The Flaming Eternity set has hit the scene, and with it, new superstars have been unleashed. One of the most exciting new cards is the monstrous King Dragun, a fusion of the newly released Divine Dragon Ragnarok and the old-school, legendary Lord of D. Understanding how King Dragun works requires an understanding of Lord of D., which is a card that’s often associated with migraines.

Even though Lord of D. is one of the oldest cards in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, it still causes problems for players. Lord of D. isn’t often seen outside of Dragon decks. Because it isn’t played a lot, most duelists have limited experience with it and Lord of D. is often misunderstood. This week, we’ll look into the workings of Lord of D. and demystify how it works. After discussing Lord of D., we’ll then examine how it factors into the performance of King Dragun.

Divine Protector

Lord of D.

(Starter decks: Kaiba, Kaiba Evolution)

As long as this card remains face-up on the field, all Dragon-Type monsters cannot be targeted by Spell Cards, Trap Cards, or effects of monsters that designate a target.

As you can see, Lord of D.’s effect isn’t very long, but it sure does cause problems. The goal of the effect is to prevent Dragons from being the target of card effects, regardless of who controls a particular Dragon. For example, let’s say that I have a face-up copy of Lord of D. on my side of the field, and my opponent has a face-up copy of Blue-Eyes White Dragon. As long as Lord of D. is face up on the field, I can’t target Blue-Eyes White Dragon with Change of Heart, because Lord of D. says that Dragons cannot be targeted by spell cards.

Lord of D. prevents Dragons from being targeted by cards with targeting effects, like  Change of Heart, Book of Moon, Trap Hole, Magic Cylinder, Sakuretsu Armor, and Exiled Force.

Watch out for cards that have effects that don’t target, like Lightning Vortex, Smashing Ground, Torrential Tribute, Gravity Bind, and Tribe-Infecting Virus. These cards can affect Dragons even when Lord of D. is face up on the field.

Lord of D.’s effect sounds good, but it does have limitations. When a player activates a card effect that targets, the target is chosen as at the time of activation. Because of this, Lord of D. needs to be face up on the field when a targeting effect is activated. If the Spellcaster isn’t face up on the field at that time, it won’t prevent effects from targeting Dragons.

Example: Call of the Dragon

Dave has a face-up Red-Eyes B. Dragon and a set Call of the Haunted on his side of the field. Lord of D. is in his graveyard. His opponent, Kylie, begins her main phase by activating Change of Heart and targeting Red-Eyes B. Dragon with the spell’s effect.

Dave thinks, “I have Lord of D. in my graveyard. I’m going to use Call of the Haunted to get Lord of D., and the Lord will protect my Dragon!” Dave tells his opponent that he will activate his Call of the Haunted and chooses Lord of D. as his target. Kylie has no response, so the chain resolves, and Dave special summons Lord of D. to the field. Kylie starts to move Red-Eyes B. Dragon to her side of the field, but Dave protests, saying that Lord of D. is protecting Red-Eyes.

Kylie says, “It’s great that you have Lord of D. now, but where was it when I targeted your Red-Eyes?” That’s when it hits Dave—Lord of D. wasn’t on the field when Kylie targeted Red-Eyes with Change of Heart, so Lord of D. can’t stop the spell’s effect. Dave reluctantly agrees that Kylie will be getting his Red-Eyes after all.

At this point, some of you might say, “That’s not right! Dave got his Lord of D. and Lord of D. should stop the effect.” The truth is, Lord of D. had no way to stop the effect of Change of Heart because it wasn’t face-up on the field when Kylie chose her target with Change of Heart.Keep in mind that Lord of D. doesn’t negate card effects—it only prevents Dragons from being chosen as targets. If Lord of D. is special summoned or flipped face up after the target is already chosen, it’s too late for the Spellcaster to do anything.

The King Takes the Throne

It’s also important to know that Lord of D.’s effect doesn’t care which duelist played a card that targets a Dragon. If you try to attach an equip spell card to one of your Dragons while Lord of D. is face up on your side of the field, it will stop you. This drawback gives King Dragun room to assume power.

King Dragun’s effect focuses only on preventing your opponent from targeting Dragons with card effects. With King Dragun face up on your side of the field, you’re free to equip your Luster Dragon with an Axe of Despair. The King introduces a better aspect of control into your game because you’re no longer limited in your Dragon support.

King Dragun also has another great feature—a built-in Dragon-type special-summoning effect. Many long-time players are familiar with the tactic of using Lord of D. in combination with The Flute of Summoning Dragon to special summon up to two high-level Dragon-type monsters without having to worry about pesky tributes. While King Dragun can only special summon one Dragon at a time, the King’s effect trumps the Lord of D. combo, because King Dragun can perform a special summon once during each of your turns. This is because King Dragun has an ignition effect.

Much like when you play The Flute of Summoning Dragon, you don’t say which Dragon you will special summon until the effect resolves. This gives you some element of surprise, because your opponent will have to respond without knowing which monster he or she will be facing next.

Usurpers of the Throne

“If I can’t use Trap Hole on a Dragon while Lord of D. is on the field, does this mean that I can’t use Bottomless Trap Hole either?”

Actually, you can use Bottomless Trap Hole. While Trap Hole may target a monster, Bottomless Trap Hole doesn’t target a monster. Therefore, you can destroy a Dragon with Bottomless Trap Hole while Lord of D. is face up on the field.

“Can I use Change of Heart on a Dragon and then use Book of Moon on Lord of D., turning the Lord face down so it can’t protect the Dragon?”

This play doesn’t work, because Lord of D. is face up on the field when you activate Change of Heart. You should first use Book of Moon on Lord of D., let the spell resolve, and then play Change of Heart. This way, Lord of D. will be face down when you choose Change of Heart’s target. Note that this play requires two separate chains.

“What if I have a copy of Masked Dragon equipped with Axe of Despair, and then I summon Lord of D.? Do I still get the ATK boost?”

You do, because the equip spell card was attached to Masked Dragon before Lord of D. showed up, so the Lord can’t stop the spell or what it does. Similarly, if your opponent has Snatch Steal equipped to your Blue-Eyes White Dragon, summoning Lord of D. won’t get your Dragon back.

Until next week . . . hail to the King.