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[birdy51]

...So are we doing this?

Hell yeah we're doing this.

Welcome to the Yu-Gi-Oh: The Duelists of the Roses Let's Play! I am your host, Birdy51. Released stateside in 2003, it quickly became one of the first games I owned for the PS2 and thereby holds a special place in my heart. There is quite a bit of dust on this old game, but I would say it's worthy of a good look.

So, this is a card game, right?

Sort of. Like other time honored spin-off games, The Duelists of the Roses takes the Yu-Gi-Oh method and spins it around a bit. Instead of our normal duels, The Duelists of the Roses features a grid system. Each player has a keystone unit called a Deck Leader. The Deck Leader will then be used to lay down Monster, Cards, Spell Cards, and Trap Cards; everything will be necessary as we make glorious war against the enemy. Once the Life Points of the opposing Deck Leader reaches zero, the match is over.

 Why are we here again?

But of course! Our main character of your from the perhaps not so-distant future, where dueling has devolved into motorcycle dueling and being trapped in video games. We have been summoned by Simon McMooran to decide the winner of the 15th century War of the Roses; also known as the War of English Succession. It was a fantastically bloody civil war. Many brave British souls died, and out of ashes came the rise of the Tudor Dynasty. Quite a few of the characters here are named after their historical counterparts and I'll be trying to call them out as I see them.

On one side, we have the Lancastrians led by Richard the 7th, known here also by his nickname, Yugi Moto. On the other, we have the Yorkist Faction led by Richard of York and his lieutenant, Christian Rosenkreuz, played here by Seto Kaiba.

If it all goes according to plan, we'll be seeing both sides of this war and everything they have to offer.

Nice. But why are we here again?

Shit, sorry. Misread that one. Let's see here!

If you're willing to stick around a bit, I need a few hands now and again to help make some decisions; what decks to play, what is our name is, and other such things. If it were not for you all I'd be here talking to myself all alone and that's just sad. Even if you do know a bit about this game, my end goal is show you a little bit more and if you don't know it, then you're in for a treat. I'll be aiming to get at least a post out weekly, so keep an eye on things!

Any Spoilers policies?

Not any big ones. I ask that you would avoid discussion of events later in the game until we get there, but in the mean-time feel free to discuss any history, mechanics, or otherwise interesting Yu-Gi-Oh! related topics.

Now, if you're still reading this, your job starts now! I need a name! What our name is, decides our deck, and what our deck is decides our destiny. Choose wisely, for the fate of England rests upon your shoulders!

[Nerjin]

Richard Dastardly

[birdy51]

Richard Dastardly

Sadly, this is a bit above the character limit. But I'll make it work!

Spoiler: The Summoning (click to show/hide)

(We open... To clouds!)


 
The Wars of the Roses, a power struggle between the Houses of Lancaster (Red Rose) and York (White Rose) to decide a royal successor, was nearing an end.
 

 


...was being forced to live a life of exile.
 




...Lord Crawford, a powerful Yorkist nobleman.
 
Lacking a duelist to champion their cause, defeat was imminent for the Lancastrians. In England, duel card games were still at the fledgling stage. Thus, the Lancastrians had to look elsewhere for a duel master capable of facing the Rosenkreuz in battle.
 


...summon a duelist from another age.



The cloud cover begins to break just a little bit. Typical England, always inundated by overcast.



Oh hey, Stonehenge. Getting kind of close but-



Oh shit!



Thunder claps... And we have arrived.

The camera pans, and we meet this… This… Guy?



:...summon from the mystic circle of red and white roses, the one capable of harnessing pure power…

: There was truth to the legend of the Rose Duelist!!! Lady Margaret! I… I did it! Now we have the means for defeating the evil forces of Rosenkreuz!

Right… So! Meet Simon McMooran. Don't mind the blue skin; he's not choking, it's just genetic.

 If you've ever watched the anime, you might be wondering who the hell this guy is. Back in the good ol' days, Simon was an advisor to the Pharaoh . There he played a role not too dissimilar from the role he plays now; that of a dubious dispenser of wisdom and plot points. Supposedly, his modern day analogue is Soloman Moto, Yugi's grandpa, but that might not be as true this game.

Take it away Simon!





: Oh… My apologies. In my excitement, I’d forgotten I was in the presence of the Rose Duelist. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Simon McMooran, High Druid and servant of Lancaster. May I be so bold as to ask the name by which the Rose Duelist would like to be known?



Shit! Name, we need a name! What are we going to- Oh right. I asked that already. Foresight ho!



Perfect. We are Richard Dastardly, thought it  perhaps it might be better to say we R. Dastardly! 



: Richard Dastardly? A fine name indeed!

Damn straight it's a fine name! You'd have to be 'Dick' to think otherwise!   

...Ok fine. That was actually a bad one. I'll just let him speak now.

: Here’s the situation. The year is 1845 and you are currently in Stonehenge, near Salisbury England. The British Empire is in turmoil with the House Lancaster’s rightful claim to the throne being challenged by Yorkist usurpers.

: The power struggle is referred to as the Wars of the Roses, a name based on the badges used by both sides - a red rose for the Lancastrians and a white rose for the Yorkists.

((This isn't actually strictly true. At the time, nobody would have used that title; the Cousin's War, or the War of English Succession might have been a bit more apt.))

: Right now, our kingdom is threatened by the Yorkists and their wrongful claim to the throne!

: All because the Yorkists enjoy the support of the Rose Crusaders and their sorcerous White Rose Cards. Using our Red Rose cards, we summoned you, Richard Dastardl,y to this day and age. We hoped that your dueling experience would defeat the Rose Crusaders and lead us to victory!

Right, so those guys sound kind of dangerous and-

: You will help us…? Of course, you will!!! Foolish of me to even doubt where you loyalties lie…

But I haven't even said anything yet.

McMooran however doesn't care about such petty complaints. He continues,

: Rumor has it that only the legendary Rose Duelist stands a chance against the power of Rosenkreuz. We appreciate any help you can provide against them.

: Before I forget… I should warn you that the rules to dueling differ from those of your age.

: Here in England, dueling is governed by what is known as the ‘Perfect Rule’. In addition to several minor distinctions, there are two major differences. One is the existence of movement or positioning. The other is the Deck Leader concept.

: These are two aspects of dueling that were lost in the process when the ancient sport of Duel Monsters was adapted to card form. The ‘Perfect Rule’ represent these lost rules that were miraculously revived here in England.

: Perhaps a practice duel will serve better than an explanation… Shall we?



Simon is kind enough to offer us a practice duel, but it's little more than just a glorified tutorial. I may try to cover this in a later update, but for now we'll politely decline. Thankfully, Simon really  doesn't care either way.

: First, Richard Dastardly, you must select a deck to duel with.

: It is important that you feel the vibrations of a Deck Leader, the minute resonations that ring true to your soul. The cards themselves draw their power from the energies of the Ancient Ones.

Ah yiss. It is finally time!

: The Deck Leader acts as an intermediate between the Ancient Ones and the deck-wielder.

: Richard Dastardly… It is essential that you select a Card Leader whose rhythm matches the stirrings of your soul! Here are several decks from which to choose. Give it some serious thought, and make your selection. Choose carefully, for the deck you select will guide the destiny of your duels.

THE POWER!!!





Ok, we've finally reached a decision point! We've got three decks presented here before us, each with their own advantages and disadvantages.

Fairy King Truesdale

The Fairy King Truesdale emerges from the woodlands! His deck is a dominating, forest based deck. Despite being a Fairy King, Truesdale’s greatest strengths lie in its Plant and Insect Monsters, who benefit from various Power-Up cards and the Magic Spell Forest, which turns a sizeable swath of the arena into Forest Terrain. It is arguably the most powerful of three decks being presented. As a card, the Fairy King is strong, and makes other plants stronger when it’s in the defense position, which makes it a shoe-in for a place in the deck. Honestly, this is the kind of deck that you could probably use all game if you wanted to, and even if you didn't you, you'll certainly find ways to improve it

Kryuel

Behold the dark servant, Kyruel! His deck is all about fiends, zombies, and other dark loving creatures. Many of the cards in this deck are armed with devilish defensive features that have the ability to paralyze, or spellbind opposing monsters. There is less synergy here than in other decks; but it’s not something that can’t be fixed down the line. Kryuel is not a particularly powerful card, but it when it is face-up on the field, it increases all LP damage by 200 points, which can result in some interesting strategies. Since this is the deck I’m most excited about, I’m going to give it a soft nod of approval.

Twin-Headed Behemoth

The Twin-Headed Behemoth approaches! If you’re looking for a Dragon based deck, this is a good place to start. This deck revolves all around the Mountain Terrain, with a few fancy tricks lent by it’s secondary Spellcaster bent. However, it’s a bit hindered by it’s split focus; it contains quite a few extra water cards that frankly don’t really help out and has pretty weak magic cards. The Mountain card is the only exception; since all terrain cards are downright useful. Unfortunately, the Twin-Headed Behemoth is not a very powerful card. He's probably going to have to be replaced down the line. Sorry buddy, you just aren't that good.
 
And that's it. The choices are, Fairy King Truesdale, Kryuel, and the Twin-Headed Behemoth.

There we are. The decks have been presented and we are halfway through the introduction. Choose wisely, the fate of the LP is in your hands!

[Akura]

I remember the first time I played this, I ended up with a water-themed deck, can't remember the name of my Deck Leader PRE-EDIT: Took way too long, but I'm pretty sure it was Maiden of the Aqua. Then I realized that, like every Yu-Gi-Oh! video game adaption, you have to grind for hours and hours and so many hours to get anything done.

Spoiler: Some game mechanics ranting, not really plot spoilers since I never really beat more than one opponent (click to show/hide)

Your Deck Leader's ability seems to be determined by the monster type(Beast, Warrior, Aqua, Reptile, etc.), probably because Konami didn't want to create unique ability lists for literally every single monster, since literally any monster can potentially be your Deck Leader. A quick look-up suggests that with fastest you can max out a Deck Leader's level is 33 duels using a very specific field and tactics.

[birdy51]

I remember the first time I played this, I ended up with a water-themed deck, can't remember the name of my Deck Leader PRE-EDIT: Took way too long, but I'm pretty sure it was Maiden of the Aqua. Then I realized that, like every Yu-Gi-Oh! video game adaption, you have to grind for hours and hours and so many hours to get anything done.

Spoiler: Some game mechanics ranting, not really plot spoilers since I never really beat more than one opponent (click to show/hide)

Your Deck Leader's ability seems to be determined by the monster type(Beast, Warrior, Aqua, Reptile, etc.), probably because Konami didn't want to create unique ability lists for literally every single monster, since literally any monster can potentially be your Deck Leader. A quick look-up suggests that with fastest you can max out a Deck Leader's level is 33 duels using a very specific field and tactics.

Ah no worries. Feel free to discuss mechanics freely. This game was made before the times where games were broken into freely, and as such some of the info that you can find is actually a bit false, or maybe at least a little bit misleading.

How your starter decks get chosen and how strong your Deck Leader is something the game flat out doesn't explain, so I'm going to take a second to look under the hood.

Spoiler: Mechanics Rant (click to show/hide)

How your Starter Deck gets chosen

You might have noticed that there were only three decks available to R. Dastardly. As a rule, any time you roll a new character, that is always going to be true. Three decks, no more than that.

Let's say that we decided to go with a different name though. Say, instead of R. Dastardly, we decided to go with our first name, Richard D. We blow through McMooran's explanations, and the decks that he gives us are…



Luminous Soldier…



Patrician of Darkness….



And Tactical Warrior.

These are three very different decks from what R. Dastardly was presented, so what gives?

What gives is that is that by changing the name, we also changed what numbers went into that name. Let's go a bit further.

Every letter and character that goes into a name is assigned a hex value. That value is then added up, divided by the 16 possibilities, and whatever it lands on decides which set of decks one gets to choose from.

Unfortunately, this about where my knowledge stops. While I've been trying to decode someone's notes on the subject, my knowledge of hexadecimal systems is quite limited. If anyone is interested in learning more, or if they have the ability to explain this better than I can, I'll send along the links I have collected.

Why your Deck Leader matters

When you first start, you are given one Deck Leader with the rank of Second Lieutenant, and all other cards are considered NCOs, meaning they don't have a rank yet. As a card is used in battle, they quietly gain 'EXP' based on the actions they take in battle.

EXP is gained whenever they are defeating enemy monsters, attacking the enemy Deck Leader, and more passively as they also gain points for just being present on the playing field, whether face up or face down. The only time EXP is lost, is when the player loses a Duel or they destroy that card by discarding it, fusing it, or running it over as your Deck Leader.

The amount of points to level up as it were is… Steep. Terrifyingly steep. In a normal battle, a card that you use often might only gain about 100 points, when it takes up to ten thousand points to ever start getting abilities from ranking up.

Needless to say, the system is a bit broken and anyone looking to level up their Deck Leader is in for a terrifying amount of grinding. This can be mitigated of course, by entering a custom duel with a mirrored deck with either Crush or Labyrinth terrain that the opponent cannot easily enter, then laying the cards that you want to train face up for about 99 turns when the duel ends by default. Even if you lose, you'll still get EXP.

The game is still very much playable, and you're never required to do this, but anyone looking to strengthen their Deck Leaders abilities in any reasonable amount of time will have to do some grinding. When it's appropriate, I'll give an example of a common setup.

Anyways. Here's a fun one.

Every card in this game has different Deck Leader abilities depending on their type and level. In a game with over 600 Monster Cards, that's a little terrifying, aye? Most cards share categories of abilities; for instance, all Beast Monster cards will boost the Movement Speed of their allies upon reaching the rank of MAJ, but whether it's a low leveled card or a high leveled card might mean it receives different abilities upon leveling up.

High level cards get access to abilities such as reducing the cost to summon creatures of the same kind, while other low level Deck leaders might gain the ability to change the terrain around them to one favorable to their type , or destroy specific enemies in battle. Other cards in the middling range might have varied levels of effect; one might weaken enemies around it. This all seems dependent on how much it costs to normally summon that card.

Of course, what's the main reason that people might not know that?

It's easy. The highest ranks take sadistically inordinate amounts of EXP to reach. Some abilities only finally unlocked at the rank of SD, which takes over 65,000 points to reach. Quite simply put, you do NOT reach that level in normal play, which inhibits anyone really investigating what actually goes on there.

It's even worse for low level cards, because the lower the level is, the less likely that you would have actually used that card in battle.

Hell, the only reason anyone is able to figure this out is because of developments a few years back and people finally cracked into the games code.

There! That's the story on that one. It's all kind of interesting, isn't it? Again as before, feel free to PM me if you're looking for any of the actual notes. I'd be happy to shuffle them along! Also, don't forget to choose a deck. that's important!

[A Thing]

I know absolutely nothing about Yu-gi-oh besides what I kinda learned from watching friends playing it in school, but I do love me some dark loving creatures. Kyruel!

[Nerjin]

Look man, we gotta stop that pidgeon as soon as possible. To do that we have to be Kyreul and cunning... or maybe we should be cunning and Kyreul? Either way, Kyreul is my vote.

[birdy51]

Diving back in, we're almost out of the prologue woods. There aren't as many words after this section, so savor the mystery of dialogue while you can!

Spoiler: Two Rude Dudes (click to show/hide)

 


Indeed we have, and it's a good choice if I may so myself.

This is my first time working out with such a Kryuel and unusual deck like this one, so I'm really looking forward to that challenge!



? ? ?: It looks like there’s some truth to the rumor that Red Rose cards are capable of time transformation…





A challenger approaches!!!



Rosenkruez?! Why, he's-

Only a member of the Rose Crusaders may call me by that name… If you may recall, I told you once before that you may only address me as Seto. Or does your memory fail you, old man?

S-Simon's not senile! He's just got just gets a little lost sometimes and kidnaps people from across time with his magical playing cards.

And you… You must be the dreaded Rose Duelist. I must admit there’s a certain aura of power emanating from you.

Damn straight. It's nice to finally be recognized for being the glorious, utterly dastardly person that I am!

I believe an introduction is in order. I am Seto, leader of the Rose Crusaders. There are members of our little group who prefer to call me by the name of C. Rosenkreuz.

Let's take a second here to meet Christian Rosenkreuz, or as he prefers to call himself here, Seto. Aside from titular Yugi, he's one of the most important characters in the series, pulling himself up as a poor kid off the streets to the CEO of an international corporation, Kaibacorp. While there are times where he teams up with  the main cast, he more often performs antagonistic roles by his own virtue of doing what he wants whenever the hell he wants to do it.

His decks are mostly dragon based, as you might have guessed by his armor. It's horrifically impractical to wear into battle or getting through doorways, but who cares when you are one magnificent looking bastard!

Oh. While I'm still rambling, the fore mentioned Battle of Barnet was a big one. Before the Yorkists could take the throne, he had to first deal with Henry the 6th; not to be confused with the guy Yugi is masquerading as, Henry the 7th.. Surprisingly? No big relations there. They are cousins, but they really just share the first name.

Anyways. It's at this battle that Henry the 6th loses one of his key supporters, the popular, but back stabbing Earl of Warwick, Richard Neville. to a combination of bad weather conditions, friendly fire, and a massive rout where he was most likely stabbed in the back. Yeep.

If Richard Neville and the Lancastrians  had succeeded in this battle, Henry the 6th might have held onto his throne, but hey, that's how it goes. At any rate, the Battle of  Barnet enabled the Yorkists to snuff out all major Lancastrian resistance at the subsequent Battle of Tewkesbury, which is what led to them getting to the level of control they have finally achieved at this point.

Phew… Back to the game!

I ask you again… What brings you here, Seto!?

Mind your manners, old man! What else would bring me here… I’ve come for the Red Rose cards! After all, it was you who showed me how the summoning capabilities would evolve when the Red Rose cards are combined with the transport powers of the White Rose cards…





Simon no. This is important, don't start falling asleep now!

The Rose Cards alone harness tremendous power. There’s no telling what horrors one might unleash to the world by combining both Red and White!!!



Yeah! You tell him grandpa! Now get off his lawn!

The Spell of Doom…? Fool!!!

The 16 Red and White Rose cards grant ‘power over all’! Druid legend has twisted the true meaning of these cards!

We Rose Crusaders have sworn to create a utopia free from the ravages of war. We intend to accomplish this with the power of the cards!!!



HAHAHAHA YESSS! THE POWER WILL BE- Oh shit. He's talking about the other Richard, the one with a rail for a face! That guy sucks!



See? Even Simon agrees!

By the way, it was clever of you to form a circle of red roses within the white rose barrier to summon the Rose Duelist…

But you are foolish to come alone. This area is surrounded and if you wish to leave with your life, you will do so only by handing over the Red Rose cards…

  Me? A fool…? Then what about you then?



Right after the summoning, I had the cards dispersed among our best duelists to keep them from your tainted hands!

Ooh hot damn! Old man got a plan!



Wait, what?

You take leave of your senses…

And you speak too soon, old man!

Heed my words, Duelist! If you wish to return to your proper time period, you will require 16 cards of the Red and White Roses…

The red and white positions must be laid out in reverse of the summoning order to send you  home…

You know the spell…?

Well, they kind of just watched you perform the spell Simon, and they do have multiple sorcerers on their side. I'm beginning to worry that Simon actually is senile...

Since you need the 16 Rose Cards just as much as we do… I propose a partnership. Help us gather the cards and I, shall guarantee your return after we’ve achieved our ultimate goal!!!



...proposal!?

Normally, I would try to avoid splitting a line like this, but this sentence is just too precious.

Can you be so sure, old man?

Let me see… Simon’s side has 8 of the Red Rose Cards, while my side - the Rose Crusaders - has possession of the 8 White Roses.

As the numbers are even, simple arithmetic indicates that you could side with either of us.But I’m sure you’ll take into account who’s winning this war. After all, who was desperate enough to summon you in the first place? I think it’s quite clear which side is better-positioned to send you home…



Oh, wow, someone's getting rude!



See? You've hurt Seto's feelings.

Thankfully, Seto is more magnanimous than that.

I’ll tell you what. Why don’t we leave the decision the decision to our dear Duelist?

After all, Simon, the Duelist’s future is not for us to decide, now is it?

Well, yes. But…











Ugh, so much drama. Why can't people just get along?

*sniff* Let's just get this recap done before the dragon dude beats up grumpy grandpa…

We're here at Stonehenge because Simon McMooran summoned us. Apparently, we're a damn good duelist in the future, and a damn good duelist is exactly what the Lancastrians need to take back the throne from Edward the 3rd, the local despot whom we share a name with.

As Simon was about to whisk us out of here, Seto and his Crusaders surround the place and have now barged in on our nice conversation. Simon is all uppity because Seto has plans, plans to use a powerful summoning spell to gain ULTIMATE POWER. Seto for his part just doesn't care about what Simon thinks; he knows he's in a position of power.

Rather than hurting us however, he is instead offering us another choice.. If we help steal the Red Rose cards, Seto will reward us by sending us back to our own timeline.

Honestly, it's a win-win for us as long as we can trust Seto not to stab us in the back down the line. But with that said, there are some significant differences between the two campaigns, so I want to take a second to talk about the choices we've got.


First, there is the The White Rose, symbolic of the Yorkist Side has a bit more of a linear campaign; there are no choices on who to fight and when. In addition, the opponents we’re fighting are on the whole quite a bit tougher. Unfortunately, this side also a bit more boring; there aren't any big important moments like there are on the Lancastrian side to break up the duels. Still, Seto makes a seductive argument, and you can’t really deny that Richard 3 has this one in the bag at this point. Only a fool could lose such an advantage…

Then we have The Red Rose, symbolic of the Lancastrian Side is quite a bit less linear. While we won’t have every duelist immediately available, we’re often presented with a choice between multiple duelists to challenge. This can make things a bit easier since you can decide who you want to fight, which lets you put off particularly challenging fights till near the end of the campaign. On the whole, there's also quite a bit more plot and meat to the story in the form of little 'events'. The Lancastrian side can’t win this war without us, so it's hey need our help more, right?


...And with that, the stage is set. Which  rose are we taking, the Red Rose or the White Rose?

Yeep updates take a while, even when all the pictures are on hand. Still! Take your time with this one. I should also note that there aren't as many opportunities to upgrade our deck if we side with the Yorkists. There are definite ways to get around this, but I'd rather hold off on cheating for now.

In the meantime, cast your votes! I believe in you!

[Nerjin]

We must live up to our namesake and be a dastard. I say we go with the white roses.

[birdy51]

Alright, so I'm going to leave the question up for a little bit, though I do have a post ready if we choose the Yorkist side. If there is strong consensus for it, I'll go ahead and post it.

In the meantime, I  figured people might appreciate taking a quick look at some of the team!

Spoiler: Meet the Cards (click to show/hide)

Behold

The dog faced card, Ushi Oni!



Gorden Ramsey's final form. Bistro Butcher!



SpookfaceMcGee, Skull Servant!



Snakebuttdemonface, the card who's name I cannot remember!



And finally, our Deck Leader, the Kryuel, Muttley!

There are more cards yet; but we'll be inevitably meeting some of them in battle too. Every card there is has their own animations, which is… Terrifying. I don't want to have to handle them all right now. ;.;

[mightymushroom]

I don't know much about War of the Roses history. But from what I recall of the tv show, anybody with monsters that look like that is on the opposite side from Yugi.

[birdy51]

A-are you implying that the HONORABLE Richard Dastardly might be evil? I bite my thumb in anger!

Spoiler: A Dastardly Decision (click to show/hide)

 You know, with a name like Richard Dastardly, I probably should have known better than to ask. But it’s ok. I never liked that old man anyways! >: D

A wise choice, Duelist! I see you are well-versed in judging a situation.



O-oh you. The honor is all ours

Okay, old man. It’s time you made yourself scarce.





Ope. There goes Simon. The wide eyes are a nice touch, though I am sad that they only pop up for this scene.



I'm certain I can find old Cracker Barrel or something to keep you in...

Now, let’s talk about the Red Rose Cards.

Simon mentioned that he spread the cards among certain individuals just after summoning you. I think it’s safe to assume that a large number of those individuals are his confederates currently located in France.

I would like to ask you to enter France from Dover and retrieve those cards for our cause.



This also gets mentioned on the Lancaster side; it's one of the primary reasons that Yugi isn't able to just waltz in and try to take things back.

According to the legend, one must use a deck whose cost is lower than an opponent’s to capture a Rose Card of another color.



And he's not kidding on this. If our deck cost is ever higher than the opponents, we won't even be able to challenge the opponent. This doesn't come up often so long as you don't try to build absolutely overpowered decks, but it's going to be annoying when get around to a certain… Someone.

I’ve also heard somewhere that the Celts inherited their Red Rose Cards from the original inhabitants of Stonehenge.

This would mean that our enemy, Yugi, who comes from a line of Welsh nobility would likely have inherited one of the Red Rose Cards.

This means that those who oppose the Rose Crusaders are sufficiently equipped to duel against us as equals.

Heh heh… They're probably going to end up being.., More than equals. >.>

The Lancastrians on the whole have much better decks than their Yorkist Counterparts; with a few notable exceptions. I'm going to have my work cut out for me.

Given their desperate situation, they will retaliate with everything they’ve got. It would be wise not to underestimate them!

I'm already not trying to underestimate them!



I won't let you down, Seto-senpai. ;.;



We reach the main map of England, with her lovely waters of gold…



And meet our first foe….



Tea of Windsor. Master… Of the fairies.

So! Short update, and the first without any big decisions. From here on, we're a bit on the rails and most of my brainpower is going to be focused on not getting beat up in these early duels. Once we get down the line, it shouldn't be so bad, but for now I really can't underestimate these guys.

That said, if you see any deck concepts you'd like me to mess around with, go ahead and let me know. We've got a lot of duels ahead of us, and not every fight has to involve Kryuel. ^.^

[mightymushroom]

A-are you implying that the HONORABLE Richard Dastardly might be evil? I bite my thumb in anger!

Not at all. I mean, Seto comes across as a villain at first but the more story we see the more we realize how fundamentally good his basic spirit must be, albeit shaped perhaps by questionable role models. He's defends his (real) family, he organizes (as a teenager) a hostile takeover of his cruel (adoptive) father's corporation and turns it (practically overnight) from questionable international arms dealing to an even more successful entertainment products provider.

What is Yugi's list of accomplishments? Card games. How does that make him the standard for "good"?
(And he loves his family, too, I'll grant. (And makes friends more easily.) Yet what's true of both is not distinguishing.)

Is it any wonder that Seto's "fatal flaw" is massive jealousy at being forced by plot impetus to always be a runner-up in someone else's story?
This is our chance to right history, in history.

Yeah, that's what I meant.
(I kinda wanted the let's play to take the more choices path, but this is too good an opportunity to pass up, given our moniker.)

[A Thing]

Seto doesn't look like he has a diseased starfish growing out of his head so he must be the good guy in this story.

[birdy51]

The next update emerges...

As a quick warning, this update is a BIG one. If it has any major issues loading for a few people, let me know and I'll try to split it up a bit. For now, I just need to get it submitted!

Spoiler: Vs. Tea (click to show/hide)

The Rose Duelist! You dared to betray the hopes of Prince Yugi!!!
 
I’ll teach you a lesson you’ll never forget!

I’m sure that you won’t! I for one, never learn anything! Hah!

Meet Tea Gardner. In the alternate verse, she’s an aspiring dancer and the fourth part of the original group of friends. Tea low-key has the hots for both Yugi and his alternate self, Yami Yugi, which is a bit odd, but whatever. To her credit, unlike Chi-Chi of Dragon Ball Z fame, she doesn’t completely disappear from relevancy at any point and has has aspirations outside of just getting the guy. There are feelings, but she’s a friend a first, which I think is nice. Tea doesn’t duel often, but when she does her decks are traditionally filled with light-typed creatures; usually Fairies.

She also does not like us very much right now; justifying so because we just betrayed the hopes and dreams of her fiance, Henry “Yugi” Tudor. What’s that you say? Ah yes! See, Tea’s counterpart is Elizabeth of York. How did this come about? Well! Funny you should theoretically ask!

Before taking the throne for himself, Richard the 3rd had some family matters to attend to first. Namely, his two nephews, issue of the previous king, simply just to had to die. After declaring himself their guardian, he them housed in the eminent Tower of London where they just magically… Disappeared. No one really knows what happened to the Princes in the Tower, though the strongest evidence towards what the hell happened to them came in the 17th century when a pair of boxes containing child sized skeletons were found.

Regardless, with the rightful heirs to the throne conveniently gone, Richard the 3rd swept in to take the throne for himself. One problem with this plan. The two brothers also had a sister, Elizabeth.

Now, Henry Tudor’s claim to the throne was passing at best, so in order to further secure his legitimacy as an heir, his family and the remainders of the Lancastrian faction hatched a plot to marry Elizabeth of York. Well, it happened. Soon after the battle where Richard the 3rd was slain, Elizabeth and Henry were wed. At once, the rift between the two illustrious houses were healed, and the budding Tudor dynasty arose a rose united.From all accounts, it was a pretty successful and happy marriage to boot, a small miracle in itself.

So, in addition to dashing Yugi’s ambitions of conquest, we’ve also presumably foiled his marriage by choosing the dark side! Huzzah!

Introductions dispensed of, let’s take a look at her deck.

Name: Tea
Deck Leader: Dancing Fairy
Main Creature Type: Fairy

So! Tea is the first opponent in the Yorkist Campaign, so naturally, her AI is not as strong as it can be with later incarnations. No card in her deck is particularly overpowered on it’s own, with there not being a single instance of one being able to break 2000 ATK. That said, she isn’t someone to underestimate.

Her deck draws power from the small armory that she’s able to pump out onto her monsters. We lack any real ability to buff our own monsters at this stage to a substantial degree, so there is a chance that she’ll end up pumping out some powerhouses that we’ll have to have an answer to.

In the doomsday scenario, she also has one card that flat-out negates our best soldiers; Enchanted Javelin. If a Fairy card gets equipped with it, then they will have the ability to flat out destroy any of our fiend monsters they come into battle with. Given the relative… Fiendishness of our deck, one might be able to see why that’s a problem!

Since this is the first battle as well, I’m going to go ahead and try to show you guys some of the basics. This game isn’t too hard but there is enough depth tha-

Wait. So you’re showing someone how to play this game right now? Like, someone who’s not even here?

Man, that’s so cool!

G-go away! Nobody asked you to butt in.

Don’t care. If there’s anything I can show you guys, I’ll try to as well! This dork doesn’t have anything over my deck!

Y-yeah well, mraaaang. Moving along. It’s time… To D-D-D-Duuuuuuuuuuuelll!!!! (Press for Vs. Lancastrian Music!)







So we are! Welcome to the field of battle! Tea's field is dotted with Mountains and Meadow Terrain. What does terrain do exactly? We'll get there! First, let's go ahead an meet the Deck Leader, shall we?



There we go. This is Kryuel. Say hello to him! We'll be seeing a lot. Kryuel acts as our 'avatar' during battle. The Deck Leader's job is to lay down cards and keep it's head down. It's utterly incapable of direct combat; so it's stats and effects do not matter in the slightest. In fact, if the Deck Leader does get attacked, all damage taken will be Direct Damage. Given that our HP cap is only 4000 HP, and that most monsters will have over 1000 ATK, this can be VERY bad. On the other hand, attack the enemy Deck Leader is VERY, VERY good. If you are an un-crafty duelist, you might find it nice to know that most duels can be ended easily by bum rushing the foe.

But! That's not really my goal, so whenever possible, I'm going to aim to show off the better side of an enemy's deck, even if that does mean I have to work a bit harder to win.

Let's see here though… We can summon in any square around us in a 3x3 cube; ignoring impassible terrain, our own square, squares with an enemy card in them, and the map edge. I'm going to place a monster on the tile right in me, the Meadow so I can show off Terrain effects. So let's open up our hand and have a look, shall we?



Nasty. Believe it or not, this hand is not as bad the first hand that I drew when recording, which was even worse somehow. Unfortunately, that glorious piece of work was destroyed, so I had to make due with the closest hand that I had to the original. Sorry!

But, do me a favor and check out those numbers. Don't some seem a little low? And on the far right, that card usually has 1000 ATK, not 1500. Odd right? That's the Terrain kicking in.

There are about eight different types of Terrain in this game. Meadow, Mountain, Wasteland, Yami(Dark), and Sea terrain will all power up some monsters, while powering down others. In addition, cards that are on favorable terrain move twice as fast.

Arena Terrain, which most of this map is composed of, doesn't imbue any advantage of disadvantage. The rest I'll talk about when it's a bit more relevant. For now, just know that Meadows weaken my Spellcasters, but strengthen my Warrior cards. We'll have to watch out for Mountains as well; Tea's Fairy gain advantage there.

Now, for a more fun topic, FUSION.

Any card in your deck can be combined with another card to potentially create an entirely different monster! It's WONDERFUL. There some decks, though weak at it's base points, that absolutely SHINE when you start fusing cards together to create new, even more powerful monsters. I'm going to demonstrate this now by combining my cards!



Behold as my Unknown Warrior of Fiend and my Witch's Apprentice become…!



Umm… Ahh….



Did you really just destroy your own card like that? Man, this is going to be even easier than I thought it was!

Grah, just ah… Give me a second. Sometimes fusions don't quite… Work. It's usually because those two cards aren't meant to fuse. If you are going to  use a Fusion though… Don't do what I just did. Place your strongest card at the end of the fusing pile.

For now, I end up moving the Witch's Apprentice forward a bit and switching it over to Tea.



Hey! He's a quick tip for the listeners at home. If you've also got a Power Up Card, you can also apply it to your monster by fusing it together. Sort of like what I'm doing.

Ah yeah. Well. Shit. That happens then. Let's just draw my hand and…



Bingo! Air Eater drawn! This guy is definitely going to be one of more important cards for this battle. Unfortunately however, I can't summon it right away. Why is that?

It's because every card has a Summoning Cost; notated by the number of stars by it's name. Air Eater hcosts six stars, while I only have four points in my pool. Which is bad. But not for long. Whenever a turn is ended, players get three extra stars to play with for the next round. Just refrain from summoning anything big for a turn or two, and you'll eventually gather enough summoning points to summon your monster.

It of course, still takes me a bit because I decide to summon the clown. What does the clown do? Nothing. Spoiler alert, it also does nothing later. I will no longer talk about that fool of a clown.

A turn or two pass. Tea plays another card. I throw down more fodder in the form of Madjinn Gunnin, also known as snake  butt.. I come to believe that the Witch's Apprentice isn't going to save the day with her inspiring attack power, I just switch her to defense. Another turn and…



Wait what?!

Oh! I'll happily explain that one. That card is Hoshingen. Once flipped, all light monsters are powered up by 300 points!

Really? Ah… Crap. This is now the second time that flipped card has been powered up, so I can't afford to take many risks with it. Madjin takes up defenses . One turn from violence.

Ah HA!! I draw my first magic card, Magical Labyrinth! With this, Tea's fate is surely sealed! Also, for good measure, I do finally lay down Air Eater. I'm sure he'll help too.

Ok. Here I come! This is for Yugi!







Ok. So, her defense is a little lower than the Binding Chains, but I'm sure she sill has this one in the bag. We cut now… To the battle arena!



The standard arena has a pretty cool cathedralesque kind of feel to it, or that of ancient battleground of Rome kind of thing. Every once and a while, we'll see some thunder, which really adds to the mystique!

Binding Chain charges up… I mean, ok, it's a lot of damage but the Witch's Apprentice probably has this one, right?





Nope! Your witch is toast. Whenever a monster with a higher attack power attacks a monster with a lower defense power, the defending card is destroyed!

Oh right. But do you know what happens when Light monster goes into battle against a Dark Monster?

What?

That monster becomes Spellbound!  Hah!

To explain what just happened; that go into battle against an Attribute that is against their own are Spellbound. The order goes, Dark>Light>Water>Fire>Earth>Wind>Dark. This means that they cannot move or attack any other card for the duration of being Spellbound. Cards can become Spellbound in other ways as well, like by traps or the effects  pf some monsters.

That's just a cheap trick. I'm still going to win this!

Tea moves her face down card into mine.





And… Pfft! Not like that you are!



Sparkles fly…



But Air Eater doesn't die!





The result leaves one breathless, doesn't it?



Whenever a card is destroyed in attack position by an opposing monster, the opponent loses life points equal to the remainder. It's a good trade!



A few moments pass and… What's this?

I may have lost that fight… But I haven't lost this duel.

Whenever the Hourglass of Life is defeated in battle, it brings back cards from the Graveyard. So while, I may have lost a friend, I have new ones to help me now!

Hrmm. Aye. Friends I'd rather not deal with given that half my deck is made up of small fries.

Anyways. Next turn passes. I lay down a little trick. Phantom Dewan is one of those sneaky cards with an effect. When flipped up for battle, it Spelllbinds the opposing card for three whole turns. It's nasty! I place it in between me and the Binding Chain… A little parting gift for later!

Oh. And buttsnake takes an attack.





OH CARD GODS, TAKE IT AWAY FROM ME!!!






...But since it's attack was equal to my defense, nothing happens. If Madjinn's defense had been any higher, Tea would have taken damage to her life points.

After turn, Tea plays what is effectively her ace…



  Gyakutenno Megami. She will strengthen all of my cards that are below 1000 points by 1000. This will include your Warrior of Fiend, bringing him up to 2000 ATK.

Eep.

  Listen. This battle is almost over now. You and your monsters don't have to fight me anymore. It's not too late to join our side!

Nope! Not happening!

*sigh* Then you leave me know choice. I'm going to finish this with everything I've got!"

Not if I finish you first! I advance my cards… And activate the ace up my sleeve!



MAGICAL LABIRYNTH!!



…

Any moment now.

…

...Nothing happens.

Was something supposed to happen?"

Well yes… But… What Magical Labyrinth does is take one Labyrinth tile and moves it to another place. Except…

Tthis map doesn't have Labyrinth tiles.

…*sigh*

Ok. Moving right along.

Binding Chain locks in on Phantom Dewan, flipping him for battle. That card, is spellbound for 3 turns! In the meantime, I'm going to go for the throat. Tea doesn't have any cards strong enough to stop my Air Eater, so I'm just going to go on the offensive! Take that face-down card!



Wut.



Shit!



A-ah, so this is bad. Tears of a Mermaid w-

-will weaken your monster's power by 600 points and spellbinds it. I will then attack it with my Happy Lover.

It has an attack of 1800, which is greater than your card's attack of 1600. It can, and will destroy monster. So in a way... This card represents my hopes and my dreams, and that of all of England as well.

The love I feel for Yuigi, it's the type of love you'll never feel! Prepare to lose, Dastardly!!!



NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!



Wait… That's actually Air Eater's charging animation.



And that's his attack!

What!?

Hah! Now  who doesn't know the effecfts of her cards?! What has happened is that The Happy Lover card activated her personal ability… Which is to reset the ATK and DEF power of an opponent. Normally, you'd send it in to attack a much stronger creature to remove any buffs that it might have. But in this case, she instead STRENGTHENED my card by resetting it's attack! Now who doesn't know the effects of her cards!?



At this stage of the game, I'm able to hatch a devious plot. It takes a few sacrificial lambs…







But they're both Dark Attribute Cards against Light attribute cards. This means that I'm able to keep her cards stun locked and out of my way for my next phase of attack. In particular, Hoshingen is forced to stay put next to the much stronger Air Eater Moving my Deck Leader forward, I get ready to exploit that fact.



Being Spellbound from it's previous attack on snakebutt, it wasn't able to move into the space now occupied by my Deck Leader. Air Eater moves in to assault...



First view of the Meadow Terrain. It's grass smells like VICTORY.



Wait. What are you doing!?

I move forward my Deck Leader….





...Right over my own card!!!

You would destroy your own card, just to defeat me?

Yep! That's right! This is game-



-Set-



Match! Victory!



What kind of monster are you…

A Dastardly one! In addition to winning a Red Rose Card from Tea, we also get to steal some of her cards through the GRAVEYAAAAAARD SLOT MAAACHIIIIIINEEEEE!!!





I'll be taking that. I'd just love to add it to my deck!

Oh. And we also got Hohshiningen *shudders* and the Hourglass of Life. All and all? Not a bad haul. There is more to the Graveyard Slot Machine, but I'll save it for later. This update is long enough as it is. Anything you'd like to say Tea?



I don't know, I think it's quite happy, loverly, kind of situation don't you think? Gahahahahaha! Love!  Oh that pun made me just so happy. Gahahaha!

We look down the map, and look to the future. Our next opponent…

Tristan… Guardian of London. Master… Of Crabwalking.

And done! Sorry for the long read, but there was quite a few mechanics and other fun bits that I needed to get covered and out of the way first. Believe it or not, but the update could have been even longer had I of used all of the pictures I took.

C'est la vie.