TCGenius.aiHow to play Yu-Gi-Oh!: a simple, complete guide
The goal
Each player starts with 8,000 Life Points (LP). You win when:
- Your opponent's LP hits 0.
- Your opponent has to draw a card but their deck is empty.
- A card's effect says you win (like Exodia).
If both players hit 0 LP at the same time, the duel is a draw.
What you need: your decks
| Deck | Size | What goes in it |
|---|---|---|
| Main Deck | 40 to 60 cards | Your monsters, spells and traps |
| Extra Deck | 0 to 15 cards | Fusion, Synchro, Xyz and Link Monsters. They wait here until you summon them |
| Side Deck | 0 to 15 cards | Swap cards in between games of a match |
- You can have up to 3 copies of a card across all three decks combined.
- Some cards are limited by the official ban list: Forbidden (0 copies), Limited (1) or Semi-Limited (2). See today's TCG ban list.
- Tip: stay close to 40 cards. A bigger deck makes your best cards harder to draw.
The three kinds of cards
- Monsters fight. Each has ATK (attack) and DEF (defense) points and a Level (or a Rank for Xyz, or a Link Rating for Link Monsters).
- Spells (green) do something right away or stay on the field. Most are played during your Main Phase.
- Traps (purple) are set face-down first and sprung later, often during your opponent's turn.
Setting up
- Shuffle your Main Deck. Place your Extra Deck face-down in its zone.
- Decide who goes first (rock-paper-scissors or a coin flip). The winner chooses.
- Both players draw 5 cards.
Your turn, step by step
| Phase | What happens |
|---|---|
| Draw Phase | Draw 1 card. The player going first skips this draw on their first turn. |
| Standby Phase | Some cards do something here. Usually you just move on. |
| Main Phase 1 | Summon monsters, play spells, set traps, change monster positions. This is where most of the game happens. |
| Battle Phase | Attack with your monsters. The player going first can't battle on their first turn. |
| Main Phase 2 | Same as Main Phase 1, for anything you want to do after battling. |
| End Phase | If you have more than 6 cards in hand, discard down to 6. Then your turn ends. |
Summoning monsters
- Normal Summon: once per turn, play a monster from your hand face-up in Attack Position. Or Set it face-down in Defense Position instead (that also uses your one Normal Summon).
- Tributes: Level 5 and 6 monsters need you to send 1 of your monsters to the Graveyard (a Tribute). Level 7 and up need 2.
- Special Summons don't use up your Normal Summon, and you can do as many as your cards allow. Extra Deck monsters come out this way:
- Fusion: combine the listed monsters, usually with a card like Polymerization.
- Synchro: send a Tuner plus other monsters whose Levels add up to the Synchro's Level.
- Xyz: use monsters of the same Level. They go under the Xyz Monster as "materials", which its effects can use up.
- Link: use the number of monsters shown as the Link Rating. Link Monsters have no DEF and are always in Attack Position.
- Ritual: monsters from your Main Deck, summoned with a matching Ritual Spell.
- Pendulum: set two Pendulum monsters in your Pendulum Zones, then summon monsters whose Levels fall between their Scales.
The field
- 5 Main Monster Zones and 5 Spell & Trap Zones each. The far left and far right Spell & Trap Zones also act as Pendulum Zones.
- 1 Field Zone for Field Spells.
- 2 Extra Monster Zones in the middle, shared. Normally each player can use only one of them.
- Where Extra Deck monsters can go:
- Fusion, Synchro and Xyz Monsters can go into a Main Monster Zone or an Extra Monster Zone.
- Link Monsters, and Pendulum Monsters summoned from the Extra Deck, must go into an Extra Monster Zone, or a Main Monster Zone that one of your Link Monsters points to.
Battles
Each monster can attack once per Battle Phase. If your opponent has no monsters, you can attack them directly and they lose LP equal to your monster's ATK.
| Your attacker vs. their monster | Result |
|---|---|
| Higher ATK than their Attack Position monster | Their monster is destroyed. They lose the difference in LP. |
| Same ATK as their Attack Position monster | Both monsters are destroyed. Nobody loses LP. |
| Lower ATK than their Attack Position monster | Your monster is destroyed. You lose the difference. |
| Higher ATK than a Defense Position monster's DEF | Their monster is destroyed. Nobody loses LP. |
| Lower ATK than a Defense Position monster's DEF | Nothing is destroyed. You lose the difference. |
| Same as a Defense Position monster's DEF | Nothing happens. |
If you attack a face-down monster, flip it face-up first, then compare.
Traps, Quick-Plays and chains
- Traps must be Set face-down first, and you can't activate one the same turn you Set it.
- Quick-Play Spells can be used from your hand on your own turn. If you Set one, you can use it later, even on your opponent's turn, but not the turn you Set it.
- Chains: when a card is activated, either player can respond with another fast enough card. Then the chain resolves backwards: the last card played happens first.
- Spell Speed decides what can respond. Speed 1 (most spells and monster effects) can't respond to anything. Speed 2 (Quick-Play Spells, Traps, Quick Effects) can respond to speed 1 or 2. Speed 3 (Counter Traps) can respond to anything.
Words you'll hear
- GY (Graveyard): where destroyed and used cards go.
- Banish: remove a card from play, face-up unless the card says otherwise.
- Hand trap: a monster you can use from your hand during your opponent's turn, like Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring.
- Starter: a card that begins your deck's main combo by itself.
- Brick: an opening hand that can't do anything.
Next steps
- Look up any card on the card database. Every card shows its text and its legality in each format.
- See what's winning in tournament results.
- Ask Genny to build you a starter deck and explain how it plays.
This guide simplifies the official rules for new players. When a card's text says something different, the card's text wins.