Notes & Combos

To be honest, this season I had completely lost hope of reaching Master 1. I managed to climb up to Master 2 five separate times, but every single time I ended up crashing all the way back down to Master 5. I tried different decks – Branded, Radiant Zoodiac, and Pure Radiant – but in my opinion, the real issue with Master Duel is that it relies way too much on luck, and that problem is only made worse by ridiculous cards like Maxx "C", Baronne de Fleur, and the rest of the usual suspects.

There was a stretch where I counted 12 consecutive coin toss losses. And when I finally got the chance to go first, what did I draw? Maxx "C", Fuwalos, or – even worse – PURULIAAAAA! And don't even get me started on the return of Odion. I honestly don't understand why Konami keeps releasing decks that make no strategic sense, packed with floodgates and tower monsters.

Another disgusting thing this season was decks like Killertune and Elfenote – decks that should logically brick by default, and yet they always seemed to have custom-made hands, drawing the perfect counters to every hand trap and ending on ridiculously oppressive, unbreakable boards.

That said, I have to admit that going back to Radiant actually felt pretty good. Especially when I was going second and managed to draw the right cards to dismantle a fully established opponent's board. Unfortunately, luck still plays a huge role even there. But compared to all those brainless floodgate and stun decks, Radiant at least felt like a solid way to consistently sharpen your skills. It was genuinely fun to play, and that's something I can't deny.