Chapter 84. Kashtira "Exile-Saint" Meaning and Lines of Play Explained! Terrifying 5-Zone Lockdown!
The instant everyone saw Magic Cylinder, all Duelists sharply sucked in a breath, then slowly exhaled.
Lively debate erupted in the group chat!
Yugi Muto: "I see. Even if he couldn't close it out this turn, he still kept a follow-up."
Jaden Yuki: "Tch! That Duel sense is scary! Set 2 Magic Cylinder—after the opponent destroys one, they'll almost certainly drop their guard!"
Yusei Fudo: "Right. You Set 2, they break 1, and standard Duel habits will rule out Magic Cylinder for the other—yet it still was!"
Yuma Tsukumo: "So if that turn didn't finish the opponent, next turn that Kashtira-whatever swings in and it's still a loss!"
Yuya Sakaki: "Bulls-eye, bulls-eye, bulls-eye! That grim Supreme King really gave me a rush! Monster Reborn their Fenrir to beat them with their own 'wolf'! A perfect ending!"
"..."
As the protagonists from every world discussed, only now did they fully piece together the Odd-Eyes entertainer's final trump card.
And they were equally stunned.
Even with an entertainer deck, a Duelist from the Higher World planned the whole match with total foresight!
In the main world—
Watching the chatter from all the protagonists, Sei Yuki smiled inwardly.
These are just ordinary Duelists.
If they watched championship-level top players' thought processes, what would they think then?
"Alright, we've watched that clip."
"Next target."
"Let me think."
"What should I pick?"
"Kashtira, huh?"
"I've gotta say, that opponent playing Kashtira against the Supreme King was kind of sloppy."
"Then let's look up a short video on Kashtira combo lines!"
"..."
With the Odd-Eyes vs. Supreme King double-entertainment videos finished, Sei Yuki quickly set the next topic to the Kashtira theme.
Kashtira, as an engine and as a deck, once dominated the metagame.
Unfortunately, after multiple in-archetype hits, its power dropped sharply.
It's not a top meta pick right now.
But that doesn't mean it isn't worth explaining.
Decision made.
Video selected.
Title: "Kashtira Beginner Must-Watch Lines! Do You Really Understand 'Exile-Saint'?"
The moment this title appeared, the six worlds' protagonists stopped talking.
Every eye fixed on that short video.
Kashtira?
That's the deck we just saw in the match earlier?
That hook drew the protagonists right in.
They wanted to see whether there were still outrageous parts about Kashtira they didn't know.
In the short video—
Playback began; the creator, Old Exile-Saint Player, spoke slowly.
Old Exile-Saint Player: "Hello! Welcome, Duelists, to learn Kashtira's combo lines."
Old Exile-Saint Player: "As everyone knows, in July 2202, Kashtira drew attention the moment it released!"
"Single-card quality off the charts like Kashtira Fenrir and Kashtira Unicorn immediately caught every Duelist's eye!"
"But back then, the pure Kashtira end board was basically just Kashtira Shangri-Ira."
"So pure builds weren't that strong."
"Unicorn and Fenrir were basically premier splashable engines—free Special Summons, no chains, no self-locks—what's not to love?"
"Plus, when your opponent activates an effect, they can chain to banish face-down as disruption."
"What made Kashtira truly ridiculous later was the set support that followed, which earned Kashtira the nickname 'Exile-Saint.'"
"..."
Just that simple opening already put strange looks on the six worlds' protagonists' faces.
Is Kashtira really that strong?
From the duel earlier, it didn't really look that way.
Yes, the in-archetype Special Summons are absurd, and it can lock zones.
But where's the real strength?
Is it just the banish-disruption?
Before the six protagonists could think further, the next lines left them all dumbstruck.
Old Exile-Saint Player: "So, what does Kashtira's 'Exile-Saint' nickname actually mean?"
Old Exile-Saint Player: "How did the supplemental cards give the core its lines?"
"First, the meaning of 'Exile-Saint.'"
"1) The whole Kashtira theme revolves around banishing face-down as its core method of removal and disruption."
"Whether it's the small monsters or the end board, the method is banish."
"2) Kashtira's plan is going first: use zone locks plus the boss's Quick Effect banish."
"Conservatively, 3 zones locked stops most combo decks; pushed, it locks 5 zones."
"In extreme specialized builds, you can lock 10 zones at once."
"That, too, is 'Exile-Saint' behavior."
"3) The core barely uses the Normal Summon, which means you can give your Normal to other engines or powerful one-card starters."
"4) The core is compact, so you can run a ton of hand traps."
"5) The lines aren't hard, and it's easy to pilot."
"..."
As each advantage was listed, the Duelists' smiles faded until fear took their place.
Wait—?
We really didn't notice Kashtira's strengths during that duel.
Now that we've heard this, we're all numb.
Even worse—zone locks.
Lock five zones in one shot?
Are you kidding?
Is that just bragging?
How could you possibly lock that many zones?
With questions in mind, after grasping the "Exile-Saint" meaning, the short moved into combo explanations.
Old Exile-Saint Player: "With that quick meaning done, time for combos."
"First is a 2-card line for a 3-zone lock."
"Unicorn + [Scareclaw Kashtira]."
"[Pressured Planet Wraitsoth] also works."
"Because the Field Spell, on activation, is a universal 'Kashtira' monster search."
"So Planet + Scareclaw Kashtira is equivalent."
"And for other pairings with Unicorn, Planet can search Unicorn to pair up."
"Okay, onto the line."
"No monsters on field → Special Summon Unicorn."
"Unicorn effect: search [Kashtiratheosis]."
"Activate Theosis; Special Summon [Kashtira Fenrir] from the Deck."
"Fenrir effect: search 'the man,' a.k.a. [Kashtira Riseheart]."
"If you want to play around Nibiru, the Primal Being, you can just Special Summon Riseheart here."
"Now you've got three Level 7 bodies; lay out the Xyz network."
"We Xyz Summon [Kashtira Arise-Heart]."
"If you're not playing around Nibiru, continue."
"First overlay Unicorn + Fenrir for [Kashtira Shangri-Ira]."
"Activate Riseheart in hand to Special Summon."
"Riseheart effect: banish [Kashtira Big Bang] from the Deck."
"Chain 1: trigger Shangri-Ira to lock 1 zone."
"Chain 2: Big Bang targets your Shangri-Ira's Fenrir and Special Summons it."
"Now you have two Level 7s on field."
"If you don't have another Level 7 extender here, this choice is key."
"The Exile-Saint ace, [Kashtira Arise-Heart], has an effect: if [Kashtira Shangri-Ira] activated its effect this turn, once per turn you can Xyz Summon Arise-Heart by using 1 'Kashtira' monster you control."
"So we can upgrade over Shangri-Ira into Arise-Heart, or upgrade over Riseheart into Arise-Heart."
"If we upgraded over Shangri-Ira, then with 'the man' + Fenrir we can Xyz Summon Rank 7 [Number 89: Diablosis the Mind Hacker]."
ZEXAL World.
"Astral? Did I mishear? Ranking up on a non-Xyz?"
"Yuma, you didn't mishear—Higher World Xyz Monsters are wildly magical!"
Hearing that Arise-Heart could, just like that, upgrade off a non-Xyz—as long as it's a Kashtira monster—Yuma Tsukumo and Astral froze.
Then every Xyz Duelist in their world lost their composure.
Xyz Rank-Up usually means Xyz → Xyz, or you use a Rank-Up Spell.
But Arise-Heart is absurd—meet the condition, no other hoops, and you can Rank-Up on a non-Xyz monster.
That's insane.
Did Kashtira push Yu-Gi-Oh! from 2.0 straight to 2.5?
Back to the video—
Old Exile-Saint Player: "If you do have a Level 7 extender, say another Scareclaw Kashtira in hand, you can make an even bigger board."
"First, overlay Riseheart into a 1-material Arise-Heart."
"Because Arise-Heart has an effect: each time a card is banished, once per chain, attach one of those banished cards to this card as material."
"I activate Scareclaw Kashtira, Special Summon it, then banish Theosis from the GY."
"Theosis's banish effect returns Big Bang to hand."
"At the same time, Arise-Heart can chain to attach Theosis as material."
"On board, Scareclaw Kashtira + Fenrir overlay for Number 89."
"Number 89 effect: detach Fenrir to look at the opponent's Extra Deck and banish 1 face-down."
"Chain 1 Arise-Heart attaches the banished Fenrir as material."
"Chain 2 Number 89's other effect: each time your opponent's cards are banished face-down, they banish cards from the top of their Deck face-down equal to that number."
"Chain 3 Shangri-Ira: lock 1 more zone."
"The opponent's Deck cards got banished, so we trigger Arise-Heart again to attach material."
"You can even attach the opponent's banished cards if you want—it's up to you."
"Then trigger Shangri-Ira again to lock another zone."
"Set Big Bang."
"That's the first 2-card combo, done."
"At this point, take a look."
"How many zones has your opponent already lost?"
Three zones. Yes.
In a live duel, your opponent just lost three zones in one shot.
Even Sei Yuki saw the previously quiet group chat explode to 99+.
Yugi Muto: "What the—? You really can lock three zones at once?"
Jaden Yuki: "Tch! Locking monster zones barely bothers me, but if you lock Spell/Trap zones, I'll lose my mind."
Yusei Fudo: "But three monster zones is lethal to Synchro! What do you even combo with? You can't!"
Yuma Tsukumo: "I'm crying—what are these Xyz monsters? How is this synergy so 'Exile-Saint'?!"
Yuto: "That's why it's called the Exile-Saint deck. Tch, didn't he also say you could lock five?"
With Yuto's reminder, the chat detonated again.
Three zones already tilted the veterans.
Add two more to make five…
What are we supposed to play?
Does going second not get to play Yu-Gi-Oh! anymore?
Before the chat could keep blazing, the second combo—locking 5 zones—began.
Back to the short:
Old Exile-Saint Player: "The second line is a 3-card operation."
"As long as you aren't interrupted, locking all five opponent monster zones isn't hard."
"Card 1 is mandatory: [Pressured Planet Wraitsoth]."
"Card 2 is any Kashtira card—I'll use Scareclaw Kashtira as example."
"Card 3 must be [Kashtira Birth] or [Kashtiratheosis]."
"Alright, straight to the line."
"Activate Planet."
"Search Unicorn, Special Summon it, and search Theosis."
"From here, it's the same idea: get to one Shangri-Ira on board and lock 1 zone first."
"Then activate Birth."
"Special Summon Scareclaw Kashtira from hand; banish Theosis from the GY."
"Theosis's effect returns Big Bang to hand."
"Now use Scareclaw Kashtira + Fenrir to Xyz Summon a second Shangri-Ira."
"Birth then revives Unicorn from the GY."
"Unicorn + Arise-Heart overlay to make Number 89."
"Number 89 detaches Arise-Heart and banishes an Extra Deck card face-down."
"At this point, both Shangri-Iras can trigger."
"We lock 2 monster zones right away."
"Number 89 then forces the opponent to banish from the top of their Deck face-down."
"Chain both Shangri-Iras again."
"Lock 2 more monster zones."
"And with that, all 5 monster zones are locked."
"How's that—nice and easy, right?"
"...…"
Silence.
A death-like silence.
The once-boiling chat fell completely quiet.
Across the worlds, every Duelist's eyes went wide, jaws nearly on the floor.
They stared in disbelief at the displayed duel line.
Going second, with five unusable monster zones…
When they finally came to, the veterans' last mental dam collapsed.
Exile-Saint.
Truly Exile-Saint.
Five zones. That's five zones.
You just locked them all.
You realize the opponent only has five usable Main Monster Zones, right?
And the Extra Monster Zone is for Extra Deck plays.
What are we supposed to do—set five backrow and pray?
Oh, right.
They can even choose whether to lock Spell/Trap Zones or Monster Zones, depending on the matchup.
If it's a combo deck—lock five monster zones.
Want to combo? First figure out how to clear two Shangri-Iras.
If it's a backrow stalling deck—lock five Spell/Trap zones.
Want to set? First figure out how you're even going to set.
Thinking of all that, the veterans tilted again.
Going second really doesn't get to play Yu-Gi-Oh!…
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