since people have yelled at me for this topic title

[byak]

so basically all of the good players post things to help the bad players become good players like them.

I can see this thread being very beneficial to the community, seeing as it is YCM.

I'll link posts to this one if they're really helpful or not.

[size="6"][u][b]Specific Deck Guides[/b][/u][/size]
[url="http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/topic/218676-kingdom-for-a-heart"]Gladiator Beasts by BehindtheMask[/url]
[url="http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/topic/224524-achieving-the-handless-combo-infernity-guide-discussion/page__gopid__4690334#entry4690334"]Infernities by [s]Kyosuke Kiryu[/s] Fable[/url]




Anyway, I got permission from a friend to post this.

[size="5"][u][b]A Comprehensive Guide on Yugioh Card Theory - By Blank[/b][/u][/size]
http://www.createforum.com/dudley/viewtopic.php?p=3088

[b][color=red][size=24]GUIDE IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION SO PLEASE BE PATIENT[/size][/color]
[/b]




[size=24][b]Disclaimer[/b][/size]
Information in this guide may become extraneous or invalid in the future because of the constantly changing state of Yugioh. The format this guide was designed for was Pre-September '10 Banlist, which may be updated in the near future. This guide was designed for Intermediate to Experienced players of Yugioh. Most of the information in this guide is based on "Card Theory" which is more of a tool to better one's self at playing Yugioh rather than a guide to winning. The purpose of this guide is to expand your thinking, not to restrict it. If you are introduced to a new concept you find conflicts with Card Theory you've heard or read about including here, don't take it as fact. Theory is theory because it isn't defined law and is interpreted differently by everyone.


[size=24][b]Introduction[/b][/size]
I wrote this guide to allow you guys to hopefully become better duelists, deck builders, and to expand your sense of awareness of the underlying factors of Yugioh. I based all the information I have written here on Articles, studying different formats and deck types, and sheer experience. This guide was written by me and won't be found anywhere else on the internet besides here: http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/topic/225162-you-are-all-so-bad-at-ygo/ and this thread. Don't be overwhelmed by this guide's daunting size. There is no specific order you need to read everything in so feel free to use "Ctrl+F" in your web browser to skip to a specific section of this guide. I hope you enjoy, and I encourage you to read everything. Also, please leave your responses below and tell me what you think about the guide. Doing so will enable me to make it as accurate and helpful as possible and to clarify any misunderstandings.


[size=24][b]Table of Contents[/b][/size]
[i]**Press "Ctrl+F" to find a specified section. Copy and Paste any of the terms below and put it into "Ctrl+F" to find it.**[/i]

[u]1. Glossary
2. What is Card Theory?
3. Deck Building Card Theory
4. Card Economy
5. Play Styles
6. Statistics
7. Metagame
8. Deck Analysis
9. Conclusion
10. Change Log[/u]



[size=24][b]1. Glossary[/b][/size]
[b]Introduction[/b]
This glossary is for terms that you may not recognize, probably if you're relatively new to the game. Here I will define common terminology used in Yugioh and Card Theory alike. Terms listed here will probably be in order from when mentioned in the guide for your inconvenience, or convenience...

[b]Card Theory:[/b] The study of tendencies and patterns of a Card Game.

[b]Metagame/Meta: [/b]The common/popular decks played.

[b]Tier 1:[/b]Decks that top YCS (Yugioh Card Series) often.

[b]Tier 1.5: [/b]Rouge decks that top YCS once or occasionally or have a chance at standing a chance against Tier 1.

[b]Tier 2: [/b] Any deck that is played popularly but doesn't top YCS.

[b]Tier 3:[/b] This category consists of everything else.

[b]Anti-Meta:[/b] A deck designed against the Metagame.

[b]Playstyle:[/b] The approach one takes at playing Yugioh.

[b]Synergy:[/b] How well cards flow together.

[b]To Stack:[/b] Literal: To purposely arrange the cards in your deck. Connotation: To seemingly draw what you need at the appropriate time.

[b]Game State:[/b] The current state of a duel.

[b]1 for 1:[/b] Refers to 1 for 1 Card Advantage. See "Card Economy" section of this guide.

[b]Win Condition:[/b]The intended strategy for winning with a deck.

[b]Hand Control:[/b] To control your opponent's hand.

[b]Hand/Card Advantage:[/b] The amount of cards you or your opponent has on the field and or in the hand.

[b]OTK:[/b] One Turn Kill.

[b]FTK:[/b] First Turn Kill.

[b]Archetype:[/b] A prefabricated series of monsters or cards made by Konami.

[b]Cookie-Cutter:[/b] Cards with high individual utility.

[b]Staples:[/b] Cards that are necessary in close to all decks.

[b]RFG/RFP:[/b] Remove From Game/Remove From Play.

[b]Boss Monster:[/b]A monster with either high Attack or and has a game altering effect.

[b]Beatstick:[/b] Monsters that have high Attack power.

[b]DAD:[/b] [url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_Armed_Dragon]Dark Armed Dragon.[/url]

[b]Ryko:[/b][url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Ryko]Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter[/url]

[b]Format:[/b] The current state of the entire game dictated by the release of new cards and the Banlist.

[b]Stardust:[/b][url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Stardust_dragon]Stardust Dragon.[/url]

[b]D Prison:[/b] [url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Dimensional_Prison]Dimensional Prison.[/url]

[b]Caius:[/b][url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Caius]Caius the Shadow Monarch.[/url]

[b]MST:[/b][url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Mystical_Space_Typhoon]Mystical Space Typhoon.[/url]

[b]Macro:[/b] An RFG deck.

[b]Matchups:[/b] Certain decks that a player faces.

[b]Mirror Matches:[/b] When you and your opponent are using the same deck theme.

[b]Phase:[/b]One definition of Phases means the specific step in the strategy of a deck.

[b]Stratos:[/b][url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Stratos]Elemental Hero Stratos.[/url]

[b]Floaters:[/b]Monsters that add a card to your hand before or after they
are removed from the field.

[b]Toolbox:[/b]A Toolbox deck means that the deck can get out anything it needs by means of recruiters and searchers. Reverse Toolbox means when you retrieve outs through anything other than the deck like the RFG pile or Graveyard.

[b]Recruiters:[/b]A monster that replaces themselves on the field by recruiting a monster from the deck.

[b]Dumping/Loading:[/b] The act of adding cards to the Graveyard or RFG pile.

[b]Overextend:[/b] Connotation: Committing too many cards to the field in order to compensate for a condition on the field or out of sheer stupidity. Denotation: To commit to the field heavily.




[size=24][b]2. What is Card Theory?[/b][/size]
Card Theory is simply a loose foundation used to understand how cards function and interact with each other. More specifically in Yugioh, there are a few key Card Theories I'll be elaborating on. Even in an extensive guide, I may add more detail in the future and even new sections to this guide.



[size=24][b]3. Deck Building Card Theory[/b][/size]
[b]Introduction[/b]
When building a deck regardless of the win condition, players can sometimes fail to implement logical card theory to back up their card choices. You can determine what card choices are sensible by understanding the role each card or group of cards play in your deck. For example, if you were to make a deck based around [url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Don_Zaloog]Don Zaloog[/url] and the focus of the deck was hand control, then you wouldn't want to run cards that allow your opponent to generate hand advantage correct? One thing some players will do, especial new players, is that they will either focus too much on the theme, or they'll get carried away by making decks too diverse. I'm hoping this will help players understand how they can find a balance when making decks. This is especially true for decks that don't have a progenitor with an already well established strategy.

There are 5 key aspects that make a deck work. All the elements listed below do not need to be prevalent in all decks. Based on how extreme the theme is like an OTK/FTK, it may not be necessary since it may only capitalize on one or a select few elements. I'll be addressing all of them below:


[size=18][b]Synergy[/b][/size]
A deck's "level" of synergy is illustrated by how compatible the cards in a deck is in terms of how often it's useful, how many cards it's useful with, and how important it's use is to the strategy as a whole . Quantifying this aspect of a deck or any of the others listed below is impossible. It's all relative to the metagame so keep that in mind when judging how "good" your deck is. Prefabricated themes such as [url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Blackwings]Blackwings[/url],[url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gladiator_Beasts] Gladiator Beasts[/url] and [url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Lightsworn]Lightsworn[/url] have great synergy, naturally. But in the case of say making a Monarch deck with no archetype support, it's crucial you understand what the focus of the deck you want to make is. Cards that don't necessarily need Synergy to be useful are called cookie-cutter cards. Some of these cards include Ryko, Cyber Valley, Doomcaliber Knight and many others. These cards are independent factors of the deck that don't necessarily need support to be useful but can be classified as another type of card as well. For example, Doomcaliber Knight is essential to the Stun strategy, more often than not, making him a Stun card as well.

[size=18][b]Power[/b][/size]
Power is as simple as it sounds. If a deck has Boss Monsters or Beatsticks to go with it, inevitably it would be prone to have a Win Condition revolving around them. Boss Monsters include anything from DAD to Synchros. They are the tools to maintaining and acquiring field presence and levy control. Without "power" your decks won't fair well against the metagame unless there is some way to compensate for it's lack of power. Most Anti-Meta decks don't need a boss monster per say, but instead use quick and direct monster removal instead.


[size=18][b]Tech[/b][/size]
Tech is a considerable broad term but basically means cards that fair especially well in a given format, giving a deck the upper-hand over the opponent by main-decking cards that perform well in an expected matchup. Cards that are useful for extended durations of a format to years, are usually called staples. Staples are typically cards that are easily splashable in most/all decks. Some examples of staples include Dark Hole, Monster Reborn and Torrential Tribute.

In order to understand what specific cards would work against the meta, it's always a good idea to look at Side Decks. But if you want to get creative, always look for trends in the metagame: What kinds of strategies are being played a lot and what a deck's source of card economy generation is. The graveyard has always been a crucial output for flexible card advantage. Shutting off the graveyard for your opponent with D.D. Crow, or Macro can be considered tech choices. One definition of Anti-Meta is simply " a giant pile of tech".


[size=18][b]Speed[/b][/size]
Just how fast can you access your essential cards? Speed is scarce this format. It's very difficult to make a Tier 2 or 3 deck that can outpace Tier 1...It's sort of irrelevant in this slow of format, but still significant. If you intend to make a deck that focuses on certain combos that need to be played in phases rather than in any random order, then speed is important for the success of that deck.

A deck's "speed" is almost never applicable to typical decks. Take X-Sabers for example. They have no draw power speed but they have broken versatility. On the other hand, if you are making a deck that has significant draw power like SalvoDAD, the deck is still fairly slow, in fact, slower than the average deck.

You can "calculate" a deck's speed by analyzing the complexity of it's win condition. If your deck revolves around a mere 2 cards to win, and they are fairly easy to search out from your deck in a timely and efficient manner, then you can consider your deck "fast". If your deck has a vast assortment of tools that allows it to win quickly regardless of specific combos, the deck may also be "fast". Likewise, speed isn't generally a sure win if you can simply outpace your opponent. Control is the name of the game, and if your deck is susceptible because it lacks defense and makes it up in speed, your deck will be severely unbalanced.


[size=18][b]Versatility/Utility[/b][/size]
Probably the most important element in a good deck is how flexible it is. Decks that can access answers to problems faced by the current game state will insure it's safety. Typically floaters like Stratos, Sangan, and recruiters like Mystic Tomato allow a deck act like a toolbox. Though I am already giving examples, I encourage people reading this to categorize and identify cards that make up the aspects listed in this section and even the entire guide. Evidently, cards aren't singularly associated with any particular aspect of deck building. There are far more theme specific and deck dependent factors that may make some of these aspects which may naturally lack, like speed, but that isn't always a bad thing; balanced decks may be boring or unfitting to your play-style.

Looking on the other end of the stick, let's look at Mystic Tomato for a second. He's not completely reliable but he can do several things. He can give you access to power cards by summoning tuners or non-tuners, he can get you 1 for 1 destruction with Newdoria possibly and there are many many other possibilities. A reliable deck will always rely on a utility based backbone to retrieve answers or create problems for your opponent.


[size=24][b]4. Card Economy[/b][/size]
[b]Introduction[/b]
Who has a better chance at survival, the rich or the poor? This is the same concept. The more wealth you have, the better chance you have at wining. Note this entire theory is based on the premise that you understand that conditions set by yourself or your opponent can basically reduce your chances of winning as well. Depending on the game state, which I'll be discussing later, card advantage is crucial to surviving Mid to Late Game.

[b]What is Card Advantage[/b]
Card advantage is how many cards you or your opponent have over each other. Let's say you have a total of 6 cards on the field and hand combined, and your opponent has 4 cards total,; you have more card advantage. Simple right? Well, not exactly. Understanding what it is is the easy part, but knowing how to generate it or control it is a challenge all of itself. You'll learn that this concept alone is why top tier decks are top tier; because they can generate card advantage at command. This even applies to decks like Infernities. They generate card advantage with most of their support cards that allow them to OTK.

[b]Generate Card Advantage[/b]
Very few cards grant you costless card advantage generation, and among those, most of them have been touched by the banlist. Most card advantage generation is conditional; to generate this advantage, the player is forced to manipulate the gamestate to access this card advantage generation. Stratos, for example, gives you a "+1" in card advantage, and would be considered to have replaced itself when he's removed from the field. He's regarded as a floater despite his huge size on the field. DAD, on the other hand, has no definite cost in card advantage to be summoned, but he has the potential to remove 3 of your opponent's card just on summon, a "+3". The most fundamental way to generate card advantage is to merely run over your opponent's monsters in battle. This is also the most variably unpredictable method.

[b]1 For 1 Card Advantage[/b]
One of the most common bases for Anti-Meta deck strategy is 1 for 1 card removal. This means that a player uses cards that make an equal trade for your opponent's cards. In this scenario, Stratos is summoned but your opponent controls a Doomcaliber Knight. Stratos is negated and each player loses a card which is an equal trade in card advantage. This concept is also useful when your opponent spends an extra card or more to summon a big monster. Let's say your opponent summons a Synchro which costed them 2 monsters to summon. They attack but they run into a Dimensional Prison. This is an example of the advantages of costless monster removal. 1 for 1 card removal this format turns the format into a slow game of control. Whether or not you can outpace or avoid this kind of trap will determine the success of combo centric strategies.

[b]Empty Card Advantage[/b]
There's a reason why Card Theory is merely theory; it's because not all card advantage will give you more outs to your opponent's plays or more options for you to use your turn. In other words, more cards isn't always better. There are 2 basic examples of this:
1)[url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Thunder_Dragon]Thunder Dragon[/url]
When he's discarded you gain a +1 in card advantage because you -1 and then +2. Unless you can discard him for the cost of an effect, he isn't all that useful besides thinning your deck and adding an extra card to your hand.
2)[url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gadgets] Gadgets[/url]
When they are summoned and add each other to your hand, they don't offer a huge benefit. What makes them so useful is that they thin your deck and they allow you to play 1 for 1 removal without costing you anything. And even in anti-meta builds, they tend to run [url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Tragoedia]Tragoedia [/url] or other cards that profit from an increased hand size.

[b]Conditions at the Cost of Card Advantage[/b]
Even at the cost of card advantage, to create a balanced deck you shouldn't neglect cards that set conditions on the field even at the cost of card advantage. A quintessential example of this is [url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Threatening_Roar]Threatening Roar.[/url] At the cost of itself you can stop the Battle Phase. The lost card advantage is replaced on your draw phase but it's still an extremely useful card. If your deck can make up for this loss in card advantage or maintain or initiate its win condition because of this then, by all means, use it.

[b]Card Advantage Outside of the Field and Hand[/b]
Over the course of Yugioh history, Konami got creative. They invented ways for players to generate card advantage from the RFG pile or the Graveyard. This strategy is riddled throughout the strategies of Meta decks. [url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/X-Sabers]X-Sabers[/url] utilize the grave for a vast percentage of their card effects. The same applies to Infernities and even Blackwings with Vayu. Cards like Dark Grepher appear to be a -1 in Card Advantage or even a -2, but in the long term, that can vary depending on what is sent to the grave. In the case of Dark Grepher dumping Vayu and Sirocco, it's a +0 if you use Vayu's effect. It doesn't stop there. Be creative, and see if there are other examples of this concept that may apply to your decks. This segment is just to remind players to keep this in mind when picking out card choices to support their strategy. Also,the grave may even generate card advantage without wasting advantage to setup the grave, such as Rekindling. Another example is to use Shura to summon Vayu and Synchro. Afterwards, if you happen to have a Sirocco in the grave, you can gain a +1.

[b]Game State[/b]
Understanding how to control the game state revolves around card advantage completely. This concept is a little obscure to even some advanced players because it isn't always discussed even though it's actually quite important. Before I go into more depth, this is basically what makes or breaks the importance of card advantage. The game state describes the conditions of the field, grave, RFG, hand or effects of cards at any given moment.

[b]Simplified Game State[/b]
This can mean a couple things. Either you or your opponent have a proportionally similar amount of cards in a small quantity or 1 player does. The goal of Anti-Meta is typically to simplify the game state for both players while retaining a slight advantage by running 1 for 1 card removal. By doing this, it limits your opponent's ability to combo; Comboing is one of the most vital aspects of having a cohesive strategy. This game was designed so that cards work well together to achieve greater control over the game. Obviously "anti" implies the opposite of that. Of course Anti-Meta has combos, but when it comes down to a simplified game state, the cards are able to work independently. An example of such cards are beatsticks such as Thunder King Rai-Oh or Neos Alius. By the time you've expended most of your opponent's resources, these cards will seem considerable more oppressive to your opponent than in a complex game state.

[b]Complex Game State[/b]
In an effort to reduce your opponent's options, a complex game state isn't actually complex, for the player inducing it, that is. The purpose of a deck trying to accomplish this can waste card advantage to summon Boss Monsters that exert a condition on the field restricting your opponent's options. This game state sort of tosses Card Advantage out the window. But on a competitive level, when both players are trying to conceive of this game state, the deck that conserves the most card advantage or generates the most, wins. Then when you throw that into the equation with a deck incapable of doing such like a Tier 2 deck, you'll understand why Top Tier is Top Tier. A prime example of a contributor to this game state is Stardust. He basically says "No." to destruction effects. He's hard to play around unless you have D Prison or a bigger monster. In most cases, his presence itself can simplify the game state into the dominant player's advantage, but when you look at the game state when a monster like Stardust is summoned, advantage is not necessarily always lost or generated. Looking at stardust again, this game state can actually provide a counter measure as well. If you have stardust on the field and set 2 or more back-row cards, it's hard for your opponent to either:
A)Run over Stardust.
B)Destroy the traps protecting Stardust.

By doing so basically mitigates your opponent's possible outs to Stardust and their immediate card advantage as soon as that condition presents itself on the field. Note that because card advantage wasn't actually produced or lost, it leaves the game state hanging. Your opponent can still take an opportunity to counter play and reduce your card advantage further if it cost you to summon Stardust.



[size=24][b]5. Play Styles[/b][/size]
[b]Introduction[/b]
You have a Deck list. You draw your opening hand. Often times you, as a player, have to make a choice concerning how many cards you are willing to commit to the field. Depending on the flow or win condition of your deck, you may have to think about that without any idea of which would be more beneficial turn 1. Aligning your natural play style with your deck's intended style requires mutual understanding of each others limits. Depending on the way decks are played, and how fast they can react to your plays will give you a better idea of when, or when not to over-extend your card advantage. The best players will make their decks flexible enough to adapt in-game and change their pace of Aggressive or Conservative play style.


[size=18][b]Conservative[/b][/size]
When your deck isn't on auto-pilot, most Intermediate to Advanced players will tend to conserve their card presence. By doing so gives them a larger margin to react to their opponent's plays. On the other hand, this gives the opponent the chance to take advantage of their play style's mildness and will look for ways to OTK. It can also lure the opponent into making big plays but then allowing you to react without wasting too much card advantage on the following turn.

[b]Passive[/b]
This is the extreme form of Conservative play. There is a saying in Yugioh that goes, "Life Points don't matter til they hit 0." This phrase can only be so true, some of the times. Like any rule, there are exceptions. Maintaining field presence to protect your life points is necessary to discouraging your opponent from trying to push for game inconveniently. Almost all Tier 1 decks, bar Frognarchs and Gladiator Beasts, are capable of pushing for game at whim. However, cards like Battle Fader, Gorz, Tragoedia and Threatening Roar allow players to support their Passive play style.


[size=18][b]Balanced[/b][/size]
The best players are ones that can adapt in-game, like I mentioned previously. The problem is, not all decks are capable of supporting this play style. So for you entrepreneurs out their, pioneering new decks, keep this in mind. If you want to take advantage of windows of opportunities, design your decks to be able to over-extend at any given moment. A prime example of this is Zombies of last format. After loading their grave, they could pull out an OTK at any given moment; all the opponent had to do was leave a gap for an OTK and the Zombie player would go for game. Although Tragoedia was at 3 last format, that didn't stop Zombies to become a relatively common and effective deck and to form outs to Tragoedia like Enemy Controller. When Zombies weren't going for game, it kept the game at a slow and controlled pace with floaters like Goblin Zombie and recruiters like Pyramid Turtle. To avoid being too passive, they'd incorporate Caius and a Diva/E-Tele engine into the mix.

[b]Passive-Aggressive[/b]
When you can't design a deck as balanced as Zombies, the next step below that is a Passive-Aggressive play style. Basically, you allow your opponent to follow through with their setup, but you stop them when they try to set up their win condition. This concept is widespread with decks teching cards like Dimensional Prison and Bottomless Trap Hole to stop boss monsters in their tracks. Adding this kind of element to your deck to enable this play style is probably a good idea, especially this format.


[size=18][b]Aggressive[/b][/size]
Tons of novices are aggressive players. It shouldn't surprise you if you think about it. You see them, over extending like mad and playing cards like Montage Dragon at the cost of Card Advantage just to summon a big monster. But even still, decks like Lightsworn are capable of being aggressive without costing them much card advantage. Typically, most decks aren't capable of supporting this play style if they aren't tier 1. Some exceptions to this are Six Samurais and Gigavis. If your deck isn't a select few that is capable of being all-out aggressive, then don't push your buck too much.

[b]Control/Lock Down[/b]
Decks like Naturia, Meta Beat Eatos/Dimensional Eatos or Counter Fairies are extremely Aggressive. They either prevent or negate your opponent's plays. In doing so, it requires them to rely on field presence. Now, I can't go into much detail concerning this sub-section because how you control or lock down is entirely deck dependent but, keep in mind that complete lock downs are not advantageous or easy to setup as of now. Always be willing to accept that you can't prevent everything your opponent does, and if you could, it wouldn't be fair or mutually enjoyable, would it?



[size=24][b]6. Statistics[/b][/size]
Whether you're trying to calculate your chances of drawing into a certain card or analyzing the Pro's and Con's of your decks versus other decks, I will be providing you with all the necessary tools. However, you may skip "Play Testing Statistics" if you aren't interested in testing an OTK or a competitive deck to see how well it performs. I strongly encourage everyone to read "10 Numbers", every player should know them.

[size=18][b]10 Numbers[/b][/size]
http://yugioh.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=2363
This article covers 10 numbers based on probability that you should know. It's useful to determine the chances of your opponent have a certain card or how often you'd draw into a certain card. If there is more probability questions you have, I suggest you take Algebra 2 xD, or look online.

[size=18][b]Probability Calculator[/b][/size]
Props to Judai for making this thread:
http://www.createforum.com/dudley/viewtopic.php?p=7415
All the information about the calculator is in the link in the OP. I encourage everyone reading this to give it a read because it's an extremely useful tool.

[size=18][b]Play Testing Statistics[/b][/size]
Other than comparing your win/loss ratios for each deck you have, take a step further and figure out exactly why your deck performs the way it does. There are a few things to keep in mind when doing so:

[b]*[i]What deck match-up did you encounter?[/i][/b]
This isn't as simple as recording say, Blackwings. Be more specific, was it a standard build? Did it main Royal Oppressions? And etc...

[b]*[i]How many turns on average did it take to win/lose versus that match-up and why?[/i][/b]
This implies that you record your data giving a brief, 1-2 sentence reason why you won or lost to a particular match-up turn-wise. Which turn did your deck gain the upper hand or start to fail? Take into consideration 3 different points in the game:
-Start of the Game
-Mid-Game
-Late Game

[b]*[i]What specific cards or concepts halted your strategy?[/i][/b]
I.E. , did cards like Thunder King Rai-oh stop you often? Did Spell and Trap removal hinder your plays? Did you have to over-extend to get rid of cards like Doomcaliber Knight?

[b]*[i]What possible trends did your opponent's deck have that you could possible exploit?[/i][/b]
Implementing more tech cards could be necessary if you encounter a significant number of decks with the same theme that all have a common flaw that your deck could exploit. For example, Frognarchs are susceptible to D.D. Crow because they rely on Treeborn Frog and have no way to draw into the right tribute cards appropriately which makes them inconsistent.

[b][i]*How consistently and when do you achieve an ideal setup?[/i][/b]
In other words, At what point do you feel you achieve field stability or control over the game? Although this question is similar to Question 1, this question requires you to understand if your strategy is appropriate or too risky for the metagame.

[b]Conclusion[/b]
According to the data you gathered from Testing Statistics, you may find your deck to be inadequate for competitive play or unable to OTK as much as you'd like. Look at the "10 Numbers" article when building an OTK because you might find that arithmetically, it's improbable to get a certain group of cards to your hand. There are many more factors you can take into account when determining your decks niche in the metagame, but these are the underlying basic questions that you might record.




[size=24][b]7. Metagame[/b][/size]
[b]Introduction[/b]
Since I'll be using more format specific references here than another section, keep that in mind when reading this. In this section I'll be discussing the niches that each tier plays in the metagame and some common trends to look out for when identifying decks that can possibly move up in Tier ranking. Also note that besides the emergence of new decks, renovation of pre-existing decks to be more aptly suited for the format is how it finds new purpose.

[b]Elements of Tier 1[/b]
You know that deck, that deck that you hate with a burning passion. Chances are it's Tier 1 and does well competitively, but what you might not realize is why. Each format varies in tempo, and the presence of broken cards. This format we have a ton of broken cards that aren't on the banlist yet, like Infernity Launcher, X-Saber Darksoul and Mass Driver. Infernity Launcher is a +1 and potentially a +3 or more when used to OTK. Darksoul stacks and is potentially a +3 as well or more when used correctly. Mass Driver is a +0 but it trims life points infinitely. The trend is this: The easier access to card advantage, the more successful a deck will be. Now you may be thinking, what about Naturia? They aren't able to gain mass amounts of card advantage but they are still a decent threat to most decks. Back in the Card Economy section, I mentioned conditional card advantage. Where you setup a complex game state to theoretically reduce your opponent's card advantage. It works the same way. One more trend is speed. The Top Tier have always been reliant on special summoning and the graveyard. Lastly is abuse. Top tier decks abuse a game mechanic to gain card advantage.

[b]Elements of Tier 2[/b]
Anti-Meta and some border line competitive decks are classified here but it's a lot like Tier 1. You win this game by outdoing your opponent. Some of it is left to chance but decks are designed to fulfill a certain condition by manipulating itself. A vast majority of Tier 2 decks depend on special summoning and the graveyard still. Usually they can't abuse game mechanics on the level that tier 1 can but it has it's merits. An example would be E Hero decks. With the Omni-Heroes' potential for diversifying the archetype, it's opened up doors for a faster, more dynamic deck.

[b]Elements of Tier 3[/b]
What can I say about this Tier? A lot of my decks, I'd classify here, not because they "suck" but because they aren't common at all. Remember that Tier 2 decks consist of common, border-line competitive decks. If you have a unique deck, then it's probably appropriate to consider in this tier regardless of it's potential or if it's uniquely bad or good. Without any other trends to recollect, it's also safe to say that the surprise factor can throw off Tier 2 or 1 decks easily.


[size=18][b]Elements of Anti-Meta[/b][/size]
Looking back at Elements of Tier 1, I cited examples of decks reliant on one or a specific group of cards, or a game mechanic abuse. Any deck that allows a player to deter or simplify the game state or negate certain types of plays should be classified as Anti-Meta if it's founded upon such. There are many many ways to make Anti-Meta decks but the ones listed below are the main 4. Also recognize that Top Tier decks tend to have Anti-Meta elements to utilize the best of both worlds.

[b]Macro[/b]
As I've alluded to earlier several times in this article, the Graveyard offers decks to generate Card Advantage and Conditions allowing them to function and win. Lately, as in the last couple of years, Konami decided to introduce RFG reliant themes as well. The obvious implications are to combine the elements of Anti Meta with Macro because they both work against the majority of Top Tier, but regardless, why isn't this hybrid as common as one might suspect? The problem is Macro involves a dedicated theme. This means you have to dedicate at least 2 cards to maintaining this Field Condition which in theory, can variably reduce your opponent's card advantage. 1 Card dedicated to establishing the field condition and 1 to protect that continuous effect. What's main strategy for Anti-Meta decks in general such as STUN? 1 for 1 Card destruction. If you were to focus on 1 for 1 card destruction without generating any card advantage, your strategy would be working against you.

[b]Stun[/b]
The most typical form of Anti-Meta strategies involve STUN. By definition this means the user plays cards that set a condition which makes it possible to achieve a simplified gamestate through 1 for 1 Card Advantage. Incorporation with a deck like gadgets could allow a player to capitalize on this card advantage as previously pointed out. Top Tier decks generate card advantage. Without cards such as Doomcaliber Knight, your opponent would still be gaining card advantage over an Anti-Meta player if they didn't have STUN involved. The main purpose of a typical STUN monster line-up is to be disposable and robust enough to handle a top decking war and generate 1 for 1 card advantage. By definition, you'd want Cookie Cutter Monsters. The two primary STUN monsters are Thunder King Rai-Oh and Doomcaliber Knight.

[b]Meta-Beat[/b]
Up to this point, Anti-Meta hasn't used any "boss" monsters, just High Attack easy to summon monsters. The point of a Meta-Beat deck is to swarm the field with Big Beatsticks, not just 1900 attack monsters, and then protect them. You can do this by backing them with Macro related support, Special Summon negation, or and Skill Drain. One of the best ways to accomplish this is incorporating the Macro Engine with Guardian Eatos. Unlike STUN, this approach needs a complex gamestate to set up it's strategy. Although this type of Anti-Meta deck is extremely rare to see, it's worth mention for it's unorthodox playstyle.



[size=24][b]8. Deck Analysis[/b][/size]
[b]Introduction[/b]
[b]Identifying Core Theory[/b]
[b]Identifying Strategy[/b]
[b]Deck Phases[/b]
[b]Passive Play[/b]
[b]Aggressive Play[/b]
[b]Combo Centric[/b]
[b]Independent [/b]
[b]Dependent [/b]

[b]Example Deck to Analyze[/b]
[b]Identify Role in Metagame[/b]
[b]Identify Combos[/b]
[b]Identify Deck Phases[/b]
[b]Identify Play Style[/b]
[b]Identify Deck Strategy[/b]
[b]Game State Optimism[/b]
[b]Deck in Theory[/b]
[b]Deck in Play[/b]
[b]Test Hands[/b]
[b]Best Hand[/b]
[b]Worst Hand[/b]



[size=24][b]9. Conclusion[/b][/size]
Re-Occurring Patterns
Putting it All Together



[size=24][b]10. Change Log[/b][/size]
V.2// (6/17/10)
* Written Template of Guide
* Finished Disclaimer, Introduction, Table of Contents, Glossary and "What is Card Theory?"

V.3// (6/18/10)
*Finished Version 1.0 of Deck Building Theory
* Added More Terms to the Glossary Section
* Added some URL Tags to specific cards or Archetypes
* Fixed Grammatical Errors or typos to the best of my ability thus far

V.35// (6/24/10)
*Updated Glossary

V.4// (6/25/10)
*Finished Section on Card Economy, Version 1.0

V.45// (6/26/10)
*Created and Finished Conditions at the Cost of Card Advantage, Card Advantage Outside of the Field and Hand and and Empty Card in Advantage in Card Economy Section.
*Updated Glossary
*Fixed more Grammatical Errors
*Amended the Introduction and Disclaimer

V.5// (6/26/10)
*Finished Version 1.0 of Play Styles section
*Proof-read more and made more Grammatical Error fixes

V.6// (7/3/10)
*Finished Version 1.0 of Statistics section

V.65// (7/13/10)
*Added Actually Probability Calculator section

V.77// (7/23/10)
*Almost finished Metagame section

V.79// (8/17/10)
*Finished Version 1.0 of Metagame Section

V.85// (10/12/10)
*Revised a few sections

V.86// (10/13/10)
*More revisions

[TheKarakuriGuy]

That's an amazing guide, bro. Why waste your time though? Are you getting paid for this?

[Just Crouton]

Pikaperson should sticky this.

[byak]

[quote name='~King Crouton~' timestamp='1286927822' post='4700232']
Pikaperson should sticky this.
[/quote]

[s]My thoughts exactly.[/s]
Will post some stuff covering what that guide didn't when I become not lazy lol.

[LuffyLaxer]

I Find the guide helpful. I made me think of things I've never thought of before.

[Toffee.]

I was reading through this.... and made me think that it some of the newbie players will be all like: "DERP, WIND IS A DEK THEEM BCUZ DIS GUID SED SO. NOOB!!11!"

._.

But then again, what do I know..

[Brinolovania]

For specific deck guides, you should get permission to put up [s]fabled[/s] Kiryu's infernity guide.

EDIT:NVM.

[byak]

but he's my friend.

edit: nvm lol

[Black W Mage]

AWESOME. anyway, you ought start posting deck building guides... Jabber had one for Hopeless Dragon yes? these dragon decks trolling around are really getting annoying.

[Catterjune]

[quote name='~King Crouton~' timestamp='1286927822' post='4700232']
Pikaperson should sticky this.
[/quote]
I disagree. And here's why!

Plenty of the information is either blatantly wrong (identifying DoomCalibur Knight, Ryko, and Cyber Valley as cookie-cutter, definition of tech, dumping/loading), oddly specific so as to only give the illusion of padded length (much of the glossary) or will be rendered moot once a new banlist or a new set of cards comes out.

[byak]

[quote name='PikaPerson01' timestamp='1286930039' post='4700367']
I disagree. And here's why!

Plenty of the information is either blatantly wrong (identifying DoomCalibur Knight, Ryko, and Cyber Valley as cookie-cutter, definition of tech, dumping/loading), oddly specific so as to only give the illusion of padded length (much of the glossary) or will be rendered moot once a new banlist or a new set of cards comes out.
[/quote]

[quote]so basically all of the good players post things to help the bad players become good players like them.[/quote]

It's a compilation.

Also

Joaquin says (8:36 PM):
*cool
*they read my guide?
*I need to update the glossary anyways
*it's pretty bad
*and was intended for new players
*sorta

[Professional Duelist]

lol you would post joaquins guide.

[byak]

[quote name='Professional Duelist' timestamp='1286930337' post='4700383']
lol you would post joaquins guide.
[/quote]

[Canadian]

tl;dr atm. Will go over it when I have time (not that anybody cares).

I would love to see guides for the following:

Scraps,
Machinas,
Pineapple/Bambooshoot lockdown,
Frog FTK,
Happy Herald,
X Sabers,
and perhaps BW's.

[S333666]

Man, relax and chill. A guide like this is overcomplicated and useless, mainly because of three reasons:
A: People are hard-headed and you are asking to be called a noob and or cussed out( Trust me, I know).
B: It's a good guide but flawed by having a large gap in the middle( you failed to take into account the fact that new episodes of 5D's(or any of the series, at the time when the series itself was new, means new cards. So, what worked last week in a duel might not work this week(not literally). Certain cards also break the rules that are unknown to do so at the time i.e.: Witch of the Black Forest- became illegal for a time, might still be, help me out with that please. Was legal when it came out, but became illegal cause it had too many cards similar to Jinzo that had overpowered atk at the time it came out( for a lvl 6 monster) and worked perfectly with its ability). So, in conclusion, nothing is set in stone as far as strategy or the basics goes because a guy could go out and buy the perfect deck to mess it up i.e. nothing always works so basic strategies are flawed).
Phew! Im tired of typing but here's the last point.
C: There is no one way to win this game or build a deck! Lets count shall we?

Winning a duel: Ways that I Know of:
1. Have all 5 cards of Exodia in your hand
2. Assemble "Spirit Board"
3. Make the other guy run out of cards
4. Do enough Battle Damage to win
5. Do enough Direct Damage to win
6. Directly attack to win
7. Do enough Effect Damage to win
8. Reduce opponents Life Points to 0 Well look at that! I ran outta words for this post! So, Good Guide but its made for the wrong purpose.

[Sephiroth_The_Legend]

good guide is good.

if we produce a guide, would you put it here. provided it's good of course.

[byak]

lol@s333666


"Joaquin says (9:11 PM):
*also I've already stated in the disclaimer
*that some information if not all
*will become useless in the future
*I wrote this a year ago mind you
[b][size="5"][u]*what counts is the concepts themselves
*not the examples
*the examples were used to illustrate the concepts"[/u][/size][/b]


also yes @ seph

[S333666]

About this metagame nonsense, I mean come on! It would not be very smart to do. Yeah, I'll play this type of deck because everyone else plays it! That contradicts the very words " Build your own Deck". Cause cards only matter with little details on them! Wrong! The effect of how you describe the metagame is very bad. It should be" Popularly played decks with a twist". Reason Im saying this is you don't want to copy a "type" of Deck purposely. You want to confuse your enemy so that if he prepared to fight a Deck one way, you go the other way but you still have the gist of the other deck in yours. AKA a Trap stopping Deck for example. Lets say your buddy has prepared to fight your "Trap stopping" Deck by using only Spell cards.(stupid strategy by the way, you'd need really good cards to pull it off). Alll you need is a card similar to "Mask of Dispell" and hed be toast. Since he had no traps and the mask can negate almost any spell card as long as you had the Life Points. So do you get what I am saying? You want to make a similar "type" of Deck but unexpectedly. Meaning you add cards that could work for that strategy but are unexpected to be in there. The way you word it makes the metagame seem like you literally mean,"Copy a winning type of Deck entirely". Change that wording or something man. P.S. Dissing other players in your title is NOT COOL!!!

[Toffee.]

[quote name='Byakk' timestamp='1286932322' post='4700528']
lol@s333666
[/quote]
I know right?

And isnt s333 the same guy who, last year, made a post in the 'Your deck' section with something that was beyond terrible, and just ended up making a huge flame war over how wrong he was?
....Seriously.

[Professional Duelist]

Byakk, why didn't you let Joquin do this?

[byak]

1. that argument came way out of left field.
2. you have no idea what you're talking about.
Joaquin says (9:32 PM):
*lol
*I'm not telling people to blatantly copy other decks
*part of the evolution of the metagame is changing a preexisting deck
Joaquin says (9:33 PM):
*and giving it a slightly different purpose in response to the metagame
*hence I haven't actually gotten to that part of the guide yet
*as you can see it's "under construction"
*actually
*that's not plainly visible
*I'll make sure to include that in the introduction
*and revise it
*when I get there
randy savage says (9:33 PM):
*i don't think the large red text is enough
*:S

also

Joaquin says (9:29 PM):
*you should tell them I'm re-writing alot of this
*as we type
*!!1

[Professional Duelist]

............ u guys are dumb

You don't start with "You suck, read this, be good", than transition to, "Guys, the guide is still being edited, we know there are problems".

[byak]

[quote name='Professional Duelist' timestamp='1286933597' post='4700634']
Byakk, why didn't you let Joquin do this?
[/quote]

¯\(°_o)/¯

[S333666]

I DID NOT say his guide was trash. Its good I really do mean that. Just take into consideration that people aren't always gonna be so nice. I may seem ARROGANT, but I can be for right now and here's why: I have created 2 Decks that can specifically Duel each other to a stalemate in a Match without counterbalancing the Decks to cancel each other out. Pretty freakin hard when you have upwards of 500+ cards to choose from and aren't being specific about it. All I did was choose to strategies 2 form around and rolled with it.

[byak]

[quote name='S333666' timestamp='1286933808' post='4700650']
I DID NOT say his guide was trash. Its good I really do mean that. Just take into consideration that people aren't always gonna be so nice. I may seem ARROGANT, but I can be for right now and here's why: I have created 2 Decks that can specifically Duel each other to a stalemate in a Match without counterbalancing the Decks to cancel each other out. Pretty freakin hard when you have upwards of 500+ cards to choose from and aren't being specific about it. All I did was choose to strategies 2 form around and rolled with it.
[/quote]

we never accused you.

also kay. good to know.