Chapter 261: Control and Dominance
Chapter 261: Control and Dominance
"I summon the Twin Dragons of Ice and Flame!"
[Twin Dragons of Ice and Flame: ATK 2300]
"The effect of the Twin Dragons of Ice and Flame allows me to destroy one monster on the field by discarding one card from my hand once per turn."
Delta selected a card from his hand and sent it to the graveyard.
"I destroy the monster you have in face-down defense position!"
After clearing the backrow, it was time to deal with the monsters in the front row. One of the twin dragons, the fire dragon, opened its mouth wide and unleashed a torrent of flames, instantly incinerating the monster that You Xuan had in face-down defense position.
You Xuan looked at the now-empty field and said, "Hmm, you seem to have some skill."
The Twin Dragons of Ice and Flame was a card that players quickly recognized as a powerful addition to their decks when it was first released in the physical card environment. It found its way into many competitive builds during that time.
Some might wonder what made this card so strong. After all, it had the same attack and defense stats as Chaos Sorcerer, and its summoning condition was more complicated, requiring the removal of a water attribute and a fire attribute monster from the graveyard.
Additionally, it could only destroy monsters and came at the cost of discarding a card from the hand, while Chaos Sorcerer could remove an opponent's monster from play once per turn without any card disadvantage.
That analysis made sense, but there was just one problem.
The Twin Dragons of Ice and Flame was released in 2007, a time when Chaos Sorcerer and its predecessor, Exodia the Forbidden One, were both on the Forbidden List. One could say that the values and strategies of those bygone eras are incomprehensible to modern Yu-Gi-Oh! players.
"I've said it before; I am the most exceptional among my brothers, although I don't take pride in that fact," Delta spoke, pausing momentarily.
Unbidden, the image of a tall figure appeared in his mind.
The man they all referred to as "Father" among the AIs stood with his hands behind his back, his face unreadable in the bright sunlight.
But the man's voice, cold as ice, echoed in Delta's mind, "Indeed, you are my most outstanding son."
Delta: "..."
After a brief hesitation, he shook the image from his mind.
"Now that your field is clear, I will attack directly with the 'Twin Dragons of Ice and Flame,'" Delta declared.
The dragon, a fusion of ice and fire, twisted its body, unleashing a blast of fire and ice that collided with an invisible barrier just in front of You Xuan.
"What?" Delta frowned.
"The face-down monster I destroyed was 'Winged Chestnut Ball,'" You Xuan explained.
You Xuan showed the monster card that had been sent to the graveyard. "As long as 'Winged Chestnut Ball' is destroyed, all battle damage I take this turn becomes 0."
"Such a useless card," Delta scoffed. It was no surprise that the AI, modeled after the president, couldn't shake off the habit of making such reckless boasts.
"Very well, I will set one card and end my turn."
"My turn, draw," You Xuan said. "I will also activate the magic card 'Angel's Charity' from my hand, allowing me to draw three cards from my deck and then discard two cards from my hand."
Two cards from his hand were discarded into the graveyard, but soon after, one of them returned to his hand.
"One of the discarded cards was the magic card 'Compensation Notebook,' which allows me to draw two more cards when sent from my hand to the graveyard." (Original Card)
You Xuan promptly drew the magic card that had returned from the graveyard and revealed a monster card in his hand.
"The effect of 'Magic Attackman' allows me to special summon this card by removing a magic card from my graveyard. I remove the magic card 'Compensation Notebook' from the game and special summon 'Magic Attackman'!"
[Magic Attackman: ATK 700]
Vortices of virtual clouds churned, forming a massive swirling vortex. A green storm swept through the digital space, and the Wind Emperor arrived on the hurricane, causing even the abyss to be stirred into chaos.
[Wind Emperor-Leiza: ATK 2400]
"It's actually an Emperor?" Delta's expression changed slightly.
The Emperor series was also a top-tier legendary rare card, mainly focusing on "Advanced Summoning." Each Emperor was said to possess an incredibly powerful ability to rewrite the battle and lead to victory the moment they appeared.
Furthermore, in previous intelligence, You Xuan had never utilized the power of the Emperors.
"The effect of Wind Emperor-Leiza allows me to return one card on the field to the top of its owner's deck when I successfully perform an Advanced Summoning." You Xuan explained, "I return 'Darkness Hurricane Dragon' to the top of your deck!
Emperor Storm Burst!"
A green hurricane swept up, engulfing the dark dragon in the fierce wind until it could no longer bear the burden and vanished in the storm, turning into a golden light that flew back to the top of Delta's deck.
"Return to the top of the deck." Delta's face turned solemn, "Not only does it remove the card from play, but it also eliminates the possibility of drawing it in the next turn.
Is this the terrifying power of the Wind Emperor?"
This was also what You Xuan analyzed and felt to be even more powerful in the animated series compared to the physical card game.
Its effect was not just a versatile field clearer that could bounce any card on the field, but it also possessed the formidable ability to "control the top card." Wind Emperor Leiza could decide which card his opponent would draw on their next turn, choosing to bounce a useless card that they wouldn't be able to use immediately.
This strategy was tried and tested in the physical card game environment and was extremely effective in the animated series. This was because it essentially eradicated the opponent's chance of drawing a lucky card on their next turn.
Except for a very small number of abnormally lucky players—for example, the fourth series' Nine-Nine Yuma, who had the ability to reprint an already drawn Spell Card into a new one in front of his opponents.
Of course, that was a top-tier player with an incredibly strong destiny force, capable of rewriting reality, and such an ability usually manifested only under specific narrative circumstances.
Normally, when the chance of drawing a lucky card in the next turn was eliminated, even a lucky draw wouldn't make a difference.
This was the most terrifying aspect of Wind Emperor-Leiza.
"Return 'Darkness Hurricane Dragon' to the top of the deck!" You Xuan declared.
This meant that Delta's next draw would definitely be 'Darkness Hurricane Dragon.' With only two cards left in his hand, the eight-star giant monster he would draw would theoretically be challenging to summon without any new card draws.
"Then 'Wind Emperor-Leiza' attacks 'Ice and Flame Twin Dragons'!"
The Wind Emperor raised his arms, and the storm instantly dominated the field. Tiny vortices rapidly expanded into spinning airflows, and dense wind blades sliced through the ice and fire dragon, which roared in defeat.
[Delta: LP 4000 → LP 3900]
"And I'll end my turn by setting four cards."
You Xuan waved his hand, setting four face-down cards on the field, and then smiled, gesturing for Delta to take his turn.
Come, it's your turn now. Please draw your card.
Of course, we both know what you'll be drawing.
(End of Chapter)
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