These days, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links exists in a weird space in theYu-Gi-Oh!lineup. Its popularity can’t be argued – it’s amassed over 150 million downloads and, to this day, is one of the two tentpole video games in the series. Yet it’s also struggled to shine after Master Duel offered one of the most faithful and generous adaptations of a TCG ever made.
Speed has always been Duel Links’ biggest advantage overMaster Duel, with its streamlined ruleset and quicker-paced duels making it perfect for playing on the go or fitting in a few matches before falling asleep. With the latest update for the game, Konami is hoping to push that even further, with the introduction of the Sevens world, a better new player experience, and a whole new format in Rush duelling.
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The Yu-Gi-Oh! Sevens anime was one of the biggest departures for the series since GX replaced Yugi-boy with Jaden. Set in a world bound by strict and complex rules, even duelling was heavily regulated, leading to the invention of Rush Duelling by Yuga Ohdo. The idea is simple: instead of only being able to summon one monster each turn, you can normal summon as many as you want, and, at the start of your turn, you refill your hand up to five cards.
Like other worlds in Duel Links, the Sevens World will bring the characters, locations, and cards of Sevens to the game, letting you explore Goha City. The far more interesting part of Sevens world is that it introduces Rush duelling to the game as a whole second format – effectively adding a new game into Duel Links.
Rush duels will work slightly differently to both the anime and the card game. The core concept is still the same – it’s faster, even than the speed duelling rules Duel Links normally runs on, and you may summon as many monsters as you like. The big differences are a smaller deck size of 30-40, rather than 40-60, and a smaller life total of 6,000. This is meant to make games go even faster than a paper Rush duel, and should also help ensure more consistency in your decks.
Stepping into any Yu-Gi-Oh! game can be intimidating, let alone Duel Links and its years of content updates and support. Booting it up and being thrown into the likes of VRAINS or Arc-V when you just want to check out some Rush duels would be overwhelming, but, fortunately, Konami is also reworking the new player experience to help.
Instead of needing to hit level ten with a character to unlock the world like normal, Sevens world will be free and open right from the get-go. According to Konami, rush duels are the “second launch” for Duel Links, and the goal is for everybody to be on an even playing field. For existing players, you’ll still need to opt into it to get started, but those coming in fresh will be sent straight to Sevens world before even seeing a regular Duel Links game.
The two halves of the game are being kept separate, too. You can only play Rush duels in the Sevens world with Sevens characters. If you want to play as Yugi and Yuya, you’ll need to jump back to the more traditional speed duels of the regular game.
Though it has had a few stumbles recently (RIP, Cross Duel), Konami has already proven it can wade into the digital card game space by directly taking on Magic: The Gathering Arena, Hearthstone, and Legends of Runeterra with Master Duel. Now, Duel Links is being set up to challenge another competitor in the space:Marvel Snap.
Duel Links was already a faster take on Yu-Gi-Oh!, but then Marvel Snap came along and gave us games you can complete in just a few minutes. With both focusing on mobile devices as their primary platforms, Rush duels are clearly meant to be the answer to that, speeding things up even more and reducing the friction needed to get into a game. Who needs 25 years of cards, unlocking multiple worlds, and dealing with all that Anime Stuff when you can just throw out a hand of monsters in a matter of minutes?
For existing Yu-Gi-Oh! fans like me, I’m more than eager to see how Sevens world shapes in Duel Links. I already like these characters and have found rush duels' speedy, let-loose style appealing. But it will be interesting to see if this does bring in as many new players as Konami is hoping – can a Sevens Road Magician really stand up to the cultural power of Captain America and Doctor Doom and take on Marvel Snap?
Sevens world launches for Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links (iOS, Android, and PC) on September 28.
