Criticisms of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game

I have a plan to counter Stardust- 3x divine wrath, 3x penguin soldier, 3x guardian sphinx.

I have played this game since its launch with the launch of starter deck Yugi and starter deck Kaiba. This game has evolved through so many sets and so many metagames that it is crazy to think about. Yu-Gi-Oh! truly is the Warhammer 40k of CCGs, tournament decks start at a minimum of around $400USD and the best cards are secret rares, which can be hard to get. Despite being such a large and widely played game, I have my beefs with it.

• Cards you need to complete your deck may be out of print. This is probably the most annoying aspect of the game- the Legacy of Darkness booster set helped warriors- I run a warrior deck because I think it's fun and economical. I have to acquire LOD boosters or singles if I want to modify my deck with A-forces, and then some (other sets) for cards such as Penguin Soldier. Thus, I am forced to scour other people's collections and buy up cards to compete.

• There are 9 cards per pack. This fact is annoying because CCG nowadays feature on average 15-19 cards per booster pack, driving up the price of Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards to retail 44 cents per card. For such a flimsy cardboard this is very expensive for a card game, not to mention the cost of custom built decks, especially ones for the tournament level. I luckily pulled a dark armed dragon that is retailing right now for $130 on Ebay and I am getting rid of it before it depreciates. I also pulled an Honest- not sure what I will do with that card it seems people may not be buying him right now.
  
  
  You must keep up with the metagame to have fun. My warrior deck does NOT have a chance against a tournament deck, I will admit that fact. I always have to keep up with the latest cards to catch up in the metagame. This is frustrating with card prices and rarities.

• 4.) Too many card types. Plant, Aqua, whatever- there are so many types and so many cards to go with them they are all not updated each booster set- adding to a bias in the metagame. This further adds to the problem. I understand there are certain combos you can pull off, however reread issue #1.

So there you have it- WOW TCG worries about 9 classes, thus it can more evenly cover its bases in terms of helping a certain class with a set. Also, I get 19 cards per booster, bringing the unit cost per card approximatly half of Yu-Gi-Oh!, AND the added bonus that the cards are more sturdy. The game is fun and not as frustrating as Yu-Gi-Oh!, which can have complex rules- if you misread one thing in a card's effect you may not get to play the card. WOW is in a downturn right now, but this is natural for the holiday season. I'm not sure why people play Yu-Gi-Oh! still, I agree its a fun game but I am turned off by the negatives. "What else is there to play?" Magic the Gathering and WOW TCG are options. Yu-Gi-Oh! is pricey, definitely unbalanced in respect to providing cards that aid each type, and I am not the person to go hunting for rare cards from sets that are 5-6 years old.