Looking at the single Set card left on Jaden's field, Chazz thought for a moment and declared the end of his turn.
"Light and Darkness Dragon still has 1800 Attack, which means it can activate its effect at least three more times. But if it uses one effect and then gets run over by a Normal Summon… I end my turn."
Turn.3
Placing his index and middle finger on his Deck, Jaden looked at Chazz. "A Light and Darkness Dragon with 1800 Attack left… that's pretty interesting~ My Deck does have a monster with higher than 1800 Attack. Wouldn't it be fun if I drew it right now?"
Chazz scoffed at Jaden's words. While Jaden's Deck did contain the 1900-Attack Thunder King Rai-Oh, Chazz didn't believe Jaden could draw it now. "Anyone can talk big. Draw it first, then brag."
Jaden smiled faintly, then drew a card.
"My turn, draw!"
The motion of his draw created a shining arc, and Chazz's gaze followed Jaden's hand as he drew.
Jaden added the card to his hand, looked at it carefully, then sighed. "Yeah, drawing a single-copy card out of the whole Deck really isn't realistic."
Hearing that, Chazz naturally relaxed—Jaden clearly hadn't drawn Thunder King Rai-Oh.
Abruptly, the moment he loosened up, he heard:
"But drawing one of the three copies is way easier! I Normal Summon Elemental HERO Stratos and activate its effect! When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, choose one of its effects to activate—destroy Spells/Traps on the field up to the number of HERO monsters I control other than this card, or add one HERO monster from my Deck to my hand. Regardless, none of that matters now!"
Jaden slapped the card onto the center of his Duel Disk, and the moment one sees a third Stratos hit the field, it's hard not to want to build a HERO Deck.
Immediately, Jaden pointed straight at Light and Darkness Dragon.
"Because the moment either of us activates an effect, Light and Darkness Dragon will auto-activate its own effect! Stratos's effect will be negated, and Light and Darkness Dragon will lose another 500, going down to 1300. That means my Stratos with 1800 Attack can destroy it! I enter the Battle Phase—Stratos, attack Light and Darkness Dragon!"
[Chazz Princeton, LP: 4000 → 3500]
Jaden clenched his fist excitedly. "Yes! That takes care of Light and Darkness Dragon. Time to turn this duel around!"
"Light and Darkness Dragon's effect activates. When this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, target one monster in your Graveyard. Destroy all cards you control, then Special Summon that target. I choose Dark Blade." Chazz snorted, then Special Summoned the monster. "You only beat Light and Darkness Dragon because you got lucky! And on top of that, I chain the effect of Keeper of the Shrine in my hand. If this card is in the hand or Graveyard, and a face-up Dragon you control—that isn't another copy of this card—is sent to the Graveyard by effect or by battle, Special Summon it! It has 2100 Defense, and when used as Tribute for a Dragon Tribute Summon, it counts as two monsters."
Though he expected Chazz wouldn't build a field with no follow-up, this situation still made Jaden uneasy. "However, because of Light and Darkness Dragon's effect, that monster's going to be destroyed too, right?"
"I use the Graveyard effect of the Return of the Dragon Lords I discarded earlier with Graceful Charity. If a Dragon on my field would be destroyed by battle or effect, I can banish this card instead. That keeps Keeper of the Shrine safe."
Chazz took Return of the Dragon Lords from his Graveyard and tucked it into his pocket.
"So you were already prepared for Light and Darkness Dragon getting removed? I guess your original plan was to stall my plays using its effect to gather resources, huh? Looks like my luck's better than yours this time~" Jaden cheerfully scratched his head, then picked a card from his hand. "I activate E - Emergency Call! I add a HERO monster from my Deck to my hand. I choose my second Elemental HERO Stratos, then end my turn!"
Turn.4
"Don't act like you're strong just because luck carried you this far. My turn, draw!"
With an irritated expression, Chazz drew a card—then immediately activated it.
"I activate Pot of Greed!"
Before taking his exams, Youmi had carefully checked the banlist.
Unlike the OCG timeline, this version's banlist had some surprising entries:
Forbidden: Dimension Fusion, Painful Choice, Graceful Charity, Card of Demise, Card of Safe Return, Last Will, Cannon Soldier, Toon Cannon Soldier, Magical Scientist, Makyura the Destructor, Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End, Last Turn, Return from the Different Dimension.
"Pot of Greed and Graceful Charity didn't get hit? How does that make sense?"
And because of that, Chazz could resume his plays immediately after burning through his entire hand.
"No good…" Chazz muttered as he realized the card he needed most had not come to his hand.
Yet, he quickly shook his head and continued. "I discard Anotherverse Dragon to activate Trade-In! I draw two cards from my Deck. Next, I Tribute Keeper of the Shrine to Tribute Summon Pandemic Dragon!"
It truly had to be said—with Kaiba tutoring him, Chazz even used the same cards.
Looking at Pandemic Dragon on his field, Chazz nodded, as though responding to expectations represented by the card. "Once per turn, Pandemic Dragon can target one monster on th
e field with Attack equal to or less than its own. Destroy that target. Naturally, I choose your Elemental HERO Stratos! Destructive Plague Burst!"
Perhaps realizing it only now, Jaden finally understood the theme of Chazz's Deck. "Huh?! After a 2800-attack Dragon… now a 2500-attack Dragon? So you're using a Dragon Deck…"
Mimicking Kaiba's "Shining White Destruction," Chazz pointed at Jaden. "Cut the chatter. I enter the Battle Phase—Pandemic Dragon, direct attack! Catastrophic Plague Storm!"
Shrouded in ominous clouds with a form that radiated danger, Pandemic Dragon unleashed a blast filled with a deadly virus straight toward Jaden.
Anyhow, Jaden calmly flipped his Set card. "Now, I activate my face-down A Hero Emerges! It activates when an opponent's monster declares an attack. Chazz, pick a random card from my hand. If it's a Monster Card, Special Summon it in Defense Position. Otherwise, send it to the Graveyard. Go on—pick one!
"Of course, it's gotta be Elemental HERO Stratos! Special Summoned in Defense Position."
...
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