Chapter 5: Life as a weapon
Joan flipped a trap. "I play Dimensional Prison. Because your monster declared an attack, it is banished."
"W-w-what?!" Leo was absolutely devastated by this turn of events.
"It removed your monster from the game." She said calmly.
Leo took his monster off the field, yet that didn't mean he liked that. The majority of the duel's that he's won was because of that monster. Now he couldn't use it. He had nothing in his deck that could bring it back now. He felt like giving up, yet looked at his hand and decided otherwise.
"I summon Morphtronic Vaccuumen in defense position and activate its effect. Once per turn, I can equip a monster you control as a union to my monster. I choose The Creator." He pointed at what he imagined to be her best monster, and she handed it over to him. He placed it in his back row. "Now I have YOUR best monster too!"
Joan chuckled. "You... you think that's my ace card?" She laughed again, this time more loudly.
"Well, uh..." Leo muttered. He wasn't so sure this was as good of an idea anymore.
"My deck doesn't rely on one card. It uses all of my cards to my advantage. That's why I usually have more than 1 monster on the field. The Creator is something I use to set up my combos."
"Oh..." Leo looked at his hand. He knew he definitely had to change his strategy. "Well now you won't be able to set up your combos. I end my turn."
"Oh, we'll see about that. Draw. 9100 Life Points. Trade. 9600 Life Points. I normal summon Herald of Creation" She placed a monster on the table horizontally. "I use its effect, discarding 1 card and adding targeting The Creator in my graveyard. That target is added to my hand." From her hand, she placed Prime Material Dragon into the Graveyard, and returned The Creator to her hand.
"I will attack your Vacuumen with my Airknight."
"I use Vacuumen's effect, sending The Creator to the graveyard instead." Leo responded and gave her monster back. She placed it in her graveyard.
"You still take 1900 Battle Damage, due to my monster's piercing effect."
"That leaves me with 2100 Life Points." He noted.
"Because I inflicted Battle Damage to you with my Airnight Parshath, I draw 1 card." Joan draws a card. "10,100."
"I also attack Vacuumen with Joan."
Leo moved his monster to his Graveyard.
"I end my turn."
Leo drew his next card. It was Morphtronic Impact Return. It wasn't the most helpful card in his deck, yet it would have to do for now.
"I summon Morphtronic Boomboxen." Leo declared, and placed the card on the field vertically. "I equip it with Rocket Pilder and Pain to Power." He pondered his limited options at the moment. With only 1 card left in his hand, his deck seemed to be falling apart, yet the combo he now had set up would turn his life into a weapon.
"Morphtronic Boomboxen, attack Airknight Parshath." With only 1200 ATK, his monster was on the losing end of this battle, yet he pressed on bravely. "I take 700 Battle Damage, leaving me with 1400 Life Points."
"Because you took Battle Damage from Airknight Parshath, I draw 1 card. 10,600." Joan drew a card, then commented, "I have to admit, attempting to deck me out may not be a bad idea."
"That's not the only trick I have up my sleeve. Rocket Pilder prevents my monster from being destroyed by battle, and at the end of the damage step, the monster that the equipped monster battles loses ATK equal to the equipped monster's until the End Phase."
"Since your monster's ATK is 1200, Airknight's ATK becomes 700." Joan notes.
"That's right. Pain to Power also kicks in, increasing my monster's ATK by any damage I take. As I took 700 Battle Damage, its ATK becomes 1900. And did I mention Boomboxen attacks twice per turn?"
Roxanne moved Airknight Parshath to her Graveyard. "My Lifepoint drop to 9400."
Leo looks at his hand. "I set one card and end my turn." He places his last card face-down.
The formidable saleslady before Leo drew a card from her deck, making her large hand-size even bigger. "Draw. 9900. Trade. 10400." She now held in her hand 7 cards.
