Many established Decks got a boost from new cards in Extreme Victory: strategies like Dragons, Psychics, Samurais, Fiends and many more all got new cards that made them more competitive.  But perhaps no Deck benefited from just a single new card the way Worms did.  With just 1 earth-shattering Trap, Worms are suddenly bursting with potential, and could suddenly make a strong bid for the Top 32.  The key to this sudden swerve? W Nebula Meteorite.

W Nebula Meteorite is a Trap Card with three separate effects.  When W Nebula Meteorite resolves, it turns all face-down Defense Position monsters face-up..  The next two effects kick in during the End Phase of the turn on which Meteorite is played: it changes all face-up LIGHT Reptile-Type monsters you control to face-down Defense Position and you draw 1 card for each.  Finally, you can Special Summon a Level 7 or higher LIGHT Reptile straight from your Deck.

Worm Duelists can use Nebula Meteorite to cash in on Flip Effects and other abilities that activate when certain Worms are flipped face-up.  Those same Worms can then be flipped face-down if they survive to the End Phase, allowing their controller to draw free cards.  Finally, Worm Duelists have 3 heavy-hitters they can Special Summon with the last of the Meteorite’s abilities.  Play the Meteorite well, and a skilled Worm Duelist can trigger fistfuls of big effects; reuse them next turn; draw a bunch of cards; and unleash big atackers, all with a single Trap.

Alex Reynolds is one of the Duelists looking to capitalize on this newfound power here in today’s tournament.  Here’s what he’s playing here in Orlando:

Alex Reynolds’ Nebula Meteorite Worms – 41 Cards

Monsters: 19
2 Worm King
2 Evil Dragon Ananta
3 Worm Xex
3 Worm Yagan
2 Worm Linx
3 Worm Cartaros
2 Spirit Reaper
1 Effect Veiler
1 Honest

Spells: 7
1 Monster Reborn
1 Dark Hole
3 Pot of Duality
1 Giant Trunade
1 Book of Moon

Traps: 15
3 Offering to the Snake Deity
3 W Nebula Meteorite
2 Dimensional Prison
1 Royal Oppression
2 Solemn Warning
1 Compulsory Evacuation Device
1 Solemn Judgment
1 Mirror Force
1 Dark Bribe

Reynolds was chuffed about W Nebula Meteorite: “The key card in this deck is the Meteorite, from Extreme Victory.  It’s what makes this Deck so good.”  Even with just one face-down Worm, the Meteorite can have a tremendous impact.  “Say I have Worm Cartaros Set,” whose Flip Effect lets Reynolds add another Worm from his Deck to his hand.  “I can activate Nebula in the End Phase of my opponent’s turn, so first I flip Cartaros and and get another Worm from my Deck with its ability.  Then it flips down and I get to draw a card.  NEXT, I get to Special Summon Worm King. Now my turn starts, and after I draw for my turn I can flip Cartaros and search my Deck with its effect again.”  With 2 Cartaros searches, a draw with Meteorite, and a free Worm King on the field, Reynolds is rolling in free cards.  If 1 of the Worms he searched was Worm Xex, he can keep everything going by using it to send Worm Yagan to his Graveyard so he can Special Summon it later.

So what do you do with all those extra Worms? Worm Xex is a respectable attacker on its own, packing 1800 Attack Points, while Worm Yagan can bounce away Synchro Monsters back to the Extra Deck, or just clear away a big monster that Reynolds might have trouble with otherwise.  But often, the best use for a Worm monster is fodder for Offering to the Snake Deity.  We’ve seen Worm Duelists use that card before: it’s like Icarus Attack, letting you destroy an on-field Worm to destroy 2 opposing cards.  But Offering’s far better now that W Nebula Meteorite is in the mix: with so many extra cards, it’s now much easier for Reynolds to have an extra Worm to destroy.  He’ll be able to shrug off the loss of 2 of his cards really easily, while his opponents will be devastated.

Reynolds’ focus doesn’t rest solely on Worms, either: he also plays Spirit Reaper, capitalizing on his ability to clear the field with Offering to the Snake Deity and Yagan.  Since he can clear away his opponent’s monsters and back row cards, it makes it really easy for Reynolds to follow up with a direct attack with Reaper, forcing his opponent to discard a card with its effect. Evil Dragon Ananta is another star monster: Reynolds runs Dimensional Prisons to protect Ananta, and help him make direct attacks with Reaper,  ensuring that he gets the most out of their effects.  “Even if I only have 1 Reptile in my Graveyard and Ananta is only at 600 ATK, I can still protect it and destroy a card every turn.”  Ananta can act as a big finisher with its potential for high ATK, but it also has a useful ability that lets Reynolds destroy a card in each of his End Phases.  By keeping Ananta safe from attacks, he can pick off opposing cards effortlessly.

This all adds up to a strategy that Reynolds feels has favorable matchups for the weekend’s field:  “This Deck has TONS of outs to Samurai. They don’t stand a chance. I was playing Samurai, until we found this deck and was forced to switch.”  With Worm Yagan bouncing away Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En, and Offering breaking up monster-based combos and attempted Synchro Summons, Reynolds is feeling pretty confident.  He also pointed out that the strategy’s virtually immune to Necrovalley, since it has very few cards that target anything in the Graveyard.

This could very well be the weekend where we finally see breakout showings from Worms!  If anything can get Worms into the Top 32, it’s definitely W Nebula Meteorite, and a Deck like this one could make it to the playoffs tomorrow.