game yet! Despite its card pool that reaches over a decade back and heaps of nostalgia however, a few head scratching snags keep it from being the Duelist Kingdom we were hoping for.

Pendulum Summoning is one of many summoning types in the game.

As mentioned, Yu-Gi-Oh: Legacy of the Duelist goes as far back as the beginning of the series, all the way up to cards that were released early this year. With over 6,600 cards in total,this is easily the most comprehensive console version released up to this point. If you don’t know the difference between a Blue Eyes White Dragon or a Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon, if you think Xyz is a dragon cannon, or if the last time your dueled was when you were getting your game on with Jaden in GX, this is far from a problem. Thanks to the game’s campaign mode, (where the bulk of the single player content lies,) each of its four main stories contain about 25 duels, all of which cover the most important events through each anime series. Using text dialogue ripped straight from the show, jumping into each generation starts off with a comprehensive tutorial explaining the new mechanics that were debuted at the time. Even though it’s annoying that veterans can’t skip these, or that the first series has such a long explanation of the most basic mechanics, (I probably wouldn’t be playing if I didn’t know what a Normal Summon is,) its an invaluable tool for those who dropped out throughout the years and want to get caught up with the game a little bit at a time.

Story mode often serves as a game of patience, which in some ways, simulates the struggles each character faced on the show. These scenarios give the player a Story Deck that simulates the cards that were actually used in the episodes they’re drawn from, which can be a blessing and a curse. On one hand, though the decks do have a fair amount of cards they never used, (which is expected when episodes only featured about a dozen cards out of a 40 card deck,) but are mostly accurate, with each staple monster, spell and trap making an appearance. On the other hand, these decks SUCK by today’s standards, especially when starting with the early series. Their only saving grace, (often to our detriment,) is that single player throws ban lists out the window, so its not uncommon to be sent into a deck kicking rage after enduring multiple Dark Hole, Raigeki, and Swords Of Revealing Light cards. Luckily, your opponent’s deck is usually worse, but that luck runs out when it comes to Reverse Duels, unlockable battles where you take control of the losing character. Using their Story Decks makes it almost impossible to win, often having to rely on “the heart of the cards”, to sneak away with a victory. This is why the campaign giving you the option to use custom decks is a gift from Ra, because some of these duels would be almost impossible to beat otherwise. Then again, relying on them took away from the fun found in playing with cards you might never use on your own.

Winning unlocks new Booster Packs based on certain character, cards from the defeated Duelist’s deck, and points to buy new cards with. Lastly, if you want to face these protagonists of the past with a little more challenge, Duelist Challenges allow you to play against them with updated decks. Seeing Kaiba and Yugi using Synchro and Xyz summoning is a sight within itself, while keeping an already lengthy single player mode fresh. If all this content isn’t enough, some of the missing story duels are featured as DLC, many of which had no business being left out, (Jaden vs. Yugi anyone!?) Basically, if it wasn’t featured on U.S. TV, you’re going to have to pay extra for it.

Key moments from the anime play out with dialogue ripped from the show’s script.

Duels themselves take the form of a variety of phases per turn, with each card having different functions as each phase goes by. Without going too far into detail, each card falls into one of three types. Monsters are used to attack or defend against your opponent, (most of which come with secondary effects,) Spell Cards unleash effects that have the potential to turn a duel around in the user’s favor, and Trap Cards spring surprise effects on the opponent, usually putting a stop to their moves. Speaking of Traps, (and Quick Spells for that matter,) unless you’re brand new to the game, you might want to switch the default settings for Duel Notifications off. Unless of course, you want the game to ask you half a dozen times per turn if you want to use it. It’s all pretty straightforward presentation and game play wise, but the only real issue I came across was with how slow the game moves. Previous versions had ways to speed up turn animations or skip them outright, whereas Next Gen gaming doesn’t seem to have the option to do so. And while seeing signature cards come to life and attack using 3D models, these just drag the game out after you’ve seen them repeatedly with no way to pass them by.

Elemental Hero Neos makes his entrance. Oddly, Flame Wingman doesn’t get the same treatment.

As a real duelist, part of the reason some have had trouble getting into the game is those handful of players with bad attitudes. As we know, the Internet tends to make this attitude so much worse, which is why the acceptable Online Mode is best played with people you know. If you’re expecting to have fun, competitive matches with players around the world, you’ll surely be disappointed by the large amount of rage quitting that takes place. While I wouldn’t normally hold this against the game itself, the fact that it doesn’t give the remaining player the win, or even that it takes so long to make the win official, it gives quitters so much time to sneak away with their record clean. Since there’s no way to Mind Crush over Xbox Live or PSN, avoiding them or accepting this fact going in are your only solutions.

Online play is fun with friends. With strangers, prepare for rage quits.

With so many cards, even veteran duelists might feel a little overwhelmed with gathering the best cards for their deck building needs. Thankfully, the game is generous with its allocation, giving you a variety of ways to unlock them. Primarily, cards are purchased from the Booster Packs mentioned above using Duel Points, (or DP,) which are rewarded for playing and winning duels. Outside of the character packs, Battle Packs make their video game debut, which mirror their real life purpose of building decks right out of the pack. Featuring some of the best cards in the game, Battle Packs test your duel knowledge, forcing you to play a best three out of five series either against the CPU or other players with the same blind deck. Win or lose, you keep the cards for your own deck building needs. Character packs provide their reward immediately, with each set being loaded with cards from each generation. Sadly, with a new console generation comes some of its annoyances, since many of the very best and most up to date cards are locked behind DLC pay walls.

Yet, while having thousands of cards is definitely a great thing, Legacy Of The Duelist‘s biggest flaw is how poorly it handles card management. For one, there are far too few Character Packs, so each one is full of archetypes that the booster’s namesake never used. For example, if Pegasus had his own pack featuring Toons and Relinquished instead of them being forced into Kaiba’s packs, it would make it easier for Seto’s fans to gather up Blue Eyes cards rather than plod through a ton of cards they don’t want. This wouldn’t be a huge problem normally, but the game does a terrible job of filtering out repeats, leaving me opening packs with three of the same card at times. With each set containing hundreds of cards, it makes it almost impossible to get that one card you’re desperate to find without potential hours of pack grinding.

Oh, and the worst part? There is no in game card list telling you what’s in each pack. That’s right, absolutely none! The cards you buy don’t tell you where they came from, and there’s no list telling you if you’re missing anything. With so many cards available, this creates a huge problem for those who want to keep track of where to get more than one of the same card, or who wants to let their friends know where they can find their favorite cards. The only sign of relief is that beating the CPU duelists repeatedly will eventually reward you with their entire deck, but this answer is far from ideal. An online trading system, a card password system like what was used in the past, or a simple list would have gone a long way to improve this aspect of the game. Instead, it serves as its biggest flaw in an otherwise comprehensive title.

Does anyone know who drops a Dark Magician!?

Featuring over 6,600 cards spanning nearly 15 years of history, including the newest Pendulum Summon mechanic from the Arc-V era and the debut of Battle Packs, there’s plenty of reason for new and old duelists alike to be excited for Yu-Gi-Oh: Legacy of the Duelist. Best used as a tool to get back into the game, learn it for the first time, and test out a near limitless vault of cards before buying the cards for yourself, it serves its purpose well. A nostalgia filled campaign will keep you playing for hours while Duelist Challenges update the game for your favorites, but its poor online management, thoughtless card management system, slower pace and DLC locked content keep it from being the true king of games. Still, if you wanted an excuse to get your feet wet in the dueling arena, there isn’t a better way to learn the game than Legacy of the Duelist.

tl;dr:

+ Over 6,600 cards to use, featuring nearly limitless possibilities.

+ Comprehensive tutorials that explain the new mechanics from each generation in a progressive, easy to understand way.

+ A lengthy campaign mode skims every anime series thus far, using mostly authentic decks. Challenge Duels update these characters with modern cards, keeping your favorite characters relevant.

+ Battle Packs make their first video game appearance, creating an unpredictable way to play.

– Duels move slow, with unskippable animations for certain Monsters.

– Online is poorly handled, creating an environment where its easy to rage quit with no reward for the winner.

– Booster Packs contain far too many cards, making it hard to find your favorites. Having no card list to keep track of your finds make this so much worse, and the lack of a trading or password system means tons of grinding.

– Key cards and story duels locked behind a DLC paywall.

Verdict: Buy

Final Score: 3/5

Take A Sneak Peak At The Latest ‘Yu-Gi-Oh’ Expansion This Weekend With ‘Crossed Souls’

by Josh JacksonMay 8, 2015

On May 15th, the next expansion in the long running Yu-Gi-Oh trading card game looks to unite five different deck types, thanks to the new omni-typed Zefra Monsters. In the Crossed Souls booster set, duelists will be able to expand their decks like never before, creating new ways to change up existing decks, or design brand new ones while taking advantage of the powerful Pendulum Summon from the latest series, Yu-Gi-Oh Arc V. With 100 cards in all, there should be plenty, of new, exciting ways to keep your opponents on their toes.

If waiting isn’t your thing, then you might want to free up your weekend. On May 9th and 10th at participating tournament official stores, a special preview event will give us the chance to pick up some of these new cards early, and enter for a chance to win a special game mat. Plus, if you happen to have a spare friend laying around who would want to learn how to play, May 9th’s event will host special beginners demos, where both you and your friend will receive a free deck box for participating while supplies last. If your friend is especially lucky, they just might win a Space-Time Showdown Super Starter set, including 3 Power-Up Packs and a rubberized game mat! Talk about making the first fix free.

For more details on the new expansion, a link to participating stores, or various pieces of card game goodness, check out the press release below.

El Segundo, Calif. (May 5, 2015) – Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME (TCG) fans will be eager to get together with their fellow Duelists to playtest and perfect their Deck-building skills with theCrossed Souls booster set and its bounty of new cards. Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. (KONAMI), a leader in the trading card game category, delivers this monstrous set to stores nationwide on May 15.

In this powerful booster set, five warring tribes of Monsters put aside their differences and gain the power to Pendulum Summon! CrossedSoulsunlocks fresh Deck-building opportunities like never before for the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG. This 100-card set introduces the Zefra monsters, a new monster omni-theme that crosses over five different Deck types. Zefra monsters are tied in to a popular monster group from recent sets. Duelists with Shaddolls, ’tellarknights, Yang Zing, Nekroz, or Ritual Beasts can add their new Zefra monsters to spice-up their Deck, or build a Deck entirely of Zefra monsters, tying all five together.

While their cross-theme potential and monster effects vary, all Zefra monsters can take advantage of the powerful Zefra Spell & Trap Cards like Oracle of Zefra and Chosen of Zefra in Crossed Souls, magnifying the power boost that Zefra monsters give to any Deck that includes them. At the same time, a pure Zefra Deck (or a Deck with appropriate Zefra splash) can now gain increased access to Shaddoll, ‘tellarknight, Yang Zing, Nekroz, and Ritual Beast cards!

Crossed Souls also arms Duelists with the latest non-Zefra cards for their Burning Abyss, Madolche, Infernoid, U.A., Yosenju, and other Decks. Fans of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and TV series will also be treated to a slew of new cards from the newest generation of the series – Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V.

KONAMI is once again partnering with Official Tournament Stores to hold a Sneak Peek of this new set on Saturday and/or Sunday, May 9^th – 10^th, where Duelists can get a head start on creating new Decks and developing strategies to use against their peers. Duelists will also have the chance to win an exclusive Sneak Peek game mat! Visit this link to see if an Official Tournament Store in your area is hosting a Sneak Peek for the Crossed Souls booster set:

http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/events/sneakpeek.html.

Lastly, Duelists are encouraged to ‘Bring a Friend’ to Yu-Gi-Oh! Demo Day on May 9^th! When a Duelist brings a beginning player to a participating OTS for a demo, both players will receive an exclusive lenticular Deck Box (while supplies last)! Beginning players will also have the opportunity to win a Space-Time Showdown Power Box, the perfect product for a beginner, with a Space-Time Showdown Super Starter, 3 Power-Up Packs and a rubberized game mat! A list of participating stores can be found online at http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/events/specialevents.html.

Each nine-card pack will be available at an MSRP of $3.99. The Crossed Soulsbooster set contains 100 cards:

48 Common

20 Rare

14 Super Rares

10 Ultra Rares

8 Secret Rares