Zigfried von Schroeder, known in Japan as Siegfried von Schroider is the main antagonist of the KC Grand Championship story arc of the Yu-Gi-Oh! second series anime. He does not exist in the manga. In both incarnations, his name is derived from the name of Siegfried, a character in the opera, Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of Nibelung).

Biography

Zigfried von Schroeder is the CEO of Schroeder Corp, a rival of KaibaCorp. As the champion of Europe, he participates in Kaiba's KC Grand Championship under the name "Zigfried Lloyd" (Sieg Lloyd; ジーク・ロイド Jīku Roido). He is Leon von Schroeder's (Leonhart von Schroider) older brother.

Zigfried seeks to take down KaibaCorp as revenge because he feels that Seto Kaiba stole his plans for holographic Dueling technology (In the Japanese Version, it is because Kaiba's project was accepted before he arrived to display his own technology).

He comes across as arrogant and vain, but he has a kind side, as evidenced by how regretful he feels at the end of the arc for lying to his brother Leon, so Leon would help him with his plot. He genuinely loves his brother, as Seto loves Mokuba.

He entered the KC Grand Championship. He was scheduled to Duel Fortune Salim at the Flower Clock. However, Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood impersonated him after knocking Salim out, but were caught by Mokuba. Zigfried persuaded Mokuba to let them Duel him. Zigfried defeated them in 1 turn with "Ride of the Valkyries".

Zigfried used his Goddess Magic Cards and "Nibelung's Ring" strategy to defeat Joey Wheeler in the next round. He then defeated Balfry Ginger in the semifinals. When it came to the finals where Zigfried was to Duel Leon, Seto Kaiba intervened when he found out who Zigfried really is. Even though Zigfried tried the same strategy on Seto, he was defeated.

Though Zigfried's revenge wasn't done yet. He manages to give "Golden Castle of Stromberg" to Leon in his Duel with Yugi Muto. During the Duel, Leon's identity as Zigfried's brother is also revealed.

When Leon does activate "Golden Castle of Stromberg", it was revealed that it was illegal as Zigfried revealed that he engineered a virus to be sent into the KaibaCorp's databanks and even explains the card's effects.

With Leon forced to continue Dueling, Seto rushed to stop the virus. "Golden Castle of Stromberg" was removed when Yugi had only 1 card left in his Deck. With Leon defeated, Zigfried found out that Seto had stopped the virus. Though Zigfried and Seto managed to settle their differences. Zigfried apparently got a new job at Industrial Illusions along with Leon.

Trivia

• Zigfried's designs for holographic Dueling is near identical to the Duel Boxs used in the original manga.

• In the Japanese version of the anime, when Siegfried plays "Ride of the Valkyries", the actual Wagner melody Ride of the Valkyries can be heard.

• Zigfried bears certain physical similarities with Halldor from Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds. Both used Norse Mythology-based Decks, are antagonistically against their respective show's main characters, until they realized the error of their ways and acknowledged their former enemies as comrades.

• Zigfried is the only major villain in the second series anime that has no awareness of Yami Yugi's existence.

• He is also the only main antagonist of an arc who never duels Yami Yugi.

Deck

Zigfried plays a Valkyrie Deck, consisting of cards based on Norse mythology and named after characters and concepts from Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. His signature move is to Summon all his "Valkyrie" monsters at once using "Ride of the Valkyries" to perform a One Turn Kill. Zigfried otherwise combines his three "Goddess" Magic Cards with "Nibelung's Ring" to gradually deplete his opponent's Deck, banishing their monsters before they can play them. He also uses several stall and drawing cards to buy time for him to draw "Ride of the Valkyries" into his hand.

Notes

1. ↑ This card is placed on top of his Deck by "Wotan's Judgment" during episode 195.