"Draw,” Cross stated, usable cards blocking a special draw, not that he needed one.
“And summon,” he started, before freezing at the sight of the card he drew.
Harbinger of Discord, one of his new cards he hadn't put in his deck yet.
He took a moment to examine the card properly.
Harbinger of Discord
Atk: 14 Def: 14 Life: 14 Level: 4
Passive effects: while summoned, enemy fighters lose 2 Atk. Does not prevent enemy fighters attacking directly
On destruction: if a copy of Harbinger of Bloodshed exists in the owners deck, summon it at no cost
Cross only considered the card for a moment, the lowest level of his four Harbingers, before making a decision.
“Harbinger of Discord,” he finished his earlier declaration, the card vanishing from his hand as the fighter materialised in the arena.
A humanoid figure on a white horse, but just looking at them something felt off, unsettling Cross.
Crash took a look at the card, and gave a hollow laugh.
“A fighter that doesn't prevent attacks? How well do you think that is going to protect you?”
“Not so well as it attacks,” Cross allowed. “Harbinger of Discord, attack Spear Legionary!”
The Harbinger was more than strong enough to destroy the Legionary in a single attack, but all Cross saw was the Legionary shatter rather than whatever attack his fighter made.
He shivered.
Just what were these cards he'd found?
“With that, the total Atk on your side of the arena is zero,” he declared, trying to turn his attention from his fighter, and confirming that his other cards wouldn't do anything useful. “Now, your turn.”
“Draw. I activate Reinforcements for the Legion!”
Cross blinked, quickly reading the effect of the card as it appeared on Crash’s side of the arena.
“Each time one of your ‘Legion’ fighters is destroyed, receive a level?”
It was the first time he'd seen a card that let a player earn extra levels for playing fighters, he'd had no idea there was such a card to support his friends archetype.
“And next I summon Legionary Quartermaster, and end my turn,” Crash finished, the fighter appearing in the arena.
Not that fighter was a good description of the man going over a list on paper.
Legionary Quartermaster
Atk: 0 Def: 0 Life: 1 Level: 1
Passive effects: does not prevent your opponents fighters attacking directly. At the end of each of your turns, add 1 counter to this card if it is in play
On destruction: draw 1 card for each counter on this card
Another unfamiliar card, and one that created a minor dilemma.
The longer it remained in play, the more cards it would let Crash obtain when it was destroyed, on top of the extra level from Reinforcements.
On the other hand, the Shield Legionary guarded his Life, provided a level for summoning on tribute and increased the Def of the other Legionaries.
“Draw,” Cross declared, glancing only briefly at the new card before grinning. “Summon Water Sprite.”
The fighter, one of the few level 2 he'd found in the heaps, manifested, as far away from his Harbinger as she could get. The faintly blue skin of the fairy matched the background of her card.
Water Sprite
Atk: 4 Def: 4 Life: 14 Level: 2
Activation cost: discard 1 fighter from your hand
Activated effect: gain Life equal to that fighters Level
“And I activate her effect,” Cross continued. “By discarding Bloodstone Tyrant, my Life recovers to 94.”
The card vanished from his hand as the blue fairy glowed, his Life counter increasing again, leaving him with a temporary one card hand advantage at six to five.
“And now, Water Sprite, attack Legionary Quartermaster and Harbinger of Discord, attack Shield Legionary!”
The shield bearing fighter shattered like the spear fighter before, without any indication of the attack, but the Water Sprites attack was much more conventional.
A pulse of water shot from her hand, shattering the quartermaster on impact. As he did, a new card appeared in Crash's hand.
“And turn end.”
“Draw,” Crash declared with a triumphant smirk. “And with my six levels, I summon both the Legionary Smiths in my hand, plus my Archer Legion!”
Both these cards were new, but-
“Archer Legion?”
It was the first ‘Legion’ fighter he'd seen that wasn't a Legionary.
The three fighters materialised at the same time, two identical smiths hammering away over their anvils and a small group of bowmen.
Legionary Smith
Atk: 0 Def: 4 Life: 4 Level: 1
Passive effect: all ‘Legion’ fighters you control other than Legionary Smith gain 2 Atk and Def
Archer Legion
Atk: 26 Def: 0 Life: 13 Level: 4
Passive effect: this cards base Atk is always equal to double its Life
Condition: this card destroys a fighter with an attack the first time in a turn
Conditional effect: this card can attack again immediately
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That… was an incredibly attack focused fighter.
“Next, I activate Legionary Raid,” a card that let it's owner draw an extra card when a ‘Legion’ fighter destroyed another fighter. “Now, Archer Legion, start by destroying that Water Sprite!”
Arrows loosed from the fighter, turning the Water Sprite into a pincushion for a moment before it shattered.
“And now… I think I'll destroy your Harbinger too. Archer Legion, attack that Harbinger of Discord!”
Arrows shot at the horseman, which vanished leaving only its cloak behind.
“My turn for an effect,” Cross declared, not counting the counters Super Counterblow had collected from his fighters being destroyed. “When you destroy Harbinger of Discord, Harbinger of Bloodshed is automatically summoned!”
The fighter appeared suddenly where its predecessor had stood, the only immediate difference between them that this one had a red horse instead of white.
Harbinger of Bloodshed
Atk: 21 Def: 21 Life: 21 Level: 6
Passive effects: while summoned, each enemy fighter loses 2 Life whenever a turn ends. Does not prevent enemy fighters attacking directly
On destruction: if a copy of Harbinger of Starvation exists in the owners deck, summon it at no cost
Crash looked through his hand, including the newly drawn ones, checking for some defence, before practically snarling at Cross.
“Turn end.”
The fighters all shuddered as the Harbinger claimed its due.
“Draw,” Cross declared, nodding to himself at the lack of playable cards in his hand, even as he returned to the standard hand advantage against a Legionary deck, even at just seven cards to six. “Harbinger of Bloodshed, attack Archer Legion!”
Just like the previous Harbinger, the Legion simply shattered.
“Turn end.”
The Smiths shattered from automatic damage, drawing a snarl from Crash.
“Draw.”
He glanced at his cards briefly.
“I activate Emergency Shield Wall, its effect will prevent you destroying more than one of my Legionaries each turn,” he stated. “Next, I summon my four Legionary Medics.” Leaving himself with just one card in his hand to the seven belonging to Cross.
The red and white robed figures materialised in a block, huddled around each other.
Legionary Medic
Atk: 0 Def: 4 Life: 4 Level: 1
Passive effect: at the end of each turn, each ‘Legion’ fighter heals 1 life
“And finally, the Shield Legion in the front row,” Crash declared, emptying his hand completely.
The resulting fighter materialised in front of the medics, a group of soldiers whose shields served as a solid wall.
Shield Legion
Atk: 0 Def: 15 Life: 5 Level: 1
Passive effects: this card max Life is equal to the number of fighters you control. This cards base Def is always triple its current Life. While in the front row, this card prevents your opponent targeting fighters behind it for attack
It was almost worrying how effective the fighter could be in a Legionary deck, protecting the horde of fighters empowering it.
But right now, all it was was a desperate shield for the medics.
“Turn end.”
“Draw, and summon Steampunk Tank.”
The fighter that materialised had been described by Crash as looking like a heap of scrap metal with a smokestack and a cannon stuck into it, but to Cross there was a lot more artistry in the form of the fighter from his red background card, angular sheets of metal plating covering the back of the vehicle, the only openings the smokestack, cannon and the treads on its underbelly.
Steampunk Tank
Atk: 20 Def: 28 Life: 8 Level: 4
“Now, Steampunk Tank, attack Shield Legion!”
A shot from the cannon shattered the fighter.
“Harbinger of Bloodshed, attack a Legionary Medic!”
Shields formed around the medics for a moment before fading, all four remaining intact.
“Did you forget my Emergency Shield Wall? It protects my Legionaries from destruction, but doesn't prevent Reinforcements for the Legion granting me an extra level!”
“Fine. Turn end.”
“Special draw,” Crash declared with a smirk at not needing to reveal any cards. “Dead Legion. And by sacrificing two of my Legionary Medics, I summon it.”
The group of soldiers who manifested this time looked rather different, dead men walking bearing broken weapons and armour.
Dead Legion
Atk: 63 Def: 0 Life : 36 Level: 6
On summon: this card gains 4 Life and 7 Atk for each ‘Legion' fighter in the discard
“Dead Legion, attack the Steampunk Tank!”
The dead men fell upon the tank, tearing it to pieces, as a new card appeared in Crash's hand.
He smirked.
“I activate Forced Advance! By selecting 1 ‘Legion’ fighter and tributing as many other ‘Legion’ fighters as I wish, that first fighter gets a number of extra attacks this turn equal to the number of tributed fighters. Now, by clearing away my medics, my Dead Legion can attack you twice more!”
Cross felt his heart fall.
This wouldn't be the first time he'd lost to Crash, for all that he usually won, but it would be the loss with the greatest consequences.
He braced himself, but the attack never reached him, instead the zombie soldiers fell upon his Harbinger.
“What the fuck, you cheating little,” Crash started ranting, before looking at his Forced Advance closer. “Oh, it only lets them target fighters with the attack.”
“And by destroying the Harbinger, its effect activates,” Cross quickly declared. “Come forth, Harbinger of Starvation!”
Again, the fighter looked like the previous Harbingers, just with a black horse.
Harbinger of Starvation
Atk: 28 Def: 28 Life: 28 Level 8
Passive effects: while summoned, each enemy fighter loses 4 Def. Does not prevent enemy fighters attacking directly
On destruction: if a copy of Harbinger of the End exists in the owners deck, summon it at no cost
Crash just shrugged in response.
“Well, I have an extra attack, so Dead Legion, attack Harbinger of Starvation!”
The legion fell upon the horseman, reducing it to just a cloak again.
Cross grinned.
“And with that, five counters have been placed on Super Counterblow, activating its effect! Super Counterblow is discarded, but in return all your fighters are destroyed!”
The legion shattered, leaving the arena briefly empty.
“And now my Harbinger activates its effect, summoning forth Harbinger of the End!”
Everything went still, more so than they normally were in a match.
And the fighter appeared.
The horse was pale, a colour for which he knew no word, and the rider was even more disturbingly still than its brothers.
Harbinger of the End
Atk: 40 Def: 0 Life : 40 Level: X
Passive effects: does not prevent enemy fighters attacking directly. At the start of each of your turns place 1 Harbinger from a discard beneath this card. Your enemies cards cannot activate their effects or attack in the turn they leave the hand. Cannot attack directly
Activation cost: if Harbinger of Discord, Harbinger of Starvation and Harbinger of Bloodshed are beneath this card, negate the effects of all cards in either deck that could interfere with this cards effects and remove them from the game
Activated effect: negate the effects of all fighters from your enemies deck and remove them from the game, then deal damage to your enemy equal to the total level of cards removed from the game
Cross felt his eyes go wide.
He'd known level X cards were powerful, but this?
Crash frowned at the two remaining cards in his hand, before giving in. “Turn end.”
“Draw.”
A white form seemed to appear next to the Harbinger as its effect activated.
“Turn end.”
“Draw. I summon Legionary Assassin. Attack Harbinger of the End!”
Legionary Assassin
Atk: 20 Def: 0 Life: 4 Level: 2
Passive effect: cannot be targeted while another ‘Legion’ fighter is in play on your side of the arena
The figure, a soldier in a dark cloak rather than armour and wielding a vicious looking pair of daggers, didn't move.
“My Harbinger prevents him from attacking the turn he was summoned,” Cross reminded him.
“Fine! I place a card face down, declared non-fighter. Turn end.”
The shape of a card appeared in the arena, showing nothing but the same pattern of numbers each card had on its back.
“Draw.”
A red form joined the Harbinger.
“Harbinger of the End, attack Legionary Assassin, and turn end,” Cross declared, not interested in wasting time.
The Assassin shattered like every other fighter destroyed by a Harbinger.
“Draw.”
Crash burst out laughing as he saw his new card.
“Hah! Did you think you were the only one with a level X fighter? With this, as soon as your effect wears off I've won! I activate Blood of the Legion from the arena, and tribute all the fighters in my discard to summon Spirit of the Legion!”
Spirit of the Legion
Atk: 130 Def: 130 Life: 130 Level: X
Passive effects: this card can only be summoned by the effect of Blood of the Legion. This cards base Atk, Def and max Life are equal to the number of fighters removed from the game by the effect of Blood of the Legion times 10
The fighter was a ghostly apparition that appeared to contain all the other fighters Crash had played throughout the match.
“Between this and the Legionary Archer in my hand, I win!”
Cross nodded, familiar with the other fighter.
“Yes, the piercing effect of Legionary Archer would let you win. Except… well, end your turn and I can show you.”
Crash just laughed.
“My level X is far stronger than yours in all stats, you really expect me to panic and think you can somehow win? Turn end.”
“Draw,” Cross stated calmly, watching the black form appear next to the Harbinger. “And now, I activate Harbinger of the Ends effect.”
There was a moment, before Spirit of the Legion and most of the remaining cards in Crash's deck and hand shattered, followed by his Life hitting 0 and the match concluding.
Crash froze, falling to his knees as the arenas barrier faded, allowing the world to return to them.
Cross reached into his pockets, drawing out both the decks he now possessed.
Somehow he could feel which was his, holding the four Harbingers, and he stepped towards Rusty, holding out the other.
“Here,” he said in as comforting a manner as he could, “this belongs to you.”
Rusty Crash
