Skyler LP: 4000

Number 58: Typhoon Tycoon: Fiend-Type/Xyz/WIND/Rank 3/ATK 1200/DEF 1700 – 2 OLU

Spell & Trap Card Zone: 1 set card

Keane LP: 4000

Esta LP: 4000

"My turn, draw!" Keane got started right away. Glancing over his cards, he was pleased to see Rescue Rabbit already in his hand. He didn't need it right now, but it was good to know it was there for next turn, when he would be able to attack. "I'll just set one monster in Defence Position. Turn end." His face-down card appeared.

James frowned. "That's unusual for Keane," he said quietly to his teammates. "It's not like him to play so defensively."

"No, but given the circumstances, I wouldn't expect him to play any different," Matt replied. "He's dueling to protect his sister from a mysterious angry man with strange powers, and who can throw Numbers out on the first turn. I think I'd play defensive too."

"True," James nodded. Matt was right, of course. Keane had been unnerved by Skyler's abilities, as well how quickly he had churned out a Number. Thus, he was playing very cautiously.

Esta, meanwhile, who was just about to begin her own turn, had absolutely no worries about holding back. Her brother was in danger, and she was going to do everything she could to help him. To hell with the risks – his obligation to protect her worked both ways, and she wasn't about to let him down.

"My turn, draw. I Special Summon Constellar Siat!" A large white jar appeared, with the Constellar's symbol – a gold circle with a cross through it – printed onto the side. It was accompanied by a small, pixie-like creature with white armour, and a white hood with orange trim covering its face.

Constellar Siat: Fairy-Type/LIGHT/Level 1/ATK 100/DEF 1600

"If I don't control any monsters but my opponent controls at least one, I can Special Summon this card from my hand," she said. "Next, I Normal Summon Constellar Lyra!" This Spellcaster was dressed as a knight with white-gold armour, and an iridescent blade clutched in its left hand. The Constellar's crest was visible on her stomach, just as it had been on Siat's jar.

Constellar Lyra: Spellcaster-Type/LIGHT/Level 4/ATK 1900/DEF 1000

Keane watched her move with growing apprehension. 'For goodness sake, whatever she Summons, please let it be something defensive,' he implored internally. 'Please don't be reckless, Esta…'

"Now I activate the effect of Constellar Siat!" she went on. "Once per turn, I can choose any monster with the word Constellar in its name on my field or in my Graveyard, and then Siat will change its Level to become the same as the Level of the monster I chose. I'll go with Constellar Lyra; a Level four monster!"

Constellar Siat: Level 1 → 4

"Level four Siat and Lyra, Overlay!" At her command, the two star knights morphed into yellow amorphous masses, then shot up into the sky. Where they had been, a red circular portal opened up. "I use these two LIGHT-Attribute monsters to construct the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon!" The two Xyz Material Monsters spiralled down into the portal, which then upended itself, so it was now standing up directly in front of Esta. "Come on out, Constellar Omega!" A centaur-like creature galloped out of the portal. It was coloured a magnificent white and gold, with black protrusions that resembled wings coming from its back. The Constellar's Xyz crest - a golden circle with eight points, and a smaller copy of itself within - was sparkling on its chest. Two yellow Overlay Units orbited it.

Constellar Omega: Beast-Warrior-Type/Xyz/LIGHT/Rank 4/ATK 2400/DEF 500 – 2 OLU

At this, Keane breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried that she would Summon Constellar Praesepe which, while powerful, came with absolutely no protection from card effects. At least Omega would give her some defence against Spell and Trap effects, while its bulky 2400 ATK would be enough to shield her from most attacks.

"Battle!" The sudden command snapped him out of his reverie. "Constellar Omega, attack the Number monster!" Esta pointed straight at the cyclonic Number, waiting for the centaur to charge past her and annihilate it. Nothing happened. Puzzled, she glanced behind her to see Omega still standing there, exhibiting a profound lack of movement.

"Um... Esta, you can't attack yet," Keane said. "It's still the first turn."

"But I'm the last player," Esta replied, looking back at her brother. "Doesn't that mean I get to attack first?"

"Well, normally-" Keane started to say, but a sudden realisation stopped him in his tracks. "Esta... have you ever actually been in a Battle Royal duel?"

"Um... no."

"I see..." Now Keane was really worried. It was bad enough that Esta had forced her way into a duel with this deranged man, but to find out that she didn't even know the rules of the game she was playing – this was bad. "Esta, in a Battle Royal duel, no players are allowed to attack until every single duelist has had at least one full turn."

"Oh..." Esta hung her head, abashed. "Well... um... I guess I end my turn then."

Skyler clenched his fist furiously. "How sickening! She was a wonderful little duelist before I lost her," he growled. "Now look at her! You weren't satisfied with just wiping out the memories of her family? You had to take away the game she loved so much as well?!"

"She still loves dueling," Keane replied hotly. "And I keep telling you, I had nothing to do with what happened to her. You, on the other hand, clearly did!" His indignant gaze turned into a full-blown glare. "If anything, I should be angry with you! I should be the one trying to beat you to a pulp."

"Just try it! See where it gets you!" Skyler spat. "My turn, draw! Go, Number 58, attack his face-down monster now!" Behind him, the blustering fiend whipped out both of its blades and held them at its side expectantly. In response, Keane's face-down monster flipped face-up, revealing a regal warrior dressed in old fashioned, fur-lined armour.

Noble Knight Artorigus: Warrior-Type/LIGHT/Level 4/ATK 1800/DEF 1800

"Bad move!" Keane shouted over the howling wind. "Since the DEF or Artorigus is higher than your monster's ATK, you take the difference as damage! Maybe you should have been more careful attacking with such a weak monster!"

"Don't think for a second that you're in any position to give me dueling advice, you little brat!" Skyler retorted. "Before damage calculation, I activate Number 58's effect! By detaching one of its Overlay Units, I can double the ATK of one face-up WIND monster I control, until the End Phase! I'll have it target itself!" One of the green orbs was swept up by the mighty cyclone, before being absorbed into the monster's broadsword.

Number 58: Typhoon Tycoon: 2 1 OLU

Number 58: Typhoon Tycoon: ATK 1200 2400

Then, without warning, the Number – typhoon and all – surged across the field and straight into Keane's monster, sweeping it up into the air. As the warrior flailed about helplessly in the clutches of the vicious winds, the Number itself suddenly blindsided, cleaving it in two with a single swipe.

Keane was pushed back by the force of the gale, but remained otherwise unharmed, and really rather thankful that he'd chosen the defensive option. Battle Damage from a monster like this could be seriously lethal.

"With that, I end my turn," Skyler said, the Number returning to his field looking rather pleased with itself.

Number 58: Typhoon Tycoon: ATK 2400 1200

"My turn, draw!" Now that he knew its effect, Keane was less reserved about attacking, and thus dived straight into action. "I Normal Summon Rescue Rabbit!" The fluffy bunny in a hardhat hopped onto his field.

Rescue Rabbit: Beast-Type/EARTH/Level 4/ATK 300/DEF 100

"Next I'll use its effect!" he went on. "By banishing it, I can Special Summon two copies of the same Level four or lower Normal Monster from my Deck. I select Kagutsuchi!" The rabbit faded away, to be replaced by two monsters that closely resembled minotaurs, but instead of a bull's head, their heads seemed closer to that of a wildebeest. A series of long, perfectly straight scars stretched across and around their bodies, neatly separating each monster into eight segments. The scars weren't normal either – they seemed to glow orange and red, as though streams of lava were flowing just beneath the creature's skin.

Kagutsuchi: Beast-Warrior-Type/FIRE/Level 4/ATK 1850/DEF 800

Kagutsuchi: Beast-Warrior-Type/FIRE/Level 4/ATK 1850/DEF 800

"Then I activate the Spell Card, Silent Doom, which lets me revive any Normal Monster from my Graveyard in Defence Position!" Keane held the card aloft. "Be reborn, Noble Knight Artorigus!" The medieval warrior appeared once again.

Noble Knight Artorigus: Warrior-Type/LIGHT/Level 4/ATK 1800/DEF 1800

"Get ready Skyler!" Keane shouted. "I'm coming for you! Level four Kagutsuchi and Artorigus, Overlay!" Both monsters turned fully red and yellow respectively, then blazed upwards, away from a red spiral portal that opened up next to the remaining Kagutsuchi. "I use these two monsters to construct the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon!" The two Material Monsters spiralled down into the portal, which exploded, spewing light particles in all directions. "Appear, Diamond Dire Wolf!" From out of the explosion, a massive blue wolf bounded onto the field. It stood as tall as Omega, and had skin constructed entirely out of pale blue diamonds. Several large diamond spikes protruded from its shoulders and elbows, and its legs were protected by blue armour with red outlines. Two orange Overlay Units encircled it.

Diamond Dire Wolf: Beast-Type/Xyz/EARTH/Rank 4/ATK 2000/DEF 1200 – 2 OLU

Skyler glared at the wolf with contempt. "Pathetic. You won't beat me down with such weak Xyz Monsters," he growled.

"Won't I?" Keane retorted. "I activate Dire Wolf's effect! Once per turn, by detaching one of its Overlay Units, I can target and destroy one face-up Beast, Beast-Warrior, or Winged Beast-Type monster I control, as well as one card my opponent controls!" The wolf snapped up single orange orb of light.

Diamond Dire Wolf: 2 → 1 OLU

"I target the remaining Kagutsuchi on my field, and Number 58: Typhoon Tycoon on yours!" he declared. "Since Kagutsuchi will be destroyed by Rescue Rabbit's effect during the End Phase anyway, I'm not losing anything valuable. You, on the other hand, will be losing your Number!"

"Never take my strategies for granted, boy!" Skyler shouted back. "I activate Number 58's effect! By detaching its last Overlay Unit, I can double its ATK until the End Phase of this turn!" Once again, the Number's green orb of light was swept up by the wind currents, into range of the fiend's sickle. With a quick slash, the orb was sliced in half, and its residue was absorbed into the monster.

Number 58: Typhoon Tycoon: 1 0 OLU

Number 58: Typhoon Tycoon: ATK 1200 2400

"Eh?!" Esta gasped, watching this move with confusion. "Why'd he do that?"

"I don't know..." Keane replied, starting to think he'd been tricked. "In any case, the effect of Dire Wolf resolves anyway, destroying your monster!" With a strange, echoing howl, the canid released a barrage of incredibly sharp crystals. A few broke off in one direction and skewered Kagutsuchi in the deadly rain, destroying it on the spot. The rest shot upwards, straight through the wall of wind and pierced the body of Skyler's Number. The gale-raising fiend gave a single, agonised cry before exploding, knocking Skyler back from the force of it.

"Yes!" James shouted from the sidelines. "Nice one! He took down that Number without breaking a sweat! Now he..." His voice trailed off as he realised that none of his teammates were sharing in his joy, but were still solemnly watching the duel. "What's the matter?" he asked. "This is good, isn't it?"

"No... something's wrong," Matt muttered. "Why would Skyler activate the effect of Number 58 like that when it couldn't possibly help him?"

"Desperation?" James suggested.

"Skyler's not one to make desperate plays like that," Dan replied. "He's very much a no-nonsense duelist, so he wouldn't waste time on a pointless effect activation. No, there must be a reason for it."

And sure enough, mere seconds later:

"I activate the second effect of Number 58!" Skyler shouted. "When this card is destroyed and sent to my Graveyard while it has no Overlay Units attached to it, this effect allows me to Special Summon any Rank 4 or lower WIND monster from my Extra Deck straight to the field!"

"What?" Keane gasped.

Skyler grinned; possibly the first time he had done so during the entire duel. "You people are so predictable. When faced with a Number that can double its own ATK as it pleases, and which can only be destroyed by others of its kind, I knew you'd try and destroy it with an effect instead. Thus, all I had to do was get it to a point where I could easily reduce its Overlay Units to zero, and you would do the rest for me!"

"So it was a trap after all..." Leah said worriedly.

"If this is another Number, Keane and Esta are in trouble," Matt said.

He didn't have to wait long to find out. No sooner had he finished talking when a galaxy-style portal opened up on Skyler's field – the exact sort that Numbers used for Xyz Summons. Then, without any Xyz Material Monsters entering it, the portal exploded violently. "Appear!" Skyler shouted. "Number 79: Mach Transer!"

The bright green number seventy-nine etched itself onto Skyler's hand, in the exact spot that Typhoon Tycoon's symbol had taken up moments before. From within the residue of the explosion, a large metal construct rose out, coloured a polished grey, and supported on either side by two jets. Slowly, the sealed form unlocked itself, the metal plating folding back on itself to form the streamlined shape of a robot. It looked like some strange cross between a humanoid robot and a fighter jet. It was a bipedal construct, with grey metal plating covering its entire body, save for two black hands that protruded from its thin arms, one of which held a metal blade of some kind. Two large jets – each almost as large as the monster itself - were integrated into its shoulders, while a third even bigger one sat in the centre, where the monster's neck should be. From the top of this jet, a metallic, serpentine head poked out, analysing the field with its flashing yellow eyes.

Number 79: Mach Transer: Machine-Type/Xyz/WIND/Rank 3/ATK 1900/DEF 1200 – 0 OLU


Author-made cards:

Constellar Lyra
Spellcaster-Type/LIGHT/Level 4/ATK 1900/DEF 1000
A warrior descended from the stars, she answers prayers with the swing of her blade.

Kagutsuchi
Beast-Warrior-Type/FIRE/Level 4/ATK 1850/DEF 800
The lord of the calderas themselves. It is said that when he falls, eight volcanoes will simultaneously erupt and bring untold misery to the world.

Number 58: Typhoon Tycoon
Fiend-Type/Xyz/WIND/Rank 3/ATK 1200/DEF 1700
2 Level 3 monsters
This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by a "Number" monster. During either player's turn: You can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card, then target 1 face-up WIND monster you control; double that target's ATK, until the End Phase. You can only use this effect of "Number 58: Typhoon Tycoon" once per turn. When this card is destroyed (either by battle or by card effect) while it has no Overlay Units attached to it: You can Special Summon 1 Rank 4 or lower WIND Xyz Monster from your Extra Deck.


Fun Fact #20: Typhoon Tycoon was designed around the Gusto archetype as much as possible, including the effect to boost WIND monster's ATK, and the searching effect when destroyed. Its effect seems powerful, but currently all it can get you is a beatstick (Blade Armour Ninja) or a wall (Harpie's Pet Phantasmal Dragon). The initial effect we came up with allowed it to Summon a WIND monster of any Rank, which was actually fine... until Skypalace Babylon came out.

Fun Fact #21: I actually half wish we'd left the effect as it was. WIND monsters have been so neglected and hated on by Konami, it seems only fair that they get some more powerful support besides Chidori.

Fun Fact #22: I've gone on record saying that Rank-Up cards need a serious power boost if they're to be relevant in today's meta, and while the Number 101 and Chaos Number 101 are brilliant steps in the right direction, I'm not sure that making the Rank-Up strategy entirely broken is the right way to go about it. Chaos Number 69, I'm looking at you...