Is this the poker world?Ada thief!

Chapter 1736 Okay, today we're playing with a pure water machine deck.

Duel Monsters is a game with a certain degree of dynamic balance.

If a card is too powerful, then the deck to which it belongs will be difficult to strengthen before that card dies. For example, [Snake Rain] and [Cloud Monster]. Or, if it is so powerful that it will be added to other decks and its strength will not be suppressed, such as a certain "Red Daddy" and [Predatory Plant - Blue Lock Dragon Anaconda].

Even with the release of cards like [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Rider] and [Red-Eyes Dark Steel Dragon], which are used as add-ons in various decks, the first thing people think of when they hear "Red-Eyes" is still that "salty fish eyes" deck that has been ridiculed for years. The same goes for [Predator - Blue Lock Dragon Anaconda]; when this card is mentioned, people only refer to it as "Anaconda." The [Predator] deck still has its own presence, especially among a certain Tear of the Gods' lackeys.

There is only one deck where one of the family's monsters is added to other decks so many times that the family name of that card has overshadowed the existence of the family deck itself. As a result, when others mention the family deck, most people think of that card first.

Hayato almost subconsciously thought he had a Link deck because the card was a Link Monster, only to realize later that although the most famous card was a Link Monster, the main deck was actually based on Synchro Summoning.

"I'll take the first turn! Draw!" Hayato drew a card first and seized the initiative. Without hesitation, he played a card from his hand. "Activate the magic card [Angel's Charity]. I draw three cards from my deck and discard two cards from my hand."

He started with a card draw card, but Hayato actually had a pretty good hand. His goal wasn't to draw more cards, but simply to send the two cards in his hand to the graveyard.

"One of the cards I sent to the graveyard is this [Crystal Machine - Smoky Tiger]. I can only use one of its two effects once per turn. I choose to banish this card from the graveyard and activate its second effect—add one [Crystal Machine] Spell/Trap Card from my Deck to my hand."

—That's right! The deck that Hayato obtained from the achievement reward and is using right now is the very same [Crystal Machine] deck that was completely overshadowed by a single [Crystal Machine - Inherited Fiber]!
On Hayato's field, a purple gem appeared. Anyone who didn't know better would think he was playing a "Crystal Beast" deck. But it was obvious that although the brilliance of "Crystal Machine" was completely overshadowed by that yet-to-be-released Link Monster, it was still incomparable to a fun deck like "Crystal Beast".

The basic monster cards of the 【Crystal Machine】 series are generally divided into two types: Tuner monsters based on the "Golden Boy and Jade Girl" and non-Tuner monsters based on the "Four Sacred Beasts". The effect of 【Crystal Machine - Smoky Tiger】 that Hayato is currently using is the latter, and its prototype is the White Tiger, one of the Four Sacred Beasts representing the West.

It's somewhat amusing, though. Although the effect of [Crystal Machine - Smoky Tiger] says it can search for [Crystal Machine] Spell/Trap Cards, for a considerable period of time, the [Crystal Machine] archetype only had Trap Cards and no Spell Cards. In fact, the archetype's Field Spell Cards didn't even have the archetype's signature, so they couldn't be searched by [Crystal Machine - Smoky Tiger].

As a result, [Crystal Machine - Smoky Tiger] is rarely used anymore. After all, its strength of only being able to search for a trap card that can only be activated next turn is not as good as using other [Crystal Machines] to create a bigger field in this turn.

However, after [Crystal Machine - Inherited Fiber] was finally banned by a certain conglomerate in both the TCG and OCG, several years later, [Crystal Machine], which had not received a new card for a long time, finally got its compensation for losing [Crystal Machine - Inherited Fiber]. Moreover, the first thing it did was to make up for the defect of [Crystal Machine - Smoky Tiger] in that it could not search for magic cards.

"The card I retrieved from my deck is this one, [Crystal Machine - Inner Power], and I'm activating this Continuous Spell Card [Crystal Machine - Inner Power] right away!"

"When [Crystal Machine - Inner Meaning] is activated, it is treated as an effect. I can add one [Crystal Machine] card other than [Crystal Machine - Inner Meaning] from my Deck to my hand." Under the search of any Spell, Trap, or Monster, Hayato took out a card, flipped it over, and showed it to himself. "I add this [Crystal Machine - Trinity Crystal] from my Deck to my hand."

"Next, I will Normal Summon [Crystal Machine - Trinity Crystal] to my field."

【Crystal Ingenuity - Three-Dimensional Jade Crystal】【2☆/Water】

[Mechanical Race/Adjustment/Effect]

[800/2000]

—As mentioned before, the basic monster cards of the [Crystal Machine] are divided into the Tuner monsters "Golden Boy and Jade Girl" and the non-Tuner monsters "Four Sacred Beasts". The one that just activated its effect in the Graveyard is [Crystal Machine - Smoky Tiger], so the Tuner monster that appears now is "Golden Boy" from "Golden Boy and Jade Girl".

However, aside from its mythological prototype, as its name suggests, the colorless crystal is dyed with special colors by various external factors.

Courage calls for dragon energy, and the Azure Dragon, the sacred beast of the East, brings amethyst; the guardian stone, smoky crystal, can protect oneself, and the White Tiger of the West is yellow smoky crystal; the confident and uncontrollable red crystal is naturally the Vermilion Bird of the South; and the ever-flowing wealth stone, green crystal, naturally belongs to the Black Tortoise, the sacred beast of the North.

Before the buff, the Crystal Machines had three Tuner monsters: Crystal Machine - Quantum White Crystal, Crystal Machine - Gluon Black Crystal, and Crystal Machine - Matrix Yellow Crystal. Crystal Machine - Triad Crystal was not actually a new addition to the Super Sentai lineup, but rather an evolved form of Crystal Machine - Quantum White Crystal.

The card art for 【Crystal Machine - Inner Essence】 is actually the process by which 【Crystal Machine - Quantum White Crystal】 absorbs the dragon energy of 【True Dragon Emperor - Abyssal Saint Son - Commander】 that defeated him into its body. Therefore, 【Tristaros】 also has the alias "Scaled Dragon Quartz 'Tristaros'", which is a combination of scaled quartz "Tridymite" and ice crystal "Krystallos" (meaning quartz in Greek). The word "dragon" comes directly from the power of the 【True Dragon】 that facilitated its evolution.

Compared to the enormous phantom of [Crystal Machine - Smoky Tiger] that flashed by when the effect was activated earlier, [Crystal Machine - Trinity Crystal] appeared much smaller, only the size of a normal human. Although it had grown much taller due to its evolution, it only reached Hayato's waist when standing on the field.

"What is this? It looks like a weak elf." Although [Emperor Thor], like [Emperor Loki], gave a portion of its power to [Emperor Odin] as a Duel Monster Card, their own movements remained unaffected. At this moment, they were curiously examining the diminutive [Crystal Machine - Trinity Crystal]. "It's just a brat."

"【Crystal Mechanism - Three Jewels】?" Although 【Loki】 knew he couldn't underestimate Hayato's monsters because he had dueled with him, it didn't stop him from provoking Hayato's monsters who weren't participating in the duel as a duelist at the moment. "It sounds like a woman's name. Oh, it's a man."

"Is there anything wrong with 【Crystal Machine - Three Crystals】being a male name?!" 【Crystal Machine - Three Crystals】gets easily provoked and completely ignores the size difference between them, wanting to punch 【Loki】, the God Emperor, "I'm a man too!"

"Master! Let me punch him!"

"Look, you're in such a hurry again." Hayato chuckled. "Just wait, I'll get you a Gundam to fly around in no time."

"First, I activate the spell card [Planet Transformation] and add the field spell card [Crystal Array - Potential] from my deck to my hand."

First, Hayato searched for this Field Spell Card from the [Crystal Machine] family, which lacked the family name. He immediately activated it, declaring, "Heroes have their battlegrounds, and Gundam pilots naturally have their battlegrounds. Field Spell Card [Crystal Array - Potential] activated!" As Hayato activated the card, an invisible wave began to spread. Unlike regular Field Spell Cards that drastically alter the surrounding environment, [Crystal Array - Potential] is more like a Continuous Spell Card, continuously activating the potential of [Crystal Machines] to enhance their power.

【Crystal Ingenuity - Three-Dimensional Jade Crystal】【DEF2000→2300】

"Under the effect of [Crystal Array - Potential], the ATK and DEF of the [Crystal Machine] monsters on my field will increase by 300 points."

After briefly explaining the effect of the Field Spell Card [Crystal Array - Potential], Hayato continued, "The other card I just sent to the Graveyard is this [Crystal Machine - Amethyst Blue Dragon]. Like [Crystal Machine - Smoky Tiger], I can use one of its two effects once per turn. If it's in my Graveyard, banish it to activate its second effect."

"Add one Crystal Machine monster other than Crystal Machine - Amethyst Dragon from my deck to my hand."

Although Hayato could previously use the effect of [Crystal Machine - Amethyst Azure Dragon] to directly search for [Crystal Machine - Three Crystals], he can now search for another [Crystal Machine - Inner Essence] through the effect of [Crystal Machine - Smoky Tiger]. At this moment, he will use [Crystal Machine - Amethyst Azure Dragon], whose prototype is the Eastern Sacred Beast "Azure Dragon", to search for another card.

Odin, who hadn't made any moves when Hayato activated the effect of [Crystal Machine - Smoky Tiger] to search for Spell Cards, suddenly reacted at this moment, playing a card from his hand and saying: "When a Spell, Trap, or Monster effect is activated in my opponent's Graveyard, I can send this [Skull King] from my hand to negate that effect!"

"A trap card for the graveyard?" Hayato said with a smile when he saw that Odin was about to interrupt him. "Because I was searching for a Spell Card, I didn't feel threatened and didn't interrupt, and then I activated it just when I was about to search for a Trap Card."

"Unfortunately, although [Crystal Machine] has a weak presence, low combat power, lacks removal options, and doesn't have a powerful enough endgame, its greatest advantage lies in its extremely high resilience and difficulty in being interrupted." After a pause, Hayato waved his hand and said, "Chain the effect of [Skull King], I also need to activate the effect of my [Crystal Machine - Three Crystals]!"

On Hayato's field, [Crystal Machine - Trinity Crystal] suddenly raised his hand towards the sky, opened his palm, and shouted: "Light Convergence!"

The Crystal Machine that emerged from Hayato's grave was held back by the spirits in the grave and failed to activate its effect to summon other Crystal Machines for Hayato. However, with his cover, the Crystal Machine - Trinity Crystal successfully sent a signal into the air, and then a huge crystal cluster fell from the sky like a meteorite.

Within the crystal clusters, which were dyed golden and clear, one could see a four-legged dragon beast curled up, whose prototype was suspected to be the "Yinglong," which appeared as an unofficial member alongside the "Four Sacred Beasts," much like the "Four Heavenly Kings" who consisted of five people.

However, its name is not actually that of any mythical beast, but rather that of Fafnir, who was famous for being killed by Siegfried the dragon slayer.

【Crystal Machine - Lemon Crystal Fafnir】【5☆/Water】

[Mechanical Race/Effect]

[2000/1500→2300/1800]

"Under the effect of [Crystal Machine - Trinity Crystal], I can Special Summon a single [Crystal Machine] monster other than [Crystal Machine - Trinity Crystal] itself from my Deck—that is, the [Crystal Machine - Lemon Fafnir] that is currently on my field. After that, I Synchro Summon a single Machine-Type Synchro Monster using the monsters on my field that include the Special Summoned [Crystal Machine - Lemon Fafnir] as Synchro Material."

"The monsters I've chosen are naturally the Level 5☆ [Crystal Machine - Lemon Crystal Fafnir] and the Level 2 [Crystal Machine - Triad Crystal]. Let them together receive the power of the [True Dragon] and awaken an even higher crystal cluster!"

"【Crystal Machine - Trinity Crystal】, launch!" It wasn't Hayato who shouted this, but 【Crystal Machine - Trinity Crystal】itself. At this moment, it was rising into the air, hovering in front of 【Crystal Machine - Lemon Fafnir】, in the cockpit that all other 【Crystal Machine】non-Tuner monsters share.

(Reference image)
The power of the True Dragon replenished the Crystal Machine - Lemon Crystal Fafnir, which had been missing this crucial component and had long needed to borrow power from the "sacred beasts" of other Crystal Machines. White crystal clusters created by the power of the True Dragon began to grow on its body. At this time, the Crystal Machine - Triad Crystal also entered the crystal cockpit, just like Wataru in God O Fighter.

Due to the transformation by the power of the [True Dragon], the body of the [Crystal Machine - Lemon Fafnir], originally shaped like a four-legged flying dragon, began to lengthen. The white crystal clusters that grew between the joints filled the gaps, making its image gradually deviate from the Western dragon race and become more and more like the true fifth member of the "Four Sacred Beasts" - the Yellow Dragon.

Because of the entry of [Crystal Machine - Three Crystals], [Crystal Machine - Lemon Fafnir], which also adapted to the power of [True Dragon] and evolved - or rather [Crystal Machine - Lemon Fafnir], began to change its body like in "Transformers". After a transformation that was completely incomprehensible to ordinary people, it actually turned into a huge humanoid mecha, flying in the air with a total of four white crystal wings on its back and hips!
"Absorb the power of the true dragon and prove what a true 'water machine' is in a brand new form! Ascend to the heavens!"

"Level 2☆+5☆=7☆, Accelerate Synchro Summoning!"

"[Crystal Mechanism-Holy Sky Skeleton Crystal]!"

　PS1: Because the clues were so obvious, everyone guessed it was a water purifier.

　　The entire impression of the Water Machine was stolen by the Fiberglass card, even though the Monster Machine was clearly weaker and it was called the Hundred-Headed Dragon when it was released (perhaps it was related to the fact that the Monster Machine and Orion Lion were also active at the same time).

　　In the PS2 Crystal Machine setting, the pilot can transform into a Synchro Monster for battle, similar to characters like the characters in Magic Knight Rayearth or Dragon Warrior. Furthermore, it can be piloted by multiple people, much like in Super Sentai.

　　PS3 Fun Facts: Synchro Monsters of the Crystal Machine type have icons on their masks indicating who the pilot is. The White Tiger and Azure Dragon Synchro Forms each have only one pilot, so they have one icon. The Vermilion Bird requires two pilots, so it has two icons. The Central Serpent has all three pilots; its design is based on Fafnir's ability to simultaneously equip three pilots, so its summoning condition is two or more rare Tuner monsters plus one non-Tuner monster (however, according to the official design, the total Level of the monsters already exceeds 11, so it cannot be Synchro Summoned).

　　PS4 and: Although the basic setting is the well-known Four Holy Beasts + the Golden Boy and Jade Girl, the Lemon Crystal Fafnir already incorporates Western mythology from the very beginning. Fafnir comes from the Nibelungenlied, and the prototype of the Central Serpent that Lemon Crystal Fafnir transforms into is the highly famous Norse mythological figure Jormungandr, the World Serpent—Thor's destined adversary in Ragnarok. Therefore, the Central Serpent is also translated as "Yellow Dragon Gard," combining Jormungandr and the Yellow Dragon represented by Lemon Crystal Fafnir.

　　This time, it's dumpling vinegar!
　　PS5 recommendations needed

　　(End of this chapter)