Summary
Yugi’s trust in the Heart of Cards has made him the best duelist, yet another main character in Yu-Gi-Oh! there is a greater chance of damage. Yuma’s Shining Draw in Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal allows him to draw exactly the card he needs, even creating new cards. It is stronger than Yugi’s ability. Despite its power, Shining Draw is not as iconic as Heart of the Cards and goes against Yuma’s character development, making it less interesting and engaging in duels. Be cautious about giving characters too much armor in the plot.
Yugi’s iconic trust in the Heart of Cards is why he is the best duelist in Yu-Gi-Oh!, but the main character later in the series is actually more likely to be corrupted. Of course, many other fighters in the series also have special abilities to aid them in duels that Yugi never had. But what makes this particular ability so shocking is that it’s a straight upgrade to Yugi’s already broken power.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, whenever Yugi gets stuck in a duel, he trusts the Heart of Cards to give him the exact card he needs to get out of it. Over time, this has become Yugi’s signature ability and something fans can expect in many of his games. While some may not like this power because it feels too much like plot armor, helping him win games that Yugi should never have won, in the end it’s the duel skill that His pair allowed him to make the cards he drew from the Heart of Cards work in his favor.
Yuma’s shine draw is superior to the hearts of Yugi’s cards
Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal takes the Heart of Cards to the next level with protagonist Yuma’s Shining Draw ability. This is a power that Yuma can unlock when he merges with his alien spirit friend Astral and transforms into Zexal form. Shining Draw allows Yuma to draw exactly the card he needs to get out of any situation he’s in, to the point where this ability creates an entirely new card for him. This is much stronger than Yugi’s belief in his deck because in many ways it defeats the notion of relying on the cards in Yuma’s deck. Instead, it creates something that was never in his deck in the first place.
With its much stronger and clearer form of Plot Armor Shining Draw, it’s no wonder it never became as iconic as Heart of the Cards. This ability also goes against Yuma’s overall character arc in the series. Yuma starts off as a bad duelist but develops into a good duelist, which makes him an interesting opponent for Yugi. However, while Yugi usually had to figure out how to use what the Heart of Cards gave him, Yuma’s Shining Draw required less skill to use, requiring him to improve slightly. than when using it.
Finally, although Yuma’s Shining Draw is much stronger than Heart of Cards, it is used much less. This is likely due to its overpowered nature making it much less interesting and giving the conclusion to many duels where it seems less interesting. So this ability is a good example of the dangers of equipping a character with too much plot armor. While Yu-Gi-Oh! series may introduce abilities more powerful than Heart of the Cards, that doesn’t mean they necessarily are.