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Yu-Gi-Oh! for beginners: the duel, chains and card types

Yu-Gi-Oh!, often written yugioh, is one of the world's oldest and best-selling trading card games, published by Konami since 1999. A game is called a duel. Two players start with 8000 life points and win by bringing the opponent down to zero. A single turn can contain long chains of summons that build on each other. A structure deck is the cheapest way in, and many buy two or three to get several copies of the same key cards.

Quick facts

Publisher	Konami
Launch	1999 in Japan, 2002 in English
Number of players	2
Life points	8000
Main deck	40 to 60 cards
Extra deck	Up to 15 cards
Side deck	Up to 15 cards, swapped between the duels in a match
Maximum per card	3 copies, unless the card is limited
Cards per pack	9 in core boosters
Packs per display	24
Card size	Japanese size, smaller than Magic and Pokémon

The card size is a trap

Yu-Gi-Oh! cards are smaller than Pokémon and Magic cards. You need Japanese-size sleeves, sold in packs of 60, and the cards do not fit in regular standard sleeves. It is the most common mistake when buying accessories for the first time. Read more in the sleeve guide.

The card types

Monster	Your fighting cards. They have a level, attack and defence.
Spell	Effects played on your own turn. Green cards.
Trap	Set face down and activated next turn at the earliest, often on the opponent's. Purple cards.
Ritual	Monsters summoned with a special spell card.
Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, Link	Special monsters that live in the extra deck and are summoned by combining cards in play.
Pendulum	Cards that work both as a monster and as a spell.

The turn, step by step

Draw. Draw a card. The player who goes first skips this on the first turn.
Standby. Effects that trigger at the start of the turn happen now.
Main 1. Summon monsters, play spells and set traps face down.
Battle. Attack with your monsters.
Main 2. Finish what you did not get to before the battle.
End. The turn ends. If you have more than six cards in hand, you must discard down to six.

The rule that governs everything

You may make one normal summon per turn. All advanced play is about getting around that limit through special summons, that is, tributing, combining, linking or returning cards already in play. That is why a turn can seem to go on forever: the player builds a chain of special summons, each of which is free.

The summoning methods

Normal	One per turn. Monsters up to level four are played directly, higher ones require you to tribute.
Fusion	Merges specified monsters into a stronger one from the extra deck.
Synchro	Combines a tuner card with others so the levels add up correctly.
Xyz	Stacks two or more monsters of the same level.
Link	Uses monsters in play to summon link monsters that point to zones.
Ritual	Requires a special spell card and that you tribute monsters.

The products

Structure deck	Ready-made themed deck, the cheapest of all. Often bought in two or three copies for more key cards.
Starter deck	Beginner deck that teaches the basics.
Booster pack	9 cards in core boosters.
Booster display	24 packs.
Tin	The year's tin with several packs and promo cards. One of the biggest products of the year.
Tuckbox	Small box with a few packs.
Reprint series	Legendary Collection and Battles of Legend, which make older cards available again. Battles of Legend also has new cards.

The rarities

Yu-Gi-Oh! has an unusually large number of rarity levels, and they differ in printing technique rather than in artwork.

Common	Ordinary card, no foil.
Rare	Silver card name.
Super rare	Foil artwork.
Ultra rare	Foil artwork and gold name.
Secret rare	Rainbow-shimmering foil over the name.
Ultimate, Ghost, Starlight	Embossed or specially treated finishes, among the rarest.

The banned list

Konami publishes a list that limits how many copies of certain cards may be used in tournament play. A card can be forbidden, limited to one or limited to two. The list is updated several times a year and can change the entire landscape of the game. Always check the current list before building a deck for a tournament.

Building your own deck

Start from a structure deck and a theme group, often called an archetype.
Buy two or three copies of the same structure deck to get three of the key cards.
Keep the main deck at 40 cards. More cards make it harder to draw what you need.
Fill the extra deck with the special monsters your archetype can actually summon.
Check the banned list before deciding on numbers.

Common beginner mistakes

Building a 60-card deck. More cards means a worse chance of drawing the right card.
Mixing several archetypes. The cards do not work together and the deck becomes slow.
Filling the extra deck with cards you cannot summon.
Buying standard-size sleeves. The cards are smaller.
Playing without checking the banned list before a tournament.

Frequently asked questions

Why does the opponent's turn take so long? Special summons are unlimited, so a turn can contain long chains.
Do I need an extra deck? Not to get started, but almost all modern decks use one.
Are old cards playable? Yes, unless they are on the banned list. The card's edition does not matter.
What does it cost to get started? A structure deck is the cheapest complete deck in the game.