The Yu-Gi-Oh! 2-Player Starter Set is Konami’s most ingenious product in years

Arguably, the most challenging aspect of running a TCG with a history like Yu-Gi-Oh! is bringing new players into the game as it continues to evolve. The 2-Player Starter Set attempts to overcome that hurdle, making brilliant use of the game’s broader world of the game in the process.

Proverbial cards on the table: I’m a bit of a lapsed Yu-Gi-Oh! player. Growing up with the game, duels were an ever-present, but, as with many things entering adulthood, these grew rarer and rarer over time.

The introduction of ever-more complex mechanics, rulesets and game types has, in the past, made getting back into Yu-Gi-Oh! feel like an intimidating prospect. In lieu of playing, collecting has become a primary focus and has been genuinely rewarding. That said, there is still a significant itch to play that remains unscratched.

Thankfully, it seems like the good people over at Konami have been listening to me mutter in my sleep and brought out a product specifically designed to onboard new and lapsed players. But how well does it manage to do so and will you see yours truly in the YCS finals next year?

What is included in the Yu-Gi-Oh! 2-Player Starter Set

The Yu-Gi-Oh! 2-Player Starter Set comes with two complete decks and a how-to-play manual. The decks are put together very deliberately, featuring a mix of old-school staples like Magic Cylinder and other cards like Visas Starfrost that have proved genuinely competitive in recent metas. The major difference between the two is that one features Synchro monsters in the Extra Deck, while the other is focused on XYZ.

Both decks eschew card types like Pendulum and Ritual purely to restrict the focus and not overwhelm those who may be diving in for the first time. As the booklet knowingly notes, Pendulum cards are “complicated,” and including them here would, almost certainly, have convoluted the set and defeated the point of its creation in the first place.

Out of the box, these decks are loaded in a specific order, designed to be played in the first instance, precisely as the booklet instructs. The set aims to hold the fledgling duelist’s hand as they play their first cards in the game, making the duel part of a more expansive storyline within its comic-like pages, gradually increasing the complexity as the contest enters its later stages.

The booklet itself is a highly-stylized manual that treads the line between graphic novel and traditional ruleset, creating an environment that feels more like a video game tutorial than anything else. Yu-Gi-Oh! has never had a product like this.

A beginners dream

There are several reasons that this is such a strong offering from Konami. Chief among these is the booklet itself. The whole thing is written in the immediately recognizable style of the wider game and anime, taking both players through a well-crafted tit-for-tat story that introduces every significant component of the rules at a pace that is infinitely accessible.

Starting with a simple Normal Monster summon, the story gently progresses to Spells, Traps, Effect Monsters, and eventually special summons. When playing through the set, it took around an hour and a half to complete the prescripted part of the duel, though we were proceeding at a deliberately leisurely pace. After that, the duel continues, with players aiming to use their newfound skills to beat the opponent and win their first match-up.

Not only is the book brilliantly well-paced, but it also includes a bunch of useful references for players to return to in moments of confusion. Tables and charts related to the different symbols on a card, particularly Spells and Traps, are all included, and it’s something that the game and its more traditional guides have been crying out for.

It’s important to note that this is a very different offering to the little rulebook included with Structure Decks historically. Though the decks included likely won’t be ones that players will use for too long after getting into the game, they serve as the perfect first step before heading out and buying Legend of Blue-Eyes or a booster box. It also acts as something of a buyer’s guide, helping new players to understand what themes and approaches they may want to explore first, whether it be machines, dragons or anything else.

The set’s most outstanding achievement is that it trains the brain to think like a Yu-Gi-Oh player should. Around halfway through the booklet, it becomes possible to see three moves ahead. Though variations in player behaviors mean it won’t always be like this, it’s a valuable grounding in thinking outside the box and creating strategies that may initially seem counter-intuitive. Getting to this stage is objectively exciting, as the feeling that you are ahead of the game (even though you may not be) makes it seem as though there is genuine progression in a remarkably short time span.

Is the Yu-Gi-Oh! 2-Player Starter Set worth buying?

In short, absolutely. This is not aimed at very experienced players who regularly head down to their local games store and obliterate opponents, but beginners and intermediates would benefit from this set enormously.

As the name suggests, this is very much a Starter Set designed to introduce players to the concepts at the core of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG. Not only does it do that with aplomb, it does more than enough to ignite an immense curiosity to learn more, without being bloated in its own right. Switching the decks around after the first duel offers further opportunities for learning, and there is plenty of mileage here to justify its very reasonable price tag. Without wishing to get too far ahead of proceedings, this could be the set that starts a thousand journeys into the TCG.

More than anything else, though, the set is a lot of fun to play through for the first time. The tone of the scripted sections of the booklet is generally humourous, with the climactic moment of summoning a colossal monster for the first time a thrilling window into what the game can offer. It contains all of the beautiful feelings that Yu-Gi-Oh! managed to bottle up over two decades ago with the aim of giving that to an entirely new generation of players. Not only is it a smart move on the developer’s part, but it’s a community-focused one that has broad benefits for the game as a whole. More new players should mean a healthier game overall.

A copy of this product was provided by Konami for consideration. If you click on a product link on this page we may earn a small affiliate commission.