The two of them walked down to the duel field, and the eyes of the students from Yellow Dormitory quickly gathered around. These two had both crushed their opponents in the early Exchange Duel Tournament, and after today, it would be clear who truly stood at the top.
"Duel!" x2
Yugen, LP 4000 Daichi Misawa, LP 4000
"I go first, Card Draw!" Daichi Misawa took the opening turn. "I Summon 'Mathematician' in attack position!"
An old man with glasses and a white beard appeared on the field, holding a thick textbook in his hands.
Mathematician, ATK 1500
"Mathematician's effect. When it is Summoned, I send one level four or lower monster from my Deck to the Graveyard!"
At a glance, it was an extremely powerful effect, letting him freely send a low level monster of any field, type, or attribute to the graveyard. On top of that, when Mathematician was destroyed by battle, its owner could draw one more card.
Back in the physical card environment, this card was widely used and even ended up on the forbidden and limited list. Many competitive players familiar with it did not know that this brutal card originally belonged to Daichi Misawa.
Although Daichi Misawa often looked unimpressive in the animation, and his ace cards were weak in the real environment, many people did not realize that several powerful low level and support cards once common in competitive play were actually his.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card 'Graceful Charity.' I draw three cards from my Deck, then discard two cards." Daichi Misawa quickly adjusted his hand. "Finally, I set one card face down. My turn ends!"
With his first turn setup complete, Daichi Misawa narrowed his eyes and examined Yugen.
In his view, Yugen was a difficult opponent to grasp. Unlike ninety percent of Duelists, Yugen constantly changed his Deck and strategies, and he clearly liked studying opponents in advance to find weaknesses.
From what Daichi Misawa had observed so far, the themes, types, and attributes of Yugen's Deck had no clear pattern at all. His tactics shifted constantly, making it hard to lock him down.
That uncertainty went both ways. The Sixfold Deck that Daichi Misawa carried had almost no overlap with each other, and the newly completed Seventh Deck was appearing for the first time. It would not be easy for the opponent to prepare against it either.
Still, after careful study, Daichi Misawa had found an entry point.
Thinking of this, he smiled with confidence.
This Duel had to be his victory.
"My Turn!, Card Draw." Yugen Do said, "I also activate 'Graceful Charity.' I draw three cards from my Deck, then discard two.
Then I activate the Spell Card 'Prankish Delinquent Duo.'"
Daichi Misawa narrowed his eyes.
So it came.
After closely observing and charting the cards and tactics Yugen had used, Daichi Misawa noticed that even across very different Decks, there were similar card choices. One of the most frequent was hand destruction.
"I pay 1000 Life Points. You randomly discard one card from your hand, then discard one more of your choice."
Yugen, LP 4000 to 3000
"It won't be that easy."
Daichi Misawa suddenly revealed a card in his hand.
"The monster effect of 'Prankish Delinquent Duo' from my hand. When the opponent activates a card effect that includes discarding my hand, I send this card from my hand to the Graveyard. That activation is negated and destroyed, and then I draw one card from my Deck!"
For the first time, the always successful Delinquent Duo failed. They crashed straight into the manifested Delinquent Duo on Daichi Misawa's side, were beaten back, and vanished without result.
"Therefore, the effect of the Delinquent Duo is negated, and I draw one card." Daichi Misawa smiled.
"So you prepared a counter specifically for 'Hand Destruction.' Nicely done, second place." Yugen laughed softly.
"Since this is a Duel against first place, caution on top of caution is only natural." Daichi Misawa crossed his arms confidently. "I am fully prepared for this Duel!"
Yugen drew three more cards.
"I set one monster in the front row and set two cards in the back row. My turn ends."
Daichi Misawa frowned slightly.
Three more face downs appeared on the field, yet there was no attack. It was still impossible to tell what Yugen meant by his so called "main force."
"Still a defensive, counter focused Deck?"
Thinking that, Daichi Misawa smiled even more.
"If that is the case, then this Duel is even more certain to be mine!"
Yugen smiled faintly. "You can try and see."
"Then I won't hold back." Daichi Misawa raised his voice. "My Turn!, Card Draw!"
"I activate the Equip Spell 'Wonder Wand'." Daichi Misawa said. "Equip it to a Spellcaster Type monster. The equipped monster's ATK increases by 500. I equip it to the Spellcaster Type 'Mathematician'!"
Mathematician, ATK 1500 to 2000
"Now watch closely, first place. This is the first finishing combo my Seventh Deck was designed to use against you!"
Daichi Misawa revealed another card from his hand.
"I compromise Summon 'Morphtronic·Gunner Dragon'!" Daichi Misawa declared. "This card can be Summoned without tribute, but when it is Summoned this way, its original ATK and DEF are halved!"
Morphtronic·Gunner Dragon, ATK 2800 to 1400
"Next, I activate the Equip Spell 'Meteor Bow.' I equip it to 'Morphtronic·Gunner Dragon'!" Daichi Misawa said. "The equipped monster's ATK decreases by 1000, and it can attack the opponent directly!"
Morphtronic·Gunner Dragon, ATK 1400 to 400
The surrounding students were completely confused by this sequence.
Lowering Gunner Dragon's ATK to only 400, even with direct attacks, what could that accomplish?
"Maybe he still has 'Axe of Fools.'"
Asuka Tenjoin heard a voice behind her and turned around. "Ryo?"
Standing there was none other than the Kaiser of Duel Academy, Ryo Marufuji.
"You came to watch the freshmen exams too?"
"Yes. There are a few freshmen this year who caught my interest." Ryo nodded.
"If it is 'Axe of Fools,' it can negate Gunner Dragon's own effect and grant an extra 1000 ATK, perfectly offsetting the drawback of Meteor Bow." Asuka Tenjoin thought aloud. "With that combo, Daichi Misawa could get a Gunner Dragon with 2800 ATK that can attack directly!"
At that moment, Daichi Misawa on the field chuckled. "You must be wondering whether I have 'Axe of Fools' in my hand."
Yugen said nothing.
"That combination would indeed give me a Gunner Dragon that can attack directly, and it is very strong. But my Duel goes even further than that. I am not just aiming to deal you heavy damage. I will win this Duel in this very turn!"
The entire field was shocked.
The Duel had only just begun. Such confidence left everyone stunned.
"I activate the Spell Card 'Machine Duplication' from my hand. I choose one Machine monster on my field with ATK 500 or less, and I special Summon up to two copies of it from my Deck. I choose my 'Morphtronic·Gunner Dragon,' whose ATK has been reduced to 400!"
The watching students gasped.
That was possible too?
"The purpose of Meteor Bow was not direct attack, but to reduce Gunner Dragon's ATK below 500." Asuka Tenjoin could not help saying.
Now the Gunner Dragon on Daichi Misawa's field was selected by Machine Duplication and split into three, as two more heavy Machina units appeared on the field.
Morphtronic·Gunner Dragon, ATK 2800 x2
A student in the crowd cried out, "Using that method to Summon three level seven monsters at once!"
High above, Professor Chronos de Medici nodded repeatedly. "As expected of an elite freshman, Daichi Misawa is far more impressive than that Manjoume."