Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel is Live
When it comes to card games, there are two names that predate the modern giants of esports betting such as Hearthstone, and those are Magic The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh. While there was a viable Yu-Gi-Oh game in the past, it did not really get that much response from the community as it lacked important features, later on, Duel Links was introduced, but it was still not it. But now, finally Master Duel is here to sate everyone’s craving for some classic Yu-Gi-Oh…or is it?
It is very beginner unfriendly
One thing that we have to mention before we talk about the game in a bit more detail, is that it is very unfriendly for beginners. Since it starts off with pretty much the whole collection of Yu-Gi-Oh cards, you will really have to know something about the game before you can jump in and play games with other players in this game.
Even if you are familiar with card games, modern Yu-Gi-Oh is just too complicated to get into without any previous knowledge, and you will probably end up watching a couple of tutorial videos on both gameplay strategies and deck building before.
There is a mode where it lets you learn the ropes while playing against AI in the campaign mode, but once you are done with it, you will enter ranked games and get obliterated, which is not fun at all.
Not for Hearthstone players
If you are a fan of Hearthstone esports, you might be wanting to expand your card game knowledge into other games and try your luck there. However, modern Yu-Gi-Oh is a completely different game from Hearthstone, and you will probably hate it. Not only because there are over 10000 cards to make a deck from, which is more than a standard format ever has, but also because turns can take forever.
If you are looking for something similar to Hearthstone in the Yu-Gi-Oh universe of games, the best bet is to still go for Duel Links. It also uses a class/hero system like Hearthstone, and even if it has wild things like first-turn kills, or one turn kills on the second or third turn, it does not require you to spend hours learning the game.
Not for old-school Yu-Gi-Oh players either
In case you played Yu-Gi-Oh 10 years ago or so, and you are looking to re-experience those moments in a video game, you are out of luck. While old-school Yu-Gi-Oh was mostly playing 2-3 cards per turn at best, in Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel, you will often spend over five minutes just watching your opponent play a turn, while yours will be over under a minute, especially if you are using the starter decks that the game gives you.
For instance, when we tried out the game, we queued up with the starter deck and played a couple of cards, ended our turn, and it was all good. However, once the opponent’s turn started, they took about 8 minutes to play their whole deck and just win the duel, we couldn’t interact with them at all. That was the lowest rank in the game.
Fantastic for modern Yu-Gi-Oh lovers
If you are a fan of modern Yu-Gi-Oh, you will probably love this game. The only issue is that it might take you some time to gather all the cards if you are planning to take the F2P route. The Duel Pass, which gives you rewards as you play, can be purchased from the Gems you are given as you start playing the game, but this then prevents you from getting some packs until you grind out more gems.
Overall, in the long run, we can easily say that the player base who loves Yu-Gi-Oh can easily farm out all the necessary cards to create viable meta decks. However, if you do not have a passion for this game, or if you already have a physical Yu-Gi-Oh collection, then Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel is not for you.