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Duel Academy Headquarters, Seaside Island.
After a long and hectic day, Principal Samejima finally found himself with a rare moment of respite. He entered his office, leisurely brewed a cup of tea, and took advantage of this precious downtime to review the results of this year's entrance exams and watch recordings of some duels that had caught his interest.
He hadn't expected Professor Cronos to personally step in during an exam—it was clear the professor had intended to make things difficult for a certain jellyfish-haired freshman. But Yujo Judai, the student in question, had proven to be formidable indeed. Not only had he passed the entrance exam, but he'd also defeated the academy's head of practical combat training, who was wielding his own personal deck...
Principal Samejima took a sip of tea, thoroughly satisfied with Judai's impressive potential.
Next, he naturally turned his attention to the duel of this year's top-ranked examinee. According to the records, this student—aside from the subjective open-ended questions—had scored a perfect score on the written portion, decisively outpacing second-place Misawa Daichi, whose performance had also been near-perfect. The student's results were nothing short of dazzling.
So, let's take a look at their practical duel and deck construction...
...What on earth was this?
Principal Samejima scratched his gleaming bald head in bewilderment.
He considered himself a seasoned veteran of the dueling world, someone who had seen it all. Yet, he couldn't recall ever encountering a deck quite like this one.
Wait... if he had to draw a comparison, the only thing that came to mind was the legendary deck used by none other than Yugi Mutou, the King of Games, during the later stages of his dueling career. Back then, many challengers who faced Yugi ended up furious, their twisted expressions reminiscent of Marik Ishtar during the Battle City arc...
...Much like the unfortunate examiner in this recorded duel.
However, years of evolution in the dueling world had proven that Yugi's style was a unique art form—one that others could scarcely replicate. Over time, mainstream deck-building trends had shifted toward the direction championed by Seto Kaiba. While similar unconventional tactics still existed, they had become exceedingly rare after Yugi retired from competitive play.
Unlike traditional professors like Cronos, Principal Samejima wasn't rigid about forcing students to adhere strictly to textbook strategies or deck-building principles.
That said, most students simply lacked the creativity and expertise to innovate on their own. However, based on his years of teaching experience, Samejima could immediately sense that this student, You Xuan, might possess that rare talent.
Could it be that Duel Academy had stumbled upon such a uniquely gifted newcomer this year?
At this thought, Principal Samejima couldn't help but feel a spark of anticipation.
He glanced at the roster—Yujo Judai on one hand, and Fujiki You Xuan on the other—and leaned back in his chair with a content smile, sipping his tea.
This small Duel Academy had somehow managed to attract two prodigies in a single year: the "Hidden Dragon" and the "Young Phoenix."
Truly cause for celebration.
Duel Academy's efficiency was commendable. Within days of the exams, candidates were already able to check their scores, results, and acceptance statuses.
As expected, You Xuan received his acceptance letter.
Though the school wouldn't officially begin for another month, there was no rush to arrive on the island just yet. However, the new batch of students had already completed registration, and those who passed were now considered part of this year's incoming class.
You Xuan took his newly assigned student ID and logged into Kaiba Corporation's card database through the academy's system. As anticipated, the range of purchasable cards had expanded significantly.
He quickly browsed through the available inventory, jotting down any cards he deemed potentially useful into a list for further analysis. Most of these cards would require specific deck synergies or combos to function effectively, so he set them aside for future consideration.
The ones he decided to purchase immediately were versatile utility cards—mainly traps that brought joy to his red-heavy deck. For instance:
- Causality Cut, which allowed him to discard a card from his hand to banish an opponent's monster to the graveyard.
- Ring of Destruction, a perennial banned card that hadn't been nerfed in this era. It destroyed a monster and dealt damage equal to its ATK to both players—a classic "if I can't win, neither will you" tool, affectionately nicknamed the "Draw Card."
Beyond that, he was pleasantly surprised to discover that hand traps were also available through the academy's internal purchasing system.
As the saying went, "A thousand defenses can't stop a hand trap." Unlike trap cards that required setup and were vulnerable to removal, hand traps could be activated directly from the hand, making them a staple in the Yu-Gi-Oh meta even in the modern era.
Early hand traps weren't as devastating as their contemporary counterparts, often serving defensive purposes instead. The origin of this mechanic traced back to Kuriboh, a beloved mascot from the Duelist Kingdom arc. By discarding Kuriboh, Yugi could negate battle damage—a simple yet iconic effect.
When You Xuan spotted a Kuriboh listed in the rare card section, he didn't hesitate to buy it. To his surprise, it seemed that no one else had snatched it up yet.
But perhaps that wasn't surprising. From what he'd observed in the anime, duelists didn't seem particularly enamored with low-level monsters like Kuriboh, which offered little beyond their nostalgic value as symbols of the original King of Games.
Moving on, You Xuan discovered a section called "Theme Preconstructed Decks." These were pre-built decks centered around specific themes, sold as complete packages.
Among them, he spotted the legendary Elemental HERO series.
It made sense. In the first episode of Yu-Gi-Oh GX, Cronos had referred to Jaden's deck as a "common HERO deck," indicating that HERO decks were widely accessible in this era. It was only later, as Jaden received more exclusive support cards, that HERO decks became less budget-friendly.
Every duelist harbored a dream of wielding heroes. Curious, You Xuan decided to investigate.
And just as quickly, he abandoned that dream.
The monsters in the Elemental HERO lineup consisted mostly of the infamous "Four Useless Heroes." There were only two or three Fusion Heroes available in stock, accompanied by a slew of situational support cards. Lightning Guns, Feather Shot, Burst Return—the kind of cards Jaden himself only used once before they vanished into obscurity.
A cursory glance revealed that this deck was practically unplayable without heavy reliance on specific combinations. Each spell and trap required a particular HERO monster to function, and even if you duct-taped the combos together, their utility remained painfully limited. Using this deck in a real match would lead to endless hand-trap disasters and soul-crushing frustration.
Jaden's ability to dominate half of Duel Academy with these cards was a testament to his unparalleled skill—a feat that 99% of duelists could only dream of replicating.
For now, Elemental HERO decks were off the table. You Xuan continued scrolling.
To his delight, he found Sho Marufuji's Machine Angel deck listed among the preconstructed options.
His eyes lit up as he examined the card list.
Sho's Machine Angel deck wasn't particularly rare or competitive in this era, nor had it gained much traction in real-world tournaments. It was firmly entrenched in the realm of casual, entertainment-oriented decks.
But nestled within this deck was a legendary card that Sho had used in the anime—a card that, despite being nearly two decades old, had never been officially released in physical form by Kaiba Corporation.
Bingo!
You Xuan's gaze immediately locked onto the specific card in question. Without hesitation, he purchased the entire deck.
While individual cards from preconstructed decks couldn't be bought separately, the price of the whole package was reasonable. And in this era, acquiring just that one card alone made the purchase worthwhile.
Kite Machine Angel
Level 1 | ATK: 200 | DEF: 400
Effects:
1) You can discard this card from your hand to reduce direct attack damage to 0.
2) Once per duel, while this card is in the graveyard, you can reduce direct attack damage to 0.
This card had never been physically printed, existing only in two video games: Yu-Gi-Oh! Tag Force 3 and Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links. It could serve as both a hand trap and a graveyard trap, blocking two attacks for the price of one. In the scarcity-driven environment of GX, this card was nothing short of a life-saving miracle.
Immersed in the thrill of shopping, You Xuan strengthened his arsenal further. His card pool grew richer, offering greater flexibility in deck-building—but his wallet, which had briefly swelled, was now rapidly emptying.
Deciding it prudent to leave some funds untouched, You Xuan exited the interface with a wistful sigh, gazing skyward.
Indeed, the words of his predecessors rang true.
How can you play Yu-Gi-Oh without money?