ANOMALY DETECTED

[indigo_league]

Who: ANYONE AND EVERYONE
Where: ANYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE
When: NOV 25TH to 27TH
Summary: GET IN HERE AND MINGLE
Rating: BUT PLEASE MARK YOUR THREAD CONTENT ACCORDINGLY
Log:






Need a reminder of our Fourth Wall Rules or what is going on this weekend? Want to check what locations have been made available? Find all your answers here!

Comments

[dreamsofahero]

"Then that would mean that if you never happen to acquire some of those lower level ones, you wouldn't be able to use anyway."

Normally, at least. And yes, he was able to come to that conclusion just based on the explanation that higher level ones require something already fielded to be summoned.

[thetombkeeper]

At least he gets it.

"Yeah, that can happen from time to time. They call that a bricked hand."

He's had plenty of those against his sister, that's for sure.

"Both players start with 4000 life points. The purpose of the Duel is to get your opponent's life points to zero. If you don't have a monster on the field, any attacks will hit you directly. Monsters have Attack Points and Defense Points depending on what position you play them in."

[dreamsofahero]

Just because he lacks experience with games doesn't mean he can't figure it out!

"Then wouldn't the possibility of a hand like that potentially mean the difference between winning or losing the match?"

He's still trying to see how much sheer luck factors into this, really.

[thetombkeeper]

"It can. It really depends on if you continue to draw only spells and traps with no monsters and how many life points you still have. There are also some spell and trap cards that allow you to look through your deck and pull a monster."

[dreamsofahero]

Now, this is new information that hadn't factored into his prior assessments so far. That there were additionally means to potentially control or sidestep the randomness of drawing cards from a deck wasn't something Sion had realized was an element of the game.

"... If that's the case, then it would be possible to play cards that would largely eliminate the need to rely on chance."

Potential UB control deck player here.

[thetombkeeper]

"Right," he nods. "Obviously you can't have too many of those specific cards in your deck. Some are on what's called a Limited or Banned List. That helps the game remain a bit more balanced."

He waves his hand. "But that's not super important unless you were legitimately looking to get into the game."

Marik glances around, catching a glimpse of the castle way in the distance above the treeline. "I really wish there were card packs on this island because I really need to rework my deck... Ah, but I digress. Were you... interested in seeing the game in action or do you want to check out Pegasus's Castle?"

[dreamsofahero]

"You mean using this device?"

... He might possibly be interested. He might also be reluctant to admit it. Though he does pause as he considers the way Marik's glancing around.

"Though if you wish to explore, by all means don't feel obligated to demonstrate just for my sake."

[thetombkeeper]

"Yeah. It's the best way to play the game, in my opinion. I didn't want you to feel obligated to try it if you'd rather explore or aren't interested." He smiles nervously. "If you do want to try, I don't mind teaching you."

[dreamsofahero]

Sion notices the nervousness. And while he can think of a few possible reasons for it, odds seem to be good that it's a case of wanting to demonstrate the game but not wanting to pressure anyone. In which case, given that Sion admittedly is curious about the technology in question...

"Well, while I admit exploring is tempting, it might be rather more worthwhile to see a proper demonstration of this device's capabilities while there's a chance, wouldn't you think?"

[thetombkeeper]

That's a good way of looking at it and seems to put Marik's nervousness at ease. He manages a normal smile and nods, taking a seat on one side of the table. "You're right. With me splitting my deck in half, it shouldn't take too long to get through the basics and show you a proper demonstration. I've taught a few people over the network but this Dueling Cube will help make it far more impressive."

He pulls the rest of the cards out of his deckbox and begins shuffling them. "Do you want me to teach you the easy way or the genuine way? Easy means we play all of our cards face up so I can teach you what each does and when you should use it. If you're confident enough and think you can figure it out on your own, we can play them face down."

[dreamsofahero]

"Why not start with a general overview of the game, and we can see from there?"

He's pretty sure he can remember the rules for summoning monsters that Marik's already mentioned, but there were clearly a lot of things left out from that explanation that are probably important. All those basics required to even get a game started.

[thetombkeeper]

"Works for me."

As he splits the deck, Chen moves to sit on the other side of the table to act as Sion's teaching assistant. While he's not great at reading, he's memorized what each of the cards do by the artwork.

"Each player starts with 4000 Life Points. The purpose of the Duel is to get your opponent's Life Points to zero. The way to do that is to destroy your opponent's monsters so they have nothing to defend themselves, letting you attack their life points directly. I'll get into that more once we've drawn our cards."

He sets a stack of 20 cards on Sion's side of the table.

"Because we have so little cards since we're splitting my deck, I'll need to downsize how the game works. 2000 life points instead of 4000. At the beginning of each game, we flip a coin to decide who goes first. Then both players draw 5 cards. There's multiple phases to a turn. Draw, Standby, Main 1, Battle, Main 2, and End. At the start of your turn you get to draw 1 new card, which is why it's called the Draw Phase."

Marik pulls a coin from his pocket and places it on his thumb nail.

"You want heads or tails?"

[dreamsofahero]

Sion listens as Marik explains, quickly mentally filing away each new piece of information. The explanation of the life points certainly would be a good reason why having monsters fielded quickly would be important, he can see.

"I take it this device will automatically track those points, rather than the players having to do so themselves?"

Since if they're having to do it manually, scrounging up something to write with may be in order.

"Let's go with heads."

[thetombkeeper]

The blonde nods in response to Sion's question. "Indeed, it does. That should show up once we properly start the game."

He flicks the coin into the air and catches it in the palm of his hand. "Heads. You can choose if you'd like to go first or second."

[dreamsofahero]

"Well, why don't you finish explaining the basics, and then I'll decide?"

He might want to take the first turn, but it's hard to be sure before he knows more about what the turn entails!

[thetombkeeper]

"If you were to go first, you'd move to the draw phase and draw 1 more card from your deck so you'd have 6 in your hand. Then you'd move on to Phase 1, as Standby doesn't really do anything on the first turn. From there you can decide if you want to summon a monster in attack or defense position. Their Attack and Defense Points can be found in the lower right hand corner. Then you can also set up any spells or traps in your back field as extra protection. The one downside to going first is that you can't attack because neither of us have monsters on the field.

"It's best to wait to activate any wireless spells or traps until the next turn but there are a few that come in handy right off the bat. If you're satisfied with what you've done then you end your turn and I go."

[dreamsofahero]

"What does the standby phase normally do, besides the first turn?"

He's already thinking ahead, yes. And apparently has been paying close attention.

"You also mentioned two 'main' phases, are the actions potentially taken the same in both, the only difference being whether or not combat has already occurred?"

... He's also full of questions.

[thetombkeeper]

"The standby phase is there in case you have Trap Cards, Quick-Play Spell Cards, or Monster Quick Effects that can be activated."

Marik's glad for it although he hopes he's an alright teacher.

"Sort of! As the same with the Standby Phase, there's some Spells, Traps, or Monsters that can't pop off their effects unless the specific timing has been met which is usually what the Main Phase 2 is for."

[dreamsofahero]

"That timing being in relation to actions that have already been taken in the first main phase or the battle phase, I presume?"

He's thinking in terms of, say, something that kicks in after performing an attack. Or something like that.

[thetombkeeper]

"You got it." The teen nods. "That's pretty much the summary of a turn. I'll admit, it's clicked faster with you than anyone else I've explained it to before.

"That being said, did you want to go first or second?"

[dreamsofahero]

"Really? It seemed rather straightforward to me..."

A lifetime of being surrounded by plots and needing to strategize and plan will do wonders for one's ability to figure out complex situations, perhaps.

"Well, you said whoever has the first turn can't attack, but can still summon a monster. I assume that the 'attack position' you mentioned would be having it ready to attack, does that mean you can only defend with one placed in 'defense position'?"

He's weighing the pros and cons of going first, here. This is what you get for dealing with a smartypants.

[thetombkeeper]

Marik shrugs, "Some people aren't strategically minded or have an interest in these sort of things."

Sion's question gets a nod. "Right. You could summon in Defense Mode if you wanted. I wouldn't know what your monster was or how many points it had. I'd be going in blind. So let's say you do go first and place a monster face down. I summon a monster on my turn and it has... 1200 Attack Points. I attack you. If you have 1200 or higher Defense Points, nothing happens besides your monster being flipped to face up position but it remains on the field." A pause. "But if it has less than 1200 Defense Points, it will get defeated. You don't lose any Life Points though as you guarded against my attack."

[dreamsofahero]

"I see..."

Sion takes a moment to think over all that. As haphazard as the explanation's been, well, it doesn't really seem to make any difference to him, seeing as how he's been taking it all in and drawing conclusions anyway.

"In that case, perhaps I'll take the first turn after all."

Is he really that confident in his hand? Or perhaps he's just bluffing...

[thetombkeeper]

Marik is not great at explaining how the game works. Explaining what his cards and tactics do though, that he could prattle on for hours about.

"Then you're good to draw 5 cards from your pile and then a 6th. The board is all yours," he says as he draws 5 of his own. Thankfully the table shows exactly where you're supposed to place the cards when you're choosing to play them so Sion shouldn't have too much trouble with that part.

"If you have any questions about a card in general, feel free to ask. I realize that's giving away your hand but I do know my deck inside and out."

I have no idea what's in Marik's deck so I guess just handwave the details?

[dreamsofahero]

Fortunately, Sion's good at reading between the lines and drawing conclusions, so he probably has a reasonable grasp on it now. Hopefully.

"I imagine that does give you a certain advantage, doesn't it?" Sion remarks as he draws the cards as instructed. His expression doesn't change as he looks over them, nor when he chooses one to play facedown.

Does he actually have a strategy? Or is he just winging it and hoping to get a feel as he goes? It's hard to say...