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"Do, or do not, there is no try."
-Yoda
 
What better way to start an article than a quote from a Jedi?  Today's article is about what many people may consider 'playing dirty'.

"What do you mean playing dirty?"

It's what many people call head games, reading, or bluffing, but today, we're going to call it Jedi Mind Trick-ing, or, Jedi-ing, for short. 

"But Sean, I love Star Wars, what do you mean playing dirty?"

Many of the tactics I'm going to talk about today are things that are frowned upon by some of the more casual players, but, used to great success by many competitive players in all kinds of games, be it Yu-Gi-Oh!, Magic: The Gathering, Chess, Poker, hell, some of them are used in job interviews.  Whether you agree with the use of Jedi-ing or not, it is best to at least know what is going on in the game so you know how to defend against it.  Here are some of the most common ways to Jedi your opponent into giving out useful information, making incorrect plays, or even throwing the game to you.
 

Jedi Mind Trick #1:  What do you think about x-deck?

Why is this helpful?:  Generally when you sit down to play someone at a bigger tournament, you have no idea what they are playing.  It is also safe to say, that you play differently against different decks.  Against Inzektors, you probably don't want to set that mirror force on turn 1.  Against Wind-Ups, you probably don't want to leave too many of your cards in your hand.

How do you do it?:  Generally, for this to work, you need to have a pretty good idea of the format, its matchups, and the decks within it.  If someone complains that they're x-1 and they only lost because they had to play against Dragons, it wouldn't be a bad bet to put them on Rabbit.  It has a horrible matchup with Chaos Dragons and is otherwise considered the 'best deck'.  Another example is starting off the small talk with "Hey did you see X-player's list of Y-deck?"  Generally they either didn't see it, or, there is a strong chance that they have, and they'll give their input about it.  A solid 50% of the time they'll give away their deck right there, with a comment such as "Yeah, if you wanna win today you should be playing it." or, "I think it has a bad matchup with Z-deck so it probably won't do that well". 
 
Jedi Mind Trick #2:  Push for game?  Mirror force.

Why is this helpful?:  You can literally make your opponents attack into what may obviously be a Mirror Force, Dimensional Prison, Gorz, etc.  Those cards all speak for themselves in power level.

How do you do it?:  If you opponent is thinking about attacking, give em a nudge in that direction.  Reach towards your pen/paper, your calculator, or other means of keeping life and ask if they are attacking.  If/when they do attack, BAM, it's too late.  Generally if people get caught up in the moment they'll think less, play faster, and play more, if you reach for your calculator to seemingly change the life, they'll assume you're taking it.  If you haven't taken the damage yet, it is still completely legal to activate Mirror Force*.
 
Jedi Mind Trick #3:  3 darks?

Why this is helpful:  I was watching the top 4 of a win-a-mat and both players were in topdeck mode of a pretty tight game.  Both players were also at 2000> lifepoints (Solemn Warning was at 3 at the time).  I don't remember the exact matchup, other than the guy who won was playing Blackwings.  He drew his card for the turn (Mystical Space Typhoon), checked his graveyard, fanned it out, and looked his opponent and said "3 darks in yard, good?"  His opponent scooped.  This is obviously just a form of bluffing, as the Blackwing player didn't really have Dark Armed Dragon, but, he also never said that he did.  He just topdecked, looked at his graveyard, and showed his opponent 3 dark monsters.  His opponent assumed that meant Dark Armed Dragon for game, and scooped up their cards. 

How do you do it?:  Most of us know how to not necessarily be truthful [lie].  There are certain ways that you can, and certain ways that you cannot do it.

1. You CAN play as if you have a certain card (announce three darks)
2. You CAN represent other cards (ask to check your opponent's graveyard, as if you have a Monster Reborn)
3. You CANNOT lie about the number of cards you have in hand, deck, or graveyard
4. You can ask your opponent hypotheticals (So if I have Solemn Judgment down I win, right?)

On the other side of the coin, don't scoop if you think your opponent has a card.  Make sure that they actually have it.  It seems obvious, but, again, some people just assume that thy've lost and want to ragequit.  There's an old saying "If you've fallen off of the mountain already, you might as well try to flap your arms and fly."
 
Jedi Mind Trick #4:  You play # of this card, right?

How does it help?:  If your opponent has two effect veiler in their graveyard, and you know they only play two, you don't need to worry about playing around effect veiler anymore. 

How do you do it?:  This goes hand in hand with the 1st trick at the top in early-game small talk.  "It's so crazy that you have to play triple-veiler in everything this format.  It's just so fast."  It could lead to them agreeing with you, or, such a response as "I don't know, I couldn't find room for the third one." or "That's what you think, I don't even play it!".
 
Jedi Mind Trick #5:  These aren't the droids you're looking for

How does it help?:  This is literally the hardest of all the Jedi Mind Tricks.  You basically control the flow of the game by talking your opponent through all of their moves, good or bad.  You can make your opponent do the completely incorrect plays, simply because you told them they are the correct plays.  I've done this myself tons of times.  You'd be amazed at how well it works.

How do you do it?:  The whole game, just say the plays just before they make them, in order to lull them into thinking you're just trying to speed them up to get to the end faster.  For example, if they summon Rescue Rabbit and you only have Mirror Force facedown, just say something as they summon Rabbit, "Okay, you got it, remove for Kabuzauls?"  Generally they will then remove the Rescue Rabbit for Kabuzauls.  Then, have something that makes them feel good about their gameplay.  "Well, you know I don't have Bottomless Trap Hole, guess you go Dolkka here in order to negate my monster effects next turn.  I'm so screwed."  Generally, this will warrant them going into Dolkka for a plethora of reasons.

1. Everything else you said is obviously correct, why isn't this?
2. You said a smart player would go Dolkka, they also said you were a smart player, so, if A=B, and B=C, then A=C, right?
3. The evidence presented made Dolkka the correct choice.

When they attack into the Mirror Force, they will probably become more careful, and you can generally only lead them to blatantly misplay between 1 and 3 times per duel without them becoming too wary of anything you say, so, use these 'misplays' wisely.  You generally have to set up the entire game for any of these to work, even saying things as simple as "Run over my Stratos with your Laggia, and set something?"  More than likely, they will set something Main Phase 2, so, it is safe to include that on the end of attacks like that.
 

Those are just a few of the mind games that you can play with your oppoenents in-game.  Some people may think them immoral, but, just like building your deck, mind games are a part of tournament play, so, be ready.  There is no reason to give your opponent more information that you have to give them per the rules (cards in hand, graveyard, etc.).  If you have any questions, or, heck, just wanna use caps lock and shout at me for my opinions on Jedi-ing people, feel free to contact me:

email: andro_sphinx@yahoo.com
twitter: @Paper_gangsta_
facebook: facebook.com/shakezilluh
pojo forums: themcshakealchemis (no T)
youtube: themcshakealchemist(with a t)

Thanks a lot for reading!  I'd love to talk to anyone about the game!

Never stop learning
Sean Handy
The McShake Alchemist

 
 *As long as the game hasn't already progressed to the damage step