Returning to Yugioh after 15 years

I started playing Yugioh again a few months ago, after a 15 year break. The last deck I played back in the 5DS era was Instant Fusion Synchro Monarch, and I can say the game has changed drastically since then. I don’t think it changed for the worse, honestly, I like it even more now. It’s become much more tactical and difficult, which is great for someone like me who’s obsessed with details. The first deck I built was Branded Despia. I found a list, got the cards, and when the Fallen and the Virtuous structure deck came out, I was ready to play. I played my first locals and finished 1-5, bricked three times, and had an amazing time. I don’t know what it is exactly, but I’ve noticed that the people who gather at locals are all 30+ and pretty cool. I thought my friend and I would be the oldest ones there by far, but it turned out maybe only one or two people were under 25. Afterwards I immediately came home, reworked my deck, got it to 42 cards, and now I don’t brick as often as I did.

Yugioh also reignited my love for PC deckbuilders. I don’t know if it’s just the initial hype keeping me going, but I’m having fun, so I’m not complaining. Along with EDOPro, which I mainly use as a learning tool to practice combos, over the past few months I’ve played Slay the Spire, Sheva, Abra Cooking Dabra, Don Duality, and a few others. I installed Slay the Spire on my phone and mostly play it on the bus; it’s a game I played ages ago too, so it’s basically evergreen at this point. Sheva was a complete surprise, I saw it was a fighting card game, decided to try it, and it turned out to be really cool, I spent a solid amount of time on it. The last two games remind me of a cozy version of a management sim, and I mostly play them when I want to shut my brain off, especially because the sessions between levels are relatively short.

And I mean…let’s be honest I’ve loved card games for as long as I can remember. I wouldn’t have played Yugioh for like 6 - 7 years back in the day if I didn’t. But I’m really glad that spark came back after so long. And honestly, I’m just happy I started playing again. Usually when you return to something after many years, it only reminds you why you stopped… but in my case, it turned out completely different.