Activation Confirmation & Toggle Function - How To Make the Most of Master Duel’s Prompts

Last updated 2 years, 5 months ago by Fliboce

Rating /5 (0 Votes)

Unlike the Physical card game, Master Duel has no direct communication between players. Instead, the game itself has to act as a mediator. This means that Master Duel has to step in and ask when and which card should be activated (also known as Activation Confirmation).

In this Guide we will go over the different settings for Activation Confirmation as well as a showcase for when using the toggle function would be advantageous.

Auto - Permanent Auto function with no way to easily switch.
Hold 1 - Hold LMB for ON and RMB for OFF. Having neither pressed defaults to Auto.
Hold 2 - Hold either LMB or RMB to toggle OFF. Also Defaults to Auto.
Hold 3 - Hold LMB to toggle ON. The default is OFF.
Switch - Holding either button doesn't affect the toggle anymore. Instead, you have to Left-Click on the symbol in the bottom right to change it. The order goes: Auto -> OFF -> ON -> Auto, and so on.

Personally, I'm using "Hold 1". It's intuitive and has all necessary functions. Another versatile one is "Switch", which is also capable of enabling all three functions. The others might be more restrictive, but make up for that by being simpler to handle. It's best to experiment and see for yourself which setting you prefer.

For controllers, there is no setting that allows for two buttons to be used for toggling. The only button assigned for that is RB/R1. This means that "Switch" is the only option that gives you the most freedom.

How Does Activation Confirmation Work?

Basically, whenever a prompt such as the one above appears, the game is interrupted. In this case, the light switches from red at the top, to blue on our side. On top of that, the timer counts down your own time until you've made a decision, forcing your opponent to wait until then. Likewise, on your own turn the opponent may be given choices throughout as well. Note that this does not apply for Solo Mode, as the computer decides instantaneously.

At what point the game asks you for these confirmations depends on two factors:

Your setting for when the messages are sent. Divided into "OFF", "Auto", and "ON".
Whether there are any cards or effects to activate.

The latter boils down to generalized knowledge about when cards are allowed to be used and when not. We'll touch on it in detail further down. The former, on the other hand, is a bit more archaic and can be summarized the following way:

OFF: The game won't bother you about most optional effects. Exceptions are mandatory effects and certain trigger effects.
Auto: (In addition to the above) The game gives you the option to use any appropriate quick effect in response to any of the listed actions:
- Summon of a Monster.
- Attack declaration.
- Activation of Spells/Traps
- Activation of Spell/Trap/Monster effects.
- Before the opponent ends their turn.
ON: (In addition to the above) The game gives you the option to use any appropriate quick effect at any possible moment, including but not limited to:
- Any change of Phases, including:
  - The intention to leave a phase.
  - The Steps within the Battle Phase.
- The moment after an effect has resolved.
- Any minor actions, such as:
  - Setting a card.
  - Drawing for turn.

During a standard duel it's not too far fetched to make use of all three ways of confirmation settings. Which is why toggling between the three, or Auto and OFF at the very least, is an important habit to develop. The best way to look at the toggle function is to take Auto as the basis. To illustrate a few use cases for the other two, we've prepared some examples.

Why Toggling OFF Is Important

Starting off with a simple one, Maxx "C". Assuming it's in your hand and you're going first. There's rarely a feasible scenario in which using Maxx "C" on your own turn would be correct. What it does instead, is tip off your opponent, who keeps noticing how your activations have tiny breaks between activation and resolution. That is because you'd have to click on "Cancel" every single time when playing on Auto.

Even if you don't care about giving your opponent a slight advantage like that, it still smooths out your own turns. Toggling OFF on your own turn makes for a more enjoyable experience. During the opponent's turn, Maxx "C" is less of an issue, as you'd just throw it out at the first chance. Instead, let's take another handtrap, like Nibiru, the Primal Being.

Imagine we're in the situation that Nibiru is your only quick effect in hand and your opponent is nearing their 5th Summon. The moment that light suddenly switches over to your side after the fifth Monster hits the field, the jig is up. Ideally, there are times when tricking your opponent with a false sense of safety would lead to them overcommitting. You'd want to wipe out as many Monsters as possible, but now that you've interrupted them, they'll be more cautious.

Keep in mind that toggling OFF on the opponent's turn can be very risky, as you can easily miss your window of opportunity when not paying close attention.

Why Toggling ON Is Important

Let's say we got ourselves into a predicament and our opponent Summoned Accesscode Talker. Even if we did have a way to stop it, Auto mode wouldn't allow us to activate anything. Since Accescode stops any effects to be chained in response to its effects, the only window of opportunity would be after resolution. As mentioned above, that's only possible when toggled ON.

That still doesn't make it possible to negate the activation of Accesscode, but what we can do is activate cards like Effect Veiler or Compulsory Evacuation Device to stop it beforehand.

Another decent example are cards that stop activations, such as Mind Drain. Activating this Trap in response to a Monster effect doesn't stop it from resolving. What we'd have to do, is activate the Trap before they are given the chance to enter the Main Phase 1. In other words, the ON toggle would allow us to activate it during the Draw or Standby Phase.