A couple of days ago, I showed you Judgment Dragon and Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress. Toward the end of that article, I mentioned that Lyla’s ability to send three cards from the top of your deck to the graveyard "contributes to Judgment Dragon and some other powerful Lightsworn tricks." I didn’t explain what those other tricks were, and in the meantime, Jerome previewed two more cards that help you get Lightsworn monsters into your graveyard: Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter and Solar Exchange.
All three of these cards make it easy to get four Lightsworn into the graveyard so you can summon Judgment Dragon, but the Lightsworn deck is no one-trick pony. No sir, they can do a lot more than just summon Judgment Dragon as they pitch stuff to the graveyard, and today I’ll show you two more cards that take advantage of the Lightsworn’s key mechanic. The Light of Destruction Sneak Previews are just a week away, so let’s get to it!
Unleash the Beast!
Wulf, Lightsworn Beast is different from the rest of the low-level Lightsworn. He doesn’t have an effect that sends cards to the graveyard in the end phase. He doesn’t have a useful on-field effect, either. In fact, he doesn’t even look like a Lightsworn—Wulf looks more like he just got done eating a member of the Lightsworn, and has stolen his victim’s clothing in an effort to escape. But I can say this: Wulf is an amazing ally and a perfect fit for the Lightsworn strategy. Check him out . . .
Wulf, Lightsworn Beast
Beast-Warrior / Light
Level 4
2100 / 300
This card can’t be normal summoned or set. When Wulf is sent from your deck to your graveyard, special summon it.
So you have this deck that’s centered around building a swarm of monsters, right? And just attacking over and over. So to balance it, you put the strategy on a clock by making the monsters eat their own deck. Fair enough.
But then, for added kicks, you throw in a huge beatstick that gets special summoned for free when it’s randomly sent to the graveyard by the same deck-out mechanic that was meant to keep this craziness under control. I’m not sure what kind of person would do that, but if it was some sort of sick joke, I think it turned out exactly how he or she planned: when a card like Solar Exchange, Ryko, or even just an end-phase top-of-the-deck pitch pushes Wulf to the graveyard and then into play, you usually win. I’m at the point where I’ve tested Lightsworn builds for several hundred games, and while builds and results change, the correlation between "a free Wulf" and "winning" has remained a constant. It’s one thing to special summon monsters as the result of a tactical move or at least some sort of decision: but to just do it for free without even trying to is nuts. That’s the kind of power Wulf offers.
If your opponent plays a piece of removal to get rid of Wulf, and you summoned him without giving up a card to do so, your opponent just tossed away a card for something that you got for free. That’s a big advantage. It’s a rare deck that can take this guy on in battle, especially since Cyber Dragon doesn’t see play like it used to, so he almost always forces a negative situation for your opponent.
But of course, summoning Wulf through sheer luck isn’t the only way to play it. I like to run two or three copies of Wulf with one or two Foolish Burial cards. I can use Burial to send Wulf to the graveyard and then special summon him, adding pressure in the early game when it isn’t expected. If I draw Foolish Burial later on once I’ve already drawn through Wulf, I can use Foolish to get another Lightsworn in my graveyard and drop Judgment Dragon. Wulf works very well with Card Trooper, too.
Granted, sometimes you draw Wulf. In that case he’s fodder for Solar Exchange, or even discard material for Raigeki Break, Phoenix Wing Wind Blast, or Snipe Hunter. But you can also turn around and use him with the second card I’m looking at today.
The Special Summon Spectacular!
As you may have figured out after seeing both Judgment Dragon and Wulf, the Lightlords love to special summon. Both cards help them build their field really quickly, but they also have several recursive effects that special summon Lightsworn monsters from the graveyard. To start, they’ve got their own version of Zombie Master . . .
Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner
Spellcaster / Light
Level 3
1000 / 1000
Once each turn, you can discard a card to special summon a Level 4 or lower "Lightsworn" monster from your graveyard. In each of your end phases, send the top three cards from your deck to your graveyard.
Lumina might not have the muscle of Zombie Master, but her lower ATK is compensated for by the fact that she brings out better monsters. If you’ve been reading Metagame.com for a while, you know I’m a huge Zombie fan, but I’ll be the first to admit that Lumina’s arsenal is just far better than Pyramid Turtle and Goblin Zombie.
Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress will be a common partner in crime for Lumina. Together, they can instantly destroy a spell or trap card long after your opponent thought his or her back row was safe. On Sunday, Jerome will show you a monster that will usually net you a free draw when played with Lumina. However, today my focus rests on Wulf, Lightsworn Beast, and Lumina is a great match for this odd monster.
Despite being level 4, you’re not allowed to normal summon or set Wulf. When you draw him, you won’t be able to do anything with him on his own. But that’s where Lumina comes in: since Wulf is level 4, you can discard him to Lumina’s effect and then special summon him. Zombie Master just doesn’t have a 2100 ATK bruiser to play straight from the hand. If you want to bring out a different Lightsworn monster, Wulf can take the place of another Lightsworn without lowering your threshold for Judgment Dragon.
Playing Lumina and then discarding Wulf means a fast 3100 ATK on the table, plus three cards sent to the graveyard in the end phase. Bring back a different Lightsworn monster, and you could be sending as many as six cards to the graveyard at the end of your turn. That’s a cool option, because it can justify over-extending with Lumina as early as turn 1. For instance, if I have an opening hand with Lumina, Lyla, and Judgment Dragon, I know that if I play a Lightsworn monster and Lumina together I’ll probably be able to summon Judgment Dragon next turn. My opponent will destroy at least one of my two on-field monsters and the six cards I’ll be sending to the graveyard will do the rest of the work. This may be too ambitious for a turn 1 play, but it’s incredibly viable from turn 2 onward.
With cards like Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter and Solar Exchange adding cards to the graveyard, the range of options Lumina has even early in the game is huge! She almost creates a sort of reverse toolbox effect, similar to the engine that made Six Samurai so popular when they were first released.
Together, Wulf and Lumina are a great combo. As part of a larger whole though, each has incredible synergy with their Lightsworn comrades. Both are exceptionally good, functioning on a reliable basis while still benefiting from luck as well. They’re aggressive, but each can also cover for the situations where you over-extend and then run into problems later. Special summoning is a huge theme for the Lightsworn, and these cards are two of the most important special summon tricks they wield.
Stick with us this week, because we’ve still got seven days of Light of Destruction previews ahead, including one more article on Lightsworn cards this Sunday! The Light of Destruction Sneak Previews are coming up fast, and the more you know, the easier it will be to win extra prizes.
—Jason Grabher-Meyer