Cthulhu vs. The Brute

It seems the other competitors have been frozen for some time. The Tale Weaver must have paused the challenges. For some reason, Saylo and I weren't affected. Perhaps, he decided not to freeze us, or maybe we're simply immune due to the nature of our existence.

I managed to fulfill my goal. I angered some of the Tale Weavers minions. They attacked me. I activated my Axe Of Despair and fought back, killing them all and angering them further. It wasn't long before the rage I've been accumulating took form.

“I summon the Red Eyes Black Dragon!” A voice said. A large black dragon appeared, burning through the minions with its wicked fire.

I turned to confront the newcomer. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was me! I was looking at myself, wearing the same clothing and duel disk from the Game Master's tournament.

“What's going on here!?” I demanded.

“I'm here to duel you,” the other me said. “If you win, you will regain the power of the Brute card.”

“are you the real Gordon?” I asked.

“Excuse me?” he asked.

“What became of Gordon Tayler's body after he was struck own by David Kallaway!?” I demanded. “Are you him!? Are you the real Gordon!?”

“No,” he said. “I am a replica, sent by the Blind Man to test you.”

“Damn that old coot!” I said under my breathe. “He'll pay. After I destroy you and settle my score with Saylo, I'll give him a piece of my mind. It's bad enough he's been leaving me in the dark about the real Gordon's location, but now he has to taunt me like this?”

“Shut up!” the other me snapped. “It's time for us to duel.”

His duel disk was consumed in dark fire, and it transformed into his own duel runner. I summoned my own duel runner.

There was no track. We'd be driving through the city streets.

We took off. I sped up, trying my best to get the first turn, but he was able to round the first corner before me.

“I go first!” he said. “I'll start by summoning Armageddon Knight in attack mode! Then, I use his effect to send Axe Dragonute from my deck to the graveyard!”

Figures. He was using the deck I Gordon used during the last tournament.

“Next, I set one card face down and end my turn!” he said.

It was time to show this bitch what my new deck could do.

“I draw!” I announced. We both gained a speed counter. “I summon Yig Dragon in attack mode! Then, with his effect, I special summon Tulzcha Dragon from my hand!”

“I activate the trap card Triggered Summon!” he said. “Since you special summoned a monster, I can special summon one of my own monsters from my hand! Come on out, Alexandrite Dragon!”

Great. He had a 2000 attack point monster out. I looked at my hand real quick. I had just the strategy for this guy.

“I build the overlay network with these 2 level 4 monsters!” I said. “Now, I xyz summon Harold, Smoke Lord Of The Brute!”

A young man appeared, holding a sword. He didn't look too tough, with only 1800 attack and 1700 defense, but the Brute's aura was surrounding him, and his effect would be really useful later.

“I have my Smoke Lord attack your Armageddon Knight!” I said.

His knight was destroyed, and he was brought down to 7600 life points.

“I set one card face down and end my turn,” I said.

His next turn was delayed a bit because we had to dodge our way through some traffic at that point. This duel was more dangerous then my last riding duel.

“I draw,” he said. 2 speed counters each. “I normal summon Red Eyes Black Chick!”

Well fuck. That wasn't good. It's not a tough card, but it was dangerous.

“I use my Chicks effect!” he said. “By offering it as a tribute, I special summon Red Eyes Black Dragon from my hand!”

The colossal dragon appeared in the sky, with its 2400 attack points.

“I attack with Alexandrite Dragon!” he announced.

“I activate the trap card Negate Attack!” I said. “Now, your battle phase ends!”

“I end my turn,” he said.

“Now it's my turn!” I said, weaving around a street sign. We were now at 3 counters each. “I summon Iod Dragon in attack mode!”

The glowing dragon appeared, and my strategy was complete.

“As long as I control this monster, any damage I take from direct attacks become 0,” I said.

“Well, what use is that?” he said. “If you control monsters, I can't attack directly, unless I use a card effect that says I can. And as we both know, this deck doesn't have any of those.”

“Don't underestimate my monsters,” I said. “I activate Harold's effect. Since all the monsters you control have higher attack than his, I can detach one of his overlay units to have him attack directly!”

My monster transformed into smoke and glided past his monsters, then reformed and struck with his sword. His life went down to 5800.

“I end my turn,” I said.

“Now I can go!” he said. We now had 4 speed counters each. “I activate Speed Spell- Speed Fusion! Since I have 4 or more speed counters, I can perform a fusion summon!”

shit.

“I fuse the Red Eyes on my field with the Meteor Dragon from my hand to call forth my Meteor Black Dragon!”

A giant flaming dragon with 3500 attack points appeared.

“I have my dragon attack yours!” he said.

“'Fraid not,” I said. “Iod Dragon can't be selected as an attack target if I control an xyz monster!”

“Very well,” he said. “Meteor Black Dragon, attack his Smoke Lord!”

“I activate Smoke Lord's effect!” I said. “When he's selected as an attack target, I can make it into a direct attack.”

My monster became smoke, and the stream of fire the Meteor Black Dragon fired passed straight through it and went to me.

“I use Iod Dragon's effect to make the damage 0!” I said. A shield of light appeared and protected me.”

“A clever strategy,” the other me said. “I end my turn.”

“My move,” I said. We now had 5 counters each. “I summon Aphoom-Zhah Dragon in attack mode!”

A gray dragon made of flames appeared.

“I use my Smoke Lord's effect again!” I said. “Attack him directly!”

He was brought down to 4000.

“Now, I have Aphoom-Zhah Dragon attack your Meteor Black Dragon!” I said.

My monster's power was 1600, so I took 1900 damage, leaving me with 6100.

“Why isn't your monster destroyed?” he asked.

“Aphoom-Zhah can't be destroyed in battle on turn it's summoned,” I said. “Also, take a look.”

Gray flame surrounded his Meteor Black Dragon, chilling it to the bone and encasing it in ice.

“What did you do!?” he said angrily.

“Aphoom-Zhah Dragon's effect,” I said. “When he battles a monster, that monster can't attack or change it's battle position until my next end phase.”

“Damn it!” he said.

“I set a card and end my turn!” I said.

“Time to teach you a lesson,” the other me hissed. We were both up to 6 speed counters. “I activate Speed Spell- Wicked Wings!”

His Alexandrite Dragon's wings were surrounded in darkness.

“Since I have six speed counters, one of my monsters gains 1000 attack points!” He said. “Also, any monster it battles has its effect canceled out! Now, attack his Smoke Lord!”

Great. He managed to break my combo by negated Smoke Lords effect. My monster was destroyed and I was reduced to 4900.

“The monster effected by Wicked Wings is destroyed during the end phase,” he said. “I end my turn.”

“Okay,” I said. 7 counters. “I summon Juk-Shabb Dragon in attack mode, then I build an overlay network with these three dragons!”

Darkness filled the air as my Evil Deity King emerged.

“Say hello to the Evil Deity King, Cthulhu God Dragon!” I said. “Now, I'll use his effect, allowing me to detach an overlay unit and discard a card to draw one card from my deck!”

The card I drew was a trap, so he didn't gain his power bonus. But that was okay.

“I activate Speed Spell- Speed Energy,” I said. “Now, my monster gains 200 attack points for each of my speed counters, bringing him up to 4400! Now, attack!”

He was brought down to 3100.

“I set 2 cards face down and end my turn,” I said.

“My turn,” he said. 8 counters. “I activate Speed Spell- Angel Baton. Now, I discard a card and draw 2 cards. Next, I banish fire attribute Meteor Dragon and the Flamvell Grunika I just discarded, along with my dark Axe Dragonute and Armageddon Knight, to call forth the Burning Shadow Dragon!

It was here. Time to pit these monsters against each other.

“I banish Meteor Black Dragon from my graveyard to have Burning Shadow Dragon gain 1000 attack points!” he said. “Now, attack!”

“I activate the continuous trap card Spellbinding Circle!” I said. “Now, your monster can't attack.”

“I set one card,” he said. “Then, I pay 7 speed counters to draw a card. Then I end my turn.”

“My turn,” I said. I was at 9, he was at 2. “I activate Evil Deity King's effect!” I said. The new card was C'thalpa Dragon. Prefect. “Since I drew a dragon-type monster, Cthulhu God Dragon gains 500 attack points!” I said. “Now, attack!”

His dragon was destroyed, and he was brought down to 2600.

“Now, I use the trap card Disappear to banish Burning Shadow Dragon from your graveyard!” I said.

“I activate Dark Bribe!” he said. “Now, your card is negated, and you can draw a card.”

The card I drew was Xyz Reborn. I set it face down and ended my turn. I was hoping I could get rid of his dragon so that he couldn't summon the Brute with it. Oh well.

“My turn,” he said. He was at 3 and I was at 10. “I activate Speed Spell- Speed Vacuum! Now, we both lose 3 speed counters!”

Damn it. My next plan involved using Speed World 2's effect to destroy the Brute by removing 10 counters. That wasn't an option anymore.

“Now, by banishing Burning Shadow Dragon from my graveyard, I can call forth the Chaotic War Dragon Brute!”

Just the move I was expecting. I was in trouble.

“During my battle phase, the Brute gains 500 attack for each of my banished monsters, bringing it up to 6500,” he said. “Now, destroy his dragon!”

The attack hit. I was down to 2400. I would be dead soon if I didn't do something.

“I end my turn,” he said. The Brute's attack returned to 3500.

“Better make this count,” I said. I was now at 7 counters, and he was at 1. “I activate Speed Spell- Doomed Souls! If I have 6 or more speed counters, I can summon 2 doomed tokens to your side of the field.”

2 phantom like beings appeared. They were level 1, with 0 attack and defense.

“Those tokens are summoned in defense mode, but if they get destroyed, you lose 1000 life points,” I said.

“You think that'll help?” he asked. “As long as the Brute is in play, you can't attack monsters other than him.”

“I don't think you understand my plan,” I said. “I activate one my face down cards, Xyz Reborn! Now, I can bring back Cthulhu Gos Dragon, and attach Xyz Reborn to him as an overlay unit!”

My dragon appeared, but it wasn't enough.

“I remove 7 speed counters to draw a card!” I said. I drew. It was Speed Spell- Synchro Defuse. Not what I needed. “Now, I use Cthulhu God Dragon's effect! I use his only xyz material to discard the card I just drew and draw a new one!”

It was Cthulhu Dragon. Perfect.

“The card I drew was Cthulhu Dragon,” I said.

“That won't help!” he said. “Our monsters may have the same attack now, but the Brute can only be defeated by another Fear!”

“I wasn't drawing for the power boost,” I said. “I just needed another monster! I activate the trap card Overlay Mirage! Now, by paying 2000 life points, I can attach Cthulhu Dragon and C'thalpa Dragon from my hand to my Cthulhu God Dragon as overlay units!”

“What good will more units do?” he asked.

“It's simple, really,” I said. “Since your life is greater than mine by 2000 or more, I can xyz summon a new monster, using my Evil Deity King, along with all the units attached to him as overlay units!”

My dragon soared into the sky, and a portal of darkness appeared. A lane of darkness appeared before me. I drove on it, and it led me up into the sky, twisting around and around, up to the portal. I entered the darkness. My hatred, rage, and darkness became stronger, as Cthulhu's power filled me.

I reappeared in the air above the other me, and stuck my landing right next to him. My colossal fiend appeared as well.

“What is that thing?” the other me asked, terrified.

“This is the Ultimate Evil Deity, Chaos God Cthulhu!” I announced. “Not only is his attack power the same as the Brute's, but he can negate the effects of any monster he battles, which means the Brute will be robbed of its invincibility!”

“What?” he asked.

“That's right!” I said. “Also, he has a few other tricks. I can remove a number of his overlay units, up to the number of monsters you control. You control 3 monsters, so I can detach all 3 of his overlay units! And for each one removed, he gains 1000 attack points! Now, end this!”

My monster brought his fist down, right on the Brute's head. The dragon fell on top of the other me, crushing him.

I had done it. I'd won. And what's more, I've reclaimed the Brute's power.

And yes, I reawakened the Brute by making people angry and absorbing their rage. Saylo isn't reawakening the Vision in the same way. He has to do something else. He's close, too. I didn't tell him what he has to do, though. That would be too easy.

Hey, Saylo! If your reading this, you might wanna hurry up and figure it out! I already have my ultimate Fear card, and I'm itching for our rematch!

Stars and Chaos vs. Mirrors and Memories

He sure took his sweet time getting here. While I waited, I did a bit of siding. If you don't know, siding is when you take cards from your main side and swap them for cards in your side deck. I made a few modifications so that my deck will be able to function well will Saylo as my partner.

He eventually made it.

“Hey numbskull, 'bout time you made it,” I said.

“What's going on here?” he asked.

“We're gonna be having a tag duel,” I informed him. “Against these suckers.”

“We have duel alongside each other?” he asked.

“Yeah, that's right,” I said. “Don't screw me up.”

“Are you two ready to duel?” the old man asked.

“Yes,” I said. “So, how do we decide who goes first?”

A giant roulette appeared on the ground, and started spinning. It landed on Saylo, then disappeared.

“He will go first,” the woman said. “Then I will go, then you, then my partner.”

“Sounds fine to me,” I said. We all got our duel disks ready.

“I start,” Saylo said.”I normal summon Scion Noble Blade.”

A cultist with a glowing sword appeared. It was level 4, with 1800 atk and 300 def.

“Next, I set one card face down and end my turn,” he said.

“Now it's my turn,” the woman said. “I activate Polymerization!”

Great. A fusion summon.

“From my hand, I fuse Lilim Tarvos and Lilim Diona to fusion summon Lilim Pallene!”

Two snake women fused together and a large snake woman with glowing armor and a long sword. It was level 7 with 2800 atk and 1400 def.

“Next, I normal summon Lilim Rhea in attack mode,” she said.

A new snake woman appeared, with 1700 atk and 1300 def.

“Now, I''l have Pallene attack your Noble Blade!” She exclaimed.

“I activate the trap card Vision Shield!” he said. “Now, my Scions can't be destroyed in battle this turn!'

“You'll still take damage,” she said. Our shared life points dropped to 7000. “I set 2 cards face down and end my turn.”

“Time for me to go,” I said. “I summon Azathoth Dragon!”

My dragon appeared on the field.

“Now, I build the overlay network with these two level 4 monsters!” I said. “I xyz summon the Chained Guardian of the Brute!”

An armored man appeared, with his legs bound by chains, and his arms chained to his chest. He had 1800 atk and 2500 def.

“I equip him with the spell card Brutal Warblade!” I said. A sword fell from the sky, and my knight wrestled an arm free to grab it. “My Warblade increases my night's attack power by 800.”

“I activate the effect of Noble Blade,” Saylo said. “Any monster xyz summoned with him gains 300 attack points during during the battle phase.”

“And with that, my knight is just strong enough to take down your fusion monster!” I said. “Chained Guardian, attack!” My monster's attack began.

“I activate the trap card Mirror Force!” she announced. “Now, every attack position monster you control is destroyed!”

“Not if my Noble Blade has anything to say about it!” Saylo said. “A monster that was xyz summoned with him can negate the effect of a trap card two times only, and destroy it!”

Mirror force was destroyed, as was her monster, and she took 100 damage.

“I activate my Warblade's effect,” I said. “Since my Guardian destroyed a monster in battle, I can reduce his attack power by 600 until the end phase to have him attack another monster!”

My monster's atk went down to 2300, and he destroyed her second Lilim. Their life was down to 7300.

“I set a card face down and end my turn,” I said. “And during the end phase, Chained Guardian switched to defense mode.”

“It's my turn now,” the old man said. “I activate the ritual spell, Archive Shadow Of Light,” he said. “Now, I can summon an Archivist ritual monster by offering monster from my field and hand whose levels are equal to or greater than the level of the monster I'm summoning. From my hand, I tribute level 4 Archive Collector Iota and Archive Broker Gamma from my hand to ritual summon Archive Martyr Alpha!”

A man carrying all sorts of weaponry appeared. He was level 7, with 2700 atk and 2000 def. It seems like this guy was using a ritual deck, while his partner was using a fusion deck.

“Next, I normal summon Archivist Analyst Epsilon,” he said.

This one was some kind of a scientist. Level 3 with 1200 atk and 1700 def.

“From my hand, I play the spell card Archive Analyzation,” he said. “Since I control an Archive Analyst, I can draw 2 cards. Now, I'll have my Martyr Alpha attack your Chained Guardian!”

“I activate my Guardian's effect,” I said. “By using one of his overlay units, I can prevent his destruction!”

“I set two cards face down and end my turn,” he said.

“Now I can go again,” Saylo said. “I'll start by switching Chained Guardian to attack mode. Then, I normal summon Neo The Magic Swordsman in attack mode. Now, I'll have Chained Guardian attack your Martyr!”

“I activate the trap card Strength Of Martyrdom,” he said. “This card allows me to have Martyr Alpha gain attack equal to his level times 200 until the end phase. In addition, you can't select monsters other than him as attack targets.”

That brought us down to 5800, but Saylo used Chain Guardian's effect to defend him. Smart play, but we were gonna have to do better.

“I set one card face down and end my turn,” Saylo said. War Champion switched to defense mode.

The lady drew her card and grinned. “Since this is a tag duel, I can use my partner's cards as I please,” she said. “So now I tribute Archive Martyr Alpha and Archive Analyst Epsilon to call forth my Fear, The Dark Reflection, Mother Of Snakes!”

A beautiful snake woman appeared, with her dark black hair flowing down her waist, and her empty eyes staring us down. She had 2700 atk and 2500 def.

“I activate her ability, allowing me to return a trap card from my graveyard to my hand,” she said. There was only one trap in her graveyard; Mirror Force.

“Now, I set one card face down and have my Mother Of Snakes attack your Guardian,” she hissed.

“I activate the trap card Protector Of The Light!” Saylo said. “Now, I can redirect any of your attacks to a Light monster I control, and I choose Neo!”

The attack hit and we took another 1000 damage.

“Also, my trap inflicts the same damage I take to your life points!” he said. They were brought down to 6300.

“I see what you're trying to do,” she said. “You're protecting your xyz monster so you can use Noble Blade's effect to stop my trap cards. But You see, as long as I control Mother Of Snakes, my traps can't be negated. Now, I set my card face down and end my turn.”

“Looks like it's my move,” I said. “I'll start by using Hastur Dragon's effect. By banishing him, I can draw 2 cards.” I drew. “The cards I drew are Last Chance At Victory and Mordiggian Dragon. Since Last Chance is a spell card, I have to discard it. Then, I use Mordiggian Dragon's effect to shuffle him back into the deck and draw 2 cards.”

I looked at what I had drawn. Perfect.

“I normal summon Iod Dragon!” I said. A glowing dragon appeared before me. The only light monster I have. I had placed it in my deck before the duel began, knowing it would help with our duel. It was level 4 with 1500 atk and 1400 def.

“Next, since my opponent controls a normal summoned monster with 2500 or more attack points, I can bring out this sweet guy,” I said. “By using Chained Guardian of The Brute as an overlay unit, I xyz summon Chaotic Death Blade Of The Brute!”

A knight with heavy black and red armor, a pair of dragon like wings, and a really bad ass sword appeared. He had 3000 atk and 0 def, and had one overlay unit. I had a great combo going.

“I activate Death Blade's effect!” I said. “By using his overlay unit, I can have him gain 1000 attack points. And as an added bonus, I can negate your monster's effect this turn. Now, I have him attack your Fear card!”

“I activate the trap card mirror force!” she said.

“I use the quickplay spell card Hyper Dragon Scale!” I said. “With this card, I can protect Iod Dragon from being destroyed!”

“So what!?” she demanded. “Protecting that weak monster won't do you any good! Your xyz monster will still be destroyed!”

“That's exactly what I want,” I told her. “Hyper Dragon Scale has another effect. Since another of my monsters was destroyed, Iod Dragon gains its attack power until the end phase, adding up to 5500! Now, attack!”

The perfect strategy. My monster had super high attack power, and her Fear's effects were negated, robbing it of its invincibility. My plan was great! But then the old guy had to ruin it...

“I activate the trap card Fear deflection!” he said. “Now, I can negate an attack directed at a Fear we control, and end the battle phase!.

Shit. That had to happen.

“I set 2 cards face down and end my turn,” I said.

“My turn,” the old guy said. “It's here.”

“I activate the trap card Lilim Mirror Path,” the woman said. “At the cost of 1000 life points, I can summon 2 level 4 or lower Lilim monsters from my graveyard. Come back, Lilim Tarvos and Diona!”

2 snake women appeared, both level 4, one with 1500 atk and 1300 def, and the other with 1600 atk and def.

“Now, by tributing these two monsters, I call forth Memory Collector, The Blind Man!” he said.

There he was. The old coot. Seemingly harmless, but deadlier than you could imagine. He had 2400 atk and 2800 def.

“The Blind Man can negate the effects of every non-Fear monster in play,” he said. “No, attack his worthless dragon!”

“I activate Dark Armor Of The Underworld!” I said. “I discard a card, and reduce my dragon's power by 500, and now he can't be destroyed in battle this turn!” I didn't care what it took, I had to protect Iod Dragon.

The Blind Man's attack hit, and we took 1400 damage. He attacked again with the Mother Of Snakes for 1700 damage.

“I end my turn,” the old man said.

“I'll go,” Saylo said.

“Use Iod Dragon however you need to,” I said.

“Okay,” Saylo said, looking closely at his hand. “I activate Scion Gift! Since the only monster we control is a light monster, I can pay 1000 life points and draw 2 cards.”

He was chipping away with what we had left, but I couldn't blame him. It was a desperate situation.

“I activate Scion Star! Now, by discarding the Starlight Warlock in my hand, I can special summon Scion Gun Mage from my deck!”

A man in a black poncho, slinging around a pair of glowing guns, appeared.

“Gun Mage can inflict 300 damage each end phase,” he said.

“That doesn't matter,” the old guy said. “Blind Man negates the effects of all your monsters.

“Not all of them,” Saylo said. I discard a card to activate the spell card Scion Initiation! If I control a Scion card and one other light monster, that monster's name can be treated as Scion Initiate, and its level and attack power become the same as my Scion.”

Both the monsters were now level 7, with 2400 atk. But I already knew he was planning something other that attack.

“I build the overlay network with these two Scion cards!” he said. “Now, I xyz summon my Scion Star Mage!”

It was here, and things were finally going right.

“What's the point?” the old guy asked. “You monster's effect is negated.

“No, it's not,” Saylo said. “Scion Star Mage's effect can't be cancelled.”

“What!?” he gasped.

“Now, I activate the spell card Starlight Life!” he said. “During my first main phase, I can use this card to reduce the attack of a light monster I control to zero, and gain the same amount of life points.”

Scion Star Mage has 2500 atk, so we were brought up to 3200.

“If you don't mind, I might be able to add to this combo,” I said.

“Go for it,” Saylo said.

“I activate the trap card Reckless Greed,” I said. “I skip my next 2 draw phases, but in return I can draw 2 cards now!” I drew. 2 monsters. Just what I needed. “Next, I activate the trap card Overlay Mirage!” I said. “At the cost of 2000 life points, I can attach 2 monsters in my hand to an xyz monster we control as overlay units. From my hand, I attack C'thalpa Dragon and Cthulhu Dragon to Scion Star Mage!”

“Four Overlay Units?” the lady gasped.

“That's right,” Saylo said. “Now, by detaching 2 overlay units, I can have my Star Mage destroy a monster you control and deal damage to your life points equal to its attack power. Now, destroy the Mother Of Snakes!”

The blast was so powerful that the woman was knocked over as their life points dropped to 2400.

“Would you care to do the honors?” Saylo asked me.

“Don't mind if I do!” I said. “I detach Scion Star Mage's remaining overlay units to wipe out the Blind Man, and the rest of your life points!”

that was the end of it. We one. I'm not gonna explain what happened after. Saylo said he'd post it on his blog later. I'll link to his blog at the bottom of this post.

I will tell you one thing; The old coot's card is mine now. I am in possession of 3 Fears, and so much closer to regaining the Brute.

Saylo's blog. He should have that post up soon.