Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's: Spirit of the Duelist

Summary: Since the beginning of time itself, the human world and the spirit world have coexisted together. But a dark shadow lurks that threatens to bring both worlds to their knees…

This is the story of Jim, a boy who after being introduced to the game of Duel Monsters, dreams about becoming a turbo duelist. But between angry sector security officers, psychic duelists, dark shadowy figures, and talking duel spirits… he soon learns that there's far more to the world of dueling than he ever imagined

The Rules of the Duel

If you already know the rules of the game, you can pretty much skip this part….

Basic rules of Yu-Gi-Oh!

Players begin with 8000 life points, they take turns trying to deplete the others life points through battle of special effects. Both players start with a five card hand. Players can have up to 5 monsters and 5 spell/traps on the field at one time (special field spells do not count)

Turn contents

Draw phase: Player draws one card from his/her deck

Standby phase: Nothing happens unless a card effect says otherwise

Main Phase 1: Players can normal summon 1 monster per turn, low level monsters (1-4 stars) can be summoned immediately, Mid level (5-6 stars) require a sacrifice of 1 monster already on the field. High level (7-12 stars) require 2 sacrifices. If a card effect allows it, players can special summon with no limit to how many can be special summoned. Players can switch monsters from attack to defense and vice-versa. Players can set trap cards for use next turn or when an opponent triggers it. Players can set spells facedown for later use or play them straight from the hand. Spells and traps have powerful effects that aid in a duel.

Battle Phase: Each monster can attack once per turn.

In a battle between two Attack Position monsters:

If one ATK value is lower than the other, the one with the lowest ATK is destroyed. The owner of the destroyed Monster takes damage equal to the difference between the two ATK values, unless a card effect prevents Battle Damage.

If both ATK values are the same, both monsters are destroyed (called a Double KO), and no damage to Life Points is inflicted on either player, unless a card effect dictates otherwise.

When attacking a Defense Position monster:

If both the ATK value of the attacking monster and the DEF value of the attacked one are the same, neither monster is destroyed, and neither player loses Life Points.

If the ATK value of the attacking monster is higher than the DEF value of the attacked one, the Defense Position monster is destroyed, and no Battle Damage is taken, unless the attacking player has a Piercing effect that deals the difference between the ATK and DEF values as Battle Damage.

If the ATK value of the attacking monster is lower than the DEF value of the attacked one, the difference between the ATK and DEF values are dealt as Battle Damage to the attacking player and neither monster is destroyed.

If the opponent has no Monsters on the field, damage is dealt to the opponent's Life Points equal to the total ATK value, if the attack is not blocked or disrupted. This is called a Direct attack.

Main Phase 2: A player can do the same basic thing as in Main phase 1… If a player hasn't summoned already, he/she can do so now, as well as play some final spell/traps. However, you cannot battle again until your next turn.

End Phase: Your turn is finished, now your opponent's turn begins (If you have more than six cards in your hand at this time, you must discard cards to the graveyard until you're holding six cards)

Both players take turns until either one player's life points reach 0. If a player runs out of cards in their deck to draw, they will lose by default. Certain conditions, such as Final Countdown, the Destiny Board, or drawing the five pieces of Exodia results in an automatic win

Turbo duels

Turbo duels are duels on a special motorcycle called a duel runner

(D-wheel in Japan) The rules are pretty much the same except:

The runners go on autopilot. (However, it is possible to deactivate the autopilot and drive the Runner manually, this is often difficult…)

The field spell Speed world is in play and cannot be removed or negated.

During every of either player's standby phases, both players gain 1 Speed Counter, (max 12) which makes them go faster. Players lose one Speed Counter for every 1000 points of damage they receive.

Speed Counters are used to play spell cards known as 'Speed Spell' cards. As long as the Speed World field spell is in play, only Speed Spells can be used in the duel, every other type of spell card is forbidden to be used. Any players who break this rule will receive 2000 points of damage

Also, unlike in ground duels where you have many different types of spells, there are only two types of Speed Spells: Normal and Quick-Play

There is also Speed World 2, which works basically the same, but with extra effects, like:

Remove 4 of your speed counters to inflict 800 damage for every speed spell in your hand

Remove 7 of your speed counters to draw an extra card

Remove 10 of your speed counters to destroy any card on the field (except Speed World)

Also, Speed World 2 doesn't lose speed counters for every 1000 life points like the original Speed World does.

For the most part, Speed World 2 is used more often in this story.

Also, there are individuals known as Psychic Duelists. These duelists possess a special power that literally brings the game to life. They are able to materialize real monsters and the effects of their cards, but also inflict real damage to their opponents (and to the surrounding environment). Because of this, Society is often unkind to Psychic Duelists and often rejects them

In this story, certain duelists are paired with a spirit partner. However, not everyone can see these spirits. Only certain individuals can communicate with or even see these spirits