Luna Kaiju has been quiet in modern times. The deck has aged a bit and certainly has some issues with consistency and keeping tempo.
A few variants have shown up across the years. Notable ones being Mekk-Knight or Floodgate versions with cards like Inspector Boarder. What we'll be featuring today is a bit different from the norm, but should be a pleasant surprise.
The Queen
Fairy Tail - Luna is a major part of what makes Luna Dogma work. It's a potent Normal Summon that adds a copy of itself (or one particular card we'll get into later) and has a nifty quick effect. This monster is able to target a monster your opponent controls, then bounce herself and the target.
Your opponent can try to stop it, but there are ways around or to even exploit this. Firstly, since you'll often be bouncing the Kaijus that you give to your opponent, so the effect to send usually doesn't apply.
Key Extra Deck monsters and end pieces often tend to be at just 1 copy, which is something to consider!
This effect pairs deceptively well with Ice Dragon's Prison! Should the opponent choose to keep their monster and send a copy to the GY, IDP can then banish both the sent monster and the monster on the field!
As for the Dogma part, Luna is very useful as it is a Normal Summon that enables Ecclesia and even adds a copy of herself or Rochka for more follow-up. Simply NS Luna, use her effect to search and then link into Artemis, the Magistus Moon Maiden.
Once that's done, your Dogmatika engine is ready to go with both Ecclesia and Fleurdelis waiting in the wings!
The last thing to note is that Luna is one of the several ways the deck is able to set up a surprisingly vicious win condition, setting up Gameciel with Kyoutou Waterfront on the field! More info on the specifics later.
Definitely run 3 of this Fairy Tail.
The New Blood
Fairy Tail - Rochka is a card we'll be soon getting in Ghosts From the Past, and is a fairly potent choice in the deck. Rochka acts as the fourth Normal Summon which is searchable by Luna. You usually want to add Rochka when you'll be bouncing Luna to your hand as the second copy becomes redundant. It helps should you draw multiples to keep the advantage chain going.
Not only that, her two effects are decent for the NS. The first effect acts as a Pot of Duality, but the choice on the card is given to your opponent and they gain 500 LP. This sounds terrible at first glance, but the deck is able to use it to great effect. Not only does Rochka enable Ecclesia, but it then gives you a free card to boot. Your deck's quality of cards should be good enough to where regardless of what you get, it'll be beneficial. Mind games can also play a part in what card they'll be giving you, similar to Pantheism from back then.
Lastly, the second effect has some niche uses in keeping yourself alive. You'll take no battle damage if they attack Rochka and you use this effect. This is optional, so she can strike on the offensive just fine.
It's not the cornerstone of the strategy, so running only 1 copy to be searched by Luna works just fine.
The Master of Bounce
Alpha is a recent member of the pack, showing up in Phantom Rage! It offers a lot of extra power in going second builds, including a 3000 body that also clears out problem cards. This beast is capable of outing threats with its effect or with its attack, making it quite handy. Incidentally, this works really well with Kaijus as you are able to use and reuse them at will.
When paired with Luna, you can wipe their entire field simply by using the same Kaiju over and over again!
After using its effect, it can even come back down to the field for Round 2, at the cost of not being able to attack directly. Alpha greatly shines in R8NK builds that aim to use Draglubion/Numeron Dragon for the OTK. It's a good card for the deck either way and can be slotted into the Main or Side without much trouble.
Operations in Kyoutou
Kyoutou is one of the cornerstones of your strategy, giving you a much-needed grind game and enabling powerful effects for your Kaiju monsters. In addition, it lets you search for a Kaiju every turn. This is especially potent in particular with Gameciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju as it turns the turtle into a ridiculous boss monster. Kyoutou can be considered as one of the deck's core cards.
Gameciel now has a non-once per turn/once per chain Omni-negate that banishes at the cost of 2 Kaiju Counters. These counters are easy to gather just by playing the game. The deck has plenty of ways to make this doable. Dogmatika Punishment is one of the strongest methods in doing so, filling/refilling Kyoutou by a high amount and clearing the way for Gameciel. Luna, Fleurdelis, Alpha, generic traps like Dinomischus come to mind. In a pinch, you can tribute summon Gameciel with the free bodies the deck pumps out.
Outside of that, Jizukiru is a decent boss monster to work with its target blocking and high attack. Radian gives you easy swarming, push, or even Link Material! Dogoran can clear the board in a pinch. Thunder King is a heavier option that can tear through several monsters. Gadarla is a nice out to Stormwinds.
The ratios of the Kaijus you play depend on preference and what you value more. Interrupted Kaiju Slumber is a crazy Spell card that does a lot for the deck but can be played at 2 or 3. An aggressive build focused on going second can max it out, while going first builds who aim to set up their engines and grind can play it at 2.
Dogmatika Benefits
While the Dogmatika engine is definitely well known in its own right, this deck is able to make use of it in funky ways. Firstly, Ecclesia gives you a solid starter that grabs Punishment. Not only does this provide the deck with 3 more Normal Summons, but it also gets even better should you open it and Luna or Rochka! Fleurdelis is a great bonus card within the engine. Nadir Servant is also a key card, of course, being one of the best searchers made in recent times.
Dogmatika Punishment is the real golden ticket here as it is a powerful and flexible Normal Trap card. It can either stop the opponent from setting up, break boards, out Kaijus, and keep your resources flowing. One other feat this can do is easily fill or refill Kaiju Counters for the Field Spell, getting your effects online! The Extra Deck lock is no big deal, as you only need to go into Artemis once.
Extra Deck Artillery
Here are some examples of Extra Deck cards to send for Nadir or Punishment:
PSY-Framelord Omega offers both GY hate/recovery and a decently high ATK value. It can either be used offensively to cut the opponent resources in the GY or shuffle back cards like Luna, Rochka, Kaijus, Dogmatika cards for more grind! Nothing like shuffling back a Kaiju only to add it back with Kyoutou or Slumber.
Toadally Awesome is able to retrieve back a Gameciel from your GY after using Punishment! This is great to know as this makes it the easiest Kaiju to grab back. One cute play is popping the turtle you give them with Toad and then add it back!
Elder Entity N'tss is arguably one of the best targets to send, bringing a flexible second pop to the table! N'tss can remove anything that can be targeted on the field and is the main reason why Punishment is such a threat. N'tss + Punishment also generates 3 counters on its own for Kyoutou, that's a win-win!
Titaniklad the Ash Dragon is a great target to send as it gets you to Ecclesia in the End Phase to grab another copy of the trap! This lets you keep up with most decks and not get outpaced. If you are using Nadir, it lets you get to Fleurdelis in the EP since you already have Ecclesia and the trap.
El Shaddoll Apkallone is quite the strong choice if one focuses on Maximus for Schism. Alternatively, you can side Naelshaddoll Ariel into games 2/3 and have a nasty triple GY banish when you use Punishment!
The Sample List
I'll be providing a sample list for the Deck. While this is by no means perfect as the ratios can depend on a lot of factors, it should be a nice starting point if you want to mess around with Luna Dogmatika Kaiju!
The list here usually goes first but can work fine going second. If you're not very lucky with dice rolls, you still should be able to play with either result.
BLS Link is a neat tech option that can edge out some games, the deck can easily give it protection too.
The side deck can be adjusted depending on the format. Floodgates are also worth looking into. Summon Limit and There Can be Only One come to mind.
Conclusion
That brings us to the end of the article! I hope you enjoyed this guide in learning how Luna Dogma ticks, a cool deck that has some nice potential. While not a meta breaker, it's a fun option that can go toe to toe with some for sure!
