2020's been a year, right? Amongst the viral outbreaks and political unrest, I and several others have found security, entertainment, and catharsis in the form of these "VTuber" lassies that've been popping up all year. Seems I too have fallen into that rabbit hole and shall forever tumble into the paradises of precious dogs, sharks, grim reapers, or whatever semi-fictional friends tend to grace the interwebs.

So how fitting was it that Konami happened to release an archetype revolving around them? Debuting in Genesis Impact opposite side of various magician retrains and the umpteenth strategy that can benefit from Cyber Emergency and inevitably make CDI, the adorable and equally as hard to type out on keyboard "Live☆Twins" are quite the pair. And with them, a super-secret agenda. When the sun goes down, they ditch the cartoonish personas and don their true colors, the "Evil★Twins". Now tell me that wasn't clever making the first word reversed to show their real intentions. In any case, when it's time to pilfer some goodies, Ki-sikil and Lil-la tap into the Extra Deck to cause some mayhem together, best exacerbated when they're both on the field upon summon.

But they don't do it alone, no no. The fact that the "Lives" have the stat line they do (Level 2 and Cyberse) means they can call upon some familiar friends that've been helping out Cyberse sillies like Code Talkers since the dawn of Link Summoning. This opens up a whole new world of options that extend far beyond cute characters playing games for laughs and such.

So with that, I give you what's possibly one of my favorite "bite back if your opponent tries anything nasty" decks other than Time Thieves, the Live☆/Evil★Twins.

As with my previous decklist, I'll opt to go in order of archetypes and their main cards to fully understand their roles and rewards if everything goes off without a hitch.

 

Live☆Twins

Complete with cutesy artwork reminiscent of Panty and Stocking and lots of terminology that will hopefully be properly localized to creative effect, the Live☆Twins are undoubtedly your play starters and take center stage when setting up. More often than not, you'll want to normal summon one of the two Main Deck Live☆'s, first and foremost. That's when their friends step in and the fun really starts.

• With twin tails and an outfit that belongs in an early 2000's Sega game, Live☆Twin Ki-sikil is here to spread smiles they way I do peanut butter on toast. When she's Normal or Special Summoned as the only monster on your field, she calls upon her counterpart, Lil-la from hand or deck. Alternatively, she grants you 500 LP whenever your opponent declares an attack. But as you can likely tell going forward, it and the other secondary effects of the Main Deck Live☆'s are what you're really going to focus on.


• Ki-sikil's sailor dress-wearing, bread-misplacing, and complementary-colored companion is Live☆Twin Lil-la. Summoning her as your sole monster, much like our previous member, allows her to bring out Ki-sikil from hand or deck much like the pinkie. Her other effect that requires your opponent to pay a 500 LP toll for attacks really isn't worthwhile either, but hopefully our next member will tie up some loose ends.


• A spooky re-skin, Live☆Twin Lil-la Treat is a freebie summon provided you have a Ki-sikil on your field. Despite its Zombie typing, you're more than able to use it for your Link summons involving what you normally would for Lil-la and the like. Though if you ask me, you might want to save one of these on the field for an upcoming Trap card that can come in a surprising, unconventional pinch.

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• For backrow, rounding us off is Live☆Twin Home. It's moreso your emergency button if you've no other way to go into Ki-sikil or Lil-la from deck at present, though it requires a discard for cost and locks your Extra Deck summons for the remainder of the turn into the Twins' sinister counterparts. Still though, it can get the job done when you need.


• And possibly the best segue into the upcoming section of this profile is Secret Password. It lets you add any Live☆Twin or Evil★Twin backrow card from deck to hand. Alternatively, if you happen to have a Ki-sikil and Lil-la on your field, it grants you the additional option of a Main Deck beater that gives itself extra stacks and offers non-targeting, non-destruction equalization. But as Mickey Mouse once famously said, "That's a surprise tool that'll help us later."

 

Evil★Twin

Ki-sikil and Lil-la's nighttime gig takes center stage once they're all set up and ready to go into their extensive arsenal of blue friends from the Extra Deck. That's when they reveal their true intentions and selves, the Evil★Twins. On the surface, they may seem underwhelming, but that's where all their supportive tools come in. For now though, I'd be more than happy to describe both these pretty pilferers. It should be noted that any and all kinds of monsters can be used for their summons, provided their second material has Ki-sikil and Lil-la in the name.

• No longer a pretty pink princess, Evil★Twin Ki-sikil has gems in her eyes and domination on her mind. When she hits the field while your Lil-la monster is out and about as well, she allows you to draw a card for free. Alternatively, her Quick Effect lets you summon any Lil-la monster from your GY so long as you have none on your field, yet locks you into Fiends from the Extra Deck for the turn's remainder. This is the one you'll want to have out during your opponent's turn at all times, with this next member in the GY...


• Back to bite as hard as her mascot, Evil★Twin Lil-la is capable of summoning her pink friend from the GY if one of her naming is absent from your field much like the previous pinkie. But more often than not, she's the one you want to bring out with Evil Ki-sikil's effect during your opponent's turn. As soon as she hits the field then, she pops any card on the field, face-down or face-up. It's practically a free disruption, and it actually is in-theme with another powerful upcoming Link monster.


• Rarely popping up but typically helping clean up games when they do, the Main Deck titan Evil★Twins Ki-sikil & Lil-la have one last bone to pick with your opponent before their heist sees its conclusion. They summon themselves from hand or GY by tributing two of your Link monsters, and should they come up while your opponent has three or more cards, they render all but two of them over and done with. Not only that, but if you're clear to attack for game with them, they can strike with a whopping 4400 ATK provided you have a Ki-sikil and Lil-la in the grave. High attack might not mean too much nowadays, but hey. Why not? Also, I haven't read anything confirming or denying it, but these two poser performers are likely a cute criminal couple, and I've nothing but support for it.

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• Packing a surprise for your opponent in your backrow and searchable with Secret Password is Evil★Twin Present. It's more or less a tribal, chainable Creature Swap if you have both the twins up on your side of the field. By swapping control of one of your Ki-sikil or Lil-la's with one of your opponent's tools, you can opt for a non-destruction disruption for their setup that can leave them with something potentially weak and useless, like Live Ki-sikil or Lil-la Treat. Alternatively, it can also shuffle an opponent's set backrow into the deck if you'd prefer that. But I mostly prefer the former effect due to a Quick Effect-bearing Link helper's effect that's more than worthwhile.

Main Deck Mainstays

The Live☆Twins tend to look forward to a good bit of assistance from Main Deck stuff that complements their game plan and gets extra material on the board so their helpful Links can take their place. So while those cuties are off goofing around for views, let's view the ones who help them behind the scenes.

• Backup Secretary, essentially the A-Chan of the two stars of the show, benefits from her clients being Cyberse by summoning herself from the hand for free if one of them happens to be on the field. Though it's a hard once-per-turn, she more than comes in handy for getting extra generic material for your summons out of the way.


• Cyberse Converter is like the Performage Hat Tricker for Cyberse monsters, summoning himself for free if your field has nothing but, well, Cyberse monsters. I wouldn't say he'll be brought out too often, but that's not to say his utility in the deck is absent. Play what you like, how you like as I say.


• Particularly useful during your later turns, Cyberse Gadget revives a L2 or lower monster of choice from your GY at the cost of that monster's effects. Not only does it bring out your Main Deck Live☆Twins again, but using it for a Link after it's done its job gets you a free token much like some other useful cards here that you can use for yet more summons. I swear, Cyberse is up there with Warrior and Dragon for most supported Types in the game.


• A card that's thankfully a Common and useful regardless of what Link or Xyz deck you may be playing that you can find room for it in, Parallel eXceed brings itself out from the hand should you Link summon to a zone your Link monster points to. Immediately after that, it can halve its entire stat line to bring out another one of itself from deck to extend your plays. Try it out with the first two spots on the upcoming generic Link section, it'll be a blast.

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• With all the low-level Cyberse monsters that you'll be using to round off your games, it goes without saying that Cynet Mining comes in great handy. Thankfully more common than ever, it nets you a Level 4 or lower Cyberse monster from deck, including your Live☆Twins though is a hard once-per-turn. Sadly Parallel eXceed is exempt from this card's searching capabilities, but it's quite alright since there are other ways to see your setups through.


• Nothing says "instant free LINK-1 material" quite like One-Time Passcode. Its activation gives you a L4 Cyberse token that can be used for, well, LINK-1's or whatever your Extra Deck calls for next. Not too much to say, though you're more than welcome to swap this out for something else if it's not quite your cup of tea.


• With this deck, there are backrow cards and powerful summons you do NOT want to be on the receiving end of. So for the time being until this archetype probably gets a tribal Counter Trap the way Time Thieves did, Solemn Judgement will be filling in that void just fine. The cost of half your LP for the protection of your field may sound scary, but keep in mind that these days, the only Life Point that really matters is your last one. So a generic, practically risk-free way to say "No" to your opponent's attempts to be a meanie is always welcome.


• To keep your materials and other such important monsters going after they've already been dispatched by your opponent, cards like Monster Reborn and World Legacy Succession are plenty worthwhile if you can squeeze in the space.


• Pot of Avarice sees play here in case you need to restock your respective decks with their important tools that have hit the grave, and a net of two draws. You likely won't be using it too often despite its Unlimited status it's gotten in recent months, but it's still alright to have on standby when you need.

Extra Deck Mainstays

Comprising your bread and butter setups will be these guys, thanks to the stat lines of most of your Cyberse monsters and the Live☆Twins themselves.

• Link Disciple and Link Devotee both go hand-in-hand, hence why you're going to want to summon one and then the other once you can snag the chance to get some low-level Cyberse monsters on the field. The former tributes the latter to let you replace a card from your hand with one from your deck, and the latter upon being tributed brings out two tokens you can immediately use for another Link summon, although at the cost of your access to anything higher than a LINK-2 for the rest of the turn. But that's quite alright, because that effect is mitigated by the upcoming entry that's perfect for summoning immediately after.


• Also blessed by her newfound lower rarity and the ability to be brought out using solely tokens or Main Deck monsters, I:P Masquerena's utility cannot be understated. During your opponent's Main Phase, she tags herself and other monsters on your field out for another Link monster of choice from your Extra Deck, with the added benefit of being immune to card effect destruction. The way I typically like to go about it is either using a spare Lil-la monster on field with her for the Link Summon, or an opponent's monster I snatched with Present to further add insult to injury in a way. You can pilot her how you like in this regard, but I like to think this sly method's just oh-so satisfying.


• The fellow Fiends, Knightmare Unicorn, Knightmare Phoenix, and Knightmare Cerberus don't mind Evil Ki-sikil or Lil-la's restriction at all, and are more than happy to lend their support. They each pitch a card from hand to shuffle a card on field into the deck, pop a backrow card, or pop a Special Summoned monster in the Main zone respectively, with the added benefit of drawing a card if they were co-linked in the process. Masquerena complements these cards perfectly, as a way of chainable removal during your opponent's turn as it's always been. Not to mention Phoenix and Cerberus can protect all your co-linked monsters just like the next entry.


• Finally, a beefy Cyberse Link monster to join the roster. Transcode Talker can be summoned with either Masquerena during your opponent's turn or using whatever you happen to have on field in reserve during yours, whichever you like. His arrows pointing up and to his right-hand side work for his effect well, as whatever's co-linked to him gains 500 ATK and can't be targeted by your opponent's card effects. So just by being there, your Ki-sikil, Lil-la, or any of your other beneficial Link monsters can stick it to your opponent's targeting disruptions. Not only that, but he can also revive a LINK-3 or lower Cyberse Link from your GY during your turn, including Masquerena! Though you'll want to be a little careful, because you can only summon Cyberse monsters before and after you use this effect. Still though, he's pretty dang helpful when the moment calls for him. Like the teeniest bit of coriander in a curry.


• You likely won't bring out Splash Mage too much, but he's definitely got his uses. He revives a Main Deck Cyberse monster in Defense, but only locks you into Cyberse monsters for the rest of the turn. If you're starving for options, he's good to go into and then advance to higher stuff afterwards.


• Now for a big, big, terrifying Fiend that Ki-sikil and Lil-la have been lucky to tame. Unchained Abomination which should have been the name for Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon is undoubtedly a huge asset to the deck once you've got the materials for him. Card gets destroyed by battle? He can pop a card of choice. Card gets destroyed by another effect? He's there for that as well! The turn's over? You uh, likely get the point. Three stacks are pretty crazy for an ATK value, and his ability to pop another card right after Evil Lil-la, Phoenix, or Cerberus do is pretty dang helpful if you ask me. It's up to you whether you want to summon him to a linked zone or the Extra Monster zone, but either way he gets the job done.


• As far as the remaining slots, feel free to play whatever other Links you like. Salamangreat Almiraj the only Salamangreat monster I respect for chainable protection, Borrelsword Dragon or Accesscode Talker for late-game cleanups (even if Accesscode is basically the new Borrelsword that'll rattle your wallet even harder), or any other generic helpers you see fit.

So, them's the cards and what they do for the deck. But before I close out this article, much like last time, I wanna provide some helpful tips for play that I've learned from experience that'll take your setups and actions as far as they can go.

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Handy Play Notes

• 90% of the time, your first order of business will be to Normal Summon either Live☆Twin Ki-sikil or Live☆Twin Lil-la from hand, then bring out the other from deck. That's when you either bring out a Lil-la Treat or Backup Secretary from hand, or Link the Ki-sikil into a Link Disciple while Parallel eXceed is in your hand ready to go to the empty zone Disciple is pointing to in order to be made into Devotee in the same zone. After the tokens from the two LINK-1's hit the field, it's time to make an I:P Masquerena in the zone Disciple's pointing to and then make an Evil★Twin Lil-la, or bring out the Lil-la first and then the Masquerena to the zone the blue demolition expert points to. Only after that can you use Evil Lil-la to revive Live Ki-sikil from GY, then use both it and Evil Lil-la to make Evil★Twin Ki-sikil. If you can afterwards, use her effect to revive either a Live Lil-la or Lil-la Treat from GY to use as either material for Masquerena to Link with during your opponent's turn, ammo for Evil★Twin Present, or the latter and then the former. THAT'S when you're open to use Evil Ki-sikil during your opponent's turn to revive Evil Lil-la from GY to get popping. It might be a lot to keep track of especially for a single bullet point, but practice makes perfect.


• As previously mentioned, Live☆Twin Home is really only used as your emergency button if you've been exhausted of ways to get Ki-sikil and Lil-la from the Main Deck to the field during your setups. So try and use Secret Password in that moment to aim for either of the mascots for the deck. Or, if that's not the issue, use Secret Password to instead look for Evil★Twin Present to allow that unconventional, non-destruction disruption to run amok.


• I:P Masquerena, as previously stated, is your gateway to chainable disruption and interaction that would normally only be available during your turn. The Knightmare monsters she can bring out are proof of that, but so can Transcode Talker if your opponent wants to get trigger-happy with his targets on your monsters like Evil Ki-sikil and Lil-la. And since she's a Quick Effect, if your opponent tries to target or destroy any of your important material monsters during their turn, including Masquerena, that's the time to use her effect to go into a new Link and make them pay for their attempts to put you on ice.

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And that's about it for these idols turned idol-snatchers. That's uh, two different kinds of idols if it wasn't clear enough. Anyways, it's a fun deck that's got a lot of room to grow, but in a positive way. Can't say for certain whether or not meta relevancy is in its future, but that's really not an issue for me or other similar strategies at all. So if you're looking to play something with an Extra Deck that's completely blue but are afraid of the lasting mental impact today's decks could have on you, look no further than a deck like this. And who knows? Maybe someday soon it'll get that future ante-up that Eldlich is getting in Blazing Vortex. Though maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part.

Sorry, am I rambling? Guess I've just been getting really caught up in how quickly I've learned to play and enjoy this cotton candy duo and their friends. And I hope the same for you, as well!