North American Yu-Gi-Oh! players may struggle to get a hold of upcoming products, as Konami has announced staggered launches amid ongoing supply issues.
The most immediate problem pertains to the 2021 Tin of Ancient Battles, which is set for launch next week, on October 1. However, Konami expects retailers will struggle to stock the product on its first day, as it will have to send them out in waves of shipments to meet demand.
In a series of tweets put out by the Yu-Gi-Oh! official Twitter, it said that, while all stores will get their full shipment of Tins eventually, it may not be "fully on the release date". It also encouraged players to check with their local store before attempting to buy, to confirm they have it in stock. This problem will also impact on other upcoming products. Though Konami hasn't confirmed which products after the tin will be impacted exactly, it isn't unreasonable to think that October's Legendary Duelists: Synchro Storm, November's Burst of Destiny, or even December's Brothers of Legend booster sets may all be affected. It has also confirmed in another Tweet that the problem is not impacting international sales, and is only limited to North America.
Konami didn't confirm the cause of the supply chain issues, but it is a problem that has plagued the game in North America over the last year. Most notably, the King's Court booster set and the supplementary Egyptian God Deck were pushed back by a week back in June because of the same problems. At the moment, other regions are not expected to be impacted, and stock should be readily available everywhere else.
The 2021 Tin of Ancient Battles is considered to be one of the highlights of this year's Yu-Gi-Oh! releases. It's a reprint set that includes many of Ignition Assault, Eternity Code, Rise of the Duelist and Phantom Rage's most popular cards, such as the Tri-Brigade monsters, and its "mega-sized" packs also include a higher ratio of rare, super rare, ultra rare and Prismatic secret rares than normal.
Yu-Gi-Oh! is just one of a number of TCG that have struggled with availability in the last few years. The intense demand for Pokemon has forced some retailers to temporarily remove cards from sale entirely, or limit the number of products per person. TCGs are more popular now than they've ever been, so having supply chain issues on top of high demand is a big blow for Yu-Gi-Oh.
Yu-Gi-Oh!'s 2021 Tin of Ancient Battles launches on October 1 for $19.99. If you can get it.