Aarikku
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Chapter 4 - The Return of the Blood QueenChapter Four
“This stretch here…” Martin gestured towards a long hallway of studios. “It’s full of artists, but they're busy working on the next set. Our next stop will be the home of the first A.I. with actual creativity.”
“There’s an A.I. making card games?” Kyle asked incredulously.
“He also plays. He’s quite good.”
Kevin yawned. “This whole day so far has been kinda boring.”
“Kevin, we tag-teamed against two card designers and won fairly easily.” Cassandra reminded. “And we got to see who made your frogs and my fire girls. How is this boring?”
“Most things with frogs are.” Zywen said, and then whistled innocently. Kevin’s eyes widened.
“Kevin, no.” Cassandra stepped between the two. “She didn’t mean that.”
“Yes she did!” Kevin protested.
“Okay, you’re probably right. But that’s no reason to – ”
“I’ll just settle this by going back to our roots. Zywen, I challenge you to a card game!” Kevin declared, overly-dramatically, pointing his S-R towards her. The group stopped; no one would admit it out loud, but this rematch did seem more interesting than more studios.
“Why not? Thirty seconds won’t delay us too long.” Zywen activated her own S-R, and the opponents squared off. The coin flip allowed Kevin to make the first move.
“Okay…” Kevin glanced at the holographic cards. No Frog Pond, but… “I’ll activate the effect of Borix – the Frog Sage in my hand.” Kevin decided. “By scrapping Borix, I can search my deck for Frog Pond and add it to my hand. Next, I’ll charge Serus. And I’ll tap it for Fat Tadpole in guard mode.” The pale-green tadpole appeared; its eyes half-opened with disinterest. “You’re up.”
“Didn’t we go over this last time? Gluttony is a Sin.” Zywen shook her head.
“Perhaps. However, your Sin cards got returned to Shmod Co., if I recall correctly. So there’s nothing you can do about it.” Kevin crossed his arms triumphantly. “Heck, without Lucior, you’ve got no chance.”
“Prideful as ever.” Zywen drew. “And unjustifiably so… did anyone catch the end of our last game?” She asked the observers. “I wasn’t really paying attention.”
“She’s a jerk.” Tyson noted.
“Your plans to repeat the same Goliath Frog gambit as before won’t work too well,” Zywen told her opponent. “Now that I know you have Frog Pond. So, I’ll just charge Vampire’s Servant and tap it for Replenish.”
“Bad move against a swarm deck.” Kevin laughed, and then looked at his hand. Crap. This is not a good hand to swarm with! “Okay, change of plans. Since… I, uh… know you’re hiding something! I’ll just charge Distraction, and tap two for Frog Pond.” The area transformed into a clear lake surrounded by cattails; the tiles beneath the two players became rocks.
“Saw it coming.” Zywen noted.
“Yeah, yeah.” Kevin rolled his eyes. “With this, I can evolve Fat Tadpole into Goliath Frog!” Fat Tadpole disappeared under the sea, and a giant amphibian sprung from the depths. It landed, standing on top of the water, and let loose a tremendous croak. “Next, I’ll attack you directly!” Goliath Frog did so, spitting a massive stream of water. Zywen didn’t flinch as the holographic liquid passed through her. (Zywen: 9)
“Meh.” Said she, shrugging. “One thing I regret about my old deck was that it didn’t show off the true power of Vampires. This is one thing I intend to rectify!” Zywen drew. “I’ll charge Hell Mulligan. I’ve got a good hand. Next, I tap one for Vampire Princess!” A slightly more vampire-looking persona of Zywen herself appeared.
“As I recall, in our last game, it didn’t fare so well against Goliath Frog.” Kevin remembered.
“Which is why I intend to allow my princess a second chance.” Zywen poked another card. “Behold! Blood Lust!” A red aura surrounded Vampire Princess, and her face twisted to look insane. “It enhances her fury, allowing her to attack directly!” The crazed undead leapt at Kevin, and he flinched as the hologram bit his neck. A green aura surrounded Zywen.
Kevin’s eyes widened. “Oh, right. Crap.”
“What’s going on?” Tyson asked.
“You didn’t pay attention during her last two games?” Kyle demanded.
“That was like a month ago!” Tyson protested.
“Behold the ability of Vampirism!” Zywen exclaimed. “When a creature with this power damages my opponent, and I have less than 10 life, my wounds heal.” (Kevin: 9/Zywen: 10) “But it gets better!”
“I remember…” Tyson recalled. “It fuses with other Vampires to form Vampire Chimera! …Right?”
“No, it transforms!” Luke pointed.
“Precisely.” Zywen nodded. “Behold! Vampire Queen!” Waves of twisted, black smoke erupted from the hologram as her robes became more decorated, and her headdress reformed into a gothic crown.
“Is that all?” Kevin smiled.
“Don’t pretend you can taunt me now. Your move.”
“Ever get déjà vu?” Linlan asked, but was ignored.
Alas, Kevin thought, drawing. It is hard to taunt her after a move like that. Time to resort to Strategy B. AKA, hide behind Ghost Frog until I draw Strategy C. “I’ll charge Serus, and tap one for Spectre Tadpole on defence, who I then transform into Ghost Frog. Also on defence. And I’ll defend with Goliath Frog, too. Finally, I’ll tap one for Tadpole Flute.”
“Pathetic.” Zywen began her turn. “I charge Pairogeist. And next, welcome to Transylvania. I tap two to play Palace of Blood!” Kevin’s Frog Pond faded, and a giant, blood-red castle rose from the ground. “It has many effects – firstly, Vampires gain 300 STK and GRD. Next, I can pay 1 Life to revive any monster destroyed by a Vampire to my side of the field. Finally, it allows my Vampire Queen to revive if it’s destroyed by battle.”
“Snap.” Said Kevin.
“I attack with Vampire Queen!” Zywen pointed at Goliath Frog.
“You must know I’ll use Ghost Frog to negate attacks against amphibians.” Kevin observed, tapping a card so that Ghost Frog could release a dark mist.
“No matter. Your move.”
“This is where it gets fun. I use Tadpole Flute to search out Mechanical Tadpole!” Kevin did so. “Next, I tap one to play it.”
“Robo-Frog would help you, but I’ve rid us of your precious puddle.” Zywen grinned evilly.
“Perhaps, but I always have a backup plan. I tap one for Level Up, transforming Mechanical Tadpole! Check out Robo-Frog… again.” The chrome amphibian with the giant rocket appeared in a burst of light, and croaked robotically. “Robo-Frog, you are clear for takeoff!” Kevin poked some card holograms, and the robot released its missile.
“Crap.” Zywen cursed, as Vampire Queen exploded in a giant fireball.
“You also take damage equal to its Level. And those Vampires transform into Level Threes, ‘cuz Two would be too low with that nice ressurection effect.” Kevin reminded. (Zywen: 7) “Now for the part that’s more fun. Attack, my frogs!” Each did so: a laser from Robo-Frog’s eyes, a powerful ribbit from Goliath Frog and a ball of ectoplasm each took a life point off the blood queen. (Zywen: 4)
“Robo-Frog’s exactly why Kevin used to be known as the fastest player in the game.” Cassandra explained.
“Six damage with three fighters. Not bad.” Kyle admitted.
Zywen yawned again, drawing. “I charge Wight. Next, I’ll tap my Pairogeist for Vampire Knight, a 2200 fighter with Vampirism.” A pale, armoured warrior appeared. “It gains 400 ATK after attacking directly, but that’s not what I’m using it for. I tap two for Sar-Chasm, letting me destroy Ghost Frog.”
“No problem. I tap one, and it’ll revive for next turn.” Kevin said.
“Save your Mana. During the turn my Knight comes into play, you can’t use Monster effects.” Zywen smiled. “A rather unique ability, wouldn’t you say? Now, my knight! Attack Robo-Frog!” The fighter did so, and once more the green aura granted Zywen more Life. (Kevin: 5/Zywen: 5)
“Okay…” Kevin drew. “I attack your knight with Goliath Frog!” Kevin decided. The giant amphibian flung its tongue, but it bounced off an invisible barrier. “Great, does that knight negate attacks too?”
“No, Monster Bash does!” Zywen revealed her trap. “One Mana’s all I have left, so I’ll use it to send Goliath Frog back to your C/T stack.”
Kevin scanned his hand. I’m close, but… “Fine. I’ll just charge Croaking Crescendo. Your move.” This isn’t gonna be pretty.
“Giving up already?” Zywen drew. “I’ll tap two Mana – one for Vampire Prince (1400) and the other for Vampire Assassin (1700)!” A man dressed in a male version of Vampire Princess’s robes, as well as a female ninja with bloodred eyes, appeared to Zywen’s field. “Time to dine.” All of her vampires leapt at Kevin and each hologram bit his neck. Zywen cackled as the green aura reappeared. (Kevin: 3/Zywen: 8) “Finally, Vampire Prince also Transforms. So behold, Vampire King!” The prince grew older and more decorated. (2400)
Kevin began his turn. “This is it.” He stared down each of the three vampires, and then Zywen herself, as he looked at the card he drew. “Take ‘em out, buddy. I tap four for the one! The only! Kinogaeru – Lord of the Frogs!” A pillar of light shone from a card hologram in front of him, and a giant frog faded into existence. It wore a cape adorned with lilypad shoulder guards and a golden crown. It ribbited angrily, and two more spots of light appeared.
“What is that frog doing?”
“It’s activating its effect – one of the most powerful in the game.” Kevin declared. “As soon as I play Kinogaeru, I can play two Tadpoles from my Graveyard and immediately Transform them! So, come on back, Mechanical and Spectre Tadpoles… and evolve into Robo- and Ghost Frog.” The tadpoles were seen only briefly before sprouting legs (and, in Robo-Frog’s case, a missile). The trio of amphibians ribbited in perfect unison.
“That’s a really cheap card.” Zywen noted.
“This coming from the user of self-Transforming Vampires.” Kevin observed, and readied his next card. “I now activate Croaking Chorus!”
“How? You only have one Mana left!” Zywen demanded.
“Kinogaeru’s a master vocalist.” Kevin explained, albeit poorly. “While he’s in play, all Ribbit-category Spells cost one less Mana. So now, to continue Chorus’s effect, I get to play another copy of one of my Transformed Frogs, and I pick Robo-Frog!” A second metal amphibian hopped from the ground. “The card I will admit is cheap is Robo-Frog. Here’s why. Froggies, fire at will!” Two missiles burst from the frogs’ backs. One struck the Level Three Vampire King, and the other struck the next highest level monster - Vampire Knight. They both exploded. “Five damage to you.” (Zywen: 3)
“No…” Zywen looked at the field. She knew what was coming.
“Ghost Frog, take out Vampire Assassin!” Kevin commanded. An orb of ectoplasm blasted the ninja into oblivion. (Zywen: 2) “And finally, Kinogaeru can leave you with 1 life.” It did so. Zywen was hit with a ridiculously overpowered ribbit.
Zywen cursed. “Fine.”
“Fine?” Kevin inquired.
“You have a ghost, two robots and one of the legendary Emperor cards. I know when I’m beat.” Zywen pressed the Surrender button, and a holographic white flag appeared and waved. (Zywen: 0)
“And that,” Kevin turned to the awing group. “Is how I became even more awesome than I already was.”
“Good for you, Kevin.” Martin congratulated. “But you guys really seem to hate schedules. We’re late. Again.”
Kevin ignored him, and began singing ‘We are the Champions’, much to Zywen’s displeasure. “I’ve paid my dues, time after time… I’ve done my sentence, but committed no crime.”
“I’m suddenly glad he didn’t win more games during the tournament.” Zywen grumbled.
“Me too, actually.” Cassandra admitted.
“Hey, it’s catchy.” Kyle shrugged. “But it’s been no bed of roses…” Soon Ferali, Luke and Tyson joined in. Alas, the Morins were poor singers, and the ears of the non-singers paid the price.
==
Meanwhile, a lone security guard yawned; exhausted from spending most of the day staring at a bunch of TVs linked to cameras. He flicked a switch on a voice recorder. “The current time is 10:30 AM. No suspicious activity to report. Zywen Lotus seems fine.” He narrated, turned off the recorder and sighed.
Suddenly, the door to his tiny office opened. “Who’s there?” The guard called. He didn’t expect a response, so he wasn’t surprised at the lack thereof. But what he found more surprising was that no one was there. “Wind… maybe?” The guard wondered. Noting that he was part of security, he exited the office to glance around the hallway.
Click said the door behind him.
“Crap.” The guard sighed.
==
“I was right.” Johnny observed, looking at tapes from Ace’s studio. “The guy with orange hair.” With that, he unlocked the door and dove behind the same box of old tapes he had hid behind earlier. The guard re-entered the room, and was none the wiser when Johnny slipped back out. He then resumed his walk back to the tour group. “Time to properly introduce myself.”
Card of the Chapter is Kinogaeru - Frog Lord
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Naardaas
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I'm surprised there's no Chapter card.
Nice write-up. Good description. The Vampires seem pretty cool. And Kinogaeru proves again how cheap Frogs are.
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Aarikku
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No chapter card? Blast! It was supposed to be Kinogaeru. And as Kevin said, it was Robo-Frog that was the cheap one.
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Naardaas
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Its effect is pretty cheap, I'll admit. But come on! How is Transform 2 Graveyard Tadpoles not cheap?
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Aarikku
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Transformed Frogs don't have game-changing effects. The best you'll likely get using non-Shmod Saga cards is a nice explosion from Fire-Bellied Toad. It's a bloody good effect, but not cheap.
Though... maybe with the Attack Boost... that does give you three monsters with Level 3-ish stats for 4 Mana. But still, this game has a Sun Deity that revives itself every turn, and YOU made a combo that gave you an immortal 4800 Dragon.
What if it just played Frogs instead of Tadpoles and then transforming them? It'd be slightly more situational.
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Naardaas
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I don't think the effect is bad. I like effects that reward hard work, something Kinogaeru does.
And YOU created Titanium Dragon as a 4800 beast. And besides, that combo is easy to kill with Whirlwind, so for 1 Mana the combo dies.
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Aarikku
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YOU made Alchemy Seal make it invincible.
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Naardaas
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Yes, but I didn't make Alchemy Seal invincible. And I created Alchemy Seal's effect BEFORE Titanium Dragon had its effect. There was a large amount of time between then and when you errata'd the Seal.
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Aarikku
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Hm. True. But don't use Whirlwind in arguments too often - it's not a Shmod staple.
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Naardaas
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No it isn't, but it's a great card, and with so many themes using Arenas, that may yet change.
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