Subject: "Beginner's Luck- Deck Tips for Newbies" -Snodin


Hello, all. I'm "Snodin," the occasional commentator on this site that 
tries (and sometimes fails- not ashamed to deny it) to better explain my 
more favorite YGO cards and why they would be good in a tournament deck. 
I'm not sure which number of tips this one will come in, but it's extremely 
important, and I hope Pojo posts it. I call this important, because it's 
for the Newbies.  [waves] Hi, Newbies!! Anyway, Since my first posts at 
Pojo, some people have been giving me lists of their decks, and what they 
should change about them. I'm not exactly an expert on the metagame, since 
I haven't played it within a year yet, but I know a thing or two about 
being a beginner. So, from one former beginner to another, this is for you: 
Tips on how to make a good "Beginner's Deck."


Tip #1: Pick a Theme.
Believe it or not, this is the most important rule of a Newbie's first 
deck. I know most of you want to make a deck like Yugi's, and have various 
mixed up monsters in it that work together. Sorry to say it, but that 
usually does not work- especially for a beginner. And I'll tell you why: 
There are Newbies, and then there are "Veterans." Veterans are the experts 
of the game who have been playing it for months, maybe even years. Through 
their experiences, they have established their decks according to which 
cards have worked best for them in the past. Newbies have to catch up, and 
the only way to do that is to start fresh. Pick a theme that has mostly one 
type of monster, or mostly one attribute. In my experience, I went with a 
primary Wind deck, and boosted up all my monsters with the same few cards 
like Rising Air Current, Bladefly, or Flying Kamakiri #1. Only when I got 
better cards like Sangan and Witch of the Black Forest was I able to step 
up on the Duelist Experience Ladder. If you'd rather make a primary Fiend, 
Warrior, or other monster type as your beginner deck, that's fine too. 
Whatever types or attributes that work best for you, use them until you 
feel ready to move up. When you are ready to step up, we then run into our 
next rule…


Tip #2: Do NOT play with too many Tribute monsters.
I think at one time somebody wanted me to help them out with a deck that 
had as many as five Tribute monsters; one of them being Blue-Eyes White 
Dragon. …Are you serious? Tribute monsters are not Newbie-friendly, 
beccause they require too much effort for them. Most Newbies don't have 
access to the better cards out there that can keep their weaker monsters 
safe, like Mirror Force or Gravity Bind. (Or maybe they do have them; 
still, it's an effort). Veterans know that the best Tribute monsters to go 
with are the ones that only fit their desired theme: Dark Ruler Ha Des or 
Dark Necrofear for Fiend decks, or Luster Dragon (#1) for wind decks, etc. 
If you really, really, REALLY want to make a deck with a Blue-Eyes or two 
in it, then go with either a Dragon deck (with a few handy Lord of D. and 
Flute of Summoning Dragon cards) or a Light deck. But let me just say, to 
truly start out big and strong, try cards like Jirai Gumo, Zombrya the 
Dark, Gemini Elf and Cave Dragon as your first monster walls.


Tip #3: The new cards are NOT necessarily the Best cards. Someone once asked
 me, "Snodin, what is the best card in the entire game?" 
I said, "It all depends on the duelist." Now, I know most of you Newbies 
are salivating over the new Magician's Force set, right? That's just fine, 
but you don't want to make yourself think that this is the only set for 
you. If you want to go with a Dark Magician or Union deck, go for it. But 
before you know it, another set will come out with "bigger and better" 
cards that'll make you want to buy them next. PLEASE don't go crazy with 
buying cards… not unless you have to. Right now, we have plenty of Starter 
deckss and Tins that have the cards you desperately need. I can make a list 
of cards that everyone SHOULD have in their deck, no matter what their 
theme is*:

*in parenthesis are the places you can get them in the easiest way

-Monster Reborn (Starter Deck)
-Change of Heart (Starter Deck)
-Dark Hole (Starter Deck)
-Pot of Greed (Probably easier to win in a Tournament than in LOB) -Raigeki 
(only available in Legend of Blue Eyes; I actually got mine by 
paying somebody 20 bucks!)
-Graceful Charity (only available in the Pegasus Starter deck) -Harpies Feather 
Duster (promo card in "Yu-Gi-Oh! Worldwide Edition: 
Stairway to the Destined Duel")
-At least 3 Mystical Space Typhoon (Pegasus Starter deck) -Waboku (Starter Decks)

Some people will tell you that Mirror force, Imperial Order, or other 
amazing cards out there are considered staple. But be careful; Imperial 
Order is a costly continuous trap, and Mirror Force CAN be countered. And 
of course, there's Jinzo; you don't desperately need Jinzo, because he will 
destroy your traps too. While these and other cards are hard to find these 
days, your best bet is to just grab the ones you can from the Starter decks.


Tip #4:There is NO SUCH THING as a Perfect Deck.
One thing you learn as you go along as a duelist, your deck may never stop 
being edited. Learning from your duels- whether they be victories or 
losses- you can eventually decide on what kind of cards you want to use. 
This is how I've come to build my current deck, whose heaviest hitter is 
Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon. Truth be told, my deck is constantly being 
altered to my liking, so that I can doublecross my opponents with cards I 
haven't used before. Plus, it's a good learning experience for me as to 
which cards work best for me. I may never take out my Thunder Dragons or my 
Dark Ruler, because I feel that they're my top monsters (and currently, 
they're my only Tribute monsters). They may not work for you, unless you 
start them out in a themed deck and give yourself a chance to get used to 
their effects. Right now, my deck mostly has Dragon sub-type monsters in 
it; I'm looking to see how I fair with them. If it works, it works; if it 
doesn't, it's back to the drawing board. The same will go for you; your 
deck may go through as many as ten drafts within a few months before you 
stick to a common theme. By the end, you may not even have a theme; but a 
deck with various monsters, spells and traps, that you have somehow 
mastered and forced them to work together. And that, my friend, is when you 
become a Veteran.


Good luck to all of you Newbies!



Questions? Comments? Pizza? Call me: KaodMaster@aol.com