With a new Selection Pack on the horizon, let's take the time and speculate on the timeline Master Duel is headed on. Using the precedent of the physical card game we have somewhat of an idea how the meta game will turn out and what new cards to look out for.

General Spending Principles

Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring Card Image Infinite Impermanence Card Image

If you haven't already, make sure to purchase the four Bundles the shop has in store. At the cost of 750 Gems they come at a decent discount and get you started with staple Ultra Rares. Now that the fourth bundle was recently added, it's safe to assume it won't be the last, so keeping some Gems around for the next one would be wise.

On the note of savings, the Duel Pass only has about a week left. Take this as an opportunity to either purchase the Gold version before it's too late, or put aside another 600 to spend when the next one releases. This might be the single best place to spend your Gems, since the golden path more than pays for itself with Gems and crafting materials once completed.

There's not much besides these obvious steals to follow when it comes to Gem expenditure. There's lots of different archetypes to build and play around with, so it's up to your own judgment to find something you might find enjoyable. If you still have an excess amount of Gems and grinding ranked is your main priority, we'll cover the implications for the meta below.

Valiant Wings Evaluation

Victorica, Angel of Bravery Card Image Exosister Mikailis Card Image

The upcoming Selection Pack will contain cards from the "Burst of Destiny", "Grand Creators", and "Ghosts From the Past 2" TCG Counterparts. Based on the so far revealed cards, we can assume that this includes new Rokket and The Agent support as well as the first appearance of Exosister. In short this means that this pack is a snoozer when it comes to meta-impact.

Exosister & Magistus

Exosister Irene Card Image Zoroa, the Magistus Conflagrant Calamity Card Image

In its initial release, Exosister wasn't able to turn any heads. The Rank 4 Xyz archetype lacks powerful first turn plays and relies heavily on countering the opponent's interaction with the GY. Do note that this is a consideration for the highest level of play. The deck is reasonably functional and should be good enough to pilot you to the higher ranks of the ladder.

For the time it is best to run it as part of another archetype to fill in the gaps, such as Time Thief or Magistus. There might be quite the wait ahead though, considering how the full support didn't get printed until almost 9 months later in the TCG/OCG. Magistus might be an easy inclusion, as the existence of Zoroa, the Magistus Conflagrant Calamity hints at possible reprints coming along.

The Agent

Masterflare Hyperion Card Image Protector of The Agents - Moon Card Image

The "The Agent" archetype is part of the TCG's line-up of structure deck remakes, granting new life to old favourites. They are very much enclosed in their own playstyle, revolving around Fairies, Counter Traps, and a mix of Synchro/Link Summon. Masterflare Hyperion gets to copy a wide assortment of effects and the deck got generally more consistent thanks to the likes of The Sacred Waters in the Sky and Fallen Sanctuary.

However, the novelty of their design only gets them so far, when all you can do with an bunch of shiny fairies is Summon the same old Apollousa, Bow of the Goddess over and over again.

Rokket

Borrelcode Dragon Card Image Borreload Riot Dragon Card Image

There's no need to discount the legacy of Rokket. A good part of them still makes up the core of Dragon-themed combo decks. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean a lot in this case, as decks that originated in the anime tend to be force-fed more cards than necessary.

We're potentially dealing with Borrelcode Dragon and Borreload Riot Dragon both getting the high-rarity treament just for their association with the archetype. Even if you are already enjoying Rokket, there's not much these have to offer to the already oversaturated pool of Gun-Dragons.

Future Releases

Water Enchantress of the Temple Card Image Branded Fusion Card Image Floowandereeze & Empen Card Image

To put the extend of our foresight into perspective, we are currently discussing sets released 5 - 7 months ago in the TCG. Looking at the OCG side of things, that would be more like 9 - 11 months. If we take these formats as hard evidence on what Master Duel will look like (setting aside any whacky banlist shenanigans) there's quite a few meta-defining cards to look out for.

  • Swordsoul will still be considered highly competitive and should perform well.
  • Floowandereeze is another future-proof archetype, based around Normal Summons. These winged fellows take advantage of most of their cards and don't rely on the Extra Deck, so they should be an ideal budget option.
  • Adventurer and P.U.N.K. contain small engines that are part of powerful combos which will take over the meta as the most efficient way of establishing a strong first turn.
  • Later on, Despia/Branded is about to be bumped up by another wave of cards, enabling it to go toe-to-toe with the aformentioned strategies.

So if you are still looking for something to spend your Gems on, consider investing in the Packs that include Crystron Halqifibrax and Mecha Phantom Beast Auroradon, as they are far from losing relevance any time soon. (again, unless they ban them, in which case we'll be glad to be wrong!)

How many Gems do you have saved up? Let us know what you're looking forward to the most down in the comments!