Wydar Sarkal

Wydar Sarkal is...well, let's first deal with the looming elephant in the room. Wydar Sarkal? What kind of name is that? There's a bunch of weird theories about what the name could possibly mean. I personally just think that Bushiroad is trying to implicitly tell us that their game is going to keep growing and expanding like a wider circle.

...you can stop facepalming now.

The archetype has a variety of flexible cards that all can contribute something to your resources or advantage. Separately, they don't seem to powerful, but by combining various cards together, they can create a formidable beatdown that can outmaneuver different winning strategies. While the archetype is still limited and depends heavily on the Olympus series of Gorgon Sisters, there's no doubt that combined with the power of Legend World's impressive spell set, Wydar Sarkal is a force to be reckoned with.

Also, they're one of the first archetypes to not have a single triple-rare card.

#stag

I'll start off by showcasing the best monster card ever created in the history of Buddyfight, and I'll even venture that there won't be a better card than this for a while. Get used to hearing me sing the praises of King of Forest, Zlatorog. This card is so freaking good. Holy. So vanilla stats for Size 2's are 6000/2/5000. Zlatorog loses 3000 in both power and defense (-1.5) for the ability to topgauge 2 on-play (+1). But screw math, because 2 FREE GAUGE is amazing. You're not converting resources like if you used Dragonic Charge or Key of Solomon. Those cards force you to lose a card in order to gain 2 gauge. Zlatorog comes on the field as a monster, a wash transaction, and then on top of that you're getting 2 gauge for free. Amazing.

Why is math unimportant in this rare case? It's because power and defense, like I've explained in my Magic Numbers article, are soft advantages. These advantages need to be transferred into real advantages, otherwise you're wasting resources in them. Zlatorog loses on soft advantages and trades them for the hard advantage of more gauge, which means more plays. Additionally, Zlatorog loses nothing in critical which means that he's still as damaging as ever. And the plays you can pull off with Zlatorog are absolutely insane. We're talking about starting the turn with no gauge and pulling off any Great Spell or Decree of Dullahan combo. Honestly, that's just stupid.

Her name is Yui. That's
final.

But my favorite card in all of Wydar Sarkal has to be Wind Fairy, Sylph. Here we go. *deep breath*. SHE'S SO CUUUUUTE. SO ADORABLE. Oh man, Sylph 100% best buddy material. Kem-kem is one lucky frog dude.

Great art aside, Sylph is actually an amazing card in general. She's a Size 0, which almost immediately means she needs to be run in any Legend World deck. Her stats are bad, but when she's played you convert 1 gauge into 1 card in the form of an item salvage. Now, salvage is essentially the same thing as search when you've ran through half your deck, so you're basically searching for any weapon you want for 1 gauge. While getting a Size 0 on the field that doesn't take up any field space. With an item lineup as diverse and interesting as what Legend World offers, Sylph is a valuable asset to get the right items for the right situation.

He's...grenning

Demonic Beast, Grendel. This card was hyped through the roof because anime and people were saying how good it was. Well, as many people figured out after staring at it for a while, Grendel kinda sucks. 6000/2/6000 stats on a Size 3 is pretty sad, and Double Attack barely redeems it. With no Soulguard, Grendel requires a lot of support just to stay alive. I know Legend World has a lot of gauge, but 3 is a bit too much for a monster you can't properly support.

Well, that's a lie. You can support Grendel, but you need to be building for and around this card completely. I'm talking maxing out all your counters and negates so that your opponent will throw everything at Grendel and die trying. Remember that Death Curse activates even if the attack is negated; it works as long as Grendel was the target for an attack. Thanks to Golden Skin, very few cards, albeit decks, can deal with a Grendel that gets Mythology'd or TWS'd every turn.

Death comes like a
stampede

And we can all agree that Spring Heeled Jack, Waweldrache, and Decree of Dullahan are really good, right? I don't need to explain why gauge for destroying monsters, 7000 power on a Size 1, and Double Attack for everything is good, right? Spare me from saying obvious stuff, so I can say stuff like "Furious Unicorn is really good!" In fact, Wydar Sarkal has really good Size 1 choices overall. Even the 2-crit vanillas are really valuable because Dullahan turns them into win conditions.

Really? We get a vanilla? Screw this.

Twin-Headed Hellhound, Orthrus is analyzed in the Olympus article, but it's worth noting his incredible synergy with Decree of Dullahan. Giving Orthrus Double Attack and letting him whack the player twice and destroy stuff in the process is very potent and hard to deal with.

Wydars are broken once again.

Dawn, but no sun

The return of Wydar Sarkal starts with Count Dawn leading the charge. This card is the answer to every consistency engine's dreams. At the beginning of the turn, if it's in your drop zone, call it by paying 1 life. So draw for 1 life, easy. It's a Size 0 with 4000 power so it's a good card to clear the field with. But most importantly? It can be used with any flag as a 1-of. Since it keeps coming back, you really don't need to run more than 2 to guarantee it consistently.

Count Dawn works best in lineups that feature strong Size 3 monsters, like Asgard, Danger, Ancient, and Dragon. In these decks, Count Dawn is a free attack without committing extra hand for a weak monster. In Wydar, Count Dawn mainly serves as a way to activate Wydar Sarkal-related abilities consistently.

Half-bird, technically

Gauge ramp was never an issue in Wydar Sarkal, but now we get a Zlatarog clone at Size 1 in Odd Bird, Harpy (for 1 less topgauge). Meaning you can jump your gauge from none to 3 with two calls - not even minusing hand or field. Pretty legit.

Your main beaters are a set of Wydar cards that can't be destroyed if you have Wydar Sarkal monsters in certain positions. Wolfman, Gutz is a Size 2 that gains immunity in the center or left if you have a Wydar on the right. The same goes for Night Witch, Clear, a 1 gauge 3-crit Size 1. Both Clear and Gutz have 3-crit, which means that Dullahan on them will definitely hurt. In fact, the combination of Gutz, Count Dawn, Clear, and Dullahan aims for 14 damage in one turn with very little investment.

Other cards that gain bonuses based on field are the two dragons, Gwiber and Welsh, which both gain +1 crit when the other's on field, which is also pretty good for Dullahan turn. They're both Size 1 as well.

Trollololol

Wydar Sarkal overlaps with Fairy a bit, but Red Cap and Loyal Unicorn are both important negate and draw cards for both. Loyal Unicorn would be amazing with Alwidol but the traits conflict unfortunately.

As far as spells go, Wydars get interesting options. Annoying Ways of the Troll is a must-run because...come on, that name is too perfect. On a serious note, 2 gauge for negating either call or cast is pretty powerful, especially since gauge is so cheap for Wydars. Your opponent has to invest resources that you negate, and since you ramp those same resources back faster you automatically win on that front.

Eww she's older-I MEAN

And we begin the streak of every Count Dawn card being a really good Size 0.

Sylph gets bigger! No longer a loli!

She's dead to me.

Great Wind Fairy, Sylph is a really useful Size 1 for Wydar Sarkal and Item-related decks. For 1 gauge and 1 life you basically get a standard vanilla body and the ability to equip an Item from the drop or call a Wydar Sarkal from the drop. Really good resource transfers and sustainability.

Twilight Count...okay, at least this name didn't suck. He's like the weirdest fake noobtrap in the game. So if you're damaged when he's on the field, you heal 1 life and then you deal 1 damage to your opponent. So...why would your opponent not kill this thing first? Beats me. Maybe they're just emotionally unstable after fighting a weird frog human creature dude that got possessed by an evil spirit and was freaking her out.

But actually, you can use this in a Fifth Omni style deck with cards that deal damage to yourself...and then proc Twilight Count's ability on your turn. Which is pretty neat.

Magic Sword, Azoth is like the saving grace for Wydar Sarkal, allowing them to face a burn-heavy meta without giving up their prized center slot and the power of 3-monster Dullahans.

- updated to H-BT04, CP01, H-EB04, H-TD02, H-PP01 -

All images were used obtained from the official Bushiroad website and used here solely for reference purposes. Future Card Buddyfight!, logos, and respective content belong to Bushiroad. Large images belong to the Buddyfight! Wikia.