In the card game of Cube Cards, the Ace is the most crucial presence.

The Ace leaving the game determines the outcome.

However, the game rules also provide significant protection for the Ace.

First, if the opponent wants to reveal the Ace, they must first eliminate the card in the position directly in front of it.

This position is commonly called the Guardian Slot or Guardian Card.

Typically, Guardian Cards are chosen for their strong survival capabilities or counter functions.

Alternatively, one might use summoning cards so that summoned creatures can frequently occupy the Guardian Slot to protect the Ace.

The Ace can only be attacked if the Guardian Slot is vacant.

After the Ace is attacked for the first time, it automatically reveals itself in the next card reveal phase.

Aside from the existence of the Guardian Slot, the other protective mechanism is the three Ace slots.

Similar to regular card rows, the Ace row has three slots, with only one slot occupied by the Ace, leaving the other two slots empty.

Thus, to achieve victory, the first hurdle is not the Guardian Card, but rather finding the correct column for the Ace.

The final line of defense is that the Ace differs from regular cards by having 50 health points.

Therefore, if the players' skills, tactics, and card deck strength are not vastly different, it often ends with only the Ace versus Ace remaining.

In summary, the longer the Ace remains concealed, the more advantageous it typically is for that player.

At least, that's how Xiong Paipai sees it.

She never expected this: Li Pu voluntarily revealed the Ace in the second round.

It's not impossible for the Ace to self-reveal, but... who would ridiculously place such a card in the Ace slot?!

But the shock for Xiong Paipai wasn't just in this unexpected move.

Buzz...

As the glow from the Ace slot dimmed, a familiar figure appeared in Li Pu's Ace slot.

[Mushroom Eater!]

The same eight-legged creature, its back covered with small mushrooms, this card was indeed the Mushroom Eater Lizard.

But, does the Mushroom Eater Lizard have the ability to self-reveal?

Upon seeing the projection, everyone's curiosity was piqued.

[Classmates, something's amiss!]

The closest host was the first to detect the anomaly.

[How has this Mushroom Eater Lizard's head become so large!]

With this reminder, everyone finally realized!

This Mushroom Eater Lizard's head is enormous!

It's almost 1:1 scale with its body.

What kind of bizarre creature is this?

Upon closer inspection, it's indeed not a regular Mushroom Eater Lizard.

Even the card details differ somewhat.

[Bighead Mushroom Eater Lizard] -15 points

50/50

Attack 7, Defense 8, Range 2

[Mushroom Feast]: For every mushroom card that dies, Bighead Mushroom Eater Lizard gains +1 Attack, +1 Defense, and heals 1 health.

[Counter Mushroom]: After Bighead Mushroom Eater Lizard reveals, all revealed mushrooms this game have -1 Attack and -1 Defense.

[Ravage Mushroom]: When Bighead Mushroom Eater Lizard attacks a mushroom card, it can also attack another mushroom card.

[Bighead Mushroom Eater]: When five mushroom cards are revealed on the board, Bighead Mushroom Eater Lizard automatically reveals.

Compared to the regular card, there are quite a few differences in the card details, with the points slightly higher and an added ability, [Bighead Mushroom Eater].

This card originates from [Bighead Mushroom] + [Mushroom Eater Lizard].

The habits of the Mushroom Eater Lizard have been adapted to include synergy effects with mushroom-type cards.

Although this card isn't appreciated by card players like Li Fan, for Li Pu, it turns out to be quite useful.

"This card is weird!"

"Are there such mutated lizards in the Southern Forest?"

"But the problem is, revealing this card now doesn't seem very meaningful, does it?"

"Right, the Ace's position is so deep that even with a range of 2, it can't attack the opponent's cards."

"On the contrary, it allows the opponent to prematurely discover the Ace's location. If they have long-range cards, they can directly attack the Ace."

"It seems the freshman's card deck is flashy, but it's a poor strategy..."

At first, everyone agrees that revealing six cards in merely two rounds, including one Ace, is quite impactful.

But the issue lies therein; shock value alone isn't enough. You need also to win!

A single [Mushroom Eater Lizard] is enough to severely damage your numerous mushroom cards, and revealing an Ace that can only stare at the board achieves nothing.

"Not only are they a bunch of fools, even their eyes are failing."

Listening to the opinions swirling around her, Xiong Paipai appeared deeply serious.

Being the most directly involved party thus far, she was the first and only one to notice the nuance.

[Mushroom Eater Lizard]: When Mushroom Eater Lizard participates in killing a mushroom card, it gains +1 Attack, +1 Defense, and heals 1 health.

[Bighead Mushroom Eater Lizard]: For every mushroom card that dies, Bighead Mushroom Eater Lizard gains +1 Attack, +1 Defense, and heals 1 health.

These two abilities seem similar, but there's an immense practical difference.

She understood why Li Pu chose to reveal the Ace first.

The earlier it is revealed, the sooner [Bighead Mushroom Eater Lizard]'s skill can activate and accumulate bonuses from demolished mushroom cards.

"Your card deck is well-arranged..."

Glancing at Li Pu, Xiong Paipai showed an approving look.

She had already seen through the synergy between regular cards and the Ace in [Mushroom Mobilization].

If she hadn't guessed wrong, the remaining unrevealed cards are surely mushroom cards.

In a regular card game, fewer regular cards are detrimental to one's Ace.

But Li Pu's deck turns the tables; the fewer regular cards, the stronger the Ace becomes.

"However, it's not completely unbeatable."

Without waiting for Li Pu's response, Xiong Paipai confidently declared.

In her perspective, a major characteristic of mushroom cards is their low strength.

Even if left to attack for several turns, they couldn't deliver a devastating blow to her conventional card deck.

What she needed to do was stall.

Without attacking Li Pu's cards, she would first reveal all her conventional cards.

Once most cards were revealed, she would then launch a powerful attack, breaking through his formation and heading straight for the Ace.

Achieving this strategy required two straightforward steps.

The first step is ensuring her deck includes healing cards.

With healing cards in play, it'd be easy to withstand the relatively weak attacks from those mushroom cards, perhaps losing two or three cards at most.

Clearly, Xiong Paipai had included healing cards.

The second step involves calculating card distances.

The distance of a card slot is 1, while an empty slot is 0.

The attack range of [Bighead Mushroom Eater Lizard] is 2, implying unless three regular front cards leave, thus creating a gap of 3, it would need at least a range of 4 to reach her front-line cards.

The answer is clear; not attacking mushroom cards in the column of [Bighead Mushroom Eater Lizard] means it can't attack her cards, leaving her at ease.

Thus, in the second action phase of this round, Xiong Paipai chose to hold still.

She refrained from attacking any of Li Pu's cards.

"Xiong's tactic here is quite clever."

"As expected from an experienced Cube Cards student."

"From this angle, the result isn't easy to predict."

"Indeed, Li's early reveal of the Ace seems to create a vulnerability."

Some classmates later noticed the unusual aspects of [Bighead Mushroom Eater Lizard] and found Xiong Paipai's choice commendable.

"Of course, considering who I am."

Evidently, Xiong Paipai found such praises quite agreeable, unconsciously folding her arms with a slight proud demeanor.

However, while she chose to stay inactive, Li Pu took his turn.

[Mushroom Feast!]

With a roar, Xiong Paipai froze.

"... What the hell?!"

...

...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.