Official Card Art for "Lucifer, Darklord of the Morning Star".TCG Import renamed "The First Darklord"
The Yu-Gi-Oh! series has always faced accusations over the occult imagery woven into the symbolism of the series. The Shadow Realm was invented by 4Kids Entertainment to shield us from the more horrifying nature of penalty games, and the ultimate fate of those who fall victim. The card game has not escaped this association to the occult, with even to this day cards being printed that conjure up these connotations. This is particularly true of many fairy monsters, particularly the Darklords which have received new support in the recently announced Darklord of the Morning Star.
This is not about the devil we know however, but the devil we don’t. A monster not sanctioned by Konami. An ominous rogue duelist. An elusive individual who appears to tap into these dark forces.
You will not find them on any tourney report in any part of the globe. Yet you may have encountered them, perhaps even seen them duel, but you will have never played against them. Everyone who duels the Morning Star, is forsaken. Duelists have been disappearing without a trace and it is believed this supernatural duelist is at the heart of it.
The Morning Star duels for keeps in penalty games, where the consequences are very real. Be wary of duelists who propose conditions upon the loser when you haven’t seen their deck or know them well.
They have been responsible for multiple cases of disappearing duelists around the globe. There has emerged no clear pattern that could trace their movements. When you see a deleted yugitubing channel, or notice someone has stopped coming to your locals without a word and never returns, consider whether they last played against a stranger before their disappearance. It may have been the Morning Star. Facing him online does not make you safe. Hence, the disappearing channels. If they truly exists, the only explanations are paranormal or extra-terrestrial. How can we protect ourselves from a duelist, who can strike any place, any time? There are some things we can speculate on, which can help us guard against them.
What few descriptions exist of this duelist are exceedingly vague. The best way to demonstrate what it is like to meet this duelist is to turn down the lights low, and look into a mirror or dimmed camera. Start at 8000 and count backwards, 7999, 7998, 7997. Eventually, you will notice a change in your appearance, the expression will shift and contort. There will begin to appear the features of a stranger you do not recognize. The Morning Star is described as exceedingly amiable, yet despite their pleasantries has an exceedingly off vibe, an uncanny, not quite human quality. You can’t look at them for long without experiencing headaches, dizziness and tunnel vision. It makes them incredibly difficult to duel against.
Official Card Art for Magician of Black Chaos
Apart from their blurred face, they are often dressed in concealing clothing, including midnight black gloves and a heavy leather coat secured by tight belts and straps, like a Magician of Black Chaos. There are mixed reports of the Morning Star donning a Plague Doctor Mask too, but whether this is the same individual or not is unknown, and leads to more questions than answers. They do not need to obscure their appearance, and do most of their dueling out in the open, in stores and dueling clubs. Any question of appropriate dress is easily brushed aside in such a setting, cards and cosplay mix. There has been also no clear pattern found as to whether the Morning Star later transitioned to hiding their features behind a mask, as some appearances of this masked doppelganger date back as early as 2017.
Their deck also uses black sleeves, with brown extra deck sleeves. They have a rusted, dried blood quality to them. The deck would feel right at home nestled in barbed wire from a battlefield. The Morning Star is using an accursed deck, possibly several decks, which carry the same theme.
Occasionally they will allow their opponents to switch decks after the first duel of a match as these have not been taking part in tournament settings. Rules of engagement are looser and less safe. 9 times out of 10 this offer is refused by the victim.
The Morning Star is not described as playing Meta, but predominantly a strategy involving a main deck of Heralds and other similar fairy cards. Archlord Kristya, Effect Veiler and Valhalla Hall of the Fallen are some examples. Despite the deck’s outward appearance, the extra also features many more ominous cards such as the Seven Sins package, Star Eater and Last Warrior from Another Planet. The Morning Star is not known for quickly and cleanly finishing off opponents, but slowly grinding them down and neutralising opposing decks win conditions. It is not something that would see great success in the Meta, but in between rounds at a tournament, or online, or against any opponent who feels tired, dizzy or vulnerable it can prove more than effective, it can prove lethal.
Appearances of the Morning Star have been increasing over the past few years, before a sharp decline in 2020, because his online activities are harder to pinpoint. There are no reports of Morning Star activity prior to 2017. Perhaps this time could lend a clue to their origins, but aside from some alien abduction speculation nothing has come of it so far.
Those lost to the Morning Star have often been later begrudgingly described to be prideful, greedy or easy to anger. They rarely respect their opponents, and get caught off guard by the Morning Stars uncanny calm and unusual deck setup. Nobody challenged by them is known to prevail, it is only presumed that defeating them will prevent the disappearance of the chosen duelist. We cannot know for sure. Do not try to find out.
The Morning Star may be an avenger, where the punishments far outweigh the crimes, but some scattered bits of conversation have suggested there may be other motives. They often ask if they (The Morning Star) has been seen around before. The answer is almost always no. Perhaps the Morning Star is erasing traces of their existence like a time traveller or extra-terrestrial might, posts on the Morning Star have a habit of disappearing. Even what you are reading or listening to now may be at risk of being terminated in the future. Search results rarely appear for long. This obscurity, disorientates any efforts to track them down or prove this duelists existence. As previously stated, they are not known to participate in tournaments and have no known Konami ID.
From what we do know, another possible lead is mention made of a car accident. The passenger was killed and the Morning Star injured. They therefore no longer drive. This might be an excuse to get lifts from unsuspecting duelists to isolate them from their peers. There is no car crash on record which matches, and the details over whether the passenger was killed or survived fluctuates between accounts. The identity of this passenger is unknown. No one has ever been found living or dead after a duel with the Morning Star. If they are an extra-terrestrial, abducting these duelists, it’s possible the ‘crash’ in question was not a car at all but a space ship. It is possible that the mask wearing Morning Star is a more heavily injured alien, that cannot pass for human. It may even want revenge upon the Morning Star, and could be hunting them down. Hence the question of whether duelists have seen them around before. Perhaps they did fall to earth,
Another possible lead is that the Morning Star will often ask the time and date, including the year. Some have thought they phase in and out of our reality or can displace themselves in time within a limited area. This is another possible explanation for the masked Morning Star, being an older or younger version of the same being.
The masked Morning Star will often appear at night, in parks, walkways and other isolated spots. Yet somehow it can determine who is or isn’t a duelist and single them out. Such events are understandably much more rarely discussed, as we only know of an incident where another person has been brought over to observe, or been messaged about what has occurred.
A victim will not immediately evaporate into thin air. They will struggle first. Often appearing noticeably weaker and dishevelled, sweating heavily or going extremely pale. They will then seek out rest and solitude. If they fail to do this, they will begin to experience hair loss, nausea, and insatiable thirst. Eventually they will achieve solitude even for an instant, and upon achieving this they will never be seen again. Victims have gone into rooms and locked doors behind them. When those doors are eventually forced open by concerned relatives, nobody will be found inside and no belongings will have been taken. Lost without a trace. Do they end up abducted? The Shadow Realm?
There are usually no clues from what is left behind them, though sometimes their deck box will be missing along with the duelist. Perhaps they duel forever in Valhalla with all the other fallen duelists, hahahahaha.
Sorry, I shouldn’t make light of all this. Of the concern, of the confusion, of the betrayal of trust. That such a dangerous individual could be here in this community. That they could be sliding into your Dueling Book Friends List, a member of your Discord, at your Locals, or an unexpected obstacle on your way home… and all we have to go on is speculation! Where are the facts? Theories are fine but they only dimly illuminate the dark that surrounds you. All you can really do is look over your shoulder, think on your duelist trangressions, and respect even the casual players. Or perhaps you should banish this from our minds, leave things be, try to move on and just enjoy dueling. Feel like a duel friend?
Relinquished Soul (talk) 12:55, August 10, 2020 (UTC)