"Interesting." Yusaku brushed the dust off his shoulder. "If I'm not mistaken, [Ancient Gear Hunting Hound] lets you use monsters in hand and on field as Fusion Material, right? And since you just searched [Ancient Gear Fusion], your field this turn is going to look pretty solid."
"So you do know Ancient Gears." Sato smiled. "I also know Dark Magician. It's a Fusion-centric build too. It can bully Dragon decks, sure—but breaking Ancient Gear? Not so easy. As for your idea of mixing in other summoning methods…"
He shook his head.
"Outside of 'set-and-spring' traps, I don't see how you slot Synchro or Xyz into this shell and keep it smooth."
"My Dark Magician build isn't the usual one. You'll see soon enough. And well," Yusaku looked at him, "talk is cheap. Seeing is believing."
"A different Dark Magician, huh?" Sato drew a card between two fingers. "Then I am curious!"
He slid a card into place.
"I activate the Continuous Spell [Ancient Gear Advance]! When this card is activated, I add 1 'Ancient Gear' Spell/Trap from my Deck to my hand."
"I'll take [Ancient Gear Fortress]."
Card secured, he continued.
"And once per turn, Ancient Gear Advance lets me Tribute 1 monster I control to draw 1 card. Also, for the rest of this turn, I can Normal Summon [Ancient Gear Golem] or any Level 5+ monster that mentions it without Tributes!"
Sato swept his hand.
"I Tribute [Ancient Gear Tanker] on my field and draw!"
He peeked at the card, then flashed another with a grin.
"Thanks to Ancient Gear Advance, I can now Normal Summon Ancient Gear Golem without Tributes. So—"
He slammed the card down.
"Come forth—Ancient Gear Golem!"
Grrrrr—! Gears meshed and earth split. A titanic chassis assembled in a thunder of pistons, its cyclopean red eye flaring to life.
[Ancient Gear Golem]
Level 8 / Machine / ATK 3000
"In this moment, [Ancient Gear Commander] can trigger," Sato called. "If I Summon or Special Summon Ancient Gear Golem, I can Special Summon an Ancient Gear Golem from my hand or GY, ignoring Summoning conditions."
"I Special Summon the second Ancient Gear Golem!"
[Ancient Gear Golem] — ATK 3000
"And we're not done!" Sato raised his arm. "Ancient Gear Hunting Hound—effect! Once per turn during my Main Phase, I can perform a Fusion Summon using monsters from my hand and field."
"I fuse Hunting Hound and Ancient Gear Commander—"
"—Fusion Summon! Level 8—[Ancient Gear Howitzer]! In Defense Position!"
The ground rumbled. A steel-winged devil-engine clawed free of the substructure, its barrel-eye swiveling with a sinister hum.
[Ancient Gear Howitzer]
Level 8 / Machine / Fusion / DEF 1800
"Howitzer's effect!" Sato shouted. "During my Main Phase: inflict 1000 damage to the opponent. I activate it now!"
The devil-engine's gear-iris spun; a thick beam speared across the field. Yusaku's body tingled, LP dropping by a notch.
[Yusaku, LP 7400 → 6400]
…Curious.
He rubbed the numb spot on his chest. So, like the anime—attacks do have some feedback. He wondered if Shadow Duels exist here too—and what losing LP would feel like there.
"Next, I activate [Ancient Gear Fusion]," Sato revealed. "I Fusion Summon using monsters from my hand and field. Additionally, if I use an Ancient Gear Golem on my field as material, I can use monsters from my Deck as the rest!"
"I'll use 1 Ancient Gear Golem on my field, and from my Deck I'll send 2 [Ancient Gear Wyvern] as Fusion Material—Fusion Summon the ace of my build! Arise, darkest colossus of the age of cogs—"
"[Ancient Gear Megaton Golem]!!!"
Steam geysered from archaic manifolds; cathedral-sized gears locked into place as a black-iron behemoth heaved itself from below, the massive chest-gear grinding like a clock that powered a city.
[Ancient Gear Megaton Golem]
Level 9 / Machine / Fusion / ATK 3300
"Finally, I activate [Ancient Gear Fortress] and end my turn. Your move, kohai."
"Not bad at all, Sato-senpai," a student whispered. "This field is stable!"
"Stable? I just see four monsters and not a single set," another frowned.
"You don't get it," a lean student smirked. "Two Ancient Gear Golems at 3000 ATK each. During their attacks, the opponent can't activate Spells/Traps. Then there's Megaton Golem—it inherits the no-S/T-during-battle clause, hits even harder, and if it leaves the field by an opponent's effect while properly Fusion Summoned, Sato-senpai can Special Summon another ace ignoring conditions!"
"I've heard no one's seen that one yet! And don't sleep on Howitzer—it 'only' has 1000 ATK, but if it's destroyed by a card effect, it drags out an Ancient Gear from the Deck. Strong, right?"
"That strong!?" the doubter hissed a breath.
"And more!" a bespectacled student pushed up his frames. "You think Fortress is just scenery? The turn his Ancient Gears are Summoned, the opponent can't target them with effects, and they can't be destroyed by the opponent's effects. That applies on the opponent's turn too. So if you clear Megaton or Howitzer and they float into other bodies, those will still be covered by Fortress's protection during the Summon turn."
"That kind of protection needs no explanation."
A hush fell behind Yusaku. They knew the other dojo was strong, but this strong?
Can we even beat that…? someone muttered, suddenly unsure.
(End of Chapter)
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