Overview
(This article was published in March. 2020. Some information may be outdated.)
Lunalight was released in Judgement Force in February 2020. Lunalight finds its place in Duel Links as an aggressive OTK-centric deck. Lunalight decks revolve around its monsters gaining effects when sent to the graveyard by card effect to gain card advantage, build board presence, recur resources and much more. Additionally, Lunalight monsters have secondary effects in order to facilitate fusion summons. These effects together make Lunalight a powerful fusion deck that can abuse its engine to consistently OTK in Duel Links. The purpose of this article is to introduce the Lunalight archetype to the DLM community, offer insight on how the cards synergize with one another, and provide help and tips to build competent decks for the meta.
About the Authors
Hello! My name is Gregulator and I'm the author of the Lunalight guide on DLM and previously wrote the Ancient Gear Guide. I irregularly participate in tournaments but my achievements include topping events such as the MCS, multiple Meta Weeklies, other community events, and anytime tournament wins. I actively play in Clan Wars for TCG Clan. I find the aggressive playstyle of Lunalight to be refreshing and exciting and it’s with great joy to share my perspective and to encourage other players to play Lunalight.
Hi, I’m Gnurrgard. I live in Germany and have been playing card games basically since my brother bought the Starter Deck Yugi when the game was released here. I’ve had some success as a deckbuilder in both Gwent and Duel Links, most notably finding the Fortune Lady combo with my friend DoBa. There’s a running gag in my clan that I only show up when there’s a new box. I really enjoy figuring out new decks and combos and Lunalight immediately caught my eye as an aggressive deck with cool interactions.
Hello, my name is Terry, also known as Dulling, also known as that guy who will say “Pepega” out loud very often. My main accomplishments include owning a Pepega shirt, somehow maintaining Moderator status for well over a year now, and my inability to read cards while playing the game. My real accomplishments include writing multiple well-received guides, innovating several decks, and being named Terry. I’m good at theoretical gameplay, which helps me effectively analyze matchups and come up with counter-strategies. Being one of the many people who worked on the original Fur Hire guide, this deck immediately caught my eye, and I decided to once again embrace my inner furry and help out with this guide as well.
Building Lunalights
This section will cover the relevant Lunalight core, tech cards, and supplemental engines the deck uses. It will not discuss in any length cards
Core Lunalight Cards
The Lunalight core consists of two extra deck boss monsters and multiple level four and lower Lunalight main deck monsters. The boss monsters serve as the win conditions for the deck while the main deck monsters operate as a means for summoning the boss monsters, generating card advantage, building board presence, and offering recursion. Below is a summary of the core Lunalight lineup and how these monsters contribute to the deck.
- Loading... is one of the two primary boss monsters. A veritable tank, this card is very difficult for most decks to out due to its overwhelming statline and immunity to opposing targeting effects. While its GY effect doesn’t come up too often, its existence is enough, forcing opponents to forever play around it should it ever be live.
- Loading... is the second primary boss monster. Oppressive in its own right, this card pairs extremely well with Loading... , threatening lethal plus a negate against most monsters left carelessly in attack mode. This, in addition to being immune to battle destruction, makes it a terrifying card that can catch many players off-guard with ease.
- Loading... is one of the two key consistency pieces. Its search effect allows for easy access to the deck’s boss monsters, and its GY effect, which returns it to the field, creates more advantage to be directed towards summoning the boss monsters.
- Loading... is the second key consistency piece, and is the main engine’s primary summon. Bird’s on-summon effect helps thin the deck, and pairs really well with Yellow Marten, allowing for easy access to Fusion monsters and generates significant card advantage. (More on this under Tips & Combos)
- Loading... is the card that enables most of this deck’s aggressive plays. Both of its effects are strong, and excel at punishing the opponent for playing aggressively with no real protection or follow-up. This is a card that opponents must always keep in mind when making plays, and failing to do so will often result in a swift defeat.
- Loading... is the deck’s secondary normal summon. On summon, it special summons a Lunalight monster from the graveyard in defense position. Its ignition effect is a Loading... -like effect as it returns the opponent's spells and traps to the hand up to the number of other Lunalight monsters the player controls. Its effect holds values in two key aspects. First it offers the deck recovery for follow-up. Secondly, Rabbit’s trunade like effect bounces certain outs and side deck cards, such as Loading... or Loading... or baits annoying backrow, such as Loading... , in order to safely summon Loading... .
- Loading... is the core fusion spell of the deck. Its bonus effect allows the player to use a Lunalight monster from the extra deck or main deck as a fusion material if the opponent controls a monster special summoned from the extra deck. This effect allows the player to access a toolbox of graveyard effects that are appropriate depending on the board while preserving card advantage. It’s a key method of accessing Loading... , both in terms of assisting in its summon and getting it into the graveyard to use its effect the following turn. Do note that Loading... can only be activated once per turn.
Fusion Recycling Plant Variant
In response to increased backrow and Lunalight hate seen in multiple meta decks, Loading... emerged as one of the most successful tournament versions of the deck. Loading... discards a card as cost to search Loading... from the deck or add from the graveyard. This effect matters for two reasons. Firstly and most obvious, the deck benefits from the addition of Loading... . With the opportunity to fusion multiple monsters per turn, the deck can play through disruption caused by Loading... or Loading... . Secondly and most importantly, Plant enables the player to maximize value of Loading... . Rabbit’s effect while strong was seen as weak due to lack of adequate graveyard setup. Plant’s inclusion in the deck not only enables access to more fusion spells, but creates a powerful turn one play of normal summoning Rabbit, bouncing backrow or baiting a Loading... before fusion summoning. In the end phase, Plant returns one fusion material to the hand from the graveyard, which is helpful in maintaining card advantage and