History of Yu-Gi-Oh!

 (Part 1 can be found here . Part 2 can be found here .)     When we last left off, the Expert Rules were discussed and what changes came to the game. Today, we'll finish discussing the Official Guide Starter Book by talking about the last update to "Yu-Gi-Oh!".     Do cards always stay the same? Once a card is printed, will it always be written in the same way from that point on? The answer to that question is no. Not every card will stay the same from printing. Over time and for various reasons, a card's text can be altered or changed entirely. This is called an ERRATA 「エラッタ」. It's not important right now to go into all of the ways a card can receive an errata. What IS important is knowing that cards can be changed from what they were before.      Within the Official Guide Starter Book, three cards would become the first to be changed in the game's history. These erratas made minor changes that mostly altered how these cards worked or clarified what was inte

 (Part 1 can be found here .)       As mentioned previously, the Official Guide Starter Book held a lot of information for the aspiring Duelist. The most important of this, and what would further build upon the foundations of the "Yu-Gi-Oh!" Collectable Card Game as a whole, are the EXPERT RULES!!! The Expert Rules (「エキスパートルール」 Ekisupāto Rūru ) were the next rule set introduced by KONAMI. Previously, the Official Rules were made with the idea that beginners could learn the game rather quickly without needing to know any extra mechanics. While it was interesting to play like Yugi and friends, there were issues with the Official Rules that made it less interesting and more luck based than other card games in the market.   The First Wall speaks of most of the issues in more detail. Suffice to say that KONAMI and Takahashi-Sensei adjusted the rule into something more strategic for advanced players. Let's consider them now: FUSION SUMMONING With the Official Rules, one had t

     The Yu-Gi-Oh! Official Card Game Duel Monsters Official Guide Starter Book (「遊戯王 オフィシャルカードゲーム デュエルモンスターズ 公式ガイドスターターブック」 Yugiō Ofisharu Kādo Gēmu Dyuerumonsutāzu Kōshiki Gaido Sutātā Bukku ), or just the Official Guide Starter Book (「公式ガイドスターターブック」 Kōshiki Gaido Sutātā Bukku ) is a 130 page Guide Book published by Yu-Gi-Oh! copyright owner Shueisha on May 5, 1999.  It was released as a special edit in conjunction with the newest version of the Yu-Gi-Oh CCG from KONAMI.      The promotional card given with one's purchase is the 2nd ever Ultra Secret Rare. This time it's the Fusion Monster Card "Flame Swordsman." While this is the 1st Fusion Ultra Secret Rare, this card is further historic by being the first card with alternative art. Games use alternative art to make new copies more distinctive from their original counterparts while also potentially adding nuggets of lore for their worlds. However, the alt-art of "Flame Swordsman" is also from the manga

    The previous article mentioned that Konami found the Official Rules to be lacking for the OCG. These Normal Rules were modified from the manga, and thus were an authentic experience for players to feel like they were playing the game Kazuki Takahashi showed in Shonen Jump . Removing some of the more story-based aspects, it was pretty accurate to the manga.       This true nature was one of the key reasons that the OCG spiked in popularity with its target audience. Changing the rules was a risky endeavor that threatened to deflate the game's momentum. Angry players could have quit the game in droves, marking the end of the physical card game. But another, worse pit for "Yu-Gi-Oh!" became clear: certain aspects of how the game was played would eventually drag the game down if nothing was done.  LACK OF COMBOS     In the Official Rules' simplified game, turns tend to take on a static quality. It's a very slow affair in which a war of attrition decides the winner/

  Important terms before we begin: FORMAT 「 OCG (Japanese): 環 （ かん ） 境 （ きょう Kankyō "Environment" 」 - Game modes that change up how you play the game. META (Most Effective Tactics Available) - the strategy in a game which leads to victory the most often.                                                                                      -----------      The Official Rules Format is difficult to decipher historically due to its nature. The Internet was in its infancy, meaning that one can't just find Deck lists from the period. This combined with the limited card pool and younger fanbase means that there is no historical Meta to find. This applies for most of Series 1, though what is and isn't Meta can be discerned through the cardpool.      It's for this reason that Meta analysis is colored by conjecture. We don't have Deck profiles we can look at to see what was successful at tournaments during this period. So we must make our own:        While the Side Dec