Chapter 2: The Starting Deck

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You Xuan logged separately onto the card query websites of Kaiba Corporation and the International Fantasy Society, searching for card pools currently available for direct purchase on the market.

First and foremost was the card that any card enthusiast transported here with a sound intellect would undoubtedly seek—

—the Pot of Greed.

Or rather, the ultra-powerful card-drawing engine unique to the early anime world, epitomized by the Pot of Greed.

The Pot of Greed allows you to draw two cards from your deck unconditionally. Such a straightforward and brutally effective effect has condemned this card to be perpetually banned in the real card environment, making it a symbol of indefinite suspension unlikely to ever be lifted in the foreseeable future.

Its equally unfortunate companion is “Graceful Charity,” which not only lets you draw three cards from your deck but also requires you to discard two cards from your hand to the graveyard. As Yu-Gi-Oh! evolved into an era where graveyard and hand resources became nearly indistinguishable, the terrifying power of drawing three while simultaneously filling the graveyard has even surpassed that of the Pot of Greed.

However, these cards were not highly valued by duelists during the Duel Monsters (DM) anime era. By the GX period, it seemed duelists in the anime world had begun to recognize their formidable strength. After all, in GX, you could see the protagonists each wielding at least one Pot of Greed and one Graceful Charity. In the duel involving the heroine Asuka, you could even witness a Pot of Greed chain into another Pot of Greed—a ruthless spectacle indeed.

When it came to monster cards, You Xuan began to experience a bit of choice paralysis.

Because among the entire card pool, he couldn’t find a single card he liked. As a seasoned card player who had traveled through worlds, he found it impossible to make use of cards that required tributes for higher-level summons and resulted merely in a monster with a mediocre 2000+ attack.

There were relatively decent monsters available, but many were rare and out of stock, making them impossible to purchase.

For instance, the first card that came to mind was “Jinzo,” one of the signature monsters of the previous generation protagonist Joey Wheeler. It’s a Level 6 requiring only one tribute to summon, boasting a respectable 2400 attack points and, in the early environment, a game-breaking effect that prevented the use of trap cards while it was on the field.

You Xuan recalled that in this era’s real card environment, Jinzo was an excellent single card and a staple in top-tier tournament decks.

However, upon checking, it was out of stock.

Jinzo was a highly rare card, perpetually unavailable, and simply impossible to buy.

This left You Xuan feeling somewhat frustrated. He quickly realized another crucial difference between the anime environment and the real card world was the difficulty of obtaining cards.

In reality, players can instantly view the entire current card pool and use virtually any card to build any deck. But duelists in the Yu-Gi-Oh! world do not have such conveniences.

There were also some cards he wanted but, upon glimpsing their prices, immediately gasped in dismay.

No way.

You Xuan was well aware that cards in this world were virtually equivalent to weapons and power, so he was prepared to spend whatever it took to acquire essential cards.

Yet, seeing the exorbitant prices of certain rare cards, he thought that even selling himself might not be enough to afford them...

This was not an exaggeration but a literal truth.

Indeed, the price gap between ordinary and rare cards in this world was staggering. The prices for common cards and regular booster packs were similar to those in his previous world, affordable by most people. But some rare cards were worth as much as a house.

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And that was for rare cards that were still somewhat obtainable. The famously scarce “Blue-Eyes White Dragon,” of which only three copies existed worldwide—all in Seto Kaiba’s possession—was out of the question.

Further research revealed that, besides car loans and mortgages, this world even had something called “card loans.” As the name suggests, you could take out loans to buy cards...

“You really feel the pain of not having cards...” You Xuan muttered with a sneer.

Fortunately, despite these constraints, he managed to cobble together a deck idea with the cards available to him.

The prototype of this deck was the historically milestone deck in real Yu-Gi-Oh! competitive history: the first-ever World Championship-winning deck.

Hand Destruction.

Perhaps every novice duelist who got into the game through the anime nurtures unrealistic fantasies about dueling—battles between towering high-attack monsters, fierce exchanges of offense and defense, and decisive victories in exhilarating fights...

But that was a false image of Yu-Gi-Oh!.

The real Yu-Gi-Oh! is a game where only one person at the table truly plays Yu-Gi-Oh!.

The most reliable way to win is to completely erase your opponent’s tactical options, leaving them unable to play any cards. This philosophy has always remained constant, from the earliest days to the present.

“Hand Destruction” decks are built around this idea. As the name implies, their strategy is to destroy the opponent’s hand, leaving them helpless and forced to watch idly from the start of the duel—a pioneer of the “hellish” deck style.

Facing such a deck, the opponent’s understanding of dueling is utterly overturned; the poor soul experiences a rapid series of emotional blows: skyrocketing blood pressure, “Should I even attack you?” and finally, “Summon my fist in attack position”—a relentless barrage of frustration.

So, if there is one major flaw to such decks, it’s that the user’s personal safety often cannot be guaranteed...

Of course, You Xuan could not remember the entire build of this ancient championship deck, and some rare cards were beyond his reach. Therefore, he merely borrowed the concept and created a new deck himself.

For the few vacant spots in the deck, he filled them with decent-quality trap cards.

In truth, some traps didn’t offer much advantage from You Xuan’s perspective; they weren’t necessarily that useful. The main benefit was simply overwhelming the opponent with traps to disrupt their mindset.

He wasn’t a devilish person trying to mess with others for fun. Psychological warfare is part of dueling, and sometimes breaking the opponent’s mental composure before depleting their Life Points is a very effective tactic.

Yes, that was the plan.

While casually browsing web pages, his eyes suddenly lit up when he skimmed over a particular entry.

Jinzo, stock quantity: 1.

You Xuan immediately scrolled back and clicked to check.

But the website promptly denied access.

“No access permission.”

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“Exclusive to the Academy Division.”

You Xuan paused.

The Academy Division? What was that?

After another round of online research, he finally understood.

The so-called Academy Division referred to the Duel Academy, the world’s largest dueling school established and personally managed by Seto Kaiba. He bought an entire island to serve as its headquarters and fully stocked the academy with resources.

Students on the island had the privilege of accessing newly released booster packs ahead of the public and channels to purchase rare cards that were otherwise impossible to obtain. Moreover, they enjoyed deeply discounted prices during purchases.

Even ignoring the academy’s top-notch facilities and teaching staff, the lure of rare cards and such discounts was enough to make anyone envious.

For students with outstanding grades, academic achievements and credits could be exchanged for cards. In a world where a single card could fetch astronomical prices, this significantly reduced students’ deck-building expenses.

Not to mention that graduates of Duel Academy received the strongest credentials in the dueling world, granting priority recommendations whether they sought to enter the professional scene, work for Kaiba Corporation, or join the International Fantasy Society.

Browsing further, You Xuan even caught sight of “Chaos Sorcerer”!

Chaos Sorcerer was a Level 6 monster with 2300 attack points. It could be summoned by banishing Light and Dark attribute monsters from the graveyard and could once per turn banish an opponent’s monster from play—a potent effect.

Because its summoning conditions and effects were similar to the more famous “Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning,” Chaos Sorcerer became a popular substitute after the latter was banned, earning the nickname “Little Envoy” among card players and holding a frontline position in the current meta.

In this world, Black Luster Soldier was an ultra-rare card; the anime only showed one in the hands of the Dueling King Yugi Muto, and another copy in Yugi’s GX-era deck used solely for exhibition. No others had ever been seen.

Thus, obtaining the Black Luster Soldier was nearly impossible. But acquiring a Chaos Sorcerer would be excellent.

There were also other decent rare cards, equally scarce on the market and genuinely discounted compared to their standard prices.

Taking a deep breath at this point, You Xuan made his decision.

He would enroll in Duel Academy.

If he didn’t get in, he would try again.