Introduction

The aim of this guide is to improve player quality, performance and tactics when approaching a Duel but also helping new players to make the most optimal plays. Duel Links holds the players hand and walks you through each phase of the duel. While you can do well without the technical TCG knowledge, the players in the top tier all use this information to optimize their plays and gain every advantage they can.

Through the course of a Duel, each player's turn is comprised of six phases. In this article we will be talking about all of them and which type of cards you can/should activate on each one. Yu-Gi-Oh! is a game where you can make various plays with identical hands, so knowing small things like what is the last possible moment I can activate a card, is very important to the outcome of the Duel. In Duel Links we can take more advantage of that because we have a feature that allows us to know when our opponent has cards that are chainable or that can be activated. There will be also an explanation on Speed Spells, rules for chaining of effects and other information to make you the best player possible.


Spell Speeds

Spell Speeds refer to how fast a card effect resolves after activation. Despite their name, they are not restricted to the effects of Spell Cards, but rather apply to any card effect that can be activated. There are 3 Spell Speeds:

Spell Speed 1

  • Normal Spell Card
Polymerization
Pot of Greed
  • Field Spell Card
Vampire Kingdom
Zombie World
  • Continuos Spell Card
Ancient Gear Castle
Shard of Greed
  • Equip Spell Card
Black Pendant
Axe of Despair
  • Ritual Spell Card
Machine Angel Ritual
Black Illusion Ritual
  • Flip Effect
Mecha Phantom Beast Hamstrat
Man-Eater Bug
  • Ignition Effect
Cyber Gymnast
Hammer Shark
  • Trigger Effect
Zaborg the Thunder Monarch
Vision HERO Witch Raider
  • Ignition-Like Effect
Diamond Core of Koa'ki Meiru
Galaxy Cyclone

When activating the effect of Loading... and Loading... graveyard effects you are activating a Ignition-Like Effect.

  • Trigger-Like Effect
Black Whirlwind
Amazoness Onslaught

The effect of banishing an opponent's monster that battled with your "Amazoness" monster after damage calculation of Loading... and the effect of adding 1 "Blackwing" monster from your Deck to your hand of Loading... are Trigger-Like Effects.


Spell Speed 2

These are also known as Fast Effects.

  • Quick-Play Spell Card
Enemy Controller
Cosmic Cyclone
  • Normal Trap Card
Floodgate Trap Hole
Legacy of Yata-Garasu
  • Continuous Trap Card
Mirror Wall
Sea Stealth Attack
  • Quick-Effect
Citadel Whale
U.A. Midfielder

A Quick Effect is noted by the mentioning of (Quick Effect) or During either player's or (this is a Quick Effect) in the card text. Loading... 's negation and destruction effect and Loading... 's effect of returning 1 other "U.A." monster to the hand and summoning 1 "U.A." monster with a different name from your hand are Quick-Effects.