Bulbagarden

Yeah, I'm disappointed that Link monsters are still needed to Pendulum summon from the Extra Deck. Although, I guess that they didn't want to make Link monsters completely useless and that might not apply to Pendulum summons from your hand. It is still basically admitting that the Extra Deck Monster Zone was a mistake. I understand that they wanted to try to prevent the game from just spamming out Extra Deck Monsters, but it's also kind of way too late to actually do that after creating multiple different summoning methods and archetypes that heavily rely on Extra Deck Monsters.

Have you seen the promo trailer for Sevens? What did you think of it?

Yeah it definitely doesn't apply to Pendulum summons from the hand as prior to this upcoming rule change they could be summoned wherever. I guess the main reason why this limitation of Pendulums from the Extra Deck into the Extra Zone is so they can't be spammed easily. Or not as easily anyway. It was a mistake no matter what though. It's not like it's just free to summon from the Extra Deck, you still always need the correct cards. Just trying to force one space they were allowed only did nothing besides pretty much ruin the game for a while and force people to run specific types of cards only. I can get not wanting people to spam, but at the same time with there being over 10000 cards now you've got to come to expect it's going to happen. At least the way it's going back to being you can use many different deck themes again.

I haven't yet. I read the brief summary about it, but haven't actually watched about it yet. I've got to get to that when I don't feel too tired to.

Did you have a good holiday season from Thanksgiving on?

I can understand that since I think people were complaining about how easy it was to Pendulum summon a bunch of monsters in one turn. It still seems a bit much, especially when I think having the Pendulum Scales set within the Spell/Trap card zones is a much more natural way to balance out the mechanic, but I can understand that they wanted Link Monsters to still be used for something. At least it doesn't apply to Pendulum summons from the hands, so that's pretty neat.

That's a big reason why I feel like this was a massive mistake. Forcing players to run specific cards after years of promoting archetypes that rely on spamming Extra Deck monsters was really stupid. I think that Link summoning had the most backlash out of all of the new summoning methods introduced thus far and I've heard that players in Japan still hated the Master 4 Rules. I honestly still wouldn't be surprised if the cards selling poorly, or not well enough for Konami, was a major factor as to why Vrains was cancelled. Instead of trying to fit Link monsters into the established rules, they changed the rules to make Link monsters fit and a lot of fans hated that.

I'll be curious about your reaction to the trailer. Without spoiling too much, I'm willing to give it a chance, but I'm already seeing some warning sign in regards to how fans have already tried to defend it, so that's still going to be toxic.

I did have a good holiday season. I was able to spend time with my family and we had fun on both Thanksgiving and Christmas together. I hope that you've been doing okay, that you had a good holiday season and good start to the new year.

I guess their reasoning (or at least how I'd reason it if I were there) is even with the Pendulum Zones moved into the Spell/Trap zone it maybe doesn't stop enough. I mean plenty of decks can forgo Traps now, and just roll with Royal Decree. I know when I've built decks, and am running short on room rather than just splash in a few Traps I'll just add in Royal Decree as my only Traps. Then with that, short of using Continuous or Equip Spells you don't really need those zones to be open for long. At least not 4 of them. I think it was a reason why we got Raigeki added back to the Limited list rather than Harpie's Feather Duster like the OCG got since monster spam was more problematic here, rather than the backrow.

Yeah really. I mean while some decks are fine with no, or only one Extra Deck monster being needed, and the other cards being filler it doesn't mean everything had to be hit so hard like that. Shaddoll was a good example of it. A powerful series of cards, yes, but by just having a key card or two limited it was hit hard enough. Restricting it to only one Extra Deck monster being able to be used without any Links made it downright unplayable. Even main character decks, all the years of promoting HEROES, or Junk/Stardust monsters meant nothing at this point. I'm sure cards selling poorly, or tournament participation going down had a factor in it being cancelled, and finding a way to go back to prior rules, to an extent. The new rules coming could have just been introduced 3 years ago where Links were a thing, since Link monsters are easy enough to splash, and only be limiting the usage of Pendulum monsters from the Extra Deck. People would have been annoyed, sure, but they would have been content enough that only one summon type was hit.

I'll give the series a try, because to be fair I always do give any Yu-Gi-Oh! a chance, but I'm not sure about it. To me it feels like the more Yu-Gi-Oh! goes on, the less it actually feels like Yu-Gi-Oh! if that makes any sense. I feel like the Blue-Eyes White Dragon being included in the trailer is their way of saying "hey no matter how crazy it gets, this is still Yu-Gi-Oh!"

I'm glad you managed to have enjoyable days. Makes me happy. As for me honestly Thanksgiving, and Christmas are just days off from work, and not much more now, with how much I've been working. I mean sure we had holiday dinners, and spent time together, but really Thanksgiving was mostly just spent with me watching football, and as for Christmas I don't get gifts anymore so that was just another day where I sorta just hung around, and didn't do much.

That makes sense. I don't play the card game outside of video games, so maybe limiting the Spell/Trap card zone wouldn't be as major of a drawback as I thought it would be. Plus, the amount of Spell and Trap cards necessary for certain archetypes probably varies. A lot of Pendulum decks probably rely more on monster cards given that some of the cards can be used as monsters or effectively as spells.

There are definitely some decks that can work fine with little or no Extra Deck monsters. They may not be as common at this point, but depending on your strategy, it would be completely possible to make a solid deck without relying on the Extra Deck. That's a big reason why this rule was so baffling. They've spent years making a ton of Elemental Heroes, Junk/Stardust and other popular archetypes, but then try to limit them drastically. I wouldn't be surprised if tournament participation did go down because players were understandably upset about this. Even the decks they promoted throughout Arc V's run would either need to be reworked from the ground up to fit with this new rule or were just unplayable. Neither option was good considering the money some people spend to make solid tournament decks. There probably still would have been some frustration if they had gone with this updated rule instead, but not forcing players to use a brand new archetype and only affecting one of the summoning methods instead of virtually all of them would have helped a lot. I'm also not really sure if the archetypes introduced in Vrains were that popular in general. Aside from Trickstars and maybe Revolver's cards, I didn't hear much excitement over these new cards, but I could have easily just missed discussions on these cards for a number of reasons.

I think that makes sense. I kind of got that feeling with Zexal, at least at first, and Vrains especially felt like a Yu-Gi-Oh! series that desperately didn't want to be one. I didn't get that impression with Arc V for a number of reasons, but it did feel like a celebration of the anime with its references and legacy characters. Sevens just looks incredibly generic. The character designs aren't bad, but they lack any kind of personality or flare. They look like they could fit within a number of generic toyetic series instead of Yu-Gi-Oh! I honestly thought that Yuga was the new lead for Future Card Buddy Fight when I first saw him. If they just added a bit more detail or pointy ends to some of the hair, they might look better, but they probably wanted to use more simplistic designs for the animators.

Using Blue Eyes definitely seemed like they wanted to remind people that this was indeed a Yu-Gi-Oh! series. Rush Duels also don't really sound that appealing and the Duel Disk doesn't look that good either, although at least they actually have Duel Disks instead of just boring wristbands like Vrains did. I'll still give it a shot. Having a different head writer is a potentially promising sign. The series will still have its flaws, but they hopefully won't be the same flaws over and over again like with Yoshida's series. I'd be really interested to learn why they changed production studios though. I don't know if it was the result of whatever problems Studio Gallop had with Vrains or if this was decided ahead of time in order to take the franchise in a new direction. I'm not sure if they'd release that kind of information, but I'd really like to know why they went for a different studio for the anime's 20th anniversary.

That's sweet of you to say. Thank you. I'm glad that you got time with your family and were able to relax. I always hope to make these holidays feel special. Part of it probably is due to how they're hyped up, especially Christmas, but I still want to do what I can to make them feel extra special and to make my family happy.

Nor do I, well outside of some former online simulators, but I've built enough decks in games, due to wanting to try out many different archetypes, to realize that the smaller zone doesn't hurt as much due to only affecting decks reliant on many Traps and Continuous Spells, and even then they don't usually cross with Pendulums. Yeah many of the Pendulum based decks I'd build tend to rely mostly on just the monster effects, and other Spells. I don't always go with Traps since too often they can be a dead draw.

The main deck that works best is Monarchs, but there's bound to be other ones that just base themselves around Tribute Summons with the continuous cards that support them. But yeah, after DM all the protagonist characters started running tons of themes of Extra Deck monsters. By doing what they did with Link monsters they basically said they didn't care about prior series, and archetypes. No doubt they definitely got people to stop playing. I know they feel the need to change, and make the game evolve to keep it fresh, but there really is no answer for changing the game by butchering the prior nine years. Yeah Revolvers cards were cool. They were about the only decent part of Vrains. People probably did like Aoi's cards too though because they're annoyance of cards.

Yeah to me Arc-V seemed like a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the franchise which is why they'd featured so many older characters. I feel at this point Arc-V is going to be the last great series we get. It's fitting in a sense, but also disappointing to an extent as I would like to watch more Yu-Gi-Oh! and enjoy it as well. I mean I'm not against more generic looking characters being main characters as, outside of Yugi, and Bakura, in DM the main characters all had more normal hair, and looks. I know that was 20 years ago but still. I mean not that I'm against crazy hair given that I've been a Dragon Ball fan for so long. I just don't feel anything to get excited about thus far from this new series. It did seem more like a different type of Card Battle series rather than Yu-Gi-Oh!

Yeah Rush Duels don't look like anything special honestly. Just looks like a cheap way to make duels even quicker. I do wonder though if the series doing this now is because they can't think of a new summon type, or at least something that won't need to change the game like they felt Link monsters had to. While that info could be hard to find rumors and such always circulate so if they did leave because problems I'm sure that info could be found online with enough time.

Well that does show how sweet and kind of a person you are. I mean it is good that you want to make sure your family really enjoys the holidays in part to you trying to make them even more special for them.

Yeah, even in Duel Links I don't usually run a lot of Trap cards for that same reason. With Link monsters, I didn't get the impression that they didn't care about the other archetypes, but rather that they were trying to fit in a square within a circle. The idea of trying to limit the amount of Extra Deck monsters wasn't necessarily a bad idea, but it was done poorly and far too late. If they didn't want the game to be basically spamming the Extra Deck monsters, then they should have done something about it by the Zexal era at the latest. I didn't like Revolver's cards myself, but the rival's archetype tends to be popular. I actually like Aoi's first deck since relying on burn effects was different for the female lead, but I'm sure that they were really annoying to deal with.

After Vrains, I already feel like the franchise peaked with Arc V. That isn't to say that it was absolutely perfect or that no other series could be better, but it felt like they put in a lot of effort into the series. It was one of the few series that I found engaging from start to finish and I don't know if they could pull something like that off again. I still want to give Sevens a chance and it could be promising, but it doesn't leave a good impression design wise. None of the DM main cast had normal hair. Most of them had natural hair colors, but they still either defied gravity, had a large amount of hair and/or were still pretty pointy. Besides that, the problem isn't really the hair not being as extreme as it has been for other series. The issue is that the cast would look like they'd fit right into a new season of Beyblade or Cardfight Vanguard. Not having a more distinct visual identity is a pretty huge red flag. It isn't a deal breaker, but it gave a really bad first impression with the series.

I just assumed that they haven't announced a new card summoning method yet, but Rush Duels being used in place of a new summoning method would make sense. Not only because of how poorly they included Link monsters into the game, but it would also be kind of hard to fit in another summoning method within the Extra Deck at this point. They'll still probably find a way to do so eventually, but maybe they just want to focus in on targeting to younger kids with Sevens and Rush Duels. I can see why they'd want to get more kids on board with the game, but hopefully it doesn't turn off more long time fans in the process.

That's still really sweet of you to say. Thank you. I always want to make sure that they feel happier for the holidays, even though both of my parents always tell me to not get them anything.

Speaking of, have you been playing much Duel Links lately? I've been playing a bit less lately due to free time, but I still try to load it up. It was cool to see them add a regular version of Carly, even if she isn't playable just yet. Same here, most of my Duel Links decks now just tend to run Treacherous Trap Hole. It seems to be a good fit as it's useless if you have another Trap in your graveyard anyway. If they really wanted to slow the progression of Extra Deck monsters they could have done something like that rule they had in Battle City where Fusion Monsters couldn't attack the turn they were summoned. That wouldn't be a popular rule, sure, but at least it wouldn't hamper you from summoning what you want if nothing else. Aoi's first cards did look cool at least, but I've always been annoyed by burn effects myself is all.

You're not wrong there. Your love (as well as mine) of Arc-V aside, it did feel like it peaked, and that's after coming off of a low point from the Zexal era mind you, because of all of the effort and time put into it, as well as the story. The story felt truly connected from the first episode all the way to the final one. Yeah I mean I'll give Sevens its fair chance, but I just am going into the series with rather low expectations. I just don't know at this point what we can even expect to see from this series. It just doesn't look like we'll see anything incredible but who knows, maybe by episode 12 or so we'll start getting a compelling story. We can only hope.

Maybe they couldn't think of a new summon method, or something like that. I was surprised to see there wasn't a new method. I do worry about it turning fans away like you say, and now truly just being confirmed as a cashgrab. I mean we have traditional cards, there are cards available specifically only for Speed Duels now, and now there is going to be cards released only for use in Rush Duels too. Crazy to think we have three different card types for formats.

You're welcome. I know how you feel on that one as my parents are also the same, and tell me not to get either of them anything. I still do anyway of course. Hopefully you got some nice stuff this past Christmas.

I usually try to play a bit of Duel Links once a day, mainly for the rewards and to collect on gems. Plus, they usually have good events going on in the game. I was extremely happy to see regular Carly and having more Jack and Carly moments with their dialogue/interactions. She'll most likely be unlockable the next time they have a Carly event. If they can make Blair playable, then they can make Carly playable too. I usually rely on Wall of Distribution the most. It can really pull me out of a tight spot, especially if the other player has enough monsters on the field to really weaken their attack points. Treacherous Trap Hole is also quite good and I've used it in some of my other decks too. Yeah, making the monsters unable to attack the turn that they're summoned would feel like a more natural way to limit Extra Deck summoning. I'm sure that people would be annoyed with it, but it would probably be better than what they ended up doing. I can understand being annoyed at burn decks. They can be quite annoying to deal with. I just mainly liked the female lead having a different kind of deck, but it's pretty moot when even Aoi admitted that she didn't do anything at the end of the series.

I think that Arc V's strengths would be have been noticeable even if it didn't come after Zexal, but being such a huge improvement from that series definitely didn't hurt. Going into Sevens with low expectations might be a good thing anyway. I'm going in with the expectation that it can't possibly be worse than Vrains, so they can't go any lower for me at this point. Even Sevens being boring would be an improvement in a sad way. It could definitely be more amazing than what most fans are expecting, which would be neat, but at this point, I'd be happy if I didn't just hate it. Hopefully having some fresh blood in the production staff will help to make it more interesting. Zexal and Vrains had the same head writer and his flaws were becoming more and more noticeable over time.

It's possible that they didn't want to introduce another summoning mechanic after how they tried to jam in Link monsters into the game. Or they thought that just introducing new ways to duel would be a good way to attract an audience. Speed Duels are apparently popular enough for their own cards, so maybe they wanted something like Rush Duels to get kids more interested in the game without learning about all of the abilities and effects of different cards. The basic rules of the game are relatively easy to understand, although it might help that I've watched the anime for so long, but there are a lot of archetypes and effects that are complicated and hard to understand right off the bat. This might be a better way to expand the game too, especially when the Extra Deck is so crowded, but it all depends on how well Rush Duels sell as well.

I did get some nice stuff last Christmas. There's always so much hype and buildup for the day that I wish it could last longer, but I always have fun being with my family and watching Christmas specials and movies.