"Keith's Machinations, Part 1", known as "Cruel - Heavy Metal Deck" in the Japanese version, is the thirty-first episode of the Yu-Gi-Oh! second series anime. It first aired in Japan on November 21, 2000 and in the United States on September 7, 2002.
The second Duel of the Duelist Kingdom Finals begins, with Joey Wheeler facing off against Bandit Keith and his near-invincible Machine Deck.
Summary
The first Duel of the Duelist Kingdom finals has concluded. Yugi Muto has defeated Mai Valentine and will be Dueling the winner of the next Duel, Joey Wheeler vs. Bandit Keith. When Croquet asks both contestants to show their tournament entry cards, Keith shows the one he took from Joey. So naturally, when Joey reaches for his, he can't find it. He has five minutes to find that card or he will be disqualified. Joey searches all over his room for it, but to no avail. He is just about to give up when Mai comes in and gives him her card. He arrives at the Dueling Arena just in the nick of time and presents Mai's card, to Keith's shock.
The Duel between Joey and Bandit Keith begins, and Keith is revealed to be using a Machine-Type Deck. Unknown to Joey, Keith's Machine monsters are immune to non-physical attacks, and when Joey's first attack fails due to this, he is left exposed and takes damage. Keith lures him into opening his defenses again by moving to Set a monster and "accidentally" dropping it. Joey recognizes it as a non-Machine and seizes the opportunity for a powerful magical attack, but Yugi and Bakura realize that the monster, "Zoa", has ATK that is not only higher than its DEF, but also higher than the ATK of any other monster on the field. The only reason to Set a monster like that in Defense Position is as a lure.
But it is too late to warn Joey, who falls into the trap and takes heavy damage. Just as Keith prepares to deliver the final blow, his attack gets stopped, and everyone is thunderstruck to see that Joey also had a trap and just knocked out the strongest monster on Keith's field. On his next turn, Joey sets another card and announces that it is a Trap Card. He also begins a counterattack and taunts Keith in his inimitably grating fashion. Enraged at Joey's mockery and presumption, Keith attacks, but it wasn't a bluff, and it costs him the last monster on his field. With a handful of low-Level monsters and his own Dueling style, Joey has turned the Duel into a neck-to-neck battle, but Keith knows that this Duel is far from over. Will Joey defeat Keith and his mighty Machine monsters, or will he be eliminated and lose his chance to save his sister, Serenity Wheeler?
Featured Duel: Joey Wheeler vs. "Bandit" Keith Howard
 | This Duel uses Duelist Kingdom gameplay. Rules and card effects may differ from that of the TCG/OCG. See the individual card articles for more information. |
Turn 1: Bandit Keith
Keith draws. He then Sets a monster.
Turn 2: Joey
Joey draws. He then Sets a monster.
Turn 3: Bandit Keith
Keith draws. He then Flip Summons "Pendulum Machine" (???/1750). "Pendulum Machine" attacks and destroys Joey's Set "Battle Warrior" (???/700).
Turn 4: Joey
Joey Normal Summons "Giltia the D. Knight" (???/1850) in Attack Position. "Giltia the D. Knight" attacks "Pendulum Machine", but the attack doesn't destroy it or inflict battle damage to Keith. Keith explains that his Machine-Type monsters are immune to magic or non-physical attacks because of their metal armor.
Turn 5: Bandit Keith
Keith draws. He then Normal Summons "Launcher Spider" (???/2200) in Attack Position. "Launcher Spider" attacks and destroys "Giltia the D. Knight" (Joey: 2000 → 1650 LP).
Turn 6: Joey
Joey draws. He then Sets a card and a monster.
Turn 7: Bandit Keith
Keith draws. He then Sets a card. Keith is about to Set a monster, but purposely drops it, revealing it to be "Zoa" (???/2600). Keith then picks it back up and Sets it properly.
Turn 8: Joey
Joey draws "Flame Swordsman" and subsequently Normal Summons it (???/1800) in Attack Position. Joey then activates "Salamandra" and equips it to "Flame Swordsman", increasing its ATK by 700 ("Flame Swordsman": 1800 → 2500/1600). "Flame Swordsman" attacks Keith's Set "Zoa", but Keith activates his face-down "Magic Metal Force" to transform "Zoa" into "Metalzoa" (???/3000) in Attack Position. Keith then explains that "Metalzoa" reflects all magical attacks back to the attacking monster. "Flame Swordsman" destroys himself and Joey takes damage equal to the ATK difference between "Metalzoa" and "Flame Swordsman" (Joey: 1650 → 1150 LP).
Turn 9: Bandit Keith
Keith draws "Stop Defense" and subsequently activates it to switch Joey's Set "Axe Raider" (???/1700) into Attack Position. "Metalzoa" attacks "Axe Raider", but Joey activates his face-down "Chasm of Spikes" to destroy "Metalzoa" and inflict damage to Keith equal to 1/4 of "Metalzoa's" ATK (Keith: 2000 → 1250 LP).
Turn 10: Joey
Joey draws. He then Sets a card, which he claims to be a Trap Card, and switches "Axe Raider" to Defense Position. Joey then Normal Summons "Garoozis" (???/1800) in Attack Position. "Garoozis" attacks and destroys "Pendulum Machine" (Keith: 1250 → 1200 LP).
Turn 11: Bandit Keith
"Launcher Spider" attacks "Garoozis", but Joey activates his face-down "Kunai with Chain" to equip it to "Garoozis" and increase the latter's ATK by 500 ("Garoozis": 1800 → 2300/1500). "Garoozis" destroys "Launcher Spider" (Keith: 1200 → 1100 LP).
Duel continues in the next episode.
Differences in adapations
- The shot of "Pendulum Machine" dragging "Battle Warrior" up to his feet then slicing him in half is cut from the US version, and is replaced by white slashes diagonally left and right.
- When Croquet announces the duel, cut from the US version is a bit where Honda tells Jounouchi to be calm, advising him to write something three times on his palm to relax himself. A wound-up Jounouchi tells Honda he's only making him more nervous, and smacks him.
Mistakes
- After Joey destroys "Launcher Spider" with "Garoozis", "Flame Swordsman" is seen on his field in Defense Position instead of "Axe Raider".
Featured cards
The following cards appeared in this episode. Cards in italics debuted here.
- * The Glory of the King's Opposite Hand
Notes
- ↑ This card belongs to Joey, but it was stolen by Keith three episodes ago.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 This card was played as a Normal Monster. It is a Fusion Monster in the TCG/OCG.
- ↑ This card belongs to Mai, but she gives it to Joey before she leaves as a thank you for teaching her a lesson.
