Yami Yugi and Rafael's first Duel

Yami Yugi goes to duel against Rafael as the message had indicated.

Summary

 * Yami Duels Rafael, 1 of the 3 Swordsmen of Doma. He seeks to eliminate the Pharaoh. He traps him in a sole patch of rock by cutting off the rope bridge and ensuring no-one can come in or out of the Duel Field.
 * Rafael demonstrates a calm composure and being a good speaker: upon being accused of being 'evil' by Yami, he calmly questions what he understands for 'justice' instead. He claims that History itself decides if the road Doma walks upon is evil or not.
 * Rafael reveals a Deck of Guardian Monsters, which were his sole companions when he was shipwrecked on an island for 3 years as a child, losing his parents, brother, and sister. He signals how some of his Cards are slightly blurry, revealing they got wet time before. He's replaced the backside so as not to be recognizable this way, but it doesn't change the fact that they've supported him.
 * He always kept his Cards safe, and his current strategy reflects that bond -- he will pay any cost to keep his Monsters out of the Graveyard. He doesn't want to lose anyone else. One day he was shown a vision of a mysterious island and a voice --- Dartz's --- told him that, when he would understand everything, he would be allowed to come to his side.
 * When he was finally rescued from the island, he found the normal world depressing. That was when he was approached by Dartz and joined Doma, hoping to find the answer to 'Fate' itself.
 * One of the Monsters, Guardian Eatos, was his birthday present just before the wreck.
 * On a side note, Weevil and Rex arrive in the midst of the Duel and look on.
 * Also, Yugi's friends realized that he had gone off alone: Joey, Tristan and Duke Devlin go looking for him. Téa and Rebecca stayed in the trailer to take care of Professor Hawkins

The Truth of Doma

 * Rafael continues to deal Damage to Yami Yugi while diverting any attempts to destroy his Monsters.
 * He also reveals that Doma has shifted its aims recently: instead of promoting human civilization and history, it will instead 'reset' it. He confirms what Pegasus said: this organization has existed ever since the beginnings of human history and civilization and has been an observer and meddler. It sometimes pushes civilization forward and other times guides history by unfair means (wars, revolts, etc.). The "Lord" atop Doma is the one who commands them, and, in the past, he granted "Paradise" to the Land.
 * Rafael's speech also claims that their strength to recognize the 'Dark' of their hearts. He calmly exposes that, since the world's balance can defined as a set of scales, it's reasonable to put both 'Dark' and 'Light' into both plates. However, the 'Dark' is always ahead of the 'Light'. He defines humanity as "Guardians" of the Earth itself.
 * He also employs a subtle resource to make Yami doubt himself: was he really a fair King in the past, or was he a ruthless tyrant who caused wide-spread chaos?
 * Yami, being unable to affirm or deny the accusation, becomes nervous and doesn't want to accept that possibility: the vision he and Seto Kaiba had atop the Duel Tower at the Battle City Semi-Finals would really suit Rafael's description.

Rafael's Trap

 * Later Through the effect of Exchange, Rafael gives The Seal of Orichalcos to Yami.Yugioh158.jpg]]
 * The Fusion of Yami's patron Monsters, Dark Magician Girl and The Eye of Timaeus, is rendered useless; unable to attack or defend. Rafael lets out that once the ATK value of the Monster either increases or decreases, the Trap will be Destroyed.
 * Yami Yugi delays the temptation, but he keeps taking Damage. When he is one Turn from having the rest of his Life Points taken away and doesn't find any other resource, he overrides Yugi's protests and activates the Seal.
 * His companions spot a beam of light shooting out into the sky and use it to reach towards Yugi/Yami Yugi.

Future Plan

 * Rafael uses "Monster Rebirth" in order to Shuffle "Guardian Grarl" from his Graveyard back into his Deck.
 * Since "Guardian Grarl" is seen no further in this duel, some might doubt the utility of Rafael's move. It actually serves another purpose: It keeps Rafael's Graveyard Monster-free so that he can later use "Guardian Eatos's" Effect to Special Summon "Guardian Eatos" to the Field.
 * When Yami's friends arrive, Joey demands of Weevil and Rex Raptor why Yami has the 'crest' of Orichalcos on his forehead, and both report that Yami decided to use the Card.
 * When Yami uses Catapult Turtle to tribute his monsters in a selfish attempt to win, Joey claims he can't recognize him anymore: that's not the Yugi he knew.
 * Towards the end of the Duel, before the Monsters in Yami Yugi's Graveyard go into "Guardian Eatos's" sword, they are angry, hurt, and resentful towards Yami for using the "Orichalcos" for power.
 * Rafael's plan hinged on defeating the Pharaoh and having him lose his soul via "The Seal of Orichalcos"; had the Seal not been played, Yugi would still lose, but his and Yami's souls would've been safe and Rafael's efforts would be ultimately futile.
 * Rafael and Alister depart the area in a chopper but not before returning Yugi's body to the others. Rafael announces that he'll soon come after Joey.
 * Yami comes to senses and realizes his mistake and cries in regret and frustration upon the loss of Yugi.

Featured Duel: Yami Yugi Vs Rafael
Turn 1: Rafael

Rafael draws. He then activates "Guardian Treasure" to discard 5 Cards and draw 2 Cards. Now while "Guardian Treasure" is face-up, Rafael may Draw 1 extra Card from his Deck during each of his Draw Phases. Rafael Sets a monster and Sets a Card.

Turn 2: Yami Yugi

Yami Yugi draws "Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts". He then activates "Polymerization" to fuse "Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts" with "Berfomet" in order to Fusion Summon "Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast" from his Fusion Deck (2100/1800) in Attack Position. "Chimera" attacks Rafael's Face-Down Monster. It's revealed to be "Backup Gardna" (500/2200) who is then flipped into face-up Defense Position. Since the latter monster's DEF is higher than "Chimera's" ATK, the attack fails (Yami 4000 ? 3900).

Turn 3: Rafael

Rafael draws. Due to the effect of his "Guardian Treasure", Rafael draws one extra card. Rafael then activates "Gravity Axe - Grarl", equipping it to "Backup Gardna" and increasing the ATK of "Backup Gardna" by 500 ("Backup Gardna": 500 ? 1000/2200). Since "Gravity Axe - Grarl" is on the field and "Guardian Grarl" is the only Card in Rafael's Hand, he Special Summons "Grarl" (2500/1000) from his Hand in Attack Position. Rafael then activates "Backup Gardna's" effect to unequip its "Gravity Axe - Grarl" and equip it to "Guardian Grarl" instead ("Backup Gardna": 1000 ? 500/2200; "Guardian Grarl": 2500 ? 3000/1000). "Guardian Grarl" attacks & destroys Yami's "Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast" (Yami 3900 ? 3000). Since "Chimera" was destroyed, Yami Yugi Special Summons "Berfomet" from his Graveyard (1400/1800) in Attack Position.

Turn 4: Yami Yugi

Yami Yugi draws "Five Star Twilight" and subsequently activates it to Tribute "Berfomet" and Special Summon the 5 Kuriboh Brothers, "Kuriboh", "Kuribah", "Kuribee", "Kuribeh" and "Kuriboo" in Attack Position (300/200 for all). Yami Yugi then activates "Kuribah's" effect to remove "Kuriboh", "Kuribah", "Kuribee", "Kuribeh" and "Kuriboo" from play and Special Summon "Kuribabylon" (?/200) from his Deck in Attack Position. Due to the effect of "Kuribabylon", its ATK is the sum of the total ATK of all 5 Kuriboh Brothers ("Kuribabylon": ? ? 1500/200). Yami Yugi then activates "Pump Up" to double "Kuribabylon's" ATK for 1 turn ("Kuribabylon": 1500 ? 3000/200).

"Kuribabylon" attacks Rafael's "Guardian Grarl", but Rafael activates the effect of "Rescuer from the Grave" from his Graveyard, removing from play 5 Cards in his Graveyard in order to negate the attack and end the Battle Phase. Yami Yugi then activates "Kuribabylon's" effect to remove it from play and Special Summon the 5 Kuriboh Brothers, "Kuriboh", "Kuriba", "Kuribi", "Kuribe" and "Kuribu" from the Removed from Play Zone to the field in Attack Position (300/200 for all).

Turn 5: Rafael

Rafael draws. Due to the effect of his "Guardian Treasure", Rafael draws one extra card. Rafael then Sets two Cards ("Exchange" and "Self Tribute") and activates "Purity of the Cemetery". Now during each of Yami Yugi's Standby Phases, Yami will receive 100 damage for each Monster present in his Graveyard. If there is a Monster in Rafael's Graveyard, "Purity of the Cemetery" will be Destroyed. "Guardian Grarl" attacks "Kuriboh" but Yami Activates "Kuribee's" effect to negate the attack.

Turn 6: Yami Yugi

Yami Yugi draws "Pot of Greed". During the Standby Phase, the effect of "Purity of the Cemetery" activates. Since Yami has 3 Monsters in Graveyard ("Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts", "Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast" and "Berfomet"), Rafael's "Purity of the Cemetery" deals 300 Damage to him (Yami 3000 ? 2700). Yami Yugi then activates "Pot of Greed" to Draw two Cards. Yami Yugi then activates "Kuribah's" effect to remove from play "Kuriboh", "Kuribah", "Kuribee", "Kuribeh" and "Kuriboo" and Special Summon "Kuribabylon" from the Removed from Play Zone (?/200) in Attack Position. Due to "Kuribabylon's" effect, its ATK is the sum of the ATK of all five Kuriboh brothers, i.e. 300 × 5 = 1500 ("Kuribabylon": ? ? 1500/200).

Yami Yugi then Tributes "Kuribabylon" to Summon "Dark Magician Girl" (2000/1700) in Attack Position. Yami Yugi then activates "The Eye of Timaeus" to fuse it with "Dark Magician Girl" and Special Summon "Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight" (2600/1700) in Attack Position. "Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight" attacks Rafael's "Guardian Grarl". Yami Yugi then activates "Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight's" effect to discard one Card from his hand and Destroy "Guardian Grarl" at the start of the Damage Step without applying Damage Calculation (although not shown, the card discarded was a monster due to what happens on Yami Yugi's next turn), but Rafael activates "Self Tribute" to pay 1000 Life Points (Rafael 4000 ? 3000) and prevent "Guardian Grarl" from being destroyed.

Turn 7: Rafael

Rafael draws. Due to the effect of his "Guardian Treasure", Rafael draws one extra card. Rafael then Sets a card. He then activates "Exchange" to force both players to exchange one card in their hand with a card from their opponent's hand. Since both Rafael and Yami have only one card in their hand, their choice is limited. Rafael takes Yami's "Necromancy"; Yami is given Rafael's "The Seal of Orichalcos".

Turn 8: Yami Yugi

Yami Yugi draws. During the Standby Phase, the effect of "Purity of the Cemetery" activates. Since Yugi has 5 Monsters in Graveyard ("Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts", "Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast", "Berfomet", "Kuribabylon" and the monster he discarded with "Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight"'s effect), "Purity of the Cemetery" deals 500 damage to him (Yugi 2700 ? 2200). "Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight" attacks Rafael's "Guardian Grarl", but Rafael activates "Crystal Seal" to prevent "Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight" from attacking, defending and being Tributed. If the ATK of "Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight" is changed by a Card Effect, "Crystal Seal" will be Destroyed. Also, if "Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight" is the only monster Yami controls, Rafael can attack him directly. Yami Yugi then Sets a Monster.

Turn 9: Rafael

Rafael draws. Due to the effect of his "Guardian Treasure", Rafael draws one extra card (One of the cards Rafael just drew was "Rod of Silence - Kay'est"). Rafael then activates "Rod of Silence - Kay'est", equipping it to "Backup Gardna" and increasing "Backup Gardna's" DEF by 500 ("Backup Gardna": 500/2200 ? 2700). Since "Rod of Silence - Kay'est" is on the Field, Rafael is allowed to Normal Summon "Guardian Kay'est" (1000/1800) in Attack Position. "Guardian Grarl" attacks & destroys Yami's set monster. It's revealed to be "Big Shield Gardna" (100/2600). Since Yami only Controls "Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight", "Guardian Kay'est" attacks Yami Yugi directly due to the effect of "Crystal Seal" (Yugi 2200 ? 1200).

Turn 10: Yami Yugi

Yami Yugi draws "Card of Sanctity". During the Standby Phase, the effect of "Purity of the Cemetery" activates. Since Yami has 6 Monsters in Graveyard ("Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts", "Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast", "Berfomet", "Kuribabylon", "Dark Magician Girl" and "Big Shield Gardna"), "Purity of the Cemetery" deals 600 Damage to him (Yugi 1200 ? 600). Yami Yugi activates "Card of Sanctity" to make him and Rafael draw until both have 6 Cards in their Hands. Yugi's hand now contains "Hand Control", "Dark Magician", "Sangan", "Magical Hats", "De-Fusion" and "The Seal of Orichalcos". Despite Yugi Muto's better judgment, Yami Yugi activates "The Seal of Orichalcos". From now on, all of Yami Yugi's monsters will receive a 500 ATK boost and the loser of this Duel will lose his/her soul ("Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight": 2600 → 3100/1700). Since "Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight's" ATK was changed by a Card effect, "Crystal Seal" is Destroyed, but because "The Seal of Orichalcos" is now on the same side of the Field as a Card which was Summoned by "The Eye of Timaeus", "Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight" is destroyed and "Dark Magician Girl" is returned to the field (2000 → 2500/1700) in Attack Position (Yami goes into a fit of rage, further deepening his Dark, but thinks that he still can Summon up to 10 Monsters.).

Yami Yugi then activates "Hand Control" and declares "Necromancy". Since Yami Yugi guessed right, Rafael is forced to activate "Necromancy" immediately (Rafael had already guessed which Card he wanted to use, so he simply says: "Use it, Yugi".); "Big Shield Gardna" (100 → 600/2600), "Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts" (1500 → 2000/1200), "Berfomet" (1400 → 1900/1800) and "Kuribabylon" (?/200) are Special Summoned to Yami Yugi's side of the Field in Defense Position. Yami Yugi places his newly summoned monsters in the Spell & Trap Card Zone, (thanks to "The Seal of Orichalcos", Yami Yugi can use his Spell & Trap Card Zone as an added Monster Card Zone) meaning they can't be attacked until Yami Yugi's first-row monsters are Destroyed first. If a Monster Special Summoned by "Necromancy" is Destroyed, all of Yami's Monsters will lose 600 ATK. Due to the effect of "Kuribabylon", its ATK is the sum of the ATK of all 5 Kuriboh Brothers. Since Yami Summoned "Kuribabylon" without removing from play the 5 Kuriboh Brothers, the ATK of "Kuribabylon" is 0 ("Kuribabylon": ? → 0 → 500/200).

Rafael's hand is shown to contain "Wicked-Breaking Flamberge - Baou", "Kishido Spirit", "Aid to the Doomed", "Rod of the Mind's Eye", "Necromancy", and "Monster Rebirth". Yami Yugi then Tributes "Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts" and "Berfomet" to summon "Dark Magician" (2500 → 3000/2100) in Attack Position. Yami places it in the Spell & Trap Card Zone. Switches "Dark Magician Girl" from the Monster Card Zone to the Spell & Trap Card Zone. Yami Yugi Yami Yugi then activates "Kuribabylon's" effect to remove it from play and Special Summon the 5 Kuriboh Brothers, "Kuriboh", "Kuribah", "Kuribee", "Kuribeh" and "Kuriboo" (300 → 800/200 for all) from the Removed from Play Zone to the field in Attack Position. Yami Yugi then activates "Kuribah's" effect to remove from play "Kuriboh", "Kuribah", "Kuribee", "Kuribeh" and "Kuriboo" and Special Summon "Kuribabylon" (?/200) in Attack Position. Due to the effect of "Kuribabylon", its ATK becomes the sum of the ATK of all 5 Kuriboh Brothers, i.e. 800 × 5 = 4000 ("Kuribabylon": ? → 4000 → 4500/200).

"Kuribabylon" attacks & destroys "Guardian Grarl" (Rafael 3000 → 1500). Since there is a Monster in Rafael's Graveyard, "Purity of the Cemetery" is destroyed. "Dark Magician" attacks "Backup Gardna", but Rafael Activates the effect of "Aid to the Doomed" from his Hand, discarding 2 Cards from his Hand ("Kishido Spirit" and "Wicked-Breaking Flamberge - Baou") in order to end the current turn immediately since 1 of his Monsters has been destroyed in battle this Turn.

Turn 11: Rafael

Rafael draws. Due to the effect of "Guardian Treasure", Rafael draws one extra card. Rafael then activates "Monster Rebirth" to take "Guardian Grarl" from his Graveyard and return it to his Deck. Rafael then Sets a Card. He then activates "Swords of Revealing Light" to prevent Yami from attacking for 3 Turns and forcing all of Yami's monster to be face-up while "Swords of Revealing Light" is active.

Turn 12: Yami Yugi

Due to "Swords of Revealing Light", Yami cannot attack (3 more Turns). Yami Yugi draws "Catapult Turtle". He then Tributes "Big Shield Gardna" to Summon "Catapult Turtle" (1000 → 1500/2000) in Attack Position. Yami places it in the Spell & Trap Card Zone. Rafael then activates "Limit Tribute". Now while this card is face-up, both Players can only Tribute 1 Monster per Turn, which prevents Yami from using "Catapult Turtle"'s effect this turn.

Turn 13: Rafael

Rafael draws. Due to the effect of "Guardian Treasure", Rafael draws one extra card. Rafael's hand contains "Rod of the Mind's Eye", "Morale Boost", and "Nightmare Binding". Rafael activates "Nightmare Binding" to decrease the ATK of Yami Yugi's "Kuribabylon" by 800 ("Kuribabylon": 4500 → 3700/200), increase Rafael's Life Points by 800 (Rafael 1500 → 2300), and forbid Yami Yugi from Tributing "Kuribabylon".

Turn 14: Yami Yugi

Due to "Swords of Revealing Light", Yami cannot Attack (2 more Turns). Yami Yugi draws "Beast of Gilfer". Yami Yugi then activates "Catapult Turtle's" effect to Tribute "Dark Magician" and inflict half its ATK as Damage to Rafael (Rafael 2300 → 800). Since "Dark Magician" is now in the Graveyard, "Dark Magician Girl's" ATK increases by 300 ("Dark Magician Girl": 2500 → 2800/1700).

Turn 15: Rafael

Rafael draws. Due to the effect of "Guardian Treasure", Rafael draws one extra card. Rafael Sets a Card.

Turn 16: Yami Yugi

Due to "Swords of Revealing Light", Yami cannot Attack (1 more Turn). Yami draws. Yami Yugi then Activates "Catapult Turtle's" Effect to Tribute "Dark Magician Girl" and inflict half its ATK as Damage to Rafael, but Rafael activates "Shrink" to halve "Dark Magician Girl's" ATK for one turn ("Dark Magician Girl": 2800 → 1400/1700). The effect of "Catapult Turtle continues (Rafael 800 → 100). Yami Yugi intends to summon another monster next turn, so he can use the effect of "Catapult Turtle" to deplete the remainder of Rafael's Life Points.

Turn 17: Rafael

Rafael draws. Due to the effect of "Guardian Treasure", Rafael draws one extra card ("Celestial Sword - Eatos" and "Guardian Eatos"). Rafael then activates "Celestial Sword - Eatos", equipping it to "Backup Gardna" and increasing the ATK of "Backup Gardna" by 300 ("Backup Gardna": 500 → 800/2700). Since "Celestial Sword - Eatos" is on the Field and there are no Monsters in his Graveyard, Rafael Special Summons "Guardian Eatos" (2500/2000) in Attack Position. Rafael then activates "Backup Gardna's" Effect, unequipping its "Celestial Sword - Eatos" and equipping it to "Guardian Eatos" instead ("Backup Gardna": 800 → 500/2700; "Guardian Eatos": 2500 → 2800/2000).

Rafael then activates "Guardian Eatos'" second effect to send "Celestial Sword - Eatos" to his Graveyard ("Guardian Eatos": 2800 → 2500/2000), target Yami's Graveyard, remove "Dark Magician Girl", "Dark Magician", "Big Shield Gardna", "Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts" and "Berfomet" from play, and increase the ATK of "Guardian Eatos" by the combined ATK of the removed monsters (2000 + 2500 + 100 + 1500 + 1400 = 7500) ("Guardian Eatos": 2500 → 10000/2000). "Guardian Eatos" attacks and destroys "Kuribabylon" (Yami 600 → 0).

Rafael wins.

Epilogue
"The Seal of Orichalcos" claims the loser's soul. As its energy is about to engulf the Pharaoh, Yugi uses the Millennium Puzzle to break the "The Seal of Orichalcos" and pushes Yami Yugi out of the way at the last second, sacrificing his soul to save Yami Yugi's.

Featured Cards
The following cards appeared in this episode. Cards in italics debuted here.