Chapter 230. The Forbidden "Final Last Turn" Exposed! Explaining the Win Rates of the Tough Special-Victory LB Deck!
What Yuya Sakaki and the others couldn't accept wasn't just Labrynth's resource accumulation.
It was that Labrynth's resources weren't limited to its in-theme cards!
More importantly, it was the Graveyard pile-up of other Trap Cards as future resources!
This meant that once Labrynth dragged the Duel out, the Trap Cards in the Graveyard could be recycled and redeployed at any time!
They could press with Traps against any situation that might come up!
That was one of the reasons Yuya Sakaki and the others felt Labrynth's power level was overtuned!
In the VRAINS world.
Yusaku Fujiki took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
At first, he thought Labrynth might be a little resource-negative.
But now his opinion had completely changed!
What resource loss?
With this engine running, resources don't go negative at all!
Especially the searches for other Normal Traps in the Deck!
Just that alone already fully compensates for Labrynth's shortcomings!
"Hiss!"
"This kind of Deck."
"How should I put it?
I suddenly feel like I still don't understand degenerate Decks well enough!"
"So this is the new-era 'degenerate,' huh?"
Beside him, Skye Zaizen swallowed.
What she couldn't wrap her head around was—
Even as a degenerate Deck, Labrynth sure isn't weak!
Main world.
After Sei Yuki finished that short video, he quickly started looking for the next one!
The more shorts he scrolled through, the more bored Sei Yuki felt.
Especially in the current OCG environment.
It's either Snake-Eye or Horus.
Watching those two all day is nauseating!
"As expected!
I need to watch some high-quality content from real creators!"
"Let me think!"
"Yeah, I'll watch the Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden-List Commentator!"
Since the Forbidden-List Commentator is Sei Yuki's most trusted uploader, he thought for a moment and opened that channel's homepage to browse older videos.
And sure enough.
Sei Yuki found a video that really interested him!
"Exposing the Forbidden 'Final Last Turn'!
The Rise and Fall of the LB Deck!"
From the title alone!
You could already tell the video would focus on that "special victory" card.
It was one of the cards mentioned earlier in the ranking of special-victory cards!
The Trap Card, "Last Turn."
And that card.
Has a long history.
Newcomers to the game might not have even heard of it!
So, showing this card to the old-guard veterans would be a nice choice!
With that thought in mind.
The video began to play.
At the same time.
Duelists across the various Duel worlds focused their attention on the video!
Labrynth, the previous hot topic.
Was quickly pushed aside!
The veterans all started discussing "Last Turn!"
"I remember this card's effect was basically a duel to decide the winner, right?"
"Yeah!
I vaguely recall it, and I think the activation requirements were a pain!"
"Now I remember!
Anyway, whoever still has a monster wins!"
"Right.
Looks like this card has a pretty interesting developmental history!"
After a round of chatter in the group.
Everyone's memories of the card had been reawakened!
And in the short video, the commentary had begun.
Forbidden-List Commentator: "Hey there, Duelists!"
Forbidden-List Commentator: "Today's card is another old one with a special win condition!"
Forbidden-List Commentator: "I'm sure many of you have heard of it!"
"The card is 'Last Turn!'"
"The effect is very simple!"
"You can only activate it when your own LP are 1,000 or less—that's the activation condition!"
"And it can only be activated during your opponent's turn; after activation, you choose 1 monster you control!"
"Send all cards in both players' hands and on the field to the Graveyard, except that chosen monster."
"Then your opponent Special Summons 1 monster from their Deck!"
"Those two monsters fight it out!"
"All battle damage becomes 0."
"At the end of this turn, if only one of the players still controls a monster, that player wins the Duel.
Otherwise, it's a Draw."
"Okay!
At first glance it looks like the 'duel' mechanic in a certain other card game."
"But if you really think that's all there is to it, you're making a huge mistake!"
"Before the deep-dive—"
"Ask yourself: is it easy for this card's activation condition to translate into a win?"
Hard, is it?
That one question from the uploader left Duelists across every world stunned!
Jaden Yuki, Yugi Muto, and Yusei Fudo immediately fell into thought.
To be honest!
Originally.
They assumed this card was Forbidden because it was extremely easy to trigger and then steal the win.
But now it seemed.
They'd misunderstood.
This card might not easily steal the win.
However.
Its chances of forcing a Draw were very high!
Forbidden-List Commentator: "I'm sure you all have your own answers."
Forbidden-List Commentator: "Some say it's easy.
Others say it's hard."
Forbidden-List Commentator: "Let's start the analysis."
"After hearing it all, I think your answer will be clearer."
"November 2001, Pack 208 released!"
"It had quite a few dominant cards at the time!"
"Things like 'Yata-Garasu,' 'Fiber Jar,' 'Royal Oppression,' and so on!"
"And 'Last Turn' released in that window as well!"
"Today's about this card, and we've already covered Oppression and the others."
"So I won't dwell on them."
"Let's extract the key points of 'Last Turn!'"
"Point 1: Only during the opponent's turn, and your LP must be 1,000 or less."
"Point 2: You must choose your own monster; sending hands/fields to Graveyard can trigger 'last will'-type effects."
"Point 3: Your opponent Special Summons a monster—note the two words: Special Summon."
"Point 4: There's an extra Battle Phase layered in; at End Phase, whoever still controls a monster wins—otherwise it's a Draw."
"Okay, with those points in mind—"
"Let me throw out a few questions, and you'll get it."
"How do you guarantee being at 1,000 LP or less?"
"If the 'sent to Graveyard' effects pop cards, what if your chosen monster gets blown up?"
"During that added Battle Phase, monster effects still work—can you really guarantee the final state?"
"And the core question: how do you search 'Last Turn?'"
"Sit with that for a moment."
"And you'll find a very serious problem."
"'Last Turn' doesn't easily achieve a special-victory."
"That's right."
"Just with these three questions, I think it's already clear enough."
"For example, if your opponent chooses to Special Summon 'D.D. Warrior' or 'D.D. Warrior Lady'…"
"After they battle, both monsters get banished, and the result is a Draw."
"So this card makes Draws easy, but getting the win is really difficult!"
"Or maybe you select a set Flip-Effect monster that blows something up, like 'Old Vindictive Magician.'"
"Pair it with the Trap 'Messenger of Peace' to keep your monster from being destroyed by battle!"
"But you still can't solve the 'D.D. Warrior' problem."
"Of course, even back then, plenty of Duelists built Decks around this card!"
"The 'Last Battle' Deck—LB Deck for short."
"After careful thought, the LB Deck sprouts the three win-path problems I mentioned earlier!"
"First problem: managing your Life Points."
"Second problem: how to access 'Last Turn.'"
"Third problem: handling the battle and End-of-Turn resolution."
"With these three problems in mind!"
"I believe you'll gain a deeper understanding of 'Last Turn!'"
The LB-Deck explanation.
The three questions and Socratic prompts.
The analysis of "Last Turn."
All of that left the old-guard veterans across the Duel worlds wide-eyed and slack-jawed!
Indeed.
They hadn't thought things through nearly this far!
In other words!
Just seeing the words "special-victory card" on the text box—
They couldn't possibly have anticipated so many considerations in Deck construction, lines, and pitfalls!
Now that they'd savored it!
Duelists everywhere showed looks of shock and awe!
No doubt!
They had overlooked way too much about this card!
Be it the activation condition or the end-of-turn check!
They had totally failed to consider how many issues could crop up in this window!
And these three problems that form the core of the LB Deck around "Last Turn"—
Benefited the protagonists of every world tremendously!
In the DM world.
Yugi Muto and the spirit of Pharaoh Atem muttered to each other.
Exactly because of those discussions—
As the protagonists of their world—
They realized that when you construct a Deck to serve a single card—
You can't just take things for granted.
You need to account for every angle.
"Turns out, I was being shallow."
"Just like with 'Dark Magician.'"
"You can map it to these same three problems."
"How do you Summon Dark Magician?"
"How do you search Dark Magician?"
"How do you handle the outcome once he's out?"
"And so on—it's the same!"
"This is the mindset and method for Deckbuilding!"
After Yugi and Atem finished discussing—
They couldn't help but exclaim.
The surrounding Duelists were floored.
It's like—yeah!
That really tracks!
In the GX world.
Jaden Yuki, Dr. Crowler, Chazz Princeton, and the others also realized that building a Deck requires multi-angle planning.
Especially the instructors at Duel Academy.
One by one, they wore thoughtful expressions.
Feeling they'd gained a lot!
Explaining the LB core built around "Last Turn."
Is actually the same as explaining any other Deck!
"So these are the three elements of high-tier Deck construction?"
"Maybe any card can be approached this way."
Chancellor Sheppard exhaled heavily.
His eyes returned to the short.
Maybe.
He needed to reorganize his Cyber-style thinking.
In the 5D's world.
Yusei Fudo, Jack Atlas, and Crow Hogan also benefited greatly.
"I see!"
"Like my Morphtronic."
"First problem: how do I assemble the combo."
"Second problem: how do I access the core card."
"Third problem: what board do I end on, and what's the outcome, right?"
Leo slapped his head.
Feeling like his Deckbuilding vision had suddenly opened up!
Forbidden-List Commentator: "Let's start from the first problem."
Forbidden-List Commentator: "If the LB Deck wants to manage LP, there are only a few ways."
Forbidden-List Commentator: "You can try to get under 1,000 via battle, but with 8,000 LP…"
"It's very hard to precisely control down to that line!"
"By late 2001, Level 4 beaters were already hitting 1,900 ATK!"
"So it's risky!"
"Passive LP management is nowhere near as good as seizing proactive tools."
"So back then, you could consider 'Cyber-Stein!'"
"Paying 5,000 LP quickly drops your LP low."
"You could also consider adding 'Ring of Destruction' to help manage your life total."
"Second problem: how do you actually get to 'Last Turn?'"
"You could try to mill it and use 'Mask of Darkness' to flip and get it back!"
"Otherwise, you're relying on raw draw—just find a way to dig it."
"Or you use precision searchers that can fetch 'Last Turn!'"
"Whichever you choose, it's all quite difficult!"
"After all, there was no 'Labrynth' back then."
"If this were today, there'd be tons of ways to search 'Last Turn!'"
"And then the third problem."
"As I said earlier, on your opponent's turn, there's an extra Battle Phase inserted."
"And the check doesn't happen until the End Phase!"
"For example."
"You activate 'Last Turn' in their Main Phase and go to Battle."
"Suppose you destroy their monster; right now, only you control a monster!"
"But what if their monster had a 'last will' effect?"
"Like 'Witch of the Black Forest' or 'Sangan' searching them a monster."
"They just Normal Summon another monster."
"Okay—now it's, at minimum, a Draw."
"In fact, if what they search is strong enough, it can even take out your monster!"
"Then at the end of the turn, they have a monster, and they win."
"Some might say: wait until they Normal Summon first, then flip it."
"But if you hold off, can 'Last Turn' really survive in an era with backrow removal everywhere?"
"And like I said earlier, if they pick 'D.D. Warrior,' both get banished and it's still a Draw."
"Or your opponent Summons something that can't be destroyed by battle.
That's another Draw!"
"And that's where the new line of play emerges."
"Remember the keywords earlier!"
"The opponent must Special Summon a monster."
"Those two words—'Special Summon'—are very useful.
So what if I just lock out their Special Summon?"
"If you can't Special Summon, then my 'Last Turn' guarantees I still control a monster!"
"Wouldn't that make me the winner?"
Holy—!
Genius!
Absolute genius!
As the solutions were summarized from the three problems—
When they heard the last method—
Using a Special Summon lock to assist 'Last Turn' in achieving a special victory—
Duelists across every world all jolted in unison!
They stared in disbelief at the commentary in the short!
They really hadn't thought of it!
You could actually attack the "Special Summon" clause to solve the third problem!
Yugi Muto: "Good grief!
That's basically card-text lawyering, isn't it?"
Joey Wheeler: "Since your own monster has to remain, and the opponent has to Special Summon—yeah, hitting that axis does make sense!"
Yusei Fudo: "But here's the problem—what cards actually lock Special Summons?"
Yuma Tsukumo: "Honestly, LP management feels tougher.
Getting under 1,000 is the real headache."
In the group chat.
The new line of thought cracked everyone's minds wide open.
After a round of discussion.
They had fresh doubts.
Yes—solutions to the three problems exist.
But each solution sprouts more problems.
Now the LB Deck looked even more troublesome, didn't it?
So.
In solving problems, you'll spawn more problems.
That's one thing even Yu-Gi-Oh! has to admit.
Even though that final idea—locking Special Summons—
Utterly amazed the old guard—
There was still a catch.
Can you really assemble a reliable Special-Summon-lock combo?
To achieve 'Last Turn' special victory—
You need to cut your LP down, you need a monster on your field—
And you need to lock the opponent's Special Summons.
It sounds like three simple steps.
But the number of cards involved along the way is… a lot.
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Enjoyed the story? Support me and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at: Patr*eon*.com/Resium
Free members can read 10+ Chapters Ahead of Release
Paid member can read 150+ Chapters Ahead of Release
Stories Available
Honkai? No, This Is Daily Life
Hogwarts Pet Master
Pokémon: Who Let Him Leave Pallet Town!
Scrolling Yu-Gi-Oh! Shorts