Notes & Combos

60c Crusadia World Legacy: "World Legacy's Finalit-i"

GALATEA-I IS FINALLY HERE!!!

*Hit M1 on the 21st, before the new pack, but needed time to write this and edit the video lol

Please see:

• Season 34 post for original discussion on 60c World Legacy deck concept.
• Season 38 post for original discussion on Knightmare engine.
• Season 39 post for original discussion on Harp Horror line.
• Season 42 post for hikori's original discussion on the new Draconnet line.
• Season 43 post for full notes on hikori's Draconnet line.

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This should be the beginning of the end for me here on Master Duel Meta! Now that World Legacy is back on the map thanks to Orcust, my watch has ended... :D I've only been holding out for Gala-i and Enlilgirsu, keeping World Legacy alive with my utter jank until we get eyes back on the best lore in YGO. I intend only to spend a few more seasons experimenting until I have a stable deck core for 60c pure World Legacy (Crusadia-based of course), and then I will happily retire.

SO, THE LONG-AWAITED WORLD LEGACY SUPPORT IS FINALLY HERE! I am pleasantly surprised that just two ED cards have made such a huge difference to how the deck functions. They're kinda like glue pieces tbh. Fundamentally, the concept remains the same, but we get extra resilience on Girsu opener + many new lines and possibilities + IMPROVED GRIND GAME!

Disclaimer: This is NOT optimized, and it is definitely the WORST WAY to play Gala-i and Enlil. This is merely the culmination of my love letter to World Legacy that reaches all corners of the lore and features each of the WL archetypes: World Chalice, Krawler, Mekk-Knight, Knightmare, Crusadia, Orcust, Guardragon!

Personal constraints remain:

• Must be Crusadia-based
• Must use World Legacy Guardragon and World Legacy's Mind Meld as they are the 2 WL cards that feature the Crusadia
• Must not use non-WL engines
• Must not have non-WL endboard pieces (I:P is ok since she is a transition piece)
• Since I am a Crusadia OTP: Must not utilize Orcust engine beyond accessing Crescendo for an in-archetype omni-negate (the only other option is World Legacy's Sorrow; I will look into using that instead tbh)

Please read the posts linked above for a better understanding of the deck concept. There's way too much to rehash in this post, so I will focus on just the changes.

BTW, it's funny to see the Knightmare line being used on the other side of the board every other game now, after months of me taking it to M1 lmao. I kinda hate seeing Fiendsmith go into the Knightmares, but it is what it is.

New In-Engine Possibilities

• Predictably, Gala-i makes Girsu the best NS in the deck once again. Highest ceiling board and no longer dies to Imperm!
• Gala-i, through the Knightmare line, FINALLY provides Crusadia with a bridge into the wider WL engine and Lib!!!!!!!!! I USED TO PRAY FOR TIMES LIKE THESE!!!
• The Orcust engine pieces like Harp and (the newly included) Cymbal are no longer bricks, and can double up as NS starters. Orcust Knightmare ("O-K") is still a brick tho
• Gala-i offers a "free discard" for a deck that plays tons of bricks and several cards that it WANTS to discard if possible (Orcust names in hand beyond the NS, World Legacy cards for easy Lib access)! It's even possible to send O-K from hand, which means O-K is no longer a garnet!
• Gala-i provides new branches to the Draconnet opener as well, resulting in higher ceiling
• The fact that Gala-i can banish an Orcust CARD (not just monster), and Enlil can add to hand from banishment, means that my beloved WL pile finally has a grind game. It is possible to recycle Crescendo. This is massive!

15 Crusadia monsters! And Spatha!

I started playing with these cards only after their release here as I don't have that much time beyond what I spend on MD, so it's only been less than 2 weeks and I've figured nothing out.

One thing I did notice from all my A/B testing at M5—while working up to my usual 5W streak—was that the deck simply performs way better with the Crusadia names maxed out again. I am, of course, delighted with this.

• The entire World Legacy sorely lacks special summon extenders. I miss my old friends, the Mekks, but they are untenable here. The Crusadia are (almost) free special summons—as long as there is a Link zone. Previously, the synergy was not quite there with Girsu as they still relied on Girsu being able to summon the token to be able to contribute; now, they actually serve as absolutely crucial extenders in hand if Girsu gets blanked. Nothing else in World Legacy can offer such lenient special summon extension.
• This is also true for the Draconnet opener, via Linguriboh. The difference compared to before is that using Crusadia extenders to access the Knightmare line is no longer a mere off-ramp into a scuffed Orcust board; O-K into Gala-i restores access to the World Legacy engine even if Justiciar Ib was denied. This changes the entire dynamic as well as the value of Crusadia monsters in this deck.
• Moreover, assuming Girsu/Draconnet NS into no HTs, even just 1 Crusadia extender is a ceiling raiser that adds an extra disruption (Dingy/Lib bounce). So the best hands for me are now Girsu/Draconnet + 1 Crusadia! And, if I open Draco + a Crusadia, I can send the Crusadia for a discard cost and SS Draco to fetch the Crusadia back for some nice hand economy!
• Finally, the Crusadia opener itself, again via O-K into Gala-i, can now access the WL engine (Lib) and, crucially, Magius add + Draco retrieval provide the bodies to put up a much better approximation to the best board, whereas previously this line would only ever end on just Crescendo.
• Spatha is a pivotal part of the pure Crusadia combo as her shift effect helps facilitate WL engine access. She also provides nice value as an easily accessible Link-2 in follow-up situations where I can summon a Crusadia and combine it with something to open up more Link zones. This deck is extremely needy and finicky with Link zones, especially since Deus tends to occupy the only free zone in most lines, so opening things up is actually really useful, as is the ability to Link down to Magius to potentially add more bodies.
• Equimax is a big part of the Crusadia opener (although it could also be Knightmare Unicorn or any Link-3 really lol). I did get to set up OTK 2 times this climb, but didn't record them because I'm often caught in two minds on whether to record incomplete plays (opponent scooped before the bonk), and then I just say heck it and proceed with the climb.

Trying not to be "Bad Orcust"

This is a Crusadia deck. I am a Crusadia player. I love all of World Legacy, so I'm delighted to include Orcust in this grand pile, but the deck's identity must remain fundamentally distinct from Orcust, especially since Orcust...has been co-opted by the meta. There is no point to this deck existing if it's just bad Orcust, so I resolved to avoid leaning entirely on the Orcust endboard by omitting Babel, since that facilitates all the signature Orcust plays.

However, in testing I encountered a peculiar scenario with the Girsu opener, wherein Gala-i opened up the potential to extend further and put up more bodies than before, but then looping back to O-K send Harp resulted in lost value as Harp would only be able to summon another Girsu, with no further effects possible. This was the sole reason for Cymbal's inclusion. Now, with Girsu as the NS earlier in the turn, I can further extend thanks to Cymbal, thereby raising ceiling.

As aforementioned, Cymbal is no longer a brick as well—this made it a lot easier for me to throw it in lol.

Nothing else Orcust-related was added to the Main Deck. World Wand would have added even more spicy lines and possibilities, but I simply can't afford more bricks lol.

Phoenix became Goblin?

I was an idiot. I never realized I could also use Knightmare Goblin to discard Orcust Knightmare if I opened it. O-K never had to be a garnet. Now it is merely a brick that I can discard to happily get the Orcust engine going. Unbelievable. I was an idiot.

The Return of I:P

Thanks to Gala-i, I can put up more Link materials than before; some might say almost as many as a modern deck should be putting up. I am sometimes able to keep Lib on the board while setting up the usual disruptions. Whenever I see Lib still on the board at the end, I immediately think of her best friend, I:P, and the two of them bringing out Astram. And so it is done. Now I can add the Lib bounce to my endboard!

Untapped Gala-i potential

I mentioned World Wand before. As a side note, I also found Girsu lines where Gala-i would add World Armor instead of World Crown, and then I could discard World Armor for Mermaid, then use Lib set Succession SS World Armor to add Pawns. This is similar to the classic Mekk-Knight opener for Girsu, just blended into the Gala-i and Knightmare setups now. With this, Lib goes even with a body on field to continue link climbing, and it's a lot easier to achieve the dream board of I:P + Lib + Crescendo + Deus + Dingy.

However, I wound up cutting this line because:

1. World Armor would be YET ANOTHER brick in this brickfest
2. This giga high ceiling is pretty win-more; usually, just one of Astram or Dingy is enough to protect Deus for the W
3. It's highly unlikely I would even get to this line in real duels against HT spam

That said, the fact such an interaction exists suggests that I have barely scratched the surface for what can be achieved with Gala-i in a pure WL strategy. If anyone is even reading this and is interested in the concept, I would very much welcome fresh insights xD

Underutilization of Enlilgirsu

Because I refuse to add Babel, Enlil is strictly a turn 3 follow-up for me, but holy cow he's a great one. Recycling Crescendo is already GOATed, bringing something the deck has never had before; the monster steal is also an incredible option to have, and in fact got me my promotion to M1 (you can see in this season's video)!

However, this means I'm missing a lot of the amazing interactions that Enlil gets with Babel on turn 2...that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make as my Link-4 of choice will forever be Astram! What I mean is that you should not be constrained in the same way; if you wish to play a 60c WL pile, you should ensure you can fully utilize the powerful new Enlilgirsu by incorporating the entire Orcust package, including Babel. Stealing a monster is way better than just having Astram sitting there to protect Deus from battle. Astram is passive, Enlil is active.

No more Cynet Mining?

Even though Draconnet is a much better starter than the pure Crusadia line, or even HT+Crusadia, I now have enough ways to combo that I'd rather not play a card that autoloses to Droll. This deck is incredibly Droll-resistant otherwise. I also don't really need a composition with 9 "normal summons" since Crusadia monsters offer so much more value now.

Quick note on non-engine

This is more about the current environment than the deck, but I should note nonetheless for any contemporaneous readers:

• Single-target handtraps are junk now. Ash is the only exception because it counters Maxx C.
• After a whole bunch of playtesting at M5, I concluded that the only HTs that make sense are turn-skippers. So Maxx, Droll, Lancea, Nib.
• The issue with 60c piles remains: In any given format, HT quality drops off after a certain point, so even if you stack as many HTs as possible to up the non-engine count for consistency, you will have hands with, say, only 1 of the worse HTs in your deck, and that may do nothing to stop your opponent. Fuwa is not always reliable, while Puru and Meowls are really hit-or-miss.
• The smart thing to do is trim the deck down to 50 or so in order to see the higher-quality HTs like Maxx more often, but this particular list plays far too many bricks to work below 60, from my testing.
• Instead of lower-quality, hit-or-miss HTs, it would probably be better to mix in powerful board breakers like more Droplets and Super Poly.
• However, I don't have ED room for Super Poly, and more HTs are better here because I can use them as combo pieces with Almiraj. That's why I opted to stack even the worse Mulcharmies.

Cool story bro where are the combo lines?

At this stage I am not confident in any of the lines I've used as I have no creativity. I look forward to folks correcting my mistakes or coming forward with way better ideas. I'd like more time with this deck before presenting any combos as "optimal" or even "good," but you can check this season's video to see which paths I took, and to get an idea of what can be done. It's all very nebulous as I never labbed anything out, so I won't write out any combos for now.

Some notes:

• I still have no idea what my best endboard is, but if opponent chooses to go 2nd, I will make Dingy for Duster/Lightning Storm/Raigeki protection and summon Gala-i from GY to get Crescendo live.
• Most other times I prefer to set up I:P + Lib.
• I don't simply blind make Astram with I:P and Lib on turn 2 every time. If possible, I would rather keep Lib on board since I only have 1; I would prefer to use Crescendo early, then link I:P and Galatea into Astram for battle protection. Sometimes they will threaten Battle Phase early against I:P, so I may go Enlil to keep Crescendo live while not losing bodies. All depends.

Outstanding issues

I would like to resolve the following issues before finally putting the deck down and retiring from Master Duel:

1. Overreliance on Draconnet for Ib line

I cannot seem to find another way to summon Justiciar Ib. I don't particularly love Draconnet not being a WL monster, and hate having to spend an ED spot on Linguriboh just to bail it out. I'm prepared to accept that there may be no better solution (especially one that bakes WL Guardragon into the combo so smoothly, thanks hikori!) but would like to experiment more!

I also don't really like having 6 normal summons. The great benefit of the Crusadia monsters is they can double up as extenders if opened alongside Girsu/Draconnet.

2. Inability to go 2nd

I'm still relying ENTIRELY on non-engine to be able to go 2nd. It makes going 2nd absolute torture. The only possible native solution is to use Mekk-Knights and potentially explore building blind 2nd instead...

3. Lack of ED space

Related to having to play Linguriboh. I would really like that spot to be a 2nd Lib. That would be perfect for follow-up purposes. I would really like to play my alt art Knightmare Unicorn, too...

4. Brick count

Deus is still a good win-con if protected, and I would like to keep it for Krawler representation. However, this deck has WAY too many bricks. WL Guardragon is my own fault. O-K, Deus itself, World Chalice, and Guardragon Justicia are all not great to open. Justicia being terrible to open is another reason to move away from Draconnet if possible.

5. Normal summon reliance

This deck is so Crusadia-coded despite its best starters not even being Crusadia monsters...it absolutely requires the NS to stick, or the turn is over unless I also opened Foolish Burial or something. There's probably no native solution to this, though.

6. Hand inefficiency (discard costs)

Currently, the Crusadia line has to discard 2 to access Deus + Crescendo. I can discard only 1 for just Crescendo like before, and Magius->Draco helps offset this, but I wonder if I can find a better line to keep it to just 1 discard.

7. Vulnerability to Maxx C

Just a dream, but there is no line that allows me to limit draws into Maxx C, apart from NS Girsu.

Solving all of these would turn this into a meta deck lmao, so I'm just setting stretch goals.