Chapter 138. Three Roars Make a Name in One Battle! The Dragon Ruler Mirror Match Keeps Cannibalizing Itself!
In the short video, after a back-and-forth of probing, the turn returned once more to Ws Roaring Bro.
Ws Roaring Bro: "My turn. Draw."
Ws Roaring Bro: "I flip Number 11: Big Eye face-up."
Ws Roaring Bro: "I activate Big Eye's effect and detach 1 Xyz Material…"
Joker: "Chain Quick-Play Spell, Book of Moon!"
Joker: "Your Big Eye is set face-down again."
Ws Roaring Bro: "Then I'll flip Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos, and activate Monster Reborn."
Ws Roaring Bro: "I'll revive your Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls from your Graveyard."
"Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos and Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls overlay to build the Xyz network."
"I Xyz Summon a second Number 11: Big Eye."
"I activate Big Eye's effect and detach 1 material."
Joker: "I chain Effect Veiler from my hand."
Joker: "Your Big Eye's effect is negated."
Ws Roaring Bro: "In the Graveyard, Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos banishes Burner, Dragon Ruler of Sparks and another Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos to jump out."
Ws Roaring Bro: "Battle Phase."
"Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos destroys your Big Eye."
"I set 1 card. Turn end."
At the venue, Big Eye kept appearing and the crowd started bellowing at each other like bulls. Hand traps were fired off one after another. By now, Duelists across the worlds finally understood Roaring Bro's true aim. He kept making Number 11: Big Eye because he wanted to seize the Crimson Blader Joker had Synchro Summoned.
Joker kept interrupting Roaring Bro's bull-headed Big Eye plays. It was these exchanges that made everyone reevaluate this Level 8 Synchro. A 2800 ATK body isn't that high, but once they read the effect, the veterans all stiffened with a jolt. No wonder both sides were fighting to control Crimson Blader.
This Synchro Monster has an effect that must activate if it destroys an opponent's monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard. During the opponent's next turn, that opponent cannot Normal or Special Summon Level 5 or higher monsters. In a Dragon Ruler mirror, the bosses are Level 7. If this resolves, the opponent is forced into a passive position. It's a mirror-match god card for Dragon Rulers.
Only, up to now, Crimson Blader still hadn't delivered the key impact it should have.
Joker: "My turn. Draw."
Joker: "In my Graveyard, Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos banishes Dragunity Phalanx and Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders to jump out."
Joker: "Since Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders was banished, I add Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders from my Deck to my hand."
"I activate Raigeki."
"I destroy all your face-up monsters."
"Battle Phase."
Ws Roaring Bro: "I activate a second Threatening Roar."
Ws Roaring Bro: "All attack declarations are negated this turn."
Joker: "So there's still that face-down Big Eye, huh."
Joker: "I'll set 1 card."
Joker: "Turn end."
Ws Roaring Bro: "My turn. Draw."
Ws Roaring Bro: "I flip my set Big Eye face-up."
Ws Roaring Bro: "I activate its effect and detach 1 material."
Joker: "I flip my set Forbidden Chalice."
Joker: "Your Big Eye is negated, and it gains 400 ATK."
Ws Roaring Bro: "I set 1 more card."
Ws Roaring Bro: "Turn end."
Joker: "At your End Phase, my on-field Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos returns to my hand by its own effect."
Joker: "My turn. Draw."
"I activate Sacred Sword of Seven Stars."
"I banish Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos from my hand to draw 2."
"I activate Gold Sarcophagus, banishing Tempest, Dragon Ruler of Storms from my Deck."
"Tempest, Dragon Ruler of Storms adds Lightning, Dragon Ruler of Drafts from my Deck to my hand."
"Burner, Dragon Ruler of Sparks sends itself and Lightning, Dragon Ruler of Drafts to the Graveyard."
"I Special Summon Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos from the Deck."
"Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls banishes Burner, Dragon Ruler of Sparks and Lightning, Dragon Ruler of Drafts to jump out from the Graveyard."
"Battle Phase."
"This time, my Crimson Blader should be able to trigger, right?"
Ws Roaring Bro: "Oh? Sore wa dō kana?"
Ws Roaring Bro: "I flip my Trap, Threatening Roar."
Joker: "???"
Joker: "Nani? What the—?!"
Joker's face instantly went blank as Roaring Bro revealed a third Threatening Roar to cut off this wave of aggression. Who does that? Pulling out three Roars in a row? Impossible. Cheating, maybe?
Joker immediately requested to check Roaring Bro's Graveyard. Even the judges nearby broke into a cold sweat; none of them expected that the card Roaring Bro had set last turn was actually a third Threatening Roar. Another turn stalled. And every stall means the state of play can change at any moment.
After all, this is the World Championship. Being allowed to check the Graveyard is nothing unusual. But when everyone saw there really were two Roars in the Graveyard and this was the third Roar, the judges and Joker could no longer keep calm.
"Top-deck luck"? What does that even mean here? A 40-plus-card Deck. Three copies of Threatening Roar. He pulled all of them?
Then what does Joker even need Crimson Blader for?
Meanwhile, seeing Joker and the judges scrambling in the event footage, Duelists across the worlds were cracking up.
Yugi Muto: "That's the bond with your Deck. Nothing else to say. Cheating? Impossible. It's bonds."
Téa Gardner: "Maybe it's the friendship between him and his partner. Friendship guided that draw to the key third Roar."
Kalin Kessler: "Top-deck luck is everywhere. Eat well and drink well. You top-deck three cards like that at Worlds? No wonder the judges are checking. He tops like Yusei Fudo."
Yusaku Fujiki: "I said it—when the skill gap isn't huge, in a mirror match, luck matters even more."
Watching the panicked judges and Joker, the chat exploded into heated debate. One card, pulled to 3-of by sheer luck. If it were Blue-Eyes White Dragon, fine, but this is a key lifesaving card. That's different. Roaring Bro truly lives up to the name.
Joker: "Alright, alright, you really hard-top-decked 3 Threatening Roars."
Joker: "Damn it, I'll take it."
Joker: "Main Phase 2."
"Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls and Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos overlay for Number 11: Big Eye."
"I activate its effect, detach 1 material, and take your Big Eye."
Ws Roaring Bro: "I flip my last set card."
Ws Roaring Bro: "Forbidden Chalice—your Big Eye is negated. Payback in kind."
Joker: "I activate Dark Hole."
Joker: "If I can't use this Crimson Blader and you want to take it anyway, then let's blow it all up together."
"My turn is over."
That decisiveness of a pro—just as you'd expect of a world-class player. He had Crimson Blader and Big Eye on his field. The opponent had only a single Big Eye. Without blinking, he fired Dark Hole to wipe the field clean. And Crimson Blader hadn't even declared a single attack; it got stopped by Roaring Bro three times.
That kind of decisiveness and clean play even made Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba sigh.
When it's time to be ruthless, you'll blow up your own resources if you must. So this is a Duelist of the Higher World. Looking closely, that board wipe was absolutely crucial. Otherwise the opponent's Big Eye would surely steal Crimson Blader and swing the game back. That kind of foresight won the respect of veterans across all worlds.
On the other side, Ws Roaring Bro was empty-handed. Normally, for a typical Deck, this is where you have to rely on a destined top-deck. But this engine is Dragon Rulers. Dragon Rulers mean the Dragons in the Graveyard can still jump back as resources. Ws Roaring Bro was completely unfazed.
Ws Roaring Bro: "My turn. Draw."
Ws Roaring Bro: "In the Graveyard, Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos activates, banishing Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders and Tempest, Dragon Ruler of Storms to Special Summon itself."
Joker: "I chain Maxx 'C'."
Joker: "I draw 1 card."
Ws Roaring Bro: "From the banished zone, Tempest, Dragon Ruler of Storms adds Dragunity Phalanx to my hand."
Ws Roaring Bro: "From the banished zone, Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders adds Reactan, Dragon Ruler of Pebbles to my hand."
Ws Roaring Bro: "I go straight to Battle."
"Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos attacks directly. You take 2800 LP."
"Turn end."
This is Dragon Rulers. With a single card in hand, he strung his resources back together. The Graveyard is your hand. The banished pile is your search pile. It's insane.
This one-card recovery made every Duelist level up their understanding of Dragon Rulers yet again.
Joker: "My turn. Draw."
Joker: "In my Graveyard, Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders activates, banishing Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos and Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls to jump out."
Joker: "Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls adds Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls from my Deck."
"Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos adds Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos."
"In my hand, Stream, Dragon Ruler of Droplets discards itself and Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls to Special Summon Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls from the Deck."
"On the field, Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders and Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls overlay to Xyz Summon."
"I make Rank 7 Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack."
"I activate Dracossack, detach 1 material, and Special Summon 2 Mecha Phantom Beast Tokens (Machine/WIND/Level 3/ATK 0/DEF 0) to my field."
"Dracossack activates again, choosing to destroy itself and your Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos."
"I Tribute the two Tokens to Tribute Summon Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos."
"I enter the Battle Phase."
"Direct attack."
"You also take 2800 LP."
"Turn end."
A punch from you, a punch from me. At this moment, both players' Life Points became 5200. On board, both Dragon Ruler engines kept cannibalizing each other's resources. That's the flaw of a mirror—the engines are too similar, so it's hard to carve out a decisive advantage.
The only advantage from earlier was erased completely by Roaring Bro's three Threatening Roar. From here on, all you can do is keep stockpiling resources and wait for the right window.
By now, both sides' Dragon Ruler gameplans, key extenders, and combo lines had been almost fully revealed.
In the Duel Monsters world, Yugi Muto took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He finally understood how Dragon Rulers operate.
The baby Rulers enable Special Summoning the big Rulers and fill the Graveyard. The big Rulers can Special Summon themselves, and when banished they add the babies. The searched babies then Special Summon the big Rulers out of the Deck. The big Rulers that were Special Summoned enable you to Xyz Summon. After they're sent to the Graveyard, the big Rulers can jump back again.
That's Dragon Rulers. After wrapping up his summary, Yugi twitched. You call this a Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel? No wonder people say it breaks the concepts of card disadvantage and bricking. Dragon Rulers are truly busted.
In the ZEXAL world, Yuma Tsukumo and Kite Tenjo had also mostly pieced it together. What still felt terrifying—almost bootleg—to them was just how easy it was to put the big Rulers on the field. Rank 7 Xyz Summons felt like a joke. If Dragon Rulers were Level 8 instead, the Galaxy-Eyes trio would hit the board whenever you felt like it. But Rank 7 choices were few back then, which is why Number 11: Big Eye basically became the mainline Xyz of that era.
"This engine truly was the top-tier deck back then in the Higher World."
"But if you strictly compare it with Tearlaments, Tearlaments might still be stronger."
"Dragon Rulers… are a bit short of that."
Sitting beside them, Reginald "Shark" Kastle compared it carefully with Tearlaments and sighed even more deeply. If that's what a top tier from ten-plus years ago looked like, he didn't even want to imagine what a fully unlimited Tearlaments would look like now.
(Alright then)…
Ws Roaring Bro: "My turn. Draw."
Ws Roaring Bro: "Reactan, Dragon Ruler of Pebbles activates, sending itself and Tempest, Dragon Ruler of Storms to the Graveyard."
Ws Roaring Bro: "I Special Summon Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders from my Deck."
"Normal Summon the Level 1 Tuner Dragunity Phalanx. I start a Synchro with my Level 7 Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders."
"Now it's my turn to bring one out."
"But the monster I'm bringing isn't Crimson Blader."
"It's this one. Come forth—Colossal Fighter."
"In the Graveyard, Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos activates, banishing Reactan, Dragon Ruler of Pebbles and Dragunity Phalanx to Special Summon itself."
Joker: "I chain Maxx 'C'."
Joker: "I draw 1 card."
Ws Roaring Bro: "In the Graveyard, Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls activates. I banish Tempest, Dragon Ruler of Storms from my hand and Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders from the Graveyard to Special Summon it."
Ws Roaring Bro: "Tempest, Dragon Ruler of Storms adds Lightning, Dragon Ruler of Drafts from the Deck."
Ws Roaring Bro: "Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders adds Reactan, Dragon Ruler of Pebbles from the Deck."
"I enter the Battle Phase."
"My 2900 ATK Colossal Fighter destroys your Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos. You take 100 LP."
"My Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos attacks directly."
"This should wrap it up."
Joker: "Heh heh heh! Sore wa dō kana!"
Joker: "I activate Trifortressops from my hand."
Joker: "During a turn in which the opponent has successfully Normal, Flip, or Special Summoned 3 or more monsters, I can Special Summon this card from my hand."
"When Special Summoned by this effect, this card is unaffected by other cards' effects."
A single card flipped the board. The 2800 DEF of Trifortressops stopped all of the Dragon Rulers right in their tracks. This card was clearly teched in to target the Dragon Ruler mirror, right?
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