Chapter 314: The Advancing Black Scorpion
Chapter 314: The Advancing Black Scorpion
Night Shadow played a card.
"I summon 'Armed Bee' in attack mode!"
[Armed Bee: 1600 ATK]
The Armed Bee had the ability to halve the attack strength of an opponent's monster once per turn. With its 1600 attack points, it could easily take down higher-level monsters with less than 3200 attack in battle, making it an incredibly powerful lower-level fighter that could quickly gain resource advantage in the early game.
"Armed Bee attacks the face-down monster!"
The Armed Bee took to the air, its wings creating a golden afterimage as it rushed towards You Xuan's set monster. The set card flipped, revealing a female monster clad in leather armor, holding a whip bristling with spikes, and possessing an alluring appearance.
[Black Scorpion - Thorns of Beauty, Meinae: 1800 DEF]
Meinae's defense was higher than the Armed Bee's attack, and with a flick of her whip, she sent the bee reeling, forcing it to retreat in disarray.
[Night Shadow: LP 4000 → LP 3800]
"The monster you attacked is 'Black Scorpion - Thorns of Beauty, Meinae,'" You Xuan said. "When this card inflicts battle damage to your opponent, you can choose one of two effects.
Select one 'Black Scorpion' card from your deck or graveyard and add it to your hand."
The card belonged to the [Black Scorpion] field, part of the "Black Scorpion Bandit Brigade" deck that You Xuan had often used before, the same one used by Sartorius in the GX anime.
Viewers who had watched the anime would surely remember this unique deck. While the Black Scorpion bandits appeared as antagonists in the Seven Stars arc, they were quite the eccentric bunch. In the end, they were defeated by Manjoume and became his trusted monsters.
Despite their comedic portrayal in the anime, this deck was initially well-regarded in the competitive scene when it was first released. Several of the monsters even became key components in various technical combos, earning their place in the long history of Duel Monsters.
Among them, the leader, Zarug, and "Black Scorpion - Thorns of Beauty, Meinae" stood out.
Zarug, the first World Champion and a crucial member of the "Hand Destruction" deck, was renowned for his ability to destroy cards in his opponent's hand. The students of the Advanced Dueling Academy had firsthand experience with his power.
Meinae, too, possessed great potential. While her attack strength was only 1000, her 1800 defense was decent in the early meta, where the standard benchmark was 1600. When set in defense position, she often succeeded in inflicting damage, triggering her monster effect.
Her effect combined search and graveyard retrieval abilities, earning her praise as a card with "tremendous potential to gain card advantage." Moreover, as her name included "Black Scorpion," she could fulfill the condition for her effect on her own, allowing players to gain card advantage even without including other Black Scorpion cards in the deck.
However, it was the strategy that You Xuan was currently employing that truly unleashed Meinae's potential and propelled her to become a core component of a well-known self-isolation deck in the early meta.
"According to Meinae's effect, I search for the second 'Black Scorpion - Thorns of Beauty, Meinae' from my deck," You Xuan said as he drew the searched card.
"So, it's a strategy focused on fortifying your defense and gaining resources," Night Shadow commented. "In that case, I'll set one card and end my turn."
"My turn, draw," You Xuan said, snapping his fingers.
"Trap Card—
—Death Deck Destruction Virus!"
The Death Deck is that thing?! Night Shadow exclaimed in surprise.
Of course, he recognized it; after all, it was a signature tactic of the legendary Kaiba Seto. However—
"Wait, the Destruction Virus can only be activated when an Attack Position Level 4 or lower DARK monster you control is destroyed by battle!" Night Shadow interjected.
You can't just make up effects as you go! I know what I'm talking about!
"Oh, you might not have heard, but this is the latest development from our lab. We made some slight adjustments to the effect," You Xuan explained with a smile. "Now, the Death Virus doesn't need to rely on battle; it can be activated at any time by tributing a DARK monster with 1000 or less ATK. It takes effect immediately."
Night Shadow: "!"
You're damn right, they made some slight adjustments! Leaning on the support of the Kaiba Corporation to do whatever they want, huh?!
Why don't you just go ahead and remove the activation cost of "a DARK monster with 1000 or less ATK" while you're at it?!
"I tribute 'Black Scorpion - Thorns of Beauty, Meinae' with 1000 ATK. During your turn, all monsters your opponent controls or has in their hand with 1500 or more ATK are destroyed!" (Previous effect)
OCG-ified, kid!
This early meta deck was named [Meinae Virus], clearly indicating its star card.
The Death Deck Destruction Virus attracted significant attention when it first appeared as a real card, and its potential was widely acknowledged. The fact that it spent multiple years in the forbidden list before its text was modified further attested to its strength.
To maximize its potential, players naturally started paying attention to DARK monsters with 1000 or less ATK. Among all the eligible monsters in the card pool, Meinae stood out with her combination of low attack, decent defense, and card-advantage-generating ability.
[Meinae Virus]
The virus then turned to his hand, showing no signs of abating. It continued to spread, soon latching onto one of the cards, which exploded with a loud crack and a flash of golden light.
Even the monster in his hand was destroyed!
And to make matters worse, he saw that the virus, after devouring all the monsters on his field and in his hand, showed no intention of leaving. It continued to hover above his field, seemingly hungry and waiting for fresh prey.
For the next three turns, any monster he drew with an attack of 1500 or higher would become fodder for this virus.
But that was alright.
Night Shadow glanced at his hand, his eyes narrowing as they rested on a particular card.
["Revival of the Dead"].
Hey, although the Death Deck Destruction Virus was indeed powerful, it almost completely eliminated his chances of drawing any monsters for the next three turns, especially for a deck composed mainly of high-attack monsters like his.
However, as a trade-off, Death Toxin also sent his high-level monsters from his hand to the graveyard.
This meant that if he used Revival of the Dead to resurrect the high-level monster in his graveyard, the tide of the battle would immediately turn in his favor!
"I summon the second copy of 'Black Scorpion - Thorns of Beauty, Meinae,' which I searched for earlier," You Xuan declared.
["Black Scorpion - Thorns of Beauty, Meinae": 1000 ATK]
He paused and then smiled. "Now, I activate the continuous trap, 'Blood Sacrifice.' By paying 500 life points, I can make an additional normal summon.
I pay 500 life points to perform another normal summon."
[You Xuan: LP 4000 → LP 3500]
"This time, I summon 'Boss Zarug.'"
["Boss Zarug": 1400 ATK]
"Let the battle begin. First, 'Black Scorpion - Thorns of Beauty, Meinae' will attack directly."
Night Shadow frowned.
"If we don't take care of Meinae, her effect will continuously reinforce the Black Scorpion Brigade, won't it? But it won't be that easy!"
Night Shadow exclaimed, "I activate this powerful trap, 'Burst Armor'! When an opponent's monster attacks, that monster is destroyed!"
You Xuan narrowed his eyes.
Hmm, it's indeed a powerful trap, in every sense of the word.
"Then I activate the trap, 'Trap Negate,'" You Xuan quickly chained, "This turn, the effects of all traps on the field, except this one, are negated."
"What?!?"
Night Shadow's eyes widened as he watched his powerful trump card, "Burst Armor," rapidly lose its color and shatter into pieces.
Meinae leaped into the air, her wrist flicking as her whip, bristling with spikes, lashed out. The whip struck Night Shadow, causing him to grit his teeth and stumble backward under the pain of the Dark Game's realistic damage.
In his agony, he was horrified to discover a strange sense of pleasure amidst the pain.
[Night Shadow: LP 3800 → LP 2800]
Meinae retracted her whip and gave him a seductive smile before retreating. Night Shadow's heart skipped a beat as he quickly suppressed the thought of opening the door to a new world.
No, focus. It's time to play the gamble card.
"Now, Meinae's effect triggers as I inflicted battle damage. I can either search for a 'Black Scorpion' card from my deck or recover one from my graveyard to my hand."
You Xuan drew the card that popped out from his deck.
"This time, I add 'Black Scorpion - Quick Escape Zick' to my hand."
After searching and drawing, You Xuan waved his hand again.
"Now, 'Boss Zarug' will attack directly."
There was no need for further introduction; Boss Zarug was one of the first monsters to accompany You Xuan in battle, an old and reliable companion. The dependable one-eyed captain drew his gun, spun it skillfully like a western cowboy, and fired, the bullet piercing straight into Night Shadow's heart.
"Ugh..."
The pain of the Dark Game felt like a real bullet tearing through his body. Night Shadow groaned and fell to his knees.
[Night Shadow: LP 2800 → LP 1400]
"And now, Zarug's effect activates. When battle damage is inflicted, I can randomly discard one card from your hand," You Xuan explained calmly.
Whether in the physical card game or the anime, "randomly" usually meant that the player would choose a card while the cards were in a face-down state. This was why Yugi was able to keep Kaiba's "Obelisk the Tormentor" pinned to the field for three turns with a single "Sword of Revealing Light."
Night Shadow's heart skipped a beat.
The opponent gets to randomly choose a card from his hand; this could be bad...
"By the way, you were staring at a card in your hand with a rather unpleasant smile earlier," You Xuan remarked, narrowing his eyes as he observed Night Shadow. He smiled slightly and then extended his hand.
"Then, the second card from the right. Yes, that's the one. Don't bother looking at it; just discard it."
Night Shadow: "..."
He looked at the only copy of Revival of the Dead in his hand.
Suddenly, Night Shadow felt like crying.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
