Lightsworn may have a little 'light' left in them

First of all, before I start, I'd like to point out the fact that it's 4:17 in the morning. Oh, and go to my Youtube Channel, please! www.youtube.com/tyl3n0lpm

Thank you, now on to the blog =]
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Okay, so as a former Lightsworn player, I know how badly the deck was hurt by the ban list. The deck was not only ruined by the removal of 1 or 2 cards, but 5.

1. Lumina - Limited to 1
2. Charge of the Light Brigade - Limited to 1
3. Honest - Limited to 2
4. Necro Gardna - Limited to 1
5. Tragoedia - Limited to 1

When an average deck gets hit by the ban list, 2 cards usually fall victim; never 5. As mad as everyone was about Charge and Lumina getting limited to 1, I was more concerned about the other cards being limited. Obviously, Charge & Lumina were the soul of the deck. However, the deck is extremely playable with those cards at 1. In my opinion, the real damage was done when Necro Gardna, Honest, and Tragoedia were limited.

Lightsworn was a very good deck because it had the ability to run only 2 trap cards--both being Beckoning of Light--and a lot of monster support. A Lightsworn player would not have to waste space on cards like Mirror Force, TT, Bottomless, etc., because it already had more than enough protection. Necro Gardna allowed a Lightsworn player to feel comfortable and think strategically. Honest was a great card to be used offensively and defensively. Although it was only dropped to 2, that extra Honest made a huge difference. The ability to keep Lumina alive was a huge part of the deck. I understand limiting Lumina to 1, but restricting Honest and Necro Gardna were a finishing blow. Lastly, we have Tragoedia. I always ran 3 in my build, but the majority of players ran 1 or 2. I never really counted Tragoedia as a monster because I used it for defense 90% of the time. I would drop him as early as possibly and use him to synch, control, and run over my opponent's threats. Limiting him was a heavy hit to the deck.


However, not all hope is lost. With the ban list the way it is, certain cards should be considered for your Lightsworn build;












Card Trooper is important because it is a resourceful draw and mill engine. It can get 3 cards in your graveyard fast and give you a quick +1, which is something Lightsworn builds need. Magical Merchant can mill through a good portion of your deck, then give you a spell/trap you need. It helps your JD count as well. Pot of Avarice has always been a good Lightsworn tech, but it's never been better. With Charge at 1, Lightsworn players need ways to recycle their Luminas and Honests. Lastly, dimensional prison is just another basic form of defense for the deck. Since we are missing are common forms of defense, Dprison has the ability to efficiently run over any problematic card.


Anyways, that's my short blog. I wanted to keep it succinct and informative. Lightsworn players still have hope, so look to see a few decks at the top tables soon. That's all folks. Oh yeah, don't forget my Youtube channel and my Twitter =]

www.youtube.com/tyl3n0lpm

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The concept of "Anti-Meta"

Today, we'll be talking about the schematics of an 'Anti-Meta' deck. Generally speaking, an anti-meta deck consists of cards to shut mainstream and top tier decks down consistently by revolving around constant negation. Anti-Meta decks usually revolve around a few ideas:

• A constant flow of monsters
• Quick 1 for 1 monster destruction
• Easy protection

With the exception of the Machina version, basic Gadget decks revolve around these concepts. Gadget decks have a consistent flow of 6 monsters; I say 6 because--generally--2 copies of each gadget are used. They run heavy monster destruction such as Smashing Ground, Fissure, and Lightning Vortex. However, people commonly ask the question: Can I run an Anti-Meta deck without gadgets? Let's look at a few cards that benefit this deck type:



These cards are all very key into building a successful anti-meta deck. As you can see, a lot of anti-meta decks have a lot of special summoning control. It's very important in the current meta to negate special summons as much as possible, seeing as how every top tier deck can't function without special summoning. By shutting that aspect of a players deck down, it puts more pressure of them to make risky plays and waste valuable resources on cards you have replacements for.

In an anti-meta deck, your main goal is consistently have an answer for each of your opponents plays, and constantly bring back reoccurring problems that they have. For example: If I have Thunder King on board with a lot of protection in my back row, I'll force my opponent to negative himself either -1 or -2 in card advantage to get rid of my monster in order for them to special summon. However, by that time, I will already be able to further negate special summons with cards like Royal Oppression or Fossil Dyna. I've seen plenty of players become frustrated and lose the game as a result because they can't get rid of my constant obstacles.



This card is very key in an anti-meta deck because of it's ability to keep your back rows alive, and should be ran at 1 or 2 at all times. Since the average anti-meta player runs 16-18 monsters, your back rows become extremely important to winning each game.

Here's a few things do and to STAY AWAY from when playing an anti-meta deck:

- Do not run cards that conflict with your theme. If you're running a lot of special-summon-negation, don't too many cards that require a special summon. I've seen many players run in to this problem.

- Keep your negation general. Don't run specific themed anti-meta cards like Consecrated Light, Light Imprisoning Mirror, System Down, Swallow Flip, etc.

- Keep your card count low. 40 cards is generally a solid number; this will keep your draws consistent. 42 is not that bad of an option either, but I'd suggest checking out Jae Kim's video about probabilities: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv7NCkGcViY&hd=1
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In concluding, anti-meta decks have the potential to wreck any top tier deck. Obviously, it will never be a tier 1 decks because it's purpose it to kill top tier decks. It will always be a tier 1.5. I will post my anti-meta deck very soon. Stay tuned for many more blogs. Thanks for reading. PLEASE SUBSCRIBE!! Also, check out my Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/TyL3N0Lpm