Ritual Summoning.
For many duelists, this summoning method comes with a certain… complicated feeling. Its mechanics have always made it harder to balance compared to Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, or even Link Summoning.
Make it too strong, and it becomes broken. Make it too weak, and it becomes useless. For a long time, Rituals have teetered between extremes—either disgustingly annoying or so underwhelming they're only kept alive by lore and card art for a tiny niche of diehard fans. Never quite in the middle.
In one of the anime series that divides its worlds by summoning types, Rituals didn't even get their own dimension.
But putting all that aside, in the early days, Ritual Summoning was one of the few ways to quickly get a high-level monster onto the field using your hand and board resources.
> "But Ritual Summons require monsters from the hand or field as Tributes to fulfill the conditions!"
Keith shouted, watching the summoning light build.
> "You've only got one Ritual Monster left in your hand, and only a Level 4 nobody on the field. You can't summon anything powerful that way!"
He wasn't wrong.
Just like Fusion originally required specific materials, Rituals were extremely restrictive in the beginning.
You needed the Ritual Spell, the Ritual Monster, and the proper Tributes, all in your hand.
However—
> "My Ritual Spell… is from beyond this era."
Of course, he meant the card currently in his hand.
> "Advanced Ritual Art doesn't require monsters in the hand or field. Instead, it sends Normal Monsters directly from the deck to the Graveyard, whose total Levels match the Ritual Monster's Level."
> "You're pulling Tributes straight from the deck?! And not even matching a specific Ritual Monster?!
Even with all his experience, Keith couldn't help but widen his eyes.
Back in You Ming's original world, this wasn't even considered strong—Advanced Ritual Art lacked good search support and was locked to Normal Monsters.
But here, in this time, with Shadi's deck, this was undoubtedly the best Ritual Spell available.
Thanks, Shadi. I'll personally go retrieve your mom from outer space.
> "Now initiating the search."
He reached into his deck and began selecting cards.
> "Skull Servant, Dimensional Beastmaster, Falling Goblin, Attic Imp, Witch Angel."
Gradually, glowing spirits began to form around him.
A dwarf riding an extradimensional beast. A goblin studying runes. A gremlin-like creature, a witch, a skeleton…
> "I send these five monsters—a total of 8 stars—to the Graveyard. With them, I summon the monster in my hand."
The ritual's light engulfed them. From within, the faint silhouette of a demonic sword began to emerge.
Then, the sword stretched—growing limbs, muscle, flesh—transforming into a terrifying blue-skinned beast.
> "Ritual Summon—"
You Ming slapped the card onto his Duel Disk.
> "Level 8—Gerra."
> "You're summoning Gerra, that brutal demon said to surpass Summoned Skull? Kid, you're packing some pretty wild cards."
If memory served, Gerra was once considered one of the rarest cards in the world—even rarer than Blue-Eyes White Dragon, which had three known copies.
But rarity aside… it wasn't anything special.
> Gerra (Level 8)
DARK / Fiend
ATK: 2800 / DEF: 2300
As a vanilla Ritual Monster, the only thing Gerra had going for it was a solid stat line—slightly below Blue-Eyes, but still respectable.
However—
> "You still haven't broken through my Swords of Revealing Light."
Keith reminded him coldly.
> "If that's all you've got, then even with two high-ATK monsters on the field, it won't help you."
> "That's fine. They've already fulfilled their purpose."
With no cards left in hand, You Ming simply took a deep breath.
Then—
> "I end my turn."
> "So that's all you've got?"
Keith scoffed.
Then, surprisingly, he gave a low chuckle.
> "Still, I'll give you some credit. You've got talent—out there, you'd probably be a champion. But unfortunately for you… you ran into someone even stronger."
You Ming had heard this speech too many times before—classic setup in every anime, novel, or drama:
"You're strong, but I'm stronger…"
> "Wow. That sounds like something a middle schooler with a superiority complex would say. Mr. Bandit Keith, haven't you outgrown your comic book phase yet?"
> "Hmph. Still got that sharp tongue… but don't forget, you're the one on the ropes here. I don't need to summon anything stronger—I could empty your LP without even using my hand."
> "Which means you're holding a high-level monster card, right?"
> "Tch…"
Keith didn't respond. He simply placed his hand on his deck.
> "Just don't cry from the pain afterward."
To be fair, Keith did have something to be proud of.
In the anime's 4000 LP format, his strategy of early LP burn was threatening.
From that angle, Keith was clearly on a higher level than joke villains like Rex Raptor or Weevil Underwood.
But still!
> "It's my turn."
> "My duel's one step ahead of yours."
> "Draw!"
> "I activate my face-down card!"
> "Wha—?!"
Before Keith could even look at the card he drew, he felt something strange—a thick, sticky sensation creeping around him.
By the time he realized it, his entire field was engulfed in dark sludge.
Drip.
Bubble…
As the eerie sounds echoed, Keith looked up—and followed the trail of black ooze to its source.
From the hulking body of the demon Gerra, the same liquid was oozing downward.
> "At the moment you drew, I Tributed the monster on my field with over 2000 DEF—Gerra…"
> "You willingly Tributed your high-level monster?!"
> "…To activate this Trap Card."
> "Grrrrgh…"
As the demon began to melt and collapse, something clicked in Keith's mind.
A word surfaced.
> "Poisoned…?"
Wait—poisoned?
Before he could react further, the ferocious demon was fully consumed—dissolving into nothing.
And amidst the hideous, cackling laughter of a demonic voice, Keith finally saw the crimson Trap Card, wrapped in pulsing black goo:
> "Crush Card Virus—during the opponent's turn, Tribute one monster with 2000 or more DEF. For the next three turns, all monsters the opponent controls, in their hand, and drawn during those turns are revealed—and any with 1500 or less DEF are destroyed."
> "A Virus Card?!"
As the black mass spread and transformed into a swarm of liquid bats, Keith's eyes widened in recognition.
> "That's Seto Kaiba's Deck Destruction strategy!"
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