Was Yugi About To Defeat Yami? [Self Destruction]

[@TheChipmania]

I would like to point out that if yugi set sangan on the first turn, he could’ve searched berfomet, use poly on the next turn to make the king of mythical beasts, and use monster reborn, and tribute what he summons for dark magician girl. Puts him WAY farther ahead.

[@TGSAnime]

An equally good first turn play! Good spot!

[@enlongjones2394]

And if he used Monster Reborn on Sangan, he could’ve gotten *another* search when he tributed it.

[@Amitlu]

This is why you never show hands in a duel, plays make a lot less sense.

[@chuguvsme]

-Except it isn't unless Sagan works like Witch of the Black Forest in- the anime. Nevermind I thought Befoment had 1800 atk

[@solidsnakeandgrayfox]

Actually, he uses poly, grabs chimera and then dmg, that would be near game.

[@WillRennar]

The thought of Catapult Turtle turning its turret around, jamming it into the ground, and self-yeeting at Atem is hilarious.

[@animesoul479]

Does make you wonder how they'd animate it lol

[@WheeledHamster]

The plot armor is strong with that card.

[@TheRibottoStudios]

I always found it so fascinating that the duel mirrored Atem's duel against Raphael in every way, but the Pharaoh couldn't see that until Yugi played the card. Even when he played Swords of Revealing Light to "try and talk some sense into Yugi" per his own words, he wasn't realizing what Yugi was trying to do; teach him a lesson. As he always preferred to do when dueling. It was never about winning for Yugi-it was about learning and teaching and just loving the game. I think this shows Atem's psychology as well; not just overall but in the moment. Which is something I don't think is often talked about enough in this arc. It's been proven time and again that when we're extremely stressed out, or in high emotional situations, our brains just turn off so to speak because of the flood of adrenaline. Our working memory is overridden with basic instinct. And in a duel where if you lose, you lose your soul, those are pretty high stakes not just emotionally but physically. And you can tell by the expressions that pass across the Pharaoh's face; most prominently the "deer in headlights" look that The Pharaoh isn't all there. He wasn't all there ever since Yugi's soul got taken. And I REALLY think if the Pharaoh hadn't put his drive to save Yugi above his own issues, then Yugi would've won. But if his mental breakdown had lasted any longer...it would've been game over.

[@UltimateD755]

The duel was emotional yami was sorry

[@giovanniorellana2200]

Oh, and whoever loses the duel, loses their soul!

[@XandWacky]

JOEY! IF YOU LOSE THE DUEL, YOU LOSE YOUR SOUL!

[@JaimeD.]

Take a shot every time you hear this phrase. 🥤😂

[@spacegodzilla3951]

XandWacky is right! Am I really capable of taking someone souls in a duel?

[@JaimeD.]

​@@XandWackyYes, Tristan. I get it!

[@HollywoodLego]

Joey: 😑 Gee, thanks for the reminder...

[@EclipseKirby]

This is pretty standard for Yugi. In most duels where he is in control, he tends to value saving a life or teaching a lesson more than actually winning the duel. In fact, most of Yugi/Yami's official losses are because Yugi was in control and prioritized these things. Even in the final duel, its telling that Yami used Reborn to make a power play and Yugi used it to send a message

[@nekoluxuria7721]

Its an annoyingly high constant buy yugi loves his symbolisms in every duel hes involved in

[@delirous8]

@@nekoluxuria7721 Yugi is Yami’s moral half and his angel of light. That is why the duel in season 5 was important to show that Yugi in many ways was a stronger duelist. Yami has killer instinct, confidence and drive but Yugi was a strategist and savant.

[@Sakurasan2023]

I don't think it was always like that though. ​@delirous8

[@delirous8]

@@Sakurasan2023 it was always like that Yugi helped Yami a lot. Yugi came up with strategies that helped him and Yami win together.

[@wiewio8035]

It would be funny if Yugi used Sangan to shuffle his deck, but then Yami used his own Sangan to shuffle his deck, and then their decks would be revealed to be shuffled the same way, so they still draw the same cards.

[@flochforster88]

JUDGE!!

[@Amsel_616]

Bruh

[@yangchenlhamo7537]

And then Yugi used another sangan using monster reborn, but Yami got call of the haunted or something and also used sangan, and their decks were shuffled the same again.

[@michaelkarimian7538]

That would be hilarious! 😆

[@robrick9361]

SCREW PROBABILITY, I'M THE MAIN CHARACTER!

[@supersmily5811]

I feel like is someone was going to do the "Break the mirrored hands by shuffling deck" move they should have done it very near the end of the duel, as like a big "aha!" moment to solve the puzzle and win. Kinda a letdown to use that premise for all of ~3 turns before discarding it.

[@Goldfire345]

I think the point of them Starting with the same hands and the same draws was about things atem shared in common with yugi and when yugi discarded the one thing they still had left in common that was to show that yugi was serious about fighting atem.

[@MarioMastar]

@@Goldfire345That makes senese yeah... more narrative focused than duel focused. Still a shame they didn't play with that idea more literally as that sounds like a fun (albeit biased) way to duel someone. first turn advantage for knowing what the opponent will draw next, but second turn can always counter what the first turn does if the hand has counters. I think I'd love to see Yuma do a duel like that with Astral's strict and logical strategies vs Yuma's Out of left field "anything goes" strategies.

[@loganhurley5590]

But also it had to be hellish to write that premise

[@LabMatt]

You know in Duel Links when you build the most overpowered deck possible, then you go up against a generic low level NPC, hit "auto-duel", and it loses in 3 turns? That's how Ghost Yugi duels

[@LilHaze117]

😂😂😂

[@charziz6693]

The Auto-Duel only knows how to play DM era Yu-Gi-Oh, I gave it Rokkets and it just started set pass every turn

[@kingyoshikage5117]

Also can’t use skills at all

[@treeckoniusconstantinus]

Even though I haven't played YGO in nearly 20 years, this "Was X About To Defeat Y?" series has been one of my favorite things on KZbin. Keep up the great work, mate! First-time commenter, long-time watcher.

[@szbszig]

Yeah, same here. There are many of us, who loved old-style Yu-Gi-Oh! and the first two or three series of the anime. Then we grew up, while the card game changed drastically as well.

[@michaelkarimian7538]

@@szbszigVery well said! I stopped after Gx because everything became way too complicated after that. Whenever I see duels from the original series I remember recording episodes so I wouldn’t miss them. 😇😇😇😇

[@torazely]

I never got entirely invested in the anime, never saw much past the Battle City arc, and stopped playing the cards when I hit middle school, but this series gets me so invested in the franchise again.

[@ryhi5]

It's extremely rare we get to see Mirror Matches in Yu-Gi-Oh, but when we do, they are incredibly memorable. The only others I can think of are the Volcanic Mirror Match in Season 4 of GX between Trueman and Axel, and the Red Dragon Archfiend Mirror Match between Jack Atlas and the Imposter Jack Atlas.

[@MarioMastar]

I feel like they had to have at least 2 in Zexal but I just don't remember. I do recall the final duel between Astral and Yuma having them use the same deck but a different extra deck (as Astral took all the Utopia cards, leaving Yuma with only his Gagaga cards. Still love how that duel ended.) and maybe one of the duels with Number 96.... but I don't remember. it seems like the kind of thing that'd happen to Yuma given he had a lot of gimmicky duels that showed off a lot of quirky, outside the box strategies.

[@lordofcrows]

​@@MarioMastarWasn't really a mirror, since Astral used a pure Utopia deck while Yuma used Onomatos tho

[@roncerjani9063]

​@@MarioMastarActually, I think Astral had all the Numbers entirely at that point. Yuma had just Gagagas.

[@Yojimbo16]

There was Jaden and Aster's 2nd Duel but it stopped being a mirror match halfway through.

[@ryhi5]

@@Yojimbo16 doesn’t count! Asters deck was a mix of Elemental and Destiny Heroes and even then, his E-Hero fusions were different. The only matching cards were the avian, spark man and burstinatrix

[@OmnicidalClown1992]

With the amount of Duel Analysis videos that take place in the Waking the Dragons Arc, I'm surprised that we haven't seen the Kaiba vs. Alister duels yet.

[@shadowbladezorru2748]

There is a difference between misplaying and throwing, this duel is pretty much ghost yugi throwing the game to slap sense back into Atem.

[@StareachValcin]

I honestly think that the main reason for this duel is for Yugi to teach Atem, not to defeat him. To help Atem take his first step to conquering his inner darkness. That's why I can forgive any misplays and accept that Yugi is trying to teach Atem with a specific strategy.

[@averylr32]

yeah i agree yugi was never trying to win

[@caiusdrakegaming8087]

@@averylr32 Plus kind of hard for Atem to learn the lesson since you know... if he loses then his soul gets taken by the seal. So Yugi literally couldn't go all out while also trying to help Atem learn that lesson. Like I can get being annoyed at these kind of obvious misplays, but the reasoning why they're happening kind of requires them or else it's just a moot point.

[@voltingmaster5458]

Besides if Yugi wins everyone loses, it’s as simple as that.

[@rollflasher89]

It's also worth pointing out that Atem himself didn't want to fight anymore either, so yeah, just like the Judai vs Yugi duel, this duel was never really about winning but more about character development than anything.

[@TheRibottoStudios]

@@rollflasher89 That's something I wish was talked about more in this arc; Atem's mental state. You can tell by the expressions that pass across his face during this duel that Atem isn't all there; his working memory is essentially turned off. And when that happens, you are much more liable to make stupid decisions that in hindsight make no sense, but in the moment they do, simply because of humanity's innate instinct to SURVIVE.

[@SWad250]

You know it is something special when the first turn is given so much salt. Love it haha

[@stever1705]

I think the reason their hands were the same at the start was supposed to reflect the fact that they were United, on the same page before dueling Raphael. But when Yami played the seal of oricalcos, their views changed. Playing card destruction represented this change in priorities and suddenly they have different cards. Yugi doesn’t play at his best because whole point of this is a test. It’s obvious enough he’s holding back that Yami comments on it. And if there’s no opportunity to pass a test, it isn’t one. Yugi’s performance essentially showed exactly what sort of catastrophic mistake Yami made plainly enough he can realize and try to grow from it

[@anthonythomas305]

Waking the Dragons Arc duels are so amazing, especially this one. It was so much pressure for Yami, but very touching to overcome his heart of darkness problem all thanks to Ghost Yugi

[@AceOBlade]

ye its BY FAR the best Filler arc in anime

[@tarikkash4282]

You do realize that that wasn't the real yugi?

[@delirous8]

The season really focused on how important Yugi was for Yami then the other way around. It showed that in reality Yugi is essential for everyone and he was the team's heart. The season also proved that Yugi in reality was the real hero and had courage. He sacrificed himself for Yami and he brought everyone together. Notice that Yugi was not around the team felt incomplete. Everyone gave so much credit to Yami but in reality, Yami relies on Yugi and his goodness so he can be a better person and a better duelist. When Yugi was not around we get a glimpse of what Yami becomes without him, he becomes dark, maniacal and prone to destruction. Yami becomes the villain he ends up fighting against and in reality, it scared him cause that darkness hurt the person closest to him. He wrestled his rage and he had to prove to Yugi around the end that he got rid of it.

[@dellosayshello5405]

I love how this guy found a format to analyze a whole duel it’s like watching a full episode or multiple full episodes for free and have more understanding of the duel

[@tonystone10K]

Yugi used Sangan to search his deck. So he should've known which cards Yami was going to draw from Card Destruction, and for the rest of the duel since the decks were in the same order to begin with. So I agree with the notion that Yugi wasn't really trying to defeat Yami. Especially since Yugi should've known that Yami would draw Divine Wind soon. (An argument against that is that perhaps Yugi's memory may not be good enough to remember which cards were next. However, Divine Wind was the only trap card in the top half of the deck... so I'm not sure how that card specifically would've been missed when searching from Sangan's effect.)

[@markmorales7958]

At least we don’t have to be forced to duel each other again in the series finale, that will just make this duel completely superfluous… 😅

[@frankyquilavafireblast895]

What the F**** is this season!

[@AEROStrik3]

@@frankyquilavafireblast895 filler No way mid series yugi beats atem. its only EoS yugi that can handily beat atem (except for maybe in a shadow game since atem has more resilience against shadow magic). EoS yugi was literally breaking the game causing infinite loops (probably inspired by atems duel against slifer) and creating new win conditions

[@Zeronigel332]

@@AEROStrik3I’m so confuse by this notion because Yugi was alway ahead of Atem. Like the time he saw that Atem was going to let Arkana die and saved Arkana, or that time he tricked Atem to give him back his body to fight possessed Joey, or even the solution he came to early in the final marik duel

[@AEROStrik3]

@@Zeronigel332 excellent points! yugi definitely had his moments but imo yugis character development was about growing into his own man who can stand on his own instead of someone that has to rely on atem. this is reflected in his personal deck during the ceremonial duel that had the level monsters

[@Zeronigel332]

@@AEROStrik3 yeah and Yugi had that development already, the reason he had Atem mainly fight in battle city is because the battle city was more important to Atem than to him

[@SpecsTube]

I’m still waiting for Syrus vs Zane, Sam. Regardless, I really enjoy this duel. Seeing little Yugi go a bit a evil was fun to watch, sub or dub. There is a duel from Season 4 that you haven’t touched yet that I think could be interesting to analyse - Kaiba vs Alister.

[@hgsqu33zy]

I agree that was a great duel between brothers

[@lordofcrows]

I'm sorry But normal summon Aleister Effect?

[@soukenmarufwt5224]

Syrus deserves to be crushed by Zane. That's how much I hate syrus truesdale

[@mattbartels]

@@soukenmarufwt5224are you kidding? When Sy was closer to beating his big brother than most who cross Zane’s path would get - even Jaden, number one freshman from the first season? Here’s a description of the duel between the Truesdale brothers and a couple of possibilities how Syrus could have won. Apologies for the long description. Syrus Truesdale vs. Zane Truesdale Turn 1: Zane Zane draws "Infernal Dragon" and subsequently Normal Summons it (2000/0) in Defense Position. He then Sets a card. Turn 2: Syrus Syrus draws "Life Force". He then Normal Summons "Truckroid" (1000/2000) in Attack Position. "Truckroid" attacks and destroys "Infernal Dragon". Since "Truckroid" destroyed an opponent's monster by battle and sent it to the Graveyard, Syrus activates the effect of "Truckroid", equipping the destroyed monster to "Truckroid" and increasing the latter's ATK by the ATK of the destroyed monster ("Truckroid": 1000 → 3000/2000). Syrus then Sets a card. Turn 3: Zane Zane draws. He then Normal Summons "Exploder Dragon" (1000/0) in Attack Position. "Exploder Dragon" attacks "Truckroid". "Truckroid" destroys "Exploder Dragon", but due to the second effect of "Exploder Dragon", Zane takes no Battle Damage. Since "Exploder Dragon" was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, its first effect activates, destroying "Truckroid". Zane then activates "Quick Summon" to Normal Summon "Cyberdark Horn" (800/800) in Attack Position during the Battle Phase. Since "Cyberdark Horn" was Normal Summoned, Zane activates its first effect to take "Infernal Dragon" from his Graveyard and equip it to "Cyberdark Horn", increasing the latter's ATK by the ATK of "Infernal Dragon" ("Cyberdark Horn": 800 → 2800/800). "Cyberdark Horn" attacks directly, but Syrus activates his face-down "Life Force". Now if Syrus would take Battle Damage, he can pay 400 Life Points to nullify the damage he would take. Syrus activates the effect of "Life Force" (Syrus 4000 → 3600). Turn 4: Syrus Syrus draws "Submarineroid" and subsequently Normal Summons it (800/1800) in Attack Position. "Submarineroid" attacks directly via its own effect (Zane 4000 → 3200). At the end of the Damage Step, Syrus activates the second effect of "Submarineroid" to switch the latter to Defense Position. Syrus then Sets a card. Turn 5: Zane Zane draws "Cyberdark Edge" and subsequently Normal Summons it (800/800) in Attack Position. Since "Cyberdark Edge" was Normal Summoned, Zane activates its first effect to take "Exploder Dragon" from his Graveyard and equip it to "Cyberdark Edge", increasing the latter's ATK by the ATK of "Exploder Dragon" ("Cyberdark Edge": 800 → 1800/800). "Cyberdark Horn" attacks "Submarineroid", but Syrus activates his face-down "Cyber Repairer" to prevent all Machine-type monsters he controls from being destroyed by battle this turn by letting Zane draw a card. Zane explains to Syrus that "Cyberdark Horn" will inflict piercing damage to Syrus since it attacked a Defense Position monster, but Syrus activates the effect of "Life Force" (Syrus 3600 → 3200). "Cyberdark Edge" attacks directly via its own effect at the cost of Zane halving its ATK, but Syrus activates the effect of "Life Force" (Syrus 3200 → 2800). Zane then Sets a card. Turn 6: Syrus Syrus draws "Pot of Greed" and subsequently activates it to draw two cards. Syrus then Normal Summons "Cycroid" (800/1000) in Attack Position. Syrus then activates "Training Wheels" to equip the latter to "Cycroid" and allow it to attack directly. Syrus then switches "Submarineroid" to Attack Position. "Submarineroid" attacks directly via its own effect (Zane 3200 → 2400). At the end of the Damage Step, Syrus activates the second effect of "Submarineroid" to switch it to Defense Position. "Cycroid" attacks directly via the effect of "Training Wheels" (Zane 2400 → 1600). Since "Cycroid" inflicted Battle Damage to Zane through a direct attack, the second effect of "Training Wheels" activates, removing "Cycroid" and "Training Wheels" from play until Syrus's next Standby Phase. Syrus then Sets a card. Turn 7: Zane Zane draws "Pot of Greed" and subsequently activates it to draw two cards. He then Normal Summons "Cyberdark Keel" (800/800) in Attack Position. Zane's hand contains "De-Fusion", "Instant Fusion", and "Fusion Guard". "Cyberdark Horn" attacks and destroys "Submarineroid". "Cyberdark Horn" would normally inflict piercing damage at this point, but Syrus activates the effect of "Life Force" (Syrus 2800 → 2400). "Cyberdark Edge" and "Cyberdark Keel" attack directly, but Syrus activates the effect of "Life Force" twice (Syrus 2400 → 2000 → 1600). Zane then Sets a card. Turn 8: Syrus Syrus draws "Power Bond". On Syrus' Standby Phase, "Cycroid" (800/1000) and "Training Wheels" return to the field. Syrus then activates "Power Bond" to fuse "Cycroid" with another "Cycroid" in his hand and Fusion Summon "Pair Cycroid" (1600/1300) in Attack Position. Due to the effect of "Power Bond", the ATK of "Pair Cycroid" is doubled ("Pair Cycroid": 1600 → 3200/2000). "Pair Cycroid" attacks directly via its own effect at the cost of Syrus decreasing the ATK of "Pair Cycroid" by 500 during damage calculation ("Pair Cycroid": 3200 → 2700/2000), but Zane activates his face-down "Power Wall" to send a number of cards from the top of his Deck to the Graveyard and decrease the Battle Damage he would take by 100 for each card discarded this way. Zane sends the top twenty-seven cards of his Deck in order to completely nullify the damage he would take. After damage calculation, "Pair Cycroid" regains the ATK it lost through its own effect ("Pair Cycroid": 2700 → 3200/2000). Syrus Sets a card. On Syrus' End Phase, the final effect of "Power Bond" activates, which would inflict damage to Syrus equal to the original ATK of "Pair Cycroid", but Syrus activates his face-down "Mirror Damage" and equips the latter to "Pair Cycroid". Due to the effect of "Mirror Damage", the damage that Syrus would take from the final effect of "Power Bond" is redirected to Zane, but Zane activates his face-down "Fusion Guard" to negate the final effect of "Power Bond" and send "Cyber End Dragon" from his Fusion Deck to the Graveyard. Turn 9: Zane Zane draws "Warp Beam" and subsequently activates it to target "Cyberdark Keel" and "Cyberdark Horn" and send "Infernal Dragon" and "Exploder Dragon" to the Graveyard ("Cyberdark Horn": 2800 → 800/800; "Cyberdark Edge": 1800 → 800/800) in order to decrease the ATK of "Cyberdark Keel" and "Cyberdark Horn" to 600 ("Cyberdark Horn": 800 → 600/800; "Cyberdark Keel": 800 → 600/800) and allow them to attack directly this turn. "Cyberdark Horn" and "Cyberdark Keel" attack directly, but Syrus activates the effect of "Life Force" twice" (Syrus 1600 → 1200 → 800). "Cyberdark Edge" attacks directly through its own effect, but Syrus activates the effect of "Life Force" (Syrus 800 → 400). Zane then activates his face-down "Rebirth Judgment" and declares Dragon for its effect. Now all monsters in both players' Graveyards will become the declared type while "Rebirth Judgment" is face-up. Zane then activates "Instant Fusion" to fuse "Cyberdark Horn", "Cyberdark Edge", and "Cyberdark Keel" together and Fusion Summon "Cyberdark Dragon" (1000/1000) in Attack Position. Since "Cyberdark Dragon" was Special Summoned, Zane activates its first effect to take "Cyber End Dragon" from his Graveyard and equip it to "Cyberdark Dragon", increasing the latter's ATK by the ATK of "Cyber End Dragon" ("Cyberdark Dragon": 1000 → 5000/1000). Due to the third effect of "Cyberdark Dragon", it gains 100 ATK for each card in Zane's Graveyard. There are currently thirty-eight ("Cyberdark Dragon": 5000 → 8800/1000). "Cyberdark Dragon" attacks Syrus' "Pair Cycroid", but Syrus activates his face-down "Emergency Provisions" to send "Mirror Damage" to the Graveyard and gain 1000 Life Points (Syrus 400 → 1400). Since "Mirror Damage" was removed from the field, its final effect destroys "Pair Cycroid". A replay occurs and Zane uses "Cyberdark Dragon" to attack directly, but Syrus activates the effect of "Life Force" (Syrus 1400 → 1000). Zane then activates "De-Fusion" to return "Cyberdark Dragon" to the Fusion Deck and Special Summon "Cyberdark Horn", "Cyberdark Edge", and "Cyberdark Keel" (800/800 each) from his Graveyard in Attack Position. "Cyberdark Horn", "Cyberdark Edge", and "Cyberdark Keel" attack directly (Syrus 1000 → 200 → 0 → 0). On Sy’s first turn, had he put Truckroid in defence mode the next few turns would have likely snowballed into a win for him since Truckroid has 2000 defence points and Zane wouldn’t be drawing monsters that started with more than that in attack points throughout the duel and while Exploder Dragon’s ability packs a punch it only works when it destroys itself in battle, therefore he wouldn’t be able to load his graveyard with dragons as quickly. Also when Sy summoned Pair Cycroid had he attacked Cyberdark Keel instead of Zane’s life points, Zane’s Power Wall would have him mill 24 cards to survive instead of 27 and he wouldn’t have had access to Warp Beam.

[@zexalbrony4799]

Agreed. I remember watching a KZbin recreate the Duel on EDOPRO and if what they did was correct in reverse engineering the Duel, then Syrus had both Cyroid and Training Wheels in his hand on his second turn so he could have used that combo instead of Submarinroid and that would have snowballed and lead to him winning, and I'd love to here Sam talk about this.

[@sirknightjcb9310]

Man, I've never seen Sam this livid about Ghost Yugi. It's both relatable and funny.

[@tarikkash4282]

Very funny!

[@bingbong5076]

It's just the first turn and he's already going apeshit. 10/10

[@williamrichards3794]

Fun fact: 14:06 is one of the very few (maybe only) times we see a Duel Disk de-activate. Yet, it just sort of magically fades from duel mode to off mode. We don't actually physically see the Disk move back despite how many times we see it go the other way at the start of a duel throughout the show.

[@anonluxor470]

If I remember correctly we see the duel disk de-activate after joey vs kaiba

[@williamrichards3794]

@anonluxor470 just went back and watched and yes we do see Kaiba's disk deactivate at the end of that duel. The more you know!

[@lwonka4310]

Don't know if anyone else mentioned this Ghost Yugi misplay , but when Sangan was destroyed , he could've also searched his deck for Kuriboh since he knew a direct attack was coming . We know Kuriboh is usually in their deck , and we see it being used in this arc of the story , so why wouldn't he get that instead of ANY other card knowing that direct attack is coming ? ?

[@adrianawilliams4810]

He had to wait until Atems battle phase was done , at least in the anime if a monster effect doesn’t directly affect the battle phase then you have to wait until your opponents Battle Phase has been completed in order for you to activate an affect . So if let’s say Kuribho had been destroyed then Yugi would be able to immediately use his affect since it affects the battle phase of the duel but since Sangan ability was related to to battle phase (I am getting sick of that phrase right about now 😅) Yugi couldn’t use it .

[@lwonka4310]

@adrianawilliams4810 Wait what ? If he had to wait til his battle phase ends how would Kuriboh's effect work ? ? After Sangan is destroyed , Kuriboh is added to Ghost Yugi's hand . Now when Atem attacks , he simply discards it to negative the direct attack . That's how it would've worked if Kuriboh was already in his hand , so why would adding it to his hand by Sangan negate his ability to discard it during Atem's next attack ? ?

[@adrianawilliams4810]

@@lwonka4310 because Sangan affect happens after the battle phase not during it for the anime at least . So discarding Kuribho wouldn’t have negated the damage since the BP ended (I refuse to type Battle phase anymore) and damage calculation had as well meaning searching for Kuribho didn’t do anything .

[@lwonka4310]

@adrianawilliams4810 OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH okay , sorry I didn't get it at first 😂😂😂 I understand it now ! ! Sangan's effect in the card game happens after being destroyed and during the battle phase so that's why getting Kuriboh would be logical in my mind . But in the anime things are weird , so you're saying that anime Sangan's effect doesn't happen after being destroyed but after the battle phase . That makes sense and I don't blame you for not wanting to typing all that out ! ! But thank you for explaining it a second time cause now I understand what you mean 😂😂 Anime effects are weird , so yeah if Sangan's anime effect happens after the Battle Phase then that negates getting Kuriboh as a viable play here .

[@SerenitySpiderMonkey]

I've always wanted to see Divine Wind get printed. I actually thought Divine Wrath was supposed to be the tcg replacement for so long.

[@MarioMastar]

Yeah, seems like yet another case of a card made purely for the plot. Though that said....an IRL version of the Tennis card from GX would be really interesting. instead of lifepoints, you get points based on tennis scoring system where every time you take out a monster (by attacking, not card effect) or attack directly, you get points and first to complete a "set" wins. Only earning points once per turn akin to a tennis rally.

[@LightshaverConstellation]

I'm actually somewhat surprised we never got divine wind even if they changed it a little because they printed a lot of anti effect damage cards.

[@kyuubinaruto17]

Kinda pointless, though. Divine Winds is just Barrel Behind the Door minus the extra 500 damage.

[@neilyoungboy]

I hope we get to see you cover the duels between Kaiba and Alister, from what I could tell Kaiba's duels with Alister were WAY too close. Frankly I think Kaiba needed one more duel in Waking the Dragons.

[@alan62036]

What Yugi could have done with Sangan's effect was just look at his deck before shuffling it. He could have memorized Yami's card order and have his unknown

[@nickwilson5556]

The reason he doesn't set Big Shield Gardna is for it to be a *deterrent*. If he set it face down, someone may attack it. Sure, they'd most likely lose Life Points, though then Big Shield Gardna would be forced into Attack Mode by its own effect, leaving it with 100 ATK to use.

[@talleywa5772]

This was less of a duel and more a rebuke of Rafael's moral challenge that Atem failed. Basically saying "You gave into darkness, just like anyone else. But you can overcome it, just like everyone else." If Atem didn't accept that, he would have lost no matter how well he played.

[@estebanthomas4866]

9:21 Actually, that's the Brain Washed Celtic Guardian

[@cheryaltry5346]

That duel was so heartbreaking for me ugh those two are so close xo

[@Ihatedrake-z7g]

I’d like a duel analysis of Joey vs Rex in this arc, it was a cool battle and ended with one of my favorite og cards Gearfried the Swordmaster

[@Kyouma.]

I personally like the symbolic meaning of that duel. Sure, it's not executed very well, but it still gets the message across. Things like this give the anime dept (But who cares about *that,* right?)

[@dannysmi7162]

The depth: Don’t be evil, or something.

[@KlementtM]

Yami: "a single misplay can cost the duel" Yugi: "for my first turn, I'm gonna misplay"

[@tarikkash4282]

Quite rare for yami yugi to say misplay!

[@GyroCannon]

I'm rewatching all of Duel Monsters and I just finished this duel a few days ago, and I gotta say that I found it really weird that they introduce such a cool concept (both players having the same cards and order) Then a few minutes later, "I'm using Sangan so that I can shuffle my deck" lol

[@SpeedBoostTorchic]

I know right? Its a huge wasted opportunity. Although, I think it would be cool if the Pharaoh then used his own Sangan to shuffle his own deck and then having them end up in the same order again. Gaining info on opponents deck while symbolically showing that the Pharaoh is dedicated to preserving the connection between him and Yugi.

[@solidzack]

I love the part of displaying the alternative plays using YGOPRO. Deconstructing the rather simple duels and taking them apart like that is really entertaining to watch

[@Eonflare55]

That demonstration in the simulator was a very nice touch. Kinda makes me wish there was more use of it.

[@bubblesofthecoast6393]

Given the amount of misplays, I wonder how the duel would go if both did basically have the same deck. Exceptions could be like Yugi drawing the seal of oricalchos followed by Yami drawing Eye of Timaeus. Might be a fun duel to engineer

[@OrpheusSpyros5]

Since he was getting Betfomet next turn, Gyugi(Ghostyugi) could've done this: Set Sangan-Draw Berfomet on destruction-Turn 2:Reborn Sangan- tribute for Berfomet- draw Card Destruction-Fuse into Chimera-Activate Destruction-Play Seal one turn early. By turn three, he could do his End play earlier thereby winning the game or forcing an early use of Divine Winds, winning the game regardless.

[@rainbowdragon168]

When the Seal is activated, monsters on the field do become Dark Attributed so you’re correct

[@deoxysandmew2162]

Despite Yugi creating a lot of misplays on purpose, its still my favourite duel out of all of them. Its not about winning or losing. Its about sending a message. ... DORO! MONSTA CARDO!!!

[@dannysmi7162]

I don’t see why this was necessary. Yami already realized what he did wrong immediately upon losing the duel to Raphael since Yugi’s soul was taken.

[@deoxysandmew2162]

@@dannysmi7162I guess Atem was still doubting his own self after a first loss, hence he needed a bit of self-reflection. That's how I see it at least...

[@delirous8]

@@dannysmi7162 There is more to it that what you allude it was not just the duel. He betrayed Yugi, did not listen to him and Yugi got hurt cause of his pride. Yami does not value many people in his world but Yugi was the one person closest to his heart and who he values over his own life. Yugi getting hurt and losing him was like Yami losing his reason for living. When he lost Yugi he wallowed in depression and lost sight of his objective. To make it worse Yami was growing more bitter and angry after losing Yugi, he was self-destructing. The duel between him and Yugi had to happen so Yami can finally move on, Yugi already forgave him but Yami throughout the arc never forgave himself and that was cause him to continue to have rage and anger that Dartx tried to exploit later on in the arc. The arc was really powerful, it went beyond dueling and so called saving the world.

[@PGW85Productions]

Really enjoyed this analysis, Sam! I never knew this duel was so full of misplays, thank you for covering it. One duel I’d like to suggest for a future video in this series is Bakura and Marik, I feel like there’ll be a lot of misplays (both obvious and subtle), there to cover, and I feel it could be a very entertaining video.

[@petersimpson4648]

Yami: *plays Divine Wind* Barrel Behind the Door: "Am I a joke to you?"

[@HippeusOmega]

Just love that reaction @1:26 to the first play of the duel 😆

[@noahzhellos8344]

Coming back all these months later, it's an interesting notion. Ghost Yugi dueled like an absolute madman, as you say, throwing the duel every possible turn, yet still *bodies* Yami, save for Divine Wind being there specifically to counter a card like Catapult Turtle.

[@delirous8]

The Waking of the Dragons arc was a much deeper season and story than previous ones. People have to stop looking at season 4 similar to the previous seasons where it was adventure and competition-driven. Waking the Dragons was a character-driven season and the darkest season cause it focuses on the negative aspects of dueling and how it brings out the worse in the players such as competition, jealousy, PTSD, exploitation and pride. The season and its duels is not about the competition but their inner desires. In this case, Yami betrayed Yugi, and did not listen to him and Yugi got hurt cause of his pride. Yami does not value many people in his world but Yugi was the one person closest to his heart and who he values over his own life. Yugi getting hurt and losing him was like Yami losing his reason for living and his own soul. When he lost Yugi he wallowed in depression and lost sight of his objective. To make it worse Yami was growing more bitter and angry after losing Yugi, he was self-destructing. The duel between him and Yugi had to happen so Yami can finally move on, Yugi already forgave him but Yami throughout the arc never forgave himself and that caused him to continue to have rage and anger that Dartz tried to exploit later on in the arc. The arc was really powerful, it went beyond dueling and so called saving the world.

[@ashleynguyen4827]

I remember tearing up for Pharoah at the ending part of this episode. It's one of the reasons why I enjoy this arc where he develops emotion and to be his own character without Yugi for awhile.

[@delirous8]

He showed emotion and we started to see him learn to truly appreciate what Yugi meant to him. The first three seasons he was the protector and the fatherly/brother figure but this arc showed that Yami's development came through Yugi's influence. We started to see how important Yugi completes Yami as a person cause when he was Pharoah he was known to be a man who wrestled with darkness in his heart. That darkness was partially the reason why he never crossed over. Yugi's influence changed him where he started to find peace and in order for him to defeat Zorc, he needed to learn how to find peace. Around the end Yami found peace.

[@burntpork3599]

If you want to analyse a duel where player's have odd hands and knowledge of each other's hands, maybe consider analysing Jack Atlas vs Dragan (Duel for Redemption, ep. 124-125). Their hands are identical to their hands when they first dueled (however, the first duel is only in flashbacks). It's an interesting duel nonetheless however.

[@miguelvignoni4431]

Normal summoning in face up defense? Moving your monsters to the spell and trap zone due to Seal? The show had some wild shit.

[@Robin280497]

I would love to see "Was Aporia About To Defeat Leo/Luna/Jack?". The answer is most likely yes if he just focused on taking them out one by one (probably starting with Luna). But what I wonder more about is if it was possible to win without Life Stream Dragon. (Imagine if it ends up with an OTK for Jack had Leo not used the cards which Aporia countered. The power of hindsight.)

[@the1magageneral323]

No way to win without life force dragon

[@platypusfox73]

Definitely a fun concept for a duel since even amoung other mirror match duels in the franchise i cant think of many others were they have the same hand and draws.

[@ChrisPTY507]

It’s okay if you didn’t like how Ghost Yugi dueled. He purposely went out of character because his sole intention was to test Yami Yugi and also help him overcome the darkness in his heart. He did this on purpose. In fact, I dare to say that he wasn’t attempting to win and misplayed on purpose.

[@Jjop017]

I agree. I know this is an anime about card games, but the whole point of thks duel was to show Atem how he looked to give I to darkness and help him overcome it. For Yugi it is about helping Atem put himself back together. It was a character driven duel, not Yugi going all out to win. Atem even recognized this.

[@roninwarriorsfan]

Yug vs Gurimo, Rebecca & Duke vs Valon, Kaiba vs Alistair 1&2, and Joey vs Rex are the only duels left in season 4

[@shinesprite4110]

Very small thing but I noticed that at 5:19 when Yugi says Sangan's effect, he says defense instead of attack lol

[@firebeam24]

I like how genuinely concerned he is

[@neogotham2k39]

That duel is basically Yami's soul searching

[@Idk-tbh]

A little bit biased since I grew up watching it, but I would love to see more Zexal duel analysis’! Perhaps potentially an analysis of a few early duels if the duellists didn’t have access to certain number cards, similarly to how you analysed Yama’s initial duel with Raphael and determined whether or not he could win without the Seal or Orichalcos? Regardless, I can’t get enough of these videos and I’m looking forward to your content in the future!

[@MarioMastar]

Zexal is what brought me back into Yugioh after a 20 year hiatus. I just picked it because all the episodes were on Yugioh's youtube channel (Shucks GX wasn't at the time cause it was great to relive that!). Zexal is fantastic. Had some amazing duels that really showed some wild back against the wall strategies and how versatile Xyz monsters are. Plus I love how Yuma's the only Yu-protag who actually sucks at dueling and gets better over time. Relying on Astral to get through the tougher duels and the ending is so beautiful! While I think 5Ds was the best in terms of story, Zexal will always be my favorite over all. Sure people find Yuma really annoying at first, but he really grows on you over time and honestly...he's the closest anyone gets to what we ALL were like on the playground.

[@dylanmiller6169]

Kinda just thought of this possible theory for why big shield is always played face up defense. It is in the anime his negative effect isn't to go into attack mode after being attacked, instead it has to be summoned face up. I just don't remember it ever being set or actually attacked.

[@roncerjani9063]

It was attacked in the last Duel of the series. However, for whom is unaware of its effect, they see a monster wall with 2600 DEF and would definitely not try to attack it with weaker monsters. However, if he Sets it face down, the player might attack it and switch it into attack by just pure accident.

[@soukenmarufwt5224]

This is incorrect. In the Manga. Big Shield Gardna has no effect. It's a normal defense wall. The anime always uses the manga version for reference, since it was never suppose to have an effect. Real card is terrible for being a wall. It's drawn being an effect monster cause the real card has long been printed.

[@AuraMasterKareem]

I honestly love this duel as it's the first and I think only time yugi helps yami instead of the other way around like usual.

[@RPGNoZero]

You forgot Pegasus duel?

[@AuraMasterKareem]

@RPGNoZero no and it's different as usually yugi was the one struggling and in his head too much but in this duel it was yami who was struggling and couldn't overcome his worries. In the pegasus duel it was more both yugis thinking of ways to overcome pegasus together.

[@delirous8]

@@AuraMasterKareem In reality both of them worked together, Yugi and Yami worked together until Season 4. Even though Yugi was sacrificed to the Shadow Realm in the duel with Marik, he helped Yami find out how to exploit Marik's weakness and his strategy.

[@michaelkarimian7538]

LOL You really tore Yugi a new one. Great analysis! For future duels: Aster Phoenix vs Jaden round 2 Aster Phoenix vs Adrian Gecko Zane Truesdale vs Syrus Truesdale Thanks again for the video. 😇

[@eastsidereviews727]

That time the Pharoah dueled a Baby Panda.

[@jaydenwallsmith1282]

Love watching Sam get progressively more and more annoyed throughout the episode

[@obiwon1237]

7:13 Number 39: Exodia, Lord of Searing Flames

[@KingKirby-jp4zd]

I'd honestly like to see Z-ARC vs. everyone. It's just so funny to see everyone jumping in and watching Sam lose his sanity over everyone.

[@alster724]

The Duel is really a test for Yami/Atem to conquer his darkness. Literally fighting himself. Perhaps, little Yugi was throwing the Duel on purpose

[@rzgbrmpf37]

This one was again a perfect recap and analysis of a rather inconspicuous duel I've forgotten about every time I rewatched the series.

[@MirageFame]

You should do the Joey vs Zigfried duel next. That is a relatively lengthy duel with much to talk about. I think you would make a great video on it. Keep up the good work.

[@Sbart117]

Little Yugi vs Bakura would be interesting to see. Yugi's second duel without the Pharaoh and the first major sign he's come into his own as a duelist

[@kyuubinaruto17]

The anime ruined it. Not the duel itself, though. In the manga the duel was sole focused from beginning to end. The anime constantly split it between Yugi/Bakura and Atem's forces vs Zorc.

[@floricel_112]

Losing monster reborn is a misplay. Even if he didn't use it, he could have set it because he *knows* Yugi doesn't have something like magic jammer or a card that pops

[@Ghostwatson2929]

Waking the dragons is so underrated.. I went through hell watching it... Truly awesome..♥️💪

[@davidvasquez08]

10:15 why does Yugi look like he just finished smoking weed

[@Lucario1121]

I like the jokes Little Kuriboh made in this episode, the first being how Yugi made over how Yami treared DMG and the second kinda foreshadowing the finsle, with sayinf how funny it would be if they dueled again in the future

[@gregcorfu]

My favourite series... please make more of this Sam... cheers nice job

[@seraphimvalkyrin4543]

Not really an animation error, just a nitpick. When Yugi discards his "5" cards, that hand was about half the thickness of his entire deck. It was more like he was discarding 20 cards lol.

[@pikagammerpluspizza7478]

What about a Yuma and Kite vs Mizar analysis? Since that duel's ending was not only inconclusive but had a duelist swap.

[@StrategicLemon]

In the wrong context and if you don't much about the anime, you're basically watching Yugi play with himself.

[@josephmcbain5295]

This will never get old.

[@BrontoSmilodon1]

Well if this duel was pointless to review than maybe you should do a Joey duel like him possessed by Marik vs Yugi, vs Espuroza or Odeeon

[@sagacious03]

Super excited for this duel analysis video! Thanks so much for uploading! Might comment more later!

[@maxedoutvibes]

I would love to see you cover duels that only occurred in the Japanese dub that might have been seen in the west, like Chazz versus Aster or something

[@blazep629]

Whenever Sam says somebody has x number of mysterious cards, I imagine it’s copies of something useless and impossible to have, like Broken Bamboo Sword.

[@amateraceon5202]

I’m pretty sure this video contains the first recorded human utterance of the phrase “Normal Summon the Sangan”

[@markuswithak5084]

The whole animation error tirade and the shade at the face-up defense monsters was real cute ngl XD

[@tarikkash4282]

Actually season 5 has plenty of animation errors! WINK WINK!

[@YamiSilverCouple]

i think what some people forget about this episode is that it wasnt meant to be a super serious duel. while they both could have won instantly it wouldnt make sense for a plot reason. Pharoah was on a journey of self discovery the duel was meant to show him that he needed to stay focused on whats ahead not what was behind and to free himself from the darkness in him. so i think while Pharoah went all out almost instantly Yugi was holding back to help him find himself and the reason oricalicos was in Yugi's deck was due to the fact that it was supposed to be the mark of the darkness in Pharaohs heart because that was the card that started it all with him going into the pitch black shadow darkness inside him.

[@delirous8]

Yugi had no intention on winning, what was important was for Yami to bring back his confidence and put it behind him so he can save Yugi. Yami was out of it and self destructing without Yugi and his heart was growing colder. Yugi had to help him confront it.

[@ianmeachum1196]

This is an obvious one. But I would like to see ‘Was Team Unicorn about to beat Team 5Ds’

[@Retroflow97]

This & team Ragnarok

[@soukenmarufwt5224]

Ragnarock still baffles me to this day. Halldor had multiple opportunities to win. Screws it up because ragnarock lore and kept negating Obins effect by his useless trap that does nothing.

[@AllyOJustice]

Hated Team Unicorn. I’m glad they got stomped by Hook the hidden knight.

[@PolishSasquatch]

I can defend Yami playing Big Shield Gardna in face-up defense. I assume it has its IRL effect in season 4, just like in season 5. So an opponent blindly attacking into it face-down would take damage, but then force it into attack with its measly 100ATK. It's actually fascinating, because the only time Big Shield Gardna's effect ever activates is in the Ceremonial Duel. It's almost as if every one of Yugi's opponents throughout the anime doesn't know what it does, whereas Yugi does, because it's been in his and Yami's deck for multiple seasons.

[@BigDaddyRich69]

Really emotional duel,wish it had more impact in waking the dragons arc.

[@Zombie5675]

My favorite format of yours ❤❤❤

[@buddyzilla4557]

I think the reason was more nuanced. Yami lost to Rafeal and got Yugi captured by focusing too much on viciously winning by the most direct strategy. He was playing like Kaiba early in the series and thus losing himself while blinding himself to the importance of playing the game beyond what he percieves are the raw mechanics. Yes Yugi played inefficiently, Yami realized that and Yugi lost for it..but I don't think Yugi was ever trying to win or nessisarily set up the Rafael situation. He was showing Yami after his defeat that the win felt hollow despite having played better and really noether were any better off in their situation. They are both on the same team..a win for Yugi wouldn't get him out of his predicament in a way he would be satisfied with..his whole point was to help guide Yamis during spirit back on track so he could save them all. It's like the duel between Kaibaman and Jaden where the experience was the whole point. It was never about who would win but how the game was played and how they felt afterward. Vicious efficiency was the opposite of the heart of the cards mentality that helped Yami win until this point so encouraging it would only make things worse. He was playing into Dartz hand that way. Going the predictable strategy doesn't work if you opponet knows what that would be for you and plans to counter with OP nonsense that monkeywrenches it. In the end, Yami leaves this and wins the way he always does..through convoluted magic BS that shouldn't be legal..aka, the heart of the cards. Not the best dueling mentality in real life but in a magic world of ancient alchemic demons and rules that make themselves up, you need to play the game being presented not the one advertised.

[@XXMatt0040XX]

A "Spoooky Ghost" version. That's so subtle and so funny

[@adrianawilliams4810]

This is my favorite season 4 duel , I have wanted it cover forever thank you so much ! I have been having a rough time lately and this helped me 😊

[@MrEffectfilms]

I don't know if anyone else pointed this out but yeah in retrospect Yugi CLEARLY wasn't playing at his best. That opening hand in just two turns could have put him in a really good position. What I would have done is set Sangan facedown and end my turn. When my opponent attacks it I would then use it's effect to add Berformet to my hand, they end their turn and it's back to me. First thing I do is use Monster Reborn to revive Sangan, then tribute it to summon Dark Magician Girl, then use Sangans effect again to add Kuriboh to my hand for some added protection especially since this opening hand doesn't have any traps. With that done I'd then use Polymerization to fuse Gazelle and Berformet to summon Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast. This gives me a 2000 atk monster, a 2100 atk fusion monster, and a hand trap all on just my second turn, not only that but if my Chimera is destroyed I can summon back either Gazelle or Berformet depending on what I need. Yugi really could have done so much more with that hand he started with.

[@azmodaus1647]

It's worth adding that the sub makes an error in the subtitles saying sangan allows him to add a 1500 or lower defense monster to hand, when it's actually 1500 or lower attack. If it were defense the magnet warriors would not be allowed to be added since alpha and gamma have more than 1500 Def.

[@georgethomas4567]

Please do Joel vs Rex. Their rematch in this arc was epic and one of my favorite duels.

[@isamelzorrilla5639]

Hi TGS Anime I love this and I hope you have a good day and you are awesome and keep up with the great work

[@justinjones7411]

Do Yugi and Joey vs The Big Five. I think The Big Five could had won if they defeated Joey much earlier on in the duel.

[@onilnetombine2589]

Do you think Arcana could have defeated Yugi during Battle City?

[@FrostGhidorahEX]

Could you imagine if instead of Little Yugi it was Season 0 Yugi that Yami faced here? Imagine. Instead of his happy buddy he's confronted by a dark twisted version of himself. Perhaps this could even be the very darkness Rafael saw within him. They could still use the same deck but I could see Season 0 Yugi being quite harsh with it. He wouldn't throw punches. He would be out to hurt Yami and make him learn his lesson. Yami would still win. But I think it would've been more fulfilling in a way to have Yami face the literal darkness rather then a mind controlled little Yugi.

[@apostleianlovelette]

A sort of Link Vs. Dark Link moment right there. Finding weaknesses he didn't know he had, and being forced to fight all the harder in order to come out on top and conquer his inner darkness. As a very annoying fairy once said, "Conquer yourself!"

[@Reygun-3]

The Jaden vs Alexis duels would be a nice video to see. Chazz vs Aster would also be cool to see dissected. Jack vs Carly would also be pretty cool to see.

[@trevorrose3769]

Just finished watching Kaiba vs Alister and I’m eagerly awaiting you to cover those two duels