Episode 46. - Re-Evolutionary Landscaping

"What about the fact that the KirriCorp errata have not actually done too much to change the landscape of the game itself? Late game decks are still quite dominant, from the reports of even your own analysts."

Gene Kirricort was smiling. Interviews meant free publicity, even if the television coverage would mostly edit out what he said if it was necessary to cut the feature short. Now, he answered the other man calmly and concisely.
"That was never the intent. Merely a 'correction' of something that we can consider to be an oversight. Any changes would likely be gradual, unless of course we find that the upcoming introduction of our ninth set somehow sets the game on its end. Haha."

On the screen showing the active duelists in the large room, two more pink dots crossed the area toward the judge's table, and vanished. Two more duelists had been eliminated from the tournament.

This one followed the same format as the grand tournament held a year before. Players dueled until they were defeated twice, and this would continue until only eight duelists remained. In this sense, one's reputation could carry just as much weight as one's skill. This was easily evidenced by the fact that the current champion had spent most of his day watching other duels. Only three people so far had dared to take him on. All three of them had gained nothing more than an addition to their loss count.

Now, one of those three was about to engage in one of the final duels of this stage of the tournament. When she had challenged Yodaz earlier, he had been surprised to even see her there, far less to be played by her again. Maze had explained that she had been squeaking by with some lucky wins recently, and had made it to the tournament. Her reasoning for dueling him as practically her first action for the day, was, as she put it 'to see what the best can do with those changes'.

He had not disappointed her, nor she disappoint him. It had been close, but in the end, Jagalzor's speed had countered her at the last minute, and he had won. He would probably have been able to defend himself indefinitely, but there was always the off chance of tricky triggers from Maze.

Now, unknown to her, she was about to face an opponent who would not have even that problem...

Siddhant Sutar was calm and clearly confident about this duel. He had not been defeated yet for the day. Yodaz had noted this carefully, slightly surprised at the effectiveness with which Siddhant could maintain a defense. Now, would be the equivalent of the biggest test of that ability. Black Fire had already informed Yodaz that she would not duel Siddhant unless she had to, in much the same way that she had avoided dueling him. This alone was enough to make the champion willing to watch the match. The factors were accounted for. Maze would go first...

As soon as she drew her cards, Yodaz knew that this match was going to be quite the show. Her Kaijudo immediately surged up to what he considered to be her maximum, even more than she had achieved against him earlier in that day. Her Thorny Mandra went to her mana zone, and the familiar buzz of the Sniper Mosquito filled their minds as she summoned her first creature on that very first turn. There was only one explanation for this level of psionic output so early in the game.

"Rush deck, 'perfect hand'..." Corile noted, "Impressive little thing she can be..."

Yodaz nodded. Luck could easily be for or against anyone. When your luck was bad, you needed to compensate quickly. When it was good, you had to be ready for it to suddenly fail. A good start was an excellent way to throw an opponent off guard, though.

Siddhant did not seem to notice. He was actually practically oblivious of Maze's Kaijudo or her imagery. He simply charged fire mana and ended his turn. Maze momentarily noted what it was, then continued with her main plan.

"Mana Nexus to mana, summon Poisonous Mushroom, to charge Bronze-Arm Tribe to mana. Sniper, ikei! Send my Bronze-Arm back!"

The crash into the shields was quick and precise. Nothing triggered. Siddhant charged darkness mana on his own turn, and cast his first defensive spell.
"Crimson Hammer, on your Sniper Mosquito."

Maze winced, both at the imagery and the disruption in her near-perfect attack plan. She knew that there would be a lot of defenses to get through, but she had not been expecting that particular one.
"All right, I guess I have to change my plans earlier than I thought. Another Mana Nexus to mana, and summon Bronze-Arm Tribe..." --she flicked a Torcon off the top of her deck into her mana zone, "Mushroom, ikei!"

This shield was also deactivated without any trigger. Her turn ended. Siddhant charged water mana and followed the usual course. An Aqua Hulcus.

"Perfect hand against perfect hand..." Corile noted, "I wonder who will win..."

Corile's definition of 'wonder' was more like going into a stream of complex predictive calculations, but Yodaz did not mind. He quickly joined in, reassessing the possibilities based on everything he knew about either deck.

"I play... Muscle Charger! And use the extra mana to summon a Torcon! Bronze-Arm, ikei!" -- there was no trigger-- "Mushroom, ikei!"

Maze's energy surged when the second shield did not trigger either. Yodaz's interest doubled. He now needed one removal card, or for the final shield to trigger. What were the chances of Siddhant having exactly what he needed? Yodaz found himself hoping that young Sutar could indeed stop Maze now. Even with no preference as to who should win, he would not want Siddhant to lose like this.

Siddhant was, as usual, prepared.
"Lost Soul to mana. Cast Volcano Charger on your Tribe. Hulcus, destroy the Mushroom. Ikei."

Maze nodded. She was not particularly bothered. There was no real imagery involved, no frightening oppressive Kaijudo. Just a duel. She drew her card, and her own energy surged yet again. She smiled and summoned her avatar.
"Silver Axe. Now, Torcon, ikei!"

"Oh, come on... she could have afforded to wait the one turn..." Corile sighed. Yodaz corrected his avatar swiftly, reminding it that Siddhant actually had blockers in that deck, and any hesitation could trap Maze behind a wall of them. The shield had not triggered. There were none left. Siddhant would have to make his final defense now, on his fifth turn. Maze's speed was always at least somewhat impressive.

Siddhant was, again, ready. He sent a Corpse Charger to his mana zone, and cast Eureka Charger now to draw a new card. A Crimson Hammer followed this, to strike down Maze's Silver Axe.
"Hulcus, destroy the Torcon. Ikei. End turn."

Now, Maze sighed. She had been pushed right back to the odd painful limit. Now just to draw creatures until her opponent's defenses ran low. She was about to learn, as Black Fire had, that Siddhant's defenses never actually did run low. She drew and summoned a Poisonous Mushroom.

"Invincible Cataclysm to mana. Summon Bloody Squito, and cast Terror Pit on your Mushroom."

Maze drew her card, and her Kaijudo calmly receded. She could not summon this one. A Gigamantis. Even if she were to get a Mosquito now, the blocker was already there. She had lost. The Silver Axe's voice floated into her mind now...
"I'm sorry, dear. There was too much fire... we couldn't..."

Maze nodded to herself. It was fine. Her luck had matched that of her opponent, but in the end, her skill could not. Something still did irritate her a little, though, and she was not quite sure what it was. She ended her turn.

Siddhant sent a Terror Pit to his mana zone. Even if she could have summoned, whatever it was, would have fallen. She frowned. Sometimes the number of things her opponents could remove made it seem rather hopeless. Yodaz felt the emotion from her, and it made him think.

"What is it that they give up, in order to do that, again? I always seem to forget why it is I stopped simply killing everything..."

Corile 'pointed'. There was another energy in the room, one fairly far away, dueling. Yodaz turned, to see the dark head of Shu Lon.
"Ohhh... right... Do you think this one can beat him?"

Corile seemed to run a myriad of calculations, finally deciding, with great certainty: "No."

Yodaz was not so easily convinced of that, but it did seem that Siddhant would at least be limited in his options for dealing with the Phantasmal Horror. Now, the creature that came into the battle zone was another of those that Yodaz had given up using. The Bolmeteus Steel Dragon.

"Aww, man!" Maze complained aloud, "One break in my chain and I have to face down that thing? I hope this next set gives me something that deals with this sort of thing..."

Now, she drew her card and summoned a Quixotic Hero. She already knew this was the end. Bolmeteus, to her, spelt certain doom. An unstoppable force. What happened next surprised her, and caused her Kaijudo to buckle also. Siddhant had reached the critical point of his own dueling style.

"I summon... Bazagazeal Dragon, to destroy your Quixotic Hero. Bolmeteus, obliterate her shields. Ikei."

Maze shrugged. The shields would not have triggered, nor even helped. That was, at least, a minor consolation. She knew now that it was too late altogether. She was totally trapped. She drew and summoned her Poisonous Mushroom, for no particular reason really. To not summon would probably be worse.

"You're disappointed," Corile observed, taking note of Yodaz's emotion.

"I didn't exactly want her to have to lose like this either..."

Siddhant played an Energy Stream, and summoned a Corile, then his Bolmeteus obliterated two more shields. The rest of the duel played out similarly, with no further display of energy or reaction from Maze. The ending did not seem to matter to either duelist, and it was soon simply over. She got up, thanked Siddhant, and started to walk over to turn in her identification badge.

Yodaz came up beside her in a few strides.
"It's time to switch to Barkwhip..."

That was all he said. It was all he needed to say. To his surprise, Maze nodded, her Kaijudo seemingly agreeing completely. In a few quick calculations he knew why. Before, the Gigamantis offered the only protection she could manage against something like a Searing Wave. Now that it was less necessary, Barkwhip's power could protect her forces better.

"Seems like we understand the little Assault people after all," Corile smirked.

"It's just a bit sad that she had to come all the way to a tournament to learn something like that. She must not get a whole lot of competition back wherever she's from if it didn't come up before..."

Libra came up next to him now, having apparently heard the mental conversation he had been having with Corile. Now, she spoke, but aloud, not to his mind.
"Who?"

Yodaz glanced over at Maze, and Corile 'pointed' yet again. Libra nodded.
"Oh, yeah. It's a little rough these days. Who'd have thought that making it easier on us would make it harder at the top. But then again, I think I prefer it that way. I much rather be able to enjoy a day dueling at a store than be all 'Championship tournament ready'."

Yodaz shrugged. He understood the sentiment to an extent, but he was also aware that he enjoyed deck-fixing logistics far more than his 'little sister' and people like Maze and Amera did. It sometimes worked out a bit oddly. Now, his attention was drawn to another match starting. This one was a direct contrast to the other. Whereas with Maze and Siddhant there had been little or no Kaijudo interaction, the simple beginning of this match sent a powerful wave of energy through the entire room. He hurried to the table.

There, he saw her again. The little girl that had been tossing around the huge amounts of Kaijudo, almost recklessly, for the whole day. He was surprised that she had not even lost a duel yet. Her opponent gave off an entirely different form of power. Dark... vampiric, and exceedingly calm. Arielle Dumas... and Gaurav Tamba.

Arielle began by placing a Fighter Dual Fang in her mana zone. Gau raised an eyebrow. A little girl with an evo deck was his 'undefeated opponent'?

"Bazagazeal Dragon to mana. End turn."

Arielle blinked at him.
"You're strange. Make your power move!"

Gau smiled indulgently at the girl, but did not comply with her demand. She frowned, placed a Thorny Mandra in her mana zone, and played a Faerie Life, charging more mana. Her forest was growing. Gau nodded at her declaration of the end of her turn, and charged Darkness mana. A Terror Pit. His Kaijudo did rise, becoming even darker and more sinister in its calm... but did not move.

"You're going to let me win? How come?" Arielle wondered, "Aqua Hulcus to mana, summon Shtra!"

The Cyber Lord drained away the darkness from Gau's mana zone, and returned the Bronze-Arm Tribe to Arielle's hand. Gau suddenly seemed to actually be on the defensive a bit. Her aims were no longer clear. Arielle ended her turn, and Gau did nothing more than replace his darkness mana, and frown a bit.

Arielle peered at Gau now, her influence pushing into his mind, until she could finally see what exactly his avatar was. Recognizing the Emeral, her mouth pursed into a small 'o'.
"I see now! Cool! Thorny Mandra to mana, summon Bronze-Arm Tribe, and then play Faerie Life!"

The effects added an Aqua Knight and a Tangle Fist to her mana zone. She smiled at where her avatar ended up. Gau looked down at the card in slight confusion. A strange, but interesting, avatar. He drew his card, and charged water mana. An Energy Stream.

"Summon Aqua Hulcus. End turn."

"Let's go fast!" Arielle smiled at Gau, "Here I come! Bronze-Arm, evolve into Fighter Dual Fang! Double break! Ikei!"

The first shield did not trigger. The second activated a Crystal Memory. Gau frowned a bit, his Kaijudo finally reacting. She had eight mana. He had three. He now knew exactly who he was up against. He had heard about the 'Riptide Kid' but had assumed that it was simply a nickname, not meant to refer to the fact that she was actually, to most other duelists, just a child.

"You are fast. I need to summon now. Let's try this. Bolmeteus Steel Dragon, to mana. Summon Emeral."

For the first time that anyone had seen, Gaurav's Kaijudo sparked a powerful actual reaction. Summoning his avatar was in a strange way his last possible defense. The shield swap took but a second. He ended his turn, then, as she drew her card, his eyes opened suddenly in realization.
"Wait... you can Divine Riptide... like right now..."

Arielle charged mana, a Forbidding Totem, but rather than reversing their mana zones completely, she merely played a Shtra, picking up her Aqua Hulcus and summoning that also. Gau took back his darkness mana yet again, giving her the clear Kaijudo advantage.

"Dual Fang, let's go! Ikei!"
Unfortunately for Gau, there was no other trigger waiting for the huge Beast Folk warrior, amongst those shields. Even if there had been, there would still be more he would need to stop. Shtra followed quickly with its own attack on the shield Gau had set. An Aqua Surfer swiftly surged into the area, driving back Arielle's Aqua Hulcus.

"Ha. You are good, little girl. I couldn't have predicted this at all... You end turn, of course?"

Arielle nodded, sitting back. Nothing could stop her now. Gau had been overwhelmed.
"Emeral to mana. Cast Crimson Hammer on your new Shtra, and I will attack the other with my Aqua Hulcus. End turn. Good game."

The little girl grinned now, drew her card, summoned a Bronze-Arm Tribe, and sent another of her Tangle Fists to her mana zone, then a Shtra to pick up another Aqua Hulcus, which she then summoned, drawing another Bronze-Arm Tribe. Gau picked up his Energy Stream, moreso because of the effect that had played out in his mind, than any need to do so at that point.

"Fighter Dual Fang, you're the star today! Todomeda!"

Gau's Kaijudo seemed to take a mighty 'dent' from the power of Arielle's final attack, but it soon returned to its regular state. He smiled and gathered up his cards. She got up too, to walk with him to the judges' table. She would not need to duel again now. She was definitely into the final eight.

"You've definitely helped me make my decision, little miss," Gau said, "It's time to change this now. I never really truly liked these spell based control decks, and you've proven to me that I no longer have to play one to do well. Dueling you was very interesting."

"Thank you," she blushed, her normal, slightly hyper, confident attitude now giving way to the part of her that was unused to being praised by actual opponents, "So you're going to change your deck for next time?"

Gau smiled. She obviously thought of him as quite the opponent as well, given how sure she seemed that there was going to be a 'next time'. He now took off his flashing identification badge and placed it on the table. The judge nodded to him, crossed the name off the list, and deactivated the little beacon in the device.

"Yes, I will rebuild it once the next set is released. We will probably have a lot of fun collecting new allies."

He did not have to explain to her that the 'we' he referred to was himself and Emeral. Arielle smiled good-naturedly, and was about to walk off when the judge spoke to her.
"Young lady, did you win? I believe you are undefeated so far? You can give me your badge now as well. It will make it a bit easier to organize the quarterfinals."

"Oh, yes. Right," she blushed, taking off her ID badge also. Yodaz and Libra soon followed, to hand in theirs, and it was not long before Amera-Lynn also brought her badge to give in, standing next to Yodaz and Libra.

"It was close, but I made it," she laughed, "Seriously mean competition out there this year..."

Libra nodded, agreeing, as two more duelists approached. Siddhant simply said 'excuse me' and passed them to hand in his. Nicholas Burner greeted Yodaz with a wide, confident grin.
"Well, look who's here! And by that, of course, I mean me. So, champ... ready for a rematch?"