HIDDEN ARSENAL: CHAPTER 1 Announcement May Reveal Something About YU-GI-OH! MASTER DUEL
Konami may have just revealed some information about Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel via an announcement for the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG. Fans will get to learn more about Master Duel next week during Gamescom 2021, but Konami just updated the press release for the upcoming Hidden Arsenal: Chapter 1 set for the TCG and it has an interesting note. While a lot of the information about what cards would be included remained the same; the release date for the set changed to January 28, 2022, and there was the reveal that Duel Terminal cards are returning. Now, many will probably start thinking about where I’m going, but please keep in mind that everything that follows is speculation and is in no way confirmed. Please, take it with a huge grain of salt.
In the updated press release, it states:
All of the cards in the original Hidden Arsenal series were either Super Rares or Secret Rares, but in Hidden Arsenal: Chapter 1, some of these epic cards can be obtained as Common or Ultra Rares with the Duel Terminal Technology, which has been unavailable on any cards for many years! These cards were extremely popular with Duelists with some of the most powerful cards in the game’s history receiving this treatment, and now it’s another chance to get this incredible style of card once again.
“Duel Terminal Technology” (DTT) is a very interesting word choice. First, we should talk about what the heck Duel Terminal is. Duel Terminals were physical arcade-like machines where people could go and play mini-games related to Yu-Gi-Oh! or play Speed Duels before Duel Links existed with premade decks. After you play a game, you would get a special card with a nearly invisible QR code on the back. You can learn a lot more at TCG Player, but what made these cards special is that they could be scanned and used in future Duel Terminal matches.
The trick is that Duel Terminals are from about a decade ago and therefore it makes no sense to create DTT cards unless Konami has thought of a way to capitalize on it. A question that many have had is how will Konami monetize Master Duel. This could be one way. I’ve wondered if they would tie the physical product to the digital in a way similar to the Pokémon TCG and this may be the way they do it. In older video games, duelists could input the unique 8-digit code in the bottom corner of any Yu-Gi-Oh! card to acquire the card in-game. What if the DTT is to serve the same purpose? You scan the QR code from the back of the card and now you have access to it. The only legal way to ensure you get certain cards is to have a physical copy available to you. That would help keep both products afloat.
As I said, this is all speculation. It makes sense to me, especially since each box of Hidden Arsenal: Chapter 1 will include 6 Ultra Rare and 2 Common cards with DTT. What do you think though? Am I out of my mind, or do I have a case?