Hopefully you have been having fun crafting your Speed Duel Decks. Whether you are brand new to Yu-Gi-Oh! or a seasoned veteran, you are probably interested in taking your Speed Duels to the next level. The first step should be to review the “Official KDE Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME Tournament Policy Speed Duel Addendum.” This document will explain in detail what to expect from Speed Duel events and the things you need to keep in mind to have a smooth tournament experience.

The “Official KDE Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME Tournament Policy Speed Duel Addendum” is broken up into 5 sections as follows: –

 

I. Tournament Information

II. Tournament Play

IV. Constructed Deck Information

VIII. Sealed Deck Information

IX. Card Legality

In this article, we are going to go over these sections and clarify a few bits of information to help get you into your local events as quickly as possible. You should have the policy documents open and use them as a reference as you read this article.

 

I. Tournament Information

This section tells you exactly what to expect when you register for a Speed Duel event at your local Official Tournament Store (OTS). Make certain to check with the store to find out what format they will be running.
There are 3 types of events: –

 

Constructed: Duelists must bring their own tournament-legal Deck in order to play in a Constructed Tournament.

Sealed: In Sealed format events, Duelists will be provided with card product at the event, and they will construct their Tournament Decks from that product only.

Open Dueling: Open Dueling events are casual events that do not have set pairings, Win/Loss records, or time limits imposed on Duelists. This format is primarily used for Speed Duel Launch Events and Sneak Peeks.

Before you head out to your OTS, double check the format and prepare your Deck accordingly. Unlike normal Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG events, Speed Duel rounds have a time limit of 30 minutes to play a best of 3 match. Keep in mind that you are required to make your plays in a reasonable amount of time, regardless of how difficult your gameplay decisions might be. This is necessary to help the whole event moves smoothly.

II. Tournament Play

The Speed Duel Field is different from the field used in both Advanced Constructed and Traditional formats (referred to as the Master Duel Field). Please keep this in mind if you currently play these other formats of the Yu-GI-Oh! TCG.

Skill Cards

The main unique point of Speed Duels are the powerful Skill Cards that you can craft a Deck around. Remember that you can only use one (1) Skill Card in each Duel, however you can Side Deck different Skill Cards (including different characters!). Skill Cards in your Side Deck will count towards the maximum number of cards in the Side Deck.

If you choose to use a sleeve on your Skill Cards, both sides of the sleeve must be clear. Remember that both sides of the card must be visible.

At the beginning of the Duel when you present a Skill Card, place it face down so that your opponent can see the character and the activation condition of the card. Skill Cards should be placed next to the Field Spell Card Zone, in clear view of both Duelists.

Some Skill Cards will be moved at the start of the Duel (see Call of the Haunted below for example of this).

 

Once a Skill Card enters a Zone on the field (such as Bonz’ Skill Card Call of the Haunted), treat that card as a card of the type listed on the Skill (so Call of the Haunted becomes a Continuous Trap Card), for the rest of the Duel.

It is possible for a Skill Card to end up in your hand by a card effect (such as through the effect of Mask of Darkness). From that point, treat it as a card of the type listed on the card. In this example, Call of the Haunted is still a Continuous Trap card.

 

There is one exception to this rule – Skill Cards can never end up in your Deck.  This means that you cannot target Skill Cards in the Graveyard with cards like Jar of Avarice.

IV. Constructed Deck Information

The general outline to Deck construction in Speed Duels is: –

• Only cards with a Speed Duel Logo can be used in your Deck.
• Your Deck includes the Main Deck and may include a Side Deck and/or an Extra Deck.
• You may not have more than three copies of any card included in your Main Deck, Side Deck, and Extra Deck combined.

The Main Deck Minimum/Maximum size is 20-30 cards.

Please remember to never keep any cards in your Deck box that are not a part of your Deck, including cards without the Speed Duel Logo. Token cards are fine to keep with your Deck box, just make sure they are clearly marked as tokens.

 

Side Deck

You start your Match with a Side Deck of 0 – 6 cards in addition to your Main and Extra Deck. During your best of 3 Match, after the first Duel, you can change your strategy by swapping cards in your Deck with cards in your Side Deck on a 1-for-1 basis. You can also change your Skill Card if you have one in your Side Deck. Just remember that, after siding, your Main and Extra Deck must have the same number of cards as they had at the start of the Match. So, if you started the Match with 20 cards in the Main Deck, you can’t enter Game 2 with 26 cards in your Main Deck.

If you start Game 1 without a Skill Card but choose to utilize a Skill Card from your Side Deck in Game 2, then your Side Deck will have a different number of Cards in it for the start of Game 2. The same would apply if you started the Match with a Skill Card and choose to not use a Skill Card during Game 2. You would place the unused Skill Card in your Side Deck and in this case, your Side Deck would consist of 7 total cards.

 

Extra Deck

You may have an Extra Deck of 0 – 6 cards.

 

VIII. Sealed Deck Information

For Sealed Play, you can only play using the product you received when you entered the tournament. When you enter the event you will be given either booster packs or a Starter Deck, and you may only use cards from that product to construct your Deck.

Unlike constructed tournaments, there is no maximum number of cards you can play; but there is still a minimum. You will need to include at least 20 cards in your Main Deck. Any cards not included in your Main Deck will go into your Side Deck, and can be used in between Matches to change your Deck.

 

IX. Card Legality

Only cards with a Speed Duel Logo can be used for Speed Duels.

Cards with the Speed Duel Logo can be used outside of the Speed Duel format.

Skill Cards can only be used in the Speed Duel Format.

Currently there is no Forbidden and Limited List for Speed Duels.

Now that you’ve read through this policy addendum, you’re ready to head to your local Official Tournament Store and experience Speed Dueling. You can also find Speed Duels listed in the Public Events offerings at most Tier 3 events, such as Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series tournaments.

We hope you enjoy this new and exciting addition to Yu-Gi-Oh! Organized Play!