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[Akura]

Is the AI really that bad? Or is it just Tea? I recall my opponents seemingly always knowing every card on the field(even face-down ones) better than I did.

I can get Happy Lover attacking, not knowing the effects of its own ability resulting in a suicide attack, but why did Hourglass of Life attack?

[birdy51]

Oh! Air Eater was face-down at that point in the game; so Tea didn't know how strong it was. Since it is early game, I do think her AI is a little bit weaker as well as far as decision making goes.

Also! I think only one NPC actively 'cheats' in battle and knows what you laid. He'll be covered later... Probably much later.

Also! As a quick side note, I was actually caught off-guard by the whole Spellbinding element. None of the FAQs I've read address it, so trying to figure out the order was a bit of a nuisance. I was actually really lucky with this; there are so many Dark Cards in my deck that I could have stalled Tea into oblivion if I really needed to.

[birdy51]

Not quite an update, but if you're interested in how the sausage gets made, this might be an interesting update.

Spoiler: Deck Master K, The Graveyard Slot Machine, Deck Leaders, Reincarnation, and the Meaning of Life. (click to show/hide)

Quick bonus update. We're going to need some new cards sooner rather than later, so I'm going to go over a few strategies to pick up both new cards for your deck, how the Graveyard Slot Machine works, and how to recycle old cards for new!



Our journey starts on the main screen. See that third option there? That's a custom duel. It's pretty unique; depending on what data is on your memory cards, and what slots they are placed in. In this case, if a Memory Card is placed in slot one, but no other memory card is in the Playstation, you get Deck Master K. You can also call him the Mimic deck.



Deck Master K

His deck is your deck, and his leader is your leader. You can also win cards from him. So… If you have a particular card that you want from his deck, you can earn from yourself in mano to mano combat. 

So for now, I add the few cards I won from Tea and get to work.



We've got a handful of maps to choose from; though most notably, we could choose from a map containing Crush tiles. Crush is unique as it eliminates any monster with more than  or equal to 1500 attack. If your deck is stacked full of cards that have more than 1500 ATK power, then the AI will not play ANY cards for fear of them becoming immediately destroyed. It's an excellent way getting copies of your Deck Leader, which will always appear in the Graveyard Slot Machine.



In some ways, the AI will use your deck better than you might. For instance, the AI knows all fusions capable and will perform them whenever there is a favorable outcome to doing so. Cards that get fused will still be sent to the Graveyard however, which plays to our advantage. This means, if you're fighting yourself and you see your other deck use fusion, checking the graveyard will let you know what used in that fusion!



In this case, Barox fused with the Wicked Dragon of Ersatz Head, which made Komouri dragon… Which fused with a Mechanical Snail. So what does that create?

Well. Apparently a Metal Dragon. So now we know… Robits and Dragons make Dragon Robits. Which sounds a bit silly, but you know what? I'll take it.



The Graveyard SLot Machine

After you win, you're thrown into the Graveyard Slot Machine. Combine three of the same cards together…



And you win a bonus prize! While this card is desperately wonderful, I won't be adding it to my deck just yet, since it was one through blatant abuse of save states sorcery. There are other cards you can win as well. Matching three just means that a random rare card will be pulled from a much larger pool of cards. If you want to win some of them for yourselves,  For those playing for themselves, you might consider finding Deck Leaders who increase the amount of arrows on the Graveyard slots, then also creating decks that hold three copies of the same cards to further attempt to stack the odds in your favor.

However, there isn't any Kryuel in this slot so… Shit.

Well, today you get to learn with me. The Deck Leader is NOT guaranteed to in the Slots. Kill too many monsters and magic cards, and you might not ending up getting what you'd like to get out of the deck. To that end, definitely consider playing on a Crush field if you want to get an extra copy of your Deck Leader. I get lucky, and my first opponent has no cards which they choose to lay. So we win.

Unfortunately, there was a lot of Fake Traps in this set of slots. That is because, if no cards are in the Graveyard, these cards come in as a stand-in. It is unfortunate. But! Because there weren't enough monsters, Kryuel is also in it. So We'll grab him once, and grab him again! And again. And again. You'll generally want a few copies if you want your Deck Leader to level up at a reasonable rate!



Deck Leader get!



And a bonus card. Hrmm… I still might have a use for this one.

I'm going to play a few more matches. In the meantime,. Battling Deck Master K is also a good way to level up weaker Deck Leaders like Kryuel. Games last a maximum of 99 turns, and cards gain experience for just existing. So, if you wait long enough, you'll eventually accrue what would be ludicrous amounts of EXP were that whole system stacked against you getting anywhere. Once more, the Crush Terrain is ideal, as the AI will lock up if it realizes that it has no options to play a card. Through this method, I level up Kryuel a few times; though he has yet to gain anything from it.

On Deck Leaders

Anyone who might be interested in leveling up Deck Leaders to try their abilities might  consider either a Fairy Type Deck or perhaps even more so, Pyro Type deck. Both have a fleet of abilities attached to their deck leader, meaning that even as early as their first promotion, they'll start having effects activate on the battlefield.  Their later abilities may even be considered stronger yet, so if you are willing to embark on the grind, go for it. You're not likely to regret it.

If you're looking for the worst Deck Leaders, look no further than Warriors or Dragons. You will not receive a single ability for a very long time.

Also, while I'm on the subject, an amusing shout out to the unloved Dinosaur monsters, who very quickly get a movement boost to all friendly Dinosaurs very, very early after a single promotion.  For over half them it's the only  active ability they will ever get. With leaders like that, it really is no wonder they all died out. But that's ok. I still love you Dinosaurs.

Reincarnation

Last up on the ramble storm, we have  Reincarnation. After participating in a few duels, you're given the option to take any card in your deck and recycle it, gaining another card with around the same amount as that original cards CP.



High cards, like this Gorgon's Eye at 50…



Results in a flurry of really good cards around the same level.



And if we were to recycle this Magical Ghost…



We get a few really nice traps.



But, if you recycle an almost useless card like Fake Trap…



It's more than likely that you'll get shitty returns. That said! If you have some time to kill or if you get really, really lucky, you might find something MUCH more interesting than more Fake Traps.



This is Construct of Mask, a ritual card you can only get by recycling low level cards. It's one of a few others and it's the only way to get these cards. Rituals are unique, in that they are a magic card that sacrifices specific monsters to summon a much stronger monster to the field. These monsters usually either have pretty high attacks, or  at fantastic effects to make the little bit of effort worth it; though, there are a few unfortunate wet farts that aren't worth the effort.

The card it produces isn't bad, although it could be better. His effect makes him exceedingly powerful against Warriors, but he's not so good elsewhere.. Unfortunately, he takes a Mask of Darkness to summon though and we haven't seen it around yet. But that's ok. We'll find it, and then I'll be able to show it off.

In the meantime, just keep in mind you don't have to save after using Reincarnation. If you don't like what you Reincarnated, you can press select to return to the main screen, and try, try again!

Blargh… That was a lot. Next  time, we'll be battling Tristan!

[TamerVirus]

Oh shit, my favorite childhood Yu-Gi-Oh game. PTW

My go-to tactic was to send everything to the graveyard and then run a Swordstalker with Darkness Approaches,
resulting in an unbeatable ball of death with like 8000 ATK

[birdy51]

Oh shit, my favorite childhood Yu-Gi-Oh game. PTW

My go-to tactic was to send everything to the graveyard and then run a Swordstalker with Darkness Approaches,
resulting in an unbeatable ball of death with like 8000 ATK

Nice! That strategy is a fun one. Darkness Approaches in particular can break the game in a lot of other ways too though, so hopefully I can show that off at some point!

At any rate, sorry for the wait! This battle was completed a few days ago, but I have only now had the occasion to put the words a description of the battle here within. With no further delay, let us move on in the story.

Spoiler: Vs. Tristan (click to show/hide)

Our story takes us to dear London town, where-

Hold it! You're the one they call the Duelist, right?

Ugh! Stop interrupting my monologues!. Meet T. Tristan Grey, though it might be easier to just call him Tristan. There isn't as much to say about Tristan in comparison to the other members of the original four group of friends. He's a meat head and a terrible duelist, but his loyalty to his friends is without question. He has the hots for Joey's sister, and a rivalry with Duke Devlin. Neither of those people appear in this game, but hey, at least you know they exist!

Anyways, Tristan takes his name from the esteemed 1st Marquess of Dorset, Thomas Grey.  His half-brothers were both tried and executed by the same parliament that gave Richard III the throne. Naturally, he wasn't exactly ok with that and fled to France to support Henry Tudor's claim. However, upon hearing rumors that his mother had reconciled with the despot, he decided that maybe he was on the wrong side of history and tried to make it back to England. Fortunately, noble Frenchmen captured him and held him in France until after the war was over.

Rather remarkably, he eventually worked it the newly instated King Henry and everything worked out ok in the end.

If you wanna go any further, you'll have to face me and my 'Crabwalker' strategy!!!

Oh. Right. Tristan and his ah…. Crabwalker style is still here.. Let's talk about his deck then. Tristan's Deck is a busy one. He's got a substantial horde of monsters ranging from about 500 ATK to 2000ATK. What's truly notable however is that there are only two magic cards in the deck, and one ritual, Resurrection of Chakra.. None of those cards buff his monsters. As such, as soon as your own monsters breach 2000 ATK, you can trust that he will have NOTHING to counter you.

Still, he does have a strategy. His big ol' goal is to throw down his monsters into terrains where they find things to be advantageous to them. If he can do that, he's happy.

Hey… Whassamatter, loser!? Crab got your tongue?

...He's also an ass if you lose to him, so don't do that. I am a dedicated Lper, and I guarantee him a fair fight... For now.

Hah! I'm the king crab of dueling! I could beat you with my eyes closed!

You ah… Just keep telling yourself that Tristan.

Let's take it from the top! It's time... To D-D-Duueeeeellll!!!





Ah hey! Lot's of different terrains to try and show off this battle.

My current strategy is to wait a bit, then let Tristan try to do his thing, summoning my own folks in the mean time. Around turn fiveish, all bets are off and I'll begin my attack.



First hand! Labyrinth!!! I really ought to get rid of that card at some point... Our good friend Air Eater is here again as well. Solitude is also a nice addition, so I lay him down onto the Forest Terrain.



Note the increase in attack. Beast-Warriors like him love to fight on the Fields and Forests. They don't have many terrains they don't like, which is pretty chill in my opinion.

No real action on turn two, just us laying down some cards. Tristan advances on my position, so I'll have to deal with that.



Air Eater gets laid down here; buffed by my Fiend's Castle to reach 2600 points. Really, this battle just ended, but I don't end it quite yet.





Moving on up a bit. We're about to go to WAR.

Fourth turn, the crab-walking begins in earnest; the card in the Sea Terrain moves sideways and  I have enough time to lay down Neck Hunter; a nice fiend with a love for decapitation. We're almost ready to assault when the inexplicable happens.



Tristan runs over his own card?! What the hell are you thinking man? THAT'S OUR STICHKT DAMN IT!!!

Whassamatter? Does that make you feel crabby ya big baby?!

UGH! Ok. We're dropping all pretense of mercy here. This is now a rescue mission to save Tristan's cards from Tristan.







Yeah, no. This monster doesn't stand a chance.



Actually, since this is our first time seeing it, meet the Sea terrain. Water based monsters love this terrain like nothing else, and there are a LOT of good Water Monsters. I would actually say that most the best decks one can build are based on Water, since it is incredibly versatile in the amount of cards that it can put out.

At any rate the aesthetics are pretty cool, aren't they?



Neck Eater isn't one for waiting though he charges forward and ganks the dinosaur without a second thoguht.



He's just so happy it too!

Grr… I'm really in a pinch now…

Sure are! I have my cards advance into the Sea terrain. Nothing I have gets bonuses there, but fore the Wasteland and Yami terrains, I have an ida.

 Just let me lay down this card and...





Huzzah! Call of the Haunted converts every card in my possession to a Zombie Type. Zombies aren't inhibited by Wasteland or Yami. Far from it actually, they get a power boost from being on those terrains!



Aha! See! Look at that power!

My next move is to attack this Blocker on the Wasteland terrain with my newly empowered Neck Hunter.





Ah hey, pretty barren, right? The Wasteland benefits the unliving; Dinosaurs, Machines, and Zombies. Blocker was actually a Machine Type as well but…



Let's just say he wasn't blocking anyone today!

This isn't going very well…

I've got to stop this Duelist before I get mashed into crab rangooon!

And so, Tristan charges me with the best card he could muster…







It is ah… A bit of an undercooked effort.







So, as you can see, the card he just sent to attack me wasn't really all that Handy. It's a real mystery to think why  he might have done something that stupid!!

Tch. Don't quit your day job… Your puns aren't nearly as crabable as mine are.

That's barely a pun! Ugh. Anyways, it's just mopping up from here.



Whatever he has left doesn't stand a chance against-



Oh. Crab.

The Patrician of Darkness isn't an extraordinarily tough card, but it's one of the stronger zombies out there.



It also receives  a bonus in the Yami, or Dark Terrain, just like Fiends and Spellcasters would.



He's kind of cool, but his attacks have a tendency to drive one a bit…



...Batty, wouldn't you say?

Hah! You thought I clawdn't win this, but I just crustacean'ed that card!

Well, yeah but ah… We're not really done yet.



Crab damn it…



Yeah… What happens next is a crab-stomp of epic proportions.

King Yamimakai takes out some on of Tristan's cards to the south…







...While Air Eater mops any remaining resistance up top.



Solitude goes in for the kill, using his extra movement to squeeze in close.





Well… Let's just say it's rather… Crabtivating.



YEAAAAAAAHHHHH.



We pick up the Patrician of Darkness while we're at it. A strong Zombie card is always handy to have in a Dark Deck!



Oh, I can totally believe it. At the end the day, Tristan just doesn't have much to show for himself as a duelist, either here or any other game he's in. No offense, but if you do end up losing against him, you would seriously want to reconsider how your deck is built as he is most definitively the weakest enemy in the game.

However, if you are in need of some medium range, tough monsters, you will find him worthy of being re-challenged. In fact, I'll be doing so a few times, especially since I'm going to need every bit help I can get for my next battle. He might be able to show off his Ritual card but sure can...



Our next opponent is Margaret Mai Beaufort. I suspect that this battle won't be nearly so easy.

See you next time!

[birdy51]

Head's up folks. This is a long one. Mai didn't take any prisoners in our fight and the match ended up running extraordinarily long, so this one is going to be a two-parter. So, let's not dawdle. Update, away!

Spoiler: Vs. Mai Part 1 (click to show/hide)

First, as a full disclosure, I spent some time between matches beating up Tristan. From him, I won the Resurrection of Chakra Ritual Card; so that's pretty nice.



By sacrificing two monsters below 1000 ATK and another card called Versago the Destroyer, we summon Chakra; a powerful fiend with the ability to revive when it falls in battle. It's a bit strong; stronger than I would normally want to keep around, but at the same time, I have deemed it necessary for this next fight.

And believe me, it was NECESSARY.

So you're the one who betrayed those who summoned you.

I guess I'll have to show you the error of your ways!

Nyehhhh! Meet Margaret 'Mai' Beaufort, known in the modern day as Mai Valentine. Winged-Beast specialist and femme fatale.  An ex-blackjack dealer, Mai is a con artist whose disillusionment with the world drove her to thinking that everyone was a shallow cad in need of having their wallet loosened a bit. She's not against using any of her 'assets' as a means of throwing off her opponents and getting what she wants.

But, as the series goes on she, she softens pretty quickly and gets rather attached to the protagonists, assisting them on their journey even at the cost of her own safety. She's pretty damn chill and definitely one of the best female duelists in the series, so she has that going for her. Her decks usually revolve around her Harpie Lady cards, and that's certainly the case here.

As for her historical counterpart… Yeah. She's pretty damn important. There is a shit-ton of intrigue here, so hold on tight.

Born either in 1441 or 1443, her first marriage was attended to at the tender age of one to her regent's son. She was the only heir to her father's titles, so they were set to pass to her upon his death, making her a rather lucrative prospect. Naturally, nobody was really pleased with this and the marriage was dissolved a few years later, but it is still rather WTF worthy.

More WTF worthy? Her second marriage was to Edmund Tudor at the tender age of twelve. They were both Lancastrians, which would ensure any heirs being of that house so make an heir they did. She was twelve. ERGH.

At any rate, Edmund got himself captured and killed early on in the War of the Roses,  which left Margaret with a second unsuccessful marriage and pregnant at thirteen. Having the child of course, was incredibly difficult and both her and her child almost died from the strain. But, nonetheless , it happened and Henry Tudor was born.

That Henry Tudor? That Henry Tudor. (This also implies that Mai is Yugi's mother, so take that as you will!)

Henry was henceforth sent to live with his father's family and she only really got to know him through letters and occasional visits. This was followed by a third marriage then as well, this time to her second cousin. Thankfully, that wasn't bad as it sounds, and it was for the most part fairly productive and passed without any incident.

Margaret was there and in attendance as Richard III stole the throne for himself, and it's likely that she played a pivotal role of arranging Henry's marriage with Elizabeth of York.

There was a fourth marriage but… That one isn't particularly important for now. We'll likely be talking about her husband later.

What's important to know is that as her life went into her later years, she had the opportunity to gain freedoms and powers that few people in England ever acquired. She used this power to fund schools and administered justice with the permission of her son.

All in all, she was kind of a badass.

Last but not least, let's go ahead and talk about her deck a bit.

It is much, MUCH more powerful than either Tristan's deck or Teas. It's a little low on monsters, but most of them are above quality and benefit from the Mountain terrain that absolutely floods this map. When she is laying down Monsters, it's more than likely that they will also being buffed heavily in the process by a miniature armory of cards. Nearly a fourth of her deck are Power Up cards, and the other portion of magic and trap cards are equally effective at making a mess of things.

In other words, her deck is REALLY good. We're going to need every trick in the book to beat her.

Ohoho! Such a charmer.

But that's not going to help. Are you ready to duel?

Sure are! It's time…. TO DUUUUUUUUUELLLL!!!!







Ah geeze. I wasn't kidding with all those mountains. It's atrocious and terrifying. Not only that…



But our first hand is quite uninspired. The mechanical snails will make for good fusion fodder, but Solitude's use is constrained to it's death. Call of the Haunted is also almost useless here; Zombies are weakened on Mountain Terrain.



For now, I throw down Solitude and try to make for the sides of the map.



This might be a good moment to talk about Mai's Deck Leader. This Harpy Lady is unique in that it's the first Deck Leader we have faced to have an ability. In her case, it's a movement boost for her Deck Leader.  It's certainly nothing to sneeze at, and if you're the one using it, the boost is almost game-breaking.

Almost.



Turn comes and goes, so I lay down a Man-Eating Treasure chest to shore up defenses.



Mai's turn flies by and… Oh God. The buffing begins.

Why of course. A lady of my stature can only afford the best in fineries.

Yeah yeah. In the meantime, I've got a little trick up my sleeve.



These two cards are weak alone. But together….



...But together, they form a Metal Dragon! He gains power from being in the Wasteland, so he'll likely be able to hold his own against anyone heading that way.



Mai's Ai is acting kind of defensively, so that means I can act offensively!  There's no way that can go badly.

Aha! Versgo! He's the card second to last card on the right side there. I'll be needing him around to summon Chakra.



Whee! Fly free my friend! I'll be sacrificing you to dark gods later!



Dear god, how many buffs does she have though?!

More than you can afford sweetheart.



Moving on, I go ahead and slap down Phantom Dewan and send Solitude in a bit further in. I'm sure that won't come back to haunt me.



Hah! Come at me bro!



Oh. Drat. Let's see here… Base attack of 2000, 1000 in Power Upa, plus another 500 from being on Mountain Terrain. Fairies, Dragons, and Winged Beasts all dig the shit out of Mountain Terrain.





It really whips a up a storm. Still, I'm sure that the damage can't be that bad and-



Double drat! That's a lot of damage! That is...

More than half your health, right?

My, I dare say I'm off to a good start!

Pfft! Tis only a flesh wound! Besides, as a result of that battle….



That bird is spellbound for three turns. So I have at least… That long before it wakes back up and wrecks my shit.



Fusing these guys together. This is less because I need to and more that I really want to get them out of my hand.



Combine my shitty monsters! Create equally shitty monsters!



Unfortunately, I can't take more hits like that so I immediately stuff that box into Defense Position.



Mai is not having that shit.



Welp. Empress Judge is on of Mai's few non bird monsters. It's instead a pretty damn strong Warrior Card.



Mostly just posting this one because it's pretty!



Also hey, fun fact. She's a recolor of Gyakutenno Megami. They do attack in different ways though; with Empress Judge throwing her staff around while Megami just nukes the hell out of the enemy. See Kuriboh for comparison!



Gnah. So smug… But I have a plan to take her down a notch!



Gahaha! I love this plan...

It removes the buffs on it. Yay!



Hah! Check that attack now! That's a bit more manage able.

But it won't save you for long.

No, but this might!







Ushi Oni flips the Empress Judge the bird!



Empress Judge dies of shock! Or not really. A fireball wipes her out and all is good.

How uncouth…



It looks like I'm going to have to teach you some manners.

.



Yeep. That is the Harpy Lady's Sisters.. Stronger than your average Harpy Lady, and whenever they get flipped, they power up a Harpy Lady's Pet Dragon.  Dragon. Damage. Nothing is good about any of that.



So I'll just place my card into Defense Position and-





TRIPLE DRAT!. Doesn't work. Shadow of Eyes prevent my cards from ever entering Defensive Position.. And  I don't like that!



Charge!!



Except, then Metal Dragon gets Spellbound AND weakened! !!QUADUPLE DRAT!!

Wait though. Something isn't right here… Focus.

Zoom!



Enhance! Wait, I don't have that on this camera. Still. What the hell is going on here?! If you look closely, you can clearly see that it's spell description for Magical Labyrinth!

…

What kind of trick are you trying to pull Margaret!?

Stop asking such questions.

But-

…

...Moving right along, we're going to be focusing on other things, like burning through our deck frantically for solutions.



Kryuel, do something!



Kyruel? Kryuel!? KRYUEEEEEELLLL!!!



So. Somebody forgot that you can only have five monsters on the field at a time. The same also goes for Magic and Trap Cards, though that cap is a bit harder to hit depending on what kind of player you are.



In the meantime, Metal Dragon finishes the job. Not sure why she didn't send anything to attack it, but you know, I can live with this.



Get out of muh deck and onto my field!



Mai… Runs over her own card?

How have I never noticed this before…

Pardon!?

…

Heh heh…





In the meantime, I move Metal Dragon to the defensive position. We really don't need her doing any extra damage to us.

Wait a minute now. Is that…



Aha now is the time!!





By the power of three combined…



We achieve all power enshrined…



Chakra rises again!!!

That's where I'll end it for now. As a consolation prize, here's this.

Spoiler: Everyone is a Jerk (click to show/hide)

Whenever you lose a battle, all of the duelists have a little something snarky to say.



It's a nice touch that most people won't get to see, since it requires you to lose the first duel that you have versus this person. The same thing can also be said about the first time you win as well, as any time after that they don't have anything else to say if you beat them.

In case you might be wondering, this is where the happy/angry faces come from! The more you know!~

[TamerVirus]

The difficulty jump from Weaksauce Tea and Incompetent Tristan to Mai was just so jarring, especially considering how crummy the base deck is.
Was stuck here a long time when I was younger.

[birdy51]

Hey now, in Tea's defense, her deck has it's days where she suddenly starts sending 3000+ plus hordes of monsters after you. Tristan is utterly un-defendable, but Tea knows a least a little bit of what she's doing!

In fact, I'd recommend hitting up her deck a lot for some of her better cards for anyone doing a run-through. I've quietly made my own version of her deck as a B-Deck for my own uses, which is where a lot of those victories in the bonus post came from. It's also where that one loss came from. That was one of the 3000+, oh God, how is this happening type of match...

[Akura]

Spoiler: Everyone is a Jerk (click to show/hide)

Whenever you lose a battle, all of the duelists have a little something snarky to say.

Her hand is creeping me out in that picture. Like her right hand was somehow replaced with the left.

[birdy51]

I don't know. It doesn't look too bad until you realize that hand has six fingers on it. So, in addition to contorting everywhere, she's got extra digits!

[FallacyofUrist]

I don't know. It doesn't look too bad until you realize that hand has six fingers on it. So, in addition to contorting everywhere, she's got extra digits!

GAH
That's terrible to look at.

Also that's evidence of inbreeding, isn't it?

Also is it just me or is every spell and trap card using the same description?

[birdy51]

If it's not inbreeding, I don't know what is. Also, I think you're right. Every card has the exact same thing, which is the text for Magical Labyrinth. I think... Maybe that the Japanese version had unique text for each card, and maybe that the Magical Labyrinth is just a stand-in for that.

For instance! Did you know that in the Japanese Version, the cards had extra lines to give them a bit flavor? This was removed in versions that went outside of Japan, probably because translating and changing those lines would have taken forever.

That said, it does apparently result in some funny/sad situations where some cards like the Happy Lover saying that upon death, they feel happy that they made the enemy happy losing. It's so tragic, but wonderful.

Anyways, back to the game!

Spoiler: Vs. Mai, Part 2 (click to show/hide)

...And then I power up Chakra!

Yeah.



That's just like the peasant you are. That must be the only power up card in your deck, right?

Well yeah, but at least I don't have six fingers!

Six fingers!? What on earth are you-



When did that… When did that get there?







Well, it is kind of interesting monster but-



MY EYES!



Retreat!



I need to stay on the defensive. There is a LOT of damage on her field.



Thankfully, Wall of Illusion can help with that. Her job is to eject enemy monsters from the field.



A bad picture, but say goodbye to big bird!



Meanwhile, more fusing! This time a dragon and a fiend to create a Komouri Dragon, 1500 ATK Monster. It's not as strong as most of the cards Mai has, but it helps?



Teehee! This flips all of the cards on the field face-down. This make flip effects activate twice, which is a huge boon for cards like Wall of Illusion. We'll be seeing Darkness Approaches around!



Another card gets ejected!





This time though, our Wall of Illusion has ejected her last…



A challenger approaches!







Hah! That must have really burned, eh Mai?



...Mai?

...

I might have broke our NPC… Hang on, have a dramatic shot while I fix this.



Lens glare! Now I just adjust some of the options… Turn her off and on, and-



Crap. I missed the battle. I'll have to get pictures of his attacks another time. But on the bright side, I have Mai back! And she's as good as she ever was!

MULTIPLE ERRORS DETECTED. REBOOTING.

...Moving right along then.



Magical Labyrinth! This battle is ours! Now just need to attack!



Oh right. Dark Monsters become spellbound  after a battle with a Wind Monster. Given that her specialty is Winged-Beasts, I think you can guess how this one goes! We're not going anywhere fast.



Komouri dragon gets attacked...



And gets taken out by Wing Eagle. It's like a Punished Eagle, but strictly worse.



Onward my beautiful card!



Meanwhile, Paralyzing Potion is pretty legit. It Spellbinds any monster card that tries to move into it's field.



Mai, what are you doing with you life?

RUNTIME ERROR.

Sigh….



A Harpy moves onto my Paralysis Potion and gets paralyzed. Could have gone better, since that is one of her weakest monsters…







Wing Eagle attacks, then gets counter attacked! Unfortunately, this does mean that Chakra is spellbound again. DRAT!

We'll lay down another Ritual Card. I don't think it will end up coming in handy, since I think I killed off the other copy  of Versago, but you never know.



Meanwhile, I sent a Kuriboh on a suicide mission to attack Mai! Unfortunately, this kills Kuriboh.  It is unfortunate… But it is better than literally any other card!



The Harpy Lady Sisters attack here, but they are spellbound by a Phantom Dewan for three turns. Stall tactics!



Oh shit! More Versagos do exist! The summoning can proceed!





By the power of these three combined…



Something… Something…  Ah screw it, we have another Chakra. That's all that matters!

Two Chakras! They cannot be defeated!



Hahahah! Attack me with all of you r might!





NOOO!!! Chakra down!!





Oh, right. Chakra comes back. He can't be killed in battle! ^.^



Not sure if buffs are lost on death though… Ah well. We'll find out. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

We go on the attack…







They pose dramatically…





...Then fire a giant fuck-off beam at the opponent!



This takes out Chakra unfortunately.



But they also die so it balances out in the end!



Double Knock-Out!

ERROR. TRIANGLE ECTASY ATTACK NOT FOUND.

Little late there Mai…



This battle of course is running long, so I'm sending in Ushi Oni to attack, event though that he stands to be countered in a big way.



I send down Kryuel to defend myself, but…





Honest to God, this dragon just has to die. I've lot track of how many times it ended up killing my monsters and the weaker of the two Chakras. Speaking of which, it does keep it's buffs on death! The more you know!~

Eventually, I do get Chakra near it… But it switches to defense mode, where Chakra doesn't have quite enough to kill it.

Six turns of stalemating ensues. Fortunately, this lets me get my monsters into position, with Ushi Oni going towards the top right of the board while I shuffle my Deck Leader to the left side.



Go Ushi Oni, you're so close!



And you're dead!



Fusing up a Cyber Soldier, since they have advantage in the Wastelands. After that, we move Ushi Oni forward and try to move in to attack Mai's Deck Leader!



Unfortunately, that card gibs it. We have been set back once more.  Poor some whiskey out for Brother Ushi Oni. : (

Eurgh… What's going on here?

Oh thank God, you're back. It was getting really boring just talking to myself and then the drinking started and-

Go my Harpie's Pet Dragon! Attack my enemy!



Mai no. Bad!



Don't you dare…



Ahahaha! Fiend's Hand! This takes him out of battle for good. At last, victory is within reach!

T-this isn't over!

Oh, but it IS!



Goodbye you monster(card)!



All units retreat, we can still win this!

Nope, not happening!



Cyber Soldier runs over this card; which is a magic card, so it doesn't actually activate anything.



Meanwhile, celebrity Chef Gordon Ramsey and Chakra move up aside Mai's Deck Leader and corner her in. And so… At long last…

Having no spaces for which to summon cards, I concede this match. You win.

No Mai...



We win. As in, me and the audience. _{Not me and you. That would be silly... I'm tired.}



Something gets won here. I can't care to remember what. This update has been going on for so long. What do you think Mai?

Losing to the likes of you makes my skin crawl! You shall not be so lucky when you reach the continent!!! For Yugi and his follower's are a force to be reckoned with!!!

Now if you excuse me, I need to count the fingers on my hands… Again.

Aha! But first! Let me take that Rose Card!



Not sure why I haven't taken any pictures of those before, but they pop after every first win and fly across the screen. They're kind of cool but... Wait. That card has text too! And it's not the text for Magical Labyrinth!

Damn my screen's resolution! Something something about… Rose Cards? Something about summoning? Something about… Becoming a God?!



No! Go away mystery location! I have enough things to worry about right now!

Gah… Nearly 40 turns and over a hundred images later, we're out of the woods. That battle took every trick I had to win. If you'll look at my little deck in the right corner, I think I only had like ten cards out of forty left? Mai was brutal

I'm not sure whether I'll keep Chakra arounf after this next fight though. He's a strong card, but maybe too strong for me to be actively using, lest it becomes the end to end all battles.

So, I'll let you guys decide! Should I keep a copy of the ritual card in my deck yet?

Or perhaps would you like me to show off my B Deck? That might be an interesting twist too!

[FallacyofUrist]

You should probably keep Chakra around. It's going to get harder, right? You need an ace in the hole.

[birdy51]

Mhrmm. Not a bad idea; though I did end up decreasing his overall presence a little; while still keeping him around. Perhaps when it's relevant, I'll just try to show off some of the other summons or something. Might take a bit of finagling on my end, but it wouldn't be too hard.

Also, between updates I reincarnated the best card. It's so beautiful.

Spoiler: Hope you don't mind. (click to show/hide)

[birdy51]

Oi. Welcome back! Sorry for the little hiatus; this update began to take longer than usual. But, without spoiling anything, I'll toss down my usual Spoiler and get into it!

Spoiler: Vs. ??? (click to show/hide)

Today, death march to the sea ends in Dover. Why Dover? Well, Dover has the excellent reputation of being the place where most ships come and go from England for centuries. If you're looking for a boat, this was generally one of the better places to do it.

When we get close, a 'cut scene' engages.



A wild Mako appears!

If you’re looking for a boat to take you to the Continent, climb aboard!

Aw. Thanks dude. See? Now this guy is chill. Everyone else needs to be more chill. All that's left now is an easy ride and- Wait. Why is this boat stopping?



No!!! This was supposed to be an update where I didn't have the battle! Who are you really!?



At sea, you’re in my element!!! I’ve been waiting for you to cross my path!!!

Oh. Crap. So I guess it is Mako. Well, let's mako with the profilo and get busy.

Ladies and Gentlemen, behold Mako Tsunami, starring as Mako, the card mercenary of Bretagne. Sound lie I'm repeating myself? It's because I am. He's not really as interesting because he doesn't have any real historical analogues and he's the first character we've met to hold that dubious distinction.

Anyways. Mako is one fishy dude. He hobbies include fishing, throwing spears at people who try take his food and trying to find his dad who disappeared in the ocean. That's about it. He'll occasionally be fleshed out a little bit better in some of the side games, but there really isn't a whole lot to work with other than that.

As a Duelist, he serves as the series Water Deck Expert. His deck is packed to the gills with Sea Serpents, Fish, and Aqua cards. Mako's signature card, The Legendary Fisherman isn't around yet, so here Kairyu-Shin is working as a stand-in. There are two shores of dry land on two of the map's corners, but don't stop swimming yet. Water cards specialize in washing the world in ocean blue and Mako's deck is no exception.

Defeat me, and I’ll deliver you to the shores of Boulogne.

I’ve got nothing against you… But I’ve been paid well to ensure you never reach the Continent! And I intend to keep my end of the bargain!



A map rises from the depths. While we aren't battling at Dover, we are battling on the [i[Strait of Dover[/i]. Incidentally, if you're DC is higher than 1001, you also apparently run the risk of freezing the game. Ours is about, 820, so were are not at risk.



We already know this Mako!

Don't care! Fight me with honor!

Honor? Pah! What is honor to the honorable, Richard Dastardly! It's time… To DUEL!!!

---







UGH. So much water. And there will be more water by the time this match has ended.



Not bad for a first hand though! We've got all the elements we need to stall a bit Chakra's ritual was the very first card we drew, which is nice!



Go, go, Kuriboh! Do the thing!



Meanwhile… Mako begins to fuse so many damn cards together.

Ahahaha! I'm sure you'll find it quite a catch!



I'm sure I will… Hopefully some performance dampening drugs will help this situation!





Speaking of performance, I choose to give Air Eater the Fiend Castle. Which bears remarking, I really need to get some other Power Up cards in this deck.



Drat! One upped once again!



Go my beautiful creature! Kuriboh doesn’t take any damage in battle, which makes him an ideal card to do some scouting with. Still would rather not kill him off yet, but we'll see.

Mako ends up… Powering up even more of his cards. I'm not including a picture of that again.

Fine by me! I've got bigger fish to fry! Namely, you!!!



Yaaargh!

Haaah…. Couldn't have spellbound anything better. See that attack? 3250 is much stronger than anything I could come up with. ANYTHING. We just dodged a big ass bullet.

Hah… Well that's ok! I'll just switch this card into defense position!



Nope! We've got Shadow of Eyes now, courtesy of Mai. That card, and any other of his cards, are now stuck in Attack Position.

Haha! What a fun little trick!

Why thank you Mako! In fact, I think I have a little gift to thank you with…



Aheh. Kin of Yamimakai! I mean, it's not the strongest fiend that I have, but it's pretty decent enough.



We've got one attacker inbound, facing up against Solitude. Solitude has the power to Spellbind on death, so Air Eater will be able to clean up if it's able to be taken out.



OH COME ON!

Hey now, no need to get upset.

It's not your fault that my deck is so good!



Wait what?! ACK! He has ignored my meatshield! Double drat! But that's ok. I have the King on my side!





Doom blast doom brin- oh drat, it isn't dead.



Ew…. So. Tongyo weakens monsters upon being flipped. Not that it matters, since it was still stronger than the King. But! It does keep it from weakening Air Eater, who is currently armed with the only buffing card in my deck. Did I mention that yet? Because it's really bad. ;.;



I'm gonna gitcha!

Please no! ;.;



But at least I've got this drek Drdek!  It's power is to switch every card on the field into Attack Position!





Ahaha- Wait. Shadow of Eyes. The only thing I accomplished in this was placing my own cards in attack position.



Ugh. Thankfully, that does not include the Drdek.

Meanwhile, a truly fiercesome battle erupts elsewhere!





HO! Change Slime copies the attack and defense of his opponents. Normally, that is very bad. As it stands now, this is probably the only time that Kuriboh will successfully kill anything.



Go you glorious creature!





This battle is now over. This was the best battle.



Stall tactics!



Finally, something attacks Solitude!



Oh hey. The first terrain changing card. A cross based on The Furious Sea King's position turns into Sea terrain. It's already Sea Terrain, but I appreciate the effort.



Oddly enough, he attacks with his trident by shooting power balls out of the shaft



It's not what I was expecting, but I can live with that.



Hello Tongyo!!





Goodbye Tongyo!



Ah hey. Versago! That would mean that I can summon Chakra!



Aha… Invisible Wire! That will kill off any card with under 3000 ATK. It's pretty chill!



Meanwhile, the king dies!



Chakra. Chakra…



Ach nein! We're being attacked!

Ahaha! Prepare to boarded!



Shiver me timbers!

Ah bless that Trap. Aqua Dragon is NOT a card you want to mess with.





Chakra summoned! This one is probably the bag now. We've got this covered.



Press the assault!



Not on my watch!



Oh yeah! My trump card advances!



Hehe. We've got this here. Except, that's not what happens.



That is what begins to happen. The land changes from Field to Sea, due to the Roaring Sea Snake's power. This tilts the advantage from my end… To Makos.





But hey! At least I've caught Chakra in action!





Nyeh. Needless to say….



That's the end of Chakra. And the end of this update.

Yep. It's another two parter. Mako… Did not make anything easy on me. Tune in what is hopefully not next week, for the exciting conclusion!