The Two types of Yugioh Cards.

[BehindTheMask]

Two Types of Yugioh Cards

 

By BehindTheMask

 

There are 2 General Types of Yugioh Cards, right now.

Monster Cards, and Spell Cards/Trap Cards…just kidding. It’s actually what I call Tempo cards, and Power Cards. Each has their uses (obviously) and a crucial to know how to extract as much of their usefulness, without much cost. Before we take an in depth look at what each card category contributes to a deck, I first will explain what each card category is, and the terminology does.

 

Tempo cards are cards that create Tempo. Simply put, these cards help you gain control of the match, by either robbing your opponent of tempo, or creating tempo in your favour(usually it is a mix of both).

 

Tempo is an unseen factor in Yugioh. Tempo is implied through board position/control. I.E. In a match where both players are turtling, and not committing to the field with aggressive plays, the match is “slow tempo’d.” Highly aggressive plays with cards like “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner” and “Deep Sea Diva” is a “fast tempo.”

 

Power cards are simply cards that can create card advantage, can cause Pressure, or are a very big card. Some examples of these cards are “Dark Armed Dragon”, “Heavy Storm”, and “Mirror Force”

 

Pressure is an unseen factor (like Tempo) that is given through board advantage. A player who can “pressure” an opponent is able to force the opponent into bad plays, or make an overly aggressive/defensive move, in order to deal with it. I.e. A Player mills a “Wulf, Lightsworn Beast.” This adds pressure, because “Wulf, Lightsworn Beast” got a free 2100 monster, that can be used with “Honest.” The opposing player has to make a move that is either defensive, and risk being hit with a swarm of cards on the opponents next turn, or playing aggressively, but susceptible to cards like “Mirror Force” “Torrential Tribute” or “Honest.”

 

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s take a look at what they are.

Tempo cards are cards that help with tempo (as stated above). Now, what type of cards are “tempo cards.” Well, cards that can create advantage, via your opponents interaction with them certainly fall into this category. Cards like “Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter” and “Goblin Zombie” are just two examples. When “Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter” is flipped, he destroys a card, and mills three. This card creates tempo via interactions, because it removes 1 card (thus simplifying your opponent’s field). Now that they are slowed down(1 card), their pressure and tempo are variably changed. I.e. They lost a monster like “Elemental Hero Stratos” or an important trap like “Call of the Haunted.”

 

What about the “Goblin Zombie” you might ask? How does it simplify things? It doesn’t however, it creates tempo by allowing to search, whenever it gets sent to the grave. This allows you a free monster, which will help you either A) Speed up your own Tempo or B) Slow down your opponents. The same reasoning is used for other recruiters like “Mystic Tomato” and “Giant Rat.” I’d go into more detail about Tempo Cards, but I think I’ve beaten it over your head (if not, PM me =]).

 

Power cards are very simple to explain. They are the cards that make noobs go “omg ban ban ban, it’s so strong, I can’t keep up with it.” I admit there is a Yugioh Power Creep since 2008, and it needs to change. However, now is not the time to talk about that. Power cards have become so integrated in Yugioh, that it is hard to win a game without seeing at least 3. Utilization of power cards will allow a player to gain control of the match, and put themselves in a position to win.

 

One such basic function I see many players make mistake is using their power cards at the wrong times, when it seems like a good play. For example, Player A has a “Spirit Reaper” in face-down defense position, a “Lightning Vortex” , and “Generic non-combo card” in hand. Player B has “Giant Orc” in attack position. The common mistake is to use the “Lightning Vortex” in order to make up the advantage with “Spirit Reaper’s” effect. They “justify” this play because it is a net advantage of “+0.” However, they lost 2 cards which can swing position over to them. They lost “Lightning Vortex” and the card they discarded in order to get rid of “Giant Orc”(a card with very little threat to the player” and a mystery card in hand.” Another example is “misplaying” with “Heavy Storm.”

 

The common mistake is to use “Heavy Storm” to either make A) Pushes or B) Gain a +1/0. A) describes mostly inexperienced players wanting to punch through damage, when their opponent has a face-down card, that “might be” Mirror Force. They use Heavy Storm, so that whatever swarm them do will not be stopped, however, now their opponent has free reign to set spells and traps without consequence. B) is a lot trickery to misplay with. When the opponent has 1+ spell/traps face down, you might think “Now might be a good time to play heavy storm.” While this is a decent assumption, you might not understand why it is a bad play. You must thing what your opponent could have. If you pick upon such “reads” as “Mirror Force” or “Torrential Tribute”, and they will hurt your plans, then it is a reasonable to play “Heavy Storm.” However, it is unreasonable to “Heavy Storm” when you do not think you will be hurt by your opponents face down.

 

The Questions you must ask yourself, when playing any card is “How does this card help me gain control of the match. Do I need to play this card? How does this benefit me to play it? Is the risk worth the reward?” There are other questions, but these are the main questions I ask.

 

Hope this helped. Thanks for reading. PM me any questions.

[Dark_Armed_Zombie]

Very nice, this is something I need to work on. I'm not bad at the theoretical game (i.e. making a good deck, card combos) but I'm bad in the actual physical game when cards are on the table and I need to make a decision of what to do to temper the game slower or faster (properly) or when to play a power card. I'm gradually getting better, but I don't really have anyone to face that's really good and familiar with the game...

[Jazin Kay]

Can I IM a copy of this to my local judge who doesn't know sheet?

[El Majishan]

Very nice' date=' this is something I need to work on. I'm not bad at the theoretical game (i.e. making a good deck, card combos) but I'm bad in the actual physical game when cards are on the table and I need to make a decision of what to do to temper the game slower or faster (properly) or when to play a power card. I'm gradually getting better, but I don't really have anyone to face that's really good and familiar with the game...

[/quote']

 

I have the same issue. I'm really good at the game on paper but I'm only decent at actual game play (usually go 3-1 or 3-2 at my locals). I often make bad plays when I'm under pressure due to my opp playing a power card or if I'm playing someone I know for a fact is better than me at the game.

 

The good thing is the people at my local are actually really good so the more I play them the better I become.

 

Anyway, this incite of the game is rather interesting and is something to look into.

[werewolfjedi]

this is something I've noticed for a long while, it's likely why my citadel deck works better in play than it looks on paper.

 

it because of the precise control I have on my resources, and the fact that my opponent's spells also give me more to work with, turning my opponent's cards aganist them, which causes bad plays from my opponent to try and keep from gaining to much, which backfires since now they don't have enough to stop me.

it basicly turns my opponent's spells into tempo for me.

[TheTurtleOnceCalledGod]

Two Types of Yugioh Cards

 

By BehindTheMask

 

 

There are 2 General Types of Yugioh Cards' date=' right now.

Monster Cards, and Spell Cards/Trap Cards…just kidding. It’s actually what I call Tempo cards, and Power Cards. Each has their uses (obviously) and a crucial to know how to extract as much of their usefulness, without much cost. Before we take an in depth look at what each card category contributes to a deck, I first will explain what each card category is, and the terminology does.

 

Tempo cards are cards that create Tempo. Simply put, these cards help you gain control of the match, by either robbing your opponent of tempo, or creating tempo in your favour(usually it is a mix of both).

 

Tempo is an unseen factor in Yugioh. Tempo is implied through board position/control. I.E. In a match where both players are turtling, and not committing to the field with aggressive plays, the match is “slow tempo’d.” Highly aggressive plays with cards like “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner” and “Deep Sea Diva” is a “fast tempo.”

 

Power cards are simply cards that can create card advantage, can cause Pressure, or are a very big card. Some examples of these cards are “Dark Armed Dragon”, “Heavy Storm”, and “Mirror Force”

 

Pressure is an unseen factor (like Tempo) that is given through board advantage. A player who can “pressure” an opponent is able to force the opponent into bad plays, or make an overly aggressive/defensive move, in order to deal with it. I.e. A Player mills a “Wulf, Lightsworn Beast.” This adds pressure, because “Wulf, Lightsworn Beast” got a free 2100 monster, that can be used with “Honest.” The opposing player has to make a move that is either defensive, and risk being hit with a swarm of cards on the opponents next turn, or playing aggressively, but susceptible to cards like “Mirror Force” “Torrential Tribute” or “Honest.”

 

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s take a look at what they are.

Tempo cards are cards that help with tempo (as stated above). Now, what type of cards are “tempo cards.” Well, cards that can create advantage, via your opponents interaction with them certainly fall into this category. Cards like “Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter” and “Goblin Zombie” are just two examples. When “Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter” is flipped, he destroys a card, and mills three. This card creates tempo via interactions, because it removes 1 card (thus simplifying your opponent’s field). Now that they are slowed down(1 card), their pressure and tempo are variably changed. I.e. They lost a monster like “Elemental Hero Stratos” or an important trap like “Call of the Haunted.”

 

What about the “Goblin Zombie” you might ask? How does it simplify things? It doesn’t however, it creates tempo by allowing to search, whenever it gets sent to the grave. This allows you a free monster, which will help you either A) Speed up your own Tempo or B) Slow down your opponents. The same reasoning is used for other recruiters like “Mystic Tomato” and “Giant Rat.” I’d go into more detail about Tempo Cards, but I think I’ve beaten it over your head (if not, PM me =']).

 

Power cards are very simple to explain. They are the cards that make noobs go “omg ban ban ban, it’s so strong, I can’t keep up with it.” I admit there is a Yugioh Power Creep since 2008, and it needs to change. However, now is not the time to talk about that. Power cards have become so integrated in Yugioh, that it is hard to win a game without seeing at least 3. Utilization of power cards will allow a player to gain control of the match, and put themselves in a position to win.

 

One such basic function I see many players make mistake is using their power cards at the wrong times, when it seems like a good play. For example, Player A has a “Spirit Reaper” in face-down defense position, a “Lightning Vortex” , and “Generic non-combo card” in hand. Player B has “Giant Orc” in attack position. The common mistake is to use the “Lightning Vortex” in order to make up the advantage with “Spirit Reaper’s” effect. They “justify” this play because it is a net advantage of “+0.” However, they lost 2 cards which can swing position over to them. They lost “Lightning Vortex” and the card they discarded in order to get rid of “Giant Orc”(a card with very little threat to the player” and a mystery card in hand.” Another example is “misplaying” with “Heavy Storm.”

 

The common mistake is to use “Heavy Storm” to either make A) Pushes or B) Gain a +1/0. A) describes mostly inexperienced players wanting to punch through damage, when their opponent has a face-down card, that “might be” Mirror Force. They use Heavy Storm, so that whatever swarm them do will not be stopped, however, now their opponent has free reign to set spells and traps without consequence. B) is a lot trickery to misplay with. When the opponent has 1+ spell/traps face down, you might think “Now might be a good time to play heavy storm.” While this is a decent assumption, you might not understand why it is a bad play. You must thing what your opponent could have. If you pick upon such “reads” as “Mirror Force” or “Torrential Tribute”, and they will hurt your plans, then it is a reasonable to play “Heavy Storm.” However, it is unreasonable to “Heavy Storm” when you do not think you will be hurt by your opponents face down.

 

The Questions you must ask yourself, when playing any card is “How does this card help me gain control of the match. Do I need to play this card? How does this benefit me to play it? Is the risk worth the reward?” There are other questions, but these are the main questions I ask.

 

Hope this helped. Thanks for reading. PM me any questions.

 

 

Brilliant, explaining the basics of how to play the game both offensively, defensively, and in-between. This is an excellent example of what players should know when playing games, such as using game theory to increase your probability of winning, understanding all the rulings of the cards they use and commonly used cards that can stop them, and researching teh interwebz for commentary and advice from credible sources on ways to improve their own decks without copying over-used deck recipes online.

[Scatty]

To be honest, it is harder to make a great deck than to use it in a game. But I understand your strategy.

 

 

Simply put, any noob with the ultimate Lightsworn combination would win against a pro having a deck full of vanillas+equip cards.

[TheTurtleOnceCalledGod]

To be honest' date=' it is harder to make a great deck than to use it in a game. But I understand your strategy.

 

 

Simply put, any noob with the ultimate Lightsworn combination would win against a pro having a deck full of vanillas+equip cards.

[/quote']

 

I faced someone who sent 3 wulfs to the graveyard at the same time by Charge of the Light Brigade (that is beyond lucky). He would have won the duel if he had summoned any of them (dare to be ignorant). I had no cards on my field, and he already had Judgment Dragon on the field. Next turn, I summoned Stardust Dragon using summoner monk, Brain Controlled his Judgment Dragon, and attacked for game (he only had about 4000 life points left or so).

Simply put, some rich kid who didn't know how to run his own deck got owned by a cheap noob version of a blackwing deck.

[werewolfjedi]

yeah, it's sad to see people just try to buy theirway into the game without playing for a while first.

you never develop your style of play, or learn how to play well.

[RyanAtlus]

Nicely written, but I believe that the concepts you speak of are rather abstract and/or vague, and that there are cards that don't belong in either of your categories. (The first one I can think of is Final Countdown, which does neither speed up the game nor puts pressure on the opponent in early game.)

Your theory about preventing misplays seems only logical; don't use card unless A)you need to do so, B)your opponent is a n00b and you want to f*ck around with him by pwning his Celtic Guardian equipped with Malevolent Nuzzler.

[Scatty]

To be honest' date=' it is harder to make a great deck than to use it in a game. But I understand your strategy.

 

 

Simply put, any noob with the ultimate Lightsworn combination would win against a pro having a deck full of vanillas+equip cards.

[/quote']

 

I faced someone who sent 3 wulfs to the graveyard at the same time by Charge of the Light Brigade (that is beyond lucky). He would have won the duel if he had summoned any of them (dare to be ignorant). I had no cards on my field, and he already had Judgment Dragon on the field. Next turn, I summoned Stardust Dragon using summoner monk, Brain Controlled his Judgment Dragon, and attacked for game (he only had about 4000 life points left or so).

Simply put, some rich kid who didn't know how to run his own deck got owned by a cheap noob version of a blackwing deck.

 

Assuming that the noob knew the rules...

 

And btw, a lame deck does not contain Brain Control and Stardust.

[TheTurtleOnceCalledGod]

To be honest' date=' it is harder to make a great deck than to use it in a game. But I understand your strategy.

 

 

Simply put, any noob with the ultimate Lightsworn combination would win against a pro having a deck full of vanillas+equip cards.

[/quote']

 

I faced someone who sent 3 wulfs to the graveyard at the same time by Charge of the Light Brigade (that is beyond lucky). He would have won the duel if he had summoned any of them (dare to be ignorant). I had no cards on my field, and he already had Judgment Dragon on the field. Next turn, I summoned Stardust Dragon using summoner monk, Brain Controlled his Judgment Dragon, and attacked for game (he only had about 4000 life points left or so).

Simply put, some rich kid who didn't know how to run his own deck got owned by a cheap noob version of a blackwing deck.

 

Assuming that the noob knew the rules...

 

And btw, a lame deck does not contain Brain Control and Stardust.

 

I referred to it as a cheap noob version because I do not have vayu or other such support cards, it is relatively complete, but no where near tournament worthy yet.

[Umbra]

(The first one I can think of is Final Countdown' date=' which does neither speed up the game nor puts pressure on the opponent in early game.)

[/quote']

 

IMO, Final Countdown would qualify as a pressure generator, even though it doesn't do a very good job.

[Dark_Armed_Zombie]

(The first one I can think of is Final Countdown' date=' which does neither speed up the game nor puts pressure on the opponent in early game.)

[/quote']

 

IMO, Final Countdown would qualify as a pressure generator, even though it doesn't do a very good job.

 

This, it doesn't add pressure off the bat but gradually builds over time.

[Dr. Cakey]

(The first one I can think of is Final Countdown' date=' which does neither speed up the game nor puts pressure on the opponent in early game.)

[/quote']

 

IMO, Final Countdown would qualify as a pressure generator, even though it doesn't do a very good job.

 

This, it doesn't add pressure off the bat but gradually builds over time.

Also, it could be classified as a Power card because it is directly involved in your victory, even though it doesn't generate immediate advantage/damage.

 

Anyway, a good treatise type thing. Some strategies work badly on paper but are incredible in practice, like 3 Dogma/Plasma + Trade-In or Toon Table of Contents for deck-thinning (I prefer Thunder Dragon).

[BehindTheMask]

Can I IM a copy of this to my local judge who doesn't know s***?

 

Go ahead.