CH.762 The Sphere Field Tournament, part 2, Myrphe’s Story
Alright. Day 2 of the tournament is here. Day 1 was quite busy with 16 total matches, but luckily we are now down to just 8 for today.
And today, Myrphe was facing Damian, a returning finalist from the deck master tournament. During that tournament he used Elemental Heroes, and now Damian was running Heroic Challengers. As his main deck, but his extra deck had a variety of Xyz monsters. And he did sometimes use the Sphere Field deck, but he didn’t rely on it too much.
It was honestly nice to see Damian again. He did quite well in the duel against Myrphe, but her deck takes advantage of big lifepoint swings, which Heroic Challengers are kind of known for. You know, big attack, lots of damage quickly. So because of that, Myrphe was able to get the win with Number 35.
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Wilma faced her deck's natural predator. A Cyber Dragon/Machine Xyz deck. It was mostly Cyber Dragons, but there were a few other Machine monsters as well.
As I said when I got the structure deck, they weren’t originally in the card pool. But with the structure deck, you can make a Cyber Dragon Xyz deck work. Nova and Infinity are good enough that someone might run them. And they did.
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But the problem, for them, was that Wilma ran both Skill Drain and Forbidden Chalice to negate monster effects. Her trains operate quite well under the two, while most decks in the tournament don’t.
And while the Cyber Dragons do normally hard counter other Machine decks, they didn’t actually have access to Chimeratech Fortress Dragon. But they did get something else in ‘return’. A Machine Xyz that can be summoned using 1 Cyber Dragon and 1 or more Xyz monsters on the field as material. Called it the Cyber Hole Dragon. Not the best name, but whatever.
It's Rank 5, and it gains 500 attack for each overlay unit it has, it takes all the Xyz material of the monsters it uses as material when summoned. Whenever a monster activates its effect on the field, you can attach the top card of your deck to Cyber Hole Dragon as a material. And if it would be destroyed, battle or card effect, detach a material instead, then burn for 500.
But that didn’t save Wilma’s opponent, because Skill Drain, Night Express Knight and Super Express Bullet Train are a bit too good together.
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Well, it will be needed if she ever faces me. Either Myrphe or my boss deck.
Now, last one I’ll mention is again Hiro. He was facing Iris. No, not the superior space spirit, even if they have the same name. But Iris Cline, the daughter of the Prime Minister of Ruiso Kingdom.1Note: Pretty sure both Iris and Magnus only appeared during HomeBase Grand Reveal chapters. CH.379
Both Iris and her brother Magnus had qualified for the finals, but they were against each other in round 1, and Iris knocked Magnus out.
Iris was running a Gagaga deck, and she did well enough with it that she won against her brother. He was running a Dragon Xyz deck, by the way. Gagaga’s do have a lot of good cards, including a buffed version of Gagaga Academy Emergency Network.
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My version is basically the same, but instead of locking you into only summoning Xyz monsters, it locks you into special summoning “Gagaga” monsters and Xyz monsters. So at least you can special summon more things the turn you use it.
Things like Gagagabolt, Gagaga Sister to search Bolt, and Gagaga Girl also made the deck quite nice. There is a reason it was my original idea for Myrphe. It is a fun deck.
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But sadly, the Crystal Beasts are one of the best decks when it comes to a resource war in this tournament. They just stick around and since you can use them as Xyz material while they are in the backrow, they are quite good.
… oh right. You think you can only use them for their own custom Xyz. Well, you kind of can. But they have other new cards than just that, one is Crystal Beast Xyz. It summons any number of Crystal Beasts from your backrow, while negating their effects, and immediately afterwards you summon an Xyz monster using the monsters special summoned by the effect.
And don’t complain. That card isn’t even all that great. Sure it is nice, but playing Crystal Beasts is still a challenge. Hiro can do it because he knew Yugioh before coming to this world.
So anyway, Hiro won. Largely because the nearly immune Rainbow Dragon was a bit too difficult for Iris to take down. Sure unaffected by activated effects isn’t nearly as bad as unaffected by everything, but it can still be a challenge.
And while some Sphere Field luck can solve it, Iris didn’t have enough.
Anyway. To day 3 of the tournament, and it is starting with Myrphe against Hiro.
I’m so glad I get to duel him. His deck is a semi-custom brew, like Myrphe’s is. So it should be quite a lot of fun.
“So, I heard you are from the Empire.” Hiro began, as our decks were being shuffled. “Would you tell me about it? And yourself?”
Hiro didn’t know that Myrphe was my copy, so him asking that does make sense. He does know she basically has a custom deck, but I explained the deck to Hiro as being a custom version of Kyoji Yagumo’s deck from the manga. And since Hiro had never read the manga, he believed me. And it is true. Sure I filled in a lot of the effects myself, but Myrphe’s deck is what Kyoji Yagumo’s deck could be if it was printed today. Well, maybe. I don’t know how they’d actually decide to go with it.
Now of course the real me had blocked himself off of Myrphe, so Myrphe had to go with what was decided to be her backstory.
“Yes … your highness. But I would prefer not talking about my past. We are here to compete, nothing more.” Myrphe responded.
While that was happening, I flipped a coin to decide which one one the duelists would go first. Well, who would get to pick if they went first. And since I was in the Factory, it was way too easy to manipulate the coin so that Hiro would get the choice. I don’t mind if Myrphe loses to Hiro, so I let the kid have the tiniest advantage.
“Are you sure? I think you’ve had a difficult life. Maybe if you tell me about it, I could help those like you.” Hiro offered. “I shall go first.” He decided, when he saw the coinflip results.
“There are no others like me. At least I hope there aren’t.” Myrphe said, sounding melancholic.
“You never know.” Hiro said. “I’ll normal summon Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus. When it is summoned, I can place a Crystal Beast from my deck to be a Continuous Spell. I set Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle.”
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“Now I’ll overlay my Sapphire Pegasus and Cobalt Eagle to Xyz summon Crystal Beast Quartz Wyvern!” Hiro declared and performed the summon.
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“I activate Quartz Wyvern’s effect. By detaching 2 materials, I can special summon a Crystal Beast from my deck. I’m summoning Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth.”
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“I’ll also use the effect of Cobalt Eagle. Once per turn, when it is sent to the GY because it was detached from an Xyz monster to activate that monster’s effect, I can return Cobalt Eagle to my hand and place 1 Crystal Beast in my GY to be a Continuous Spell. So Cobalt Eagle returns to my hand and I place Sapphire Pegasus to be a Continuous Spell.”
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“Now I’m overlaying the level 4 Cobalt Eagle and level 4 Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger in my hand to summon a Sphere Field Number.” Hiro said. The Sphere Field then did its thing, rolling a D100 and showing the result as 7. “Come forth, Sphere Field Numbers 7: Lucky Straight!”
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“I activate Lucky Straight’s ability. I roll 2 six-sided dice and the attack of Lucky Straight becomes the greater result times 700.”
Two dice generated in Hiro’s hand and he threw them down to the dueling field, where they instantly grew to a large size and rolled. They stopped with a 5 and 2 on the dice.
“The greater number is 5, so the attack of Lucky Straight is 3500. And since the total of the two dice is 7, I can activate an additional effect. I’ll activate the third effect. So I can draw 3 cards, but I must then discard 2. But before that, the effect of Topaz Tiger that I detached activates. When it goes to the GY, I can increase the attack of a Crystal Beast on my field by 400. I pick Amber Mammoth so its attack increases to 2100.”
Hiro then drew 3 cards and discarded 2. Crystal Beasts Emerald Tortoise and Amethyst Cat.
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“I’ll then play Foolish Burial. With it I can send a monster from my deck to my graveyard. And I’m sending Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle.”
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“I’ll then set two cards face down and I’ll end my turn.” Hiro ended his turn. “So. Maybe some of your story and I’ll hold back.” He offered. He didn’t sound condescending, but if you think I, Myrphe, would go for it, then you missed why she took part in this tournament.
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Duel 1, end of turn 1
| Hand: 1 | LP: 8000 | Hiro | GY: 5 2Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger; Emerald Tortoise; Amethyst Cat; Ruby Carbuncle; Foolish Burial | Banished: |
 | | |||
 +400 ATK |  OLU: 0 |  SF Number, 3500 ATK, OLU:1 | ||
| --- | --- |  | --- | --- |
| Hand: 5 | LP: 8000 | Duelist 2 | GY: | Banished: |
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“Maybe I’ll tell you as I break your crystals. Like I broke everything else.” Myrphe said. “I draw.”
And after looking over her cards, Myrphe began to play them as she explained.
“I normal summon Rainbow Mother Spider.” Myrphe did her first play. “I can normal summon this monster without a tribute if I control no monsters.”
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Rainbow Mother Spider
Level 5
Dark/Insect/Effect
800/2500
If you control no Monsters, You can Normal Summon this card without Tributing.
You can tribute this card, Special summon, from your deck, "Rainbow Baby" Monsters equal to the number of monsters your opponent controls.
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“This monster is like my mother. An insect that would soon give birth to three children, but sadly their mother wouldn’t survive that birth.”3Note that Spiders are not insects. Yes, Myrphe does know this, but still said insect for reasons. Myrphe said. “I activate Rainbow Mother Spiders effect. I tribute it to special summon Rainbow Baby monsters from my deck up to the number of monsters you control. I summon two Rainbow Baby Spiders and one Rainbow Baby Moth.”
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| Rainbow Baby Spider Level 1 Dark/Insect/Effect 300/400 Once per turn, you can target 1 other "Rainbow" monster you control, this monster's level becomes equal to that monster's level. If this card is detached from an Xyz Monster and sent to the GY to activate that monster's effect: Gain 1000 LP.
| Rainbow Baby Moth Level 1 Light/Insect/Effect 500/200 You can tribute this card, declare a Level from 1 to 10, all "Rainbow" Monsters you control become that level until the end of the turn. If you summon a "Rainbow" Monster, you can special summon this card from the GY, but banish it when it leaves the field. This effect cannot be activated on the turn this card was sent to the GY.
|
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“As you see, one of my mother’s children wasn’t like the other two. She didn’t quite fit in. So the other two took advantage of her. They ravaged her.” Myrphe continued her story. “I tribute Rainbow Baby Moth to activate its effect. I declare level 7 and both my Rainbow Baby Spiders become level 7.”
The visuals on the field were … quite disturbing. The two baby spiders were eating the baby moth, which is understandable, but still. It was a little gruesome. But that is how they did it in the manga. … well, in the manga two of the spiders ate the third. I just changed it so that two of the spiders would eat the moth.
Hiro winced a bit as it happened, but he kept watching. He wanted to know and he wasn’t about to look away.
“But despite her two sisters pushing her way, the little moth didn’t give up. She lived on her own for a while, until her sisters needed her. And when they did, their unwanted sister came back, but not as they had known her. She came back stronger, but still willing to save the two that drove her to sin.” Myrphe continued her story. “I overlay my two level 7 Rainbow Baby Spiders. The banished one returns, now with the power to punish those who she feels wronged her. But instead of blaming them, she protects them from the threats of the world.
Take Flight, Number 28: Titanic Moth!”
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“And so, the one sister fought against what threatened her sisters and their home. Even if she hadn't called it home in a long time. Titanic Moth. Attack Amber Mammoth!” Myrphe declared her attack.
“No you won’t!” Hiro interrupted. “I activate Rainbow Path. I send Sapphire Pegasus to the graveyard to negate the attack. Then I can add a Rainbow Dragon from my deck to my hand.”
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“Yes. Just like back then, her attack was meaningless. She couldn’t do anything. Everything around her was destroyed. Because she was too weak.” Myrphe said, not caring at all that her attack was stopped. “But she refused to stop. She kept going even if that meant falling into her monstrous side. I play Rank-Up-Magic Quick Chaos. With it I’m ranking up my Number 28: Titanic Moth.
The moth that embraced being a monster continued to fight. She will never give up, as long as the survival of even one is a possibility.
Never surrender, Chaos Number 28: Savior Moth!”
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Number C28: Savior Moth
Rank 8
Fire/Insect/Xyz/Effect
3000/2500
3 Level 8 Insect monsters
➀ When this card is Xyz summoned, the ATK and DEF of all other monsters on the field become halved.
➁ While this card has Xyz material, this card can attack directly.
➂ If this card destroys a monster by battle: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; it can make a second attack in a row. You can use this effect up to twice per turn.
➃ If this card has "Number 28: Titanic Moth" as an Xyz material, it gains this effect: When this card inflicts battle damage to your opponent: Inflict 500 damage to your opponent for each card in their hand and on their field.
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“Since I summoned Number C28, its effect activates. The attack and defense of all other monsters on the field becomes halved.” Myrphe said. That made her Savior Moth the strongest monster on the field. “Savior Moth, attack Lucky Straight.” She declared her first attack. The summoning effect had reduced Lucky Straight’s attack to 1750, and Hiro didn’t respond to the attack, so Lucky Straight was destroyed and Hiro took 1250 damage.
“The effect of Savior Moth activates. Since it has Titanic Moth as a chaos overlay unit, and it inflicts battle damage, you take 500 damage for every card in your hand and on your field. You have 5, so 2500 damage.” Myrphe declared. “And now I use its third effect. Since it destroyed a monster by battle, I can detach a chaos overlay unit to allow my Savior Moth to attack again. So go Savior Moth. Attack Amber Mammoth!”
Again the attack went through, with Hiro taking 1950 damage. And then he took 2000 more damage from Savior Moth’s fourth effect.
“I use Savior Moth’s third effect again. I detach another chaos overlay unit so that it can attack again.” Myrphe declared. “Savior Moth, finish this.” She said, and her Number did as ordered.
It destroyed Crystal Beast Quartz Wyvern and Hiro took 1900 damage. Which was more than enough to take him down to 0, before Savior Moth’s burn effect even triggered.
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Duel 1, end of turn 2
| Hand: 24 Rainbow Dragon confirmed
| LP: 0 | Hiro | GY: 11 5Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger; Emerald Tortoise; Amethyst Cat; Ruby Carbuncle; Sapphire Pegasus; SF Number 7: Lucky Straight; Cobalt Eagle; Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth; Crystal Beast Quartz Wyvern; Foolish Burial; Rainbow Path | Banished: |
| (Rainbow Gravity) | ||||
| --- | --- | | --- | --- |
 OLU:1 | ||||
| Hand: 3 | LP: 8000 | Duelist 2 | GY: 5 6Rainbow Mother Spider; Rainbow Baby Moth; 2x Rainbow Baby; Rank-Up-Magic Quick Chaos Spider | Banished: |
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Hiro gasped for breath as he recovered from the onslaught. But soon enough, he was able to ask.
“... why did you save your family? Or try to save them. If they treated you that way.” He asked. “And I’ve never heard of a calamity falling any of the arachne or spider-kin tribes within the Empire.”
“You misunderstood something. There were no spiders in my story, even if the monsters playing the part were spiders.” Myrphe said. “I wasn’t born a spider-kin. A spider-folk. Or any sort of spider. I was born an insect-kin.” She answered. “My mother was a silk moth insect-folk. As were my sisters.”
“... the destruction of the silk colony.” Hiro realized the event I linked Myrphe’s backstory to. “But I was told there were no survivors.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe the army simply couldn’t find anyone because they had fled.”
“But how? Why?”
“Since I was born an insect-kin, I couldn’t produce silk. So from a young age, I was grown to be a warrior to defend our lands. A destiny to all of those who can’t produce silk.
“But all I wanted was to make beautiful clothes like my sisters. Like the few that were left from our mother.” Myrphe said, a few tears rolling down her face. “The few I managed to make were terrible. I was laughed at for even trying. And even worse, my sisters ravaged them. Destroyed them. Ripped them to shreds, and consumed the scraps to turn it into their own silk.
“I was so envious of them. They could do what I wanted. I tried to live how I was told, but I couldn’t. So I … I attacked them.
“I was a trained warrior, I beat them with ease. They almost died. But I was stopped before I could… finish it. I wanted to finish it. At that time I really did. I was banished, never to come back again. And I didn’t. Not until that fateful day.” Myrphe cried softly as she told the story. It really wasn't hard for that soul copy to do so, since she has been living as Myrphe for about 2 weeks now, just to keep up the appearances.
“But you still saved them. Despite wanting to kill them, you saved them.” Hiro insisted.
“I tried to save them.” Myrphe corrected. “A lot of good that did.” A slightly anger could be heard in her voice as she said that.
“Why? I think most would have left them to die.”
“Simple. Another sin I fell to. Pride. Maybe a little Greed as well. By that time, I could produce my own silk.” Myrphe said, as she pointed at her spider parts with her right hand. “I wanted to show my sisters what I could do. That I was better than them. And I couldn’t do that if they were dead.”
“... besides, I wanted to save the final clothes made by our mother. They were my greed. My one goal in clothes making. The objective I needed to surpass. But I couldn’t save anyone, even after giving into Wrath. Chaos Number 28 may be called a Savior Moth, but I most certainly am not one. I am just a lonely butterfly guided by sin.”
“... how did you become part spider?” Hiro asked. “You said you were one when you saved … tried to save the colony. So how did that happen?”
“Maybe you can find out over the course of our next duel. Or two, if you are skilled enough.” Myrphe said.