I’m sure most of you have taken a break from the game at one point or another. Life events, formats, or something else might have influenced you to stop playing competitively. What if you’re thinking about shaking that rust off your duelist grip? I have a quick guide to help you get started.

Time to Play Catch-Up
The toughest part of getting back into the competitive scene is trying to catch up with what’s going on. I’ve received hundreds of questions since I’ve been writing that sound a lot like this: "Hey Bryan, I’ve been out the game since (insert format/year here) and I want to get back into it. Where do I start and how do I become good again?" In the past, I’ve usually deferred to the official Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG page to look at the latest product releases and format lists. I gave this some thought lately and came to the conclusion that this isn’t nearly enough to get you started. I think it’s a good way to stay where you are: in quiet obscurity.

Instead, let’s talk about how to get your feet wet. The first place I’d start snooping around is the latest Advanced list. Go to the official site, print the list, and then memorize it or copy/paste it somewhere so that you can refer to it easily until you commit it to memory. Next, go to Metagame.com’s Events archive to see what has made it to the top of recent competitions. Pay close attention to which players made the Top 4 and what decks they piloted. It’s helpful to read the match coverage to learn the particular playstyle being used. Your goal here is to determine the current trends in the metagame. Once you’ve done that, do the complete opposite and find out how to beat those trends. I like to take a contrarian approach to metagames because I don’t put any confidence in popular opinion. Popular opinion is easily swayed by the next spinster on any forum: claiming, with fervor, that he or she has the next key to success in the format. While a limited few of these decks have actually made it out of the "forum-hype" phase, I wouldn’t bet on them. If you want to take things a bit further, then I suggest you start following the trend-setters in the game. The trend-setters are usually the better players or deckbuilders who enjoy a considerable amount of success.

Getting Familiar with the Red Tape
To further sharpen your duelist mind, I suggest you sharpen your rulings knowledge. The first place I’d look is Curtis Schultz’s rulings article archives.  I really enjoy his articles because he’s always up-to-date with the latest clarifications on abstract rulings. This is especially true when a new set is released that changes the way the game is played. Read through these thoroughly. His word is the law when it comes to rulings.

The next step is touring the Upper Deck Judge forums for any specific card questions that you may have. Here, you’ll find answers to most of your questions. If you’re still unsure about a specific card interaction, then sign up for an account and post the question. You’ll get answers from judges around the country. What if you’re not a big fan of forums? Fear not, you have another resource: the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Rulings FAQs.

Getting Beyond Theory
If you’re an action-oriented type of person, then your struggle with this tidal wave of information is over. It’s time to put it into practice! The most basic way to do this is to build a deck and take it to your local store. If you’ve been out of the game for a few months, odds are that your local store hasn’t really gone anywhere. Go there, get into a constructed format tournament, and put your assumptions to the test. Call up your friends who play the game and practice with them outside of tournaments. Talk about the game as well. A good way to absorb information is through conversations with other players. This can be a double-edged sword because the information you pick up may not necessarily be useful. But once you get some experience, you’ll be able to quickly sift through the nonsense.

Find the best players who play this game, whether online or in your area. Ask them questions and practice with them. Learn from them. They’re better players for a reason and your job is to find out what those reasons are. They say that practice makes perfect, but practice with higher-skilled people gets you perfect practice. After this process, which should take about a month or two (maybe less), you should be ready to compete at the Regional Qualifier level.

Final Thoughts
It’s tough to go through forums and articles in search of knowledge, especially without any clear direction. My goal for this article was to provide you with that direction. There isn’t just one way to achieve your big comeback, but I think this short guide will help you find that way. This article was written for the "legacy" duelist who hasn’t played in six months or more (like my brother Kevin) and for the "I’m on a break" duelist who just needed some time off to recharge his or her batteries. If you’re planning on getting back into the game, I encourage you to follow my advice. I’m confident that you’ll return to the level of gaming competence you enjoyed in the past, or maybe even surpass that. Good luck!