The Shmod Forum

Aarikku · Last edited by Aarikku on Wed May 21, 2008 7:34 pm; edited 2 times in total

Shmod
The Finale

“Allow me to reiterate a few points.” The shopkeeper cleared his throat. “The prize for this tournament is a box of the latest booster set, Heir to the Throne as well as two prize cards. The person who comes in second place will receive twelve booster packs. All of the eight quarter-finalists will receive tickets to tour the Shmod factory in two weeks.”

“So what are the prize cards?” Kevin asked.

“They are…” The shopkeep checked his clipboard for an envelope, which he then opened. “Blazestorm Knight and Hero’s Ceremony.”

“What do those do?” Cassandra wondered.

“I don’t know. They’re either promotional cards only for this tournament or from the new set. Either way, I have no idea.” Kevin replied.

“And now, let’s get the final round started! Tyson Morin has battled through the undead, a girl controlling warrior pandas and his own brother to get to this spot. He’s against his toughest competition yet! Kyle Hendrix has battled another Element user, the queen of the desert and, most recently, the queen of the Damned herself. I present, your finalists!” The crowd roared with delight as Kyle and Tyson stood and bowed. “Now, let the games begin!”

“I always knew it would come down to this.” Tyson shuffled his deck.

“This is gonna be epic.” Kyle agreed.

“Start!” They declared together. In actuality, Kyle started.

“I charge Living Lunch, and tap it to play Replenish. You’re in for a wild next turn.”

“You’re in for a wild this turn! I charge Burning Tiger, and tap it to play Heir Dragonling.”

“It can’t be!” Linlan cried. “Tyson’s first-turn Noble Dragon!”

“It is! I sacrifice Heir Dragonling in order to call forth my dragon! Noble Dragon!” The screen showed the explosion of fire signalling the rise of the legendary beast. “Attack!” The dragon immediately blasted a stream of fire at the virtual image of Kyle. (Kyle: 4 Life)

“You’ll pay for that!” Kyle drew. “I charge Distraction, and tap it to play Fusion Technique! I’ll combine Fire and Earth Elements to summon Volcano Element! Who, incidentally, destroys Noble Dragon.” The volcano twisted itself to face Noble Dragon and blasted the beast with a fireball. “Now I attack!” Fiery blobs of magma flew from the sky as the living volcano commanded the rain. (Tyson: 4 Life)

“They’re both quite offensive players.” Kevin noted to Cassandra. “Tyson can summon his dragons at wicked speeds, and a single Fusion Technique from Kyle can yield limitless combinations.”

“Who’s your money on?” Cassandra wondered.

“Ten bucks on Kyle.” Kevin replied. “Tetra Element’s stronger than Noble Dragon and Ultimate Element’s stronger than Sigma Dragon, most of the time. Besides, he beat Zywen. That takes skill.”

“Ten bucks on Tyson, then.” Luke decided. “Kyle’s not bad, but he’s against the best there is.”

“I’m with Luke.” Cassandra agreed. “Kyle takes at least three cards to summon anything worthwhile – Tyson’s main cards are just regular monsters.”

“Yeah, but Shmod has a lot of draw power.” Kevin pointed out. “It’s not like other card games where their idea of draw support is ‘discard one specific monster, draw two’. No, Kyle’s got Replenish, Mulligan, probably Hell Mulligan.”

“You, Linlan?” Luke asked, turning to the silent one.

“I have no idea.” Linlan shrugged. “All I know is that it’ll be a great game.”

Tyson finally began his turn. “Alright! I charge Banyo Dragon. I tap both to summon Bounteous Dragon!” The serpentine beast swirled on the screen, finally landing with a roar. “I’ll attack your Volcano Element!” The volcano let loose a rain of meteors as the dragon blasted a wave of fire. The attacks met with an explosion that covered and eliminated both. (Tyson: 3 Life, Kyle: 3 Life) “Since Bounteous Dragon destroyed a monster, I can draw a card.”

I could summon an Element and attack directly. But if I do, Tyson will destroy it next turn with one of his dragons. Kyle decided, drawing. “Got it. I tap two for Tetra Magnet, and revive Volcano Element. I attack!” (Tyson: 2 Life) “I’ll set one Spell/Trap card, and that’s it for me.”

“I’ll charge a Mustang Dragon. And I tap all three Mana for Revival Stone, bringing back Noble Dragon! I attack your Volcano Element again!”

“Sorry. Elemental Fissure! I might not have any Mana, but I don’t need it for my monsters. Fire and Earth Element return, both in defence.”

“Then I destroy Fire. Your move.”

“I charge Tetra Ninja. Next, I’ll tap one for another Tetra Magnet, bringing back Fire Element. I’ll set one card.” Kyle looked at his hand for what seemed like a long time before coming to a decision. “Yeah, it’s worth it. I play The Shared Potion, a Level Zero card that gives us both 1 Life.” (Tyson: 3 Life, Kyle: 4 Life)

“Okay. It’s time to end this!” Tyson drew, already knowing his next plan. “I tap Mustang Dragon for Fusion Technique, and combine the Noble Dragon you see before me with these two in my hand to form Sigma Dragon! I’ll charge a Cancel Trap, and attack your Fire Element again!”

“I’ll use Cancel Attack! I tap two to end your Battle Phase.” Kyle decided.

“Alright. I see your game. Stall. I hate stall. I set a card.”

“Cool. I play Element Summon! Here’s how it works. Instead of Mana, I pay life to play it. For every one Life I pay, I can search my deck for an Element and add it to my hand. I’ll pay two, and search out Light and Shadow Elements.” (Kyle: 2 Life) “Next, I tap one for Fusion Technique! You’ve got your gold dragon; let’s see it match my star card! I combine Fire and Earth on my field with Water, Air, Light and Shadow in my hand to create Ultimate Element! This ends here!”

“Like Hell!”

“Okay, maybe not ends. You’re still in deep trouble. Ultimate Element’s 4000 ATK rises by 500 for each of the seven Elements in my Graveyard, making it 7500. That’s more than anything you’ve got. I attack Sigma Dragon!” The golden warrior slashed through the three necks of the sacred creature, bringing it to the virtual floor and reducing Tyson’s life to 2, matching Kyle’s.

“Told ya.” Kevin smiled, the group now forming a ‘pot’ of $10 bills. “7500’s more than anything Tyson has.”

“Here’s what I’ll do,” Tyson drew. “I charge a Cloudrunner, and tap it for Quickstrike Dragon! It can attack you directly the turn I play it. But since I need some defence, I tap two for Re-Fusion, forming Sigma Dragon again!” The three dragons melded to form Sigma Dragon, curled in defence. “Now, Quickstrike Dragon! Strike!” (Kyle: 1 Life)

“Is that the best you can do?” Kyle taunted, drawing. “Ultimate Element, if you please.” The Element blasted the tiny dragon. (Tyson: 1 Life) “Overkill. Go.”

“If you really think I intended to end the game with a Level one monster, you’re solely mistaken. Behold! I charge Living Lunch. Now, I tap three for the legendary Spell, Fantasy Fusion!”

“I know of that! I want one.” Kyle cried.

“I’m not surprised. It lets me fuse monsters from my removed-from-play zone, with the exchange that they can’t be used for any other Fusions. Ever. So, check out my field of two Sigma Dragons!” The new one roared thrice.

“I’m unimpressed. My card’s stronger.”

“Not for long! I tap two for Fusion Revival!”

“I also know of that and want one! It lets you revive a Fusion monster.”

“Precisely. I choose Sigma Dragon!” Tyson’s impressive field roared mightily. “And this game is over! I tap one for Fusion Technique!”

“Tyson, you can’t just make up Fusions as you – oh crap it’s working.” Kyle gaped at the screen as the three Sigma Dragons twisted together. Four spiked legs stepped onto the stage floor, as pillars of fire blazed as wide as the eye could see. Twin tails flapped in what Kyle believed to be a breeze. The ‘sigma’ symbol on the dragon’s chest had changed to ‘omega’. Four wings flapped, but none of that was what Kyle gaped at. This dragon had nine heads.

“Behold. Omega Ninth Dragon! The strongest monster in the world, bar none!” Tyson clenched his fist. Of course, every time I summon it…

Tyson looked around. The entire store was filled with faces gaping at the majestic creature. Omega Ninth Dragon… a monster of pure, unadulterated power. It feels nothing, it cares about nothing but killing. Tyson glanced at Kyle, who had gotten over the gaping phase and had moved on to smiling. I knew exactly what I’d have to do to win this game, or at least match Kyle. And if Omega Ninth Dragon kills us both, well, at least it was my card that did it.

Tyson gulped, and exhaled sharply. “Time to end this game!” The dragon obliged, fire blasting out of all nine of its heads – but several of them pointed in the wrong direction. “Well, it was a good game.” Tyson said, uncharacteristically calm. Fire vanquished both the undefended Tyson and Kyle’s Ultimate Element, reducing both players’ life to 0.

A tie.

==

“Okay, so I get the box of cards, you get the twelve second-place packs and the prize cards.” Kyle reiterated. “That good?”

“That’s good.” Tyson agreed.

“How long have you had that dragon?” Linlan asked.

“Omega?” Tyson thought back. “A really long time. I never used it before for obvious reasons.”

“So why now?” Kyle wondered. “Any other card…”

“Would match Ultimate Element? Nope.” Tyson shook his head. “Omega Ninth Dragon was the only way I could ever dream of beating you.”

“You didn’t beat me!” Kyle argued.

“Hey, my monster ended the game.”

“Your monster killed you!”

“What’s wrong with the draw?” Luke wondered. “You both played to your best. And in the end, Tyson made the decision to end the game on both sides. Omega Ninth Dragon’s more like blowing up the world than a battle strategy.”

“I guess…” Tyson and Kyle pouted together. Kyle felt better when he pulled a rare card from his next booster pack.

“Neat, isn’t it?” Kevin considered, he and Cassandra sitting at the same table as the four former.

“What is?” Tyson asked.

“When we met earlier today, it was because of me awing at Sigma Dragon. Now it’s Omega Ninth Dragon.” Kevin shook his head. “Level nine. That’s three levels higher than any Deity.”

“Lucior.” Cassandra corrected. “It was Level seven, wasn’t it?”

“Touché.” Kevin admitted. “I wonder what happened to Zywen?”

“She’ll probably go to jail for stealing the cards.” Luke said bluntly.

“Didn’t she say something when she left?” Kyle thought back. “Things aren’t always as simple as they seem?”

“Don’t think too hard about it.” Tyson said. “Probably just some weird Wicca or Heathen thing.”

==

“How are you?” Sebastian inquired, seeing Zywen from the other side of the plexi-glass window.

“Good, all things considered.” Zywen replied. “My parents will be here soon, and we can get this whole thing sorted out.”

“Oh?”

“I didn’t steal the cards, and Shmod Co. seems happy just to get their property back. I’ll be out of here by tonight.”

“You didn’t steal them?” Sebastian wondered. “Then why do you have them?”

“Christmas present.” Zywen answered dully. “My ex-boyfriend got them somehow. Honestly, he was the kind to actually rob a company. I didn’t even know they were stolen until a year ago or so.”

“You could’ve returned them then.” Sebastian pointed out.

“It was totally worth it. I had the most powerful card in the world for a year!” Zywen argued.

“That’s not entirely true.”

“Eh?”

“You didn’t see the last round of the Stuff N’ Things tournament. Tyson’s got a dragon to have yours beat any day of the week.”

“Do go on.”

“Level nine. Seriously.”

“Pictures or it didn’t happen.” Zywen crossed her arms. “So, Tyson won?”

“No, the dragon killed them both at the same time.” Sebastian explained. “It was a really close game. Though now that I think about it, if Tyson hadn’t have summoned Omega Ninth Dragon, Kyle would’ve won.”

“Really? That close?”

“Incidentally, your tarot predictions… not great.” Sebastian observed. “The upright Death?”

“Things aren’t always as simple as they seem.” Zywen protested. “The upright Death doesn’t symbolize defeat. It doesn’t even represent death. Upright, it represents a happy ending to one journey, and looking forward to another. An ending without regrets.”

“Does it?”

“It does. Not to mention, he actually did die. Kinda.” Zywen added quickly.

==

“Hey, check this out.” Linlan called Tyson and Kyle over to a different table. “Zywen left one of her tarot cards.”

“Keep those away from me!” Tyson shuddered.

“Agreed.” Kyle backed away. “Especially since it’s the Death card.”

“Hm… she’s messy. Also left that thing you get with the tarot deck to read them.” Linlan picked up a short pamphlet explaining the cards. “Neat.”

“What?”

“Death… a happy ending to a journey.” Linlan looked down at the card. “An ending without regrets. And looking forward to start another journey.” The three of them all looked at the card. “Sounds right to me.”

Card of the Chapter is Omega Ninth Dragon

All Cards of the 'Week':

[5] Skeletal Chimera (Dark)
Fusion · Undead
[1 ‘Skeletal’ Monster] + [Up to 7 additional ‘Skeletal’ monsters]
When you play this card, your life becomes 1. This card gains 1000 ATK for every monster used in its Fusion.
ATK/ 0 DEF/ 2000

[2] Frog Pond (Spell)
Field · Transforming
If there is a Frog in play, this card’s cost becomes 1. Once per turn, either player can Transform a Tadpole. Either player can tap 1 to Transform an additional Tadpole.

[5] Combustiploder Cannon (Fire)
When this card attacks directly, your opponent takes damage equal to the number of FIRE monsters in the Graveyard -1. This effect can only be activated once while this card is on the field.
ATK/ 3000 DEF/ 0

[1] Elemental Tactics (Spell/Continuous)
You must pay 1 Life to activate this card. Once per turn, you can send two or more Component monsters to the Graveyard to play the corresponding Combination monster or send 1 Combination monster to the Fusion deck and have its owner play the corresponding Component monsters.

[4] Lord De Luxe (Colourless)
(C) · Food · Ramen · Emperor
[Raw Noodleman] + [Sliced Sapporo] + [Zombie Unagi] + [Demon Broth]
When this card is fused, destroy all monsters on the field. This card gains 500 ATK for each card destroyed in this way.
ATK/ 3000 DEF/ 3000

[2] Tetra Force (Spell)
Select a [Tetra Dragon – the Alchemic Beast] you control. For each of its active effects, inflict 1 damage to your opponent. The selected monster cannot attack (this effect Breaks Immunities).

[7] Lucior, the Seven-Headed Damnation (Dark)
Demon · Dragon · Deity
This card can only be played while there are 7 different Sin Demons in your Graveyard. When you play this card, equip 7 different Sin Demons to this card from your Graveyard. By sending 1 equipped Sin Demon to the Graveyard, and lowering this card’s ATK by 1000, you can negate the destruction of this card. This card can attack your opponent’s monsters up to seven times.
ATK/ 7000 DEF/ 7000

[3] Great Panda (Earth)
Panda · Emperor
All Mana tapped for this card must be either Bamboo or Panda Mana. Whenever a Panda comes into play, create 1 Bamboo Token. Sacrifice 3 Bamboo Tokens: this card gains Immunity to non-Bamboo Spells.
ATK/ 3500 DEF/ 3000

[4] R-4 (Metal)
(C) · Virtual · Machine
[R-1] + [R-1] + [R-1] + [R-1]
This card gains 1000 ATK for each other METAL card on the field.
ATK/ 3000 DEF/ 3000

[5] Deus ex Machina Dragon (Metal)
Fusion · Machine · Dragon
[Bionic Noble Dragon] + [Bionic Noble Dragon] + [Bionic Noble Dragon]
This card can attack your opponent’s monsters up to three times.
ATK/ 5000 DEF/ 5000

[6] Ultimate Element (All Types)
(C) · Element
[Tetra Element] + [Yin-Yang Element]
You can use the Fusion Components of the above monsters as Fusion Components for this card. This card gains 500 ATK for each Element in your Graveyard. Immunity to Spells.
ATK/ 4000 DEF/ 4000

[9] Omega Ninth Dragon (Fire)
Fusion · Dragon · Deity
[Sigma Dragon] + [Sigma Dragon] + [Sigma Dragon]
This card can attack all of your opponent’s monsters, once each.
ATK/ 9500 DEF/ 9000[/b]

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Naardaas · Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 12:15 am Post subject:

NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL A FINALE! Mwuhahahahahaha, Ah-hahahahahaha!
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The seal on my existence is broken. My great dragon has arrived as pinnacle strength. And I have the last thing I need to exact revenge on those who banished me. I have the power over chaos, over life and death. The power of Drahondes.

Aarikku · Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 12:32 am Post subject:

Evil laughter? I assume that's at Omega Ninth Dragon, 'cuz of the lack of evilness.

Anywho, I shall create a Shmod: Apocalypse section.

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