Chapter 58. Stardust Dragon's Shooting Quasar Reversal! The Old Guard Tilted!
The short video, the rapid-fire narration, is still going!
Stardust Dragon (himself): "After I Synchro Summon Shooting Majestic Star Dragon!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "I activate Doppel Warrior's effect and generate 2 Doppel Tokens to fill the zones."
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Then I Synchro the Level 4 Tuner Stardust Synchron with a Level 1 Token!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Level 5 Garden Rose Maiden!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "In the Graveyard, Jet Synchron activates.
I discard a card to Special Summon itself."
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Next, a Level 1 Token with the Level 1 Tuner Jet Synchron.
Right here! I go straight into a Level 2 Synchro Tuner—Celestial Double Star Shaman!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Then I activate the Shaman's effect and revive Doppel Warrior."
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Now I take the Level 5 Garden Rose Maiden, the Level 5 T.G. Hyper Librarian, plus the Level 2 Celestial Double Star Shaman."
Stardust Dragon (himself): "5 + 5 + 2 equals 12!!!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Here it comes, transcending serenity itself!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Shooting Quasar Dragon!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Think that's all? Not even close!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Finally, I Synchro the Level 3 Junk Synchron with the Level 2 Doppel Warrior."
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Level 5 Accel Synchron!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Doppel Warrior's effect generates two Level 1 Tokens."
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Accel Synchron's effect sends Stardust Synchron (Level 4) from the Deck to the Graveyard, so Accel Synchron becomes Level 9!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Then Level 9 plus Level 1, I Synchro Summon Baronne de Fleur!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Garden Rose Maiden's Graveyard effect banishes itself to revive a monster."
Stardust Dragon (himself): "My choice is—Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon!!!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "My field is now Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon plus Baronne de Fleur plus Shooting Quasar Dragon plus Shooting Majestic Star Dragon!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "It's your turn to play Yu-Gi-Oh!.
You—how do you break this?"
At this point, the video pauses.
The going-first board is fully established.
But in the six Dueling Worlds, the Duelists already have stormy waves churning in their hearts…..
DM World.
After watching those plays, Yugi Muto, Seto Kaiba, Maximillion Pegasus, and the others all feel like all their past Duels were for nothing!
You call this "establishing a board"?
You call this "a Duel"?
You call this "Synchro"?
What kind of ridiculous line is this?!
In an instant he pulled out four ace monsters!
What's worse—
Those four aces all seem to have deterrence and suppression!
GX World.
Dr. Vellian Crowler and Chancellor Sheppard already feel like their brains are running out of RAM!
Stop!
This isn't a Duel at all!
After this board is up—
What is the Red Dragon Archfiend (himself) supposed to fight with?
What method can he even use to break this position?
You basically can't fight this at all, can you?!
Might as well just surrender!
There's just no way to play through it!
"This is…the charm of Synchro, is it? I finally get it!"
"M-me too.
Too cool!
Recycling one card after another to repeatedly Synchro combo!
So stylish!"
"My brain's about to explode!
I can't even understand those lines!
Guess I really don't know how to Duel after all!"
"No big deal, no big deal.
That higher world is beyond imagination.
Not understanding is normal—yes, totally normal."
"...."
Discussion erupts among the students!
Quite a few become utterly obsessed with Synchro because of that explosive showcase!
Who wouldn't love Synchro like this?
5D's World.
Yusei Fudo is completely tilted.
After witnessing this iconic four-negate end board, he no longer even knows if he's playing Stardust at all!
Is he really using the same Deck as this so-called Stardust Dragon (himself)?
Why can his Deck explode with such infinite possibilities?
"Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon: 3000 ATK!"
"Plus Baronne de Fleur: 3000 ATK!"
"Plus Shooting Quasar Dragon: 4000 ATK!"
"Plus Shooting Majestic Star Dragon: 4000 ATK."
"Can this really be broken?"
"Don't even mention trying to beat over the monsters in one go."
"You can't ignore their monster effects, either."
"Yusei, is that how Stardust explodes in that world?"
"...."
Jack Atlas is just as tilted as Yusei.
He never imagined—
That Stardust's future would evolve into something beyond his comprehension!
Then how is his Red Dragon Archfiend supposed to win?
Is there truly a way to take the match?
Inside the short video—
Staring at this going-first, four-negate board, the Red Dragon Archfiend (himself) is actually grinning!
Because only he knows—
There are a few good ways to crack this.
Method 1: solve it at the root.
That is, Nibiru, the Primal Being!
Or interrupt with hand traps you happen to draw, like Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring or Maxx "C".
Method 2: the Spell Dark Ruler No More.
Because that card makes it so your opponent cannot activate monster effects in response to its activation, then negates the effects of all face-up monsters your opponent currently controls until the end of the turn.
Note: after this card resolves, all damage your opponent takes until the end of the turn becomes 0.
This card—
Is an excellent board-breaker against many going-first "negate" fields!
But the kicker!
He happens to have a card to counter this method!
That's right!
It's this card—Dark Ruler No More.
And he has—two copies!
Originally, seeing two Dark Ruler No More in hand made the Red Dragon Archfiend (himself) nervous, since going second can't interrupt.
But now it's perfect!
Time to shine!
Red Dragon Archfiend (himself): "Alright! It's my turn going second!"
Red Dragon Archfiend (himself): "I activate Dark Ruler No More!"
Red Dragon Archfiend (himself): "All four of your monsters' effects are negated!"
All of them?
Negated?
Hearing that, Duelists across the six Worlds are completely stunned!
You can play like this too?
Use this card—
And just negate the effects of all four monsters!
Doesn't that mean—
Those four monsters on the field—
Are all blank ace beaters now?
So then—
Only their ATK is a threat?
That's insane!
Four aces turned into normals on the spot!
But!
Beating over all of them in one go shouldn't be that easy either, right?
Red Dragon Archfiend (himself): "Now it's my show!
If I control no monsters, I can activate this.
I Special Summon Wandering King Wildwind from my hand!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Enjoying your Dark Ruler No More, huh?
Then I chain Maxx "C"!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "I send it from hand to the Graveyard to activate.
This turn, each time you Special Summon a monster, I draw 1 card."
Commonly called Maxx "C" to make the opponent stop!
Once this card resolves—
If the opponent keeps Special Summoning, you'll keep gaining resources!
Now—
All six Worlds instantly understand the deck-building logic!
So that's why so many lists were running Maxx "C"!
Turns out it's to make the opponent stop Special Summoning!
Which is—
Indirectly forcing them to stop establishing a board!
But!
Terrifyingly, the Red Dragon Archfiend (himself) doesn't stop!
He still insists on building a board!
Red Dragon Archfiend (himself): "I'm going to push through Maxx "C"!
I Special Summon Wandering King Wildwind!"
Red Dragon Archfiend (himself): "Level 4 plus Level 2—Synchro straight away!"
Red Dragon Archfiend (himself): "Feel the power of the Red's ascension!"
Red Dragon Archfiend (himself): "Synchro Summon—Red Rising Dragon!!!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "I activate Arrive in Light and draw 1 card."
Red Dragon Archfiend (himself): "Red Rising Dragon activates and revives Crimson Resonator from the Graveyard!"
Red Dragon Archfiend (himself): "Crimson Resonator triggers and brings out from the Deck the Level 2 Tuner Red Resonator and the Level 1 Tuner Synkron Resonator!"
Red Dragon Archfiend (himself): "Red Resonator triggers on Special Summon.
I target a face-up monster on the field.
I gain LP equal to that monster's ATK."
Red Dragon Archfiend (himself): "I choose Shooting Majestic Star Dragon.
I gain 4000 LP!"
By pushing through into Maxx "C"—
He's already letting the opponent draw a ton!
Seeing this—
Every Duelist wants to tell the Red Dragon Archfiend (himself) to stop Special Summoning!
If you keep summoning—
Next turn the opponent's basically Duelling you with half their Deck in hand!
How do you win then?
Seriously—
How do you win?
But the tough part is—
The Red Dragon Archfiend (himself) keeps going!
Red Dragon Archfiend (himself): "Level 2 Crimson Resonator plus Level 2 Red Resonator plus Level 6 Red Rising Dragon!"
Red Dragon Archfiend (himself): "I Synchro Summon the ace that solves everything!"
Red Dragon Archfiend (himself): "You like building boards, huh?
Four bosses, huh?"
Red Dragon Archfiend (himself): "Come forth—3500 ATK Tyrant Red Dragon Archfiend!!!"
Red Dragon Archfiend (himself): "And I activate its effect!"
Red Dragon Archfiend (himself): "Destroy every card on the field except this card.
This turn, monsters I control other than this card cannot attack!"
Boom—boom—boom!
With the Tyrant's rage resolved—
The opponent's four monsters on Stardust Dragon (himself)'s field are destroyed one by one!
All four aces—wiped and sent to the Graveyard!
This single play—
Utterly demolishes the Duelists of 5D's World!
5D's World.
Yusei Fudo and Jack Atlas stare at each other wide-eyed!
For a moment—
They don't even know which Deck will win!
On the face of it, Stardust's monsters are all cleared, yet his hand has ballooned with resources!
In reality, Red's side has broken the board and is left with a 3500-ATK Tyrant!
Who actually has the advantage?
Wait—
It seems—Stardust does!
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Oh?
Then Shooting Quasar Dragon's Graveyard effect triggers!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "I activate Shooting Quasar Dragon's effect!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "When this face-up card leaves the field, I can Special Summon Shooting Star Dragon from the Extra Deck."
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Come forth—Accel Synchro!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Shooting Star Dragon!!!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Then I chain the Level 1 Omni Dragon Brotaur in my hand!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "If a monster I control is destroyed by battle or an opponent's effect, I can Special Summon this card from my hand."
After that last bit of resistance—
Stardust still has the ace Shooting Star Dragon with 3300 ATK on the field!
And by effect, it has an on-board negate—the attack declaration negation!
Which means—
At 3300 ATK, Shooting Star Dragon can block the 3500-ATK Tyrant!
Red Dragon Archfiend (himself): "Oh?
Sorettowadokana?"
Red Dragon Archfiend (himself): "I activate Synkron Resonator in the Graveyard to add back Red Resonator from the Graveyard."
Red Dragon Archfiend (himself): "I activate the Spell in my hand—Dark Ruler No More!
Your Shooting Star Dragon is negated."
Stardust Dragon (himself): "???
Are you sacking me?"
Isn't that pure sack?
He actually has another Dark Ruler No More?!
Seriously?
You're playing like this?
Before Stardust Dragon (himself) can finish being shocked—
The attacks are already underway!
Red Dragon Archfiend (himself): "I attack Shooting Star Dragon with Tyrant Red Dragon Archfiend!"
Red Dragon Archfiend (himself): "I destroy your Shooting Star Dragon."
Red Dragon Archfiend (himself): "Main Phase 2!
I Set 1 card."
Red Dragon Archfiend (himself): "I end my turn."
The going-second turn ends!
The next turn goes to Stardust Dragon (himself), who only has Omni Dragon Brotaur on the field.
Looking at his full grip, Stardust Dragon (himself) is thrilled!
He absolutely must use this handful of resources to craft a perfect reversal!
Stardust Dragon (himself): "My turn!
Draw!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "I Normal Summon the Level 1 Tuner Jet Synchron!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Together with last turn's Level 1 Omni Dragon Brotaur!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "1 plus 1!
Here we go!
The key to Accel Synchro!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "A Level 2 Synchro Tuner!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Formula Synchron!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Then I activate the card in my hand!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Necroid Synchro!!!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "I banish 1 Tuner and up to 2 non-Tuners from my Graveyard, and Special Summon 1 'Stardust' Synchro Monster from my Extra Deck whose Level equals their total."
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Come forth—the Level 2 Tuner Celestial Double Star Shaman and the Level 8 Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon from my Graveyard!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Synchro Summon!
Level 10 Stardust Chronicle Spark Dragon!!!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "I'm not done yet!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "I continue with Accel Synchro!
I activate a Quick-Play Spell!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Limit Overdrive!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "I return the Level 2 Formula Synchron and the Level 10 Stardust Chronicle Spark Dragon to the Extra Deck!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "I Special Summon this monster, ignoring the Summoning conditions!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "When the gathered stars become as one, a new bond illuminates the future!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Transform into the radiant path—Accel Synchro beyond the limit!"
Stardust Dragon (himself): "Shooting Quasar Dragon!!!!"
This final reversal—
Once again gives Stardust Dragon (himself) a path to break through!
Seeing that card—
Duelists across the six Worlds are all fired up and astonished!
He can still turn it around at the most critical moment!
This Duelist is too strong!
4000 ATK—and a tri-color blanket of negates!
With this swing—
How is the Red Dragon Archfiend (himself) supposed to counterattack?
Unsurprisingly—
In the final exchange—
The 3500-ATK Tyrant is destroyed by battle!
The field is now reversed!
The advantage—
Returns to Stardust Dragon (himself)!
DM World!
After seeing this back-and-forth—
They're all completely numb and dazed!
What is a Duel?
What is a comeback?
What is the limit?
What is a breakthrough?
This is it!
You put up a four-ace, four-negate going-first field!
It gets answered cleanly, yet you never think of giving up!
You wait for your turn and seize back absolute advantage!
Is this the earth-shaking Duel of the higher world?!
Yugi Muto swallows hard, and the Pharaoh Atem within him still hasn't recovered from that final image.
They never expected it!
Not just the result of taking back the advantage!
But the Red Dragon Archfiend (himself) pushing through Maxx "C" at the start!
If he hadn't pushed through Maxx "C"—
Maybe Stardust Dragon (himself) wouldn't have had the chance to reverse the wind!
GX World.
At this moment, all the Duel Academy faculty and students believe the Red Dragon Archfiend (himself) is doomed!
On the field—
Red has only 1 Set card!
But Stardust Dragon (himself) has a 4000-ATK ace end-point!
Moreover—
Thanks to Maxx "C", the difference in card advantage is now enormous!
"Sigh, it's over, it's over.
Nothing left to see.
Stardust Dragon wins!"
"I wouldn't be so sure.
But I have to admit—the charm of Synchro is enormous!"
"How to put it?
Cause and effect.
If he hadn't pushed through Maxx "C", the opponent wouldn't have had the sack to re-establish."
"But if he hadn't pushed through Maxx "C", how would he have ever broken four end-points in the first place?"
"...."
Amid the discussion—
They keep cool-headedly analyzing the Duel between the two.
Enjoyed the story? Support me and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at: Patr*eon*.com/Resium
Free members can read 10+ Chapters Ahead of Release
Paid member can read 150+ Chapters Ahead of Release
Stories Available
Honkai? No, This Is Daily Life
Hogwarts Pet Master
Pokémon: Who Let Him Leave Pallet Town!
Scrolling Yu-Gi-Oh! Shorts