2026-11-07 Light and Darkness Ritual

01Results

That is 8.55% of lists and 9.24% of points (55 points). It has 2 wins, 7 top-4 finishes and 10 top-8 finishes across 10 events.

• Win: Moises Barrios, San Salvador WCQ Regional, 2026-11-01, about 150 players (Azamina/Dark Magician build).
• Win: Noah Purcell, The Side Deck Remote Duel WCQ Regional, 2026-11-01, about 120 players, online (Ars Magna/Power Patron build).

The label covers two decks. YGOPRODeck tags 6 lists "ars-magna-power-patron" and 4 as Dark Magician variants (one Azamina, one Kashtira/Horus). You can see the split in the card data (per_archetype): the main-deck Patron package (Medius the Pure, Theorealized Medius, the four Power Patron Pendulum monsters, Prohibited Power Patron Portal - Terminus) sits at exactly 60%, i.e. the 6 Patron lists. Not every Power Patron card does: Mediclius the Extraordinary Power Patron is at 90% (Extra).

02Identity and win condition

The deck Ritual Summons with "Light and Darkness Ritual" ("Tribute monsters from your hand or field, and/or banish monsters from your GY"). The Ritual Spell recycles itself from the GY: "add this card and 1 card that mentions 'Light and Darkness Ritual' from your GY to your hand."

It ends games with protected removal bodies:

• "Magician of Dark Chaos - Black Chaos" is "Unaffected by your opponent's activated effects, unless they target this card". It also stops your Spells/Traps from being destroyed or banished, and it can "banish it face-down".
• "Black Chaos", while a Ritual Spell is in the GY, "is unaffected by your opponent's activated effects". Once per turn it can "banish 2 cards your opponent controls".
• "Black Luster Soldier - Soldier of Light and Darkness" banishes 1 card when Special Summoned and can attack a second time.

03Core engine and ratios

Main-deck engine cards at 60% or higher inclusion (per_archetype; hand traps are covered under Going first / going second):

The other 60% lines are all in the Patron build: Theorealized Medius, Theorealize Liberation, the three Ars Magna monsters, Ars Magna "Citrinitas", Vidolium the Unstable Power Patron of Unity (2.17), Nervedo the Shadebeast Power Patron (2.0), Jupredo the Shademachine Power Patron, Junoldo the Shadespirit Power Patron and Prohibited Power Patron Portal - Terminus (Limited).

Mind Shuffle is the real engine card. Black Chaos's discard puts it on the field from the Deck, and "Griffoh" can be the whole Ritual Tribute.

04Flex and tech

• Pendulum Treasure: 50% of lists, always 3 copies. This is the Patron build adding Pendulum Patrons to the Extra Deck face-up.
• Dark Magician: 40% at 1 copy. This is the Dark Magician shell. Dark Magical Curtain (70%) and Dark Magician of Destruction (Extra, 70%) are not shell-only: my decklist query shows all 4 Dark Magician lists play 3 Curtain and 1 DMoD, and 3 of the 6 Patron lists (Purcell, Armenta Burgos, Kelly) play 1 Curtain and 1 DMoD.
• The Great Gallant Bandit: 40% at 2.25 copies.
• Every list plays Dharc the Dark Charmer, Gloomy, I:P Masquerena and S:P Little Knight.
• Mediclius the Extraordinary Power Patron and A Bao A Qu, the Lightless Shadow are at 90%. Mediclius at 3 pointed monsters can "banish this card, also all cards your opponent controls".

The variance shows a fixed Ritual core of 7 names at 90%+ (about 9 copies by per_archetype avg). The rest of the deck is either a Patron package or a Dark Magician package: in my decklist query no list plays both Medius the Pure and Dark Magician. Dark Magical Curtain and Dark Magician of Destruction cross over (see above).

05Going first / going second

Main-deck hand traps per list (my decklist query, counting Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, Mulcharmy Fuwalos, Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit, Droll & Lock Bird, Nibiru, the Primal Being, Mulcharmy Purulia, Skull Meister, Infinite Impermanence and Effect Veiler) range from 10 to 19. Noah Purcell's 60-card winning list has 19.

Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring and Mulcharmy Fuwalos are 100% at 3 copies, and Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit is 100% at 2.7. Main-deck board breakers are near zero: only Forbidden Droplet, in 1 list (10%). Going second, the deck uses Black Chaos's "banish 2 cards" and the Ritual bosses' banish effects as its breakers.

06Choke points and what stops it

• Searches: Skull Archfiend of Chaos, Ragged Records of Rites, Mind Shuffle, Medius the Pure, Theorealized Medius. Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring negates effects that "Add a card from the Deck to the hand" or "Special Summon from the Deck". Dark Magical Curtain is also a Special Summon from the Deck. Droll & Lock Bird (Limited; 90% main, 1.0 avg in this deck) triggers "If a card(s) is added from the Main Deck to your opponent's hand". After the first search it shuts off the rest.
• Mind Shuffle on the field. Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit hits "a Spell/Trap that is already face-up on the field activates its effect". Black Chaos's placement from the Deck is not a search, Summon or send, so Ash does not apply to it.
• The protection window. Once Magician of Dark Chaos - Black Chaos is on the field, "Spells/Traps you control cannot be destroyed, or banished, by your opponent's card effects." Ghost Ogre and backrow removal on Mind Shuffle must come before Magician of Dark Chaos - Black Chaos is on the field.
• Targeting. Effect Veiler and Infinite Impermanence target, so Magician of Dark Chaos - Black Chaos and Black Luster Soldier - Soldier of Light and Darkness ("Unaffected by your opponent's activated effects, unless they target this card") can be hit by them. Black Chaos has no "unless they target" clause, so while a Ritual Spell is in the GY those hand traps do nothing to it.

07Side deck

Side inclusion from my decklist query (10 lists):

• Nibiru, the Primal Being: 80%, 2.0 avg
• Mulcharmy Purulia: 70%, 2.71
• Spell Shattering Sword: 60%
• Solemn Judgment (Limited): 60%
• Pot of Sloth: 50%, 2.2
• Hey, Space Trunade!: 40%, 2.5
• Typhoon: 40%, all at 3
• Artmage Impasto -Recapture- and Ars Magna "Philosophorum": 30% each

Nibiru and Purulia go in against combo decks. Typhoon, Spell Shattering Sword ("Destroy all face-up Spells your opponent controls") and Trunade go in against Spell/Trap-heavy boards.

08Playing against it

• Going second, hold Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring for the first Mind Shuffle search or for Medius the Pure. Hold Droll & Lock Bird for after Ragged Records of Rites or Skull Archfiend of Chaos resolves.
• Point Effect Veiler and Infinite Impermanence at Magician of Dark Chaos - Black Chaos or Black Luster Soldier - Soldier of Light and Darkness, not at Black Chaos.
• Use Cosmic Cyclone or Typhoon on Mind Shuffle before Magician of Dark Chaos - Black Chaos lands.
• Before you destroy Spell Shattering Sword (side, 60%), note its float: "destroy 1 card in your opponent's hand (at random) or their field".
• Mulcharmy Fuwalos ("Each time your opponent Special Summons a monster(s) from the Deck and/or Extra Deck, immediately draw 1 card"; needs "If you control no cards") lines up with Medius the Pure in the Patron lists and Dark Magical Curtain in 7 of 10 lists, both of which Special Summon from the Deck.

09Sources

All retrieved 2026-11-07 (YGOPRODeck):

• San Salvador WCQ Regional, 2026-11-01
• The Side Deck Remote Duel WCQ Regional, 2026-11-01
• Guadalajara WCQ Regional, 2026-11-01
• Differdange WCQ Regional, 2026-10-31
• Santo Domingo WCQ Regional, 2026-10-25
• Medellin WCQ Regional, 2026-10-25
• Klein Rönnau WCQ Regional, 2026-10-25
• Mönchengladbach WCQ Regional, 2026-10-24
• Fort Worth WCQ Regional, 2026-10-24
• Seattle WCQ Regional, 2026-10-24

Card text: local the card database (YGOPRODeck db_version 147.67, retrieved 2026-11-07T05:57:35Z). Banlist: https://www.yugioh-card.com/en/limited/list_2026-10-19/