Yet despite this setup, her starter deck, even by Duel Links starter deck standards (which always suck), was the worst one I’d ever seen. And considering YGO’s history of being sexist as shit, I figured this bad starter deck was the result of that sexism and took it upon myself to build Tori the best deck I possibly could, as building decks for the characters is possibly my favourite part of this game. It’s like an art in a way and I love creating art.

I set only one rule for myself: all the cards need to be light attribute. Because the few cards in her starter deck that weren’t utter trash, greatly complimented a light deck. So I built the deck based on that and XYZ summoning (since one of her skills has to do with XYZ summoning and that’s the easiest summoning mechanic for me to pull off anyways), slowly adding more and better monsters overtime. This deck and Playmaker’s were the two that drove me to buying card packs and using U/R tickets for the first time, but Tori’s deck in particular I’ve become obsessed with making it as good as it can be. Because at some point, I’m not sure exactly when, I went from thinking of this deck as Tori’s to think of it as mine. Because it was the only deck in Duel Links I built purely based on my own strategies, rather than using the cards they used in the show. It felt like I was coming into my own as a duellist.

If I had to pinpoint a moment where I began thinking of this deck as mine though, it would be when I got this card:

Avenging Knight Parshath. I don’t even know how good it is in the grand scheme of things. All I know was that I got it and some level four tuners randomly and it fit so perfectly and naturally into my deck. I had never heard of this card before I saw it yet somehow, I feel like this card was meant to be with me. Like it was calling to me, maybe to tell me to stop jokingly bashing synchros, maybe just to aid me in my recently started journey but after only a couple days of having it in my deck, I’ve grown attached to this card. And the entire deck I’ve built, a feeling always expressed in every Yugioh that I never quite understood until now. Maybe it’s not the “best” deck, but it’s my deck and I trust it.