Chapter 173. Infernity System Breakdown! The 10-Negate Infernity Board Plan!
Duelists from every world almost wondered if they had misread the effect!
Is this really the effect of [Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca] in the 5D's world?
After it activates… the opponent's Life Points become 1?
You've gotta be kidding!
How is that even possible?
What are we supposed to play after that?!
Yugi Muto: "Huh? Your [Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca] does that? Yusei Fudo? Are you sure?"
Atticus Rhodes: "Whoa! Sounds fake! One Life Point! What's even the point of playing? Just throw a fireball after and you're done!"
Kite Tenjo: "What the heck! Each Earthbound Immortal is more ridiculous than the last, huh? And they've got divine-level resistances! Big bro Yusei! How did you beat the guy using that Earthbound Immortal?"
Yusei Fudo: "That's… a long story. Sigh… My opponent back then was Rex Goodwin."
Crow Hogan: "Yeah. The situation… how should I put it? It's hard to explain in words."
Jack Atlas: "It went like this..."
Very quickly, with Jack, Crow Hogan, and Yusei Fudo helping, the hazy, "Three Heroes vs. Lü Bu"-style duel was retold in the group chat.
Every duelist listening was stunned!
They would never have imagined it!
Facing a terrifying monster like [Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca]…
Yusei and the others…
Could actually beat Goodwin?
You're kidding, right?!
Is that what you call the protagonist's aura?
Even at 1 LP, they could turn it around and defeat Goodwin?
Sei Yuki: "If you duelists want to know, I can dig up the short clips from back then and show everyone later."
Sei Yuki: "It really was a 'Three Heroes vs. Lü Bu'—three-on-one and pretty spectacular."
"But before we watch those—"
"Let's take a look at the deck used by Kalin Kessler."
"In other words, the Infernity archetype."
In the group chat, Sei Yuki's voice quickly quieted the duelists across the worlds.
Kalin Kessler's Infernity, huh?
Indeed.
That zero-hand "empty-hand combo" dueling technique did catch the eye of many duelists.
It was the first time they learned there was an engine that didn't need a hand to complete a board-building combo!
Because in the normal view of dueling…
The more cards in hand, the better.
But Infernity seemed to do the opposite.
The fewer cards in hand, the better.
In that duel back then…
The anime-effect [Hundred-Eyes Dragon] worked exactly like that.
With cards in hand, the whole card became useless.
Meanwhile…
The next short video's title popped up.
"Explaining the Old 'Infinite Loop Trishula' Infernity! The Most Perfect, Unbeatable Combo!"
In the short!
The video creator—an Infernity player—immediately started the breakdown!
Infernity Player: "Welcome, duel heads, to this Infernity video!"
Infernity Player: "I'm sure everyone's familiar with Infernity."
Infernity Player: "But before today's content starts—"
"I still need to go over the single-card breakdown for Infernity and a few supporting combo pieces!"
"Disclaimer first! Infernity needs zero cards in hand to trigger its effects!"
"And because of that, after the Spell [Infernity Launcher] was Limited, the deck did drop in power somewhat."
"But the empty-hand combo core still works!"
"Today I'm bringing you the hottest 'infinite Trishula' combo breakdown!"
"Okay, talk over—let's begin."
"First, the mandatory main-deck staples!"
"[Infernity Archfiend], remember: when Special Summoned with no cards in hand, it searches an 'Infernity' card from the Deck! No 'once per turn' on the card name."
"Then [Infernity Necromancer]: with no hand, it revives an Infernity from the Graveyard—also no 'once per turn' on the card name."
"[Infernity Mirage]: with no hand, it's basically [Infernity Launcher]; it revives 2 Infernity monsters from the GY."
"[Infernity Sage]: a Level 2 Tuner that can proactively send every card from your hand to the GY to enable the empty-hand gameplan; when sent to the GY, it mills another Infernity."
"[Infernity Patriarch]: if it's the only card in hand, you can Special Summon it; it also protects your Infernities from destruction while you have no hand."
"[Hundred-Eyes Dragon]: banish to copy effects of DARK monsters in the GY!"
"...."
After a concise explanation!
Duelists across the worlds had a basic grasp of the Infernity deck!
And those core cards—
Plus the fact so many of them lacked a "once per turn" on their names—
Left many duelists exchanging looks!
Strong? Yes.
Operating with no hand and storytelling the combo? Stylish as heck.
But here's the problem.
Just from the screwdriver-pulling operations alone…
They still didn't understand how Infernity ran—or how strong it was.
At least for now…
It was all still a blur.
Infernity Player: "Next are the support cards!"
Infernity Player: "Infernity currently has two routes."
"One is a going-first board of negates; the other is [Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier] to banish cards from the opponent's hand!"
"No matter which, you'll need these extenders!"
"Rank 4 [Daigusto Emeral]: shuffle 3, draw 1."
"Rank 3 [Leviair the Sea Dragon]: Special Summon a banished monster."
"Rank 4 [Number 60: Dugares the Timeless]: helps revive from the GY."
"Level 9 Synchro [Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier]: on Synchro Summon, you can banish up to 1 card each from your opponent's hand, field, and GY—hand is random!"
"...."
Once the support lineup was done…
Not only were duelists unfamiliar with Infernity confused—
Even Kalin Kessler from 5D's was thrown for a loop after hearing it all!
What the heck?
Why are the generic tech choices mostly Xyz?
And there aren't many Synchro Monsters?
It doesn't even look like you need that many Synchros!
Huh?
His Infernity deck…
Wasn't it a Synchro deck?!
After hearing this card list…
This Infernity build…
Didn't feel like a Synchro deck!
It felt more like—
A showcase combo deck, didn't it?
No, wait—
More like—
A deck built entirely to serve [Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier]!
Infernity Player: "Okay, with that understood, let's do a warm-up."
Infernity Player: "How do you build a negate board?"
Infernity Player: "We'll watch the appetizer first, then the infinite loop—it'll be easier to follow!"
"Two-card combo."
"First, Normal Summon [Infernity Necromancer]!"
"Activate [Transmodify]! Send [Infernity Necromancer] to the GY; Special Summon [Infernity Archfiend] from the Deck!"
"Since we have no cards in hand, we search [Infernity Patriarch]!"
"Special Summon [Infernity Patriarch]; with two Level 4s we make an Xyz!"
"With two Level 4 monsters, make [Number 60: Dugares the Timeless]!"
"Activate its effect: detach 2 to revive Necromancer from the GY!"
"Necromancer revives [Infernity Archfiend]!"
"Archfiend triggers again to search the Continuous Spell [Infernity Launcher]!"
"Then Link Summon [Union Carrier] using Necromancer and Archfiend!"
"Activate [Infernity Launcher]; send to revive [Infernity Archfiend] and [Infernity Necromancer] from the GY!"
"Archfiend searches the Trap [Infernity Suppression]!"
"Set [Infernity Suppression], then Link Summon using Archfiend and Dugares—"
"Link-2 [Codebreaker Virus Swordsman]!"
"Necromancer revives [Infernity Archfiend] again!"
"Archfiend searches [Infernity Mirage]!"
"[Union Carrier] equips [Infernity Street Patrol] to Archfiend from the Deck!"
"Then Link again with Codebreaker and Archfiend—"
"Link-3 [The Phantom Knights of Rusty Bardiche]!"
"[Infernity Street Patrol]'s GY effect: banish it to Special Summon the [Infernity Mirage] in hand!"
"Activate Rusty Bardiche: send [The Phantom Knights of Ancient Cloak] from Deck to GY and Set [The Phantom Knights of Shade Brigandine]!"
"Banish Ancient Cloak from the GY to search [The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots]!"
"Special Summon Silent Boots!"
"Link Summon [Cherubini, Ebon Angel of the Burning Abyss] with Silent Boots and Necromancer!"
"Cherubini sends [Fiendish Rhino Warrior] from the Deck to the GY!"
"[Fiendish Rhino Warrior]'s GY effect sends [Infernity Sage] from the Deck to the GY!"
"[Infernity Sage] mills a second [Infernity Necromancer] to the GY!"
"Then use [Union Carrier], [The Phantom Knights of Rusty Bardiche], and [Cherubini] as Fusion materials—"
"Contact Fusion! [Trishula, Zero Dragon of the Ice Barrier]!"
Stunned!
Absolutely stunned!
Duelists who were hazy or even lost on how Infernity worked…
Were floored on the spot by this sequence!
Wait—are we sure?
Is this the real empty-hand Infernity combo?!
In the DM world—
Yugi Muto sucked in a breath!
He stared, speechless, at how smoothly the line unfolded!
No—that's not even the right word.
It wasn't just smooth—
Those two cards were too absurd!
One was [Infernity Archfiend]!
One was [Infernity Necromancer]!
These two are insanely fake-looking!
With no "once per turn" on their names! They just keep reviving, keep searching!
As long as the condition's met!
Unbelievable!
In the 5D's world.
Kalin Kessler was numb watching this far!
Is this really the dueling power of Infernity?
No mistake?
And—
Judging by the performer in the short—
This was… just the appetizer!
"Uh? What is this? Kalin! Is this really Infernity?"
"Why does it feel completely different from what I know!"
"What is even going on here?!"
"Isn't Infernity about Synchro? Why is everything a Link?!"
Crow Hogan's scalp tingled watching this, too!
He hadn't expected it at all!
That explosive extension had practically nothing to do with Synchro!
Or rather—only a little!
Used a couple of times at most!
"I don't know either. Maybe…"
"This is what a higher world's dueling looks like."
Kalin Kessler smiled bitterly in helplessness.
He was helpless, too.
This Infernity line had exceeded his understanding.
He even felt—
Very unfamiliar.
You call this… an Infernity deck?
And the short kept going with the board build.
Infernity Player: "Activate [Infernity Mirage]; Tribute itself to revive two [Infernity Necromancer] from the GY!"
Infernity Player: "One Necromancer revives [Infernity Archfiend]!"
Infernity Player: "Archfiend searches [Infernity Break]!"
"Set that Trap; then Link Summon with Archfiend and a Necromancer—"
"Link-2 ['Black Sheep' Puppeteer]!"
"The second Necromancer revives [Infernity Archfiend] again!"
"Archfiend triggers; Chain 2, 'Black Sheep' revives Necromancer from the GY!"
"Resolve: 'Black Sheep' brings back Necromancer; Archfiend searches another [Infernity Break]!"
"After Setting, Necromancer revives [Infernity Sage] from the GY!"
"Link Summon using 'Black Sheep', Trishula Zero Dragon, and Archfiend!"
"Pointing arrows aligned!"
"Link-4 [Saryuja Skull Dread]!"
"On field, the two Necromancers plus [Infernity Sage] make a DARK Synchro!"
"3 + 3 + 2 = Level 8!"
"We Synchro Summon [Hundred-Eyes Dragon]!"
"Next, Hundred-Eyes copies [Infernity Mirage]'s effect; banish Mirage!"
"Then Hundred-Eyes tributes itself to revive two [Infernity Necromancer] from the GY!"
"Necromancer revives [Infernity Archfiend]!"
"Archfiend searches [Infernity Barrier]!"
"Activate [The Phantom Knights of Shade Brigandine] to Special Summon itself as a monster!"
"The second Necromancer revives [Infernity Sage]."
"Overlay the two Necromancers for an Xyz!"
"Rank 3 Xyz! [Leviair the Sea Dragon]!"
"Leviair's effect: Special Summon the banished [Infernity Mirage]!"
"Then Link Summon with [Infernity Sage], [Infernity Archfiend], [Leviair the Sea Dragon], and Shade Brigandine!"
"Pointing arrows aligned!"
"!"
"Four-material [Apollousa, Bow of the Goddess]!"
"Activate [Infernity Mirage]; Tribute itself to Special Summon two [Infernity Necromancer] from the GY!"
"The first Necromancer revives [Infernity Sage]."
"The second Necromancer revives [Infernity Archfiend]!"
"Archfiend searches a second [Infernity Archfiend]!"
"Synchro Summon with [Infernity Sage] and the two Necromancers!"
"Level 8 Synchro! [Void Ogre Dragon]!"
"Activate Saryuja's effect to Special Summon [Infernity Archfiend] from hand!"
"Archfiend searches [Infernity Barrier]!"
"Set them! End of turn."
"Ten-negate board! Complete!"
How many what?
How many negates?
Ten?!
Whoa!
No way!
At that moment—
Duelists who had just snapped out of the Infernity storytelling performance—
Were struck by thunder at that last sentence!
They felt like their ears had just heard a fairy tale.
Ten negates?
Ten?!
And when they carefully went back through it…
Then looked at the board…
They were going insane!
It really did look like ten negates!
First negate: [Infernity Suppression]!
While you control an Infernity monster, when your opponent activates a monster effect, you can negate that effect.
After that, you can inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's Level × 100.
Second–third negates: two copies of [Infernity Break]!
If you have no cards in hand, you can banish an "Infernity" card from your GY; target 1 card your opponent controls; destroy it.
Fourth–fifth negates: two copies of [Infernity Barrier]!
While you control a face-up Attack Position "Infernity" monster and have no cards in hand:
Negate the activation of your opponent's monster effect or Spell/Trap, and destroy it.
Sixth negate: [Void Ogre Dragon] live!
While you have no cards in hand, once per turn, when your opponent activates a Spell/Trap, negate and destroy it.
Seventh–tenth negates: [Apollousa, Bow of the Goddess] with 4 materials!
When your opponent activates a monster effect, you can reduce this card's ATK by 800 to negate that activation.
A rough count complete!
It really was ten negates!
So this is the empty-hand combo core of the Infernity archetype!
That's terrifying!
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