It's been out for over a day now and Master Duel is holding over 150k concurrent players on PC with over 200k peaks: https://steamcharts.com/app/1449850
The past year I got back into Yu-Gi-Oh for the first time since 2003 when I was a small child. I played the game from Starter Deck Yugi/Kaiba to Magician's Force. I watched the show through episode 1 to the beginning of the Duel Disc arc. I never was one for nostalgia, but finding my cards in my attic really brought me back. Although I have a decent pokemon collection, it was really yu-gi-oh! that captured me as a kid because the gameplay was so much more interesting. While I played the game on weekends at my local card store (rip) when I was in elementary school for over a year, the modern game is completely different. For this reason, I found it difficult to get back into the game.
To ease myself into gameplay I first played Duel Links and built a Blue-Eyes deck. Already the game had a lot of new mechanics, but the learning curve was fair and helpful for newcomers. Master Duel has now released with (almost) the entire 10,000+ card lineup and an OCG banlist. It's going to be fun to really learn something new which is what most of this game is to me. Unfortunately, my favorite modern card "Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon" is banned (pictured). It's banned in OCG which Master Duel is using, but not the English TCG. It's also a card I recently pulled. The new game has several new rarities from when I played including Ghost, Starlight, Ultimate, and Collectors. This "REDD" is a Starlight rare which are the hardest to pull per dollar (barring Ghosts from Ghosts from the Past).
The modern cards are really cool looking, and I've also went back to watch some of the first season of the show to nostalgia max. I'm playing Master Duel on Nintendo Switch so I will probably drop my friend code here when I feel like I am capable of playing the current meta reasonably.
Master Duel is the official simulator for the modern Yu-Gi-Oh card game, and they plan to release tournaments which may earn players real life rewards. They also have planned releasing other formats for the game. This would include separate ban lists for the format to limit the card pool's power level.
In the first half of 2021, Yu-Gi-Oh's previous free to play game Duel Links grossed $110 million, making it the top-grossing card battler mobile game during the period. In total, the game's known revenue during 2016, 2018–2019 and the first half of 2021 adds up to $284 million. It's unclear if this game will eat into Duel Links profits, but it's somewhat likely. My prediction is that Master Duel will put new sets as they release behind some restrictions which will make players put more real money into the game.
There is an entire free single player mode with archetype lore which rewards you as you go along. You also level up and get gems from missions. PVP can be intimidating if you are unfamiliar with the modern game like I am, but many players are currently in the same boat and it's not impossible to learn. If you have any interest now is a great time to get into the game.
So have any of you tried Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel yet?
TL;DR Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel is currently out on consoles and PC, but mobile is set to release sometime in the near future. While it is a gotcha game, it is currently possible to build a lot of meta staples completely free to play due to the gem system being front loaded and somewhat generous at the moment. Right now player response seems to be very positive and over 200k players have peaked on steam.
Last edited by FormerlyTeamSilent13 - on 20 January 2022
