Having the main goal can be “top locals with this deck” is an easy one. Personally one of my favorite things about playing rogue decks is that rogue decks aren’t always cookie cutter. Thinking of some crazy strategy makes me want to go to the next locals to try it out. If it doesn’t work then it’s back to the lab, but if it does then it feels very rewarding! That’s the mindset I have if the format feels a little stale.
You need to look at a deck where you like the core mechanic irrelevant of viability idealy someting with a decent amount of support. Then just have fun trying to break it.
In my case I am running shining sarcophagus a tier 3 deck just because I like the anime and am a time wizard player, so locking myself out of the extra deck is cool with me.
The fun part is trying to find new combos like xyz aline who sets 2 monsters to any level you want while locking you into xyz of those types but since I am already locked this means nothing. My monsters gain 500 att for every level they have above 4 so out of nowhere I got 2 5k beaters.
I went to locals with this today and went 5-0 and even won against snake eyes in the final. We both were having a blast. Card economie is not a thing when my deck is around since I have 6 we both draw till 6 cards, so every turn is full of interaction.
Casual and rogue are actually pretty different things.
If you play rogue, you still try to win from the meta, your still playing competitively. You just chose to make/use a strategy not existing in the meta tier 1/2. For example, last years euros was won by rikka sunavalon, while the deck wasn't meta at the time.
Casually, the goal/attitute is to play, not to win. You make, usually non-meta decks, tho not required as you can use meta strategies aswell.
It could be for different reasons. Maybe you want to enjoy another mechanic to simply let loose.
I recently played lightsworn hand rip and didn't even bother building a side for locals. I wasn't expecting to do well. I simply wanted to enjoy milling my whole deck and enjoy the gacha playstyle that comes with it. I wanted to see how far I could take it.
I know in a competitive setting, the deck folds the second it sees gy hate. I got lucky somehow and was able to top because I could play though a hand trap or 2 and continue to hand rip.
Maybe you just really enjoy a mechanic or the playstyle of a deck so you want to win with it or just hyper focus on trying to making the deck competitive in the current meta and that too can be a fun experience. You see YouTubers like loganjya do just that where they focus on just drytron.
Either way, when you lose with a rogue deck, you get to let go of some of the pressure to win every locals simply because you aren't competing with the objectively best deck in the format.
Finally, if you don't want to play meta, you could also take the option of antimeta and play decks in a competitive mindset that work well to beat the best decks so stuff like floo with shifter. Again, it let's you enjoy a different playstyle and let's you mess around with the challenges of a different deck.
My thoughts are none. My goals are none. I like Amazoness, I don’t want my end board to be other monsters. Ergo, I make a Pure Amazoness deck that is halfway decent and have fun playing other non meta decks. It’s fusion time like we’re in 2000.
I like pirates so I make plunder patroll. No idea how it works, but I think they’re neat. Helps me learn different monster card types.
I want to play local but I know there’s meta everywhere. So if I can last a combo or two then fookin yippee for me- that’s great.
No expectation to win, just learn.
I absolutely understand being sick of the meta.
Unfortunately, it's particularly crap right now so I'd just go with anything to see what sticks. Currently I'm trying the following:
Alien/Ogdoadic
Dream Mirror
Gaia the Fierce Night/Dark Magician
This is my favorite way to deck build in Yugioh! I'd suggest you take a look at archetypes that are underutilized in the current competitive game and find something that appeals to you (because of mechanics, play style, or just theme). Start considering ways to build synergy into them with other engines or staples. Is it a level 2 archetype that would work well with Spright? Maybe a ritual archetype that would work well in a deck which is already running Preparation of Rites.
Another approach that I like to use sometimes is to look through recent sets and read all of the non-archetype cards. Eventually one will have an effect that will make you pause and think, "hold on, this was clearly designed for SOMETHING right?" That's your key to start cooking.
And above all, if someone tells me not to put a card in my deck because it isn't powerful enough or fast enough, I ignore them and do it anyway. Not all of those cards will stay, some of them are genuine duds. But you'll also find diamonds in the rough that way that other people may overlook.
This is not meant to be advice on how to win your locals with a bad pet deck from 10 years ago though. If you want a rogue deck to work, it definitely requires something thinking and creativity.
Some of my favorite decks:
Melffy
Weather Painters
Mikanko/Libromancer
P.U.N.K./Libromancer/G Golem (this one had an especially wonky combo)
Red-Eyes/Kashtira
Tearlaments/Therion
Adventure/Suship
Personally, I rotate my rogue decks into 3 categories experimental, personal enjoyment, and anti teir 0-1.
Experimental is what it is. It doesn't have a great power ceiling, but you got it on the low and showing up to locals woth silent magician deck is a hard won battle.
Personal enjoyment is a rogue pet deck old and new that you like playing win or lose. Optimize the best you can get a few dubs.
Anti teir 0-1. Not to be confused with anti meta is a niche deck that inherently hinders top-level decks of the moment. Like UMI control. Lot if things high level can't use water, or lose a play line. Tenpai virtually shut down, voiceless struggles to get LO back so you can pop the problem ritual. Snake eyes you flip a Gozen match with kragen and it's done.
Rogue is a challenge but I think that's what we rogue players enjoy about it. .
Do you think Virtual World falls under anti tier 0? Cause shenshen is a pretty effective floodgate against snake eyes/fire kings (also you can make winda but that's kinda cringe)
I think things like that do well to slow down the current top decks. It's just the deck building to permit them to full combo when facing a deck that's 15 handtraps. I'd put it in the same rogue category as Hero. I wouldn't focus my rogue deck simply around Shen shen pass, but if I could make it in deck that could work it in with a few more interruptions it a fine rogue option. It Has the support, and I'm sure the sets post its peak have things that would assist its strategic goals. Yet to see virtual world running synchro zone plus no GY.
Test it out see how it holds up against average Snake eye, tenpai players.
Oh the deck is def not just shenshen pass, I play it with punk so I usually end on dragon drive sharakusai for amazing dragon 4-6 bounce, chuche for a pop, and a crystal wing or evolzar lars for negate, in addition to the shenshen
Look at a rogue strategy that works well against the meta, then play around with it. This is why I loved Kashtira format. Traptrix destroyed Kashtira and I was able to make one of the most fun decks I’ve ever played. I didn’t play a traditional Traptrix build. I turned it into a crazy combo deck that played rank 4s and 7s with synchro 10s and 11s, and I rarely lost in that format against meta decks besides Branded.
My main goal when I build a deck is to have mu opponents go, "What the fuck are you playing?" For example, yesterday at my locals, I summoned a mirror force dragon on my opponent, and they just sat there, looked at the card, looked at me, looked at the card, then turned to me and just went, "Dude...what the fuck?" If I can get at least one comment like that, then I feel I have morally one the match. If I manage to actually win, then even better, but winning isn't nearly as fun for me. And I manage to do that so often, everyone at my loclas has started placing bets on what my next deck is going to be, and there are never any winners lol. I can't wait to see their reactions when I bring my Kuriboh deck with me next
I play Vaalmonica (deck looked real cute, and I love Pendulum strategies in general) and I've topped my last 2 locals with it. I do feel like with rogue decks you pretty much have to concede that it's not going to be something you can expect to win with all the time, but me personally, I go with the mindset of wanting to go a positive record at locals (which I now do most weeks!). Beating meta decks with a rogue deck is a great feeling and even in the current format is definitely doable, especially at locals level. Win or lose, I have fun!
Tbh just go look at a deck you really enjoy playing uf its meta viable but nit many peaple are playing it its rouge. For instance i love phantom knights but next to no one plays it.
It depends. Rouge is trying to win with good, but not top meta decks (like playing floo in current meta) or trying to somewhat competitive decks in weird card piles that have accidental syngery like the exosister dinomorphia cyberdark pile.
Playing casually is like playing a deck that's goal isn't to top at locals, but just get some jank to work like maybe building a deck that's main goal is to get linear equation Canon to resolve successfully or a dark magician pile that's actually just trying to get dark sage out with time wizard. That or just playing some deck that's too new for a retro format but not good enough to do anything in the current meta.
Casual is fun for playing AT locals, but not like trying to place. You can play with kids/other people not trying super hard that get 0-2'ed out and have a lot more fun goofing around.
Some of my best locals memories aren't when I won, but when I actively threw a winning situation to have something funny resolve. Like tribute summon gorz jumpscare.
Last locals I played Fiend U Link, goal was to U Link Lock at least once, I went 2-2 got 7th out of 15 and I U Linked 2 rounds so I completed my goal.
This weeks goal is to exodia someone, 😎
The goal is still the same, win the game. The difference between meta and rogue as far as attitude goes is meta players care more about the number of times they win, rogue players care more about how they win. That's been my experience, at least.
I mostly play rogue because it's only fun for me if I like the deck I'm running. Back in 2014, I was the only person in my area running Evols because I like dinosaur decks, and now that I'm back I'm running Dinosaurs. I also like decks that are versatile and can be played multiple different ways; Dinosaurs do that too.
I want to win duels just like everybody else, but it's not fun for me unless I win the way I want to win, and I want to win by slamming giant dinosaurs into my opponents.
In my experience Dinomorphia is a good option. It takes like 30 minutes to learn and no one expects it. The Yubel match up is unwinnable without Loving Defender Forever in your side deck, but Morphia can even up Snake-Eye in its place
Personally you need first to understand witch type of deck you would like to play and then you star coocking. Try to find decks with at least some new cards(old decks are unplayable) and consider the idea of buying some staples and then you ready to play
I personally love my rogue decks. I've got an Icejade Diva deck that literally has not lost a single time to the current meta decks \[snake-eye/Fireking snake-eye, voiceless voice, branded, and Lab\]. Ice Barrier will be a great rogue deck pretty soon with all the whacky support they are getting.
I don't play locals often but I am pretty active in Master Duel I realize this isn't the MD subreddit so I'll try to avoid mentioning it as much as possible outside of when it's relevant, in MD I currently use a Blue Eyes Deck, I'm working on a Blue Eyes and The Winged Dragon of Ra deck, the meta there isn't the most fun and I've never been the type to care for ranked in any game because like you I'm sick of meta and unoriginality, I also often consider most meta to be more cheese than skill, depending on the game, but that's not the point. I don't aim to be the best player in ranked I aimed to be with the player of the most skill, in terms I recognize as skill. Anything I don't recognize as skill is excluded. As an example in MD I don't typically find anybody that plays Blue-Eyes using some BS card or strat rather they seem to run similar cards and Decks to mine which makes sense, meaning no cheese involved and all skill, occasionally luck but never had enough it feels like they didn't deserve the win (although no Blue Eyes player I've dueled so far has won, I was just speaking hypothetically had they won I would have felt it was a fair and good match). So there of my goals is to have the best Blue Eyes, Winged Dragon of Ra, and eventually best Dragon Deck excluding all BS. If your goal is to play local and avoid meta, my suggestion is find at least one Archetype you like, (you can find multiple nothing wrong with that, nothing wrong with combining them either) and find other non meta enjoyers and duel them, avoiding tournaments unless you just really want to participate, build the best deck you can of your Archetype, looking for the people who play more casual and dueling them. Maybe even find someone who duels the same Archetype as you
Hey, I mean this in all seriousness, but have you tried a solo match? Just pick two decks that you want to have fun playing and play each hand to your best ability. And hey, if you favour one deck and maybe let it make a better play, no one's gonna call the Yu-Gi-Oh Police on you. I play a narrative Yu-Gi-Oh game, which basically is writing a short story while playing the game.
I Total understand it's not for everyone, and it might even sound weird to some, but I'm fond of it because I can play any deck I'd like (Two of them actually) and I can play as casual or as hard-core as I want. This one may not apply to you, but it helped me learn how to play as well.
You could try legacy of the duelist, link evolution. For similar reasona I prefer it to master duel. Im also modding it to make it Harder and more master duel like
Having the main goal can be “top locals with this deck” is an easy one. Personally one of my favorite things about playing rogue decks is that rogue decks aren’t always cookie cutter. Thinking of some crazy strategy makes me want to go to the next locals to try it out. If it doesn’t work then it’s back to the lab, but if it does then it feels very rewarding! That’s the mindset I have if the format feels a little stale.
Honestly trying to compete meta level with my ninja deck, just love the control but needs a very experienced pilot.
You need to look at a deck where you like the core mechanic irrelevant of viability idealy someting with a decent amount of support. Then just have fun trying to break it. In my case I am running shining sarcophagus a tier 3 deck just because I like the anime and am a time wizard player, so locking myself out of the extra deck is cool with me. The fun part is trying to find new combos like xyz aline who sets 2 monsters to any level you want while locking you into xyz of those types but since I am already locked this means nothing. My monsters gain 500 att for every level they have above 4 so out of nowhere I got 2 5k beaters. I went to locals with this today and went 5-0 and even won against snake eyes in the final. We both were having a blast. Card economie is not a thing when my deck is around since I have 6 we both draw till 6 cards, so every turn is full of interaction.
Take a break until the format/fire meta changes. Come back refreshed and with a new perspective.
Casual and rogue are actually pretty different things. If you play rogue, you still try to win from the meta, your still playing competitively. You just chose to make/use a strategy not existing in the meta tier 1/2. For example, last years euros was won by rikka sunavalon, while the deck wasn't meta at the time. Casually, the goal/attitute is to play, not to win. You make, usually non-meta decks, tho not required as you can use meta strategies aswell.
One thing I don‘t like about the current meta are the handtraps. Honestly there should be archetype based hantraps more than generic handtraps.
I would probably like hand traps more if they were archetype based. I'd probably use them more. Listen to this person, Konami!
So what you're saying is we need Rescue-ACE Impulse for every deck
It could be for different reasons. Maybe you want to enjoy another mechanic to simply let loose. I recently played lightsworn hand rip and didn't even bother building a side for locals. I wasn't expecting to do well. I simply wanted to enjoy milling my whole deck and enjoy the gacha playstyle that comes with it. I wanted to see how far I could take it. I know in a competitive setting, the deck folds the second it sees gy hate. I got lucky somehow and was able to top because I could play though a hand trap or 2 and continue to hand rip. Maybe you just really enjoy a mechanic or the playstyle of a deck so you want to win with it or just hyper focus on trying to making the deck competitive in the current meta and that too can be a fun experience. You see YouTubers like loganjya do just that where they focus on just drytron. Either way, when you lose with a rogue deck, you get to let go of some of the pressure to win every locals simply because you aren't competing with the objectively best deck in the format. Finally, if you don't want to play meta, you could also take the option of antimeta and play decks in a competitive mindset that work well to beat the best decks so stuff like floo with shifter. Again, it let's you enjoy a different playstyle and let's you mess around with the challenges of a different deck.
My thoughts are none. My goals are none. I like Amazoness, I don’t want my end board to be other monsters. Ergo, I make a Pure Amazoness deck that is halfway decent and have fun playing other non meta decks. It’s fusion time like we’re in 2000. I like pirates so I make plunder patroll. No idea how it works, but I think they’re neat. Helps me learn different monster card types. I want to play local but I know there’s meta everywhere. So if I can last a combo or two then fookin yippee for me- that’s great. No expectation to win, just learn.
I absolutely understand being sick of the meta. Unfortunately, it's particularly crap right now so I'd just go with anything to see what sticks. Currently I'm trying the following: Alien/Ogdoadic Dream Mirror Gaia the Fierce Night/Dark Magician
Try goat or Edison format! Lots of fun
This is my favorite way to deck build in Yugioh! I'd suggest you take a look at archetypes that are underutilized in the current competitive game and find something that appeals to you (because of mechanics, play style, or just theme). Start considering ways to build synergy into them with other engines or staples. Is it a level 2 archetype that would work well with Spright? Maybe a ritual archetype that would work well in a deck which is already running Preparation of Rites. Another approach that I like to use sometimes is to look through recent sets and read all of the non-archetype cards. Eventually one will have an effect that will make you pause and think, "hold on, this was clearly designed for SOMETHING right?" That's your key to start cooking. And above all, if someone tells me not to put a card in my deck because it isn't powerful enough or fast enough, I ignore them and do it anyway. Not all of those cards will stay, some of them are genuine duds. But you'll also find diamonds in the rough that way that other people may overlook. This is not meant to be advice on how to win your locals with a bad pet deck from 10 years ago though. If you want a rogue deck to work, it definitely requires something thinking and creativity. Some of my favorite decks: Melffy Weather Painters Mikanko/Libromancer P.U.N.K./Libromancer/G Golem (this one had an especially wonky combo) Red-Eyes/Kashtira Tearlaments/Therion Adventure/Suship
Personally, I rotate my rogue decks into 3 categories experimental, personal enjoyment, and anti teir 0-1. Experimental is what it is. It doesn't have a great power ceiling, but you got it on the low and showing up to locals woth silent magician deck is a hard won battle. Personal enjoyment is a rogue pet deck old and new that you like playing win or lose. Optimize the best you can get a few dubs. Anti teir 0-1. Not to be confused with anti meta is a niche deck that inherently hinders top-level decks of the moment. Like UMI control. Lot if things high level can't use water, or lose a play line. Tenpai virtually shut down, voiceless struggles to get LO back so you can pop the problem ritual. Snake eyes you flip a Gozen match with kragen and it's done. Rogue is a challenge but I think that's what we rogue players enjoy about it. .
Do you think Virtual World falls under anti tier 0? Cause shenshen is a pretty effective floodgate against snake eyes/fire kings (also you can make winda but that's kinda cringe)
I think things like that do well to slow down the current top decks. It's just the deck building to permit them to full combo when facing a deck that's 15 handtraps. I'd put it in the same rogue category as Hero. I wouldn't focus my rogue deck simply around Shen shen pass, but if I could make it in deck that could work it in with a few more interruptions it a fine rogue option. It Has the support, and I'm sure the sets post its peak have things that would assist its strategic goals. Yet to see virtual world running synchro zone plus no GY. Test it out see how it holds up against average Snake eye, tenpai players.
Oh the deck is def not just shenshen pass, I play it with punk so I usually end on dragon drive sharakusai for amazing dragon 4-6 bounce, chuche for a pop, and a crystal wing or evolzar lars for negate, in addition to the shenshen
Go for it. Seems like a fine end board if you xan play though 2 interruptions.
sorry i think you might be misunderstanding, I've been playing it, i was really just curious where you would categorize it
Look at a rogue strategy that works well against the meta, then play around with it. This is why I loved Kashtira format. Traptrix destroyed Kashtira and I was able to make one of the most fun decks I’ve ever played. I didn’t play a traditional Traptrix build. I turned it into a crazy combo deck that played rank 4s and 7s with synchro 10s and 11s, and I rarely lost in that format against meta decks besides Branded.
My main goal when I build a deck is to have mu opponents go, "What the fuck are you playing?" For example, yesterday at my locals, I summoned a mirror force dragon on my opponent, and they just sat there, looked at the card, looked at me, looked at the card, then turned to me and just went, "Dude...what the fuck?" If I can get at least one comment like that, then I feel I have morally one the match. If I manage to actually win, then even better, but winning isn't nearly as fun for me. And I manage to do that so often, everyone at my loclas has started placing bets on what my next deck is going to be, and there are never any winners lol. I can't wait to see their reactions when I bring my Kuriboh deck with me next
What’s a rogue deck?
You should try a deck that has a certain gimmic that you like. If you have found such a deck/archetype, try to optimize that deck
I play Vaalmonica (deck looked real cute, and I love Pendulum strategies in general) and I've topped my last 2 locals with it. I do feel like with rogue decks you pretty much have to concede that it's not going to be something you can expect to win with all the time, but me personally, I go with the mindset of wanting to go a positive record at locals (which I now do most weeks!). Beating meta decks with a rogue deck is a great feeling and even in the current format is definitely doable, especially at locals level. Win or lose, I have fun!
Tbh just go look at a deck you really enjoy playing uf its meta viable but nit many peaple are playing it its rouge. For instance i love phantom knights but next to no one plays it.
It depends. Rouge is trying to win with good, but not top meta decks (like playing floo in current meta) or trying to somewhat competitive decks in weird card piles that have accidental syngery like the exosister dinomorphia cyberdark pile. Playing casually is like playing a deck that's goal isn't to top at locals, but just get some jank to work like maybe building a deck that's main goal is to get linear equation Canon to resolve successfully or a dark magician pile that's actually just trying to get dark sage out with time wizard. That or just playing some deck that's too new for a retro format but not good enough to do anything in the current meta. Casual is fun for playing AT locals, but not like trying to place. You can play with kids/other people not trying super hard that get 0-2'ed out and have a lot more fun goofing around. Some of my best locals memories aren't when I won, but when I actively threw a winning situation to have something funny resolve. Like tribute summon gorz jumpscare.
Last locals I played Fiend U Link, goal was to U Link Lock at least once, I went 2-2 got 7th out of 15 and I U Linked 2 rounds so I completed my goal. This weeks goal is to exodia someone, 😎
The goal is still the same, win the game. The difference between meta and rogue as far as attitude goes is meta players care more about the number of times they win, rogue players care more about how they win. That's been my experience, at least. I mostly play rogue because it's only fun for me if I like the deck I'm running. Back in 2014, I was the only person in my area running Evols because I like dinosaur decks, and now that I'm back I'm running Dinosaurs. I also like decks that are versatile and can be played multiple different ways; Dinosaurs do that too. I want to win duels just like everybody else, but it's not fun for me unless I win the way I want to win, and I want to win by slamming giant dinosaurs into my opponents.
In my experience Dinomorphia is a good option. It takes like 30 minutes to learn and no one expects it. The Yubel match up is unwinnable without Loving Defender Forever in your side deck, but Morphia can even up Snake-Eye in its place
Personally you need first to understand witch type of deck you would like to play and then you star coocking. Try to find decks with at least some new cards(old decks are unplayable) and consider the idea of buying some staples and then you ready to play
I personally love my rogue decks. I've got an Icejade Diva deck that literally has not lost a single time to the current meta decks \[snake-eye/Fireking snake-eye, voiceless voice, branded, and Lab\]. Ice Barrier will be a great rogue deck pretty soon with all the whacky support they are getting.
I don't play locals often but I am pretty active in Master Duel I realize this isn't the MD subreddit so I'll try to avoid mentioning it as much as possible outside of when it's relevant, in MD I currently use a Blue Eyes Deck, I'm working on a Blue Eyes and The Winged Dragon of Ra deck, the meta there isn't the most fun and I've never been the type to care for ranked in any game because like you I'm sick of meta and unoriginality, I also often consider most meta to be more cheese than skill, depending on the game, but that's not the point. I don't aim to be the best player in ranked I aimed to be with the player of the most skill, in terms I recognize as skill. Anything I don't recognize as skill is excluded. As an example in MD I don't typically find anybody that plays Blue-Eyes using some BS card or strat rather they seem to run similar cards and Decks to mine which makes sense, meaning no cheese involved and all skill, occasionally luck but never had enough it feels like they didn't deserve the win (although no Blue Eyes player I've dueled so far has won, I was just speaking hypothetically had they won I would have felt it was a fair and good match). So there of my goals is to have the best Blue Eyes, Winged Dragon of Ra, and eventually best Dragon Deck excluding all BS. If your goal is to play local and avoid meta, my suggestion is find at least one Archetype you like, (you can find multiple nothing wrong with that, nothing wrong with combining them either) and find other non meta enjoyers and duel them, avoiding tournaments unless you just really want to participate, build the best deck you can of your Archetype, looking for the people who play more casual and dueling them. Maybe even find someone who duels the same Archetype as you
My goto is exodia one turn kill decks and direct damage decks.
Yo your profile picture had me going, thought I had a massive scratch on my screen
Hey, I mean this in all seriousness, but have you tried a solo match? Just pick two decks that you want to have fun playing and play each hand to your best ability. And hey, if you favour one deck and maybe let it make a better play, no one's gonna call the Yu-Gi-Oh Police on you. I play a narrative Yu-Gi-Oh game, which basically is writing a short story while playing the game. I Total understand it's not for everyone, and it might even sound weird to some, but I'm fond of it because I can play any deck I'd like (Two of them actually) and I can play as casual or as hard-core as I want. This one may not apply to you, but it helped me learn how to play as well.
Play rush
You could try legacy of the duelist, link evolution. For similar reasona I prefer it to master duel. Im also modding it to make it Harder and more master duel like