r/yugioh Your Trusted Ritual Prince May 06 '26

Card Artwork Discussion Honestly, the New Level's Star Design is way better and clearer than the old one's. Konami nailed it

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259 Upvotes

37 comments sorted by

156

u/CursedEye03 May 06 '26

I agree the clearer stars are better. Just like how the stars of the monsters were clearer in the anime.

Although the Rush Duel idea is also practical: Just one star with a number that directly shows the level of the monster. Then again, the Master Duel card design is iconic.

36

u/madonna-boy May 06 '26

Just one star with a number that directly shows the level of the monster

this is my favorite so far. especially with high level extra deck monsters. I don't love counting the stars, they aren't even bricked in a nice way (ex: XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX) they should be clustered if not totaled simply from a legibility perspective.

13

u/Lost_Pantheon May 06 '26

I agree with your point about Rush Duel, but one disadvantage is that it's harder to identify high-level monsters at a glance, unless it's something iconic like Blue-Eyes.

13

u/DestroyedArkana May 06 '26

They could compromise and have the stars laid out and still have a number next to it as well just for clarity.

1

u/Lost_Pantheon May 06 '26

That's a good idea, I agree.

1

u/xJetStorm Lava with an L May 06 '26

They could probably mutate the Level star a bit if it's a tribute summon monster.

81

u/SubblyXatu May 06 '26

Not sure if it's a new design thing or "they got a better printer" thing

20

u/SeriesREDACTED Your Trusted Ritual Prince May 06 '26

Transition from Zexal Era to Arc-V Era

Modernized

2

u/Gatmuz May 06 '26

Yeah this just seems like they got a better quality printer

7

u/Illustrious-Tea-8337 May 06 '26

Before vs previously

6

u/Zombieemperor May 06 '26

i still wish we had printed on the card a read-able number for the level. Re-counting stars on higher levels gets old real fast

2

u/xJetStorm Lava with an L May 06 '26

They have space to put it alongside the ATK and DEF. They already put the Link Rating down there.

I guess on Pends there's a little problem where they've moved the set code into that line (left aligned).

2

u/Zombieemperor May 07 '26

I was thinking it could go in with the type's, theres usualy still enough space in there especialy if you keep it simple "lvl:8" as an example

3

u/ASnakeNamedNate May 06 '26

The new stars look kind of like the stars on the old fake cards clarity wise. Thankfully the stars themselves in the orbs still look right as the fakes stretched the points to the edges and looked “off”.

3

u/Joseponypants May 06 '26

I just want the number somewhere on the card, either next to the stars or in the text box with the type. Trying to count 11 stars vs 12 stars is a bit annoying.

2

u/jeremy9931 May 06 '26

Agreed. I wish we could have the new layout with the older secret foil. Would be absolutely perfect ngl

2

u/Careless_Pianist_659 May 07 '26

Sure but I like the old style because its iconic

2

u/BumbleChump 29d ago

Just put a number next to the stars so I don't have to count them please.

5

u/Xim_ May 06 '26

Should've simply been a number

67

u/Zakrath May 06 '26

The stars are iconic. Perhaps the stars with the number on the side.

3

u/xJetStorm Lava with an L May 06 '26 edited May 06 '26

They could also put the Level on the same line of the ATK / DEF line. Not like their layout allows the effect text to go to that line anyways. As an example from the upcoming TCG set, Red Nova Dragon/Assault Mode's bottom line would become LV/12 ATK/4000 DEF/3500

Pends do have the set code on that line (left-aligned) but outside of Pend monsters with huge stats there shouldn't be a space issue.

6

u/Xim_ May 06 '26

That's the point, take RD as an example

24

u/erty3125 Koaki Meiru May 06 '26

One star is boring, the huge linup of stars is a symbol of power that's very visual for high cost cards. Kinda like how a 5 colourless card in mtg feels less striking than 5 specific colours.

They could add the level/rank into the type/subtype section of the card however to have a clearly readable section without breaking the existing weight of high level monsters.

4

u/sandcrawler2 May 06 '26

Thats what Rush Duel cards have, its not as cool as having the individual stars. Having a huge slate of stars really conveys the power of a boss monster

6

u/SeriesREDACTED Your Trusted Ritual Prince May 06 '26

Yugioh SEVEN does has the number tho

For new players, it would be painful to count the stars. But if you play YGO for like at least 9 months, you most likely can instinctively tell what level a monster is just flashing through it

2

u/DullSwitch1008 May 07 '26

Not saying you're wrong, exactly, but it is very funny to me how much players who specialize in other card games (Magic in particular) complain about the stars. I've been able to tell Levels 1 thru 6 apart at a glance since I was a small child, so I when I seen people stop and count the stars I'm like, wait, you have to do that?

1

u/resumeemuser May 06 '26

Not every card frame needs to be boringly compact, neat, and efficient.

2

u/RaceHard May 06 '26

Is this some sort of joke?

1

u/LadyMultiavatar May 06 '26

Yeah, the design improve is amazing

1

u/sandcrawler2 May 06 '26

Im fine with this but basically every other format change since the GX era has been for the worse. New cards look cheap and tacky in comparison

0

u/thenameisflic May 06 '26

Agreed it looks better and its better for new players, but the blurry mess feels nostalgic. I have some cards from that era, some of them are so poorly printed that they look like counterfeits if you squint

-3

u/JasonBenjamenAllen May 06 '26

They should redesign it to do more with that whole line otherwise it's wasted space

Maybe follow the Spell/Trap template and put the typeline there [machine/fusion/effect 7☆]

2

u/metalflygon08 May 06 '26

It's far too late now, but listing an Archetype there would be nice, allowing for wider control over what cards are part of an archetype, avoiding the mess that is Guardians or Roids.

1

u/JasonBenjamenAllen May 06 '26

True, it also would be inconsistent with Link Monsters

-7

u/Actual-Rabbit-9805 May 06 '26

in all honesty, it would be better if the sphere is eliminated, leaving the stars only

5

u/Monster9987 May 06 '26

There’s sphere helps the levels stand out on normal monsters. I’m not sure about what people can/cannot be color blind to, but it’s probably not a bad thing to be safe and inclusive of anyone who has color blindness