Chapter 148. Kaiju System Explained! The "Fender-Bender" Kaiju Mikanko Build!
The old guard across every world stared at the last victory resolution in the short video with baffled, dazed faces.
Because of Exodia's effect, the Duel ended in a win.
Just a few short words.
They declared victory.
Yet they shattered the old guard completely.
Yugi Muto: "Huh? When did they put it together? Before we knew it, all five pieces of Exodia were there?"
Jaden Yuki: "I get it now! When they were digging like crazy to search 'The Winged Dragon of Ra – Sphere Mode,' they must have already pulled together most of the Exodia pieces, right?"
Yusei Fudo: "I see. So from the moment they played this Deck, their goal was the five pieces of Exodia, wasn't it?"
Yusaku Fujiki: "I didn't expect the opponent to reach that kind of position. I thought they were going to win. Who could have guessed there was still a master move hidden?"
The group chat instantly exploded into a frenzy.
They had never imagined the finale would end with Exodia's alternate win condition.
What made it even harder to believe was this:
That A-side Duelist's luck was just too good.
To think all four Forbidden One limbs could be slowly fished into the hand mid-Duel.
This is—
The bond between a Duelist and their Deck, right?
Thinking of that—
In the DM world—
Téa Gardner, Tristan Taylor, and Joey Wheeler all seemed to recall the friendship bonds they had once shared with Yugi Muto.
Because of the power of friendship—
Yugi Muto was able to assemble the five pieces of Exodia back then and defeat Seto Kaiba.
Perhaps—
This Duel too was the power of friendship.
Main World.
Sei Yuki finished watching and couldn't help but shout, "Brilliant!"
Brilliant—not only because three hand traps slammed the HERO dream.
Brilliant—also because of the opponent's Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon build's explosive lines and resource use.
Brilliant—above all because the Red side, under pressure and suppression, forced a victory formula into existence.
"Hah! Gotta say, online Duelists really do have a million tricks."
"No, maybe it's just that casual Duelists are many."
"Tag Duels bring out geniuses—facts."
"Especially that one-turn Yubel line out of HERO, using 'Kaiju vs. Kaiju' as the idea."
"Sometimes it really makes you do a double-take."
Muttering to himself, Sei Yuki also picked up quite a lot.
He was dying to open Master Duel right now and go to town.
"Right—speaking of which, the Kaiju system needs to be clarified for the old-guard anime-world Duelists."
"Otherwise they'll really think that system only exists to gobble up other people's boss monsters."
Catching many Duelists in the chat discussing Kaijus out of the corner of his eye, Sei Yuki's expression shifted, and he decided to give the old guard a proper primer on what Kaijus really are.
After a quick search, he settled on a short video about Kaijus.
The title appeared with it:
"Kaiju System Deep Dive! The only ones who can feast at the all-you-can-eat buffet!"
At the same time, Duelists across the various Duel Worlds noticed the next short video going live.
And the word "Kaiju" instantly made every Duelist sit up straight.
Here it comes!
It's that Kaiju Deck that gobbles up other people's monsters—here it comes!
Yugi Muto wore a strange expression, and Jaden Yuki's face turned complicated.
Yusei Fudo's eyes flickered, while Yusaku Fujiki watched with curiosity.
As for Kaijus, they could be said to both love and hate them.
In previous short videos, Kaijus' performance was on full display before their very eyes.
Of course, not that Kaijus are super strong, but that Kaijus make eating someone else's ace look super satisfying.
It's satisfying for the Duelist doing the eating.
It's not very satisfying for the Duelist being eaten.
Inside the short video, the content creator "Brother Jie of Kaijus" immediately began a full explanation of the system and its combo lines.
Brother Jie of Kaijus: "Hello! Good afternoon, Duelists!"
Brother Jie of Kaijus: "If you clicked this video, you're probably not unfamiliar with the Kaiju system."
Brother Jie of Kaijus: "I'm going to cover Kaijus in full, and also the systems you can pair with Kaijus."
"Even if you know Kaijus, there are many different kinds of Kaijus in the theme."
"It's not only that famous turtle."
"Before we get into it, we need to understand the characteristics of the Kaiju system."
"Point 1: Each Kaiju can Tribute 1 monster your opponent controls and Special Summon itself from your hand to your opponent's field in Attack Position."
"Point 2: If your opponent controls a Kaiju, you can Special Summon another Kaiju from your hand to your own field in Attack Position."
"Point 3: On your own field, only 1 Kaiju can exist face-up—this is very important, don't forget it when you play Kaijus."
"These three points are effects every Kaiju monster shares."
"They're also the defining features of the system."
"If you only splash Kaijus, then the unique effects of each Kaiju can be ignored."
"Once we've got these three points straight, let's look at a recommended Kaiju build."
"Kaiju Mikanko!"
Kaiju? Mikanko?
Under the curious, puzzled gazes of Duelists across the worlds, a Decklist appeared on the big screen that used Kaijus—or rather, used Mikanko as the core, with Kaijus in support.
The Kaijus included were just a few.
The heavy investments were still Mikanko cards.
Many Duelists were stunned for a moment.
What's this?
Isn't this not a pure Kaiju Deck?
Looks like pure Kaijus still don't quite cut it.
You still have to rely on another system to combo and get results.
But what's the point of Mikanko?
What's the purpose of pairing this system with Kaijus?
Brother Jie of Kaijus: "Having glanced at the list, let's move to the main topic with a build analysis and line explanations."
Brother Jie of Kaijus: "A standalone Kaiju theme is definitely hard to maximize."
Brother Jie of Kaijus: "Or, to put it another way, standalone Kaiju is just 'Minotaur mode.'"
"You run a bunch of cards that eat your opponent's monsters."
"Then you combine them with Change of Heart and Owner's Seal to take them back."
"Or you run a lot of traps, plus a simple Kaiju core to get some results."
"So if you want something with mainstream strength, you must pair it with another system."
"That's the Kaiju Mikanko I'm showing you."
"This build's Kaijus mainly run Dogoran, the Mad Flame Kaiju, Thunder King, the Lightningstrike Kaiju, and Jizukiru, the Star Destroying Kaiju."
"The Kaiju Spell is Interrupted Kaiju Slumber. It both wipes boards and searches Kaijus."
"First, let's look at these cards."
Card 1: Dogoran, the Mad Flame Kaiju.
Level 8, 3000/1200.
FIRE, Dinosaur.
Remove 3 Kaiju Counters to destroy all monsters your opponent controls; the turn you activate this effect, this card cannot attack.
Card 2: Jizukiru, the Star Destroying Kaiju.
Level 9, 3300/2100.
LIGHT, Machine.
When a Spell/Trap/Monster effect that targets exactly 1 card is activated, remove 3 Kaiju Counters to negate the activation and destroy 1 card on the field.
Card 3: Thunder King, the Lightningstrike Kaiju.
Level 9, 3300/2100.
LIGHT, Thunder.
Remove 3 Counters; this turn, your opponent cannot activate Spell/Trap/Monster effects, and this card can attack up to 3 times on monsters during each Battle Phase.
Card 4: Interrupted Kaiju Slumber.
Destroy as many monsters on the field as possible, then Special Summon 2 Kaijus with different names from your Deck in Attack Position, 1 to each field.
Monsters Summoned by this effect cannot change their battle positions and must attack, if able.
You can banish this card from your GY to add 1 Kaiju from your Deck to your hand; you cannot activate this effect the turn this card is sent to the GY.
Once you put aside the "needs Counters" parts, every Duelist realized a common point.
Exactly.
These Kaijus' ATK is high.
The floor is 3000 or more.
Which means the main thing to leverage might not be their unique Kaiju effects at all.
It's that ATK.
Once they thought that through, Duelists immediately realized the key lies with the Mikanko system, not the Kaiju system.
The core combo is on the Mikanko side.
And the answer was exactly what they thought.
In the short video, Brother Jie of Kaijus immediately moved on to explain Mikanko.
Brother Jie of Kaijus: "Having seen the Kaiju system, remember one thing."
Brother Jie of Kaijus: "Kaijus just eat the opponent's monsters and that's it."
Brother Jie of Kaijus: "If Kaijus can't finish the job, then Lava Golem, Nibiru, the Primal Being, and so on can help you eat."
"Once you're done eating, it's time for the Mikanko cards."
"So what's the Mikanko system's feature?"
"Simple."
"Fender-bender."
"Yes, you heard right—fender-bender."
"Whether Ha-Re the Sword Mikanko, Ni-Ni the Mirror Mikanko, or Hu-Li the Jewel Mikanko—they share a common point."
"Their ATK is 0."
"If they don't have an Equip Spell, any battle damage you would take from battles involving them becomes 0."
"If they do have an Equip, they cannot be destroyed by battle, and the battle damage from their battles is borne by your opponent instead."
"The Ritual Ohime the Manifested Mikanko is different."
"She doesn't need an Equip to be indestructible by battle, and the battle damage goes to the opponent."
"So the plan is obvious."
"Kaijus and Lava Golem eat the opponent's board clean."
"Then you just use what you have."
"For example, activate Mikanko Fire Dance to pull Ha-Re the Sword Mikanko and equip it."
"Or Ritual Summon Ohime the Manifested Mikanko."
"Then just crash into the opponent's Kaiju."
"Crash two or three times. Crash them to defeat."
…?
What on earth?
Seriously?
So that's how you play it?
"Fender-bender" Mikanko—ram your monster into their Kaiju and make the opponent take all the pain and damage?
DM world.
Yugi Muto almost coughed up blood.
After hearing that line, he was stunned.
So Kaiju Mikanko is basically a pure fender-bender Deck.
"Uh… this is my first time seeing something like this."
"A plan that's actually within my comprehension."
"Bumper-car ramming?"
"That's all there is to it?"
Joey Wheeler blinked repeatedly, completely flummoxed by the brutally simple idea behind Kaiju Mikanko.
He even wondered whether Mikanko would pull off various explosive lines, then remove the Kaiju they gifted the opponent, and OTK in one breath.
But you're telling me it's fender-bender?
In the GX world, the students and teachers at Duel Academy were left dumbfounded by a win condition this simple.
They had seen too many explosive combo Decks and showy plays.
To suddenly be told about a plan this simple, they were at a loss for words.
Is this for real?
Is this reasonable?
"…But here's the problem."
"If it's fender-bender like this, what if the opponent passes on an empty board?"
"The Mikanko monsters all look like 0 ATK."
"How do you play then? Do you just stare helplessly with no way to finish?"
Alexis Rhodes posed a key point.
If the opponent passes on an empty board, what should Kaiju Mikanko do?
Before they could think, the short video immediately gave the answer.
Brother Jie of Kaijus: "We've covered fender-bender, so you know how to take games going second."
Brother Jie of Kaijus: "Now here's how Mikanko kills when the opponent passes on an empty board."
Brother Jie of Kaijus: "The plan is also simple."
"First, activate Ohime the Manifested Mikanko's effect."
"From the Deck, search Hu-Li the Jewel Mikanko, then discard it."
"Activate the Spell Mikanko Kagura to Ritual Summon Ohime the Manifested Mikanko from your hand."
"In the GY, use Mikanko Dance – Mayowashidori to revive Hu-Li and equip it."
"Hu-Li's effect searches Mikanko Rivalry."
"Then activate Double-Edged Sword and equip it to Hu-Li."
"Hu-Li's ATK becomes 2000. It makes a direct attack; due to Double-Edged Sword, we would normally take 2000 damage."
"But thanks to Hu-Li's effect, that damage is given to the opponent instead."
"So that single swing cuts 4000 LP."
"Next, use Mayowashidori to destroy Hu-Li."
"Ohime's effect equips Double-Edged Sword from the GY and swings again."
"That's another 4000 exactly."
"That's 8000 in one breath—clean lethal into an empty board."
"So broaden your view: after your Kaiju eats the opponent's monster, you can use Mikanko Reflection Rondo with Ohime to equip the opponent's Kaiju."
"That way you can take the Kaiju back."
"If you ask what to do going first?"
"Just set up Hu-Li and pass."
"With Diviner of the Herald, you can also line up a Synchro."
"Send Herald of the Arc Light from the Extra Deck to the GY."
"Herald of the Arc Light triggers to search a Ritual Monster or Ritual Spell from the Deck."
"End on Power Tool Braver Dragon."
"Anyway, this Deck's main plan is going-second OTK."
"Going first? Speed-5 surrender won't be wrong."
"That's Mikanko. Got it?"
Pass going first.
OTK going second.
Whether the opponent has a board or not, as long as you execute Kaiju + Mikanko, you have a very high chance to win.
Now it finally made sense.
One after another, the old guard across the Duel Worlds looked enlightened.
Only now did they come to a more complete understanding of Kaiju Mikanko.
Yugi Muto: "A Deck that relies on fender-bender and going-second tools, huh? No wonder the Kaiju choices are high-ATK Kaijus."
Jaden Yuki: "Looks like this is the only way Mikanko plays here. The power level isn't that high."
Yusei Fudo: "That's reasonable. Kaijus are, after all, a splash package. As a main theme, the strength does drop a bit."
Yusaku Fujiki: "Even so, if you run some grimy Kaiju plays, it works. Consider my view on Kaijus updated."
The group chat promptly launched into a full discussion of Kaiju Mikanko.
Through the chat, the old guard finally understood.
Kaijus are best as a splash.
Rather than a self-contained theme, it's better to go for the surprise factor.
Isn't that far more fun than Kaiju Mikanko?
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