Was Yugi About To Defeat Rafael? [Fate of the Pharaoh]

Part 2 Here: https://youtu.be/1uyQESA8ypo

You gotta love how Yugi's monsters are litererlly giving him the "we're not mad, we're just disappointed" look to him.

"Nothing can go wrong... unless someone plays that field spell." Atem: "nOw I aCtIvAtE, tHe SeAl 🦭 Of OrIcHaLc0$!!!"

Playing the Seal of Orichalcos was the right call. Risking your best friend's soul is totally worth the chance to save your Elo rank from tanking.

"its okay Pharaoh, i always wanted to be like the dark magician, but next to you i'm only a Kurbioh...so i'm activating my special ability" "but that means-" "yes, i'm removing myself from the field to prevent any harm from coming to you" "NO YUGI! DONT BE A KURBIOH!" -YGOTAS abridged

"You can't play a card from the Graveyard!" 99% of modern meta decks: Doubt.

If that was Atem's reaction to a graveyard effect, imagine if he saw a modern meta deck.

Atem: [refuses to believe he could possibly be evil] Anyone who saw Season 0 or read the early manga: [calls BS on this]

Raphael: I use Exchange To Give U The Seal Of Orechalcos Yami Yugi: Ok...Oh Oh want to see my Kaiba Impression Raphael: What do you mean? Yugi proceeds to Rip the Seal like it was the 4th blue Eyes

Love how YGO abridged points out how this duel had like, no stakes if Yugi lost without playing the seal. Like, what would Raphael do? Walk over and punch Yugi and take his cards?

What is really sad about this duel is how Yami basically betrayed Yugi and ignored his vow from Season 1 to never go against Yugi's wishes again.

Pharoh's monsters are not disgusted with the fact that they were used as ammunition cuz that would happen again and they seems to be okey with that, they are disgusted by seeing its master using the "Seal of Orichalcos"

23:45 If Atem won this duel with the Seal of Orichalcos, it would have been more compelling, as he would have won with (according to the show) immoral means, proving Rapheal right in this duel, as well as future opportunities to further prove him right after he wins, continuing to use the seal much like how Yuma used Rank-Up Magic: Barians’ Force to win duels despite Astral’s concerns over the card’s origins. Then after Atem goes on a win streak with the Seal, you could’ve had him face Dartz (a master of the Seal of Orichalcos, essentially) early and have him be the one to beat Atem and take Yugi’s soul. It would solidify the impact of relying too much on the Seal, and turn Dartz into a more personal villain, one that has taken from each of his subordinates and from has now taken from us.

Ironically if Yugi did scoop, it would prove Rafael wrong - Yugi would show he isn't willling to do evil even if it means losing. That's kind of the opposite of what Rafael was trying to prove. The duel was just because Rafael already knew Atem would do whatever it takes to win. If the Pharaoh actually won the duel, Rafael would still be right. This kinda happens a lot in the anime (whoever wins the duel is, like, the better person or whatever) but I thought it was especially interesting here because the explicit point is that the duel SHOULDN'T matter and Atem does NOT need to win.

"You can't play a card from the graveyard!" Give it a few years. All the cards will be played from the graveyard

It bothers me so much that in many duels, Yugi doesnt empty the cards in his hand before activating Card of Sanctity

Atem looks at Seal: "this is the only move I have left!" Me: Defusion Atem argues with Yugi about only having the seal left me: DEFUSION Anyone who'll undoubtably say that anime Timeas and DMG aren't a fusion monster but just warped Me: if Marek can use Defusion to split himself from Ra (which uses lifepoints and no monsters) then atem is allowed to pull this stunt

LOL thinking about how Yugi could've won the duel with Catapult Turtle is hilarious. Not only could he have won the duel, but he would have also horrified Rafael who refuses to sacrifice any of his monsters. Yugi winning the duel that way AFTER playing the Seal of Orichalcos and sacrificing all his monsters would've proven Rafael wrong on every point he was trying to make XD

Setting a Field Spell face-down in the regular S/T zones wasn't just done by Mako, Yami Bakura also did it with Dark Sanctuary (after he summons Dark Necrofear, he sets Destiny Board and a mystery face-down which had to be Dark Sanctuary. It wasn't The Dark Door because he very clearly uses it from his hand, and it wasn't the 2 Dark Spirit of the Silents because we very clearly see him setting them later. He didn't use any other S/T cards, and yet his "mystery face-down" wasn't on the field anymore, easily confirmed by how much the number of open S/T zones mattered: he eventually has The Dark Door and 4 out of 5 Destiny Board cards)

This duel is so odd. Because it would make so much more sense in the manga, where it's heavily implied the Pharaoh has a severe fear of losing. But not in the anime, where this is never even hinted at. So it makes more sense in the version it doesn't exist in than the one it was made for.