Chapter 75 — Branded Combo Lines Explained! The Old Guard's Brains Are About to Explode!
Every old-guard Duelist kept asking themselves:
With just these three simple lines of play… do they really understand what "Branded" is?
If it's only about grasping the ideas on paper, they'd all insist they understand the lines: search, build a Fusion board to gain resources, then disrupt on the opponent's turn. That simple.
But every Duelist knew in their heart this isn't true understanding. Facing a mysterious, unknown opponent, anything can happen, and no one knows how it will play out.
Just like the earlier Minotaur vs. Branded Blue-Eyes. Who would have guessed the Minotaur player could hit the opponent's hand three times, then resolve both "Change of Heart" and "Exchange"? Otherwise, would Branded Blue-Eyes have been forced into such a corner?
Fortunately, the short video still had a second half explaining the combos, putting a proper period on the Branded system.
"Abyss Branded Start": "Alright, everyone has seen the ideas."
"Abyss Branded Start": "But I believe many people still don't know how to combo and how to develop."
"Abyss Branded Start": "Or how to accumulate resources."
"No worries. I'll attach a few simple combo lines to give you methods and convenience when picking up Branded."
"First is the one-card line: our key starter, Branded Fusion."
"As long as you have one Branded Fusion, you can fuse into Lubellion the Searing Dragon."
"Send Fallen of Albaz and Despian Tragedy from the Deck to the Graveyard."
"Then it's standard: Tragedy triggers; chain Lubellion."
"Lubellion discards 1 card to Fusion Summon your ace finisher, Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon."
"Tragedy searches Aluber the Jester of Despia."
"Normal Summon Aluber to search the Quick-Play Spell Branded in Red."
"Set Branded in Red, and on the opponent's turn, Quick-Fuse into Guardian Chimera to pop cards and draw."
"A very traditional, standard line. Simple, right?"
Simple? Kind of? It really didn't look hard.
After watching this Branded Fusion line, the old guard's first reaction was: "I can do that too." At least making this board is absurdly easy. Basic Fusion — even a Duel Academy student can do it.
The problem is, this board doesn't look that strong.
"Abyss Branded Start": "Next is Branded Fusion one-card line 2. This time, you resolve Branded Fusion to make Albion the Branded Dragon."
"Send Fallen of Albaz and Blazing Cartesia, the Virtuous to the Graveyard."
"Albion activates, and you banish Albaz and Cartesia from the GY to Fusion Summon Granguignol the Dusk Dragon."
"Granguignol sends Bystial Saronir from the Deck to the GY."
"Saronir sends The Bystial Lubellion from the Deck to the GY."
"Lubellion tributes a monster to Special Summon itself, then searches and sets the Continuous Trap Branded Beast."
"End Phase, Albion searches the Quick-Play Branded in Red for the opponent's turn."
"If Albaz is banished and you want a second Albaz to pair with Branded in Red, you need Granguignol to tribute itself to Special Summon Guiding Quem, the Virtuous and dump Albaz."
"So you can also skip searching Branded in Red, and instead search Branded Banishment to revive Albion, or grab another Spell/Trap."
"This line depends on your choice. Simple too, right?"
...
At this point, things started to feel strange. Those old-guard Duelists who thought it was simple now looked confused, as if they already couldn't follow.
But the clever Duelists, combining the three core ideas and what each card does, had no problem with this second Branded Fusion line. Through it, they also learned the combo between Lubellion and Saronir. The protagonists of the six Duel Worlds all wore pensive looks, as if they were starting to get it.
"Abyss Branded Start": "Then comes the second single-card starter: the one you can proactively search — Aluber the Jester of Despia."
"Aluber's effect searches Branded Fusion."
"With Branded Fusion, it's the previous two routes with extra branches."
"Send The Bystial Lubellion ('Gold Dragon') and Albaz; Fusion Summon Albion the Branded Dragon."
"Albion banishes Albaz in the GY and the Aluber on the field to Fusion Summon Mirrorjade."
"Mirrorjade returns itself and the banished Albaz to Fusion Summon again, becoming your ace, Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon."
"GY Lubellion tributes to Special Summon Albion back."
"From here I won't belabor it — start searching your back row again."
...
With that wave of explanations done, Duelists across the six worlds, who had been hazy on the development flow, began to see more clearly. Those who understood naturally followed the explanation. Those who didn't still couldn't grasp Branded's lines, but they at least understood parts. With the three core ideas, they could still pick up the deck and perform the lines. Even Yugi Muto and Jaden Yuki started smiling.
But the smiles froze fast, because the next Branded sequence left the old guard completely dumbfounded. Even the six protagonists were stunned and slack-jawed.
"Abyss Branded Start": "What came before was easy. Now comes the crux."
"A two-card starter: The Bystial Lubellion ('Gold Dragon') plus Aluber."
"First, Normal Summon Aluber to search Branded Fusion."
"Resolve Branded Fusion, sending Fallen of Albaz and Tri-Brigade Mercourier, to Fusion Summon Rindbrumm the Striking Dragon."
"(Note: earlier translation variants like 'Iron-Drive Dragon' all refer to Rindbrumm the Striking Dragon.)"
"Then, activate Lubellion in hand: discard itself to search Bystial Magnamhut."
"Magnamhut targets the banished Mercourier to Special Summon itself."
"When Mercourier is banished, it searches Blazing Cartesia, the Virtuous."
"GY Lubellion tributes Magnamhut to Special Summon itself and places the Continuous Spell Branded Lost from the Deck."
"Since Albaz is in the GY, Special Summon Cartesia and activate her effect."
"Cartesia and Aluber Fusion Summon Granguignol the Dusk Dragon."
"Branded Lost triggers to search Albion the Shrouded Dragon."
"Granguignol sends Sprind the Irondash Dragon from the Extra Deck to the GY."
"Albion the Shrouded Dragon sends the Trap Branded Retribution, then places itself back and draws 1."
"At this time, Main Phase 1 is fully wrapped up. We end the turn… almost."
Just when everyone thought the combo explanation was about to end, something felt off — and that off-ness blew the six Duel Worlds sky-high. Even the protagonists and veterans who had been following were stunned stiff.
"Abyss Branded Start": "During the End Phase, multiple effects trigger."
"Magnamhut triggers to search Bystial Saronir until the end of the turn."
"Cartesia returns herself to the hand."
"Sprind the Irondash Dragon triggers to Special Summon Springans Kitt from the Deck."
"Kitt searches the Quick-Play Branded in High Spirits, then bottom-stacks 1 card."
"Chain and activate Branded in High Spirits: reveal Saronir and discard it."
"Send Titaniklad the Ash Dragon from the Extra Deck to the GY, and add Fallen of Albaz to hand."
"GY Saronir sends Branded in Red from the Deck to the GY."
"The previously sent Branded Retribution banishes itself to add back Branded in Red from the GY."
"GY Titaniklad triggers to Special Summon Guiding Quem, the Virtuous from the Deck."
"Quem sends Albion the Shrouded Dragon to the GY."
"Chain and activate Branded in Red."
"Return Albion from the GY to hand, then fuse the Albaz in hand with Kitt on the field to Special Summon Lubellion the Searing Dragon."
"Lubellion's on-Summon effect discards the Blazing Cartesia, the Virtuous in hand."
"Chain Quem on the field to revive Cartesia from the GY."
"Lubellion resolves: return itself and the banished Albaz to Fusion Summon Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon."
"Mirrorjade triggers, sending Albion the Branded Dragon from the Extra Deck to the GY."
"Rindbrumm the Striking Dragon chains to negate Mirrorjade."
"Continue processing my End Phase."
"GY Albion the Branded Dragon sets a second copy of Branded Retribution directly from the Deck."
"And that concludes the storytelling. Did you get it?"
...
Get it? Get what? Understand? Understand what?
The old guard across the six worlds had gone vacant halfway through. Each was bewildered, completely unsure what those plays meant, and even less what all those plays combined accomplished.
What is Branded? This is Branded. What is Fusion-deck synergy? This is it. What is End Phase chains going wild? This is it.
Problem is, they couldn't make heads or tails of it. Especially in that split second in the End Phase, effects flew everywhere, and they were instantly overwhelmed — let alone the follow-up that produced the ace monsters.
What broke their brains even more was that later on, Mirrorjade triggered — and then they negated their own effect. At first they thought it was a misplay, a mistake in the explanation. But after thinking it through, they felt like their brain cells and memory were totally insufficient. It seems it really had to be done that way — use your own negate to keep searching.
What made them lose it even more was that it felt like they understood every step, yet somehow understood none of it.
In the chat, Yugi Muto broke the silence first, cutting off every Duelist lost in brain-melting thought.
Yugi Muto: "Um, Duelists from the other worlds, did you get it?"
Jaden Yuki: "Uh, barely, maybe, kind of? I got a little?"
Dr. Vellian Crowler: "Jaden, stop bluffing! Even I don't get it! What could you possibly have understood!"
Yuma Tsukumo: "So that whole wave of plays actually explodes during the End Phase? Whoa!"
Yusei Fudo: "Mm. The Branded deck's logic looks messy, but it's layered synergy."
Ishizu Ishtar: "Mr. Yuki is correct. Many of the Spell/Trap and monster searches are variables. This Duelist only demonstrated one portion."
Syrus Truesdale: "Huh? What do you mean? This is only a portion of Branded? I'm done! Why is this so hard?"
As the chat boiled over, the voices multiplied, as if Branded's basic operations were about to explode their brains.
Why did the earlier one-card lines feel so simple and make the deck look easy to pick up? Why did this later, difficult explosive sequence hurt so much and leave them all dumbfounded? It started with one plus one, then turned straight into advanced calculus. Who can stand that? If they don't break down, who will?
In the main world, Sei Yuki watched the old guard's meltdown in the chat and felt secretly pleased. In anime, "I printed it so I win" might be impressive, but in a real-world deck like this, which one doesn't make you burn out, dizzy, and roll on the floor? That's the gap.
"Abyss Branded Start": "I know this sequence may be a bit hard."
"Abyss Branded Start": "But I think this combo basically uses all of Branded's fundamental lines."
"Abyss Branded Start": "You could say, if you grasp everything I said above, you'll have fully understood all the Branded development ideas."
"Once you understand every step, you've graduated. From there, refine in actual Duels, and you'll get smoother. You'll have entered Branded."
"Next, I'll cover a few other combos."
"After all, The Bystial Lubellion — the 'Gold Dragon' — is currently Limited to 1 on the Forbidden & Limited List, so that particular line isn't used as often."
"Let's talk about the most common combo: Bystial Saronir plus Aluber."
"Start the same way. Normal Summon Aluber to search Branded Fusion."
"Send Tri-Brigade Mercourier and Albaz to make Rindbrumm the Striking Dragon."
"Activate Saronir in hand; banish the Mercourier in the GY to Special Summon itself."
"When Mercourier is banished, it searches Blazing Cartesia, the Virtuous."
"Cartesia jumps in and activates; she and Saronir fuse into Granguignol the Dusk Dragon."
"Saronir sends the Trap Branded Retribution to the GY."
"From here the steps are similar."
"Granguignol sends Titaniklad the Ash Dragon..."
...
After this explanation, only some parts differ later on, showing many Branded steps can be formulaic. Even then, after these combos ended, the old guard still wore that exploding-brain confusion. Facing Branded, they still felt at a loss — what to do, how to develop, what to search, and so on.
But the six world protagonists were gradually enlightened, eyes flashing. The more you overthink Branded, the more complex it becomes. Sometimes, if you think simply, Branded becomes simple. Yes — exactly that.
Once Yugi Muto realized this, he immediately dove into an academic Duel exchange with the Pharaoh. Jaden Yuki was shocked that higher-world Fusion decks were getting more and more monstrous; his HERO cards suddenly felt like just the tip of the iceberg. Yusei Fudo considered combining Branded with Stardust. Meanwhile, Yuma Tsukumo and Astral obsessed over Branded splash packages.
Sei Yuki also noticed that aside from the protagonists, the rest of the old-guard Duelists were thoroughly numb. They still couldn't grasp the charm of the Branded system, nor understand card-to-card synergy.
"Sigh, normal, normal."
"As expected, Branded's entry difficulty is still high."
"This alone left them dumbstruck."
"What about 'Branded Dragonfist' later?"
"Won't that be even more mind-blowing?"
Sei Yuki muttered to himself, pondering whether to pick "Branded Dragonfist vs. Tenyi Swordsoul — a Nationals match" for the next short-video target…
Enjoyed the story? Support me and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at: Patr*eon*.com/Resium
Free members can read 10+ Chapters Ahead of Release
Paid member can read 150+ Chapters Ahead of Release
Stories Available
Honkai? No, This Is Daily Life
Hogwarts Pet Master
Pokémon: Who Let Him Leave Pallet Town!
Scrolling Yu-Gi-Oh! Shorts