After
looking at the new Artifacts, I realised how awesome they'd be in a duel. I
mean, they're basically like the anti-thesis to Dark World (they need to
be discarded to activate their effects; Artifacts require destruction to
activate their effects). So what better way to commemorate this new archetype
than with a one-shot?
A
silence fell over the duel arena, followed by shock.
“Is he really challenging Cain?!”
“Is David suicidal?”
Cain
hopped off his throne (in reality just a high backed chair) at the edge of the skyscraper
and walked lazily to the centre, where a painted duel ground stood. The new
challenger stood opposite to him, slightly shorter and lankier than Cain, duel
disk already in hand. He’s eager at least,
thought Cain, not that that would mean anything in this duel. Conversely, he
slowly put on his disk, as if already savouring a victory and began to stretch
his limbs. AR Vision: Link Established.
Cain: 8000LP David: 8000LP
“Duel!” yelled David. Cain was
caught by surprise, still in mid-stretch. He fumbled with his blue D-Gazer for
a while, slightly miffed. “You sure took your time, I’ll go first. Draw!”, said
David. Cain wondered what the challenger had eaten for breakfast; perhaps a few
coffee-bean bagels? “I set four cards!”
and his respective move was reflected on the ground, then David proceeded to
end his turn. Cain felt a flash of annoyance. How exactly was he going to
attack now?
“My turn. Draw!” Cain grinned. He
had a way to clear that pesky backrow, as long as David didn’t interfere. “By
discarding a card, I can Special Summon Deep Space Cruiser 9 in defense
mode!”
A
large ship shaped like a futuristic Titanic materialized. Cain revealed a
monster card to David. “If all my monsters in my graveyard are Machine-type, I
can special summon Gearspring Spirit!”
An
extremely thin marionette, shrouded only by a wispy robe floated onto the
field, positioned in a somewhat aggressive stance. “Then I activate the Spell Card , Special Schedule. This card allows me to special summon a Machine-type monster with at
least 3000 ATK from my graveyard. I choose my discarded monster, Night Express Knight!” A giant clad in armour zoomed onto the field, attached to the head of
a freight train, and promptly took a defensive position, clutching his shield.
David watched in interest, most likely wondering how anything would come of
this.
“I’m not done yet! I activate the spell card Galaxy Queen’s Light! This card lets me select a level seven or higher monster on my
field and make all other monsters on the field the same level! I select my Night Express Knight!” A torso of a woman appeared, encircling Cain’s monsters,
covering them with stardust. David’s eyes widened.
DSC9: LV10 GS: LV10 NEK: LV10
“You don’t mean…” Cain grinned with
his wolfish smile.
“With
these three monsters I construct the Overlay Network! Xyz summon!” A gigantic
Transformer-like machine landed out of the sky, dwarfing the two players,
creating a tremor on impact. Some of the crowd had taken cover underneath the
bleachers. Cain had summoned Superdimensional Robot Galaxy Destroyer.
“I activate my monster’s effect! By detaching
one overlay unit, it can destroy all Spell and Trap cards on your side of the
field!” A beam of light shone out of Cain’s monster, onto David’s backrow. The
cards dissipated. “Now, Galaxy Destr-”
“Fool.” Cain was surprised that he was
being insulted. He was even more startled when three ghostly figures appeared
onto David’s field. One was cobalt blue and wielded some kind of neo-steampunk
short-sword. The second was bright orange and held a staff with stylised wings
at the end. The last was yellow, wielding a shield, similar in design to the blue’s
sword. “Your moving Transformer just disturbed my set monsters, Artifact Moralltach, Artifact Caduceus, and Artifact Aegis.”
AM: ATK-2100 DEF-1400 LV-5 AC: ATK-1600 DEF-2400
LV-5
AA: ATK-1200 DEF-2500 LV-5
“What?” Cain couldn't understand it.
Usually, when he put something down, it stayed down.
“Watch and learn! My deck is filled
with Artifact monsters. When my monsters are destroyed while set in my Spell
& Trap Card Zone, they summon themselves to the field. And that’s when
their effects activate!” The orange figure, Caduceus, raised its wand, infusing
David’s deck with a warm glow. “Caduceus allows me to draw a card for every
Artifact monster I summon during this turn, so for this turn, three!”
DAVID’S HAND: 2→5
The
blue spectre leapt towards Cain’s robot, sword glowing with an unearthly light.
“Also, Moralltach can destroy a face-up card when it is summoned! Say your
adieus!” Galaxy Destroyer attempted to fend the blade away, arms flailing
wildly, but to no avail. The ghost was too small and quick. With a single swipe,
the robot split in two, and exploded into dust. However, Cain wasn't about to
surrender.
“I set one card and end my turn.” The
card he had set was another Special Schedule. Unfortunately, it could only be
used once per turn, however, if the challenger destroyed it, he could use its
other effect. The duel could be salvaged yet.
“It’s my turn. I draw!” David looked
at his new card, and gave an internal smile. “I activate the Quick-play Spell, Artifact Movement! With this card, I can destroy a Spell or Trap Card on the field, and
if I do, I can also set an Artifact monster from the deck to my backrow.” A
small spherical automaton whirred to life, generating a gentle chromatic pulse.
“I target Cain’s only Set card!” The pulsing became focused, transformed into a
bolt, and Cain’s card disappeared. The automaton slowed down, and set itself as
another Artifact. It was Cain’s turn to smile now, albeit, with much less
certainty.
“Your Artifacts aren’t the only
cards that trigger on destruction! My set card was Special Schedule! By busting
it with that cog-ball of yours, I get to add a level ten Machine-type monster
from my graveyard, to my hand. Come back, Night Express Knight!”
“Your deck hinges on the power of a single monster? Why don’t I take that
away from you?” Cain stared at David while he activated yet another Spell card.
“By paying 1000 Life Points, Instant Fusion allows me to Special Summon a LV5
or lower Fusion monster from my Extra Deck! Come forth, Heavy-Armoured Panzer Dragon!” A small ramen-cup with the word ‘FUSION’ on the front appeared. It
began trembling, sputtering steam in the process, and when it could hold no
longer-burst into a cloud of white steam.
David: 8000LP→7000LP
From
the haze, a jagged tank trundled onto the field, roaring in a synthetic, yet
animal scream. Where the cannon should have been, was instead, the head of a
robotic dragon.
“I
use both Panzer and Aegis to construct the Overlay Network! Two opposing
weapons acknowledge their differences and become one, Xyz Summon!” The duo
became essence, swirling in on each other, eventually settling into a
singularity…then burst outwards, revealing a floating blade, criss-crossed with
a web of fire and ice, even larger than Moralltach’s. David had summoned Artifact Durandal. A ghost, the same colour as the sword, appeared behind it. With great
effort, it hefted the blade, double handed, almost kneeling under the weight.
ATK-2400 DEF-2100 RK-5
“Now I will remove your last shard of hope, Durandal!”
David placed one of his overlay units, Artifact Aegis, into the Graveyard. The blade was hoisted into the air; its blue
streaks became dazzling ice-blue beams of light, and enshrouded both players’
hands. “By detaching a Xyz material from this monster, both of our hands are
shuffled into the deck and redrawn.” The cards liquefied into golden essence,
melding back into the decks. Cain, shaking, redrew his card…and breathed a sigh
of relief. Now all he had to do was survive the oncoming attacks. David yelled
for his monsters to attack directly, and Caduceus, Moralltach, and Durandal
leapt forward.”
CAIN: 8000→1900LP
Cain
gradually stood up; wincing from the impact, but David showed no remorse. He
continued by setting three cards and ending his turn.
Cain
shook off the remaining pain.
“I draw!” Luck was on his side. “I
set one card and summon Cardcar D! By tributing this monster, I can draw two
cards, at the cost of ending my turn!”
CAIN’S HAND: 0→2
“Not so fast! I activate my trap
card, Theosophy of the Artifacts! This card allows me to special summon an Artifact
monster from my deck. I summon Artifact Begalltach!” A crimson ghost, similar
to Moralltach, emerged from the card.
“I
can now destroy up to two of my Set cards with his effect.” The red spectre
struck a single card, shattering it to dust. “Now, Artifact Failnaught, with
your destruction, please come back!” Yet another apparition, green this time,
strode onto the field. Clutching her bow tightly, she fired a shot into the
air.
“After being special summoned, Failnaught can target
one Artifact monster in my grave and Set it.” A yellow streak fell from the
sky, presumably Aegis, and turned into a face-down card. “And I'm still not done! When a monster’s effect
activates on the field, I can detach a Xyz material to use Durandal’s second
effect!” Cain mentally thrashed himself. What?!
“This allows me to destroy one of your face-down cards, in this case your last line of defence.” Durandal glowed
red, gently at first, but finally intensified, intent on burning Cain’s last
hope to pieces, and soon there was nothing left. David smirked at the
graveyard. “Threatening Roar, that card would have stopped all my monsters from
attacking, and possibly given you a fighting chance.” Cain wasn’t listening,
eyes blank in defeat. It was a pitiful sight, but David remembered all the
times that this ‘King’ had done the same with so many others.
Cain
ended his turn, his legs finally failing him, and watched as Durandal’s tip closed
in.
CAIN: 1900→0LP
DAVID: WIN