Handling Interruptions
Sometimes, things go wrong. Sometimes things go very wrong.
It's important to know how to handle various interruptions your opponent might throw at you, and also how to deal with various unexpected situations you might find yourself in.
The biggest thing you should worry about are handtraps your opponent might have. Ranging from monster negates like Effect Veiler and Infinite Impermanence, to board-destroying effects like Nibiru, the Primal Being, to the ever-frustrating Dimension Shifter, and more recently, the Mulcharmy cards, these cards can either end your turn outright, or give your opponent sufficient advantage to win the game next turn.
Of course, going second you are faced with your opponent's set up board. Depending on what deck they're playing, you might need to adapt your playstyle accordingly in order to avoid playing into their strategy. We won't cover other decks' endboards as these will continuously change with the meta.
In fact, even our coverage about handtraps will probably continuously evolve as the meta shifts, new cards are introduced, and decks fall in and out of favor. Consider coming back once in a while to get a refresher on what to look out for, but at the same time, don't treat this as the only resource you have available.
The best way to learn about what's played right now is to engage with the game and its various communities, from Discord servers like the Fire Kings server, to the /r/yugioh subreddit and local communities you might have access to. Make sure to participate in them and keep an eye on what's happening.
Okay, let's talk handtraps, and how to recover after encountering one.