Youyu's personal store is incredibly impressive at first glance, but looking around, none of the coolest stuff seems to be something players can exchange for at the moment.
Either the pricing in Crystal Stones is ridiculously high, or it requires a particularly high level of favorability with Youyu... plus, quite a few items need both high favorability and Crystal Stones.
In simpler terms, it's both a grind and a pay-to-win.
But of course, Youyu couldn't just fill the store with impressive-looking cards that players can't actually buy, just to tease them. He wouldn't make any money by only putting in stuff that makes players drool. The only purpose would be to push players to complete tasks and level up to make money quickly.
Back in the day, Youyu was also among the silly players. He understands the situation of players at every stage very well.
For instance, what kind of price is affordable for players in the beginner phase, how to price items so that it's barely affordable with a bit of effort and extra grinding...
Most players in the Linked World are also veteran players with a deep understanding of Yugi, even though the environment today is almost a different game compared to what they knew. Some basic understanding still applies.
Soon, they found usable combinations among the relatively cheap cards in Youyu's store.
"There's 'Marauding Captain' and 'United Army'!"
"'Command Knight' doesn't seem too expensive either..."
"So it looks like in the beginner phase, we can start with a Warrior-Type specialization?"
"..."
One has to say, card enthusiasts have quick thinking. They quickly discovered some moderately powerful combinations among these "weak cards" mostly ignored by the majority of Duelists in DM.
Marauding Captain, Level 3, Attack 1200. Upon a successful summon, you can special summon a monster with 4 stars or less from your hand. And as long as he is on the field, the opponent cannot choose a Warrior-Type other than this card as an attack target.
In simpler terms, it's like "you have to attack the taunt minion first"...
Marauding Captain was once a pioneer tactic commonly used during the ancient Yugi era. Because this monster comes with a taunt effect, so if you summon two Marauding Captains on the field, their effects will protect each other, preventing the opponent from selecting either one as an attack target.
This tactic is meant to block the opponent's attacks.
United Army, a Continuous Magic Card. As long as this card is face-up on the field, for every Warrior-Type or Spellcaster-Type monster then all your Warrior-Type monster gains 200 attack points.
Command Knight, Level 4, Attack 1200. As long as there are other monsters on your field, the opponent cannot choose Command Knight as an attack target, and as long as she is on the field, all your Warrior-Type monsters gain 400 attack points.
These cards might look weak at first glance, considered useless by local Duelists. Increasing attack power by 200 or 400 points seems pointless.
However, if you use these seemingly weak cards to support each other, you can easily elevate the attack power of typically weak Low LV monsters to the level of a High-Level Monster.
In the current environment, whoever can summon a High-Level Monster first, despite the restrictions of the tribute system, has already seized most of the initiative in a duel. Generally, High-Level Monsters have attack powers not much over two thousand.
A Super Rare Card like the Red-Eyes Black Dragon has an attack power of 2400, and is already considered "top-tier" in the Duel Monsters in the animation.
If you utilize these support effects to boost attack power, exceeding that attack power isn't difficult.
Not to mention this card set also comes with an attack block combo. Although this kind of combo was eliminated from the Yugi card evolution over 800 years ago, it still seems quite potent in the current environment?
At least it should be no problem playing against random Duelists with no names.
Forget it!
Why think so much? Just buy, buy, buy!
On the first day, the players didn't really have many Crystal Stones, just the initial ones given on their accounts and the pitiful upgrade rewards.
So all players' arrangements became quite uniform—go grind, earn Crystal Stones, and quickly assemble a decently strong beginner deck before the Duel City Tournament opens!
Of course, there's more than one combination of beginner card sets players can choose from. Youyu placed plenty of cards in the low-priced beginner area, allowing players to choose their beginner decks according to their preferences.
Because Youyu previously suggested to President Haima a revision of existing Duel Monsters rules, the Duel City Tournament was postponed by another week.
This means there are now less than two weeks until the official opening.
Youyu meticulously calculated the reward levels from players' beginner tasks, the rate at which players level up, and roughly estimated how many Crystal Stones each player could earn in two weeks.
He then priced items according to this standard to ensure that as long as players work hard within two weeks, they can at least grind out a suitable beginner deck.
Youyu found himself to be a benefactor, considering players' needs so thoughtfully. Across the Linked World, he might be the only NPC doing so.
Additionally, unlike in reality, player card choices in the Linked World aren't just based on strength and usability.
The projection technology of the holograms gives this card game much more realism, so the Duel Monsters' appearance suddenly has become important.
Some cards may not be strong, but if they're cute and can act adorable, they still win over a lot of player support!
Youyu, of course, anticipated this and went ahead to gather a batch of cards that might be useless but are beautifully drawn, even before the public test began.
And just as predicted, these silly players were quickly won over...
"Cute overload! Pikeru is so adorable!"
A male player used his Duel Disc to summon the newly purchased "White Magician Pikeru" from Youyu—a lovely little girl in a white gown, standing just tall enough to reach most players' waists.
White Magician Pikeru, Level 2, Attack 1200. Effect: During your Standby Phase, gain LP equal to the number of monsters you control × 400.
Despite possibly being of little use in a duel, you can't resist how adorable she is!
The little girl in a white skirt, with pink twin-tails peeking out from under her fluffy white hat, holding a mini small magic staff.
A group of male players was immediately drawn in.
"Whoa, this hologram is so realistic, it's like the real thing!"
"Can I touch it?"
"Don't be silly, it's still just a hologram..."
"No way, I must buy one too, it's too cute! I'll raise her like my daughter!"
"Didn't you just say spending money on such useless cards meant you had brain problems...?"
"So what? Now it's cool, you got a problem?"
"..."
A crowd chattered around the little girl, as the summoned White Magician Pikeru hugged her small magic staff, tilting her head and blinking her big puzzled eyes at her new owner, her little head seemingly wondering if her new owner has some brain issues...
"Wow!!! This is so cute!"
Female players on the other side also made a discovery.
A bunch of girls gathered around a "Watapon" summoned using a Duel Disc. The small and delicate monster looked like a ball of cotton with eyes, appearing harmless and adorable.
Watapon, Level 1, Attack 200. Effect: If this card was added to your hand by a card effect during your turn, you can Special Summon this card from your hand.
"I want to buy this too!"
Youyu blissfully continued trading with players, secretly delighted.
Whether it's White Magician Pikeru or Watapon, they're not considered valuable cards in the local DM or the System Card Pool.
But so what? Being cute lets you do whatever you want!
Beauty is justice!
Just then, a silly player asked, "Hey, do you guys think we'll be able to buy Dark Magician Girl in the future?"
Someone immediately echoed, "Yeah, yeah, she's my first love! If available, I'd sell everything to buy her! I'd buy all of them!"
Youyu glanced at the Dark Magician Girl hovering like a ghost behind him, and chuckled inside.
Sorry, not gonna happen, this one's already reserved by me.
Better go to sleep now, you'll find everything in your dreams.