Disclaimer: I own nothing of the properties within this story. All rights go to the creators and companies of said properties.
Beta by Slothful, Demonoid, and Old man of the mountain
Chapter 5: Tag-Duel Mayhem
{Kenji's P.O.V.}
"That makes five in a row!" I cheered. It isn't the first I dreamed of dueling. How do I know that I'm dreaming? Because I'm dueling in some space, the only people here are me, Yuki, some red-haired girl, and some guys in red hats who disappear when they lose. Outside of us, there's nothing but white!
Usually, whenever I dream about dueling, a massive crowd of people cheering my name, not some empty, white space, but the duels are fun here, so it evens out.
"Alright! Bring on the next opponent!" I yell out, hearing my voice echo out.
"How about we take a break? I need to change up my deck." Yuki said, sitting on the ground and lying out his cards as several more cards magically appeared next to him.
Even in my dreams, Yukito is always thinking about Duel Monsters.
While Yukito messes with his deck, I get curious about what cards Yukito is adding to his deck. And it would seem I'm not the only one curious as the red-haired woman leans over to see the cards in Yuki's hands. I think her name is Ray or something. I peek at the cards, seeing that they're trap cards, continuous trap cards at that.
"What kind of cards are those?" I ask. Yuki doesn't have many trap cards in his deck, only running Mirror Force and Magic Cylinder because he said something about trap cards being too slow.
"Floodgates." Yuki simply answers, not explaining what that even means. It's sometimes frustrating to be his friend. He talks like I understand whatever he's saying.
"Floodgates?" Ray asks. See?! Even my dreams don't understand what Yuki is saying!
"Floodgates are cards that stop your opponent from playing the game," Yuki explains. "Take this card, for example." Yuki holds up a card, showing us it's called There Can Be Only One. "There Can Be Only One, also known as TCBOO, is a powerful card against a deck that uses one monster type, such as Ancient Gears, because it forces the player to control one monster of that type. If they control more than one of that type when you activate this card, then your opponent must send them to the grave until they control only one of that type, which bypasses some floating effects. You can even lock them from Extra Deck plays if they already control a monster that shares its type." Yuki rattles off.
"Wouldn't it bite us in the ass?" I ask. Sure, my and Yuki's decks have monster cards with different types, but some of our cards share the same typing. "Also, we could face someone who uses multiple monster types, making that card a brick," I said, using the word Yuki says whenever we talk about cards we don't want in the hand.
"It could, but you can just mean you activate the card when you complete your endboard." Yuki counters. "And we don't have to mainboard it. We can add it to our decks when we know how our opponent's deck works. And there are floodgate cards that don't affect us, such as Non-Fusion Area, which prevents both players from fusion summoning."
I begin to think about the possibilities of TCBOO. It's certainly a powerful card against the right opponent. So many people play Ancient Gears, but using that card feels cheap. After all, the purpose of that card is to prevent your opponent from playing the game. If that isn't a cheap ass move, I don't know what is.
"I understand that you don't like the idea of floodgates. I don't enjoy using them myself. The game becomes boring when several floodgates are on the field." Yuki admits.
"Then why are you using them if you don't like playing them?" If you think using floodgates would make the game boring, just don't use them.
"Because I plan to win." Yuki simply answers. "Everyone entering the Junior Tournament wants to win it. Being the winner means you have to climb over the bodies of your defeated opponents, and if I don't use everything at my disposal, it would be no different than looking down on my opponents." Yuki said with a resolved tone.
I never thought of it that way. But Dream Yuki is right. Everyone is entering the tournament to win. Several of them might be using strategies like these floodgates to boost their chances of winning. And we aren't talking about something like a local tournament at our parents' card shop. We're talking about the Junior Tournament here. Winning that tournament or even placing second will earn a full-ride scholarship to several dueling schools and help jump-start your professional dueling career.
Perhaps Yuki has the right mindset for the tournament. If Yuki and I face each other, I want him to go full out, even if that means he's running those floodgates in his deck. If I want to be the one who wins the competition, I will need to accept that I have to beat people who share the same dream as me.
"Can you tell me more about those floodgates? And how to counter them?" I ask, sitting next to Yuki as he lays out several more floodgate cards and explains how they work. As I listen to Yuki explaining the effects of floodgates and how to counter them, usually with quick-play spell cards like MST, my excitement for matches waiting for tomorrow grows.
{The Next Day}
"This… is bullshit." I groan. My face was hot from the embarrassment of the outfit our parents chose for us. Several kids stopped to look at us, some even snickering. It wouldn't be so bad if one or two people saw me in this outfit, but dozens of people were here! There must be at least thirty to forty people my age! And to make it worse, these duels will be live! So everyone watching me will see me in this outfit!
"The shirts are not that bad." Yuki's eyes roll, wearing the same white shirt mentioning our parents' card shop on the front.
"They didn't have to put a QR code on the back!" I yell, turning to show Yuki the code on my back, the same QR code on his back. Was this why Mom and Dad were so okay with me entering the Junior Tournament?! So they can get some free advertisements! The fact Yuki is wearing the same shirt as I am tells me that his parents must have agreed to the plan! "Don't you have a problem with our parents using us as billboards?!"
"Not really. If anything, I'm impressed by our parents' business-thinking skills. The higher we go in the tournament, the more attention the store will get, earning more sales when people learn how cheap we sell staple cards." Yuki said, walking to a vending machine. There's some time before the tag duels start, so he must be getting a snack.
"It's still embarrassing…" I mumble.
"Think of it like this. The more money we bring to the shop, the bigger the presents you can ask for on your birthday and Christmas." Yuki said, shoving several candy bars into his backpack.
…
"Let's just get this over with." I sigh. "And why are you buying so many snacks and drinks?" I ask, watching Yuki put a couple of soda bottles into his bag.
"Because we don't know how long these rounds will last, we can't leave for lunch unless we forfeit. Plus, the sugar from the snacks and drinks will help give our brains a jump start after our matches." Yuki said, opening a large, white can.
"Since when did you start drinking energy drinks? And when did your parents allow you to drink that stuff? My mom would kill me if she saw me drinking an energy drink while telling me how bad they are for me." I said.
"When I have to pack late-night rush orders. They don't. So keep this between us." Yuki explains.
"Late-night rush order? What order was it?" I ask.
"Gaia cards. Whoever orders them is probably entering the tournament. I pity the poor souls that go against that deck." Yuki answers, taking a sip of his energy drink.
Oh. That deck.
I was about to say something, but the loud screech of a microphone cut me off. The duels were about to begin.
Yuki and I, along with the other duelists, turn to the center stage, seeing a tall, thin man with long, black hair in a ponytail, a white collared shirt that is all wrinkled, a loose red tie, and black pants. He also has glasses, but I don't see how well they will work with his eyes closed. Also, next to him is a fat, orange cat napping on the judge's table.
"Welcome, chosen duelists! You have been hand-selected among fellow duelists to be allowed entry to the Junior Tournament! My name is Daitokuji. I'm a professor from Academia, and for tonight, your judge. I hope to see some great duels!" The man cheers as the cat lets out a sleepy meow. Nobody else cheers, leaving a tense and awkward atmosphere. "Now, it's time to decide the first-round duelists!"
Daitokuji spins around, pointing at the electric billboard with a flair. The screen turns on, showing two roulette wheels with names on them. Hey. There were our names. The wheels begin to spin, making fast, beeping sounds as the wheel rapidly spins. After a few tense seconds, the wheels start slowing down, the beeping noises slowing down.
"Our first duelists are Yamamoto Kenji and Masumi Yukito versus Ooki Yoshiki and Marufuji Sho!" Daitokuji announces, marking the beginning of the tournament.
Marufuji? Could this Sho person be related to Kaiser Ryo? Then again, it could be a coincidence. Marufuji isn't that rare of a surname.
As Yuki and I walked onto the stage, I used the opportunity to look at our first-round opponents. Both of them have blue hair, but the shorter one of the two hair is a shade lighter than his partner's. The short member of their tag team also wears glasses. He is also visibly nervous.
All four of us raise our duel disk, activating the duel mode and causing the duel blade to appear.
"The single elimination tag duel tournament begins!" Daitokuji yells, signaling us to start the match
"DUEL!"
Kenji & Yukito LP: 8000
Yoshiki & Sho LP: 8000
"I'll take the first turn!" the one with the glasses said. "I summon Gyroid in defense position!" A cartoon-looking helicopter appears on the field, folding its arms.
Gyroid: WIND/ Level 3/ Machine/ Effect - 1000/1000
Does it have arms? I'm unsure what to call its limbs, so I'll call them arms.
"I'll set two cards face down. Turn end." the glasses guy said, moving to my turn.
That's it? A monster with a thousand defense points and two back-row? I check to see Gyroid's effect, seeing that it protects itself from battle destruction once per turn. That's pretty underwhelming (I think that's the right word. Yuki's habit of using big words is rubbing off on me).
Well, it's my turn now.
"Draw!" I looked at my drawn card, seeing it was That Grass Looks Greener. I had to hold back a smile at my draw. Yuki told me I tend to show how good the card I draw based on my reaction. I glance at my opening hand, Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End, Twin Twister, Vorse Raider, Electromagnetic Turtle, and D.D.R - Different Dimension Return. I couldn't ask for a better hand.
"I play That Grass Looks Greener!" a hologram of the spell I just played appears on the field. "If I have more cards in my deck than my opponent's, I have to send the top cards until my deck's size is that of my opponent's."
"You're sending your cards to the grave?!" the glasses guy asks in surprise. Not that I can blame him. I reacted just like that when Yuki told me to add this card to my deck, but now it's the cornerstone of my deck.
"Calm down, Marufuji! He's just trying to confuse us with that move!" my opponent's partner yells. So the short guy is Sho, and the other is Yoshiki.
"The difference of our decks is nineteen, meaning I send the top nineteen cards to my grave!" I said, sending said cards to the grave. Now I have fuel in my tank!
"Oh my! I was ready for anything, but I doubt anyone expected that move! Does Yamamoto have a plan in the works?! Or did he send so many cards to his grave in the attempt to rattle his opponents?!" Daitokuji must be enjoying himself. He seems to be having fun being a judge.
"I banish Dark Magician of Chaos and Shining Angel from my grave to summon Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End!" One of my boss monsters towers over Sho's helicopter. I swear that the cartoony helicopter is crying.
Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End: DARK/ Level 8/ Dragon/ Effect - 3000/2500
"T-Three-thousand attack points?!" Sho's eyes widened at my monster's stats. His partner was not much better. I can see him sweating lightly.
I notice Sho's eyes glance at his duel disk. His set cards must be battle traps or at least one of them is.
I can't have that now, can I?
"I play Twin Twister! I can destroy two spell/trap cards at the cost of discarding a card from hand. I chose your set cards!" I declare, blowing up Sho's back-row and forcing the shorter boy to shield his face from the strong winds. I check Sho's graveyard to see two trap cards. Supercharge was a trap card that let Sho draw two cards if his monster got destroyed. The other card was Magic Cylinder. That would suck if I walked into that.
Usually, I would use D.D.R. to bring back Dark Magician, fetch a spell from my grave, and push for game, but our life points are doubled because it's a tag duel. I better not go full gas.
"I summon Voser Raider!" The demonic raider stands next to my dragon, making an intimidating pair.
Vorse Raider: DARK/ Level 4/ Beast-Warrior - 1900/1200
"Vorse Raider! Chaos Emperor! Attack Gyroid!" I ordered. The helicopter monster survives Vorse Raider's duel-blade attack due to its battle protection effect, but Gyroid's effect is a once-per-turn effect, meaning it can't take CED's flame attack, blowing up in the process. "I end my turn."
"It's my turn! Draw!" Yoshiki looks at the cards in his hand, thinking about how to handle my CED. "I summon Ancient Gear in attack mode!" The tiny machine monster appears on the opponent's side of the field.
Ancient Gear: EARTH/ Level 2/ Machine/ Effect - 100/800
"You're running that card?" Yuki asks. Based on his tone, it isn't an impressive monster.
"What's wrong with it?!" Yoshiki's tone says that he wasn't happy with Yuki's attitude with his card.
"Just about the whole thing. Its effect is only live when you control another copy of it, not any Ancient Gear monster. The stats are pathetic, and there are better cards to use over it. You would be better off running Gold or Silver Gadgets. Even the original Gadget trio is better than Ancient Gear." Yuki explains. It wasn't the first time Yuki critiqued someone's deck mid-duel, and I doubt it will be the last.
"Oh yeah?! I play Machine Duplication! Summoning another Ancient Gear from my deck!" Yoshiki said, his voice full of rage. A second copy of Ancient Gear appears next to the first one. "Then I play Double Summon, allowing me a second normal summon! I tribute my two monsters to summon Ancient Gear Golem!" The two gear monsters dissolve into golden particles as the cover boss monster for the 'Ancient Gear' archetype takes the center field.
Ancient Gear Golem: EARTH/ Level 8/ Machine/ Effect - 3000/3000
"I attack Voser Raider with Ancient Gear Golem!" The colossal mechanized monster reels its arm back before sending a devastating punch at our monster. I could use the Electromagnetic Turtle or one of the two Necro Gardna in my grave to stop the attack, but it's better to save them for later. The attack will take over an eighth of our life points, but it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if we have one life point or ten thousand. All that matters is getting our opponents to zero.
Voser Raider was easily defeated by the giant machine, breaking into golden particles.
Kenji & Yukito LP: 6900
"I end my turn," Yoshiki said smugly, happy that he drew first blood.
"Did you need to piss him off?" I complain. "Now we have a three-thousand attack point monster staring at us down."
"So do we." Yuki points at CED. "Plus, the situation isn't that bad. We just need to get through his golem."
"I like to see you try. You can crash into my golem with your dragon, but we will still have life points!" Yoshiki explains.
"My turn," Yuki said, drawing for his turn. "I play Change of Heart, which you can buy at Might of Mind gaming shop for five thousand DP per card," Yuki said. Our opponents' eyes bug out at the insanely rare card. Did he seriously advertise our parents' shop mid-play?!
"Change of Heart?! Such a rare card! And at such a great price!" Daitokuji yells.
"Did you ask him to join this bit?" I ask Yuki as the golem walks to our side of the field.
"Nope. I think Daitokuji just finds it funny." Yuki answers, his eyes not moving away from his hand. "I banish Mystic Tomato and another Shining Angel to summon Chaos Sorcerer." The third chaos monster appears on the field, widely grinning. Chaos Sorcerer isn't as good as BLS or CED, but it's still a solid monster.
Chaos Sorcerer: DARK/ Level 6/ Spellcaster/ Effect - 2300/2000
"Battle Phase, end this," Yuki said as the three monsters lunged at the two blue-haired duelists
"AH!" The pair screams as they fly backward.
Yoshiki & Sho LP: 0
Kenji & Yukito: Winner
"Yamamoto and Masumi will move on to the next round!" Daitokuji announced as a ladder bracket appeared on screen with our picture, moving up the ladder while Sho and Yoshiki's picture turned gray, signaling they were out of the tournament.
"Damn it! I thought teaming with Kaiser's younger brother would make these tag duels a breeze, but I got eliminated in the first round because he was useless!" Yoshiki complains as he storms off stage. Sho quickly follows his former partner, his head hanging down in shame.
"Geez. Talk about a sore loser." I said as I walked off stage. While I'm not sure how good Sho's chosen archetype is, his opening move is solid enough. A monster that prevents its destruction from battle once, meaning it can tribute fodder for Yoshiki's turn, a battle trap in the form of Magic Cylinder, and Sho made a backup plan in the event if I destroyed Gyroid with a card effect with Supercharge to refill his hand. The only thing I would have done differently would be to set Gyroid instead to make my opponent second guess the possibility of my monster being a flip effect monster.
Is Sho's archetype control-based? The Kaiser's Cyber Dragons are more beatdown/power, so Sho could have been playing a control deck, which has a poor match-up against my fast-hitting deck. I'll need to ask Yuki about Sho's deck later.
"Come on. We should find a spot to watch our future opponent's duel and update our decks." Yuki said, walking towards a table.
"Yeah. A tournament like this gives quite an advantage to people who quickly finish their duel." Yuki told me that information on your opponent's deck would massively improve your chance of winning as you know what cards are bricks and need to swipe with cards that can interact against your opponent's strategy.
Yuki hands me candy and soda as we watch the next round begin.
{Two hours later}
"That was a combo I wasn't expecting to work," Yuki said, not that I can blame him. Who would have thought of combining Ojama King and Master of Oz beatdown?
But I do know some of the merits of that strategy. Ojama King can block off three of your opponent's monster zones, while Master of Oz is a big beat stick with over four thousand attack points. Add Ojama Trio and Fairy Meteor Crush for a brutal duel that was one-sided. Their opponent never managed to summon a monster that stayed on the field for long as the Ojama user's deck is full of monster and back-row removal. The guy was even running cards like Trap Hole and Fissure.
"It's time for round two to begin! Can Yamamoto, Masumi, Chisaka, and Date step on the stage?" Daitokuji asks. Chisaka Misaki is the Master of Oz user, a young girl with dark-brown hair, overall pants, and a pink shirt with white sleeves. Date Takahiro is the one with Ojamas. Date Takahiro has black hair, blue jeans, and a green t-shirt.
"DUEL!"
Kenji & Yukito LP: 8000
Misaki & Takahiro LP: 8000
"I'll go first!" Takahiro yells, looking at his opening hand. "I play Hand Destruction! This card forces us to discard two cards and draw two!" Takahiro explains as he discards his two chosen cards and draws two new cards to replace them. Yuki goes next in the turn order, so he was affected by Hand Destruction's effect while Takahiro's partner and I weren't. I check the grave to see Yuki discard Breakthrough Skill and Clear Kuriboh. "Since I discarded Ojamagic, I can add Ojama Yellow, Ojama Green, and Ojama Black from my deck and add them to my hand," Takahiro reveals the chosen monsters. "Next, I play Fusion Sage to add Polymerization from my deck to my hand."
"This guy is searching a lot," I whisper to Yuki.
"It's not a terrible game plan. It helps thin Takahiro's deck and streamlines him getting his boss monster faster. His role is to protect Master of Oz, so he just needs to focus on how to slow us down." Yuki whispers back.
"I play Polymerization, fusing the three Ojama brothers in my hand." The three monsters enter the vortex, fusing into one monster. "Yellow, Black, and Green combine! Come forth, the king of the Ojamas! Fusion Summon! Level 6! Ojama King!" The massive white monster wearing a Speedo, a cape, and another Speedo on his head with a crown on top appears on Takahiro and Misaki's field, striking a pose. A blue aura coats the monster, signaling it's in defense mode.
Ojama King: LIGHT/ Level 6/ Beast/ Fusion/ Effect - 0/3000
"Ojama King's effect blocks three of your monster zones!" Takahiro explains. Our far left, far right, and center monster zones gain a large red X, with the three Ojama brothers appearing and taking those spots. Talk about an annoying effect. But it's an effect that we can work around. Yuki's Breakthrough Skill can turn off Ojama King's effect. "I set three cards face down. Turn end." Takahiro said, emptying his hand as three hologram set cards briefly appeared before fading away.
"My turn. Draw." Yuki looks at his drawn card before adding it to his hand and taking a different card from his hand. "I summon Card Trooper in defense mode." The toyish robot spawns on Yuki's field. A blue aura covers the machine.
Card Trooper: EARTH/ Level 3/ Machine/ Effect - 400/400
"I activate Card Trooper's effect, milling the top three cards of my deck for Card Trooper to gain fifteen hundred attack points until the end of the turn." The robotic monster's power grows. Not that it matters, as it's in defense mode. The real purpose of the move is to send cards to the grave.
Card Trooper: EARTH/ Level 3/ Machine/ Effect - 1900/400
"I play Harpie's Feather Duster to destroy your back-row." A whirlwind blows at Takahiro and Misaki's field, blowing away their set cards. "I set two cards face down. Turn end."
Yuki's turn wasn't amazing, but that was the idea. Misaki and Takahiro's plan revolves around Takahiro providing support and protection for Misaki's ace monster, but that means Misaki's deck is focused on Master of Oz turbo and going for game. I doubt Misaki's deck has anything to deal with back-row. And if she does, it would be MST at most. So, to counter their strategy, we filled our decks with spell/trap removal cards, monster removal, and cards like Magic Cylinder to punish their game plan.
"It's my turn! Draw!" Misaki yells, drawing her card with a flourish. "I play Reinforcement of the Army to add Elemental HERO Prisma from my deck to my hand! And I'll summon the Prisma I just added to my hand in attack mode!" The crystal superhero to help turbo out Master of Oz stands next to Ojama King.
Elemental HERO Prisma: LIGHT/ Level 4/ Warrior/ Effect - 1700/1100
"I activate Prisma's effect! By revealing a Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck, I can send one of the materials required for that Fusion Monster, and Prisma will share that sent monster's name until the end of the turn! I'll reveal Master of Oz and send Big Koala to the grave, changing Prisma's name to Big Koala!" The surface of Prisma's crystal armor gains an image of several blue-furred koalas.
Big Koala: LIGHT/ Level 4/ Warrior/ Effect - 1700/1100
"I play Ayers Rock Sunrise to summon the Big Koala in my grave in attack mode!" The massive blue koala lets out a lazy roar, scratching his belly.
Big Koala: EARTH/ Level 7/ Beast - 2700/2000
"I play the spell card Polymerization, fusing the Des Kangaroo from my hand with Prisma! The Master of the Land Down Under! Fusion Summon! Level 9! Master of Oz!" An even more massive Koala stands next to Big Koala.
Master of Oz: EARTH/ Level 9/ Beast/ Fusion - 4200/3700
"Battle! Big Koala will attack Card Trooper!" Misaki's massive blue koala jumps up and bodyslams the robotic monster.
"Card Trooper's effect activates. I draw a card when it is destroyed." Yukit draws, neutralizing the card lost from his monster'sdestruction.
"Master of Oz! Attack them directly!" The massive green koala winds up a punch.
"On attack declaration, I activate my set card, Magic Cylinder." Yuki's right set card flips up, revealing to be one of the cards we sided into our decks to counter Master of Oz.
"OH?! THE YAMAMOTO AND MASUMI TEAM USE ANOTHER RARE CARD! COULD THIS BE ANOTHER CARD YOU CAN BUY AT MIGHT OF MIND?!" Daitokuji yells.
"You can get fifteen percent off your first purchase using our QR codes." Yuki spins around, showing the QR codes our parents put on our backs.
"OH! What savings?!" Daitokuji yells, raising his duel disk, most likely scanning the code.
"Will you stop selling out for five minutes?! We are in the middle of a duel!" I scream in frustration. As if to prove my point, the cylinder fires a massive bolt of energy it absorbed from Master of Oz's attack, firing it at our opponents.
"AH!" Misaki screams as both she and Takahiro are hit by the blast, massively dropping their life points. The force was so strong that it knocked them off their feet.
Misaki & Takahiro LP: 3800
Misaki and Takahiro push themselves off the ground, with Misaki looking at her hand to see what moves she can make. "T-Turn end." Misaki stuttered, showing that the counter left quite an impact.
"My turn! Draw!" I glanced at the drawn card, seeing it was my copy of Magic Cylinder. The best move is to set it with a couple of other cards on the off chance that Takahiro draws a card like MST and blindly destroys one of our set cards, but a part of me doesn't like that idea.
I want to prove that we don't need to rely on cards like Magic Cylinder to pull off a win against a card like Master of Oz.
"I play Card Destruction!" I said, discarding my hand with Masumi discarding hers, with me drawing five new cards and Masumi drawing two. "In my grave are Kuriboh, Don Zaloong, and Spirit Reaper! Three DARK monsters. Therefore, I can summon Dark Armed Dragon!" The black dragon lets out a mighty roar.
Dark Armed Dragon: DARK/ Level 7/ Dragon/ Effect - 2800/1000
"I activate Dark Armed Dragon's effect! By banishing a DARK monster from my grave, I can target a card on the field and destroy that card! I banish the Kuriboh in my grave to destroy Ojama King!" Dark Armed lets out a stream of black fire, burning the white monster to a crisp, freeing our zones. "I banish the Clear Kuriboh and the Don Zaloog from my grave to summon Chaos Sorcerer!" The monster Yuki summoned last round appears for the second time.
Chaos Sorcerer: DARK/ Level 6/ Spellcaster/ Effect - 2300/2000
"I activate its effect! I can banish a face-up monster, but Chaos Sorcerer can't attack the turn I use its effect. I chose to banish Master of Oz!" The sorcerer fires orbs of dark and light magic at the green boxing koala, causing it to fade away.
"Master of Oz!" Misaki cried out as the only monster they had left was Big Koala.
"I banish Marshmallon and Spirit Reaper to summon Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning!" The knight of chaos draws his sword, ready to stick down his foes.
Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning: LIGHT/ Level 8/ Warrior/ Effect - 3000/2500
"Yamamoto has Special Summoned three powerful monsters in one turn! The Yamamoto and Masumi pair are proving that neither of them is lacking as duelists!" Daitokuji said.
"Black Luster Soldier! Attack Big Koala!" The knight slashes his sword at the blue koala, destroying it.
Misaki & Takahiro LP: 3500
"When Black Luster Soldier destroys a monster through battle, it can make a second attack! Attack them directly, Black Luster Soldier!" The knight delivers a second powerful slash, but this time at Misaki and Takahiro.
Misaki & Takahiro LP: 500
"Dark Armed Dragon! Direct attack!" The dragon slashed its powerful claws at Misaki and Takahiro, depleting what's left of their life points and winning us the duel.
Misaki & Takahiro LP: 0
Kenji & Yukito: Winner
"And just like that, Yamamoto and Masumi advance to the final round!" Daitokuji announces as our picture moves up the ladder.
"Nice playing there." Yuki compliments.
"Thanks, but I wish you tone down on the selling out," I complained. It's bad enough to be wearing these stupid shirts. I don't need Yuki selling out to embarrass me more.
"Don't worry. After that move you pulled, I'm positive most people here will go to our parents' shop to buy some cards to prepare for next year." Yuki said. Good. I don't need a third round of what just happened.
"Let's kill some time while our opponent finishes their duels," I said. We need to adjust our decks for the next round anyway.
{Thirty minutes later}
"VW and XYZs, huh?" Yuki said as we watched the game before the final round.
"Their fusion monsters were pretty cool. They don't need to use Polymerization." I said. Yuki said there were other forms of fusion summoning, so what we saw must have been one of them.
"Except that they need to have the material on the field, and I would say that only the XYZ one is worth the trouble summoning it. Twenty-eight hundred is enough to beat over most things besides Golem and some of our boss monsters, and even if they face a massive monster, XYZ-Dragon Cannon can blow it up by discarding a card." Yukito explains.
"Yeah. While VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon's banish effect bypasses our floaters and recruiters, it doesn't seem worthwhile." I admit. It was an awesome-looking monster, but all the work needed to summon it for what it can do isn't enough. For banishing two fusion monsters, you get a monster with two hundred more attack points than XYZ, a once-per-turn banish, and a battle position switch if you attack a defense position monster. XYZ is better because you can use its pop effect more than once if you have enough cards to discard.
"Yeah. If you want to play Union monsters and their fusions, you're better off playing ABCs, as they ignore the biggest issue with Union fusions by using materials from the field and the grave." Yuki said, throwing away the trash from our snack break. "The final round is about to start."
Yukito and I walk on stage, our opponents already there, their duel disks raised. Our opponents are twin brothers, so their teamwork is bound to be better than the other duelists we had fought.
"DUEL!"
Kenji & Yukito: 8000
Ichiro & Jiro: 8000
"I'll take the first move," Jiro said. "I play V-Tiger Jet!" a machine based on a tiger flies onto the battlefield.
V-Tiger Jet: LIGHT/ Level 4/ Machine - 1600/1800
"I play the continuous spell, Frontline Base, which lets me special summon a level four or lower Union monster from my hand! I summon W-Wing Catapult!"
W-Wing Catapult: LIGHT/ Level 4/ Machine/ Union/ Effect - 1300/1500
A bulky, blue jet wing lands next to the robotic tiger.
"Now, I'll banish my V-Tiger Jet and W-Wing Catapult to fuse them! Fusion Summon! Level 6! VW-Tiger Catapult!" The two machines combine to form one robot.
VW-Tiger Catapult: LIGHT/ Level 6/ Machine/ Fusion/ Effect - 2000/2100
"I set two cards. Turn end." Jiro said, emptying his hand.
"My turn! Draw!" I said, looking at the card I had just drawn. Cyber Jar. Usually, setting this card is a good move as it would wipe out all of my opponent's monsters and let us both draw five cards, summoning any level 4 or lower monsters. Other than Spirit monsters. But VW can flip over my monster with its effect, and Cyber Jar's effect won't trigger. The Spirit Reaper and Marshmallon in my hand are also useless.
Yukito told me I should probably side out my flip monsters, but I wasn't expecting them to bring out VW so fast. However, it isn't like I have no moves.
"I set a monster and play Book of Taiyou to flip my set monster face-up!" I said.
"Flipping over your set monster? Why would you do that? Wait! It's a flip monster!" Jiro yells, catching what my opening move is.
"That's right! I flip-summon my set Morphing Jar!" a large stone jar appears on my field, and a shadowy monster pops out of the jar, grinning with its massive mouth and staring at Jiro with its sole eye.
Morphing Jar: EARTH/ Level 2/ Rock/ Flip/ Effect - 700/600
"Morphing Jar forces both of us to discard our hands and draw until we both have five cards," I explain, sending my remaining four cards to the graveyard as Jiro and I draw five. Allowing my opponent to refresh their hand is usually a misplay, but since this duel is a tag duel, Jiro has to wait after his brother and Yuki's turn before he can use his new cards.
Yuki told me there was a deck that uses the Jar monsters and Book of Taiyou to mill your opponent's deck out. But he said that the strategy was pretty inconsistent.
"I banish Spirit Reaper and Marshmallon from my grave to summon Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning!" The knight of chaos takes to the field once more.
Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning: LIGHT/ Level 8/ Warrior/ Effect - 3000/2500
"Battle! Black Luster Soldier! Attack VW-Tiger Catapult!" My knight rushes at the joined machines, preparing to strike.
"I activate my trap card! Threatening Roar!" The tiger part of the machine lets out a thundering roar. "Thanks to this card, you can't declare an attack this turn."
Well, that sucks. I could have cut Jiro and his brother's life points by half if BLS's attack had gone through. But then again, he had three back-row, and he probably watched my and Yuki's duels, so they might have added some cards to counter ours. At least I made them use one of their set cards.
"I set two cards. Turn end." I said, passing the duel over to the older twin.
"It's my turn! I summon X-Head Cannon!" A robot with shoulder-mounted cannons was summoned next to VW.
X-Head Cannon: LIGHT/ Level 4/ Machine - 1800/1500
"I play Foolish Burial to send a copy of Y-Dragon Head to the grave. Since I control a machine-type monster, I can play the spell card, Iron Call, to revive the Y-Dragon Head I just sent!" The red robotic dragon lets out a machinal roar.
Y-Dragon Head: LIGHT/ Level 4/ Machine/ Union/ Effect - 1500/1600
"Now, I play Double Summon, which allows me to normal summon again!" Ichiro said. "I summon Z-Metal Tank!" The final piece needed for Ichiro's Union fusion monster rolls next to the red metallic dragon.
Z-Metal Tank: LIGHT/ Level 4/ Machine/ Union/ Effect - 1500/1300
"Now that I have X, Y, and Z, I can banish them to sum-"
"I activate my set card, There Can Be Only One!" I yell, flipping open my trap card. "With this card, each player can only control one monster of each type," I explain, stomaching how much I dislike using this card. It feels cheap. Under normal circumstances, I would never use this card. It takes the fun out of dueling.
But I'm dueling in the Junior Tournament, so I must put my feelings aside if I'm going to win it.
The twin brothers' eyes widen at my trap's simple, but powerful, effect. "I-I'll send X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head, and Z-Metal Tank to the grave. Battle. VW will attack Morphing Jar." Ichiro declares.
"I activate my other set card, Mirror Force," I said, proving that we didn't need TCBOO to win, but with it, we're guaranteed to win unless they manage to destroy it.
VW's missiles hit the magical barrier, protecting our monsters while VW was destroyed.
"Turn end…" Ichiro mutters.
"My turn," Yukito said, drawing for his turn. "I tribute Morphing Jar to summon Airknight Parshath," Yuki said as the monster in the stone jar faded and was replaced by an angelic-looking knight.
Airknight Parshath: LIGHT/ Level 5/ Fairy/ Effect - 1900/1400
"Battle. I'll attack with both my monsters." Yuki said, causing the two knights to strike the twin brothers.
"AH!" The brothers scream as each of them takes a sword swipe.
Ichiro & Jiro: 3100
"Airknight Parshath's effect triggers. Since he inflicted battle damage, I draw a card." Yukito said, drawing a card. "Turn end."
"M-My turn. Draw." Jiro mutters, drawing his card with a shaking hand. "I set a monster, and special summon another copy of W-Wing Catapult in defense mode."
W-Wing Catapult: LIGHT/ Level 4/ Machine/ Union/ Effect - 1300/1500
"Turn end…"
"My turn. Draw." I said, not looking at the card I had drawn. "Battle. Airknight attacks W-Wing. Airknight's effect allows it to inflict piercing damage."
"Keh!" Jiro raises his arms to shield himself from the blast of light caused by W-Wing's destruction.
Ichiro & Jiro: 2700
"Black Luster Soldier, attack their set monster," I ordered. The chaos knight slices at the set monster, revealing it is a second copy of V-Tiger Jet. "Because BLS destroyed a monster through battle, it can attack again." I said, the knight slashing the brothers once monster.
"AAAHHH!"
Ichiro & Jiro: 0
Kenji & Yukito: Winner
"And with that, the preliminary rounds of the Junior Tournament's Southwest block is over!" Daitokuji announces. "The duelists moving on to the next round are Yamamoto Kenji and Masumi Yukito!"
"Good game." I said to the twin brothers as Yukito and I helped them up.
"Yeah. Good game." Ichiro mutters as he and his brother walk off stage. The feeling in my stomach twists as I watch them walk away, fading into the crowd.
If I ever get to duel the twins again, I hope it can be a duel without using floodgates.
{Hours later - Yukito's P.O.V.}
"I think I'm going to be sick." I mutter as I walk off to my room. After Kenji and I returned home and told our parents about our victory, they decided to throw a party. A party that lasted several hours.
"Come on, Yukito. They're happy that you two are advancing to the next round. Of course, they would want to celebrate." Ray said.
"They didn't need to bring out alcohol." I complain. Kenji's dad brought out some liquor to celebrate with my dad, bragging about how skilled their sons were. Then our mothers joined the drinking.
I'm never going near Kenji's mom when she's drunk ever again.
Kenji's mom isn't a violent drunk. But she kept going on about how skinny I was, forcing more food on my plate and refusing to let me leave the table until I ate everything on my plate.
I probably ate a dozen slices of pizza, fried chicken, and sweets. I might be in a younger body, but there's only so much abuse it can take.
Thankfully, Kenji's mom passed out before I burst. All our parents passed out, forcing Kenji and me to drag my drunk parents into their beds and Kenji's parents into a cab, with some help from the driver. I hope Kenji can get his parents back inside his house without too much trouble.
I sit at my desk and boot up my PC as I pull out three more energy drink cans.
"Didn't you already have two of those today? Energy drinks aren't good for your body, you know?" Ray comments.
"Yeah. Neither was all the greasy and sugary food I just had." I counter. "I need the energy boost for tonight."
This is where the real tournament starts.
The preliminary rounds were held in eight places, one in each direction of the main island. Each direction will have two duelists advance, meaning there are sixteen duelists when you include Kenji and me.
As I began researching my potential opponents, I saw some familiar faces.
I expected characters like Edo and Asuka, but Misawa, Rei, and Jun were also in the tournament. Manjome appears to be running Light and Darkness Dragon as well. Interestingly, characters like Kagurazaka are also in the tournament.
I grab one of the energy cans, open it, and take a sip. I have some duels to watch and strategies to make.
Tonight is going to be a long night.
{Leo's P.O.V.}
The Junior, Junior-Youth, and Youth Tournaments are excellent for finding gems. Everyone may be looking at duelists like Edo, but you shouldn't overlook rare talents like Kagurazaka. A duelist that can copy the skills and strategies of other duelists is a useful skill.
I replay a video from one of the Southwest duels. It is a duel where a young boy named Yamamoto Kenji plays a certain trap card.
There Can Be Only One. The trap card is quite a useful card. I can imagine how he would suffer. The picture of him being unable to summon his precious dragons because of a simple trap card brings me great joy.
Sure, the card would hurt my Obelisk Force's effectiveness, but I can't help but see the potential in the card.
I should buy some copies of There Can Be Only One. And I should see if there are other cards with similar effects.
Author's Note
The first part of the Junior Tournament is done, next chapter will start the real thing. Expect to see some familiar faces.
I'm also part of the SGO server, so if you want to join and chat, here is a link
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I also started my server for anyone who wants to ask me about my fics or to hang out.
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