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It’s been about two years since Konami launched Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel, and while the player base has dwindled somewhat, it still enjoys a healthy fanbase. The game has undergone plenty of improvements, additions and formats during its time so far, but one thing that hasn’t changed is that it’s still (surprisingly enough) a free-to-play friendly freemium game.
Well, it is if one knows what they’re doing, that is. All the tools and methods necessary to enjoy the game are there and easily accessible, but Konami doesn’t exactly go out of its way to point it all out. The company needs to make its money back somehow, right? That’s fine though, because by following the tips and strategies laid out below, anyone can jump right into Master Duel and make as many decks as they want without buying so much as a single gem pack.
Getting Started
Whether one is a completely new player or a Yu-Gi-Oh! veteran, it’s a good idea to play through the two introductory segments in Solo Mode. For the beginner, they serve as an okay introduction to the basics of the game. As for the experienced player, well, more practice is always a good thing, right? More importantly, completing these segments yields a healthy helping of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel (here on referred to as just “Master Duel”) player’s most important resource: gems.
Obtaining and spending gems fuels everything else in Master Duel, and thankfully, there are plenty of ways to maintain a nice supply of them without pouring money into the game. In the beginning, a player’s best source of gems will be the Solo Gates and introductory missions. Combined, they yield a good 8,000 gems or so, which is more than enough to craft one’s first competitive deck.
One shouldn’t just immediately dump their gem into deck building, though; there’s a method to it that we’ll cover shortly, but let’s stay focused on how to obtain gems for now. See, the Solo Gate gems and challenges will dry up pretty quickly, so players will need to focus on online play if they want to keep the gems flowing. For all players, ranked play, events and completing missions are where they’ll be sourcing their gems from. The Gold Duel Pass is also a good investment, as players can earn back all the gems they spend on it plus a little extra. It’s also an important source of Craft Points (aka CP), which are the Master Duelist’s second most important resource.
Managing and Obtaining Craft Points (CP)
In Master Duel, there are four kinds of CP: Normal (N), Rare (R), Super Rare (SR) and Ultra Rare (UR). As one would expect, the last two are the most valuable and scarce. So, one has to be careful in how they obtain and use them. Generally, the only source of free points is the Duel Pass or Gold Duel Pass; all other points come from dismantling cards obtained from packs (which must be purchased with gems).
Dismantling a card typically yields ten CP for that card’s rarity. That is, dismantling an SR card will net one ten SR CP; doing the same to a UR card yields 10 UR CP; and so on. Cards with glossy finishes will pay out 15 CP for their rarity, and rainbow finish cards will get a player 30 CP! It always takes 30 CP to craft a card, so getting an unwanted rainbow finish card is like getting a free trade-in!
It might be tempting to keep any and all SR and UR cards just in case, but that’s a mistake. Unless a card is a known staple, it doesn’t do you any good to keep cards that aren’t useful to the deck(s) you’re building. Don’t leave CP on the table, because you’re going to need it.
What Kind of Deck is Best for the Free Player?
If a Master Duel player is going to keep consistently earning gems, then they’re going to need at least one deck that’s capable of winning. One might think that the best thing to do is to immediately dive in and build whatever the top-tier meta deck is at the time, but there are two potential problems with that.
The first is that meta decks are expensive and are only getting more so as new formats come to the game. It’s going to take most of, if not all, of one’s starting resources to make one of the current meta decks, and those resources might not be enough if one is unlucky with their card pack pulls. Unless a player wants to play that one deck for a long time (assuming the ban list doesn’t kill it), it’s not advisable to immediately go meta.
The second is that many meta decks can be difficult for a beginner to play. If one doesn’t understand all of Yu-Gi-Oh’s card types, summoning methods and mechanics, then simply having a powerful deck won’t be enough to secure victory. So, in both cases, it’s a better idea to build a simpler and less expensive Tier 3 or Rogue-level deck to start. Once one has something that can win, and they’re more comfortable with the game, then they can go after the meta with fewer potential problems.
As for what to play at first, Master Duel offers some cheap structure decks for decent archetypes like Salamangreat, Blackwings and, yes, even Blue Eyes White Dragon, butallof these will need to be customized and further built-out before they’re ready for competitive play. Other good options include Earth Machines and Swordsoul, but this could be a whole topic unto itself, so we’ll leave it off here.
Crafting and Building Strategies
Regardless of what kind of deck one chooses to build, staying free-to-playdemandscareful spending of resources. If one does it right, they can create plenty of decks and even more variants.
Once one has decided on their deck, the first thing to do is to check how to obtain all the cards (done via the card details menu and choosing “how to obtain”). Most cards belong to either a Secret Pack or a Selection Pack. Selection Packs are special, promotional packs that are only available for a limited time in the shop. If one wants cards that are new to the game, then Selection Packs are best since all cards are drawn from the pool the pack is specialized in. Secret Packs are always available, but they must be unlocked by crafting either an SR or a UR that belongs to them.
Find which selection or secret pack most of the missing cards belong to, then craft exactlyoneSR that belongs to it. After that, go to the shop and buy ten of those secret packs. With any luck, several SRs and URs will be obtained from these packs. After that, check the deck and see how many from that pack are still missing. If there are at least five URs still missing, then it’s worth it to buy another ten packs and try again.
Continue with the same or another secret or selection until only a few UR cards are left, ideally those that don’t belong to a specialized pack. This will, unfortunately, depend somewhat on luck, but the general idea is to only craft SRs and URs that cannot be obtained from packs. If one is unlucky with their pulls, then they might have to spend some more CP, but doing things this way should keep the spending of both gems and CP to a minimum.
Always be thinking about the next deck during this process too. For example, while the best practice is to immediately dismantle cards one doesn’t need for the current deck, it’s a good idea to keep cards that either belong to adjacent archetypes or to other decks one knows they want to make in the future. This will allow more flexibility for deck building and expansion in the short term while also reducing costs in the long term.
Lastly, make sure to check whether powerful generic cards can be obtained in Solo Mode or as part of a structure deck. For example, Harpie’s Feather Duster is an extremely powerful staple spell card that can be obtained via one of the first couple of Solo Mode sections.
As evidence of what’s being advised here, see the collection of decks above. This writer has been playing since Master Duel first launched and has been able to build complete decks for ten different archetypes as well as several variants for many of them, also currently holding enough resources to craft a complete deck for an eleventh archetype.
Cosmetics, The Gold Duel Pass and Staple Cards
In the beginning, it’s not a great idea to spend gems on cosmetics in the shop. Getting a good deck online and obtaining vital staple cards (cards that are useful in almost any deck) is more important, so try not to buy too many cosmetic items at first. Don’t worry, though, there will be plenty of leftover gems for items later.
Again, the best thing any player can buy in the shop is the Gold Duel Pass. It refunds itself, awards free craft points and gives access to good cosmetic items. There’s no reason not to buy it. As for the various bundles located in the same section of the shop, the best ones are those that come with guaranteed staple cards like Infinite Impermanence, Triple Tactics Talent or Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring (especially that last one). They’re cheap for the number of packs one gets, and frankly, the guaranteed staple cards alone are worth the price tag.
One more thing:Do notbuy Master Packs! They pull from the Master Duel’s entire pool of cards, so the chances of actually getting one’s desired cards are slim.
Advice for Daily Missions, Events and Ranked Play
Daily missions are the most consistent source of free gems available; they refresh often and will even stack for up to three days, allowing one to complete a bunch of them in just a few duels. Combined with a daily login bonus of twenty gems and five gems for spectating via Duel Live, players can earn about 630 gems per week through daily missions and logging in alone.
Events typically happen once a month and usually offer about 3,100 gems between direct prizes and event missions. Put that all together, and the duelist who does everything for the month can net themselves around 5,000 gems. One doesn’t have to duel every day to get a decent gem income; of course, this is just the potential maximum. With the average deck taking about 6k to 8k gems to complete, dedicated duelists could potentially craft themselves a completely new deck every two months or so. There are caveats to this, and the level one plays at is one of them.
In general, staying away from the meta and high-level competitive sectors of Master Duel is best for those who want to stay free-to-play. It’s not that the decks one can make for free will be weak; rather, it’s that trying to keep up with the meta is inherently expensive and makes obtaining gems more difficult.
In the higher rankings, Diamond and Master in particular, completing daily missions takes more time since more opponents will either play something oppressive or immediately scoop. Also, events take ranking into account, so if one is in Platinum or higher, their chances of facing Diamond and Master-ranked players increase.
Finally, staying in the higher ranks means playing (and playing against) a much smaller range of decks and archetypes. Basically, staying in Platinum and below will make earning gems easier, and one can also enjoy more decks by doing so. It also allows one to sidestep the pressures of higher-ranked play and take the game more at their own pace.
Time to Get Out There, Duelist!
With a bit of patience, careful spending of resources and generally staying away from the meta, being a free player in Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel can be easy. There are enough gems and ways to earn them that one can make just about any deck they want, given enough time. Even powerful meta decks are doable; it’s just that one shouldn’t expect to always keep up with the next big thing.
This way of playing isn’t for everyone, of course. It’s probably too slow for those who enjoy climbing the ranked ladder every season in the hopes of one day becoming the game’s apex duelist. For everyone else, though, it’s a decent (and cheap) way to enjoy a fun online card game.
