Effect negation is a popular strategy for competitors today, since X-Sabers, Infernities, and Quickdraw Decks are all packing huge, game-changing plays. Divine Wrath, Pollinosis, and Swallow Flip are all seeing renewed interest, but for some Duelists that just isn’t enough. When it absolutely, positively has to be negated, Herald of Perfection can stop whatever your opponent is trying to do. It can negate the activation of Spell Cards, Trap Cards, and Effect Monster effects if you discard a Fairy-Type monster. Combined with cohorts like Herald of Orange Light, Herald of Green Light, and Archlord Kristya, Herald of Perfection can stop even the strongest Deck in its tracks, by shutting down monsters, Spells, AND Traps.

Russell LaParre is one of several Duelists betting their life in this tournament on Herald of Perfection.

Monsters: 33

3x Herald of Perfection

3x Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands

2x Senju of the Thousand Hands

3x Tethys the Goddess of Light

3x Soul of Purity and Light

1x Archlord Kristya

3x Herald of Orange Light

2x Herald of Green Light

2x Herald of Purple Light

2x Nova Summoner

1x Arcana Force 0 – The Fool

2x Dimensional Alchemist

2x Honest

1x Consecrated Light

2x Skelengel

1x Shining Angel

Spells: 6

3x Dawn of the Herald

1x Brain Control

1x Heavy Storm

1x Pot of Avarice

Traps: 3

2x Royal Decree

1x Solemn Judgment

LaParre plays more than 30 Fairy monsters in his 42-card Deck. More Fairies means more discard fodder for negations, both with Herald of Perfection and the smaller Herald monsters like Herald of Orange Light.

In addition, this Deck’s discard-cost negation effects are fueled by Tethys, the Goddess of Light. Tethys’ effect lets Laparre draw another card whenever he draws a Fairy, so the more Fairies LaParre runs, the more chances he gets to draw additional cards. The card you draw with Tethys’ ability can trigger her effect again, leading to long strings of draws. Those extra Fairy-Types are then discarded for all the discard costs LaParre is packing, and they can be recycled into the Deck with Pot of Avarice. The extra draws also help LaParre gather the best Tributes for his Ritual Summons, and the Ritual cards themselves.

Soul of Purity and Light plays a special role here. All those draws and discards put a lot of Fairies in the Graveyard, and LaParre can capitalize by removing 2 of them to Special Summon this 2000 ATK monster. It adds a lot of speed to the strategy, letting LaParre follow up with some attacks after he negates his opponent’s strategies. But Soul is also the ideal Tribute for Dawn of the Herald. Both Soul of Purity and Herald of Perfection are Level 6 monsters, so when LaParre activates Dawn, he can Tribute Soul of Purity and Light from his hand for Dawn’s cost. Then, when Herald of Perfection is successfully Summoned, LaParre can remove Dawn of the Herald from his Graveyard to return Soul of Purity and Light back to his hand. This combo gives him Herald of Perfection on the field, and costs nothing except the Ritual Spell Card. Putting Soul back in his hand also gives him the option of an immediate followup attacker, or he can use it as another card to discard for the Herald of Perfection’s effect.

Beyond the big flashy moves, LaParre also plays Nova Summoner and a lot of useful cards to search it out. Arcana Force 0 – The Fool and Consecrated Light each give him strong defensive options. Honest allows for even more damage, or the destruction of almost any monster in battle. Dimensional Alchemist adds another layer of combos to the Deck too, while also serving as a strong, easy-to-play attacker.

With just 9 card slots reserved for Spells and Traps (3 of which are taken up by Dawn of the Herald), space is at a premium in the rest of LaParre’s Deck. He only plays 3 Trap Cards: 2 copies of Royal Decree and 1 Solemn Judgment. But with 3 Heralds of Orange Light, 2 Heralds of Green Light, and 2 Heralds of Purple Light, LaParre has more flexibility than you might first expect.