"Yuki Judai, sure enough, he has something special that others don't."
Misawa watched Judai, who was proudly making a "V" sign below the stage, practically driving Manjome, who wanted to ridicule him into shutting himself away, to despair.
"Not relying on analysis, not relying on calculation, but completely relying on a surge of passion and instinctive impulse to duel, yet possessing unexpected talent."
Yugen mused inwardly, making it so complicated. To put it bluntly, isn't it just god-tier draws?
Born with the dueling spirit, Judai has an innate ability to draw cards more favorably than others. In the early stages of the anime, his Elemental HERO deck seemed to only have about seven or eight monster cards - each monster having only one copy with absolutely no duplicates, and even more than half of them were still normal monsters. The rest of the deck was filled with obscure magic and trap cards.
If an experienced duelist were to examine this deck, their first reaction would definitely be, "Can this thing really fight?" But if built on the premise of "always being able to draw the needed card," then filling the deck with dozens of support cards that can handle various situations might even seem somewhat powerful.
"There will definitely be a duel with Judai later on. But before that."
Misawa Daichi stood up from his seat, looking seriously at Yugen.
"First, let's settle the issue within the Yellow dorm. I don't intend to give up first place that easily."
"Then you'll have to try hard to keep up, second place." Yugen also stood up, teasingly.
"Of course." Misawa smiled, "I've been preparing for today for a long time, specifically completing the 7th sub-deck built for this duel."
In fact, from some perspectives, Yugen could see his own shadow in Misawa.
Misawa was the only person he had found in the academy who, like himself, carried multiple sub-decks for dueling. When he enrolled, he used the entrance exam's specialized test deck, and afterwards, he always carried six decks of different attributes and themes, which he called the "Six Union Deck."
In the original work, in order to duel the self-proclaimed first place Yuki Judai, he dedicated himself to researching and completing the 7th sub-deck in one month. However, it now seemed that this special honor was bestowed upon Yugen.
"Coincidentally." Yugen smiled, "I also spent some time, but just yesterday my main deck was finally completed."
"Oh?" Misawa revealed a confident smile mixed with anticipation, "So, does that mean I'm the first to experience the first place's main deck? Then I'm really flattered and worried."
"Likewise, being able to personally witness the 7th sub-deck that Misawa has tailored for me, I also feel very honored."
"Then let's do it, let's duel." Misawa's fighting spirit surged, "Today, let's decide who the strongest in the Yellow dorm really is!"
The two descended to the duel field, and the eyes of the Yellow dorm students quickly focused on them. These two had both shown overwhelming strength in the previous exchange meeting, and today would decide who was the real boss.
"Duel!" x2
[ Yugen, LP 4000 ]
[ Misawa, LP 4000 ]
"I'll go first, draw!" Misawa took the first turn, "I summon 'Mathematician' in attack position!"
A silver-haired old man wearing glasses appeared on his field, holding a thick textbook.
[ Mathematician, ATK 1500 ]
"Mathematician's effect, when it's successfully summoned, send one Level 4 or lower monster from the deck to the graveyard!"
One glance was enough to see the incredibly powerful effect, able to send any Level 4 or lower monster of any type or attribute from the deck to the graveyard without any restrictions. And not only that, but when Mathematician is destroyed by battle, it can also draw an extra card.
This card was extremely useful in the actual card game environment back then, even being invited to the banlist tea party at one point. However, many players familiar with it might not know that this brutal card was originally Misawa's.
Although Misawa's performance in the anime was a bit underwhelming, his main ace monsters were also quite useless in the actual card game environment. But many people didn't know that quite a few powerful lower-level monsters and support cards used in the competitive environment back then were his creations.
"Next, I use the Spell Card 'Graceful Charity', draw three cards from the deck, then discard two cards from my hand." Misawa quickly replaced his hand cards, "Finally, I set one card face-down on the field and end my turn!"
Ending his first turn with a set card, Misawa narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Yugen.
He felt that Yugen was actually a relatively difficult opponent to grasp. Because unlike nine out of ten duelists, Yugen was the type who was always changing his deck and his strategies. And he also noticed that the opponent seemed to enjoy researching opponents early on to find weaknesses, just like himself.
At least from Misawa's observation so far, the themes, types, and attributes of the decks Yugen used had absolutely no discernible patterns, and his tactics were ever-changing, making it difficult to strategically block him.
But the same should be true for the opponent. Misawa's Six Union Decks had almost nothing in common, and his newly completed 7th sub-deck was making its debut. The opponent probably wouldn't be able to easily target it either.
However, after researching, Misawa still found a starting point.
Thinking of this, Misawa's lips curled up into a confident smile.
He would definitely win this duel!
"My turn, draw." Yugen said, "I'll also start by using 'Graceful Charity' to draw three cards from the deck, then discard two cards from my hand."
"Next, I activate the Spell Card 'Delinquent Duo'."
Misawa narrowed his eyes.
Sure enough, it's here!
After carefully observing and drawing statistical charts of all the cards and tactics Yugen had used, Misawa noticed that the opponent would have similar card choices in several completely different decks.
One type that appeared relatively frequently was hand destruction.
"Pay 1000 LP to randomly discard one card from the opponent's hand, then the opponent discards one more card of their choice."
[ Yugen, LP 4000→LP 3000 ]
"Not so easy."
Misawa suddenly revealed a card in his hand.
"'Gemini Imps' monster effect in hand!
When the opponent activates a card effect that includes 'discard from our hand', send this card from the hand to the graveyard to negate that activation and destroy it!
At the same time, I then draw one card from my deck!"
Without any disadvantage, Gemini Imps made its first surprising appearance. Facing Misawa's Gemini Imps conjured onto the field, it was violently attacked and retreated uselessly.
"Therefore, Gemini Imps' effect is negated, and I draw one card!" Misawa smiled.
"So that's it, a researched counter-strategy against 'Hand Destruction', well done second place." Yugen chuckled.
"Because it's a duel facing first place, of course I have to be extra cautious." Misawa crossed his arms, confidently saying, "For this duel, I've made thorough preparations!"
Yugen drew three more cards.
"First, I set one monster card face-down, set two Spell/Trap cards face-down, and end my turn."
Misawa frowned slightly.
Three more face-down cards suddenly appeared on the field. But he didn't attack...
That way, it was still impossible to see what Yugen meant by his so-called "main deck".
"Still a defensive counter-attack-oriented stall deck?"
As this thought crossed Misawa's mind, he couldn't help but smile.
"If that's the case, then I'll win this duel even more!"
Yugen smiled slightly: "You'll know once you try."
"Then I won't be polite." Misawa raised his voice, "My turn, draw!"
"I activate the Equip Spell Card 'Wonder Wand'!" Misawa said, "Equip it to a Spellcaster-type monster, the equipped monster's ATK increases by 500.
Equip 'Wonder Wand' to the Spellcaster-type 'Mathematician'!"
[ Mathematician, ATK 1500→ ATK 2000 ]
"Next, please watch closely, first place. My 7th sub-deck designed to defeat you, the first finishing combo!"
Misawa revealed another card in his hand.
"Tribute Summon 'Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast'!" Misawa said, "This card can be Normal Summoned without Tributes. However, when Summoned this way, its original ATK and DEF are halved!"
[ Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast, ATK 2800→ ATK 1400 ]
"Next, from my hand I activate the Equip Spell Card 'Shooting Star Bow - Ceal', and equip it to 'Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast'!" Misawa said, "The equipped monster's ATK decreases by 1000 points, and it can attack the opponent directly!"
[ Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast, ATK 1400→ ATK 400 ]
This series of actions bewildered the surrounding students.
Reducing the already 1400 ATK Fusilier Dragon by another thousand, what good could a direct attack with it be?
"Perhaps he has 'Axe of Fools' in his hand."
Tenjoin Asuka, who was watching from the platform, suddenly heard a voice from behind. She turned her head at the sound: "Ryo?"
Appearing behind her was none other than Duel Academy's Kaiser, Marufuji Ryo.
"You came to watch the new student exam too?"
"Yeah, this year's new students have a few that caught my interest." Marufuji Ryo nodded, saying.
"Indeed, with 'Axe of Fools', he can negate Fusilier Dragon's own effect and gain an additional 1000 ATK boost, which can perfectly offset Shooting Star Bow's drawback." Asuka thought, "If it's this combo, Misawa will gain a Fusilier Dragon with 2800 ATK that can attack directly!"
But at this moment, Misawa Daichi on the field just chuckled: "You must be thinking, do I have 'Axe of Fools' in my hand?"
Yugen: "."
"The Axe of Fools combo allows me to obtain a Fusilier Dragon that can attack directly, it is indeed a very powerful combo. But my duel wants to go even beyond that!
I'm not just aiming to inflict widespread damage on you, I want to achieve victory in this turn!"
The entire audience was shocked by his words.
The duel had only just begun, yet he was so confident?
"From my hand, I activate the Spell Card 'Machine Duplication'!
Select a Machine-Type monster with 500 or less ATK on my field, Special Summon up to two monsters with the same name from my deck!
The one I choose is my own 'Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast' whose ATK has become 400!"
Spectating students: "! ! !"
Such an operation exists! ?
"Shooting Star Bow's purpose isn't for direct attacks, but to lower Fusilier Dragon's ATK to 500 or less!" Asuka couldn't help but say.
At this moment, Misawa's Fusilier Dragon on the field was targeted by Machine Duplication, split into three, and the other two heavy machinery dragons materialized and landed on the field!
[ Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast, ATK 2800 ]x2
Among the crowd, a student exclaimed in surprise: "Using such a method to summon three Level 7 monsters in one go!"
From his high vantage point, Cronos nodded repeatedly: "As expected of the elites among the new students, Misawa is putting in more effort than that Manjome."
The frustration he felt just now because Judai overwhelmed Manjome that he was wholeheartedly supporting, causing that poor student to want to be promoted to the Yellow dorm, had lessened quite a bit.
Asuka: "However, can it really proceed so smoothly? That Yugen's duel is precisely—"
Her gaze had involuntarily shifted to Yugen's face-down Spell/Trap cards.
Because she had personally experienced it, she knew that this guy's casually set cards should absolutely not be underestimated.
Sure enough, Yugen's face-down cards had already flipped up: "Activate face-down card, Trap Card 'Torrential Tribute'!
When a monster(s) is Normal Summoned, Special Summoned, or Flip Summoned, destroy all monsters on the field!"
"As expected." Asuka said.
She knew that Yugen would never let things be so simple.
The duel had just begun with such exciting offense and defense, making the surrounding students hold their breath. Misawa beautifully chained together an OTK formation in one turn, but in this exchange, it had unexpectedly turned into a situation where his resources would be swept away by a single card, putting him at an absolute disadvantage.
But Misawa still showed no panic, instead revealing a hint of confident smile: "As expected. Statistics show that hand destruction, along with disrupting traps, are the means you heavily invest in across various decks.
However, this was already predicted! Take a look, first place, this is the exam I prepared!"
He raised his hand, and the face-down card flipped open in an instant, seemingly releasing endless pressure towards the entire dueling arena.
"Continuous Trap - Royal Decree!
As long as this card remains face-up on the field, all other Trap Cards on the field are negated!"
Torrential Tribute's trap effect instantly became invalid, the rushing torrent of water bound by the trap turning into an illusion and dissipating.
"It's Royal Decree." Marufuji Ryo pondered for a moment, saying, "Indeed, for a deck leaning heavily on traps, this card's suppressive power is a devastating blow. It seems that Misawa has truly done enough preliminary investigation and preparation.
In this way, his opponent seems to be at a disadvantage.
Traps are completely sealed, and there are also transformable machine beasts on the field. Regardless of whether he can withstand this wave of attacks in this turn, even if he manages to persevere through this onslaught, it will be almost impossible to break through such a formation in the next turn."
"That's indeed the case. However." Asuka crossed her arms, leaning against the railing, and smiled, "Underestimating that guy comes at a price."
"Oh?" Marufuji Ryo glanced at Asuka, "I heard you dueled him before, did you have any insights?"
"Yeah."
Speaking of this, Asuka's mind briefly flashed back to the moment she faced that five-fusion machine beast, the overwhelming force. She had exerted all her strength and used all her resources, yet ultimately felt that kind of helplessness.
"I think, creating the impression of 'exceptionally resistant to traps' might very well be part of his tactics." Asuka said.
"What do you mean?"
"He deliberately creates such an image for himself, so that everyone will remember this most prominent characteristic at a glance. In this way, even if someone intends to analyze and target him, they will undoubtedly start with his most obvious characteristic.
If someone were to secretly gather intelligence to specifically research him, then for him, it would have been a disadvantage of the enemy being in the dark while he was in the light. But if he deliberately uses this deliberately created persona as bait."
". In that way, how the enemy will exploit his weaknesses instead becomes predictable, conversely turning it into his advantage." Marufuji Ryo listened and understood, but frowned slightly, seemingly expressing doubt, "But if that's really the case, this new student's cunning is too deep.
Moreover, this must be built on one premise, which is that even if he doesn't use his usual reliance on tactics, he can still skillfully manipulate various unpredictable tactics to counter-attack. Are you sure he's that kind of duelist?"
"I think it's possible. He's very strong." Asuka said seriously.
Marufuji Ryo smiled: "As a fellow student you've only met once, you surprisingly have a lot of confidence in him."
Asuka: "N-no way. It's just because I dueled him once, so I can tell clearly!"