While fans of Yu-Gi-Oh! Can rely on Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel for a more comprehensive and modern take on the card game experience, franchise fans looking for a more fast-paced but equally strategic format may want to give Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duel a shot. Compared to the more compact Duel Links, gameplay in Cross Duel quite literally crosses over new genre category, transforming the typical Yu-Gi-Oh! Match in a four-way deathmatch.
However, fans who loved the tag-team mechanics of the anime series and previous Yu-Gi-Oh! Games do have the option of participating in a Tag Duel, where they’re able to team up with a Tag Partner from other Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime series. Instead of the traditional deathmatch, Tag Duel will instead have players and their partners augment each other’s strategies to defeat the enemy. However, for players looking for that specific dream match-up, just how do they unlock more Tag Partners?
Tag Duels: A Quick Recap
Before players get into the specifics of unlocking Tag Partners in Cross Duels, it helps to understand how Tag Duels work. Thankfully, similar to the main game, Tag Duels in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Title aren’t necessarily that difficult to follow. However, fans do need to understand specific changes that will take place once they transition from a traditional duel into a Tag Duel mode:
- General Game Rules: Tag Duels follow the general game rules. That means players still work with three (3) Monster and Trap Zones, and a starting hand of the Ace Monster plus four (4) random cards.
- Special Tag Duel Conditions: Contrary to the traditional deathmatch setting, however, Tag Duels do have specific constraints. First, the team shares a single set of LP, and depleting this will cost them the match.
- Unlimited Skill Format: In terms of Skills usage, the Unlimited Skill Format is the default Tag Duels Skill Format used in this game mode. This means all Ace Monsters can use all their unlocked Skill Slots.
- Energy: Tag Duels aren’t unlimited in the game, as players spend one (1) Energy per Tag Duel. Running out of Energy means players have to wait for them to replenish, and Energy has a cooldown of one (1) per hour.
- Tag Point Rewards: Participating in Trust Duels will earn Tag Points for players, which then unlocks special rewards. Collectibles of note include Auto-Play (at 30 Points), Speed-Up (at 210 Points), and Character Pieces.
Tag Partners: What Do They Do?
Going into the meat of the matter, players who understand the basics of Tag Duels can get into studying what Tag Partners are and what they do to their teams. At its core, Tag Partners are various characters from different Yu-Gi-Oh! Series that players can “unlock” and select as a Tag Partner. Here are some intricacies players need to take note of:
- No gameplay impact: As far as general gameplay is concerned, Tag Partners don’t necessarily have an immediate impact to gameplay except for the kind of deck players outfit them with. For all intents and purposes, they serve a visual purpose in letting players make their dream matchups.
- Customizable decks: Tag Partners initially begin with a copy of the player’s deck upon being unlocked. However, players can go to the Tag Duel Home screen to customize the deck of their partner to their desired strategy.
Growing Tag Partners: What Happens After Playing With Them?
When players unlock a Tag Partner of their choosing, they also get the opportunity to boost their Trust Levels. This not only represents the bonds between the player and their chosen Tag Partner from a Yu-Gi-Oh! Series, but also locks in some special features that players may want to acquire through constant play. Here are some factors to consider:
- Earn Trust Level through duels: Players who participate in Tag Duels with a Tag Partner will earn Trust Level experience for that particular Partner. All Tag Partners have a maximum Trust Level, and no further Trust Levels are obtained after achieving this.
- Boost Trust Level Limit with Character Pieces: Players can also acquire Character Pieces for their particular Tag Partner. When used, these Pieces can unlock special features, as well as boosting that partner’s Trust Level limit. There’s a certain cap of how much more Trust Levels can a Tag Partner obtain through Pieces.
- Trust Level Rewards: Players who participate in Tag Duels with the same Tag Partner will steadily earn Trust Levels with them, which then unlocks certain rewards. Aside from this, the level-up screen will have these partners say unique lines, and may even give players a Special Deck upon a certain rank. When players extend their Partner’s natural Trust Level, they gain Loop Rewards in this new level-up cycle.
Unlocking Tag Partners
Fans of the various Yu-Gi-Oh! Series will likely have ideal Tag Partners in mind to form the perfect dueling team. However, acquiring them isn’t as difficult as players may anticipate. Here are some things to consider:
- Unlock Yami Yugi and Seto Kaiba: Iconic characters Yami Yugi and Seto Kaiba are immediately unlocked as Tag Partners as soon as players beat the tutorial mode. They represent the trend across Tag Partners in various series, where only the main character and their primary rival or main secondary character are presently available for unlocking.
- Unlock other Main Characters: Other main characters from other Yu-Gi-Oh! Series are immediately unlocked. These are Jaden Yuki (Yu-Gi-Oh! GX), Yusei Fudo (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds), Yuma Tsukumo (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL), Yuya Sakaki (Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V), Yusaku Fujiki (Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS), and Yuga Ohdo (Yu-Gi-Oh! SEVENS).
- Unlock Secondary Characters: To unlock the respective second characters of the other Yu-Gi-Oh! Protagonists as Tag Partners, players need to defeat them in a Tag Duel. These characters are Chazz Princeton (Yu-Gi-Oh! GX), Jack Atlas (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds), Ronald Kastle (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL), Zuzu Boyle (Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V), Skye Zaizen (Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS), and Lucidien Kallister (Yu-Gi-Oh! SEVENS).
Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duel was released last September 6, 2022 for iOS and Android.