In this profile, we will be covering a Buddyfight fan favourite. Namely, Tasuku‘s alternative buddy Orcus Sword Dragon and the conjoined Purgatory Knights Reborn clan. Attached to a popular character of the anime, the archetype has received a decent amount of support over the years. While the power level waxed and waned, interest has always remained high. So, while we wait for future legacy sets to reveal additional support for these dragons, it would be prudent to review their current build and how it purports to function.
Dragon World vs Darkness Dragon World
It is conceivable, as time progresses and new dual world support is released, that the debate over which world is superior for the housing of the Purgatory Knights will eventually become irrelevant. However, while arguments can certainly be made for either world presently, in this circumstance, I have elected to build around the world they were originally introduced with, namely: Darkness Dragon World (DDW).
The choice of the aforementioned world was primarily based on the amount of support available to the archetype already. With
– weapon fetch,
– dropzone recovery,
– the ability to summon fresh monsters for additional draws and attacks during the battle phase and
– immunity to destruction and bounce effects
naturally ingrained in the Darkness Dragon World iteration of the Purgatory Knights, it seemed like the logical fit. Certainly, the dragon world variant can tick some, if not most of these boxes but to do so requires a random mix of various non-purgatory cards, thus complicating the deckbuilding process.
The Decklist
Below, you will find my own decklist which I have personally built and play with on a regular basis. As pointed out in previous articles, listed inclusions are not absolute and the option to deviate is encouraged.
Decklist
[Flag] Darkness Dragon World
[Buddy] Atonement Purgatory Knights Leader, Orcus Sword Dragon
Monsters (28)
Size 3
x3 CHAOS Darryl Berck
Size 2
x4 Atonement Purgatory Knights Leader, Orcus Sword Dragon
x2 Purgatory Knights, Gairahm Lance Dragon
Size 1
x4 Purgatory Knights Reborn, Holy Grebe Dragon
x3 Purgatory Knights, Necropalm Dragon
x3 Purgatory Knights, Demios Sword Early
x1 Purgatory Knights, Grudge Arrow Dragon
Size 0
x4 Purgatory Knights Reborn, Crossbow Dragon
x4 Purgatory Knights Reborn, Needle Claw Dragon
Weapons (4)
x4 Purgatory Knights Reborn Sword, Expia Sword
Spells (18)
x2 Hundred Demons Sorcery, Death Sacrifice
x3 Purgatory Sorcery, Blood Oath Formation
x3 Purgatory Knights, Forever
x2 Into the Future …
x4 Pride to the Sword, the Blade Never Dies
x4 Black Dragon Shield
Please note, that for an optimum competitive list, generic cards will be required to be run as substitutions to some of the cards shown above or in addition to. Card substitutions shall be discussed in a later section, as the present list is also meant to assist returning or new players that might not have access to generic support.
Deckbuilding Explained
After reviewing the list above, a large number of card inclusions should come as no surprise to those familiar with the archetype. However, some of the less streamlined incorporated cards would merit from some explaining. Specifically:
- Purgatory Knights, Gairahm Lance Dragon: The existence of this card actually fulfills multiple roles and, despite its 2-of inclusion rate, is in fact quite crucial. Firstly it provides a destruction effect, which the deck does not have an abundance of. Essentially, its ability to destroy specific monsters during the main-phase, allows the player to gain gauge or even search for their weapons without relying on Orcus. Secondly, it is another size 2 monster that can be fetched by Expia Sword which can be played alongside Orcus due to the size reduction ability.
- Hundred Demons Sorcery, Death Sacrifice: This card serves a similar purpose to Lance Dragon above. Additionally, it functions as a form of card draw outside of the battle phase, thus making the deck somewhat Lost World friendly.
Win Condition
The Purgatory Knights are a fairly aggressive archetype, that aims to rush down opponents with multiple attacks. This game plan is achieved thanks to Orcus Dragon’s counter ability, which allows him to stand each time he destroys a fellow purgatory knight monster on the field. Furthermore, with each ‘sacrifice’, the destroyed monsters can be placed into his soul which will then bestow upon Orcus additional effects such as Penetrate, Counterattack, and Stat increases, making him more powerful with each attack.
In addition to the above, the deck also displays an exemplary ability to generate and maintain a healthy handsize, mostly occurring during the battle phase. As a result, almost every monster included in the deck can be used as a form of card draw alongside Orcus.
Weaknesses
As the game advances, it is only natural for new and more powerful archetypes to be printed. This ultimately results in certain older decks falling to the wayside until they are given the necessary support to cope with the new advanced power level of recent decks. The Purgatory Knights have unfortunately fallen victim to such circumstances as of late.
Although the archetype does receive support, more frequently than others, due to its popularity from the anime, it never seems to be quite enough to push it into the spotlight. The recently released Needle Claw Dragon serves as a perfect example. It functioned as a fix to certain key issues such as lack of gauge and attack power, in addition to preventing souls from being dropped. However, anti-ability nullification, sustainable weapon fetch, immunity to destruction and effect damage nullification still remain to be addressed. Of course, they are not all necessary for the deck’s resurgence but they will need to be addressed, as time goes on, by cards similar to the one depicted above.
Tech Cards
Of course, as it has become obligatory for modern-day competitive Buddyfight, one must not forget about the existence of Generic tech cards, that can be added to the deck on top of the existing build. Namely: Loyalty, Buddy Option, Recover Veil, Buddy Block and Sweet Happy Time to list but a few.
While not archetype specific, such cards can indeed serve to shore up some of the weaknesses listed in the section above.
Lost World
With the deck being capable of lasting a couple turns, it seems only natural that Lost World would be considered as a viable inclusion. While such an assumption is indeed correct and possible within the deck at hand, it can be lackluster at times due to the way the archetype functions. Specifically, Purgatory Knights do not have a strong enough main phase draw engine to be able to utilise Lost World consistently after the deck swap. Their principle draw engine functions during the battle phase, which is not optimal for the Lost World secondary win condition.
It is, of course, possible to tech the deck with a bit more of a Lost World friendly draw engine, something that I have indeed aimed to do with the current list (e.g. CHAOS Darryl Berck & Hundred Demons Sorcery, Death Sacrifice ). However, players should remain wary to not overly dilute their deck to the point where they lose sight of the original rush win condition.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Purgatory Knights lend themselves to be a really decent deck for semi-competitive play. While suffering from some obvious weaknesses, as seen above, the archetype is afforded enough protections and the main monster can attain high enough stats to give it real viability.
While Bushiroad should eventually print some cards that would cover the archetype’s inherent weaknesses to a degree, such as an archetype specific anti-destruction card, it is in no way a matter of urgency. The deck is consistent, quick and capable of dishing out a decent amount of damage with the presently available support.
Lastly, the Purgatory Knights remain to this day one of the most aesthetically pleasing archetypes to ever be printed, oozing with fascinating and heroic lore. One can only hope that one day they’ll experience a resurgence similar to that of experienced by Jackknife Dragon and Athora with recent sets.
I hope you enjoyed this archetype profile. As always, if you have any questions or constructive feedback, please do not hesitate to comment below or reach out to me on Social Media. Until next time, have fun Buddyfighting!
gunnolfbjorn 