Happy Holidays from Konami as They Announce 5 Official Alternative Formats for the YU-GI-OH! TCG
The Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG has come a long way in its almost 20 years. One thing that fans have been clamoring for has been alternate formats. Whether it’s a return to older formats, or just variants like Commander in Magic: The Gathering, fans want different ways to play. Konami recently gave fans an early Christmas present as their wish has been granted for official support of alternate formats.
On December 22, Konami announced 5 alternate formats that Official Tournament Stores can support as sanctioned events. Most of the fan base learned through a video by Mkohl40 and a screenshot from said video shared on Twitter by MBT (both included at the bottom of the page). However, there was plenty of skepticism surrounding this news as there was no word from Konami.
I set out and called some OTS locations around the country and after three stating that they hadn’t heard of anything (two of them explaining that it was possible they just hadn’t seen it because of the holiday craziness), I did get in touch with an OTS that confirmed the announcement was real and they’re already planning events utilizing these new formats.
They were also kind enough to forward me the information about the new formats. You can fire up the official Yu-Gi-Oh! Neuron app and see if there are any local events for the new formats coming up near you, but below I want to talk about each of the new formats one by one.
Real quick, before we get into the formats, I do want to mention that many believe the announcement came because Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel is releasing this winter. With these new formats becoming officially sanctioned, it is theorized that these formats will be available in the upcoming game. I think this would be awesome.
Time Wizard
The Time Wizard format is a way for OTS to sanction retro‐format tournaments. The tournament setting will revolve around the rules and mechanics of the game as they were played during a specific point in time! All that is required when setting up the tournament is the Forbidden & Limited list being used, and the latest legal set. For instance, if Time Wizard travelled back to the US National Championship in 2005, the tournament would be using the April 2005 Forbidden & Limited list and the last legal set would be Dark Beginnings 2.
If you want to return to your favorite era of the TCG, this is the format for you. Your OTS will be able to pick a moment in time and hold a tournament for it. The biggest moments for this will most certainly be Goat, Edison, and Reaper formats, but it should be noted that the OTS can pick any time to play in. With the rise of popularity for YouTube series like Progression Series and The History of Yu-Gi-Oh!, I think this is a great move. What era would you want to revisit?
Heart of the Underdog
As Duelists test their Deck‐building skills, they often find that certain Decks are more powerful than the rest. Currently, Drytron and Tri‐Brigade Decks are quite powerful. For Heart of the Underdog format events, OTS determine the Deck types that Duelists are not allowed to use for the event, such as Drytron or Tri‐Brigade. Duelists then compete using less frequently used Deck types, allowing for a more casual tournament where Duelists can enjoy new and interesting card interactions and explore fun Archetypes that normally don’t make the cut in competitive events.
This format is great for people who may be sick of the current meta game. This could give rogue decks a better chance to shine and a lot of people are psyched for this. Once again, note that the OTS gets to decide what’s not allowed. If you ran an OTS, what would you not allow?
Common Charity
For Common Charity format events, Duelists would need to build a Deck using only Common cards. This applies to all parts of the Deck – the Main Deck, Side Deck, and Extra Deck. This is similar to the Caste Party Pegasus Challenge format but restricts to just Common cards instead of allowing Duelists to select the Rarity of their Deck.
Gouki’s are probably going to rule this format. I’ll be honest, I think they should’ve just had it be the Caste Party Pegasus Challenge format and allow OTS locations to choose the rarity for the event. That being said, Common is the most accessible. I also imagine it’s surprisingly powerful with all of the reprints that have downgraded powerful cards. Will Gouki remain the top of the Common cards?
Deck Master
Based on the Yu‐Gi‐Oh! anime arc when Noah Kaiba brought Yugi and friends into a virtual world to Duel, each Duel allowed the Duelists to select a Deck Master to help them in multiple ways. Duelists begin each Match by selecting a monster to serve as Deck Master.
The Deck Master begins each game outside of the Deck.
Any effects of the monster apply as if the monster were face‐up on the field.
Duelists can Normal Summon the Deck Master to the field, ignoring any Summoning requirements, any time they would be able to Normal Summon a monster
No Tributes are required for high‐level monsters, and no materials are needed for Fusion Monsters, Synchro Monsters, Xyz Monsters, and Link Monsters
If the Deck Master is destroyed, the Duelist loses the Game.
This is a format that I have wanted to become real for a long time, but never thought it would happen. The reason I never thought it would happen is because it would require a lot of work by Konami to create good Deck Masters including potentially creating new versions of classic cards. The way that it’s presented here, there are some real problems. I imagine that Konami will release a Forbidden & Limited list for this format (as well as Common Charity), but as it currently stands Normal Monsters will probably never (or extremely rarely) be used and certain floodgate monsters will probably rule the format as Deck Masters. Spell Canceller will stop either player from using Spell Cards which are very prominent in the game, Jinzo would stop Trap Cards, and then Vanity’s Fiend stops both players from Special Summoning which locks duelists out of the Extra Deck and many cards and strategies or Vanity’s Ruler which only stops your opponent from Special Summoning. Once you consider the fact that the Deck Master doesn’t have to be summoned at any time and just emits its effect continuously, it’s a bit of a problem at the moment. Surely the team at Konami will reveal that these very powerful floodgates will not be usable as Deck Masters, right?
Rivalry of Warlords
We are excited to announce a new program that you will surely want to participate in – Rivalry of Warlords! This will be a fun and easy way to introduce Duelists to themes that they may not have commonly played. For each theme, KDE‐US will provide the OTS with a manual that includes a Deck List, a guide on how to play with the Deck, tips and tricks, and ways the Duelist can improve the Deck if they decide to build it themselves. To kick off the program we have created 11 manuals including Amazement, Time Thief, 3 Musketeers of Face Cards, and more. These manuals will be available to download from the OTS Portal[.] In addition to the alternative format set‐up guide, the portal has product posters and additional resources for OTS use.
OTS will be able to build the Decks largely from cards that they already have on hand. These Decks would then be loaned out to Duelists for them to play in Rivalry of Warlords tournaments. To play, each Duelist would be given a random theme and have 10 minutes (or more) to go through the manual to familiarize themselves with that theme. This will be a great program for the casual and lapsed player looking to play but perhaps not having a Deck of their own.
This program is intended to promote both a fun and casual format and will feature cards from recent sets that may not be used in highly competitive play. Duelists would have new and fun themes to play with while in turn generating interest, and sales, in these cards!
This new format is really cool. As the copy states, this really has the potential of introducing new people to the game or helping people who haven’t played in a while to get used to the game in a more casual environment. Duelists don’t have to worry about building a deck, spending tons of money on getting staples, and/or having their first/old deck leagues behind others. I do wish that the deck lists were public (at the moment they’re only available to OTS managers), but it is what it is. I also like how the program is designed to highlight decks that most people probably wouldn’t actually play in a tournament with the OTS not having to think a lot or argue about what should and should not be allowed.
Which of these new Yu-Gi-Oh! formats are you most excited to play?