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1034777 No. 1034777 ID: 8483cf

Attention, duelists! It’s time for a massively multiversal Questden card tournament!

The quest will follow the duelists of Group A in their quest to win the grand prize: their heart’s deepest desire, to be granted by the host of the tournament.

Group A’s Duelists
Name, Author, Quest Title, Wiki Link)
- Lady Serah Kensington, Donut, Lazy Fairy, https://questden.org/wiki/Lazy_Fairy
- Enid Anderson and Franklin, Himitsu, Perpetuity, https://questden.org/wiki/Perpetuity
- The Mystery Duelist, Clockwork Seal, ???, https://questden.org/wiki/ClockworkSeal
- Carl Marks, tippler, Good Impression/Girl Talk/STAY INSIDE https://questden.org/wiki/Good_Impression

Host
- Companionship (and Attendants), Donut, Mosaic, https://questden.org/wiki/Mosaic

Many thanks in advance to all the guest artists providing card art and depictions of duelists!
Expand all images
>>
No. 1034778 ID: 8483cf
File 165499953032.png - (16.05KB , 500x500 , QDI_1.png )
1034778

Three birds sit atop the rafters of a bland convention hall. The first is a round, poofy ball of feathers barely able to contain their excitement. The second is a straight-laced secretarybird gazing down disapprovingly. The third is on fire.

“Companionship, let me see if I understand correctly,” says the secretarybird. “Your instructions are to allow these, ah, duelists to borrow the forces of creation for purposes of playing a children’s card game.”

“Yes!” says the bobbing birb ball. “That is exactly what they’ll do, Tianna. It’ll be so exciting! Think of the spectacle!”

“Need I remind you that everyone must make it home safely,” Tianna says. “The Formless One gave us only two rules, and here you are playing with fire. No offense, Toffles.”

“None taken,” says the burning bird. “You and I both know that fire is a wonderful, cleansing force when used responsibly.”

“They’ll be fine,” says Companionship. “Toffles is right! Fire can be a great spectacle. People love to gather around fires to tell stories and warm up. I’ll make sure the conjured cards, spells and traps don’t harm the duelists any more than a campfire.”

“Hmf.” Tianna ruffles her feathers. “Wesli is done with the tournament brackets. We’ve summoned the sixteen duelists, as you asked. I’ll go see that the drafting starts on time, and then we can have the first matches.”

“Thank you, Tianna!”

“Don’t thank me until this all goes smoothly,” Tianna says. “Toffles, get your fire extinguisher ready.”

“Fire extinguisher?” asks Companionship.

“I extinguish problems,” Toffles chirps. “With fire.”

“...Please don’t roast the duelists. Even if they cheat.”
>>
No. 1034779 ID: 8483cf
File 165499956487.png - (37.71KB , 1000x1000 , QDI_2.png )
1034779

Five duelists sit at a table hanging under the sign “Drafting Group A.”

The first duelist is a very tall blonde with a noble air about her. She peeks at her stack of twenty pre-selected cards again and again, nodding and reassuring herself that the basics of her deck are solid enough to carry her through the tournament… but she’s a little uncertain about how effective Landi, Party Animal will be.

“I’m confused. We’re supposed to draft twenty more cards, right?” she asks, looking at the sealed packs in the center of the table. “Why can’t we just choose a deck that has complete synergy? Why introduce randomness?”
>>
No. 1034780 ID: 8483cf
File 165499959940.png - (1.09MB , 1000x1000 , QDI_3.png )
1034780

Sitting beside her are the second and third duelists. A pair of young children, no older than ten each, are showing very different reactions to the draft period. The first is a particularly small girl with long black hair, fidgeting in her seat as she reviews what each of her cards do. The other is an… interesting looking boy with a bald head, reptilian tail, and an innocent expression as he sits idly, glancing around the room at others instead of checking his own cards.

“...Maybe… It could be so that we make better decks?” The boy suggests. “...I still don’t really get how this game works.”

“I understand the rules they explained, it’s just…” The young girl pauses. “I’ve never played before. I don’t know if I chose the right cards. What if the drafting period is all traps and spells, and I don’t have any more monsters? O-Or what if it’s all monsters? Did I mess up already?”

“...I just picked cards that I thought seemed interesting.” Franklin says with a shrug. “I don’t know if that’s a bad way to play or not.”
>>
No. 1034781 ID: 8483cf
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1034781

The hooded and masked figure pushes their seat back from the table and stands, muttering “I … wasn’t prepared to come back here…” as they step away from the table. “But if this is how it is to be…”

They hold out their hand, and a stack of cards begins appearing one after another as they drop into a disorderly pile in their palm. They look at the top card quietly, before placing it back on their completed deck.

They turn to the birds flitting about and bickering in the rafters. “Stewards, I take it this is your doing? If that is the case, I have a request. This deck represents all that I have. Might I use it in lieu of the draft?” They hold the deck of cards in their hand up to the trio.

“Mortals. Always making a mess of things,” says the flaming long-tailed tit.

“So untidy.” The secretarybird bobs her head in agreement. “The draft is mandatory for many good reasons, robed one. This is not a simple preconstructed event. There must be a level of-”

“Sure, you can use those!”

“Pan!” gasps the secretarybird. “What about the rules?!”

“This tournament is for fun,” says the unrealistically floofy bluebird guilty of setting unattainable standards for birds everywhere. “If a mortal doesn’t want to use the draft pool, they’re giving up the potential for some powerful cards. I say go for it, bathrobe-bearer!”

The secretarybird flaps her wings angrily, but doesn’t object further.
>>
No. 1034782 ID: 8483cf
File 165499966969.png - (9.41KB , 500x500 , QDI_5.png )
1034782

Carl hadn’t realized this tournament was going to last all day, in a non-smoking building no less. He’d seen an ad for the event and reckoned it’d be a fine way to spend his infinite free time, but as the hours dragged on and very threatening birds were flying around with fire extinguishers, the nicotine cravings were starting to set in.

There are a bunch of very ugly apes sitting at his table, which doesn’t help his feelings of discomfort.
>>
No. 1034783 ID: 8483cf
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1034783

Brief Summary

-Each duelist starts with a certain amount of Life Points, which are set at 6000 for the beginning rounds of the tournament.
- Cards can be either Characters, Spells, or Traps.
- All duels are SFW unless otherwise noted.
- Character cards are summoned to attack your foe. More powerful characters usually require sacrifices (“tributes”) to summon. Character cares with 4 or fewer stars do not require tributes to summon.
>>
No. 1034784 ID: 8483cf
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1034784

- Spell cards are played straight from your hand on your turn, but not on your opponent's turn. There are many different types and effects of spell cards.
- Provide as much or as little description of the card as you like. Cards may be adjusted when included in the duels.
>>
No. 1034785 ID: 8483cf
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1034785

- Trap cards are “set” face down on the field on your turn. Flip it up on any other turn besides the one in which you just set it to activate its effects.
- Provide as much or as little description of the card as you like. Cards may be adjusted when included in the duels.
>>
No. 1034787 ID: 8483cf
File 165499993136.png - (516.20KB , 628x1000 , Coalescence_Slime Quest_s.png )
1034787

Suggest as many cards as you want to add to the card pool each duelist can draft from!

List of Authorized Authors

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DkWsqwHiU7EmuigB_XDzTJlpzBnkN-JnD3gHg0CZ6Ug/edit?usp=sharing

- Only suggest cards from authorized authors. To request to add authors, contact Donut.
- The duelists in Group A are Serah, Enid, Franklin, The Mystery Duelist and Carl Marks.
- Serah wants to build a deck based around leveling up her Characters to become more powerful and competent as the “story” progresses.
- Enid wants to build a deck focused on getting the most out of her Trap cards, so that she lasts long enough to get her strongest monsters out of the Extra Deck
- Franklin wants stupid gimmick cards and does not know what he is doing. Just give him cards that sound cool, and he will be content
- The Mystery Duelist has a special pre-built deck and will not be drafting.
- Carl Marks wants to build a deck based around finishing the game as soon as possible so he can go outside and smoke, which includes cards that could potentially kill him.
>>
No. 1034788 ID: e51896

Trap Card
THE UPDATE COUNTER (from 30 UPDATES or LESS)

It is a counter that lets you know how many updates has passed. Activating it will permanently put the Update Counter on the top-left portion of the screen of the duelist who activated it whenever it is their turn and letting them know how many UPDATES has passed. It makes the monster who activated it stress out as it goes higher causing a 25% chance to miss, with an additional 5% increase after each ROUND (not UPDATE, though the counter will still go up)
>>
No. 1034789 ID: 273c18

Character card:

Nanogoo
7 stars, EARTH
1000/2000
Sacrifice one card to summon. Add its stats to this one.
Nanogoo takes double damage from any damage source with the WATER alignment. (that's the closest thing to cold...)

Spell card:

Philosopher's Stone
If you play this card when all of the seven alignments are present on the field-- DARK, DIVINE, EARTH, FIRE, LIGHT, WATER, WIND-- you win the game. (wait, are we using Yugioh's alignment/element system? That should probably be decided beforehand)
>>
No. 1034790 ID: 8483cf

To make it easier to find references, please list the title of the quest and author of the quest your card is from. Thanks!
>>
No. 1034792 ID: 629f2e

Eh, fuck it, I'll toss a few out myself just to put up examples of each type. Two of each should be good.

(NOTE: I actually know Yu-gi-oh, so don't mind if my cards are fleshed out, you can go a lot simpler than this, even just saying what characters you want on the card art or the name of the card.)

Characters:

-Ginerva, Bishop of Busalla [*******] [ATK: 2500 DEF: 2200] (Censor Shipping reference - tippler/Donut)
Effect: Add 1 Censorship Token to this card every time it does battle. You can remove 1 Censorship Token from this card during either player's Main Phase to change any ATK position character card on the board to face down DEF position. Affected characters can not change their position while Ginerva, Bishop of Busalla remains on the field.

-Queen Chinzebeth VII [**********] [ATK: 300 DEF: 200] (Queen Chinzebeth VII reference - LonelyWorld)
Effect: This card is treated as being level 1 while in the hand or deck. Cannot be used as material for Tribute summons.


Spells:

-The Past, The Present, and The Future [Continuous Spell] (Perpetuity reference - Some jackass)
While this spell card remains on the field, during each player's draw phase, the player whose turn it is may choose to add the top card of their graveyard to their hands in lieu of drawing from the deck.

-Scanner Bay Report (Starlight Afterglow reference - Kaktus)
Banish one character card from either your hand or your side of the field. It will return to where you banished it from at the end of your next turn. Choose one of the following effects: "The opposing player reveals their hand", "The opposing player reveals all face down cards in their spell/trap zone", "The opposing player reveals all face down character cards on their side of the field"."


Traps:

-Wild Mushroom Cave [Continuous Trap] (Slime Quest reference - Sofia Drawsmore)
Add 1 Spore Token to any of your opponent's character cards that attack your own. During the end phase, any characters you control that have at least 1 Spore Token gain another. Whenever a character receives their 3rd Spore Token, they are sent to the Graveyard.

-What Did You Do To Marcie!? (Coxwette reference - RML)
Target 1 character card on the field. Their ATK and DEF is set to the values printed on the card. Any cards previously affecting this character's ATK/DEF no longer treat the targeted character as a card that exists on the field.
>>
No. 1034793 ID: 273c18

Spell Card:

Disbelieve the True Illusion (Pixel Adventure - Kaktus)
Banish all cards currently on the board, and heal any damage to Life Points you took during your opponent's last turn.

Trap Card:

Time Freeze (Stare at Explosions - Tippler)
Cancel an attack from an opponent's Creature, and put it into face down DEF position. You may choose to perform an attack against that creature with the card that was targeted.
>>
No. 1034795 ID: 273c18

Here's a card that will immediately be banned:

Continuous Spell Card:
True Illusion (Pixel Adventure - Kaktus)
Banish all cards on the board and set both players' Life Points to 6000.
If a player casts Disbelieve the True Illusion, ignore that card's original effect, return all cards to the board that were banished by True Illusion, and set both players' Life Points to the amounts they were before True Illusion was cast. Then destroy True Illusion.
>>
No. 1034798 ID: d98cb8

I'll just pitch card ideas and let the pros figure it out, and since I'm most familiar with my own quest...


Mia the Mediator - character - maybe something about extra effectiveness against spirit type enemies.

Pactbound Momo - character - Weaker card, but can't be removed from play while Mia is on the field

Yang Soul - equip spell - Increases ATK for the equipped card for X amount of turns

Masks - trap card - Cancel incoming attack to one of your characters

Fox Spirit Pact - equip spell - Can only be used when Momo is on the field, grants boosted ATK to character equipped to, makes Momo unable to be removed from field while in play.
>>
No. 1034803 ID: 9b127b

Loyal Zono: Creature: herds with other creatures

Royal Guard: Creature: defends other creature or the player

Castle Dungeon: Trap :imprison creature

Princess' gown: equip : forces another creature to protect

Golden crows: equip : forces others to give tribute

silk undergarments : distracts a creature
>>
No. 1034807 ID: c1b6b2

>Winner gets their heart's deepest desire.
>Carl Marks is there.

I feel fear.... for the last time.
>>
No. 1034808 ID: 273c18

I wanted to redesign Nanogoo:

Creature Card
Nanogoo [********, ATK:1000 DEF:2000, EARTH] (Nanogoo - Arhra)
Sacrifice one Creature or Equip card from your hand or board to summon. Place that card on Nanogoo as Equipment; Creatures grant ATK/DEF equal to half their values. Equipment on Nanogoo cannot be removed by other cards' effects.
Once per turn, you may place another Creature or Equip card you control or have in your hand onto Nanogoo as Equipment.
Nanogoo takes double damage from any damage source with the WATER alignment, and the most recent two Equipment cards are destroyed if Nanogoo survives. (that's the closest thing to cold...)
>>
No. 1034812 ID: 00444f

Ha, yeah, get a bunch of otherwise useless cards to summon POLOKO-
>No Jukashi
Fug. How 'bout Cirr? I'm pretty familiar with most of-
>No Cirrial
Welp. Maybe Lago? They've got a goldmine of-
>No Lagotrope
Oh for Pete's sake.

Well, at least there's Sarcopholacooda (...I'm shortening that to Sarcoph...) and Arhra's Bloom, so let's see...

Alice Dietrich (from Arhra's Bloom):
Beast
Requires 1 tribute.
[1750/1250]
Takes 1.5x? 2x? damage from monsters with the fire attribute.
Gains 150(-ish) ATK/DEF for every monster killed by Alice. (Maybe 50 for every monster not killed by Alice?)
[color:red]May attack allied monsters for this purpose.[/color]

Xotl (from Arhra's Bloom):
Beast
[200/100]
When flipped, draw Xotl Dragonslayer from deck, discard 1-2 card(s), then shuffle.

Xotl Squad (from Arhra's Bloom):
Beast
[1000/750]
Gains 500 ATK/DEF while an allied Xotl Dragonslayer is on the field.
When summoned, 1 attribute may be added thanks to Xotl mad science (optional).

Xotl Dragonslayer (from Arhra's Bloom):
Beast/Machine
Requires 1 tribute
[2200/2000]

Smogwerfer (from Sarcoph's Team Port Echo):
Spell Card
Adds +250 atk to monster, +500 instead if they have the machine attribute (+750 to its owner if I or somebody else ever drums them up as a card)

Helioshield (from Sarcoph's Team Port Echo):
Spell Card
Adds +250 def to monster, +500 instead if they have the machine attribute (+750 to its owner if I or somebody else ever drums them up as a card)

Vision of Ndepthteph (from Sarcoph's Arthcob Date):
Spell? Trap? Not sure which would fit more...
Destroy all monsters on the field except those with the light attribute (That's a thing, right? I think that's a thing)

Too tired to do more.
I'm crap at balance, so feel free to change whatever makes sense.
>>
No. 1034813 ID: e5709d

Age of Monsters
Magic Card
When this card is placed, each monster on the playing field is given a special token, Were-Form, which persists even when the card is placed in the graveyard. Each token has a specific ID. For each monster on the playing field, players must select a monster card from their hand with a star cost within four stars of the original monster's cost in their hand, giving them a were-token with an ID that corresponds to the original monster. The monster in the hand replaces the monster on the field in the same position and stance, while the monster that was on the field is sent to the graveyard.
Afterwards for the rest of the turn, if a player does not have any valid monster cards or monster-like cards, or refuses to reveal and pair a monster with an unpaired were-monster, subtract an additional 500 LP from the player's health for each monster which is not changed. They may assign a corresponding Were-Form token to the un-paired monster whenever the monster is on the playing field.
Once per turn, you may swap out a monster with a Were-Token with its partner, so long as you immediately shuffle all of your decks afterward. The opposing player is allowed to trigger trap cards as if the monster had attacked them directly.

If a card with the Were-Form token is removed from play, remove its corresponding Were-Form card from play.
Power consumes all. Just make sure it consumes you last.
>>
No. 1034815 ID: 8483cf

>>1034812
Cirr: Resonance Universe, Defective Universe, Infiltration Universe, The World Is Mine Universe, Reformation Universe, etc. has been added to the list of authorized authors and quests!
>>
No. 1034816 ID: c39063

Kayree
*****
ATK 1600 DEF 800
Each turn, instead of attacking Directly, Kayree can perform two actions:
Barrage - Kayree's ATK is halved. Kayree cannot be killed by direct combat for one turn, and attacks two monsters on the opponent's side at random. This ATK is quartered if Barrage is used a second time, and so on. At the end of the turn, ATK is restored to 75% of the ATK she had at the beginning of the turn.
Riddle - Kayree uses both actions, doubles her attack, and of the opponent's monsters on the field, the monster with the ATK power closest to hers is sent to the graveyard directly. This ability will not work if all monsters on the opponent's side each meet one of the following conditions: (A) The monster's ATK is currently less than Kayree's, (B) the monster's ATK is currently greater than 2.5 of Kayree's ATK, (C) The monster is unkillable, (D) The monster cannot be directly targeted by an attack.
Healer's Tools - Once per turn, Kayree can restore all DEF points of any monster on the field. Kayree loses 200 DEF and cannot use this ability if she reaches 0 DEF. If Kayree's DEF reaches 0 as a result of this ability, or if she uses this ability on herself, her ATK is reduced by 200.
Animal Sense - The player issues a challenge the opponent to reveal a specific type of card (Monster, Magic, or Trap). The opponent must procure a card of this type from their hand and reveal it to the player at all times, including when the card is played on the playing field, until the card is sent to the graveyard or removed from play. This card can no longer be sent back to the draw deck. If the opponent refuses this challenge or cannot fulfill it, they will be unable to directly order their monsters to attack on their next turn.
SPQR: Sexiness, Pizzaz, Q-ties, Retirement. I got three.
>>
No. 1034817 ID: e5709d

Neumono Group Hug
Trap Card
When this trap card is activated, you may activate any hidden card on the back row of your or your opponent's field. Activating cards on your field will subtract 1000 LP from your health. You are allowed to negate the effect of any card on your opponent's field that you activate once, but the card will persist and not be sent to the graveyard as a result.

It's like packing three litters of []-Youth puppies into a giant fuzzball... - Unknown
>>
No. 1034818 ID: e5709d

Slinko:
Majika Surge
Magic Card
When this card is played, it must be placed on the playing field with a monster in the same column as itself. At the end of a player's turn, double the ATK of this monster. This monster is no longer able to attack directly.
>>
No. 1034819 ID: e7c7d3

Lyluk
-Att: 1 Def: 1
Cannot be used as tribute unless for another Lyluk type

Spell - Big Dumb Arguement
Freeze all cards related to a specific quest as declared by the caster.

Trap - Horni suggestors
Target attacking character is blocked unless they are from a NSFW quest
>>
No. 1034820 ID: e5709d

Artist: Brom
Quest: Enemy Quest
Title: Brainmelter
Magic Card
Looks like a giant eye after it has been melted and then poorly coated in a thin layer of steel.
Select up to half the cards in the opponent's hand and reveal these cards. Then, for each card revealed, you must reveal a card of the same type (Monster-Monster, Magic-Magic, Trap-Trap) in your hand, which will stay revealed. Each success allows you to place your opponent's target card in your graveyard. If you are unable or unwilling to reveal a card to counter your opponent's revealed card, that opponent may immediately play and then attack/activate with said card.
"How will you stab me in my 'filthy xeno eye' if you can't remember how to grab a knife?"
>>
No. 1034821 ID: e7c7d3

Spell - Romance festival
All players may summon a character from there hand, without paying tribute if need be, and pair it with another character on the board. Both cards gain the condition of "If paired card is banished, so is this card"

Spell - Ass Day
Target character counts as NSFW for the rest of the players turn.

trap - Chupian Cuddle Escort
Attacking character loses all enchantments until the start of the next turn
>>
No. 1034824 ID: 8483cf

>>1034812
Jukashi and Lagotrope have been added to the list of Authorized Authors!
>>
No. 1034826 ID: c1b6b2

>>1034817
A variation of this one.

The Happiest Day of My Life
Trap Card
When this card is activated, the opponent is unable to attack this turn. The player who used this card is unable to attack on the following turn.
Crushing....yet not entirely unpleasant.-Dowser

And also:
Frog and Chick Double-Tap
Magic Card
When this card is used, Carl Marks gets clubbed to death.
You told me the world is dark and cruel, but the only thing that is dark and cruel are landlords.- Hunchback of Notre-Dame, probably
>>
No. 1034855 ID: e7c7d3

Chop - (chee quest/chop's dojo)
Att: 2500 Def: 2000
When Chop enters the battlefield, all other cutebold characters gain 1000 attack but lose 500 defence. If they drop below 0 defence this way they are expelled from Chop's dojo and are banished

Slippery Fletch (The vitruvian)
Att: 1500 Def: 1500
Does not take damage from spells or abilities unless directly targeted by such

Pre-shrunk Sam (a small quest)
Att: 1000 Def: 1000
If an opponents trap card is triggered and targets one of your characters, you may have it target Pre-shrunk Sam instead. After the traps effects, if Pre-shrunk Sam has not been banished you may banish him and search your deck for Shrunk Sam

Shrunk Sam (a small quest)
Att: 500 Def: 500
Shrunk Sam cannot be blocked or targeted by any creature with a higher attack value
>>
No. 1034860 ID: 8b82ee

Iron Maidens Skin (Maya Din/ Root and Branches)
spell equip cards
A monster equipped with this card gets 500 attack points and 2000 defense points and if the equipped monster would die by getting attacked while in the attack position it would switch to the defense position.

Quest Necromancy
continuous spell card
Select one card that is in the graveyard and at the start of the turn summon that monster card to the field. Every time the card is summoned back to the field this card gets one counter the number of counters subtracts 500 from that monster's defense points. If the monster's defense points reach 0 destroy that monster and this spell card.
>>
No. 1034862 ID: b2d888

>Cirr added
Let's do this.

Scanner 3 (from Cirr's Formation)
Machine (at least, I think that's what ichor beasts are...)
[0/800]
While on the field, turn all enemy cards face up without activating effects.

Zu the Unending (From Cirr's Formation)
Machine
Requires 2 tribute
[500/3000]
May create minions out of its DEF, but must have 500 DEF left afterwards. Whatever DEF is used becomes the minion's ATK points, DEF is set to 0.
The first time Zu is killed, if it has minions on the field, it reabsorbs them, and stays alive, though if there are no minions it is moved to the graveyard as usual. If Zu is killed after that, it is moved to the graveyard as usual, and all minions are automatically destroyed. Minions are not allowed to be used as tributes.

Kitsiksu Bioservitor (From Cirr's Salikai)
Beast
[1350/1300]
ATK/DEF x2 against neumono.
Base ATK/DEF increased by 100 if Kitsiksu is on the field, will take any attacks that target Kitsiksu.
(Maybe ATK/DEF x1.5 vs psionics?)

Kitsiksu Iarem with a plasma sword (From Cirr's Salikai)
Beast, I suppose? My knowledge of these categories is limited.
[1250/1100]
When defeated in battle, flip a coin (or roll 1d2). If heads, return to deck and shuffle. If tails, move to graveyard as usual.

Criai Lazmihi Sentinel (From Cirr's Khashusivni)
Beast
[1200/1400]

Anti-machine minigun (From Cirr's Salikai)
Spell Card
When equipped to a monster, adds +1500 damage to monsters with the machine attribute. Single use, so after the monster attacks, it is discarded.
"[AI WAS A MISTAAAAAAKE!!]"

Tactical Deployment Multipurpose Drone (From Cirr's Infiltration)
Spell card
Select an enemy player, they must reveal their hand as long as this card is on the field.

Skimmy (From Cirr's Reformation)
Spell card
Summon one additional monster this round.
The ability to rapidly deploy sure is useful.

Healing gel bath (From Cirr's Salikai)
Trap card
When one of this player's monsters is destroyed, activate this card to have it moved back to the player's deck, rather than moved to the graveyard. The deck is then shuffled.

Imperium's calculated predictions (From Cirr's Salikai)
Spell card
Draw 3 cards, discard 2
ACTION 1 SELECTED VIA MAX_CONF POLICY
EVENT PROCESSING COMPLETE 0.000000015s ELAPSED

Little worried because Kitsiksu and, to a lesser degree, the bioservitors are Lago derivatives, but hopefully the-
>Lago added
Oh. Well.
As before, feel free to adjust stuff.
Might do more Cirr stuff later, but that'll do for now.
>>
No. 1034865 ID: 899c9f

Character cards:
Sitkva (salikai): 6-star. can be played even if your field is full, has trample or the yugioh equivalent.
Chen(Koror quest) : 6-star. a powerful card that can be played when a neumono card is destroyed.
Anet (a small quest): 2 star. when this creature is played draw two cards.
Skut (Enemy quest): 1-star. the squirrel card from magic.
Tineola (Clothing repair): 3 star. when summoned, destroy a spell that is attached to a creature.
Cylene (Rusted Sky, by Gnoll): 3 star. This character returns to your hand when sent to the graveyard.
Skalda (Chinzebeth): 4 stars. Her hook on a chain bypasses guard effects on characters.

Spells:
Churn the Earth (Dungeoneer): you can summon monsters 2 stars higher without sacrificing while this card is in play. Lose 100 life points when a monster is destroyed.
Blood Lance (SEXCOM): Attack 3 times with a character, then destroy it.
Chimerization (Return to Sender): Sacrifice a bird type character and search your deck for another type of beast character to replace it. Shuffle your deck afterward.
Biomass Conversion (Bloom): Convert a creature's attack points to life points or vice versa at a ratio of, say, 10 attack points to 1 life point. If converting attack to life points, destroy the creature.


Traps:
"On Hiatus" (every quest ever): Send all cards that have been on the field longer than 2 turns to the graveyard.
The Catalyst (Vitruvian): Activate when a creature is summoned. that creature remains on the field but its owner cannot attack with it or swap its mode while this effect is attached.
Drunk Chuck mode (coxwette): Play at the start of an opponent's turn. Suggestors control that turn, actions are selected at random.
>>
No. 1034867 ID: abaa91

Ey, so apparently I can do a thing in here! I have a couple of concepts:

Emma, Forgetful Robotic Nurse - (Sea Sharp Express)
Character
Machine-Type

ATK: 500 / DEF: 1500

Effect: When placed in Attack Position, Target a Friendly character unit currently on the field. That unit's DEF is increased by 300 DEF. If the character is a Machine-Type, the unit's DEF is increased by 1/2 its Defensive Value or 500 DEF, whichever is greater. Emma's DEF is now +(Amount of DEF added to the Character). This value RESETS upon being placed in Attack Position again.

"Don't worry! I know just how to fix you up, I think! Just let me find my tools..."

------------

Preventative Medicine
Spell

Effect: The unit's DEF values are increased for +500 for the next turn. Cannot be used on Machine-Type Characters.

-----------

Vindictive Malpractice
Trap

Effect: When Activated, this card reduces the ATK of the Attacking Character by 1/4. If it is mechanical in nature/Machine-Type, the amount is increased to 1/2.

-----------

Emergency Transplant
Spell

Effect: Choose a Character in your hand. That Character is sent to the Graveyard, however half of the ATK Power of the Character is added to a targeted Character on the field.
>>
No. 1034869 ID: 273c18

Spell Card:

Crate of Greed (Queen of Hell - Tippler)
DARK
Draw two cards. When playing this card, you must state out loud the card's effect.
>>
No. 1034870 ID: 273c18

>>1034865
>Skut (Enemy quest): 1-star. the squirrel card from magic.
You'll have to be more specific! There are like thirty squirrel cards in MTG.
>>
No. 1034872 ID: 8b82ee

A full-blown disagreement (Coxwette discussion tread)
Trap card
Both sides can't attack until one side doesn't switch all the attack and defense positions monsters. When activated if there are no monsters on either side of the field or if there are more monsters on one side than the other this trap card is destroyed. If any monster gets destroyed while this card is active all the other monsters get destroyed and any monsters can't be played or special summoned until the turn is over.

"When communication fails, then it is time to nuke the tread with a satellite orbital laser! - Sun Tzu"
>>
No. 1034876 ID: abaa91

>>1034867
Thought of a couple more.

-----------
Organ Donation
Spell

Effect: Look through the top 5 cards currently in your Graveyard. Choose Any 1 Character; that Character's ATK is added to your Character of choice. The card Scavenged is Banished.

------------

Panicked Resuscitation
Spell

Choose 1 Character in your Graveyard. Return that Character to the Field immediately. The chosen card CANNOT be placed in Defense Position and their ATK/DEF cannot be adjusted in any manner.

-------------

The Imposter 'Earl Sparks'
Character
Machine-Type

X/X

Effect: Choose a Character on the Opponent's side of the field. 'Earl Sparks' ATK/DEF become equal to that monster's original ATK/DEF. This lasts until he is sent to the Graveyard.

-------------

Unstable Re-Alignment Actuator
Equip

Discard a card from your hand. Allows the holder to swap between Attack Position and Defensive Position twice in one turn. The holder cannot attack while holding this.

--------------
>>
No. 1034885 ID: a70a13

Welp, time for me to throw my NOISE cards into the mix! I'll probably add some later if any more are needed.

===========
Characters:

-Clero The Gambler
Psychic-Type/Light-Attribute
[****]
[ATK:400 DEF: 900]
Effect: If Clero The Gambler reaches 0 DEF, send to the graveyard. When this card is first played, you may make a guess as to the type of card on top of the deck (Character, Spell, Trap) and then pull the card on top of the deck. If you correct right, you may keep the card and this Character's defense rises to 1800. If wrong you must send the card pulled to the graveyard.


-Kinesis the Scout
Psychic-Type/Light-Attribute
[******]
[ATK:2500 DEF:500}
Effect: If this card is summoned in defense mode, you may draw one ANTE UP or LOOPS THE SNAKE card from your deck to your hand, then shuffle the deck.

-Mau the Beast Tamer
Psychic-Type/Light-Attribute
[***]
[ATK:500 Def:600]
Effect: When this card is in play, Beast and Beast-Tamer type characters lose half their ATK points until Mau the Beast Tamer is taken out of play.

Spells:

-Prima Materia
Field Spell
Effect: When this card is in effect, all NOISE character cards may switch their ATK and DEF points at any moment, even after the opponent has declared attack. However, after two switches the character will be sent to the graveyard.

-Heavy Rotation
Field Spell
Effect: When this card is in effect, all NOISE spell cards may be returned directly to the hand after use, in which they may be used a second time. After this second use, the spell card will be sent to the graveyard.

-Conway's Web of Friends!
Effect: Attach this card to a Character on your side of the playing field. You may now choose to 'link' this character to any character on the opponent's side of the field. These two characters may not attack each other, but if one Character is destroyed the 'linked' Character will be destroyed as well, with both being sent to the graveyard.

-Loops the Snake
Effect: When this card is played, you may look at the top three cards of your opponent's deck, then choose one to send to the graveyard if you wish.

-Ante Up
Effect: If CLERO THE GAMBLER is in play, pull a card from your deck. If it is anything but a Character card, return it to the bottom of the deck. Continue pulling until you draw a Character card. When the Character is drawn, compare it's Stars to CLERO THE GAMBLER. If it is higher than four stars, CLERO THE GAMBLER gains 2600 ATK. If it is lower than four stars, lose 900 DEF.

Traps:

-Vinegar's Several Oceans
Effect: Attach to an enemy Character. When this Character attacks, your opponent must flip a coin to determine outcome. Heads is a success, tails is a failure.

-OOOOOOOH SHIT
Effect: This may be activated at any point in your opponent's turn, ending their turn immediately. If this card is destroyed face down, OOOOOOOH SHIT's effect activates.

-No Pants Policy
Effect: Target 1 character card on the field, and reduce their DEF by 1/2. If any spell cards or traps are attached directly to the character, remove them as well.
>>
No. 1034893 ID: 681cb5

Soth the Varkian warrior (Lascivious Labyrinth - kaktus)
Creature – Low attack, low defense.
Effect: If used as tribute, resummons this from your graveyard on the start of your next turn.

Kahi, trapper of mates (Lascivious Labyrinth- kaktus)
Creature, Requires 1 tribute – Average attack, Average defense.
Effect: At the start of your turn, repay “Kahi, trapper of mates” tribute cost and increase her attack / defense with a small amount permanently, or put “Kahi, trapper of mates” into your graveyard.
>>
No. 1034916 ID: 0374ec

Vial of Polo DNA
[0/100]
It's a vial. It breaks with ease.

Vial of Rokoa DNA
[0/100]
It's a vial. It breaks with ease.

Salikai cloning labs
[0/450]
The expensive equipment in these labs used for clone dart experiments breaks with ease. It just takes a while because there's a lot of stuff.

Disloyal science hivers
[0/1000]
They're neumono, and there are quite a few of them. Still, they have no idea how to fight, so for neumono, they break with ease.

Stolen neumono biogenetics breakthrough
[0/200]
A bleeding-edge breakthrough in neumono biogenetic stability stolen by salikai-aligned infiltrators. The flashdrive it's kept on breaks with ease.

Get all 5 cards in your hand to summon EXOD- POLOKOA
POLOKOA
[INFINITE/INFINITE]
POLOKOA rapidly brings a peaceful end to the conflict, and sets about unifying everyone. Which is just as well, given all the eldritch abominations that are suddenly invading. While this is technically a tie, the player who summoned POLOKOA is granted victory as credit for getting all this started.

I mean, it's probably not accurate to the original Polokoa, but I couldn't quite figure out how the original was created between all the insanity of actually justifying rule of cool. Besides, there are multiple Polokoa/Rokolo-verses, so this should be fine, this'll just be the card-verse. Which would probably be an especially weird verse given that Polokoa, Polo, and Rokoa might all exist simultaneously because there can also be Polo and Rokoa cards, which justifies this Polokoa being a clone so... yeah.

Speaking of multiversal weirdness, would a card of, say, Lady Serah Kensington be allowed? I have no intention of adding stuff like this myself, but a ruling about that might be useful to others.
>>
No. 1034920 ID: 8483cf

>>1034916
Yes, you can make cards based off of characters that are also duelists.
>>
No. 1034955 ID: af11fb

Gnoll assassin Leaf (From Lago's Clamp Quest)
Beast
Requires 2 tribute
[2000/2500]
Can directly attack 1000 of an opponent's life points.

Sir Orjin (From Lago's Fen Quest)
Beast
Requires 1 tribute
[1900/1500]
When summoned or at the beginning of the summoner's turn, select an opposing monster to be the target of Sir Orjin's taunts. This monster may only target Sir Orjin (unless set to DEF mode?).

The prettiest arkot (From Lago's Asteroid Quest Intermission)
Beast
[500/500]

NCO arkot (From Lago's Polo Quest)
Beast/Machine
[1300/1300]
"I wanna know why everyone else around me is worthless cannon fodder." -NCO arkot on other arkots.

Crater (From Sarcoph's Team Port Echo)
Beast/Machine
[1500/1000]

Keya, Fell Warmind (From Cirr's Reformation)
Beast/Dark
Requires 1 tribute
[1750/2200]
On a turn where this card goes from DEF to ATK mode, it may perform 2 attacks instead of one.
"OUCH. Wow. Our units were just perfectly lined up for that." -Poster's reaction to Keya decloaking and taking out several units with a single snipe.

Short visual feed of The Perfect Cube (From Cirr's The World is Mine)
Trap Card
If used on an opposing player's turn, no monsters may attack or switch from ATK to DEF mode. Monsters that have the machine attribute and no organic attributes are exempted.
"...only been known to have an effect on organic minds and minds derived from organic minds... I once saw it by mistake out of the corner of my eye and it took a considerable amount of willpower not to glance at it again just to see if it really was so perfect. It lingers in your head..." -SARU on The Perfect Cube

The absolute convolution of Resonance (From Cirr's Resonance... sort of)
Spell card
All cards on the field are returned to the deck where they originated, then all decks are shuffled. This includes trap and spell cards.
"Discontinued due to the plot becoming too overwhelmingly convoluted for even the author to make sense of." -Wiki on Resonance
>>
No. 1034965 ID: e5709d

>>1034955
Too overpowered... but it gives me a twisted idea.
You know how many famous quests have a filler episode where we interact with the antagonists as the point-of-view character instead of the protagonist and their allies? Well...

A Lifetime in the Limelight
Magic Card
Multiple Quests (Asteroid Quest, Tobak Quest)
The player chooses to sacrifice 1000LP, 2000LP, or 3000LP. The player can then choose from the following effects a number of times equal to the number of kilo-LP they sacrificed:
* Both players swap their hands.
* Both players swap their draw decks, look through each other's draw decks, and shuffle.
* Both players swap the cards on the field.
All cards are given a token which causes them to be sent to their owner's graveyard when the card would be sent to a graveyard, either the owner's or their opponent's.
This card is banished.
Note that, though it is ridiculous in general, you are allowed to re-swap any choice you've made, which usually negates most of the utility of this card. But it could be extremely useful.

"Years of hatred and fear can be tempered into wisdom with just one peek at how others live their lives."
>>
No. 1034979 ID: a53150

Some Last Trace cards:

Nickel
Monster Card
1000 ATK/2000 DEF
Effect: Whenever Astrolysis is face up under the same player's control, Nickel gains an extra 500 ATK and 500 DEF

Astrolysis
Monster Card
2000 ATK/ 1000 DEF
Effect: Whenever Nickel is face up under the same player's control, Astrolysis gains an extra 500 ATK and 500 DEF

Weave Nexus
Spell Card
Upon use, search your deck for a card of your choosing and put it in your hand. If the number of cards in your hand exceeds the limit, discard one. Then shuffle your deck.
If your universe breaks we can just go to the store and get a new one.
>>
No. 1035113 ID: e5709d

RML - Coxwette
Preachers
*******
Monster
ATK: 2800
DEF: 1400

This card cannot be played normally. There are two methods of playing this card:
1) Declare this card. In two turns, starting on the declaring player's turn, it may be directly summoned by either player without sacrificing any monsters on the field.
2) Whenever this card is drawn, the player drawing it has the choice to declare this card's existence, leaving it fully visible by the opposing player. They will be allowed to sacrifice monsters to summon this card on their next turn.
Nobody expects the undead Inquisition, even as they stand in front of your one-night stands.
>>
No. 1035115 ID: e51896

Nothing from Dragon Romance yet, so I'll fix that

Spell Card - Spaghetti (a running gag from Dragon Romance)
50% chance you eat it, and gain 1000 life points.
50% chance you spill it towards an enemy duelist, and they eat it instead and gain 1000 life points.
>>
No. 1035321 ID: 0838d6

Just gonna drop this here

Tippler Moment - Has so many if/then statements that you never know what actually will happen until you activate it, causing suggestors to mald.
>>
No. 1035349 ID: 8483cf
File 165559746130.png - (152.00KB , 532x847 , Soth_The_Varkian_Warrior.png )
1035349

Franklin immediately goes for a face down card on the table out of curiosity, only to be interrupted by squawking from above.

“Hold on a moment! Don’t touch those ones!” Companionship calls out from above, before landing on the table in front of the boy. Franklin tilts his head curiously at the creature.

“...Bird.” He mutters, before stroking it with one of his hands. Companionship leans into it happily.

“Oh, thank you! That’s very kind- ah! Right, um… So, please don’t touch the face down cards. That goes to you as well.” He waves a wing over at Enid. “Those are for grown ups only.”

Carl quickly snags the adult cards for careful inspection. Soth the Varkian seems fairly mundane, but since he’s planning to use some big tributes the monster’s ability will be very useful. The trap card Horni Suggestors will be good for defense, so he grudgingly adds it to his pile.

“...Okay.” Franklin shrugs, and reaches around Pan to look at some of the face up cards. “...Wonder what makes them for grown ups.”

“They’re probably just dirty, like they have naked people on them or something.” Enid answers, picking up a trap card that had caught her eye. After reading its effect, she adds Castle Dungeon to her deck.

Franklin scratches his chin in thought. “Huh… Is that really a grown up thing? Dad leaves naked bodies around his lab all the time. Maybe it’s only dirty when they’re alive…?”

“...I think it’s more wrong that you’re seeing dead people than nude ones.” Enid says, quickly shaking off Franklin’s weirdness as all eventually learn to do.

“...I live at the Morgue. It would be weirder if they were alive there.” Franklin picks up Update Counter as the topic trails off.

Serah tries to keep a poker face, but her eyes bug out when she sees Anet. That card is just too good to ignore! It’s three cards in one! She immediately picks it.

“That impossibly fluffy bird was right,” Serah says. “There are some great cards here!”

“I’m sure there are,” mutters the masked duelist, flipping through the cards in their deck and looking at each of them, “But there’s more going on here than cards being strong…” They flip up one of the cards in the deck and stare at it, transfixed - their expression unreadable beneath their heavy robes and mask.

Carl finds the card Time Freeze, which has a handsome fish man for an image, so he immediately drafts it out of respect.
>>
No. 1035350 ID: 8483cf
File 165559750397.png - (184.87KB , 628x1000 , nanogoo_card_s.png )
1035350

For the next round, Serah looks at the cards in front of her and considers carefully. She wants to power up her Character cards so they can stick on the field long enough to level up. Equipment cards are a solid bet to make that happen- her deck has an okay amount of those already. She needs a way to synergize equip cards with her draft.

She selects Nanogoo, so if the equip cards aren’t useful, she can use them to keep Nanogoo alive.

“...I can’t play this card,” the masked duelist says brusquely and tucks the card they were staring at into their robe, reaching out onto the table and grabbing one card at random without even looking at it. “I know that I said I would not be drafting, but I assume it will be acceptable in this instance to take one card.”

After checking her deck again, Enid thinks she could use a few more spell cards, as she’s lacking in those. She takes the Biomass Conversion spell.

Franklin reads the part on Philosopher's Stone that says you can win the game, and decides it has to be a good card. Ignoring the fact that he only has 5 monster zones, meaning his opponent has to have a couple attributes that he isn't covering, and the fact that he has no cards that synchronize with the effect well, and absolutely ignoring the part where the card is a useless brick in his hand whenever the condition doesn’t apply.

Yeah, he just ignores all of that. When it works, you win the game! Obviously it’s a good card if it can win you the game.


For some reason the kids keep passing him cards that have $20 bills stuck to the back. The free money makes Carl feel a little better even though he’s dying internally.

The draft continues for a few more rounds and the pool continues to dwindle until suddenly, the remaining cards vanish from the table.

“Whoa!” Serah gasps. “Magic!”

Carl looks at the cards he’s drafted: Shrunk Sam, Pre-shrunk Sam, Emma the robotic nurse, Crate of Greed, and Frog and Chick Double-Tap. He’s not really bothering to keep them a secret, unlike the other duelists at the table. Serah is staring at them, but quickly catches herself.
>>
No. 1035351 ID: 8483cf
File 165559757486.png - (21.72KB , 580x402 , QDI_6.png )
1035351

“We haven’t really introduced ourselves, have we?” Serah says. “I’m La… um… I suppose here, I’m just Serah.”

“Um… My name is Enid Anderson.” She quickly says, not wanting too much attention.

“...Isn’t it Enid Foster now?” Franklin asks with truly innocent intent, only realizing his mistake when Enid flinches. “Um, sorry, nevermind…”

“How old are you two, if you don’t mind me asking?” Serah asks the pair of younglings.

“I’m nine. Franklin is… ten?” Enid looks to the boy, he just shrugs unhelpfully.

“That sounds right I think.”

“What do you mean it sounds right? Is it right!?”

“Yeeeeessss? Yes, that’s right.” His certainty is not at all supported by his previous indecisiveness. “…Oh, I’m Franklin, I’m the one who is ten.”

Serah looks him over, noting his lack of hair and tail, before reading the word ‘Human’ written in pen on his shirt. She wonders to herself if Dotti will seem more convincing as a human, once she begins practicing her shapeshifting, than Franklin does now. The thought never leaves her mouth of course, as it’s more than a little rude.

“I’m Carl.” says Carl. He resists the urge to punch the nearest ape child in the teeth.

“We’re opponents in this game the stewards have set up,” says the masked duelist. “I don’t see how it behooves us to act friendly. You can call me whatever you want.”

“Why shouldn’t we be friendly? Games are meant to be played with friends, aren’t they.” Enid replies.

“Um, have any of you introduced yourselves to the competition? Some of them might be familiar,” Serah says. “Charrise, says she’s from CRUST CITY. I went there once. It was awful.”

“CRUST CITY FOR LIFE!” shouts a kangaroo girl from Drafting Group C. “She just hates us ‘cause she ain’t us.”

“...I had a dream about a place called Crust City once. There was pizza in it. It was a nice dream.” Franklin muses.

“A lot of them look strange. But, well…” She turns to the rest of the table, trying and failing not to stare at Franklin or Carl. “...Some of us do too.”

“I look perfectly normal for me.” Franklin points out, technically being right.

Enid looks around the room a bit more. “...Oh! She’s really pretty though.” She points towards a dragon girl with lovely regalia and polished red scales. “I guess dragons are still kind of weird though. It’s just a good kind of weird. Not that any of you are the bad kind I mean. You’re all nice too.”

“I have run across those two before,” the masked duelist waves with a clawed gauntlet towards a pink bird-like creature laughing haughtily next to a similar beleaguered-looking creature next to her. “I believe they are called Strawberi and Warwick. They will likely be working together.”
>>
No. 1035352 ID: 8483cf
File 165559760975.png - (142.86KB , 528x840 , Lyluk.png )
1035352

Suggest a character from a quest to include as a duelist in the tournament! Please limit yourself to one suggested duelist. There are technically 16 spots, but Companionship may have let in a few stowaways…

A character can be both a duelist and appear on a card, so don’t worry about that. You can also suggest duelist teams, e.g. “Dotti and Landi” as a single duelist.

When suggesting a duelist, please do so in the following format:

Name: Duh
Quest & Author: Duh
Duel Strategy: Summarize their card strategy and deck type.
Special Notes: E.g. field cards they miraculously draw in their first hand, if they have bad luck, if they cheat, etc.

P.S.:Please recognize that not all duels will be shown. We can only draw so much!
>>
No. 1035353 ID: 899c9f

-Name: Anet and Jaina
-a small quest (Hatticus Finch)
-uses Artifact cards to buff other monsters, has Exodia kicking around somewhere
-Anet is easily distracted by pretty card art and doesn't always listen to her sister's directions. Their arguing may give away their hand sometimes.

Actual size duelists. They're entering as a pair, so Jaina can hold the cards and Anet can draw/play them.
>>
No. 1035357 ID: e51896

Name: Ceridwen
Quest & Author: Dragon Romance by Slinko
Duel Strategy: NSFW cards (if she can). Otherwise/also Ceridwen knows what she's doing for the most part. Her intended strategy and deck type is essentially a Stall/Burn deck- using a lot of heavy defense, Trap cards and Target effects to force your hand, come to her, and essentially break yourself upon her impregnably sexy body. And when she focuses on it, she's pretty decent at it! Exceeeept....
Special Notes: Ceridwen isn't repressed exactly, but even here her Tilde shines through~ Almost at random, she has a nasty habit of playing cards that look sexy just because they look sexy and she wants to ogle them for a bit with flimsy strategic decisions as an excuse. This can lead her into big misplays or bad strategies when she loses her focus. When she's on the ball, she's a legit dangerous competitor. When she's not...yeahhhh. She's also very caring, silly, has a somewhat dominate side she's trying to suppress or else it might release her life magic and break her seal which is very dangerous. her somewhat dominate side will make her determined to win, but she will make sure you're okay if she is winning and will go easy on you if the person losing is feeling real bad.

(also to other suggestors, I recommend choosing a quest character from a quest that has not been chosen yet by other suggestors so that we can get a variety of different quest characters from different quests, and not a bunch of quest characters from one quest)

(thanks Ceekay for helping with the duel strat, and special notes)
>>
No. 1035358 ID: abaa91

Okay...nominating none other than-

Name: Bonnie McCarthy AKA Carmine
Quest & Author: Safety First by FUN

Duel Strategy: Bonnie is just here to have a blast and beat people up- figuratively speaking. Translated, that means she runs your mostly garden variety Beatdown Deck; she's all about hitting you hard and fast and not even allowing your monsters to survive very long. She's not the most cerebral player, but she DOES have some real bruisers in her deck, and her near random style of playing means that if she manages to yank them out, anyone that's taking her lightly or otherwise underestimating her is in for a painful wake-up call.

Special Notes: As stated, Bonnie is...not exactly a strategic player. Furthermore, while she's not dumb per-se, she DOES occasionally forget little this-and-thats about things like card effects or whatnot. Much like how she's only trying to hit you hard, the only thing she tends to remember or focus on is when SHE'S hit hard. This ultimately means that if the other duelist isn't paying attention, Bonnie will at times either misremember or just flat out forget effects her or her cards are supposed to be under, leading her to execute impossible or illegal maneuvers inadvertently. You have to watch this kid. Means well, but just has a one-track mind.
>>
No. 1035381 ID: 629f2e

Name: Selma Hall
Quest & Author: A Little Town Called Coxwette - RML

Duel Strategy: Selma is an experienced duelist who is running a deck focused on decking out their opponent (I.E.: Removing all cards from their opponent's deck so that they lose the duel, since you lose if you are unable to draw a card when you're meant to). It's a uncommon strategy that nobody is prepared to go against, so it's important that they adapt well to avoid a crushing loss.

Special Notes: Selma is an opponent you have to beat quickly, as once she gets going she blows through a big chunk of your deck every turn with a few powerful cards and synchronized uses of even less helpful ones. A good few of her cards lock some of your best options behind forced draws though, so you'll have to use some very careful strategy to win.
>>
No. 1035382 ID: d98cb8

Why not!

Name: Momo

Unbalanced, by crows and Milquetoaster

Duel strategy: cards she finds generally interesting in concept, with no overarching plan at all and played with complete chaos. Occasionally needs to ask how the rules work. There's at least one Dotti card in her deck.

Special notes: she might be cheating, as her cards might be switching places or even being swapped for cards in her hand as she plays. Unfortunately if you try to catch her at this you'll only end up frustrated because you never see it happen, and also when you're trying to catch her it seems to happen MORE.

Momo finds this whole situation absolutely delightful

:momotalk:
>>
No. 1035384 ID: e5709d

Name: Basmati
Quest & Author: The Family Estate by Baron of Spades
Duel Strategy: Basmati uses cards which increase her hand and draw sizes, and then calculates the optimal strategy against her opponent based on statistical evidence by using the internet.
Special Notes: Basmati uses her cybernetic connection to the extranet to understand the fine details of machine-based cards, allowing her to become crazy-genius when she or her opponent plays a card with the machine theme or type. Unfortunately, she has next to no ability to read her opponents' strategies due to her stunted childhood.
>>
No. 1035387 ID: 00d20a

Yeah, Momo was a no-brainer for this event.

Name: Caevaexerin "Xerin" Brass
Quest and Author: The God Damned by Whistler and Graphygraphie
Duel Strategy: Use of monster cards mainly as fodder for his spell card strategy. Heavy use of cards that allow for counter-spelling, seeing into others hands, swapping control of cards, and general scheeming.
Special notes: Very good at rules lawyering, though not afraid to bend the rules heavily if the stakes are high. Appears meek and non-confrontational un general demeanor.
>>
No. 1035424 ID: 32d3a2

Right, I forgot: When making direct eye contact with anyone, he can cast a spell that lets him see things through their eyes. Whether he'll actually use it on a children's card tournament, or only if he considers the grand prize too good to pass up, I cannot say.
>>
No. 1035432 ID: e7c7d3

Name: Spectre of Dead Quests Past
Quest & Author: Innumerable and Unnameable
Duel Strategy: Lots of interaction with the graveyard. Cards that resummon other cards, cards who's powers are based on the graveyard, etc. etc.. Lots of undead themed cards
Special Notes: Definitely the type to pull some out-of-the-game bullshit, like trapping your friends in coffins and threatening to bury them alive if you don't win the match or something. Frequently says "You don't stand a GHOST of a chance!"
>>
No. 1035460 ID: a70a13

Name: Conway
Quest & Author: NOISE (From yours truly ;P)
Duel Strategy: Their deck focuses on connecting characters together, avoiding tributing monsters by instead meeting ability conditions to summon stronger and stronger monsters. Basically ‘weaving’ cards in a web of connection.

Special Notes: First card played is usually laughably weak and understates his intense dueling ability. The weak card is always used to gradually build up his decks strength. He’s very friendly and probably knows everybody at the tournament for some weird reason!
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No. 1035476 ID: ff05ed

>>1035460
Just make sure his pants aren't see through this time, alright?
>>
No. 1035765 ID: afe7de

> Blanket of wholesomeness (romance festival/Hatterson/Catalyst/Sexcom)

Immediately destroy a lewd card and replace it with a 100 atk 1000 def blanket
It's too wholesome!

I had a card suggestion because I remembered the Hatterson romance festival 2021 incident.
>>
No. 1035963 ID: 8483cf
File 165621520649.png - (445.53KB , 628x1000 , Metamorphosis_s.png )
1035963

Enid places Metamorphosis into her deck and sighs. It’s a useful card, maybe even enough to swing a duel, but… is her deck good enough overall? A few great cards aren’t enough by themselves.

While the duelists complete the final rounds of the draft, three birds continue to watch over them from the rafters. Companionship, the fluffiest bird, peeks around Tianna’s crest to sneak a peek at her paper.

The duelists are:

1. Lady Serah Kensington
2. The Masked Duelist
3. Enid Foster
4. Franklin
5. Carl Marks
6. Anet and Jaina
7. Momo
8. Ceridwen
9. Bonnie McCarthy
10. Selma Hall
11. Basmati
12. Caevaxerin “Xerin” Brass
13. Conway
14. Strawberi and Warwick
15. Princess Reefa Multero
16. Charisse

“Hold your horses, I’m not done making the bracket yet!” Tianna squawks. “It’s a carefully crafted balance of probabilities calculated for maximum drama and tension. I won’t have this tournament spoiled by cross-seed contamination from same-draft pools with informational advantages on the same side of the bracket.”

“Of course, of course,” Pan says, shying away. “Take your time. I just wanted to know where you were proposing to place Miss McCarthy.”

“She’ll be against Miss Foster,” Tianna says.

“Um…” Pan glances down at Enid. “Please just use the duelists’ first names only. Let’s not remind Enid about her new name.”

“Always making changes,” Tianna sighs. “Fine. First names only. Are you happy now?”

“Very!” Pan nods.
>>
No. 1035964 ID: 8483cf
File 165621543750.png - (1.01MB , 1000x1000 , QDI_7.png )
1035964

“No, because you can only normal or tribute summon on your turn. So if you normal summon Phillip, then you can’t tribute him to summon Temmie until your next turn.” Enid explains.

“Ohhhh…” Franklin nods, kind of starting to get it. “So, how do I summon more characters in a turn again?”

“You just have to Special summon any other ones you want. Look here,” she says, holding up one of the cards from Franklin’s deck, “did you read Phillip’s effect? When he gets sent to the graveyard, you can special summon Lillian from the deck. That doesn’t use your normal summon up for the turn though, because it’s not normal, it’s special. Does that make sense now?”

“...Yeah, I think I understand. What about the cards from the extra deck though? Are those normal or special summons?”

Fusion, Synchro, Ikz- Iks- Xzee- The one that’s hard to pronounce, and Links all count as special summons. There isn’t a limit to how many you can do in a turn, as long as you have all the things you need to make the character you’re summoning.”

“Huh.” Franklin nods slowly. “...What are the differences between those again?”

“Franklin…” She sighs. “Didn’t those cute birds explain it to you before you built your deck?”

“Yes? I think they did… There are just a lot of rules to this game. I must have forgotten these ones to make room for the others.”

“I mean, it is pretty complex.” She agrees. “If you boil it down, it’s mostly about reading what’s on the cards, and figuring out how to get closer to winning with them.”

Enid picks up her own deck again, flipping through it one more time. “But, maybe I shouldn’t be saying that, since I don’t really know anything about winning this game either. You’ve played as much as I have.”

“Well… You know the rules better than I do, so I bet you’ll do fine.”

“I know, but I haven’t really played many with other people, only my daddy. And I’m pretty sure he always went easy on me. That, or he was just… really really bad at them.”

Franklin pats her shoulder comfortingly. “...Even if you’re bad like me, it’s just a game. All that matters is having fun, right? Actually, is that still true when there’s a prize…? Also, if you lose early, then you have to stop playing, which isn’t very fun either…”

“That was more reassuring two sentences ago.” She flatly points out. Franklin doesn’t notice, clearly lost in thought.

The fluffy bird overhears their conversation and flutters down to join them, landing at perfect petting distance.

“Bird,” Franklin says. He pets it.

“Human,” Pan says. He appreciates it.

“Cards,” Enid says. “You’re not going to take away any of our cards again, are you? I already looked at all of mine at least three times now. If there was anything I shouldn’t have seen, I've definitely already seen it by now.”

“No, no,” Pan says. “Um… I just wanted to tell you that this tournament is special. Have you ever had an imaginary friend?”

“I used to talk to my toys, does that count?” Enid asks. “The toys were real, but I made up personalities for them.”

“I make up imaginary people sometimes. I’m not sure if they’re friends though…” Franklin says.

“Well, it’s going to be a little different here. Your imaginary friends on the cards can actually come to life when you play them!”

“...Does that mean when we make them fight, we’ll be killing our opponent’s cards, or getting our own killed?” Franklin suggests.

“Wh- No! Not that alive! They’re just simulations, don’t worry about something that gruesome. I just… thought I’d mention it. I really hope you have fun with them.”

The kids thank Pan for the tidbit, and go back to their discussion, with Enid trying to explain the differences between extra deck monsters to Franklin.
>>
No. 1035965 ID: 8483cf
File 165621548834.png - (14.11KB , 500x500 , QDI_8.png )
1035965

“Fairies, don’t fail me now,” Serah says under her breath. She examines her fairies. They don’t need to be drawn from her main deck, which is a great advantage. “Link cards seem strong… but Landi, Rocio and Sunshine haven’t, uh, really worked out well for me in the past. And I don’t know who this Zinnia is, but her effect seems strong.”

Carl makes eye contact with an enormous albatross across the room. Since birds are running the event, he assumes this is someone important and he has a sudden vision of getting swallowed whole by the beast. Great, now he’s getting anxiety from the cravings as well.

“Is that albatross wearing an armored helm?” Serah asks.

“Duelists, prepare for the first round!” booms an albatross wearing an armored helm. “As a reminder, all cheaters that I catch will be penalized. By me. I will penalize you personally. So don’t cheat! That is all.”

A kitsune with an unnaturally wide grin gives a soft laugh.

“Interesting,” mutters the masked Duelist.

Carl chokes on a sip of water and starts coughing, which the masked Duelist misinterprets as encouragement to elaborate.

“The event has only two rules,” they explain in hushed tones, “And yet this new steward has stated that he will only penalize those he catches cheating.” They pause briefly, waiting to see if the message sinks in to the others. “The more unscrupulous people here will take this as an open endorsement to cheat if they feel they can get away with it. Be on your guard.”
>>
No. 1035966 ID: 8483cf
File 165621553040.png - (289.56KB , 2000x1000 , QDI_9.png )
1035966

“I guess I’ll see you all later,” Serah says. “Best of luck!”

“Thanks! I’m really going to need it…” Enid says, walking away towards her duel area. Franklin doesn’t rush to leave, still mulling something over.

Carl reads his opponents name and their table number and meanders over. He’s shocked to see a tall, bosomly, dragon lady taking the seat opposite to him. Ohoho, perhaps it's time to work the ole Marks charm. By the size of those melons there’s no way this could be anything but a mature, grown woman, a fine match for his 40 years of doing fuck-all.

It’s time to DUEL!

Suggest an ACE IN THE HOLE for any and all duelists you want! It can be a blatantly overpowered card, a very effective cheating strategy, or outside interference that helps them win the duel!
>>
No. 1035967 ID: e51896

Charisse is livestreaming this duel for the views and to show how cool Conway is. (Amazingly, Conway seems to somehow know just about every single person in the livestream chat. He's pretty popular with them with his charisma)
Chat tends to backseat game and tell Charisse what cards to play, especially doing plays that the donors suggest (mostly that one donor Jack-O-Jackie)
>>
No. 1035969 ID: e5709d

Ceridwen: Draconic Might
Once per match, Ceridwen can double her LP, provided she has placed four cards whose LP total exceeds hers. For some reason, this is not considered cheating. However, as a penalty, she loses 50 LP every turn, which doubles after she uses her special power. This counts as being attacked.
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No. 1035970 ID: 629f2e

Reefa's Ace in the Hole could be King Midas, a level 10 Xyz character.

For the uninformed: An Xyz summon is when you summon an extra deck monster using a number of monsters on your side of the field with the same level as the monster you're trying to summon. The cards you use as material are placed underneath the card on the board, and most Xyz monsters have special effects that require discarding those materials.

Alright, so here's my idea: Princess Reefa is gonna go heavy on equip spells, right? Well Xyz cards work in a similar way, stacking cards onto others to increase their power. It fits with her playstyle.

King Midas is Reefa's win condition more or less. It's a powerful enough monster on its own, but it's also got a devastating effect. By discarding two materials, Midas can destroy all other cards on the field. Not only that, but whenever a character on his side of the field is destroyed, Reefa can choose to attach that character to Midas as material instead of sending them to the Graveyard, powering up that devastating move again. Pair that with an equip or two preventing card effects from affecting him, and it's a hard wall to overcome.

And to the one guy who knows Yugioh, yes, this is a slightly nerfed ZEUS.
>>
No. 1035972 ID: abaa91

>>1035966
Bonnie's Ace In The Hole:

Rathoney AKA 'The Rat Makes The Rules' AKA 'Ratscrew'

Of COURSE Bonnie's friend/sometimes controller is in on this. Rathoney hides within Bonnie's pocket most of the time; if he reads Bonnie as getting too stressed (I.E. losing badly) he will begin using his mental prowess to scan both Bonnie's and her opponent's deck, essentially allowing her to know the next two cards to be drawn from both decks. This also passively ups her intelligence, allowing her to break out strategies and counterplays she'd normally not think of to surprise opponents. She DOES get a bit red-eyed from this, but, well...that might just be her intense competitive nature coming out to anyone who's unaware.
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No. 1035975 ID: 782e0e

Conway happens to know pretty much everyone in Charisse’s livestream chat, and certainly a friend or two of Charisse herself! He’s pretty sociable and chatty, so he can keep his opponents attention occupied with a funny story or stupid joke, while he’s setting up his side of the field until it’s too late!

Basically, he’s so damn likeable that you forget your playing a game!
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No. 1036005 ID: 9ea24b
File 165627221091.png - (8.68KB , 500x500 , 18.png )
1036005

Carl is a fish of few words because hand-drawn word bubbles don’t allow much space for dialogue. He snaps his pre-shuffled deck on the table and gives the hot dragon a smoldering look.

“Let's get started, I really need to go outside and get some nicotine inside my bloodstream.” he says. Women love confidence.

“Oh sure, just warning you I have some pretty lewd cards in my deck.” Ceridwen replies.

“Good, that’ll help wet our appetites.” Carl raises a potent eyebrow of insinuation.

Ceridwen giggles and places her deck out for Carl to cut. It’s decided that Carl will go first, so he draws his hand and considers his options.
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No. 1036006 ID: 9ea24b
File 165627221983.png - (122.89KB , 502x800 , Monty.png )
1036006

There’s a fine early game card in his hand, Monty the mouse! While the mouse’s stats are ass, he has a potent ability that Carl can activate next turn. Carl places the monster in attack position and yelps with alarm as the immersive gaming experience people were talking about earlier kicks in with a puff of smoke.

A miniature Monty materializes on top of the card. “Duelist, solve my riddle to access my true potential.” he squeaks.

“He’s so cute and small.” Ceridwen gushes.

“Do not patronize me, ma’am. Duelist, calculate the External Rate of Return (ERR) of a machine that costs $50,000 to purchase, with net cash flow of $8,000 per year, a life of 10 years, Minimum Acceptable Rate of Return (MARR) of 10%, and a salvage value of $3000.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” Carl asks, flabbergasted. His sister was always the one who was good at math, not him.

“Look it up.” the mouse says unhelpfully. A laptop with a spreadsheet program poofs into existence on Carl’s side of the table.

Solve the problem to transform Monty and give Carl an advantage. Or don’t, Carl is a simple fish. Suggest early game cards for Ceridwen to use on her turn.
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No. 1036008 ID: e7c7d3

It's -$99,000 due to it's crippling student debt.

Ceri, draw a lyluk. And another. And another. And
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No. 1036011 ID: 629f2e

A couple quick card ideas for Ceridwen:

Egg Laying - Spell
Target a face-up Dragon, Winged Beast, or Reptile type character on your side of the field. Change it to DEF position if it wasn't already, and spawn an Egg Token on your side of the field. (Egg Token's stats: Level 1, 0 ATK 0 DEF. Effect: When this token leaves the field for any reason other than battle, special summon a level 4 or lower character of the same type as this token's parent (Dragon, Winged Beast, Reptile).) The targeted monster cannot be changed back to ATK position this turn.

Stealthy Mall Streak - Continuous Trap
Target a character on the field, they are now streaking. If another character card targets them for battle or with a card effect, and the effect resolves, they will be caught.
-If the caught in ATK position, negate the effect or attack targeting them, but deal half of the streaking character's ATK as damage to their owner.
-If caught in DEF position, they flee from the attention, and are shuffled back into the deck.
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No. 1036175 ID: 9ea24b
File 165634263929.png - (151.08KB , 394x627 , 20.png )
1036175

Carl has absolutely no clue to solve this math problem, which seems to require a college class’s worth of specialized accounting knowledge. Clearly someone upstairs hates him. Rather than waste his time attempting to learn what a MARR is, he picks at his lip and stares into space.

On Ceridwen’s first turn, she plays a miserable little Lyluk in defense position, a monster even more pathetic than a vanilla Monty. She also plays a spell that makes a plate of spaghetti appear in front of her.

“Mm!” Ceridwen slurps up the creamy noodles and sighs happily. Her health points increase to 7000. Carl’s eye twitches at the delay.
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No. 1036176 ID: 9ea24b
File 165634265687.png - (111.94KB , 393x626 , 21.png )
1036176

Time to go on the offensive. Carl plays another monster, the diminutive but sneaky Shrunk Sam, and attacks with both Sam and Monty. The lyluk McFreakin’ dies and Ceridwen takes 900 damage to put her at 6100.

Ceridwen’s in need of some strong board presence! Someone help this poor damsel by suggesting a STRONG monster she can use.
>>
No. 1036177 ID: e7c7d3

A strong monster? Ceri draws 'Myra, The Dommy Mommy'
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No. 1036186 ID: c1d4af
File 165635142094.png - (50.77KB , 1180x2828 , More than.png )
1036186

>calculate the External Rate of Return (ERR) of a machine that costs $50,000 to purchase, with net cash flow of $8,000 per year, a life of 10 years, Minimum Acceptable Rate of Return (MARR) of 10%, and a salvage value of $3000.

Nailed it.
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No. 1036280 ID: 9ea24b
File 165637833864.png - (125.05KB , 389x621 , 22.png )
1036280

Ceridwen smirks, unbothered by her lost health. With a flourish, she places Myra the Dommy Mommy on the field and summons the buff, reptilian figure.

“Hi magical representation of my mom that probably has independent sentience and feels pain!”

“Hi honey!”

Myra slams 1500 damage into Monty, who dies with a drawn out squeak of agony, and then deals the rest of her damage to Carl, leaving him at 5000. Ceridwen also puts a trap card face down.
>>
No. 1036282 ID: 9ea24b
File 165637835176.png - (9.67KB , 500x500 , 23.png )
1036282

“Wait a second.” Carl squints at the miniature mother who glowers back at him. “You don’t look very old, are you one of those MILFs that doesn’t age at all?”

He flounders for a moment. “I’m not trying to be rude, I just want to make sure your daughter is an adult since I’ve been flirting with her.”

“Yup, totally legal, I turned 18 last week.” Ceridwen says cheerfully.

“WHAT–”

“And I’ve had sex about 50 times, so I’m very experienced. With lots of other aliens too!”

Carl looks around wildly for some fatal weapon to impale himself on. Finding none, he resigns himself to finishing the childrens’ card game and then chain-smoking his last pack of cigarettes until he feels better.

Should he:
A. Sacrifice Shrunk Sam for a mid-tier monster with better stats than Myra
B. Play another small monster with a useful effect
>>
No. 1036284 ID: e7c7d3

A: escalation always goes good
>>
No. 1036285 ID: 629f2e

B, gotta be prepared for her face-down. Don't want to put all your eggs in one basket and leave yourself open.
>>
No. 1036291 ID: 8483cf

A. Goodbye, Sam!
>>
No. 1036296 ID: f7ae77

B. That trap could be anything
>>
No. 1036317 ID: 899c9f

B. Apply hand to table, if you use up all the cards you win.
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No. 1036367 ID: 9ea24b
File 165642845336.png - (111.33KB , 502x800 , Let Gabe Kill 2022.png )
1036367

>B
Carl eyes that face down card. It could be anything, and sacrificing poor Sam for a tribute might end in disaster. Unfortunately, the cheaper monsters in his hand can’t deal with Myra’s sheer power and he’ll have to use a spell as well just to buy time.

He plays Let Gabe Kill 2022, which swaps Myra’s attack and defense values, then puts Emma the Robotic Nurse in defense position. Since Shrunk Sam can’t be blocked by Myra, the squirt of a snake attacks and leaves Ceridwen at 5600 LP.
>>
No. 1036368 ID: 9ea24b
File 165642846469.png - (120.17KB , 378x602 , 25.png )
1036368

This is turning into a protracted fight and Carl’s desire for nonexistence is rapidly gaining on his desire to win. There are tiny flies buzzing around Monty’s dead body in the graveyard and Carl watches them enviously while Ceridwen hums over her cards. The dragon teen, shudder, finally plays the spell Egg Laying on her own mother, which generates an egg token that Carl could care less about and puts Myra in defense position.

What should Carl do on his turn?
A. Time for the huge plays. Sacrifice both monsters to bring out his STRONGEST card
B. Screw the rules, start smoking indoors
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No. 1036380 ID: e7c7d3

A: Big boys do big plays
>>
No. 1036383 ID: 8483cf

Smoke! Light up using the flaming birb
>>
No. 1036384 ID: e51896

Smoke break!
>>
No. 1036386 ID: 629f2e

Why not both?
>>
No. 1036387 ID: d084c2

Light it up!
>>
No. 1036388 ID: 6e2257

>dragon teen shudder
Wait, Carl has moral qualms on something?

But, yeah, I gotta say: why not both?
>>
No. 1036399 ID: e4174c

Changing vote to both if possible
Otherwise, keep it at smoke break.
>>
No. 1036423 ID: 9ea24b
File 165645914995.png - (10.46KB , 500x500 , 26.png )
1036423

>Why not both?
Carl has been smoking professionally for 20 years and a little multitasking will help him calm his mind and win the game. He puts down his cards for a moment and pulls a cigarette from his pack. He keeps his head down and looks around shiftily to make sure the birds don’t see him while he lights up.

“Hey, put that out!” mini Myra barks.

“What are you, a cop? Fuck off.” Carl grumbles.

“Don’t talk to my mom that way.” Ceridwen shows her very sharp teeth. “And she’s right, that thing stinks, don’t be a selfish asshole.”

“Fuck you too.” Carl attempts to flip off his opponent with his mitten-like flippers, and instead resigns himself to playing his ultimate card and getting out of the awkward situation. He feels much better physically, at least.

Emma and Shrunk Sam squeal as they disintegrate, replaced with a swirling cloud of darkness with glittering highlights.
>>
No. 1036424 ID: 9ea24b
File 165645916099.png - (126.57KB , 502x800 , Magic The Good Impression Version.png )
1036424

“Hello!” The cloud collapses into a pleasant black blob, who looks rather taken aback by its size and the giants staring daggers at each other from above. “Oh, is everything alright?”

“Judge!” Ceridwen puts her hand in the air. The round blue bird, Companionship or whatever swoops down from the rafters to investigate. Carl groans out a cloud of smoke as Ceridwen snitches on him.

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to put out your cigarette.” the bird chirps. “It’s a health hazard and disrespectful to the other players.”

“Is this guy bothering you, dad’s ex-boyfriend who’s alive for some reason?” the Magic asks.

Should Carl:
A. Ask Magic to do something about the bird so he can keep smoking
B. Wait what? Is he supposed to be dead?
C. Comply and play the game normally
>>
No. 1036427 ID: 629f2e

A, Pan has no authority if you don't submit to polite requests. Also, it'd be funny.
>>
No. 1036428 ID: 899c9f

B. If you're dead, doesn't that mean you're disqualified? Huzzah, you can go home and collect your life insurance!
>>
No. 1036429 ID: 273c18

B
>>
No. 1036430 ID: e08a6f

B existencial crises while unleashing your ultimate attack are always exciting!
>>
No. 1036436 ID: 8483cf

Is Carl really going to do something just because a bird asks him to? Nahhhhhhh

A.
>>
No. 1036440 ID: 8e592e

A
>>
No. 1036473 ID: 19ea25

A: The magic must be trusted at all costs. Use the magic.
>>
No. 1036480 ID: d0108b

B
>>
No. 1036498 ID: aca22b

A stands for Always resist birds
>>
No. 1036546 ID: 9ea24b
File 165654917890.png - (7.68KB , 500x500 , 27.png )
1036546

>A
Despite the delicious nicotine, Carl feels a twinge as his headache takes a turn for the worse. He can’t remember what he was doing before he came to this weird tournament and rather than question the Magic’s strange words, Carl groans and waves at the bird.

“Can you make him go away?” he asks.

The blob looks around at itself and then at Companionship. “I’m a little outclassed here, but I’ll try.”

It clears its throat adorably. “Excuse me, Mr. Bird, my summoner here is mentally ill and self-medicates to avoid urges to self-harm brought on by prolonged contact with eldritch beings beyond comprehension and also general life. I understand his behavior has been uncouth, but please let him keep smoking. Since you’re so powerful, why not get rid of the smoke so it doesn’t bother the other contestants? That way you can continue to run this fine event and keep everyone happy.”

A single tear drips down the bird’s beak, so moved is he by the little Magic’s speech. He waves a wing and the smoke disappears, then returns to the rafters.
>>
No. 1036547 ID: 9ea24b
File 165654918917.png - (9.00KB , 500x500 , 28.png )
1036547

“Okay good job. Now attack! Destroy!” Carl orders, pointing the Magic at his opponent.

“I already attacked with my eloquent words. You need to wait for your next turn.” Magic replies. With nothing else to do, Carl ends his turn and takes a hit to his life points leaving him at 4000 LP. This is the unfortunate side effect of using Magic.

Ceridwen finally flips her trap card revealing Stealthy Mall Streak, a continuous trap targeting Magic. She plays a spell that lets her flip Myra into attack position, then strikes at Magic. Thanks to the trap card, Carl takes a whopping 3500 damage! Ceridwen finishes her turn with another face down card.

Carl is in a dire position. What should he do next turn? That pesky egg token is in the way of a mighty attack.
>>
No. 1036548 ID: 899c9f

Make an omelette, destroying all egg cards.
>>
No. 1036551 ID: 629f2e

Use Crate of Greed, a spell card which allows you to draw two cards from your deck and add them to your hand.

Then activate the spell card "Quest Necromancy" to summon Monty back onto the field. Unfortunately, Monty only has 500 DEF, so he'll die almost immediately due to Quest Necromancy's effect. Monty's summon effect should resolve before the spell card's does though. Get the math question right, and we'll reveal Monty's true potential. That's gotta mean replacing him with a different card, upping all his stats a bunch, or at the very least unleashing a powerful effect of some kind.

If you get the question wrong, you have Frog and Chick Double-Tap in your hand, so you can at least go out on your own terms.
>>
No. 1036591 ID: 9ea24b
File 165659956068.png - (83.42KB , 394x627 , 29.png )
1036591

Carl needs to make an omelet, if you know what I mean. He plays the banned on five continents spell Crate of Greed, which lets him draw two cards.
>>
No. 1036592 ID: 9ea24b
File 165659957651.png - (108.23KB , 502x800 , 30.png )
1036592

Thank God, he drew a removal card. Carl plays Lewd-B-Gone, targeting the egg.

“How is the egg lewd?” Ceridwen asks.

“W-what? I saw that egg come out of your mom’s vagina, with like, a lot of juices. This is totally some fetish, ergo lewd.” Carl stutters.

“Alright, it’s the author’s fetish. I was just giving you a hard time.” Ceridwen concedes.

“Ha! It’s over then.” Carl gloats.

A ghostly bird appears to shoot the egg with a glock. Since the spell removes the egg from existence, it doesn’t get a chance to trigger its ability.
>>
No. 1036594 ID: 9ea24b
File 165659968902.png - (11.67KB , 500x500 , 32.png )
1036594

“You may have convinced me that the egg is lewd, but you still lose.” Ceridwen flips her last card. It’s–It’s–her ACE IN THE HOLE! Ceridwen’s life total is double to 11,200 and she easily shrugs off an attack from Magic.

“Sorry Carl.” Magic says, before smacking the fish in the face, setting him to 0 LP.

Carl teeters off his chair and falls to the ground, defeated and probably dead. All the mini figures disappear and Ceridwen goes to report the result of the duel.

Winner: Ceridwen

Ceridwen will advance to the next part of the bracket. Carl is literally not alive.
>>
No. 1036643 ID: e5709d

>>1036594
Ceridwen: Contemplate your first murder.
>>
No. 1036644 ID: 273c18

Everyone: panic. What happened to "everyone must make it home safely"?
>>
No. 1036696 ID: 9ec628

Well, he was already dead in his respective story, so.... I guess this is just restablishing the status quo, kind of.
>>
No. 1037366 ID: 8483cf
File 165726239433.png - (514.76KB , 1000x1000 , QDI_10.png )
1037366

“Thank you, Ceridwen,” Tianna says. She marks Carl’s loss on her paper. “Please have a seat anywhere that doesn’t interfere with other duels. There are plenty of snacks at the buffet. We have cracked corn, milo, millet, sunflower, and pumpkin seeds.”

“Uh. Thanks,” Ceridwen says. “Have you got any smelling salts?”

“Of course not,” Toffles the flaming bird says. “How unclean.”

“Yeah, well, you might want to get some. Fish man got knocked out cold. I don’t know how hard these little card minis hit, but he got clocked good.”

“Oh my goodness! I’ll see to him at once.” Companionship flutters over to Carl and pecks him on the fin. “Hello? You can wake up now. Everything is fine.”

Toffles lands beside Carl. “Pan, he doesn’t look fine. He’s developed a case of the craters.”

“Uh. Oh my. Uh… I’m sure… he’s fine… he’s just, um… sleeping. And the crater is very comfortable.”

A long-haired dude waves at the two birds from across the table.

“Hey, cuz. Mind if Charisse and me use this spot? Looks like this one just got done.”

“Conway!” Companionship sputters. “Ah! No, no, this table is unfit for use! You don’t want to sit here. Toffles, handle this please.

“These chairs smell of fish,” Toffles says. “The chairs are unclean. You don’t have pants.”

“Wise words from wise birds,” Conway says.

“Totally!” says Conway’s opponent, a black-haired kangaroo girl sporting a sick outfit. “C’mon, we can’t use these tiny tables. We gotta put on a show for the crowd! Say hello, everyone! Only the finest for OnlyFaunus!”

“Ooo, lemme see the chat,” Conway says with a winning smile. “Hey, I know these guys! ‘Sup, TrippleDubbleChickenBubble?”

“Is she streaming this?!” Companionship swoops in to block the view of Carl.

“Hey, that bird’s sweating,” Charisse says. “I didn’t know birds could sweat.”

“I didn’t know birds were flammable,” Conway adds. “Guess we both learned something today.”

“Please keep moving, please, please, please,” Companionship says. “Toffles, get the duel started right now!”
>>
No. 1037367 ID: 8483cf
File 165726243097.png - (251.35KB , 1000x1000 , QDI_11.png )
1037367

Toffles instructs Charisse and Conway to draw one card from their decks. Conway draws Clero the Gambler, a 4-star character with 400 ATK and 900 DEF. Charisse draws Kudzu Kaiju, a 6-star character with 2500 ATK and 1200 DEF.

“Charisse has the monster with the highest ATK. She goes first,” Toffles announces.

“Hell yeah!” Charisse whoops. She shuffles her deck and strikes a fearsome pose. “C’mon, Conway! Let’s cut to the chase!”

“Nah, no need for me to cut your deck. We good,” Conway says, waving his hand at her.

“Same! Why waste time? Let’s DO THIS!”

Charisse plays Rhodie, a level 4 PLANTIMAL character card with 1500 ATK and 1500 DEF. Since Rhodie is a PLANTIMAL, she counts as a both beast and a plant, and can benefit from cards that buff or harm either!

“Cute cat,” Conway says. “I’ll just play this card face-down in defense mode and these other two cards in the spell zone. ”

“You think you’re being clever,” says Charisse. “Well, For my next turn, I play Fig Pig, another powerful Plantimal! There’s no saving you from my beatdown deck now!”

“Hey, I watched that show as a kid,” Conway says. “The puns were ahead of their thyme.”

“Don’t you grow it,” Charisse grins. “Remember the episode where they rode the SPUD missile?”

“Totally. It knocked my stalks off.”

“Hey chat, what’s your favorite Plantimal pun?”

The chat is flooded with gardening puns.

Charisse has two well-statted low-level monsters on the field to Conway’s one, but no spells or traps.

Can Conway distract Charisse into forgetting to play any spells or traps before she attacks with her PLANTIMALS?
>>
No. 1037382 ID: 629f2e

To put this into terms that seem appropriate for this duel, I vote to SABOTAGE Conway.

He gets Charisse talking aboit college and her friends, which does temporarily get her mind out of the game, until they get to Jackie. The mention of her pumpkin friend reminds her to play the Field Spell Card PUMP-KIN PATCH, which lets her special summon any level 4 or lower Plantimal monster from her deck once per turn by discarding a card. Thus, Conway has an extra monster to contend with.
>>
No. 1037388 ID: d249c6

He points at the stream viewers he recognizes and they both reminisce about the crazy stuff all those online peeps did.

This takes a whole ten minutes.
>>
No. 1037804 ID: 8483cf
File 165759798841.png - (331.81KB , 628x1000 , Sibling Rivalry(s).png )
1037804

Conway and Charisse chill so hard that the conversation veers wildly off-course and the stream’s topic is automatically reset from CARD GAMES to JUST CHATTING.

“Hey!” Charisse objects. “You tricked me into grouping my stream in with the people eating microwaved ramen and talking politics! That’s not cool dude.”

“Oooh, that’s a bummer,” Conway shrugs. “Totally didn’t mean to do that. Maybe we can just talk about how good your friends are at card games. That’ll stay on topic. Jackie seems like a great gamer.”

“Jackie… Oh yeah!” Charisse says. “I almost forgot to play a field card. PUMP-KIN patch! It lets me special summon a level 4 monster or less every turn if I discard a card. I now discard a card to special summon PLANTLING GUN!”

Conway’s strategy has been beaten by the power of friendship, the most OP effect in card games ever.

“Rhodie, attack his face-down card!”

The face-down card is MAU the Beast Tamer! His effect activates, reducing the Beast and Beast-Tamer type characters lose half their ATK points until Mau the Beast Tamer is taken out of play.

“Oh, bad news for me,” Charisse says. “PLANTIMAS are beasts too.”

“Not so fast, dude,” Conway says. “I activate my continuous trap card, SIBLING RIVALRY. If one or more cards on your side of the field are of the same type, all the shared type’s attack power is lowered by half.”

Charisse’s cards have their attack power lowered by half, and then half again! Mau’s pitiful 600 DEF is now stronger than any ATK of Charisse’s monsters on the field.

“Guess I have to pass this turn,” Charisse says, crossing her arms. “I’ll get you next turn!”

Conway smiles. “Sure ya will.”

Conway has a mighty defense against PLANTIMALS as long as both Mau and Sibling Rivalry are on the field.

Conway plays another monster card face-down on the field and plays CRATE OF GREED to draw two more cards.

“It lets me draw two cards,” Conway says. Even he is not immune to the card’s awesome secondary effect.

Conway then passes the turn.

It’s now Charisse’s turn. Her monsters are super weak thanks to the OP combo, and she doesn’t have any way to remove the continuous trap at the moment. What can she do???

1. Tribute summon an effect monster. Suggest an effect!
2. Tribute summon a huge KUDZU KAIJU to overpower Mau and release her weaker monsters from his effect
>>
No. 1037841 ID: 614fd6

2, bigger is always better there are no downsides what are you talking about
>>
No. 1037986 ID: 629f2e

2, go for the kaiju! Can't beatdown without some strong monsters.
>>
No. 1037996 ID: b01382

>>1037804
when's the next quest thread?
>>
No. 1038417 ID: 8483cf
File 165808416712.png - (821.45KB , 3000x3000 , QDI_12.png )
1038417

Charisse points her finger at MAU. “If there’s a wall, break it down! If there’s no path, carve one out! I discard a card to special summon PORKLY PINE, then tribute it and PLANTLING GUN to summon the mighty SCORPIO, KUDZU KAIJU!”

The great 2500-1800 KUDZU KAIJU roars!

“Scorpio, attack MAU!”

“Not so fast,” Conway says. “I activate Negate Attack! Solo big monsters are kinda lame in this game.”

“Oh yeah? Not when you protect them! That’s what friends do!” Charisse activates the special ability of SCORPIO: the ability to swap out with any one of the PLANTIMALS that haven’t attacked that turn. “Now Rhodie is the one whose attack is negated.”

“Uh-oh.”

“One more time! Attack!”

Even with only 625 attack points, SCORPIO is strong enough to obliterate the 600 DEF MAU. Connway has no characters left on the field, and Charisse attacks him head-on with FIG PIG, and he takes 1800 damage.

Conway is now at 4200 LP, and Charisse is at 6000.
>>
No. 1038418 ID: 8483cf
File 165808419932.png - (239.76KB , 3000x3000 , QDI_13.png )
1038418

Conway scratches his arm and puts another monster face-down on the field, then another card face-down in the spell & trap zone. He ends his turn with a shrug.

“My turn again!” Charisse declares. “I’m a little low on cards at the moment, so you’re lucky I don’t summon another monster.” She places a face-down card in the spell and trap zone as well. “SCORPIO, attack again!”

Conway uses another negate attack, but Charisse once again swaps out SCORPIO for RHODIE and simply swings again, destroying Conway’s face-down character.

“We didn’t even get to see that guy in action,” Conway says. “He was too pure for this world.”

Charisse’s follow-up attack with FIG PIG leaves Conway at 2400 LP.

Conway has no characters on the field. How does he recover?
>>
No. 1038437 ID: c1d4af

In true dueling fashion, he unleashes a card with an effect that would be completely useless in any other situation.

He activates Girls Night Without A Pumpkin, which removes all plant-type monsters from the field if both players are dressed like girls.

He then plays Pirate Cutebold in defense position.
>>
No. 1038522 ID: 894419

>>1038437
This
>>
No. 1038719 ID: 67181a
File 165834673957.jpg - (587.21KB , 2659x2757 , 0720221548_HDR.jpg )
1038719

(This duel involves nsfw decks)

The masked duelist quietly walks onto their designated battle area, readying their deck for the inevitable conflict. Their robes flow around them fluttering eerily on the floor as they reach their position and stand waiting for their opponent.

And waiting.

And waiting.

And waiting.

They look down at their wrist, but then shake their head and put their palm to the forehead of their mask, sighing heavily. Almost as if triggered by this sign of exasperation, The light in the area dims and a spotlight illuminates an indistinct space behind him.

A strange looking, buxom fox woman saunters up with the light following her, swaying almost too obviously to even be enticing. She pounces forward as she nears the battle area, pressing herself against the robed figure and leaning her head over his shoulder.

“Hey there, I was hoping we could maybe get to know each other a bit more, glad we get to be opponents! Really looking forward to mixing things up,” she coos, as she runs her hands down the masked figure’s shoulders.

The duelist stands still for a second, gesturing forward to the other side of the rectangle marking the duel area on the floor. “Gladly,” they begin, “But you’ll need to take your side of the field for that.”

The fox huffs and rolls around them as she twirls past, “That’s fine, I’m sure we’ll have a great time playing together,” snickering as she sashays across from the Duelist.

“I’ll need my deck back, as well.”
>>
No. 1038720 ID: 67181a
File 165834684058.jpg - (564.31KB , 2845x2530 , 0720221531_HDR.jpg )
1038720

She freezes in place for a moment with her hip swung out to one side, then briskly twirls around with a sly grin. “Oh, so you are paying attention, that’s good - I thought you planned to ignore me the whole time!” She reaches between her breasts and produces a deck of cards. The duelist holds their hand out, and the fox blows on the deck, dissipating it into a cloud of flower petals which waft over to the duelist and settle back into cards resting in a neat pile on the palm of their clawed glove.

“My plan is to win the duel, nothing more or less,” the duelist states as they swiftly look through their deck to ensure all of the cards are still there.

The fox laughs as she produces her own deck and holds it out, cards flipping through the air in erratic patterns to shuffle it. “Oh don’t be such a stiff, we’re here to have fun aren’t we?”

“Perhaps. You, at least, certainly seem to be enjoying the powers you’ve been endowed with.”

She sharply snatches her cards together into a pile and grins, licking her lips. “People seem to enjoy many things I’m endowed with,” she throws back her arms, pushing out her chest, “would you like to see what you’re missing? I’ll make you a deal, you let me take a peek under those robes, and I’ll let you take a peek under mine.”

The masked duelist coughs audibly and staggers briefly, “I-if you don’t mind, I’d prefer to simply play the game.”

The fox’s grin widens, showing her teeth, “Oh come now, I’ve been interested in you since you arrived,” she straightens and stands smugly, “I thought you might be a yin spirit at first, but after getting so close to you I know that’s not what’s going on. You were also talking to your little friends earlier like you know something about this place. Just tell me what your deal is, and I’ll make it worth your while~”

“None of that matters to the duel,” the duelist says, shuffling their deck and holding it in their hand, where it fades out of visibility in a cloud of ash.

“HMPH!” the fox huffs, drawing her opening hand from her deck. “Well if you aren’t going to answer my question, I’ll just take the first turn!”

The masked duelist makes no reply, instead merely holding up their glove for the cards to coalesce in the same ashen manner they had vanished moments earlier, forming their starting hand.

“First,” Momo says, “I will be summoning a monster face down! Then I activate the magic card Yang Blossom! By paying 300 life points, I can draw the first card from the top of my deck. If that card is a Quickplay Spell or Trap card, I set it immediately and may choose to repeat the process! If it is not a Quickplay Spell or Trap card, I banish it and my turn immediately ends!”

Momo flips the first card from the top of her deck, grins widely, and allows it to drift daintily down into the spell and trap zone on her side of the field. “A good start, now to draw again~” Laughing, dancing, and cackling gleefully, she repeats the process another 4 times.

“Ah, what a portentious first step!” she cries out, “I’m sorry my dour friend, but it looks like you won’t be winning the game today. I’ll give you a nice kiss as a consolation prize though, maybe more if you make this fun enough for me~”

The Masked Duelist grimly snatches another card materializing in front of them as her turn ends and their draw phase arrives. They look over the cards in their hand briefly as they attempt to decide their strategy for the duel.

Should The Masked Duelist:
Play aggressively and snatch back the tempo of the duel after Momo’s big opening play
Play conservatively and attempt to determine and unravel Momo’s strategy
>>
No. 1038723 ID: da21cc

This does look like a calculating fellow. Conservative is probably it.

Let's face it, we want this guy dropping the cool to be awesome when it happens.
>>
No. 1038726 ID: 899c9f

Sit back, relax, and see if she even has a strategy besides aggressive flirting.
>>
No. 1038730 ID: fe7de6

Play Conservatively.
>>
No. 1038731 ID: 629f2e

Aggressive play may be necessary here. Take things too slowly, and it'll give her time to build up her backrow after every strike you make on it. Imagine that every card she's set down will negate and/or destroy your cards, and try to get her to use them all up while leaving you as many cards left as possible.
>>
No. 1038732 ID: 815672

>>1038720
She passionate, impatient and aggressive. Stall her out. Give her enough leash to tie herself up with.
>>
No. 1038756 ID: e5709d

She's an... enthusiastic player, isn't she.
Maybe too enthusiastic.

Play conservatively. Bore her. Goad her into intentionally making mistakes to spice things up. Then, when she thinks you're evenly matched, strike true with your pre-planned strategy.
>>
No. 1039654 ID: 8483cf
File 165931229957.png - (1.00MB , 628x1000 , Starving_Fox_s.png )
1039654

“Good day to you,” Serah says with a curtsy. “It took a while for our avian attendants to set this arena up. One of them seemed quite worried about someone fainting. I think they’re being attended to.”

“Yes, everything is fine!” someone squawks.

“That’s good to hear,” Basmati says. She’s a gray-skinned girl of slightly above-average height, and adorned with gold tines. “Shall we shuffle, and then cut each other’s decks?”

“Please.”

Basmati shuffles her deck and holds it out, then pauses. “Cut,” she ponders. “Why is it called that? There are no incisions to be made. The decks remain whole after the procedure. If I were to draw a card, is the deck not ‘cut’ in a similar manner?”

“I’ve never thought about it like that,” Serah says. She cuts Basmati’s deck, and Basmati does likewise.

Serah goes first. She draws her opening hand- it’s a good one, with two character cards, two spells and a trap. She hesitates before playing her first card- just how real will the illusion be?

“I play Starving Fox in defense mode,” Serah says. A small, shivering animal appears on the field. “If Starving Fox is sent to the graveyard by any card effect, tribute, or other means after hitting the battlefield, I may special summon Dotti, Trash Fox two turns thereafter.”
>>
No. 1039655 ID: 8483cf
File 165931234016.png - (34.92KB , 1000x640 , QDI_14.png )
1039655

“In addition,” Serah says, “I place a card face-down in the spell/trap zone. I end my turn.”

“I see,” Basmati says. “I shall place two cards face-down in the spell zone and end my turn.”

Serah frowns. “No character cards to defend yourself?”

Basmati nods. “My decision is not born of forgetfulness. This course of action yields the highest probability of victory in fifty-three million of the fifty-seven million simulations I have just performed.”

“I… see,” Serah says. “Well, if you insist on passing, that leaves you open to a direct attack.”

“Oh no,” Basmati says. “Please do not attack me. It is highly likely I have very powerful trap cards waiting to activate if you do that. You should simply summon a more powerful monster and develop your board.”

Serah frowns. A direct attack is common sense, and Basmati is giving a terrible bluff. Or is she telling the truth?

What should Serah do?
1. Attack with Starving Fox to bait out a trap
2. Sacrifice Starving Fox to summon Landi, Party Animal from the Extra Deck, then attack with Landi. Landi has less ATK than Starving Fox.
3. Just sacrifice Starving Fox to summon Landi, but don’t attack Basmati directly.
>>
No. 1039656 ID: 15c72a

1. It's what you were going to do. When your opponent starts saying weird shit it's best to do whatever you were planning on before they opened their mouth.
>>
No. 1039657 ID: 629f2e

1, Attack with Starving Fox. If it gets destroyed, you can still summon a monster to protect yourself. And if it doesn't, you can tribute it to summon Landi afterwards.
>>
No. 1039659 ID: e51896

2. I have a feeling she has a spell card that will somehow get our Starved Dotti monster onto Basmati's side if we attack her directly. She's baiting us to get stronger cards. Plus if she has starved dotti on her side, she can sacrifice it and have a more powerful trash dotti on her side later instead. The best we can do is sacrifice starved Dotti, and attack with the weaker Landi so if Basmati's trap card activates, she'll be stuck with a weak Landi card, and we can summon Dotti trash animal later!
>>
No. 1039660 ID: 899c9f

Summon Landi, so Dotti is on her way.
>>
No. 1039661 ID: 899c9f

Also, why are you playing on the floor? Ask your bird organizers for a duel mat at least, your cards will get dirty.
>>
No. 1039662 ID: e51896

>>1039661
because if they play on the table, they won't be able to do cool anime poses with the table in the way!
>>
No. 1039771 ID: de15ea
File 165941034265.jpg - (664.44KB , 2340x2281 , 0801220921_HDR.jpg )
1039771

The Masked Duelist looks at their hand and considers their options. They do have cards that would let them combo into a powerful threat, but only if they are able to go off without being interrupted - and the odd fox creature has a large number of face-down cards which could all be poised to shut down the plan.

They do have a card in their deck that would enable them to apply pressure to this board though, so they opt to make a simple play to try to work towards the card and also probe Momo’s board - jumping straight to summoning one of their basic monsters! If something goes wrong, they will only lose one card instead of investing a lot of resources into a more powerful card that might still be crushed. Also she seems extremely bombastic, so playing cautiously and slowly will allow more chances for her to make a mistake to capitalize on.

They pluck the card from their hand and flip it around to face their opponent, quickly snapping it to float in front of them. “I summon Radiant Flare, in attack mode! This is a 3 Star Fire/Effect monster, and her normal summon can’t be negated!”

Momo scoffs, “Okay, so you summoned it. So what?”

“So now that I have my own monster,” the masked Duelist begins as a beautiful dragon emerges from the painting of the card, stretching her majestic wing as she winds around them to stare at Momo, “I can command it to attack your face down monster! And that’s exactly what I intend to do!

“Oh noooo!” cries the fox, mock-swooning as Radiant Flare charges toward her face-down card, “Whateeeeeeeeeeeever will I do?”

Momo can easily deal with this attack! How does she want to do it?
The face-down monster’s effect will deal with this easily!
She has the perfect trap in play to handle this monster!
>>
No. 1039773 ID: 8483cf

Trap card, trap card!
>>
No. 1039774 ID: 899c9f

Play the UNO reverse card.
>>
No. 1039778 ID: e51896

I wanna see the face-down monster. First choice!
>>
No. 1039781 ID: 629f2e

Trap Card! The monster effect can be something more helpful when flipped on her turn, since she knows she'll be able to defend it.
>>
No. 1039784 ID: 473867

I activate 4chan Smaug-ification!

It transform one enemy monster card into a badass, feral version of itself that turns upon it's master for one turn!

Or it could be three turns, if you think the effect is too weak.
>>
No. 1039849 ID: 8483cf
File 165949315041.png - (200.83KB , 628x1000 , Landi_Party_Animal_s.png )
1039849

Meanwhile, back on the floor, it’s Serah’s turn. Serah decides to not be put off by what Basmati is saying. It’s best to stick to the basic principles of war: if an opponent is in a position of obvious vulnerability, don’t hesitate to exploit it!

“I switch Starving Fox to attack mode, and attack your Life Points directly!”

The emaciated fox gives a surprisingly ferocious yowl and lunges at Basmati. She doesn’t flinch as the fox bites her leg and worries it back and forth.

“Is this supposed to be painful?” Basmati asks. “That fish seemed to feel something before he fainted into a state of dubious well-being.”

“I don’t think so,” says Serah. The fox continues to growl and tug on Basmati’s leg until her LP drop to 5100. “So… is that it? No traps?”

“No traps right now,” Basmati says.

“Okay,” Serah says. “Now that combat’s over, I use Starving Fox as a Link Material to Link Summon Landi, Party Animal from my extra deck. Sorry, Dotti.”

The fox fades away and is replaced with a highly energetic ball of blue light. Landi shouts and cheers at her duelist, declaring that the party is so on.
>>
No. 1039851 ID: 8483cf
File 165949331051.png - (20.89KB , 500x720 , QDI_15.png )
1039851

“Before you end your turn,” Basmati says, “I activate my first trap card: The Business Grows! It allows me to pay 500 Life Points to expand my maximum hand size by one for the rest of the game.”

“And now is the time to activate my trap card,” Basmati says, still in Serah’s turn. She flips over a card to reveal Double Trouble. “It can only be activated when I’ve taken direct damage to my Life Points via an attack, but since you refused to take my good advice, Double Trouble allows me to re-activate another trap card not once, but twice, for a total of three times!” Basmati pauses. “…So why isn’t it called triple trouble?”

A fierce wind blows, and Serah clutches her skirt tight as Double Trouble resolves. Basmati’s LP is now 3,600 but her maximum hand size is nine.

“So many cards!” Basmati says with glee.

“Hmf,” Serah says. She hopes she draws another character card next turn- she could have summoned an extra character if she’d had one in her hand, but she didn’t.
>>
No. 1039854 ID: 8483cf
File 165949353752.png - (273.05KB , 628x1000 , Ceiling Reila_s.png )
1039854

Basmati places Ceiling Reila on the battlefield at the end of her main phase in defense mode, then plays Crate of Greed to bring her hand size up to six. She places two cards face-down in the spell zone and ends her turn.

Serah needs to draw a character card to use Landi’s Link effect of, each of Serah’s Main Phase 2’s, fetching an equip card from her deck and attaching it to the card Landi’s downward-facing arrow points to.

What character card does Serah draw this turn? Suggest a character.
1. A character that Donut can easily draw
2. A character that Donut will have to spend effort on
3. A character that Donut will hate drawing
>>
No. 1039857 ID: e5709d

>Basmati charges up her ass-blasting hand size
You go, girl!

And 3, but with 1. Find something explicitly difficult to draw, get drunk, and do your best in the span of one hour.
>>
No. 1039858 ID: 629f2e

3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
>>
No. 1039860 ID: 0c69db

3
Sorry Donut, but it's finally time to draw...
*drumroll*
SNOWPEA
>>
No. 1039861 ID: 899c9f

Summon Snowpea in denuded mode.
>>
No. 1039864 ID: e51896

>>1039861
Unfortunately, this particular duel is not in NSFW mode.
>>
No. 1039902 ID: e5709d

Idea for Basmati's Ace in the Hole: Mezara Beam
(*X10)
ATK 1000 DEF 0
Mezara Beam can only be played when there are three empty monster slots on the owner's side of the field. If Mezara Beam is sent from the owner's hand to the graveyard by the opponent, its owner takes 1500LP damage, but the opponent's field is wiped clean of monsters and magic/trap cards and the opponent must immediately end their turn.
When Mezara Beam is placed, place two special tokens representing monsters:
A) Obscured Intel: This 'monster' has three sub-tokens. This monster cannot be attacked by a standard monster while Fortified Defenses are up. When an action of any kind from any player would interact with this 'monster' as if it were a standard monster (magic, trap card, special ability of monster), remove a sub-token. Remove this token when all three sub-tokens are removed. This monster cannot be destroyed by any means otherwise. Obscured Intel prevents Mezara Beam and Fortified Defenses from being interacted with directly by the opponent.
B) Fortified Defenses: This card starts with 5,000 LP. Every turn, it gains 500LP for each sub-token of Obscured Intel. Any actions involving LP from either player, with the exception of actions using the Mezara Beam, will be redirected to this card, unless the owner specifically redirects them to their own LP.
While Mezara Beam is on the board, the owner's standard monsters have their ATK and DEF halved.
Mezara Beam can attack ''anything''.
Once per turn, Mezara beam can:
Decrease the ATK or DEF of a monster by 1000. If this would bring ATK or DEF at zero or less, the monster is destroyed.
Destroy a magic or trap card.
Select a card from the opponent's hand and send it directly to the graveyard. (Or yours, for whatever reason)
Attack the opponent directly for 500LP.
Attack boosts to Mezara Beam are halved. Mezara beam cannot be placed in Defense mode, and its DEF cannot be increased by any means. For every X*1000 ATK, Mezara Beam can destroy X magic/trap cards on the back row of either player, exclusive-or send X cards from the hand of either player to the graveyard.
"Ack-cha! So many targets, so thin an obliteration beam!" - Venian Makag, First Emperor of the Rezan Empire
>>
No. 1039980 ID: 8483cf
File 165957639002.png - (424.62KB , 628x1000 , NeumonoGroupHug_s.png )
1039980

Serah draws Snowpea, a 4-star character with 1900 ATK and 1500 DEF. Snowpea has the effect of that if she attacks, the combat phase is ended, so she’d better attack last! This also saves artists from having to draw her until as late as possible. She normal summons Snowpea.

At the same time, since it’s been two turns after Starving Fox was sent to the graveyard, Dotti, Trash Fox appears below Landi! Dotti is a 6-star 2500/1200 character that can level up into Dorothea, Fox Spirit if certain conditions are met while she is on the battlefield.

“I play Character Development, which allows me to level up Dotti or Landi (or any other one of my level-up monsters on the field) in three turns if both Character Development and Landi or Dotti aren’t taken off the battlefield before then. I don’t have to pick which one I level up until three turns have passed.”

“How interesting,” Basmati says. “It would be terrible if both Landi and Dotti were sent to the graveyard or bounced to your hand before then.”

Serah purses her lips. “I won’t be intimidated by talk like that. Dotti, attack Ceiling Reila!”

“Not so fast,” Basmati says. “My two trap cards activate in response to your declaration of attack! First, I activate Talion Corporate Coffers, which lets me return a 2-star or less character to my hand in order to draw 1 card. Then I activate Neumono Group Hug! A swarm of Neumono equal to the number of cards in my hand appears, preventing any opposing character card with a level equal to or less than the number of neumono from attacking. You are restrained by fluff!”

“Curses!” Serah stomps her foot as Dotti is dogpiled by the fluffy creatures. “Snowpea only has four stars. She could never defeat six neumonos!”

Serah can’t attack with Snowpea, so it’s her Main Phase 2. She gets to tutor an equip card from her deck and attach it to Dotti, Trash Fox, since Landi is pointing to her. She chooses Fairy-Sized Satchel, which allows the equipped character (Dotti) to take attacks meant for a linked Fairy (Landi).

It’s Basmati’s turn, and she re-summons Ceiling Reila and places another card on the field with a small smile. With that, she has six cards in her hand, equal to Dotti’s star rating. She passes the turn.

How does Serah try to get around the Continuous Trap, Neumono Group Hug?
1. Sacrifice Landi and/or Dotti to summon her biggest character and blow through the Neumono
2. Try and level up Landi and/or Dotti by trying to combo off of the remaining cards in her hand (might not work if Basmati interrupts the combo)
>>
No. 1039985 ID: 629f2e

1, because then we can pull the Character Development next duel instead, getting something a lot different for now.
>>
No. 1039986 ID: 58dd24

2, be patient and level up your dudes. Supplying all these tricks and counters keep Basmati from mounting an actual offense, and there are limits to what they can achieve while maintaining enough hand size to keep you bottled up.
>>
No. 1039987 ID: 899c9f

Summon your biggest character! Landi shall make this most heroic sacrifice.
>>
No. 1040088 ID: 8483cf
File 165966165487.png - (221.20KB , 628x1000 , BERD.png )
1040088

Serah decides to push forward with an all-out attack. Basmati will have to respond to a big threat, reducing her hand size and leaving her vulnerable to smaller threats.

“I tribute Landi and Snowpea to summon the Black-Eyes Red Dragon!” Serah declares. “She’s an eight-star character with the ability to pierce through the defense of weaker monsters, meaning the difference between their defense and her attack is subtracted from your life points, Basmati!”

“What?!” Basmati recoils. “You sacrificed Landi? That… that was a statistical improbability! There’s no way you’d ever do that!”

“I just did,” Serah says. “Attack, my Mai! Attack Ceiling Reila! You can easily overpower those six neumonos! Bring Basmati’s Life Points down to a mere 900!”
>>
No. 1040089 ID: 8483cf
File 165966167701.png - (197.44KB , 628x1000 , Suspicious_Intent_s.png )
1040089

“Ugh!” Basmati grimaces. “I activate my trap card, Suspicious Intent. It cancels the action you just did and forces you to proceed directly to the next phase of your turn for an emergency meeting. My LP is safe.”

“I’ll come for you next turn,” Serah says. She places a character card face-down.

It’s Basmati’s turn. She has to respond to Mai somehow, but doing so would reduce her hand size to where she can be attacked by Dotti.

What does Basmati do?
1. Go on the offensive and play her ace in the hole, reducing her hand size to the point where she can be attacked; or
2. Play defensively and draw cards to raise the number of cards in her hand to 8, but be unable to go on the offensive.
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No. 1040092 ID: 899c9f

Fire the ace in the hole.
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No. 1040094 ID: 629f2e

You've drawn more cards than she has so far I believe, so going on the Defense isn't the play. You'll deck out (Lose due to inability to draw a card) before she does. Take an offensive position, and destroy her powerful monster.
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No. 1040157 ID: e5709d

Unleash the full fury of the Empire!
>>
No. 1040165 ID: 8483cf
File 165974832879.png - (237.92KB , 628x1000 , Girls_Night_Without_a_Pumpkin_s.png )
1040165

Across the duel hall, Conway ponders how to recover from his terrible board state. He has no characters to defend himself. He needs board wipe, stat!

Fortunately, he’s already placed the perfect defense: Girls’ Night Without A Pumpkin.

“Well, this is as long as I can wait before activating this,” Conway tells Charisse. He flips over the powerful anti-plant trap.

“No way!” Charisse says. “I can’t believe it! I’m all out of cards! If you wipe my board, I’m gonna have to rebuild everything so freakin’ slow!”

“Say bye-bye to your dudes,” Conway says. “Just say no to pants! I mean, plants.”

The trap card goes off.

Nothing happens.

“Huh,” Conway says.

“Huh,” Charisse says.

“That was supposed to wipe your board.”

“Are you sure? Did you read the card text? What’s it say?”

“Well, it says to get rid of all the plant monsters, if- ohhhh I get it.”

“Get what?”

“It only works if both players are dressed like girls,” Conway says.

“Oh,” Charisse says. She looks down at herself. “I didn’t really wanna dress girly today. I’m not even wearing a bra.”

“Total freedom,” Conway says with a nod. “My vest is pretty nonbinary too.”

“Freedom!” Charisse agrees.
>>
No. 1040166 ID: 8483cf
File 165974839913.png - (441.23KB , 1000x1000 , QDI_16.png )
1040166

“Welp, guess I’m toast,” Conway says, looking at Charisse’s board. “Yeah, I scoop. Good game!”

The contestants give each other a hearty fistbump.

“Sorry that didn’t work out for ya,” Charisse says.

“Nah, it’s fine,” Conway says. "I don't even know why I drafted this card, it's not like clothes define gender."

“Hell nah.”

Charisse wins!
>>
No. 1040212 ID: 8483cf
File 165982101874.png - (552.02KB , 728x1001 , Mezara Beam.png )
1040212

Basmati decides to unleash the full might of the Empire and attack!

“You’ve left me no choice,” Basmati says. “As allowed by this card’s special summoning text, I tribute three characters from my hand to summon Mezara Beam!

A giant mecha arises on the battlefield, towering over Dotti and the Black-Eyes Red Dragon. Its effects are supremely dangerous:

Mezara Beam **********
ATK: 1500, DEF: 1000

You may special summon this character by sending three character cards from your hand to the graveyard. When this card is summoned, add three Intel Counters to it. This character gains 500 ATK/DEF for each Intel Counter attached to it.

(Quick Effect): You may tribute an Intel Counter to do one of the following:
-Negate an attack directed at Mezara Beam
-Negate an effect which targets Mezara Beam
-Destroy a card on the field
-Deal 500 damage to your opponent's Life Points directly

“Your hand size is now three,” Serah says. “Your trap card won’t work on either Dotti or Mai. And Dotti’s about to level up from Character Development.

“I have no need for traps when I have giant lasers,” Basmati boasts. “I tribute two Intel Counters to annihilate both your dragon and Dotti!”

The giant mecha fires its high-powered laser twice, overwhelming Dotti and Mai.

“With that, you have no characters left to defend you from my attacks,” Basmati says. “Ceiling Reila, attack! Mezara Beam, attack!”

Serah takes 2500 damage directly, bringing her down to 3500 LP.

Serah grimaces. She has only one shot left to defeat the giant mecha by summoning her MOST PRECIOUS WARRIOR. The question is… how painful will they be to summon?

How painful will the incoming jokes be?
1. Good jokes
2. Bad jokes
3. Dad jokes
>>
No. 1040214 ID: 629f2e

2, let's get some painfully bad ones.
>>
No. 1040215 ID: 899c9f

Good jokes.
>>
No. 1040216 ID: e51896

3. Can't resist the dad jokes!
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No. 1040217 ID: 15c72a

>>1040212
3.
>>
No. 1040268 ID: 8483cf
File 165989834697.png - (438.50KB , 1000x1000 , QDI_17.png )
1040268

It’s Serah’s turn. She draws a card and smiles.

“I summon Jekster Terrorscale, Half-Dragon Jester! He’s a 4-star character with 1400 ATK and 1400 DEF.”

The pint-sized powerhouse cartwheels out of his card, clad from horn to toe in gaudy garb. He dances in front of the giant mecha and asks a simple question.

“What do you call a dragon who’s ready to throw down?” Jekster asks.

“Upset?” Basmati guesses.

“All fired up!”

Basmati giggles, but catches herself. “Do you think sending in the clowns will save you?”

“Not by himself,” Serah says. “I play Circle of Negation! As long as Jekster’s character card is located on the field directly above this spell card, he can’t be affected by enemy card effects! Also, this card itself is immune to enemy card effects.”

“Interesting,” Basmati says. “He is now immune to being annihilated by Mezara Beam’s ability. But he is still weaker than it. How does this help you?”

“It helps me when I play Jotund’s Might!

“No!” Basmati gasps. “That card grants him immunity to water characters and multiplies his ATK by 1.5, bringing it to 2100!”

“Correct,” Serah says. “He’s more powerful than Mezara Beam!”

“Not for long,” Basmati counters. “Jekster himself may be immune to such effects, but Jotund’s Might isn’t. Mezara Beam, tribute one Intel Counter to annihilate Jotund’s Might!”

Jotund’s Might is wiped off the board, and Jekster is once again brought down to 1400 ATK.

Serah smiles. “I thought you might do that. Time for me to play my last remaining card: Organ Donation! It allows me to add the ATK of one of the top five characters in my graveyard to any character I want. Can you guess which character’s ATK I’m going to add to Jekster’s?”

“I don’t need to guess,” Basmati grimaces. “It’s obviously Mai Terrorscale.”

“Momma Mia!” Jekster says. Mai’s power flows through him! “What do you call a creature with four legs, two wings, a tail, and a Mezara Beam?”

“I don’t know,” Basmati says. “What is it?”

“A dragon with spare parts!”

Basmati smiles. “Oh, no! Not Mezara Beam! How will I win if you destroy my most powerful character?”

“We’re not aiming for the Beam,” Serah says.

Jekster, now with 4400 ATK, turns his fire on Ceiling Reila, who has a mere 500 ATK and is in attack position from last turn. Basmati’s LP goes all the way down from 3,600 to zero.

“I suspected you had a way to resurrect Mezara Beam, but were out of attack negation,” Serah says, “So I went straight for the win.”

“It was statistically the correct move,” Basmati nods. “Well played.”

Serah wins!
>>
No. 1040305 ID: e5709d

[Angry Gmod Noises]
>>
No. 1041058 ID: 629f2e
File 166071703390.png - (18.40KB , 700x500 , QDI_18.png )
1041058

(This duel involves nsfw decks)

Two Formican sit at a table, playing with a digital tablet.

“So, we don’t have to touch it very hard to get it to register.” Jaina declares, assessing the small cracks she left on the screen. “...I’ll keep that in mind next time.”

“Sis, look! The cards are moving with my hand! It’s so cool, isn’t it?” Anet points out, dragging a virtual card across the screen. “Do you think our ancestors played this game too, or is this being repurposed?”

The tablet in question was purportedly Formican technology, according to the birds running this thing. Due to your diminished size, regular cards are a bit troublesome to move around, so this was the alternative they had prepared for you.

“Who knows?” Jaina answers. She hadn’t seen any cards like this around home, so she didn’t have a clue. “Sure you’re happy with the deck we’re going with? Last chance to make changes if you aren’t.”

“I think we’ll win! Or at least have a good chance. It’ll be fun either way.” Anet eagerly replies.

“I still think we could have used more destruction effects. Our opponent can’t win without cards.”

As if summoned through mere mention, their opponent arrives at the table, taking a seat across from them. Compared to the ant-sized sisters, she was a giant. Her dragon-like appearance did little to lower the intimidation factor of facing someone several times your size. Though the regalia did dim it somewhat.

“Ah, the hosts didn’t lie; you are so very small, aren’t you?” She remarks with curiosity.

“We are!” Anet replies. “What are you by the way? You look kind of like what Sam is, but different. Are you a Talzoran too?”

“I’m not familiar with such a term. I’m a Prismatican, Princess Reefa Multero of the Kingdom of Teroth. It’s a pleasure to meet you both!”

Her words were diplomatic, clearly a well-practiced greeting that presented her in a positive light. The Formicans’ responses, far less so.

“Alright. You can call me Jaina.”

“And I’m Anet! I think we would be princesses too, but our colony doesn’t really use that term. Our mom is a queen though, so that would make us princesses, right?”

“I suppose it would.” Reefa agrees. “I would love to hear all about your kingdom after this match. I can share many wonderful facts about Teroth as well.”

Please don’t get her started.” Jaina pleads. It’s ineffective, Anet is already thinking up several hundred questions to ask. Jaina nudges her shoulder. “Sis, the duel?”

“Oh! Right, right.” She presses a few buttons on the tablet to reset and shuffle their deck. A holographic deck appears on the table in front of her as she does. Reefa sets her physical deck in front of her.

“How shall we decide who goes first?” Reefa asks. “The suggested method by our hosts is to flip up cards until we each get a monster, and the one with the most attack goes first.”

“Works for me.” Jaina says. “Alright, go!”

Jaina flips up “Shelli, Magical Researcher”, who has 1600 ATK.

Reefa flips up “Exiled Noble Maya Du Bois”, who has 2400 ATK. She will be going first.

“May the better player win.” She declares with a smile that just radiates her belief to be the better player.

“You got this?” Jaina asks Anet.

“I’ll do my best!” She says.

Both duelists draw five cards, and the match officially begins!
>>
No. 1041059 ID: 629f2e
File 166071712466.png - (507.30KB , 1000x1000 , A&J V Reefa - 2.png )
1041059

“I’ll begin my turn by summoning a “Royal Guard” in the Attack Position.” She explains, as she sets the card face up on the table. The image of a dark-feathered bird-person carrying a sword rises above the card. “Guards often come in pairs however. By normal summoning one “Royal Guard”, I’m allowed to set another from my deck face-up on the field, thus putting me at two face-up monsters.” She takes her deck and searches through it, before pulling out another “Royal Guard” card and setting it in Attack Position. A horse-person rises out of this one.

“If you thought that would be it, then you have clearly underestimated me. These guards are actually nothing more than material for my true summon.”

“Material?” Jaina repeats, unsure where Reefa is going. Anet catches on faster.

“She’s going to use them for a Special Summon! Ooooh, I wonder what kind!”

“Both “Royal Guard”s on my field are level 4. Thus, by using them both, I can perform an Xyz summon from my extra deck.” Reefa explains, taking her extra deck and leafing through it. She takes one, and stacks the two guards face up in a pile in a single monster zone. “The card I choose depicts my own mother, “Queen Gorgammar Multero”!” She announces, placing said card atop the stack in Defense Position.

[ Queen Gorgammar Multero: Dragon-Type, Level 4, ATK: 1000 DEF: 2500 ]

“2500 Defense points. That’s good…” Jaina couldn’t deny that was going to be an issue. Few cards in their main deck could outclass it in battle.

“There’s also her effect you will have to be wary of.” Reefa explains. “Whenever she or a card equipped to her would be destroyed for any reason, I can discard one material attached to her to negate the destruction.”

With two “Royal Guard”s attached, that meant they’d need to destroy her three times before she’d finally leave for the Graveyard. That could be tricky.

“Still, destroying cards isn’t the only way of removing them. Best to play it safe, and prepare for any alternatives you may have prepared.” The prismatican takes a spell card and sets it behind Gorgammar. “I play the Equip Spell Card “Modest Disguise”, and attach it to mother.”

The hologram of Queen Gamma shifts its royal garbs changing to something far more plain. She grimaces at her own appearance.

“I do hope the effect of this card is strong enough to justify such dull apparel.” The hologram remarks.

“I believe it is, mother. As long as this is attached to you, you cannot be Targeted by the effects of any card.”

“Hmph. That still doesn’t explain why they couldn’t have given the card something a bit more suitable for me.”

“Mother, please…”

“She’s arguing with her own card…” Jaina mutters, fully in disbelief at the stupidity.

“That Equip Spell is going to be trouble still. It limits our options even further for getting rid of her.” Anet remarks, looking through her hand at her options.

With that settled, I activate another spell card, “Recruitment Notice”. By detaching one material from an Xyz monster I control, I can summon a monster from the deck that is the same level. Naturally, I’ll be sending a level 4 “Royal Guard”.”

She pulls the card from beneath Queen Gamma, sending it to the Graveyard. She then searches her deck.

“I choose to set “Noovin Sett”.” She says with some amusement.

[ Noovin Sett: Warrior-Type, Level 4, ATK: 800 DEF: 1000 ]

“Finally I set one card face down, and end my turn.”
>>
No. 1041060 ID: 629f2e
File 166071719312.png - (515.13KB , 1000x1000 , A&J V Reefa - 3.png )
1041060

“Our turn!” Anet says, drawing a card on her tablet. “It’s good that we’re going second, because I can only use this effect if you have a monster on the field and I don’t. I special summon “Cadmus, Polymath Researcher” to the field in Attack Mode! Look! He’s prismatican too, just like you!”

As Anet claimed, a red dragon-looking man came from the card, looking to be of a similar species to Reefa.

[ Cadmus, Polymath Researcher: Dragon-Type, Level 4, ATK: 1200 DEF: 1900 ]

“I’m going to activate his other effect now too. Once per turn, I can excavate the top 5 cards on our deck. If I hit any other Researcher characters, I can summon them to the field too! Every other card gets sent to the bottom of our deck, in whatever order I choose.”

One by one, cards flip up from Anet’s deck, revealing themselves to both players. “Crate of Greed”, “Research Project, Tome of Sexual Magic”, “Very Bad Things Have Happened”...

…“Mary Kil, Genetics Researcher”.

“A-ha!” She exclaims “I summon Mary Kil to the field!” A dog woman appears beside Cadmus.

[ Mary Kil, Genetics Researcher: Beast-Warrior-Type, Level 4, ATK: 1600 DEF: 1000 ]

“And that’s not even the end of it yet. Her effect let’s her excavate five more cards!”

“Again? We just did that, didn’t we?” Reefa asks.

“That was Cadmus’ effect. Mary’s is a little different. When there’s a Researcher other than her already on the field, she can only special summon Research Projects we flip up, instead of Researchers.”

“Get used to it now. This isn’t the last time you’re going to see this effect.” Jaina warns.

“Let’s see what we get!” Anet says, beginning to reveal cards.

Unfortunately, this set of five didn’t contain any cards with the term Research Project in their name. All five cards get sent back to the bottom of their deck.

“It seems the chain ends there, thankfully.” Reefa remarks.

“Not yet.” Jaina says. “Cadmus and Mary were both Special Summons. We still have a Normal Summon to activate this turn, and another monster in our hands to play.”

“That’s right! We normal summon “Diagram, Armament Researcher” in Attack Mode!”

[ Diagram, Armament Researcher: Warrior-Type, Level 4, ATK: 1800 DEF: 800 ]

“And take a guess what his effect is?”

Predictably, it’s much the same as the previous two monsters, but there is one small twist to it. “Unlike Cadmus and Mary, I have to shuffle a Researcher from my hand back into the deck to use his effect. But the upside is that if we hit more than one Research Project, we can summon up to two instead of just one. Now let’s try this again!”

After four more misses, a single Research Project comes out of the search. Not the two it could have been, but still better than nothing.

“I summon “Research Project, Reducer” to the field in Defense Position!” Instead of a third person, this time an object appears on their side of the field. It’s a panel with two arrows on it, one pointing up and one pointing down.

[ Research Project, Reducer: Machine-Type, Level 4, ATK: 0 DEF: 2200 ]

“That’s a character card?” Reefa questions.

“It doesn’t have much Attack, but when it gets summoned by an excavation effect it’s special ability kicks in. The Attack and Defense of every monster on your side of the field drops by 1000!”

“And since it’s not an effect targeting the queen, that applies to her as well.” Jaina adds.

“You mean I donned this miserable outfit for nothing?” Gamma complains, as the effect resolves.

With her final excavation of the turn complete, Anet and Jaina take a look at the field. Currently, they have two characters who can beat “Queen Gorgammar Multero” in battle, enough to make her use her last material and defeat her. Noovin’s stats are low enough that Cadmus can take her out afterwards.

However, Reefa still has a face-down card to consider. If it’s a battle trap, or has the potential to destroy a monster, then that could mess up their plan. But if it’s a simple spell or a trap with some other purpose to it, then playing around it isn’t worth it.

How should Anet and Jaina play around Reefa’s field?

A: Play around a trap card
-Summon a monster that can get around trap effects from the extra deck using three of your face-up characters as material
-If Reefa’s face-down is a battle trap or destruction effect, you will avoid being put in a weaker position
-If Reefa’s face-down is a bluff, you’ll have left her Queen on the field for nothing

B: Take a Chance
-Attack with the monsters you already have face-up.
-If Reefa’s face-down is a battle trap or destruction effect, you won’t be able to clear her board this turn
-If Reefa’s face-down is a bluff, she will have no monsters at the end of your turn

C: Try to bait out the trap
-Attack Noovin first to see if Reefa activates her trap card
-Reefa seems very likely to play it immediately if she’s able
-This option is a gamble, as its success depends on the specific trap she may or may not have set

>>
No. 1041061 ID: 8483cf

C, Reefa probably thinks she's smart enough to outplay Anet and Jaina, but we'll show her!
>>
No. 1041062 ID: 899c9f

B. Believe in the heart of the cards! Should this trap be aimed at negating a monster strong enough to defeat the queen, it will find its effect has been... reduced!
>>
No. 1041169 ID: e51896

B. Heart of the cards and whatnot.
>>
No. 1041200 ID: 9b127b

A
>>
No. 1042167 ID: 629f2e
File 166175863316.png - (550.79KB , 1000x1000 , A&J V Reefa - 4.png )
1042167

“What do you think?” Jaina asks her sister.

“Hmm…” Anet ponders for a minute, really taking in the state of things before she answers. “I think we should take the chance. If our attacks go through, then we’ll be in a really good position! And if they don’t, we’ll still have card advantage in our favor.”

“Aside from what’s on the field, she only has One Card in her hand. We still have Four.” Jaina confirms. “We have more options.”

“So if we take out all her monsters now, it’ll be hard for her to set back up next turn. And if she can’t get another monster on the field, we may just beat her outright!”

“Low risk, high reward. It’s hard to turn down an offer like that.” The sisters nod in agreement.

“We enter the battle phase!” Anet declares. Like it or not, it was time to see if they’d stumbled into a trap or not. “Mary Kil, attack her Queen!”

Unfortunately for the pair, they had indeed played into Reefa’s hand with their decision.

“I shan’t allow it!” Reefa shouts. “I activate the trap card, “Castle Dungeon”!”

As the holographic dog charges the royal, she’s stopped in her tracks by iron bars. They appear all around her, popping up from all sides until she’s fully caged in. The prison cell then floats into a holographic castle, spawned directly over Reefa’s trap.

“Until my trap card leaves the field, your character card is removed from play. Thankfully, my effect resolves before your attack can go through, thus preventing it from taking place.” Reefa explains.

“Darn! And I was sure that face-down would have been a bluff.” Anet says.

“Wonderful play sweetheart! I was almost worried that brutish puppy would land a blow on me for a moment there.” Gamma says. Reefa can’t quite look her holographic mother in the eye, knowing what’s about to happen.

“Don’t get too comfortable.” Jaina says, tapping at their tablet. “We may not send you to the Graveyard, but we can at least remove that last piece of material from you. Diagram! Attack her queen. Creirwy Carnage!

The engineer reaches into her lab coat and pulls out a shotgun. Gamma immediately starts to sweat.

“You wouldn’t dare…” The royal threatens.

Diagram would. She lets loose a number of rounds into the queen. The scene is obscured by cartoonish amounts of smoke around the royal, but in the end she remains on the field. Her attire shows clear signs of battle-damage, but otherwise she seems uninjured. Reefa removed the last royal guard card from underneath her, placing it in the graveyard.

“You ruffian…! I’ll have your head for that!” Gamma shouts.

“Eep!” Diagram yelps. “C-Calm down. It’s j-just a game…”

Anet interrupts the projections’ argument. “Our battle phase isn’t over yet! Cadmus, attack Noovin with Precision Flare!

The dragon takes in a deep breath of air, and stretches his arm out in front of him towards Noovin. With his thumb and index fingers forming a ring, he spits out a small ball of fire straight down the center. It rockets forward, crashing into the front of Noovin’s dress and burning it to a crisp. The servant can only get out a shriek before vanishing from the field. Reefa barely restrains herself from grimacing at the state of her board.
>>
No. 1042170 ID: 629f2e
File 166175887910.png - (511.94KB , 754x1200 , Proof of Concept SAI.png )
1042170

“That ends our battle phase,” Jaina says, “but not our turn.”

“I assume you’re just going to set a few cards now?” Reefa suggests.

“Maybe later. Before that…” Jaina taps the tablet some more, causing “Cadmus, Polymath Researcher” and “Research Project, Reducer” to be highlighted. “We’re going to use these two cards as material for a Link Summon.”

The two cards move to the graveyard. Jaina shoots Anet a thumbs up, allowing her to make the declaration. “From the Extra Deck, we summon “Research Grant”!”

A podium rises up from one of the Extra Monster Zones, with a few documents and stacks of bills on its surface.

[ Research Grant: Rock-Type, RANK 2, ATK: 400 ]

“For the record, just because the Reducer is gone doesn’t mean your monsters will get their original stats back.” Jaina clarifies. “The effect lasts until they leave the field.”

“Oh my, what a powerful effect for a single card.” Reefa says, with some frustration.

“Wait until you hear what Research Grant can do!” Anet says, excitedly. “By paying 1500 Life Points, we can use its effect to add a fusion spell from the deck to our hands. I’m choosing the spell card “Coalescence”. And then we’re gonna play it immediately!”

[ Anet & Jaina’s LP: 4500 ]

“We’ll send “Diagram, Armament Researcher” from our field and two cards from our hand…” Jaina continues. “To summon “Proof of Concept, Splintered Artificial Intelligence” in attack position!”

[ Proof of Concept, Splintered Artificial Intelligence: Cyberse-Type, Level 8, ATK: 2100, DEF: 2200 ]

Reefa makes note of the creature’s stats. They’re certainly not low, but she has plenty of cards which could easily overpower it. Best to just ask about the most important part. “I’m presuming this card has a rather powerful effect, given the high cost to summon it?”

“You’d be right in guessing that.” Jaina says, while letting Anet explain further. “We can use SAI’s effect to make your face-up characters activate their effects whenever they’re able to OR redirect an effect you activated to target a card of our choice, as long as it’s a valid target! And we can use both of those once per turn, yours and ours!”

It was about as bad as Reefa had been suspecting. The prismatican starts to worry.

Thankfully, that seemed to be it for the pair. “We set two cards face-down, and end our turn.”
>>
No. 1042171 ID: 629f2e
File 166175889941.png - (359.67KB , 754x1200 , Imperium's Calculated Predictions.png )
1042171

“Finally.” Reefa sighs. Looking at her hand and field, her position isn’t great. She’d managed to keep her mother safe. Without any material though, and with her stats lowered, her destruction was guaranteed next turn if Reefa didn’t do something. This next draw will matter a lot for her.

Silently praying for luck, she takes the top card from her deck and looks at it.

…Her mouth curls into a smile. “This will do very nicely. I activate the spell card “Imperium's Calculated Predictions”! With this card, I’m allowed to draw Three new cards. One of them I’ll add to my hand, while the other two are sent to the grave.”

Taking her three cards and examining them, her smile grows even wider. “The true strength of this effect isn’t just the draw, but the cards that are destroyed. For example: If I draw a character whose effect triggers when it moves from my hand to the graveyard.”

“That is strong! Now I wish we had drafted that card too… Oh well.” Anet says.

Reefa sends a character and a spell to the graveyard. “Now, by sending “Quayla” to the grave, I trigger her special effect! I can search my deck for any equip spell of my choosing, and add it to my hand.”

After a quick search, she places the card face up in her back row. “I’ll be attaching it to mother right away. This spell is called “Succession”. Any Xyz card equipped with it can be used as material for the summoning of another Xyz card, and any equip spells attached will transfer over to the newly summoned character.”

Gamma huffs. “I’ll accept your using me as material this once if it means somebody else takes this awful attire.”

Reefa takes the other card she had drawn, and places it face-up in a monster zone. “Next, I will normal summon “Royal Guard, Gerbera”, activating their effect. Whenever I summon them, I get to special summon “Royal Guard, Snowpea” from my deck to the field alongside them.”

“Wait, isn’t that basically the same effect as your Royal Guards from your first turn?” Anet asks.

“It’s a standard effect among my weaker guard cards. They all come in pairs.” Reefa explains, setting Snowpea face up on the field.

[ Royal Guard, Gerbera: Warrior-Type, Level 4, ATK: 1600, DEF: 1500 ]
[ Royal Guard, Snowpea: Warrior-Type, Level 4, ATK: 1800, DEF: 1200 ]

>>
No. 1042172 ID: 629f2e
File 166175893292.png - (236.08KB , 628x1000 , Irata_de_Rondalphus_s.png )
1042172

“Now then, I’ll be using Gerbera and mother as the material to summon a different card from my extra deck.” Reefa says, while looking through it. After a moment she pulls something out. “I summon “Queen Irata De Mare Rondalphus” in attack mode.”

[ Queen Irata De Mare Rondalphus: Winged-Beast-Type, Level 4, ATK: 2000, DEF: 2000]

“And because I used mother as material, her equipped spells become Queen Rondalphus’.”

The holographic bird that spawns from the card comes up wearing an outfit identical to what Gamma wore before, though without the battle damage.

“And then there’s her own effect. Queen Rondalphus allows me to detach one of her materials to banish a spell or trap card on the field once a turn. When I do this, I’m allowed to search my deck for a level 4 or lower warrior-type monster to add to my hand.”

“Question!” Anet says, waving her hand. “Did you say any spell or trap, or is it just any spell or trap on our side of the field?”

“Let me double check…” Reefa picks up the card and reads its effect once more. “The former.”

The formicans smile. Reefa’s eyes go wide. “I-I activate-!”

“Sorry! But we have priority to respond to your summon.” Jaina interrupts to say. “On summon, we activate the effect of-”

“Wait! Actually… we can’t do that. Sorry.”

“We can’t?” Jaina stops. Anet points to Reefa’s backrow.

“That Modest Disguise is still in the way. We can’t target her monster, which means we can’t activate her first effect.”

“Damn, you’re right.” She admits. “Good catch.”

“Then it seems like I can use the queen’s effect for myself, as I originally planned.” Reefa says, confidently. “I’ll detach Gerbera from Queen Rondalphus to destroy the facedown card on your right!”

The formicans smile again. “Oh, what is it now!?”

“The first effect targets, but the redirection doesn’t!” Anet says. “We use the effect of SAI to redirect Irata’s effect towards your own Castle Dungeon trap!”

Reefa is forced to watch in dismay as her own card does away with her trap, releasing Mary Kil back onto the sisters’ field. Things had gotten worse.

Still, there was one part of the effect they thankfully couldn’t do anything about. “...As I said before, I’m allowed to search my deck for a warrior now. I choose to add Kog Sillyman to my hand.” She pauses as she does, giving them a chance to respond. When no such act goes through, she continues. “Snowpea has a second effect which will activate now. Because Gerbera was sent to the graveyard while they were face-up on the field, I may destroy a monster on your side of the field.” Her eyes widen and her grin restores as she realizes something. “Thank goodness you’ve already expended your redirection ability. Exactly as planned!”

“It’s true that we don’t have that anymore, but the upside is that we’ve still got two face-downs! I think it’ll be fine if we use one of them for this.” Anet says, flipping up the card that Reefa had targeted before. “We activate “Blood Magic”! By paying 700 Life Points, we can negate the effects of all characters on the field for the rest of this turn.”

[ Anet & Jaina’s LP: 3800 ]

“No!” Reefa exclaims, as the holographic Snowpea attempts to charge the SAI, only to be contorted and puppeted back into place by the blood in her own body. “...I move to the battle phase.”

As bad as things were, Reefa did still have one clear advantage. Life points. Anet and Jaina’s tick away quickly, as Queen Irata destroys the Research Grant and Snowpea destroys Mary Kil. The damage of both combined put the formicans quite low with just a third of their health remaining.

[ Anet & Jaina’s LP: 2000 ]

They only had one monster on the field, one card face down, and one card left in their hand. Reefa meanwhile had two characters face up and two cards in her hand. She’d retaken the card advantage, but it would be fleeting. The SAI could unfortunately punch over both of Reefa’s monsters very easily, and its effects would be difficult to overcome for most of the cards in her deck.

She has two cards that could get rid of the SAI. One, a spell card in her hand called “We Both Lose Ties”. When played, both players are forced to tribute a character they control, and Reefa had just cleared the rest of their field during this battle phase.

The second was the strongest character in her extra deck. “King Flagrion Multero”. He can be special summoned using any Xyz monster that successfully attacked that turn, meaning she would still have Snowpea if she summons him. The king’s effect can clear every other card off the field, including whatever face down is still set. Even if she can’t get it off next turn after Blood Magic wears off, King Flagrion has more attack points than the SAI at least. He won’t be easily beaten.

The catch is, Reefa would be committing more resources in that scenario, which will make it all the more devastating if her opponents can interrupt her. If the second face-down card they’ve set can take care of Flagrion, then Reefa loses the queen and both of her equip spells for nothing. Plus, her strongest character would be in the graveyard and unavailable to her, which is also an issue.

Even if her spell doesn’t go through, Reefa would still have her second main phase to summon Flagrion. Still, that would leave her with one card in hand and one on the field. Her opponents, meanwhile, will have the rest of their turn to set their boards back up.

The crux of it all is once again a face-down card. How will Reefa play around it?

A: Activate “We Both Lose Ties”
-Play a spell that will force your opponents to get rid of their last character
-If they can negate it, you’ll have wasted a card and be in a worse position on your next turn
-You will summon “King Flagrion Multero” if this is negated. You will hold back on playing him if this isn’t.

B: Summon “King Flagrion Multero”
-Summon your biggest monster, and use his board-wipe ability next turn
-You will be committing a number of resources to this play. If interrupted, you’ll be in trouble
-You won’t activate “We Both Lose Ties” if this is negated on your turn, as that would leave you with no cards on the field going into your opponents’ turn

C: Summon “King Flagrion Multero” and set “We Both Lose Ties” just to be safe
-Commit the most resources, and be prepared for all eventualities
-This is the worst option if your opponents has no interruption for King Flagrion
-This is the best option if your opponents had ways around “We Both Lose Ties” as well as “King Flagrion Multero”

>>
No. 1042173 ID: 899c9f

C. Blow it all up!
>>
No. 1042184 ID: a2d88b

A: play it safe.
>>
No. 1042188 ID: 8483cf

>>1042173
Agreed, let's blow everything up. Safely of course.
>>
No. 1042195 ID: 9b127b

C is clearly the path to victory
>>
No. 1043444 ID: 629f2e
File 166286810547.png - (299.24KB , 628x1000 , SABOTAGE.png )
1043444

In the end, Reefa decides that the added security of having more than one out to the SAI is worth the risk of overextending.

“I’ll set a card face-down, but that isn’t how I end my turn.” Reefa starts. “Using Queen Rondalphus as material, I special summon from my extra deck “King Flagrion Multero”!”

[ King Flagrion Multero: Dragon-Type, Level 12, ATK: 3000, DEF: 3000]

An older-looking dragon of clear importance spawns above the card. He rests on a throne and casts a withering gaze over the field.

“Shall we be rid of them?” He asks Reefa in an almost unnaturally calm tone of voice.

“Alas, we cannot yet, father. Your effects have been negated.” The princess informs.

“Ah, pity that. Well, I suppose you know where to find me.”

“She really talks to her cards a lot.” Jaina whispers to Anet.

“Maybe it’s because she picked so many with familiar faces?” She replies. “We should have gotten Sam, then we could spend all of her turns talking to him.”

“Conversation isn’t a good enough reason to add a card to the deck.”

As Anet is about to respond, she checks the field once more and pauses. After a few seconds of consideration, she decides to question Reefa’s previous play. “Wait a minute, how does that work? Succession lets you use the Queen as material, I get that part, but can’t you still only use her to Xyz summon a level 4 monster?”

“You’re correct about that.” Reefa says. “However, this wasn’t the effect of Succession that allowed me to use her, but father’s own effect. Any Xyz character that successfully attacked this turn may be used as the sole material to summon him. In addition, any material the previous card held becomes father’s. The equips do not carry over however, since Succession had nothing to do with this summon.” As she says this, Reefa takes the two equip spells and places them atop the graveyard.

She shifts Flagrion’s card slightly to reveal Queen Irata and Queen Gamma both beneath him.

“I cannot use his effects while Blood Magic is on the field, so that is all for this turn.”

“That means we’re up!” Anet says, as Jaina adds a card to their hand on the tablet. As with Reefa’s previous turn, this draw would matter greatly. Currently, the pair have an empty hand, and nothing they have showing on the field can adequately deal with Reefa’s previous summon.

Anet has eight fingers crossed as they draw. Her whole body de-tenses when she sees what they get.

“We activate the spell card “Student Loan”!” She declares. “This card lets us search out up to two Researchers from our deck, at the cost of 500 Life Points for each one we add to our hand.”

“That’s cutting quite deep into your Life Points, isn’t it?” Reefa points out.

“It’s fine.” Jaina says. “Life Points aren’t really that important. As long as you have even one left, you’re still in the game.”

“So we’re going to get the full value and spend 1000 Life Points to add “Shelli, Magical Researcher” and “Chi, Runetech Researcher” to our hand!”

[ Anet & Jaina’s LP: 1000 ]

Anet smiles eagerly. “Let’s not waste any more time! We special summon Shelli to the field in defense position!”

[ Shelli, Magical Researcher: Spellcaster-Type, Level 4, ATK: 1000, DEF: 2000]

A green serpent (with clear influence from a few other species mixed in) slithers out of the card. Like many of Reefa’s cards, there is a certain touch of royalty to her.

“We can special summon her because you have a spell or trap on the field.” Jaina explains.

“And now we’re going to get off her effect! Excavate the top five cards in our deck in search of Research Projects!”

Of the five cards that are revealed, two applicable targets are hit. “Research Project, Autopsy” and “Research Project, Gimmick Gun”.

“We’ll take Autopsy.” Jaina says without consulting with her sister.

[ Research Project, Autopsy: Zombie-Type, Level 4, ATK: 0, DEF: 2100]

“Aw, c’mon! Live a little!” Anet says.

“The gun involves rolling a die, and there are only two rolls that would keep us in the game. I’d rather not leave our victory up to chance.” Jaina explains, shutting down the discussion. “We can use the effect of Autopsy to pull a Researcher out of our graveyard, letting us search out more projects and researchers.”

“Before you do that, I actually intend to interrupt.” Reefa announces. “And I will be using my father’s effect to do so. By detaching two material, I will destroy every other card on the board save for him!

“What!?” Anet exclaims.

King Flagrion rises out of his throne, and begins to take a deep breath.

“Cast everything to the graveyard! Purging Flames!” Reefa calls out.

“Not so fast!” Jaina responds. “Trap card, open!”

The sole face-down card on the Formican’s field flips up, revealing it to be “SABOTAGE”.

“This card allows us to negate any spell, trap, or monster effect at the moment of activation. We target King Flarion. Without that disguise card, there’s nothing stopping us from doing so.”

King Flagrion begins coughing, as steam pours out his nostrils. The fire he’d been building up seems to have expired inside of him. Instead of seeming annoyed, Reefa looks all too pleased with herself.
>>
No. 1043445 ID: 629f2e
File 166286815495.png - (276.20KB , 628x1000 , We Both Lose Ties.png )
1043445

“I had a suspicion that you might have some way to interrupt that. It’s no matter though. I activate the quick-play spell card “We Both Lose Ties”! This card forces each of us to tribute one monster for no benefit. We each get to choose the characters we sacrifice. For me, it will be Snowpea.”

The sisters have no response, and are forced to choose. They confer among themselves.

“Shelli is the weakest card on our field, since she’s already used her effect.” Jaina points out.

“But we need Researchers for our fusions.” Anet reminds her. “Let’s dump the SAI instead. It isn’t strong enough to get over the King, and we can’t use it to summon something better.”

“Hmm, you have a point… Alright.”

The pair break apart, pointing at “Proof of Concept, SAI”. “Get rid of it.” Jaina says. Both Snowpea and the SAI vanish from the field. “With that out of the way, we’ll keep our combo going.”

“Activate the effects of “Research Project, Autopsy” to bring back Mary Kil from the graveyard!” Anet says, smiling widely as the small dog reappears on the field. “And because she’s not the only Researcher, she gets to excavate for Research Projects.”

Five cards flip up, but unfortunately for the girls not one of them is a Research Project that they can summon. The revealed cards move to the bottom of the deck, but all hope is not lost.

“We still have one more card we can play. We normal summon “Chi, Runetech Researcher” in face-up defense position.” Jaina says.

[ Chi, Runetech Researcher: Winged-Beast-Type, Level 4, ATK: 1600, DEF: 1500]

“Chi searches for Researchers, so let’s do it now. It’ll be one more card you’ll have to go through before you can touch our Life Points.” Anet says. Five cards flip up, and they get another hit.

“We summon “Gail, Archeological Researcher” to the field in defense position!”

[ Gail, Archeological Researcher: Reptile-Type, Level 4, ATK: 1000, DEF: 1900]

“Now normally we would have Gail use her effect to get another Research Project, but…”

“We’re out of zones.” Jaina points out. Shelli, Autopsy, Mary, Chi, and Gail occupy all five of the available spaces. “So, that’s gonna be it for our turn.”

“Then I will begin mine. Draw!” Reefa pulls the top card of her deck, hoping to get something that will put material on her father so that she can clear the board with him.

What she instead gets is the Game-Winning Card. She can barely contain her glee, but attempts to stay collected as she uses it.

“I cast the spell card “Peasantry Revolt”.” She says, with absolute calm and certainly not child-like glee. She’s a diplomat, obviously she can handle herself. “By targeting my Xyz card, King Flarion, I can change the all other cards on the field with a lower attack score to attack position, at the cost of granting each of them 400 extra attack points.”

All five cards on the Formican’s field flips into attack. The girls stare in alarm as they realize what is happening.

Reefa pauses for a very brief moment to consider how she wants to end this match. Her father has enough attack to defeat them no matter which character she attacks, so it’s all a matter of preference.

Who should Reefa deal the finishing blow to, winning her the duel? (The winning choice will be featured in a NSFW image next update)

A: Shelli, Magical Researcher (Lascivious Labyrinth)
B: Mary Kil, Armament Researcher (SEX-COM)
C: Chi, Runetech Researcher (SHARDS)
D: Gail, Archeological Researcher (A Small Quest)
E: Research Project, Autopsy (Starlight Afterglow) (Votes for this card will not count, but feel free to choose it as a form of protest towards lewds)

>>
No. 1043447 ID: e51896

We haven't seen Gail naked out of the choices anywhere yet, so D
>>
No. 1043448 ID: e5709d

Mary Kil, to promote more SEX-COM content
>>
No. 1043451 ID: 15c72a

🅱️
>>
No. 1043452 ID: 515982

D(amn)
>>
No. 1043453 ID: 9b127b

D
>>
No. 1043454 ID: 8483cf

D!
>>
No. 1043625 ID: de15ea
File 166302539753.jpg - (312.30KB , 2788x2811 , t1u4.jpg )
1043625

The irrationally gorgeous Dragon rears back preparing to blast a flame breath attack at the face down monster, but Momo suddenly hurls herself in front of the card and throws her arms wide!

“Noooo~!” she wails dramatically, as her breasts bounce free from her robes - but something spills out from between them!
>>
No. 1043627 ID: de15ea
File 166302544419.png - (779.16KB , 1256x2000 , Booby_Trap.png )
1043627

Momo Activates the trap card BOOBY TRAP, negating Radiant Flare’s attack and destroying her! A massive explosion bursts forth from her chest, coating the area in smoke! Both Momo and The Masked Duelist lose 1150 life points as a result of Flare’s destruction.

Life Totals:
Momo - 3350
The Masked Duelist - 4850


As the smoke clears, Momo is swooning topless on the ground in front of her cards, coughing weakly - her chest heaving.

“Look. I would really appreciate it if you would … um … not do that,” The masked duelist mutters, looking away as they wave away the smoke near them.

“Oh, such a brute~!” Momo huffs as she sits up, making an intentionally incomplete gesture towards covering herself, “I didn’t expect you to like things so r-” Her smirk is interrupted as she sees a pasty, doughy looking clay man standing in front of her. “Wait, is *that* what you looked like under your robes!? How disappointing!”
>>
No. 1043628 ID: de15ea
File 166302549503.jpg - (267.53KB , 2867x2526 , t1u5.jpg )
1043628

The masked duelist coughs from behind the clay man, still looking away, “No, that’s my monster.”

“Oh,” Momo pouts, disappointed, “I would have hoped your stupid robes would be a little worse for wear. Also, I just destroyed your monster!”

The Masked Duelist continues, “When Radiant Flare was destroyed by an enemy effect instead of by battle, it activated her effect to special summon a monster from my deck with a lower level, but negate that monster’s effects until the end of the turn.”

Simon - Who Sees the End
Level 2 Earth Monster
300/800


Momo laughs, “Am I supposed to be intimidated by this little weirdo? He’s not even hot! What does his effect even do, so I know what to expect next turn?”

The Masked Duelist plays two cards face down as they speak, “Simple. As long as he is on the field, [/i]all face-down cards are revealed,[/i] but they still count as being face-down and can be flipped and activated according to their normal conditions. He is a normal monster as long as there are no face-down cards on the field. And since I have nothing else to do in my second main phase -”

Momo’s Eyes widen as The Masked Duelist prepares to end their turn. This is really bad! She can’t let it stick around for when her turn starts or she’s going to be in big trouble.

How does Momo get rid of Simon?
1: Banish him from the game at a large cost
2: Return him to The Masked Duelist’s hand at a low cost

Additionally, what does she want to do on her next turn, she’s a little frustrated, so she wants to do something flashy
A: Set up a big dangerous attack to knock her opponent down a peg!
B: Set up a super restrictive field of continuous traps and watch her opponent squirm!
>>
No. 1043629 ID: b5524e

2 (Insert "hand bounce" pun here)
B (Why rush things?)
>>
No. 1043630 ID: 515982

2A.
>>
No. 1043631 ID: 629f2e

1 and B!

1 because it's far less likely that The Masked Duelist will have a way to bring back a banished monster than it is that he can simply re-summon Simon on his turn.

And B because there's nothing duel monster players fear more than a horrible floodgate setup that doesn't let them do any of the plays they want to make.
>>
No. 1043635 ID: d98cb8

Definitely 1 and B
>>
No. 1043645 ID: 9da85d

2 and B.

The threat of Simon may loom, but the threat of continous cycle of bodacious buxom beastfolk is now.
>>
No. 1043646 ID: e51896

I'm going with 1 and B because that is what Crows wants, and Momo is his character.
>>
No. 1044159 ID: 629f2e
File 166356194776.png - (199.24KB , 500x600 , Gail Destroyed.png )
1044159

Reefa smiles, her eyes locking onto the lizard woman who had been summoned last.

“I enter the battle phase.” She announces. “Father, put an end to that archeologist with Purifying Flames!

“As you command, sweetiepie.” The older dragon slowly rises from his seat. Anet and Jaina’s other cards start inching away from Gail, not wanting to be caught in the blast. The poor scalie can do nothing but stare, as Flagrion takes in a deep breath of air.

“...Oh dear.” Gail says.

A torrent of flame washes over her, incinerating her attire to mere ash. She screeches and covers up moments before disappearing from the field entirely. With the battle damage crashing the Formicans’ life points to nil, the battle was over.

[ Anet & Jaina’s LP: 0 ]
[ Victory: Reefa ]

>>
No. 1044161 ID: 629f2e
File 166356207605.png - (113.54KB , 500x500 , Reefa Being Cute.png )
1044161

“Darn! I feel like we almost had it too.” Anet grumbles, as all the holograms vanish. “Ah well, bad luck on the excavations was always gonna be what cost us the game with this deck. Right?”

“That, or simply not drawing any Researchers.” Jaina points out.

“Oh yeah, true. Jeez, we wouldn’t even have had much of a field then.”

“We were actually decently lucky on their effects. We just needed a card that would let us fuse some of them off.”

“Right!? I was really hoping we’d hit that one research project…”

The sisters continue to talk amongst themselves, before Reefa interrupts them by clearing her throat. She extends a hand towards the pair, which they happily climb onto. It was easier to talk to them up close, given the size difference.

“You both played very well. It was a fine duel.” She says.

Anet grabs hold of one of the prismatican's fingers and shakes it in a mock-handshake. “Yeah, good game to you too! You got so lucky on those draws, we just couldn’t fight back.”

“Nonsense, it was purely skill which won me this match.” Reefa proudly insists. Jaina is having none of it.

“You drew a card that let you draw more cards when your hand was almost empty, and then drew one that forced our cards into attack position when we could have walled up to protect ourselves.” She points out.

“Yes, well…” Reefa falters slightly. “Including such powerful spells in my deck was a brilliant stroke of strategy, wouldn’t you agree?”

“How about we say it’s a bit lucky and a bit skillful?” Anet proposes. All seem pleased with the compromise.

“The others are still having their own matches.” Reefa points out. “It will be some time before this tournament continues. How would you feel about another game, just for fun?”

“You sure you aren’t just trying to prove you didn’t luck into that win?” Anet teases.

“I need not prove what I already know to be true.” She responds in a dignified tone. “It’s simply good practice for my next match, and a quite enjoyable way to pass time. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Eh. Not like we have anything better to do.” Jaina says with a shrug. “Alright. Let’s see if we would have won in a best two out of three!”
>>
No. 1045257 ID: 629f2e
File 166474191321.png - (1.15MB , 1000x1000 , Bonnie and Enid.png )
1045257

It takes Enid a bit to find her duel location. Eventually though, she stumbles upon a wide field marked “Lifesize Projection Space #1” Its floor is raised by about an inch, showing the area’s borders. There are a few similar fields nearby, some of which are already populated by duelists. They’re spaced out enough that you would have to shout to be heard by your nearest neighbor.

Another girl arrives shortly after her. There’s a moment of de-tensing for both when they realize they’re in the same age-range. They launch into greetings.

“Hi there. Are you Bonnie, my opponent?” Enid starts.

“That’s me! So that makes you Enid?” Bonnie asks. Enid nods. “Are you a Safety Scout too?”

“Um, no. I’m not really in any sort of group right now…”

“You should consider joining. There are rats, and super strength, and mind reading, and you get to punch people with electricity, and it’s really fun!”

“Oh! I don’t think I can join then. Back home, we don’t have anything like that… I think? The others said Roger was really fast, but did they mean super speed or just really fast for a kid?

“That sucks. Your home sounds boring.”

“I can think of worse things to say about it than that…”

With pleasantries out of the way, Bonnie moves to one side of the field, while Enid takes the other. There are tables waiting at both ends, indented with the duel-field. Bonnie blows a raspberry at hers, kicking it aside.

“I’ve got something way cooler to play on than that. Check it out!”

She holds her right arm out, letting a duel disc generate from her glove. Enid couldn’t help but be impressed by the portable field.

“Where did you get that? It looks really cool!” Enid compliments.

“Thanks! Dr. White wanted me to test it out. It’s some sort of hologram thingy-majigy-bobigy. Not normally for cards, but she changed it so that I could try it here. The tubby bird promised their weird card game magic wouldn’t get in the way with whatever science it works with.”

“Card game magic? Wait… Are the cards going to come to life when we play them!?” Her earlier conversation with Pan was suddenly making a lot more sense. It also explained the large “projection space”.

“Yeah! Isn’t that awesome?”

“It is! I wish I’d known about it, I would have grabbed a few cards with nicer art on them.”

Oh well, there’s no changing her deck now. And besides, she picked the cards that she did because she thought they would work well together, so she just has to believe that she made the right choices. She definitely wasn’t confident in that, but it’s not like she could just quit. That’s stupid, if she’s going to lose it should be because she played badly, not because she didn’t play at all.

She sets her deck on the table, as Bonnie loads hers into the funky disc gadget. Ready or not (she wasn’t really), it’s time to duel-
>>
No. 1045258 ID: 629f2e
File 166474201590.png - (61.89KB , 415x369 , Franklin_ohayo4.png )
1045258

“Hey Enid.”

Enid shrieks.

Franklin is standing beside her, staring confusedly.

“...Are you okay?”

“I-I think you just knocked a year off my life. But yeah, other than that, fine.”

“Ummm who is that?” Bonnie asks from the other side of the field.

“Oh right.” Franklin waves to her. “Sorry, can you wait a couple minutes?”

“Probably not!” She calls back.

“Oh… Thank you for being honest.” He then turns back to Enid and continues to interrupt their duel by being there.

“What’s going on Franklin? Did you get lost, or forget one of the rules?” Enid asks.

“...No, that’s not it. I saw my opponents. But they were… Um…” He rubs his head as one might a crystal ball to find the truth they seek. “They were… they.”

“...Huh?”

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with being a they. I know lots of theys.” Bonnie shouts from across the field..

“…Two! There were two of them!” Franklin finally says. “There were two people playing as one duelist.”

“Ah, that’s right. I think I saw one other group like that on the bracket.” Enid thinks back to the pretty dragon’s opponents. She didn’t see them in the crowd, but there were definitely two names and faces up there. “But um, why are you telling me this?”

“I was wondering… Can we do that too? Play together, as one duelist?” He asks.
>>
No. 1045260 ID: 629f2e
File 166474216654.png - (16.93KB , 500x550 , QDI_20.png )
1045260

Enid blinks, repeating the question a few times in her head. She hadn’t thought of it before, but it clearly was an option for some people.

“...I… I don’t know. Can we?”

Franklin shrugs, clearly not sure himself. There was really only one creature to ask.

“...Excuse me, Mr. Companionship!” She shouts toward the ceiling. In response, a fluffy little orb flutters its way down to the children.

“Hello Enid! Franklin. This isn’t your arena you know.” Pan gently explains.

“Excuse me, but can Franklin and I play together like his opponents are?”

“What!?” Tianna yells, soaring down to the disastrous conversation. “The bracket’s already done! Matches should be beginning! You can’t just-!”

“Sure, you can do that!” Pan says, ignoring the unholy screech from their colleague.

“There, there,” Toffles says, patting Tianna on the wing. “It was a very good bracket, it’s not your fault that Pan was created with marshmallows instead of a spine.”

“She does have a point.” Enid says. “What will happen to Franklin’s opponent’s if he’s playing with me now?”

“I’m sure we can arrange for a substitute, so don’t worry a peep about them!” Pan assures, to the resounding grumbles of his avian companions. He calls out to the girl across the field, “Ms. McCarthy! You don’t mind playing against Enid and Franklin together, do you?”

“Huh? Yeah, that’s fine. I’m pretty sure I can take both of them.” She replies eagerly.

“Then I see absolutely no reason to deny the request. Have fun!”
>>
No. 1045261 ID: 629f2e
File 166474226334.gif - (2.73MB , 1200x686 , Enid and Franklin VS Bonnie.gif )
1045261

They give their thanks as the birds fly off, most likely to bring the abandoned pair up to speed. Franklin sets his deck on the table beside Enid’s, as the pair consider how to handle the 80+ cards between them.

“...We could just play with yours.” Franklin mutters. “I won’t mind.”

“Oh, forget it! Let’s just do this.” Enid says, before grabbing them both and shuffling them together. “They may not go together well, but both of our decks were probably rubbish in the first place. You can’t ruin what’s already ruined.”

“I’m sure yours was fine.” Franklin assures.

“That makes one of us.”

“Hey, are you guys ready or not?” Bonnie calls out. They both nod. “Great! Then it’s time to DUEL!”

Following the rules they’d heard before, both girls draw until they hit any random character card from their deck, and compare the ATK points.

Bonnie: [ Skinny Rat: Beast-Type, Level 2, ATK: 1000, DEF: 1000 ]
Enid: [ Jojo, The Bully (E), Level 3, ATK 1500, DEF: 1000 ]

“Looks like we’re going first.” Enid says, smiling. “I think that’ll be better for us”

They both draw the top five cards of their deck, before Enid and Franklin huddle up to check theirs out together.

Enid’s first hand will be a 1:4 ratio of cards from hers and Franklin’s original decks. Who would you prefer for the ratio to favor? Does she pull more of her own cards, or Franklin’s?

(Enid’s cards are more balanced + Trap focused, Franklin’s cards are more gimmicky and less cohesive)

>>
No. 1045262 ID: e51896

Franklin's cards!
>>
No. 1045277 ID: 8483cf

GIMMICK

Definitely focused on Franklin to start.
>>
No. 1045279 ID: bbb04b

Enid. Stability's more important in the early game. You can pull out the nonsense when you have a foundation to stand on.
>>
No. 1045282 ID: d3791d

More of Franklin's deck.
>>
No. 1045284 ID: 262068

Gonna go with Franklin.
>>
No. 1046593 ID: 629f2e
File 166580142831.png - (119.60KB , 502x799 , Buried Alive.png )
1046593

Drawing many cards she hadn’t before read, Enid takes a moment to read them all. Confusion fills her features.

“I don’t understand why you took a lot of these, Franklin. What was your deck’s win condition?” She asks, receiving a blank stare in reply.

“...To win?”

She sighs. It seemed likely to her that he had just grabbed an assortment of cards that seemed fun or sounded strong. That isn’t a good strategy, but merging decks was her idea. Like it or not, she’d just have to make it work somehow. Or– they would. They are a team after all.

Currently, their hand consists of:
-A slow continuous trap that would only become valuable if it stayed on the field for a few turns
-A decent resource recycling trap
-A weak character card that would float into another character when sent to the graveyard
-A spell to reset the field and hands
-A weak character card that can discard a card to special summon another character from the deck


“Hmm… These are kind of all over the place, but at least we can still use them. It’s just going to be a little messy.”

“Which of these should we summon?” He asks, pointing at the two characters. She thinks about it.

“Um… Maybe this one?” She suggests, holding up the floater. “We can’t attack on the first turn, and whatever we set will probably be destroyed, so we can save this one’s special summon effect for the next. It’s… What do you think?”

“It makes sense to me. I think we should do it.”

“You think so? But… Hmm…” Her eyes flip between both characters, a thought on the tip of her tongue. In the end, the thought goes nowhere, so she plays as they agreed.

“We set a character face-down,” she announces, pausing to observe a holographic card appear in the space between them. “We’ll also be setting two cards face-down. And that’s it, we pass.” With three cards on the field, the turn shifts over to Bonnie.

“Draw!” She takes a card, putting her hand at 6. The card in her hand elicits a wide smile. Without a second thought she slams it down.

“I play Cute Rat in attack mode! Her numbers aren’t that big, but she looks really pretty! Show me that hologram!”

[ Cute Rat, Beast-Type, Level 2, ATK 1000, DEF: 1000 ]

Another card appears on the field, and from it spawns an anthropomorphic mouse with bangs over her eyes and some cute casualwear emerges. Enid can’t help but gasp.

“Wow… It’s so lifelike! And she is cute, I’m jealous that card wasn’t at our table.”

“Aw, thanks!” It suddenly says, leaving her speechless. The visual of a realistic looking creature on the field was one thing, but she hadn’t even considered that they might be able to interact with the projections.

“They can talk? That’s… Isn’t that a little…”

Franklin finishes her thought. “...If they can think and say stuff, doesn’t that make it… bad that we’re gonna make them fight and kill each other?”

Bonnie blinks. “Huh… Y’know, I hadn’t really thought about that.”

“If it’s going to make things weird, I could stop talking,” the Cute Rat offers. It does little to dissuade the children from questioning the moral implications of their match.

“Um… I know the character on the card we set.” Franklin points out. “If he dies in the game, what if that kills him in reality too? That can’t happen, right?”

“Oh my gosh, I didn’t even think about that!” Enid shouts out in concern. “The birds said it was magic, but doesn’t that just make something awful like that possible?”

“What if we’re the real monsters here?” Bonnie asks, looking down at her gloved hands in horror.

The atmosphere was rapidly deteriorating from what should otherwise have been a fun children’s card game.

“Um…” The Cute Rat speaks up once more. “I really don’t think any of those issues will happen or anything, buuuuut what if I just toss the card I was gonna fight out of the arena? Would that be okay.”

“Oh, well yeah that’d be fine.” Bonnie says with a nod, immediately recovering.

“I don’t mind.” Franklin agrees.

“That’ll have to do until we can check in with the birds after the match.” Enid says. “Ring outs only!”

“If we’re all good, Cute Rat! Please get rid of that face-down monster!”

She shoots a thumbs up, before rushing across the field. The face-down character flips up, revealing Phillip, The Nerd (E). Unfortunately for the Cattenom kids, his defense was a mere 900, just short of his opponent’s attack.

“Sorry kid, but you’re out!” The mouse boasts, grabbing him by the arm. He tries to wriggle free, but a few seconds of dragging later sees Phillip being flung from the arena. He vanishes as soon as he crosses the projection area’s edge.

Enid taps her partner. “Franklin, you remember what we talked about before, right?”

He nods. “Phillip has an effect.” He raises his voice to inform Bonnie. “When Phillip goes to the graveyard, we get to summon his twin sister, Lillian, to the field.” The Athlete appears where Phillip once stood, looking fired up.

[ Lillian, The Athlete (E), Rapscallion-Type, Level 3, ATK 1000, DEF: 1000 ]

“Heard what you did to my bro. Don’t think I’m lettin’ ya get away with it.” She threatens. Cute Rat simply looks amused at the child trying to sound tough.

“That’s not all. We also activate the trap card Buried Alive.” Enid says, as the card flips up. “Due to this card’s effects, Phillip will come back to our field next turn.”

“That’s fine. He’s still not stronger than my monster.” Bonnie says.

As she’s wondering what else she should do, a whisper in her head gives her the answer. “That’s right, Cute Rat actually has an effect I can use. Let’s see…” She stares at the card, reading it closely. “I can put her back in my hand, and if I do… I get to add another monster from my deck there too! Whoa, that’s neat! I didn’t know she could do that.”

“...Didn’t you read her before you added her to your deck?” Enid asks.

“No,” is the immediate reply. “I just thought she looked pretty.”

Enid mutters to herself. “We can’t send her to the graveyard if she’s off the field. We won’t be able to keep her off that effect. But the downside is that she’ll have to use her normal summon to get the search, so it’s not ideal for her unless she has enough ways to special summon from her hand.” Franklin nods along, trying his best to follow her commentary.

“I’m gonna use Cute Rat’s effect!” Bonnie announces, taking her from the field and back to her hand.

“Wh– You can’t leave! I crave vengeance for Phillip!” Lillian shouts. The rodent waves goodbye, as she vanishes.

“Let’s see. I’m gonna use it to search up… Which one should I– Oh! I like this one!“ She reveals a powerful Tribute Monster before adding it to her hand. “Then I’llllll set this card. Annnd this other one too. That’s it I think.”
>>
No. 1046594 ID: 629f2e
File 166580146549.png - (180.41KB , 628x1000 , Update Counter.png )
1046594

“Before you end your turn, I have a trap I want to activate.” Enid says, before flipping a card face-up. “Update Counter!

A text box appears over the field reading “Update: 0”. She explains, “during each of mine and Franklin’s turns, this card will gain one Update. Whenever you want to declare an attack, we flip three coins. For your attack to go through, you need to flip as many or more Heads as there are Updates on this card.”

As the turn shifts over to Franklin and Enid’s, the two drawing a card for turn, the text on the box alters to read “Update: 1”. The boy scratches his chin thoughtfully. “So… Right now, she just needs to get one heads in the three coins flipped?” He smiles as his partner nods approvingly.

“And because it’s our turn now, Phillip comes back to the field!” The male twin appears beside his sister. They share an awkward sibling hug before taking up battle positions. With all effects resolved, they could finally start playing new cards. Unfortunately, a horrible thought struck Enid as she looked in her hand.

“Wait… He special summons from deck when… and Buried Alive revives from the grave…” Her eyes open wide. “I messed up!”

“Huh? How?” Franklin asks.

“Look!” She shoves the cards in his face. “We should have played Rodney first. With Buried Alive, we could have easily committed to setting a bigger character on the field, and if we discarded Phillip for the cost of Rodney’s effect, then his would have activated since it’s being sent from the field OR hand that triggers it. That means we would have had three characters in one turn, but instead we’re down a trap card for no reason. I messed it up…”

To his credit, while he didn’t quite follow the explanation, Franklin had understood the basic issue of “I could have played that better”.

“...Does that mean we lose?”

“What? No… Not immediately. But we’ll run out of cards sooner, a-and–”

“That’s good. We didn’t lose. That means we can keep playing, right?”

“...Y-Yeah.”

He takes the hand from her and looks at them. “Can you show me what we can do with the cards we have now? I dunno what we should do next. Is it not a good idea to summon Rodney now?”

“...N-No, I still think we should. Just don’t use his effect, we need both these other cards.” She explains.

“Okay, I’ll do that.” He places the card and speaks to Bonnie. “We summon Rodney, The Socialite (E) now.”

The young Socialite appears, joining the twins in posing for a fight.

[ Rodney, The Socialite (E), Rapscallion-Type, Level 3, ATK 500, DEF: 500 ]

“Huh. Hey, why do all your monsters have an ‘E’ at the end of their names?” Bonnie asks.

“That’s a good question. Let me ask.” He turns back to Enid. “Why do they?”

“You didn’t get it? But you had cards from the same archetype.”

“Does it have something to do with the other two letters? I think they were… M and A?

She nods, speaking so that Bonnie can hear. “The E stands for Elementary. The ones with M stand for Middle. And the A stands for Adult.

“There are other letters?” The other girl questions. Enid nods.

“I think now would be a good time to bring some of them out.” She picks up the extra deck, skimming through it. “Franklin, can you help me decide which to go with?”

Which card should Enid and Franklin level up?

1: Lillian, The Athlete (E)
-Becomes incredibly strong and immune to card effects
2: Phillip, The Nerd (E)
-Allows you to search out practically any card you might want from your extra deck
3: Rodney, The Socialite (E)
-Provides a buff to all cards on your side of the field, and makes it easier to summon a few more

ALSO

Bonnie added a powerful monster to her hand. Which one was it? (You only get the simplified card name, not the character name or the quest they originate)

A: Strong Fire Bird
-Can destroy cards on the field
B: Big Blind Dog
-Can negate trap card effects
C: Big Happy Lady
-Can attack every monster on the field

>>
No. 1046598 ID: 8483cf

1. Fight strong with strong! Level up LILLIAN!

A. Birb birb birb birb
>>
No. 1046603 ID: abaa91

>>1046594
2: Phillip, The Nerd (E)

and

A: Strong Fire Bird
>>
No. 1046607 ID: e51896

2 because it'd be hilarious if The Nerd was stronger than The Athlete

C, so the update counter doesn't have a chance to get negated or destroyed
>>
No. 1047507 ID: c642be

>>1046607
Seconded.
I wonder how a character that can look for backup fares against one that can pummel him.
>>
No. 1047522 ID: c642be
File 166677528914.png - (253.60KB , 1580x1244 , xerinvsselma 1.png )
1047522

(This duel contains NSFW cards)

Selma looks around the auditorium, observing the other duelists and witnessing a fish-man get blasted by his own cards, a pair of ants standing toe-to-toe with a dragon princess, and an odd fox lady baring her chest while unleashing a trap card right over the corner. There’s absolutely no shortage of interesting things to get an eyeful of. She thinks again on why she came to this tournament and recalls an invitation to duel all manner of players in a game of wits and strategy for the promise of an amazing prize: the champion’s greatest desire.

Her imagination had run rampant and questions bloomed in her head of what she would see at the tournament. What would such an event be like? What would her opponents look like? And most importantly what was her greatest desire? The answers were both stranger and more mundane than she imagined back in her apartment.

But what would winning the tournament mean for her? Seeing the wider world? Finding a taste for mind games and competition? Becoming a world-renowned authoress of salacious prose? So many choices, so little certainty.

She ponders her cards, carefully chosen for outmaneuvering and long-term strategy. Being told by the bird judges to mix random cards into her deck at the last minute would complicate things, but she knows well that improvising is all part of the game. Learning and watching carefully.

And she is very good at watching.
>>
No. 1047523 ID: c642be
File 166677536323.png - (567.04KB , 1980x1480 , xerinvsselma 2.png )
1047523

Selma’s thoughts are interrupted as a man approaches her table. He is almost as short as she is and has a polished jewel stuck to his forehead. Selma thinks it looks rather nice, but it’s his glasses she finds fetching.

-”Ah, you’re Selma I assume?”- The fellow says with a smile as he takes the chair across from her.. -”I believe I am your first opponent for the day. You may call me Xerin.”
-”...Hello, Xerin.”- Selma hesitates for a moment before replying, trying to wrap her head around this weird hedgehog guy.

-”I have to say, I'm glad you’re the first participant I’m playing with. You seem much more… mellow than some of the others around here.”

-”Thanks.”- Selma says politely. -”Um….Have you played this card game before?”

-”Played? No. I have studied the rules in my free time however.”- Xerin’s smiles with confidence as he pulls his deck from his pocket, passes the cards to Selma to shuffle, and grabs her own. - “When I received an invitation to this tournament, I took it upon myself to get acquainted with the game, so at the very least I don’t embarrass myself. I find it all quite fascinating, if a bit complicated. At any rate, it’s a welcome break from all the hassle back home.”

- “Uh, yes. I can relate, actually.”- Selma replies, recalling the real mess her sleepy little home town has become in the last few days.

Xerin looks up at her as he playfully shuffles her deck. “Well, then. Here’s to an enjoyable distraction with good company. Shall we start?”

-”Yeah, sure. To a good duel.”- Selma smiles a little. She is beginning to like this Xerin fellow.
>>
No. 1047529 ID: c642be
File 166678900359.png - (251.14KB , 389x389 , Xerin_Analyzing.png )
1047529

I try looking into her eyes as we converse, but I cannot hijack her vision without direct eye contact. Her spectacles are ridiculously thick. How can two pieces of glass be so damn opaque? No matter, I know this game well enough. I will win through sheer skill alone. A challenge keeps the mind sharp, and all.

We draw cards from our decks until we get a monster. Just as in life, the one with the most power goes first.

She draws…..Pre-shrunk Sam, 1000 Attack.

And I…..Ha! Alice Dietrich, 1750 Attack. Always good to have the initiative.

As we cut and return each others’ cards, I observe that this girl is hard to get through in more ways than one. She is reserved. Few words, few emotions. A strong poker face will help her, but it won’t be enough..


Hmmhmm. This is a good enough hand to start. I’ll be able to put these cards to good effect.
>>
No. 1047530 ID: c642be
File 166678905192.png - (55.38KB , 389x389 , Creepy_Selma.png )
1047530

“I will place these two trap cards here and proceed to summon NCO Arkot in defense position.”- Xerin says as he does just that. -“That will be all for my first turn. Your move, my dear rival.”-

[NCO arkot, Four Stars, Type: Beast/Machine ATK:1300 DEF:1300]

Selma stares for a moment at the cards in her hand and thinks about her intended strategy.
Her deck is well-built, her hand good, and her options many. Her glasses glint for a moment in the fluorescent lights as she finally decides on her starting tactic.

Those trap cards can’t do much if their owner runs out of time to set them off.

“I activate Formican Exodus, which reduces your deck by two cards each turn it stays on the field.”- She says calmly, betraying no emotion, -” I then place a monster card face down to end my turn.”

With his time running out, she knows her opponents chances are dramatically less now. She almost lets a smile quirk her lips.
>>
No. 1047531 ID: c642be
File 166678912592.png - (294.42KB , 759x427 , QDI_21.png )
1047531

“Back to you, bud.”-She says smugly, crossing her arms. She feels like her starting spell was a very deep strategy. Self-congratulatory. Works for me, however. It means she is lowering her guard already and the timer she created would only panic an amatuer who didn’t know how quickly these games can go. She’ll be crushed before I’m in any real danger.

Still, that face-down monster is in the way. It might also have a dead man’s switch effect should I attack it. Maybe I should set up a spell card or a monster ability that lets me avoid confrontation.
Then again, fortune favors the bold and the duel is just begun. Maybe setting up a support spell and attacking would work just fine. Or I could solidify my defenses even further, summon another monster, perhaps build up tribute material for a special summon. Sacrifices shall be necessary eventually, after all.

The odds are in my favor for now, but I shouldn’t push my luck. I must pick the right choice if I really want to make a blow on this scheming squirrel.


Which strategy should Xerin pick?

>Set up a control-based spell or a monster effect to circumvent Selma’s face down card.

> Prepare himself and attack the face down card.

>Place a defensive spell and another monster card, probably for a special summon.
>>
No. 1047532 ID: e51896

Third option
>>
No. 1047561 ID: 8483cf

Option 3. Play defense to negate Selma's next move, then if it's not used up by that, then Xerin has something to protect the special summon.
>>
No. 1047623 ID: a2d88b

First option.
>>
No. 1049824 ID: de15ea
File 166909132215.png - (699.65KB , 628x1000 , Mia_Balance-Keeper.png )
1049824

Momo knows that she can’t let the little freak stick around for its effect to activate, because it would completely ruin her completely legitimate strategy.

“Hold on there, champ!” She calls out, “Don’t think you can call it quits so quickly, I haven’t even finished yet!”

“D-do you have to say it like that?” The Duelist squirms.

Momo chuckles and grins haughtily behind a fan made of her hand of cards, “Don’t worry sweetie, I’m sure you can hold on for me. I’m almost there.”

She waves her hand out over her traps and a card raises up. “I activate the continuous trap The Reckless Champion Exiled, which allows me to discard two cards to banish a monster which has been special summoned - and also prevents any monsters with the same name from being summoned!” Her chuckling breaks into a full-throated laugh as she places two cards in the graveyard, leaving her with only one card in her hand - and the poor astrologist is cast out of the battlefield for his crimes.

The Masked Duelist stands silently for a few seconds, before Shrugging and motioning for Momo to take her turn.

Momo draws a card and then gives a toothy grin. “Well first things first, I’m going to play Crate of Greed and draw 2 additional cards.” She places them in her hand, “And now I can really show. you. my. moves~” she coos, swaying her hips on each word.

“I’m a little spent, so to get some of my mojo back I’m going to activate the continuous spell Expedited Delivery Fee,, which causes me to gain 200 life whenever a monster is special summoned. It’s destroyed if I have more life than you, but you’ve been pretty rough with me so I’m not sure that’s a problem.”

“Please st-” the Duelist shrinks and begins to protest, before Momo interrupts them.

“Next, I’ll flip-summon Princess Shelli, Level 3, 800 attack 1400 defense, Light Magician in defense mode, activating her effect. This allows me to banish two monsters from my graveyard that would otherwise be eligible to perform an xyz summon, although they aren’t attached as materials. And since I just discarded those last term to get rid of your bald little wierdo...”

The Masked Duelist attempts to compose themselves in order to pay attention to Momo’s turn, adding “His name is Simon.”

“Yes yes, anyway. I will discard these two chumps to XYZ summon “Mia, Balance-Keeper.”

Mia, Balance-Keeper
Level 5
Divine Human
Two level 5 monsters
2100 Attack/2100 Defense
At any time, you may banish a monster from your graveyard and pay life equal to 100 times its level; attach that monster to Mia, Balance-Keeper as material.
At any time, you may detach 1 material from this card to activate either of the following effects:
*When a card you control is targeted by an effect of a card controlled by opponent, negate that effect, then destroy it.
*Pay life points until your life total is equal to your opponent’s. Mia, Balance-Keeper gains ATK equal to the life points paid for this effect.


“And of course, since an XYZ summon is a special summon I’ll be taking my 200 life.”
>>
No. 1049825 ID: de15ea
File 166909141923.png - (1.27MB , 879x1400 , Felafafs_Destiny.png )
1049825

“Naturally,” The Masked Duelist adds, nodding and apparently happy that the fox isn’t being sexually charged for a brief period of time.

“Of course,” Momo Sneers, “You’ve been pretty pushy … I think it’s time to teach you a little … ~obedience~” she says as she plays the spell Felafaf’s Destiny. “I feel like we’ve been getting close enough to know what really gets you going, and Felafaf’s Destiny lets me name a spell and banish all copies of it from your Deck, Hand, and Graveyard. And since I really don’t want to give you the chance to clean up, I’m going to name the spell … Unforgettable Memories.

The Masked Duelist stops dead still and slowly looks up at Momo as a card drifts out of their deck and crumbles to ash. They stand in silence for a second as Momo chuckles, before saying “I see. I suspected as much.”

“Oh?” Momo asks, “Suspected what, I wonder?” - her grin spreading impossibly wide.

“That you somehow examined my entire deck during the time you had it,” they respond, “Probably through similar means to those you are using to move your cards around.”

The sultry fox gasps, putting on melodramatic airs of scandal as she tosses herself to the floor, “Heavens, you wouldn’t be accusing little old me of some sort of foul play?!”

“Of course not,” the duelist replies, straightening their deck as it once again fades from view. “You noticed as well as I did - the only punishment is if you are caught cheating. If I can’t prove it, I would only be hurting myself.”

Momo bites her lip as she looks up with a smile forming, suddenly hurling herself across the field as she wraps her arms around her opponent, forcing her breasts against their mask. “Oooh! I knew we were on the same page, there’s nothing quite like an encounter where ~all our rhythms line up together~

The Masked Duelist freezes up, shaking nervously and stammering incoherently before settling on “I-if you don’t mind, you s-still need to f-finish your t-turn.”

Momo licks the forehead of their mask and slinks away, “Of course, then after the match we can *really* get to know each other.”

The Masked Duelist silently attempts to regain their composure, dusting their robes.

“Anyway,” Momo continues, “Where was I - oh yes.”

“I will also activate the Continuous Trap Mana Radiation, which reduces the attack of any monsters you manage to get onto the field by 300 for every face-up spell or trap card on the field during your battle phase, just to be safe. Then I’ll also activate one last continuous trap, Kagami’s Balanced World, which prevents any cards from being destroyed by effects that do not target them!”
“And now I’m feeling pretty comfy, so it’s my turn to take a swing at you. And since you don’t have any monsters, dear sweet little Mia will be attacking your life points directly!”

“Not so fast,” The Masked Duelist interrupts, “I have my own face-down cards! And since you have two monsters and I have none as you attack, I can activate Questionable Shipping - which allows me to send cards equal to your monster’s level from my library to the graveyard, and if there are any creatures in that list I can set one immediately as the attack’s target!”

The top 5 cards of their deck float up in front of the Duelist, with one remaining as the others drift over to fade away at the side. They cast their hand forward dramatically and send the face down card to the field.

“So what?” Momo sneers, “It’s not like whatever creature that is can stop my dear Mia!”

“It’s not supposed to,” the duelist answers. “Since Mia is attacking my face-down card, that means you activate its flip effect! And the Flip Effect of Anerassi of Thorenvald allows me to search my deck for a field spell and put it immediately into play! So for the rest of this battle, we’ll be fighting in THE CITY.

A card flies out of The Masked Duelist’s deck and over to the side of the board, and as it settles in a towering, futuristic city materializes around them. A monument of neon stagnation.

They continue, “The City has two effects. First, it prevents all battle damage to players,” Anerassi disintegrates as they say this, unable to stand up to Mia’s power. “Second,” they add, “It means that whenever a monster is destroyed by either battle or a card effect, they are returned to the library instead of going to the graveyard as normal.” As if to punctuate this, the particulate remains of their monster coalesce into a card which returns itself to their deck.
>>
No. 1049826 ID: de15ea
File 166909151151.jpg - (281.58KB , 2011x3344 , 1121221557_HDR.jpg )
1049826

“Oho!” Momo laughs, “That’s perfectly agreeable to me! I had thought you might be a bit classier, but I don’t mind doing it in an alley.” The masked Duelist raises their hand to object to her phrasing, but Momo barrels through before they can even start, “besides, this is a cute way to try to keep yourself going, but I can tell you’re spent. Like you said, I already know every card in your deck. And without your silly hat spell, there’s nothing in your deck that will let you win in this position. Go ahead and tell me I’m wrong.”

The Masked Duelist stands silently, staring at their hand.

Momo bursts out in laughter. “I’ll even spice things up for you and play this out now. I already know that you plan to try to build up a new board to even up the game, since even if it costs you everything I used my whole hand already. Well, I’ve still got one card. And it’s this one right here!” Momo then plays the continuous spell A Feast of Yang.

“This spell means that I can’t activate cards in my hand, but in exchange whenever I gain life I get to draw a card! Sure I have to pay 1000 life points every turn or it’s destroyed, but what does that matter when there’s nothing you can do? You’re mine now, Duelist! And I’m going to have my way with you for ~as long as I’m enjoying it~”

“Go ahead and take your turn. I can’t wait to see how you squirm for me~”

The Masked Duelist draws to start their turn.

Life Totals:
Momo: 3750
The: 4850

Momo has stated that there is no card in the Masked Duelist’s Deck that can let them win. The Masked Duelists has the right cards for some big plays, but Momo is right and no card in their deck will defeat Momo.
A: There is no way to win
B: There is still a way to win!

>>
No. 1049828 ID: 8483cf

BBBBBBBBlieeB in the heart of the cards!
>>
No. 1049829 ID: e51896

B!
>>
No. 1049841 ID: e5709d

A Ya lose
>>
No. 1049845 ID: 629f2e

B, there is a way to win! You may not have the cards in your to beat her, but maybe you can trick her into beating herself?
>>
No. 1050387 ID: 629f2e
File 166960716736.png - (388.12KB , 530x844 , Phillip The Writer (A).png )
1050387

“These cards have a special attribute to them.” Enid explains. “Rodney, Lillian, Phillip, all of them are actually Tuners.

“Tuners?” Bonnie repeats.

“Aren’t those used for the… Uh, sink-or-summons?” Franklin recounts incorrectly.

Synchro. Synchro monsters go in the extra deck, and to summon them you need one tuner and any number of non-tuners that add up to that character’s level.”

“But wait, you just said all your monsters are tuners.” Bonnie points out.

“That’s true, but they all have a second effect. When there’s an (M) variant of an on-field (E) character in our extra deck, we can use them as a non-tuner to summon it!”

“...I don’t completely get it. Can you show me?” Franklin asks.

“Gladly.” She picks up their extra deck and peruses through for a specific card. “By using Phillip, The Nerd (E)’s effect to treat him as a non-tuner, we can use Lillian, The Athlete (E) as a tuner and synchro summon Phillip, The Dungeon Master (M)!

The on-field twins share a hug, before a bright light envelops them. When it fades, an older-looking Phillip stands tall where once stood two.

…Not that much older though. He’s still a kid. Just a bigger one.

[ Phillip, The Dungeon Master (M), Rapscallion-Type, Tuner, Level 6, ATK: 1500, DEF: 1600 ]

“...Oh, this is from my deck. Doesn’t he have an effect?” Franklin asks, reading the card. “…On summon, we get to special summon a level 3 character card from our deck.”

“Let’s go with Nuki, The Pack-Racc then. We could use more cards.”

A plush toy raccoon appears on the field, carrying a heavy-looking satchel on her back.

[ Nuki, The Pack-Racc, Beast-Warrior-Type, Tuner, Level 3, ATK: 1000, DEF: 1000 ]

“Middle school Phillip can also be treated as a non-tuner to summon adult Phillip, but it’s an optional effect. Since Nuki isn’t a tuner, we can just use Phillip as a tuner and put them together to make his final form, Phillip, The Writer (A)!

[ Phillip, The Writer (A), Spellcaster-Type, Level 9, ATK: 1800, DEF: 2200 ]

“...For all the work it took to get him there, I really thought he’d have bigger numbers.” Bonnie says.

“Attack points aren’t everything. Once a turn, he can negate any effect you activate, and destroy the card that did it.”

She shrugs. “Eh. Still not as cool as I was hoping.”

“Well… We also get to use Nuki’s effect,” Enid explains. “When she’s sent to the Graveyard, we can draw a card.”

She does so, leaving them with three cards in hand. No more summons however, so they proceed to the battle phase. Bonnie’s field is empty, save for traps.

“Let’s attack with Rodney first.” Franklin says, declaring the attack.

“Not so fast! I use my trap card Mouse Trap on the little guy! It’ll negate the attack and destroy him.”

A somewhat expected result, Enid thought. Still, was it worth risking a negation here? It would save Rodney of course, but they wouldn’t have any counter to Enid’s remaining face-down. If it could remove Phillip, they’d be in a really bad place.

“...We’ll let it resolve.” She decides.

Rodney, who had been rushing towards Bonnie to attack her life points, suddenly gets caught in a giant mouse trap before vanishing from the field.

“We can still attack you with Phillip though.”

“With pleasure.” Phillip smiles, ripping multiple sheets of paper out from his bag and launching them towards Bonnie in a scattershot attack. It goes through without interruption, leaving the other girl flinching as her life drops.

[ Bonnie’s LP: 4200 ]

After a short discussion, Franklin sets one card for the pair, and they end their turn.
>>
No. 1050388 ID: 629f2e
File 166960719788.png - (214.58KB , 628x1000 , Big_Happy_Lady_s.png )
1050388

“Hmm, what to do with this hand.” Bonnie mumbles to herself.

She had six cards sitting in her hand. This included the Cute Rat she put back on her last turn, the powerful Tribute Monster she searched off of it, and four other cards after her draw. There was a lot she could do. Almost too much actually, it felt like her brain was overheating trying to think about it.

Thinking is dumb. Powerful monsters deal lots of damage, so she just needs to summon as many of those as possible. That means she needs fodder she can tribute, so that’s step one.

She considers summoning Cute Rat again, but she only gets one normal summon a turn. It would have to survive until her next for her to tribute with it, and its numbers are lower than Phillip’s. That isn’t gonna happen.

“How do I get cards on the field, without making it so that I can’t summon any more…?” She wonders.

As she asks it, there’s a sudden itch in her head, as if the answer had simply appeared before her. She could see a line of interactions that put her in a good position!

The source of this plan came from her pocket. Specifically, a hyper-intelligent rat she kept as a pet was telepathically feeding her the answers. Yes, Rathoney had decided to lend his aid to the monster carrying him, out of respect for taking so many of his brethren into her deck. A game like this was trivial for him to solve.

“I activate One is a Genius!” Bonnie finally declares, flipping up her face-down card. “It lets me summon a rat to the field that does stuff when it gets summoned, use its effect, and then shuffle it back into the deck on resolution.”

The card goes un-negated, Franklin and Enid agreeing that they’d be better deciding whether to negate the effect of whatever gets summoned by the trap.

“If that’s good, then I’m gonna summon Friendly Rat!

A lanky mouse boy appears on Bonnie’s side of the field, giving a friendly wave over to Phillip.

[ Friendly Rat, Beast-Type, Level 2, ATK: 500, DEF: 500 ]

“He lets me special summon another Rat straight from my hand. Then I’ll have enough to tribute for a really big card!”

“...That wouldn’t be good for us, so I think it’d be best to negate that with Phillip.”

Phillip whips out a notebook and starts writing. “I’m editing this scene out.” He declares, sending the friendly rodent off to the graveyard. Bonnie isn’t at all upset about this however.

“I thought you might do that. In fact, I was counting on it!” She holds up a spell card. “Because I can use my spell card Shock Treatment to bring Friendly Rat back from the graveyard!”

“...I didn’t see that coming.” Franklin mutters.

“It’s okay, I would have done the same thing.” Enid assures him. “Let’s just hope she can’t do too much else.”

Friendly Rat reappears, and his effect kicks off just as it did before. The pair don’t respond, allowing Bonnie to place Skinny Rat on the field.

“Now with two tributes on the field, I can summon one of my strongest monsters! I summon Big Happy Lady!

The rats vanish, before a massive woman slams down onto the field, sporting a wide almost unnatural smile.

[ Big Happy Lady, Warrior-Type, Level 8, ATK: 3000, DEF:1800 ]

“...That might not be good for us.” Franklin remarks.

“She can attack every monster you control once a turn.” Bonnie announces. “And I’m not done yet, because I have an equip spell. Shock Treatment II!

“It has a sequel!?” Enid exclaims.

“And it’s an equip spell?” Franklin questions.

“The effects are basically the same, but I can use it every turn as long as my monster’s alive. So I’m gonna put it on Big Happy Lady, and then use its effects to revive Friendly Rat again!”

“You’re getting his effect off again!?” Enid whines, starting to worry that they were going to be out in just two turns.

The Friendly Rat reappears, allowing Cute Rat to come from Bonnie’s hand back to the field.
>>
No. 1050390 ID: 629f2e
File 166960724321.png - (199.38KB , 628x1000 , Strong Fire Bird s.png )
1050390

“Onnnnneeeee more thing.”

“I’m scared to ask, but what is it?” Enid asks.

Double Summon.” Bonnie says, holding a spell of that name. “Wanna guess what it does?”

“...” Enid deadpans.

“...Let’s you summon twice?” Franklin earnestly guesses.

“Correct! And I think my second normal summon should be another big tribute monster. This one’s even stronger, come on out Strong Fire Bird!

The tributes vanish, leaving a torrent of flame, from out of which steps a bird wearing a postman’s hat and jacket.

[ Strong Fire Bird, Beast-Warrior-Type, Level 8, ATK: 3300, DEF:2400 ]

“And she has the best effect of all. Once a turn, I can destroy one of your cards, and I choose Phillip!”

“Wait, she chooses wha–” Phillip speaks, but is unable to finish. The bird runs up to him so quickly that to the rest it seemed that she warped. With a single powerful throw, he’s launched from the arena, vanishing.

“Oh… She has enough damage to win on the field.” Enid mutters.

“True. But we’re still okay, right?” Franklin asks.

“...Well, we aren’t dead just yet.”

“I’m going to the battle phase!” Bonnie shouts. “Big Happy Lady, attack!”

The massive woman begins to charge towards the pair, leaving cracks in the ground as she runs. She comes very close, and then…

…She trips. Falling on her back and groaning.

“...Huh?”

“Sorry, but we used our trap card.” Enid explains. “Polish. Your attacking monster gets flipped to face-down defense position, meaning it can’t attack. You won’t be able to flip her back until your next turn.”

“Aw man.” Bonnie groans.

“Also, equip spells can’t be placed on set cards, so unfortunately for you–” Enid doesn’t even need to finish, as the Shock Treatment II backpack the woman had been wearing gets crushed beneath her weight, breaking into several parts before vanishing. “Yeah, that.”

“Man… Oh well, Bird lady! Attack!”

Unfortunately for Enid and Franklin, they didn’t have anything to get them out of this one. Save for one small chance of course.

“Let’s see if you can get past Update Counter’s effect first. Three coin flips.”

Holographic quarters appear on the field, flipping all at once. The result are one Tails and two Heads, more than enough for the attack to go through.

The bird rushes forward and throws a fiery punch into them (with no actual force behind it of course, on account of being a hologram). The pair still recoil back anyways as their life drops substantially.

[ Enid/Franklin’s LP: 2700 ]

“One more attack like that, and we’re finished.” Enid remarks.

“So we just need to make sure she doesn’t do that again.” Franklin concludes.

“I set one card and end my turn.” Bonnie says, placing her last card face down on the field.

With only two cards in hand, the next draw will determine much for Franklin and Enid’s next turn. Tentatively, they draw one card.

What will their draw be?

A: A monster with an effect in the graveyard
B: A trap card that activates when destroyed by the opponent
C: A spell card that makes you lose the game if you activate it

>>
No. 1050391 ID: 8483cf

C. I want to see this card in action, it's 100% a Franklin card.
>>
No. 1050392 ID: 45ebeb

B.
>>
No. 1050398 ID: e5709d

C, and one of you brats drew a rat with big boobies on it so now Rathoney can't resist.
>>
No. 1050804 ID: f02852

I'm going to go with A. Sounds powerful.
>>
No. 1055231 ID: ccbbb0
File 167556583470.png - (145.88KB , 373x594 , Butthead_Merry_Mutant.png )
1055231

>Place a defensive spell and another monster card, probably for a special summon.

Only a fool would blindly rush into an enemy’s clutches. I will reinforce myself first.
Hmm, this little character feels familiar, I might get some use out of it, but I will need a small offering.


“I start by summoning [Committed Death Cultist]!”

A green man with tentacles on his face and dark robes appears on the table.

“Muahahaha! It is time! It is time! Ults Nausagor Ndeptht! Deliver me from this realm of perdition and pointlessness.” He exclaims, arms stretched upwards.

“...Hm, yes. His ability allows me to sacrifice him for a tribute summon on the same turn he’s summoned, which I will do now.”

“Praise the Death Worm!” He yells ecstatically before bursting into a cloud of dust. Lovely, really.

“And I use it to summon-” Am I really going to say it? Ugh.[Butthead, Merry Mutant] in attack mode.”

“Hi, there! Wanna play again after I kick your butt?” The creature chirps with a friendly wave towards my opponent, Not a disagreeable sentiment admittedly.


[Butthead, Merry Mutant, Five stars, Type: Beast/Mutant, ATK:1000 DEF:1300]


”But that’s not all,” I continue, “I also activate [Lingerie Looting]. This spell card allows me to snatch two cards at random from your hand and employ them for myself.”

“Hey!” Little Selma exclaims as a black bird swoops upwards from the field and snatches two cards, and narrowly not her fingers, away from her and onto my hand. “Now, that’s rude!”

“My apologies! I didn’t think my cards would be so unruly” She pouts a little at this, I wonder if she is rolling her eyes behind those glasses.

At any rate, I should look at the cards I just took. Hmmm, a monster card that grows stronger with each card in the graveyard and… a trap that destroys lewd cards? Seems she’s got a specific type of strategy.

Unwise.
>>
No. 1055233 ID: ccbbb0
File 167556619720.png - (123.97KB , 594x594 , Reveyee_Surprise.png )
1055233

“I proceed to end my turn” Xerin says with a polite smile.

This is rather inconvenient, there were at least two good combos with that monster involved. Selma needs to come up with a new strategy, fast! Otherwise, she will miss out on Penny’s special weekend discount! Her pastries are just heavenly.

Luckily, she does have a couple fallbacks planned ahead for such situations, and she can begin setting up one of them right now!

“I activate [Reveyee Surprise],” she says as she places a spell card on the table, a familiar dog mom rising out of it holding a steaming teapot. “Which prevents any of your trap cards from activating this turn.”

“Bottoms up!” Says the cooking dog as she throws the contents of the pot onto the traps on Xerin’s side of the table. The messy display lingers for a second before both it and the dog wink out of the field. With that done, Selma smiles and lifts another card from her hand.

“I also have this little continuous spell: [Book of Consequences]! Whenever a spell card is activated by either player, a small Consequence creature is summoned on my side of the field in defense mode.”


[Consequence, One star, Type: Construct, ATK: 100 DEF: 100]


“And I will now reveal my monster card, [Grey Fang] and place her in attack mode, which activates her special ability!” She continues very dramatically,


[Grey Fang, Three stars, Type: Villainous Gnoll ATK:1200 DEF:1000


“When switching from face down to attack, her effect removes all monster cards from your hand to the graveyard!”

As Selma finishes saying this, the newly spawned gnoll takes a swig out of a bottle, rises a torch towards her face and spits in the direction of Xerin’s hand, causing the card he took from Selma to burn to a crisp, which is to say it falls off Xerin’s grasp and he irritatedly picks it up again before neatly placing it in the graveyard deck.

“Hm, a fine move, I suppose, but it seems you have run out of cards.” Xerin says as he sits back down, looking at Selma’s empty hands.

“You don’t have many options either, with that one trap you took.” She replies, leaning back on her chair.
“Maybe, but it’s not what you have but how you play them, so goes the saying.”

Selma ends her turn and braces herself; if Xerin doesn’t manage to do anything too disruptive, and she pulls out the right cards from her deck, she will be able to beat her opponent in no time.

And those pastries will taste all the sweeter.
>>
No. 1055235 ID: ccbbb0
File 167556642410.png - (510.27KB , 1280x1280 , duelpounce.png )
1055235

And that’s another two cards discarded from my deck. With the one I’m about to draw, that brings me down to 29, barely a dent. Really, the only way her strategy so far could inconvenience me if this next card turns out to be useless this turn, so let’s see what we ge-

……

Heh, make it 26.

“I activate [Shared Bounty]! This spell card allows me to look for up to three specific cards in my deck, while also giving a full hand of five to my opponent. You are welcome.”

“Remember that also triggers the effect of my Book of Consequences.” She answers.

“Yes, you are welcome for that too.”


A little pink blob with a smiley face appears on Selma’s field, beaming at my creatures. They wave at it in greeting. Cute.

At any rate, with these new cards I can move onto the next step. Simple and unassuming, but if all goes to plan this duel will be over in a moment.

“I continue by equipping my Merry Mutant with [Steve’s Shirt]. Not only does it boost attack and defense by 500 points, but is also equipped on ALL my monsters, provided the one I chose to equip it on originally remains active on the field.”

“Hey, cool!”

“Feh, I never liked civilian clothes.”

[/i]My creatures react to their new piece of clothing while another pink blob appears and smiles as cheerily and dumbly as the first. They stop and wave again. This better not become a habit.[/i]

“Finally, let me just set down a monster card face down, along with a certain little trap card I just go-”


“You are welcome.”

“...Fair enough. I will now direct my Mutant to attack your Grey Fang character, with Steve’s Shirt equipped it is already stronger, but the attack boosted by NCO Arkot’s special ability, Order to Charge: when in attack mode but not attacking himself, NCO arkot grants 500 more attack points to my attacking monsters.”

“Let’s go, you worm! You want to live forever?” The small alien yells.

“Sure!”

“No, you don’t! Shut up and give me twenty…. No, wait, I mean CHARGE!”

The belligerent critter produces a whistle and blows it as the jolly freak lounges forward towards Grey Fang. As soon as the strike connects, the enemy monster shatters into fading shards of glass.

Good. That leaves my opponent with…. Did a small box just appear in the middle of the field showing the life points trickling down? That’s convenient.


--------------


“That’s convenient.” Selma remarks as the life point counter disappears.

“Agreed,” Xerin answers cordially, “ I believe that will be the end of my turn, I hope you can make good use of your new hand.”

“Thanks.”

“Again, you are welcome.” He smiles warmly.

Whatever. Selma focuses back on her cards and thinks for a moment.

She is now down to 3200 points. A bad blow, but still manageable. She has plenty of choices, but she will have to make the right one if she wants to level the playing field. Maybe do so literally with a big monster? Or maybe a sweeping card? Or she could try for a more complex strategy with long term pay off? Damn, things were never this tense when she was invited to beach parties.



What should Selma do next?


>Sacrifice two monsters to summon a very powerful one to defend herself?

>Use a spell card that sweeps the field clean and try a new tactic?

>Use another continuous spell card and a couple trap cards in preparation of a combo?
>>
No. 1055242 ID: 8483cf

Option 2. When in doubt, board wipe, board wipe, board wipe!
>>
No. 1055246 ID: 20549c

B. Get some cleaning supplies and wipe the battle field cleab
>>
No. 1059037 ID: 629f2e
File 167925254581.png - (557.67KB , 628x1000 , Reboot s.png )
1059037

[ Don’t Play This Card - Normal Spell - Immediately lose the game. You must activate this card on the third turn after it enters your hand if it is still there. You may not set this card. ]

Enid reads the effect of this spell once, and then twice. Their draw had not been favorable. She turns to Franklin with a pleading expression, the boy at her side seeming a touch bashful after seeing their draw.

“I just want to know why.”

“Um… I just thought that if I could put it in the opponent’s hand somehow, it would be one way to win?”

She sighs, patting his arm. “Alright, there was an idea at least. That makes me feel a little better. Unfortunately, we don’t have any cards that’ll let us do that right now.”

With that card ruled out, there were only two left they could rely on in their hand. A character card sharing a name with one of them, and a spell they had held onto since their first turn. It was a simple decision.

“We activate the spell card Reboot!” Enid declares. Every card on the field starts glowing, before puffing away into orbs of light. Bonnie gasps.

“You destroyed them all!?” As she says this, the cards in her hand start to glow as well. Enid’s and Franklin’s do the same.

Enid explains, “we’re wiping the board clean. All cards on the field and in our hands go to the graveyard, and we both get to draw five new cards.” Franklin hands her five new ones. “It’s not a complete redo, there are still cards in our graveyards, and we don’t gain any life points back.”

Bonnie discards her hand of zero cards, and eagerly draws a whole new hand. Her empty field has her worried though. “Can’t you just summon a monster and punch me in the face now?”

She shakes her head. “As easy as that would make it, no. We have to skip our battle phase the turn we use Reboot.”

“Ahhh. Okay, that’s fine then. I’ll just crush you with my new cards!”

A small white creature sticks its nose out from Bonnie’s pocket. The large-headed mouse creeps up her arm, staring down at Bonnie’s cards from her shoulder. Franklin is the first to notice.

“What is that?”

“Huh?” She glances over. “Oh! This is Rathoney. Do you wanna pet him? His fur feels nice.”

“...I think I would like that.”

“Hey, can I have a turn too? Um, after our match?” Enid asks.

“Sure! There’s plenty of him to go around.” She scratches the little guy with her gloved finger. “Did you get tired of sitting in that tiny little pocket?”

Without warning, the rat leaps at her other hand, grabbing two of Bonnie’s cards in his mouth before scurrying back to his hiding space.

“Wh– Hey! Rathoney, I need those to kick butt and win the duel. Give ‘em back.” She digs into said pocket, only for the mouse to nimbly run up her arm to dodge the grab.

What follows is a peculiar skirmish, as Rathoney continually dodges and weaves around Bonnie’s body, keeping a tight grip on his stolen treasures. Perhaps if he wasn’t so small and adorable, it would be appreciated as the epic struggle he saw it as, rather than a pet randomly acting out.

Bonnie eventually catches him when he tries to land on her shoulder again, smushing him down in restraint. The cards are retrieved, and the critter is detained.

“Jeez, why did you want these cards so badly?” She looks them over for a few seconds, before a lightbulb goes off in her head. “Awww, is it because you think they look pretty?”

The rodent’s fur takes on a red tint. Bonnie giggles. “Daww, don’t worry. You can play with these ones after the match, okay?” She scritches the little guy behind the ears, calming him.
>>
No. 1059038 ID: 629f2e
File 167925259101.png - (24.67KB , 700x666 , Inappropriate Content.png )
1059038

“Ahem.” A small voice makes themselves known from above. Pan smiling down at the group. “Is everything okay? I noticed there was a bit of a commotion going on, and there haven’t been any plays in the past couple minutes.”

Bonnie shoots the feathery fluffball a thumbs up.“Everything’s good! Rathoney was just stealing my cards because he thought they were hot.”

Hot…? May I see them for a moment?”

“...You want to check out my monsters too?”

“TH-THAT ISN’T WHAT I MEANT!”

Pan flutters flusteredly down to peek at her hand. Their eyes nearly bulge out of their head, as they throw a wing over the cards in question.

I-Inappropriate Content! Where did you get these!?”

“From the draft? Actually, wait, I think I traded with the busty fox lady for these ones.”

“What!? But–”

Um…” Enid’s voice cuts in. All eyes turn toward her. “It’s still our turn? Can we…?” She motions to her cards.

Pan sighs, running their wings over their head. “It’s okay, it’s fine. You may proceed, Enid!” The bird plucks the offending cards in their beak. “I’ll tape over the images and adjust the projection settings. It should be finished before your turn.”
>>
No. 1059039 ID: 629f2e
File 167925263509.png - (316.78KB , 497x792 , Franklin The Alien (E).png )
1059039

As Pan flies away, the duel resumes.

“Before anything else, do you remember when we discarded our hand?” Enid asks.

“Nope!”

*sigh* We had two cards in our hand when we casted Reboot.”

“Oh yeah. What about that?”

She motions to her partner. “One of the cards we discarded was Franklin, The Alien (E). He has an effect in the graveyard that lets us revive him in attack position once per turn by halving our life points. And we’re going to do just that!”

[ Franklin, The Alien (E), Rapscallion-Type, Level 3, ATK: 1000, DEF: 500 ]

Franklin (the real one, not the projection) counts on his fingers, struggling. “...What is half of 2700?”

“...I don’t know either.” Enid admits, raising her own fingers to count. They figure it out eventually.

[ Enid/Franklin’s LP: 1350 ]

Franklin is insistent on one particular play, to which Enid agrees. Though she tells him, “you should say this one, it’ll sound weird if I do.” He nods, and begins explaining.

“We’ll shuffle seven cards from the graveyard back into our deck to special summon Enid, The Homeschooler (E). Her effect says we can do that.”

[ Enid, The Homeschooler (E), Rapscallion-Type, Level 3, ATK: 800, DEF: 1000 ]

A diminutive girl materializes beside Franklin. They share a wave before returning to idle poses.

“Man, I wish I had a card of myself.” Bonnie comments, pouting. “Do you think we could make our card selves duel in the middle of our duel if we did?”

“That would get confusing.” He mutters, holding his head.

“We aren’t through all our special summons yet.” Enid explains. “Since we have at least one level three monster on the field, we can special summon Louie, The Class President (E) from our hand!”

[ Louie, The Class President (E), Rapscallion-Type, Level 3, ATK: 300, DEF:1600 ]

A chubby Asian boy makes for a trio on the field. He paces around his space nervously.

“We also still get to normal summon.” Franklin points out, placing a card on the table. “That lets us bring out Clive, The Antisocialite (E).

[ Clive, The Antisocialite (E), Rapscallion-Type, Level 3, ATK: 1400, DEF: 200 ]

As Clive spawns, the rest of the field all take one wide step away from him.

“Wow, that’s a lot of monsters. Gonna make them older and stronger again?” Bonnie asks. Enid just shakes her head.

“No. We’ll set two cards facedown, and end our turn.”

“...Are you sure? You have them all in attack position y’know. Even Louie, and he only has 300 points!”

“Wait what!?” The holographic Louie on the field shouts. “Can we talk about this?”

“Nnnnope! My turn!”
>>
No. 1059040 ID: 629f2e
File 167925267593.png - (154.22KB , 628x1000 , The Other is Insane s.png )
1059040

There’s a small delay before Pan returns with Bonnie’s edited cards. Once they do, Bonnie begins her turn in earnest.

“I activate the spell card ...The Other Is Insane! I can send any “Rat” from my deck to the graveyard and make it do stuff there.”

She flips through her deck. “No. Nope. Not helpful– Ooh! I’ll send Trash Rat.

A green rat in shoddy clothes appears over the graveyard, rummaging through a garbage can. “When he gets sent there, I can bring a rat back to life, and you know what that means?” She doesn’t even say it, as Trash Rat pulls the Friendly Rat out of his can and tosses him onto the field in defense position.

“Annnd now we get to do this combo again. Friendly Rat lets me special summon from the hand, and I choose Hot Rat!

[ Hot Rat, Beast-Type, Level 2, ATK: 1500, DEF: 500 ]

A small white mouse with black hair spawns on the field, shooting Friendly Rat a wink. “Does Hot Rat have an effect… Yup! She also lets me summon a rat from the hand, but I have to do a tribute summon before my turn ends or they both go to the graveyard. I’ll just use Holy Rat.”

[ Holy Rat, Beast-Type, Level 2, ATK: 0, DEF: 2000 ]

Hot Rat seductively motions for someone to come to her, and from the hand a gray mouse in religious garb appears. She approaches Hot Rat, and the two share a hug. It’s…

Well it starts tender, but then it gets weirdly stiff. They both glance around, as if waiting for something.

“...Uh, this is a bit awkward.” Hot Rat says, chuckling. “Usually we’re supposed to do… keep going. The bird disabled the next part though.”

“I… We could still kiss?” Holy Rat suggests.

They share a wholesome, not at all inappropriate, peck on the lips. Both then vanish into white light before it can become anything more.

“With those two combined, I summon the monster that’ll probably win me the game: Big Honor Gecko!

[ Big Honor Gecko, Dragon-Type, Level 8, ATK: 2900, DEF:2500 ]

An anthropomorphic green dragon takes to the field, carrying a sword in her hand, and with knives strapped to her legs.

“She gets to attack all of your monsters once a turn, so that’s pretty much game I think. But just to be safe, I cast Benetrope!

A pill appears in front of her, which she pops straight into her mouth. With a flex, her already nice muscles bulge larger with strength.

“She gains 500 ATK, and is immune to other cards’ effects for the rest of the turn. That means when she attacks, it should definitely go through.”

Franklin is counting on his fingers with worry, as Bonnie revs up to end the duel. “Battle phase! I attack Louie, The Class President with Big Honor Gecko for game! Flaming Sword Slash!
>>
No. 1059041 ID: 629f2e
File 167925271673.png - (182.62KB , 628x1000 , Dogpile s.png )
1059041

As the dragon breathes flame onto their blade and sprints towards the cowering class president, Franklin finally pipes up. “...Oh, I think we’re still fine actually. Right Enid?”

She smiles. “Cutting it really close, but barely. We activate the trap card Dogpile!

Bonnie shrugs. “Uhhh, my monster is immune, so I don’t think that changes anything.”

“Well yeah, we can’t use a trap on her, but she isn’t the target of this. For the rest of this turn, all characters on our side of the field with less than 1500 ATK fight as one, and that’s ALL of them!”

“Ten plus eight plus three plus fourteen…” Franklin counts again. “...3500

Bonnie starts sweating, doing her own math. “Gecko had 2900, and then I added 500 because of Benetrope, sooooo…”

She doesn’t need to think about it thankfully, as the scene that plays out on the field answers it for her. Gecko trips over the cowering Louie, and while she’s down all four children pile on top of her, pinning her to the ground until she finally taps out. Once freed, she walks off the field defeatedly, flicking a spark at Bonnie for the measly 100 damage she takes.

[ Bonnie’s LP: 4100 ]

“Aw man…” Bonnie mutters, shaking her head sadly as her cool dragon leaves. “Oh well, I guess I end my turn there.”

“We draw.” Franklin says, before looking at their new card. “...Oh, so does he.”

Bonnie blinks. “Huh? What’s that mean?”

“Should we…?” Enid nods, so he proceeds. “We summon Roger, The Artist (E) in attack mode.”

[ Roger, The Artist (E), Rapscallion-Type, Level 3, ATK: 900, DEF: 500 ]

“I think it’s time that we end this.” Enid says.

Bonnie starts to count, before Rathoney puts the numbers in her head to save them time. “I don’t think you can do that this turn. Since Friendly Rat is in defense, you’re gonna come up just a little bit short no matter what order you attack in.”

“Maybe, but we’d have game if he was gone, and getting rid of him is doable. We use our spell card!”

She flips up her last face down, revealing The Flames of Tragedy.

“If we use this in our hand, then it lets us send a card from it to the graveyard. If it’s been set on the field however, then it has another effect we can use, and that’s to send a card on the field to the graveyard.”

“We choose Friendly Rat.” Franklin finishes.

As the mouse vanishes, Bonnie looks out at her empty field and her opponent’s stacked one.

“Uh oh.”
>>
No. 1059042 ID: 629f2e
File 167925280478.gif - (3.95MB , 560x420 , Enid and Franklin VS Bonnie Conclusion.gif )
1059042

“I think we have it.” Franklin says. “But let’s be sure. We enter the battle phase and attack your life points directly.”

“Louie! Roger! Clive!” Enid calls out, as each kid rushes down the field and launches a blow into Bonnie. No real force behind any of them, as they’re merely projections, yet she’s blown back by each one.

Franklin!” Enid calls.

Enid!” Franklin calls.

They both rush Bonnie to land the final blow together. With one last punch, Bonnie’s life points go down to nil.

[ Bonnie’s LP: 0 ]
[ Winner: Enid & Franklin]


“...Rats.” Bonnie says.

Franklin and Enid clap their hands together in celebration. “We actually won!”

“I knew we could.” Franklin says. “...I think.”

“I wasn’t as sure, but it feels good. We had a few mistakes, but maybe we aren’t as bad at this as I thought.”

“...I mean, you aren’t at least.”

“Hey, you made some fine plays too. I bet you would have been fine… Mostly.” She looks at their deck. “Maaaayyybbe we can make some changes to this between rounds.”

“Yeah, you could use some more big strong guys!” Bonnie points out, having walked over while they were talking. “I can probably lend you a couple of mine, now that I’m out of the tournament thing.”

She holds her hand out, shaking both Enid’s and Franklin’s in order. “That was fun. Let’s play again, so that I can beat you next time.”

As friendly words are exchanged, and Rathoney is passed around for all to enjoy, Pan marks the results from above, moving Franklin and Enid on to the next round of the bracket.
>>
No. 1060737 ID: 629f2e
File 168074833731.png - (789.09KB , 2080x1080 , duelbyebye.png )
1060737

>Board wipe!
Selma has decided, with her opponent already landing a hit and preparing some dark stratagem, there is only one option, the nuclear option.
“Get ready, bucko.”- She says, a hint of grim resolve showing on her face as she grabs a spell card from her hand, -”I cast [Angel’s Rise], which sends all cards on the field to the graveyard!”

A beam of incandescent light erupts from the uplifted card, a myriad of screams and “uh nuuu”s springing from the characters on the field as it washes over each of them indiscriminately.

In a moment of oversight, or perhaps machiavellian ruthlessness, Selma’s spell card triggers the effect of her Book of Consequences. The fragile pink creature springing forth has only a precious few seconds to gaze upon the obliteration around it as it, too, falls upon its innocent frame, its last moments encompassed of confusion, fear and pain. And light. Light of power unremitting, both blind and blinding, triggering the little blob’s life and bringing forth its demise.

Anyway.

-”Bold move,”- Xerin remarks, “is ruining your own setup worth taking away mine?”

-”I get the feeling it is,”- Selma says confidently, -”and I’ve got the perfect character to summon after that scorched earth show: General Halsner.

[General Halsner, four stars, Type: Military/Commander 900 ATK 900 DEF]

-”Four star general? Come on!”- Halsner protests as his image appears onto the field.

-”...Does he always say that when he spawns?” Xerin asks.

Selma shrugs, -“Don’t know. First time my cards talk back.”

-”Right; of course.”

-”And before you ask, no, the reason he’s in attack mode is not poor planning, but because of his special effect: when on the offensive, General Halsner gains 200 ATK for every Beast-type monster on the opponent’s field.”

-”Interesting strategy, considering there are no…”- Xerin’s eyes widen for a moment in realization. “Oh.”

-”Yup, it is also to attack you.”

In a swift motion, Halsner whips out a pistol from his holster and fires at the looming figure of his mistress’ opponent. Xerin feels a pinprick on his chest as his life points go down to 3100.

-”A fine move.”- He smiles courteously.

-”Not quite done yet. Before my turn ends, I will also place a trap card on the table.”

-”....And then?”

-”And then I end my turn.”- Selma says, arms folded.

Xerin groans.
>>
No. 1060738 ID: 629f2e
File 168074843855.png - (345.55KB , 628x1000 , Icaro the Vain Volin s.png )
1060738

This woman is going to make me age a century in an hour. Not only has she delayed my offensive, she is terribly smug about it. I admit I underestimated her in thinking she was a one-trick squirrel. She is clearly cooking up something with that attack-gaining card.

No matter, switching strategies just so happens to be my area of expertise. I just need the right resources to bring my grand stratagem home.

-“You alright there, bud?”

-”Yes, pardon me, I was thinking to myself. Let me draw a card so we may carry on.”

A card that might just help me turn this match around, by the looks of it.

“Now then, I’ll summon [Icaro, the Vain Volin] in attack mode.”

[Icaro, the Vain Volin, four stars, Type: Beast/Chucklefuck, 1200 ATK 500 DEF]

-“Hello there, ladies.”- A mercifully loinclothed version of the fish-lizard in the card exclaims as it appears, winking and flexing his muscles.

-”I am a man.”- The furless general replies.

-”My apologies, bro, didn’t mean to offend. What say I make it up to you with some drinks after the fight?”

The appearance of my “Beast” card raises the attack on Halsner, though with that vein on his head, he likely wishes he could raise it further.

-“Ahem. Of course, even though he’s gained 200 more attack, your General is still not as strong as my Vain Volin, and so…”- I wave a hand in invitation.

-”....So?”

Idiot.

-“And so you attack!”

-“Ooooh, right! Well, no hard feelings, man, hope you are still up for that drink!”

The fish-lizard sprints towards the general, big dumb grin on his face and fist raised for a haymaker. However…

“You just activated my trap card!”

..that haymaker won’t land.

-“[Vampiric succ], not only does it destroy your monster card, it gives all of its attack and defense points to one of mine.”

-”Please, don’t refer to us as monsters, ma’am, we are simply characters!”- The Vain Volin in irritation, now amusingly running in place.

-”A character with two dicks?”

-”Hey, now!”

-“Yeah, I got a look at the volin card set while making my deck. You guys are something.”

-”I’ll have you know my double phallus is the pride of-”, The two-pronged being never finishes as what appears to be a man-sized mosquito lady emerges from the trap card and… does what mosquitos tend to do.

-”AIIIIIGGGGHH!”

-”That…has got to count as a war crime.”- General Halsner remarks after a moment. I concur.

-”....Goodness,”- ]I finally say, -“But… even so, my turn is not yet done. You see, Icaro’s special effect is that, should he be killed by a trap card, he adds two “tribute tokens'' that can be spent like two monster cards for tribute summons.”

-”..Damn, I knew I had forgotten something about that card.”

-”Myes, I’m sure that… volin card set was rather distracting,”- I take a second to see her pout before continuing, -“And it is now my turn to defend myself with not one, but two trap cards.”

-”And then you end-?”

-”-My turn? Of course, it would be rude to delay, wouldn’t it?”

I think I may be enjoying this too much.
>>
No. 1060739 ID: 629f2e
File 168074850370.png - (774.35KB , 1256x2000 , Sekiel Prophet of the Bean.png )
1060739

The tension around the table could be cut with a knife, as the pressure starts falling upon Selma stronger than ever. Sure, she may have landed a good hit on her rival just now, but far from unfazed, he is once again preparing for something. Selma’s new strategy will have to be multifaceted in order to beat someone so persistent.

Luckily, Selma knows how to plan ahead. She draws a card, adjusts her glasses, and gets to work.

-“I’ll now cast [Botched Ritual], which allows me to summon a monster from my deck to the field at the cost 1000 life points, and I summon [Astrolysis] in attack mode, and I also use [Quest Necromancy] to bring back a monster I discarded: [Nickel] which I put in the field in defense mode. This activates their special effect, which gives them 500 more attack and defense each when they are together! After that, I cast [Sunfish Serum] to make Astrolysis indestructible for one turn.”

[Astrolysis, 6 stars, Type: Military/Clone, 2000 ATK 1000 DEF]

[Nickel, 6 stars, Type: Military/Clone, 1000 ATK 2000 DEF]

That was wild. Selma made so many moves, Xerin could barely keep up! She leans on her chair and takes a long breath.

-“And then I attack with her.”- She quickly squeaks.

Astrolysis raises her longsword, and Selma smiles. With a nice 2500 attack points and temporary immunity to the word “die”, her card will definitely put her opponent on his last legs. Astrolysis’s face lights up in a more literal way as her blade strikes the table and the wood it hits detonates; a loud, raging fire sprouting from it and spreading in a perfectly straight line towards Xerin.

-”Trap card.”- Xerin says calmly, and the approaching flames burst harmlessly into a plume of smoke, a mere inch from his chest.

As the smoke clears, it reveals a disturbing sight: a barrier of pale, twisting chitin easily twice as wide as Astrolysis, with a serene, goat-like face affixed on its center.

-”You’ve activated [Wall of Flesh],”- Xerin continues, “which becomes a 0 ATK/3000 DEF monster card that shields me from being caught like a bat in the torchlight.”

-”A what?”- Selma raises an eyebrow.

-“Ah, sorry, it is an expression we use where I’m from.”- Xerin shrugs apologetically, -”At any rate I don’t think your other monster will be able to penetrate its defenses, and since you are now empty-handed, that doesn’t leave you with many options.”

Selma stares into her opponent’s eyes for a moment, betraying no emotion. Inwardly, she’s none too happy at being sabotaged so simply, but it was her choice to attack; it was hasty to think that her opponent would not have an ace up his sleeve besides card destruction. If anything, she got off easy. Finally, she speaks.

“Nice move.”- Selma’s lips quirk into a little smile -”I put my monsters in defense mode and I end my turn.”

“Very well!”- Xerin smiles back, whether in earnest or sarcasm, Selma can’t quite tell, -”Then I believe it’s we begin wrapping up our little duel. It’s been a pleasure, really.”

Selma begins to think it was sarcasm.

-”I now use my two tribute tokens to summon [Sekiel, Prophet of The Bean].

[Sekiel, Prophet of The Bean, 8 stars, Type: Beast/Chucklefuck, 1200 ATK 1500 DEF]

-”Greetings, lost souls! Have you heard the good word today?”- A short possum fellow carrying a book with bright crayon scribbles in it gestures wildly as he gives a wry smile to Selma’s monsters.

Monsters that will provide me the key to victory. This charlatan creature’s special ability is to sway an enemy monster to my side for as long as he remains active in the field. The only thing left is to pick the one most suitable.

On one hand, [General Halsner] has once again gained 200 attack points from me summoning another Beast-type, giving him 2500 attack points total, the same as [Astrolysis].

On the other, taking [Astrolysis] away will break her combo with [Nickel], lowering their ATK and DEF back to normal, which might be beneficial should Selma have a more long-term plan involving them both. Doubtfult, but given how many resources she spent on them this last turn to make them work, I wouldn’t put it past her.

So then, which card should I claim for myself?

>General Halsner

>Astrolysis

>Nickel
>>
No. 1060876 ID: e98f33
File 168084659575.jpg - (507.06KB , 2894x3410 , 0517221731_HDR.jpg )
1060876

The Masked Duelist draws a card from their deck, seeking a way out. Unfortunately, without Unforgettable Memories, there really is no card in their deck can defeat Momo’s magnificent Mia; Momo makes out much mask-muffled muttering, musing, mumbling, and…

“Moaning! Oh, my!” Momo coos. “I do love the sounds you make when you squirm. This is getting better and better.”

The Masked Duelist coughs and forces out a flustered response. “Ahem. I activate the Continuous Trap card, Animus Engine.

A massive midair machine materializes behind the duelist, but its great gear sits lifeless.

“For each 100 life I lose, it gains fuel in the form of one soul counter. I may special summon a level 4 or lower monster from my hand by removing soul counters equal to its level. Though, monsters summoned in this way cannot be used as tribute.”

“No beefy monsters?” Momo sighs. “And here I was hoping for a big, strong challenger to sweep my off my feet.”

“Every card counts,” the duelist says, “No matter how dire the situation. I normal summon my second copy of Radiant Flare from my hand. Additionally, I activate the effect of a monster card I sent to the graveyard last turn when I activated Questionable Shipping. Slater, Consummate Butler is a Level 3 monster that I may return to my hand by paying 600 life points and causing you to gain 300 life points as well.”

600 life points’ worth of souls flow into the Animus Engine’s inlaid metal and the gear begins to tick.

“More life for me, and more toys for Mia to play with? Those do go hand in hand,” Momo giggles, gaining 200 additional life from Expedited Delivery Fee and drawing two cards thanks to A Feast of Yang. “I always tell Mia she needs to stock up…”

The Masked Duelist doesn’t respond to Momo. Instead, they XYZ Summon Flare Goldlust, a massive mechanical dragon wizard with the wings of a jumbo jet and claws made of sawblades.

“Now that’s a big boy,” Momo says, gaining even more life with a smug grin with the special summon. The life gain is filling her with lustrous energy, and slowly but surely the Yang spirit grows in size with it. “Go on, tell me how he shoots his load! It won’t change the outcome of the match, of course, but I could use the excitement.”

“Flare Goldlust can detach one material in order to do any one of three things,” says The Masked Duelist, “And they are each once per turn: he can attack an additional time in the battle phase; he can target one card on the battlefield to destroy it; and finally, he can return one monster with a level less than or equal to the level of the detached material from my graveyard to my hand. I’ll use the last effect first, detaching the Radiant Flare that’s equipped to him in order to return my first copy of Radiant Flare from my graveyard to my hand. And then, I’ll detach Slater, Consummate Butler as well in order to target and destroy a monster.”

A cluster of heat-seeking missiles fly out of the Dragon Wizard’s maw and find the hottest target around.

“Oh?” Momo lets out a peal of laughter. “You want to give Mia a pounding? Well, too bad. I’m stuffed with life and have more cards in my graveyard than I have suitors. I’m positively overflowing with cards to attach to Mia to defend her. Your plan won’t work!”

“Flare Goldlust isn’t aiming for Mia,” The Masked Duelist says. “He’s aiming for… himself!”

The Masked Duelist targets Flare’s effect to destroy himself. Because of THE CITY’s effect, Flare doesn’t go to the graveyard; he goes to the deck instead. However, as Flare Goldlust is an XYZ monster, this sends him not to the deck, but the extra deck.

“Come again?” Momo asks, confused. “Why would you blow your own monster?”

The Masked Duelist refuses to indulge her. Instead, he activates Slater’s effect once more: having been sent to the graveyard by being detached as an XYZ material, Slater can again be brought to The Masked Duelist’s hand by paying 600 life points and granting Momo 300. Fueled by the 600 LP loss, the great gear of Animus Engine behind the duelist clicks to life once more, and the momentum of spent souls special summons Slater and the second copy of Radiant Flare from the Masked Duelist’s hand that had been brought back by Flare Goldlust’s third ability.

“You just spent 600 life points to summon those two tiny monsters,” Momo says, gaining even more life and drawing two more cards. “Are you going to finish yourself off instead of letting me enjoy playing with you? Don’t be a sore loser. You can be sore tomorrow morning!”

>==>
>>
No. 1060877 ID: e98f33
File 168084665646.jpg - (159.58KB , 1488x1493 , 0406231044_HDR.jpg )
1060877

Once more, just as before, The Masked Duelist XYZ summons Flare Goldlust, causing Momo to gain life again and draw a card. The newly summoned Flare Goldlust that has two new attached materials can use his abilities again since once-per-turn effects apply once per card, and are refreshed if they get sent to another location like the extra deck.

“I see what you’re doing there,” Momo says. “You’re going to try and get rid of Expedited Delivery by ending the turn when I have more life than you. Well, too bad! That won’t matter! I’ve got so much life and so many cards, I’m spoiled for choice! I have a counter for everything in your deck!”

The Animus Engine is positively humming, its great gear clicking at high speed as The Masked Duelist accelerates their play. It’s chaos: jumbo jet-winged dragons fire missiles at themselves, robotic butlers and flame-breathing dragons are revived, killed and revived just to get killed again, and Momo gorges herself on cards and life points in a hedonistic frenzy. The Masked Duelist’s life points plummets as Momo’s skyrockets.

As she feasts and grows, the pleasure wanes. “I’m full of life and flush with cards, but something is missing.” Momo pauses. “What is it?”

The Masked Duelist tilts their head toward Momo’s deck.

Her cards are nearly gone.

“Oh!” Momo cries out. “You won’t finish me that easily. It’s time to put an end to your silly little combo.” She pulls a card from her hand to interrupt.

The Masked Duelist wags a finger at Momo. “No, no, no. Not while you’re Feasting on Yang.

Momo gasps. The duelist is right: she can’t activate any cards from her hand, and her spell and trap zones are full. She’s bound herself with absolutely no way out. She’s utterly at The Masked Duelist’s mercy!

“Oh, no~~~~!” Momo mock-ties her arms behind her back and thrusts out her rapidly-expanding chest. “I’m trapped! Poor me! I’m utterly helpless! Anything you want to do, there’s nothing I could do to stop you!”
>>
No. 1060879 ID: e98f33
File 168084672911.jpg - (127.39KB , 1446x1425 , 0406231154_HDR.jpg )
1060879

Momo was, in fact, correct. There was no card in The Masked Duelist’s deck that would let them win. That card was in Momo’s deck the whole time.

The Masked Duelist fumbles a card for a brief moment and nervously resumes the cycle of summoning, detaching, and paying LP to keep the Animus Engine humming and Momo’s life-gaining, card-drawing loop continuing until, at last, Momo’s deck runs out of cards just as she reaches her peak size.

Momo lets out a high-pitched, squealing scream as beams of light shoot from her towering form, building in intensity until the dam breaks. White light erupts from her entire body, Momo’s cries building with each wave, building up to a final, deafening explosion so powerful it knocks The Masked Duelist’s mask off, cracking it on the floor.

Inside the thick cloud of dust kicked up by the explosion, there’s naught left of Momo but a tiny gremlin. She fluffs her tail, jingles her bell and bounds over to The (un)Masked Duelist with a grin, getting a clear look as they reach for their cracked mask.

“Finally got a peek under those robes,” Momo giggles. “Guess that means you get a peek under mine, too. There’s lots we can do before the dust settles and those birds can see enough to stop us. You sure finish strong.”

The Masked Duelist places their mask back on, but there’s a glimmer of a smile just before they do. “Was it good for you, too?”

“You know it, hot stuff.”

“You aren’t half bad at this game,” says the duelist. “You probably would have won if you hadn’t gotten overconfident.”

“Tsk,” Momo scoffs. “What fun is it if I can’t play the way I want to?”

“You certainly did look to be having fun…”

“I sure did. Oh, and…” she gives a wink with her teeth, somehow. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep your secret. I’d like to see what your plan is when you win this whole thing.”

“Thank you,” the duelist says, and gives Momo a gentle stroke down her back.

The Masked Duelist has defeated Momo!
>>
No. 1060880 ID: 6eb432

>>1060739
Nickel!
>>
No. 1060883 ID: 629f2e

I'll also vote for Nickel, for the simple fact that a 2000 ATK monster attacking into a 2000 DEF monster doesn't destroy it. Selma's initial strategy seemed to be decking you out, so she's less likely to have cards that'll naturally increase her monster's attack. Having Nickel on your side puts you in a safer position, where you're less likely to lose to battle damage. Even General Halsner can only get up to 1900, unless YOU start playing Beast-type monsters as well.

Now, there is an obvious weak point in this reasoning. A couple actually, with the first being the extra deck. Her strategy so far hasn't made much use of it so far, so she may have some backup plans stashed away in there that could easily overcome a simple 2K wall. Any removal effect would do it, or an effect that changes control over a creature, one that buffs her monsters or nerfs yours, etc.

The second weak point is: If Selma starts trying to deck you out again, having a high DEF monster on the field doesn't really stop that.

Still, with the situation as is, I think taking a safer strategy will do you better here. It takes many cards to pull off a successful deck-out, so simple beatdown is the strategy you really need to worry about. With that in mind, choosing Nickel is the correct answer.
>>
No. 1060932 ID: 58dd24

>>1060879
wait... why couldn't Momo use The Reckless Champion Exiled to discard two of her many many cards and banish a monster permanently to break the combo?
>>
No. 1060934 ID: 629f2e

>>1060932

We didn't get the exact card text, so it may be that the effect can only be used once, and then its prevention lasts so long as it stays on the field.
>>
No. 1060952 ID: e98f33

>>1060932
>>1060934

The second post here is correct, the full text of The Reckless Champion: Exiled states "As an additional cost to activate The Reckless Champion Exiled, discard two cards; Target one monster that was special summoned, banish it. As long as this card remains face-up on the field, Monsters with the same name as the banished monster can not be summoned or placed on the field." After Simon - who Sees the End was banished by the effect of the card, it functioned as a prison that persisted on the field in order to prevent the summoning of any further copies of Simon.
>>
No. 1062937 ID: 3b86e0
File 168349082367.png - (117.60KB , 372x594 , Speedy_Update.png )
1062937

>Nickel!
>I think taking a safer strategy will do you better here.

You make a good enough argument, perhaps the way to victory opens through the most unassuming path.

-“Sekiel’s special effect is to make an enemy monster switch sides as long as he is in play, and I choose..” I point my finger at the table, -“..Nickel.”


-“Come to me, child, a new and better life awaits in our fold!”- The diminutive preacher stretches his arm in invitation.

The even smaller soldier does not change her expression as she replies, -“A better life is not easily gained, life is struggle, not quick rewa-”

“We have a duck shooting arcade!”- The possum interrupts.

The clone soldier stares silently at this for a moment, before she begins to walk forward. Her tall companion clenches her teeth reproachfully at her; Nickel simply gives her a shrug as she makes her way to my side of the field.

-“And since that lowers the attack and defense of Nickel back to default and much weaker than your General, I think it prudent to give my monsters a boost.”- I say, –“To this effect, I activate Soul Coalescence. This spell card grants 100 attack and defense points to all my monsters for every monster card in my graveyard, provided it is not removed from play.”

-“Don’t worry, I’m not wiping the board again.” – Little Selma says while resting her head on her fist, catching my meaning.

-“I should hope so. Though it did turn out well for me, as all monsters under my control now have… 700 extra points.”- I say as I finish parsing through the stack of cards, -“Hmm, still falling a bit short of the attack of your own warriors, sadly, so I will end my turn.”

Selma’s brow furrows for a moment before drawing a card; I've left her in a bad situation, as she has no other cards in her hand, even my Shared Bounty didn’t help her for long. Still, I can see from her changed expression that the card she drew is not a bad one, the question is…

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Should I use it?” Selma raises an eyebrow in question, it would certainly help her a lot in the long run, and give her a means to return to her milling strategy, but Xerin already has plenty of means to trounce her and this will give him even more. It is a risky move, maybe more so than it is rewarding, but then again, life in her little town has become much riskier the past few days, and in spite of the growing dangers, she has hardly ever felt more excited. Well, then, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

-“This is gonna be interesting,”- Selma says as she places her newly drawn card on the table, -“I cast Speedy Update, a continuous spell card that makes each player draw two extra cards from the deck each at the start of each turn.”

-“Your turn has already started, you would not be able to draw two more cards right now.”

-“Yeah, I know.”

-“So...you will let me draw 3 cards total next turn in advance?”- It is now Xerin who raises an eyebrow.

-“You gave me those extra cards before, so sure, why not?”- Selma shrugs and waves an encouraging hand.

Xerin’s expression eases somewhat, -“Hmmm. Well, thank you, I suppose, but I fear your self-confidence may be misplaced.”

-“I haven’t ended my turn yet, bucko. You said Sekiel makes a monster switch sides until he is out of play, right? General Halsner can solve that problem.”- General Halsner raises his pistol again as Selma finishes speaking.

-“Not so fast. I activate Suspicious Intent, which invalidates one of the opponent's actions,”-Xerin says, and General Halsner lowers his gun and narrows his eyes with distrust.

-“Something ain’t right here.”- Halsner says.

-“It’s just a trap card effect!”- Selma protests.

-“Yes, but….I don’t know, let’s take a moment and give it some more planning.”

-“Darn, and Astrolysis can’t break through Sekiel boosted defense either. I guess I’ll have to end my turn.”

-“Shame, really, but I’d have probably done the same, with so few options, and speaking options…”- Xerin says as he draws not one, not four, but three cards. –“Let’s see what your generosity has brought me.”
>>
No. 1062938 ID: 3b86e0
File 168349108081.png - (116.60KB , 372x594 , Soul_Coalescence.png )
1062938

Quite something, actually. Just the right ingredients for a killer combo, pun intended.

Time for the closing act.

-“I’ll start by sacrificing Sekiel and Nickel to tribute summon Alice Dietrich.

-“Pay up, life is struggle.”

The possum preacher grumpily flicks a nickel at Nickel, she catches it mid-flight before they both disintegrate into motes of light. Wonder when they had time to make a bet. At any rate, new motes of light appear and coalesce in the form of a green, ghoulish woman.

[Alice Dietrich, 8 stars, Type: Plant/Mutant, 1750 ATK 1750 DEF]

“With Sekiel now in my graveyard, that makes the raises the bonus of Soul Coalescence to 800 points, giving Alice a formidable 2550 attack and defense, making her more than a match for your General Halsner, but before I attack, I’ll use Deflated Ego to take away the attack bonus he’s gained.”

The game itself seems to have a sense of humor, as it illustrates the General’s return to 900 attack points by making three of the four stars on his pauldron fall off, making him swear loudly.

-“Alice, attack!”- I command.

-“Oh, blast it all.”- Halsner sighs as Alice falls upon him and… swallows him whole after pummeling him with her fists.

-“Ew, what in the hell!”- Selma exclaims.

-“A..apologies, this must be the way the game represents Alice’s special ability, Mass Gain, which raises her attack and defense by 500 points every time she defeats an enemy.”

-“Why did they have to show that ability so ghastly-like?”- She drawls.

-“We did tone it down.”- I hear a voice to my left; it is the tall gray bird serving as one of the judges, –“The original display had her chomping down on the bodies as she usually would in the real world,”- she grimaces quite expressively for someone with a beak, –“We… may change it further, after seeing your reaction.”

-“Please, I’d really appreciate it.”- Selma replies.

-“As would I,”- I bow my head slightly,- “Thank you, miss…”

-“Tiana.”

-“Thank you, Tiana. No need to do it right now, however; the duel is almost over.”

At this, Selma’s ears perk up. “Wait, how many life points did I lose from that attack?“- The score keeping sign appears once again in front of us with the result and she stammers, -“What? No, wait…that’s…” she begins counting with her fingers, -“Let’s see, I lost 800 from the Butthead attack, I sacrificed 1000 to summon Astrolysis, then another 500 from hitting the Wall of Flesh, and this attack would be…?”

I complete the thought matter-of-factly, -“1650 points of damage, which lowers the total down to 50.

-“Are you kidding me right now?!”- She says, raising her arms in exasperation.

-“Now, now, remember it was your choice to spend that thousand points, and besides, I cannot attack again this turn, so I’ll just place a trap card and let you draw your three cards.”

Selma stops staring daggers at me and looks quizzically at her deck when she remembers the effect of her spell card. The frown on her face is still there, though. I can tell she doesn’t hold out much hope. To be honest, neither do I.
>>
No. 1062939 ID: 3b86e0
File 168349122301.png - (328.71KB , 628x1000 , Burnt_Bakery.png )
1062939

Selma is not happy. 50 life points, holy moly, talk about cutting it close! If she has any chance left to win, it better show up now.

She draws her three cards.

……

A plan takes form.

-“Alright, I’ll place two trap cards on the field. Since their combo’s already broken, I’ll finish my turn by tributing Astrolysis to summon a monster card in face down position.”

-”Will that be all?”- Xerin asks.

-”Yeah, y’all said it yourself, I don’t have many options right now.”

-”Hm, well, then,”- Xerin motions to draw his next three cards. -”Let’s conclude our little game, shall we?”

-”Sure, man, it was fun while it lasted.”- Selma shrugs.

-”I can tell you are trying to set me up, so let’s play it safe: I cast Rubber and Glue. For one turn, every effect or attack targeted towards either my monsters or myself will instead backfire, and I summon Youngblood Martinet in attack mode, to destroy your face-down card.”

[Youngblood Martinet, 4 Stars, Type: Military/Beast, 1000 ATK 1000 DEF]

-”With 800 bonus attack it will likely be more than a match for your last remaining monster. If not, at least it will serve to test your defenses.”

-”You may be right about that, I have more than one defense, bud! You just activated my trap card: Magic Annulment, which removes every spell currently on play from the field to the graveyard!”

-”Now what did we promise about wiping the board again?”- Xerin wags a finger in mocking reproach.

-”It’s not the entire field, y’know?”- Selma crosses her arms.

-”No matter, I can counter it with a second Suspicion Intent.”- Xerin’s trap card lifts up to reveal the same type of card with the same shoddy art as before.

-“You had more than one of it?”

-”It is a very versatile card, why would I have only one?”

Selma frowns doubtingly, -”It still feels like bad form.”

-”It feels repetitive, I know, but well within the rules; isn’t that right, Miss Tania?”- Xerin lifts his head towards the secretary bird, now perched on one of the seams of the roof, still watching the duel. She leans down to reply.

-”Most cards can be added up to three times to the same deck; the move is valid.”

-”Thank you. Now,”-Xerin looks back down at the table, -”Youngblood Martinet, attack!”

The young fuzzy soldier charges forward and sinks his spear into the face-down monster. The card flips onto its face. A drawing of Selma is visible for a moment before the card shatters like stained glass, disappearing and then reforming on top of the graveyard stack.

[Selma, Shy Librarian, 6 Stars, Type: Beast/Savant, 1500 ATK 1500 DEF]

-”A card of yourself…?”- Xerin arches an eyebrow skeptically.

-”I was meaning to use it with the cards from my own set, but I needed something to stall your monster, and like we say back home, y’all play with the cards that’ve been dealt to ya.”- Selma says with a marked southern drawl and a resigned posture.

-”What is its special effect?”

-”Dying like a bitch, apparently.”

Xerin gives an expression between a repressed frown and smirk at the unexpected remark. -”Hmph. Well, then, if there is nothing else,”- he looks down at his side of the field, -”Alice, attack her life points directly.”

The green ghoul raises her right arm, quickly reshaping it into a large, boney spike, then shoots it forwards, elongating it into a seemingly impossible stretch, speeding towards Selma.

-”That’s a duel-ending attack, alright, but not for you,”- Selma says, tilting her head forward with sinister glee, “I activate my last trap card, Burnt Bakery, which makes an attack aimed at my life points bounce back!”

-”I just activated Rubber and Glue, remember? You cannot destroy my monster with its own attack.”

-”Oh, but the attack is not aimed at the monster, but at the bakery.”- Selma points a finger at Xerin’s deck (grow up), -”The diverted attack translates as 1 discarded card for every 500 attack points.”

Xerin thinks a moment before replying, -”6 cards is a lot, but I can still launch another attack next turn.”

-”No, you don’t! I told you my card’s special effect was dying, and I meant it: when Selma, Shy Librarian gets sent to the graveyard, it activates her special ability, One Last Edit, which allows her owner to change one non-thousands place digit from one card for one turn.”

-”That’s rather specific, but also…”

-”Overpowered if used well? Yeah, and I’m changing the 1 card per 500 points effect from Burnt Bakery, to 1 card per 100 points!”

-”What?! That’s ludicrous!”

-”But still within the rules, right, Tania?”- Selma, Xerin, and even the monster on the field all turn their sights toward the regal bird above.

-”The effect of the Shy Librarian is specific enough that it was considered apt for play, and the effect of the trap card employs the monster’s attack, not the monster itself. I deem the move valid.”- As Tania finishes speaking, Alice’s spiky arm, which had been hovering in place since the start of the argument, quickly changes direction towards the stack of cards at Xerin’s side.

His eyes widen.

-”Wait!”
>>
No. 1062940 ID: 3b86e0
File 168349127494.gif - (192.19KB , 1194x1002 , Duelbonk animado.gif )
1062940

>>
No. 1062942 ID: 3b86e0
File 168349142158.png - (491.06KB , 1194x1002 , Duelbonk 2.png )
1062942

Phantoms, your advice is rubbish!


I was this close, THIS close, to winning. And suddenly I get trumped just because of some…cheap… ass pull…ARGH!

Right. Things have not gone as planned, I was hoping I would at least make a couple steps up the ladder before meeting such a defeat.



I really did not want things to come to this so soon, but it seems I am left with no other choice…
>>
No. 1062944 ID: 3b86e0
File 168349154855.png - (383.36KB , 968x790 , Duelhandshake.png )
1062944

…But to get off my seat and shake her hand.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-“Congratulations Miss Selma, that was a fine turn of tables.”

-”Yeah, sorry about the snide remarks from before. I tend to be mean without meaning to around new people.”

-”Happens to the best of us, my dear. I confess I was rather rude myself.”

-”I’ll say. That “Volin card set” jab was really uncalled for.”

-”I apologize for that. I will endeavor to be more polite next time we duel, should you ever want a rematch.”

-”Sure, I’d love to win best 2 out of 3 one day!”

-”Ahahahaha…… please, quit it!”

SELMA WINS!
>>
No. 1064797 ID: 6be1bd
File 168546149034.png - (116.74KB , 426x425 , 1.png )
1064797

The young aardvark has traveled far on missions from The Order. She has taken many aliases and been to plenty of strange places. Vast mountain ranges, deep caves and breathtaking valleys.

However, when word came of a select magical card tournament, with invitees from far off worlds and a grand prize bestowed by a godlike being, “Mademoiselle” Genevieve readily agreed to take on the invitation, familiarize herself with the rules of the game, and investigate this unique yet suspect gathering.

Genevieve got her first clue that something was awry two steps after entering the tournament grounds. She was greeted by a trio of talking birds, who told her they would be serving as the judges. Her second clue came when she was matched against two diminutive beings, a girl of noble birth and her timid manservant. It was then where she saw the cards come alive before her eyes.

And the third came when she began getting trounced.

Seriously, what was she doing wrong? Her defense was solid, her Chastity Cage and Hidden Blade trap cards worked well, she had even managed a good character card combo with Paladin and Priestess of Agnieszka. And yet still, after a few turns she now had only 2100 life points, while her opponents remained perfectly unscathed!

“Those are some fine characters you've managed to pull. You’re going to need them.” says the pink girl in a tiara, who goes by the name Strawberi. ”Servant, you have given good advice so far, how do you suggest I deal the next blow to this low-breed miscreant?”

That girl had been like this since the duel began, and her gradual victory had only made her worse! Genevieve tries her hardest not to scream in frustration and leave the tournament altogether. Instead, she sighs and replies with a measured tone.

“I am right here, you know? Do you always say such things to your opponents?

“Oh where are my manners? I apologize for my choice of words.It’s as you say, I should not disrespect my dueling partners, even if they are hardly a match.”

Strawberi lets that final remark hang in the air as if it was more an astute observation than an outright insult, and goes back to listening intently to the advice of her purple servant, Warwick. Genevieve can’t quite tell how much of Strawberi’s strategy is actually hers and how much was her butler’s. She sees Strawberi shift in her seat and hum happily as she prepares her next action.

“I hope you haven't forgotten about Zecia’s Panties, which are still equipped to Marge. They let me replicate the effect of normal spells set to my field by sending them to the graveyard. And wouldn't you know it Clothes Off Your Back is a normal spell! With it, I'll be able to replenish my hand.” Strawberi beams.

Right, time to get serious.
>>
No. 1064798 ID: 6be1bd
File 168546158291.png - (126.61KB , 502x800 , 2.png )
1064798

“That’s not happening, Miss Strawberi,” Genevieve says. ”I chain the effect of my character, Niccolo, to flip both him and Marge face-down.”

[Niccolo, 5 Stars, Type: Spellcaster, 1500 ATK 2000 DEF]

Marge, 4 Stars, Type: Beast, 1400 ATK 1200 DEF

Niccolo quite literally draws a whip and hauls it around Marge’s big lizardly body. She gives an expression of shock as he pulls and pulls, until the both of them spin into the air and faceplant on top of their respective cards, flipping them face down.

“And since face down cards can’t have equip spells on them, your…Panties get sent to the graveyard.”

“Servant, your tactic didn’t work at all,” Strawberi yells at Warwick, who looks down sheepishly at her. ”And it cost us a card, too! Be a dear and try to come up with a better idea while you fetch me a milkshake, would you?”

“Y-yes, Miss Strawberi.” He responds, stepping down from the stool he’s been standing on (he had not been offered a chair). He runs off, tray in hand, towards the bar at the corner of the tournament hall. Genevieve scowls.

“So, may I continue with my turn?” She asks.

“Oh! Yes, of course. He will be back shortly, so he won’t miss much.” The noble replies with a handwave.

“Well then, I will use my trap card Stance Change to flip Niccolo back into attack position.” says Genevieve. Niccolo emerges back from his card, jumping out with arms outstretched in a jovial pose. “As per Stance Change’s effect, I can flip it back down instead of sending it to the graveyard, letting me use it again next turn.”

“Wonderful. I suppose we’ll be seeing it again at this rate.” Strawberi grumbles.

“After that, I will now…sacrifice?

“They seem to prefer the word tribute.

“Right. I will Tribute the Paladin and the Priestess of.. Ag..ñi..eska?”

“You aren’t much for these kinds of games, are you?” Strawberi asks as she rests her head on her hand, before remembering her manners and removing her elbow from the table.

“I must admit, I am pretty new to this one.” Genevieve shrugs with an apologetic expression.

“Understandable. Few people have time for such pastimes when they are out tilling the fields or running their shops. I do appreciate your hard work, mind you. I just don’t find it very glamorous.”

If a deadpan expression could simultaneously express anger, Genevieve’s face would be reflecting just that.

“I will tribute my Paladin and Priestess of Agnieszka to summon The Avatar of Purity, and then I’ll send it on the attack against your Bruce character!”

[Bruce, 4 Stars, Type: Beast, 1000 ATK 1000 DEF]

[The Avatar of Purity, 10 Freaking Stars, Type: Spellcaster, 3300 ATK 3000 DEF]

As the monastic pair vanishes from the field into the graveyard, an angelic cyclopean entity rises into being on a set of bright imposing wings. Bruce can only look up and let out a meek "meep” as The Avatar (of Purity, don’t get too excited kids) swoops down and flings a ray of burning light upon the brutish lizardman.

“I will send Niccolo to attack Marge as well.”

Niccolo draws a whip once more, and flicks it onto Marge’s face down card. It shatters on touch, reforming on top of Strawberi’s graveyard above her fellow lizard thug.

Strawberi is seething in her seat as her life points drop to a mere 1700.

“Here is your vanilla and chocolate, Miss Strawberi,” Warwick says, methodically climbing back onto his stool without spilling his tray.

“Where were you?” The now slightly pinker girl says. She swiftly snatches the milkshake from Warwick’s tray, spilling some droplets on his overalls. “Look at this! Over half my life points gone and only one character left on my field! You should be faster next time!”

She takes a sip from the milkshake’s straw while Warwick gives a puzzled look to Genevieve, who returns one of her own. She does the waiter a favor and diffuses the situation. ”Well, you should have plenty of opportunity to plan your next move now. I’ll be ending my turn.”

Strawberi puts her now half empty glass back on the tray, and gives a short sigh. Her lacteous break having improved her mood somewhat.

“Ah, marvelous!” she exclaims to no one in particular. She gestures with a finger for Warwick to lean closer. “Alright, my dependable, if flawed, advisor, confer with me. We cannot let this affront to my perfect score go unpunished!”

She draws a card to join the other 2 in her hand, turning her head away from her opponent. He does the same, and they both whisper conspiratorially for a minute or two, before turning back towards their opponent.

“Pardon the interruption, I will begin my turn presently,” she says with a curtsy bow of her head.
>>
No. 1064799 ID: 6be1bd
File 168546173388.png - (686.80KB , 1256x2000 , 3.png )
1064799

“I will use my spell card, Concentration Break, to destroy your Chastity Cage,” the young noble starts, laying down her spell card. The Chastity Cage, upon having its concentration on chasteness broken, gets sad and dies. “I will also use the effect of my remaining character, Servant of Humility. By discarding a card from my hand, I can destroy a spell or trap that you control. Let’s say, your Stance Change you seem so fond of.”

[Servant of Humility, 4 Stars, Type: Fairy, 1100 ATK 1000 DEF]

Genevieve grumbles, ”Fine, but I’ll chain its effect to flip Niccolo into defense position one final time.”

“No scruff off back,” Strawberi replies with a dismissive gesture, ”unlike the equipment card I discarded: Starter Gear! Did you know its special effect lets me bring it back from the graveyard to the field? I simply have to choose a character to equip it to, and back it comes!” She smiles, as The Avatar of Purity gets equipped with drab and low-quality garments. “And if I want it back in my hand, then I can place it back by returning the card it has equipped itself to as well. Although if I send one of your characters back like this, I will sadly have to banish Starter Gear in exchange. But I believe it’s well worth sending your Avatar of Purity out on its ear, or in this case, wing,” she adds, smirking as finishes at her clever witticism.

“That’s a price you won't have to pay, as The Avatar of Purity won’t be affected.” Genevieve says.

“What?” Strawberi leans over the table, as Genevieve lifts the card to show it to her. The tiny wings of The Avatar of Purity’s follow the card’s unexpected displacement.

“It says it right here: ‘This card is unaffected by your opponent’s card effects’,” she reads off matter-of-factly.

Strawberi takes the card, and she and her purple peasant page both look at it for a moment.

“Servant Warwick,” she says, making him wince at the uttering of what passes for his full name in her eyes, ”why didn’t you inform me of this card's effect before?”

“I’m sorry, miss, but I was not familiar with it. It must be from one of the new expansions.”

“Hmph!” she pouts. ”Nevertheless, I will take Starter Gear back onto my hand, as well as summon a new character: Sertis, The Cleaner.

As soon as it is placed on the table, a dangerous-looking reptilian with four beady red eyes, a membranous hood on his head, and a sharp electric saw in his hands springs out of the card.

“Time to take out the trash!” he says, with a fang-filled smirk. The humble fairy servant beside him takes a step away from him.

[Sertis, the Cleaner, 4 Stars, Type: Alien, 1200 ATK 800 DEF]

“Your Servant of Humility appears a bit distressed.”- Genevieve remarks.

“Hm, a pity, since I will be using her and Sertis to make an X-y-Z-”

“Um, I think it’s pronounced ekseez,” Warwick quips.

“What? No! It’s an acronym. X. Y-” She protests.

“I believe it’s an X, a Z-” Genevieve says.

“You read it wrong, you illiterate plebeian!”

A very curious scene is witnessed by all closeby, as the three duelists erupt into an argument where increasingly inaccurate pronunciations and acronyms are thrown to and fro, lined by the sound of the Avatar of Purity enthusiastically swaying and singing YMCA.

After a few minutes and a judge-fiat to refer to it as “ekseez”, the match continues.

“Anyway,“ Strawberi says, mustering back her composure, “I will now use my Servant of Humility and Sertis, the Cleaner as materials for an ekseez summon.” The bitterness in her voice as she says the last part is palpable to all listeners.

“You made me listen to that whole mess just for that?” Sertis asks in frustration before he and the Servant vanish and their cards are sent to the Graveyard.

Strawberi clears her throat, “Now, with these materials, I will summon my new champion. Witness now, the grand and only, Headmisress Juliana!

As she says this, Strawberi dramatically lifts a card from her hand and slams it upon the table. A curvilineous dragoness emerges from the card, inviting pose and seductive gaze betraying her nature.

[Headmistress Juliana, 4 Stars, Type: Dragon/XYZ, 1900 ATK 1800 DEF]


“With her, I now have the perfect combination. You see, Headmistress Juliana can strip herself of one material, the cards used for her summoning, allowing me to trade an equipment card from my hand with any of my choosing from the deck!” The pink petulant pipsqueak pontificates, putting forth a play-by-play, “And what better card to use than Starter Gear, which can be brought back from the graveyard by equipping it onto a character? It can even come back to the hand if I’m willing to return said character as well. Like, say, one that cannot be affected by opponent effects?

The image of Juliana leans forward in a provocative fashion, grabbing the card of Sertis underneath her own. In a deft motion, she throws it all the way into the graveyard pile. As it flies away, Genevieve thinks she can see an expression of disappointment etched on Sertis’ painted cardboard face.

As she said she would, Strawberi discards Starter Gear, peruses her deck, and then takes the Equip spell she looked for into her hand. She then brings Starter Gear back to the field by equipping it onto the Avatar of Purity. And since it doesn’t affect the angelic being, its effects simply return it to her hand. The combo quickly repeats, as Juliana flings the other card away. In the end, while Juliana was out of material, Strawberi had two new equip spells in her hand.
>>
No. 1064800 ID: 6be1bd
File 168546179907.png - (1.47MB , 1256x2000 , 4.png )
1064800

“A most astute strategy, Strawberi.” Warwick smiles.

“Thank you, Servant, it was quite ingenious of me to bring you along to lend me ideas.” She beams back, taking her milkshake for another sip. Genevieve starts doubting the validity of inherited ruleship as Strawberi finishes her glass and speaks again in a delighted tone.

“Where was I? Ah, yes! I now activate my trap card Shared Shame, which allows me to summon an XYZ character with the same number of stars as one on the field lacking any material. I’ll summon Troublesome Tripod Trio.

A threesome of small green aliens appear on the table, only to promptly disappear as she continues.

“With both of these rank 4 XYZ, I will call on a special character from my extra deck. One that lets me use two rank 4 XYZ characters with no materials on them as such.” She proceeds to stack the two cards, overlaying a card atop them. ”Prepare for the end of our duel, as I now summon The-”

”I BELIEVE I CAN SPEAK FOR MYSELF, YOUNG LADY,” a reverberating voice echoes far into the corners of the hall. The ground begins to rumble as the figure of an aged yet imposing man, bald of head yet magnificent of beard, slowly emerges from the card of-

”I SAY AGAIN, I CAN SPEAK FOR MYSELF. I AM THE GOD OF HUMILITY.”

[The God of Humility, 8 Stars, Type: Fairy/XYZ, 1800 ATK 1800 DEF]

“I HAVE COME WITH SINGULAR PURPOSE: TO BRING LOW THE SELF-RIGHTEOUS, THE ARROGANT AND THE VAIN.”

“So why are you not fighting her?” Genevieve nods her head towards Strawberi.

“Hey!” The noble girl protests.

”THIS CHILD, SELF-CENTERED THOUGH SHE MAY SEEM, IS STILL A CHILD, WITH AMPLE TO LEARN AND AMPLE TIME TO CHANGE. YOU, HOWEVER, HAVE GROWN IN AGE AND SO TOO HAVE THE THORNS IN YOUR HEART, FILLING IT WITH LONG-FED FEELINGS OF RESENTMENT AND VENGEANCE.”

”Oh, gods.”

”YES?”

”No, I meant…” Genevieve sighs, ”sorry, this is a bit too grandiose for a card game, let’s just… let’s just continue.”

”Yes, let’s,” Strawberi replies, ”Another aspect of The God of Humility you should know, is that he grows stronger with each equipment spell card in the graveyard.”

”EACH TESTAMENT TO THE PRIDEFUL BEING STRIPPED DOWN AND MADE VULNERABLE AND ASHAMED GIVES ME STRENGTH!” the deity bellows.

“Yes, 500 ATK and DEF points per discarded equip card, to be exact.” Strawberi says.

“That’s a ridiculous amount!” Genevieve answers.

“IMMENSE POWER IS THE GET OF THE DIVINE.”

“I didn’t make the card, I merely employ it, my dear adversary.”

Genevieve sighs once again, “Alright, so, how many discarded cards do you have?”

“Servant, please count the cards.”

“I’m… not sure where to put the tray, Miss Strawberi.”

“Tch! Fine, I’ll do it myself. Can’t have any…” Strawberi mutters something under her breath while she counts the cards. After a moment, she sits up straight again and looks back at Genevieve, ”Five! Five equipment spell cards are in the graveyard, giving my God of Humility-”

YOUR GOD OF HUMILITY, YOUNG MAIDEN?” the figure on the table roars more than asks.

“Um… THE God of Humility.”

“THANK YOU,” the god booms calmly.

“Who gains an extra 2500 ATK and DEF points, giving him a total of 4300!”

Genevieve gasps in awe, or rather, that’s what Strawberi wished. Instead, she scowls and gives a dissatisfied “hm” upon hearing the number.

“But I’m not done,” Strawberi continues, ”because I also activate my set spell Clothes off your Back, which lets me discard as many equipment cards as I choose from my hand, and draw an equal number of times from my deck. By discarding the 3 cards I have in hand, that gives The God of Humility a grand total of 5800 points!”


“That is quite an impressive combo, and all in a single turn. I must applaud,” Genevieve says, ”but remember that my Hidden Blade will destroy any opponent character that tries to attack mine.”

“Oh, I remember, alright”- Strawberi replies cockily, -”and as luck would have it, one of the cards I just drew is the ideal one to counteract it: Edited for Broadcast.

Strawberi places the continuous spell card on the table, the art for which is very lewd and therefore edited for this thread.

“This card prevents any card effect from being activated, either by you or me, during damage phases.”

“You cheater! You couldn’t possibly have such a specific card in store without seeing mine! Judge!”

“Oh, don’t flatter yourself, Genevieve dear, once you’ve seen as many decks as I have, one learns to plan ahead for any eventuality.”

“Erhm…I may have noticed your deck had a large number of traps while you were taking inventory and suggested adding this one just in case,” Warwick interjects.

“Yes, well, that too. But at any rate, I now can attack your Avatar of Purity with impunity! God of Humility, make away with this riff-raff!”
>>
No. 1064802 ID: 6be1bd
File 168546211635.png - (358.18KB , 1280x851 , Duelthingy 2.png )
1064802

The God of Humility, empowered by the discarded cards such as to tower over the heads of the sitting players, paces step by rumbling step towards the small cyclopean Avatar.

“YOU CLAIM TO BE A BEING OF PURITY,”-the looming god speaks, “BUT PURITY IS WORTHLESS WITHOUT HUMILITY,” the god takes another step forward, the avatar a step back.

“PURITY ALONE IS BEREFT OF DIMENSION, OF PERSPECTIVE,” another thundering step makes the Avatar jump up. The cyclopean godling begins flinging scalding beams of light and all manner of destructive spells towards the approaching deity, to no avail.

“WITHOUT PERSPECTIVE, WITHOUT CONSIDERATION, PURITY CAN LEAD TO CRUELTY, TO NARROW VISION, TO ELITISM,” The Avatar of Purity amasses a grand sphere of energy and throws it at the god, who simply lifts his massive hand to stop it. Exhausted, the Avatar lands back onto the table, unable to do anything but what as the energy balls ebbs away to nothing.

“ALREADY YOU STRIKE OUT AT ME, NOT STOPPING TO WONDER WHETHER THAT WILL AMOUNT TO ANYTHING,” The Avatar tries to take flight again, but is soon caught by the long reach of the God of Humility.

“YOU HAVE BEEN TOLD YOUR WHOLE LIFE THAT YOU WERE ABOVE THE REST AND HAS THUS LOST VISION OF THOSE BELOW,” holding the Avatar on one hand, the divine being raises the other one with punitive intent. The Avatar lets out a scream of desperation.

“IT IS TIME YOU LEARN HOW TO BE HUMBLE!” The lord of all demureness concludes his verdict. The outstretched palm falls.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The cries and sobs of the Avatar can be heard all across the hall as the spankies hit his bum-bum. After a couple minutes, the God of Humility lets go of the chastised cherub.

“NOW GO HOME AND REFLECT ON WHAT YOU DID! SHOO! SCRAM!”

“Boohoo-hoohoo!” The angelic child cries once more, rubbing his battered tushie as he slowly flies all the way to the graveyard.

The scoreboard appears one last time over the field and shows Genevieve’s life points quickly drop to 0.

STRAWBERI (and Warwick) WIN!


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


“That….it….. GAAAAAH!”

Genevieve is angry. More than angry. She is borderline livid. Did she really have to go through all that arguing and veiled insults from that insufferable kid only to lose after watching two full minutes of… a godly spanking?!

“Huzzah! Victory is mine!” Genevieve’s attempt at figuring out where her life went wrong is interrupted by her opponent’s cheering. Indeed, both Warwick and Strawberi are so elated by their win, that they both share a high-five. Strawberi then remembers their respective stations, and tells him to fetch her a victory ice cream cup.

Genevieve feels tempted to fume, to rage, to wring Strawberi’s little neck and toss her across the hall onto a trash bin, which admittedly would be pretty funny to watch…

Oh, but then, she sighs, deeply, but not for too long. Maybe it was true, maybe she did hold a lot of resentment in her heart. She raises an arm towards Warwick.

“Wait,” she says. Both her opponents turn to look at her, ”fetch one for all three of us, would you? It is a victory celebration, after all.”

Warwick turns to look at Strawberi, who looks right back at his expectant, somewhat confused face.

“Hmph! I suppose a small moment of commingling is fine, given the circumstances,” she says, facing Genevieve again.

Warwick’s eyes brighten and an excited smile parts his lips as he runs towards the bar.

“But don’t get into the habit!” Strawberi yells at him, “this is a special occasion and we have only three more duels to go!”

This is fine, thinks Genevieve, she is no longer a contestant, but she is still a guest. She can still find out the true nature of this tournament and its grand prize some other way.

She has traveled far. She has used many aliases and been to many realms. She has plenty of skills to make up for this setback. She can still hang around and witness more, learn more.

And as she looks at her two tiny opponents clinking their cups and laughing, she thinks maybe also make a couple new acquaintances.
>>
No. 1065588 ID: 629f2e
File 168645577882.png - (83.64KB , 626x430 , Deck Building.png )
1065588

Enid and Franklin make their way to rest area after their match against Bonnie. She sets their current deck out in front of them, a pile of cards towering about 80 high.

“So, I think we need to take out about half of these.” Enid says.

“Do you mean my half?” Franklin asks.

“Not at all! What I mean is, playing like this isn’t really… good? Having a lot of cards is actually really bad for us.”

“Really? But we have more options.”

Enid sighs. “Yes, but that makes it so much harder to draw the ones we need when we want to.”

“I don’t get it.” Bonnie says, stopping as she’s passing by. “More cards are better, aren’t they?”

“We could put more stuff in that’s good to draw whenever.” Franklin points out.

Seeing that her point wasn’t being understood, she takes a moment to rethink her explanation. She then riffles through the deck, pulling out a few cards.

“Alright, look at these.” She displays a number of spell, traps, and high-leveled characters. “These aren’t bad cards, right? We picked them for a reason.”

“Mhmm.” Franklin nods.

“Buuuuut, these cards aren’t always good. These characters can’t be summoned without tributes, these spells only help when we have certain cards in the hand or on the field, and some of these traps are even more situational. These are Sometimes cards. We only want to draw them some of the time.”

Franklin and Bonnie nod, following along. She continues. “Now, look at this.” She holds up Louie, The Class President (E). “Louie’s effect is always going to help us stack our field. He’s good when we have characters, and he’s good when we don’t. This is an Always card, because we’d always be in a better position if we have it.”

Franklin rubs his chin thoughtfully. “So… You’re saying we want more always cards? But wouldn’t we still want to have as many of those as our deck can fit?”

“The problem is that we don’t have a full deck of always cards. At best we have a bunch of Usually or More Often Than Nots. Some of our cards are even ones we don’t want to draw, since they’re better for us in the deck, or because we have other cards that can get them to us. Like, since Phillip can get Lillian from our deck to the field, it’s bad when we end up drawing Lillian, right?”

“Uh… Hmm…” Franklin rubs his head, staring at the deck with a look of concentration. “So then… When we have a lot of cards, it’s harder to draw the ones we always want?”

“Exactly!” Enid cheers. “It’s not bad to have cards we don’t always need of course, especially when their uses come up. Sometimes an "almost never" card might beat out an "always", but our deck isn’t as good when we’re relying on cards like that all the time.”

“Maybe it’d be better if you could play with 30 or 20 cards instead of 40 then.” Bonnie says.

Franklin nods, finally understanding. “So, we want to get our deck down to just 40 then. What about the extra deck?”

“Well, we don’t exactly draw those cards. They’re just always available, so it’s actually good to have as many of those as possible.”

“So… we should keep it at 30?”

She thinks for a moment, before shaking her head. “No, that feels like cheating. It was fine when we were just slapping our decks together, but if we’re gonna try to improve it…”

He nods in agreement. “Okay, I think all of that sounds good. Do you know if we’re allowed to swap in cards from the draft we didn’t end up using in our decks?”

Naturally, while they’d each put about 40 cards in their main deck and 15 in the extra, they’d ended up leaving a good amount of drafted cards out. It made sense why the judges had them do it like this, as it gave them wiggle room in putting their decks together. If they couldn’t make the idea they wanted work at the start of the draft, they could pivot to alternate strategies. And afterwards they might find good synergies between cards they weren’t thinking about, or realize that powerful cards they’d pulled didn’t quite fit with the rest of their strategy.

She hums to herself in consideration, before standing up and announcing she’d ask one of the bird judges if that’s okay.

With Enid gone, and Franklin petting Rathoney, Bonnie starts going through her own deck. “Man, there were so many monsters I wanted to see the holograms for. Do you think we can get in a quick game before your next round?”

Franklin shakes his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Rats.”

Rathoney perks up for a moment.

She stares at one card for a minute, before shoving it in Franklin’s face. “Hey! Why don’t you play it! You still get to use the hologram floors, right?”

He slowly takes the card from her hand and reads it.

[ Big Angry Dog, Beast-Warrior-Type, Level 8, ATK 2500, DEF: 2400 ]

He scratches at his cheek while humming to himself. “...I could talk to Enid about it. I don’t know if this is one of those Always cards though.”

“Well, I have monsters with more attack than that, but there were a lot of words in its effect, so I feel like it’s gotta be something useful.”

He peeks down and squints to read it.

“Once per turn, if a monster on your side of the field is sent to the graveyard by an opponent’s card effect, you may special summon this card from the hand. When this card is summoned, you may activate one of the following effects:
This card gains 1000 ATK/DEF.
Destroy one monster on your opponent’s field.
This card may attack twice during your next battle phase.”


He blinks, reading the three listed effects again. “Huh. That does seem useful.”

“I knew it! I think I’m figuring this game out. You want cards that either have a lot of words, or a really big number. If you got both, you probably win.”

“...That doesn’t sound wrong…”
>>
No. 1065589 ID: 629f2e
File 168645582086.png - (61.00KB , 500x383 , Finished Deck.png )
1065589

Enid eventually returns, and Bonnie splits to check out some of the other duelists (she seemed especially interested in the gray glasses girl who looked like a rat). She confirms that the judges didn’t mind anyone altering their decks, as long as they weren’t cheating. Franklin brings up asking if they’re allowed to use cards gifted by other duelists, but Enid points out that Bonnie had been playing with cards she traded for in their duel. If it wasn’t allowed, the birds would have said something then.

What follows is a slow hour of staring at cards and discussing interactions, consistency, and a bunch of other stuff. There’s plenty that the pair agree on, but it’s revealed quickly enough just how much they don’t.

“It can get us out of a bad situation though. We could even win the game.” Franklin argues.

“Yeah, but if we roll badly, then we could also make it so that we lose the game.” Enid fires back.

“If we were already going to lose, then that’s fine. This card gives us the chance to win when we would lose, so it’s good.”

“If we’re losing badly, then we’d be better off drawing something more consistent.”

“But even a lot of our consistent cards aren’t always good though… Plus, if we roll two sixes, we win the duel with this effect.”

“That’s a really low chance though.”

“But it’s higher than our chance if we don’t use this.”

After much debate, they reach a compromise on how to structure their deck. They’d keep the majority of it consistent and well-tuned, but they’d leave four cards in that didn’t quite fit in with the rest of what they had. One-tenth of their deck.

The die-rolling spell Franklin was arguing for was counted as the first. Bonnie’s contribution surprisingly didn’t get counted among them.

Their deck may not be as consistent with them, but Franklin did have a point. They basically won their last game because of the card Reboot, which wasn’t really part of any sort of gameplan. It was simply a card with explosive potential, which could have gone either way for the duo. There is a place for cards of that nature in their deck, even if they don’t always want to draw them.

Plus, they were fun. Enid definitely couldn’t argue against that.

They both nearly melt into the table when they’re finished, staring at their neat stack of 40 cards. She smiles weakly at it.

“Do you think we’ll win our next match?

He thinks for what is a normal amount of time for him. “...I want to.”

“Me too. I don’t want to make any obvious mistakes, like with last match.”

“We won that one.”

“I know, but it still feels bad. We almost didn’t.”

“...But we did?”

“Yeah.”

“So… It’s fine to make mistakes. We can still win, even when we do.”

“...Thank you.”

He pats her shoulder and smiles. She smiles back, taking their cards and rising to her feet.

“Come on. We can try to duel some of the people who got eliminated for practice.”

“Do we have time?”

“Maybe? Who knows when those birds are gonna start the next round?”

"You may want to reconsider that plan," The Masked Duelist says as they approach the duo. "The matches in the first round were all simultaneous, and my opponent was far too strong to pay attention to any other duels. I assume most everyone here," they wave their gauntlet around the arena "was in a similar situation. But if you go around to play games against eliminated players now, the other players still in the game will have an easy time observing your strategy and preparing to crush you. You'd be giving yourselves a large disadvantage."
>>
No. 1070211 ID: 52a586
File 169198606845.png - (105.96KB , 500x500 , Birbs.png )
1070211

“Attention, duelists!” booms a massive albatross from the rafters. “The first round of matches has concluded. The round of eight is nigh. To those who have advanced, please accept our congratulations and prepare for the next round. There will be only one match held at a time from this point forward. Those who have been eliminated are welcome to either return to your homes or remain here as spectators, but interference of any kind will be punished. By me. So don’t interfere. That is all.”

“Excuse me, Mr. Bird With Helmet? I have a question,” Ceridwen asks. “Um… is my opponent from the last round okay?”

“He is resting. On that chair. I have been instructed to inform you that he has clearly walked to the bleachers under his own power, and not been dropped there by a large bird that specializes in carrying fish.”

“It’s just… he’s starting to smell, Mr. Helmet.”

“Pardon me, I have forgotten to introduce myself. My name is Justice, and I am the one in this conversation who is not judging others’ personal hygiene. Oh, look. He just gave a wave of his flipper. Clearly he is conscious and all right.”

From behind Carl’s corpse, a small blue bird is poking his flipper.

Ceri sighs.

“Can’t you magic away the stink?” Tianna hisses to Toffles. “I thought cleanliness was your divine portfolio.”

“It is,” the fiery bird says. “Pan has forbidden me from incinerating Carl’s corpse, despite the fact that disposing of the evidence would be the most prudent option.”

Pan flutters from behind Carl up into the rafters. “Carl’s not dead,” he says. “He’s just back home. I checked, his soul made it back just fine, so I haven’t let The Formless down. There’s no evidence to dispose of! Nobody got hurt on my watch!”

“He’s not dead, he’s just in a better place?” Tianna rolls her eyes. “You really expect our contestants to believe that if you tell them, much less our creator?”

“I don’t understand!” Pan says. “He’s not supposed to be able to be hurt here! Not unless he preferred death to playing in this children’s card game tournament and decided to send his soul home early.”

“I feel a strange kinship with this fish,” Tianna says.
>>
No. 1070212 ID: 52a586
File 169198615892.png - (202.95KB , 1800x940 , Updated_Brackets.png )
1070212

“Is the bracket for the round of eight done?” Pan asks nervously. “I’d like to get Ceri off the bleachers right this moment. She’s starting to stare a little too closely at Carl.”

“Yes,” Tianna nods. “It’s not technically the round of eight, it’s the round of ten, mostly due to your overly permissive interpretation of how two duelists combining their card pools into a single deck might possibly affect competitive balance in a limited draft pool, but apparently my opinion is worth as much as Carl’s dignity. I’ve delegated this to an assistant who’s more comfortable with your management style.”

“My management style?” Pan cocks his head, which is also his entire body, to one side. “I’ve just been flying by the seat of my tailfeathers.”

“Exactly. Here’s what my assistant drew up to accommodate you.”

The birds crowd around the revised paper.

There’s silence, then a stifled screech.

“None of these make any sense!” Tianna pokes at the lineup. “Why is Lady Kensignton facing Princess Reefa? She was in a whole separate division! And why are Strawberi and Warwick on the entire opposite end of the lineup? This should be simple!”

“Who did you delegate this to?”

“Phail Yurr,” Tianna says. “Why?”

Pan lets the question linger in the air like Carl’s wafting, fishy scent.

“Okay,” Tianna sighs. “Okay. I deserve that.”

“It’s okay, we can still use it. Let’s go! Ahem! It’s my turn to say the catchphrase!” Companionship announces. “Attention, duelists! We are going to start the next round immediately. Ceridwen versus Strawberi and Warwick, you’re up! Come on, hop to it! Off those bleachers!”

The first duel of the Round of Eight is about to begin!
>>
No. 1070474 ID: 918cdb
File 169258397483.jpg - (23.99KB , 512x423 , Strawberi Courtesy.jpg )
1070474

“This might make a good deck,” Ceridwen says, giving a look over at her cards one last time, “These two cards go well together, right?”

“Attention duelists!” Companionship’s voice rings out across the tournament grounds, calling out for the next duel. Her time is up.

“Oh, no! I thought I had enough time to test this new strategy with someone!”she exclaims, as she gets up and rushes towards the dueling table. “I guess I’ll have to find out the hard way,” she sighs, with a saddened look in her eyes.

“Take your seats, please, and don’t forget to introduce yourselves. It makes the game more fun!” Companionship raises his adorable little wings and lifts off towards the rafters, leaving Ceridwen alone with her two newfound rivals.

“Why greetings. I am Lady Strawberi of House Sugarfield, and this is my manservant Warwick,” the finely-dressed girl gestures towards herself and her overburdened companion. “Pleasure is mine almost as much as yours, I’m sure.” She concludes with a light bow.

“Um… yes, I suppose, your… ladyship.” Ceridwen politely returns the bow with a quizzical expression, “My name’s Ceridwen, by the way. Um, sorry if I seem a little nervous. I was hoping I’d have more time to prepare. Also, I think I knocked my previous opponent out cold?” She points a clawed hand toward the bleachers where Carl is now beginning to fester, a couple flies and pixies already gathering above his fishy carcass.

Warwick squints. “He looks kind of-”

“I’m sure the judges would have taken him away if something really bad happened!” the scaly teenager interrupts, raising her hands defensively. “I mean, they wouldn’t just let someone who was seriously hurt for real just lie around in the middle of a crowded building, right?”

“I suppose…” Warwick answers with a raised eyebrow, his frown only increasing as he readjusts his grip on his lady’s luggage.

“Right,” Strawberi focuses her gaze once more on Ceridwen, “they would have done something if that was the case. Though I can’t figure why they would let him lay up there like a drunkard, so unsightly! Let us try to finish this quickly before those flying bugs around him make me lose my lunch.”

“It may have been a bad idea to have had so many sweets in place of a proper meal, Miss Strawberi.”

“Hush, peasant!”

“Well, those pixies do look rather aggressive…” Ceridwen nods, nervously eyeing the feisty fae-folk hovering above Carl’s crater. “Alright, we have kept the crowd waiting long enough. Let’s see who goes first.”

“Of course. Servant, my deck, if you would,” Strawberi replies, raising her open palm.
As soon as Warwck places the stack of cards on her hand, Strawberi lays it on the table and begins drawing cards in tune with Ceridwen. After a few seconds, the first character card is revealed.

Strawberi draws: Chester, the Jolly Seamstress, 800 ATK.

“Confound you! Peasant, why did you convince me to include such low-leveled dreck in my deck?”

“I’m sorry, Miss Strawberi. I’m sure it will pay off once the duel starts.”

“You mean after SHE starts it.” She scowls at Warwick for a second, before sighing as she turns back to look at her opponent, “Go ahead, draw your card, if only for the sake of custom at this point.”

Ceridwen can’t help but feel concern at the angry exchange between Strawberi and her servant. Nevertheless, she nods and, right on cue, draws a character card.

Ceridwen draws: Egg of Spades, 0 ATK

“Oh, crud,” she exclaims.

“Oh, wow,” Warwick can’t help but blurt out.

Strawberi, on her part, arcs an eyebrow at the unlikely outcome.

“What is that?” she asks, pointing a finger at the odd-looking card.

“I-it’s a new mechanic I was planning to test,” Ceridwen replies, her face drooping for a moment, “Before I ran out of time to prepare, that is. These are egg type cards. They technically count as characters. They’re pretty much defenseless, but If I let them hang on the field for a certain number of turns, they hatch into more powerful characters. I can also force them open earlier to summon weaker characters, or use them as tribute material!” She cheers up a bit at having the chance to explain her new strategy.

“Hmph, doesn’t seem to have availed you much so far; a bad start, but thank you for allowing me the chance to open up our duel.” Strawberi says, smiling full-of-herselfely,”Now, let’s shuffle!” she finishes with a snap of her fingers.

Before Ceridwen can protest at the unwarranted jab, Warwick picks up their deck and begins shuffling. The young dragon decides to respond in kind.

After the usual splitting and reshuffling, both dueli- err… both team- no, uh… both the pint-sized pair and the lusty lizard draw five cards and the duel begins in earnest.
>>
No. 1070475 ID: 918cdb
File 169258406850.png - (110.38KB , 266x423 , Chester_Adventuress.png )
1070475

“This could work. Not a bad hand to start with.” Strawberi chirps contentedly, inviting Warwick to take a look.

“Hey, that card is ba-”

“Hush, not in front of my rival, you dolt!” she scolds him, before looking back at her cards pensively. “Hmm, still, we could use it now, couldn’t we?”

“Why, yes, I think we could, Miss Strawberi!” He perks up, as the gears in his head turn in tandem with his charge’s.

“Very well, then,” the cherry colored noble says, as she plays her first card. “I place a trap card, and then summon Chester, Intrepid Adventuress in defense mode.”

[Chester, Intrepid Adventuress, 3 stars, Type: Beast/Clothier, 800 ATK, 800 DEF]

“No guts, but hopefully some glory,” the small dog-like creature says, as she appears over her card, posing intrepidly.

“That will be all for my first turn. Let’s hope yours is a promising one, you will need it.” Strawberi smiles, not un-unkindly.

“Thanks,” Ceridwen replies rather dryly before looking down at her hand. She hesitates for a moment, unsure if the idea going through her head is the right decision, but then creases her brow and lays a card on the table. She has thought long and hard on this strategy, she is not going to let a few negative comments discourage her now.

“I summon Egg of Hearts!” she exclaims resolutely. Sure enough, a child-sized egg with pink heart-shaped splotches appears on the field.

[Egg of Hearts, 2 stars, Type: Egg, 0 ATK, 100 DEF]

“This egg will hatch in three turns, not including this one, or I can tribute it before then to gain 500 life points. If anything else destroys it, I will lose 500 life points.”

“Wait, does the three turns countdown include our own?” Warwick asks, raising his head over his lady’s beach umbrella.

“No, just three of mine,” Ceridwen replies.

“Interesting trade-off. I take it those 500 life points are a penalty on top of any other battle damage?” Strawberri asks.

“That’s right, and to make sure that doesn’t happen, I will use Nothing To See Here.

[Nothing To See Here, no stars, Type: it’s a spell card, ATK and DEF sold separately]

“Nothing To See Here keeps a character card from being targeted by any attack or spell for one turn,” Ceridwen says, “It can also keep it from being blocked when attacking the other player, but there’s no need to worry about it right now.”

“Sounds like you are putting a lot of eggs in that basket, spending so versatile a card like that,” Strawberi quips.

“Myeeeah,” Ceridwen quirks her lips in annoyance, “anyway, that will be my turn for now.”

At this raise a finger emphatically, “Then let proper duel be-”

“Oh, no, wait, I forgot to put down a trap card!” Ceridwen says, hurriedly putting said card down on the field, “Haha, sorry, now I end my turn.”

“Ahem.” Strawberi feigns clearing her throat, “As I was saying: then let the duel proper begin!”

Drawing a card, Strawberi shows it toWarwick and, after some small murmuring back and forth, she looks back again at the field with a roguish smile. “I summon Millie, Flamboyant Firestarter in defense mode!”

[Millie, Flamboyant Firestarter, 3 stars, Type: Beast/Clothier, 800 ATK, 800 DEF.]

“Millie! Millie!” the little bird boy exclaims.

“Huh?” Chester looks at him in confusion.

“Sorry, I thought we were doing the Pokémon TCG.”

“You got a card in that one?”

“You don’t?”

“What can I say? I always pick cards of good renown,” Strawberi interrupts, “Now, I will equip Millie with a Patchwork Crossbow.

As she puts the equipment card under Millie’s, a rather large mix between a one-handed crossbow and a sewing machine forms in the little bird’s hand.

“Woah, nice.”

“This allows my character to increase their attack and defense points by 200 for every equipment card they destroy; which mixes perfectly with Millie’s ability to destroy any card equipped to a character he attacks.”

“Ooh, nice combo. I bet it even adds up to another card down the-” Ceridwen suddenly stops herself in realization, “...oh.”

“Astute observation, my dear rival,” Strawberi replies, “but you shouldn’t concern yourself with that right now. Instead, you should steel yourself as I put Chester in attack mode. And since I cannot target your egg, what do you say if we break the ice by doing so with your life points?

Upon hearing this, Chester perks up and digs a hand through one of her back pockets, from which she pulls out a FUCKHUGE SPELUNIKING SHOVEL, and charges with a defiant scream!

The sight of the diminutive dog charging towards her with an oversized digging tool and the fury of a sun is enough to alarm Ceridwen, but only for a moment, as she swiftly swipes a hand toward the cards on the field.

“You just activated my trap card!” she says, in a time-honored tradition. “A continuous trap, to be specific. Formican Reductor shrinks any attacking enemy, permanently lowering their attack and defense by 500 points.”

A stream of light arcs out of the trap card and envelopes Chester, whose resounding “AAAH” turns increasingly softer and high-pitched until the now barely visible poochingus swings the normal size-ified shovel and hits Ceridwen’s arm with a tiny “thunk.”

Ceridwen now has 5700 life points.

“Uh, um, ow?”

“Take that, you jerk,” Chester squeaks out, raising her shovel triumphantly, “And thanks for the loot!” she says, pulling out a card with her other hand.

“Huh? Wha-?” Ceridwen looks up and down from her, to her deck on the field in confusion.

“Aaand that’s the special ability of my Intrepid Adventuress: when attacking an opponent’s life points directly, Chester can steal an equipment card from their deck and add it to my hand.”

“Aww, no fair!” Ceridwen protests.

“All’s fair when it comes to a duel, lady Ceridwen.”

“Aren’t duels supposed to be honorable?”

“Well, my honor would be on the line should I lose, would it not?” Strawberi shrugs, “at any rate; come, my little excavator. Let’s see what you’ve unearthed.”

“Sure thing!” Chester says, walking back towards her side of the field. After about ten seconds of seeing her teeny tiny frame slowly crossing the distance, Strawberi sits up and grabs the doggy digger and her ill-gotten card herself.

“Let’s see… uh, a Feather Duster?
>>
No. 1070476 ID: 918cdb
File 169258412271.png - (80.74KB , 266x423 , Dusty_Egg_Caretaker.png )
1070476

“Sorry, chief,” Chester gestures apologetically on Strawberi’s hand, “it was the first thing I could find.”

“‘At the start of each turn, select an opposing character. This character cannot attack during the opponent’s next turn.’ Hmm, that’s actually rather useful, well done, little servant.”

“Please don’t call me that,” Chester rubs her arm self-consciously.

“My apologies, little Chester, you may return to your post,” she replies, lowering the shrunken puppo back onto the field, “I think this is a good point to end my turn, wouldn’t you say, servant Warwick.”

“A fine turn, my- oop!” He corrects his posture, as Strawberi’s picnic basket and spare shoebox start slipping from under his arms, “A fine turn, my lady!”

“I must say, this is quite a peculiar card,” Strawberi says, looking at the equipment spell pensively, “I wonder, what tale or character is it linked to?”

“Ah, well,” Ceridwen says, looking away and shrugging slightly “I think it will be best to show when it comes up.” She draws a card, and her eyes light up. “Speaking of! I activate Dungeon Entrance, which allows me to special summon the owner of that feather duster!” she says, laying the spell card on the field and searching her deck energetically, “Meet Dusty, Egg Caretaker!

[Dusty, Egg Caretaker, 6 stars, Type: Beast/Spirit, 1800 ATK, 2000 DEF]

“Greetings adventurers. Please stay away from the eggs.” The dust bunny lifts her skirt in a little curtsy, before immediately shaking her first at Chester and Millie.

“Any attack or effect aimed at an Egg-Type character is instead aimed at Dusty herself,” Ceridwen explains. “She is a very dedicated nanny.”

“Quite a nice card combination, I applaud,” Strawberi softly puts her hands together, barely making any noise. “I do hope I don’t draw any characters stronger than her, now that her attack-annulling tool is out of her grasp, hmm?”

“Err, right!” Ceridwen stammers, looking back at her hand with renewed focus.

She hesitates, assessing both her cards and the field. She could lay another egg on the table, now that her trusty protector is in place, though she is not confident that Dusty will be sufficient now that she can’t use her Feather Duster to prevent enemies from attacking. She isn’t sure that her Formican Reductor can hold off the strongest ones either. She could reinforce her defense further by tributing her Egg of Hearts to summon a stronger creature now, a decision she is not fond of, as she has worked hard to put out that egg and it would hurt to not see it hatch.

She could also simply attack, as Dusty is currently in attack mode and Strawberi’s current characters are somewhat puny, though the trap card Strawberi placed earlier makes her feel a bit uneasy.

What should Ceridwen do?

>Lay a new egg.

>Tribute an egg to summon a stronger character.

>Go for the eyes, Dusty!
>>
No. 1070477 ID: 273c18

Tribute. Your intended combo to protect the egg won't work, so it's now dead weight.
>>
No. 1070478 ID: a7a180

Lay egg is true
>>
No. 1070481 ID: 4481aa

Laying another egg would probably be the safest option for Ceri right now. If your opponent wanted to go into a rank 3 Xyz monster using Chester and Millie, they probably would have done so already. And they certainly wouldn't be equipping damage boosters to them if they were just meant to be material.

Charging in could easily result in losing Dusty to a trap card, which would leave your eggs defenseless. They take a long time to hatch, and you've clearly built your deck around keeping them safe to stretch out your time limit. Even if your opponent's get a card that can take out Dusty, you might at least have one egg left in the end, which you can still use as tribute material. If they don't, then they may just have to pass the turn straight back to you, letting you potentially draw more safety/stall options.

Assuming you have 3 cards, including a tribute monster and an egg, that leaves you with just 1 extra card. If you commit too hard and lose your current field, that won't give you many options to recover. Play the long game your deck wants to, and Lay another egg for now.
>>
No. 1070491 ID: f12747

Attack without mercy.
>>
No. 1070662 ID: a04542

L'egg

I mean, lay egg.
>>
No. 1070663 ID: 00444f

Give us an eggy
>>
No. 1072931 ID: fb8a42
File 169543992734.png - (322.20KB , 628x1000 , Lost_In_The_Woods_s.png )
1072931

>Jingle bells, Warwick smells…

Once again, Ceridwen decides to have faith in her current strategy. She shifts herself on her seat and lays her next egg card on the table.

“I summon Egg of Spades in defense mode.”

[Egg of Spades, 2 stars, Type: Egg, 0 ATK, 200 DEF]

“This one hatches in two turns, but I can open it earlier to summon a smaller character,” Ceridwen explains, “and since there is not much point in it, I will switch Dusty to defense mode.”

Upon Ceridwen saying this, the card shifts horizontally under Dusty’s feet and she changes her pose ever so slightly. This impresses Warwick, who unlike the other two duelists doesn’t get to play fancy video games with idle animations.

“And… I suppose I’ll place a card face down in the spell and trap zone before I end my turn,” Ceridwen sighs.

“Running out of cards already, Miss Ceridwen?” Strawberi chides.

“Don’t be so sure of yourself, lady, I am building up to something, and my defense is pretty solid right now,” Ceridwen answers, crossing her arms.

“Hmm, yes. We should do something about that, shouldn’t we?” Strawberi says, drawing a card from her deck and placing another on the field, “I cast Lost In The Woods. This spell sends a character on the field right back to the deck, and since she’s taking all the hits for her little eggs, that character would be Dusty.”

At this, Dusty’s card flies off as if of its own volition to the top of Ceridwen’s deck. The figure of Dusty herself holds on desperately to the table for a couple seconds, before she too is sucked and vanishes into the pile of cards. This also impresses Warwick, who doesn’t own a vacuum cleaner.

“Don’t forget to shuffle, it’s part of the effect,” Strawberi points out; Ceridwen huffs and gives her a dirty look as she does so, “Now that your caretaker is gone, your eggs are left exposed, and I know who to call to deal with it. I summon Trapinch on attack mode.”

[Trapinch, 4 stars, Type: Bug/Pervert 1000 ATK, 800 DEF]

“Trapinch! Trapinch!” the abnormally large termite cries out.

“They let Pokémon cards be in other games?!” Chester asks in surprise.

“You don’t?” Trapinch replies.

“Enough chit-chat. Trapinch, use tackle!”

“Trapiii- ah, crud,” Trapinch’s battlecry is cut short as he leaps forth when the Formican Reductor shrinks the attacking port-a-monster midair, reducing his attack and defense by 500. This, however, does little to protect the Egg of Hearts, which cracks in a splash of pink and red yolk under Trapinch’s brutal headbutt.

“Oh, no!” Ceridwen exclaims in frustration.

“And did not you say that part of its effect is losing 500 points if it’s ever destroyed?”

“OH, NO!” Ceridwen exclaims even more.

[Ceridwen now has 5200 life points left]

Strawberi, on her part, puts a single coin on top of Trapinch’s card. “And that’s one victory token.”

“What is that for?” Ceridwen asks.

“For defeating one of your characters, of course. Something interesting will happen once Trapinch reaches 3, and on that note: Chester, smash that second egg!”

“Yaaaah!” the miniaturized spelunker screeches as she charges forward, the power of the cards making her lunge faster than her teenie legs would otherwise carry her.

“Eeep! Wait, no! Ohnonono, I activate and open the egg early!” Ceridwen blurts out, almost too fast to make out while tapping the egg card frenetically like a button.

As soon as the words come out of her mouth, the egg bursts into yards and a very confused kobold is smacked by Chester’s shovel. The kobold, however, rises an arm defensively before swinging it in a batting motion at his assailant, not only fending off the attack but making Chester recoil and land fall onto her back.

[Strawberi and Warwick now have 5300 life points left.]

“What?! You can’t do that!” Strawberi protests.

“Can and did. Look, it’s in the card text.” Ceridwen replies, grabbing the card with a claw to let her opponents have a closer look.

Strawberi and Warwick tilt their heads forward and notice the line of text at the bottom of the card reading:

>IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, YOU MAY BREAK EGG (that means during the opponent's turn, too).

“Who even writes rules like that? That’s such a dumb line.”

In a far off land, in the bowels of the Games4Children R&D department, a cutebold writer feels sad all of a sudden.
>>
No. 1072934 ID: fb8a42
File 169544000721.png - (547.67KB , 628x1000 , Pneumatic_Tubes_s.png )
1072934

On the dueling field, the slightly less cute ‘bold stands up, looming over Chester in all his three-foot glory, and proceeds to raise a spear threateningly until Chester goes back to her side of the field.

“Strawberi, Warwick, this is Germ.” Ceridwen says.

[Germ, the Kobold, 3 stars, Type: Lizard, 600 ATK, 1000 DEF]

“Hmph!” Strawberi scoffs, “A rather cheap move, but it’s in the rules, so guess I’ll let it slide this time.”

“All’s fair in a duel, am I right?” Ceridwen says.

Strawberi gives her dirty look, but her stink eye is interrupted as Warwick deftly leans his head over all the clutter in his arms to speak to her. “Umm, Miss, should we…?” he says, the rest being a whisper too soft for Ceridwen to hear. Strawberi turns from Warwick to look at her two remaining cards, considering for a moment.

“Hmm, no, not yet. I think it’d be best if we end our turn for now,” she says pensively, “I don’t have any useful spell cards at present and Millie is too meek to break through that kobold’s defense.”

“Ow.” Millie lowers his head somewhat dejectedly.

“Where the blazes did that character card come from, anyway?” Strawberi asks.

“Oh!” Ceridwen sits up in a mixture of excitement and embarrassment, “I kind of panicked and began tapping the egg hoping the magic of the duel would summon Germ from my deck,” she shrugs, looking away, “I can’t believe it worked.”

This explanation impresses Warwick, who has never seen cards moving on their own outside of that time he found a brown rabbit with a wristwatch while tending the gardens and followed him down a hole, only to be later kicked in the ribs for sleeping on the job.

“Aaanyway, if that's the end of your turn, I think I will just…” Ceridwen trails off as she draws a card and takes a look at it.

“Huh, that’s actually pretty useful!” she smiles.

“What is?” Strawberi asks, raising an eyebrow.

“A card that might just fix things up faster than I thought; I activate Pneumatic Tubes,” Ceridwen replies as she places a spell card on the field, “For the price of a 1000 life points each, I can summon up to 3 characters that aren’t higher than 4 stars from my deck, and I know which ones I’d like to bring out.”

“3000 life points for three minor characters?!” Strawberi says, bewildered for a moment, “you really spare no expense in pulling off your strategies, don’t you?”

“I mean, if you are going to do something risky, better be committed, right?” Ceridwen shrugs defensively as she grabs the cards she was searching for.

“Say hello to my little friends: Weasel, Kobold Wife, Chunky Slime and finally Egg of Clubs!

Alongside the kobold and the slime, the egg forms into view, bearing the black markings in the shape of blunt objects, strangely seeming the most vivacious of the three as it shakes and shivers, a faint growling emanating from its interior.

“That egg is aggressive,” observes Warwick.

“Oh, yeah, that’s the egg of clubs’ whole gimmick. It only hatches in attack mode and placing it in defense mode resets the timer, but you don’t want to deal with what will come out in 3 turns.”

[Weasel, Kobold Wife, 3 stars, Type: Lizard, 500 ATK, 1100 DEF]

[Chunky Slime, 4 stars, Type: Alien, 900 ATK, 900 DEF]

[Egg of Clubs, 3 stars, Type: Egg, 200 ATK, 0 DEF]

[Ceridwen now has 2200 life points left]



“Hey, honey!”

“Hey, dear!”

Germ and Weasel wave at each other happily as they lock eyes.

“I sure want something tender to serve when we get home!” Weasel says.

“What about those bozos over there?” Germ replies, pointing at the enemy characters.

“Sure! Worm could practice-hunt with the little one.”

“Just try it, you ugly newt!” Chester raises her oversized shovel and waves it threateningly.

“Feisty pair, aren’t they?” Warwick comments.

“Yup! When Germ and Weasel are together on the field, they gain 500 extra defense points,” Ceridwen explains, “But that’s not all! Their protective nature makes it so that when there is another lizard type character by their side, they both gain 500 attack points, and that includes each other!” she finishes, beaming proudly at her clever combo.

“So they gain 500 attack and defense points just for being together? Sound rather sappy,” Strawberi remarks.

“You will get it when you are older,” Weasel says dismissively, then she walks up to Germ and they kiss. It is very sappy.”

“Ugh! Can we return to the battle at hand, please?” Strawberi says, craning her head back in annoyance.

“Yes, actually, I will now send Chunky Slime to attack Chester.” Ceridwen replies.

“Eee-ulp!” Chester’s squeak is cut short as the Slime lunges at her and she is swallowed up into the creature’s bright green goop.

“Chester, you alright in there?” Millie asks, concerned.

Chester’s figure disintegrates into little bits that quickly fade to nothing.

“OH, NO!”

[Strawberi and Warwick have 4700 life points left]

“Drat.” Strawberi says flatly, resting her head on her arm and arm on the stool Warwick so helpfully procured.

“No more stealing from you!” Ceridwen wags her finger, “and now, before I end my turn, I will tribute Chunky Slime to summon Jekkesson Terrorscale, Faithful Father in defense mode.”

A fearsome yet kind-looking green lizardman appears on the table as Ceridwen places the card on it.
>>
No. 1072937 ID: fb8a42
File 169544012795.gif - (1.37MB , 1600x1600 , Jekesson.gif )
1072937

[Jekkesson Terrorscale, Faithful Father, 6 stars, Type: Lizard, 1300 ATK, 1600 DEF]

“Hello, little fellas, are you perchance children?” the lizardman politely turns toward Germ and Weasel.

“Um, we are 8, but we are grown ups.” Germ says.

“Kobolds age fast.” Weasel adds.

“Ah. Still, I believe that’s good enough.” Jekesson says, nodding. Immediately, a counter appears above the field, showing Jekesson’s defense points rising by 1500.
“Aw, what?” Strawberi leans over the table in surprise.

“Ah, yes. That’s the Faithful Father’s special effect,” Ceridwen explains, “For every underage character on his side of the field, Jekesson gains 500 points and will defend them from any attack or effect should they be targeted, at the expense of losing 1000 attack points whenever he is attacking an underage enemy character.”

“Preposterous. They are not underage!” Strawberi lifts herself up and motions at the kobold couple.

“Yeah, they are married with children and everything!” Warwick chimes in.

“What kind of trick are you trying to pull with such loose criteria?” Strawberi puts her hands on her hips indignantly.

“Eesh, fine, fine, You’d think you’d care about protecting the little ones,” Ceridwen replies, raising her hands and craning her head back. The counter pops back, showing Jekesson’s defense returning to a lower, but still formidable 2100 points.

“That’s somewhat better! Now, you said that was your last action this turn?”

“Err, yes. Yes, I believe it will be.”

“Very well, then,” Strawberi smiles, drawing a card, “Hmm. You know, Millie’s special ability involves destroying equipment cards, but seeing as you don’t have many of those, I think I will tribute him to summon this new character in attack mode: Njar, the Constructor.

“I’m coming Chester!” the itty bitty black bird boy exclaims, extending his arms as he vanishes.
In his place, a gaunt, tall and rather fluffy alien woman appears on the field, swirling shapes of pink holographic light dancing around her fingertips. All eight of them.

[Njar, the Constructor, 5 stars, Type: Alien, 1500 ATK, 1300 DEF]

“Now… hmm… servant Warwick, let’s talk strategy for a moment.”

“Y-yes, Mis Strawberi,” Warwick says, heaving the pile of luggage and knick-knacks and half resting it on the stool.

“Alright, so my options are a bit limited,” Strawberi whispers, her face nearly touching Warwick’s, “right now, there is that Feather Duster I so cleverly purloined from our rival, and also Tantalizing Outfit.

“Yes, the one that forces the character wearing it to-”

“Be the target of all enemy attacks, quite right, my servant. Now, I think it goes without saying we should equip Njar with the Feather Duster so she can’t keep a character from attacking each turn, and probably use Tantalizing Outfit on an enemy, though I am not sure which one it should be.”

“Yeah, that ‘protect the kids’ ability of the lizard guy will be a bigger problem when another egg shows up, not to mention all three other characters on Miss Ceridwen’s field are parent figures.”

“That’s true, her entire deck seems built around protecting those eggs of hers.”

“Whatever they summon once they hatch must be very powerful.”

“Indeed, servant, and that blasted Formican Reductor keeps shrinking any character I attack with. Her defense is so fiendish, it’s almost perfect!”

“What about that trap card you placed earlier?”

“Oh, right, I almost forgot, Invigorating Reagent. It raises the attack points of my characters by 1000 until the end of the turn! We could use it along with Tantalizing Outfit to destroy that feisty little egg.”

“Well, yes, but maybe we should attack the Jekesson card first. If we destroy that character now, we might not be able to beat him later.”

“Hmm, true, and maybe we should use the Outfit on Trapinch instead. Look at him, he’s all tiny and weak! I don’t think he will make it to three kills now.”

“I’m not so sure, Miss Strawberi, Trapinch also has an ability that would mix well with Feather Duster, now that I think of it.”

“The Sand Attack?Well yes, but it’s not nearly as good as Feather Duster, it only makes a character have a ¼ chance to miss.”

“Even so…”

“Uhm, sorry to interrupt but, are you going to take much longer?”

“Just a moment, dear Ceridwen, we are almost done,” Strawberi raises her voice before turning back to Warwick, “Now, then, I think I know what to do now…”

>Use Invigorating Reagent and Tantalizing Outfit to destroy the Egg of Clubs.

>Use only Invigorating Reagent and destroy Jekesson Terrorscale.

>Save Invigorating Reagent for later and use Tantalizing Outfit on Trapinch.
>>
No. 1072953 ID: a7a180

Only use Invigorating Agent.
>>
No. 1072966 ID: 58dd24

just think how happy trapinch would be to have a pretty dress
>>
No. 1072987 ID: fb8a42

Save the Agent, use the outfit!
>>
No. 1073209 ID: 4481aa

>>1072987

Use just the outfit. We need to see a Trapinch wearing it.
>>
No. 1076560 ID: 3c2dff
File 169923542880.png - (18.75KB , 700x500 , BleacherView.png )
1076560

Genevieve looks down at the ongoing duel, paying close attention to every move and every snippet of conversation that reaches her ears, which is no easy task amid the din and hubbub of the audience.

Like most everyone around, she is at the edge of her seat. Mostly because the benches don’t have much room. Nonetheless, she is quite attentive at her vanquishers’ latest next move, the mysterious lizard lady Ceridwen having cemented her defense so well, the two small pastel duelists are left stumped and whispering to each other.
So avid is she in trying to read their lips, Genevieve almost jumps out and all the way down to the floor as the odd fellow sitting next to her speaks up.

“Nice match, huh?”

“Eep!”

“Oops! Sorry, didn’t mean to startle ya, name’s Conway, Conway Killjoy.”

The character, who looks like a man sporting a bright sunny dress, a long face-obscuring mane, and a smile that could light up the entire courtyard, lifts a hand out to the disquieted aardvark, after a second’s hesitation, she finally offers hers in turn and they shake.

“Uh, nice to meet you mis..ter?”

“Yup!”

“Nice to meet you, Mister Killjoy,” she says, more confident this time, “That’s… quite the name, if you don’t mind me saying.”

“Heh heh, I’m kidding, nobody calls me killjoy. Matter of fact, usually I’m the life of the party!” He chuckles, his grin somehow actually widening.

“I see.. say, you are one of the duelists here, right?”

“Yes ma’am, and so are you! Sorry I missed most of your match, was busy losing mine at the time. I saw what that nasty god guy did to your poor little angel. Not cool, bro. I mean, the booming voice and the final showdown were kinda awesome, but still, it’s an ugly way to defeat someone.”

“Hmph, tell me about it.” Genevieve folds her arms, focusing again on the duel below.

“Come to check how those two kids are doing, yeah?” Conway leans down, also looking at the ongoing game.

“Hmm, yes, I suppose I am… Mostly, I wonder what this whole tournament is all about.”

“Oh, it didn’t say anything on your invitation?” Conway says before extending his arms like a ringmaster putting on a show, “play a card game of magic and awe, meet new and strange people, make unique friends, and the winner will be given a prize of their choosing!”

“Yes, I gathered as much, but… why?”

“I dunno,” Conway shrugs as he sits up, “maybe it’s to get the different people of the cosmos to bond and form a grand alliance, or maybe it’s some big publicity stunt. I’ve heard the birds who are acting as judges are also powerful gods, but frankly it’s probably one or more of them are of a wish-granting class.”

“Class?”

“Oh, yeah! A type of person born with an innate talent that grants them amazing abilities! It’s pretty common where I’m from.”

“I see… so what do-?”

“Oh, shh shh, the little guys are doing something!” Conway raises his hand in front of Genevieve and ushers her to look down at the duel.

The aardvark turns back to watch and squints for a moment “Wait.. is that..?” she asks in disbelief.

“Nice getup!” Conway smiles once again.
>>
No. 1076561 ID: 3c2dff
File 169923547536.jpg - (570.62KB , 1383x1641 , traphinch_dress.jpg )
1076561

>Save Invigorating Reagent for later and use Tantalizing Outfit on Trapinch.

Exotic and enticing, intriguing and bewildering. Men want to be with him, ladies want to be him. Or something.

The now dazzling bobble-headed termite is so eye-catching, all enemy characters will lunge at him either in passionate abandon or mind-clouding envy. Even noble Jekesson can’t help but feel inadequate at his bedazzling opponent, just look at him pout!

Njar on her part looks just as puzzled and unamused, as she finds her holographic tinkering interrupted when a feather duster suddenly manifests in her hand.

“And I will now use the Feather Duster, of course, on your “germ kobold”, so he may not attack next turn,” Strawberi points a finger at the chivalrous child protector.

Sure enough, Njar waves the Feather Duster at Germ and a cloud of detritus falls on his eyes. The effect is not very noticeable beyond a light flinch, however, as Germ’s eyes, besides being small and beady, are also red with violent jealousy at Trapinch’s captivating looks.

“And then, I will… Uh,” Strawberi trails off, snapping her fingers a couple times, to which Warwicks leans next to her once more and whispers something in her ear.

“End my turn!” she declares triumphantly, “...wait, seriously?” she turns to her servant/advisor in puzzlement.

“I warned you using the outfit wouldn’t be much use, Miss Strawberi,” Warwick replies with a shrug.

“Hrrmm, fine. Let it not be said I cannot accept my misjudgments.” Strawberi proclaims, chin and index finger raised solemnly, “And anyways, now all of her attacks will be aimed at a single creature. I’m sure that will be useful soon enough.”

“Oh, yes, it certainly will,” Jekesson hisses, staring daggers at the pervy pokémon. Germ nods in agreement. Everyone else stares at him for a moment.

“Aaaanyway,” Ceridwen segues, “Now it’s my turn again, let me draw a card and..” she trails of and she looks at the new piece of cardboard in her hand, “Hmm, put it in face down position for the moment,” she finishes.

“That’s it?” asks Starwberi, arching an eyebrow.

“Uh, Miss Strawberi…” Warwick says tentatively.

“Well, not all of it. I guess I could also send Weasel to attack your Trapinch while his distracting outfit is still not a big deal,” Ceridwen replies, flipping Weasel’s card to attack position.

“Not the face, that’s my moneymaker!” yells the alluringly-dressed pokémon, but to no avail, as he is mostly face.

As Weasel’s spear pierces Trapinch’s chitin, he and his mouth-watering clothes vanish in a cloud of pixelated dust. On their side of the field, Jekesson and Germ share a high-five.

“I just had to ask, didn’t I?” Strawberi pouts, crossing her arms.

“I was going to warn you, Miss Strawberi-”

“And yet you didn’t, servant. Some good you are!” she harrumphs.

“Now that will be the end of my turn,” Ceridwen butts in, before her opponents’ quarrel escalates.

Strawberi grumpily aborts her tirade to draw a card, but her face suddenly lits up as she sees what she now has in her hand.

“Aha, A chance to redeem yourself, servant Warwick! Come here now,” Strawberi draws a card and motions for her pigmented plebeian pal to once again make his way around the clutter in his hands to be close enough to whisper. After a few moments of inaudible to and fro, they turn back towards Ceridwen.

“I cast the spell Puddle Jacket, which allows me to destroy one trap or spell card on your side of the field for each equipment card my characters have.”

“But I just destroyed the Outfit that Trapinch was-” Ceridwen starts before her expression turns indignant, “Wait… oh no, you don’t!”

“Oh, yes I very much will!” declares Strawberi triumphantly, “your handy Feather Duster is still equipped to Njar, thus allowing to get rid of your pesky Formican Reductor, and with that out of the way, I will also activate my trap card Invigorating Reagent, which gives Njar 1000 extra attack points until the end of the turn, and you know what that entails…” the little cherry-coloured lady pauses for a second as she lifts her finger dramatically, “Njar, the Constructor, destroy Weasel the Kobold Wife!”

Weasel barely manages to open her mouth before a gush of bright pink bolts pierce her chest and her body shatters like the other defeated characters before her. Germ falls to his knees and screams in anguish as he feels a piece of his heart (and the bonus ATK and DEF points from being together) be ripped out from his chest.

Ceridwen has 1200 life points left.
>>
No. 1076562 ID: 3c2dff
File 169923565669.png - (294.87KB , 628x1000 , Species_Swap_s.png )
1076562

“Auugh! I needed that character!” Ceridwen protests, both exasperated at her own Feather Duster being used against her and saddened at seeing Germ’s grief.

“Now, now, you knew the risks when sent your kobold on the offensive, I just responded in kind,” Strawberi places a hand on her chest and bows her head in feigned modesty, “Naturally, I will once again use the Feather Duster to prevent your “Faithful Father” from attacking, and with that, I believe I will end my turn, but know that I have plenty more aces up my sleeve.”

“Your dress doesn’t have sleeves, don’t you mean up your skirt?” Ceridwen asks, unimpressed.

“How dare you!” Strawberi lifts herself in her seat in indignation. She hears Warwick stifling a chuckle, to which she tips him slightly with her hand, making him fall off his stool.

“Don’t forget the beachball, it was a holiday gift,” she says as Warwick paws the floor trying to pick all her scattered baggage back up, “And that tea set better not be cracked!” she adds.

“R-right,” Ceridwen hesitantly draws a card as she witnesses the display. As she sees what card she picked, however, her eyes grow wide, “Ha! Get ready to say hello again, because guess who’s back for round 2? I tribute Germ and my face-down Cryluk (sorry guys), to summon Dusty, Egg Caretaker back onto the field!”

At this, both the sorrowful Germ and the now revealed figure of a tiny two-legged creature with a long trunk of a nose and a singular, ever-crying eye, lift off the ground and turn into clouds of dust. A moment later, a gust of wind burst from within the dust, blowing it away as Dusty steps onto the field, a cheery expression etched on her face.

“But that’s not all,” Ceridwen says, “I will also use Species Swap, which allows me to change the Type of one of my characters, to change to… Child.”

“Child?!” Strawberi asks in bewilderment.

“That… doesn’t sound like a real Type,” Warwick adds.

“Yes, it is! It got added in the Questden Babies! Limited Edition a couple years back. It was first made as a Kid’s Game charity edition run, but it was so successful that it got re-released as a more kid-friendly version of the main game.”

“A children’s version of a children’s card game?” Strawberi asks, “Who even thinks of that?”

“Awww!” up in the rafters, Toffles lowers his head with a saddened expression while Companionship places a wing over his head to console him.

Back at the table, the spell card activates, shrinking Dusty into a young, bright blue, marketable version of herself; her being now a minor, Jekesson’s defense rises to 2600 points.

“Now my Egg Caretaker’s got a caretaker of her own! I’d like to see you get through that before my Egg of Clubs hatches next turn,” Ceridwen says, crossing her arms contentedly.

“And I will, you plebeian!” Strawberi says, her cheeks somehow turning even more pink,”All it takes is one good draw to tear your silly little combo down!”

“Hope you’ve been trusting the heart of the cards then, my fair lady, because it’s your turn now,” Ceridwen replies, her lips being the ones curling into a sarcastic smile for a change.

Strawberi lets an exasperated shrill pass through her clenched teeth, before finally sitting back down and grumpily drawing a card, an attitude which changes once she sees what the card is.

“Ah, finally!” she says in a mix of enthusiasm and relieved frustration, “I activate Change of Wardrobe, which lets me draw one more card for each equipment card in my graveyard. Servant Warwick, kindly count the equipment cards I’ve in the pile, please.”

“Erhm..” Warwick lifts his arms slightly, highlighting the large pile of knick-knacks he is still carrying.

“Tch, fine! I’ll do it myself.” Strawberi rolls her eyes, before browsing the small stack of graveyard cards, mumbling inaudibly all the while.

“I-I think there were the Patchwork Crossbow and the..” Warwick begins recalling in an apologetic tone.

“The Tantalizing Outfit, yes,” Strawberi finishes, putting the graveyard pile back in its place, “so that would be two cards. More than enough to deal with the likes of you!” She adds, looking pointedly at Ceridwen, making her roll her eyes.

“Now let’s see here…” Strawberi says, drawing two cards and raising them to eye level, “Aha! I told you it only takes one good draw to turn the tables, watch and learn! I summon Godrender, Eager Blade.

[Godrender, Eager Blade, 4 stars, Type: Construct, 500 ATK, 500 DEF]


“I put the ‘more’ in ‘claymore’!” Godrender exclaims as they rise onto the field.

“That was terrible,” Njar opines.

“AND IT LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE THE CLAY!” the sword yells confrontationally.

“Oh, no, actually. She will be your wielder for the evening,” Strawberi declares, raising a finger.

“Ahahaha, that’s more like it!” Godrender laughs in anticipation.

“Huh? Wielder? What does that mean? And is it actually evening?” Ceridwen asks all confused-like.

“Ah, that’s the beauty of this card, my scaly rival. Godrender, Eager Blade doubles as an equipment card, adding their ATK and DEF points to the character who wields them, and because it is an eager blade, Godrender also allows their wielder to attack twice per turn.”

“What?! That’s ridiculous! A card that powerful can’t be worth just a couple stars!”

“I don’t know what to tell you, my dear, that is how the card was released and I considered it rather ludicrous not to add it to my repertoire.” Strawberi shrugs quizzically.

“No way! I want my rules lawyer!” The aquamarine dragon protests.

On cue, the cranky secretary bird Tianna swoops once again to the table to settle the dispute.
“You will have to forgive us, Miss Ceridwen,“ she says, “we were not quite so thorough in reviewing the most recent sets of cards, and a couple unbalanced ones such as this may have been allowed into the tournament. Blame Pan for focusing on ‘fun.’”

“What was that last part?” Ceridwen asks.

“I mean to say that, at present, it would be rather poor form to ban a card at the last minute, overlooked as it may have been. Rest assured that we will review the Eager Blade card once the tournament, and likely prohibit it from future one, or at the very least lower its potency.”

“Hey, if you wish to strip me of my power, you will have to come and TAKE it!” the bellicose blade goads the feathery judge, who simply ignores them.

“It seems the judges have come to a decision, Miss Ceridwen,” Strawberi butts into the conversation, “do not worry, though. If your defense is as sound as you worked so hard for it to be, a little extra attack power won’t make it buckle.”

Ceridwen lets out a sigh before speaking, “Fine, I guess I don’t have much of a choice, and besides, that only boosts your ‘Njar Constructor’ by 500 points, which is the same as my characters’ defense.”

“Glad that’s settled,” Tianna gives an appreciative nod, “I will be right above in case you need me again. If you’ll excuse me…” and with that, she swoops over the table and flies back up to her impromptu perch.

“I must concede you are right, my soon to be former rival,” Strawberi says once Tianna returns to her previous post, “I can only raise Njar’s attack points so far by using Godrender, but I’m afraid that doesn’t mean I can’t lower your characters’ points as well. I now use the trap card I’m Dazzling, You’re Baffling, which lowers the ATK or DEF of every character wearing no equipment cards in the field until the end of turn. Of course, I choose defense.”

As Strawberi lays the card upon the table, Godrender and the Feather Duster shine with an enchanting light in Njar’s hands, beautiful sparkles dancing around them.
Jekesson and Dusty’s attire, on the other hand, takes on a dirty, patchy appearance, akin to decades old hand-me-downs.

Filled with a new sense of inadequacy, both Jekesson and Dusty see with saddened eyes as their defense drops by 1000 points.

“1000 points less?!” Ceridwen cries, “Aw, man! At least tell me they’ll get their clothes cleaned when the turn ends.”

“I suppose so… but that’s a moot point, as they won’t last until the turn’s end! Njar, the Constructor, take Godrender and, well, rend!”

There are no words to describe the ensuing carnage, the horrifying violence, the sight of a red-eyed llama-dog woman, feather duster in one hand and a large living sword on the other, pink holographic lights dancing around her all the while, striking a raggedy lizard guy and bunny girl, making them land flat on their backs in the middle of a table, all in the name of a children’s card game.

Truly, a display that defies all sane description.

“This game sucks.” Ceridwen remarks, resting her head on her hands.

“A magnificent card combination, Miss Strawberi,” Warwick perks up, a smile across his face for a change, “but it seems we have no more characters with which to attack Miss Ceridwen’s egg, and it is about to hatch.”

“Hmm, yes, I suppose I have run out of actions for the remainder of this turn.” Strawberi muses, then gives a dismissive flick of the wrist, “ No matter. Whatever lies inside that egg is surely no match for your sage advice and, of course, my astounding intellect.”

“So, you will be ending your turn now?” Ceridwen asks.

“Not like there is much else I can do anyway. Go on ahead, do your worst!” Strawberi teases.

“If you insist,” Ceridwen replies as she draws a card, and gives a light nod towards her Egg of Clubs.

As if on cue, the egg hatches and a burst of smoke and fire suddenly envelops half the table, accompanied by a loud, heart-pounding roar.

“Goodness gee!” Strawberi says, startled.

“Eep! Better get that astounding intellect working, my lady!” Warwick helpfully adds.
>>
No. 1076563 ID: 3c2dff
File 169923569810.png - (300.58KB , 628x1000 , Mai_Terrorscale_One_Dragon_Army_s.png )
1076563

Mai Terrorscale, 8 stars, Type: Dragon, 3500 ATK, 3000 DEF

Grand. Ominous. Powerful. Pissed.

As the trails of flame vanish and the smoke clears, the mighty dragon known as Mai Terrorscale rises over the dueling field, meeting all players at eye level and far dwarfing the alien and sword in front of her.

“Haha! Almost a worthy opponent!” Godrender declares.

“Hello, dear,” Mai hears a faint, trembling voice from the ground beside her.
She looks down, and smiles.

“Hello, husband,” she says, her toothy grin giving way to confusion, “Why are you dressed like a pauper?”

“Card effect,” the lizardman simply states, a light smile on his lips.

“Say no more,” the terrible dragoness says with an understanding growl, “I can see this game has taken a hard toll on you, but I know you held the line, you always have.”

“Were that I had held it for longer, my love,” the scaly paladin replies mournfully, his voice fading.

“Hush, sweet champion,” Mai answers in turn, in a voice as deep as it is soothing, “You have done enough, it is time for me to finish the fight.”

Jekesson nods, his smile widening for an instant, before closing his eyes, his expression turning resting, serene.

“This is scaring me more than the roar,” Strawberi whispers into Warwick’s ear.

“Go give them hell, lady!” Dusty turns her head towards Mai with an encouraging expression, before she and Jekesson finally fade into motes of light.

“Oh, I most certainly will!” Mai gives out a wide grin.

Immediately she lets out a vengeful roar that resonates across the entire atrium and, in spite of her diminutive size, manages to once more startle everybody around the table, and even the front bleachers!

“Nevermind, that’s also pretty scary,” Strawberi says.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mai’s fiery, furious and wide (in a good way!) figure looms over the humble Constructor, ready to strike the moment Ceridwen gives the command.

Before she does, however, she pauses, looking at the card she has just drawn: Quest Resurrection. A card that lets her bring back one character card from the graveyard.
She comes to the realization she can back up her formidable doom dragoness with one of previous characters, and so thinks back for a moment on the ones that were most useful.

First she considers Jekesson Terrorscale, the in-story husband to the terrifying firedrake. He has a decent 1300 ATK and 1600 DEF, and gains 500 more defense points for each underage character he fights alongside, not to mention he would be a perfect thematic fit to fight alongside Mai. However, he has the disadvantage of losing 1000 ATK points when he himself is attacking an underage character. Such is the lot of the Faithful Father.

Next, she thinks of Dusty, the magical dust bunny spirit. She has the best stats all her dead characters, with 1800 ATK and 2000 DEF points, and is great to protect any new eggs that Ceridwen may be able to summon onto the field, as her special ability as Egg Caretaker makes it so any effect or attack that might endanger an egg type creature targets her instead. However, Ceridwen considers, egg cards take a couple turns to hatch and by that point, Mai or another powerful character may have ended the duel.

Finally, she remembers Germ the Kobold. The unassuming creature has some of the weakest stats in all her deck, with only 600 ATK and 1000 DEF. His special ability, however, is gaining 500 extra ATK points for every other lizard type character on Ceridwen’s side of the field, which her deck has plenty of. She knows that Mai is a dragon, though, not a lizard, and that she would require some rather lucky draws in order to summon enough lizards to bring Germ up to strength.

Strawberi and Warwick look at each other in confusion for a moment as they notice Ceridwen’s trembling. Her One Dragon Army gives her the advantage for the moment, but she is low on lifepoints, and she can’t shake the feeling that this next decision will define the outcome of the duel. Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge.

Which character should Ceridwen bring back?

>Jekesson Terrorscale, Faithful Father

>Dusty, Egg Caretaker

>Germ, the Kobold
>>
No. 1076572 ID: eb0a9c

I think Strawberi is too arrogant (rather than narcissistic) to bluff about her belief in her superiority. Which implies that she does not have any Child-themed cards in her deck! Her last thief couldn't steal magic cards, so there's little chance of her stealing Species Swap from the graveyard!

Summon Jek and punch her in the neck!
>>
No. 1076574 ID: 273c18

Why is it even called Human Resources when there are no humans here?
>>
No. 1076620 ID: 84ef90

It's gotta be Jekesson!
Win or lose, he guarantees a most dramatic climax!
>>
No. 1076654 ID: 9640d4

Jekesson and Germ both gain attack per friendly on the board, but Jekesson starts with more attack, enough that he is still nearly as strong as Germ even if he is taking the penalty. Unless Germ has a combo with his kid that you can heart of the cards, he is out.

Dusty's ability probably isn't going to come into play before the end of the game, but Dusty is still a big beat stick, and the only one who can natively trade with the buffed Njar. Until the feather duster is neutralized, Mai doesn't get to attack, so you need somebody who can get through Njar right now. Dusty is the choice.
>>
No. 1076657 ID: a7a180

Jek sweep!
>>
No. 1076658 ID: 3ea497

>>1076654
For clarification: Jekesson gains 500 DEF per kid he's fighting along with. Germ is the one that gains extra ATK when he is with other lizards.

>>1076574
HR stands for Helpful Resources in the simulation and it's been played in the cibercafé next door.
>>
No. 1076661 ID: 7543e9

I think Germ is out of the question, even if you manage to get some good dragons, that defense is too low at this point of the game
Jek seems good but a species-swap effect or straw and warwick putting any child to defend means he's done for
I'd say go for Dusty,very good base stats and defense, and if she survives you'll get the ball rolling again next turn
>>
No. 1076712 ID: b6ec4d

Okay, I swear I already voted here, but I guess I didn't submit it?

This decision seems pretty easy. Jekesson and Germ both require setup to surpass Dusty, but you can't really afford that right now. And even if it is unlikely, Jek wven introduces an additional loss condition if Strawberi can get a child type character. Dusty's stats are the most consistent, and they're high enough to pumch over Njar to get rid of the Feather Duster. Dusty is the play.
>>
No. 1076715 ID: e51896

Go dusty and have them eat our dust... but not literally our dusty, i meant dust as in... forget it, just play Dusty.
>>
No. 1079408 ID: fb32ab
File 170286260197.png - (474.51KB , 628x1000 , Njar_Constructor_Defaced_s.png )
1079408

Of course! With greater stats and her spell card enabling Ceridwen to summon her without paying tribute, Dusty is the most logical choice!

Deftly, the cerulean saurian plays what remains of her hand.

“Before I declare my attack, I’ll use Quest Resurrection to bring Dusty, Egg Caretaker back to the field,” she says, pulling the dust bunny out of the graveyard swift as a magician, “in attack mode!”

“VENGEANCE!” Dusty shrieks out like a banshee as she appears on the field for the third time.

“Haha! Another fearsome foe to fell!” Godrender, Eager Blade yells in excitement.

“The foe who will be fallen..err, felled… is you. Mai Terrorscale, obliterate!” Ceridwen commands.

A cry of alarm from Njar, of defiance from Godrender, and of annoyance from Strawberi are all drowned out as a gust of flame engulfs the Constructor and the Eager Blade, erasing them from the face of the field.

Strawberi and Warwick have 320-

“And now that the way is clear, I use Dusty to attack your life points directly!” Ceridwen says again.

“No, wait- EEP!” Strawberi cries.

Strawberi and Warwick have 1400 life points left.

In a matter of seconds, Warwick rummages through his mistress’ luggage and pulls out a pair of pliers to pull the biting bunny maid off of Strawberi’s face.

“Down! Down, I say!” he says as he puts the growling Dusty back on her side of the field, raising the pliers menacingly.

“Ow, ow, ow. How DARE you inflict pain onto me!” Strawberi bellows, rubbing her now even rosier nose, “a lady of noble birth such as myself CANNOT be stricken! Your impudence must be twice repaid!”

As she says this, she gives Warwick a nod, which he immediately returns with a furrowed brow.

In a coordinated motion, both pint-sized duelists lean onto the edge of the table and, with all the reach their diminutive arms can muster, pinch the edge of Ceridwen’s snout.

“Haha! Take that, you fiend!” Strawberi yells, raising her fists victoriously.

“Are you done now?”Ceridwen asks, scratching the leathery hide around her nostrils in annoyance, “because that’ll be the end of my turn, so you better get serious if you don’t want Ms. Bunny biting you again.”

Dusty growls menacingly again.

“Oh, fine, fine! We’ll get serious. Not that it’ll be necessary; everyone nose I’m the better duelist.”

Strawberi and Warwick share a high-five at their clever jab, without breaking eye-contact with Ceridwen. The dragoness rolls her eyes.

“Now, let’s see..” Strawberi says as she draws a card, “Oh, this will be interesting! Servant Warwick, fetch me the pizza box!”

“The… pizza box?” Ceridwen asks, arching an eyebrow.

After another brief moment of rummaging, Warwick pulls out a small cardboard box with a pizza and a logo Ceridwen doesn’t recognize drawn on top of it. Strawberi quickly grabs and opens the box, revealing a greasy, cheesy pizza, half its slices missing. Strawberi pulls out one of them and places it on the table, the grease oozing out from under it.

“Uhm..” Ceridwen stammers.

“Disgusting, I know, “ Strawberi interjects, “but part of my next move, I assure you.”

“Is.. this meant to be a token for something?”

“Not a token; a tribute,” Strawberi replies, placing her new card on the table, “You see, the card I just drew is a 6 stars character, which allows me to bypass its character tribute by instead giving it a…”

“Pizzid Pizza slice!” a stinky green ratman jumps out of the newly-placed card, throwing himself at the greasy slice and biting it voraciously.

“So anyways,” Strawberi continues, watching the display with a grossed out expression, “this is Eugene, the Mischievous Rat Boy.

[Eugene, Mischievous Rat Boy, 6 stars, Type: Beast, 1000 ATK, 1100 DEF]

“Eugene has the ability to-”

“E- eat the entire slice just like that!” Ceridwen points at the rat in surprise, who indeed lays pleasingly on his back with a swollen tummy where a greasy triangle three times his size used to be.

“Wow, these cards-come-alive duels really go the extra mile,” Warwick says.

“Huh, yeah..” Strawberi looks at the contented rodent in bewilderment for a moment, before remembering herself, “but nevermind that. There is something almost as impressive this character can do!”

“From the turn I summon it, until it is removed from the field, Eugene, Mischievous Rat Boy makes it so that, during each of my turns, it will provide me with either a HELP or SABOTAGE, which will be decided with the flip of a coin.”

At this, Strawberi pulls out a tiny embroidered purse from a fold in her dress and produces a coin, an ornate coat-of-arms on one side and the bust of a very Starwberi-looking lady on the other.

“Great-granny, don’t fail me now,” Strawberi says, flipping the coin in the air.

As it lands, the contented smile on Cheri Sugarplum III very much reflects Strawberi’s.

“Ha! And now, to choose for the HELP it’ll bring me,” she says looking closer at the list of card effects:

-Unbreakable defense barrier for 1 turn.
-Shift any characters from to defense or attack mode 1 extra time this turn.
-Summon a 5 or 6 stars character without paying tribute.
-Player’s characters in attack mode to make a direct hit at the opponent's life points.
-Draw 3 cards.
-Player gains 2000 life points.

“Those are some very strong effects! You mean I could also choose from these if the coin had landed on tails?” Ceridwen asks.
“Yes, that’s the risk and reward of this card. Be thankful it’s the new version too. The original one had ‘make opponent eat paint’ on that list,” Strawberi says.

“Oof,” Ceridwen winces, “Old editions were hardball.”

“You’d think so, but some species can actually digest paint just fine, so it wasn’t as funny.”

“Some Slissas and Golemites even brought buckets of lead paint to the duel themselves,” Warwick adds.

“It got…out of hand,” Strawberi winces as well, “Anyways, I believe blocking Miss Ceridwen’s attacks this turn will be a good choice this time around, don’t you think, servant Warwick?”

“If you think it’s best, Miss Strawberi,” Warwick shrugs.

“I do,” she replies with a smug smile, “Right then, I believe that will be all for this turn. Let’s see you try to brute force your way past my defenses, knave!”
>>
No. 1079409 ID: fb32ab
File 170286264334.png - (560.02KB , 1416x694 , Dueladvice.png )
1079409

Ceridwen looks at the new card in her hand and her snout twists into an irritated pout.

Had it shown earlier in the game, it would have been quite useful, but as it stands, it doesn’t look like it would last much longer, making it feel rather redundant.

She considers simply ignoring it, then suddenly remembers the card’s secondary effect and considers the current state of the board, both on her end as well as her obsessively opulent opponent’s.

Seeing nothing wrong with being on the safe side, and having no other choices left, unable to attack as she is, Ceridwen makes a decision.

“I summon Egg of Diamonds in defense mode!” She says, placing the character card on the table.

[Egg of Diamonds, 2 stars, Type: Egg, 0 ATK, 200 DEF]

“Which I choose to crack right now to summon Pesi, the Skull, in defense mode,” she adds.

Upon saying this, the egg breaks in half, a pale smoke and a soft hissing noise emanating from within. As the smoke clears, a jet black lizardwoman with a dolphin’s tail, bone-white markings and curves for days stands proudly over the shell’s remains, tapping her skull-tipped staff on the table.

[Pesi, the Skull, 4 stars, Type:Lizard/Waterfolk, 1000 ATK, 1000 DEF]

“And I will use one of her ritual effects to take control of your rat in exchange for half my life points.”

“Ritual effects?” Strawberi arches an eyebrow.

“She may not have much in attack or defense, but Pesi is a powerful sorceress, which gives her several spells for me to use. Look.” Ceridwen explains, moving Pesi’s card to Strawberi’s side of the table so she and Warwick can read it.

During either of the controlling player’s main phases, and up to once per turn, Pesi, the Skull may cast one of the following effects:

Rite of Fertility: If another character under your control appears capable of laying eggs, Pesi will summon an X amount of token egg characters on your side of the field, with X amount not exceeding the number of character slots available at that time. Said eggs all count as Egg-Type, with 0 ATK and one-fifth of the DEF points of the character selected to spawn them. Each egg may be sacrificed at any time to give you a number of life points equal to its DEF points. Pesi, the Skull may not cast any special effects for 2 of your turns after casting this ritual.

Rite of Transformation: All characters on your side of the field are indefinitely transformed into Volins like Pesi, which makes them Lizard/Waterfolk Type until the end of the game, or until this ritual is counteracted. You may also make a drawing of said characters as Volins on top of their existing card art! Uh.. provided it can be erased once the effect ends. Pesi, the Skull may not cast any special effect for 1 of your turns after casting this ritual.

Rite of Mind Control: Select a character on the opposing player’s control, in exchange for half of your current life points, place said character on your side of the field under your control until for 1 turn.

“Hmm, I see,” Strawberi mutters, taking her eye away from the magnifying glass.

“Err, may I give it a read as well, Miss Strawberi,” Warwick asks.

“Fine, but I will not hold the lens for you,” Strawberi says, tossing the magnifying glass in the air, which Warwick deftly catches with his mouth, the numerous knick-knacks in his arms barely shaking.

“Sorry for the wait, my dear rival,” Strawberi continues, “You may go on with your.. peculiar tactic.”

“Rude,” Ceridwen replies, “But, yeah, I’ll take.. huh?”

“Yeah, I’m already here,” Eugene says, now standing on Ceridwen’s side of the field.

“Oh, nice,” Ceridwen says.

“I also took the life points you promised,” Eugene adds with a cheeky smile.

“Figures.”

Ceridwen now has 1100 life points.

“But I won’t be using his coin flip ability,” Ceridwen continues, “I just don’t want you to use it in your turn.”

“Oh, that’s quite alright. The HELP or SABOTAGE effect only comes to play during the owner’s turn anyway,” Strawberi says with a wry smile.

“Oh, I see.”

“And it must be activated during each of my turns, not just when it’s convenient for me… or for you.”

“Oh..OH.. I did not know that.”

“Oh, poor, careless Ceridwen, you really should pay more attention to what’s written on the cards.”

“You didn’t show me what was written on the card!” Ceridwen protests.

“You had plenty of time to read it once you stole it from me, brigand!” Strawberi protests back.

“I only did that right n… why complain about stealing when you… I…. you can’t… ugh, fine, I’ll end my turn; toss the coin… But don’t call me a brigand!”

“I believe your nature makes it plain enough for anyone,” Strawberi says as she draws a new card. Ceridwen harrumphs loudly.

Once again, Strawberi flips her cherished coin and once again, her grandnanny shows her favor with her family’s signature smile.

“All as it should be,” Strawberi raises her chin, pleased, “Hmm. Now, I believe the circumstances merit I once cast a defensive barrier to-

“Um, my lady, if I may interrupt,” Warwick interrupts, “ I think stalling like this will not work much longer. Our luck is bound to run out sooner or later.

“Then what effect do you suppose I should pick, servant?” Strawberi asks, half annoyed and half curious.

“Well…”


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Genevieve looks at the duel with a mix of interest and incredulity.
Warwick and Strawberi are yet again arguing over their next move, and this time they are no longer trying to be discreet about it. From her seat, she can easily make out their indecisiveness.

“Maybe those extra life points would help, if we have anything to back them up with.”

“That would still leave us with barely more than 3000 life points. The dragon alone has more attack than that, and I only have one 6 star character at hand.”

“We can also use Eugene’s effect to summon it, and then use the new character’s special effect to help us!”

“I don’t think that’d work. And she would likely destroy it with one character and attack with the others anyway.”

“..Maybe the extra three cards would help?”

“Could be, but if they are a bad draw, she would still pummel us. No, I think using the barrier again is our best choice.”

“Are you sure, Miss Strawberi? She could draw something that counteract it next turn.”

“Yes, but what choice do we have?”

“Wow, they really are between a rock and a hard place,” Conway says to Genevieve over the din of the other onlookers, “those are some good card effects, but that dragon lady really put those two in a bind.”

“Yes..” Genevieve agrees, still staring at the dueling table.

A bind indeed. Ceridwen’s egg-hatching strategy had truly paid off, and now her One Dragon Army, large enough to reach eye level with the players at the table, was ready to deal the final blow, with at least two other characters backing it up.

Considering they had been the ones to take her out the tournament, Genevieve feels she would be happy about this. And yet, she cannot help but think this isn’t really quite right. Maybe it has something to do with camaraderie born of a good game; perhaps it would be a blow to her pride to be defeated by those who can in turn be brought down so easily; maybe it’s because she feels a sense of responsibility to this quirky odd couple duo…

Or, if nothing else, maybe it is that the best bet was so glaringly obvious.

With a sudden motion, Genevieve jerks forward.

“Hey!” she yells, startling Conway and making all three duelists turn their heads in her direction, “Draw the 3 cards! You’ll have more chances if you draw the cards!”

“How are you so sure?” says Strawberi after a moment’s hesitation, putting her hands on her hips. “There is no guarantee it can get us something that can stop all her attacks.”

“You and Warwick built that deck together, you had plenty of good cards when you defeated me. I’m sure there is something there that can stall her better than just a barrier!” Genieveve raises her voice further over the annoyed groans of the audience.

“Please don’t try assisting the duelists,” Companionship says kindly yet clearly from the rafters. “It disrupts the game and can give a sense of unfairness for the other players.”

“What if nothing there helps?” Strawberi asks, in a tone that conveys an end to the conversation.

“Do you have any better ideas?” Genevieve asks in kind.

Strawberi and Warwick look at each other for a second, after which Strawberi turns to look at her deck, an expression of defeated consternation forming on her face for once.

“Well, here goes nothing,” she says, drawing the three cards. She looks at them a moment, her eyes widening for an instant, “...Oh.”

“...Miss Strawberi?” Warwick asks with a worried expression.

“I think I’ve got an idea,” she replies.
>>
No. 1079410 ID: fb32ab
File 170286270814.png - (408.16KB , 628x1000 , Veisar_Engineer_s.png )
1079410

“First things first, I will place a card on my spell/trap zone, and then also cast Nope!, which negates any non-continuous effect, be it from a spell, trap, or character, and I will use it to bring back my Mischievous Ratboy”

“Oh, yeah, no more messing with my head, missy. I’m my own rat!” Eugene says, already back in Strawberi’s field and making a mocking gesture at Pesi.

“And will tribute him to summon Veigar, the Engineer in defense mode.”

“Why, you sleazy, two-faced-” the viridian vermin starts, before Veigar’s card falls on top of his, unceremoniously replacing him with the equally green gard.

Gard is what these aliens are called, by the way.

[Veisar, the Engineer, 6 stars, Type: Alien, 1600 ATK, 1300 DEF]

“Veigar’s special ability is that, once per turn, he can bring back one equipment card back from the graveyard to my hand, which I’ll use to reclaim my luxurious and Tantalizing Outfit.”

“Is that ability also mandatory every turn? Ceridwen asks.

“No, but I will have something ready should you try to steal one of my characters again, you ruffian. And speaking of other people’s characters, I will now use the last of the cards I just drew, Starter Gear, on your Mai Terrorscale, banishing it from the game in exchange for sending your dragon back to your hand!”

With a surprised roar, the terrifying figure of Mai Terrorscale shrinks and fades and her card flies into Ceridwen’s palm.

“Wow, alright, I can’t get mad at that. That was kind of an impressive turnaround,” Ceridwen says, arching her brows in bewilderment.

“I take your boorish compliment graciously, my lady,” Strawberi bows her head, palm on her chest and coy smile on her lips, “ and now, I will equip Tantalizing Outfit on your Pesi sorceress to-”

“Erhm, Miss Strawberi, a moment if I may?” Warwick asks, then leans to whisper into what might be Strawberi’s ear.
She whispers in kind and, after a few seconds of back and forth, she nods and turns back to Ceridwen.

“Very well, I’ll withdraw that last move. I’ll save Tantalizing Outfit for later,” she says. Someone in the audience boos.

“So I guess that’ll make it my turn again?”

“Astute deduction, Lady Ceridwen!” Strawberi says with feigned mirth. Ceridwen stiffles a groan as she draws a card.

“Hmm,” Ceridwen looks at her card quizzically, before placing it on the table, “I will put this card face down in the spell/trap zone and use Pesi’s Ritual of Fertility to produce three eggs.”

“Huh?” Strawberi tilts her neck, confused, “Excuse me if I’m wrong, but didn’t the card say that ritual could only happen if there was another character that could lay…. What in.. the…?” she trails off, eyes big as plates.

On Ceridwen’s side of the field, three cheerfully painted Easter eggs stand in line, beside Pesi and Dusty.

“Don’t look at me!” the flustered rabbit spirit says, desperately trying to cover her face with her skirt.

“Sorry about that,” Ceridwen says to the embarrassed creature, “I need those eggs for my next move, which is to tribute them to summon Mai Terrorscale ba-”

“W- woah, wait, wait. Hold on a moment!” says Strawberi, snapping out of the trance witnessing the Rite of Fertility left her in, “You.. you just activated my trap card! I activate Noble’s Kidnap, which lets me permanently take control of a character with 4 stars or less, and cast on one of your eggs!”

“Uhm, alright, then. I only need two to bring back Mai.”

“Ah! But what was your Egg Caretaker’s special effect again?” Strawberi leans forward with a toothy grin.

“...Oh..” Ceridwen says after a moment’s pause, a dumbfounded expression on her face, then begins laughing, “Oh, man. Ha ha, that’s a good twist. Hee hee. Oh, I’m really not having a good day, am I?”

She puts one hand over her snout to cover her giggling, while shuffling Dusty’s card to her opponent’s side of the field with the other.

“Brilliant move, Miss Strawberi! Using Dusty effect-deflecting against her was a splendid strategy!” Warwick quips enthusiastically.

“Why, indeed! It was only a matter of time before I drew the right card to take advantage of such a double-edged ability!” she answers pleasedly.

“Hee hee, yeah, I guess I should have seen it coming, ha ha,” Ceridwen chuckles again. Then the chuckles stop, replaced by an icy glare, “but it’s still my turn and if that’s how you are gonna play after calling me a thief…” she says in a dead serious tone.
An instant later, the glare fades. Her face shifts into a determined smile. The dimmed lights return to normal.

“I’ll still tribute two eggs to bring back my One Dragon Army, and I will bring it bearing down on your engineer Veisar!”

The two eggs banish and Mai’s crimson-scaled form looms once more over the field, Veisar’s four eyes all turn upwards to face his doom. He gulps and lifts his drill to shield himself from the ensuing flames, to no avail. A pile of ash lingers for a moment before it too fades into nothing.

“That will be the end of my turn. I’m still keeping the last egg, instead sacrificing it for life points. I might need to tribute it in case you want to send one of my characters away again, you never know.” Ceridwen says, crossing her arms and squinting at her two little adversaries.
>>
No. 1079412 ID: fb32ab
File 170286286554.png - (199.98KB , 628x1000 , Biggering_s.png )
1079412

“Hmph! You’ll see I won’t be needing such subterfuge again to deal with the likes of you!” Strawberi harrumphs as she reaches for her deck. Laying eyes on the new card in her hand, her frown turns into a wide smile as she lets out a self-congratulatory laugh, “Ah hah hah hah hah hah! It seems our duel has finally come to an end, my persistent rival. You’ve proved a fiendish foe, but every fiend is ultimately defeated by a… work of…” She starts trailing off.

“A noble cause?” Warwick offers.

“That’s right! A noble cause, and a noble’s ability to call her troops at..” she says as she plays the spell card in her hand, “... Atten-shun! This spell card makes all characters on either side of the field to shift all together into the same position, so I will now turn your remaining egg token into attack position to match your Terrorscale Dragon AND use Tantalizing Outfit on it!”

As Strawberi places the card on the egg, the Tantalizing Outfit manifests loosely yet ever dashingly over it. An audience member boos again. Another cheers wildly.
“And now that your humble little egg is the center of attention, I can attack it and do away with your remaining life points! And how fitting that your own character, the Egg Protector, should be the one to do it,” Strawberi’s smile shifts from coy to cruel as she looks down at the field, where impotent tears began forming on Dusty’s eyes. Raising an arm, the pink princess gives the command “Dusty, finish this!”

“No,” says Ceridwen calmly, resting her head on her hand.

“Huh? Why not?” replies Strawberi indignantly.

“Because Nope!” replies Ceridwen, revealing the card on her spell and trap zone…

A copy of the Nope! trap card.

“What?!” say Warwick and Strawberi in unison.

“Yeah, I had a couple of these in my deck,” says Ceridwen nonchalantly.

“Liar!” Strawberi exclaims, “you must have seen mine and decided to copy me, somehow!”

“What are you talking about? It is a very handy card, why would I not have one with me?”

“It’s still a totally copycat move!”

Ceridwen rolls her eyes, irritated, “Well, whatever! I’m using it to break your Noble’s Kidnap trap and get Dusty back!”

“That card can counter continuous effects!”

“Continuous spells stay on the field. That was a one time effect, and the card used is now in the graveyard. It’s a valid move.”

“It’s true, taking control of an opponent’s character with a single-use card, even if indefinitely, does not count as a continuous effect,” Tianna says, perched above the players.

“No!” Strawberi protests futilely.

“And now that you have no more cards on your field, or hand, I believe your turn is over,” Ceridwen continues, as impavid as before.

“Y- you- you toyed with me!” Strawberi cries, standing up in her seat.

“It’s a card game, it’s only natural to adopt a poker face sometimes,” Ceridwen replies with a shrug.

“Y- you- you can’t do this to me! You are a blackguard! A cheater! A- a- AN ASSHOLE!”

“Wow, uhm.. Ouch?” Ceridwen says furrowing her brow, before shrugging again, “Anyway, I’ll draw a card now….Huh, I guess I can use this one,” she says before playing the card, “I cast Biggering: a spell card that makes one of my characters occupy 2 slots on my character zone, but doubling their ATK and DEF points for turn, or indefinitely in exchange for occupying 3.”

“N-now you are just being petty!” Strawberry says.

“Look who’s talking,” replies Ceridwen, before turning her gaze downwards, “Dusty, do the honors.”
>>
No. 1079416 ID: fb32ab
File 170286581758.png - (17.77KB , 500x500 , Strawick v Ceri Finale.png )
1079416

Everyone present came to know something new that day:

The audience knew what it was to see a bunny woman in a french maid uniform growing several times her size, so big as to make the table beneath her creak with strain, before lunging forward with a bestial roar.

Strawberi knew what it was like to be punched in the face, hard enough as to send her seat tumbling backwards to the floor.

And Warwick knew what it was like to feel shocked enough to drop all his lady’s luggage to the floor completely dumbfounded.

“Miss Strawberi! MISS STRAWBERI! OH, HEAVENS ABOVE, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!” He screams, rushing to his charge’s side in a split second. Amidst the exclamations, cheering, and cackling from the crowd, two other figures rush to their side.

“Ow, ow ow! That hurt! That actually hurt! I’ve struck! I’ve been wounded! Someone please, fetch a physician!” Strawberi mewls and hollers.

“Uhm, Lady Strawberi...” Genevieve says once she reaches the pair, “The game’s apparitions can’t cause actual harm, only a brief sensation of it.”

“It still hurt!” the little noblegirl says, then points a finger towards Ceridwen, “she is a dangerous criminal. She struck a member of nobility! Someone arrest her!”

“Wow, wow, relax gi- err, lady,” says Conway, raising his arms in an appeasing fashion, “I don't think we are in a country or, um, jurisdiction where that is considered worthy of jail time. And besides, like Gevieve says, no real harm was done!” He shrugs, smiling confidently.

“Ow, ow, my pride!” Strawberi moans.

Still sitting at the table, Ceridwen takes in all this without a word, calmness still etched on her face.

Then a smile briefly breaks the edge of her mouth with a twitch. A moment later, it twitches again, and again, until a wide grin is etched on her face from ear to ear.
Suddenly, she stands up, raising her fists and knocking the table and all it carries to the floor.

“I won! I WON! I can’t believe it! Ican’tbelieveit!” She exclaims, spinning and jumping around the chairs and littered cardboard pieces, “Iwassonervous IthoughtIwouldnotbeabletokeepthewholestoicthing togetherandshewouldseewhaIwasdoing andshewouldcounteritagainandsteal morecardsbecauseImusuallysoclumsy atlyingandkeepingastraightfacebutshe couldnttellIwaspretendingsoshewentalong andIbeatherandIactuallywonanotherduel andImgoingtothe quarterfinalseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEH!”

“What is she even rating about?” Strawberi asks, finally standing up as Warwick offers her his hand.

“I think she is just really happy she won,” says Genevieve, not knowing whether to feel amused or annoyed at the absurdity of it all.

“Hmph! There truly is no justice when a vile bigrand like her gets to celebrate over such travesty!”

“I’m just glad you are unharmed, Miss Strawberi,” says Warwick, patting her comfortingly, not quite daring to hug her, despite his relieved expression. “To be honest, we got pretty close to winning! And there was no way to tell whether she would pull something out to counteract your brilliant combo.”

“Yeah, that was an amazing last few moves you guys pulled,” says Conway with an encouraging fingergun, “you kept throwing all kinds of effects and countereffects, I could barely even keep up! Kind of a shame that lady pulled one of her own at the last second, really.”

“Yes. All things considered, it was a very good duel and there was no shame in how it came to end,” Genevieve adds reassuringly.

“Hrmph…I’m still not happy about it, but…thanks, I… appreciate your plebian assurances.”

“Yes, don’t mention it,” says Genevieve with a mildly amused expression.

“I also appreciate your advice from earlier, “Strawberi says hesitantly, “Futile though it was, it did help us stay in the game a while longer.”

“You are welcome,” replies Genevieve, now showing a genuine smile, “It was a pleasure watching you play, honestly.”

“Hey, this was a fun game overall, right?” Conway says, “Speaking of fun games, what say we go play a bit at the penny arcade the dimensional portal over? Or, wait! It’s almost time for lunch, right? We can hang out in the food courtyard outside the main atrium and order something. My treat.”

“Thank you, Mr. Conway,” says Genevieve, “But I wouldn’t want to take advantage of someone I’ve just met. I’ve plenty of money to pay for my own meal.”

“Please, I insist. I have enough money to spare and you guys look like you could use some cheering up,” Conway replies, with gestures as wild as his ever-present smile, “and just Conway is fine.”

“Well, in that case, thank you kindly, Conway.”

“Anytime!”

“Hey, uh…” Ceridwen waves her hand towards the quartet, her expression turning apologetic, “I, uh, couldn’t help but hear what you were saying… Sorry for playing coy at the last moment, but I needed to do it if I wanted to stand a chance at beating you. Can I come have lunch with you as well? You don’t have to pay for it or anything, I just want to hang out with you a bit, you seem like nice guys,“ she gives a shy smile, then frowns slightly, “Well, most of you at least.”

As Ceridwen finishes making her request, all eyes silently turn to look at Strawberi.

“...I suppose I can be magnanimous and forgive your earlier slight, given your present groveling. Mind you, I still think you are miscreant, but never be said that Lady Strawberi Sugarplum is not gracious in defeat!” she proclaims.

“Good enough for me!” Conway shrug merrily, “ let’s go get some grub.”

“Yeah, I’m starving!” Says Ceridwen.

“Very well, then,” says Strawberi, “Onward to the luncheon courtyard!”

“Ooh, could I have some scones for dessert, my lady?” Warwick asks.

“No. Also, pick up my things.”

“Aw.”

[Ceridwen Wins!]
>>
No. 1080180 ID: fb32ab
File 170415528488.png - (24.58KB , 610x717 , SvR1.png )
1080180

Serah examines her sideboard smugly. Her character cards are fantastic, and she's fairly certain she's figured out how to best utilize all her fairies with the Link mechanic. Extra decks are so useful!

Serah is confident that her opponent, Princess Reefa, will continue to use clothing-based Equip spells. Serah's Taranis, Clothing Thief card as well as his accompanying Raelynn, Elven Exile will be her aces in the hole. Of course, Dotti and Landi will return.

Who else does she bring in for this match?

Nominate one character from Donut's quests to cameo in a card. No card design necessary; just pick a character.
>>
No. 1080181 ID: e51896

We need a good fighter.
How about...

NACHA!
>>
No. 1080185 ID: a7a180

Oh wait, that means I can say... Tineola!
>>
No. 1080188 ID: 0d1c28

Go with Petra! Dotti will fight harder to protect her
>>
No. 1080189 ID: b6ec4d

As much as I wanna say Ginerva, we are STARVING for Elaine content.
>>
No. 1080204 ID: eb0a9c

Card for Elaine:

Elaine, Mendicant Druidia
****
800 ATK
1200 DEF
When played, Elaine is given a Mendicant counter, which prevents her from obtaining any equipment or stat boosts directly from an effect on her side of the field, but increases her ATK and DEF by 50%.
However, when an equipment item or stat boost is redirected from the opposing side to any character on her side, the Mendicant counter is removed. If this would remove all Mendicant counters, then Elaine, Mendicant Druidia can take the equipment or stat boost for quadruple the effect for one turn. When the turn ends, remove all equipment and stat boosts on Elaine, Mendicant Druidia and give her X+1 Mendicant counters, where X was her previous maximum number of counters, with an appropriate boost to ATK and DEF.
>>
No. 1080512 ID: f6204d

The gnome mage that helped Dotti fix her issues! He needs more love!
>>
No. 1081036 ID: 75b262
File 170528813320.png - (385.04KB , 500x500 , Reefa.png )
1081036

This duel allows NSFW cards.

Serah spies a masked fighter bunny on a spell card, Change of Heart with the effect Target 1 monster your opponent controls; take control of it until the End Phase. She saves it for later, as well as a character card with a robed minotaur-gazelle girl. Petra, Devoted Mother is in her deck too, and its effects synergize with Starving Fox and Dotti, Trash Fox. Targeting Petra with any card effect or battle phase is a bad idea when Dotti’s on the field.

Satisfied with her cards, Serah heads to the arena in front of the bleachers slowly filling with defeated duelists. Her opponent resembles a dragon, with the bearing of royalty and the garb to match. Serah introduces herself first, as is only proper.

“I am Lady Serah Kensington, Heir Countess of Kensington,” she says, giving a low curtsy.

“I am Reefa Multero, Princess of Terroth,” she says, not curtsying in return, but instead giving a warm smile, befitting her station. A princess will only defer to the King or Queen. Anything more would be unflattering to the nation’s dignity. “It does your House credit to advance in these games. Nobility such as ourselves must rise to the occasion, to inspire our people.”

“Quite right, your Highness,” Serah nods. “I strive to be a beacon of pride in my adventures, and I hope our duel here will be a sporting affair.”

“Splendid.” Reefa smiles even wider. “I’m something of an adventurer myself, you know.”

“Truly?”

“I go on many adventures with my entourage. Allow me to introduce you!”

Reefa raises her card and draws the character card Sir Garrin. Serah counters with Jekster Terrorscale, Half-Dragon Jester, whose ATK is less than Garrin’s.

“I go first,” Princess Reefa says. “As is my right.”

“Indeed.”

There’s the sound of a kangaroo gagging in the bleachers.
>>
No. 1081037 ID: 75b262
File 170528821859.png - (646.82KB , 628x1000 , Tawny_Lanix_s.png )
1081037

Princess Reefa begins the duel by primly normal summoning Tawny Lanix.

[ Tawny Lanix, Beast-Cleric-Type, Level 4, ATK 1000, DEF: 1000 ]

“Sister Tawny, it is good to see you again,” Reefa says. “I should so love to hear your teachings this day.”

“What is a lesson without a congregation?” Tawny says. “On your next turn, we will be joined with my flock. Patience is a virtue, my dear.”

“If Sister Tawny is equipped, her effect triggers that once per turn during my Standby Phase, I may Special Summon from my deck any character that is equal to or less than Sister Tawny’s level.”

“A tutor card,” Serah says. “I expect you’ll be equipping her, then?”

“How ever did you know?” Reefa gives a Cheshire grin and plays Ballroom Best.
>>
No. 1081038 ID: 75b262
File 170528826196.png - (514.62KB , 628x1000 , Ballroom_Best_s.png )
1081038

Ballroom Best: Equip Spell. The equipped character gains 1 level. Once per turn, the equipped character cannot be destroyed by battle or by card effects. If this face-up card on the field is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard: You can target 1 character you control; equip this card to that target. You can only use this effect once per turn.

Ballroom Best on Sister Tawny is a huge problem if not addressed right away. If not removed, that fabulously fashionable outfit will allow Reefa to special summon a level 5 or lower monster from her deck, every one of Reefa’s turns! She can set up any combo she wants!

Not only that, but even if Serah destroys Ballroom Best, it comes right back once per turn. She has to remove it twice!

Finally, Reefa places a card face-down in the spell/trap zone and ends her turn.
>>
No. 1081039 ID: 75b262
File 170528829226.png - (109.92KB , 502x800 , Free Art.png )
1081039

Serah draws her card and examines her hand. She immediately plays Free Art.

When this card is activated, perform a Link Summon using this card as material. You may treat this card as being up to 2 Link Material for the Link Summon of a character. If this card is sent to the Graveyard for the Link Summon of a character, you may set it to your field face-down. If 3 standby phases have passed since setting this card to the field, you may treat this card as up to 4 Link Material for the Link summon of a character. You may only use each effect of Free Art once per turn.

Basically, Free Art, allows Serah to skip summoning Landi, Party Animal and go straight for her stronger fairies like Ellie the Librarian or even Sunshine, Dungeon Master if she waits a few turns. It also lets her Link Summon a fairy during Reefa’s turn if needed.

Serah can only normal summon one monster, and she has two: Starving Fox and Taranis, Clothing Thief. She doesn’t have any protection or negation in her hand.

She ponders her options.

1. Summon Starving Fox face-down in defense mode and play it safe, knowing that if Reefa attacks, it’ll help summon a trash fox later.
2. Play Taranis, Clothing Thief to use his special effect to try and swipe Ballroom Best from Tawny. However, if Reefa placed something to remove Taranis or protect Tawny from his clothing-stealing attack, Taranis and his paltry 800 Attack will be vulnerable to Tawny’s counterattack, since he has to be in attack mode to use his effect.

Or Serah could play dirty and choose option 3:

3. Choose 1 (safe) or 2 (risky), and then also play the field spell card Clothing Damage Quest. Serah will be dragging this duel into the mud and ruining the dignity of this sporting event, tarnishing her House’s dignity in front of royalty and a crowd of commoners… but it will allow her to stop Tawny’s effect from triggering.

Choosing Option 3 is BAD NEWS. You have been warned.
>>
No. 1081040 ID: a7a180

1 and 3. Honor is for corpses.
>>
No. 1081042 ID: b6ec4d

1 and 3, we ball. Plus, you put the card in your deck. Whatever it's gonna do, the commitment to doing it was made in deckbuilding already. It's too late to change course and not go with it.
>>
No. 1081043 ID: e51896

2 and 3
>>
No. 1081044 ID: 0d1c28

2 and 3! go big or go home!
>>
No. 1081047 ID: f2cf5a

>>1081039
Only 2. I'll listen when Tippler says 'don't'.
>>
No. 1081063 ID: b3eab7

Do not do 3. Firstly, because of this. >>1081047
Secondly, because this kind of stuff is what you should bait your opponent into doing, not do yourself.
>>
No. 1081065 ID: 87e33c

2, I've learned my lesson of not listening to advice
>>
No. 1081069 ID: d98cb8

Dignity is a foolish thing for people who don't mind losing! Go big or go home!

2 and 3!
>>
No. 1081073 ID: 273c18

Only 2.
>>
No. 1081074 ID: aa99fa

>>1081039
2.
&
3.
>>
No. 1081133 ID: 71143c

3, option 2. Go big or go home.
>>
No. 1081401 ID: 75b262
File 170571618184.png - (374.59KB , 628x1000 , Clothing Damage Quest s.png )
1081401

Drafting a card like this is one thing, but playing it is another. Serah gulps, realizing she’s about to play an incredibly lewd card in front of royalty.

“Eyes on the prize,” Serah whispers to herself. “It’ll all be worth it.”

“Are you talking to yourself already?” Princess Reefa asks. “Did you not draw what you wanted? This best-of-one format does have the risk of some quite dull outcomes; I would question the hosts about their tournament setup, but some of their justifications will be, I suspect, for the birds.”

“Aww,” mumbles the blue bird in the rafters. Their flaming companion gives them a pitiful pat on the back.

“I know what I need to do,” Serah says. “I’ll stop your combos before they start, no matter what. I’m going to win, and I beg your forgiveness for what comes next. I’m sorry for what I’m about to put your summoned companions through, but they are my opponents.”

Serah summons Taranis, Clothing Thief.

[Taranis, Clothing Thief: 3 stars, Type: Bird, Attribute:Wind, 1100 ATK, 1000 DEF]

When Taranis, Clothing Thief declares an attack, he may negate that attack and instead choose one target Equip Spell attached to one eligible attack target and equip it to himself.

“Well, that’s awfully convenient,” Reefa sniffs, examining her face-down card. “Very well, are you going to enter the battle phase?”

“Not yet,” Serah says. “I play… uh… this field card first.

Clothing Damage Quest: Field Spell. Players only take battle damage from direct attacks, and characters cannot be destroyed by battle. If a character is the target of an attack, destroy an Equip Spell attached to it of the attacker’s choice. If an attack target has no spells equipped, place 1 Exposure Counter on it instead. While this card is active, change all face-up characters on the field with Exposure Counters to Defense Position. If the only characters your opponent controls have Exposure Counters, you may attack your opponent’s Life Points directly. Whenever you equip a spell to a character, remove any Exposure Counters from that character. All cards on the field are considered NSFW while this card is in effect.

Reefa gasps.

“Oh dear,” Tiny Sister Tawny says.

A blue bird shrieks.

The collection of defeated duelists lets out an excited murmur.

“HAWT!” Charisse gives a wolf whistle.

“They about to do the no pants dance?” Conway asks.

A tiny eyeless fox snickers loudly.
>>
No. 1081403 ID: 75b262
File 170571626158.png - (235.35KB , 970x1309 , SevRe2.png )
1081403

“FOUL!” Reefa shrieks. She stomps over to Serah’s side of the battlefield. “Why, is this what passes for a civilized duel where your ill-bred lot comes from?!”

“U-uh,” Serah stammers. “The effects are so good as a stall engine, it’s also a hard counter to a good amount of cards in your deck, I couldn’t in good conscience not include it in my sidebo-”

“You dare speak of conscience?! Don’t take me for a fool! I can figure out exactly what happens when one of my characters is placed into ‘defense mode’ after one of these attacks! You just had to turn this duel into a tawdry tale of burlesque and debauchery, is that it? You lowly, lascivious, licentious, lewd Lady! You shame your house!”

Far above in the rafters, Toffles gives Pan a deadpan stare. “Did you know about those cards? They tend to make messes. Hard to purify. Very unclean. Very annoying.”

“As long as Tianna keeps the youths far away, it’ll be fine,” Pan says nervously. “And, ah, no, I didn’t know we’d, um, contaminated the draft pool. Tianna was supposed to filter out those cards.”

“And how much have you been pushing her buttons lately?”

“A lot?”

“So much that she’d do something she knows you’ll freak out about and doesn’t affect the organization of the tournament bracket?”

“Ohhhhhhhhhh.”
>>
No. 1081404 ID: 75b262
File 170571630350.png - (193.85KB , 628x1000 , Small But Deadly s.png )
1081404

Serah clears her throat and tries to look as small as possible, which is unfortunately not that small at all.

“I enter battle phase and use Taranis, Clothing Thief’s effect to steal Sister Tawny’s Ballroom Best and equip it to Taranis instead of attacking, then end my turn,” Serah says hurriedly.

Reefa doesn’t activate her face-down card during Serah’s attack, either because of the sheer audacity of Serah’s strategy or because it doesn’t do anything. She starts her turn and draws a card, bringing her hand size up to three.

“I play Tirzaea, Nervous Noble. She has an effect that creates a Suspicious Vial Equip Spell and automatically attaches it to her. Normally,” Reefa seethes, “The Suspicious Vial would enable any combat damage Tirzaea deals to destroy the target it affects. But since you’ve gone and prevented all combat damage with your Clothing Damage Quest, its only use is to let Tirzaea take a hit without suffering the horrid effects of Clothing Damage. Hmf! Well, you’ve made a critical blunder. I go first, which means so long as I summon at least one more character than you each turn, you will never be able to attack me, since I can just use a single monster to place yours into defense mode, no matter how weak mine is!”

Reefa is correct: since all combat damage is prevented and the card is worded only to benefit attackers, defensive strikes don’t exist anymore. All Reefa has to do is win the war of attrition with sheer numbers: an easy feat with her Royal Guard cards that summon two at a time. Thankfully, Reefa didn’t play any of those, but she still has two characters out (Tirzaea and Tawny) to Serah’s one (Taranis).

“Attack!” Reefa orders both her characters. The first strike destroys Taranis’s Ballgown Best, but the effect gives it a second life. The effect re-summons it equipped to him, and the second strike destroys it without being able to be re-summoned thanks to its effect only being able to trigger once per turn.

Taranis squawks loudly at the destruction of his prized trophy, though he has no Exposure Counter on him thanks to the trophy taking both hits.

“You’ve clearly not thought this through,” Reefa says with a haughty laugh. “You assumed I would rely entirely on my mother, Queen Gorgammar Multero, a strong and mighty defender- but why would I even need to, when I can summon many Small but Deadly characters instead?

Small But Deadly: Spell Card. You may special summon up to three level 3 or lower characters from your deck in Defense Position, but negate their effects.

Quick as a flash, Reefa summons Snowpea, Gerbera and Azzeki as her trusty Royal Guards, ready to defend their Princess from the Lewd Lady Kensington.
>>
No. 1081406 ID: 75b262
File 170571642774.png - (879.25KB , 628x1000 , Petra DM.png )
1081406

Serah is faced with a dilemma. Next turn, Reefa’s newly summoned characters will overwhelm her defenses. Right now, she has only Taranis, and the card she just drew is Petra, Devoted Mother. She has Alluring Defense as one of the other cards in her hand, which is a defensive trap, and her trusty Solvent Bomb trap that only really works if she’s going on offense.

Serah plays Starving Fox and sets Alluring Defense face down.

[Starving Fox: 2 stars, Type: Beast, Attribute:Fire, 900 ATK, 700 DEF]

If Starving Fox is sent to the graveyard by any card effect, tribute, or other means after hitting the battlefield, I may special summon Dotti, Trash Fox two turns thereafter.

[Petra, Devoted Mother: 6 stars, Type: Human, Attribute:Earth, 1200 ATK, 1700 DEF]

Petra, Devoted Mother can be special summoned by tributing one Starving Fox. If Petra, Devoted Mother is either (1) targeted by any of your opponent’s card effects or (2) is the target of combat, then if Dotti, Trash Fox is on the field, destroy all your opponent’s characters.

Serah has a moral choice to make. She can summon Petra this turn, then in two turns she can use Petra as bait to use Dotti’s special effect and wipe Reefa’s board, eliminating her advantage. However, if Reefa’s attacks destroy Petra’s clothing before Dotti is summoned, Dotti’s effect won’t have the chance to trigger since Petra won’t be able to block due to the Exposure Counter from Clothing Damage Quest. Serah can activate Alluring Defense to protect Petra when Reefa attacks next turn, but it’s not a perfect solution; what if Reefa negates it somehow?

The safest option is to tribute Starving Fox on Reefa’s turn and use Free Art to summon a powerful Link Character and surprise Reefa with its effects However, if Serah does that, then she’d have to tribute Taranis (a powerful ally) to summon Petra.

1. Go big or go home: Tribute Starving Fox and summon Petra, then protect Petra with Alluring Defense next turn and set up for a board wipe with Dotti if all goes well; or
2. Play it safe and tribute Starving Fox on Reefa’s turn to summon a more powerful Link Character, but leave Reefa’s board in a strong state.
>>
No. 1081407 ID: a25322

1, Summon out Petra. Leaving Reefa her full board might mean leaving her the resources to play through our defenses and make us pay. We need to start cutting through her forces as soon as we can.
>>
No. 1081408 ID: 0d1c28

1: Summon Petra immediately! giving Reefa more time will just let her play more defensive cards!
>>
No. 1081410 ID: a7a180

1. Look how profanely she displays that slaughtered bird!
>>
No. 1081433 ID: e51896

1, if only to reunite Dotti with Petra!
>>
No. 1082047 ID: 75b262
File 170649989814.png - (0.96MB , 1200x1200 , hors.png )
1082047

Serah decides to play to her outs. In layman’s terms, she’ll play according to the path that will lead to victory, regardless of how rough a journey it will take to get there. Keeping her board wipe will require Petra to be attacked while Dotti is on the field, and if Petra has an Exposure Counter on her before Dotti shows up, then there’s no reason to attack Petra again. Serah decides to take the risk.

“I Special Summon Petra, Devoted Mother by tributing Starving Fox,” Serah says as the little fox disappears into thin air. “Sorry, Dotti, but you’ll have to wait two turns to be reunited with Petra. It’ll just be a little while.”

“Who’s Dotti?” asks the newly-summoned Petra.

“The fox who saved you,” Serah sighs. “From those awful creatures in the woods?”

“Oh!” Petra says. “You mean Foxie. Such a wonderful, fluffy fox; I miss her dearly. She was so precious, letting me pet her soft little tummy and squeaking her little fox squeaks. My children love to hear stories about Foxie. Why, there was this one time I brought along a boy from my village and she chased him away, would you believe that? So protective and fierce, but she calmed right down whenever I brought food. Her favorites were…”

Serah and Reefa exchange a glance. Neither wants to interrupt a Mom Story, so they whisper to each other as Petra rambles.

“Do you intend to declare an attack?” Reefa asks.

“Um, yes,” Serah whispers back. “Taranis will steal Tirzaea’s Suspicious Vial, and once he’s done that, Petra will attack Tirzaea to put an exposure counter on her.”

Taranis nods in agreement, swooping in toward Tirzaea, but not finding the vial anywhere visible. He decides to do some up-close investigation.

“Aaaahh!” Tirzaea shrieks in a flurry of slicing and dicing talons. Taranis shreds her dress, revealing a racy leather set of underwear where she keeps her deadly implements. He swoops in and promptly swipes the vial from the panicked noble as she tries in vain to re-clasp her buckles.

“Oh, dear,” Petra says, her story trailing off. “Is that hoofer clutching the scandalous hallmarks of an assassin, with all that leather and space for hidden vials? I’ll have none of that in my household. Come on, drop those! No leather for you, and no poisoning at the dinner table!”

Though Taranis was the one to strip her of her equip spell and clothes, Petra is the one who applies the Exposure Counter with two swift, firm slaps to Tirzaea’s trembling hands clutching the scraps of her secret assassin underwear. She drops the garments in shame.

Serah ends her turn, leaving Trizaea to deal with her dressing-down and Reefa’s Royal Guards cowering in justified fear of an irritated mother.
>>
No. 1082049 ID: 75b262
File 170650000337.png - (252.08KB , 628x1000 , Oh_Is_This_Yours_s.png )
1082049

“I should summon my own mother to deal with this situation,” Reefa muses, “But I hesitate to put her at risk for a second round of clothing damage this tournament. It just isn’t right what you’re subjecting our minions to, Lady Kensington. Your tactics are crude and uncouth, and you’ve forced me to take drastic measures. I’ll have you know I only drafted this card so no one else would see it.

Reefa carefully places the card so that its image can only be seen for the briefest of moments before she resolves its effect by taking Tirzaea’s vial spell from Taranis.

Oh, is This Yours? Target one equip spell attached to an opponent's character; equip that spell to a character on your side of the field. If you are the owner of the targeted spell, draw a card.

“Why, yes,” Reefa says, drawing a card. “That is my equip card. Tirzaea, I have returned your equipment spell to you, and as such, you may now attack proudly.”

“But I’m still naked,” Tirzaea whimpers.

“Well, then you shouldn’t have chosen to moonlight as an assassin,” Reefa shoots back. “Don’t you want to be a fille fatale?”

“Not like this,” Tirzaea says, holding her vial gingerly while also trying to cover her chest with her golden mane. “C-can you get me my old dress back?”

“When we win,” Reefa replies. “We still have work to do here. Let’s deal with the biggest threat first.”

“That bird!” Tirzaea says with an angry nicker. “He shred my clothes!”

“I said the biggest threat.”
>>
No. 1082050 ID: 75b262
File 170650004799.png - (413.76KB , 1000x1000 , Petra_Stripped_s.png )
1082050

Serah straightens up. She needs to activate her trap card to protect Petra immediately after Taranis is attacked. So long as Reefa attacks Taranis, everything will go according to plan, and-

“Azzeki, attack Petra!”

“What?” Serah gasps. “Wouldn’t you rather go for Taranis? He steals panties, you should attack him! He’s a lewd bird!”

Taranis squawks.

“Do you take me for a court jester?” Reefa says. “I made it to the second round of this tournament, did you honestly think I got here by not reading the card text? I know a board wipe combo when I see one, and I’m defusing that bomb now. Azzeki, continue!”

“Oh, goodness!” Petra squeaks as Azzeki swoops in. “Stop that! Keep your mitts away from that clasp, or I’ll- ahh!”

Serah pulls at her blouse strings nervously. This wasn’t the plan!

“Now for the bird,” Reefa says. “Tirzaea, you may have your revenge and pluck that chicken! Go forth and-”

“Uh… time for plan B!” Serah declares. “I activate my trap card anyway!”

Alluring Defense: Continuous Trap Card. This card’s controller’s attack position characters cannot be targeted for battle while there are face-up defense position characters on the same side of the field.

“What is this?” Reefa examines the card closely. “So… you’re forcing me to only attack defense-position characters, which is Petra… and because of Clothing Damage Quest, all combat damage is prevented… and she already has an exposure counter. What good would giving her an additional exposure counter do?”

“Nothing!” Serah says. “So you now have no way of applying exposure counters to my other characters, and therefore no way to deal damage to my Life Points. You should give up now.”
>>
No. 1082051 ID: 75b262
File 170650010953.png - (226.42KB , 628x1000 , Alluring_Defense_s.png )
1082051

“Why would I give up?” Reefa asks.

“Well,” Serah says, “I haven’t actually lost any life points yet, and neither have you. Alluring Defense means you can’t attack anyone but Petra, so your attacking is useless while I work toward my win condition. Don’t you worry about losing LP when Clothing Damage Quest is on the field? What if what happened to Petra happens to you?”

“I presume you mean to intimidate me,” Reefa sniffs. “From such a weak position? I think you are bluffing. Clothing Damage Quest says nothing about what happens to duelists when attacked. Do you intend to call a judge to obtain a ruling and find out?”

Serah pauses. She can’t see any judges nearby other than one particularly goofy-looking bird whose name she remembered as Phail Yurr, and she definitely does not want to have that particularly named judge making the rules for this game. She searches for the friend-shaped blue bird and has no luck spotting it.

“I thought as much,” Reefa says. “So, as you say, there’s no reason to attack Petra again… but there’s also no penalty.”

“Wait, what?” Petra clutches her chest.

“Guards! Give this woman more exposure counters!” Reefa orders, and Gerbera obliges with a quick tug on Petra’s pantaloons.

“Hey! Let go of those!”

Petra Exposure Counters: 2

“Go on, you’ve got three more attacks,” Reefa sighs. “Make an example of this misguided commoner and take her boots.”

Petra Exposure Counters: 3

Tirzaea takes a little too much enjoyment in getting her revenge for Petra’s earlier attack.

“Yiee!” Petra squeals. “Oh, you’re so lucky that Usiel isn’t here right now!”

Petra Exposure Counters: 4

“She’s already naked, Princess Reefa. Should we handcuff her?”

“There has to be a tactical advantage to the extra counters, I’m sure of it,” Reefa says. “That does seem lewd, but by all means, please restrain this criminal who dared to lay hands on a noble.”

Petra Exposure Counters: 5

“You, Reefa!” Petra shouts after the deed is done. “I’ll make sure you go to bed without dinner! You’re so skinny, your tummy will hurt all night!”

Reefa ignores the toothless promise from the apprehended criminal.

Serah ducks her head and begins her turn, trying to ignore the sight. She draws a card; and then, right on time, the triggered effect of Starving Fox two turns ago summons Dotti, Trash Fox. The pink-bedazzled Dotti pops onto the field with an excited sniff of the air: Petra is here! At last, her journey is complete and she can live happily with the best, most generous, most loving woman ever, and… and… she’s been stripped and bound! Humans are NEVER supposed to be naked in public, especially not the best mom ever!

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!” Dotti wails with magic and a full-throated animal scream. She tries to jump out of her card frame and cover Petra up, but her card’s border locks her in like a cage. “Petra, I’m so sorry! I couldn’t find you in time to save you from everyone seeing your saggy boobs!”

“It’s not your fault, but, ah…” Petra huddles low to the ground. “You didn’t need to say that so loudly, Foxie.”

“Noooooooooo,” Dotti says very quietly.
>>
No. 1082052 ID: 75b262
File 170650033534.png - (290.58KB , 628x1000 , Consumable_Combustion_s.png )
1082052

Serah sets a trap card, hoping to catch Reefa off-guard later:

Consumable Combustion: Trap Card. Any effects in the current chain that would make your opponent gain Life Points makes them lose Life Points instead.

Unfortunately, it does nothing to clear Reefa’s board so that she can strike at Reefa’s LP directly, and nothing else in her hand can summon out enough characters to put Exposure Counters on all of Reefa’s army. Reefa has also played around Dotti’s board wipe effect by putting Exposure Counters on Petra. Even if she's the only attack target now, due to Alluring Defense, there's no guarantee Serah's trap will remain by the next battle phase.

There’s no point waiting any longer to activate Free Art. Serah activates the trap to provide a whopping four Link Material to Link Summon Zinnia, Guardian of Melodies.

[ Zinnia, Guardian of Melodies, Link 4, Type:Fairy, Attribute:Earth, ATK: 1300. ]

Must be Link Summoned. Your opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to the Special Summon of this character. Unaffected by your opponent's card effects. When an opposing character declares an attack (Quick Effect): You can send this card to the GY. If you do, banish cards from your opponent's field up to the number of materials used for this card’s Link Summon. During your standby phase, you can draw 1 card. You may banish this card from your GY to use it as two Link Material for the Link Summon of a Link Character.
>>
No. 1082054 ID: 75b262
File 170650041839.png - (624.49KB , 628x1000 , SolventBombTrap_s.png )
1082054

“And now,” Serah says with a grand gesture, “Prepare for my all-out assault! You may have the numbers, Princess, but I have one advantage you sorely lack: fairies! Go, Zinnia!”

“Hey!” Zinnia objects. “Don’t say that so loud, you jerk! My public name is Clover. Do you really want my in-box to be full of spam now that everyone knows my true name? There’s gonna be auto-contractors flooding my summoning line now!”

“Oh. Uh, sorry. I’m just reading what’s on the card. Could you please attack Tirzaea anyway?”

“Hmf!” Zinnia zips over to Tirzaea and gives her a tiny kick, shattering the suspicious vial and spilling it all over the nude blonde hoofer.

“No! My vial!” Tirzaea gasps. “That could have been poison!”

“But it wasn’t,” Zinnia says, as if it was obvious. “Oh yeah, I gotta ask! Do you wanna join my bard companion’s band? He could use a backup dancer with huge boobs. We’re a little short on cash, so we’ll pay you in exposure.”

“I have enough of that now!”

Serah, meanwhile, decides the time is right to set Solvent Bomb now that Reefa’s board is vulnerable to another all-out attack. Next turn, Serah will be able to spring the trap and attack Reefa directly by AOE-ing three of Reefa’s remaining clothed characters with Exposure Counters with Solvent Bomb:

Solvent Bomb: Put Exposure Counters on one character as well as any adjacent characters.

With that and just one more attack from Taranis or Dotti Serah can deal direct damage to Reefa’s LP. Unfortunately, Petra is adjacent to the target AOE, so she’ll be caught in the splash, destroying the very last shreds of her outfit she’s managed to scrape together despite the handcuffs- and Dotti will have a front-row seat to the horror.

Serah tries to remind herself that Dotti, Trash Fox isn’t really Dotti, and that Petra, Devoted Mother isn’t really Petra… but Dotti’s whining and failed attempts to leave her card to go cover Petra up are doing a fantastic job of pretending.
>>
No. 1082055 ID: 75b262
File 170650045830.png - (158.13KB , 630x1003 , Pride Goeth.png )
1082055

Reefa, for her part, has reached the bottom of her well of patience with Serah’s lewdity.

“I have had enough of this clothing damage debauchery!” Reefa declares. “Lady Kensington, you have combined your cards to essentially prevent me from ever dealing damage to you directly via battle. Well, if you shall build an impenetrable wall around your life points, then I shall simply fire my troops right over it!”

Reefa tributes Tawny Lanix to summon:

Lord Lung, Invader of Beta-Earatone: 5 stars, Type: Aqua, Attribute:Water, 1000 ATK, 2000 DEF

You can Tribute 1 character to inflict damage to your opponent equal to half of its ATK.

“Oh, dear,” Serah says upon reading the card’s effect. “But you can only use that effect once per turn, right?”

Reefa smiles.

“...Right?”

“I tribute all four of my loyal guards!” Reefa announces. “Lord Lung, launch Tirzaea (1500 ATK), Azzeki (1700 ATK), Snowpea (1800 ATK) and Gerbera (1600 ATK) straight at this lewd Lady’s life points!”

“Wait, wait, wait! Please don’t shoot, I still need to get a favorable rules interpretation from a-”

Lord Lung flings Tirzaea at Serah, who tears off Serah’s belt and pouch. Serah shrieks, realizing what’s next as Azzeki goes for her corset. Gerbera flies in and seizes her blouse, and Snowpea shreds Serah’s skirt with a skillful strike, leaving her standing in naught but her boots, garter belt, stockings and a pair of woefully undersized panties.

With 3,300 LP of clothes gone, Serah is at 2,700 LP. Less than half her LP remain, and a bare fraction of her dignity.

“No!” Serah wails, covering herself up as best she can. “This wasn’t supposed to happen! Judge! Judge! I need a judge! Clothing Damage Quest card says nothing about stripping the duelists! Oh, where are those birds when you NEED them?!”

“No judge can save you from the consequences of your actions,” Reefa sniffs. “You played the lewd cards, now suffer the lewd consequences. I play Render Unto Chinzebeth and end my turn.”

Render Unto Chinzebeth What is Chinzebeth’s: Each time your opponent Special Summons a character, you gain 500 life points. If that character is Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, you instead gain 1000 life points.

“W-w-well, then…” Serah stammers. “Y-you’ve left yourself open to an attack! I still have Taranis and Dotti, and can summon another character. You’ll take clothing damage too when I attack, with only Lord Lung out on your field.”

“No, I won’t,” Reefa smiles. “As soon as your turn began, I activated Pride Goeth, which prevents you from declaring an attack this turn. I’ll have plenty of time to build up my board again, and remain fully clothed while doing so, thank you. And while I’m at it, why shouldn’t I build my clothing defenses up even more? Need I remind you of the continuous spell card I placed last turn: Render Unto Chinzebeth. Now, if you try any special summon shenanigans, you’ll only be buying me more fancy accessories to wear!”
>>
No. 1082057 ID: 75b262
File 170650061214.png - (1.48MB , 1256x1335 , Serah_Audience.png )
1082057

Sweat slides down Serah’s brow. She’s standing here in a quite compromising position, and things are only about to get worse if Reefa has her way. She has to focus on victory, not her lack of clothes. She takes a deep breath and tries to calm her mind…

“WHOO!” calls a kangaroo from the audience. “Take it off, girl!”

“I thought I would be the only duelist getting stripped today,” Momo adds with an enthusiastic double thumbs-up. “What a delightful surprise.”

“Please don’t look!” Serah says, shocked.

“What’s happening?” Warwick asks. “Miss Strawberi, may I look?”

“NO,” Strawberi says firmly. “Didn’t you hear what the Lady said?”

“Why, Serah, I’m ashamed of both myself and you.” Petra gives Serah a disapproving glare as only a mother can. “Thank you oh so much for giving them yet another denuded blonde to gawk at. You’re not helping prove any stereotypes wrong today.”

“It’s not my fault!” Serah whines, trying to cover herself while drawing a card and coming up short.

If Reefa draws another two-for-one Royal Guard or summons more cheap minions, Serah will be in danger of losing the duel to burn damage from Lord Lung. She prays for a card that will help turn the tables. What kind of card does she draw?

1. Serah draws removal that will get rid of Lord Lung, but it will also damage Serah’s LP- and her clothes, too. This is a terrible option for Serah’s dignity.
2. Serah draws a very strong fairy-themed card that will draw her a lot of cards, but will give her fairy allies a chance to embarrass her further. Can she trust them?

And finally…

Does Serah have the heart to activate Solvent Bomb, even if it will cause Petra to get yet another Exposure Counter right in front of Dotti?
>>
No. 1082059 ID: e51896

1. We need to get rid of Lord Lung asap. drawback is the loss of all our clothes, but it's a sacrifice we need to make at this point

and go ahead and activate the solvent bomb. don't worry, these aren't real petra and dotti.
>>
No. 1082062 ID: eb0a9c

>>1082050
I did not expect the quest to use this level of sexual liability.

Oh well.

>>1082057
Screw it, we've already entered "By the Book" territory.

2 and yes.
>>
No. 1082063 ID: a7a180

Option 2, but hold the solvent bomb back.
>>
No. 1082080 ID: 273c18

>>1082057
2. You have a trap card that will spell doom for your opponent if you can summon a bunch of characters, even if you have to sacrifice those characters to summon more.

And yes, if solvent bomb needs to be played, then it gets played. You can talk to the cards beforehand to tell "Dotti" it's not as bad as she thinks.
>>
No. 1082082 ID: 0d1c28

1: gotta get rid of Lung

with him gone you'll go back to being invincible.

also use solvent bomb! Petra and Dotti can take it
>>
No. 1082085 ID: 101092

2. We can trust fairies that aren’t Landi, right?

Throw the solvent bomb. In for a penny, in for a pound.
>>
No. 1082087 ID: 4a4bd1

2, We haven't gotten to see Serah dig into the Extra Deck much yet. I want to see fairies, certainly, but I also just wanna see her start Link climbing a bit. Show off some of what her deck is capable of!
>>
No. 1083870 ID: 75b262
File 170848805888.png - (370.09KB , 628x1000 , Material_Cannibalism_s.png )
1083870

Serah is in a precarious position. Her board is stronger than Reefa’s since she has Taranis, Dotti, Petra and Zinnia, compared to Reefa’s only monster of Lord Lung. However, Reefa has the potential to deal direct damage to Serah’s LP if she has even the slightest chance to summon more characters.

Serah’s reputation and outfit is already in tatters- she has to end this as soon as possible. If that means putting poor Petra through some friendly fire, then she’ll have to suffer through it. These simulacra aren’t really her friends and compatriots, they’re just elaborate replicas, no matter how lifelike they look. Once they’re gone, they’re gone- unlike Serah herself, who has to live with the consequences of losing more LP. They’ll understand. Right?

Serah draws Summoning Salt, a Ritual Spell that, uh, summons Salt, a great Djinn with 3500 ATK and immunity to Reefa’s card effects. Summoning Salt needs Salt herself in Serah’s hand, plus Moonshine, Responsible Adult on Serah’s field- meaning Serah will have to find a way to get all the way up to a Link-6 fairy. It’s very, very powerful- but it’s very hard to pull off, and prone to interruptions. Thankfully, Free Art and Zinnia both make getting up to Link 6 a lot easier, but if Reefa somehow gets rid of Zinnia, Serah’s work could be undone. Serah decides to keep Free Art set face-down and not activate it this turn- that way, in case Reefa gets rid of Zinnia and Serah’s other characters, she will still be able to get up to Link 6 quickly with Free Art’s 4 free link material.

“Time to climb the link ladder,” Serah says to herself, then clears her throat and summons all her courage to speak up in her current state of affairs. “I send Taranis, Clothing Thief[/i] to the graveyard in order to summon Rocio, Workout Trainer, a Link-1 fairy from my Extra Deck! Rocio’s effect special summons her boyfriend, Mr. Armstrong, from the deck to the zone her link arrow points to.”

“Thank you for the 1500 LP,” Reefa smiles at the activation of Render Unto Chinzebeth. “I think I’ll invest it into a nice necklace.”

“Not so fast,” Serah says. “I activate my trap card, Consumable Combustion! Your 1500 LP gain is 1500 loss instead.”

Reefa’s bracers and her overcoat are blown away from her LP going down to 4500. She grimaces, but knows Serah will be summoning more fairies to gain her life back.

“Now,” Serah says, “I send both Rocio and Armstrong to the graveyard to Link Summon Genice, Ice Djinn, a Link-2 Djinn with 1500 ATK. In addition to preventing you from attacking with any characters her arrows are pointing to, her effect allows me to add Salt to my hand, a Ritual Character who requires the spell Summoning Salt in order to be summoned. And then, I place a card face-down in my final open spell zone.”

“Thank you kindly for the additional extra 1000 LP from your Link Summon,” Reefa says, going back up to 5500 LP. “You’ve so rudely destroyed my overcoat and bracers, but I have plenty of adornments I can put back on. As for that card you just placed… you could be placing the ritual card, Summoning Salt... or you could be trying to convince me it’s a ritual, and instead placing a deadly trap card. Either way, my best strategy is to not play around that potential trap, since you already have another face-down card that could also be a trap. Are you trying to look smart? Because you certainly aren’t smartly dressed. You’re making a fool of yourself, Lady Kensington. Please, surrender now. Spare yourself and your characters further embarrassment.”

“Yeah!” Dotti growls. “Serah, you have to let Petra go! Please, please, please stop using her as a shield!”

“I’m sorry, Dotti,” Serah says. “I would, but… Alluring Defense is a very good combo with-”

“You’re being mean!” Dotti growls. “Really mean! I knew humans were all mean except Petra! Serah, you should be the one tied up and naked! Petra doesn’t deserve it, but you do!”

“Dotti, be quiet!” Serah huffs. “Just attack Lord Lung to put an exposure counter on him right now!”

Dotti is forced to shut up and attack Lord Lung- and Reefa laughs a high, noble laugh. “You silly Lady!” Reefa says, smiling broadly. “You didn’t have to use Dotti to do that. You could have used Clover instead and done an extra 1200 damage directly to me.”

“Ooh, Serah’s tilted for sure!” Charisse calls out. “Get your head in the game, girl! C’mon, put on a better show!”

Serah flushes. “Sh-shut up! It’s hard to focus like this! I… I command Zinnia to-

“Hey! Rude!”

“Ahem. I command Clover and Genice to attack Reefa directly, since she has no other characters on the field to put exposure counters on. Then I end my turn. Ugh!”

Reefa takes 1300 damage from Zinnia and 1500 damage from Genice, bringing her down to 2700 LP, which knocks off the extra adornments Reefa just put on from earlier as well as the remainder of her overcoats, leaving her in a simple purple dress and crown but still decent. Serah wonders if she’s just lost the match with her incredible unforced error, and missed the chance to expose Reefa’s undergarments- she’d lose her concentration for sure.

Reefa begins her turn and smiles at her draw. “Oh, Lady Kensington. You’re not the only one who can play with summoning shenanigans. I’ve just drawn the spell The Termination Orders were Terminated: "Special Summon two level 4 or lower monsters from your GY, but negate their effects.”

“S-so?”

“So I can now play it to Special Summon Tirzaea and Azzeki, who are both Level 4, to use them to Xyz summon Ulric Ikenhart, Nurturing Groundskeeper with 1500 ATK and 2100 DEF. He allows me to draw a card when my hand is empty, and also draw a card when he leaves the battlefield.”

Reefa draws a fresh card and laughs again. “What luck! I’ve drawn Material Cannibalism: “Target one Xyz character on the field. Send all material attached to that card to the graveyard. Then, draw one card for every material sent to the Graveyard by this effect. If this is the only card in your hand, then you may play this card directly from hand (without needing to set and then activate it).”
>>
No. 1083872 ID: 75b262
File 170848815563.png - (2.36MB , 1256x1335 , YuGiOhPetra2.png )
1083872

With this, Reefa has two cards in hand, and two characters on the field: Ulric and Lord Lung, the latter having an exposure counter. Critically, the counter does not prevent him from activating his card effect; meaning Serah is still in danger of being dealt damage, even through Alluring Defense and Petra, Devoted Mother acting as a shield (with a board wipe from Dotti) and Zinnia, Guardian of Melodies threatening a second board wipe if Reefa declares an attack.

“I will normal summon Noovin Sett,” Reefa says.

[ Noovin Sett: Warrior-Type, Level 4, ATK: 800 DEF: 1000 ]

“Normally, I would Xyz summon my mother, Queen Gorgammar Multero, but in this case with Clothing Damage Quest, having multiple level 4 characters is superior to having one single, stronger character. Once your board wipes are gone, you’re mine to attack with these characters, no matter how weak they are. And with both my remaining cards in my hand, I can-”

“No! No, no, no! No, you don’t!” Serah interrupts. “I activate my trap card, Solvent Bomb: Put Exposure Counters on one character as well as any adjacent characters. No attacks for you, no matter what your last card is! I’ll finish you next turn, and you can’t defend!”

“What?” Petra says, noticing that she’s in the blast zone. “Serah, you don’t have to- Ahh!”

Dotti watches, horrified, as Serah rushes to activate her trap to put exposure counters on Noovin and Ulric… and catches Petra in the blast, melting the final scraps of her barely-there clothing.

Petra Exposure Counters: 6

“Oh, not again!” both Petra and Noovin cry out.
>>
No. 1083873 ID: 75b262
File 170848820436.png - (307.60KB , 628x1000 , Change of Heart.png )
1083873

Dotti lets out an enraged yowl at Serah’s utter disdain for the dignity of her own cards. She curses Serah, stomping her feet, threatening fire and fury, and her undying hatred of someone who would do such horrible things to the best mom in the whole world.

“You… you… horrible human! I hate you!” Dotti says after she’s done yammering, gekkering and yapping. “I wish I was on Reefa’s team. Then I’d show you, Serah! I wish Reefa was the one who drafted Change of Heart, not you, so I could be the one to burn your clothes to ashes!”

“Dotti, shush! I command you to shush!”

“Interesting,” Reefa says. “Dotti, are you certain Serah has Change of Heart in her deck right now?”

“Yeah!” Dotti nods.

“Then I will play one of the two remaining cards in my hand: Lure of Laterna,” Reefa says proudly. “With this spell card, I can name a specific card, and if it’s in my opponent’s deck, I can add it to my hand. I choose Change of Heart!

Sure enough, a card flies out of Serah’s deck and straight over to Reefa’s hand.

Change of Heart: Target 1 monster your opponent controls; take control of it until the End Phase.

“Dotti, why? Why would you tell her about my deck?!” Serah wails.

“Because Petra’s a better mom than you! You treat me and her and all your cards like we don’t matter. Well, right now you don’t matter! How’s that feel?!”

“Now, to choose which of your characters would suit me best,” Reefa ponders.

“Pick me! Pick me!” Dotti says.

“Are you sure?” Reefa asks Dotti. “You would need to attack your beloved Petra.”

“Oh,” Dotti pauses. “Um… but I have 2500 ATK, and you could throw me and Ulric at Serah using Lord Lung to win!”

“Even if I use Lord Lung’s effect to launch himself at Serah’s LP, that would only do 2,500 damage. She would have 200 LP left.”

“But she’d be naked!” Dotti points out.

“Yes!” a foxy member of the audience agrees. “She’ll be knocked even more off her game. Easy pickings.”

“As much as I would like to take you up on your offer, brave Trash Fox,” Reefa says sadly, “Zinnia is the card that gives me the most trouble at the moment. Her board wipe triggers any time I take an attack, and I can’t remove her with any of my own cards.”

“You can’t remove her at all,” Serah says.

“Oh, I think I may,” Reefa says, and plays Change of Heart targeting Zinnia.
>>
No. 1083875 ID: 75b262
File 170848829749.png - (594.55KB , 600x810 , serah-small.png )
1083875

“Judge!” Serah shrieks. “I need a judge right now!

A particularly goofy-looking bird flaps down from the rafters. He’s wearing a lanyard around his neck reading Judge Yurr. “Whut seems to be the problem?”

“Princess Reefa just played Change of Heart targeting Zinnia, and Zinnia’s card states: ’Unaffected by your opponent's card effects.’ Zinnia can’t be affected by Change of Heart.”

“Oh, I see,” says Judge Yurr. “Who drafted Change of Heart?”

“Um…” Serah pauses. “Me.”

“Then it’s not your opponent’s card. It’s yours. Zinnia’s not being affected by Reefa’s card.”

“But… but… that can’t be how it works! Come on, really?!”

Not a single member of the audience steps in to defend Serah’s position.

“The ruling stands!” Judge Yurr declares. “Princess Reefa, Zinnia is your royal subject now.”

“Excellent,” Reefa smirks. “Zinnia, would you like to be returned to Lady Kensington’s side of the field?”

“Yeep!”

Lord Lung grabs Zinnia and launches her straight at Serah, causing 650 damage directly to her LP. She also launches Ulric for 750 LP damage, leaving Serah with a mere 1300 LP and just her stockings and boots remaining. If Reefa finds a way to deal just 800 more damage, she can use Lord Lung’s effect on himself to finish the duel and bring Serah to 0 HP.

“And now, I set the final card in my hand face-down in my spell zone,” Reefa says. “I only have Lord Lung on my side of the field, and he cannot defend me since he has an exposure counter. Surely you want to attack me with all your characters, yes? Oh, I hope you do.”
>>
No. 1083876 ID: 75b262
File 170848836122.png - (38.04KB , 750x518 , CoverupSerah.png )
1083876

“Whoo! Go Reefa!” Conway cheers.

“Very nice, Princess,” Selma says appreciatively.

“Justice for the best mom!” Dotti declares.

“Serah’s posterior is modest, compared to her bosom,” Basmati observes. “I did not expect this disparity. Very curious.”

The audience is rooting against her- Serah finds it even harder to acknowledge them now. She’s living a waking nightmare of nudity, and this time it’s not Landi’s fault: it’s hers!

Their disapproval and stares weigh heavy on Serah. Is this how it feels to be a bad card mom? Is there even such a thing? No, that doesn’t matter!

Or does it?

If Serah had treated Petra better, kept Dotti happy, would things have gone better? Would Serah have messed up twice in a row with attack order, and with unnecessarily Solvent Bombing too early, and Dotti’s betrayal leading to Zinnia being launched out of a cannon?

Serah prays for some way to negate Lord Lung’s effect. At this point, all Reefa has to do is summon a character with 1600 or more ATK, and Serah can do absolutely nothing to stop it. It’s all up to the luck of the draw, now. She begins her turn and looks at her card:
>>
No. 1083877 ID: 75b262
File 170848840268.png - (185.45KB , 628x1000 , Ass Day_s.png )
1083877

Ass Day: Quick-play spell. Target 1 face-up monster on the field; change that target to face-down Defense Position.

“This card is useless,” she mutters. She has no way to play around Reefa’s face-down card, and if she did nothing, she’d probably lose anyway.

“Don’t worry, Petra,” Dotti reassures the bound woman next to her. “Serah’s gonna lose soon, and you won’t have to be naked any more.”

“Finally,” Petra says. “I’ve spent enough time in handcuffs in my youth; I didn’t expect to have to deal with this again.”

Serah considers using Petra to summon a more powerful Link fairy, but she doesn’t need to, now that Free Art has recharged and is ready to go with 4 free link material. If Petra disappeared, then she would be at risk of getting exposure counters on Dotti. Serah needs all the ATK she can get to chew through Reefa’s healing from Render unto Chinzebeth.

“I send Genice to the graveyard and activate Free Art again to summon Moonshine, Responsible Adult!

[ Moonshine, Responsible Adult, Link 6, Type:Fairy, Attribute:Wind, ATK: 2500 ]

This Link Summon cannot be negated. You may choose to have this card not be affected by any effect that affects more than one card. If any card effect or declared attack would target Moonshine or any other character that this card’s link arrows point at, you may instead choose a character pointed at by any link arrow to be the target of that declared attack or card effect. You may move counters from one character whose link arrows this card points at to any other character whose link arrows this card points at, or Moonshine herself. Once per turn, you may place a Summoning Salt Ritual Spell from your graveyard to your hand.

“What?” Dotti blinks. “That doesn’t make any sense. Landi’s never gonna be responsible.”

“It’s a lot of work,” Moonshine says. “Dunno if it’s worth it. Way easier to be a lazy fairy.”

Serah’s summoning activates Render Unto Chinzebeth once more, bringing Reefa up to 3200 LP.

“And now,” Serah says, “I activate the ritual card Summoning Salt I placed earlier! It requires me to have Moonshine, Responsible Adult on the field and not Special Summon any more characters this turn, but there’s no way you’ll survive this attack now, Reefa! Even with the 500 LP gain you get from Chinzebeth, you’re done for!”

[ Salt the Greater Djinn, Djinn-Type, Level 8, ATK: 3500 DEF: 2800 ]

Special Summon only. Cannot be affected by your opponent’s card effects. If this card is sent to the graveyard by battle damage, send all characters your opponent controls to the graveyard.

Salt can’t be affected by your cards, just like Zinnia. Um, I mean, Clover. That reminds me… do you have a Change of Heart? I don’t want that judge coming back.”

“Not this time,” Reefa says. “I suppose you win…. Or do you?”

“Stop messing with me!” Serah shoots back. “If I really win, then just surrender!”

“You were the one who played that clothing damage card. Not me. If this round goes on forever, then it’s only fitting that you’ll have to suffer the consequences. If you’re truly committed to ending this, Lady Kensington, then attack!”

“Ugh!” Serah hisses. She’s been misplaying so many times this game, but she won’t be baited again. “You want me to attack with my most powerful card, Salt? No, I won’t fall for that. Dotti, attack Reefa directly.”

Dotti gekkers at Serah, and a cold, icy hand closes over Serah’s heart. Dotti raises her paws to summon fire at Reefa, but then...

“And here it is!” Reefa declares. “The final showdown, but not the one you were expecting. I activate Kalez’s Cunning Misdirection!”

Kalez’s Cunning Misdirection:
When an opponent's character declares an attack while they control 2 or more face-up monsters and you control a character: Target 1 face-up character your opponent controls, except the attacking character; change the attack target to it and perform damage calculation, with your opponent taking the resulting damage.

Dotti cackles in glee and lets loose her attack at not Reefa, but Salt! Dotti’s difference in ATK is a full 1000, meaning that if the attack goes through, Reefa will be able to tribute Lung to end the duel!

“Dotti, no!”

“Dotti, yes!”
>>
No. 1083879 ID: 75b262
File 170848853935.png - (636.78KB , 600x810 , reefa-small.png )
1083879

“You shouldn’t be able to target Salt with a card effect!” Serah hisses.

“Attacking isn’t a card effect.”

“Damn!” In the moment before Dotti fires at Salt, Serah makes the only move she has left: “I quick-play Ass Day on Dotti!”

Dotti is flipped face-down ass-up and placed into Defense Mode, canceling her attack and shoving her into a foxhole, with only her tails popping out. There’s the sound of rabid gekkering from inside.

“Oh,” Reefa blinks. “The attack doesn’t go through, then. And… you’re free to attack with Salt and Moonshine, for…”

“6000 damage,” Serah says, raising her arm to blast away Reefa’s remaining LP- and outfit. “Salt, Moonshine! End this!”

Reefa looks at her extra deck for options, her cards fluttering in the wind as the attack hits. There’s no options left, and the attack wipes out both her LP and her outfit.

The light settles after the attack. Both duelists have vanished.

“Oh, my,” Momo motions to Judge Yurr. “Did they both disappear?”

“Gak! They did!” the bird squawks. “They’ve vanished into thin air! This is horrible! Pan will be so upset… Oh! I know! Can you pretend to be a busty blonde to fill in for Serah?”

“Oh, I would be delighted to,” Momo says gleefully.

---—---

Meanwhile, the two indecent hide under the bleachers, huddled under a scrounged blanket.

“I don’t think anyone saw us sneak under here,” Reefa whispers. “Thank goodness for small favors. Did you really have to play that field spell?”

“The combo was too good. But, um, the price was a bit high,” Serah agrees. “Princess, you could have activated Lord Lung at the last moment and stripped me even more,” Serah says, grateful for even the smallest shred of dignity. “Thank you for not doing that.”

“Royalty should always show mercy to the lesser nobility and the commoners. That is the essence of noblesse oblige.”

“I… didn’t really deserve the win, did I? I misplayed. I treated my commoners, um, cards horribly. The audience was even rooting for you by the end.”

“Sometimes one does one’s best and still loses,” Reefa says. “That is, sometimes, also a princess’s duty. To see things through to the end. Perhaps you can seek forgiveness from your commoners the next duel.”

“Oh.” Serah grimaces. “I don’t think I can go out there again.”

“We don’t have to leave just yet,” Reefa nods. “At least, not before we find something to wear…”

[SERAH WINS!]
>>
No. 1087558 ID: 056492
File 171193074641.png - (280.67KB , 500x500 , Angy.png )
1087558

“Please understand… I’m not trying to discriminate against you for your age. I was actually the biggest advocate for not placing an age requirement on the tournament.” Companionship says. “Although, it was partly required, just due to the different lifespans of all these different species… You two are considered to be adolescents by human standards though, and your culture finds this content explicit.”

The explanation did little to lessen the affronted glares being pointed his way. Companionship withers under their gazes.

“I wanted to keep watching.” Enid says. “I wanted to see what the pretty dragon lady and Ms. Serah would play.”

“I understand…”

“I also wanted to see how other people play, so that I could figure out how I should be playing.” Franklin says. “And watching the holograms was a lot of fun.”

“Y-Yes, I can see how you might be disadvantaged by this…”

“What about their decks?” Enid asks. “We might have to play against whoever wins, right? Won’t it be unfair that they’ll get to see our decks when we duel, but we don’t get to see theirs?”

“W-Well–”

“Actually, that’s if we get to play against them. If we aren’t allowed to look at their ‘adult cards’, then we won’t really be able to duel them at all, will we?”

Companionship shrinks into the floor. “I’m sure we can fix any issues with that beforehand.”

“...If you could have fixed it before, then couldn’t you have also fixed it before this duel? Then we would have been able to keep watching, right?” Franklin says.

“Good point, Franklin. He also messed up during our duel last round with those cards Bonnie had. Gee, it sounds like the ‘biggest advocate’ for children to play in the tournament is actually the one most responsible for us kids not being able to enjoy it, huh?”

“Yeah, I think you’re right about that.”

Companionship is about ready to cry, as Tianna comes out of the arena with a similarly displeased Bonnie. Ever the weakling at heart, Pan immediately seizes the opportunity to take the heat off themself. “Tianna! Wasn’t it your job to filter out the inappropriate cards? What happened?”

Tianna levels them a flat look. “Sorry, was I supposed to do that before the draft, when you kept changing the rules and had me adding and removing cards from all the tables; or during the first round, when I was busy arranging for a replacement duelist after you let the kids play together?”

And suddenly, Pan is right back in the hot seat. The small bird nearly faints under pressure.

In a moment of mercy, Tianna speaks up. “Alright alright, let’s give the dummy some space. Making sure all the cards were age-appropriate was my job, not his. How about this? Between rounds, we’ll put on a tastefully edited projection of the last duel for everyone present, that way nobody misses anything. Would that satisfy everyone?”

The children confer for a moment, before collectively approving her idea.

“Tianna! Thank you!” Pan wraps their wings around her in relief.

“Yeah yeah, you can thank me by getting all that set up.” She brushes him off. Pan dutifully flies off to do just that.

“This isn’t gonna happen next game too, will it?” Enid asks. “You’re going to check their decks this time, right?”

Tianna considers how much of a hassle it would be to censor all cards that have NSFW materials on them. Combing through everyone’s draft pools would take long enough, actually censoring the cards would add a bit too, but none of that even accounted for putting up with any of the adult duelists who had complaints about the change. The whole process just screamed “too much hassle”.

“...Ehhh, we’ll figure something out. Y’know what, why don’t we bump Selma and the masked guy to the end, just to give us a bit more time to prep for that?”

“That would be fine…” Enid pauses, realizing that the change would mean her and Franklin going next. A small pulse of anxiety goes through her, which she brushes off. It’ll be fine. They worked hard on their deck, and now it’s better than it was before. They don’t have anything to worry about.
>>
No. 1087561 ID: 056492
File 171193098072.png - (116.56KB , 1280x720 , CCG is now Streaming.png )
1087561



“You seem worried.” Franklin says.

Enid looks up at him, puzzled. Where did that come from? She was just going over their deck for the fourth time, and asking very reasonable questions such as “What if we don’t draw cards we can play, and lose instantly?” It’s a very real concern, she doesn’t understand why Franklin is looking at her like she’s… freaking out about……

“...Oh. Yeah, I guess I am.” She puts the cards down, handing the deck over to Franklin. “Sorry, the waiting is getting to me. We already registered our deck for the round, so it’s too late to make any real changes… It’s like there’s nothing to do but worry.”

He pats her on the head, as one would to calm down a pet. It calms her down a little.

Eventually, people begin entering the room, filing into the audience stands. Among the wave stands one purple-furred kangaroo, who splits from the mob to join the kids on stage. Her attention is focused squarely on her phone, as she talks to her followers.

“Welcome to the show! For those just joining in, we made it to round 2 of this Multidimensional Duelist Invitational Tournament! Not sure how, considering how bad our original deck SUCKED, but we pulled it off somehow. As fun as it would be to make you suffer through that again though, I’d actually prefer to win and stay in the tournament, soooo we’re taking some advice from chat. But that does mean that if I lose this round, it’s on YOU!”

Franklin and Enid stare at her in bewilderment, unable to make sense of what she’s doing.

“Anywho, you all voted that I should stick with the PLANTIMALs, but you had some very helpful recommendations on how to amp it up! Turns out these guys have had a ton of support over the years, and the newer cards change things up in some fun and powerful ways. A lot of you also recommended adding cards from the Fandom archetype to the deck, as they play pretty well together. Apparently, in the lore–”

“Um… Excuse me?” Enid calls out, catching Charisse’s attention. “Who are you talking to?”

“Huh? Oh, it’s just my stream chat. Gotta keep ‘em up to date, y’know?” She replies, pausing to squint at Enid. “Wait, does ONLYFAUNUS have rules against kids in safe-for-work streams?” She scrolls around on her phone, searching around for any mentions in the terms of service agreement.

“...Franklin, did any of that make sense to you?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

Charisse nods. “Alright, looks like we’re clear, since I put a split in after that last match and re-labeled the stream as SFW for now.” She pockets the phone and extends a hand towards the kids. “I’m Charisse. It looks like we’ll be playing against one another this time. You excited?”

“Yes?” Enid hesitantly responds, shaking Charisse’s hand. Franklin just nods, awkwardly gripping Charisse’s thumb while Enid is still mid-shake, moving his hand up and down with the motion. “I’m Enid, and this is my friend Franklin. We’re playing together.”

“...Aren’t we all playing together?” Franklin asks. “Since you’d say you were playing together, even if you were playing something like Monopoly, where everyone’s on their own team, so it’s more like playing against each other…” His thoughts trail off into mumbles, before he goes completely silent with contemplation.

Charisse chuckles. “He has a point, but I get what you mean. My first round ended quickly, so I was able to catch the tail-end of the other duo versus the dragon gal. Seeing that really made me feel like I was playing a totally different game. Those three really knew how to play!”

Enid giggles. “I know what you mean. This game is really complicated, so it’s hard to know what’s good or not.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty much relying on stream chat to make sure my deck isn’t garbage this round.” She looks off in a seemingly random direction. “Although, for everyone saying it was dogwater, don’t forget that I’m still here in round 2! So you know, it wasn’t completely worthless.”

“Um, I didn’t say it was bad.”

“I know, just talking to chat again. Look, the birds set up a nice 360° camera over there for my stream setup. It’s pretty neat stuff.”

Enid observes the box Charisse points to, feeling slightly closer to understanding, but still quite a ways off. “That’s a camera? So, you’re recording everything?”

“Well, it will end up in my vods when this is over, but it’s setup for livestreaming right now.” Charisse explains.

“What’s livestreaming?”

Charisse lets out a low whistle. “That’s a first. Your parents don’t let you go online much, do they?”

Enid’s face scrunches up. “If your explanation includes other words I don’t understand, then it isn’t helping.”

“Sorry, you got me there. Livestreaming is basically what it sounds like. People at home get to watch what’s being recorded with almost no delay. It’s like… the news?”

Charisse wasn’t sure how much better she could explain it, but Enid seemed to get it with that. Mostly. “So, you’re talking to a bunch of people at home, but how can they talk back?”

At that, Charisse flips her phone around to show off the waves of chat messages being sent in. She couldn’t help but be stunned by the amount, and then quickly overwhelmed by how quickly they went by. “How can anybody read them before they go away?”

“Practice. That, and letting people donate to highlight their messages. I’ll show you more after this duel if you’re interested.”

“I’d like that! Come on Franklin.” Enid pulls on his tail, dragging him back into the moment.

“Oh, are we starting?”

Both parties take their positions at opposite ends of the arena. They shuffle their decks, and both reveal cards until a character comes up.

Charisse: [ Holly-Headsplitter: Beast-Type, Level 7, ATK: 2600, DEF: 2000 ]
Enid: [ Xolotl’rainaxl Shterot, Level 4, ATK 1000, DEF: 1900 ]
>>
No. 1087565 ID: 056492
File 171193132767.png - (687.78KB , 628x1000 , PLANTIMALS Theme Song s.png )
1087565

“Great! I was hoping I’d get to start us off.” Charisse says, shuffling her cards one last time, before drawing an opening hand of five. In her hand is:

Durian-Skunk (Level 2 Character Card, 500 ATK 300 DEF)
Who’s That PLANTIMAL? (Spell Card)
Corn-Quasidragon (Level 4 Character Card, 1500 ATK 1000 DEF)
PLANTIMALS Theme Song (Continuous Spell)
Unceremonious Offscreen Death (Trap Card)

“I can work with this!”

Enid and Franklin draw their cards, sharing their opponent’s sentiments. “I think we can set up a really good board with this.”

Jhonen, The Freak (E) (Level 3 Character Card, 800 ATK 400 DEF)
Piter (Level 3 Character Card, 700 ATK 500 DEF)
GOTCHA! (Trap Card)
Anti-Individuality Classroom (Spell Card)
Perrine (Level 3 Character Card, 200 ATK 200 DEF)

[Charisse: 6000 LP - 5 Cards in hand]

“Can’t think of any better way to start things off than by activating PLANTIMALS Theme Song!” Charisse declares, as a television appears on the field. “Hit the music! (And sorry to those watching at home, but I gotta mute this because it’s copyrighted.)”

Jump back, what’s that sound?
Here it comes, thorns up, roots down
Hot sun, beats you down and makes them tough
Weed invaders, young crusaders: CAN YOU WHACK IT HARD ENOUGH?

Plantimals, Plantimah-als
Plantimals, Plantimah-ah-uh-ah-ah-als


“That’s catchy,” Franklin admits, “but what does it do? I wouldn’t mind if it just played nice music, but…”

“Nah, it’s got a real effect too. Check it: If I don’t control any characters at the start of my Main Phase 1, I get an extra normal summon to use on a PLANTIMAL. It’s a Continuous Spell too, so I can do it again later if you wipe out all my guys.”

“I bet that would be really good if you have Tribute Characters in your deck, huh?” Enid says. “You could get a level 5 or 6 character onto the field in just one turn.”

“You’re not wrong, but that’s not my plan for this turn. I’ll keep it simple, and just stick with two guys. Back to back, I’ll normal summon Durian-Skunk and Corn-Quasidragon!

[ Durian-Skunk, Plant-Type, Level 2, ATK: 500, DEF:300 ]
[ Corn-Quasidragon, Plant-Type, Level 4, ATK: 1500, DEF:1000 ]


A small and spiny skunk appears on the field, looking friendly despite its exterior. Beside it, a dragon-like creature just barely taller than Franklin roars onto the field. Unlike Bonnie’s characters (or Charisse herself for that matter), these seemed far more like actual animals to the two kids standing across from them.
>>
No. 1087566 ID: 056492
File 171193136551.png - (1.12MB , 1000x1000 , PLANTIMALS Explained.png )
1087566

“Do they have any effects?” Enid asks. “We’re supposed to know what they are, right?”

“Don’t worry, I’m not planning on hiding them.” She steps forward, petting her projected creatures. “Durian Skunk applies a debuff to any character who battles it, dropping their attack and defense by 500 until they get off the field. You wouldn’t fight a poor innocent creature like him though, would you?”

“We made fake representations of our friends and selves fight to the death in our last duel,” Enid bluntly responds.

“Oh, well he’s probably dead then.” Charisse moves on, scratching her other beast below the chin. “Corn-Quasidragon digs for treasure whenever he attacks you directly, letting me draw a card.”

“That’s not so bad,” Enid says.

“Well hang on, that’s just their individual effects. There are some effects shared by pretty much all my PLANTIMALS.”

“Shared effects?” Franklin asks.

“It’s like how most of our characters that are tuners can be treated as non-tuners when we use them to summon aged-up versions of them from the extra deck,” Enid explains. He nods in understanding.

“First off,” Charisse starts, “even though their listed type is plant, PLANTIMALS are also treated as Beast-Type characters at all times. Hand, deck, field, etc.”

“Okay…”

“Second, when these guys are destroyed, they go right back to the hand instead of the Graveyard.”

“What?” Enid exclaims. “What does that have to do with being animals that are also plants?”

“I don’t know, I never watched the show. My friend Jackie wanted me to play them, so I can probably ask them…” She types a quick question into her phone, getting a near-immediate response. “Ooh, they must be watching. Hey Jackie!” She waves to the camera.

“Umm…”

“Oh right. Uhh… Whenever a PLANTIMAL gets defeated, they leave behind a seed so that you can regrow them to fight another day. So it’s like that basically.”

“Ohh, that makes sense then.” Enid nods approvingly. “Is that all?”

“One more actually: When a PLANTIMAL is in combat, unless it’s a direct attack, neither of us will take any battle damage from it.”

“I– Huh? What’s the reason for that one?”

“Jackie– Didn’t even have to ask. Thanks bud!” Charisse blows a kiss to the camera. “It’s a game reference. The Kudzu and other PLANTIMALS only attack the PLANTIMAL you have out, so you can’t take any damage until you’ve used them all up and got nothing left but seeds. Except in the most recent game where– Okay, more information than I need right now Jackie, but love the enthusiasm.”

Enid blinks, not completely making sense of the explanation, but deciding to accept it without argument.

“Now, I’m gonna set one card face-down, and we’ll call it there for that turn.” Charisse sets her card, before pointing forward dramatically. “Your turn to show off what your cards can do!”

“R-Right. I’ll do my best!”
>>
No. 1087567 ID: 056492
File 171193140567.png - (658.05KB , 628x1000 , Jhonen The Investigator (A) s.png )
1087567

Enid draws, smiling at the card she’d picked up.

[Enid: 6000 LP - 6 Cards in hand]

“...So, what do we need to do about the monsters on her field” Franklin asks.

“Wait, is it monster or character, because I feel like I’ve heard both used today.” Enid says. Franklin scratches his head, not being sure.

“I mean… I don’t want to call our friends monsters, so… Characters then?”

“I could have sworn most of our cards said monster before…”

Pan begins whistling with complete innocence from the rafters, as the other judges shoot them accusing looks.

“Anyways, I think our goal should be to get at least three characters on the field. That would give us enough to destroy all of her Plantimals, while also dealing some damage.”

“...Won’t this card give us that for free?” He asks, holding up one of their spells. She shakes her head.

“Not exactly, but it’d be a pretty good start.” She nods. “Let’s play it.”

“We activate the Spell Card Anti-Individuality Classroom.” Franklin says, placing their card. “It lets us summon three level three characters with different names and less than 1500 ATK from our deck.”

“For free?” Charisse whistles. “Hey Chat, why aren’t we using that?”

“The summon is free, but there are conditions.” Enid says, while looking through the deck. “The characters we summon will have their effects negated, and they’ll be banished from the field at the end of the turn.”

She shows three cards to Franklin, who nods in approval. “We’ll be summoning Franklin, The Alien (E); Clive, The Antisocialite (E); and Lemmy, The Class Clown (E).

The three boys in question appear on the field, looking around at the current state of things. “Aw crud, I’m just here to be used as material, aren’t I?” Lemmy asks.

“That is exactly why you’re here.” Enid confirms.

“Am I at least important enough that you’re gonna put my stats in the text?”

“Read ahead and find out. Now, because Franklin is on the field, I can use the effect of Jhonen, the Freak (E) in my hand to special summon him to the field.”

[ Jhonen, The Freak (E), Rapscallion-Type, Level 3, ATK: 800, DEF: 400 ]

“BUSTED!” Jhonen shouts, appearing beside the projected Franklin. “I’d always theorized that if we cut off your tail, your split parts would both regrow. What other explanation could there be for there to be two Franklins in this room?”

Franklin takes a cautious step away from the projections, holding his tail.

“When Jhonen is summoned, his effect lets me see a random card in your hand.” She points to Charisse’s sole card in hand. “You only have that one left. What is it?”

Charisse doesn’t get a chance to respond, as the projected Jhonen bounds over right beside her, and peeks over her shoulder. “The card is ‘Who’s That PLANTIMAL?’! It’s a Spell Card that lets her name a PLANTIMAL character, and reveal the top five cards of her deck. If the card she named is there, then she gets to special summon it to the field.”

“Good to know.” Enid says, while pulling a card out of their extra deck. “Now, while treating Jhonen as a non-tuner, I’ll sync him and Franklin off to special summon Jhonen, The Obsessive (M).

[ Jhonen, The Obsessive (M), Rapscallion-Type, Level 6, ATK: 1000, DEF: 1800 ]

“Should we use his effect on her face-down?” Franklin asks. The middle-school Jhonen would be able to destroy a face-down spell or trap on the field. Not an unhelpful ability, but Charisse only had the one.

“Hmm… I don’t think we should. She could activate it in response, depending on what it is. She’s probably holding it for when it’ll hit our board the worst.”

“Ohhh, so are you going to–”

“Yep. Now, using Jhonen as a non-tuner again, we’re gonna combine him and Lemmy this time to bump him up all the way to adulthood. Franklin?”

He pulls out the card in question. “Jhonen, The Investigator (A).

[ Jhonen, The Investigator (A), Warrior-Type, Level 9, ATK: 1800, DEF: 2600 ]
>>
No. 1087568 ID: 056492
File 171193143731.png - (64.07KB , 500x650 , Trap Tricked.png )
1087568

As Jhonen and Lemmy vanish, an adult takes their place. An aura of confidence surrounds them, as they look across at Charisse’s field. “Hmm, I sense danger on the horizon.”

“I was waiting for you to make something big like that!” Charisse says. “My Trap Card–”

“Won’t activate.” Franklin completes. As he says it, the adult Jhonen stomps his foot down on the card in question, keeping it from flipping open.

“Huh?”

“Jhonen’s effect lets him choose between destroying all face-down cards on your side of the field, or destroying just one. If we choose to only destroy one, then you aren’t allowed to activate the card we target in response.”

The card breaks beneath Jhonen’s shoe, revealing it to have been Unceremonious Offscreen Death, a trap that would have let Charisse destroy one of her opponents’ characters, in exchange for banishing the top three cards of her deck face-down.

“Man, you saw right through me. You kids have got game!”

Feeling more confident, Enid pushes through with the rest of her plays. “I activate the effect of Glum Plum in my hand. Once a turn, she can special summon herself to the field by returning one level 3 monster back to the hand. I choose Clive.”

[ Glum Plum, Rapscallion-Type, Level 3, ATK: 1200, DEF: 1000 ]

A plush doll standing at about Enid’s height appears on-field in place of Clive. She looks around with slight confusion, before shrugging and letting things play out.

“We still haven’t used our normal summon. I’ll use it to summon Piter.

[ Piter, Rapscallion-Type, Level 3, ATK: 700, DEF: 500 ]

A young energetic boy with silver hair appears, as Enid explains, “whenever Piter declares an attack, he gains 300 ATK points before the damage step. Speaking of which: we’re switching to the battle phase.”

“Piter should attack the skunk, and… I guess Jhonen has to attack the corn one, leaving Plum to attack directly?” Franklin says.

“I completely agree,” she says. “Piter, you go first. Attack Durian-Skunk!”

The sporty boy kicks a soccer ball into the skunk, knocking it off the field. His celebration session gets interrupted by a spray of stench from where the skunk landed, souring his mood quickly. As a result of the battle effects, he’s left at 500 ATK and 0 DEF.

“Then Jhonen.” Franklin commands. Jhonen approaches the Quasidragon with a pair of cuffs, managing to slap them around the corn-beast’s legs and dragging him away.

“And finally, Plum for direct damage!” Enid calls out, spurring Plum to rush forward. The plush girl throws her whole bodyweight into Charisse, winding the roo slightly.

“Geez, I know it’s just a hologram, but still. Ouch.”

[ Charisse LP: 4800 ]

“Finally, we’ll set a card face-down, ending our turn.”
>>
No. 1087569 ID: 056492
File 171193146892.png - (794.81KB , 628x1000 , Who's That PLANTIMAL s.png )
1087569

Charisse brushes herself off. “That was a pretty nice turn. Gonna need a good draw if I wanna do you one better.”

In one swift motion, she draws the top card of her deck and examines it. Her face lights up. “Talk about perfect timing!”

[Charisse: 4800 LP - 4 Cards in hand]

“Let’s start it off with a Sneak Preview!” She says, while activating her Spell Card. “We get to have a nice look at what the top three cards of both our decks are. Flip ‘em up!”

From the audience, Selma clicks her tongue. “That’s pretty lucky. She can’t be running too many cards like that, unless she’s trying to brick.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Bonnie asks, sitting beside the rodent.

“Well, knowing the top of your deck isn’t very useful most of the time. Especially since any time you search it for specific cards, you reshuffle it afterwards. It only really matters in specific circumstances, like if you have a card that relies on you knowing what is there.”

“Oh!” Warwick exclaims, catching on quickly. “The card Jhonen revealed before.”

Satisfied with what she saw, Charisse does exactly as the audience had predicted. “Let’s follow that up with ‘Who’s That PLANTIMAL?’! And I know for a fact that Kiwi-Molebeast will be one of the top five cards on my deck.”

Once more, cards from the top of Charisse’s deck begin to reveal themselves. The cards are, from top to bottom:

Fan Backlash (Trap Card)
Author’s Original Ending Plans (Trap Card)
Kiwi-Molebeast (Level 5 Character Card)
Fertilizer Ray (Equip Spell Card)
Banana-Lyluk (Level 1 Character Card, 100 ATK 100 DEF)

“Since I called it right, Kiwi-Molebeast gets Special Summoned straight to the field!” Charisse announces. On cue, a massive beast burrows its way up from the floor onto the field.

[ Kiwi-Molebeast, Plant-Type, Level 5, ATK: 1800, DEF: 1400 ]

“I’ve never seen a mole before. Are they normally that big?” Enid asks. Franklin shrugs.

“I’ve got two effects to trigger now. When my Molebeast is summoned, I can equip any lower-leveled PLANTIMAL monster from my hand to it as an Equip Spell, adding that monster’s attack to it. I also get to chain one of the cards I just sent to the Graveyard though, Author’s Original Ending Plans. When it gets sent there without me having activated it, I can add a PLANTIMAL from my Graveyard to my hand.”

“The ones we destroyed last turn went to your hand though.” Franklin points out.

“True, but my Spell tossed one in there. I’ll add Banana-Lyluk to my hand, and Normal Summon it to the field!”

[ Banana-Lyluk, Plant-Type, Level 1, ATK: 100, DEF: 100 ]

“...Does it do anything?” He asks.

“Nope, it’s just just shitty!”

“Bad language!” Franklin calls out.

The projected Banana-Lyluk falls over pathetically.

“As for my Molebeast, I’m going to equip Durian-Skunk to it, bumping it up to 2300 Attack Points.

“That’s going to be a problem.” Jhonen mutters, glancing at his own listed attack points.

“Since I didn’t have any characters when my turn started, I get my extra normal summon from PLANTIMALS Theme Song. I’ll use it to bring back Corn-Quasidragon.
>>
No. 1087570 ID: 056492
File 171193149966.png - (878.16KB , 1000x1000 , Perp Podcast.png )
1087570

Despite having cleared her field in the previous turn, Franklin and Enid are stunned to see that Charisse hadn’t just set her field back up, but improved it. The strength of her PLANTIMALS’ resource loop starts to set in, revealing the true difficulty of the battle ahead.

Charisse calls out attacks on Jhonen and Piter, using Kiwi-Molebeast and Corn-Quasidragon respectively. Only Glum Plum and a face-down trap remain, as the battle phase comes to an end and Charisse’s turn follows.

“O-Okay, this doesn’t look good, but we still have plays we can make.” Enid says. “This isn’t over yet.”

“Pause!” Charisse calls out, strolling across the field to the children. “Before you start your next turn, can I ask a favor?”

Enid blinks. “Um… Yes?”

“Rad! I was wondering if one or both of you wanted to talk to Stream Chat while playing out your turn? I’m fully ignoring the fact that you’re kids right now, and all the weird legal and social issues that would spring up around that. I just think it’d be neat to get your commentary in the mix, make it more of a collab, y’know? Especially since there are two of you, so hopefully it won’t be too distracting.”

Enid and Franklin share a look. The request doesn’t sound completely unreasonable, but neither of them have ever been in this kind of situation. What would be the best way to handle it?

How should Franklin and Enid handle stream commentary?
1: Enid duels, while Franklin chats
2: Franklin duels, while Enid chats
3: Enid and Franklin duel and chat together

ALSO! Suggest potential stream viewers that Enid, Franklin, or Charisse might talk to next turn.

>>
No. 1087574 ID: b10a7a

3. Iraphena calls in!
>>
No. 1087577 ID: 7c55ad

1. Enid is the best at focusing so she should play. And I am really interested in seeing what sorts of weird conversations Franklin can have with others.


Who is chatting? Grace from DO NOT FILE. She's watching the stream when she is supposed to be working
>>
No. 1087581 ID: 5ebd37

1) Konda from A Most Holy Quest is in the chat. She's watching the stream on her orb when she should be doing sorcerer things.
>>
No. 1088098 ID: 75b262

2, and it's time for ANGRY DEER WIFE from ANGRY DEER WIFE to show up in chat!
>>
No. 1088103 ID: eb0a9c

`1
>>
No. 1088152 ID: a8545d

3! 3! and for the third time, 3!

And Raine from Return to Sender joins the chat. She suggest all kinds of ways to sleight-of-hand and cheat under the kangaroo's long, long nose.
>>
No. 1089840 ID: 4c750c

Definitely 3, as this enables them to swap roles as needed, if they’d like. As for who’s watching… I second the motion of Iraphena!
>>
No. 1089954 ID: aa9ce9
File 171436031818.png - (1.27MB , 1500x1000 , Stream Chat.png )
1089954

Franklin & Enid’s Field:
Glum Plum [1200/1000]
1 Face Down S/T

Charisse’s Field:
PLANTIMALS Theme Song
Corn-Quasidragon [1500/1000]
Kiwi-Molebeast [2300*/1400] (Originally [1800/1400])
Banana-Lyluk [100/100]
Durian-Skunk (Currently an Equip Spell, equipped to Kiwi-Molebeast)

“What do you think?” Enid asks. Franklin pauses, taking a moment to consider.

“I kind of want to understand what ‘stream chat’ is. I could look at her small TV thing–”

“This is a phone!” Charisse cuts in to clarify. The children pause to stare at her like she’d grown a second head.

He shakes his head. “...Well, I’d like to look at whatever it is. Do you think I could duel while you do that?”

“Um, did you mean the opposite of that?”

He pauses, reviewing his sentence in his head with several gestures. “...Yes.”

Enid nods. “Okay, I don’t mind. I kind of had an idea of what I wanted to do this turn anyways, so just leave it to me!”

Franklin accepts the device from Charisse, and after some brief hardware explanations (“Where are the buttons?” “It’s a touch screen.” “They make screens just for touching?”) he’s able to pull up the stream chat and read through messages.

He flashes Enid the thumb’s up, signaling her to start their turn. She draws a card.

[Enid: 6000 LP - 3 Cards in hand]

{ Bored@work says: What happened to the kangaroo girl? }
{ Puffb@ll says: aww just realized this was a SFW stream ;( }
{ LongLongTaillll says: The kids stole her stream, very relatable. One of my boys steals everything that isn’t nailed down. }
{ jackieLantern says: Sh3 pass3d th3 str3am ov3r to th3 mostly-human boy }
{ xXx_DUNG30N_DW3LL3R_xXx says: is that a Housetrapped typing quirk? }
{ jackieLantern says: ~^v^~ Ar3 you a fan too!?!? }
{ xXx_DUNG30N_DW3LL3R_xXx says: O_O yeeeeeeeeees }


Franklin has immediately lost track of chat. Waves of text blow by him without a single word actually finding purchase within his brain.

Meanwhile, Enid is looking between her cards and making a tough decision, She sees a couple different lines she could take, and has to weigh the odds between them. One would get a character on-board that could counter most of what she’s seen from Charisse so far, but if Charisse does have an out then the punishment will be brutal. Still, the alternatives aren’t that much better, and if she doesn’t go for it now then she might not get the chance later.

“I’ll start my turn by activating Anti-Individuality Classroom in the Graveyard!”

“It can activate, even in the grave?” Charisse reacts.

“Well, its Graveyard effect is a bit different, and I also have to banish it and three level characters from our Graveyard to do it. That isn’t hard though, since I can recycle my Synchro material from last turn. I choose Franklin, Lemmy, and Jhonen.”

“Huh, that’s interesting…” Franklin mumbles, while Enid banishes four cards. He notices chat latching onto his comment, and finds an opening to talk to them. “We talked about that effect earlier. It’s great for setting things up, but it has some downsides too.”

Three generic children begin generating on the field, as he continues his explanation. “Instead of summoning from the deck, the Graveyard effect creates three tokens on your field. They’re all Level 3 and Rapscallion-Type. That’s pretty good for our deck, but there’s a catch. Um, three actually. The first is the same as the other effect, the tokens go away if they’re still on the field at the end of the turn.”

{ WifeDeerAngry says: What’s the point then? }
{ dampfeline says: probly to make biggr guys like last turn }
{ Bored@work says: Isn’t that overpowered? It’s a starter that you get two free uses out of. }
{ jackieLantern says: This card was actually 3rrata’d to hav3 that 3ff3ct, to match how it function3d in the anim3. }
{ jackieLantern says: It’s not bad, but th3 only comp3titiv3ly viabl3 d3cks to 3v3r us3 it w3r3 Saf3ty Scouts and My T3ngu Acad3mia. }
{ GloriousWaterWitch says: What were the other two “catches”? }


The last comment snaps Franklin back to attention. “Um, right… The second is that you can only use that effect if you have no characters on the field, or the only ones you do have are Rapscallions. We play a lot of them, but not every character we use is like that.”

{ DefinitelyPascoe says: Does anyone even check card types? Why not just say all your cards are Rapscallions? }

“...Because that’s cheating. There’s one last problem too. For the rest of the turn…”

“...you can only summon Rapscallion-Type characters” Enid finishes. That was the real downside, as it put a hard limit on how far Enid could push their combo. She wouldn’t be able to summon out an (A) character, since their characters all change types when they reach adulthood. “That limits how far my combo can go this turn.”

“Those tokens must be a pretty big boon for your deck, if you’re willing to go through that much to summon them.” Charisse says. “So what are you gonna do with them?”

“I’m going to summon the card I just drew, Lillian, The Athlete (E).

[ Lillian, The Athlete (E), Rapscallion-Type, Level 3, ATK: 1000, DEF: 1000 ]

{ Bored@work says: is this the one that summons the identical kid? }

“No, that’s what Phillip does. Lillian only has an effect in the hand that you can use during combat, but she isn’t great at starting combos. That’s probably why Enid had to use that spell first.”

{ jackieLantern says: Just want3d to say that you’r3 doing great at this ~^v^~ }
{ Bored@work says: Yeah, good explanations. }


“Oh. Thank you, that’s very nice.” The nice words definitely made him feel like he was doing this right, although a sour one popped up moments later that confused him.

{ EyeSeeAll says: She’s gonna choke. }

“...On what? She isn’t–”

{ EyeSeeAll says: To be clear, I don’t mean she’s going to start choking. I mean she’s going to make a mistake. }

Oh, that made more sense. Franklin knew exactly how he felt about that: Bad.

A few of the other chat members respond to them, but Franklin isn’t sure what to say. He doesn’t want to deny that Enid would ever make a mistake, that would put a lot of pressure on her. He also wants to tell her she’s wrong and dumb though, because Enid is playing totally fine so far.

In the end, he chooses to leave it be, turning his attention back to Enid’s turn. She finishes flipping through the extra deck, seeming to lock in on a series of actions.
>>
No. 1089955 ID: aa9ce9
File 171436035186.png - (334.82KB , 628x1000 , Study Buddies s.png )
1089955

“I’m going to sync Lillian and one token off to make Lillian, The Amazonian (M)!” Enid says.

[ Lillian, The Amazonian (M), Rapscallion-Type, Level 6, ATK: 2000, DEF: 2000 ]

“What effects does she have?” Charisse asks. “Need to know if I should respond to this or not.”

“Nothing super proactive. As long as she was Synchro Summoned to the field normally though, she can’t be affected by card effects that don’t specifically target her.”

Charisse nods, waving Enid on to continue. “Now, I’d like to go into her next level, but I’m still locked into Rapscallions by my Spell Card. So instead, I’m going to Link off my two remaining Rapscallion Tokens.”

Link? They have Link Characters in their extra deck?” Warwick exclaims from the audience stands.

“That’s a surprise.” Xerin agrees. “They can only have fifteen cards in their extra deck, and I would have sworn their Synchro Characters were taking up all of that room. Each one effectively takes up two spaces after all, one for the Middle variant and one for the Adult. Even just 7 lines would take up 14 spaces already.”

“It does leave one opening though.” Selma adds, pushing up her glasses. “There are a few good generic Link Characters for the Rapscallion typing, a few of which might compliment their deck.”

“I already know what it is!” Bonnie announces proudly.

The two tokens vanish, and a pair of children sitting at a table with a book between them take their place. “Using my tokens as Link Material, I special summon the Link-2 Character: Study Buddies!

[ Study Buddies, Rapscallion-Type, LINK-2, ATK: 800 ]

“I activate their on-summon effect! In exchange for sending them to the Graveyard, I can add one Normal Spell or Normal Trap card to my hand. I won’t be allowed to activate that card or any with the same name for the rest of the turn though.” She fans out her deck, starting to search through it.

{ xXx_DUNG30N_DW3LL3R_xXx says: ANY spell or trap??? that sounds really strong! can a card that good be legal? }
{ jackieLantern says: It’s actually on th3 limit3d list at one right now, so it’s fin3 as long as this is the only copy she has. }
{ DefinitelyPascoe says: She should stack the top of her deck for the next turn when she’s finished searching }
{ ~Official_Tsuki@OWO~ says: Remember: Cheating is cool when you do it right, because it means you win! Everybody likes a winner >wO }
{ dampfeline says: nooooo cheating’s bad }
{ DefinitelyPascoe says: It’s not cheating if you don’t get caught }
{ xXx_DUNG30N_DW3LL3R_xXx says: um, i don’t think that’s true }


Franklin looks up, spotting Pan in the rafters. He calls out to the bird. “Hey, is it cheating if you don’t get caught?”

“Yes!”

“Okay, thank you.” Franklin turns back to the phone. “I hope that clears things up.”

Enid pulls out a Trap Card from her deck. “I’ve decided on adding Growth Spurt to my hand.”

“Sounds like a combat trick.” Charisse says.

“You’ll see what it does soon, but not before I deal with some of your field.”

She checks her characters again, putting special attention on Glum Plum. Her eyes then drift to the Kiwi-Molebeast, who Lillian wouldn’t be over to get over this turn. Did she really want to leave Plum in Attack Position when she only had 1200 points? Switching her to Defense would mean Banana-Lyluk stayed on the field, which would be lame if Charisse got another PLANTIMAL character to summon, but even if she didn’t her continuous spell would always let her summon twice anyways.

Nodding to herself, she commits to her thoughts. “I’m going to switch Glum Plum to Defense Position, and then go to combat.”

“Huh?” Franklin blinks.

“You what?” Charisse says.

“Tch.” Selma clicks her tongue. “That was a misplay.”

“Huh?” Enid seems to pick up the confusion her play had caused. “D-did I do something wrong?”

“Eh, nothing too bad,” Charisse assures, “but I think you might have forgotten one of the core rules of PLANTIMALS. When a PLANTIMAL is involved in combat…”

“...Neither player takes battle damage– Ah!” Her head whips towards the field, staring at Plum sitting in Defense.

They were right. Enid thought she was being cautious, but really she’d just lost track of the board state. She wasn’t protecting her Life Points, she was just preventing herself from taking out two PLANTIMALS this turn instead of one! Her Continuous Spell wasn’t even a factor, since it needs her to control no characters to activate, and Enid would be leaving Kiwi-Molebeast up.

There wasn’t any way around it: She messed up.

{ EyeSeeAll says: Told you. }

“...I guess you did.” Franklin admits.

Another message pops up from the same user, but he doesn’t read it. Instead, he pockets the phone, ignoring it to pat Enid on the shoulder. “It’s okay. Just keep going.”

“I… I go to battle, and have Lillian attack Corn-Quasidragon.”

The PLANTIMAL goes down easily, returning to Charisse’s hand. There’s nothing Enid can do about the other two though.

“I end my battle phase and set one card face-down. End of turn.”

Franklin hands Charisse her phone back, before returning to Enid’s side. The turn had ended on a sour note, but the game wasn’t over yet. Like it or not, their only choice was to play through their own mistakes.
>>
No. 1089956 ID: aa9ce9
File 171436038457.png - (272.86KB , 628x1000 , Growth Spurt s.png )
1089956

“Welcome back, chat! You’re just in time to see my draw.” She takes the top card of her deck and adds it to her hand.

[Charisse: 4800 LP - 2 Cards in hand]

Her hand is… two character cards, neither of which being super impactful at the moment.

“Nevermind, guess you weren’t missing much with a draw like that. I’ll just summon Corn-Quasidragon back to the field, and go to the battle phase.”

“Oh, he’s back.” Franklin mumbles. “Is that bad for us?”

“...It isn’t great, but we won’t lose this turn.”

“We’ll see about that!” Charisse calls out. “Kiwi-Molebeast is gonna target Lillian!”

The massive creature charges forward, carrying the Durian-Skunk equipped to it on its back. Enid whispers something to Franklin, who nods.

“We activate Growth Spurt.” He says, flipping up their face-down.

“Called it!” Charisse pumps her fist. “So what’s it do? Give your girl more Attack?”

“Sometimes? It… Well, it isn’t doing that now, because it’s Lillian, so…” Franklin scratches his head, trying to remember why this is supposed to work. Enid pats him on the arm, and takes over the explanation.

“Growth Spurt has two different effects. Normally, it’ll just give a character card 600 Attack and Defense Points for the rest of the turn. When we use it on a card with (E) or (M) in its name however, we can level them up to their next growth stage for free.”

On the field, Lillian’s body glows brightly, as her silhouette morphs into a taller figure than what stood previously.

“Since this Lillian was already an (M), we get to replace her with Lillian, The Olympian (A),” Franklin finishes.

[ Lillian, The Olympian (A), Warrior-Type, Level 9, ATK: 3000, DEF: 3000 ]

“Heck yeah!” Lillian’s glow recedes, revealing her adult form. “...Wait a minute, I’m not a kid anymore. I can swear for real! HELL YEAH!”

Charisse blinks. “...You kids consider ‘hell’ a swear?”

The roo considers her face-down, which seems to catch Enid’s attention. “Before you respond, you should know what Lillian’s one effect is.”

“What’s that?”

“She’s unaffected by card effects,” she explains, causing Charisse’s eyebrows to rise in shock. “The only way you’ll be able to get rid of her will be through battle.”

“Speaking of battle… does her Molebeast still run into Lillian?” Franklin asks. “Since she declared an attack, but it was against the other Lillian, but we summoned this one in her place, and… Um, all of those reasons.”

Enid shrugs, turning up to the judges for a ruling. Toffles speaks up.

“Since the original Lillian Kiwi-Molebeast was targeting has left the field, it triggers a Replay. Charisse can either choose a new attack target, or cancel the attack altogether.”

“Okay. I remembered them saying something about that, but there were so many rules to learn already…” Enid sighs.

Charisse examines the field for a minute, before shrugging. “I’ll take out Glum Plum with my Molebeast then. Charge!”

The beast, having stopped in place, turns towards the doll and throws its body weight into it. Plum goes down in an instant.”

“Unfortunately, that’s gonna have to be it from me this turn.” She says, passing back to Enid and Franklin. They draw.

[Enid: 6000 LP - 3 Cards in hand]

She grimaces, seeing one of the more gimmicky Trap Cards that Franklin had pushed for. While it wasn’t useless, and could very well be helpful in this duel, it wasn’t much of a combo starter.

“So… should we play Perrine?” Franklin asks, pointing to the card in question. “She’ll let us special summon another level three character from our deck, right?”

“Yes…”

“Alright, then why don’t we do it?”

A perfectly reasonable question. They’d had the card in their hand since the first turn, as Enid had been saving it for the right moment. If they played her now, they could potentially clear Charisse’s field.

However…

“I’m worried about that card she drew.” She points out the solitary card in Charisse’s hand. “I know Lillian can’t be affected by cards, but that doesn’t mean we’re invulnerable. All it would take is Charisse getting a character with more than 3000 Attack on the field. She may have needed to play Corn-Quasidragon first, so that she’d have enough tribute material for next turn.
“Okay…” he nods along.

“If we play our only other starter and get punished for it, we’ll need to draw well to have a chance for a comeback.”

“Ahh, okay, I get it,” he nods, understandingly. “So, should we just take out her Kiwi-Molebeast then? She won’t be able to just summon it back out, since it’s a Level five, right?”

Her face twists with yet more hesitance. “No, we can’t do that either! What if she gets a stronger character to equip to it the next time she summons it out? She could take out Lillian then, and we wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.”

“Oh… Then, what do we do?”

Attacking Kiwi-Molebeast was right out, obviously, so that just left Corn-Quasidragon again and Banana-Lyluk. After a few moments to think about it, she shares her conclusion.

“If she can put her Molebeast back into her hand, then she’d have the stronger Quasidragon to equip to it when she summoned it back out. That would be enough to go over Lillian.”

At Franklin’s nod of approval, she points to the weaker creature. “We enter the battle phase, and Lillian will attack Banana-Lyluk.”

Lillian spins around for a few seconds, before launching a shot put ball that splatters the poor Lyluk beneath it. The pathetic creature returns to Charisse’s hand.

“And… We’ll set down one card before ending our turn.” Enid finishes.
>>
No. 1089957 ID: aa9ce9
File 171436045140.png - (6.96KB , 600x400 , Live Audience Reaction.png )
1089957

The audience loses some of its energy from the slower less impactful turns both duelists put up. “Is it just me, or have things slowed down a bit?” Ceridwen asks.

“It’s only natural. Despite her earlier mistake, the girl is making sensible plays.” Xerin responds. “It’s the kangaroo’s deck that’s keeping things to a slower pace.”

“Ehhhh, I don’t know about that.” Conway says. “The kid clearly has plays she can make. Maybe she has a reason to wait, but I was getting the vibe that she’s just scared to mess up.”

“It’s a mistake that will cost them.”

The spectators turn to The Masked Duelist, surprised to hear him share his thoughts.

“What do you mean?” Ceri asks.

“I think he means that Charisse will eventually draw an out, as long as one exists in her deck.” Selma points out. “They’re stalling, but against a deck like Charisse’s they can’t afford that. Every turn her hand will get more and more powerful, as new cards funnel out of her deck and into it, and with each bit of support it’ll be that much harder to break through.”

“Charisse holds the advantage in a drawn out match, so it is imperative that the children do not let it become such,” Basmati summarizes.

“It’s not like she can always refresh her field fully.” Warwick points out. “Even with her PLANTIMALS Theme Song still up, she had to rely on several other cards to get more than just her Skunk and Quasidragon back into play.”

While the surrounding spectators converse, The Masked Duelist silently stares down at the younger duelists. His thoughts are unreadable.

Charisse pulls the top card from her deck, smiling as she sees what it is. It seems the current stalemate wouldn’t last much longer.

What has Charisse drawn?
A: The strongest PLANTIMAL in her deck
B: A Field Spell that will make it even easier for Charisse to load up her field
C: A Spell that will let Charisse take out Franklin and Enid’s backrow
D: A Draw Spell that lets Charisse draw into two of the above

Additionally, which of these cards should Franklin and Enid draw on their next turn?
1: Big Angry Dog (gifted to the pair by Bonnie)
2: What Did You Do to Marcie!? (A Quick-Play Spell Card that sets a character’s ATK/DEF to their original values)
3: Everyone’s Favorite Mechanic (A luck-based Spell Card Franklin insisted on keeping in)

>>
No. 1089958 ID: a7a180

A draw spell, everyone's favorite mechanic!
>>
No. 1089967 ID: 4c750c

I’m gonna go with A and 2, as much as I would love another Crate of Greed appearance
>>
No. 1090029 ID: 5ebd37

A, 1
>>
No. 1090035 ID: fc100b

D2!

The D stands for Draw
>>
No. 1090039 ID: 91b2f0

D 2
Still Rooting for Franklin and Enid, but they also Have to earn their victory
>>
No. 1090280 ID: c5529d

>Another message pops up from the same user, but he doesn’t read it. Instead, he pockets the phone, ignoring it to pat Enid on the shoulder.

Franklin might want to read that btw. could give them a pretty big hint on how to win.
>>
No. 1091188 ID: c6ae21
File 171600530261.png - (586.36KB , 628x1000 , Cute Characters are Merchandisable s.png )
1091188

Franklin & Enid’s Field:
Lillian, The Olympian (A) [3000/3000]
2 Face Down S/T

Charisse’s Field:
PLANTIMALS Theme Song
Corn-Quasidragon [1500/1000]
Kiwi-Molebeast [2300*/1400] (Originally [1800/1400])
Durian-Skunk (Currently an Equip Spell, equipped to Kiwi-Molebeast)

Charisse wastes no time dropping her latest draw on the field. “I activate the spell card Cute Characters are Merchandisable! In exchange for sending a level 2 or lower character from my hand to the Graveyard, I can draw 2 new cards.”

“...Isn’t that just a worse version of Crate of Greed?” Franklin asks. “Why not play that?”

“Hey, if I saw a card that just said ‘draw 2’, I would have taken it, really. There was only one copy at our table though, and Basmati beat me to it.” She jabs a thumb towards the gray girl sitting in the bleachers. “Them’s the breaks of a draft format.”

“I think Mr. Fish took the one copy at our table.” Enid says.

“Anyways, I’m gonna make Banana-Lyluk pay the activation cost this time.” She sends the useless potassium-ridden berry off to the grave, and adds a pair of cards to her hand.

[Charisse: 4800 LP - 3 Cards in hand]

Her grin grows wider. “Two big winners! But which to play first…?”

Enid gulps. She knew Charisse would have to find plays to make sooner or later, but she hoped they would have more time.

“Probably better to throw out the unknowns before the big play. I’ll activate the Spell Card Weed Whackers! For each PLANTIMAL character I control, I can take out a Spell or Trap on your side of the field.”

With Franklin and Enid having two backrow, and Charisse having two characters, that would mean a complete wipe of their face-downs, leaving them no way of responding to whatever play Charisse is cooking.
>>
No. 1091189 ID: c6ae21
File 171600538284.png - (734.70KB , 1713x1024 , Trap Cards Activate.png )
1091189

The kids share a look. “We should activate this now, right?” Franklin asks.

“Probably? It could just give her a card to use against us next turn though, and it sounds like she already has a play she can make, but maybe this would stop her from…” Enid mutters. Her thoughts devolve into mumbling too quiet for Franklin to follow.

“Um… Enid?” He probes. She flinches.

“Er– What do you think?” She asks.

“Well… I think if we don’t use it now, we won’t get to do it later. So, we should. That makes sense, right?”

It was good enough for Enid. “Okay. We use the Trap Card ‘No Peeking…’ in response. We both take two cards from the top of our deck face down, and set them in empty spots on our field. And since we activated the card, we get to pick the spots your cards go in as well.”

“Wait, if you put your cards in your Spell/Trap Zones, can I choose to destroy them when my card resolves?” Charisse asks.

“It’s a little complicated… These wouldn’t be considered Spell or Trap cards, ‘cuz we don’t know what they are. They could be though, so they’re potential targets. That means you can aim effects at them, but we’d have to flip the cards face-up to check if the effect would actually apply or not.”

“Okay…”

“And then afterwards, ‘No Peeking…’ says that any cards still on our field that were flipped up by effects have their effects negated and are removed from play.”

“...Okay?”

“Um, you’re supposed to reveal them during your Standby Phase by guessing the type of one of your face-downs. Then you flip it up, and if it’s right, it gets added to your hand. If you call it wrong though, it stays on the field, where it negates and then banishes itself.”

“Uh-huh uh-huh. Yup. Definitely catching all of this.”

“Let’s see… Oh! And you can’t target them for attacks if we set them in the monster zones, but that’s fine because they can’t guard your Life Points either, and–”

Enid pauses, finally noticing that Charisse was looking at her with an expression that just screamed a lack of understanding.

In the stands, a few audience members had slowly shifted their gaze from the duel to Selma. Soon more of them followed. The pressure of their stares eventually makes her give in.. “They put two random cards face-down on the field. Once a turn, they can try and guess if one of their face-downs is a Spell, Trap, or Character. If they’re right, it goes in their hand, if not, it’s banished. If they get flipped up for any other reason, they get banished. Does that make sense?”

“Sure does! Thanks!” Charisse shouts from the field.

“Hmph. What an unnecessarily complicated card. Such a pitiful effect too.” Strawberi complains. “It doesn’t even benefit them exclusively. If they guess wrong, and the kangaroo guesses right, it could even hurt them.”

“You’re not wrong, but there is a benefit to it.” Selma mentions.

“You’re talking about the fact that it blocks whatever zones the cards end up in, right?” Warwick guesses. Selma nods.

“A worthwhile benefit against a deck that generates advantage as well as their opponent’s.” Xerin adds.

Enid chooses two Monster Zones for both side’s face downs, finally resolving ‘No Peeking…’ and letting Weed Whackers’ effect go through. Franklin and Enid’s last face down is flipped up and destroyed.

Unfortunately for Charisse, that was exactly what they wanted. “We activate the destruction effect of our Trap Card, ‘GOTCHA!’!” Enid declares, revealing the card in-question.

“A destruction effect on a trap card?” Charisse is very thrown by the reveal.

“It’s the only effect this trap has. When this card gets destroyed by an opponent’s effect, it deals 1000 points of damage to your Life Points, and forces you to go straight to the End Phase of your turn.”

From the holographic card on the field, Lemmy pokes his head out and flings a cream pie straight into Charisse’s face, hitting its mark with a satisfying SPLAT!

[Charisse: 3800 LP]

As Charisse wipes off the cream, she looks closer at the card. “...Wait, that’s me on the card art. …Did the birds know this was going to be used against me?”

“I don’t think they’re smart enough for that.” Franklin says. “It was probably just a coincidence… I think.”

“Maybe… Oh well, it wouldn’t be the first time I took a cream pie to the face on-stream.”

“Really? It doesn’t seem like something that would happen often.” He says.

Charisse tactically chooses to change the subject. “Since I don’t have a choice, I end my turn. You’d better give it your best shot here, ‘cuz I’m coming for you next turn!”

Enid winces, definitely fearing exactly that. Still, she draws for turn.
>>
No. 1091190 ID: c6ae21
File 171600551869.png - (292.40KB , 628x1000 , What Did You Do to Marcie s.png )
1091190

[Enid: 6000 LP - 3 Cards in hand]

“This could be good,” she mutters. Their draw was the Quick-play Spell ‘What Did You Do to Marcie!?’, which forces a character’s Attack and Defense stats back to their original values.

“We enter the stand-by phase, and we’ll be guessing one of our face-downs.” Enid points at one of them, before huddling close with Franklin to discuss it.

“We’ve already removed a good chunk of characters from the deck.”
“But we also have more characters than anything else.”
“A good spell would be helpful…”
“Maybe…”


They break apart their huddle, staring down the mystery card for another second before answering. “We’re going to guess Spell!

The card flips up to reveal… a Spell Card! “Yes!”

The spell Early Graduation gets added to their hand, putting them at four cards. That still left the question of what to do with their Main Phase though, something that quickly drains the excitement from Enid.

“So… Should we play now, or wait until after her next turn?” Franklin asks. She looks between their hand and their field, worry evident in her expression.

“...If we wait, we’ll at least know what we’re up against… Right?”

“Um… Maybe? I guess if she doesn’t set any cards face-down, and if she plays all the cards in her hand, then yes.”

“I just don’t want to mess up again.” She admits, rubbing her hands together anxiously. “I don’t know what would be best. Do you think waiting’s a good idea?”

He doesn’t answer immediately, tapping his chin idly as he considers it. “I think… the best that can happen if we wait, is that we don’t lose.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?”

“Yeah… But, I don’t think waiting helps us win. Because… we’d just keep going back and forth. Destroying her cards doesn’t get us closer to winning, because we won’t be dealing damage, right?”

She slowly nods. “I guess not…”

“The worst that can happen either way is that we lose, but I don’t think we’ll be able to actually win without playing.”

“...Okay. Um, can you?” She holds out their hand to him. He nods, picking them up and reading them over again.

He holds one up to show her, getting a nod in return. “We start by normal summoning Perrine from our hand.”

A small gray-haired girl appears on the field, seemingly looking around for something. “When she’s summoned, we get to special summon another Level 3 Rapscallion from our deck.” He picks up their deck and looks through it, before pulling one out. “We pick Guillermo.”

[ Guillermo, Rapscallion-Type, Level 3, ATK: 700, DEF: 300 ]

A chubby boy with a camera for a head appears, satisfying Perrine’s search for a friend. “Guillermo has an effect kind of like Glum Plum’s, but reversed. He can put himself back in the hand, to let me special summon a character from my hand.”

“I wanna be a director, not an actor,” Guillermo declares.

“We’re going to use his effect to special summon Clive, The Antisocialite (E).

[ Clive, The Antisocialite (E), Rapscallion-Type, Level 3, ATK: 1400, DEF: 200 ]

Perrine seems very put-off by her friend being substituted with the antithesis of companionship. Clive just seems angry at the world in general.

“Any effects I should know?” Charisse asks. “I got jack to respond with, just curious.”

“Not really. He can special summon himself to the field when we don’t control any characters, and we get to draw two cards if we do that when he’s the last card in our hand.”

“None of which applies here.”

“Right.” He nods. “Now let me think… I can sync him with Perrine, and then… but when do we get…”

Enid taps his arm, pointing at a card in his hand. He reads it, before his eyes light up. “Oh! Right, that’s why we did this… Okay, we’re going to activate Early Graduation, targeting Clive.”

A shadow appears below Clive, swallowing him whole. A moment later, it spits back out a taller figure.

“Another card to cheat out the older versions?” Charisse guesses.

“Mm-hm. We can age Clive up into Clive, The Caretaker (M), in exchange for permanently negating his effects.”

[ Clive, The Caretaker (M), Rapscallion-Type, Level 6, ATK: 1000, DEF: 2000 ]

“It’s nice to know he gets nicer when he’s older.” Enid remarks. “...Although, I wish he wouldn’t glare so much still.”

“Sooo, he doesn’t do anything?”

“He can’t use his effects, but he is still a Tuner. So… we can sync him and Perrine off now to summon Clive, The Counselor (A).

[ Clive, The Counselor (A), Psychic-Type, Level 9, ATK: 2000, DEF: 3000 ]

“And I’m guessing this one’s effects aren’t negated?” Charisse says.

“That’s right.”

“Alright, so what’s he do?”

“Umm…” He picks up the card to read it again. “Cards on our field can’t be destroyed, except for him. Also, when he gets sent to the Graveyard, we can equip him to another character we control to protect them from being destroyed one more time.”

Enid nudges his arm. “Do you think we should have put him in Defense?” Franklin had summoned Clive in Attack Position, in spite of him having more Defense Points.

“Um… I think it’s fine, but we’ll see next turn?” He shrugs.

Enid is not reassured.

“I think we’re going to the Battle Phase now.” Both of their fields had two characters, so there was unfortunately no chance of dealing damage to Charisse’s Life Points.

Franklin nudges her this time, whispering a question. “Do you think it’s fine to destroy the Molebeast now?”

She thinks for a moment, before nodding. He smiles. “Lillian will attack Kiwi-Molebeast, and Clive will attack Corn-Quasidragon.”

As Lillian suplexes the molebeast over her back, Clive manages to sneak up behind the quasidragon and drag it back into a shadow that appeared behind them. He walks out a few seconds later, alone. Both character’s seeds fly back into Charisse’s hand, whereas the Durian-Skunk previously equipped to the molebeast gets destroyed, as its target had left the field.

In one turn, they’d managed to empty her field. Sure, it would turn her Theme Song back on, but hopefully it would be enough to slow down whatever Charisse is cooking up.

“We set a card face-down, and end our turn.” Franklin says.

Charisse smiles, ready to give them hell.

Does Charisse correctly guess one of her face-down cards from the effect of ‘No Peeking…’?
A: Yes
B: No

Additionally, what would you most like to see get art next update? (Pick 2)
1: Charisse
2: Franklin and Enid
3: Live Audience Reaction
4: Characters on the field (Outside of just Card Art)

>>
No. 1091193 ID: a7a180

B, 3, 4.
>>
No. 1091199 ID: a30439

A.
3
4
>>
No. 1091235 ID: eb0a9c

>>1091190
Oh god we fucked Coxwette up

A34
>>
No. 1091236 ID: 9f8647

A14
>>
No. 1091336 ID: 4c750c

B23!

A23 is fine too, I just personally want the kiddos to win.
>>
No. 1092706 ID: c6ae21
File 171792016092.png - (174.53KB , 1500x1000 , cantkeepup.png )
1092706

Franklin & Enid’s Field:
Lillian, The Olympian (A) [3000/3000]
Clive, The Counselor (A) [2000/3000]
1 Face Down S/T
1 Face Down Unknown (Placed by the effects of ‘No Peeking…’)

Charisse’s Field:
PLANTIMALS Theme Song
2 Face Down Unknowns (Placed by the effects of ‘No Peeking…’)

Charisse stares down at her field, eyeing the face-downs. She needs to make a guess, and the quality of her turn will depend heavily on choosing correctly. She’d drawn another character for her draw step, putting her at 5 in hand. She needs a good Spell or Trap to make any big plays soon.

“What are we thinking, chat? We’re good on characters, so it’s between Spell or Trap right now. Can one of the mods set up a poll for this?”

{ ~Official_Tsuki@OWO~ says: Set a trap for them! Catch ‘em off guard next turn. }
{ xXx_DUNG30N_DW3LL3R_xXx says: Traps are usually good… }
{ EyeSeeAll says: It’s a spell. }
{ __~Volek~__God_of_Fertility says: Personally, I’d like it to be a character }
{ jackieLantern says: Pick sp3ll! If you’r3 right, it’ll giv3 you som3thing you can us3 this turn. }
{ ChEsTeR says: trap! }
{ KoboldCelyn says: maybe spell? }
{ dampfeline says: spell wood b bst }
{ Blueprint says: Spell would be the best guess, assuming you’re correct. What is the remaining ratio of your deck, given cards you’ve drawn or sent to the grave? }
{ Guest (Conway) says: Spell! }


“What are you doing?” Bonnie asks Conway, who’d pulled out his phone.

“Responding. She asked her stream chat for suggestions. See?” He explains, showing his phone to her and several of the other audience members. Given that he’s one of the few to actually own a phone, they decide to voice their opinions a bit more directly.

“Pick trap! You haven’t gotten to play any cool ones yet!” Bonnie shouts.

“Don’t do that, you wouldn’t be able to use it this turn. Pick spell,” Selma hollers.

“I want to see your deck’s traps!” Strawberi bellows.

“What Ms. Strawberi said!” Warwick cries.

“...” The Masked Duelists silenced.

“I already put my opinion in chat, but spell!” Conway yells.

“A spell would be optimal,” Basmati says in a neutral tone.

“...” Anet and Jaina clamored, but were far too quiet for anyone to actually hear them.

“Is it wrong to feel jealous that nobody gave suggestions when we were revealing our own card?” Enid asks. Franklin doesn’t hear her.

“Character! I bet it’s a character!” he calls out.

Charisse finally raises a hand, silencing the crowd. There’s a pause, as she glances at her phone one more time. She smiles. “It was close, but it looks like we’re going with Spell!” Her announcement is met with cheers of support from the stands.

She points at a card, causing it to slowly lift upwards. Everyone holds their breath, as the card is revealed to be… Wiki Access, a Spell!

“Boo-yeah! Come to mama!” The revealed card joins her draw, making for two new cards in hand.
>>
No. 1092708 ID: c6ae21
File 171792024081.png - (108.13KB , 502x800 , Wiki Access.png )
1092708

[Charisse: 3800 LP - 6 Cards in hand]

Enid sweats a bit, glancing back and forth between their empty hand and Charisse’s. Everything they had was on the field at this point, so if that couldn’t keep them in the game… the outcome would be out of their control.

“At the start of my Main Phase, I have zero characters on the field. That means my Continuous Spell, PLANTIMALS Theme Song, is giving me an extra Normal Summon this turn.”

“We really need more Spell and Trap removal…” Enid mutters. Franklin nods in agreement.

“Hmm, do I still have a path to the big guy?” Charisse asks herself, reading her last two draws. “Only two Normal Summons, but I need two characters to tribute…”

{ dampfeline says: thats ruff i wantd 2 C them in action }
{ GloriousWaterWitch says: Tribute monsters have always been too slow. This one is a newer release though, isn’t it? I’m surprised it wasn’t a Link or Fusion. }
{ jackieLantern says: PLANTIMALS has always b33n a slow3r strat3gy. Giving it an 3xtra d3ck boss would just mak3 it play lik3 3v3ry oth3r m3ta d3ck. }
{ xXx_DUNG30N_DW3LL3R_xXx says: did she add Nutrient-Rich Field to her final deck? I know some people suggested it, and Wiki Access is a searcher…}


“Hey! Good catch Dungeon Dweller! Totally forgot I added that. Careful about the backseating though, else the judges may revoke my right to talk to you guys.”

{ xXx_DUNG30N_DW3LL3R_xXx says: ~OnO~ srry! }

“No worries. Let’s start this off by activating that neat card ‘No Peeking…’ gave us, Wiki Access!

“Wiki?” Franklin repeats.

“Y’know, like fan sites.”

“...Um, I have a fan on my bedroom’s ceiling, but that doesn’t sound like what you mean.”

“Kid, you’re literally breaking my heart right now. Does your dimension not have internet, or are you just really sheltered?”

“I dunno. Maybe the first one, but I might just be too much of the second to know about it.”

“Um, not to interrupt,” Enid interrupts, “but what does your Spell do?”

“Oh right. First thing’s first: I gotta send a character from my hand to the Graveyard. I’ll go with my Blueberry-Tapir.” She flings a card over to her GY. “Then, I get to add any spell from my deck to my hand, as long as it names either the character I discarded specifically, or the character type. And since all my PLANTIMALS are dual-typed, that means anything that names Plant-type or Beast-type characters is fair play.”

“That’s gotta be pretty good in any deck with multiple types,” Conway mentions, earning agreement from a few others in the audience. Not all though.

“Actually, most archetypes with multiple types don’t apply it to every member in their ranks.” Selma explains. “So a deck that has Rock, Dragon, and Beast-Warrior characters would still mostly just have single-typed characters. PLANTIMALS is one of just a few decks that assign additional types to its members.”

“Oh. So, is Wiki Access still good in those other decks?” He asks, getting a shrug back.

“Not really, no.”

“It’s doing well in this one at least.” Warwick says. “That’s the nice thing about draft formats, right? They give cards that may not be the best a chance to shine.”

Charisse flips through her deck, before pulling out her target. “I add the Spell Card Nutrient-Rich Field to my hand, and activate it straight away! For the rest of this turn, any Plant monsters I Normal Summon require one less Tribute.”

Enid grimaces. “That’s a problem. She can get her molebeast out and set up something else with it.” Franklin scratches his chin, hoping their defenses are enough to overcome her turn.

“To start, I’ll summon out Kiwi-Molebeast once again. And since you got rid of my skunk, I’ll have Corn-Quasidragon take over as rider instead!”

[ Kiwi-Molebeast - 1800 ATK ] + [Corn-Quasidragon - 1500 ATK ] = [3300 ATK]

“Huh, that looks like a problem.” Lillian says.

“It has more Attack than you.” Clive says.

“Yeeeaaahhh, mind stalling them a turn while I try to fix that?”

“I don’t really have a choice, do I?” He sighs.

Charisse gives her cards one more read, before committing to her next play. “I use the effect of my Lily-Pad Kabot to treat it as tribute material in the hand. That, plus Nutrient-Rich Field, give me both the tributes I need to summon my ultimate PLANTIMAL!”
>>
No. 1092709 ID: c6ae21
File 171792031425.png - (3.41MB , 2160x1620 , The Eggplant-Krakens Wrath.png )
1092709

A tremor rocks the field, startling the characters. The ground continues to shake, as a wave of salt water sweeps across it. From Charisse’s side, a figure starts to emerge, bringing even greater quakes as it rises to its full height.

“Introducing my deck’s heaviest hitter, the Eggplant-Kraken!

[ Eggplant-Kraken, Plant-Type, Level 10, ATK: 3500, DEF: 2500 ]

The many-tentacled being roars to life, standing taller than all others. Suddenly, Lillian was being forced to settle for the bronze medal in Attack points.

“We… We don’t have any characters with that much Attack,” Enid says to Franklin. “What do we do?”

“Hmm… Clive should keep Lillian safe for this turn at least. Next turn, we just have to find a way to buff up Lillian, or get rid of the kraken some other way.” He pauses. “We have other ways, right?”

“Y-Yes, I’m sure we do.”

“Hey, before you start making plans, there’s something you oughta know about this guy!” Charisse calls out. “My kraken here’s effect lets it attack every character you control once a turn.”

“What!?” Enid shouts.

“Unless you’ve got a counter, I’ll be showing that off right now. At the start of my Battle Phase, Eggplant-Kraken is gonna target Clive for battle!”

A singular tentacle lowers beneath the waves. Initially, its movement shows from the movement of the water, before all signs of its location vanish. Clive spins around frantically, desperate to get a read on its location. It’s all in vain however. A shadow appears in the water as he’s turned away, before a giant tentacle shoots out of it. He only has time to turn and face it, as the tentacle slams down on top of him. When it lifts, he’s no longer there.

The spectacle was about as horrific as it felt for the kids playing against it. “W-When Clive’s sent to the Graveyard, his effect activates,” Enid says. “We equip him to Lillian. The next time she would be destroyed, it won’t happen.”

“That won’t last long, ‘cuz she’s up next! Kraken!”

As with Clive, another tentacle charges forwards. Once more, it vanishes, but Lillian is prepared. She keeps her eyes forward, standing her ground, in spite of the inevitable outcome. As it rises from the shallow waves, preparing to strike her down, she’s suddenly pushed aside. She looks back to where she stood, and catches a glimpse of Clive’s ghost looking back. It’s only for a moment, before he’s crushed once again beneath the kraken’s mighty tentacle.

“Even in death, that guy was looking out for me,” Lillian stands, brushing herself off. “Alright, I’ll try not to waste this second chance.”

“Love the drama, but you’ve got one more problem to face before you get to fight back,” Charisse says. “Kiwi-Molebeast! Finish her off!”

The large mammal, saddled by the equally sizable cave dragon, sprints across the field at Lillian. She holds her ground, readying a counter-blow for whatever it would be worth.

“Enid?” Franklin asks. She doesn’t even answer, acting immediately.

“Face-down, open! We activate ‘What Did You Do to Marcie!?’ targeting Kiwi-Molebeast!”

As the Molebeast is about to reach Lillian, its Quasidragon rider vanishes into thin air, almost as if it had never been there to begin with.

“This Spell resets your character’s Attack and Defense to their original values, meaning your molebeast only has 1800 Attack now.”

“...Any chance that triggers a replay, and I can cancel that attack?”

“Nope!” Tianna quickly rules. “A replay only occurs if the number of characters on either field changes, or the attack can’t resolve due to effects. A change in stats is not a reason for a replay to trigger, so the attack will go through.”

Lillian catches the charging molebeast in her arms, grinning wildly. “Huh, isn’t that lucky for me?”

She spins around, keeping a tight hold on it, before flinging it off into the distance like an olympic hammer toss. It and its equipped quasidragon are sent to Charisse’s Graveyard.

“Wow. You totally baited me into playing into that, didn’t you? Not bad at all! That’s it for me, so if you’re gonna topple my guy, now’s your chance.”

Enid and Franklin did want to topple her kraken, but pulling that off would take something a bit more elusive than skill: Luck. They were sitting on zero cards in hand, and just Lillian on the field. She wasn’t gonna cut it on her own, so they needed either their draw or their reveal from ‘No Peeking…’ to cover the rest of their turn.

It all comes down to this. What should Franklin and Enid call for ‘No Peeking…’?

A: Character
B: Spell
C: Trap

>>
No. 1092710 ID: a7a180

C.
>>
No. 1092713 ID: b3eab7

A
>>
No. 1092715 ID: 62b4e3

A
>>
No. 1092717 ID: 9f8647

A
>>
No. 1092722 ID: 4c750c

B, most of the twins cards seem to be built around getting more cards on the field, and they don’t have any character stronger than the kraken, so the odds a character would have an effect that would save them seems low. A trap wouldn’t be able to be used this turn, so spell seems like the best choice here.
>>
No. 1092723 ID: c5529d

>>1092722
agreed on this
>>
No. 1096479 ID: ab55d7
File 172463724330.png - (518.05KB , 1256x2000 , Team Captain Selections.png )
1096479

Charisse’s Field:
Eggplant-Kraken [3000/2500]

Franklin & Enid’s Field:
Lillian, The Olympian (A) [3000/3000]

Enid draws.

She and Franklin stare down at their card. It was a simple Spell, but not one that could get them out of their current predicament alone.

[ Team Captain Selections, Spell-Card: “Declare a level between 1 and 4, and then reveal your deck. Your opponent selects any character of the declared level from it, and special summons them to their side of the field, and if they do, you may do the same.” ]

“Is this good right now?” He asks. Enid doesn’t answer, clearly too deep in thought. Patiently, he awaits her conclusion.

Seconds later, she snaps her fingers. “We need to call Character on ‘No Peeking…’!”

He gives her a thumbs up. “Okay.”

“...Do you understand why, or are you just agreeing with me?”

“I’m just agreeing. You sounded pretty sure.”

“I mean, it’s not a guarantee that we’ll win or anything. If we’re wrong here, then we probably will lose. It’d also be nice if it were a specific card, or else there’s still a chance that Charisse will catch on and stop us…” Her voice lowers to a hushed mumble. “–and actually, maybe this is a bad idea, and we should just call for Spell. I know there are less of those, but at least the ones that would win us the game would do it for sure, and not be up to chance on whether–

“Oh good, it was a Character card.”

“YOU ALREADY CALLED IT!?” Enid shouts. Then, she pauses, running his statement back. “Wait, what Character was it?”

He hands the card to her.

[ Rodney, The Socialite (E) ]

Enid sputters. “Wh– We got it? We got it! That’s the one! This is who we need.”

“Ohhhh, why do I get the feeling I’m gonna be saying goodbye to my Kraken shortly?” Charisse moans, while pinching her brow. “Hey chat, do we gotta be worried about Rodney? I don’t know that card.”

{ jackieLantern says: …you play3d pr3tty w3ll Chariss3! Don’t worry about th3 outcom3 }

“Oh, so I’m dead dead this turn?”

{ GloriousWaterWitch says: Only if they have some way of cheating out an additional summon. If so, then most definitely. }
{ YesIAmTHATSteve says: I think you’re fine, since PLANTIMALS don’t let you take battle damage and all. }


“Okay, only maybe dead. I can work with that.”

Enid and Franklin break up their huddled chat to face Charisse again. “We activate the spell card Team Captain Selections! And we choose Level 3 Characters.”

A hologram of their deck flies into the air and expands, before flipping around and revealing its remaining cards. All of the Level 3 Character Cards get highlighted and sorted separately for easier viewing.

“You get to choose any of our Level 3 Characters to special summon to your field, and then we get to do the same with whatever you don’t select.” Enid explains.

“And is that an optional choice?” Charisse asks. “Like, if I don’t want any of your characters, can I refuse and then you don’t get one either?”

“It’s mandatory.” One of the birds clarify.

“Rats.” She sighs. “Well, none of these look super helpful, so I’m just gonna take Roger, The Artist (E). His effect says that I get a token if he’s alive at the start of my turn.”

[ Roger, The Artist (E), Rapscallion-Type, Level 3, ATK: 900, DEF: 500 ]

Roger enters the field in Attack-mode, looking around in confusion. “...Am I on the wrong side?”

“Your friends let me borrow you for a bit.” Charisse says. “Mind playing for my team?”

“Um… okay? I’m just gonna start drawing a Sketch Token then.”

“Sounds good!”

He sits himself down and gets to drawing, silently praying he won’t be destroyed before he’s finished.

Enid bites her lip, staring at their summon options. “Franklin, I don’t think there’s any way we can win this turn. Even if we get rid of the threats, there’s still a chance this could go badly.”

Franklin nods, before selecting a card to finish resolving Team Captain Selections’ effect. “We summon Albert, the Genius (E).

The frail boy appears beside Lillian, eyeing his grown compatriot. “Hm. I don’t suppose anyone still misperceives you as Phillip in your time?”

She chuckles. “Nah, we really started to diverge in looks as we grew. Helps that he rarely ever went to the gym with me.”

Franklin hands Enid a card from their hand, which she plays immediately. “We still have our normal summon, and we’re gonna use it on Rodney, The Socialite (E)!

[ Rodney, The Socialite (E), Rapscallion-Type, Level 3, ATK: 500, DEF: 500 ]

The small boy pops up next to Albert, his head whipping around to take in the full state of the board. “...Oh! We’re about to be combined, aren’t we?”

“It seems likely. Neither of us can vanquish that leviathan on our own.”

“Uh, guys?” Enid says, getting her cards’ attention. “I’m really trying to focus here. Could you talk a bit less?”

They all offer silent affirmative gestures, earning a sigh of relief from her. “Using Rodney and Albert as material, we Synchro Summon Rodney, The Socialite (M)!

[ Rodney, The Socialite (M), Rapscallion-Type, Level 6, ATK: 1400, DEF: 1000 ]
>>
No. 1096480 ID: ab55d7
File 172463730685.png - (3.53MB , 2400x1200 , The Eggplant-Kraken's Defeat.png )
1096480

“I think I see where this is going,” Charisse says. “Next, you’re gonna combine him and Lillian to get his adult version, which is either strong enough to beat my kraken or has an effect to get rid of it. Am I right?”

“No,” Franklin bluntly answers. “...That’s not what we’re doing, right?”

“Middle-school is all we need,” Enid says. “Rodney’s effect lets us boost the attack of another character by 1000 Attack Points! And we’ll be doing that to Lillian!”

“Ah, so that’s how we die,” Charisse mutters. “Hey, isn’t she immune to card effects?”

“Only our opponent’s effects,” Enid clarifies. “Clive was able to equip himself to her, right?

Rodney pats Lillian on the back. “Hey, I believe in you!”

Lillian smirks, flexing as her already toned body seems to increase in muscle mass. “Thanks. I won’t let you down.”

[ Lillian: 4000 ATK 3000 DEF ]

Lillian stares up at the Eggplant-Kraken, her eyes seeming to light up with a blazing energy. The sort of look that a predator would level at prey.

“We enter the battle phase,” Franklin says.

“Lillian, take out Charisse’s Eggplant-Kraken!” Enid commands.

In a flash, Lillian vanishes from sight. The kraken thrashes about in confusion, perhaps sensing the threat she poised and fearing for its life. Before its leafy tentacles can hit anyone in the crossfire however, Lillian reappears.

It was like skipping ahead in time. Lillian had gone from standing on Enid and Franklin’s field to hovering in the air, having just thrown a punch that sent the Eggplant-Kraken flying out of the water. Moments later, the sound of the impact rings out through the room.

The PLANTIMAL crashes against the wall, before rotting away and leaving a large seed, which returns to Charisse’s hand.

She sighs. “So chat, what cards can we draw next turn that’ll get us back in the game? I wanna set the right points for a poll on if we’ll draw well or not.”

“She should really wait for our turn to be over before doing that.” Enid says. She looks back and forth between Roger and Rodney, frowning as she weighs the choice.

“...Enid?” Franklin asks, awaiting her call.

“She still has that Theme Song, so she’ll get two summons, but if we leave Roger up then he’ll give her a token at the start of the turn. That would mean she could summon the Eggplant-Kraken again, and we wouldn’t be able to beat it a second time.”

He nods along, mostly following her explanation. “So… We should get rid of Rodney, because we definitely can’t win if he’s there?”

“Um… Y-Yes. That’s right, I think.”

“Okay.”

Right as Enid is about to second guess her claim, Franklin gives the order. “Rodney, please attack Roger.”

“Huh?” Roger looks up to see Rodney standing in front of him. “...Rats, I was almost done with it too.”

Rodney picks him up bridal style, and gingerly places him outside of the arena.

Enid does some quick math on her fingers. “Since the difference between their Attack Points is 500, that means Charisse’s Life Points are–”

“Hang on a minute,” Charisse butts in. “My characters don’t let me take battle damage, remember?”

“But… Roger isn’t a PLANTIMAL.” Franklin says. “He doesn’t have that effect anywhere written on him.”

“...Oh yeah.” She rubs the back of her neck while chuckling. “Whoops. Probably shouldn’t have put him in Attack then.”

Rodney walks forwards and lightly flicks her on the forehead. There’s no physical sensation to it, yet she still finds herself rubbing the spot he touched.

[Charisse: 3300 LP ]

“We don’t have any other cards to play, so we end our turn.” Enid says.
>>
No. 1096483 ID: ab55d7
File 172463741618.png - (181.58KB , 500x644 , Charisse Final Draw.png )
1096483

The start of Charisse’s turn has everyone sitting on the edge of their seats. Enid and Franklin are especially tense.

Charisse doesn’t draw, instead looking up at her opponents and throwing them a friendly smile. “You’ve got all your cards on the table, so why don’t I do the same?”

“Huh?”

In a shocking move, Charisse flips her hand around, revealing it to everyone.

Eggplant-Kraken (Level 10 Character Card, 3500 ATK 2500 DEF)
Kiwi-Molebeast (Level 5 Character Card, 1800 ATK 1400 DEF)
Holly-Headsplitter: (Level 7 Character Card 2600 ATK 2000 DEF)

“Because I have no Characters on my field, PLANTIMALS Theme Song gives me an extra Normal Summon for this turn. Right now though, I don’t have a play”

“Even with a hand filled with Characters, you don’t have any you can summon without a tribute.” Enid says.

“Bingo.” Charisse winks. “Now, my chat’s been a real pal in keeping track of my deck. According to them, I’ve got six characters left that I can summon freely, one spell that would let me cheat out my Headsplitter, and one trap that would let me trash two cards to summon out my Kraken. Of the six characters I would be able to summon, only one would put me in a position to wipe your field. The spell or trap would also let me do so.”

She pats her deck. “I have 21 cards left here, and one card left to reveal from the effect of ‘No Peeking…’. Between my draw and my reveal, there are Three Cards that’ll let me win this duel, and Five Others that might let me live to run it back another turn.”

“Why are you telling us this?” Enid asks.

“‘Cuz it’s more fun for everyone if we know the stakes, don’t you think?”

“...She’s not wrong.” Franklin says. “What are the cards that will let you win?”

She holds up three fingers. “Onion-Paperling, Rule of Cool, or Compost Bin. Those are my tickets to victory. Any level 4 or lower Character will just keep me alive an extra turn.”

As Charisse places her hand atop her deck, the room goes silent in anticipation. She pulls the card and lifts it up dramatically, not showing its front. As she looks at it, she smiles.

“Before we see what that was, I’m going to call Character on my last face-down from ‘No Peeking…’.”

The last remaining face-down on Charisse’s field is revealed…

Compost Bin, a Trap Card.

Charisse clicks her tongue, as one of her three win conditions gets sent to her Graveyard. “That would have been nice… As for my draw, well…”

She finally flips her hidden card around, revealing the Spell Card PLANTIMALS Trading Card Game.

“Looks like I’m getting one more chance. This card lets me shuffle any number of PLANTIMAL characters back into my deck, shuffle it, and then draw as many cards as I shuffled back.”

She takes Eggplant-Kraken and Kiwi-Molebeast from her hand, and places them back in her deck. “The Spell Card I’m looking for would only work on Holly-Headsplitter, so I have more chances of summoning that out than I do the Kraken. Either of them would let me clear your board, so no point keeping both.”

She shuffles her deck.

Franklin peeks down and notices Enid shaking slightly. He puts a hand on her shoulder to help calm her down.

“This is too much…” She groans.

“It’ll be over soon… Unless she gets another card that lets her draw more, but she can’t have too many of those, I think.”

“Too many words. You said something nice, and then you said more words after it.”

Charisse finishes her shuffle, and with a final peek at her phone to see where her chat’s bets landed, she draws two cards and reveals them to everyone.

The room goes silent.







Saturday-Morning Timeslot (Field Spell)
Eggplant-Kraken (Level 10 Character)

Charisse looks at her cards, and shakes her head. “End of turn. Go ahead and wrap this up.”

Enid finally breathes in, as a wave of calm washes over her. She doesn’t even look at what she draws for turn.

“Battle Phase! Lillian, attack her Life Points directly.”

Lillian pounds a fist into her palm and cracks her neck. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

She then slams the ground with her palms, and blasts forward with inhuman speed. Charisse can do little more than brace herself, as the athlete throws her full bodyweight into her, sending her Life Points into a freefall.

[Charisse: 0 LP ]

“Charisse has no remaining Life Points,” Pan says, from the rafters. “Enid and Franklin are the winners of this duel!”

The crowd applauds, as Enid falls to her knees in sheer relief. “That was way too close…” Franklin pats her on the head, smiling back at her. She can only manage a weary half-smile.

“Yo.”

They both look up, seeing Charisse extending a hand out to each of them. “That was a pretty great match! Sucks that I lost, but I held some darn good viewer numbers throughout it. All the back and forths we had kept things exciting, so thanks for that.”

Enid accepts the handshake, standing back up. “Your deck was really cool. And with how your PLANTIMALS worked, I wasn’t sure you were ever gonna run out of plays.”

“You’re one to talk. My chat recommended PLANTIMALS because they’re simple, but you pulled out some pretty gnarly combo lines to get wherever you needed to be. Pretty neat stuff.”

As she breaks the handshake and switches to Franklin, she pulls two cards out of her deck box. “Here. I asked chat for suggestions on what would fit your deck best, and they felt pretty good about these.”

Both children take one, examining their gifts. Enid had received a Spell:

[ Wiki Access, Spell-Card: “Send a Character from your hand to the Graveyard, and if you do, add a Spell Card from your Deck to your hand that either names the discarded card or mentions its typing.” ]

“Oh! You used this to help get out your Eggplant-Kraken.” Enid remarks.

“Yeah. Most of your Characters were the same type, so it seemed like something you could use.”

Franklin stares down at his for a minute, before saying, “...this is one of the cards you were looking for at the end.”

[ Onion-Paperling, Plant-Type, Level 3, ATK: 1000, DEF: 200 ]
[ “This card is also treated as a Beast-Type character at all times. Neither player takes battle damage from battles involving this card. When this character is destroyed by battle, place two Paperling-Tokens [Level 3, Plant-Type, ATK 300 DEF 300] face-up on your field, and return this card to your hand.” ]


“Yup. If it does you dirty and doesn’t show up when you need it to either, feel free to burn it.”

Charisse pats them both on the shoulder. “Now listen, I’m sure you two will want to go catch the next game, or work on your deck some more for the next round. There’ll be time for that, definitely. But before either of you takes a step out of this room, there’s something we really need to do.”

“...What’s that?” Franklin asks.

She grins and pulls out her phone. “You kids have like zero internet knowledge. This is basically a once in a lifetime chance to show off the wonders of the web to a couple unaware souls.”

Franklin and Enid share a look, before giddily sitting down with Charisse to explore the unknown together. Despite being enemies mere minutes prior, there were no hard feelings over the match. Just like Franklin has assured Enid, it was just a game.
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