Chapter 60. Ace Endboards—Stardust and Red Dragon Archfiend! Duel Insights After the Breakdown!
The two were stunned.
Also because of that final sequence!
Even they hadn't expected it!
That you could actually win a Duel like that and achieve victory!
Or rather, to use the opponent's resources to seize the glimmer of victory!
Before Jaden Yuki and Aster Phoenix could finish their discussion—
The surrounding voices surged again.
"We won! He actually won! Red Dragon Archfiend really took it!"
"Hiss… I thought Stardust Dragon's advantage was immovable! And then this!"
"As expected, a Duel contains infinite possibilities! There are too many things we can't foresee!"
"Yeah, it was the final turn, basically the last turn for both, even the great paths were ground away."
"...."
The students around them were abuzz.
In their voices was respect for the two Duelists in the short video!
Whether it was Stardust Dragon's pilot refusing to give up after his endboard was broken,
Or the Red Dragon Archfiend pilot breaking through again and again to take the win,
Both fought with their final dueling will!
To claim the final victory!
They didn't concede until the very last moment!
5D's World.
Yusei Fudo and Jack Atlas.
The two Duelists who stand for these two strategies.
After watching that final brilliant reversal,
Even they were filled with awe toward the two Duelists in the short.
"So alike! Far too alike! One of them is like the King! The other is like Yusei!"
"I thought I was watching Jack vs. Yusei in a Turbo Duel again, but it was footage from a higher world?"
"No, in truth neither of them won, neither of them lost! They're both truly top Duelists!"
"I'm fired up—come on! Who's up for a Turbo Duel with me! Let me cut loose!"
"...."
While the other Sector Security officers sighed with emotion, their passion for Dueling was lit as well.
Many of them
Even reminisced about that Duel King tournament at the beginning.
The Duel scenes when Yusei Fudo and Jack Atlas contended for the crown.
They vaguely remembered.
That was when the Crimson Dragon first appeared.
And it changed Jack's fate at the most important moment!
This Duel!
Is worth studying again and again!
As the people of the 5D's world felt moved by the Duel,
They remembered even more of their past Dueling days.
For Jack Atlas and Yusei Fudo,
The images of those Duels would not leave their minds.
Not only the Duels they themselves fought,
But also this feast of Stardust Dragon vs. Red Dragon Archfiend brought by the short!
This is—
Synchro!
This is—
A Duel!
ZEXAL World.
Kite Tenjo held his breath until the very end, then exhaled in great heaves!
Yuma Tsukumo and Reginald "Shark" Kastle kept their passion for Dueling right up to the final second!
Only after they saw the last Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend delivering lethal,
Did these main-cast Duelists dare to breathe again!
Wonderful!
Too wonderful! The plays pulled off by Synchro!
Absolutely more shocking than the visual impact many Xyz lines bring!
"I really couldn't imagine that last line!"
"Tyrant Red Dragon Archfiend was his last trump for extending, right?"
"If it failed, Red Dragon Archfiend would've surely lost!"
"But he turned it around! That dueling spirit....."
While Yuma Tsukumo was marveling,
He also learned quite a lot of dueling insights from this one match.
"Mm… If it were me, facing the opponent's Stardust Dragon constantly breaking my board, yet still making an endboard with aces…"
"I'd probably have given up hope. I wouldn't even know what to use to break through!"
"5,500 LP, as if it were calculated to the dot!"
Shark's expression turned sharp.
The respect he showed was in no way less than 5D's Jack Atlas.
"But the Stardust Dragon Duelist was great too!"
"Breaking through again and again, and even when the Extra Deck was nearly spent!"
"That 'never say die' spirit is worth learning as well!"
Kite Tenjo, however, thought in reverse.
If he placed himself in the Stardust Duelist's shoes,
Facing the situation where he summoned four ace monsters,
Only for them to all get blown away by a single card,
He would probably have his resolve collapse on the spot and choose to surrender, right?
ARC-V World.
Synchro Dimension.
That last strike to finish!
Likewise brought excitement and shock to the Synchro Duelists of this parallel world!
Yugo watched that final sequence, seeing the Stardust pilot—who controlled his ace, Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon—lose the match,
And he felt awful, to say the least!
Of course!
What felt worse wasn't just that!
It was the shock in between!
You call this a Synchro Duel?
Then what do the Synchro Duels of our Synchro Dimension count as?
Kids playing house?
"Pull it off, not pull it off."
"These duel lines are too hard!"
"Just those boss monsters already had me dizzy!"
Beside him, Rin—pilot of the Windwitch deck—pouted.
What broke her composure was—
Those card changes came way too fast.
She couldn't comprehend any link in the chain of plays.
Or in other words,
She was completely baffled!
VRAINS World.
As the world of Links—and the one that understands "combo explosions" best.
Playmaker's body twitched as he recalled his Code Talker explosions.
Combined with these explosive Duel lines before his eyes!
He had to ask himself!
Do the combos he recognizes as "explosions"—
Even deserve to be called "explosions"?
From the moment the Stardust pilot made his first-turn endboard!
Playmaker had already understood.
Utterly understood that in that higher world,
Their so-called explosions
Might be child's play!
Unworthy of notice.
And Soulburner had exactly the same thought as Playmaker!
His Salamangreat explosions were completely kiddie stuff!
Just the back-and-forth between Stardust Dragon and Red Dragon Archfiend
Was enough for him to study for a good while.
While all six Duel Worlds were heatedly discussing this one Duel,
The short didn't end there.
On the contrary,
The content continued.
Namely, the two Duelists' respective explanations of their ace monsters and deckbuilding ideas!
First on stage—was Stardust Dragon himself, explaining his deck construction.
Stardust Dragon himself: "If you've watched this far, you're truly in love with our decks."
Stardust Dragon himself: "This time our Duel showcased the basic lines of Stardust Dragon and Red Dragon Archfiend."
Stardust Dragon himself: "So, let's first look at the endboard I made on turn one!"
"First, this board!"
"Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon + Baronne de Fleur + Shooting Quasar Dragon + Shooting Majestic Star Dragon—let's walk through them."
"Card 1, Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon, Level 8, 3000/2500."
"Key point: once per turn, when a monster effect is activated, you can negate the activation and destroy it."
"If you destroy a monster by this effect, this card gains ATK equal to that monster's original ATK until the end of the turn."
"Also, when it battles a Level 5 or higher monster, it gains that monster's ATK during damage calculation."
Simple summary.
Monster-effect negate and ATK spikes.
"Card 2, Baronne de Fleur, Level 10, 3000/2400."
"Key point: while face-up, once during its presence, when a Spell/Trap/monster effect is activated, you can negate that activation and destroy it."
"Also, it can destroy a card, and during the Standby Phase you can return it to the Extra Deck to revive a Level 9 or lower Synchro."
Simple summary.
Omni-negate, pop, and revive.
"Card 3, Shooting Quasar Dragon! Level 12, 4000/4000."
"Key point again: once per turn, when a Spell/Trap/monster effect is activated, you can negate the activation and destroy it."
"On leaving the field it brings out Shooting Star Dragon, and it can make multiple attacks."
Simple summary.
Omni-negate, "last will," and multi-attack.
"Card 4, Shooting Majestic Star Dragon."
"Key effect 1!"
"Once per turn: target 1 of your opponent's Effect Monsters; negate its effects."
"Key effect 2!"
"Once per turn, when your opponent activates an effect: you can banish this card until the End Phase; negate that activation, and banish it."
Simple summary.
Monster-effect negate, and multi-attack potential.
In one breath,
The video creator had summarized the four cards' roles on the side.
And after seeing this!
Duelists who didn't know suddenly went slack-jawed; only then did their brains start running!
In other words!
This four-monster first-turn board!
Has two omni-negates and two monster-effect negates!
If it isn't Forbidden Droplet or Dark Ruler No More!
What deck passes this board???
You tell me?
What deck can still explode under such conditions?
Not many, right?
At this moment
All those who thought the Red Dragon Archfiend pilot was foolish to push through Maxx "C" fell silent!
If it were them!
They would also have to give the opponent draws to break these four monsters!
Red Dragon Archfiend pilot: "Okay, thanks to my opponent Stardust Dragon for explaining his turn-one endboard."
Red Dragon Archfiend pilot: "Next is my key ace for the first board-break going second."
"It's Tyrant Red Dragon Archfiend!"
"Level 10, 3500/3000."
"The core is its effect to destroy all other cards on the field."
"Of course, it has a second effect people overlook."
"During the Battle Phase, if a Spell/Trap is activated: negate and destroy it, and this card gains 500 ATK."
"Sometimes it shines."
"At that moment in the Duel, facing the 'four-monster' negates already spent,"
"I was thinking how to clear the field in one go, and thought of this card!"
"It helps us clear faster!"
"Crucially, it also blows away back row."
Indeed!
Bringing out Red Dragon Archfiend's tyrant form was undoubtedly the correct call!
Facing four monsters and resources,
Tyrant Red Dragon Archfiend was the card to reel the advantage back!
Red Dragon Archfiend pilot: "Then comes my second ace for stripping the opponent's field!"
"This card absolutely needs max respect!"
"Name: Red Supernova Dragon!"
"Level 12, 4000/3000."
"Key: Effect 1 pumps ATK."
"Effect 2 gives resistance to effect destruction!"
"Effect 3: once per turn, when your opponent activates a monster effect or declares an attack—banish this card and all your opponent's cards."
"Effect 4: after being banished, it returns during your next End Phase."
"Now it makes sense!"
After hearing it—
This card can indeed be crowned the absolute ace endboard of the Red Dragon Archfiend archetype!
It's very showy on paper and in play!
Red Dragon Archfiend pilot: "Lastly, the finisher!"
"Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend!"
"Effect 1 treats its name as 'Red Dragon Archfiend'."
"Effect 2 is the destruction and burn that was demonstrated mid-Duel."
"In summary, the Red Dragon Archfiend and Stardust Dragon cores are both strong."
"Which deck you prefer is up to you, card players."
"......"
After the explanations,
Duelists from all six worlds gained a clear understanding of Red Dragon Archfiend as well!
Not only Duelists from other worlds or veteran DM-era fans!
Even in 5D's World,
Jack—who uses Red Dragon Archfiend—benefited greatly!
Of course.
Those gains still need to be tied to the Duel itself.
Stardust Dragon himself: "I'll close it out."
Stardust Dragon himself: "The monster I made with the Spell Necroid Synchro mid-game was Stardust Chronicle Spark Dragon."
"Level 10, 3000/2500."
"This card's Effect 1."
"Once per turn, you can banish 1 Synchro from your GY; until the end of the turn, this card is unaffected by other cards' effects. You can do this during the opponent's turn."
"Effect 2!"
"If this card is destroyed by your opponent, you can target 1 of your banished Dragon Synchro monsters; Special Summon it."
"It's very useful!"
"But because Necroid Synchro negates the summoned monster that turn, this card's effects couldn't be used."
"Otherwise, who knows if other lines might have changed the final result."
With that, the explanations ended!
The two Duelists in the short had finished presenting all of their ace monsters!
And with deeper understanding of these endboards,
Duelists across the six worlds reached deeper insights into Stardust Dragon and Red Dragon Archfiend!
Put simply!
Both decks are explosive combo decks!
Stardust Dragon prefers going first to set up negates and disrupt the opponent's lines.
As long as it isn't interrupted,
The opponent may face that potential four-monster first-turn board.
If you can't pry it open, you may not get to play.
And end up losing to Stardust Dragon.
Likewise,
The Stardust deck also features many Special Summons and many steps.
It has a certain learning curve.
But once learned, it brings unexpected joy.
By contrast, the Red Dragon Archfiend deck prefers going second to crash the board and break through.
As long as you can clear the opponent's resources,
Red Dragon Archfiend's win rate rises sharply.
But due to Extra Deck constraints—
Or more precisely the three copies of Red Rising Dragon bottleneck—
In theory, there are only three opportunities for the core lines.
Not to mention, you can easily be interrupted.
Luckily, that Stardust list we saw wasn't packing too many hand traps.
Otherwise, whether it could have secured an overwhelming win at the end is uncertain.
As Duelists across six worlds pondered,
The short of Stardust Dragon vs. Red Dragon Archfiend finally ended.
Main World.
Sei Yuki finished reading the bullet comments from the DM, GX, and 5D's worlds for this Duel short.
And it became clear.
These Duels really do take time for the veteran fans to digest.
"Let me think."
"The next short will be..."
"Let's pick Dark Magician, or perhaps Exodia!"
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