Dueling Decks: The Ultimate Guide

1. Categories- Courage, Charisma, and Intelligence, or CCI, are the three categories on every card in Dueling Decks. Each card can reach a certain number. Courage can reach up to 16, while it can also be as low as 1 or 2. Charisma can reach up to 15, but can also be as low as 1 or 2. Now, Intelligence can reach up to a whopping 162, but again can be very low as 1 or 2!

The easiest category you may think to choose would be Intelligence whether it be very high, low, or in-between. But to be honest, it is the trickiest category to choose! Surprisingly, Charisma is the easiest category to choose, well, depending on your cards. A tip to help you know what category to choose: Zenco barely ever uses Charisma, so if you have a 7 to 15 for charisma, take that as an opportunity when you are able to choose the category. There are quite a few cards that Zenco may have which will be low in Charisma. For those Neopians who do not know what Charisma's definition is, Charisma is basically your character, personality, how you act and such.

Now, for Courage, its in-between, it isn't the most trickiest category to choose like Intelligence, but yet it isn't the easiest one to play such as Charisma. Cards including Torakar seem high with Courage of 13, but cards like Commander Gormos or Judge Hog may surprise you with 15 or 16 for Courage, so be careful when choosing Courage for your category.

As the trickiest card of the categories, Intelligence is easily overlooked when deciding which category to choose to play. Remember, Intelligence goes up to 162, so 100 to 120 may not seem so high once you realize it. Numerous cards in the decks you and Zenco use have a high amount for Intelligence, so you always need to be on your toes when you see that you are able to use Lisha with 120 for Intelligence, but then say Zenco has Sophie the Swamp Witch with 152 for intelligence. This is why Charisma is the easiest to use, because Zenco has a good chance of not winning when you choose Charisma for the category you wish to play, but some cards like Jhudora and Vira have 13 for Charisma, so you'll need to watch out and remember Zenco's cards, which will be another step to take. Always take notice and remember that choosing a category takes more planning and strategy than you think.

2. Confusing Cards- You may think that all cards should be about equal in categories. For example, you would think that as a Newbie to this game, that every card should have either high Courage, Charisma, and Intelligence or low courage, Charisma and Intelligence, well, it only seems right in our minds, doesn't it? Well, I believe the card Roothless proves that stereotype wrong. Roothless has 162 for Intelligence, the highest possible amount to have, yet he has extremely low Courage and Charisma. Another example would be Lisha; she has 120 for Intelligence, which is in-between for that category, yet she has 3 for both Courage and Charisma. Judge Hog could very well be the opposite of this, because he has very high Courage and Charisma, but has low/in-between amount for Intelligence. So, all-in-all, don't judge this game beforehand, because you'd be surprised what you would find out. In fact, this guide was made to help you find out about those surprises and how to overcome them.

3. Tie-Breakers- When you or Zenco choose a category, it is certainly possible that either one of you can have the same amount for the chosen category. As expected, this would result in a tie. But, to clear things up on who gets the cards, either you or Zenco will choose the next category. Whoever chose the tie category will choose the next chosen category and whoever wins that category will win the cards that tied. Confusing, eh? Don't worry, you'll figure out soon enough, hopefully. Also, just in case if you were wondering, yes, the person who won the tied cards does choose the next category. The game will just continue as it had before.

4. Memorize Zenco's Cards- It may tell you that it is a good idea to memorize Zenco's cards in the instructions, but a lot of us forget to do so! I'm trying to say this: DON'T FORGET ZENCO'S WINNING CARDS! Remember, when Zenco wins a hand, he keeps those cards and they will show up again, so it is a good idea to know what cards those are what the amounts of their categories are. You don' t have to remember the exact amount for each category; just try to remember if they were either high, low, or in-between.

5. Time=NP- Just so you don't sweat over it, there is no time limit you have to stay in while playing Dueling Decks, so take your time when deciding on which category to use. Or, if you have to run to your cloud toilet, go ahead, I encourage you to do so because you won't be wasting time in the game. To be blunt, if you purposefully keep playing, it makes more Neopoints for you. So, losing can sometimes be a good thing, but not all of the time! Each hand you win gives you more points, remember. So it won't hurt you if you purposefully lose a hand or two, maybe three, because if you make up for that by winning the same amount or more, you'll gain more Neopoints. Just giving a helpful tip. Hopefully TNT won't mind me sharing this tiny bit of good information! By the way, it doesn't take much to reach 1000 Neopoints to win.

6. How to Have a Lot of Fun Playing- Keep in mind that fun and being a good sport against Zenco is a good idea to keep in mind. It keeps the game going and gives you more perspective on this game. Don't underestimate Zenco; he knows his way around those cards! Don't be unfair to yourself by saying that you are horrible at such an easy game, because you know what? Not every Neopian is perfect. It takes time and practice to master the game. TNT made it a great idea to put endless time in Dueling Decks because if you have learned something from this great guide, you'll know that TNT did everyone a favor. They're helping you learn and not pressuring you into figuring out extremely quickly for this game like other games. Be thankful and have fun.

Helping always,

Purplejellystalker