Archlord Zerato
(LIGHT/Fairy/8/2800/2300)
This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by offering 1 face-up "Warrior of Zera" on your side of the field as a Tribute while "The Sanctuary in the Sky" is on the field. If "The Sanctuary in the Sky" is on your side of the field, discard 1 LIGHT Monster Card from your hand to the Graveyard to destroy all monsters on your opponent's side of the field.
Rulings
Archlord Zerato"¦ One of my favorite monsters ever. In a deck based around him, he can tear up the field so easily it makes children scream. True he's hard to summon, and true his effect needs a field card, but he's still very powerful.
Zerato combos best with the card Beckoning Light best, I think, because that way, you can always have LIGHT monsters in your hand as opposed to non-light monsters. Since he needs the Sanctuary in the Sky on the field to use his effect, using Magic Reflector on Sanctuary isn't a bad idea at all either. You can also discard a LIGHT tribute monster, like Airknight or Saturn, and just Special Summon it with Call of the Haunted or Premature Burial as well.
Zerato can create awesome advantage for you by being able to destroy all your opponent's monsters every turn. This comes in handy against scapegoats and swarming decks, and it ensures you a direct attack only thwarted by Spells and Traps.
Being a nomi that requires three cards, two of which are searchable, though, obviously debilitates him. Also, discarding a LIGHT monster may not always be a readily available option all of the time, and that hurts his playability too.
When you use Zerato, make sure to have a steady supply of LIGHT monsters that you're willing to discard, and a few Terraformings handy to get Sanctuaries as needed. Terraforming and Reinforcement of the Army come in handy when you're ready to summon him too.
And, like all nomis, keep Zerato to his own deck, which would be a LIGHT/Warrior themed deck. That seems to work the best, so that you're not forced to get Zera all of the time with Reinforcement of the Army. However, an Agent deck seems to work well here too, as I've found out by experience.
Ratings:
Advanced: 3.5/5. I want to give him a higher score, but the nomi part kills it.
Traditional: 2/5. Nomi and discarding? No way.
Limited: 3/5. It would actually work pretty well with Mars, Venus, Mercury, Saturn.
Sealed: 1/5. Odds are you're not pulling all of the required pieces.
(LIGHT/Fairy/8/2800/2300)
This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by offering 1 face-up "Warrior of Zera" on your side of the field as a Tribute while "The Sanctuary in the Sky" is on the field. If "The Sanctuary in the Sky" is on your side of the field, discard 1 LIGHT Monster Card from your hand to the Graveyard to destroy all monsters on your opponent's side of the field.
Rulings
- If you chain "Mystical Space Typhoon" to "Archlord Zerato"'s effect and destroy "The Sanctuary in the Sky", "Archlord Zerato"'s effect disappears because "Archlord Zerato"'s effect needs "The Sanctuary in the Sky" on the field when the effect resolves, not just when it activates (just like "The Agent of Judgment - Saturn").
- You can activate "Archlord Zerato"'s effect even if "The Sanctuary in the Sky" is not on the field, but the effect will not resolve.
- You can activate "Archlord Zerato"'s effect multiple times in the same turn.
Archlord Zerato"¦ One of my favorite monsters ever. In a deck based around him, he can tear up the field so easily it makes children scream. True he's hard to summon, and true his effect needs a field card, but he's still very powerful.
Zerato combos best with the card Beckoning Light best, I think, because that way, you can always have LIGHT monsters in your hand as opposed to non-light monsters. Since he needs the Sanctuary in the Sky on the field to use his effect, using Magic Reflector on Sanctuary isn't a bad idea at all either. You can also discard a LIGHT tribute monster, like Airknight or Saturn, and just Special Summon it with Call of the Haunted or Premature Burial as well.
Zerato can create awesome advantage for you by being able to destroy all your opponent's monsters every turn. This comes in handy against scapegoats and swarming decks, and it ensures you a direct attack only thwarted by Spells and Traps.
Being a nomi that requires three cards, two of which are searchable, though, obviously debilitates him. Also, discarding a LIGHT monster may not always be a readily available option all of the time, and that hurts his playability too.
When you use Zerato, make sure to have a steady supply of LIGHT monsters that you're willing to discard, and a few Terraformings handy to get Sanctuaries as needed. Terraforming and Reinforcement of the Army come in handy when you're ready to summon him too.
And, like all nomis, keep Zerato to his own deck, which would be a LIGHT/Warrior themed deck. That seems to work the best, so that you're not forced to get Zera all of the time with Reinforcement of the Army. However, an Agent deck seems to work well here too, as I've found out by experience.
Ratings:
Advanced: 3.5/5. I want to give him a higher score, but the nomi part kills it.
Traditional: 2/5. Nomi and discarding? No way.
Limited: 3/5. It would actually work pretty well with Mars, Venus, Mercury, Saturn.
Sealed: 1/5. Odds are you're not pulling all of the required pieces.