The Lovingly crafted Long-form Ledger on the Ludicrous Labrynth and its Lovely Lady - A Labrynth Introduction
Introduction
Hello r/yugioh my name is Nurse and one of my favourite posts in this subreddit is deck guides. Feeling the urge to write again I have decided to write an introduction and guide of sorts for a new and my current deck in the game Labrynth. Given my obsession with this deck I will kindly apologise now for the copious amount of art you will see during this read. Now I pensively call this an introduction instead of a guide as the ratios and philosophies behind building this deck tend to differ from person to person, so I trust you will be respectful to each other in the comments should you choose to debate in the comments below. With that all in mind, what is a Labrynth?
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Addendum - 29/11/22
Having looked through everyone's comments and from my own testing, I have made a few alterations and changes to this guide. Since this guide a new ban list has come out that have given the deck new tools and I want to document how, and if they will change the deck.
Changes:
- Grammar and wording errors
- New personal deck list and theory
- Recommended Ratio changes
- Tech trap cards
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What is a Labrynth?
Labyrinth is a new fiend based archetype that debuted in Tactical Masters, with support added in Darkwing Blast and further future support in Photon Hypernova. Thematically the archetype follows a young knight traversing the beautiful Silver Castle, navigating its intricate and deadly traps designed by its equally beautiful Lovely Lady. Serving as its dungeon master she commands her maids to operate and set up the traps she has concocted all in the aims of stopping said knight. However unknown to most in fact this mysterious yet alluring dungeon master is a total dork.
Her tail is purely for decoration.
To fit this theme of dungeon crawling and dangerous traps, the archetype functions around the successful activation and resolution of normal trap effects, with its monsters gaining additional bonuses should a monster on field leave the board by normal trap effect. As such this decks main goal is to win the game though activating its removal traps and reaping the rewards its monsters generate.
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Labyrinth is a very heavily trap-based control deck that relies on removing its opponent’s monsters to gain effects.
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The Characters
Before we discuss strategy and optimal plays with the deck it is important to get acquainted with the key players in the Labrynth archetype. I will not be covering every card in the archetype with this guide, instead I will be selecting what I deem to be the most important and playable cards and elaborating on them.
Lovely Labrynth of the Silver Castle - Starting with the lovely lady herself, she serves to act as a key control tool that both generates the deck advantage each turn, and provides additional removal for the deck. Firstly her ability to prevent your opponent the chance to respond to your normal traps with monster effects is immense in pushing through negation. Secondly her ability to reset 1 normal trap from grave each turn is immensely useful in being able to generate advantage, especially in a simplified game state. If you can establish control, being able to set Compulsory Evacuation Device or Ice Dragon’s Prison can seal victory. Thirdly her non-targeting board/hand removal is immense for controlling the opponent’s board and snubbing problematic threats. Fourthly our lovely lady is rather well endowed in all senses of the word, boasting a rather buxom 2900 ATK which helps in pushing for damage and just attacking over threats. However despite all of this she cannot special summon herself, and is very reliant on outside cards to do so, which is often not a problem but can come up. Run 0-2 copies depending on your preference.
Lady Labrynth of the Silver Castle - Our magnificent lady has decided now is the time to take action, and has armoured up to fight this pesky knight. In her battle-ready form Lady serves as one of the deck’s most powerful advantage engines. Firstly whilst she is on board she cannot be destroyed or targeted by opponent’s card effects providing you have a set card. Secondly, once per turn, in a chain to your normal traps, she can set a differently named normal trap from deck. This means she can constantly stream you new traps and forms of removal to interrupt your opponent with, which then her lesser dressed form can recycle from the grave. Thirdly once per turn she can special herself from hand to the board if you have activated a normal trap or Labrynth effect this turn, at quickplay speed! Giving us much needed board pressure. Fourthly she certainly doesn't hold back either when it comes to ATK or DEF being very large in both at 3000 and 2900 respectively. In short she’s very cultured. Run 2-3 copies depending on your preference.
Arianna the Labrynth Servant - the first of Lovely Lady’s faithful maids. In order to help her mistress Arianna provides the deck with a few utility tools that greatly improve the deck’s playability and consistency. Firstly on summon she can add any Labrynth card from deck to hand, this includes the monsters, spells and traps, making her the best consistency tool the deck has, as she can actually search Lady Labrynth and fulfill her summoning condition all in the same turn. Secondly if you remove a monster from the board by trap effect she can draw you a card and then either summon a fiend monster from hand or set a spell/trap from hand so it can be used on the following turn. She is the decks starter and raw advantage generator. Run 3 copies at all times.
Ariane the Labrynth Servant - the second of our faithful maids and arguably the more chaotic of the pair. Ariane can serve a very unique and niche tool in the deck letting you summon other fiend monsters from deck for the low cost of a trap card, which can tutor out cards such as Arianna and Barrier Statue of the Abyss. Additionally she has the same effect on removal as her fellow maid. Overall she can serve as a niche swarming tool should you desire to try her out. Run 0-1 copies depending on your preference.
Labrynth Chandraglier / Stovie Torbee - now it is not only the maids aiding our lovely lady in stopping the knight, but her furniture too! For the sake of brevity I have combined these 2. Both act as great enablers for the deck, along with being useful recursion engines. Firstly at quickplay speed the pair of them can discard themselves from hand or field with another card in hand to set any Labrynth spell/trap from deck. This is very useful in that it can get you access to your trap cards turn 0, in addition to also fulfilling the summoning requirement for Lovely Lady. Secondly the pair of them can trigger in grave when a monster is removed by normal trap effect; Chandraglier can add itself from grave to hand, Stovie can special summon itself from grave. These are great for advantage generation in general but also serve the greater purpose of being able to chain block the other removal effects of your Labrynth cards that are also triggering. E.g. Compulsory Evacuation Device returns a monster to hand, CL1 Arianna to draw a card, CL2 Lovely Labrynth to destroy a card, CL3 Stovie to revive itself. It gives the deck a much needed resilience to interruption. Run 0-3 copies of each depending on preference and your local meta.
Labrynth Cooclock - so far we’ve had the chandeliers and cooking stove. Now its time for the clock to get involved. Cooclock is a rather unique inclusion in that it can activate a normal trap the turn it was set, and then replace itself. Newer builds have been testing this card as a tech choice for its ability to work alongside Lady Labrynth to cycle traps on your very first turn. It can be a useful set up tool, but use at your own discretion. Play 0-1 copies depending on your preference.
Labrynth Labyrinth - now we have arrived at the ritual Labyrinth! Or is it a Labrynth? Labrynth Labyrinth is a rather deceptively powerful card in the deck that will often catch players out if they are not aware of it. Firstly it gives Welcome Labrynth an additional effect to destroy a card, turning it into a non-targeting removal card. Secondly should a non-Labrynth normal trap remove a monster from the board it can special a fiend monster from your hand or grave. This can be useful in reviving either of the Lovely Ladies from grave, or Arianna for additional searches. Furthermore it can be used in conjunction with cards Like Compulsory Evacuation Device to remove your own monsters and then re-summon them, letting you dodge negation or gain additional attacks in the Battle Phase. Run 1-2 copies depending on your preference.
Welcome Labrynth - the pesky knight makes his grand entrance! Simply put, Welcome Labrynth is one of the best cards the deck has to offer. It can summon any member of the deck for relatively little cost or drawback, and if used in conjunction with Labrynth Labyrinth it can become a summon from deck that also destroys a card, in turn triggering the effects of whatever you just summoned. A little anticlimactic but the card is incredibly powerful and useful in the archetype. Run 3 copies at all times.
OCG ONLY: Big Welcome Labrynth - behold the true power of smug! This card in all essence much like Welcome Labrynth is the perfect support card for the archetype. It provides more consistency for the deck letting you now have 12 copies of Lady Labrynth to work with. A very powerful and useful future addition to the deck. Play 3 copies at all times, when it comes out.
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Traps and Techs
Next up we will be taking a quick peruse of the multiple trap options available to the deck, in additional to tech monsters that can help pull Labrynth across the finishing line. Given Labrynth live or die by their normal trap cards, it is important to be familiar with the tools at your disposal.
Compulsory Evacuation Device - this may be the decks most powerful and universal trap card that it has access to. Compulsory can be used at almost any point during a game and can be used on either side of the board for beneficial trigger effects. It can be used to return problematic floaters or bodies to the opponent’s hand or extra deck, whilst then triggering your Labrynth monsters, but also can bounce your monsters to trigger the field spell and re-summon them. Which can let you add extra pressure in the battle phase or dodge negation cards like Dark Ruler No More or Forbidden Droplet. Furthermore it is not once per turn in any way, meaning if you open multiple copies all of them are live. It serves as the deck's easiest form of removal to utilise for its trigger effects, and one its most powerful. Run 3 copies at all times.
Dogmatika Punishment - once again an incredibly powerful removal option the deck has access to. Dogmatika Punishment often tends to be the decks only real 1 for 2 advantage trade. Being able to send Elder Entity N’tss off of this card provides the deck with an unwarranted amount of removal that can only be added to by the monsters. Unlike Compulsory it is a hard once per turn and requires that you build the deck around it, however the payoff it can provide on its own, and in conjunction with your monsters is far too powerful to not include. Run 2-3 copies depending on your own preference.
Archfiend’s Ghastly Glitch - the card that is part of the Labrynth archetype in spirit, and seemingly in artwork too. Glitch is a phenomenal removal option for the deck, it has no once per turn clause in any of its card text, and can send any fiend from deck to graveyard. This can be used in conjunction with the field spell to essentially summon any fiend monster from deck allowing for a massively powerful advantage trade in the decks favour. Furthermore it can be used to send Absolute King Back Jack for potentially even more advantage generation. The only quote “Drawback” of the card is that it requires you control a fiend monster to activate, however for many this is negligible. Run 0-2 copies depending on your preference.
Ice Dragon’s Prison - this card is an invaluable tool in the Labrynth arsenal. Not only does it non-targeting, non-destruction removal for the deck, it provides grave disruption. Which can potentially be even more devastating, depending on the matchup. Despite this though ratios can be debated in the deck due to the fact that it requires your opponent to have monsters in grave with a matching type to cards on field, meaning its activation window is not as universal as Compulsory or Dogmatika Punishment. Run 2-3 copies depending on preference.
Terrors of the Overroot - another rather unique removal option the deck has access to. This card, much like Ice Dragon’s Prison, requires your opponent to have cards in grave to activate, but unlike Prison it only requires that the card can be set. It allows the deck to have access to another form of non-destruction removal that does not even have to target monsters and grave disruption, but now at the cost of potentially giving your opponent a future resource. It is certainly a card to experiment with due to the openness it allows. Run 0-2 copies depending on preference.
Destructive Daruma Karma Cannon - now this card is a very cool but niche option the deck has at its disposal. Daruma gives Labrynth access to both a Book of Eclipse style flip effect, in addition to mass removal in the style of cards like Needle Ceiling. It is an immense tool if you wish to shut down monsters with continuous or ignition effects, or if you wish to delete link monsters from the board. However it does come at the cost of being double sided, meaning you will not be able to benefit from its removal effect in the way you could with other traps. Run 0-3 copies depending on preference.
Ichiroku's Ledger Book - this card is certainly a very interesting option available to the deck. Non-destruction removal is a very useful tool to the deck and can be used very effectively. I think the card certainly has potential as it has very little restriction, and a nasty form of removal. Run 0-2 copies depending on your preference.
Paleozoic Dinomischus - Dinomischus is a very cool removal option for the deck. It can provide a body to get in with chip damage during a grind game and a non-destruction form of removal. Additionally it can send cards from hand to grave without discarding them for cost, so it can trigger cards such as Absolute King Back Jack for even more advantage swings. However the draw back to this card is that it requires a discard, which may be difficult to achieve when you are deep in the trenches and every set card counts. Run 0-2 copies depending on your preference.
Absolute King Back Jack - this card may as well be an honorary member of the archetype. Back Jack certainly earns his title as King in this deck. The fact he is able to excavate and set normal traps to the top of your deck means you always have the chance to hit more options to use with your Labrynth monsters, furthermore his insanely open activation condition means he can be combined with cards such as Stovie or Chnadraglier to recuperate and nullify their cost, or used with Glitch to turn a 1 for 1 trade into a +1 trade. He is by far the best support monster for this deck hands down. Play 2-3 copies depending on deck space.
Lord of the Heavenly Prison - this card certainly earns its slot in the deck as an honorary Labrynth too. Not only can Lord provide you with generic spell/trap searches to fix your resources, he can remain in hand to prevent your back row from being wiped out by board breakers that could potentially end your run immediately such as Harpie’s Feather Duster or Lightning Storm. Additionally he is another massive body the deck has access to that can help pressure damage and close games out very quickly. Play 0-3 copies depending on preference.
Barrier Statue of the Abyss - this card can serve as a useful floodgate to the given it is a fiend monster that can easily be tutored from deck and summoned. Given all your monsters are dark, you are relatively unaffected by its restriction, however it is a very meta dependent card and should be used accordingly. Play at your own discretion.
The End of Anubis - this card serves a very similar role to Barrier Statue in that it is an easily tutored floodgate that can lock out the opponent. Much like Barrier Statue it is very meta dependent and should be treated accordingly. Play at your own discretion.
Pot of Extravagance / Prosperity - both of these cards work phenomenally in the deck as consistency boosters. Both require that you build around them specifically but offer slightly different benefits that come down to user preference. Some prefer the raw advantage that drawing 2 can offer, especially in a trap deck. Whereas some prefer the much more selective excavating that Prosperity offers. Play 3 at all times, though pick which you personally prefer.
Trap Trick - this card serves a very flexible role in the deck, being able to tutor any tool in your toolkit. It allows you to play a more diverse pool of traps in your deck due to the fact it can substitute for any of them, so play it at your discretion. Play 0-3 copies depending on your preference.
Eradicator Epidemic Virus - what a nasty little card. As it turns out our Lovely Lady just so happens to easily meet the conditions for this blowout option, making it a very powerful turn 1 option for the deck, especially in a matchup where your opponent is heavily reliant on spells or traps. Whilst it can cause a huge loss in advantage as it costs you your Lady, it can easily swing games in your favour making it a very alluring side deck option. Side 0-3 copies depending on your preference.
Dimensional Barrier / Different Dimension Ground - these cards can be easy to tutor floodgate effects that can easily blink a turn, especially against decks that are heavily reliant on their extra deck or their graveyard. As such they can be a brutal silver bullets in Labrynth's arsenal that can be easily repeated through the use of both Lovely Ladies. Play 0-3 copies depending on your preference.
Metaverse - with the advent of the most recent forbidden and limited list we now have access to 3 copies of this card. Whilst the loss of Mystic Mine heavily affects the use of this card, its ability to tutor field spells from deck at quickplay speed, whilst being easily tutored from deck by Lady Labrynth. Metaverse may well be a new tool the deck has access to and as such will need further exploration. Below is my personal choice for Metaverse but the possibilities are very wide. Ratios are currently unknown as it hasn't been tested yet.
Necrovalley - this is my personal choice for a floodgate to tutor off Metaverse. Necrovalley is an incredibly powerful floodgate that locks down the graveyard and all effects that interact with it. Whilst it can turn off certain cards in our own arsenal such as Ice Dragon's Prison, or the grave effect of Welcome Labrynth, it could swing games in our favour whilst Lady Labrynth maintains your advantage.
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Weaknesses
No deck is without its flaws, and Labrynth is certainly no exception. So I feel that whilst it is important to talk about a deck’s core strategy and strength, it is just as important to highlight where it may fall or short or have struggles.
Its first main weakness is board breakers, cards that can clear back rows such as Lightning Storm and Harpie’s Feather Duster can invalidate this deck’s setup and game plan in seconds. Given the deck relies on interactions instead of negation this makes it especially susceptible to removal, meaning your only reasonable out is Lord of the Heavenly Prison, which is not always a guaranteed opener.
Secondly the deck is incredibly normal trap reliant, meaning you often lose access to powerful continuous traps and counter traps that could provide you invaluable negation and game warping effects. This can be quite a significant loss, especially when other trap decks like Eldlich and Paleozoic can abuse these very freely.
Thirdly the deck is incredibly fair. If you are denied access to your monsters, or they are removed it can force you into a position where every action you take is a 1 for 1 trade. This can significantly slow your game plan down or just end it, as your opponent is losing resources at the same rate you are, and that can be very difficult to recover from. Some of your games can feel very much like you’re holding on by just a thread, which is not always the best place for a trap deck, or for your blood pressure.
Sometimes your games can feel less stable than this house of cards.
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Deck Lists
I called this article an introduction for a certain reason. Ratios in this deck are very flexible and open, hence why there is so much debate among players, often leading to Labrynth lists wildly differing depending on who you turn to. So below is my current personal deck list that I am experimenting with, in addition to a deck list that has come from the OCG using the new support. All credit will be given to the creators.
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So as many may notice my second list has greatly differed from my previous list. This was a more experimental list that was influenced by both the comments and OCG builds that were seeing success. My theory with this build of the deck was mainly to use Lady Labrynth to constantly cycle trap cards whilst Arianna and Lovely Labrynth net me advantage every turn.
Terrors of the Overroot proved to be an incredible card in testing and was a key tool in several matchups during my locals run. Being able to set Spright Elf targets and other key grave cards was so powerful, in addition to having non-destruction removal that could still trigger all the Labrynth cards. It was spectacular.
Anti-Spell Fragrance I'm sure is raising a few eyebrows from people, but this floodgate was purely a meta call for my locals scene. Normally my choice would've been Gozen Match, however due to the sheer volume of backrow hate being made at my locals, I had to make a concession and play a card that could hinder that in some capacity. It can be a fun floodgate to mess around with but not one I'd personally recommend in a wider playing field.
Eradicator Epidemic Virus I found this card really cool in theory, but it just never came up for me personally. Perhaps it was just my matchups being predominantly Spright, or even just bad luck. But Eradicator always feel short for me and felt like a loss in advantage that was hard to recover from. I'm going to test it further as I may have just had a bad run with it.
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Kurita Narimasa's 2nd YCS Osaka List
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Closing Thoughts
I hope you have all enjoyed this exploration of the Labrynth archetype and what it can offer to the game of Yu-Gi-Oh! as a whole. It is one of my favourite decks to play, I adore both its playstyle and its artwork and I hope that I have been able to share some of this love with you all. Thank you for reading this far. I hope you all have a lovely day and stay safe.
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Credits:
Labrynth Art : https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Labrynth#
Labrynth Concept Art: https://beyondtheduel.com/labrynthofthesilverpalace-conceptart/
OCG Deck List: https://roadoftheking.com/ycsj-osaka-2022/
OCG Deck List: https://twitter.com/karuNkoro/status/1591399730848096257