Each year, the United States and Japan each send four Duelists to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME World Championship. One of this year’s Japanese representatives has traveled here this weekend to compete in his first SHONEN JUMP Championship!

Satoshi Kato is running Lightsworn with Zombies, and while other competitors are playing Zombies studded with four or five Lightsworn monsters today, Kato’s gone so far as to run ten Lightsworn monsters plus a pair of “Judgment Dragons”!

Monsters:

2 Judgment Dragon
2 Chaos Sorcerer
1 Dark Armed Dragon
1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
3 Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner
1 Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior
2 Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress
1 Celestia, Lightsworn Angel
2 Wulf, Lightsworn Beast
1 Ehren, Lightsworn Monk
2 Mezuki
1 Zombie Master
2 Goblin Zombie
1 Plaguespreader Zombie
3 Necro Gardna
1 Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind

Spell Cards:

3 Solar Recharge
2 Allure of Darkness
1 Heavy Storm
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
2 Burial From a Different Dimension
3 Charge of the Light Brigade
1 Brain Control
1 Monster Reincarnation

Trap Cards:

2 Bottomless Trap Hole
1 Mirror Force
1 Trap Dustshoot
1 Torrential Tribute

This Deck can do almost everything a Lightsworn Deck can do. The one Lightsworn hallmark he’s not playing at all is “Honest,” but in return he can make big plays with his Zombie lineup and “Burial From a Different Dimension.”

His Zombie lineup consists of 2 “Mezukis,” 2 “Goblin Zombies,” “Plaguespreader Zombie,” and 1 copy of “Zombie Master.” He can play really aggressively with all of his Zombies, attacking with them and taking risks he wouldn’t take with other monsters. In a worst-case scenario, destroyed “Goblin Zombies” just get him more monsters, and the “Mezuki” just Special Summons more attackers later on. “Zombie Master” gives him another way to discard Lightsworn monsters and “Necro Gardnas,” protecting himself from attacks while quickly setting up to Special Summon “Judgment Dragon.”

Kato can also make huge Synchro Summons because of those Zombie monsters, at no real cost to himself. For instance, if Kato Tunes “Plaguespreader Zombie” to “Goblin Zombie,” he’ll get to search for another card with the Goblin’s effect. He’s basically just trading his “Plaguespreader Zombie” for a Level 6 Synchro, while at the same time nabbing whatever Zombie he needs to keep the pressure on his opponent.

If he Tunes “Plaguespreader Zombie” to “Mezuki” for a Level 6 Synchro Monster, he can remove “Mezuki” to Special Summon another Zombie to attack with, or he can Summon “Plaguespreader Zombie” to upgrade that Level 6 Synchro into a Level 8 one instead. When he removes “Mezuki” and “Plaguespreader Zombie,” he can bring them back and do it all again, with “Burial From a Different Dimension.” With the draw power of Lightsworn, and the card conservation power of Zombies, Kato can throw down attacker after attacker to swarm the field. This Deck’s strategy is to just outlast the opponent with attrition.

Kato’s Deck has access to a ton of cards. He’s packing three copies of “Charge of the Light Brigade” and three “Solar Recharges,” all of which can send Zombies, “Necro Gardnas”, and Lightsworn monsters to the Graveyard. But he’s also playing two copies of “Allure of Darkness,” and since he’s packing “Burial From a Different Dimension” he can bring anything he removes back to his Graveyard.

The sheer speed of Kato’s Deck plays to a pace that competitors in this tournament may not be expecting. We could see our first-ever Japanese Champion in Day 2, and if Kato makes it to the top 16 the future of Lightsworn Decks may never be the same!