Comprehensive Guide To Dueling v.1

Well I thought It was about time to do something a bit different than simply covering various cards in Yu-Gi-Oh and do something that may be more helpful to everyone who reads my articles.

Whats different this time though, Is I won't be the only contributor for this article and I will have some help in making this "Guide" of sorts. My purpose of making this is to simply be informative and maybe pass on helpful technique or concepts of dueling to someone that is maybe still new to playing Yu-Gi-Oh.


The topics I hope to get covered ( With some help of course ) Will be As Follows


1.) The Art of Bluffing ~JaliceDakari~

2.) Reading your Opponent ~Kiryu111~ *Hopefully will get the last article in soon.

3.) Aggressive Dueling ~death-coder~

4.) Conservative Dueling ~Scorpion67~

5.) Knowing your Opponents Deck ~Tino~



In Making this Guide, It should be noted that it can and will take some time to fully Complete, So I will ask ALL readers to please be respectful and wait to post any feedback or comments until all the articles are posted and the entire Guide is completed. Thank You

~Introduction~

Lets start with a simple question; What is bluffing? Think about it some and ask yourself; How many times in a Normal day do I commit some form of Deception?

You May be surprised by how often the average individual commits some form of Deceit or Miss-Information. Your probably asking yourself though....how does this relate to playing Yu-Gi-Oh? Well allow me to explain




~The Act of Deception~

With Deception there is critical Key, and that key is intent. Intent Separates someone that is giving intentional miss-Information and someone that committed a Honest Mistake.

Deception in itself can be broken down into Five Primary Areas

1.) lies- Making up information or giving information that is the opposite or very different from the truth.

2.) Equivocations- Making an indirect, ambiguous, or contradictory statement.

3.) Concealments- Omitting information that is important or relevant to the given context, or engaging in behavior that helps hide relevant information.

4.) Exaggeration- Overstatement or stretching the truth to a degree.

5.) Understatement- Minimization or downplaying aspects of the truth.


All Five of those area's can in some way directly or indirectly be correlated to a Card game, and in this case Yu-Gi-Oh.

A Prime Example where Deception plays a big role, but more importantly "bluffing"; Is in Poker.

Poker is essentially a card game that requires you to use techniques you would use even in Yu-Gi-Oh to read your opponent as well as out think him/her. When Bluffing in a game like Poker...you want to give off false information in correlation to the current circumstances and use your surroundings to aid you in this task.

A Simple Example can be in Playing Texas Hold'em and you and your opponent both see 3 diamonds on the table. You can use that to your advantage to give off a impression that you have flush with those diamonds by playing as such..almost like acting basically.

Now lets try to expand this philosophy too Yu-Gi-OH shall we?



~Bluffing in Yu-Gi-Oh~

Hopefully you learned a bit about Bluffing; or at least got a general idea of what bluffing is. If not..then its ok and you can just worry about paying attention from here on while I cover Bluffing in regards to Yu-Gi-OH.


Lets start with the simple question...how can you bluff in Yu-Gi-Oh? The answer is....many ways

To Bluff effectively though; You must Combine various aspects of dueling into one cognitive thought process. It may take learning A bit more advanced techniques that will be covered in later articles, but I can try to roughly explain what I would consider to be basic area's of thought you must cover before trying to bluff during a duel.

• Situation

This is by far one of the most important factors to take into consideration when bluffing. Why is it important? Well a Successful Bluff is only plausible if the situation fits what it is you plan to do. For Example....Lets say your trying to Hide a stolen car in a Car Lot. If the car your trying to hide is the only Vehical in that Lot...do you think your going to actually Deceive anyone? Probably not...

So taking situation into account..it is keen to make sure if you are GOING to bluff...perform a move that is plausible for the situation and can lead to Deception due to the information available that can lead your opponent to out think his/her self.

Example...lets try something simple and common to see. Say your opening move is a bluff...you play a face-up Blackwing Monster and one Face down M/T. Whats the opponents first thought? Icarus Attack or Kault in your hand,no? Well the bluff could be...you have no Kault..and no Icarus...say your Face Down is only a Dimensional prison. Your Bluff in this case is trying to get your opponent to compensate for something you don't have...which was set up by your PLAY on the field. So if your opponent goes for the bluff...he will either set one monster and no M/T as to not trigger Icarus...or maybe waste a BOM or E-Con to change your Blackwing to Def to attack without worry..in which case...your bluff would succeed and he walks into a Dimensional Prison. In which case..you successfully bluffed out your opponent and also made him commit too a move he would have otherwise not made if he knew what you actually had on the field.

All of that right there is due to miss-Information and playing your surroundings...but also a more advanced type play you will learn in later articles.

• Timing

This is very important to take into consideration. This can be broken down into phases though.

First off...you have to understand and take into account what portion of the duel your currently in. What I mean by that is....are you in Early-Game...Mid-Game.. or Late-Game. Why is that important? It's important because...the portion of the duel you are in..will influence what kind of bluff you would seek to set up and if one is even still plausible at that point.

Simple example...Say your in late game in your duel...by this time you have a sizable amount of cards in your graveyard at this point....so the amount of cards you can use to bluff with become pretty slim...so the plausibility of a successful bluff diminish's greatly. So if you have say X3 copies of a certain card in your deck..and 2 of those three copies are already in the grave....your opponent is liable to play the chances in correlation to your deck size left that the card you wish to bluff with is probably not on the field...and in most cases..he/she would probably be right.

• concealment

The last basic concept of bluffing is as the title says..Concealment. What do I mean by this? Let your opponent know as little as possible. The longer you can keep your hand and cards on the field a secret..the better..and more likely the chances are you can succeed in a bluff. How can you go about this you ask?

Simple..the first being...don't overplay your hand or moves if its not needed. This dwelves some into the Art of conservative dueling...Hence why I said...you may not get the complete grasp of concepts in this article alone without first reading into the articles to come. Basically speaking though without going into a different area of expertise; Look to only play what you need at the time and don't set cards needlessly. Even little things count...like if you set a monster on the field...don't flip it over to simply flip it...leave it a mystery until it gets attacked into or you "need" it for something at that point in the duel...otherwise..let your opponent guess at what it is and let it feed into the deception that takes place while dueling,hehe...




~Weighing the Pro's & Con's~

This is a portion of bluffing you ALWAYS have to take into consideration. In almost all circumstances...the pro's should out weigh the con's. In which case...a bluff can be done for many reasons...but in most circumstances..you will do it because you wish to either stall...fake out your opponent...or bait a move out of your opponent. When doing this though...you shouldn't dig your own grave in the process in trying for a bluff unless you have something to fall back on in case it falls. After all..bluffing is a gamble...and gambling requires a fair amount of luck. The good news is..we create our own luck...so make sure you give yourself an out in case you fail. Remember...never risk the duel for a bluff. The ONLY time you would balance the weight of a duel on a bluff..is if you would lose regardless of your play in the current situation...otherwise..never wager your entire duel on a bluff.



~Bluffing against Aggressive Duelist~

Usually in any game..you will have two types of duelist. This area will cover aggressive duelist.

Generally a aggressive duelist will seek to use a majority of his/her resources at a fast rate to take quick control of a duel and seek to develop a sizable advantage early on. Bluffing against a said type of duelist can be a tad difficult since if their willing to attack into most situations and throw caution to the wind...chances are you won't be overly successful in trying to get him/her to over-think their play.

So generally in this case...bluffing will more than likely be put aside..unless you can find small opportunities in the match where you feel you can effectively set up a situation that can be turned in your favor from previous plays in the match.

Simple example can can be...Say you got a D.D Warrior Lady Bounced to your hand a few turns ago. You decide this turn to be suitable now being you've drawn two new cards at this point..to go ahead and Bluff playing that D.D Face Down on the field. Your opponent will know you have that still and probably think...if it wasn't his D.D he played...why would he play his monster Face Down...so..it has to be his D.D Face Down...right?.
Right there you would have your opponent think about his move a abit more and take a step back from his offensively minded play. Unless of course..he has something to destroy your face down..but you really can't factor in the unknown in that case and just read the field accordingly.

Then again though...if he destroys your Face Down thinking its a D.D and only gets a useless monster you decided to set for your bluff...you would have successfully had your opponent waste a destruction card and you would still have your D.D for future use in your hand. Just depends how things play out...since when bluffing..the results you get can't always be predicted. That's where weighing the pro's and con's of your bluff would come into play; As already discussed.



~Bluffing Against Conservative Duelist~

Now..this kind of duelist you will find more openings to bluff with. Generally speaking..some conservative in play..will spend more time reading the field and hold back plays in hopes of ideally making the most out of his moves and/or combos.

You can use this to your advantage and bare in mind he/she will more than likely take well into account your backrow..monsters on the field..number of cards in your hand,etc. So keeping that in mind...seek to capitalize on that and try to think about what your opponent is thinking. This Art dwelves into yet another area of expertise yet to be covered, but to be general...think what your opponent would think when playing a card...that way you can get a read on to wither you feel your bluff will successfully work when doing it.

Overall..you have more opening to bluff against this kind of duelist...but make sure to mix up any bluff's with real threats and plays..otherwise....you may cause the conservative duelist to switch to a more offensive mindset..which may or may not help you at that time.



~Key Lesson on Bluffing~

This is pretty short and sweet, but I wanted to point out one of the most important aspects of bluffing....that is using it sparingly. Some may differ on this opinion, but with bluffing...it only works when you are capable of deceiving your opponent and spreading miss-information. The thing about that is...as you play...your opponent will learn more...figure out your strategies...and being able to bluff becomes alot more difficult against that individual. Lying and Deceiving is only going to get you so far; So you will have to be able to back up your Deception with solid play and skill...otherwise...you can't be a complete duelist...and you won't be able to get that far with Bluffing alone.




~Conclusion~

So overall I Covered the basics of bluffing as the art itself, and also how it relates to Yu-Gi-Oh. Bluffing can aid you as a trick up your sleeve during a duel, but should never ever be depended on to win you games. The art of bluffing should be considered as another tool in your toolbox of skills when dueling and use it when needed, but know it is only piece of A whole when trying to become great as a duelist.

The Art of Conservative Dueling



~Introduction~
Now we are going to cover the Passive dueling portion of the game

Most of the decks that are not aggro or OTK decks are called Passive. Passive decks can't be aggressive in early game like Gadget Decks for example, because they need a graveyard or a field with counter cards or sometimes both to be effective.



~What is passive play?~

A Passive player will always try to win some time by countering your actions because he cant be aggressive with his deck in early game so he will always try to counter what your doing. He will try to make you waste all your good cards and when he will finally has the field he need's or the grave he need's, he will start to make a push with some annoying monster effect's and try to disturb your hand or your field. Passive decks are probably the decks that need the most experienced to be played correctly because most of them are control decks. I will give some example of Passive decks.


Example 1: Relinquished

Relinquished players will always try to let you think you are swarming the field like you want but there is were you are making a big mistake. Relinquished players plays some counter trap cards and when you attack they will stop you with a Battle Fader and they will have some Bribes or Solemn face down. They won't use BTH to stop you from summoning, because that's exactly what they want ( Except if it is really necessary ).

After you wasted all your hand thinking you were going for an OTK, then Relinquished comes into play. They will use Djinn monsters Effect's to protect him and note that Djinn Prognosticator of Rituals has the effect of discarding cars from your hand. Then when you will try to destroy relinquished he will use counter traps to stop your spells because if he used Djin disserere of Rituals as ritual material too, Relinquished is already not affected by traps. So when you think that you are controlling the game because your field was bigger than your opponent , that is the key moments for a passive control player to make a come back.


Example 2: Light And Darkness Dragon Decks

LaDD Decks are another kind of passive decks because they need 2 things to be effective
1st : At least 1 big monster in the graveyard
2nd : You need to tribute 2 monster to bring him out

So you see that this deck can't be aggressive in early game if he don't have this 2 things, so instead of Pressing you with beatstick's in early game they will try to play defensively until they have the field and they graveyard they need to Push you back. They will try to counter your summons with BTH's or try to special Summon Tokens with dandylions or even Try to combine Battle fader effect during your turn and then SP summon the frog on Standby Phase to have their 2 Tribute Fodders for LaDD.

Then when LaDD comes into play , that's the moment when they will switch from defensive mode to Offensive mode because you will have to waste some of your cards to get rid of LaDD and even if you get rid of him, when he is destroyed he can SP summon another monster from the graveyard ( Mostly a 3000 attacker ). No Need to tell how annoying it can be to see that monster on your opponent side of the field.


Example 3: Counter Fairy Deck

This is probably the best example available; As a duelist that uses this type of deck bases the entire game on small choices during the match. Basically the duelist using this deck relies strongly on counter traps to be the life blood of the deck and support him/her throughout the duel. The critical aspect of this is...the counter fairy duelist must choose wisely what he/she counters..otherwise they will leave themselves open to a big play and most likely cost themselves a match.

This type of play is a pinnacle of conservative play...as you must choose wisely what you set on the field..what you choose to counter..and what you can prevent and can't prevent. Compared to other decks..a card as small as Dark Bribe may be the deciding factor in a duel with this kind of deck...which says A lot.



~What is good about Passive Play?~

The good points to it is..that you pay close attention to the field and all the little aspects of a match. Generally a conservative and/or passive player will always be taking backrow cards into account..number of cards in a players hand..etc. With this kind of mindset..it can be assumed someone with this kind if play is always prepared for moves ahead of time and can maybe even predict what is coming to an extent.



~What is bad about Passive Play?~

The one key flaw with this mind set when playing is...you will find yourself having moment in a duel where you could have pressed and maybe even won the duel...but due to "playing it safe"; You might have gave your opponent the last turn he needed to get what he needs to win. This kind of flaw you really need to watch out for with this kind of play...and aggressive duelist can take advantage of this if they notice that you do play a tad bit conservatively.




~When to "Flip the Switch~

What I mean by this is...at what point in the duel would you feel it's time to put your foot on the gas and go for the throat per say and win the duel. Well...for a passive duelist..that point is generally when he/she feels safe with the field presence they have and can adequately defend any counters the opponent may throw at them. It is key to recognize this moment in a duel...for if you let it pass...you run the chances of falling into the pitfall which is letting the pendulum swing back into the opponents favor.

With this..you really kinda have to go with your gut...and just kinda "feel" that moment where you can just say, " know what...I'm pretty sure I can win right now..so lets go for it".




~Conclusion~

Conservative dueling is kinda hard to master but now you have a guide to help you to understand this art of dueling so i hope you like the article because we worked hard to write it for your benefit

~The Art of Aggressive dueling~




~Introduction~

One thing or maybe one defect in all players is hesitation.
As explained by jalice " the art of bluffing " ... your opponent will always try to make you think he has some mirror force, dimensional prison or anything else face down to stop you ...
But honestly in most cases those face down cards are to scare ya XD ...



~Understanding Aggressive Play~

• So what is an aggressive player ?

An aggressive player is somebody that tries to use most cards in his hand to his advantage by attacking as much as possible with the right dose of luck for the next turn



Personally my favorite decks now are kuraz town and morphtronics and I can say I play with them in a very aggressive way ... when I use them I never skip a battle phase ^^ and you can be sure it works

Playing in an aggressive way doesn't necessarily mean ignoring your opponents trap cards ... it means doing the impossible to take them out as fast as possible even with a sacrifice. Afterall...sometimes it is necessary making a sacrifice to win the duel ^^ ... though that doesn't mean that dealing your opponent even the most little damage is better than activating good effects ...

Let's take and example of what I said in this last sentence :

In your field you have thought ruler and 2 face down dark coffin trap cards, and he has threatening roar on the field and 2 cards in hand ( the grave is of no importance for now ) ... would you rather attack him or tribute him for kuraz and destroy your 2 dark coffins ?

- the point in this is not of you knowing that he has a threatening roar ( because you don't know it and you are an aggressive player ) ... the point is that sometimes aggressive playing can be useful, and sometimes not ... that is why the second choice is better ...

.

Now, Let's assume we are in a situation like this ... You have 1 monster on the field and are in advantage ... From now on your opponent will draw only monsters and he has a face down torrential ... ( you have a feeling he has )

What will you do ? Go and stall the fight until he draws something like gorz or DAD ?! ... HELL NO ... just summon a monster and take out that torrential before it ruins you -.-

- the point of this is in the good work of your monsters to take out faster dangerous traps when you lack of heavy storm, MST, etc ... it is useful to sometimes make a sacrifice ...



~Key in being Offensive~

• When it is the time to go on the offensive ? :

The right timing is always very important ... Except the aggressive way of playing your monsters like an idiot and attacking when it would be useless ... try not to waste anymore moves.

Let us assume that you know that your opponent has a gorz in his hand, but he doesn't have any monsters. You could deduce this simply because he hasn't been attacking...duh?

You ask yourself 'what to do' ... first of all relax ... Try not to attack unless you have an ace card ... something that can save you are for ex : trap dustshoot, card destruction, morphing jars on the field, card exchange etc etc ...

Most people base decks on cards that will disallow your opponent to gain hand advantage ... try to side deck some , or if they work well try to find a place for them in your deck ^^



~Pro's and Con's to Aggressive Play~

• Advantages of aggressive play :

You will speed up the duel
If played as it should ... you should not waste your cards
Will lower your opponents life points at that point he will feel so stressed to surrender ( happened to me twice... )


• Disadvantages of aggressive play :

Will not give you much chances of knowing your opponents deck; Unlike in contrast to someone that chooses to play more conservatively.
If played wrong ... will waste all your cards and you can end in a very bad situation ( going for a OTK comes to mind here )
Can kill your monsters very fast... ( Why you should shoot for synergy in the deck..so if your monster(s) is sent to the grave..you can still make use of them...DAD comes to mind..Simorgh..CS,etc )



~Conclusion?~

Yes ... heavy storm, mirror force, karma cut, book of moon can help you very much in playing a aggressive deck...So can a strong draw engine...just remember to play smart...because to paraphrase a old saying, " You won't receive Valor for falling Upon your own sword". In English...you won't earn respect in defeating yourself in a duel Rolling Eyes

~Knowing your Opponents Deck by Tino The Sinner~



~Introduction~

One of the key parts of dueling is knowing the cards your opponent has. This is true for any card game obviously, but just as important in Yu-Gi-Oh. Generally there's two ways to go about learning your opponents cards. One, Simply play your opponent some to get to know his deck. Two, Use cards that give you peeks at your opponents cards. Lets go ahead and cover that.


~Knowing your opponents cards~

The main reason why you want to know your opponents cards is because to be successful when you duel you need to always be one step ahead of your opponent. You can't do this if you don’t know what your opponents is playing.

For example lets say your opponent is playing Lighsworns, you need to constantly be checking your opponents grave, making sure to look for if your opponent has four different lightsworns in there, or checking to see if both judgment dragons and both honests are in there, you always need to check if the two beckoning lights are in there, it’s rare that a lightsworn player plays three beckoning lights, I should know I used to be one. Y

ou should also watch out for monster reincarnation. Not all decks are easy to predict as lightsworns are....

For example if you play against an updated Synchro Cat deck, when they set their first monster down, you can deduce, that most of the time is going to be a Gravekeeper’s spy, but it could also be a ryko or a Super-Nimble Mega Hamster. Zombies can be kind of predictable too, their main combo is using goblin zombie to synchro with it and get a +1 everytime they synchro. But zombie players are only allowed to use two goblin zombies, so they use other cards like mystic tomato, and pyramid turtle to look for it, so you can be almost certain that their first face down is one of these.

Trap Dustshoot is a great card, not only because you see what your opponent is playing so you can respond to anything they try to do, but you also mess up their plans by sending one of the monsters in their hand back to their deck.



~Playing your opponent~

This is the la'ter of the two options and the most used one to get to know your opponent. One key thing to bear in mind...there is only so many decks used in Yu-Gi-Oh, and not every person plays them the same. Also, you have to take into account factor's like play style..

Maybe your opponent is passive and don't go aggressive as s/he should. Also..little things..like how they play in generaly can give you a good indication of their skill level.

To know your opponents deck though...you have to pay close attention to what they use. So when your playing...don't play with blinders on your eyes and just go in half cocked and not take anything out of the match you played. Otherwise..when you go into the 2nd or 3rd game ( if you make it that far..), you would LIKE to have some kind of knowledge of what your opponent uses at this point..so you know what to expect and you can change or play accordingly.



~Side Decking~

This is one portion of dueling sometimes forgotten and often underrated. Why do I say that? Well with this very subject...it directly impacts what and how you side deck. Think about it...if you payed no attention to what your opponent was doing or using..how would you know what to side deck against them? So always remember to stay keen in sight and study what your opponent uses and has...that way your not under prepared and you know what cards best to use too counter your opponent.


~knowledge of Deck Types~


You can almost find any deck out there in yugioh.wikia.com so you can get an idea, but if you really want to know exactly what they are playing , your only option is to play it yourself, find different combos you can do with it.

One of the quickest ways to learn about your opponents deck can be to simply use it yourself. Never limit yourself and try to expand your horizons and play different builds and decks and learn new strategies and combo's. So...as your knowledge grows..you learn more what to look for when playing someone..so on top of knowing your opponents deck..you also know how it works Razz



~Conclusion~

So ye..that's about covers the basics. Just keep in mind to always pay attention when playing someone...every little move can be a key read that gives you insight into your opponent..as well as his deck. Also, Learn to play different decks, so you don't leave so much to the unknown when playing a opponent and your familiar with a deck they would use.

nice ) hope Kiryu post sooon xD