Disclaimer/Author's Note:
People, I really need reviews. Last chapter, I had to MAKE somebody review. Anyway, I have my two decks now, they are based around the Shadow Ghoul and Dark Sanctuary combos. However, Dark Sanctuary has been split up into several parts. Dark Sanctuary itself is a field card, giving 300 attack and defense points to all fiends and DARK-element types while taking 100 away from all fairies and LIGHT-element types. It splits off into two more cards - Spirit of Dark Sanctuary, which is the possession card, and Spacial Conversion, which is the +5 m/t card. Expect even more originality to come… anyway. So Aldrai and Adriel are doing pretty good so far, neh? If you'd like to see them run into some problems, like one is eliminated, they win by an accumulated 100 lp, or something like that, give it to me in a review. On with the decks, then the story. An important author's note at the end.
Adriel's
Deck
Harpie's Brother
Pot of Greed
Acid Trap Hole
Mystical Space Typhoon
Vorse Raider
D. Tribe
Tyrant Dragon
Mirror Force
Michizure
Change of Heart
Monster Reborn
Shadow Spell
Rope of Life
Dragon's Rage
Waboku
Witch of the Black Forest
Raigeki
Dragon Claws
Aldrai's Deck
Magician of Faith
Time Wizard
Horn of Light
Polymerization
Seven Tools of the Bandit
Witch of the Black Forest
Sword Hunter
Gemini Elf
Monster Reborn
Axe of Despair
Kuriboh
Man-Eater Bug
Waboku
Multiply
The Fiend Megacyber
Exchange
Spellbinding Circle
?Wildcard?
Chapter 2-No Light to Guide
Aldrai and Adriel had been faring well thusfar. Their next opponents, however, were well known for the fact that their decks changed every time they dueled, except for their themes. Although the cards they won couldn't drastically change their decks, Brad and Alexis still managed to completely throw off their second opposition, who had been watching most of their long, thought out duel. The two didn't speak much, and displayed no emotion while dueling. Both of them had black hair. Brad's was spiked forward, while Alexis' was a long ponytail tied with a black ribbon. Their clothes were all black, and most of the time, their eyes weren't visible.
The two dark duelists walked up and sat. Neither Adriel nor Aldrai attempted a conversation-they had heard the storied about the people who tried to impress verbal interaction upon the pair. All of the oppressors had ended up in the hospital. The four sat in silence until the coordinator of the tournament announced the commencement of the duel. The coin was tossed, and the Rogers would be going first. Brad drew his hand, looked at it, and laid three cards face down before summoning a monster in defense mode. Adriel drew his hand; Harpie's Brother, Summoned Skull, Magic Drain, Waboku, Mystical Elf, and Dragon Treasure. Adriel knew this hand was not as it seemed-he had one summonable monster and no card-drawing cards. "I set a monster in defense mode (Mystical Elf 800/2000) and lay two cards facedown." (Magic Drain and Waboku) Alexis drew her six cards and lay one in defense mode as well as one face down. Aldrai, last to go, drew Black Luster Soldier, Axe of Despair, Suijin, Horn of Light, Gemini Elf, and Mystical Elf. "I play Gemini Elf in attack mode (1900/900) and end my turn.
Brad, silent as ever, drew another card and lay it in defense mode. Adriel paused before drawing another card, his trusty Tyrant Dragon. 'If I sacrifice my Mystical Elf to summon Summoned Skull, I'll have the field advantage. But if I wait until I get another monster and sacrifice them both for Tyrant Dragon, I'll be better off than ever.' Making up his mind, Adriel stated, "I summon a monster in defense mode and end my turn." (Harpie's Brother 1800/800) Alexis drew and played another monster in defense mode. Aldrai drew his Kuriboh and set it in defense mode. (300/200) The silence of the duel was beginning to ebb at the pair of duelists.
Brad drew an eighth card and played Polymerization. He discarded his two monsters on the field and summoned Skull Knight in attack mode. (2650/2250) "I attack Gemini Elf." After the initial impact of hearing Brad's voice, Adriel flipped Waboku. Brad made a small noise of disapproval in the back of his throat, and Adriel drew Witch of the Black Forest. 'I could summon Tyrant Dragon now, but they probably have a trap ready for me. Just in case, I'll add this card for protection.' "I play a monster face down and end my turn." Alexis drew her card and summoned Cannon Soldier in attack mode. (1400/1300) She flipped Bubonic Vermin (900/600) and Nimble Momonga (1000/100) before taking a card from her deck and placing it in face down defense position before flipping it to reveal another Bubonic Vermin. She activated its effect a final time to have five monsters on her field-Cannon Soldier, Nimble Momonga, and the three Bubonic Vermin. "I activate Cannon Soldier's effect and sacrifice my four monsters to inflict 1000 points of damage upon each of you." Aldrai drew. "I summon Suijin in attack mode and play Axe of Despair on it. (2500+1000/2400) Then, I attack Cannon Soldier! Brad flipped Reverse Trap. "I activate Suijin's effect-Cannon soldier's attack is zero! Alexis took 1500 points of damage and discarded Cannon soldier.
Brad drew again. "I attack Adriel's first defense monster." Adriel discarded Mystical Elf. Adriel drew Buster Blader. 'Not yet…' he thought. "I play Tyrant Dragon in attack mode, activating Witch of the Black Forest's effect. I draw a card from my deck. (Vorse Raider 1900/1200) Now, I attack the Skull Knight and rid the field of it!" Brad discarded his monster, losing 250 lp. Alexis drew. "Now the fun begins…" she said. "I play Change of Heart on Adriel's Tyrant Dragon." Adriel flipped Magic Drain, which Brad countered by playing Seven Tools of the Bandit. Adriel scowled. "Then, I sacrifice it for Shadow Ghoul! (1600+1300/1300) With its new attack, it's more than a match, even for a powered up Suijin, since I play another card, Harpie's Feather Duster! Even though the field is wiped clean of all magic or trap cards, including ours, Axe of Despair is gone. It isn't so powered up now. Then, I play a magic card called The Culling of Souls. This permanent trap card puts all monsters in any player's graveyard into my own. All other cards are removed from play. Now I attack Suijin and rid the field of any opposition!" Aldrai discarded Suijin, both losing 400 life points, and increasing Shadow Ghoul's attack by 100. Aldrai drew a card. "Perfect…" He muttered. "I play Mystical Elf in defense mode, and equip it with Horn of Light. (800/2000+800) Then, I play Chorus of Sanctuary. This card gives my Mystical Elf another 500 defense points, enough to withstand Shadow Ghoul's attack."
Brad drew a card. "I play a monster in defense mode, and lay a card face down." Adriel drew. "Hey…I noticed you two got more talkative. Why's that?" They scowled. "I play Swords of Revealing Light and play a monster in defense mode. (Vorse Raider 1900/1200)" Alexis drew. "I lay a card facedown and end my turn." To end the round, Aldrai drew Giant Soldier of Stone. "I play a monster in defense mode."
Brad drew another card. "I play another monster in defense mode as well." Adriel drew. "I play Monster Reborn on Skull Knight and sacrifice both it and my Vorse Raider for Buster Blader! (2600+500/2300) Now I attack Shadow Ghoul and destroy it, although I destroy my own monster in the process. Both players discarded their monsters. Alexis drew. "I play a monster in defense mode." Aldrai drew. He looked at Adriel. Both duelists knew that Swords of Revealing Light wouldn't last. He drew Exchange. "I lay one card face down and activate Exchange!" He turned to Alexis. Her two-card hand consisted of a second Shadow Ghoul and a monster called Salamander of Sacrifice. Looking the two cards over, Aldrai chose the Salamander of Sacrifice, seeing as how The Culling of Souls prevented any power bonus from getting to a Shadow Ghoul not controlled by Alexis. Alexis was forced to take the Black Luster Soldier. "I end my turn."
Brad drew, then his faced spread into a wicked grin. "I play Headless Knight in attack mode and flip The Portrait's Secret and The Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams! Then, I play Polymerization to fuse the three into The Phantom Knight of Secrets!" (2150/2000) Adriel drew his card, Mystical Space Typhoon. Looking over at Aldrai, the other boy nodded. "I lay one card facedown and end my turn." Alexis drew. "I play the first of a combo, Dark Sanctuary! This card gives our monsters 300 more attack and defense points, while lowering any of your monsters of the LIGHT element or Fairy type by 100." Aldrai drew his card, Hayabusa Knight." "This duel is over. I summon the Salamander of Sacrifice in attack mode! (1400/1200) Then, I activate its effect by sacrificing a number of monsters from my graveyard to summon a monster from my deck whose level is equal to that number!" Alexis smirked. "I have my Culling of Souls card on the field, meaning you don't have a graveyard." Aldrai smirked back. "Look at what Adriel is doing." On cue, Adriel flipped Mystical Space Typhoon. "And all of a sudden…you don't have your Culling of Souls card on the field." The status of the graveyards was as follows:
Adriel's Graveyard=Mystical Elf, Witch of the Black Forest, Harpie's Brother, Tyrant Dragon, Vorse Raider, Buster Blader
Aldrai's Graveyard=Gemini Elf, Kuriboh, Suijin
Brad's Graveyard=Tainted Wisdom, Ancient Brain, Headless Knight, The Portrait's Secret, The Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams
Alexis' Graveyard=Bubonic Vermin, Bubonic Vermin, Bubonic Vermin, Nimble Momonga, Cannon Soldier, Shadow Ghoul
"What's more, I don't have to limit myself to my own graveyard. I can use monsters from Adriel's graveyard, too. That's the good thing about having an ally. Now I tribute seven of our monsters to summon Sanga of the Thunder in attack mode! (2600/2200) Finally, I attack Alexis' facedown monster!" Alexis flipped Magic Cylinder. "You probably know what this card does. But in case you don't, it reflects your attack as direct damage to your life points. And that's just enough to destroy you." Aldrai smiled. "Forgetting something? You played Dark Sanctuary. That means I still have 100 life points left." To everyone's surprise, Brad started laughing. "You think that can you can still win?" Aldrai ended his turn, as Alexis drew. "I play Graceful Charity." She drew three cards and discarded two. "Now, I play Shadow Ghoul! (1600+1100/1300) While it's not as strong as last time, it will serve its purpose. I attack Sanga of the Thunder!" Aldrai activated Sanga's effect. "And you're out of the duel, Alexis." Alexis smiled weakly. "Yes, but it was a sacrifice well worth it. Go on, Brad." Her brother nodded and flipped Destiny Board. "No! Not that!" stammered Adriel. "What? It's 2 on 1 now. We've got this duel, easy." said Aldrai. "Do you end your turn?" asked Brad. "Yeah…" Brad began thumbing through his deck and pulled out Spirit Message "I". "At the end of each of your turns, I get to play a spirit message. That means that in roughly two turns, you lose the duel."
Brad drew another card. "Now I play a card face down. I might not be able to damage you yet, but I will be very soon. Much sooner than you think, Adriel. As soon as my turn ends, your barrier will be eliminated. I end my turn." Adriel discarded Swords of Revealing Light and drew his card, knowing it would have to count. 'Come on…' he thought. He drew one of his Red Eyes Black Dragon cards. "Aldrai! Activate your hidden card as Polymerization! Aldrai flipped ?Wildcard?. "Now I use Aldrai's Wildcard to fuse my Summoned Skull and Red-Eyes Black Dragon to summon B. Skull Dragon! (3200/2500) Then, I play Dragon Treasure to advance its attack and defense points by 300! Now attack Phantom King of Secrets!" Brad flipped his trap. "Big mistake, Adriel! I activate Spirit of Dark Sanctuary. This card lets me possess one of your monsters in attack mode during either of your turns. Due to the excessive amounts of cheating, however, I have to write my choice down as soon as your battle phase begins." Aldrai looked bewildered. "But you can only play that card if Dark Sanctuary is on the field. And Alexis is out of the duel, along with her cards." Brad shook his head slowly. "No. Dark Sanctuary is a field card. As long as one of us is still in the duel, the field card stays. Anyway, Adriel's life points are more than cut in half. (1250) And as soon as he ends his turn, a third spirit message will be added to the destiny board." Adriel had no choice, and ended his turn.
Brad played Spirit Message "N". Aldrai drew a card. "Ha! You'll run out of magic spaces to use. To make things even harder for you, I play Kazejin!" (2400/2200) He discarded Salamander of Sacrifice and Giant Soldier of Stone. 'Only Sanga and Kazejin can be possessed, but which one?" He took a guess. "I attack with Sanga of the Thunder! Brad scowled. "Luck. But your luck will run out soon enough. Look! Even now, your turn is over, unless you want to lose. Which means that I can play my fourth letter, Spirit Message "A". Brad drew. "I summon Spacial Conversion! (0/0) Although this card can't be put into defense mode, it lets me play additional magic or trap cards. After your next turn, it's all over." Adriel drew, knowing this could mean the end of the tournament for both him and his partner. He drew De-Fusion. "Yes!" he shouted. "I play De-Fusion! Now my Summoned Skull and Red Eyes Black Dragon return to the field! (2500/1200)(2400/2000) Either way you choose, the duel is over. I attack with Red Eyes! Brad flipped his paper, indeed stating that he had chosen Summoned Skull. The duel was over. As far as statistics went, Adriel and Aldrai were the first to defeat these two dark duelists.
As another silent ten minutes went past, the other duels ended. The prizes were given, each of the surviving duelists receiving an extremely rare card plus a pack of tournament cards. Aldrai received the Gate Guardian, completing his combo. In his pack of cards he received a new card called Axe of Demise, along with Premature Burial and Raigeki. Adriel's rare card was Black D. Knight. His pack contained Metalmorph, Red Eyes Black Metal Dragon, and Lord of D. He searched his side deck for his Flute of Summonong Dragon, which he had removed from his deck after his first Lord of D. had been…misplaced. Again, his cards complemented each other. In an ideal situation, he could have three evolved Red Eyes on the field. Continuing to the matching board, he and Aldrai didn't have to look long to find their names-they were the first pair of finalists. The other pair were simply written as Bind and Strike…
*~End~*
Author's Note
So then, that was a harsh duel, especially for Aldrai. Anyway, I really need you all to review. And out of all of you, I've gotten a total of three decks and one deck idea. Thanks to Mystic Avenger, who gave me both Fire's and Alexis's decks. Also, thanks to thegymrat for his deck, although this chapter was halfway through before I received his deck. Finally, thanks to Aldrai for his deck, although I mutilated it, plus the suggestion to use Yami Bakura's deck from the Battle City finals. And of course, thanks to me for my deck, editing everyone else's, Clover's, Carolyn's, Water's, and Brad's decks. Do you want to be added to this list? Submit a deck as soon as you can, and put this story in your favorite stories list. That way, you'll know when it's updated. The decks are used on a first come, first served basis, and if I get five on the same day, I'll look them through and see which decks are structured the best. Keep in mind that decks WILL be edited. The themes will remain the same, etc. Basically, I'll be adding original cards or editing any you send in, should they not suit the duel. Strict, right? Annoying, right? Well, I'm the author. But I do appreciate it, because as with all authors, support fuels the mind. What I need from you all is a direct damage deck, the Strike element of the next opposition. I have Bind, because that's cards like Imperial Order, Swords of Revealing Light, Nightmare Steel Cage, Gravity Bind, Jinzo, and other cards I'll make up. I need you all to search make a deck cards that can deal direct damage and ways to prevent them from getting hammered. Make sure there are some heavy hitters in there too, because once a duelist is bound, he or she is vulnerable.