Before I get to talking about today’s card, I figured this would be a good time to mention that this is my one hundredth article here on Metagame.com. Knowing this, I couldn’t help but look back on the work I’ve done for this website in the past.

It’s really, really embarrassing.

But then again, it is hard to be embarrassed of old work. While I’m not happy with my understanding of trading card games in the past, I value my old articles as a timeline of my progress in understanding not only the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, but game theory in general. While Yu-Gi-Oh! is just one trading card game, it shares a trait that most other successful TCGs also possess: a lot of depth. While it may not always appear in the tournament environment, Yu-Gi-Oh! has a huge amount of depth to its rules, and therefore, there’s a lot of strategy that can be found in the deckbuilding process, the playing process, and even the process of going through a tournament. While improving your deck’s consistency for a large-scale tournament is important, you will find that mastering the tournament rules and knowing the best mind games to use at the right time is equally important when playing any trading card game. (When I say mind games, I’m referring to only what is permitted at a tournament under the UDE tournament policies. Please refer to Julia’s recent articles on the proper code of conduct at a tournament).

Today is the second part of a four-part series on Counter Control, the intense counter-trap fueled control deck powered by the new Fairy monsters in Enemy of Justice. The final part of this series will be a full-on breakdown of the Counter Control deck, and it will also include a sample decklist for players who are interested in trying out this strategy.

While last week focused on Bountiful Artemis, the monster that can help provide stability and consistency to the Counter Control strategy, this week’s article focuses on Layard the Liberator. But what role does Layard the Liberator fill in a counter-control deck, and is it really necessary? Why would you run more copies of Bountiful Artemis than of Layard the Liberator?

Take a close look at Layard the Liberator. Its effect is very narrow, and it cannot be splashed well in most decks. Unlike Bountiful Artemis, which could be used with a Chaos-based strategy, Layard the Liberator is only able to support you if you run a heavy Fairy lineup. This means you cannot branch off from the Counter Fairy theme if you choose to run this card, since it is not possible to splash it with Chaos Sorcerer. While you may be able to trigger Layard the Liberator’s ability once in about every eight to ten duels, with a contradictory pair-off with Chaos Sorcerer, it will usually end up as a dead card: better replaced by something else, like another Bountiful Artemis (if you aren’t already running three copies of that Fairy).

There’s nothing wrong with this, however. The reason why Layard the Liberator exists is to encourage a player to focus solely on winning via Fairies. If you choose to splash for a Chaos Sorcerer in the late game, you’ll be sacrificing various useful elements for the Counter Control deck, such as a dominating win condition in the form of Voltanis the Adjudicator and the late-game edge provided by Layard the Liberator.

Speaking of which, I heard that getting two specific cards when you use a counter trap can be amazing! While such an effect is usually only useful late in a duel, playing Layard the Liberator when you’ve stabilized your board position and your opponent is in a dire situation will usually win you the game. However, this assumes that you’re running various threats that sport great synergy with Layard the Liberator, such as Soul of Purity and Light. The advantage to this non-Chaos Sorcerer special summon monster is that it only feeds off of Light monsters, and most of the monsters you would consider with the Counter Control strategy happen to be Light monsters. Your stabilizing engine (Bountiful Artemis), your win condition (Voltanis the Adjudicator), and, conveniently, Soul of Purity and Light all happen to possess the Light attribute and Fairy type, making them solid fodder for your 2000 ATK special summon monster and solid choices to return via Layard the Liberator.

Now think about removing Soul of Purity and Light from your graveyard in order to play Soul of Purity and Light from your hand. Such a play gives you a constant stream of attacking monsters whenever you activate a counter trap while Layard the Liberator is on the field. In fact, any reactive cards your opponent may have to deal with Soul of Purity and Light (such as Sakuretsu Armor) will usually not be countered at this point, since you no longer have to worry about running out of win conditions!

Layard the Liberator is also a solid combo with Skull Lair. While the Skull Lair can control what monsters remain on the opponent’s field, Layard the Liberator can work in conjunction with the continuous trap card to return key monsters to your hand. As a control player, you cannot ask for a better scenario than if you remove a dead Layard the Liberator through an effect of some kind, activate a Solemn Judgment to return it and another Fairy monster when Layard the Liberator is face up on the field, and then special summon Voltanis the Adjudicator to claim the momentum while you still have a backup Layard the Liberator in your hand. This chain (no pun intended) of counter traps and events can lead to a very tough collection of monsters that your opponent will have a hard time breaking through.

While Layard the Liberator can do a lot for you in the late game, it’s slow and requires you to be late into a duel. This is how Bountiful Artemis benefits you even more, since it helps you draw into counter-traps, your win conditions, and elements in the late game when you’re running out of tricks to play against your opponent. Conveniently, Layard the Liberator can be special summoned from your deck with Shining Angel, so it is not a required three-of in Counter Control, unlike Bountiful Artemis. This makes the little fairy much more versatile than you’d think. Once it is face up on the field and your opponent’s options are dwindling, chances are you will be claiming victory in that duel. It is very difficult to win when you receive more threats every time you counter one of your opponent’s plays.

While this article mini-series will be on a short hiatus for the Power of the Duelist sneak peeks (starting next week!), it will return in three weeks with the third part, detailing the win condition of the Counter Control deck. Be sure to check back over the next month!

If you have any questions or comments regarding this or any previous articles of mine, feel free to email me at Mrosenberg@metagame.com.