Chapter 36: Let Me Tweak My Deck
Chapter 36: Let Me Tweak My Deck
As soon as someone stepped up to challenge him, the AI Kaiba dramatically waved his arm, letting out a three-part laugh before clenching his fist, "As long as we duel, the winds of battle will never cease! Bring it on!"
"Hold on."
You Xuan was blunt, raising his hand to signal a stop.
"Just give me a moment to tweak my deck, if you don't mind?"
AI: "..."
The AI, of course, had no objections. You Xuan then proceeded to adjust his deck.
It was common courtesy for any serious duelist in his previous life to not only bring their main deck when heading out but also to remember their SIDE deck. In the old rules, the SIDE deck could have a maximum of fifteen cards, allowing for adjustments based on the opponent's strategy.
However, in this world, such restrictions didn't exist, and You Xuan took full advantage of that. His SIDE deck easily had seventy to eighty cards, enough to handle any situation.
Since it was Kaiba's AI, there was no doubt that the focus was on the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Although there were other axes mixed in, most of the cards were either Dragon-type or Light-attribute.
In the anime movie, Kaiba was referred to as the "King of Light" by Anubis, the ancient Egyptian spirit, while Yami Yugi, or Atem, was the "King of Darkness." Their decks were indeed designed to be light and dark opposites.
While Kaiba's lower-level monsters varied in attributes, his commonly used endpoints, like the Blue-Eyes White Dragon system or the five-part fusion mech of VWXYZ, were all Light-attribute.
If one were to speculate based on the anime movie Dimension of Chaos, Kaiba's current deck should include at least three powerful variants of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon that had already been revealed: the Blue-Eyes Solid Dragon, the Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon, and the True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. It was unclear how up-to-date this AI version was, though.
If this was the premise, then this deck would have a higher proportion of White Dragon variants compared to Kaiba's deck from the Duel Monsters era.
You Xuan quickly made the necessary changes based on the intelligence he had, slotted his deck into the Duel Disk, and walked up to the AI.
"Alright, now I'm ready. Let's begin."
You Xuan: LP 4000
AI Kaiba: LP 4000
AI Kaiba, building up his enthusiasm again: "As long as we duel, the winds of battle will—"
"My turn, draw!"
You Xuan showed no courtesy as he interrupted the AI Kaiba's dramatic line not once but twice.
AI Kaiba: "..."
"I'll set one monster in Attack Position," You Xuan said as he drew two cards, "and set two cards in my Spell and Trap Zone. End turn."
"Then it's my turn!"
AI Kaiba dramatically drew his card, the white windbreaker fluttering behind him. While it was exaggerated, one had to admit that the AI had perfectly captured Kaiba's personality, right down to the original voice lines and over-the-top poses.
"Full☆Speed☆Ahead☆!" exclaimed AI Kaiba. "I summon the ruler of dragons—'Dragon Master'!"
[Dragon Master, ATK 1200]
"Then, from my hand, I activate the spell card 'Dragon-Calling Flute'!" AI Kaiba continued, "This card can only be activated when 'Dragon Master' is on the field! It allows me to Special Summon up to two Dragon-type monsters from my hand."
A dragon-shaped bone flute appeared in Dragon Master's hand, and he blew a melody to summon his dragons.
"First, I summon this card—
"—Level six, Crystal Dragon, descend!!!"
A mysterious dragon, crafted purely from crystal, appeared. Its body shimmered with a faint blue light, like countless stars falling to the earth, resembling twinkling stars in the night sky, yet exuding an endless dragonic aura.
[Crystal Dragon, ATK 2500]
"And now, this card!"
AI Kaiba struck an even more dramatic pose as he held up the second dragon card in his hand.
"If that was the endless darkness, then obey the Dragon of Light and paint over the darkness! Descend, my soul—
"—Level eight, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!!!"
The arena was engulfed in a whirlwind, accompanied by thunderous roars and flashing lights. A noble and majestic figure emerged from the white radiance, its massive wings slowly unfurling, and a earth-shattering dragonic roar reverberated through the arena.
Blue-Eyes White Dragon, descend!
[Blue-Eyes White Dragon, ATK 3000]
The spectators in the arena were immediately stunned.
"Blue-Eyes White Dragon! It's a legendary monster!"
"Even if it's just virtual data, this trip was worth it!"
Even Curator Takeuchi couldn't help but exclaim, "As expected of the top-notch Duel AI developed by Kaiba Corporation. It perfectly replicates Kaiba Seto's tactics."
Even the students in the dojo, who already admired You Xuan, couldn't help but wear worried expressions.
After all, this was the legendary Kaiba Seto. How could anyone possibly win against him?
"Hmph, he's just a third-rate Duelist with a fourth-rate deck. Now you'll realize the gap between you and absolute power!" AI Kaiba declared, raising his arm high.
"Battle Phase! I'll attack your face-down monster with 'Crystal Dragon'!"
"Hold on," You Xuan interrupted, waving his hand. "At the start of the Battle Phase, I activate my face-down Trap Card—'Dragon Tribe Seal Pot'!"
A rock pot resembling a dragon's head appeared on You Xuan's side of the field, and an invisible force gushed out from its mouth. The magic enveloped the entire field, constraining even powerful monsters like Crystal Dragon and Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
[Crystal Dragon, ATK 2500 → DEF 1000]
[Blue-Eyes White Dragon, ATK 3000 → DEF 2500]
"The effect of Dragon Tribe Seal Pot changes all Dragon-type monsters on the field to Defense Position and prevents them from switching to Attack Position as long as this Trap remains on the field," You Xuan explained.
Everyone: "!"
This was an incredibly powerful countermeasure specifically targeting Dragon-type monsters. Just one card had permanently blocked the opponent's dragons from attacking.
Of course, this strategy wasn't You Xuan's original idea. The Dragon Tribe Seal Pot was perhaps one of the earliest Dragon-type counters in the history of Duel Monsters. Back during the Duelist Kingdom tournament, Pegasus had used it against Kaiba, infuriating him to no end.
However, You Xuan remained calm. This was merely an attack seal, and he didn't even consider it particularly oppressive.
If he had the right cards, he would have preferred to use the Destruction Sword, the true bane of Dragon-type monsters in this era. By fusing a 'Dragon Destruction Swordsman' and having it enter the field, its attack would increase by a thousand for each Dragon-type monster on the opponent's field or in their graveyard. Additionally, as long as the Destruction Sword was on the field, all the opponent's Dragon-type monsters had to be in Defense Position and couldn't activate their effects—a devastating combo.
For a regular Dragon-type Duelist without any cheats, having this card played against them was essentially a death sentence.
Unfortunately, in this world, the Destruction Sword was likely a game card and an ultra-rare one at that, making it extremely difficult to obtain.
But that wasn't a problem. Although he didn't have the ultimate killer card, he had plenty of other useful countermeasures. Compared to those, the Seal Pot only blocked attacks and wasn't the most effective option; he had simply drawn it first.
This AI Kaiba was surprisingly intelligent. It seemed to mutter a quiet curse before continuing its turn.
"Then, I'll attack your face-down monster with 'Dragon Master'!"
The two summoned dragons were forced to stay on the sidelines, and Dragon Master had no choice but to enter the fray himself.
"I activate my face-down Trap Card—'Dimension Vanishing,'" You Xuan declared, flipping another card on his field. "When an opponent's monster declares an attack, that attacking monster is removed from play!"
Space shattered, and a rift in the dimensions opened with a flickering electric light, followed by a storm vortex. Dragon Master rushed forward but was too late to turn back, and the boundless rift swallowed him, sending him to the other side of the dimension.
"A brilliant counter," Curator Takeuchi analyzed. "At first glance, this Trap Card only gets rid of the opponent's weakest monster, but it's actually the most troublesome one."
One of the students asked in confusion, "Eh? Why?"
"When 'Dragon Master' is on the field, all Dragon-type monsters cannot be targeted by card effects," Saito explained with a slight nod. "But by getting rid of the most troublesome one first, the protection afforded to the remaining dragons is also removed."
The spectators in the dojo began to stir.
"To withstand such a fierce opening offense, this young man is no ordinary Duelist. If I were up there, I would've been defeated by now."
"But it's probably only temporary. After all, it's Kaiba's AI."
However, Sato Koji couldn't help but smile at their words.
You're too naive. Two counters are nothing. The fun duel is just beginning.
As the first victim of You Xuan's dueling style, he trusted his professional judgment.
With his consecutive failed attacks, AI Kaiba drew his last two cards.
"I'll set one card and end my turn."
(End of Chapter)
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