Creative Deck Strategy: Onomatopoeia Lunalight

Want to rank up Lunalights to the next level? Add some weird sounds!

The Curtains Open on a lone Beast-Warrior…

Welcome to the show, it’s time for your opponent to settle in and enjoy a fluid performance of Xyz and Link summons. But before I get too far ahead of myself, let’s talk about out Lunalight family that holds everything together. First released back in Shining Victories, the Lunalight archetype has been an OTK Fusion-based theme that also sports a pair of Fusion-support Pendulum monsters. It’s a mix of LIGHT and DARK Beast Warriors, and much like all archetypes in Arc V, was designed to have near-infinite resources when performing your summons. But there’s a catch – the majority of them are Level 4, so you can also take advantage of Rank 4 Xyz Summons!

It all begins with Lunalight Kaledio Chick. As a cost to activate its first effect, it can send any Lunalight from the Deck or Extra Deck to the GY. This is important for later on, but it is your primary setup option. The main monster you should be sending in any Lunalight variant is Lunalight Yellow Marten, who sports two essential effects. The first lets you bounce a face-up Lunalight card to Special Summon Marten from the hand or GY, and the second effect lets you add any Lunalight Spell or Trap from deck to hand when it is sent to the GY by a card effect. Where this first effect becomes super powerful is when you begin to combine it with the first in-theme Pendulum monster, Lunalight Tiger.

Lunalight Tiger has a Pendulum effect that is extremely powerful for looping – Once per turn, you can Special Summon a Lunalight from your GY, but its effects are negated. Since this is not a hard once per turn effect, you want to maximize using its effect as much as possible. Summon something back with Tiger, then bounce Tiger back to hand with Marten, then you can activate Tiger once more and bring out another Lunalight from the GY! Additionally, Tiger also has a similar monster effect that Special Summons a Lunalight from the GY when it is destroyed, so that gives you additional Summoning power (or still ensures your summon in the face of Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit. But this theme does not go unsupported – it has a pair of dual-use support cards as well!

Luna Light Perfume is first up on our list, a themed recovery option that Special Summons a Lunalight from the GY. Additionally, by banishing a copy of Perfume from the GY, you can discard 1 card to search any Lunalight monster from your Deck. This is perfect for getting cards out of your hand, as well as ensuring you get your copies of Marten to keep looping more! REMINDER: Luna Light Perfume is NOT a Lunalight card, so you cannot search it with Marten’s effect. The second major option is Lunalight Serenade Dance, a continuous trap which is most known for a similar GY effect. By banishing a copy of Serenade from your GY, you can discard 1 card to Special Summon any Lunalight directly from deck. So yet again, you have another support card that keeps your loop going by banishing itself from the GY. But how can you ensure that these support cards get to the GY? Let’s get to the other half of today’s strategy!

Then Utopia Enters from Stage Right…

The Utopia theme is a mix of Xyz monsters that were utilized by Yuma throughout the Zexal anime! Most competitive duelists know Number 39: Utopia for the Double or Nothing! OTK currently seen across all levels of play, but it also has quite a large support suite of ‘Onomatopoeia’ archetypes, which I’m defining to stand for Gagaga, Dododo, Zubaba, and Gogogo. This Onomatopoeia playstyle just got a major boost last week whenever Legendary Duelists 6: Magical Hero was released to the TCG, getting 5 brand new cards that begins to tie these 4 archetype together. So let’s quickly touch on the key new cards before getting into how they can link up with Lunalight!

First on our list is Zubababancho Gagagacoat, the newest member of both the Zubaba and Gagaga archetypes. Coat’s first effect lets you summon from the hand it whenever you control a Zubaba or Gagaga monster, and its second effect Special Summons a Gogogo or Dododo from your GY; however, once you do so, you are locked into Xyz summons for the rest of the turn. On a similar note, the other two Onomatopoeia archetypes are represented by the new monster Dodododwarf Gogogoglove. First, Glove can summon itself from the GY while you control a Gogogo or Dododo monster. Then secondly, it can summon a Zubaba or Gagaga from the hand. Thus, these two new monsters are clearly meant to work alongside one another, but wouldn’t it be great to have a monster that was part of all 4 archetypes?

Glad you asked, because there is! Introducing Utopic Onomatopeia, a Level 4 Effect monster that is treated as a member of all 4 archetypes at the same time! Additionally, it can use its effect to bring out a member of each Onomatopoeia archetype from the hand, but then you are locked into Xyz summons for the rest of the turn. In other words, all of these monsters ensure even more looping shenanigans for Rank 4s, but they have a bit more support in the form of the new Onomatopickup! This continuous spell has 2 effects, the first of which adds an “Onomato” card to hand when it is activated, and the second changes the level of all monsters you control to the level of a targeted Onomatopoeia monster. This gives you a bit more versatility beyond just Rank 4s, which we’ll see later.

Where Pickup becomes most useful is when you look at the other Onomato support cards. First up, Onomatopaira is the search spell for the Onomatopoeia archetypes. With the cost of a discard, you can add 1 monster each from 2 of the Onomatopoeia archetypes from deck to your hand. So your first Spell option for Pickup is to be a searcher for a searcher. The second option is the Utopia field spell, Onomatopia. This card gives your deck more speed, as each time you summon a Utopia monster, the field spell gets a counter. After you accumulate counters, you can remove 2 counters from the field to Special Summon any Onomatopoeia monster from your deck. It’s funny how closely these support cards mirror the effects of the Lunalight support cards, eh?

Act Two Opens with a Sweet Duet…

As I’ve alluded – these two archetypes work very well at making Rank 4 Xyzs. Before the latest F/L list, there was no doubt that Lunalight were the king of Rank 4 Xyz summons, since they unlocked access to Outer Entity Azzathot before you could get Nibiru’d, but now we’re in a state where we need more than just a rapid Xyz summon. With all the previous meta strategies being struck down to a more manageable level, it’s a perfect time to bring out an OTK toolbox. Sure, Rank 4 offers Utopia Double plays, but when you factor in the Onomatopeia cards, you can actually go for much more than just an OTK over a weak monster! To get to that point, we need to talk about how these two themes play nice in the sandbox that is a single deck.

First up – they both love the GY. Whether it is Gogogoglove summoning itself back or Gagagacoat bringing another monster back from beyond, you have quite the powerful discard fodder. This is definitely neccessary, as the Lunalight support cards can carry a significant cost if you’re trying to pair them with a theme that doesn’t enjoy discarding. Secondly, the Onomatopoeia crew provides ways to get your initial Lunalight spells straight to the GY in a pinch with Onomatopaira. This play also happens to be able to get you an initial Level 4 starter in the form of Dododo Buster, and since Paira is searchable by the new Onomatopickup…. Yeah. Consistent tools bring even more consistency.

The last major benefit is the sheer amount of looped resources available when you pair the two themes together. With a decent hand, you can go into an initial Rank 4 (normally Outer Entity Nyarla to trigger your Marten GY effect), then you should have enough to continue into a Saryuja then Utopia Double, before closing it out with a Pentastag, guaranteeing an OTK over a Defense position monster as well! While this next option is definitely not as consistent, Number 39: Utopia Beyond serves as a Onomatopoeia-enabled secondary option, letting you OTK with a Double or Nothing! play over any monster your opponent may control. But this is all theory until I bring out the decklist, so let’s check it out together!

An Intermission for the Decklist…

Click to view an interactive deck in the Official Card Database.

Back to the Cast and their Unique Members…

Despite being a rather packed decklist, there is still room for quite a number of small techs in this build. Whether it is Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite, the searchable off-theme Yellow Marten that can let you reuse your Tiger yet again, or Dodododraw, giving your more speed to get to the combos you desire, this deck packs a punch. At the end of the day, the cards doing the most work for you is in your Extra deck. The Utopia suite may be a bit large in terms of space, but it definitely comes in worthwhile as well. In addition to the aforementioned combos with Utopia Beyond, Number S39: Utopia the Lightning gives you a way to defeat almost any monster in the game. And while Prime may just be a stepping stone to Lightning, it also can be called upon in a pinch as necessary.

But there’s one major thing that the Utopia engine can give your deck if you haven’t already noticed – you have the ability to OTK with more than just a Double Or Nothing! play. Since Onomatopia, the field spell, grants 200 ATK for each counter on it, it can boost your entire board to respectable levels. Plus, its boost even can get doubled by Double or Nothing!, giving you even more of an edge to OTK in the case that you need just a slightly stronger punch. On a final note about the tech options, you will probably notice that this build is specifically tuned to be all about consistency. Tenki and Perfume search your Lunalights, Foolish and Kaledio fill your GY, Paira and Reinforcement search your Utopia cards… thus it is difficult to open a hand that can’t get you at least 1 or 2 Xyz monsters. And in some cases, that Utopia Double is the only Xyz monster you need to claim victory.

Behind the Scenes with the Lunalight Combo…

For those of you who have not experienced the sheer absurdity of looping that Lunalights can perform, let me describe a single turn 2 of my test duels. For your reference, the opening hand was Dodododraw, 2 Utopic Onomatopeoia, Zubababancho Gagagacoat and Lunalight Tiger. I chose to go 2nd and drew into Onomatopia for my first turn.

1. Activate Dodododraw, discarding a copy of Utopic to draw 2 cards (Luna Light Perfume and Lunalight Kaledio Chick).
2. Normal Summon Kaledio, then activate its effect by sending Lunalight Yellow Marten from the deck to the GY.
3. Activate Tiger from hand to the Pendulum Zone, then use its effect to Special Summon Marten from the GY.
4. Overlay Kaledio and Marten into Outer Entity Nyarla. Then I used Nyarla’s 2nd effect, detaching both material and attaching Utopic to it.
5. Marten’s 2nd effect activates, adding Lunalight Serenade Dance to hand.
6. Next use the 1st effect of Marten, returning Tiger to hand and Special Summoning itself.
7. Reactivate Tiger, then use its Pendulum effect again to Special Summon Kaledio from GY.
8. Use Kaledio’s effect by sending Lunalight Emerald Bird from the deck to the GY.
9. Next I activated Perfume, Special Summoning Emerald Bird, which triggered its effect to discard Serenade Dance and draw a card (Reinforcement of the Army).
10. Using all 4 monsters (Nyarla, Kaledio, Emerald, Marten), I Link Summoned Saryuja, triggering its 3rd effect to draw 4 cards and return 3.  (Drew Lunalight Kaleido Chick, Foolish Burial, Onomatopaira, Zubababanchou Gagagacoat, and returned Kaledio Chick and both Gagagacoat to bottom of deck).
11. Next I activated Reinforcement, adding a Gagagacoat back to my hand.
12. Paira was activated next, discarding Utopic, and adding a Dodododwarf Gogogoglove and another Utopic to hand.
13. Next I used the GY effect of Serenade Dance, banishing it and discarding Gogogoglove to Special Summon a Kaledio from deck.
14. Chick used its effect, dumping a new Yellow Marten to the GY.
15. This was followed by Perfume’s GY effect, banishing it and discarding Foolish to add another Tiger to hand.
16. Tiger was activated to the other Pendulum Zone and another Kaledio was Special Summoned back to my field by its effect.
17. This Kaledio also used its effect, sending my final Kaledio to the GY from my deck.
18. Next I activated Onomatopia, then overlayed both of my Kaledio into Utopia Double directly beneath Saryuja.
19. Then I used Saryuja’s 2nd effect, special summoning Utopic from hand.
20. Since I controlled a Gagaga monster (Utopic), Gagagacoat could then activate its effect and special summon itself from the hand.
21. Next since I controlled a Gogogo monster (Utopic), Gogogoglove could activate its effect and special summon itself from the GY.
22. Glove and Utopic were Xyz Summoned into Utopia, then Utopia was used as material for Utopia Prime, then Prime was used as Material for Lighting, getting to 4 counters on Onomatopia.
23. The second effect of Gagagacoat was then activated, special summoning Utopic back from the GY.
24. Gagagacoat and Utopic were then used as Xyz material for another Utopia, giving the field spell its 5th and final counter.
25. I entered the battle phase and declared an attack on my opponent’s single ATK-position monster with Utopia the Lightning.
26. In response, I activated the OG Utopia’s effect to negate the ATK, then used Utopia Double’s effect, detatching a material, adding a Double or Nothing! from deck to hand, and summoning Utopia Beyond.
27. Beyond triggers and I chain with Double or Nothing!. Lighting’s ATK is doubled from 4000 (2500 ATK + 1200 from the 6 counters on the field + 300 from Saryuja) to 8000, and my opponent’s monster is reduced to 0 ATK. Resulting in 8000 battle damage and victory. (and only 19 cards left in deck)

That example may seem hand-picked like it was a perfect hand, but note that the example didn’t even involve using Raidraptor – Force Strix to search Zephyros to get yet another activation of Tiger. Sure, it may have been a bit overkill to go for that many Utopia monsters, but that’s what you get when I want to showcase the power of both halves of today’s strategy!

Additional Tech Options:

• Utopia Options:
  • Halfway to Forever – Need a Utopia during the opponent’s turn? This can do the trick. Also, it can be used to combine spent Dweller/Tornado/Force Strix/Nyarla into Number F0: Utopic Future.
  • Xyz Change Tactics – Want more draws? This lets you draw a card every time a Utopia is Xyz summoned, giving you even more consistency and power plays.
  • Rank-Up-Magic Soul Shave Force – Since you are running a Raidraptor Xyz, you can use this spell to go into a Beyond during your combo. It also serves as a RUM for the next tech option…
  • Number S0: Utopic ZeXal – Just trade a RUM spell for a monster that makes your opponent unable to activate any cards or effects. Not too shabby. This is a great option for going 1st, especially if you choose to side in Rank-Up-Magics for that purpose.
  • Gogogo Giant – While this isn’t the most elegant of tech options, it can serve as a recovery option to bring back Glove or Utopic! This then gives you a Rank4 to try and get back into the duel!

• Lunalight Options:
  • Lunalight Fusion and Lunalight Cat Dancer – In a pinch, this combination may be able to help you get out of a bad hand or bad setup. It is also searchable by Marten, but if you draw it, you can use it to trigger both Marten and Emerald’s 2nd effects.
  • Brotherhood of the Fire Fist – Tiger King – This Xyz monster can get you to Tenki, as well as sporting a powerful 2nd effect negating the effects of all your opponent’s monsters.

• Other Rank 4 Options
  • Time Thief Redoer – Similar to Nyarla in that it can detach materials by effect to trigger Marten and Emerald. However, it can only detach one of the two, and it doesn’t remain on the field for you to work with as Link material.
  • Number 41: Bagooska the Terribly Tired Tapir – This is a stall-oriented Xyz option, if you need to stall for time going first for example.
  • Gagaga Cowboy – Going close to time? Use Cowboy to get that tiny bit above your opponent.
  • Number 103: Ragnazero – This Xyz combines well with Utopia Beyond, giving you an additional draw and destruction by effect if neccessary.
  • Evilswarm Exciton Knight – Maybe a relic of the past, but it still has a way of balancing the scales if they tip too far in your opponent’s favor.

Take a Bow…

You made it this far so thanks for reading! This deck is an awesome display of talent when two Xyz-heavy themes come face to face, plus it is a great example of what the new Utopia cards in Legendary Duelist: Magical HERO can really achieve! The combo and looping potential of both themes made for an anime-inspired duel to last for quite a while, and it can be impressive just how alive your deck can feel as you go for Utopia! Oh, and who doesn’t want to keep pronouncing all the Onomato cards? At any rate – catch you next time with another article featuring an expensive support card from Magical HERO that can boost an OTK deck to enable FTKs as well!

Reminder, I also take suggestions for future CDS articles! I really want to see some input from you! If you wish to see a CDS article about the archetype, theme, or strategy you love, feel free to private message me on the YGOrg Discord server, the YGOrganization Forums, or just post a comment in response to this article on our Facebook page with your ideas to keep under consideration! On most YGO-related communities my username is Quincymccoy, so feel free to reach out. As of now, I have 3 2 outstanding requests that I am looking into: Lunalight, Ballpark Insect/Battlewasp and Heraldic Beast!