This is an attempt to write anime duels with back and forth that does not rely on the opponents' inability to read cards or check public information. Yu-Gi-Oh! gameplay is rich, an exciting moments can be had even when both players are dueling "smartly". I hope you enjoy!
Chazz vs Jaden (Midnight Duel)
Some creative liberties were taken with Chazz's deck.
"So you actually showed up." Chazz sneered at the two Slifers, arms crossed. He had already been waiting at the Duel Arena when they arrived, flanked by two lackeys who seemed content to look tough and remain silent by his side. "I thought a Slifer slacker like you would've chickened out."
"And miss out on a sweet duel? No way!" Jaden gave Chazz a thumbs up. Off to the side, Syrus sighed, asking himself why he'd even tagged along to this. "You didn't have to call me out here at midnight, you know. I'd never turn down a challenge."
"Hmph, you've got a lot of confidence that this Duel isn't going to be a total stomp." Chazz strode over to one end of the Dueling field, readying his Dueling Disk. "I intend to put you in your place, Slifer, and show you the might of an Obelisk Blue!"
"Bring it!" Jaden moved into position on the other end of the field, fire in his eyes.
"Let's duel!"
"I'll take the first turn! I draw!" Chazz grinned at his starting hand, a grin which only widened when he saw the card he had just drawn. "I'll begin by activating Graceful Charity, which lets me draw three cards from my deck, then discard two cards from my hand."
Chazz looked over his new cards and nodded. "I discard Helpoemer and Chthonian Soldier. Then, I activate the Delinquent Duo that I just drew!" Two pot-bellied imps—one pink and one blue—manifested hovering next to Chazz.
"As cost, I need to pay 1000 LP (Chazz: 4000 LP - 3000 LP), but that's more than worth it. First, you discard a random card in your hand." The pink demon swooped over and snatched a card out of Jaden's hand—Polymerization. Jaden frowned at the bad luck while Chazz smirked.
"We're not done yet! Next, you have to discard another card from your hand—your choice this time." The blue demon waddled over to Jaden, coughed into one hand, and then extended its other palm out expectantly.
"Sweet!" Jaden exclaimed, which was not at all the reaction that Chazz had been expecting. "In that case, I'll discard my Elemental HERO Necroshade. Thanks for the assist, Chazz!" The blue demon happily took the card then floated away.
Chazz gritted his teeth. He didn't know that Yuki had cards with Graveyard effects, and enabling them wasn't ideal. "I Normal Summon White Magical Hat (1000/700) and Set three cards face-down." A tuxedo-clad gentleman wearing a pristine white cape and a titular white hat appeared, arms crossed. The three face-down cards appeared next to him. "Your move."
"Here goes! Draw!" Jaden eyed Chazz's three face-down cards with trepidation. "Alright, let's try this. I Normal Summon Elemental HERO Burstinatrix (1200/700)." The fiery woman touched down next to Jaden. "I Set one card face-down and then enter the Battle Phase. Burstinatrix, attack his White Magical Hat!"
"Idiot! In response to your attack, I activate my Set Rush Recklessly, which increases the ATK of my White Magical Hat by 700 points! (1000 ATK - 1700 ATK)" The White Magical Hat's eyes glowed red with berserker rage. He sidestepped Burstinatrix's flames and delivered a brutal karate chop to the back of her head, shattering her into particles (Jaden: 4000 LP - 3500 LP).
"And guess what? Since White Magical Hat inflicted Battle Damage, you have to discard another random card from your hand!" In an instant, the gentleman thief was at Jaden's side, where he ripped another card out of Jaden's hand. Jaden tensed, but when he saw which of the two cards had been selected, he let out a sigh of relief.
"I figured you had a trick like that up your sleeve, which is why I Set this card before entering battle, just to be safe. In my Main Phase 2, I activate the Set Miracle Fusion. By banishing from the Graveyard my Burstinatrix and the Elemental HERO Avian I just discarded, I Fusion Summon my trusty Elemental HERO Flame Wingman (2100/1200)!"
"Predictable!" Chazz tapped a button on his Duel Disk, and his other face-down was revealed. "I activate my second face-down, Chthonian Polymer. I can only activate it in response to a Fusion Summon, but by Tributing White Magical Hat, I can take control of the card that was just Fusion Summoned. Flame Wingman, come to me!"
The green and red hero emerged with a shine of light, only for White Magical Hat to burst into hellish flames that snaked out into the shape of two portals on the ground—one in front of Chazz and another around Flame Wingman. The hybrid hero screamed as it was dragged into the earth. Shortly after, it rose through the other portal by Chazz's side, cloaked in a dark aura.
"Oh man, this isn't good," Syrus whimpered. "Jaden's got an empty field and only one card left in hand, meanwhile Chazz just stole his strongest monster!"
"Sounds like Chazz, alright," a feminine voice called out. Syrus yelped and turned around to see Alexis walk in. "It's not just enough for him to win. Ever since prep school, he's been infamous for seeking nothing less than total domination in every victory."
"A-Alexis?" Syrus stuttered out. "What are you doing here?"
"Originally it was to stop Chazz from going too far, but…" Alexis looked over and Jaden slammed the last card from his hand onto the field, looking not too worried. "It seems Jaden still has a few tricks up his sleeve. Maybe his victory against Crowler wasn't such a fluke after all."
"I'm not out of it yet!" Jaden cried. "The last card in my hand is Elemental HERO Bubbleman (800/1200), and his effect lets me Special Summon him to the field in Defense Position!" The blue HERO appeared kneeling, arms crossed in a guard in front of him. "And since he's the only card on my field, his effect lets me draw two cards." Jaden did so, and whooped. "Guess I'm still in this! I Set two cards face-down and end my turn."
"Draw! You may have gotten lucky, but this duel ends here! I activate my final face-down card, Call of the Haunted, which lets me revive the Chthonian Soldier (1200/1400) I had discarded earlier."
Jaden tilted his head. "Why not summon the Helpoemer though? It's got more ATK doesn't it?"
"It's called a combo! Not like a slacker like you would understand strategy... also, Helpoemer can't be Special Summoned from the Graveyard." This last part, Chazz muttered. Chazz inserted a Spell card into the Duel Disk. "In response to my monster's summon, I activate Infernal Reckless Summon! Since I Special Summoned a monster with 1500 or less ATK, I can Special Summon two more monsters of the same name straight from my deck! Rise, my hellish army!"
The first Chthonian Soldier—a burly man in black armor, wielding a massive sword—burst out of the ground. Two more copies followed suit, the three of them dragging themselves out of the earth like a zombie horde.
"Of course, as a consolation prize, you can Special Summon as many copies as you like of any face-up monster on your side of the field. So tell me Yuki, you got any more copies of Bubbleman in your deck?"
Jaden grimaced. "No, I don't."
"Ha! I didn't think so! I enter the Battle Phase." Chazz swept an arm out dramatically. "Flame Wingman, destroy his Bubbleman! Skydive Scorcher!" Jaden grunted as his Bubbleman was burned to bits.
"And don't forget," Chazz continued. "Due to Flame Wingman's effect, you take damage equal to the ATK of the monster he just destroyed (Jaden: 3500 LP - 2700 LP). Now, you're wide open. Chthonian Soldiers, direct attack! End this!"
"Wide open? Are you forgetting about my face-down cards?" Jaden clicked a button, revealing a Trap card. "Since you destroyed one of my monsters by battle, I can activate Hero Signal, which lets me Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Elemental HERO monster from my deck. Say hello to my new friend, Elemental HERO Stratos (1800/300)!" A blue-streak zipped out of Jaden's deck, solidifying into a tall blue-skinned hero. Massive wings with whirring propellers were attached to his back. It stood protectively by its master, causing the Chthonian Soldiers to back off. "And when he's summoned, I get to choose between one of two effects. I'll use Stratos' search effect to add an Elemental HERO Bladedge to my hand."
"Hmph! Lucky move," Chazz scoffed. "I enter Main Phase 2 and Set one card face-down. I end my turn."
"My turn, draw! Let's not waste time—I Normal Summon Elemental Hero Bladedge (2600/1800). By using the effect of the Elemental HERO Necroshade in my Graveyard, I can summon Bladedge without any Tributes." A black mist emanated out of Jaden's Graveyard, and the golden-clad hero stepped out of it, taking its place next to Stratos. "Thanks for that, by the way!"
"Don't mention it," Chazz said through gritted teeth.
"Now, Battle Phase. Bladedge, destroy Flame Wingman!" In one swift strike, the Fusion was bisected, before shattering into particles (Chazz: 3000 LP - 2500 LP). "Stratos, destroy one of his Chthonian Soldiers!" Jaden motioned to one of the ones that hadn't been summoned by Call of the Haunted, and the wind hero rammed into it at full speed (Chazz: 2500 LP - 1900 LP). "
Before the soldier vanished, it hurled its massive sword at Jaden, who took it with a wince. "When Chthonian Soldier is destroyed, you take the same amount of Life Point damage that I did," Chazz explained. (Jaden: 2700 LP - 2100 LP).
"No big deal," Jaden said, bouncing back. "In Main Phase 2, I activate the Continuous Spell Mirage of Nightmare. I end my turn."
"I draw," Chazz said.
"And you know what?" Jaden interrupted. "So do I! Thanks to Mirage of Nightmare, during your Standby Phase, I can draw until I have four cards in hand."
"It'll also make you discard those during your next Standby Phase," Chazz pointed out waspishly.
"Don't worry about it." Jaden winked. "I know what I'm doing."
"I'm sure you do," Chazz drawled. "I activate my set Reckless Greed, which lets me draw 2 cards at the cost of skipping the Draw Phases of my next two turns." Chazz looked at the cards he drew and frowned. That hadn't been what he was hoping for, but it would do. "I change my remaining two Chthonian Soldiers to Defense Position, Set three cards face-down, and end my turn."
"Alright, I draw! And during the Draw Phase, I activate this Emergency Provisions in my hand, which lets me send my Mirage of Nightmare to the Graveyard in order to gain 1000 LP (Jaden: 2100 LP - 3100 LP)."
"Alright, go Jaden!" Syrus cheered.
"Impressive combo," Alexis nodded. "This lets him bypass the downside of Mirage of Nightmare and keep all the cards that he drew."
"Seems I got a lot of options. But first things first, I'll clean out some of that backrow of yours. I activate R - Righteous Justice, which lets me destroy two Spell or Traps on the field equal to the number of Elemental HERO cards I control. Since I have Stratos and Bladedge, I'll choose… those two face downs!"
"Bad luck!" Chazz activating both of the targeted cards. "I chain both Shrink and my second copy of Reckless Greed. They may be destroyed, but their effects aren't negated. I'll use Shrink to halve the ATK of your Bladedge, and then draw another two cards thanks to Reckless Greed." Bladedge did shrink a little bit in size, and the hero took a knee, suddenly feeling feeble (2600 ATK - 1300 ATK). "And by the way, even if I used multiple copies of Reckless Greed, I still only have to skip two Draw Phases in total."
"Wow, that's pretty neat!" Jaden smiled and flashed Chazz a thumbs up. The Obelisk couldn't tell if Yuki was being facetious or not… but then couldn't decide which outcome was more insulting.
"Now check out this sweet combo," Jaden flashed two Spell cards from his hand. "First, I activate Gift of the Martyr. By sending Stratos to the Graveyard, I can give Bladedge's ATK a boost equal to the sent monster's original ATK, which in Stratos' case is a whopping 1800," Bladedge stood strong once more, newfound strength washing over it as Stratos faded into blue light (1300 ATK - 3100 ATK). "Bladedge inflicts piercing damage, so his comrade's sacrifice won't go to waste."
"But don't worry, Stratos won't be gone for long! I activate Monster Reincarnation! By discarding this Elemental HERO Clayman, I can add Stratos back to my hand. And I'll Normal Summon him!" As if he'd never been gone, Stratos zoomed back onto the field. "This time, I'll use Stratos' other on-summon effect. Since I control one other HERO, I can destroy one Spell or Trap on the field. And I think I'll clear your remaining face-down card."
"No!" Chazz couldn't help but cry, as his final face-down was revealed to be Mirror Force—and blown away by Stratos' wind.
"Bladedge, Stratos, destroy Chazz's remaining Chthonian Soldiers!" Both heroes obeyed, splitting up and taking down each of their assigned targets.
"Piercing damage is still battle damage," Chazz explained, after Bladedge's attack, "so it's also reflected back to you!" (Chazz: 1900 LP - 200 LP) (Jaden: 3100 LP - 1400 LP). Both duelists grunted from the damage.
At the end of the turn, Bladedge's ATK returned to normal, both Shrink and Gift of the Martyr wearing off (3100 ATK - 2600 ATK).
"Seems like your Shrink was just enough to keep you alive! Your move, Chazz. I can't wait to see what sweet moves you'll pull to get out of this."
"Don't mock me!" Chazz barked. "It's my turn!" Chazz skipped his draw due to the effects of Reckless Greed.
"I wasn't-" Jaden started, only to get cut off.
"I banish the White Magical Hat and one of the Chthonian Soldiers from my Graveyard, in order to Special Summon Chaos Sorcerer (2300/2000). Then, I'll use his effect to banish your Bladedge!" A sinister looking magician morphed into existence, who wasted no time in surrounding the armored hero with chaotic magic that warped it out of existence.
"He can't attack the turn I use that effect, but it doesn't matter, since I'm going to Tribute him for my Caius the Shadow Monarch (2400/1000)!" The sorcerer was replaced by a hulking Fiend with a massive orb of darkness held between its hands.
'If I banish Stratos, then Caius can swing for game,' Chazz thought, noting that Jaden had less than 2400 LP. 'But… that leaves the matter of his face-down card. If that's a battle trap, then I'd be screwed.' Loathe as he was to admit it, but the Slifer had somehow put him on the back foot in this fight. Chazz was teetering on the edge of defeat here. 'No… I need to play it safe. He doesn't have any cards left in his hand. There's no way he can destroy Caius by battle, so I just need to keep it alive. I'm not going to choke right at the end.'
"When Caius is Tribute Summoned, he can banish one card on the field. And I target your face-down!" Caius hurled its orb of energy at the Set card, revealing it to be Draining Shield. Chazz felt relief flush through him, vindicated that he had made the right call.
"Wait… if Jaden had a Draining Shield this whole time, why didn't he use it to stop Flame Wingman from attacking earlier?" Syrus asked.
"He needed to activate Hero Signal so that he could search Stratos so that he could search Bladedge," Alexis explained patiently.
"Oh, right, that was obvious," Syrus slumped. "I guess that's why I'm in Slifer Red…"
"Caius," Chazz declared, "destroy Stratos!" Another orb of magic came out of the Shadow Monarch's hands, this time headed straight for the remaining Elemental HERO, who vanished into polygons upon getting hit (Jaden: 1400 LP - 800 LP).
"Whew, good thing I had those extra Life Points from Emergency Provisions..." Jaden muttered.
"No cards on the field, no cards in hand, how the tables have turned!" Chazz boasted, pointedly ignoring how Caius was the only card on his side of the field. Still, it was unlikely that Yuki would topdeck anything that could out the 2400 ATK Monarch. Caius would run over all of the Slifer's monsters, and once Chazz found a second monster, he could attack for game.
"I draw! I Set a monster face-down and end my turn," Jaden said.
Chazz didn't draw due to the effects of Reckless Greed. "Caius, destroy that Slifer slacker's Set monster!" The monster was revealed to be Elemental HERO Sparkman (1600/1400), who was promptly destroyed.
"I draw! I Set another face-down Monster and end my turn."
"Stall all you want! It's my turn, and I can finally draw again!" Chazz looked at his topdeck. A Trap card. Annoying that it wasn't a monster, but at least he had removal as extra insurance for if Yuki tried to mount any sort of comeback.
"Caius, destroy that slacker's Set monster again!" This time, the card was Winged Kuriboh (300/200), who huffed defiantly before shattering into particles.
'Okay, so I guess drawing a monster wouldn't have mattered here then, since Yuki can't take any more battle damage for the rest of this turn. So in a way, this Trap card was the best draw in this situation,' Chazz observed internally.
"In Main Phase 2, I Set a card face down and end my turn. Any turn now, and this duel is over, slacker!"
"I know, and I can't wait!" Jaden shouted. "This duel's been a blast, and it deserves an epic climax. I draw!"
Jaden looked at the card he just drew and a massive smile broke out over his face. This was exactly what he needed! "I activate Skyscraper 2 - Hero City!" Jaden inserted the card into the Duel Disk's Field Spell Zone, and immediately they were transported into a futuristic metropolis. "Using its effect, once per turn, I can Special Summon an Elemental HERO monster in my Graveyard that was sent there as a result of battle. Guess who's back? It's Elemental HERO Stratos again!" Stratos zoomed out of the city's skyline and made a three-point landing next to its master, ready to battle once more.
"Man, Stratos has really been doing a ton of heavy lifting in this duel…" Syrus muttered.
"This Skyscraper doesn't have the same effect as the one I used to beat Crowler, but that's easily fixed! I'm going to use Stratos to search out Elemental HERO Captain Gold, who I can discard to add the original Skyscraper to my hand! Then, I can attack your Caius with my Stratos, and Skyscraper would boost its ATK up to 2800. That's game, it's over!"
"As if I'd let you get away with that!" Chazz yelled. "I chain my Bottomless Trap Hole, destroying your Stratos. It's over… for you!" A deep bottomless pit appeared beneath Stratos, and despite the hero's wings, an otherworldly force sucked him into the abyss.
"No it's not!" Jaden shot back. "Stratos' effect doesn't require me to declare my search target ahead of time. I can search for any HERO monster from my deck when the effect resolves, and since you had activated Bottomless Trap Hole, I change my mind. I'm going to search for a different Elemental HERO, one that's going to end this game—right here, right now!"
"Impossible! You're bluffing! If you had such a monster then you would have just searched that from the start!" Chazz stepped back, eyes wide in panic. 'There's no way Yuki's telling the truth! There isn't a single Elemental Hero he can Normal Summon that can beat over Caius, since Necroshade's effect can only be used once. Maybe he'll try a direct attack? No, it can't be. Elemental HERO Ice Edge needs a discard, and Elemental HERO Knospe needs another face-up Elemental HERO to gain its effect,' Chazz's mind raced. 'He's full of hot air and can't admit that I've outwitted him!'
"I'm not bluffing Chazz, and I can prove it. The card I'll add is Elemental HERO-"
"Boys!" Alexis interrupted, and despite everything, both Jaden and Chazz went silent. Then, they both heard it—the distant sound of footsteps echoing from the corridors. "Campus security is almost here! If you don't want to get caught, we'll have to leave, like, right now!"
"Tch!" Chazz cursed under his breath and disabled his Duel Disk, the holograms fading. He rallied his lackeys and they scrambled for one of the opposite corridors. "As far as I'm concerned, Slifer slacker, I was going to win this duel! I know you didn't have an out, and I'm not falling for your stupid bluff!"
Before Jaden could retort, Chazz and his minions raced away, and the Slifers—plus Alexis—took that as their cue to book it as well down another one of the corridors.
After a minute of exhausting running, the group of three found themselves outside hiding behind a nearby tree, huffing and puffing and leaning against it for support. After another few minutes of silence without being found by campus security, they relaxed, knowing that they were in the clear.
"That was a close one," Syrus groaned, sliding down to the ground. "Remind me why you dragged me into this, Jaden?"
"Aw c'mon Syrus, a little exercise didn't hurt anyone!" Jaden joked, although it was slightly undermined by his own heavy breaths. "And besides, weren't you glad to see such an awesome duel? That Chazz really knows how to duel. He had me on the ropes so many times in that duel, it was really fun! We both got to show off our full strength."
"Speaking of that duel," Alexis said, and both boys turned to her. "Jaden, did you really have a card that could end that duel, or were you just bluffing?"
"Nah, that wasn't a bluff. Check this out." He fished his deck out and rifled through it until he found a specific card, which he held out for Alexis. "Elemental HERO Lady Heat! It would've dealt 200 damage to Chazz's LP during the End Phase, and that would've been just enough to seal the deal."
"Why didn't you just declare that you would search her from the start?" Alexis frowned.
"I just added her to my deck, so she didn't cross my mind immediately," Jaden admitted. "I also recently got Captain Gold, but I'm more used to Skyscraper plays, so that's what I tunneled in on at first." Jaden chuckled. "I guess it all worked out in the end. If that had been a Sakuretsu Armor or something, my Skyscraper line would have been a massive throw!"
"Stratos was a recent pickup too, and boy did he put in some work in this duel!" He patted his Deck affectionately. "I need to look into finding another copy of him. This card's way too powerful for me to only be running him at 1."
"I didn't know you ran burn cards, Jaden," Syrus said, now the one holding Lady Heat and... admiring her art? Ew, Jaden needed to have a talk with his friend about boundaries between friends' Decks. "And wait, I thought Elemental HERO Burstinatrix was the only female Elemental HERO?"
He waved his hand dismissively. "Lady Heat was released after. She's pretty new, so like I said, I'm trying her out, and good thing too! Anyway, Burstinatrix has new flavor text that now says she's the first woman Elemental HERO, not the only one. I actually have the new version in my collection, but I still use my older copy for sentimental value."
"You really know your HEROes, don't you Jaden?" Alexis said, now smiling.
"Of course I do!" Jaden preened, puffing his chest out and jabbing his thumb into it. "The Elemental HEROes are my team! What kind of duelist would I be if I didn't care about them?"
"What kind of duelist indeed," Alexis repeated, a hint of approval seeping into her voice. "Well, that's enough excitement for me tonight, boys. I'll see you at Crowler's class tomorrow." She yawned. "Try not to be late!"
"Seeya," the two Slifers waved her off as she walked off back to her dorm. Jaden turned to Syrus. "Man, this sure has been a crazy first day. I hope the rest of our time in this academy is just as exciting."
"I think I can live with a little less excitement," Syrus said, slumping. Jaden laughed and patted his friend's back, the two of them beginning the long trek back to the Slifer dorms.
I'm a longtime lurker and fanfic-reader, now trying my hand at writing of my own.
One day I'd like to try my hand at writing a full-fledged story, but for now I'd like to cut my teeth with a few simple standalone Duels as simple exercises. That's the part I find more exciting to write, anyway, and as of now I don't really have a unique story idea to tell.
My goal is to script some fun Duels with a lot of cleverness and back-and-forth. I want to show that you can write interesting Duels without resorting to characters making contrived misplays, blatantly not reading cards, or running random wacky hyper-specific cards. I want to show that people playing this game seriously and competently isn't boring! As a bonus, it'd be fun for me to show off neat game mechanics and card interactions in this game I've come to love for two decades now.
If it wasn't obvious, I was heavily inspired by the style of Yung Warrior. Everyone knows State of the Meta, but their one-shot duels are all excellent. I highly recommend Star Duels, which is my favorite. I'd also like to shout out Emblemfan1, whose Staying in the Background is also great, and which I am in the process of rereading.
Jaden vs Chazz was a fun duel to write. I took a lot of creative liberties with Chazz's deck, but hope that the overall inspiration of "dark", "hell", "underworld", etc. was still present in his Deck. His cards like Helpoemer and Mefist the Infernal General were excuse enough for me to give him a bunch more hand rip cards and card advantage generators. I also figured it would be in-character for an Obelisk Blue to have a ton of strong staples from this era.
Jaden's got his Elemental HEROes, and his Spell/Trap arsenal was taken from cards he used in the show. Stratos is absolutely cracked, and one of my favorite cards of all time. I already knew that I wanted the ending to be Lady Heat (and only Lady Heat) being the card that sealed the victory, so it was a fun puzzle for me to work in reverse and engineer the game state so that Chazz would end on exactly 200 LP.
I hope you enjoyed, and I will update when the inspiration strikes!