Episode 62. - The Proof Is In The Paladin

"Really? No more fire, huh?" Yodaz said, seemingly thinking aloud, "You'll have a bit of trouble without the mass destruction and the Speed Attackers."

Suzanne laughed, "I know. Everyone's been telling me that. I've tried putting the Bronze-Arm Tribes back in, and Fighter Dual Fang. The Tribe work, but Dual Fang is still too low in power. I want something so huge it can knock a Gran Gure out of the sky!"

Yodaz raised an eyebrow, and sipped from the styrofoam cup of hot chocolate he was drinking. He did not actually have to say what he was thinking. Suzanne chuckled to herself and blushed a tiny bit.

"So how's your deck been doing?" she asked him now, "I saw the record of your match in the championships. Really unfortunate that you got put up against him of all people. I think you could have cleared the rest of 'em out."

"That's the way the game goes sometimes," he said with a shrug, "Besides, I'm still getting used to this. And I'm not liking the inconsistency with the early game in it. In fact, I think that might partly be why he won, though I suspect it was the Slime Veil, in that particular game. Still, I--"

Tom Rogers cleared his throat to get the attention of the duelist. They were supposed to be playing the bonus match of the tournament. Tom had wandered off during Yodaz's final, and Yodaz had taken the time before Tom's return to get himself a beverage. Now, Tom was waiting for the dark-haired duelist to finish it.

Yodaz handed the cup to Suzanne, who smiled and said, "Ooh, can I have the rest?"

"What 'rest'?" he laughed, waving his hand to signify that it was okay. She slurped the remainder of it out of the bottom of the cup and smirked, then went off to find the trash bin.

Gene pulled up a chair. Yodaz's last match had been rather long, and he was tired of standing. No one seemed to object to the act of him moving close through the crowd and placing his chair down in a good spot. Gene knew why. A quick mental scan of the room, an ability he had recently developed, had revealed that most duelists here were beginning to unlock their latent psychic ability. At least enough to feel the duel without being in the line of sight of the table.

"No 'errata'," Tom said, "You first."

Yodaz nodded, unflappable as always. He had heard from Suzanne, in advance, about Tom's subtle efforts to 'show' Gene his error, so this was expected. He charged his first mana. Water. A King Ripped-Hide.

"So why exactly are we playing without errata?" Yodaz asked, as Tom sent his Aqua Surfer to his mana zone and ended his turn.

"Good duelists don't need such crutches to win. I came to have fun. People who complain about cards, combinations... will always lose to more skilled players. They don't improve their game, they don't learn to make the cards stronger or to counter them. You know as well as I do that attempting to outsmart your opponent is the most entertaining part of this game."

Yodaz shrugged, sending a Velyrika Dragon to his mana zone.
"Yes, but Corile's broken."

"Good players can play around it. Holy Awe to mana. End turn. And are you only running like one of each of those things? Your deck is always such a trip."

"Natural Snare to mana. Summon Aqua Hulcus," Yodaz responded, the liquid of his ocean now rising up partly in the form of a Liquid Person. Gene let his eyes blur out of focus. He was not using them. Suzanne, who had returned now, watched intently. Comparing the differences between her performance and that of her 'mentor' would be crucial.

"Aqua Surfer to mana. Summon Aqua Hulcus," Tom said, drawing his new card also. Gene found himself prompted to ask something.

"Yodaz, why is your deck so relatively large?"

Yodaz answered Gene without looking over at him or breaking his flow. Even as he responded, he sent a Spiral Gate to mana and cast an Energy Stream.
"I can fit in everything I want at this size. Any smaller and I have to start picking and choosing. Also, I draw cards very fast and often to get what I want."

"So, you would have a hard time if we had the same limit as the Japanese? Forty cards?"

Yodaz watched as Tom sent a Bronze-Arm Tribe to his mana, and cast an Energy Stream. The Aqua Hulcus on Tom's side went in for a shield now. There was no trigger.

"Copycat, eh? As for your question, Mr. Kirricort, I wouldn't like it. I could do it, but my deck would have to change significantly and lose some of its versatility."
He drew his card and seemed to think a bit.

"Corile my Corile?" Tom laughed, seemingly referring to some long past event.

"Some other time..." Yodaz replied, "Emeral to mana, summon Rumbling Terahorn."

"Ooh, will it be Jagalzor?" Tom laughed. Yodaz revealed the card to be a Corile, to which Tom grinned and said, "Aw, you're boring."

"Aqua Hulcus against Aqua Hulcus," Yodaz announced, "Ikei."

They met over the water, liquid slashing through liquid, blade, shield and whip. The 'duel' between the two Liquid People lasted but an instant in reality, but seemed to drag on, in the minds of those watching. Finally, they both lost cohesion, and with an odd dual sound, splashed into the ocean again as just water.

"Natural Snare to mana. Summon Bronze-Arm Tribe."
Tom's Craze Valkyrie went to his mana zone, allowing him to cast an Energy Stream also, and draw two more cards. Both were Holy Awe. He kept his Kaijudo in check. Yodaz was unaware, and therefore it would not matter.

"Spiral Gate to mana," Yodaz said, "Summon Charmilia, the Enticer. As for what you said before, I've met plenty of good players who can't just 'play around it'. That's why I aimed to have it changed. It's not the same thing as playing around a bounce tactic or a rush. You just can't get a hand that cohesive against someone who won't attack you but can move everything. End turn."

The Snow Fairy floated calmly there now. Tom drew his card. A Natural Snare. He could not help having a slight reaction to this.

"Weird... Holy Awe to mana. Natural Snare on your Charmilia. Bronze-Arm, ikei!"
This shield also did not trigger. His turn ended. Yodaz drew his card, and Tom spoke again, in a manner that was almost obviously for Gene's benefit.

"Please. If you really want to make this game better you'll try to get players to come up with something that beats decks that has these 'unfair cards' in them. The game state was perfectly fine, you just don't want to think 'outside the box'. They're just being lazy. It's not so hard to come up with a counter-strategem. Good players have been doing it for quite a while now, Yodaz. You of all people should know this."

"Magmadragon Jagalzor to mana. Summon King-Ripped Hide..."
The Leviathan's shadow loomed in the water below where Yodaz calmly floated, the energy brought by it infusing his form. He eyed Tom with slight disdain at this point, showing emotion towards the debate at last.

"I suppose you just don't get it. Terahorn, attack the Bronze-Arm Tribe."
Hooves thundered across sand as the Horned Beast leapt from island to island in Yodaz's ocean, finally crashing into the unfortunate Bronze-Arm and sending it flying. Yodaz's turn ended. Tom's creatures were, again, defeated.

"Don't get what, hm? Holy Awe to mana. Summon Magris, Vizier of Magnetism."
He drew an Aqua Hulcus, and summoned that too, and found, to his delight, that he drew an Aqua Knight with it. He ended his turn.

"How many cards in this game do exactly what you just did, Rogers? How many decks out there can just summon two creatures and the number of their cards in hand not change at all? You talk about counter-strategies as if they're the easiest thing in the world to put together. Ever thought that maybe people don't want to play Aqua Hulcus? Terror Pit to mana. Cast Lost Soul."

"Finally!" Tom laughed, as the black murk rose up out of Yodaz's ocean to engulf him. The howl of his Terahorn, buzz of Miele, Vizier of Lightning, and the almost inaudible death screech of the the Aqua Knight, were almost all drowned out by the sound of the Seekers of Clouds bursting forth from the murk into the battle zone on either side of him.

"You took forever to get around to that," Tom laughed, even as Yodaz cast a Spiral Gate to return one of the Dava Torey to whence it had come, "See? Counter strategy."

"I see it," Yodaz nodded.

Tom now drew his card, smiled, and played it. A Rumbling Terahorn. He used it to search his deck for an Aqua Hulcus, which he also summoned, drawing yet another new card.

"Dava Torey, ikei!"
The shield triggered as a Locomotiver. The train sped over the surface of the water as if on rails, engulfing Tom in another toxic cloud. That cloud was again parted by the power of Dava Torey, with a powerful static slash, causing Tom to laugh, until he realized that the cloud was, for some reason, not dissipating.

"What's--"

"It's not my turn..." Yodaz pointed out, as the smoke finally engulfed Dava and it seemed to fade away with a shriek, "So it goes to grave..."

"Haha. So it's only effective fifty percent. Oh well. Magris, ikei!"
The shield also broke without trigger, and the Hulcus followed Magris in to break the final one. Tom's turn ended.

"So you really think that building a deck where every creature exactly counters what my style of play does, somehow shows that Corile is not broken? Yet, I heard you lost in Singapore against practically the same thing, even with this?"

Tom scoffed, his Kaijudo surging now, the Crystal Paladin rising up beside him. The rest of the conversation would occur in duality. The Paladin gave the words, but it was Tom's voice that conveyed them.

"I would be humiliated and dishonored if I sunk so low as to modify the entire game just so that my preferred strategy is victorious. I've proven time and time again that I can use whatever I desire and still win in high percentiles. I--"

"Except when you have bad luck, right?" Yodaz laughed, cutting him off, as he drew his card, "You see, other people have bad luck too, Rogers. And do you know what un-errated Corile does to those people? I'm sure you must know..."

The former champion carefully weighed the options of cards in his hand, thinking of what to place into his mana zone. He almost put down an Aqua Hulcus, but at the last moment, thought better of it, and returned to his contemplation.

"It really is not my fault if players are unwilling to make different card choices or strategy choices. That has no reflection on the game itself."

"Ah, but that's exactly what it does reflect on," Yodaz said, finally deciding to put Corile into his mana zone and actually summon the Aqua Hulcus, "Because the 'choices' you speak of needing to make are so limited that you've practically managed to fit them all into one deck."

He returned to his contemplation. Tom looked at the cards in Yodaz's mana zone. He had already tapped three of them. No matter how complex the move made from this point was, it would not stop all of the creatures.

"I don't see where you're going with this..." Both Seekers of Clouds shimmered beside him, and the Terahorn and Hulcus were ready also, poised for action.

"Neither do I. I can't stop Dava Torey. End turn."

"Haha! Seeker of Clouds! Todomeda!"

The energy washed over Yodaz, apparently having no effect. Tom turned to Gene, and smiled. He could now fully claim what he and Suzanne had been arguing about. Whenever he had attempted to make a point to Gene, she had been there. Listening. Countering. Now, he had defeated the 'source'. There was no counter remaining. No opposing defense.

"See, Mr. Kirricort? Defeating decks such as that is a matter of skill, and is in no way impossible. I hope you can see now that changing the cards is not the best way to go."

Gene blinked at him.
"What on earth are you talking about, young man?"

"Your assistant seemed to become very annoyed when I explained this the other night. She seemed disappointed in my card choices, though I cannot imagine why. Something about Aggro not being the same as Assault, and my lack of a theme..."

The mindspace fluctuated now, as Suzanne's and Yodaz's Kaijudo converged on him. Gene sat, looking unconvinced, waiting for Tom to continue.

"What you built is hardly an assault deck, Rogers. If anything, you proved our point more than yours. I suspect Suzanne just finds dealing with you to be an annoyance," Yodaz said.

Each one now floated above the ocean, members of the crowd appearing, alongside their avatars, in the shared space that seemed to slowly be engulfing the entire room.

"I"m pretty sure that a deck based around an attacking pattern is an aggressive deck, and what you had in mind when you proposed your errata. Which is what I built."

Suzanne's Corile sent a violent wave of Kaijudo at Tom's form, which the Paladin shifted into position to block with its shield.

"Hey, sis... temper..." was the thought that Yodaz's Corile now expressed.

"Overbearing insult!" her Corile screeched at the Paladin now, "Your ideals are a disgrace! He did not use our power against you. He does not have Cranium Clamp or Searing Wave! Every card you have brings you a new resource, as if our world is full of those that can just be casually added to every strategy. You attacked consistently and yet the only card that triggered was nearly more trouble to him, than to you, and you--"

"Enough!" Reusol boomed, shocking them all into silence with the power of the energy wave it gave off, "I have watched you play. I have watched you battle. I know what would have happened in this duel had you used anything beyond that which directly counters their style... Your previous argument was that one does not need to play a particular deck to win, and that simply doing that does not increase your chances of winning, but from my perspective, that is exactly what you have done."

"I built a perfectly viable army! And we showed you the truth!"
The Paladin now seemed to get a lot of support, in the form of mostly roars, from many of the avatars around him. Bazagazeal Dragons, Bolmeteus Steel Dragons, and the occasional Twin-Cannon Skyterror. There were quite a few other Coriles amongst them, as well.

"You countered cards. That is the only truth I see."

"Those who complain about particular cards need to realize that they are completely wrong and need to get over it in order to progress and become more skilled!" the Paladin insisted, Tom's Kaijudo rising drastically.

"You drew so many of your shield trigger cards, that it is a wonder you made it through this battle at all. I probably should have called for Jagalzor," Corile laughed, "Or perhaps simply not Lost Soul, though you have made that a do-or-die situation as well. Well done on that."

For some reason, now, Reusol vanished from the communal mindspace, forcing Tom to 'drop out' of it as well to continue his explanation.

"Yodaz's errata, from my understanding, comes from the opinions of some people that are not even remotely affiliated with the Research and Development team at KirriCorp, the people who spend days testing and re-testing the cards."

Gene laughed outright, "You mean Jasper? Is that what this is all about? Jasper sent you to convince me because he could not manage himself? I'm sorry, Mr. Rogers, but I've been in this business too long for something like that to work. I've spent a bit of time learning this game, and even though I'm still rather awful at it, I know very well that managing to do what you just did is not exactly something most players can just pick up and do."

"That is not the point! I have been playing this game since its release! I possess a wealth of knowledge in regard to the game, and I am perfectly aware of the complaints other players make! I have taken into consideration all of these errata terms, the arguments supporting them, and even specific examples of tactics that your assistant there seems to consider 'unfair'. I have played against the decks you aimed to weaken, and concluded that most of your errata, if not all of it, is completely unnecessary!"

"How is your deck doing, Gene? I noticed you didn't play in today's tournament," Yodaz noted, apparently disregarding Tom's speech.

"Not that well... I keep thinking maybe I should try to play something else, but every time I try to actually change the deck, it just feels wrong, and I end up back where I began."

Yodaz shrugged, getting up from his chair and finally picking up his cards.
"Give it time. You can't expect to become good at this game all that quickly anyway. It's a very complex game. If it really needs changing, you will know. Besides, as long as you're enjoying it, why does it even matter? It certainly isn't as if you need to win boxes."

Tom Rogers' Kaijudo now resonated with that of those around him that held the similar opinion. He made one more, simple, bold statement.

"This isn't the real card game. I don't think anyone who plays the real card game should have to listen to the spouting of those who are only able to be competitive in this 'KC League' of yours. I certainly don't intend to."

"That, sir, is your choice," Suzanne smiled, laughing, "But you should note that building what you built, in response to what we play, really is not hard. Playing it probably is not that hard either. The question has never been whether or not they can, but whether or not they enjoy it. I certainly can put Fire cards in my deck... but I don't like them there."

"I'm late for a date I made with a friend," Yodaz explained, "So you all will have to excuse me. Nice seeing you again, Suzanne... Gene... Take care of yourself, Rogers, you don't seem to be as used to all this jetsetting as they are."

With that, he gently pushed his way through the crowd, his massive Kaijudo fading into the distance as he exited the building.

"I think maybe it is time I gave Jasper something to do other than subtly attempt to subvert my decisions..." Gene noted, flicking out his phone, "How does forty cards maximum sound to you, Suzanne?"

"No need to worry about me, sir," she grinned, patting the pocket of her bag that held her deck, "I'm already prepared."