Noah's Deck

Yu Ming felt like he was doing his best to adapt to the situation, but when the deck of cards was truly laid out before him, he still felt caught off guard, a sense of bewilderment washing over him.

It was as if he'd been racking his brain moments ago, trying to figure out how to deal with this precocious kid and navigate what felt like a political and psychological battlefield, only for the scene to suddenly shift.

How should he put it…

Yu-Gi-Oh! truly lived up to its name. Almost any logical progression could lead directly to a card game, and it even had a corresponding philosophy to go with it.

"Yu Ming, do you know there's a very interesting saying that's always been popular in the Duel Monsters community?"

As Yu Ming was shuffling his deck according to the rules, he heard Noah Kaiba slowly begin to speak.

"A deck isn't just a manifestation of bonds; it's also a resume and a symbol of one's life."

Here it was, the unique argument found in anime. Works centered around a specific game always seemed to feature similar concepts.

"Because of this, they believe that duels are sacred rituals. The process of a duel can reveal a person's true nature, and the construction of a deck can represent one's inherent character."

From an anime perspective, there was nothing wrong with that statement.

After all, just look at what the characters in the anime played to understand.

Seto Kaiba favored high attack and high defense, and he also liked to crush his opponent's combat power head-on with an overbearing attitude.

Pharaoh played aggressive decks while maintaining a righteous image, Little Yugi played righteous decks while maintaining an aggressive image, and then there was Joey Wheeler with his endless supply of dice.

In a card game series, decks were clearly used to establish character personas and leave a lasting impression.

But now, Yu Ming couldn't view these things from his original audience perspective anymore.

As he genuinely operated in this world, having played two days of "life-or-death" card games, he couldn't help but consider one thing:

"So what about those who can't afford cards?"

"Hmm?"

Perhaps not expecting Yu Ming to ask such a question, Noah was momentarily stunned.

Then, his expression gradually turned peculiar.

"Can't afford them?"

Seeing the genuine confusion on the boy's face, Yu Ming placed the shuffled deck on the table.

"If I remember correctly, the cards themselves aren't cheap."

In his previous life, the situation was somewhat better; there were ways to get whatever you wanted to play. If you didn't consider rarity, collecting a deck wasn't too expensive.

But the world of the anime was different. The emphasis on "everyone playing cards" ironically turned some cards into rare commodities.

Though Yu Ming vaguely remembered the concept of rarity being mentioned in the GX anime—two of Chazz Princeton's older brothers had collected a set of pure rarity Dragon-type cards—for most card players and anime fans, the most memorable were Exodia, of which only one set existed worldwide, and the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, of which only four existed.

These two also contributed to what anime fans considered the first immature but groundbreaking duel.

Of course, there were also the timeless memes.

"M-m-meaningless…"

"What did you say?"

"I said cards are expensive."

Yu Ming said with a smile.

"The price of many cards is prohibitive, which forces many people to look for alternatives… I think in this situation, a deck represents a person's financial resources and background rather than their true nature."

"That's a very fresh perspective."

Noah, who had also placed his shuffled deck on the table, pushed it towards Yu Ming.

"But I still think what was said wasn't wrong, because a person's dueling style doesn't really change."

"Perhaps."

Then, he pulled out a crow-emblazoned coin. In that instant, the previously lively atmosphere seemed to come to an abrupt halt.

"Heads or tails?"

"I don't care."

"Then I'll choose heads. I prefer crows."

Clink!

With a flick, the small coin spun and flipped, the exquisite crow emblem alternating with the unknown blank side.

"By the way, Keith spoke quite highly of your skill in his report."

In the brief pause, Yu Ming even saw Noah smiling.

"So I'm very much looking forward to what kind of duel you'll present."

Looking forward to what?

His dueling style?

Clink!

As the coin fell and bounced, Yu Ming couldn't help but close his eyes.

Speaking of so-called duel styles, I guess those are the main ones, right?

Seto Kaiba's glory and power.

Little Yugi's friendship and bonds.

Jaden Yuki's miracles and the unknown.

Yusei Fudo's cooperation and unity.

And then there's the later symbol of hope, soaring to the heavens, the damn Smiling World… Okay, I might have mixed in something strange there.

But generally, that's what it is.

So, what would his duel style be?

Traditional trap-heavy beatdown?

Highly efficient card drawing?

Extremely high attack power?

Or even the explosive combo plays that were so difficult to achieve in the DM era?

Thinking about this, Yu Ming suddenly laughed.

Snap

He covered the still-bouncing coin, preemptively deciding the outcome that hadn't been determined yet.

Then, he slowly opened his eyes.

"The result might be a little different from what you expect, Noah."

"Why?"

"Because even I don't know what kind of style I truly have."

Things like "soul cards" or "ace monsters"—he hadn't considered any of that.

As for tactics, he could only say that right now, there was a lot of compromise involved, as his card pool was pitifully small.

"But… there's one thing I can be sure of."

"What is it?"

"I want to win."

Yu Ming said, enunciating each word.

"Playing games is about winning; I've always believed that."

"Is that so? Then it looks like we're in for a good fight."

The boy stretched.

In a certain stillness, the atmosphere seemed to grow tense.

After a moment of silence, the voice rang out:

"Duel."

Noah Kaiba LP: 4000

Yu Ming LP: 4000

As the high-tech duel disk displayed the Life Points, Yu Ming slowly moved his palm away. On the coin he had been holding down, the crow symbol on the top side gazed up at them.

"Heads! Heads!"

Amidst the hoarse voice of the Yata-Garasu spirit, Noah smiled slightly.

"Looks like my luck is better. I'll take the first turn."

The boy's small hand drew a card.

"My turn, draw!"

As the child's clear voice rang out, Yu Ming gazed at the six cards in that small hand.

What kind of development would unfold from behind that dark vortex?

"I activate the Spell Card 'Pot of Greed'! I can draw two cards from my deck."

"..."

Unable to help himself, Yu Ming covered his face and began to take deep breaths.

Well, what could he say?

He was used to it. Everyone in the DM era used Pot of Greed and Graceful Charity for card drawing; these were basic operations. But he himself hadn't fully adapted to it yet.

Really, even though he knew he probably wasn't in a position to talk about forbidden cards, seeing others draw more cards than him felt worse than losing cards himself.

"But it doesn't matter…"

What mattered was his deck composition!

Even though Noah used an original Deck Master rule in the anime, thanks to the increasingly refined Duel Monsters rules and the real cards that had been released, his deck could still be analyzed using the thought processes of experienced players.

Yu Ming remembered Noah's deck being split into two parts. Aside from the "Creation of Heaven and Earth" filled with various un-OCG-ized original spell cards, his monsters primarily focused on Spirit Monsters!

Which meant...

"Yata-Garasu?"

But Spirit Monsters didn't seem suited for a first-turn play, did they?

"Next, I'll assemble two Gear monsters from my hand as materials."

"Huh?"

As Yu Ming watched in astonishment, Noah discarded two cards from his hand to the Graveyard.

Then, he slowly slammed a monster down.

"I Special Summon Gear Commander Blaster Spinner."

Caw!

Caw!

Caw!

For some inexplicable reason, the hoarse cries of crows echoed through the room.

Never again will I try to guess my opponent's deck. Damn it.