Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel is in desperate need of noob-friendly game modes

There is little doubt that Master Duel is the best video game translation of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG ever. As such, it has the potential to be a brilliant method of bringing new players into both the digital and physical versions of the game. Unfortunately, it often falls at the first hurdle.

Back in February of this year, Konami introduced the Tryout Duel: Time Travel 2004 event. Almost instantaneously, it was widely praised as one of the best ever, allowing longtime players to revisit an early part of the game’s history.

Not only was it a delightful throwback, but it also demonstrated that Master Duel has a major problem to contend with. Namely, modern Yu-Gi-Oh! can become very complicated very quickly and, by its nature, will likely put off many new players.

Jumping into a casual match, likely using one of the game’s structure decks, new players will often be met with monstrous Pendulum summons, impressive Snake-Eye decks and combos that see players drawing huge monsters out in turn one.

Introducing them to all of this at the same time is a huge error. The experience of being repeatedly pummeled is likely an unpleasant one and more than enough to send many packing before they have truly given the game a chance.

The blindingly obvious fix for this would seem to be the introduction of permanent game modes that allow players to earn gems, before slowly building up to one of the aforementioned meta decks. These modes should, of course, function by the same ruleset but strip back some of the finer details until new players are ready to take them on.

One of these could be of a similar format to the old-school event earlier this year, with a card list that allows basic elements like Fusion summons. Other modes could then emphasize other mechanical elements in turn, allowing new players to learn more advanced elements of the game at their own pace, without being blown away.

The added bonus that these alternate modes would provide is variety for existing players. Some of the loudest complimentary voices when the 2004 mode was released came from high-level, longtime players.

Additionally, the opportunity to use cards that are far from viable in modern Yu-Gi-Oh! is a thrill in its own right. Challenge videos in which players try to summon old cards in the modern game are immensely popular on YouTube, so seeing modes that thrust that kind of thing to the fore would be so exciting.

At its core, Master Duel remains a brilliant game. As a huge fan, it feels important to stress that it could be so much more if only for a little more variety. Hopefully, the future sees a significant expansion on the fundamentally sound formula it currently offers.