Field Effect: Draconian Realm
Dan LP: 4000
Polaris Dragon Fross: Dragon-Type/Tuner/WATER/Level 6/ATK 2300/DEF 2200
Number 68: Glacial Dragon: Dragon-Type/Xyz/WATER/Rank 3/ATK 2700/DEF 1000 – 0 OLU
Spell & Trap Card Zone: 1 set card
Sateis LP: 4000
Number 11: Oceanic Dragon Shui Long: Dragon-Type/Xyz/WATER/Rank 5/ATK 2200/DEF 2000 – 2 OLU
Spell & Trap Card: Scale Mail, 1 set card
Stifling a groan, Dan did his best to ignore this tremendous handicap and look at the positives. 'Don't panic,' he told himself. 'Destroying it by battle is pretty much out of the question, but I can still destroy it with card effects.'
"So, are you finished with all your attacks?" Sateis asked.
Dan nodded sullenly. "Yeah, I end my turn there." There was a flash of light as Scale Mail's effect reasserted itself, coating Shui Long once again in the bronze armour plating.
Number 68: Glacial Dragon: ATK 2700 → 1000
Number 11: Oceanic Dragon Shui Long: ATK 2200 → 1200
The Sage grinned with pre-emptive satisfaction. "Good, then I activate Shui Long's effect! During each of your End Phases, it loses another Overlay Unit." Another one of the dragon's blue orbs dropped out of orbit and shattered as it hit the ground.
Number 11: Oceanic Dragon Shui Long: 2 → 1 OLU
"Call it intuition, but something tells me that bad things well happen when that last Overlay Unit gets detached," Dan muttered.
"How perceptive of you," Sateis replied sarcastically. "Anyway, it's my turn, I draw... and I pass."
"You what?"
"You heard me," the Sage nodded. "I'm passing. I'm ending my turn without doing anything. So go ahead, make your move."
Dan stood there in confusion for a moment, then shrugged and began his own turn. "Alright then, I draw! First I activate the Spell Card, Xyz Treasure, which lets me draw one card for each face-up Xyz Monster on the field. There are two, so I draw two cards!" The moment he laid eyes on his drawn cards, his face lit up with delight. "Brilliant! Right then, I Normal Summon Polaris' Frostling!" A small white egg appeared, which immediately shattered to reveal a tiny blue dragon hatchling hiding inside it.
Polaris' Frostling: Dragon-Type/WATER/Level 1/ATK 100/DEF 100
Before moving on, Dan glanced over his shoulder to where his teammates were standing. "Thanks for the idea James," he called.
"Eh?" James said, startled. "What idea? I didn't even say anything."
"No, but you showed be something," Dan replied, turning back to his opponent and raising his hand aloft. "You showed me that there's a way under that Draconian Realm card. You exploited it during your duel-"
"I did?"
"Yes, you did. And by doing so, you've shown me that I can do the same thing." He shot a grin at the Sage. "Are you ready?"
"I'm always ready," the Sage replied.
"If you say so. I tune the Level six Polaris Dragon Fross to the Level one Polaris' Frostling!" Fross lit up fully white, before dissipating to reveal a grand total of six green Synchro rings, which aligned themselves in a tunnel-like formation, surrounding the dragon hatchling. The dragon faded away, leaving behind a single shining star, which centred itself within the rings. "Synchro Summon!" A beam of light shot straight down through the star in 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
"So that's it," Sateis said, nodding in understanding. "A Synchro Summon. An outdated concept indeed, but certainly an effective one, for it's allowed you to slip under the Xyz Summoning restrictions of the Draconian Realm Field Effect, just like your ally did with his Fusion Monster."
"Oh, so that's what Dan meant," James realised.
"Apparently so," the Water Sage agreed, before turning his attention back to his opponent. However, don't think for a second that this dragon will fare any better than the first one did. Not only is it not an EARTH monster, it isn't even a Number. How do you expect to destroy Shui Long with that?"
"With its effect," Dan replied simply. "You see, by discarding up to two cards from my hand, Gungnir can destroy an equal number of cards you control. I'll discard two cards..." he sent two of the cards in his hand – Snowdust Dragon and Polaris Dragon Yve – to the Graveyard, "...in order to destroy Shui Long and your face-down card!" In response, Gungnir reared up and leapt towards the larger dragon.
"I chain, I activate my face-down Quick-Play Spell Card, Cascade Barrier," Sateis said calmly, triggering his set card. "This card decreases the ATK of one monster I control to zero until the End Phase, but in return, that monster is safe from one instance of being destroyed by card effects." The Spell Card loosed a torrent of water which washed over Gungnir, forcing it away from its target.
Number 11: Oceanic Dragon Shui Long: ATK 1200 → 0
Dan clenched his fists. "Damnit," he muttered. "Why can't I get anywhere near that thing?" In desperation, he glanced at the remaining card in his hand. Xyz Jewelled Crown... well that wasn't much help when he could barely Xyz Summon anything at all. "Fine, I'll switch Glacial Dragon to Defence Position and end my turn." His Number settled down into a defensive stance.
Number 11: Oceanic Dragon Shui Long: ATK 0 → 1200
"And thus the moment arrives," Sateis said, grinning wildly. "During your End Phase, Shui Long's effect allows me to shed its final Overlay Unit!" True to his word, the last remaining orb of light dissipated.
Number 11: Oceanic Dragon Shui Long: 1 → 0 OLU
"The waiting is over, my boy. Now the fun really begins!" Shui Long let out another piercing screech of agreement. "My turn, draw! First, I switch Shui Long from defence mode to attack mode!" The Sages' own dragon straightened up and shrieked again, readying itself for the inevitable.
"Here it comes..." Matt muttered, before turning to his teammates. "Everyone brace yourselves. This could get nasty."
"Battle! Shui Long, attack Gungnir!" The watery dragon stretched it toothy maw open wide, and between the rows of teeth, a tiny sphere of water began to form.
"Attacking a 2500 ATK monster with a 1200 ATK monster," Dan noted. "Well that's not suspicious at all."
"Shui Long's effect activates!" Sateis declared, conspicuously ignoring him. "During either player's turn, when Shui Long either targets a monster for an attack, or is targeted for an attack itself, I can use this effect to destroy all cards on the field besides itself!"
"No! No way!" Dan protested. "No card is powerful enough to do that without some sort of condition."
"You're right, of course," the Sage nodded. "In order to activate and resolve this effect, Shui Long must be completely devoid of Overlay Units!"
Dan gasped. "So that's it..." he breathed. "That's why you wasted three turns doing nothing but protecting your dragon. You were just letting it shed its Overlay Units so you could use its effect."
"Precisely," Sateis agreed. "This is the way of water, boy. Water is patient and conserving. It can wait for years if need be, slowly building up its strength until it lashes out with a force nothing can withstand. This is the principle of tidal waves and tsunamis – they are representative of water at its most powerful, and without exception, they cause devastation and destruction. Given the time to build up and conserve its power, there is nothing that water cannot overwhelm."
"What about the land?" James pointed out. "If water is as powerful as you say it is, then why is there still land?"
"What of erosion, young one?" Sateis countered. "What of the melting ice? I already told you; water is infinitely patient. It can wait for centuries and millennia to claim its victims. Humans can fight it all they want, but eventually, even their precious land will succumb to the sea. Everything will one day meet its end by water. Every city, town, desert, mountain, prairie, savannah, and of course..." he glanced meaningfully at Dan's monsters, "...every field!"
In a panic, Dan desperately made the only move available to him. "I activate the Trap Card, Call of the Haunted!" The Trap activated. "It lets me revive any monster in my Graveyard in Attack Position! Come on back, Twin-Headed Behemoth!" The bicephalic purple dragon reappeared.
Twin-Headed Behemoth: Dragon-Type/WIND/Level 3/ATK 1500/DEF 1200
"Useless!" the Water Sage cried. "Summon all the monsters you want! They'll just get washed away before the power of the water dragon!"
As if in response, Shui Long let loose a torrent of water from its gaping maw that surged forward like a tidal wave. The current quickly consumed the entire field, washing away all three of Dan's dragons – even his Number – and swamping the floor beneath their feet. Even Sateis' Scale Mail card didn't escape the devastation, and Shui Long's armour plating seemed to peel off and fall away as the Equip Card was destroyed. Finally the torrent subsided, leaving the field quite bare aside from Sateis' dragon.
"And don't forget," Sateis' said, grinning uncontrollably, "that since Scale Mail is now gone, Shui Long's attack points return to normal!"
Number 11: Oceanic Dragon Shui Long: ATK 1200 → 2200
Dan glanced around fervently at his empty field. "This is bad," he muttered.
"Now then, onto the attack itself!" the Sage continued. "Since the number of monsters on your field has changed, I can call a replay. Shui Long, change your attack into a direct attack!" The oceanic dragon obediently turned its gaze on Dan and, quick as a flash, launched another stream of water. This one rushed straight down and struck the young Delta head on, knocking him off his feet and depositing him several feet away, dripping wet and gasping for air.
Dan LP: 4000 → 1800
Sateis smirked at his damp opponent. "During Main Phase two, I activate the Equip Spell Card, Dragon Shield. Equip to Shui Long." The vicious dragon was suddenly coated by a new layer of bronze armour that covered almost its whole body. "While equipped with this card, the equipped monster can't be destroyed by battle or by card effects, and when it battles, neither player takes any Battle Damage. With that, I end my turn."
With a struggle, Dan pushed himself onto his knees. "I activate Twin-Headed Behemoth's effect..." he panted. "Once per... once per duel, if it gets destroyed, I can revive it during the End Phase with its ATK and DEF reduced to 1000." With a flash of light, the purple dragon returned to the field for the third time.
Twin-Headed Behemoth: Dragon-Type/WIND/Level 3/ATK 1000/DEF 1000
"My turn... draw!" Praying for a miracle, and bleakly wondering how he'd managed to get himself into this predicament again, he glanced hesitantly at the card he'd drawn.
Monster Reborn.
As his mind raced with the possibilities, he forced himself to slow down and consider them carefully. A single erroneous move here could be fatal... again. His initial burst of thought had told him to revive Glacial Dragon, then evolve it into his Chaos Number. He swiftly dismissed the idea, as his Chaos Number would blow up the moment it hit the field due to his Life Points being too high.
Then there was the thought of reviving Polaris Dragon Fross, then using it with Twin-Headed Behemoth to Synchro Summon Polaris Dragon Lord Skhulvorze. No... no, that wouldn't work either. Sure, with 3150 ATK Skhulvorze was powerful, but Shui Long's effect wouldn't let it get anywhere near. And besides, Skhulvorze's own effect didn't suit the situation.
What did that leave? The only other viable choice he could think of was Gungnir. If he were to revive that, then use the effect of the Polaris Dragon Yve in his Graveyard to return itself to his hand, that would give him two cards to discard for Gungnir's effect, so he could target Dragon Shield and Shui Long simultaneously...
He vigorously shook his head. No, that was useless too. If he were to try and destroy both cards together, Dragon Shield's effect would still protect Shui Long from being destroyed even as it was being destroyed itself. Sure Shui Long would be without its protection, but then he had no actual way of destroying it besides attacking, which was suicide due to Shui Long's effect.
Monster Reborn was that one, legendary top-deck card that duelists dream of getting... and it was just his luck that he would get it at a time when it couldn't help in the slightest. He stayed on his knees for a moment, desperately running through every card in the Graveyard he could remember, trying to think of one that might be able to help. The whole time, he was acutely aware of his teammates' eyes boring into his back as they watched on helplessly, unable to help. He was honestly surprised that they weren't telling him to surrender and run by this point. When no viable solution presented itself, he instead turned his thoughts to his Extra Deck, with similar results. Distraught, almost resigned to the inevitable, he scanned the two cards in his hand one last time.
And then, out of nowhere, a thought occurred to him.
"Maybe..."
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' Frostling
Dragon-Type/WATER/Level 1/ATK 100/DEF 100
If you control a face-up "Polaris" monster(s), 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 Yve
Dragon-Type/WATER/Level 3/ATK 1500/DEF 300
You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by removing 3 Polaris Counters from the field. If this card is in your Graveyard: You can target 1 other Dragon-Type monster in your Graveyard; shuffle that target into the Deck, then return this card from the Graveyard to the hand. You can only use this effect of "Polaris Dragon Yve" once per turn.
Number 68: Glacial Dragon
Dragon-Type/Xyz/WATER/Rank 3/ATK 1000/DEF 1000
2 Level 3 monsters
This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by a "Number" monster. Once per turn: You can target 1 face-up card on the field; negate its effects until the End Phase. Once per turn, during either player's turn: You can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card; this card gains ATK equal to the original ATK of the detached monster in the Graveyard until the End Phase.
Number 11: Oceanic Dragon Shui Long
Dragon-Type/Xyz/WATER/Rank 5/ATK 2200/DEF 2000
3 Level 5 monsters
Must be Xyz Summoned, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by an EARTH "Number" monster. Overlay Units attached to this card are unaffected by other card effects. Once per turn, during your opponent's End Phase: You can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card (this is a Quick Effect). Once per turn, during either player's turn, when an attack is declared involving this card and an opponent's monster: You can destroy all cards (except this card) on the field. This card must have no Overlay Units attached to it to activate and resolve this effect.
Draconian Realm
Field Spell Card
Neither player can Xyz Summon non-Dragon-Type monsters.
Fun Fact #127: Woo, 100,000 words! Again!
Fun Fact #128: What is it with the Deltas top-decking Monster Reborn in situations where it doesn't really seem to help much?
Fun Fact #129: Alright readers, quiz time. You have a weakened Twin-Headed Behemoth on your field, and Xyz Jewelled Crown and Monster Reborn in your hand. Your opponent has bigscarywaterdragonthing equipped with Dragon Shield, and Draconian Realm is still in effect. Your Life Points are 1800, while theirs are 4000. Based on this, plus what's in the Graveyard/Extra Deck (if necessary), how do you win this turn? (Yes, we have already come up with a finishing move; we just want to see what you guys come up with.)
Fun Fact #130: Ok, questions. These New Orders monsters that Eliphas is using, the ones named after Egyptian deities... why are they named after Egyptian deities? The Astral World doesn't share human's history, so how did they learn those names? Wouldn't cards in the Astral World be based on their history rather than ours? If so, why did people called Anubis and Apophis coincidently also exist in the Astral World? And why were they significant enough to have cards named after them? And why are we still asking these questions when the answer to all of them is most probably 'a mistake in writing'?