I've laid all my cards on the table and even gone easy on you, yet I still have the confidence to defeat you! Hmph~
“Duel!”
Pegasus: 2000 LP
Yugi: 2000 LP
The privilege of the first turn was assigned by the dueling platform to Pegasus. Drawing five cards from the top of his deck, Pegasus needed only a glance before initiating his moves:
“I set a card face-down on my field, and then, I’ll summon this monster card, ‘Bow-Wielding Mermaid,’ in Defense Position, dearest.”
A massive, earthy-brown seashell opened, revealing a voluptuous mermaid whose face bore an uncanny resemblance to Jessie's from the neighboring "Pokémon" set. Reclining within the shell, bow and arrow in hand, she cast a playful, flirtatious glance at Yugi the moment she locked eyes with her master’s opponent.
(Bow-Wielding Mermaid, Level 4, Defense: 1500)
‘Bow-Wielding Mermaid? That set card is probably “Mermaid’s Tear,” meant to work with her, right?’
Mermaid’s Tear—a card never released in OCG, exclusive to Pegasus in the anime—if Yugi remembered correctly, its effect was to negate and destroy a Spell or Trap Card that targets a single monster.
Though officially a Normal Trap, to Yugi, “Mermaid’s Tear” was as much a Counter Trap as “Feather Wind,” which was Wingman’s signature card.
“My turn. Draw!”
As Yugi’s turn began, he didn’t proceed as usual. Instead, he performed an act that left everyone present stunned and bewildered—
He spread out all five of his opening hand cards face-up! He even let the camera capture the card images, making sure Pegasus could see each one clearly!
“Challenger Yugi! What are you doing?” The butler referee frowned and called out. While the rules didn’t explicitly forbid “a player displaying their hand without outside influence,” this sudden maneuver was unprecedented enough to make him speak up.
Never before, since his own master launched this game, had the butler seen anyone willingly reveal their hand like this!
“To defeat the mind-reading ability of your game… Since you can see into the thoughts of others, I’ll simply lay all my cards bare for you! Take a good, hard look! This way, Pegasus, you won’t have to strain your eyes reading people’s minds anymore! Tell me, isn’t this considerate of me?”
Despite these words sounding “helpful,” Yugi wore a smirk of derision.
Everyone else fell silent at his taunt. Pegasus said nothing, but Yugi could feel his opponent’s mounting anger—though, bound by his titles as “Father of Duel Monsters” and “President of Industrial Illusions,” Pegasus held his tongue.
“Also, my deck will always remain face-down as usual, but each time I draw, no matter the card, I’ll reveal it face-up for everyone!”
Pegasus! Didn’t you pride yourself on mind-reading? Don’t you love peering into people’s thoughts? Don’t you win duels by means outside the rules?
Fine! Today, I, Yugi, will lay every card in my hand out for you! I’ll show you that even if you know exactly what your opponent holds, unless your deck is specifically built to counter it, sheer strength and deck power make mind-reading utterly useless!
‘Tch! I can’t read this kid’s mind?!’
As Yugi revealed his strategy for countering mind-reading, Pegasus stealthily activated the power of his Millennium Eye, trying to pierce Yugi’s innermost thoughts.
But no matter how hard he tried, no matter how much power he summoned, all he saw was a blank void!
It wasn’t that Yugi had no thoughts—anyone has thoughts while acting—but Pegasus simply could not see into Yugi’s mind! To him, it was just blankness—no images, nothing at all!
‘Hmph! So I can’t read his mind—so what? I refuse to believe a mere player can outduel me, the very creator and seller of the cards!’
With that in mind, Pegasus smiled, as though Yugi’s stunt had left him completely unfazed.
“Heh. Spell Card, ‘Polymerization’! I fuse ‘Elemental Hero Avian’ and ‘Elemental Hero Bubbleman’ from my hand! Fusion Summon—Elemental Hero Mariner!”
Playing with open cards, Yugi used three cards from his hand to summon the only fusion monster in his deck capable of attacking directly—“Mariner.”
So what if you have your own “Toon World”? So what if you wield the nigh-invincible “Relinquished” in Duelist Kingdom?
As long as I reduce your Life Points within the rules, no matter how many cards you hold, you’ll never get to play them!
In other words, why should I, Yugi, give you the chance to summon your monsters?
“Then I set ‘Feather Wind’ and ‘Soul Barrier’ face-down.”
Even while revealing his cards, Yugi, as he set them, kept the backs facing Pegasus, shuffling them quickly in hand before placing them down, making it impossible to tell which was which—just in case Pegasus managed to draw or create a card to destroy his back row.
“Enter Battle Phase! Since I have a set card in my back row, Mariner can halve its own attack and attack you directly!”
The dueling rules state that monsters can’t attack players directly—unless, as with Mariner, the card text specifically allows it. In such cases, card effects override the rules; card text trumps all!
Fourteen hundred divided by two is seven hundred. Thus, Pegasus’s Life Points drop to—
(Pegasus: 2000 LP → 1300 LP)
“Whoa! Starting off with a bombshell! That’s Yugi for you!”
From the spectator stands, Jounouchi couldn’t help but exclaim in wonder at Yugi’s opening maneuvers.
“Yes! With open cards, he doesn’t need to waste any effort countering Pegasus’s mind-reading. This way, he can focus entirely on finding a way to win the duel!”
Game wore a grave expression. Yugi’s bold, open-handed play dazzled even his own golden eye (the one that appeared on his forehead when his alter ego took over), and in that moment, he understood how to counter abilities that could read a person’s mind.
But understanding was one thing—Game admitted he couldn’t bring himself to do the same.
Why?
To win while revealing your hand, either your opponent’s deck or skills must be trash, or your own strength and deck must be overwhelmingly superior!
Otherwise, with your cards exposed, your foe could anticipate your every move—the timing, the plays, everything—to maximize the power of their own cards!