But anime characters in real duels were a different matter entirely. They possessed what was called deck bonds, but what it really meant was absurd topdeck luck. No matter how much the deck was shuffled, key combo cards always appeared together, and even the strangest builds could still function.
This trait became more obvious the stronger the duelist was. For example, Judai Yuki from GX was famous for miracle draws, and by the end of DM, Yami Yugi could practically draw whatever he wanted.
That said, most of Manjoume's true ace cards came from later in the story. VWXYZ and Fivefold Fusion were provided by Professor Chronos de Medici to let him teach Judai Yuki a lesson, and Armed Dragon was something he obtained at North Academy. At this point, he did not even have the Ojama Trio yet.
So his current strength should be noticeably lower than in the anime.
"I'll take the first turn."
Yugen decisively claimed the opening move through the random selection of the Duel Disk System.
"I set one monster on the field, then set one card in the back row."
He took two cards from his hand, placing one face down in the front zone of his Duel Disk and sliding the other into the back row. Two dark card projections immediately appeared on the field.
"Turn end."
"Heh, a defensive setup. Against me, the number one of the Middle Division, that kind of caution is only natural," Manjoume shouted smugly.
At this point, before enrolling, Manjoume had not yet suffered any crushing defeats from Judai, so his confidence was overflowing.
"But it's useless. My turn, draw!"
His eyes swept over his hand, and he immediately pulled out two cards.
"I set one card. Then I activate the Spell Card, Card Destruction! Both players discard all cards in their hands, then draw the same number from their decks!"
Yugen discarded his entire hand as instructed, exchanging cards together with Manjoume.
As soon as the new hands were drawn, Manjoume pressed the activation button. "Flip my set card, Spell Card, Silent Doom! I can revive a Normal Monster from my Graveyard in Defense Position."
A black vortex opened on the field, and a red haired female warrior holding a sword and shield emerged from within. She landed in a crouch, her card image appearing horizontally beneath her feet as she raised her shield defensively.
Female Swordsman Canaan, DEF 1400.
"Then I activate the Equip Spell 'Great Sword' from my hand to equip it to Female Swordsman! The equipped monster gains 300 ATK!"
Female Swordsman Canaan, ATK 1400 to ATK 1700.
"Heh, you're probably wondering what's the point of boosting the attack of a monster in Defense Position," Manjoume chuckled.
Yugen kept a straight face, thinking that it was not completely wrong.
"Let me show you. Elite duels are beyond your imagination," Manjoume said. "The Equip Spell 'Great Sword' has another effect. When the equipped monster is used as a Tribute for a Warrior type monster, it can count as two Tributes."
White winds swept across the field, surrounding the swordswoman. Golden light wrapped around her body and blade before she dissolved into particles.
"Light of dawn, illuminate the path to victory. Cut down all obstacles with the legendary blade!"
Manjoume raised a card high as a summoning storm whipped his clothes.
"Appear. Level eight, Sword Saint!"
A masked swordmaster in black armor stepped out of the storm, a massive sword strapped to his back. Red hair flowed behind him, and his presence was imposing.
Sword Saint, ATK 2600.
Yugen gave a small nod. As expected, duelists in this world always used flashy poses and speeches when summoning big monsters.
The audience watching the match broke into excited shouts.
"He summoned something that strong on the very first turn," a red haired girl exclaimed. "That guy doesn't seem ordinary at all."
"Hahaha, of course!"
One of Manjoume's lackeys happened to be sitting behind her and immediately bragged. "That's our Duel Academy Middle Division elite class number one, Manjoume!"
"He's already guaranteed a spot in the higher division this year. Beating someone like that is nothing," the other lackey added smugly.
"Elite class. Number one?"
The two girls instantly straightened up, their gaze toward Manjoume on the screen turning into pure admiration.
They had heard that while the Middle Division was not as hard to enter as the advanced division, it still had many strong duelists. And the elite class within it was full of young geniuses.
Number one in the elite class was the real deal.
They suddenly felt a bit sorry for his opponent.
What a shame. That boy named Yugen Fujiki was pretty good looking, but it seemed unlikely they would see him again after this round.
"I'm not done yet," Manjoume continued.
"Sword Saint, effect activate. When this card is successfully summoned, equip as many Equip Spells in my Graveyard as possible to Warrior monsters on my field."
He paused, catching the two cards that popped out from the Graveyard zone of his Duel Disk, and sneered.
"Of course, Sword Saint itself is a Warrior. I equip both 'Great Sword' and 'Jeweled Sword' from my Graveyard to Sword Saint!"
The two Equip Spells layered onto the Sword Saint at once. Energy surged through the warrior as he drew his blade, which rapidly extended until it looked absurdly long.
"'Great Sword' and 'Jeweled Sword' each increase attack by 300, for a total of 600!"
Sword Saint, ATK 2600 to ATK 3200.
The red haired girl was even more shocked. "Three thousand two hundred attack. And it's still the first turn. That's already higher than the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
The two lackeys felt even prouder. One of them grinned broadly and waved it off. "Relax, relax. Small stuff. For Manjoume this is basic."
But Yugen, standing in the duel, was not intimidated at all. If anything, the opposite was true.
He was staring at the two cards left in Manjoume's hand.
The duel had just begun, yet four of the initial six cards were already gone. That kind of loss made even him feel a bit of pain just watching it.
With a little more effort, it would almost match the famous anime moment where five cards turned into nothing.
"Hahaha, have you been overwhelmed by this crushing power?" Manjoume laughed loudly. "Don't worry, it will end quickly."
"Battle Phase. Sword Saint, destroy that set trash monster!"
The Sword Saint leapt forward, swinging his blade. The huge weapon sent out a violent air blast, and the face down monster on Yugen's field flipped helplessly under the pressure.
It was a female warrior.
A blonde woman in black combat gear and long boots crouched with her sword raised. In front of such a massive blade, she looked small and fragile.
D.D. Warrior Lady, DEF 1600.
"D.D. Warrior Lady, effect activate," Yugen said calmly. "After damage calculation, both this card and the monster it battles are removed from play."
"I'll send your level eight boss straight to another dimension."
"!" Manjoume
Dimensional Slash was one of the mainstream decks active in the early competitive scene of Yu-Gi-Oh!. It never managed to claim a World Championship title, but it proved its strength in that early era and could trade blows with the champions of the time. Its record was enough to earn it a lasting place in discussions of early formats.