Chris Bowling won SHONEN JUMP Championship Austin with the Deck known as Twilight – a powerful Deck combining DARK monsters and Lightsworn. Now with the release of “Archlord Kristya” in Stardust Overdrive, a new kind of Lightsworn Deck is possible. And this one has the potential to be faster, more aggressive, and capable of shutting down Special Summoning entirely. “Wulf, Lightsworn Beast” is out, and “Archlord Kristya” and “Shire, Lightsworn Spirit” are in, in this breakneck-paced Lightsworn build piloted by Chris Miller.

Miller sets up early, using basic combos like “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner” / “Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior” to quickly send as many cards as possible from the Deck to the Graveyard. Aggressive use of cards like “Celestia, Lightsworn Angel,” and “Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter” keeps the Graveyard filled, while “Trade-In” joins “Solar Recharge” to give the Deck even more draw power.

The reason? When he hits 4 Fairy monsters in the Graveyard, Miller can Special Summon “Archlord Kristya,” bringing out a monster with 2800 ATK and an effect that stops all Special Summons. Kristya also returns 1 Fairy from the Graveyard back to Miller’s hand. He’ll normally grab “Honest” to make Kristya even harder to deal with, but if he’s holding “Solar Recharge” or “Trade-In,” he’s able to take back a Lightsworn or another copy of Kristya to fill the discard cost for whatever draw card he’s got.

As Miller loads his Graveyard with Fairies he’ll also be sending Lightsworn monsters and “Necro Gardnas” there as well, setting up a powerful defense and preparing to Summon “Judgment Dragon.” ”

Trade-In” works with either Kristya or “Judgment Dragon” as its discard, and that’s the key to the Deck that brings everything together. Since Miller is sending so many cards to the Graveyard so quickly, he can run three copies of “Beckoning Light” to create hands that are almost impossible to beat. Go ahead and pitch that “Judgment Dragon” to “Trade-In”: Miller knows he’ll get it back later with “Beckoning Light.” Just three cards can turn into a hand of 2 “Judgment Dragons” and Kristya – a nearly unstoppable set of plays. Even just 1 “Judgment Dragon” and Kristya can mean game over, with a combined 5800 damage from the Dragon and Kristya, as well as 1100 damage from the “Honest” Kristya will return to Miller’s hand – a total of 6900 damage.  With the right Graveyard he can even forego “Honest” entirely, bring back “Shire, Lightsworn Spirit,” and deal a perfect 8000 damage.

“Beckoning Light” also provides ample Graveyard management, so even that if Miller’s Graveyard has too many Fairies (Kristya requires exactly 4), he’ll be able to remove extra Fairies so he can Special Summon Kristya. Those extra Fairies in Kristya’s way are often “Honests,” which can make for huge attacks or an impenetrable field once they’re back in the hand. “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner” can also help manage the number of Fairies Miller has in the Graveyard, plucking “Shire, Lightsworn Spirit” out of the Graveyard and onto the field, where Shire’s effect can boost up to 1900 or 2200 ATK with ease.

“Archlord Kristya” can even be Tribute Summoned in a pinch, which is great news for Lightsworn. In a late game situation when Miller’s Deck is getting low on cards and he might Deck out, he can Tribute two Lightsworns for Kristya, dodging those End Phase effects that would send his entire Deck to the Graveyard otherwise. Since the Deck includes “Honest” and “Necro Gardna,” they can also be used for a Tribute Summon of Kristya.

Because this Deck wields so many game-ending cards, Miller doesn’t need to be as conservative with his most powerful monsters as other Lightsworn Duelists. He can play “Honests” whenever he wants, knowing he’ll get them back later. That makes it easier to keep Lightsworn on the field early, and that means sending more cards to the Graveyard, faster, during the End Phase.

He can also Summon “Judgment Dragon” much earlier than a normal Lightsworn Deck would, knowing that if “Judgment Dragon” is destroyed he’ll still be able to pull off big wins with Kristya. Kristya can be reused over and over if destroyed because it returns to the top of the Deck, making for even more aggression.

In a tournament where almost every Deck seeks to win with Special Summon effects, “Archlord Kristya” is a game-breaking card. The Graveyard-filling power of Lightsworn make Kristya exceptionally easy to Special Summon, and provides a natural fit with all of these great Kristya combos.

This Deck can do far more than your typical Lightsworn build, but at the same time it’s more demanding of the Duelist piloting it: one must keep careful count of how many Fairies remain where, in addition to “Beckoning Lights” and Lightsworn monsters. But the reward is a new generation of Lightsworn that builds off the old successes and takes them to ridiculous new places. This is definitely a Deck to watch in the future.