A total lockdown!
"Yu Xuan's move is incredible!"
Mokuba's eyes lit up with excitement as he tugged on his brother's sleeve.
"Angel 07 seals monster effects, Jinzo seals traps, and Spell Canceller handles spells," Mokuba noted. "With this, doesn't it mean Alister can't use any effects at all?"
"Hmph, not necessarily," Kaiba snorted.
He could naturally see that even a lockdown like this had its weaknesses. In Duel Monsters, a truly unsolvable situation was rare, especially for a duelist of his caliber. Even if he were pushed to the brink, he could top-deck a solution right off the floor if he had to.
Still, he had to admit the formation was certainly enough to stifle almost any effect Alister could muster. An average duelist facing such a setup would likely have given up on the spot.
Despite his dismissal, Kaiba looked toward Yu Xuan with a hint of approval. Then, he turned his gaze back to Alister, a faint, mocking smirk playing on his lips.
"Let's see if you've actually learned anything over all these years," Kaiba said, crossing his arms. "Or have you merely regressed after being stuck in your old ways?"
Alister closed his eyes for a moment and let out a soft chuckle.
"It seems I really was underestimating him. I certainly didn't expect a formation like this."
He opened his eyes, his expression sharpening into one of intense focus.
"I see. Even for a student of Duel Academy, you are indeed an opponent who cannot be belittled. But then, it wouldn't be a battle worth fighting otherwise. I'll meet you with everything I have!
"My turn, draw!"
As Alister drew his card, a swirling vortex opened on his field, and a small frog hopped out.
"During my Standby Phase, if I have no Spells or Traps in my Graveyard, I can Special Summon Treeborn Frog from my Graveyard! It was discarded last turn as a cost for Toy Robot Box."
[Treeborn Frog, ATK 0]
"Angel 07 prevents monster effects on the field from activating, but monsters in the Graveyard aren't restricted," Alister explained.
Yu Xuan shrugged. The anime version of Angel 07 was generally stronger than its real-world counterpart. It didn't require a Tribute Summon to gain its effect, and the seal was one-sided, meaning it didn't affect the user. However, as a trade-off, its lockdown range was limited only to monsters on the field, whereas the real card version could also stop effects from the Graveyard.
"Now, I tribute Treeborn Frog to Tribute Summon"
Alister raised his arm high.
"Level 6, Big Brain!"
The creature that appeared was a bizarre and unsettling sight: a massive, grotesque brain covered in twitching eyes and flailing tentacles. Its design was hauntingly eerie.
[Big Brain, ATK 2500]
The moment it appeared, its numerous massive eyeballs fixed their gaze upon Yu Xuan's mechanical angel. The image of the pure white, iron angel was reflected in the pupils of the Great Brain. The angel's halo flickered and dimmed, and its golden field of light seemed to retract into its body.
"While Big Brain is on the field, the effects of all LIGHT attribute monsters are negated."
Alister smirked, glancing toward Kaiba out of the corner of his eye.
"This was originally my trump card for a certain someone, but I didn't expect it to come in handy so soon."
In this world, the most famous master of the LIGHT attribute was undoubtedly Seto Kaiba, who had been hailed as the "King of Light" since three thousand years ago. From his Blue-Eyes White Dragon to his XYZ-Dragon Cannon, almost all of Kaiba's signature cards were LIGHT attribute. For him, this was a monster designed specifically to counter his deck.
Kaiba, however, seemed unbothered, merely letting out a soft huff of disdain.
"That guy Alister... he actually prepared something like that just to deal with my brother," Mokuba muttered, frowning. "Wait, didn't Angel 07 negate all monster effects on the field?"
"Angel 07 prevents monster effects from activating, but continuous effects remain in force," Kaiba explained calmly. "Big Brain's ability does not activate; it remains active as long as it is on the field. Therefore, the situation has reversedAngel 07's effect is now negated."
"Oh, I see..." Mokuba realized. "As expected of Alister. He hasn't regressed at allif anything, he's improved. To find a breakthrough in such a powerful lockdown so quickly..."
Alister continued his play. "I can Special Summon Gigantes from my hand by banishing one EARTH monster from my Graveyard!"
Another card slid out of his Graveyard slot.
"I banish the EARTH monster KC-1 Crayton, which was sent to the Graveyard by Graceful Charity!"
Alister revealed the card before sliding it into his deck box.
"Special Summon, Gigantes!"
[Gigantes, ATK 1900]
"Next, Gigantes attacks Spell Canceller!"
The behemoth roared, swinging its massive club at the white metallic machine. The Spell Canceller was instantly crushed into scrap metal, erupting in a violent explosion.
[Yu Xuan, LP 2000 -> LP 1900]
"Ah," Mokuba cried out. "The spell seal is gone too..."
"Now, Big Brain attacks Jinzo!"
The tentacles of the massive brain swept forward, binding the mechanical man's limbs. Jinzo struggled with all his might, but he was powerless to resist. A barrage of beams shot from every eye on the brain, engulfing Jinzo instantly. His iron body crumbled and shattered into dust.
Jinzo: Dammit, another day of being cannon fodder...
[Yu Xuan, LP 1900 -> LP 1800]
"Battle Phase over," Alister said with a smile. "With that, the seals on spells and traps are completely lifted. Activating Spell Cards is possible once more. Therefore, from my hand, I activate thisthe Spell Card, Card of Sanctity!"
It was herethe most common hand-refilling tool in the DM era.
"Both players draw until they have six cards in their hands."
Alister drew his cards, and Yu Xuan followed suit.
Quickly fanning out his new hand, Alister glanced at the white mechanical angel remaining on Yu Xuan's field and gave a light chuckle.
"Although Angel 07's effect is temporarily negated, it's still far too great a threat to leave alone. If Big Brain leaves the field or is somehow negated, that oppressive power will return. To be safe..."
With a wave of his hand, he played another card he had just drawn.
"The Spell Card, Hammer Shot! The Attack Position monster with the highest ATK on the field is destroyed!"
[Big Brain, ATK 2500]
[Gigantes, ATK 1900]
[Angel 07, ATK 2500]
"Angel 07 and Big Brain have the same ATK," Mokuba noted.
"When two or more monsters have the same attack power, the player who activated the effect can choose which one to destroy," Kaiba explained.
"Is that so?" Mokuba asked.
Alister gestured forward. "My choice is obviously your Angel 07! Begone!"
A heavy hammer descended from the sky, crushing the mechanical angel into fragments with a thunderous boom.
"The situation completely turned around in an instant," Mokuba said grimly. "Yu Xuan's field is empty now."
"But I'm far from finished," Alister declared. "I activate the Spell Card, Spider Web! This allows me to take a card that was sent to my opponent's Graveyard one turn ago and add it to my own hand."
A silken thread shot from the Spell Card, plunging into the Graveyard slot of Yu Xuan's Duel Disk and pulling out a card.
"The card I add to my hand is Monster Reborn!" Alister announced. "And now, I activate it to resurrect a monster from the Graveyard! The one I choose is from your Graveyard"
"Come forth, Jinzo!"
[Jinzo, ATK 2400]
Jinzo, forced back into overtime, looked like he wanted to cry. Being cannon fodder is one thing, but being kidnapped by the opponent? Boss, you have to believe me, I'm being forced into this!
"Next, I activate the Spell Card, Junk Dealer!"
This was another card Alister had used in his duel against Kaiba years ago. The vast majority of his deck consisted of anime-exclusive cards that had never been printed in the real world.
Many of the cards used by the Doma organization were only released ten or twenty years later, if at all. This was likely because the "fake cards" in that arc were simply too powerful; it took over a decade for the real-world game environment to catch up to the strength of those old anime cards.
For instance, the card Soul Charge, used by Rafael of the Three Musketeers, allowed a player to revive any number of monsters from the Graveyard at the cost of Life Points. To this day, it remained on the Forbidden list.
"Junk Dealer allows me to choose up to two Warrior or Machine monsters from either Graveyard and Special Summon them in Attack Position with their original ATK halved. The one I choose from the Graveyard is, of course..."
Alister pulled a monster card from the Graveyard and slammed it onto his Duel Disk.
"Return once more, Spell Canceller!"
[Spell Canceller, ATK 1800 -> ATK 900]
Mokuba immediately realized the gravity of the situation.
"Wait... this means..."
Alister had just established a reverse lockdown!
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