Genjū LP: 4000
Phantom Beast Wild-Horn: Beast-Warrior-Type/EARTH/Level 4/ATK 2100/DEF 0
Spell & Trap Card Zone: Fire Formation – Tenki
Dan LP: 3700
Spell & Trap Card Zone: 1 set card
"My turn, draw," Dan said, choosing to ignore his opponent's taunts. "I Normal Summon Polaris Dragon Sona!" A small black dragon appeared, with the horns of a mountain goat jutting out of its head.
Polaris Dragon Sona: Dragon-Type/Tuner/WATER/Level 3/ATK 800/DEF 900
"Next I Special Summon Polaris' Frostling from my hand!" A second, even smaller dragon suddenly materialised beside the first. It was a tiny blue thing that looked newly-hatched.
Polaris' Frostling: Dragon-Type/WATER/Level 1/ATK 100/DEF 100
"You're looking a bit confused, old timer, so I'll explain," Dan grinned. "Polaris' Frostling can be Special Summoned straight from my hand if I control a face-up Polaris monster. With me so far?"
"Yeah, yeah," the short man grunted. "Just get a move on pipsqueak."
"As you wish. I activate Polaris' Frostling's effect. By Tributing it, I can target and Special Summon one WATER Dragon-Type monster from my Graveyard." The miniature dragon dissipated. "Be reborn, Blizzard Dragon!" The larger dragon reappeared once again.
Blizzard Dragon: Dragon-Type/WATER/Level 4/ATK 1800/DEF 1000
Pausing for a moment, he turned to his teammates. "Hey, you remember how I won that game of rock-paper-scissors-lizard-spock with a lizard?"
"Yeah," Leah said. "Your triumphant lizard. What about it?"
"Well, I reckon I'm going to win this duel the same way: with a triumphant lizard," Dan grinned. "Only this lizard will be a lot bigger!"
Leah laughed. "Go for it!"
Dan gave her the thumbs up. "Alrighty then, I tune the Level three Polaris Dragon Sona to the Level four Blizzard Dragon!" Sona lit up fully white, before dissipating to reveal three green Synchro rings, which aligned themselves in a tunnel-like formation, surrounding Blizzard Dragon. The dragon faded away, leaving behind four shining stars, which centred themselves within the rings. "Synchro Summon!" A beam of light shot down the line of stars, through the centre of the rings, and struck the ground behind him. "Arise! Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier!" The shimmering beam of light dissipated, and from within it, a wicked-looking blue dragon stepped out. It walked on four legs, and the entire inside of its body shone red through its blue icy skin, creating a sharp contrast.
Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier: Dragon-Type/Synchro/WATER/Level 7/ATK 2500/DEF 1700
"How's that for a triumphant lizard?" Dan grinned. "Now Gungnir's effect activates. By discarding up to two cards from my hand, I can destroy an equal number of cards on your field. So I discard Polaris Dragon Islingh to destroy Phantom Beast Wild-Horn!" He sent the card to his Graveyard, and in response, Gungnir reared up and pounced on Wild-Horn. The entire ground shook with the impact. The Beast-Warrior was crushed beneath the dragon's claws, and vanished with an anguished howl.
"GYAH, my Phantom Beast!" Genjū cried.
"Battle! Gungnir, direct attack!" From its position on Genjū's field, Gungnir turned to face him and opened its jaws wide. From deep within its throat came a rumbling noise, then a jet of icy breath shot from its mouth and struck Genjū with the force of a blizzard. He staggered back, struggling to stay on his feet.
Genjū LP: 4000 → 1500
"With that, I'll place one card face-down and end my turn," Dan grinned, placing the card on his duel disk as Gungnir lumbered back to his field.
By then, Genjū had regained his composure, and he was very cross. "Insolent little whippersnapper! I'll make you regret that entire move! My turn, draw! I Normal Summon Phantom Beast Cross-Wing!" A second copy of the golden bird from earlier appeared, looking particularly shiny next to Gungnir's dull icy colour.
Phantom Beast Cross-Wing: Beast-Warrior-Type/LIGHT/Level 4/ATK 1300/DEF 1300
"Oh, and since this is a Phantom Beast monster, the Cross-Wing in my Graveyard powers it up."
Phantom Beast Cross-Wing: ATK 1300 → 1600
"And of course, all Beast-Warrior-Type monsters I control gain another 100 ATK due to Fire Formation – Tenki!"
Phantom Beast Cross-Wing: ATK 1600 → 1700
"Now I'll activate the Continuous Spell Card, Fire Formation – Tensu!" The Spell Card materialized and started to spit tiny embers. "This card gives all Beast-Warrior monsters a further 100 ATK."
Phantom Beast Cross-Wing: ATK 1700 → 1800
"But that's not the best bit! Oh no!" Genjū said gleefully. "This card also has one other effect: an effect that lets me perform an extra Normal Summon each turn, as long as the monster I Summon is a Beast-Warrior-Type monster. So let's do exactly that! I Tribute Phantom Beast Cross-Wing..." the golden bird gave a high-pitched warbling shriek and faded from existence, "...to Tribute Summon this! Phantom Beast Rock-Lizard, appear!" The ground beneath them splintered and cracked, and a large rocky thing clambered out of it. Its bodily design was that of a centaur, with four legs and a crimson-skinned humanoid torso with two arms, but its tail was a lizard's tail, and its face had a sharp, fearsome beak. Its entire body was protected by an armour made from green rocks.
Phantom Beast Rock-Lizard: Beast-Warrior-Type/DARK/Level 7/ATK 2200/DEF 2000
"I'll bet you're wondering how I was able to Summon a Level seven monster with a single Tribute…" Genjū grinned.
"No, not really," Dan interrupted. "I'm familiar with Phantom Beasts, so I know that you can Normal Summon Rock-Lizard with one Tribute if that Tribute is a Phantom Beast monster."
"Hmph, whatever," the dwarfish man replied. "Then I'll just explain all the boosts it gets. It gains ATK from the two Cross-Wings in my Graveyard, at 300 each, and from my two Fire Formation Spell Cards, at 100 each. That's a total of 800 extra ATK!"
Phantom Beast Rock-Lizard: ATK 2200 → 3000
"Go, Rock-Lizard! Attack Gungnir!" With a roar, the rocky-crimson-centaur-human-beast-lizard-thing charged at the dragon. Gungnir tried to bite the thing once it came within range, but it leapt to one side, then threw itself forwards, hurling its entire body weight against the dragon's side. Gungnir howled in pain and toppled over. Its icy hide cracked as it struck the ground, and it exploded violently.
Dan LP: 3700 → 3200
"Oh, and did I mention Rock-Lizard's other effect?" Genjū said. "Each time it destroys a monster by battle, you take 500 damage!" The Phantom Beast turned around and swung a rock-covered fist at Dan, who quickly brought his duel disk up to defend. The sound of rock striking metal echoed across the park. Dan staggered back under the tremendous weight of the blow.
Dan LP: 3200 → 2700
Dan responded as soon as Rock-Lizard had retreated. "I activate the effect of Polaris Dragon Islingh in my Graveyard! When a WATER Dragon-Type monster I control is destroyed, I can Special Summon this card from my Graveyard! Reappear, Polaris Dragon Islingh!" A purple revival circle opened on the ground, and a pure white dragon climbed out. It was very thin, with its skin stretched tight over its bones, and had two mountain goat-esque horns on its head.
Polaris Dragon Islingh: Dragon-Type/WATER/Level 3/ATK 1000/DEF 300
"Hehehe," the old man chuckled. "Still hanging in there, are you kid? Well, I'll soon fix that. I place one card face-down and end my turn." His set card appeared directly between his two Fire Formation cards.
"Alright, then back to me," Dan said. But before he could draw his card, he was interrupted by his teammates.
"Hay Dan," Katie shouted. "When're you going to Summon your Number?"
"Not yet," Dan replied. "He hasn't Summoned his yet."
Katie looked shocked by this. "But... he... just..." she indicated the bright red number forty on Genjū's chest. "We know he has a Number already, why are you waiting?"
Dan shrugged. "I'm not sure... it's a conscience thing I guess. I just can't use a Number on a person without seeing for certain that they have a Number themselves."
Matt put a hand on Katie's shoulder. "It's ok," he assured her. "This is just your average Number holder. Dan isn't really in any danger of losing."
"Yeah, I suppose..." Katie said. Then she grinned. "Isn't it weird that just a few months ago we were terrified of facing Number holders, and now we're chatting about it like it's no big deal?"
Matt laughed. "Well, times have changed."
"And so have we," Leah added.
In the meantime, Dan had begun his move. "I draw. First I activate the Spell Card, Gathering of the Polaris. With this card, by banishing two WATER monsters from my Graveyard, I can add two cards with Polaris in their name from my Deck to my hand." Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier and Blizzard Dragon both shot out of his Graveyard. "The cards I choose to add to my hand are Polaris Dragon Fross and Polaris Dragon Briar." His duel disk extracted the cards for him, and he placed them in his hand. "Then I activate the Spell Card, Twin Dragons!"
"Twin Dragons? So what does that do then?" Genjū asked, clearly unimpressed.
"With this card, I can Special Summon a Dragon-Type monster from my hand that has the same Level as a Level four or lower Dragon-Type monster on my field," Dan explained. "Since I control the Level three Polaris Dragon Islingh, I can Special Summon the Level three Polaris Dragon Briar from my hand!" In a whirl of snow, a new dragon appeared. This one walked on all fours, and was a greenish-blue colour. It also had a very spikey hide, with razor-sharp spikes jutting from its body.
Polaris Dragon Briar: Dragon-Type/WATER/Level 3/ATK 1200/DEF 1000
"Then, I'll Tribute Polaris Dragon Islingh, to Tribute Summon Polaris Dragon Fross!" The white skeletal dragon faded away, to be replaced by a much larger dragon. It was a glorious white colour, and shone with a radiance that none of the previous Polaris Dragons had displayed.
Polaris Dragon Fross: Dragon-Type/Tuner/WATER/Level 6/ATK 2300/DEF 2200
"A Level six Tuner!" Genjū gasped. "I thought such a thing only existed among the Blackwing archetype!"
"Well obviously not, because here it is," Dan grinned. "I tune the Level six Polaris Dragon Fross to the Level three Polaris Dragon Briar!" Fross lit up fully white, before dissipating into six green Synchro rings, which aligned themselves in a tunnel-like formation, surrounding Briar. The dragon faded away, leaving behind three shining stars, which centred themselves within the rings. "Synchro Summon!" A beam of light shot down the line of stars, through the centre of the rings, and struck the ground behind him. "Behold! The continued legacy of the Polaris Dragon Lords! Appear, Polaris Dragon Lord Skhulvorze!" A rumbling growl echoed from within the pillar of light, which quickly dissipated to reveal a colossal dragon crouching behind Dan. It was a dark blue colour, and two black horns jutting straight out of its jawline, tapering to points near the snout.
Polaris Dragon Lord Skhulvorze: Dragon-Type/Synchro/WATER/Level 9/ATK 3150/DEF 2100
"And the surprises just keep on coming..." Matt muttered. "That thing's enormous."
"Yep," Dan grinned. "But I'll get to him in a minute. First, I'll activate the effect of Polaris Dragon Briar in my Graveyard." A ghostly image of the card appeared behind him. "When this card is sent to the Graveyard, I can add any Polaris card from my Deck to my hand, then send the top card of my Deck to the Graveyard. So I'll add Polaris Dragon Yve to my hand." He extracted the card from his Deck, then milled his top card - Twin-Headed Behemoth. "Battle! Skhulvorze, attack Rock-Lizard!" Dan declared. The dragon pulled back its head and took in a great lungful of air.
"Nice try, kiddo," Genjū laughed. "I wasn't worried at all. Since I have this: the Trap Card, Horn of the Phantom Beast!" His previously set Trap activated. "After activation, this card equips to a Beast-Warrior-Type monster I control, and increases its ATK by 800!" An ornate black helmet with large orange horns materialized, and settled neatly on Rock-Lizard's head.
Phantom Beast Rock-Lizard: ATK 3000 → 3800
"Yeah... um... sorry, but that was kind of obvious," Dan said sheepishly. "With all the ATK-increasing you've done during this duel, I knew you'd try it again at some point."
"So what?" Genjū snapped. From the sidelines, Leah struggled not to laugh at him - he reminded her of Grumpy, one of the seven dwarfs.
"So it was kind of easy to prepare a counter," Dan explained. "I activate the Trap Card, Compliance!" One of his two set cards flipped up. "This card activates when the ATK of a monster you control changes during the Battle Phase. Then it applies that change to a monster I control as well. So since your monster just gained 800 ATK, so does my monster." The dragon bahind him was surrounded by a yellow aura.
Polaris Dragon Lord Skhulvorze: ATK 3150 → 3950
"Skhulvorze, resume your attack!" The dragon's head suddenly snapped back down, and from its jaws shot a ray of frigid energy. It struck Rock-Lizard head on, destroying it before it could make a sound. The helmet fell to the ground and shattered.
Genjū LP: 1500 → 1350
Author-made cards:
Polaris Dragon Fross
Dragon-Type/Tuner/WATER/Level 6/ATK 2300/DEF 2200
The most nocturnal dragon of the Polaris, it prefers the chilling cold of the night to the relative warmth of the day. Its glittering splendour during the night is unmatched among all of the Polaris Dragons.
Polaris Dragon Sona
Dragon-Type/Tuner/WATER/Level 3/ATK 800/DEF 900
You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by removing 3 Polaris Counters from the field. Once per turn, this card cannot be destroyed by a battle.
Polaris' Frostling
Dragon-Type/WATER/Level 1/ATK 100/DEF 100
If you control a face-up "Polaris" monster, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand). You can Tribute this card you control, then target 1 WATER Dragon-Type monster (except "Polaris' Frostling") in your Graveyard; Special Summon that target, then if that target is an Xyz Monster, attach this card from the Graveyard to that target as an Overlay Unit.
Polaris Dragon Islingh
Dragon-Type/WATER/Level 3/ATK 1000/DEF 300
You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by removing 3 Polaris Counters from the field. When a face-up WATER Dragon-Type monster (except "Polaris Dragon Islingh") you control is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, if this card is in the Graveyard: You can Special Summon this card from your Graveyard.
Polaris Dragon Briar
Dragon-Type/WATER/Level 3/ATK 1200/DEF 1000
You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by removing 3 Polaris Counters from the field. When this card is sent to the Graveyard: Add 1 "Polaris" card (except "Polaris Dragon Briar") from your Deck to your hand, then send the top card of your Deck to the Graveyard. You can only use the effect of "Polaris Dragon Briar" once per turn.
Polaris Dragon Lord Skhulvorze
Dragon-Type/Synchro/WATER/Level 9/ATK 3150/DEF 2100
1 WATER Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner Dragon-Type monsters
You can Special Summon this card (from your Graveyard) by removing 9 Polaris Counters from the field. When this card destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard: Distribute Polaris Counters among face-up monsters, equal to the destroyed monster's Level in the Graveyard. While your opponent has fewer cards in their hand than the number of Polaris Counters on their field, the effects of all Spell/Trap Cards your opponent controls are negated.
Gathering of the Polaris
Spell Card
Banish 2 WATER monsters from your Graveyard; add 2 "Polaris" cards (except "Gathering of the Polaris") from your Deck to your hand. You can only activate 1 "Gathering of the Polaris" per turn.
Fun Fact #5: Hurray for triumphant lizard!
Fun Fact #6: I think I went kind of overboard with the number of Polaris cards today. Don't worry, most of them are cards you've seen before anyway. The only new ones are Fross and Skhulvorze.
Fun Fact #7: So far, we haven't made any author-made Phantom Beast cards of our own yet. We had planned to keep it that way, but if enough of you want to see our attempt at an author-made Phantom Beast, we'd be more than happy to oblige.
Fun Fact #8: Constellar Sombres is an absolute star! Every pun intended.
Fun Fact #9: We haven't bolded Twin Dragons or Compliance, because they are both already-existing cards. Twin Dragons was used by Chazz on the first turn of his duel against Zane in the GX Manga. Compliance was used by Breo during his duel against Yusei in the 5Ds Anime. Yes, we are aware that Compliance's name was changed to Flattery in the dub. Yes, we are ignoring it.
