Two of the most recognizable female duelists in the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime are Mai Valentine and Akiza Izinski. Akiza is one of the main characters of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s anime and Mai Valentine was basically one of the only female duelists in the entire original series.
While these duelists never got the chance to meet, what would happen if they did? If the two were to face off in a duel, which would go to the top, and which would be left in the dust? They both have different qualities that give them a better shot, such as Mai’s monster diversity.
Mai: Her Monster Diversity
One benefit that Mai has over Akiza is her array of different Harpie Lady monsters, along with her Amazonesses. She can use their different abilities to power one another up and bring each other out easily.
This isn’t to say that Akiza doesn’t have a good set of monsters on her side, but they all have one goal in mind, and that is to bring out her boss monster as soon as possible, Black Rose Dragon.
Akiza: Black Rose Dragon
Akiza’s boss monster is Black Rose Dragon, and it is quite a powerhouse. Firstly, when it is summoned, each of the opponent’s monsters are destroyed.
Additionally, this card can target an opponent’s monster and force it into attack mode and drop its attack points to zero. With 2400 attack points, this card might not be the strongest, but it makes up for it with its powerful effect.
Mai: Harpie’s Feather Duster
Harpie’s Feather Duster is sort of similar to Black Rose Dragon. Rather than destroying the opponent’s front row, it takes out their back row, destroying each of their spell and trap cards. This effect is so good that it was banned in the real-life game for some time.
This card could be a game-changer for Mai and could help to deal with Akiza’s next entry on the list, her powerful Black Garden spell card.
Akiza: Black Garden
Black Garden is a spell card that Akiza used in early episodes of the series, and it comes with an array of different effects. Firstly, if Black Garden didn’t summon a card to the field, its attack points are halved.
At the same time that this monster is summoned, a Rose Token that cannot attack or be destroyed is brought out to the opponent’s side of the field. Finally, at any point, this card and all plants on the field can be destroyed to bring out a monster from the graveyard that has equal to or fewer attack points than the combined total that was just destroyed.
Mai: Her Swarming
Mai has an array of different cards that allow her to summon Harpies out to the field very quickly. Her swarming capabilities are fantastic. Using cards like Elegant Egotist, she is able to clone one Harpie into three, and both clones keep all the upgrades that the originals already had.
Akiza simply isn’t able to bring out strong monsters quickly onto the field like Mai can. Well, for the most part, at least.
Akiza: How Easy Black Rose Dragon Can Come Out
Akiza is able to get her boss monster, Black Rose Dragon, out onto the field with very little hassle. In fact, in many of her duels she’s able to bring it out in a single turn.
Black Rose Dragon is very easy to summon, as it only requires one tuner monster and one non-tuner. As such, Akiza is able to get her best monster out onto the field quickly. Mai can swarm, but her boss monster isn’t going to come out as easily as Akiza’s is able to.
Mai: Harpie’s Pet Phantasmal Dragon
Harpie’s Pet Phantasmal Dragon might not have been in Mai’s anime deck, but she did use it in a scripted duel against Yugi, so she technically does have access to this card. As long as it has materials (starts with three and loses one each turn), Harpie’s Pet Phantasmal Dragon can attack the opponent directly and Harpies cannot be targeted for attacks or effects, giving them a layer of protection that is fantastic to have.
This card could tear through Akiza in the right circumstances.
Akiza: She Can Synchro Summon
Akiza has the ability to Synchro Summon, however, something that Mai hasn’t been seen to do. This is what allows her to do things like bring Black Rose Dragon out onto the field so quickly.
Having the ability to do so is going to benefit Akiza greatly in a theoretical duel with Mai.
Mai: Her Trap Cards
Trap cards like Mirror Wall are going to give Akiza a hard time in a duel against Mai. While Akiza can destroy monsters quickly, she can’t do the same thing to the back row as easily.
As such, she’s going to need to figure out how to get around this limitation if she hopes to take out Mai.
Akiza: She’s A Main Character
One major key that Akiza has over Mai is that she is a main character of her show. Mai is close but isn’t quite there. As such, if the two were ever going to go against one another, she’s going to win.
Plot armor is strong in the world of Yu-Gi-Oh!, and even a duelist like Mai isn’t going to be able to overcome it.
NEXT: 10 Most Powerful Yu-Gi-Oh! Monsters, Ranked