When I sat down to write this article, my first thought was that I was bringing back something very old. Then I realized that my chosen subject was actually only a year old, and that so many things have happened since it was viable (and legal!) that it just seemed like a whole lot longer. It’s amazing when you think about it. Precious few people even remember what was good a year ago—let alone what the metagame was like—and in this particular instance I was one of the many who had forgotten.

For those of you who are wondering, one year ago, Light and Darkness Dragon decks using the Destiny Draw engine were all the rage. Sure, they weren’t taking up over ten spots in every Day 2 like Teleport Dark Armed Dragon is now, but then again, Light and Darkness Dragon decks were never anywhere near as explosively powerful and appealing to the masses as Teleport Dark Armed Dragon is. The really disappointing thing is that the one card that both Jason and I agreed was instrumental to Light and Darkness Dragon becoming the undisputed deck to beat never saw any play at a Jump. That card was Herald of Creation, and what it meant for the deck was nothing short of always having Light and Darkness Dragon on the field no matter what . . . or at least it could have. Fortunately for all of us who were playing at the time, there were many tools available to mitigate the impact of the Dragon.

Basically, players had three main tools that they used to combat Light and Darkness Dragon. The most prevalent one was the card that let Herald of Creation do its thing: Treeborn Frog. A Treeborn Frog in the graveyard meant that Light and Darkness Dragon was heading for an unfortunate demise, since the Frog would drain the Dragon’s ATK and DEF down low enough for any decent monster or Monarch to get rid of it. The solution to Frog for Light and Darkness Dragon was the same as opposing decks’ solution to the LADD player’s Frog: D.D. Crow. Eliminating Frog made it difficult or impossible to keep up the constant stream of Dragons that the deck used to win the game (and prevent all attempts the opponent made to mount a comeback).

Finally, there was a counter trap answer to Light and Darkness Dragon that didn’t really start to see play in side decks until December, 2007: Forced Back. Forced Back was a total hose to the Light and Darkness Dragon strategy because it forced the deck to lose two on-field monsters for no gain. In the comparative case of Solemn Judgment, Light and Darkness Dragon’s revival effect would still activate and was likely to get its controller the Dark Magician of Chaos needed to kill you dead, so Forced Back was a one-card answer to something that normally required no less than two cards to get rid of. Interestingly enough, Crow, Frog, and Forced Back are basically nonexistent a year later, and Destiny Hero - Malicious is unlimited again. Perhaps it’s time for a comeback?

Monsters: 21

3 Herald of Creation
3 Light and Darkness Dragon
1 Spirit Reaper
1 Treeborn Frog
1 Elemental Hero Stratos
3 Destiny Hero - Malicious
3 Destiny Hero - Plasma
1 Destiny Hero - Dasher
1 Dark Grepher
1 Psychic Commander
3 Krebons

Extra Deck: 15

You’ll note that unlike the old Light and Darkness Dragon decks, this one has only one trap. Crush Card Virus is still amazing, and it’s also the best way to get rid of a spent Light and Darkness Dragon without having to destroy the rest of your monsters. Unlike many of the decks I like to play, there’s no real trickery or subterfuge in this one. You draw through your deck until you find your threats, put them on the field, and challenge your opponent to do something about it. With three copies each of Allure of Darkness and Destiny Draw along with a pair of Trade-In cards and two copies of Reinforcement of the Army, you’re going to be seeing a lot of your deck every game. Your primary threats are Light and Darkness Dragon and Destiny Hero - Plasma. Mostly, you’ll be using the Dragon to force your opponent to waste cards and effects to bring your monster down to a manageable level before attacking over it with something like Dark Grepher. For the record, in order to trade with the Dragon in battle, they’d have to swing on it with Elemental Hero Stratos after burning two cards or effects. To outright beat it, they’d have to waste three cards or effects, but the number of monsters that could successfully defeat the Dragon would rise. When I say "they," I’m basically talking about Teleport Dark Armed Dragon and Zombies here. Lightsworn are likely to give this deck fits if you don’t develop a playstyle and side deck appropriately when facing off against Celestia and her cronies.

In matchups with Lightsworn, your primary breadwinner is going to be Destiny Hero - Plasma. Getting the three monsters required to bring it out is somewhat difficult in the deck’s current configuration, but definitely not impossible. Honest will still give you a hard time, but a card as powerful as Honest is going to give any deck a hard time, especially considering the only reliable ways to negate it are the deck-specific Gladiator Beast War Chariot and the discard-costed Divine Wrath. You aren’t likely to see much of the former owing to the issues that Gladiator Beasts are facing right now, but it’s not unheard of for people to be packing Divine Wrath in their side decks as of late. I’ve actually seen it sided in along with Skill Drain by a Teleport Dark Armed Dragon player who was willing to take no chances with being blown away by Overdrive Teleporter. I’m not kidding. Overdrive Teleporter is a beast and would have easily won the Psychic player the duel (and consequently the match) if the Wrath wasn’t there. Definitely consider Wrath if you haven’t already, even if you’re already siding Skill Drain.

The strength of your matchup with Zombies basically depends on how fast you can drop Light and Darkness Dragon. If the answer is very fast, and you can pull off the Herald loop as well, the Zombie deck will play very much like a car whose gas tank has been exposed to open flame. Specifically, it will burn itself out until there’s nothing left but charred wreckage. Your key to victory is the ability to summon Light and Darkness Dragon every turn, and in case you haven’t worked out what exactly I’m suggesting yet, allow me to go through the steps. Basically, you need Treeborn Frog and Herald of Creation in the graveyard, plus Light and Darkness Dragon on your field. Not difficult, given all the draw power and the pair of Foolish Burial cards. Then, when they wear down your Dragon and destroy it, you revive Herald of Creation. If Herald survives, you’ll bring back Treeborn Frog on your turn, since you definitely don’t have a back row (due to the Dragon). From there you’ll pitch any card you don’t want, and bring Light and Darkness Dragon back to your hand with Herald’s effect. Then just tribute Herald and Frog for the Dragon and you’re alive and kicking again. This simple loop won me many tournaments last year and performed wonderfully for Jason as well. Whether or not it’ll work one year later remains to be seen.

I’m fairly certain that at this point I’ve lost a number of people who saw the decklist, didn’t see Dark Armed Dragon, and went back to Pojo. For the rest of you who actually care about the thought process behind my decisions, here’s why Dark Armed Dragon is absent: this is not a Dark Armed Dragon deck. This is a deck that you take to locals to have some fun with and wreck the overconfident players who try to put their decks on autopilot. Light and Darkness Dragon and Destiny Hero - Plasma are two of the hardest cards to play against in the entirety of the game, and this deck has quick access to both of them! Not only that, but by removing the Dark Armed Dragon cards I’ve significantly lowered the cost to build the deck, leaving Crush Card Virus as the only really expensive card. If you don’t have it, go ahead and leave it out. I recommend either a third Emergency Teleport or Fires of Doomsday in its place. So many people right now think that any deck that doesn’t play Dark Armed Dragon or Judgment Dragon is incapable of winning or even making Day 2 of a major event. These people are very wrong, and I’m hoping we’re going to see concrete proof of this in the coming weeks as 2008 winds down. Until next time, play hard, play fair, and most importantly, have fun!

—Jerome McHale