Team Competetive Rank System and Testing Breakdown

Devpro Rating Ranges are based on a scale of 1260 - 1800 currently. In the future, it may change to 1200 - 2000.

There are 2 ways of gaining competitive rank in the team, by gaining Devpro rating and by testing. Here you will find the way to gain rank using both methods. If you gain Devpro rating, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE TESTED! Testing is exclusively for those who do not play rated in devpro that often, but are still good players. If you use Rating to gain rank, we go by either your Single Rating or Match Rating, whichever is higher.

Devpro Rating Chart

Rank 1: Totem
Devpro Rating 1260 - 1320

Rank 2: Sith
Devpro Rating 1320 - 1380

Rank 3: Ghoul
Devpro Rating 1380 - 1440

Rank 4: Goblin
Devpro Rating 1440 - 1500

Rank 5: Vampire
Devpro Rating 1500 - 1560

Rank 6: Nightmare
Devpro Rating 1560 - 1620

Rank 7: Legion
Devpro Rating 1620 - 1680

Rank 8: Fae
Devpro Rating 1680 - 1740

Rank 9: Warlock
Devpro Rating 1740 - 1800

Rank 10: Helheim Resident (name given later)
Devpro Rating 1800+

Rank 11: Competition Admin
Attained Through Appointment or Tournament

Rank 12: Team Owner
The Team Owner coaches everyone ;3

Rank 13: The Odin (The Ideal Player)
There is always some way to improve. There is always some flaw. This is the image of flawlessness you should strive to achieve. Devpro Rating: 2400+




Testing Criteria

Rank 1: Totem -- Being ignorant about competitive play. Not understanding the current meta or the game as a whole.
This level is the starting place. Everyone starts climbing the competitive ladder somewhere, and ignorance always precedes greatness. This is symbolized by an animal spirit, weak and without higher-level thought, but not always malevolent.

Test 1: The tester duels the player using a meta deck in a single duel. The player passes if they see the duel through to the end and display knowledge of the rules of Yugioh and try their best to win. The tester can explain any concepts the player isn't familiar with. Whether the player wins or loses, they player only fails the test if they leave the duel or are unwilling to take competing seriously.

Rank 2: Sith -- Playing a deck or card just because the art or flavor is cool.
This is the first true challenge duelists face, parting ways with their favorite cards for cards that can actually win. This doesn't mean tossing your favorite archetype aside just because its not tier 1. The definition of lust here is "betraying rational thought for personal desire." In other words, its when you play a card "just because" instead of because the card does something specifically constructive for the deck. Secret Guards of the Ice Barrier and Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon are both pretty cool cards, but neither are very good cards for their archetype. Sith, particularly Leanan Sith, are nature spirits known for the physical attractiveness.

Test 2: The tester duels the player in a match without siding. The player is to use a lower tier casual deck that they build. Their objective is to make that deck as competitive as possible. The tester will use a meta deck. The player passes when the tester feels that they have grasped the concepts of practical deck building adequately. The tester can ask what the purpose of each card in the deck profile is if they feel it need be.

Rank 3: Ghoul -- Playing only one way and not adapting to circumstances.
This can take a number of forms. Maybe a duelist will only play one deck. Maybe they will only really rely on one combo. Maybe they will only focus on getting out one card and believe that as long as they have that one thing then they will be fine. No, you need variety. Gluttony is addiction. Players who get "addicted" to a certain deck, combo, or way of dueling are not only narrow minded but predictable. Ghouls are spirits (originally, they are commonly referred to as a type of zombie nowadays) that eat dead bodies. In China, they are called "Hungry Ghosts" and represent the need to fill oneself up with something despite always feeling empty inside. They were the concept behind "Hollows" from bleach, who eat souls constantly in a desperate attempt to fill the void inside of them (symbolized by the hole in the chest). Doesn't that sound like addiction / dependency?

Test 3: The player chooses a deck, any deck, and the tester uses a deck that is more or less an equal match against that particular deck. The player's side deck can only consist of staples and other cards in their archetype and extra deck monsters all not commonly found in a side deck. They may side cards like dimensional prison, dark hole, bottomless trap hole, and or different monsters in their archetype or different extra deck monsters that they can make. They may not side cards that specifically hurt other decks like Light Imprisoning mirror. The tester will have an actual side deck that is designed to specifically hurt the play style (not the deck itself) that the player is using. The duel will be a match. The player passes if they display the ability to change their tactics and not rely on just one way of playing their deck.

Rank 4: Goblin -- Spending excessive money on high rarity and or presuming to be "better" solely because of the rarity of one's cards or the price and contents or tier of one's deck.
You wouldn't think this to be something to come up based on how lots of competitive players are notorious for being "rarity whores" and will often judge their opponents by their play mat, card sleeves, attire, and card rarity. The practical idea behind this is that serious players will spend time and money on the game and it will show while casual players will look more "cheap" because they just haven't invested much in the game. Its a sound tactic for evaluating your opponents, but spending a ton of money on expensive decks or only playing what meta players play in order to be a pro is inauthentic. You're looking like a pro, not being a pro. Goblins are creatures that are particularly greedy for gold and power. They are obsessed with their self image. Gold = rarity and Power = high tier. For all intents and purposes, they're fake. They only win because it just so happens that rare cards are good cards and good cards combined with little skill can win a duel. They will be the first to be stomped by a rogue deck they've never faced though. Why? Because their skill in the game is only because they blindly follow the meta like sheep. Also, Svartalfheim is the world of the Gnome / Goblin. The image of the "pro" is the person with high rarity, playing a meta deck, and winning prizes and money. Most of you are at or just past this point probably upon starting. Will you stop there, or will you go higher?

Test 4: The player plays a meta or popular deck while the tester plays a less prominent or rogue deck that can be a decent to difficult match for that deck. The test will be a match without siding. The player passes when the tester feels that they have learned that playing a certain deck alone does not constitute skill or being better. The tester must demonstrate this "skill" by defeating the meta deck or putting up a good fight with a rogue deck. Hint for testers deciding on a deck: Use matchup knowledge to help you.

Rank 5: Vampire -- Getting angry or depressed during a duel, even after multiple losing duels.
Feeling emotion over a duel is not inherently good or bad by itself. Its the fact that negative emotions diminish our capabilities as duelists and people that makes this something to avoid. Its a matter of psychology. Here is a list of just SOME of the effects of stress on us. Do they sound like things that will help you win a duel? Not only do these qualities decrease our ability to duel at our best, but a good opponent will notice and possibly take advantage of your stress. A good duelist has to be able to manage and control their stress level. Vampires in general are beings that drain spiritual / emotional energy from people. Stress does the same thing, saps emotional energy and makes us feel miserable. Vampires kill people slowly by draining them over time. Stress, if it occurs often and regularly, does the same thing.

Test 5: The player plays a deck that has a horrible matchup against the deck that the tester will use. The duel will be a match with siding in which both decks are allowed a legitimate side deck, but the match can be repeated or ended at the decision of both the tester and player. The player passes if they demonstrate the ability to keep themselves up and pull off at least one victory. When they pull off the first victory that they really had the work for, the test can end, or if the player wants, they can go until they win a match. The tester can chose to attempt to provoke the player at any time if they feel it would be conducive to more accurately measuring the player's ability.

Rank 6: Nightmare -- Not trying things that you think will help you win. Losing faith in your own abilities as a player. Not exercising what you believe based on fear that it won't work.
This is another psychology call. Have you ever had a good idea but not tried it? Why didn't you try it? Likely because you thought it wouldn't work or thought it wasn't likely to work and didn't want to take the risk, or something like that. Maybe you didn't want to stand out like a sore thumb or be the outcast, or just was so afraid of failure you held onto something despite having a thought that could have led you in another direction. That by definition is heresy. Thinking or saying one thing but doing something else is what a heretic does. Do you think the creative players who come up with new decks do it by conforming to the meta? No! they look at a new card or a deck idea, they think about it, and if they honestly think it might work, they give it a try. THAT is how Dino-Rabbit was born. Someone (I forgot who, I just remember reading about it) looked at Rescue Rabbit and experimented with posting a deck list, and that list was copied, ran with, and pioneered and all of the sudden, Plant Syncro, the top deck at the time, was dominated and crushed into oblivion. The same exact thing happened for every non-archtype deck ever.  TeleDAD, D-Hero Turbo, Mythic Rulers, HAT, and much more all came as a result of innovation mixed with the boldness to actually test their idea. The moral is, if you're going to be pro, you have to be innovative. Nightmares are spirits that target sleeping people and cause them to have nightmares (go figure). Often, the force that quells creativity and innovation is the nightmare that the idea will fail. You have to outgrow that fear. Who knows, you might be the one that makes the format breaking deck if only you were willing to try new ideas. Playing pro does not mean playing meta all the time. It means playing what you personally like and think can win. Positive Thinking is one of the best skills a duelist can have, ESPECIALLY DURING SIDING FOR GAME 2 and 3!

Test: 6 The player and tester have a talk and discuss lesser popular decks and why they aren't seeing play. When the player finds a lesser played deck that they genuinely feel has potential if given the right tech support cards, the player then tests that theory by making a deck, testing it a couple of times in whatever manner they want, and finally dueling the tester who will be using a random deck in the current top tier (or agreed upon best decks). The player can change their mind about what deck they will use if testing does not turn out well, however, once they move onto dueling the tester, they have to stick with their deck the entire time. The test will be a match with siding that can be repeated as many times as needed. Between matches, the player can tweak the deck. The test ends when the player wins a match. The tester will use a different deck each match. The player passes if the tester feels that the player exercised a good degree of sound thought and skill in their deck building.


Rank 7: Legion -- Getting frustrated with the game and taking it out on objects, other people, or yourself.
Again, getting emotional over the game is good, but negative emotions have costs. This falls back on needing to be able to control your stress. You can be removed from tournaments for various reasons related to your conduct. Your opponent might not be the best person, or the best human being, in the whole wide world, but a part of competing is being able to deal with a wide variety of opponents. Aside from that, you need optimism to keep going forward. If you're playing the game but unable to have fun, the game has become a chore and is honestly not worth your time anymore. Contrary to popular belief, competitors do need to enjoy the game. Stress management skills are important. This is similar to Rank 5, the only difference is that Rank 5 dealt with stress during a duel. This deals with stress after a duel. Its the same concept but slightly different. Don't get provoked into doing anything stupid or influenced into thinking you suck. Learn from your defeat and move on. Defeat teaches us more than victory anyway. Legions are groups of demons that possess and harass people, driving them insane with guilt, rage, or despair. To put it simply, you need a thick skin to be a pro. 1 good taunt shouldn't be all it takes to get you to do something that would disqualify you.

Test 7: The test will be a match between decks that the competitor and the player are personally comfortable with using. The tester will attempt to provoke and taunt the player during the course of the match. The player passes if at the end of the match the tester feels that they are capable of responding effectively to negative opponents or repeated defeats.

Rank 8: Fae -- Cheating or lying about a card's properties, or misleading your opponent  in a way that causes your opponent to break a rule or allows you to break a rule.
This ultimately boils down to lying (not misinterpreting) a card effect or making your opponent think you haven't normal summoned yet when you have, or convincing your opponent that they already summoned when they didn't. You'd think cheating should be a non-issue, particularly with devpro available. However, spend 5 minutes browsing through duels on DN and if you don't spot a misplay consider yourself lucky. Needless to say, the test regarding this rank will be done on DN. You must be able to both resist the temptation to cheat in order to secure a win and call out others on cheating. Fae are nature trickster spirits that would cast illusions and deceive people, related to Fairies, known for doing the same thing believe it or not, though Fairies could be good or bad.

Test 8: The test MUST take place on DN in the unlimited section. The rules for the duel are completely up to the test, such as what banlist to use, what decks cannot be played, and etc. The player simply has to play a match against the tester with or without siding (up to the tester) and the player passes if they play the game fairly according to the tester's rules.

Rank 9: Warlock -- Not helping someone, particularly a comrade or team mate, when they need help.
The best pros aren't afraid to share what they know. Patrick Hoban frequents Alter Reality Gaming to write articles for example. Without teachers, there would be no professionals. Take a moment and think about that. What is competition if no one can compete with you? Would you rather duel brand new players all day or duel people on your level or even higher all day? Share the wealth of knowledge. Everyone needed a little help when they were starting. Once you reach your destination, give a shot at helping someone else, like a friend, a boost in getting there. A warlock is a male witch. The name's meaning is someone who breaks a promise, in other words, someone who betrays their friends / group and doesn't offer their help when needed, or worse, sides with the enemy. There are pros out there who don't particularly care for opening up and actually socializing, but by socializing and having friends, not only do you gain the ability to enjoy the game through having people to socialize with, but you also acquire an honest source of feedback and new unique ideas.

Test 9: The player chooses another team member to be their partner. Two testers will be needed. The player's team and the tester's team duel in a tag team duel. The player passes if he is able to demonstrate teamwork and team coordination during the duel. The players cannot be using the same archetype.

An alternative to Test 9 is to take a lower rated member of the team who is a casual player and mentor them for a while, teaching them what you know. First, the player announces their pupil or apprentice and the two duel while a tester watches. Afterwards, once you feel that they know as much as you do, or a fair bit, you notify a tester. The two of you will duel and the same tester will watch the duel. The player passes if their pupil defeats them and or shows signs of improvement from the previous duel that was watched. Do whichever you will find the most fun or rewarding.

Rank 10: Helheim
This is the area of our topmost duelists. The best of the best among us competitively. These are the duelists who have made it to Valhalla and are the most likely to represent us in serious competitive tournaments and team wars. They have crossed Svartleheim and reached the perilous world of the dead, Helheim, and reside in Valhalla along with the other famous heroes of the past. They are a proud and permanent part of our legacy as a team.

Rank 11: Competition Admin
Yes, that's right. You can become an admin if you can duel well enough! The competition admin is the admin directly in charge of our wars and competitive strength. If the Competition Admin wants to start a war with another team or enter a particular tournament, it WILL more than likely be done. The Competition Admin helps make the decisions that the team as a whole follows through with. Preferably, the Competition Admin will be someone from Helheim, possibly our top rated player in the entire team. Traditionally, the Competition Admin will be decided via a tournament between all Helheim residents who want the title that will be held once every so often (frequency undetermined). However, the position is open as of right now. This is the ONLY competitive rank with administrative power. So usually, this will be the strongest among our Helheim residents, but it depends on participation. So if there are no Helheim residents who claim the title, then a Svartleheim-rank member (one of the 9) will be able to claim it in a tournament or by direct appointment. We prefer a tournament between our best members naturally though. The Competition Admin will rank the same as me, the Communications admin and the Social Admin and will all be directly beneath the Co-owner and owner, but equal to them when we discuss things. The first Competetive Admin will likely be picked via direct appointment but if you reach Helheim status or a pretty high rank and want it, blow the whistle in Jotunheim!

Rank 12: The Team Owner.
The Team Owner outranks all in power and skill!

Rank 13: Unattainable. The Odin.
This is not a rank that is to be actually earned, but a rank to constantly strive for. In Yugioh, as in life, there is always someone better than you, even when you think you're the best. No one is unbeatable, and this rank personifies that one person who is out there somewhere who can beat you for one reason, you aren't perfect. This rank symbolizes competitive perfection and flawlessness. 0 Misplays. Always playing a deck he believes will win. Always studying the meta and inventing new ways of tackling it. Always seeking a stronger deck than the one he currently has, whether it exists and he just has to face it and examine it, or if he himself has to make it himself. This is the most serious yet the most fun-loving of competitive players, someone who no one is realistically like, but we all should aspire to be like. This is the Odin (the concept will be explained elsewhere in the orientation section).




Eliminating Test Bias

Tier Bias
Both player and tester must be using decks of a similar tier when it is necessary. Choices of deck can be modified, but if the player chooses their deck, it is the tester who must modify their deck to match the player's tier if both are supposed to be evenly matched. In cases where it is allowed or stated that the tiers can be imbalanced, there is no bias.

I guess i outrank everyone for no reason XD