Chapter 32: Wizard's Soil (Part 2)

The game ended, and while Hashimoto-san and I were frozen in place, Souta silently shuffled his deck with practiced ease.

"How long have you been playing Wiso, Hashimoto-san?"

I spoke to Hashimoto-san, who had become completely dejected.

"…About half a year, I suppose."

"Souta! Why the hell are you going all-out with a control deck against a beginner!?"

Control decks specialize in disrupting the opponent’s plans. Generally, they’re not recommended for matches against beginners. If a new player gets constantly shut down and never gets to play how they want, they’ll only end up frustrated and think the game itself isn’t fun.

"Ryoka asked me to help her get stronger at Wiso, so I’m just taking it seriously so she actually can get stronger..."

"Even so, there’s no way it’s okay to use a full-powered competitive deck against a beginner like that… If you don’t ease them into it properly, they’ll break before they ever improve."

"I don’t want to play anything but control..."

Right, I forgot. This guy’s a hopeless control-deck junkie.

"I did hold back, you know. Only three rares, nine uncommons, and the rest commons. That’s how I built this deck."

"Why such an awkward restriction?"

"Any more than that and I couldn’t put together a deck that could actually win."

"No, restrict it anyway! Why are you trying to completely crush your opponent with a practice deck!?"

"A deck that can’t win isn’t a deck, you know…?"

Hopeless. He’s got talent for deckbuilding, but absolutely zero ability to teach others.

"Anyway, Alice, you’re supposed to be decent at this, right? How about a match with me?"

"Sorry, but I didn’t bring my deck, so I can’t play."

"I see…"

Souta looked genuinely disappointed.

"Um… if you’d like, I could lend you my deck?"

Seeing him that way, Hashimoto-san kindly offered.

It had been a while since I played Wiso, and honestly, I’d been thinking I wanted to give it a try again—so I really appreciated it.

"Then, I’ll take you up on your offer. Would it be alright if I take a look at the deck?"

"Yes, of course. Here it is."

I took the deck from her.

I fanned the cards out in a semicircle and thumbed through them to check what was inside.

Her deck was a straightforward green-red creature build, composed mostly of ground-dwelling beasts from the forest and flying dragons from the mountains.

…Honestly, this matchup looked rough against Souta’s deck.

"If you'd prefer to rebuild it, I don’t mind. I have the cards right here."

She handed me two binders—one for red, the other for green. The cards were neatly organized and categorized.

"This is… amazing."

"My butler prepared it for me."

A butler, casually introduced like it was nothing. I was honestly floored by his competence. The binders were completely filled—she even had playsets of cards that probably went for several thousand yen apiece. Four copies each, of course, since that’s the maximum you can put in a deck.

That said, it had been about two years since I’d stopped playing seriously, and most of the newer cards had effects I didn’t recognize. Heart racing, I flipped through the card text one by one, picking out the ones I might want to swap in.

After checking through all the cards, I laid out the deck on the table, sorting them by card type and casting cost. As I explained my thought process to Hashimoto-san, I began swapping out some cards.

In the end, I got the urge to try a bunch of different things, and I ended up replacing about a third of the deck.

After that, the two of us worked together to re-sleeve the cards to protect them. The sleeves she used were these flashy crimson rose ones… Don’t tell me they’re custom-made or something.

“We’re ready!”

I approached Souta, who had been solo-testing his deck to avoid revealing any card information. I held out the finished deck as I called out to him.

Then I sat down at the table across from Souta and started shuffling the deck.

But my hands had gotten smaller, and I couldn’t quite get the technique right—I kept clumsily spilling the cards.

“…You sure you’re up for this? After all that hype, don’t go letting me down, alright?”

Souta took out two dice and rolled them. It was the pre-duel roll to determine who would go first.

He rolled a 7.

“It’s just been a while. I haven’t regained the feel for shuffling yet. But I think I’ll live up to your expectations.”

I lightly tossed one of the dice. The number was 11.

“I’ll be going first.”

Finishing the awkward shuffle, I offered my deck across the center of the table. Souta did the same with his own.

We took each other’s decks, gave them a light shuffle, then returned them and each drew seven cards from our own.

—Let the duel begin!

Here we go. My first game of Wiso in nearly two years.

I checked the cards in my opening hand and declared the start of the game.

“My turn. I summon 『Leaping Panther』 and end my turn.”

“Oh? So you went for an aggro deck… Turn end.”

Souta instantly caught on to the strategy behind the deck adjustment.

In Wiso, you gradually gain access to more mana each turn, allowing you to play higher-cost cards later in the game.

Control decks aim to survive the early turns and dominate the late game with powerful, expensive cards. So the logical counter is to go aggro—pressuring them with fast attacks while they’re still unable to use their hand effectively.

“『Leaping Panther』 attacks! That’s 2 damage, you’re at 18 life. I summon 『Muscle Bear』 and end my turn.”

“I draw, and end my turn.”

Souta steadily expanded his mana base by laying down more Soil—the game’s mana sources.

“My two creatures attack!”

“I play 『Decree of Justice』—your opponent must choose one attacking creature and sacrifice it.”

“I’ll sacrifice 『Leaping Panther』. You take 2, so Souta, you’re down to 16 life. After combat, I summon another 『Muscle Bear』 and end my turn.”

“I draw and end my turn.”

“Both 『Muscle Bears』 attack. That’s 4 more—12 life left. I summon 『Starving Wolf』… if there’s no response, I’ll end my turn.”

…Hmm. No action? That probably means that is coming next turn.

“My turn then. I play 『Jihad of the Holy War』. All creatures on the field are destroyed.”

Ugh, this guy actually included a rare full-board wipe spell.

Don’t throw stuff like that into a deck meant for playing against beginners… That smug look on his face is seriously irritating.

…Still, losing three creatures to one spell stings.

But it was within expectations. Souta had to use all his mana to cast 『Jihad of the Holy War』, so he won’t be able to disrupt me on his next turn.

“I pay five mana and play 『Whirlwind Wyvern』. It has haste, so it can attack the turn it’s summoned!”

“…I’m down to 9 life. My turn. I play another 『Jihad of the Holy War』 and end.”

A second one!?!

But still, using a heavy full-board wipe like that on just a single Wyvern couldn’t have been what he wanted.

I’ve gotta keep up the pressure.

“My turn. I summon 『Muscle Bear』 and 『Starving Wolf』.”

“My turn. I play 『Jihad of the Holy War』.”

“All three of your rares are just 『Jihad of the Holy War』!? Are you kidding me!?”

“…That sounds like sour grapes.”

No it doesn't!!

I’m seriously stunned by the level of all-out meta tryharding here. Poor Hashimoto-san had to deal with this the whole time? I’m honestly starting to pity her. I need to find a way to wipe the smugness off this control maniac’s face.

But with that, I’m down to one card in hand. He still has three. The situation’s looking bad.

Still—assuming he hasn’t drawn into anything else—he might be out of removal now. If I can just force something through here...

“I summon 『Bladed Wyvern』.”

“Countered with 『Negation of Existence』.”

Even after playing 『Jihad of the Holy War』, he still had enough spare mana to hold up a counterspell. Ugh… not good.

“My turn. I draw… and end my turn.”

This passive playstyle—drawing and ending the turn without doing anything—is a classic hallmark of control decks. It’s often referred to as "draw-go."

“My turn. Draw… I end my turn.”

The card I drew was useless on its own. My offensive has officially stalled out.

“My turn. I draw… and end my turn.”

At first glance, things might seem balanced. But my deck is full of low-cost, low-impact cards, while Souta’s is built to start deploying heavy-hitters as the game drags on. If this keeps up, I’ll be bled dry.

“My turn. Draw… Wait, this is—!”

The card I drew was none other than Hashimoto-san’s soul card: 『Crimson Vermilion Ancient Dragon Argerante』. I’d actually considered cutting it for being too high-cost, but when I saw the expression on her face as I hesitated, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Right now, I have exactly enough mana to play it.

But with Souta holding his mana back, there’s no telling if it’ll stick.

Still, if I don’t play it now, I’ll lose by inches. I have no other choice.

Alright. Time to put everything on the line. I’ll go down with this card if I have to.

“I play 『Argerante』… will it stick!?”

『…Ikuto-san, you forgot your summoning speech.』

“…I’ll let it through.”

So it got through. But… there’s still a chance he’ll remove it. Worst case, it could be just like before—

"My turn. I play 『Enslavement Spell』. I’ll be taking control of 『Argerante』."

—He steals its control.

"Looks like this game’s mine. Turn end."

"…No. This match isn’t over yet."

I lightly tapped the deck with the back of my right hand.

…It didn’t mean anything. Just a ritual. A bit of luck-wishing.

Then I straightened my fingers and drew the top card with a sharp motion.

…The card I pulled was exactly the one I’d pictured in my mind.

I double-checked the board to make sure I hadn’t miscalculated. On the field, there was only one creature: 『Argerante』, which Souta had stolen. His mana had been spent casting 『Enslavement Spell』, so he wasn’t holding up a counter. His life total: 9.

"I play 『Word of Confusion』."

"That card…!"

『Word of Confusion』 lets you take control of one enemy creature—for just a single turn.

Unlike the permanent control granted by 『Enslavement Spell』, this one only lasts for the turn, but in exchange, the stolen creature is allowed to attack right away.

"Attack with 『Argerante』!"

"Tch… That leaves me at 3 life… Is it turn end?"

"No. It’s game end. I play 『Lightning Spear』—deal 3 damage to any target. I choose the player, Souta!"

And with that, Souta’s life hit zero, and the game ended in my victory.