At the same time, when evaluating how to beat Light and Darkness Dragon, players came up with two easy and effective solutions. The first is to activate the effect of Treeborn Frog multiple times to cancel out the Dragon’s negation effect, then destroy it in battle. This has the unfortunate effect of allowing your opponent to special summon a monster from his or her graveyard, which could include Destiny Hero - Disk Commander or Dark Magician of Chaos. Another option is to spin Light and Darkness Dragon to the top of its owner’s deck—usually with Phoenix Wing Wind Blast on the chain, but also by using Raiza the Storm Monarch after Treeborn Frog has done its job.

It just so happens that the deck that works the best with these cards is the Light and Darkness deck itself. Phoenix Wing Wind Blast, Raiza the Storm Monarch, and Treeborn Frog work very well together, and get even more support from a deck that offers as many tributes and as much discard material as this strategy. The promise of consistent power led many players to take it into San Mateo. Sure enough, the finals showcased a Light and Darkness Dragon mirror match. Jerry Wang was one of the competitors in that match, and although he walked away with second place, it is his deck that others are likely to duplicate for future competition:

Monsters: 21

3 Raiza the Storm Monarch

1 Spirit Reaper

1 Spell Striker

1 Destiny Hero - Plasma

1 D.D. Crow

1 Sangan

2 Light and Darkness Dragon

1 Treeborn Frog

2 Destiny Hero - Fear Monger

1 Destiny Hero - Disk Commander

2 Destiny Hero - Malicious

1 Breaker the Magical Warrior

1 Cyber Dragon

1 Snipe Hunter

1 Elemental Hero Stratos

1 Marshmallon

Spells: 14

1 Soul Exchange

1 Foolish Burial

1 Premature Burial

3 Destiny Draw

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

1 Brain Control

1 Heavy Storm

1 Pot of Avarice

1 Scapegoat

2 Reinforcement of the Army

1 Enemy Controller

Traps: 6

1 Mirror Force

1 Torrential Tribute

1 Call of the Haunted

2 Phoenix Wing Wind Blast

1 Crush Card Virus

This is essentially a Perfect Circle deck, tuned to fit Light and Darkness Dragon in over Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch. Since the Dragon requires two tributes instead of one, several adjustments have to be made to the rest of the build. Both Treeborn Frog and Destiny Hero - Malicious are played because they may actually need to be used together to bring out a Dragon. Foolish Burial, which first became legal for San Mateo, can put both of these monsters in the graveyard. This can set up Dragon tributes as early as the second turn.

Light and Darkness Dragon is really only great against decks that aren’t prepared for it: decks that need to waste multiple cards in order to destroy the Dragon in battle. That’s the absolute worst way to take out the Dragon. It means forfeiting multiple cards only to see your opponent special summon Destiny Hero - Disk Commander and gain two more draws. Such a situation only amplifies the effects of Monarch and spin effects, which this deck can unload immediately.

Raiza the Storm Monarch and Phoenix Wing Wind Blast are key tools in defeating opponents who’ve invested multiple cards just to take care of the Dragon. They’ll be forced to look at the same things over and over while you improve your game state. Jerry employed this thinking at San Mateo, playing three copies of Raiza and a pair of Wind Blasts. Crush Card Virus can also devastate an opponent who is spread too thin, robbing that player of any big ATK monsters and revealing his or her entire hand. Of course this card is not available to most people, but it’s a big difference maker if you can get it.

Ironically, the deck only carries two copies of Light and Darkness Dragon, since the card isn’t a spectacular play against decks that can take care of it. This includes the mirror match, which is why we saw so few copies of Light and Darkness Dragon hit play in mirror match features at San Mateo. Since most players know about the threat, Jerry played just two copies, knowing that playing a Dragon too often could backfire.

Destiny Hero - Disk Commander and Destiny Hero - Fear Monger are here for the same reason Perfect Circle played them. The Disk Commander is your primary revival target for Light and Darkness Dragon, since it will draw you two cards and provide a monster to be tributed later. This means dropping a second Dragon on the next turn or following up the first Dragon with Raiza the Storm Monarch. The Fear Monger is perfect for an opponent who wants to poke face-down monsters while Disk Commander is in the graveyard. Being able to draw two cards and not lose a monster on the field is a pretty sweet deal. It’s even better when you can combo Fear Monger with a spell speed 2 discard to catch opponents by surprise.

With all the Warriors and Reinforcement of the Army already taking up space in the deck, Spell Striker makes an incredible inclusion to support Light and Darkness Dragon. At the simple cost of removing a spell card you can’t get back again anyway, Spell Striker can attack for 600 or set up a tribute for one of your monsters or Enemy Controller. Imagine playing Foolish Burial on turn 1, and activating Reinforcement of the Army for Spell Striker on turn 2 and giving up both monsters for Light and Darkness Dragon.

Marshmallon can set up a tribute as well, while doubling up as a wall to block opposing copies of Light and Darkness Dragon. It’s especially useful in a format where many players use three copies of Solemn Judgment. Marshmallon can also end games, or combo nicely with Brain Control and a Monarch to set up a win condition.

Destiny Hero - Plasma is the newest addition to the team, and its incredible effect puts tremendous strain on the opponent. Being able to negate your opponent’s monster effects while also instantly removing one of his or her monsters from the field means that Plasma can likely take down multiple threats. Imagine an opponent with Spirit Reaper, Snipe Hunter, and Raiza the Storm Monarch on the field. If you’re able to bust out Plasma—say by tributing Treeborn Frog, Marshmallon, and Spell Striker—you can absorb Raiza and take care of both monsters next turn, without fear of Snipe Hunter. Normally both Raiza and Snipe would have to be taken care of, leaving no room for Reaper. Plasma opens up a wider range of options for the Perfect Circle player, who can simply discard it for Destiny Draw or Phoenix Wing Wind Blast when it’s not useful.

Foolish Burial is the only new spell or trap card to see play. Being able to set up your own Treeborn Frog early is critical, especially in the mirror match where Frog can take out a Light and Darkness Dragon. Burial can also toss Destiny Hero - Disk Commander when you have Premature Burial or Call of the Haunted. Though it may not happen too often, the possibility exists to open up with Foolish Burial, Premature Burial, Spell Striker, and Light and Darkness Dragon, allowing you to drop a Dragon on turn 1 at the cost of one card, and set up a Disk Commander in the graveyard. Your opponent must then sacrifice a card or take 2800 damage next turn, and when the Dragon is destroyed you’ll draw another two cards, replacing the Dragon and earning interest. Not a bad start at all.

The amount of card draw and negation power the Light and Darkness Dragon deck has to offer will ensure its popularity for quite some time. Its versatility and consistency make it a solid choice for Shonen Jump Championships. Destiny Light and Darkness Dragon is the new deck to beat, and Jerry Wang and Fili Luna showed us why at San Mateo.