The ☆3 “The Circle of Battle” loaner, played exactly as it comes. Every line here is built on the 40-card list, lock and all. The event Forbidden list is checked; nothing in the deck is touched.
Dragon · 3500
Dragon · 3000
Dinosaur · Dino Domains
Wyrm · Wyrm Winds
Sea Serpent · Sea Spires
The engine
- Pendulum in the Extra DeckRitual’s scale searches, then destroys itself into the ED. Rising’s 2nd clause also does it.
- Ryu-Ge War ZoneActivation splits Dino / Sea Serpent / Wyrm, then summons 3 of different Types.
- A monster is destroyedTribute a Level 10 Ryu-Ge, Ritual Summon Ritual, place Realms by destroying 2 of yours.
↺ Every later destruction re-fires switch 3.
War Zone, both halves
On activation: take 1 Dinosaur, 1 Sea Serpent and 1 Wyrm from the Deck — add one, banish one, send one to the GY. Then you can only Special Summon Dragon, Dinosaur, Sea Serpent and Wyrm for that turn.
Second effect: with Ritual face-up in the Extra Deck, summon 3 Ryu-Ge of different Types, one each from Deck, GY and banishment. Black is your only summonable Dragon.
Ritual's trigger
- Fires when any monster on either side is destroyed, by battle or effect.
- Needs a Level 10 Ryu-Ge on your field to Tribute. Driangle is not Ryu-Ge.
- Cards destroyed in a Pendulum Zone don’t count. A Pendulum monster sitting in its Pendulum Zone is a Spell Card, not a monster, so destroying it there doesn’t trigger Ritual.
- The once-per-turn resets, so one on your turn and one on theirs.
The three Realms
| Realm | Always on | Quick Effect it grants | Also gained by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dino Domains | Ryu-Ge monsters +300 ATK | Once per turn, negate a monster effect activated on the field by a monster with less ATK | Red |
| Sea Spires | Your Ryu-Ge can’t be destroyed by battle | Once per opponent’s turn, return 1 card on the field to the hand | Blue, Driangle |
| Wyrm Winds | Monsters sent from field to GY on their turn are banished instead | Once per opponent’s turn, make 1 face-up monster’s ATK 0 | Green |
Wyrm Winds is safe to leave up. Face-up Pendulum monsters destroyed on the field go to the Extra Deck and never reach the GY, so its banish-instead clause doesn’t apply to Ritual or Black.
Going first
Place Sosei Ryu-Ge Mistva in a Pendulum Zone, activate its Pendulum Effect, add Ryu-Ge War Zone. Ritual destroys itself into the Extra Deck.
Activate Ryu-Ge War Zone: add Driangle, banish Green, send Red to the GY.
War Zone’s second effect: Special Summon Green from banishment, Red from the GY, Black from the Deck.
Black’s trigger targets Black itself. It’s destroyed and goes face-up to the Extra Deck. Build the chain: Ritual as Chain Link 1, Black’s float as Chain Link 2.
Chain resolves. Black’s float places Ryu-Ge End face-up. Then Ritual Tributes Red, Ritual Summons itself, and destroys End + War Zone to place Dino Domains and Sea Spires.
End’s destroyed trigger: Set Ryu-Ge Rivalry from the Deck.
Special Summon Driangle from hand — Ritual and Green on the field plus Red in the GY is 3 Level 10s. Its mill is optional: 500 ATK, and 1000 damage if it hits a monster.
Xyz Summon Varudras, the Final Bringer of the End Times with Green + Driangle.
What the board stops
- Varudras: negate anything they activate, then detach again to destroy a card.
- Ritual + Dino Domains: negate a monster effect activated on the field below 3800 ATK.
- Ritual + Sea Spires: bounce any card on the field, their turn only.
- Rivalry: Black from the Deck destroys a card. If Ritual already died, that destruction brings it back.
Where it's thin
- Only Varudras answers hand traps and GY effects.
- Veiler or Impermanence on Varudras removes your only negate.
- Rivalry needs a target worth destroying, so it can sit dead against a slow opening.
Better hands
Second starter in hand (Manju, Rising, or Melody taking two Ritual)
Get a second Ritual face-up in the Extra Deck. With Manju: place the second Ritual in the other Pendulum Zone (its scale effect is locked by name, that’s fine), then at step 5 destroy End + the second Ritual instead of War Zone. With Rising: its second clause moves the spare Ritual from hand to the Extra Deck directly, so step 5 stays End + War Zone.
On their turn Rivalry becomes: Black destroys a monster → the spare Ritual Summons itself Tributing Black → destroy two of your own cards (a spent Varudras destroys a card when it goes) → place more Realms.
A colour monster in hand
Use its hand effect for its Realm before step 2, and that’s your third Realm — Ritual places the other two. Red shuffles itself back into the Deck, so War Zone still finds it. Blue’s discard fills your GY. Green’s self-banish leaves a second monster in banishment, which keeps War Zone’s summon live next turn.
War Zone already in hand
Search Ryu-Ge Rising with Ritual’s scale instead, then use Rising to add a second Ritual and put it face-up in the Extra Deck. Never search a card you already hold.
Going second
Place Black in a Pendulum Zone.
Ritual’s Pendulum Effect adds War Zone. Activate it: add Red, banish Green, send Blue to the GY.
War Zone summons Green, Blue and Black. Black’s trigger destroys their negate monster.
Ritual Tributes Blue, Ritual Summons itself, destroys War Zone, places Dino Domains.
Two cards destroyed, so Red Special Summons itself from hand. Then Red’s field effect: bottom Dino Domains and destroy cards up to the number of different Monster Types on the field — Dragon, Wyrm and Dinosaur is already 3.
If lethal still holds, Xyz Summon Varudras with two spare bodies, then attack.
If they negate Black’s trigger: the Galaxy-Eyes chain
2 materials
detach 1: destroy a face-up card
detach 1: destroy any card
| Their problem | Your answer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A negate that’s still live | Black’s scale, or Varudras on the field first | Black covers Spell effects; Varudras covers everything, once |
| Several face-up cards | Red’s field effect, then Full Armor | Red destroys the most at once |
| Face-down Spell/Trap | Cipher Blade, Red, or Black | Full Armor can only hit face-up cards |
| Can’t be targeted | Varudras | Its destroy effects don’t target |
| Can’t be destroyed | Battle, or Zeus on a non-War-Zone turn | Zeus sends to the GY instead |
| Their LP at 2000 or less | Gustav Max | 2000 burn, non-War-Zone turns only |
Hand traps
Baiting order, going first
- Place Black’s scale. Free, unanswerable, and it covers everything that follows.
- Normal Summon Manju. The bait — Black’s scale doesn’t protect it, because Manju’s search is a monster effect. If they Ash it, Ritual is safe.
- Ritual’s Pendulum Effect, now protected.
- War Zone, also protected.
| Card | Hits you hardest on | Black’s scale? | What you do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ash Blossom | Ritual’s scale search, War Zone’s summon, Manju, Melody, Rising | Yes, except Manju and Melody | Bait with Manju first. Unprotected Ash on Ritual’s scale ends the combo — set what you have and try next turn |
| Veiler / Impermanence | Black’s summon trigger | No — monster effect | Backup line below |
| Nibiru | Your 5th summon | No | Counter below |
| Droll & Lock Bird | Every search after your first that turn | No | Non-search parts still work: War Zone’s summon, Black’s float, Ritual placing Realms |
| Ghost Ogre | The Ritual scale, and War Zone when you use its summon effect | Yes | If it hits Black on the field instead, it backfires: Black floats and Ritual triggers. If it hits Black in the Pendulum Zone, Black’s float still resolves — you keep the placement, you just don’t get Ritual’s trigger off it |
| Ghost Belle | War Zone’s summon (it summons from the GY) | Yes | — |
Backup when Veiler lands on Black
Nothing was destroyed, so Ritual can’t come out this turn. Summon Driangle, then Xyz Summon Varudras with Green + Driangle.
Nibiru counter
Line 1 reaches five summons at Driangle. Manju shifts everything up by one.
Tap to count your summons.
Your own Ash and Veiler
- Hit the start of their combo. The first search stops the most.
- Veiler only works during their Main Phase, so it does nothing on your turn. Going second, spend both on their turn 1.
- Veiler shuts off all of that monster’s effects for the turn — aim it at a monster that keeps going, not a one-shot.
- Called by the Grave is Forbidden in Master Duel right now, so your hand traps can’t be answered.
The event
Losing the duel
Ryu-Ge Rivalry alone earns all three: the Trap activation, the Level 10 summon, and Black destroying any card — a face-down one will do. Black plus any other Ryu-Ge in hand gives two: Tribute the other monster (even Ritual) and destroy something.
Dice spaces
Extra card, both players: you open a starter about 90% going first and 94% going second — but they hold one more hand trap too. Follow the baiting order strictly.
4000 starting LP: going second, two direct hits of 3000 win, so don’t over-wipe. Gustav Max’s 2000 burn is half their life, on non-War-Zone turns. Going first, prefer Sea Spires and Wyrm Winds over Dino Domains — they stop damage.
Matchups
Ryu-Ge mirror
- Kill Ryu-Ge End first, or their monsters can’t be targeted.
- Count their Level 10 Tributes before destroying anything, or you hand them a free Ritual.
- Varudras doesn’t target, and Sea Spires stops your battle destruction.
Clown Crew (☆2 loaner)
- They Tribute their own monsters for value — destruction doesn’t feed them.
- The loaner runs Nibiru: watch your 5th summon.
- Veiler the monster on the field, not the Tribute payoff, which activates off the field.
- Their End Phase draws refill them, so end games fast.
Regenesis (☆1 loaner)
- Monsters sent to the GY on your turn return to their hand — your removal undoes itself.
- Destroy on their turn instead: Varudras, Rivalry’s Black, Ryu-Ge End.
- Or just OTK. Your 3000–3800 bodies beat their 2500s, and Dino Domains negates anything under 3800.
Player-built decks
- The event list removed Maliss, Ryzeal, Yummy, Labrynth, Floowandereeze, Branded and the Dracotail and Mitsurugi bosses, plus Maxx “C” and the Solemns.
- Expect Blue-Eyes, full-power Ryu-Ge, and rogue picks.
- Standard plan: hand traps on their turn 1, then the going-second line.
Slips
- Scale Black before anything. Placing a scale can’t be responded to.
- Never search a card you already hold.
- Black targets itself turn 1, their negate monster going second.
- Pendulum Zone destruction doesn’t trigger Ritual.
- Ritual needs a Level 10 Ryu-Ge on your field to Tribute — Driangle never counts.
- Spend Driangle as Xyz material first, and keep Black on the field, because it floats.
- War Zone’s lock is only for the turn you activate it.
- Pay a Realm cost with the Realm you just used.
- Pot of Extravagance banishes at random and stops all draws that turn.
- Full Armor can’t touch face-down cards — that’s Cipher Blade’s job.