Okay, I admit, I kinda got this idea from Yu-Gi-Oh, but a couple years
ago I started having ideas for making my own trading card game...
The
main character is Leo Dragonheart. He's a young boy who is the best War
of the Cystals card player in his class. Little does he realize he's
actually a descendant of the fabled Ruby King Salamander of the
Redlands. His best friend Alex is mostly a comic relief character.
In
the first episode, they meet Raiden, a monk of the legendary Silver
Dragon Temple of Raigekiya, and heir of the equally legendary Kaminario
Clan. His father was overthrown when Raiden was a child, and he is
prepared to participate in the Raigekiyan War of the Crystals
tournament in Raigekiya's Imperial City, solely for the purpose of
claiming the throne as the rightful Silver King.
Episode 1 – The Best in His Class
Scene 1
We
start out black, but we immediately see six symbols, lit up against the
background in different colors. They are arranged in a hexagon as a
voice enters:
VOICE (VO): Long ago, in the mystical land of Siolis, there existed six powerful kingdoms, one for each of the six elements.
As we go through the symbols, the voice continues:
VOICE
(VO): Light, Fire, Earth, Shadow, Water and Wind. When the world was
still young, the Great Gods of each element waged war amongst
themselves to determine who was the strongest. After a millennium of
dispute, they finally agreed to let the mortal people decide. And so
the Battle of the Gods soon became what is now known as the War of the
Crystals…
Fade out.
We fade in to see a small school
building in an establishing shot. This building has been placed in a
modern Wild-west setting, with reddish-brown dirt as far as the eye can
see. We CUT through the playground (which we can barely see through the
blazing sunlight), and then indoors to a sign marked “Mrs.
Dragonheart’s classroom – 5th grade.” We hear a woman’s voice.
WOMAN (VO): Good morning, class.
As we look inside, we hear the children responding:
CHILDREN (together): Good morning, Mrs. D.
The woman is a beautiful thirty-something, who is apparently the teacher of the class.
MRS. D: I hope you children are all packed, because today’s our week-long field-trip to Raigekiya!
The children cheer enthusiastically. As the clamor dies down, Mrs. D. continues:
MRS.
D: Now, I’m going to have to go back to check on everything one last
time. It’ll only take me five minutes. Can I trust you kids to behave
while I’m gone?
CHILDREN (together): Yes.
MRS. D: Right, then. I’ll be back as soon as I can.
She
leaves, and the children begin to chatter excitedly. We notice two
children (One blond, one redhead) in the back corner talking. The blond
child is LEO, the teacher’s son. The redhead is ALEX, Leo’s best friend.
ALEX: You bring your deck?
Leo pulls out a deck of trading cards.
LEO: Sure, I did. You wanna spar?
ALEX: Sure. I brought mine.
As Alex produces his, a nearby kid watches and shouts…
KID: Hey, guys! Leo and Alex are having a battle!
Suddenly, a crowd forms around the two boys.
We CUT TO the center of the crowd, where Leo and Alex are shuffling their decks.
LEO: Should I start?
ALEX: Go ahead.
LEO: Okay, then.
They draw five cards apiece. We SPLIT THE SCREEN so we see both players as they say:
LEO & ALEX: Battle!
LEO: I start this match by playing Pyronian Soldier in my Active Position!
Leo throws down a card marked “(75) 75/50” with a picture of a human-shaped flame.
LEO: What’s more, I play two more on my Bench!
He throws down two similar cards behind the first one.
LEO: I end my turn.
ALEX: Right. I play Flamethrower Maniac in my Active Position!
He plays a card marked “(50) 60/50” and the picture shows an imp carrying a flamethrower.
ALEX: Next, I equip it with triple Fire Spells!
He
piles three cards next to his first card. With a picture of a burning
fire, these cards are marked “+20/+0”. The Flamethrower maniac’s stats
are superimposed on the screen, showing the imp rising from “60/50” to
“120/50”
ALEX: Now, I attack!
We cut to Leo. Superimposed
over him is his Active monster’s stats as the number changes from (75)
to (5). He grimaces as he realizes the damage that has been done.
ALEX: I end my turn.
LEO: Alright, my move.
Leo draws three cards, so he remains with five cards in his hand. We see his hand as he thinks to himself.
LEO (VO): Hm… this is bad… no healing cards… huh?
He produces a card from his hand and notices the picture of a land mine.
LEO (VO): Land Mine… automatically destroys the attacking monster… could be helpful…
He looks up.
LEO: I place this in my Supply Zone, face-down.
And so he does. Alex looks on with a slightly worrying look to his face.
ALEX: There isn’t an ace up your sleeve, is there?
Leo looks to his hand again, and grins.
LEO: I don’t need my sleeves when I‘ve got this creature…
He pulls another card from his hand and shows it to Alex. The card boasts a red dragon, marked with the numbers “(95) 90/75”
LEO: I sacrifice both of my Benched Pyronian Soldiers to summon the Ruby Fire Dragon!
He places the Dragon on the Bench and places its previous occupants behind his deck to form a discard pile.
CHILDREN (together): OOOOOO-oooooooh…
LEO: I also equip some Ruby Armor to it!
He
places one card under the Dragon card. This one bears a suit of armor,
tainted red and covered in rubies. This card is marked “+0/+40”, and so
the Dragon’s stats change from “90/75” to “90/115”
LEO: Then I switch it to my Active Position to replace my Pyronian Soldier!
He swaps the cards around, so that now the Dragon stays in front.
LEO: Since I just summoned him, I can’t attack, so I end my turn.
Alex draws some cards.
ALEX: I’ll start by equipping three Fire 2 spells!
He plays three more cards, but these are marked “+30/+0”, so the imp’s strength changes from “120/50” to “210/50”.
ALEX: That’ll cook your Dragon well-done!
LEO: Not quite!
ALEX: Huh?!
Leo reveals his Supply Zone card.
LEO: Land Mine. Your Flamethrower Maniac is toast!
ALEX: Aw, crud.
He reluctantly moves his creature and its equipment into a newly-formed discard pile behind his deck.
We SPLIT THE SCREEN again and see the score. Leo has 4 points remaining, while Alex, now with a disadvantage, has 3.
Alex scowls a little.
ALEX: Smart move, Leo.
LEO: Thanks. Now play a monster.
Alex grumbles as he looks through his hand.
ALEX: I play Flame Dancer in my Active Position, and I equip him with Dragon’s Ruby!
This new card starts out with “(75) 60/70”, but the equipment is marked “+25/ +10”, so its power is raised to “85/80”.
LEO: Good, ‘cuz it’s my turn, and I’ll be adding insult to injury in this round!
Leo draws some new cards. He briskly scans his hand, and grins.
LEO: I play Resurrection to bring back one of my Pyronian Soldiers!
In
exchange for sending a card to the discard pile, he takes one of his
Pyronian Soldiers from the pile and puts it back in the Bench.
LEO: Next, I sacrifice both of them to play Ruby King Salamander!
He
takes both of his Pyronian soldiers off the field into the discard pile
to play one new card in their place. This new card shows a man in red
armor, marked with the numbers “(110) 100/85”.
The audience gasps, and we CLOSE UP on Alex, who’s starting to grimace and break out in a sweat.
LEO: …and because of his special ability, my Dragon gets a little extra firepower!
We notice that the Dragon has indeed grown stronger, as its stats now read “165/115”.
LEO: Next, I use both of my Theft cards to whittle your Elemental points down to 1!
We check the scores again. Leo is now clearly winning with a 4-1 lead.
LEO: Finally, I’m gonna finish you off with an attack from my Dragon!
The score now reads 4-0. Alex has lost.
Alex grumbles and mopes as the other kids applaud Leo for his victory. Both players stand and shake hands.
ALEX: Two-and-a-half rounds… that’s gotta be some sorta record.
Leo grins sheepishly.
LEO: I guess I was just lucky.
Random children in the crowd start pleading to Leo.
BOY #1: I’ll trade you something for your Ruby King Salamander!
BOY #2: No way! The Dragon is way better!
GIRL #1: I’ll let you have my Amazon Fire-Queen for that Ruby King!

Let me know what you think!