Recaps

Jiang He and the Duel Academy group entered the WDC tournament plan to confront Mr. Heartland and recover stolen souls, while Dr. Faker pursued his scheme to gather No. Darkness Cards. In Heartland City, Mr. Heartland welcomed Jiang He’s group and offered him a villa, pretending to apologize for Nistro and Dextra’s actions.

• Jiang He agreed to enter the WDC tournament, and Jaden Yuki, Chazz Princeton, Jack Atlas, and many others signed up as well.
• Mr. Heartland told Dr. Faker that Duel Academy and powerful duelists were coming to Heartland City, and Dr. Faker planned to use gathered No. Darkness Cards and Hart’s power to destroy the Astral World.
• Mr. Heartland warned Dr. Faker that Jiang He had defeated Nistro, Dextra, and Kite, but Dr. Faker insisted Kite had gained new power and threatened to retrieve the cards himself if needed.
• Jiang He, Alexis Rhodes, Akiza Izinski, and the others arrived in Heartland City aboard a cruise ship and were greeted by Mr. Heartland.
• Mr. Heartland offered Jiang He a villa as an apology for Nistro and Dextra’s attack, while shifting the blame onto them; Jiang He and the others saw through his act.

Jiang He accepted Mr. Heartland’s villa and watched him deny any connection to the criminals Nistro and Dextra, while Yuma Tsukumo and Jaden Yuki believed him. The group then learned the WDC tournament’s heart-fragment rules, and Aster Phoenix challenged Kaiser Zane Truesdale to compete for the most fragments as Jack Atlas joined in.

• Jiang He accepted Mr. Heartland’s villa and questioned whether he had ties to Nistro and Dextra, but Mr. Heartland denied knowing anything about them and left.
• Yuma Tsukumo and Jaden Yuki believed Mr. Heartland’s explanation, while Jiang He and the others recognized that he was lying.
• Jiang He’s group gathered at the villa, where Alexis Rhodes and Akiza Izinski discouraged the others from staying over, and Yusei Fudo redirected the conversation to the tournament.
• Bastion Misawa explained that duelists needed five matching heart fragments to reach the WDC knockout stage, and Jiang He warned that overlapping fragment shapes could leave far fewer than sixteen qualifiers.
• Aster Phoenix challenged Kaiser Zane Truesdale to compete for the most heart fragments, and Jack Atlas declared that he would join them.

Jiang He began the WDC preliminaries by accepting ruby fragments from Alexis Rhodes and Akiza Izinski, who had joined the tournament only to help him. After a swift duel in an alley, he recognized the victors as IV and III of the Three Heraldic Brothers.

• Jiang He offered Yuma Tsukumo more special training with the Number Xyz Monster Darkness Cards, and Astral persuaded a frightened Yuma to accept.
• Jiang He, Alexis Rhodes, Akiza Izinski, and their companions headed to Heartland as Mr. Heartland announced the start of the four-day WDC preliminaries.
• Alexis Rhodes and Akiza Izinski gave Jiang He their ruby fragments, explaining that they had entered the tournament to make things easier for him.
• Jiang He led the group toward an alley after hearing a scream and realizing a duel had already ended.
• Jiang He found Bronk and Heartland Academy's class president unconscious, and recognized their victors as IV and III of the Three Heraldic Brothers.

Jiang He encountered IV and III at an abandoned construction site and baited IV into a Shadow Duel wagering No. Xyz Monster Darkness Cards. IV began the duel by summoning Gimmick Puppet Dreary Doll, whose appearance Jiang He mocked.

• IV and III recognized Jiang He as a target, but III warned IV that V wanted to deal with him if possible.
• Jiang He showed that he had already collected three ruby fragments and said tournament rules no longer required him to accept IV's challenge.
• Jiang He proposed a Shadow Duel with their No. Xyz Monster Darkness Cards at stake, and IV agreed, relying on Vetrix's crest for protection.
• Jiang He and IV started the duel, and IV took the first turn.
• IV summoned Gimmick Puppet Dreary Doll in Defense Position, and Jiang He and the onlookers reacted with disgust at the monster's appearance.

IV summoned [No. 15: Gimmick Puppet Giant Grinder] and ended his turn, leaving Jiang He to face the Rank 8 Number Xyz Monster. Jiang He began his turn by discarding a Zombie monster to Special Summon [Boron The Reaper Jack-o'-Lantern].

• IV destroyed [Gimmick Puppet Dreary Doll] to activate its effect and Special Summon two [Gimmick Puppet Necro Dolls] from his hand.
• IV overlaid the two Level 8 [Gimmick Puppet Necro Dolls] to Xyz Summon [No. 15: Gimmick Puppet Giant Grinder].
• IV set one card and ended his turn.
• Jiang He drew a card and activated [Boron The Reaper Jack-o'-Lantern]'s effect, discarding a Zombie monster from his hand.
• Jiang He Special Summoned [Boron The Reaper Jack-o'-Lantern] to his field.

Jiang He used his Undead monsters to Xyz Summon Raidraptor - Arsenal Falcon, then began a new sequence of plays during his attack on IV. The duel continued with Jiang He summoning Raidraptor - Force Strix and activating Lyrilusc - Bird Sanctuary.

• Jiang He revived Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon with Monster Reborn and overlaid it with Boron The Reaper Jack-o'-Lantern to Xyz Summon Raidraptor - Arsenal Falcon.
• Jiang He attacked IV's No. 15: Gimmick Puppet Giant Grinder to activate Raidraptor - Strangle Lanius's effect and Special Summoned it from his hand.
• Jiang He Tributed Raidraptor - Strangle Lanius to Special Summon Raidraptor - Force Strix from his Extra Deck in Defense Position.
• Jiang He activated the Continuous Spell Lyrilusc - Bird Sanctuary from his hand.

Jiang He used [Lyrilusc - Bird Sanctuary] and [Raidraptor - Arsenal Falcon] to summon the Rank 10 [Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon], astonishing IV and the spectators. He then sent [Mezuki] to the Graveyard with [Shinobi Necro] and activated [Card of Safe Return], leaving IV stunned by another rare card.

• Jiang He used [Lyrilusc - Bird Sanctuary] to make [Raidraptor - Force Strix] an Xyz Material for [Raidraptor - Arsenal Falcon] and drew a card.
• Jiang He Tributed [Raidraptor - Arsenal Falcon] to summon [Shinobi Necro], while III warned IV that the Falcon’s lingering light might signal another summon.
• Jiang He activated [Raidraptor - Arsenal Falcon]’s effect and summoned the Rank 10 [Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon] from his Extra Deck.
• IV and the spectators reacted in shock to [Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon], and Astral said its power approached that of a god.
• Jiang He used [Shinobi Necro] to send [Mezuki] from his deck to the Graveyard, then activated [Card of Safe Return], which Rei Saotome recognized as a treasure from Rudger.

Jiang He revived Boron The Reaper Jack-o'-Lantern, drew cards with Card of Safe Return, and used Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon to weaken IV's monster. IV's attempt to destroy the Falcon failed because it was unaffected by other cards, leaving IV facing its growing attack-reducing effect.

• Jiang He banished Mezuki to revive Boron The Reaper Jack-o'-Lantern and drew three cards with Card of Safe Return.
• Jiang He set three cards and used Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon's effect to reduce Number 15: Gimmick Puppet Giant Grinder's attack from 1,500 to 500.
• IV activated Number 15: Gimmick Puppet Giant Grinder's effect to destroy the other Xyz Monsters on the field.
• Jiang He revealed that Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon was unaffected by other cards, and its radiance melted IV's puppet strings before they could reach it.
• IV realized the Falcon's resilience and recurring attack reduction made it difficult to defeat.

IV used Graceful Charity and his Gimmick Puppet effects to summon Number 88: Gimmick Puppet of Leo, then revealed its ability to win the Duel by detaching all its Xyz Materials. Jiang He drew six cards from IV’s graveyard summons and remained unconcerned as Leo began counting down toward its special victory.

• IV activated Graceful Charity, drew three cards, and discarded two Gimmick Puppet monsters.
• IV banished those monsters to Special Summon two Gimmick Puppet Necro Dolls, letting Jiang He draw six cards with Card of Safe Return.
• IV Normal Summoned Gimmick Puppet Gear Changer and raised its Level to eight.
• IV used the three Level-eight monsters as materials to Xyz Summon Number 88: Gimmick Puppet of Leo.
• IV detached one of Leo’s Xyz Materials and explained that detaching all of them would let him win outright; Jiang He was not worried.

Jiang He used Venom Swamp and Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon to weaken IV’s Number monsters, destroying Number 15: Gimmick Puppet Giant Grinder and leaving Number 88: Gimmick Puppet of Leo badly weakened. He then began summoning Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon from his graveyard as IV’s turn ended.

• Jiang He activated Virtual World to search his deck for Venom Swamp and placed the Field Spell on the field.
• Jiang He explained that Venom Swamp placed Venom Counters on face-up monsters at each turn’s end, reducing their attack by 500 and destroying any monster reduced to zero.
• Venom Swamp destroyed IV’s Number 15: Gimmick Puppet Giant Grinder and lowered Number 88: Gimmick Puppet of Leo’s attack to 2,700.
• Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon reduced Number 88: Gimmick Puppet of Leo’s attack by another 1,000, leaving it with 1,700 attack points.
• Jiang He banished Boron The Reaper Jack-o'-Lantern until the end of the turn and Special Summoned Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon from his graveyard.

Jiang He repeated his Raidraptor combo, summoning a second Arsenal Falcon and preparing to Tribute it with Mystik Wok. The Falcon was tossed into the enormous wok as Jiang He activated the spell, leaving the onlookers stunned.

• Jiang He revived Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon and Boron The Reaper Jack-o'-Lantern, bringing two Level 7 monsters together again.
• Jiang He Xyz Summoned a second Raidraptor - Arsenal Falcon, then summoned Raidraptor - Strangle Lanius and used it to Special Summon Raidraptor - Force Strix.
• Jiang He used Lyrilusc - Bird Sanctuary to turn Force Strix into Xyz Material for Arsenal Falcon.
• IV objected that Jiang He could not Tribute Arsenal Falcon after using his Normal Summon, but Jiang He revealed he still had a way to send it to the Graveyard.
• Jiang He activated Mystik Wok and Tributed Arsenal Falcon to recover life points, while the spell’s giant wok began tossing the steel falcon around.

Jiang He summoned a second Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon and used his monsters and Venom Swamp to weaken IV’s No. 88 - Gimmick Puppet of Leo. IV drew Reckless Greed to bolster his hand, leaving the duel poised as Leo faced destruction at the end of the turn.

• Jiang He used Raidraptor - Arsenal Falcon’s effect to summon a second Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon from his Extra Deck and attach Arsenal Falcon to it as Xyz Material.
• Jiang He set another card, discarded a Spell Card because he had too many cards in his hand, and ended his turn.
• Jiang He activated one Ultimate Falcon’s effect to reduce No. 88 - Gimmick Puppet of Leo’s attack by 1000, leaving it at 700 so Venom Swamp could affect it.
• Venom Swamp placed a counter on No. 88 - Gimmick Puppet of Leo and reduced its attack to 200, putting it at risk of destruction at the end of IV’s turn.
• IV drew a card, then flipped Reckless Greed to draw two more cards while agreeing to skip his next two Draw Phases.

IV tried to protect Number 88: Gimmick Puppet of Leo with Numbers' Wall, but Jiang He negated it with Solemn Judgment. IV then revived Gimmick Puppet Necro Dolls to trigger Card of Safe Return and force Jiang He to draw, while preparing another revival that could empty his Deck.

• IV activated Trap Booster, discarded a Gimmick Puppet, and played Numbers' Wall to prevent Number monsters from being destroyed by card effects.
• Jiang He flipped Solemn Judgment, paid half his Life Points, and negated and destroyed Numbers' Wall.
• At III's reminder, IV noticed Jiang He's Card of Safe Return and revived two Gimmick Puppet Necro Dolls from his Graveyard, making Jiang He draw six cards.
• IV activated Gimmick's Card of Safe Return to destroy one Necro Doll and draw a card, then used Graceful Charity to draw three and discard two Gimmick Puppets.
• IV began activating a Necro Doll's Graveyard effect again, while Jiang He remained calm as IV prepared to force him to draw more cards.

Jiang He thwarted IV’s attempt to empty his deck by using Emergency Provisions and Mystical Space Typhoon, forcing IV to concede the duel. Afterward, Jiang He claimed three of IV’s Number Xyz Monsters, and a strange voice warned IV and III to retreat.

• Jiang He activated Emergency Provisions, sending Card of Safe Return and Lyrilusc - Bird Sanctuary to the graveyard and gaining 2,000 LP.
• IV claimed he could still win by surviving until Jiang He ran out of cards, but Jiang He activated Mystical Space Typhoon and destroyed IV’s set Continuous Trap Elemental Absorber.
• IV conceded the duel, but when it ended, three Number Xyz Monster cards flew from his deck into Jiang He’s hand.
• IV cried out that his Heraldic Power had failed to protect his Number Darkness Cards as Jiang He took the three cards.
• A purple vortex appeared beneath IV and III, and a strange voice warned them to withdraw because Jiang He was beyond their ability to handle.

Jiang He’s group collected Vetrix’s ruby fragments and set out to find the last one, while Yuma and Astral went their own way. Near an amusement-park Ferris wheel, they found Chazz dueling a young girl as the teachers offered Jiang He special treatment.

• Vetrix and IV vanished, leaving three ruby fragments behind, and Jiang He explained that Vetrix had a connection to the Barian World.
• Jiang He compared the fragments and found that one fit his heart-shaped frame, bringing his total to four; Alexis Rhodes and Akiza Izinski knocked Rei Saotome on the head after she clung to his arm.
• Jiang He’s group decided to search for the final fragment, while Yuma Tsukumo and Astral split off to find their own opponents.
• Tori Meadows contacted Heartland City’s medical staff about the two unconscious duelists, and the group continued through Heartland.
• Jiang He’s group found Chazz Princeton dueling a young girl near an amusement-park Ferris wheel, where Professor Crowler and Vice Chancellor Bonaparte welcomed Jiang He with tea and snacks.

Jiang He and the others watched Chazz Princeton duel Anna Kaboom, who had challenged Duel Academy students after Heartland Academy rejected her. Anna summoned powerful Level 10 train monsters, leaving Chazz facing a looming threat as she prepared to continue her play.

• Professor Crowler and Vice Chancellor Bonaparte fawned over Jiang He, while Syrus Truesdale and Bastion Misawa explained why Anna Kaboom had challenged the group.
• Chazz Princeton attacked Anna with [VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon], but Anna stopped the attack with [Negate Attack].
• Anna drew and Special Summoned [Rocket Arrow Express], a Level 10 monster with 5000 attack points, though its effect prevented it from attacking that turn.
• Anna summoned [Night Express Knight] without tributing, reducing its attack to 0 as the cost of its effect.

Anna Kaboom summoned Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max and cut Chazz’s Life Points in half before powering up the Xyz Monster for a final attack. The attack bore down on Chazz’s VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon, leaving the duel’s outcome unresolved.

• Anna Kaboom overlaid Rocket Arrow Express and Night Express Knight to Xyz Summon Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max.
• Anna used Gustav Max’s effect to inflict 2,000 damage, reducing Chazz’s Life Points from 4,000 to 2,000.
• Chazz argued that his VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon could deal with Gustav Max, but Anna activated the Equip Spell Machina Armored Unit.
• Anna banished two Level 10 Machine monsters from her Graveyard to equip Machina Armored Unit to Gustav Max, raising its attack from 3,000 to 6,000.
• Anna ordered Gustav Max to attack Chazz’s VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon as Bonaparte and Professor Crowler feared Chazz would lose.

Chazz Princeton used Power Wall to survive Anna Kaboom’s attack, then revealed his new Armed Dragon Thunder cards and summoned Armed Dragon Thunder LV5. The duel remained unresolved as Chazz prepared to continue his turn against Anna’s powerful cannon monster.

• Anna Kaboom attacked Chazz Princeton’s VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon with Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max.
• Chazz Princeton activated Power Wall, sending six cards from his Deck to the Graveyard to prevent the battle damage, but his monster was destroyed.
• Anna Kaboom ended her turn, confident that her 6,000-ATK Gustav Max would defeat Chazz on her next turn.
• Chazz Princeton drew and activated Armed Dragon Blitz to Special Summon Armed Dragon Thunder LV3 from his Deck.
• Chazz Princeton used Armed Dragon Thunder LV3’s effect, sending it and another copy from his hand to the Graveyard to Special Summon Armed Dragon Thunder LV5.

Chazz evolved his Armed Dragon Thunder through LV5 and LV7 into Armed Dragon Thunder LV10, then raised its attack to 7,000 with Armed Dragon Blitz. He also revived Despair from the Dark, leaving Anna Kaboom facing Chazz’s powerful field.

• Chazz used Armed Dragon Thunder LV3’s graveyard effect to draw a card.
• Chazz tributed Armed Dragon Thunder LV5 and a card from his hand to summon Armed Dragon Thunder LV7.
• Chazz tributed Armed Dragon Thunder LV7 and Armed Dragon LV10 from his hand to summon Armed Dragon Thunder LV10.
• Chazz activated Armed Dragon Blitz, raising Armed Dragon Thunder LV10’s attack by 4,000 to 7,000.
• Chazz banished Mezuki from his graveyard to Special Summon Despair from the Dark from his graveyard.

Chazz defeated Anna Kaboom in a duel, only to learn she was not participating in the WDC and had no Heart Piece to give him. As Jiang He sought the piece missing from his set, Reginald Kastle appeared with it, but Jiang He sensed that Vetrix’s power was influencing him.

• Chazz revived Despair from the Dark and used it with Armed Dragon Thunder LV10 to defeat Anna Kaboom, reducing her Life Points to zero.
• Anna revealed she was not participating in the WDC and flew away, leaving Chazz without a Heart Piece.
• Jiang He offered Chazz a duel for his Heart Pieces, but Chazz refused and showed that his piece matched one Jiang He already had.
• Reginald Kastle arrived with the Heart Piece Jiang He needed, prompting Professor Crowler and Vice Chancellor Bonaparte to identify him as a talented new student and former top professional duelist.
• Jiang He and Sphere Kuriboh sensed that Vetrix’s Heraldic Power was influencing and partly controlling Reginald.

Jiang He accepted Reginald Kastle’s wager: Reginald would return the No. Xyz Darkness Cards Jiang He had won if he lost, while staking his own No. monster and promised funds. Their duel began, and Reginald summoned Submersible Carrier Aero Shark, whose effect struck Jiang He with a 1,600-damage attack.

• Reginald Kastle revealed that he had taken a commission to win money for his sister’s treatment and offered a No. Xyz Darkness Card as part of the wager.
• Jiang He agreed to duel Reginald over the return of the Darkness Cards and the funds he had been promised.
• Jiang He and Reginald began their duel with 4,000 Life Points each, and Reginald took the first turn.
• Reginald summoned Deep Sea Sea Dog and Shark Remora, then used them to Xyz Summon Submersible Carrier Aero Shark.
• Reginald activated Aero Shark’s effect, detached an Xyz Material, and launched torpedoes that exploded in front of Jiang He for 1,600 damage.

Jiang He used his Runick cards to destroy Reginald Kastle’s monster and banish cards from his deck, then revealed another spell that threatened to accelerate the deck depletion. Reginald dismissed the losses as harmless as Jiang He prepared to destroy one of his Spell or Trap cards and banish four more cards.

• Reginald Kastle dealt 1,600 damage to Jiang He with [Submersible Carrier Aero Shark], leaving Jiang He with 2,400 LP, then set two cards and ended his turn.
• Jiang He activated the Continuous Spell [Runick Smiting Storm], which could banish a card from Reginald’s deck whenever either player activated a Quick-Play Spell.
• Jiang He activated [Runick Flashing Fire] to destroy [Submersible Carrier Aero Shark] and banish two cards from Reginald’s deck, then [Runick Smiting Storm] banished another card.
• Reginald complained that losing three cards would not hurt him and challenged Jiang He to use whatever other moves he had.
• Jiang He activated [Runick Destruction] and explained that it could destroy one Spell or Trap on Reginald’s field and banish four cards from the top of his deck.

Jiang He used Runick spells to destroy Reginald’s Trap and banish cards from his deck, then activated Runick Fountain to recycle his spent spells and refill his hand. He ended his turn with two set cards, while Reginald had 24 cards left in his deck and Jiang He’s defenses remained uncertain.

• Jiang He activated Runick Destruction, destroying Reginald’s face-down Rage Rift and banishing four cards from Reginald’s deck.
• Reginald argued that Jiang He would run out of cards before emptying his deck, and Yusei and the spectators agreed that Jiang He’s Life Points were at risk.
• Jiang He activated the Field Spell Runick Fountain, which let him return Runick Quick-Play Spells from his Graveyard to his deck and draw the same number of cards.
• Jiang He activated Runick Tip to add Runick Freezing Curses to his hand and banish a card from Reginald’s deck.
• Jiang He triggered Runick Smiting Storm and Runick Fountain, banishing another card and recycling three spells to draw three cards, restoring his hand to five.
• Jiang He set two cards and ended his turn.

Jiang He used Runick cards to stall Reginald Kastle as Reginald summoned Number 32: Shark Drake under Vetrix’s influence. Jiang He stopped Shark Drake from attacking and banished cards from Reginald’s Deck.

• Jiang He ended his turn after setting two cards, leaving Reginald to draw and summon Hammer Shark.
• Reginald activated Bubble Bringer, revived Deep Sea Sea Dog, and raised its Level to 4.
• Reginald used Hammer Shark and Deep Sea Sea Dog as Xyz Materials to summon Number 32: Shark Drake.
• Jiang He activated Runick Slumber from his hand during Reginald’s turn, using Runick Fountain’s effect.
• Jiang He made Shark Drake unable to attack and immune to destruction that turn, then banished the top three cards of Reginald’s Deck.

Jiang He used Runick effects to put Number 32: Shark Drake to sleep and banish more cards from Reginald Kastle’s deck, but Reginald replenished his hand and summoned a second Submersible Carrier Aero Shark. The Duel ended with Jiang He facing a possible 2400 points of effect damage, exactly enough to eliminate his remaining Life Points.

• Jiang He used Runick Slumber to prevent Number 32: Shark Drake from attacking and activated Runick Smiting Storm to banish another card from Reginald Kastle’s deck.
• Reginald Kastle activated Xyz Treasure, drew four cards by targeting Number 32: Shark Drake, and reduced his deck to 16 cards.
• Reginald Kastle activated Monster Reborn to Special Summon Deep Sea Sea Dog from his Graveyard.
• Reginald Kastle equipped Aqua Jet Mirage to Deep Sea Sea Dog and used them to Xyz Summon a second Submersible Carrier Aero Shark.
• The observers realized that Submersible Carrier Aero Shark could deal Jiang He 2400 effect damage if its effect succeeded twice, matching his remaining Life Points.