Yugioh Card Maker Forum

Gather the Duel Force


It was a Friday morning in the suburbs of Cincinnati Ohio, in the northeastern United States. I was sitting at one of Old Man Wilson's card tables in his game shop, just down the street from my house. Across from me sat an older and larger boy. We were competing in a game of Duel Monsters to decide which of us would be allowed to buy Wilson's last pack until Monday. Old Man Wilson stood behind the counter, watching our duel and scratching his nearly-bald head. I was behind, but Wilson, who had seen me duel many times, knew exactly what was coming.

My opponent had 1700 Life Points and three cards in his hand. On the field he had 'Armed Samurai - Ben Kei' equipped with three Equip Spell Cards (Attack Mode, ATK: 2600), and one 'Sheep Token' (Defense Mode, DEF: 0). I had 450 Life Points, four cards in my hand, and nothing left on the field at all.

"Well," I said, sighing, "looks like this duel is over."

"Oh yeah!" said my opponent. "I knew I'd win, wimp!"

"Hold on buddy," I said, a bit condescendingly, "I said the duel was over, not that i was giving up. Since you have two more monsters on the field than I do, I can Special Summon my favorite card, 'The Fiend Megacyber' (ATK: 2200). And I'll also activate the Spell card 'Darkness Approaches', discarding two cards to flip your monster face-down into face-down attack position. Since it is face-down, all of your Equip Spells equipped to him are destroyed (ATK: 2600-2100=500). Now I attack 'Ben-Kei' with 'Fiend Megacyber' and take all of your Life Points (LP: 1700+500-2200=0).

"What? That's impossible!" said the kid, holding his ragged blond hair in his hands as I picked up my cards and walked away.

I waked over to the counter to buy my pack, and behind me the kid cried out, "Don't sell my pack to that cheater!"

"Actually," Mr. Wilson said, "every one of Johnnyboy's moves was completely legal." He chuckled and squinted his eyes behind his inch thick eyeglasses.

I picked up my booster pack and handed Wilson the money for it. Then I slid the pack into my Deck Box, pocketed it, and turned toward the door, only to find the larger boy blocking my path, his hands clenched into fists.

"I think you have something of mine," the kid said. "Are you gonna give it to me, or do I gotta take it from ya?!"

"You don't wanna do that pal," said Mr. Wilson.

"Shut up old man!" the larger kid yelled. He took a step toward me and took a swing at my head. I ducked underneath and stepped back, taking my hands out of my pockets.

"Here it is," said Wilson, frustrated, burying his face in his hands as the kid took another swing at me. I caught his wrist, thrust my palm upward, popping his elbow lightly, and then pinned his arm against his back.

"Ow ow owowowow!! Fine! Keep the pack. Just let me go!" I let go of the kids arm and he shot out the door at warp speed.

"So, John," Mr. Wilson asked with a laugh, "how is it that a quiet fifteen-year-old kid like you gets into more fights in my store than punks like him?"

"Must be my charming disposition," I said with a smirk, and Mr. Wilson laughed again, a wheezing sound. "See ya later, Will," I said, waving back at my friend with a laugh of my own. "And be happy that I didn't accidentally flip this one onto one of your tables like last time."

That's how I was though. Trouble seemed to follow me around, like something dangerous was creeping up on me, just out of sight. I had always wondered what it could be, but I never would have guessed back then just how close I was to finding out.

From Mr. Wilson's shop I walked home. Once there I sat down on my bed, laying out the cards in my deck. I had been asked by mail the week before to assemble a team of four for an exhibition match of a new form of dueling at the opening of the mall's new Game Center the next day. I was almost ready to go and gather my team for one last practice before the match. I just wanted to check my deck one more time first. I ran my fingers through my unruly brown hair and looked over my cards carefully.They were mostly Dark monsters of the Fiend, Machine, and Warrior types, with some monsters from the Light family thrown in for support. My Spell and Trap cards were carefully chosen to give my monsters the advantage even in the most hopeless situations. I had been tweaking this deck since I'd starting playing at age seven.

Everything looks good, I thought, flipping through my spare cards. Oh, wait! I remembered, I almost forgot to open my new pack!

I reached into my Deck Box and removed the pack. I pulled it open and removed the nine cards inside. As I flipped through the cards, i only saw cards that didn't fit in my deck, until I came across a monster with 0 Attack and Defense Points. Even though it seemed weak at first glance, I could feel that there was a strange power within it.

I don't know why, I thought, looking down at the card, but i'm putting you in my deck.


Tucker


The next part of the story will be told from my point of view. I'm Tucker, John's best bud. I have red hair and green eyes. People are always telling John to keep away from me because he is sane, and I, arguably, am not. You see, I have a fixation with fire. I'm not some pyromaniac arsonist, and I don't, like, get my jollies from it or anything. I just think fire is the coolest thing ever. Period. This is why I always carry a lighter, even though I don't smoke (anything, despite what you may be thinking).

At about this point in the story I was at the local park sitting down on one of the old running trails, dueling a kid for some of his spare Fire cards. John, who taught me to play Duel Monsters, says that I tend to be a little hotheaded, but that I am very good.

"My 'Goblin Attack Force' kills your 'Inferno' card," my opponent said, "and then goes to Defense mode (my Life Points: 1700-1300=400; my opponent's Life Points: 1900; 'Goblin's' DEF: 0)."

"Then I summon my 'Gaia Soul the Combustible Collective' (ATK: 2000) and attack 'Goblin Attack Force'. And since my 'Gaia Soul' is a piercing monster I deal you battle damage even though 'Goblin' is in Defense mode (1900+0-2000=0)."

"Crap!" my opponent said, running his hand through his longish blond hair. "Then I guess these are yours." He handed me the cards, got up, and walked away.


When John showed up I was still sitting in the same place, busy putting the new cards into my deck. I finished just as he reached me.

"Hey Tuck," he said. "How ya doin'?"

"Awesome," I replied over my shoulder, "I just won a but load of sweet stuff! Take a look."

I handed John my newly modified deck, and he flipped through my cards. "Excellent," he said, "Team Beatdown doesn't stand a chance!"


John


From the park, Tucker and I took the bus back to my house to get my sister, Sarah, a tomboyish eleven-year-old girl with sandy blond hair and blue eyes who plays many kinds of sports. Her favorite is soccer, where she usually plays Full Back or Goalie. Sarah is the third member of my team. From there we took the next bus to nearby Newtown to my cousins' house. The fourth member of my team is my cousin Jen. She's a twelve-year-old, tall, with long brown hair and dark brown eyes. She has a younger sister, Kristin, who is just learning how to play.

Sarah, Tucker and I arrived at Jen's where her mom, my aunt, let us inside. We walked downstairs into Jen's basement game room/family room and piled onto the two couches.

"So," I asked, "is everyone ready for tomorrow?"

"I definitely am," said Jen. "I just finished putting together a few new combinations."

"I'm ready," said Tucker.

"So am I," said Sarah.

"I'm ready too," I said, "but I think it can never hurt to practice your game." We hung out in Jen's basement for a few hours and ran dueling drills and played practice games until we were all as comfortable about our team mates' strategies as we were about our own.

"Well, time to sleep," I said, "gotta go."

Tucker, Sarah and I were about to leave (my aunt had agreed to drive us home) when Jen asked, "By the way, what's the name of our team?"

I smiled at her in the mischievous way that I sometimes do and said, "Someday our team will be famous, and everyone will know our name. We are the Duel Force!"

Team Match; Team Duel Force vs. Team Beatdown


The next day, my team and I met at the local mall, making our way to the location of the long awaited Game Center. A man that I am pretty sure was the Game Center's new manager had just finished wheeling a portable podium out in front of the large entrance, which was blocked off by a thick black curtain. Duelists of varying ages had gathered all around the podium. Above the podium hung a large video monitor.

It was only a few minutes after we arrived that the manager stepped up to the podium to speak. "Welcome," he said, "to the Grand Opening of the seventeenth Industrial Illusions Game Center, the first to open here in Ohio-" His speech continued, but I didn't really pay too much attention.

"John," Tucker asked, "is this Christopher Johnson guy that they got to captain Team Beatdown really as good as everyone says?"

"From what I've heard he is," I said. "I read up on him on the internet. He's never lost a duel. He was chosen as one of two team captains because of his history as the long reining regional champion. I was chosen randomly off of a list on some database."

"You think we'll win?" Sarah asked.

"Not a chance," I said. "Now be quiet. I think this guy's about to say something important."

"Now everyone," the manager said, stepping aside as the screen above his head lowered into position, "I give you the sponsor of this establishment, Maxamillion Pegasus!"

Everyone in the crowd clapped, though the recording of the Duel Monsters creator could not hear them. I watched, eagerly, as the face of the legendary figure appeared on the screen. "Greetings Duelists," the recording said in a sing-song voice, "and welcome to the grand opening of my newest Game Center. Like with all of my Centers I consider this, the first Game Center to open in the grand state of Ohio, to be a special project. I spared no expense in equipping it with the latest technology, including Duel Disks and Holomats, all available for rent. You will also find a full Duel Disk arena, a store, and a restaurant, ensuring that your experience here will be the best it possibly can be. And now, if I am correct, it is nine-o-clock, time to open the doors and begin the exhibition match, featuring regional champion, Christopher Johnson!"

There was an uproar from the crowd all around me. Everyone knew who Christopher was. I heard people talking to their friends, saying things like "...king of swift attacks..." and "...able to win in a single turn, no problem!"

The screen rose back up to the ceiling, and the manager returned to his previous place behind the podium and cried out, "Now, ladies and gentlemen, Duelists of all ages, welcome to the Game Center!"

The curtain behind him parted, and the crowd around me poured inside. I stood and watched them with my team. When the crowd thinned enough for me to make out who was walking and who was standing still, I noticed a group of four standing to my left. Three of them were unremarkable. Normal kids. One was tall, about 6' 1", with long brown hair. The other two were about my height. One had brown hair, and the other had light blond hair. They didn't stand out. They didn't look too weak, or too strong. Absolutely average.

It was the fourth one who caught my attention. Christopher was 16, one year older than me, with light brown hair and almost yellow-brown eyes. He wore dark blue jeans, and a jean jacket over a faded black t-shirt, and he had a Duel Disk strapped to his left arm. He was watching me too. Our eyes met, and I could tell two things. One, he was a good person, someone who you would be glad to have watching your back. And two, he had absolutely no doubt in his mind that me and my team would lose.


After the rest of the crowd had gone inside, my team and Team Beatdown were led by the manager into a large area alongside the actual Game Center where the management offices were located.

"Is everyone on both teams clear on how this is gonna work," the manager asked.

"Yes," Christopher replied, speaking for his team.

"Team Duel Force?" the manager asked, addressing me.

"Yes," I answered confidently.

"Okay, good," the manager turned and led us to a large door leading to the interior, "remember that you can't deviate from the pre-submitted order or the whole team will be disqualified."

"Right," I nodded as another man lead Team Beatdown out onto the floor. I could hear cheering and applause.

"Your turn Duel Force," the manager said, "good luck." And we made our ways out to face our opponents.


As my team and I entered the main room we were met by applause. I looked around to check the place out. The front half of the large round room was booths lining walls, snack machines, tables, and the restaurant. The back half was arcade games, and stadium style seats around a large raised platform. My team was led to one end of the platform. Team Beatdown was led to the other. All around us, sitting at the tables and the seats, were at least two hundred Duelists. The ceiling was dome-shaped, like a stadium. The room was lit by dozens of rows of fluorescent lights.

"Now," said the manager, "its time to begin. Will the first two Duelists please step up onto the arena floor?"

The crowd cheered as the first member of Team Beatdown, the taller kid, stepped up onto the platform. Some staff guys brought my team and I our new Duel Disks (which I was told we were allowed to keep), and our first Duelist, my cousin Jen, stepped up across from her opponent.

"Whaaat!?" the tall kid cried. "I have to fight a little girl? I'm James, of Team Beatdown! Some little girl won't even be a snack for my deck!"

"We'll see," I said from my place below. "Jen's no pushover."

"I go first," said Jen (LP: 2000). "Draw, and activate 'Pot of Greed'. With this card's effect, I can draw two more cards."

Jen drew, and selected a new card. "I set a monster in face-down defense position, and set two cards face-down."

"Ah ha!" said, "You're already running scared! I'll have to make this quick and put you out of your misery. I summon my 'Gilasaurus' as a Special Summon, which means I can summon a second 'Gilasaurus' as well, also as a Special Summon! And finally I summon my 'Uraby', and I attack!"

James' monsters, two small brown dinosaurs about six feet tall, and a larger dinosaur,fifteen feet tall, so dark brown that it was almost black, poised to attack Jen. 'Uraby' took two steps forward and slashed at the hologram of Jen's face-down monster with his long claws. Just before the monster was destroyed it was revealed as a large, green grasshopper.

"Alright!" said James. "Attack her my two 'Gilasaurus'! Finish her off (Total ATK: 2800)." The two dinosaurs roared and started forward.

"Activate," said Jen, "the effect of my 'Pinch Hopper'. When it goes to the Graveyard I can summon any Insect card from my hand. I choose to summon the 'Empress Mantis'."

Between Jen and the attacking monsters appeared a giant praying mantis wearing a frilly white collar (DEF: 1400). James' dinosaurs leaped at her, but she repelled them with her blade-like arms.

"Now I activate the Trap card 'Zero Gravity', changing the battle positions of every monster on the field ('Mantis''s ATK: 2200/'Gilasaurus'' DEF: 400/'Uraby''s DEF: 800). Now, since a monster you control was changed to defense mode, I can activate the Trap card 'Tragedy', destroying every defense position monster that you control.

James stared, shocked, as his one-turn army of monsters disappeared before his eyes.

"Now I move again," said Jen, drawing a new card. "I attack you with my 'Mantis' and finish you off." Throughout the entire duel, through all of the goading, Jen had remained calm and collected. And it had payed off. As the 'Mantis' struck (James' LP: 2000-2200=0) the crowd fell silent. As it turned out, a newbie could beat a pro after all.

Jen stood at her end of the platform and placed another card face-down. She held the remaining two cards close to her, and ended her turn. James stepped down and Jen's next opponent, the other brown haired boy, took his place. "Hi," he said, "I'm Jason, and I'm the one who's going to defeat you."

A Rivalry is Born


"Since you have cards in play and more wins than me," Jason announced, "I get to make the next move, no contest. I start with the Spell card 'Painful Choice'. I choose five cards from my deck and show them to you. You choose one to add to my hand, and I discard the rest."

Jason fanned out his deck and looked through, choosing five cards. He placed them on the five Monster Card Zones of his Duel Disk, and holograms of the five cards appeared in the air above his head. Three 'Berserk Gorillas' and two 'Voltech Kongs'.

"Add 'Voltech Kong' to your hand," Jen said, and Jason did as he was told, sending the remaining cards to the Graveyard.

"I summon," Jason declared, "my 'Bazoo the Soul-Eater' in attack mode!"

Between Jason and Jen's insect appeared a large baboon-like monster, purple, with a gray belly and horns. "My monster," Jason explained, "can eat three souls per turn to increase his attack points by 300 per soul until my next turn. So I remove 'Voltech Kong' and two 'Berserk Gorillas' from play to raise his attack power to 2500.

"Now," Jason said, "I play 'Wild Nature's Release', raising 'Bazoo''s attack by an amount equal to his defense (2500+900=3400). I also activate two more Spell cards, 'Mystical Space Typhoon' to destroy your face-down card, and 'Poison Fang', a card that increases the damage a Beast monster can deal to my opponent by 500." a burst of wind cut through Jen's card and destroyed it. "Attack with 'Bazoo' to destroy the 'Mantis'." 'Bazoo' reached out and crushed the giant bug with his right hand (LP: 2000+2200-3400-500=300). "Now I end my turn with a face-down card, and my 'Bazoo' is destroyed by the effect of 'Wild Nature's Release'." 'Bazoo' disappeared.

Jen drew her next card, finally beginning to look distressed. She only had four cards left in her hand, and nothing in play.

"I summon my 'Neo Bug' in attack mode," Jen declared, a large, dark green mantis with blades for forearms appearing at her side (ATK: 1800), "and attack you directly to even up the score."

'Neo Bug' lunged at Jason, its blades raised, but Jason was one step ahead. "Reveal," he said, "the Trap card 'Call of the Haunted', summoning my 'Berserk Gorilla' from the Graveyard." A large orange/brown gorilla appeared and beat its chest (ATK: 2000). I glanced up at Jen's hand. Jen had lost.

"I stop my attack," said Jen, "and, based on page seven of the Team Duel Rulebook, I forfeit two third of my remaining Life Points to the next Duelist, Tucker." Jen's Life Points dropped to zero, and she and Tucker traded places (Tucker's Life Points: 2000+200=2200).

"Since you have cards in play, I go first" said Tucker, a grin spread wide across his face. "I play 'Graceful Charity', which lets me draw three cards, as long as I discard two afterward. I discard the Fire Monsters 'Hinotama Soul' and 'Tyhone #2' and remove them from play to Special Summon 'Inferno' and 'Spirit of Flames'."

Tucker's monsters appeared; 'Inferno', a floating face made up of raging flames (ATK: 1100), and 'Spirit of Flames', a humanoid figure with red skin and two curved horns on his head (ATK:1700).

"Next," said Tucker, "since both of these monsters were summoned by Special Summon, I can Normal Summon 'Gaia Soul the Combustible Collective'. Wait 'till ya see his ability!"

A large mass of heat, fire, and flesh appeared, floating in the air. It absorbed Tucker's other two monsters to raise its own attack power (ATK: 2000+1000+1000=4000).

"'Combustible Collective' attack!" Tucker commanded, and the monster fired itself at 'Berserk Gorilla' like a living meteor. It exploded, taking the Beast monster with it. Jason threw his arms up to protect his face from the smoke and flames that washed over him (2000+2000-4000=0). Jason stepped down and was replaced by the third Beatdown member; the blond-haired one.

"So who are you?" Tucker asked.

"I'm Mike," he answered, "and it's my turn first (LP: 2000). I draw, and I summon my 'Warrior Dai Grepher'."

A tall, muscular warrior appeared, wearing black leather armor padding and carrying a longsword (ATK: 1700). He slashed Tucker with his blade (2200-1700=500).

"Next," said Mike, "I lay two cards face-down, and I end my turn."

Tucker drew, frowning, and threw his hands up in frustration. "All I've got is a lot of nothin', so I'll set a defense monster and end my turn."

"Then I draw," said Mike, "and play 'Polymerization', fusing my 'Warrior Dai Grepher' with my 'Spirit Ryu'." 'Warrior Dai Grepher''s sword morphed into a double-ended blade, and purple dragon armor formed over is head and torso, "forming 'Ryu Senshi' (ATK: 2000). Next I summon 'Dark Blade'," a warrior clad entirely in black armor, carrying a long, menacing curved blade it each hand appeared (ATK: 1800).

"'Dark Blade' attacks," commanded Mike, "killing your face-down monster-"

"And activating my monster's effect." Tucker cut in, his smirk growing even wider.

'Dark Blade' slashed, just as the monster was revealed, a smoldering shadow. The monster was cut in half.

"That," Tucker explained, "was 'The Thing in the Crater'. When this monster is destroyed by battle, I can Special Summon any Pyro monster I want from my hand.

"Using my 'Thing in the Crater''s effect, I Special Summon 'Twin-Headed Fire Dragon'." A large red dragon appeared, its two necks connected to a large round mass, as if it had once been two dragons that were forced to combine together in some kind of accident (ATK: 2200).

"Attack," commanded Mike, "and I activate my 'Dragon Burst' card,
raising the attack power of my 'Ryu Senshi' by 800 points (2000+800=2800)!" 'Ryu Senshi' swung his sword, cleaving the dragon in half, destroying it (500+2200-2800=0).

"Looks like the score is equal now, two and two," said a kid in the audience.

"Yeah," another kid replied, "but Christopher hasn't gone yet."

My sister, Sarah, stepped up next. She didn't look all too tough, but she was good. Really good. Her deck was one that reflected her qualities and skills in real life; steadfastness, fluidity of thought, and fury. Duel Monsters wasn't her favorite thing in the world, but that didn't mean she took the game any less seriously than the rest of us.

"My turn," said Sarah. "I start by summoning my 'Water Magician' in attack mode."

Sarah's card, a woman in a blue cap and cape appeared, carrying a jeweled staff (ATK: 1400).

"Next," said sarah, "I equip my 'Water Magician' with two Spell cards, the magical trident 'Power of Kaishin', and the metal plated 'Steel Shell'." The trident weapons appeared in the female monster's left hand, and the shell appeared on her back (1400+300+400=2100).

"'Water Magician'," Sarah commanded, "attack 'Ryu Senshi', Aqua Magic Attack!" 'Aqua Magician' crossed her trident and her staff, and summoned a stream of water that poured over 'Ryu Senshi', drowning him (2000+2000-2100=1900).

"I end my turn," said Sarah, "with a face-down card."

Mike drew his next card, but paid it very little thought. Whatever his strategy was, he already had it planned out. "I begin my turn with the Spell card 'Draconic Attack'. This card equips to the Warrior monster ‘Dark Blade’, giving him the fury of a dragon (1800+500=2300). My ‘Dark Blade’ attacks and destroys your ‘Water Magician’ with Draconic Burst!”

‘Dark Blade’ became wreathed in an aura of blue flames. The flames spread out, becoming fiery wings. ‘Dark Blade’ rose up into the air above ‘Water Magician’. He crossed his swords and a stream for blue flames in the shape of a serpentine dragon burst from the point where the swords met. ‘Water Magician’ crossed her weapons as well, releasing her water stream attack, but the Draconic Burst dispersed it and burned the ‘Water Magician’ to ashes (2000+2100-2300=1800).

Sarah scowled. She wasn’t mad. Just frustrated that she would have to summon another monster. That’s just how she is.

“My move,” said Sarah. “I’ll begin with a defense monster, my ‘Hyosube’.” A tall amphibian man with brown hair, blue skin, and a turtle’s shell appeared, crouched down into a defensive position. (DEF: 900).

“Now,” Sarah continued, “I’ll finish up with two face-down cards. End turn.”

“My move,” said Mike, drawing again, and again disregarding his newest draw. “I summon my ‘Pitch-Dark Dragon’.”

Beside ‘Dark Blade’ appeared a large black dragon, letting out a loud roar (ATK: 900). “’Pitch-Dark Dragon’ is a Union monster that can give my ‘Dark Blade’ a piercing ability and another 400 attack points. As I’m sure you know, that will make my monster’s attack power 2700, and 2700 minus 900 is 1800 exactly. Looks like you lose this turn water Duelist.”

“Not quite,” said Sarah, “because I have a Trap card, ‘Torrential Tribute’. The waters of ‘Torrential Tribute’ flow when a monster is summoned and destroy every monster on the field.”

As Sarah explained the effect of her card, the card hologram flipped up, and water poured from it, washing all three monsters away.

“Anything else you wanna try?” Sarah asked. “No? Then at the end of your turn I activate another Trap, ‘Soul Resurrection’, reviving my ‘Water Magician’ in defense mode,” ‘Water Magician’ reappeared, assuming a defensive stance. “Now, as my turn begins I change ‘Water Magician’ to attack mode, and remove ‘Hyosube’ in my Graveyard from play to Special Summon my favorite monster, ‘Aqua Spirit’, and attack with both monsters for the win.”

‘Aqua Spirit’, a young, blue-skinned water sprite in a blue dress appeared in a spray of foamy bubbles (ATK: 1600), discharging a stream of water alongside ‘Water Magician’ (1900-1400-1600=0). Finally the grunts had been defeated, and it was Christopher Johnson’s turn.

Christopher, an image of grace and confidence, traded places with his fallen teammate. He stood to face Sarah for either the tie or the win. “Looks like I get to make the first move,” said Christopher, and the game was underway (LP: 2000).

“I begin my move,” said Christopher, “with one of my favorite cards, ‘Burning Beast’,” a beast made of magma appeared on Christopher’s field (ATK: 1500).

“ My ‘Burning Beast’, however, is weak on his own,” Christopher explained, “so I’ll increase my advantage with ‘Frontline Base’, a Continuous Spell card that allows me to summon my ‘Freezing Beast’ as well.” Beside ‘Burning Beast’ appeared a second beast, this time made of ice (ATK: 1500). I knew immediately what was going on. “Finally,” said Christopher, “I play ‘Banner of Courage’, raising the strength of my monsters during my Battle Phase, and I Unionize my monsters into the mighty and massive ‘Freezing Burning Beast’ (ATK: 1500)!”

Christopher was good, I could see that, but I had already noticed two details which stood out as flaws in his strategy. First, he had played enough cards in one turn that his hand was almost empty. Second, he had just merged two monsters into one, giving up one attack, to create a monster with the same attack points. To me, this move made very little sense.

“Now I attack your ‘Water Magician’,” said Christopher, “with my ‘Beast’’s Burning Ice Attack (ATK: 1500+200=1700)!” ‘Freezing Burning Beast’ opened it’s mouth, and a stream of burning snow poured forth, burning the ‘Water Magician’ to ash (1800+1400-1700=1500).

“I follow up my attack,” said Christopher, “with a Spell card, ‘Combination Attack’. This card de-Unionizes my ‘Beast’, returning him to his original state as two monsters,” the ‘Beast’ split into ‘Burning Beast’ and ‘Freezing Beast’. “Now I attack you with Burning Attack and Freezing Attack!”

‘Burning Beast’ blasted ‘Aqua Spirit’ with an incinerating blast (1500+1600-1700=1400), and ‘Freezing Beast’ showered Sarah with icy breath, reducing her Life Points to zero.

“Now I end my turn with one more card,” said Christopher, “the Spell card ‘Card of Sanctity’, letting me rebuild my hand by drawing until I hold six cards.”

The crowd all around us cheered, reacting to the brilliance of Christopher’s play. With only two Spell cards he had managed to tie up every hole in his strategy. He really was a genius. I stepped up to face him. I knew that I was strong, but I also knew that I didn’t stand a chance.

"Hello, Christopher," I said, "I'm John. It's an honor (LP: 2000)."

"Likewise," said Christopher Johnson, "I've heard you're good. I'm looking forward to this match, and to seeing how strong you are for myself."

I drew my hand and examined it, looked up to examine the state of the field. Christopher still had the lava creature 'Burning Beast', the icy creature, 'Freezing Beast', and the Spell cards 'Banner of Courage' and 'Frontline Base'. I smiled, "You want to see my strength? Then I'll start with my best, my favorite monster, 'The Fiend Megacyber'!" The yellow-armored warrior appeared, his fists charged with energy (ATK: 2200). He was ready for a fight!

"I'll attack your 'Burning Beast' with my 'Megacyber'," I declared, "Megacyber Impact!" The spectators fell silent as my 'Fiend Megacyber' struck the magma beast (ATK: 1500) with a glowing fist. the creature blew apart, reduced to chunks of smoldering rock that broke down into pixals. As Chris's Life Points fell (2000+1500-2200=1300), his fans began to see that their idol was only human.

“I end my move,” I said, “with a face-down card.” My card’s hologram appeared, and my opponent’s turn began.

“I draw,” said Christopher, “and I summon one of my favorite cards, ‘Blazing Warrior Lady’ (ATK: 2200).”
a beautiful female warrior appeared, drawing a katana, which was surrounded by flames.

“And to complete my strategy for this turn,” Christopher continued, “I play ‘Deadly Ice Field’
which allows me to destroy your face-down card, and in exchange the effects of all of my face-up Spell and Trap cards are negated until the end of the turn.” Ice crept up over Christopher’s two cards, and ice spikes burst up out of the ground beneath my Trap card, ‘Sakuretsu Armor’, destroying it.

“Now I attack your ‘Fiend Megacyber’ with ‘Blazing Warrior Lady’, destroying them both.” The two monsters’ attacks met, and the resulting energy wave vaporized them both. “Now I attack directly with my ‘Freezing Beast’ (2000-1500=500).

“Not bad,” I said, drawing my next card as the ice over Christopher’s cards receded, “but if that’s all you’ve got, I’m a little disappointed.”

I tried to feign confidence, but truth was I was scared. I didn’t have any cards in my hand that could defeat Christopher’s ‘Beast’.

“I activate the Spell card ‘Graceful Charity’. I draw three cards, and then discard two cards. Next I play ‘Pot of Greed’ to draw two more cards.”

I looked over the cards in my almost entirely new hand. I’d drawn some good stuff. I had ‘Monster Reborn’, which could be used to call ‘Fiend Megacyber’ back from the dead. But if I did, Christopher would survive the turn, and chances were he would be able to overcome my monster and deplete my last 500 Life Points before I could counterattack.

I have to end this Duel now, I thought, or admit defeat, but even if I summon my ‘Summoned Skull’, the strongest card in my hand, I will only deal Christopher 1000 damage!

And then I noticed another card that I’d just drawn, my newest card.

“I think it's about time we ended this Duel,” I said, grinning with confidence. “I’ll begin my comeback with the Spell Card ‘Monster Reborn’ to return my ‘Fiend Megacyber’ to the field!”

My warrior appeared again, fists charged and ready. But he was no longer my trump card. “I sacrifice my ‘Fiend Megacyber’,” I announced, “to summon ‘Great Maju Garzett’!”

The crowd fell silent as ‘Fiend Megacyber’ became wisps of black smoke. The smoke reformed into a tall, brown skeletal demon with a crystal in his forehead. “The ‘Great Maju Garzett’’s attack power,” I explained, “becomes two times the attack points of the sacrificed monster (ATK: 2200x2=4400).”

Several people in the audience gasped as they realized what this meant. With no face-down cards and only 1300 Life Points, Christopher could not survive my ‘Great Maju’’s attack. “’Great Maju Garzett’,” I commanded, “finish him off with Vile Energy Blast!” ‘Great Maju’ thrust with his palm, discharging a burst of black energy that incinerated Christopher’s monster and ended Christopher’s reign all at once.

Invitations; Journey to the Duelist Kingdom


I stepped down from the arena platform, the crowd cheering as loudly as possible, and made my way toward Christopher. But before I could reach him, I was pulled to the side by the Game Center manager.

“What was that?” the suited man demanded angrily under his breath.

“What was what?” I asked, having no idea why he was so upset.

“The last card you played,” the manager replied.

“That was my new trump card,” I answered proudly, “’Great Maju Garzett’.”

The manager flipped through some papers that he had been carrying since he re-emerged from the office area. “I’m sorry,” he said once he was finished, “but I can’t credit you for your win today against Christopher.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because you played a card that was not listed as part of your deck when you applied for the spot as Team Beatdown’s opponent for the exhibition match.”

“Yeah,” I said, “so what?”

“So, the exhibition match rules said that you had to keep the same cards,” the manager answered, sounding both condescending and annoyed.

“No,” I said, “they didn’t.”

“Are you saying that you know more about my job than I do?” the manager demanded.

“No,” I answered, my voice aggressive, and my face stern, “I’m saying that I have a great memory, and I read the rules several times, and I never saw that rule anywhere!”

“Neither did I.”

I turned around and saw Christopher standing nearby, hands in his pockets. “That rule is news to me too.”

“Either way it doesn’t matter,” the manager told me, “I can’t credit you officially as the winner of this duel. The best I can do is list you as the current Game Center Guy to Beat, but your status and ranking will remain the same. Same goes for every member of your team.”

“That’s a bunch of bull,” Christopher said, walking over to stand by my side. He turned to me and said, “John, forget this, I’m gonna make you my rival. Promise me that you’ll get as strong as you can, and next time we meet, we’ll show everyone which one of us is stronger, once and for all.” He held his hand out to me.

“You’re on,” I said, and I shook Christopher’s hand. Just like that, a life-long rivalry was born.


My team and I spent the next several hours hanging out at the Game Center before we headed home. By the time I arrived, I was completely exhausted. I stumbled to my mess of a room, fell into bed, and fell asleep. All night I dreamed about Duel Monsters, and shadows, and powerful creatures battling across the sky. I tossed and turned all night, and when I woke up the next morning, I felt unsettled.

I showered and dressed. I was still feeling uneasy, so I decided to go and walk around awhile, maybe take the bus to the mall or something. I was on my way out the door when Sarah stopped me.

“Hey John,” I heard her call, “we got a package this morning. It's addressed to the two of us.”

“Open it yourself,” I told her, “I’m heading out.”

“No way,” said Sarah, “it says on the package to open it together. It's from Industrial Illusions.”

Now that got my attention. Industrial Illusions, or I2, as I said before, is the company that makes Duel Monsters. It is, of course, lead by master gamer and genius game creator Maxamillion Pegasus, creator of the Duel Monsters game. “Why didn’t you say so,” I said. I hurried into the living room and opened the package that my sister held out to me. I sat down on the couch and examined the contents.

Inside the package, wrapped up securely, was a strange allotment of items. There was a video tape and two Spell cards, both completely devoid of text, one depicting a crescent moon wrapping and overpowering a star, and the other depicting a droplet of water.

“The tape isn’t labeled,” I said, examining it, “but it looks like there’s something recorded on it.”

“Should we play it?” Sarah asked.

“Yeah,” I answered, “duh.”

I stood up and walked over to the TV and the VCR. I turned them on and inserted the tape, hitting “play”. The screen flashed blue. I stepped back and sat down on the couch next to Sarah, and just in time, because as soon as I sat down, the image on the screen changed.

On the screen appeared a face that every Duelist knew, the face from the video at the Game Center grand opening the day before. The face of Maxamillion Pegasus, his characteristic long white hair hanging down over and covering one side of his face.

“Greetings John and Sarah of the Duel Force,” Pegasus said. “I monitored your duel yesterday and based on what I saw, I would like extend to the two of you an invitation to my island, the Duelist Kingdom. You see, this world is in danger, and I believe that you and your team mates may be our only hope for salvation. If you decide to answer my call, be at the airport, gate 16, tomorrow morning, by 8:00 AM. My private jet will be waiting for you there. The other two members of your team have also been invited. This is an invitation for the Duel Force. Come together or not at all. But don’t take this decision lightly. Your lives and the lives of everyone you care about may depend on it.”

Pegasus’ image disappeared from the screen, and the screen flashed blue for a few seconds before the tape stopped and rewound itself. Sarah looked over at me, “Is this guy serious?”

I shook my head, “I can’t tell.”


It was another hour before we were all together. We met at the mall, at our favorite table in the food court and discussed the situation.

“The question that we really need to answer,” Tucker said, “is how serious can this guy be? Is the world really in danger?”

“There’s no way he was serious,” said Sarah. “Pegasus is a gamer. A gamer! He was challenging us to a game, that’s all! Imagine playing a game at the legendary site of the Duelist Kingdom Tournament. Just think of it!”

Of course I couldn’t pass up a chance like that. I couldn’t think of a single gamer on Earth that could pass up a chance like that. “I say we do it,” I said. “I mean, it's summer, so we don’t have school or anything to worry about, and the trip’s free. This is our chance to play the greatest game of our lives on the very same ground as Yugi Moto. The very same ground as the legendary Duelist Kingdom Tournament four years ago!”

“Yeah,” said Jen, “we may never get a chance like this again. I vote we go too.”

“Me too,” said Sarah.

“Yeah,” said Tucker, “I’m in too.”

“Then it's settled,” I said excitedly, standing up and clapping my hands together. “Tomorrow we leave for the greatest game ever!”


That night at home, after convincing my mom to let me and Sarah go, and after making sure that Jen would be allowed as well (Tucker didn’t even need to ask since his dad doesn’t pay the slightest bit of attention to him), I sat down, and for the fourth time this week I went back through my strategy, deciding that it was fine.

By now it was late, nearly ten. My team and I would need to get up early to catch the bus to the airport the next morning, so I decided to get some rest. Tomorrow would be the most important day of my life, in more ways than I could imagine.


The next day at 7:30 AM, my mom saw me and my sister off to the airport. I met my team, and we made our way to gate 16 where we were greeted by an airport staff member who lead us outside and pointed us toward a large jet baring the I2 insignia. We walked to the plane and were met by a man in a pilot’s uniform. He checked our four cards, my moon, Sarah’s droplet, Jen’s card depicting a tree, and Tucker’s card, depicting a flame. Finally he lead us onboard, and our journey to our destiny began.

The Challenge is Set!


On the plane, we found ourselves in probably the most fun place we had ever seen. There were two compartments, a forward compartment with standard seats, and an aft compartment with two tables, a curved cushion, and a flat screen TV. The contents of the plane told me a lot about the otherwise elusive Pegasus. They told me that he was someone who was not afraid to be himself. I couldn’t help but respect that.

“Check this place out!” said Tucker, incredibly excited. “There’s a DVD cabinet, and a fridge over here with snacks. This is awesome!”

“Don’t get too excited,” said Jen. “We have to buckle up for takeoff and stuff first.”

“Right,” said Tucker, trying desperately to hide his embarrassment, “I knew that.”

Jen, Tucker, Sarah and I each sat down in a different window seat and buckled up at the word of the pilot. We stared in awe out of our windows as the plane rose up into the air, and finally rose above the clouds. Once the pilot announced that it was safe, we all unbuckled our seatbelts and made our way into the aft compartment.

Tucker and I headed strait for the snacks, pulling out armfuls of food, while Sarah and Jen took seats at one of the tables and played a practice duel. I made my way over to the DVD cabinet. Inside I found several comedy movies, and all three seasons of the old Funny Bunny cartoon. I selected a movie, played it, and joined Tucker on the cushion seat. We sat through the movie plus a couple others before the pilot made his next announcement.

“This is your pilot speaking,” the pilot said in a southern drawl. “I suggest you kids get some sleep. We will be arriving at Duelist Kingdom around 6:00 tomorrow morning.”

The others did as the pilot had suggested and went back to their seats to sleep. I, however, found myself unable to sleep, troubling thoughts running continuously through my mind.

What if Pegasus was serious about what he said in the video? I thought. What if this isn’t a game? If Pegasus is serious, then the fate of the world could rest with us!


After about an hour I finally managed to doze off and ended up sleeping through most of the night. I was awoken the next morning by the pilot’s voice over the speakers announcing our descent over Duelist Kingdom.

“This is it,” said Tucker, “it's time to take the ride of our lives!”

The plane moved in for a landing.

“I think we need to keep an open mind here,” I said. “We still don’t know for sure that this isn’t all for real.”

“Oh lighten up, boss,” said Jen. “We’re the Duel Force! Whatever this is, we can handle it!”

“Yeah,” I surrendered, “maybe you’re right.”

The plane landed and we were unloaded through a side door down a collapsible staircase. “This path here will lead ya right up to the castle,” said the pilot, pointing to a forest path several yards away.

“Thanks,” I said, and I ran toward the path, motioning for the others to follow. Once we were within the trees we slowed down and took the path to the castle at a more leisurely pace. The four of us walked for about a half hour before we arrived at the stairs leading up to the castle. We traveled the long staircase to the large metallic double doors. Set up along the door’s locking mechanism were four slots that looked like key card slots that you might find on a hotel door.

“You thinking what I’m thinking guys?” I asked, and my team mates nodded. We took out the special cards that Pegasus had sent us and I counted, “One, two, three.”

On three we inserted our cards into the four slots and pulled them back out. A green light flashed, and the lock clicked. The door slid open, and we walked inside, into a long, well-lit corridor. We followed the corridor strait ahead until we found ourselves at a tall closed double doorway. The doors swung open, and we stepped into a huge room.

The room was very high-ceilinged, like a warehouse, lit by stadium-style lights. The only accessible floor was a wide walkway, leading out over a much lower floor far below. Making up the center of the walkway was an old style Duel Arena.

“Welcome to the Duelist Kingdom final stage, Duel Force,” came Pegasus’ voice. We followed the sound with our gaze and found Pegasus standing on a balcony overhead, to our right.

“Is this it,” Tucker asked, “the sight of our game?”

“Game?” Pegasus asked in disbelief. “My dear Tucker-boy. I assure you this is very real.”

“You mean that we are needed to save the whole world?” Jen asked, her voice dripping with disbelief. “How?”

“I will make everything clear,” Pegasus said, “but first you must prove yourselves. I am looking for four Duelists, and even though you four are the most likely candidates so far, I must be sure.”

“Okay, huddle,” said Tucker anxiously. And we formed a tight circle and leaned in. “This guy is so obviously off his rocker. Let’s get out of here before he locks us up for stealing his strait jacket or something!”

“I don’t think we can, bro,” I said, “because if he’s telling the truth, we may be the only ones who can protect the people we care about. That’s too big for us to dismiss. Let’s take his test, and then if things still look fishy we’ll get outta here.”

Tucker looked angrily at me for a second and then looked away. “Fine,” he said, “but if something bad happens, I’m blaming you.”

The four of us stepped back out of our huddle and looked up at Pegasus. “We’ll take your test,” I said.

“Excellent,” said Pegasus, clapping his hands together. “The test will consist of four duels, one for each of you. You will face a Kaiba Corp Duel Robot programmed with four specific decks designed to test for specific traits that the four Duelists are said to possess. Only the four that I am searching for will be able to overcome all of the tests.

“The first Duel will be for the Fire Duelist, Tucker-boy. Please step up and meet your opponent!”

Tucker walked up to one end of the Holoarena and plugged his Duel Disk into the arena’s data port. As he did, a disk-shaped machine with a duel field attached to the bottom descended into place at the opposite side. The four displays at the corners of the arena exterior flashed to life, displaying beginning Life Point scores of 8000.

“Kaiba Corporation MK 1 Dueling Robot online,” The robot said. “Deck loaded. I will go first. Draw one card. Summon ‘Armored Lizard’ in attack mode.” A monster, a reptilian creature in blue armor, appeared on the computer’s field (ATK: 1500). “End turn.”

The robot’s move was simple, but I got the feeling that this mechanized foe was not to be taken lightly.

Tucker vs. Final Four Deck One; Out of Luck!


“Is that all you’ve got?” Tucker asked, sounding very confident. “Your monster may be fairly strong, but I have a ton of stronger four star monsters in my deck.”

Tucker drew his opening hand, smiling, but when he looked down at his cards, his smile disappeared. I glanced up at his hand and saw why. With all of the powerful four star monsters in his deck, Tucker had drawn only monsters that were as strong as or weaker than the robot’s ‘Armored Lizard’. The remaining cards were ‘Gift of the Martyr’ and a few higher level monsters.

“Well this sucks,” said Tucker, “but I’m not gonna give up! I summon ‘Flame Ruler’ in attack mode.”

Tucker’s monster appeared, a muscular man with dark skin and blue hair, his visible flesh covered by many tattoos, wearing a red jacket and jeans (ATK: 1500). He couldn’t beat the ‘Armored Lizard’, but he could hopefully hold off any of the ‘Lizard’’s attacks for at least a turn.

“Next,” said Tucker, “I lay a face-down card and end my turn.”

“Draw card,” said the robot. “Activate ‘Graceful Dice’, rolling one dice to gain an effect.”

A small winged fairy in pink appeared, carrying a large blue dice. It tossed the dice, and it landed on “three”

“Effect resolves,” the robot declared. “Increase the strength of ‘Armored Lizard’ by 100 x the number rolled (1500+(100x3)=1800) until the end of the turn. Summon monster, ‘Panther Warrior’.” A humanoid black panther appeared, wearing purple armor and a green cape appeared, carrying a shield and sword (ATK: 2000).

“Attack ‘Flame Warrior’ with ‘Armored Lizard’,” the robot commanded, and the ‘Lizard’ slashed Tucker’s monster to ribbons with its claws (LP: 8000+1500-1800=7700). “Sacrifice ‘Armored Lizard’ to attack directly with ‘Panther Warrior’,” ‘Armored Lizard’ disappeared, and ‘Panther Warrior’ slashed across Tucker’s chest with his sword (7700-2000=5700). “End turn.”

Tucker drew, frustrated by his run of bad luck. He had finally drawn a decent card, but he was already pretty far behind. If he didn’t play this just right, it could be too late for him to bounce back.

“I summon,” said Tucker, “my ‘Fireyarou’ in attack mode.” Tucker’s monster, a young man wearing a pair of baggy maroon pants appeared. He flexed his muscles and a roaring fire sprang up around him (ATK: 1300). “Next I end my turn with a face-down card.”

Upon seeing which card Tucker had set face-down, Jen asked me, “Was that ‘Rush Recklessly’?”

“Yeah,” I answered. “He’s gonna use it when the robot attacks with a new four star monster next turn, destroying that monster, and keeping ‘Panther Warrior’ from attacking next turn.”

“Will it work?” Sarah asked.

“It should,” I answered, “but his opponent is a machine, and a pretty lucky one at that, so I can’t be sure.”

“Begin turn,” said the robot. “Draw card. Summon ‘Mad Sword Beast’, attack mode.” A dinosaur with brown skin, a turtle shell, and a blade-like horn appeared on the robot’s field (ATK: 1400).

“Activate Spell card ‘Block Attack’,” the robot declared, “changing ‘Fireyarou’ to defense mode.”

“No way!” Tucker cried out, looking up at Pegasus. “How did your robot know about my face-down card!”

Before Pegasus could respond I said, “I don’t think it did. I think it just realized that it could combine ‘Block Attack’ with ‘Mad Sword Beast’’s piercing effect to deal more damage.”

“What? A piercing effect!”

“‘Mad Sword Beast’ attacks ‘Fireyarou’,” the robot declared, and the ‘Beast’ struck, slicing ‘Fireyarou’ apart (5700+1000-1400=5300). “Sacrifice ‘Mad Sword Beast’ to attack with ‘Panther Warrior’ (5300-2000=3300). End turn with one face-down card.”

"My move again then," said Tucker. "I may be a little down on my luck, but i'm not gonna give in." He drew, and smiled confidently.

"Finally," said Tucker, "some good luck! I play the Spell card 'Monster Reborn' to revive my fallen 'Flame Ruler'." Tucker's monster returned to the field, as good as new. "When 'Flame Ruler' is sacrificed to summon a level seven or higher Fire monster," Tucker explained, " he counts as both sacrifices. On that note, I sacrifice my 'Flame Ruler' to summon one of my heaviest heavy hitters, 'Ryu-Ran'!"

On Tucker's field appeared a large spotted egg. In the bottom half of the egg were three holes, two for the legs of the creature inside, and one for its tail. The top half of the egg shattered and fell away, revealing the body, head, and wings of a large red dragon, a piece of eggshell still resting atop its head (ATK: 2200).

"My 'Ryu Ran' is one of the most powerful Fire monster monsters in the game, and it's much more powerful than your 'Panther'. I attack your 'Panther'," Tucker commanded, "with Nostril Blaze!"

'Ryu-Ran' inhaled, and exhaled sharply through his nose, expelling a stream of flames. The flames hit 'Panther Warrior’'s shield, threatening to incinerate him.

"Reveal," the robot said, "'Skull Dice' Trap card. Decrease opposing monsters' power by 100 x the number rolled." Another dice carrier appeared, this time a small devil in black carrying a red dice. He rolled the dice, which landed on "5" (2200-(100x5)=1700). 'Panther Warrior' pushed through the flames, meaning to counterattack, but was forced to stop abruptly when Tucker's dragon threw his wings open.

"I reveal my face-down 'Rush Recklessly'," said Tucker, "raising the Attack power of my 'Ryu-Ran by 700 until the end of the turn!" 'Ryu-Ran' rushed forward, catching several lingering flames from his previous attack and slammed into the still stunned 'Panther Warrior' (1700+700=2400). The 'Panther' depixalized, and the robot took its first hit (8000+2000-2400=7600).

“I may still be behind,” said Tucker, “but now I control the field. This is a whole new duel!”

“Begin turn,” said the robot. “Draw card. Activate ‘Pot of Greed’. Draw two more cards. One face-down card. Summon ‘Baby Dragon’ in defense mode.” A small orange dragon the size of a large dog appeared between Tucker and his robotic foe (DEF: 700). “End turn.”

“Running scared?” Tucker asked. “Draw-.”

“Reveal,” the robot cut in, “Spell card ‘Scapegoat’, Special Summoning four ‘Sheep Tokens’ in defense mode.” Four small sheep appeared, one orange, one pink, one red, and one blue, each with the same curved goat horns (DEF: 0 (each)). The robot thought it was well defended, but by wasting it’s last move setting up such an extensive defense, it may have just given Tucker the opening he needed. He just needed the right card.

Tucker smiled, “Activate ‘Card Destruction’,” he said. “We throw out our hands and draw the same number of cards.” Tucker tossed his hand of three and drew three new cards. The robot discarded two cards and drew two. Tucker’s smile widened. “Next,” he continued, “I play my own ‘Pot of Greed’ card to draw two cards, and I remove ‘Flame Ruler’ in my Graveyard from play to summon my ‘Inferno’.”

A spark appeared in the air, and the living flame that was ‘Inferno’ sprung forth from it (ATK: 1100). I was pretty sure what my friend was planning.

“Next up,” said Tucker, “I sacrifice ‘Inferno’ to summon my favorite card, ‘Mr. Volcano’,” a suave gentleman wearing a white shirt and a green vest with blazing red hair appeared (ATK: 2100).

“Finally,” said Tucker, “I equip my ‘Mr. Volcano’ with ‘Big Bang Shot’ giving my monster 400 Attack points and Piercing (2100+400=2500). I also reveal my ‘Gift of the Martyr’, sacrificing my ‘Ryu-Ran’ to raise the Attack of my ‘Mr. Volcano’ by another 2200 until the end of the turn.” ‘Ryu-Ran’ disappeared, and fire rose up all around ‘Mr. Volcano’ (2500+2200=4700).

“And from my hand I activate ‘Inferno Life’.
This Spell card chains to the resolution of a Spell or Trap card that requires that I sacrifice a fire monster and gives another fire monster I control 500 Attack times the level of the sacrificed monster. ‘Ryu-Ran’ was a level seven monster, so that’s another 3500 Attack (4700+3500=8200)!”

The fire surrounding ‘Mr. Volcano’ flared up even more. “’Mr. Volcano,” Tucker commanded, “attack ‘Sheep Token’ with Volcano Burst Flame!”

‘Mr. Volcano’ became completely surrounded by an intense fire. He snapped his fingers, and the flames exploded forth, engulfing the ‘Token’ and continued through, hitting the robot directly. I felt a dull heat wash over me, the holographic arena’s attempt to simulate a heat that probably would have burned me alive. By the time the heat had passed, the robot’s field was empty, and it’s Life Points were zero. Tucker had won.