Hello everyone! My backlog project is not the only thing I’m planning to blog about. A very common topic is going to be Yu-Gi-Oh, and maybe other card games if I play them (I do sometimes play Lorcana). You can still see the status of the games I’m planning to play/playing right now in my backlog project spreadsheet, where you’ll see I’ve completed Saintmaker! I’ll be posting a review on that one soon.
Anyway, let’s start talking about trap cards.
Firstly, why Labrynth?
While I own a few YGO decks, Labrynth is easily my favorite one. I really like control and trap-based strategies, and Labrynth has non-linear lines that make skill expression feel rewarding. Still, it’s always at the corners of playability, so you really need to adapt every format.
Last format I was toying with Paleozoics and Dogmatika cards, but I think this format requires a much more straightforward approach: I think standard removal is going to be the solution to this year’s format, and though I’m still tinkering with this list, I have a few ideas that I’m working with it at this moment.
Core Choices
Labrynth cores are always very tricky. There’s a variety of ways to play the deck: should you include Ariane, the Labrynth Servant? How many Lady Labrynth of the Silver Castle should you play? Here is my answer to that:
Monsters:
- 1x Arianne, the Labrynth Servant
- 3x Arianna, the Labrynth Servant
- 3x Arias, the Labrynth Butler
- 3x Labrynth Stovie Torbie and 3x Labrynth Candraglier
- 1x Labrynth Cooclock.
- 1x Lady Labrynth and 1x Lovely Labrynth
Engine traps:
- 2x Welcome Labrynth
- 3x Big Welcome Labrynth
I also think the field spell is just very good right now, and with the slower pace of games, not that bad of a draw when going second, which has made me decide to maindecking it. These ratios maximize the chances of us being able to see a trap card activation in our opponent’s turn even when going second, which incidentally means…
Absolute King Back Jack
This list mandates 3x Absolute King Back Jack, a cornerstone of the deck. Back Jack is an incredible card, but it comes with deck-building restrictions. Specifically:
- Trap-heavy Composition: To avoid Back Jack whiffing, you can’t run more than 3-6 hand traps. This forces most of your deck to consist of normal traps.
- Gameplan Layering: Despite its constraints, Back Jack synergizes beautifully with the deck’s strategy, making it an auto-include for me.
Hand Traps: Why Only Nibiru?
I’m only running one traditional hand trap: 3x Nibiru, the Primal Being. Normally, I’d play none, but here’s why I’ve chosen Nibiru:
- Lack of Strong Normal Traps: I’ve opted for some older traps over traditional picks like Dogmatika Punishment or Terrors of the Overroot. This means I have to up my deck count with something other than a normal trap, since I usually prefer running 42-45 in Back Jack lists.
- Meta Matchups:
- Maliss: Nibiru trades effectively if timed correctly, at worst removing Terrahertz and at best halting their entire turn.
- Ryzeal: It punishes players who fail to play around it and synergizes well with Labrynth cards, as you can discard and bounce it back for reuse.
Removal Trap Lineup
I’m running 3x Compulsory Evacuation Device and 3x Phoenix Wing Wind Blast. These GOAT-era cards shine for several reasons:
Against Ryzeal and Maliss:
- Compulse: Chaining this to Duodrive’s search effect can significantly hinder their game plan. This is also the chase against Maliss: if you bounce back their link 2s/link 3s, it’s actually a bit hard for them to recover, makes the trade very efficient.
- Phoenix Wing Wind Blast: Removes critical cards like Fiendsmith Desirae’s equip, disrupting their plays. You can also hit the Maliss field spell and their trap cards with it, forcing them out earlier or making it not awkward to trade into.
Consistency: Unlike Dogmatika Punishment or Terrors of the Overroot, these cards are versatile going second, Detonator can’t protect from Compulse or Wing Blast, and when going first, neither of these decks commit cards to the GY, making Terrors not as efficient. You don’t want for them to wait to do their first critical search before starting to disrupt them, after all.
Punishment can also be dodged by the Maliss trap cards, making it not as good going first against them. Compulse and Wing Blast are a good compromise between these other high-impact cards and versatility.
There’s still certain merits to them, such as pitching Enigmaster Packbit with Punishment to place Detonator in the S/T zone, or sending Ryzeal Node to the GY and setting the target it was going to revive, but this is what I’m sticking with at the moment.
Phoenix Wing Wind Blast is also covering for Terrors of the Overroot here – since I want to play a card that can remove backrow or monsters, which was something that I used to do with Overroot.
Destructive Daruma Karma Cannon
My last disruptive trap card, this is almost a mandatory 3x in Labrynth at this point. Just a really good card in general is at worst a decent answer to almost any situation you might find yourself in. It’s important to still have cards that trigger your engine (which Cannon will never do), so Compulse and Wing Blast still play key roles.
Discardable traps
- The Black Goat Laughs (2x): A great discard option and a general solid trap that prevents key plays right now, such as White Binder, Duodrive or Detonator. It’s also nice to be able to set it, a grace that Rollback does not give us.
- Transaction Rollback (2x): Useful but bricky; I include it to support Phoenix Wing Wind Blast and as a good-quality discard. I used to play Paleozoic Marrella to mill it more efficiently (which incidentally had a lot of hidden synergies with the deck), but I think including it as just a good discard is fine. It can also copy Wing Blast without paying its cost, which is pretty cool, and if your opponent ever activates Dominus Purge or Dominus Impulse you can set it to copy them.
Closing Thoughts
I’m playing a local tournament today with this list—prize: an air fryer! Here’s hoping my ideas pay off.
Since this post is already over 1,000 words, I’ll save the Extra Deck, Side Deck, and additional thoughts for future posts. This will give me room to dive deeper into each section.
What about you? Do you enjoy playing Labrynth, and how are you building it? Would you prefer a segmented series of posts focusing on different aspects of deck-building? Let me know in the comments!
