Yu-Gi-Oh! GX: An Introduction
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX is packed with brand-new decks, cards, and duels, and it’s all wrapped up in the exciting setting of Duel Academia. But in some ways, the most thrilling part of this hot new show is the cast! A completely original staff of characters surrounds Jaden Yuki, our young hero, and while a few familiar faces are bound to turn up, the focus is on the world’s next generation of duelists.
Curious? Let’s take a look at some of the students, teachers, and other personalities to be found at Duel Academia!
Jaden Yuki is the main character of the series. After narrowly arriving on time for his entrance examination, he duels his way into enrolling in the school! Unlike most of the students at Duel Academia, Jaden doesn’t rely on studying and an extensive knowledge of cards in order to win his games. Instead, he depends on his instincts, the mysterious bond he shares with his cards, and his raw talent!
An enigma to many of his peers, Jaden often seems oblivious to the intents of those he squares off against. Despite his apparent lack of knowledge, he always seems to have an answer to his opponent’s moves! Nothing seems to slow him down, and out of all the Slifer Red students, he’s frequently the only one who remembers how fortunate he is to even be attending the academy. Jaden doesn’t buy into the class system of the school as so many others do, and despite his 110th-ranked entry and his humble dorm, he seems to be constantly cheerful. Red is his favorite color, so he actually sees his assignment to the Slifer Red dorm as a blessing.
Jaden plays a brutally effective Elemental Heroes deck, and his favorite card is Elemental Hero Flame Wingman, which he uses in many of his first duels at the school. His deck is packed with cool Hero cards, many of which can be found in the Cybernetic Revolution set. Bubble Shuffle, Spark Blaster, Miracle Fusion, and the mighty Skyscraper lend power to Jaden's basic The Lost Millennium Heroes, and with excellent synergy and a light heart, Jaden faces grim odds with confidence and a smile.
He has a strong bond with the cards he uses, and nowhere is this more evident than in his interactions with his Winged Kuriboh. A gift given to Jaden as the result of a chance encounter before his entry examination, the Winged Kuriboh card shares a mysterious relationship with Jaden that even he can barely believe . . .
A followup gift from someone completely unrelated to the first gift-giver draws the relationship even closer and adds to the fated mystery that surrounds the card. Jaden receives Winged Kuriboh LV10 as a reward for a good deed, and it fits into his deck perfectly, as it allows him to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds when his opponents least expect it. Jaden's deck is all about finding the win when he seems down and out, and his Elemental Hero and Winged Kuriboh monsters are poised to let him do just that!
Jaden may be destined to become the next King of Games—or he may fail, as most duelists at the school expect. Only time will tell which fate Jaden will meet, but for now he has plenty of friends and adversaries to occupy his free time!
Syrus Truesdale is one of the few students at Duel Academia regarded as being below our hero. Ranked a dismal 113th in his qualifying class, the diminutive, blue-haired Syrus is highly intelligent—yet he still manages to get even lower grades than Jaden! His problem is confidence. Syrus has one of the best knowledge sets of anyone in his class, but he cracks under pressure and is plagued by the fact that no one believes in him.
On their first day of school, Syrus and Jaden learn that they are to be roommates. Syrus soon regards Jaden as a big brother, and it’s not immediately apparent why this is the case. We’ll soon discover that Syrus has a real older brother, a third-year student named Zane Truesdale. Zane is the undisputed king of Obelisk Blue and a remarkable duelist, but the picture we first get of him is a less-than-admirable one. Zane seems to act as if he is completely unrelated to Syrus, and the reason for their estrangement isn’t immediately revealed.
Both brothers are Machine duelists, but each wields a very different deck. Syrus employs a strategy based around “Vehicroid” monsters, many of which are featured in Cybernetic Revolution. Like Jaden's Elemental Heroes, one of the key strengths of the Vehicroids is their ability to fuse into more impressive entities. Steam Gyroid and UFOroid Fighter are two of Syrus' fusions, and while their effects aren’t as impressive as those Jaden commands, the actual fusion materials that Syrus uses are more complicated and versatile. The Vehicroids offer effects like special summoning other Machine monsters from the deck (UFOroid), destroying face down monsters (Drilloid), and even resisting destruction in battle (Gyroid)! A few of these cards would function well in any Machine deck, but Syrus unites them all to create a cohesive strategy.
To fuse his monsters, he uses Power Bond whenever possible. It’s a powerful Cybernetic Revolution card that’s sort of a Polymerization for Machines. However, it has a two-pronged catch that makes it more interesting, as it doubles the ATK of any fusion monster it summons. At the same time, the user of Power Bond takes damage equal to the summoned monster’s original ATK in their end phase. It’s a game-winning card, but it needs to be used with confidence, which is something that Syrus often lacks. To make matters worse, an incident involving his brother Zane has made Syrus swear off use of the mighty spell.
At first, the source of Syrus' self-esteem problem seems to be his brother, Zane Truesdale. As a top duelist at Duel Academia, he is a legend amongst legends—he’s never been beaten! Regarded as the king of the school, Zane is a member of Obelisk Blue, and though he possesses a very high station and is proud of it, he is far from the cockiest duelist that his dorm has to offer.
Unfortunately, that might not be saying a lot. Caught up in his own social circle, the attractive Zane spends virtually no time with his brother, and many don’t even seem to know that he and Syrus are related. Since they are such drastic opposites, Zane initially appears to be the biggest obstacle in Syrus' way.
As GX goes on, though, we get a clearer picture of the king of Obelisk Blue. In truth, though Zane may be somewhat neglectful of his brother, their relationship is strained by an incident that happened many years in their past. Zane saved Syrus from making an arrogant mistake, and the shattering of Syrus' once-cocky attitude resulted in the depressed and timid individual we meet at Duel Academia. In reality, Zane is highly respectful of those he duels, and is quick to praise those he plays against. While other students have climbed the ranks of the school through backstabbing and obfuscation, Zane is actually a nice guy, though he can be a little judgmental sometimes.
His deck is based around machines, specifically Cybernetic Revolution’s Cyber Dragon. Cyber Dragon can be special summoned for free if the field conditions are correct. With a massive 2100 ATK that can then be boosted even further with Limiter Removal, it’s a beast to be respected and feared. Zane packs three of them, and though a single Cyber Dragon on the field is an imposing sight, it’s just the beginning.
Zane can fuse his Cyber Dragons together to create Cyber Twin Dragon and Cyber End Dragon. Cyber Twin Dragon can attack twice in a single turn, while Cyber End Dragon can dish out piercing damage when it attacks an adversary that’s in defense position. Given the fact that it has an incredible 4000 ATK, that piercing damage can add up at a frightening pace!
In order to fuel his fusion summons, Zane uses Power Bond, which is the same card that Syrus no longer has the confidence to play. He gains access to both it and the Cyber Dragons through a variety of cards that allow him to search his deck. The result is a consistent strategy that gives Zane a great deal of control over what he plays. He’s methodical and his strategy is immaculate, so he often spends more time ensuring that his opponent feels respected than he does in actually beating them.
There are many other students and teachers at Duel Academia, and even more people who fill other, less predictable roles. However, this should give you a good introduction to the world that exists within the school, and we’ve managed to touch on a few of the central characters you’ll encounter in the first episodes! One of the things that has always set Yu-Gi-Oh! apart is its distinct cast of characters, and GX takes that to brand-new levels with some of the deepest, most involved, and flat-out coolest characters in the Yu-Gi-Oh! universe.
Get to know these awesome new personalities yourself when Yu-Gi-Oh! GX debuts this September. Until then, Metagame.com is your source for information on the second hit show in the Yu-Gi-Oh! line!