Dark Yugi and Mai Kujaku's Duel (manga)

Yami Yugi and Mai's Duel was a game of Duel Monsters in the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga and second series anime, between Yami Yugi and Mai Valentine in the first round of of the Duelist Kingdom finals.

The Duel used an earlier set of rules, which vary greatly from the Yu-Gi-Oh! Official and Trading Card Game.

Prior events
Dark Yugi and Mai each earned 10 Star Chips qualifying them for the Duelist Kingdom finals. They were paired to face each other in he first round of the finals.

Mai decided not to use her Aroma Tactics, confident that she no longer needed tricks to win. Dark Yugi had his eyes set on facing Pegasus later and only regarded Mai as a small obstacle in his path.

The Duel
Mai Summoned "Harpy Lady" in Attack Mode (ATK: 1300]]). Dark Yugi and Jonouchi both assumed she would be using the same strategy as she did against Jonouchi earlier and didn't foresee any difficulty.
 * Mai's turn

Mai played "Mirror Wall" face-down in her Spell & Trap Card Zone.

Dark Yugi Summoned "Gaia the Fierce Knight" (ATK: 2300) and got it to attack "Harpy Lady". Mai activated "Mirror Wall" causing "Gaia" to attack his own reflection instead and halve his attack (ATK: 2300 → 1150).
 * Dark Yugi's turn

Mai equipped "Harpy Lady" with "Cyber Bondage" (ATK: 1300 → 1800) and got it to attack and destroy "Gaia" (Dark Yugi: 2000 → 1350 Life Points).
 * Mai's turn

Dark Yugi played "Spellbinding Circle" face-down in his SPell & Trap Card Zone and Summoned "Summoned Skull" (ATK: 2500).
 * Dark Yugi's turn

"Summoned Skull" attacked "Harpy Lady", but again, Mai used "Mirror Force" and explained Dark Yugi should have taken note that it was a Permanent Trap Card. The mirror blocked the attack and halved the ATK of "Summoned Skull" (ATK: 2500 → 1250). Jonouchi and Anzu began to worry that Dark Yugi was playing too impatiently and attacking quickly without thinking.

Mai admitted that the Duel was turning out to be a letdown; having wanted to face Yugi for so long and seeing him play at a low level of skill. She accused Dark Yugi of thinking about Pegasus and not regarding her as worthy of his attention. Dark Yugi angrily insisted that they get on with the Duel, but Mai saw through his intimidation and said that aggressive men are weak and use their anger to hide their weakness.

Jonouchi told Dark Yugi not to listen as Mai was trying to provoke him. However Anzu wondered if the provoking was to beat him or rather to bring out his proper duelist ability. It worked as Dark Yug began to focus on Mai moreso than Pegasus.

Worried about Dark Yugi's face-down, instead of attacking, Mai used "Harpy's Feather Duster" to destroy it. Dark Yugi revealed that it was "Spellbinding Circle" and put it in his Graveyard, saying that Mai would have fallen into his trap had she attacked. Mai replied that she was a cautious player and Dark Yugi should follow her example.
 * Mai's turn

Dark Yugi switched "Summoned Skull" to Defense Mode (DEF: 1200) and Summoned "Feral Imp" in Defense Mode (DEF: 1400).
 * Dark Yugi's turn

Mai equipped "Harpy Lady" with "Electro-Whip" (ATK: 1800 → 2100) and attacked and destroyed "Feral Imp".
 * Mai's turn

Dark Yugi Summoned "Saiga" in Defense Mode. He worried that if he didn't do something about "Mirror Wall", Mai would win by attrition.
 * Dark Yugi's turn

Mai Summoned "Harpies' Pet Dragon" in Attack Mode. It gained 300 ATK for each "Harpy Lady" she controlled (ATK: 2000 → 2300). "Harpies' Pet Dragon" attacked and destroyed "Summoned Skull".
 * Mai's turn

Mai said that Dark Yugi had lost sight of something; it's "something you can show, but can't see" and until he found the answer he would not be able to defeat her.

Cards used
The following cards were used in this Duel.