Magical Scientist.
A Level 1 monster with just 300 ATK.
Its effect? Pay 1000 Life Points to Special Summon a Level 6 or lower Fusion Monster directly from your Extra Deck. The only "drawback" is that the summoned monster can't attack and returns to the Extra Deck at the end of the turn.
This unassuming monster left a permanent scar in Yu-Gi-Oh! history—thanks to the infamous Magical Scientist FTK deck.
All you needed was Catapult Turtle and Magical Scientist, and with just those two cards, you could launch an FTK on turn one. The moment one player won the coin toss, the duel was basically over.
It was because of this card—alongside monsters like Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning—that players across the world started asking:
"What's the point of LP, if all that matters is surviving the first turn?"
And it didn't stop there. As the game evolved with Synchro, Xyz, and eventually Link Summoning, Magical Scientist only got more absurd. Once certain "supporting monsters" were released, decks emerged that didn't need a main deck at all. Just Magical Scientist and an Extra Deck could FTK you in Unlimited Format tournaments.
It wasn't until a new, defining archetype ushered in Yu-Gi-Oh!'s "modern era" that Magical Scientist FTKs started to fade. But even then, the deck still managed to claw its way to Top 4 in certain events, holding its own against the game's wildest creations.
—
Hikaru Amagi followed Magical Scientist into a factory that looked nothing like the forested charm of the Village of the Spellcasters.
Inside, he spotted a familiar face sitting at a desk.
"Eh? Bastion?" Hikaru blinked. "Didn't expect to run into you here."
"Hikaru!? You too?" Bastion looked up, surprised. Then realization hit. "Ah, right. Magical Scientist's whole gimmick is direct Fusion. It fits your style perfectly."
Then he quickly bent back down, scribbling furiously across a stack of papers. Nearby, Mathematician stroked his beard, nodding with approval.
Hikaru peeked at the papers—looked like math problems. Serious ones.
At this rate, he figured Mathematician might just agree to leave with Bastion without a duel.
"We've got quite a few science-type spellcasters here," said Magical Scientist as he guided Hikaru down the corridor. "That guy's been cooped up too long—he wanted to stretch his legs a bit."
They passed a few more rooms. Hikaru caught sight of multiple Mathematicians bickering over equations on blackboards.
"It won't work!"
"There's a 1% success rate!"
Apparently, even the math spirits weren't unified.
Just like there are different armors for Dark Magician, not every Mathematician was the same.
"Professor Magi-Tech!"
"Director!"
Several busy Duel Spirits saluted him along the way. Turns out Magical Scientist was the director of this research facility.
That was both exciting… and a little disappointing.
Exciting because it meant he was powerful. Disappointing because, as director, he probably wouldn't abandon his team to travel with a human—even if he liked the duel.
Either he'd come with his whole staff, or not at all.
Such was the rule of spirits.
Still, Hikaru wasn't all that bummed. Without Catapult Turtle, Magical Scientist wasn't exactly a key card in his current deck. He was more curious about what "resources" this place had to offer.
Eventually, they reached an office.
The walls were lined with monitors displaying data streams, surveillance footage, and calculations. A photo frame on the desk featured a picture of a monster: Lesser Fiend.
On the other side sat experimental equipment and a small production line. At the end were two prototype products: a green-patterned cup ramen with the word "FUSION" stamped on it, and a yellow-packaged instant meal also labeled "FUSION."
These were none other than Instant Fusion and Ready Fusion, in card art form. In lore, both were supposedly invented by Magical Scientist.
In reality? Konami just didn't want to unban the real menace, so they printed "tamer" versions. Then even those got semi-limited. Eventually, they made Ready Fusion as the watered-down successor.
One cup had already been opened. Hikaru sniffed—smelled pretty damn good.
"If you like it," said Magical Scientist casually, "I can send you a few crates to take back to the human world."
A crate of Instant Fusion!?
Hikaru's eyes nearly popped.
Then he came back to Earth—it wasn't a card. It was actual instant noodles.
Still, he'd always wondered what that stuff tasted like.
"I'd love that. Thank you, Professor," he said sincerely.
Of course, he knew better than to think it was free.
If he didn't impress Magical Scientist, he'd be leaving empty-handed.
"Well then…" The professor tapped on a machine. Instantly, the monitors flared with light. The room shimmered. The surroundings blurred and fragmented like glass panels.
A puzzle field appeared.
The floor beneath his feet was dark, shaped like the Skyscraper card. On the opposite side of the field: a massive Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon.
On his own side, projections of Avian and Burstinatrix.
The Duel Disks read: Opponent LP: 6000. Your LP: 1400.
Floating around him were six ghostly cards: King of the Swamp, Premature Burial, Support Dog, Miracle Fusion, Avian, and Polymerization. In the Extra Deck were Flame Wingman and Shining Flare Wingman.
"What is this?" Hikaru narrowed his eyes.
"A puzzle of my own design!" Magical Scientist grinned. "One turn only. You can inspect all zones—field, graveyard, decks. The goal: finish the duel this turn with a Fusion OTK!"
"There are 30 puzzles in total. Solve 10, and you're considered elite. Solve 20 quickly, and you're one of a kind. But solve all 30?"
He pointed to a wall filled with rare cards. "I'll give you one of my prized collection. Solve 15 or more? I'll trade you a super rare. Solve all 30—and the lab is yours. Come and go as you please."
"But don't underestimate them! This one's key mechanic—there's only one Battle Phase. You'll need to—"
"Got it. Easy." Hikaru cut him off, already scanning the cards. The final card in his deck was another Polymerization.
"Discard King of the Swamp to search Polymerization. Use both Polymerizations: first to fuse Avian and Burstinatrix into Flame Wingman, then fuse that with King of the Swamp to summon Shining Flare Wingman."
"Four Elemental HERO monsters are in the Graveyard, so Shining gets +1200. He's at 3700 ATK."
"Use Premature Burial to revive King of the Swamp (800 ATK). Normal Summon Support Dog (500 ATK)."
"With Skyscraper, any HERO battling a stronger monster gains 1000 ATK during damage calculation. Shining Flare Wingman attacks Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, gains 1000 ATK (to 4700), and inflicts damage equal to the destroyed monster's ATK."
"That's 4700 + 800 + 500. Total damage: 6000."
As he spoke, Hikaru executed the combo lightning fast. Tierra had just emerged to try the puzzle herself… only to see Hikaru blitz the solution and move on to the next one.
"Wha—" Magical Scientist stared.
The puzzle wasn't hard, per se—many Duel Spirits could eventually solve it. But someone who could break it down that fast?
Almost none.
Hikaru felt zero pressure.
Why? Simple.
This was just a YGO endgame puzzle.
Konami loved adding these logic challenges into their games. Hikaru used to solve them all the time between ranked matches in Master Duel. Compared to dealing with forty-card combo decks and negation walls, this was child's play.
But in this world, endgame puzzles were legitimately difficult.
Players didn't have comprehensive databases. Many cards were unfamiliar. People had different duel instincts. Even among pros, solving these wasn't easy.
In 5D's, the protagonists had to tackle one. Both Crow and Jack Atlas failed—only Bruno, calm and calculated, managed to crack it.
And Crow and Jack were top-level duelists.
In short, endgame puzzles weren't just challenges—they were feats of intellect and experience.
Especially when your opponent is Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon—most spirits had never even seen it in action. They'd freeze just from that.
But Hikaru?
Back in his world, he'd been calculating clears against way worse setups. Comboing through trap-heavy boards, math-checking lethal through Kaiju interrupts… These puzzles were a breeze in comparison.