Notes & Combos

World Legacy's Finality V3: Crusadia World Legacy Pile, Harp Horror Edition - Farewell Mekk-Knights(?)

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First off, I just want to announce: ROYAL ASTRAM ACQUIRED!!!! THE 3-YEAR JOURNEY HAS COME TO AN END! ASTRAM WILL DESCEND UPON THE BATTLEFIELD IN GLORIOUS ROYAL FINISH TO DEFEND DEUS AND CLOSE OUT MY GAMES!!!

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Please see writeup from Season 34 for original explanation of 60c World Legacy deck concept.

Please see writeup from Season 38 for original explanation of the newly included Knightmare engine.

Shoutout once again to Bora for the suggestion to include Harp Horror!

Your eyes do not deceive you. This isn't the first list I've uploaded without World Legacy's Secret; during Tear 0, I played an OTK version of Mekk-Crusadia. But yes, this is indeed my first upload...without the Big Mekks. There is still Mekk representation with Girsu, but I don't think we can call this a Mekk-Knight Crusadia deck any longer. I wouldn't call it a Crusadia deck either—it is just simply World Legacy, featuring all of World Chalice, Mekk-Knight, Krawler, Knightmare, Crusadia, Orcust, and Guardragon; though, happily for me, it predominantly runs on the Crusadia engine. Mekks will return if I go back to blind 2nd, and they may even feature once Galatea-i is out, but for now I will let Blue Sky et al. rest after so many years of facing meta together. Thank you for your service, my old friends! o7

The best thing about this is that nobody can mistakenly refer to me as a "Mekk-Knight player" now. 15 Crusadia main deck monsters, the full lineup! I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A CRUSADIA PLAYER!!!!!!!!

The Harp

Even though this list looks pretty different from the S38 one, it is functionally the same. The big addition is simply 1x Harp Horror. As mentioned in the comments under last month's list, I became interested in rebuilding my deck to showcase the combo with Harp Horror that Bora suggested. I'd been reluctant to use it for a long time, but after seeing modern Orcust decks I'm satisfied that my "banish Harp Horror" play is sufficiently distinct (that is, neutered) to be an interesting addition to this World Legacy pile.

Harp Horror's addition means that literally any 2 monsters into the Knightmare line will get Mind Meld in GY + Crescendo set. "Any 2 monsters" sounds like a job for Crusadia, doesn't it? Moreover, because of Draco fetching the NS-ed Crusadia from GY, I don't have to go -1 for Mermaid's effect, so there is some nice coherence between the 2 engines.

It also has to be said again just how much more resilient the Crusadia NS is compared to Girsu NS as Magius can eat Imperm/Veiler and still reach Galatea. The downside is that the Crusadia line doesn't have a way of reaching Lib to set Pawns even though it can get Deus on field, whereas Girsu is the all-encompassing starter that plays better into Maxx but dies to 1 0 Atk/Def Spellcaster. Weigh risk/reward depending on hand.

Cutting the Mekks

The Big Mekks are, of course, rather needy and bricky for a going-1st strategy, requiring a NS + a backrow in addition to the Mekk to do anything (outside of last-ditch WL Memory plays). Cutting them, as painful as it was, helped improve consistency/hand playability and streamline the strategy. It also allowed me to drop WL Secret—for so long my win con, but truthfully a little bricky now since Deus does what it does, but better. Deus is also simply more resilient as it doesn't lose to Duster/Lightning Storm/Bystials/D-Fissure. Think I've said this plenty of times now.

Trading the Mekks for 1x engine requirement in the form of Harp turns the pile into much more of a combo deck than a midrange one, with a strong focus on turbo-ing Deus and setting up an in-archetype omni-negate alongside—something I'd dreamt of for years. That is the essence of this list. I still get some follow-up plays with World Chalice and Crescendo's GY effect, but will no longer have Purple riding back from the banish pile every other turn to save me. It honestly feels weird not having good ol' Mekks to rely on, but I do think the build is more solid overall.

Small World?

The crux of this decision is that even though Girsu is a 1c starter, the true ceiling of this list (Crescendo to protect Deus) requires an extender. Lib is also a sitting duck compared to Galatea, which cannot be destroyed by battle while pointing to Deus (or to your opponent's monster if they don't read). This in turn requires the list to carry more monsters that can be special summoned; the Crusadia fulfill this condition while also providing legitimate starter options for consistency.

Thus, I decided to go all-in on the Crusadia line instead of constantly using them for Small World's banish to grab a Girsu that just gets Impermed in the end. I think I got a more reliable payoff from 2 Crusadia mons in hand than 1 Crusadia + 1 Small World, for instance, given the insane HT count most decks play nowadays. If you really want to improve consistency though, you can always find room for 3x SW by dropping some non-engine. What a nice development for my deck, though, to no longer be so utterly reliant on Girsu NS!

Harp Plays

Back to the star of this revision. The key difference is simply: upon reaching Galatea via Knightmare, banish Orcust Knightmare to send Harp. Banish Harp to summon Girsu to send Mind Meld. The rest of the lines are the same as before.

Harp offers additional flexibility in general play, especially with Foolish Burial essentially turning into a 4th copy of Girsu—one that has a Dark lock but doesn't require the NS! Pretty huge boost, though it's only at 1x. And even though it's bricky, Harp itself isn't a garnet; Mermaid can still discard it to summon Orcust Knightmare. The only actual garnet remains Orcust Knightmare, but it's also not an absolute garnet as Cynet Mining can turn it live.

As aforementioned, getting to this point with just the Crusadia line can produce Dingirsu + Galatea pointing to Deus, with Crescendo set but no Pawns. It's a weaker combo, but to be fair, Girsu is obviously still the best starter under ideal conditions. This inferior board still poses questions to your opponent, though; there is at least Crescendo to negate anything once, and Deus is not easy to remove even if your opponent can full combo while it's stuck face-down. Either way, it beats NS Crusadia into...Equimax with 1 negate lol.

I have no combo brain, however; please do let me know if there is actually a way to set Pawns with just the 2 Crusadia opener!!! I just randomly figured out my plays along the way.

Other Changes

• Since the Crusadia line doesn't have native Lib access, I initially ran 3x WL Succession as it's just the best "summon" after Magius to ensure the highest ceiling board with Pawns set. I later swapped 1 copy to World Crown because
  • Succession is HOPT
  • Crescendo's (delayed) GY effect can add World Crown in dragged-out midrange games
• Those 2 slots came from WL Memory, which I now only play at 1x. I think the value of Memory declines as you play fewer Mekks+WL names since the "last-ditch E-Tele" play requires a Mekk/WL to discard with Morning Star. I still love that play, but I was finding Memory in fewer hands where the bailout was actually possible. Of course, Memory still automatically gets Mind Meld in GY for a Deus summon on turn 2, but I preferred dedicating more slots to Crusadia starters for consistency. Reliably getting more of the engine requirements out from my deck on turn 1 (Orcust Knightmare, Harp, Crescendo) felt like better value than sometimes being able to set up Morning Star+Pawns with Deus. You might disagree, of course!
• Praise Komoney for the 3rd Cynet Mining!
• I dropped 1x Droll for 1x Nibiru. Partly for Crossout, and partly because going 2nd felt helpless at times. Nibiru is actually really good now IMO.
• 3x Imperm instead of Veiler...I just hate playing into CBTG and Talents. Though Veiler of course actually works to prevent the Exodd setup.
• 1x TTT because I was dying for non-engine, especially going 2nd. The draw 2 was really clutch in spots, too.
• I was pretty conflicted on Mind Meld. 3x Mind Meld no doubt improves consistency and, of course, grants Lib (and thus Pawns) access through Mermaid's discard. However, I genuinely ran out of room for it; 13 Crusadia monsters instead of 15 felt noticeably worse, and I always felt I didn't have enough non-engine. I'm still convinced 3x Mind Meld is good for the list, but I had no idea what to cut and was getting pretty tilted going 2nd against endless meta combo decks, so I went with extra non-engine. My recommendation is to swap WL Guardragon/Imperm/TTT to Mind Melds and see if you fare ok. I might just have gotten into my own head. Maybe I'll be back on 3x Mind Meld next month. Ideally I find room for the 2 copies without touching the ratio of starters and non-engine, but it's tough since I refuse to cut Guardragon.
• The Extra Deck could REALLY use a couple more slots. I'd say Link Spider, a 2nd Lib, and Almiraj would be particularly useful in that order. Link Spider especially turns Foolish Burial into a 1c Deus + Crescendo play. TBH I only just realize this now as I write: with the Harp Horror lines, I guess Gravity Controller really isn't needed as there isn't as much pressure to force Ib every time! Hooray, GTFO ugly! You might also cut Knightmare Unicorn and Equimax if you really want to find the space, but I got value out of them.