Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel pairs two popular summoning strategies in latest festival
Stacking and synching and summoning and...
The most recent in-game player festival for Yu-GI-Oh! Master Duel has arrived, but this time it combines two summoning strategies instead of focusing on a single type.
The Synchro x XYZ Festival restricts players’ Extra Decks to only including monsters that can be summoned using the Synchro or XYZ (pronounced “ik-seez”) methods. Opponents will be operating under the same restrictions, so expect a lot of mirror matches while the event’s in swing.
In order to Synchro summon something from the Extra Deck, normally one Tuner monster and one other monster are sent to the graveyard in order to pull the more powerful onto the battlefield. XYZ summoning, on the other hand, are brought out by stacking material monsters on top of each other that match the level of the target XYZ monster.
Like other Master Duel events, competing in matches earn players medals that can be spent on cosmetics such as player icons and names, mates that join you on the battlefield during duels and alternate card protectors and duel fields. Wins and losses don’t affect how many medals players own, but matches do need to be played to completion - no leaving early just because you’re getting trounced.
The update also added a new structure deck for players to purchase via the in-game shop. Structure decks are pre-built card lists that you can immediately take for a spin in duels and are normally themed around a mechanic, suite of cards or a unique ace monster. This new one, Spellbook of Prophecy, supports the spellcaster and XYZ monster Hierophant of Prophecy and provides a convenient build-around point for the current festival.
The Synchro x XYZ Festival is the first to combine two different summoning mechanics, whereas earlier events focused on one at a time. Expect more like this in the future, as publisher Konami has been fairly consistent in supporting the popular digital trading card game with events, robust solo content and a healthy banned and restricted list kept up for Master Duel, specifically.