Yu-Gi-Oh!

Where a Yu-Gi-Oh! deck keeps its value:

usually in the Extra Deck, the stack kept apart from the main deck that holds the fusion, synchro, Xyz and Link monsters a build summons. A structure deck gives you the core of one archetype ready to play, and many players buy the same one more than once to fill out its key cards. Speed Duel boxes are a shorter, faster version of the game taken from Duel Links, with Skill Cards themed on anime characters, and they suit a child still learning the rules. A Pokémon or Magic: The Gathering card that slipped into the box is better listed with its own game.

Choosing a Yu-Gi-Oh! deck by its archetype:

almost every deck is built around one family of cards that support each other. Long-running archetypes such as Blue-Eyes and Dark Magician keep getting new support, so a deck built on them rarely goes dead for good. The deck topping tournaments costs the most and loses value fastest, because the next reprint lands on exactly the cards it depends on. At a casual table, a common print plays exactly like the Quarter Century Secret Rare or Starlight Rare version of the same card. Make sure a used deck comes with its Extra Deck, since a main deck on its own is missing the monsters it was built to summon.

Reprints and the going price of a Yu-Gi-Oh! deck:

building from booster packs, at around Q40 each new in Guatemala, is the dearest route, because the cards one deck needs are scattered across many sets. A finished deck is priced on its staples and Extra Deck monsters, and those prices move with reprints. When Konami puts a sought-after card into a new collection set or structure deck, older copies can lose much of their value within weeks, while a collector’s rarity of the same card tends to hold up better, since a reprint seldom repeats the exact print.

The Eye of Anubis hologram and other tells on a used card:

fakes cluster among early-set rares and high rarities. On a genuine card the small square hologram in the bottom right corner is printed into the card itself; if it peels, the card is counterfeit. The set code under the art on the right should match a rarity that set really printed, which Konami’s official card database will confirm. Old cards marked 1st Edition carry that text just under the artwork on the left. Oricas, fan-made cards with anime effects or invented art, sometimes get passed off as rare prints. Foils from a played deck tend to curl, and a curve flattens in a sleeve where a crease never will.

Decklists for a retired Blue-Eyes build or an old Duel Monsters box:

a Yu-Gi-Oh! collection sells on its list, not as a pile. Write out the main, Extra and Side Deck separately, give the set code and rarity of every card that matters, and photograph the Extra Deck spread out on its own. Say which cards you pulled for another build and whether the deck was always played in sleeves. A duelist coming in from Cobán for a full deck will count the Extra Deck against your list at the table before any money moves, so bring it in the order you listed it.

FAQ:

• Are Spanish Yu-Gi-Oh! cards legal at tournaments in Guatemala?

  Yes. Cards printed for the TCG in Spanish, English, French, German, Italian or Portuguese are all legal at official events throughout TCG territories, so a Spanish copy plays exactly like an English one.

• Can Speed Duel cards go into a normal deck?

  Yes. Any card carrying the Speed Duel logo is legal in the regular format, except the Skill Cards, which only work in Speed Duels.