Laval
| Laval | |
|---|---|
 Two "Laval Tokens" in the artwork of "Searing Fire Wall". | |
| Japanese |
|
| French |
|
| German |
|
| Italian |
|
| Korean |
|
| Portuguese |
|
| Spanish |
|
| Anime appearances | |
| Manga appearances | |
| Lists | |
"Laval" (ラヴァル Ravaru) is an archetype first released in Duel Terminal - Vylon Descends!!. Their team symbol is an orange flame often carved into a flat stone or disc. All known "Laval" monsters have FIRE as their Attribute, as well as the majority of them being either Pyro or Warrior.
Contents
Duel Terminal Storyline[edit]
The Laval live in a lava zone that's surrounded by Fiery Woodlands. A tribe that's born for battling, all they want to do is fight. For that purpose, they attacked the Gem-Knight repeatedly to start a new conflict. However, the Steelswarms started to take over the surface land. So, the Lavals went to work with the other clans. Forming a temporary union with the Vylon, they obtained new powers to fight back the Steelswarms. Soon, the union finally defeated the invaders, but conflicts haven't lowered yet; the Vylons decided to stop fights between clans by exterminating them completely. Later, the Lavals teamed up with the other clans again in order to stop the Vylon's actions. They fused their powers to fight back this order.
After defeating the Vylons, the union disbanded, and the Lavals went working as a new power source for the rituals of the Gishki tribe. Since then, the current fate of Laval tribe is unknown.
Design[edit]
Appearance[edit]
Visually, most "Laval" monsters appears to be made out of molten rock or molten lava.
Etymology[edit]
The archetype's name is a corruption of the word "lava", which is similar to how the "Flamvell" archetype was named.
Playing style[edit]
Most "Laval" monsters mill and use other "Laval" monsters in the Graveyard. Some, like "Laval Coatl", simply need enough "Lavals" in the Graveyard to work. Others, like "Laval Judgment Lord", banish "Lavals" from the Graveyard for costs. Lastly, cards like "Laval Cannon" recycle "Lavals" that have been banished by other effects. The "Laval" Synchro Monsters require 1 or more non-Tuner FIRE monsters and are all based around managing the "Lavals" in the Graveyard with their effects.
This archetype focuses on setting up its Graveyard to enable several effects from both the field and Graveyard, most easily done via "Molten Conduction Field", a card that can send 2 "Laval" monsters to the Graveyard. Sending "Laval Volcano Handmaiden" alongside another "Laval" by this effect will allow a player to send an even greater number of monsters to the Graveyard. "Laval Lakeside Lady" also works best in the Graveyard, where it can use its effect to destroy the opponent's cards.
Once the Graveyard setup is complete, "Laval" can use a number of options, from using massive swarming and overwhelming the opponent with numerous Synchro Monsters/Link Monsters to clearing the opposing board with "Dustflame Blast". The main swarming strategy utilizes "Rekindling" to revive many "Laval" monsters with 200 DEF, with "Laval Magma Cannoneer" being the ideal non-Tuner due to being Level 4 and able to set up the Graveyard on its own. Notable candidates for the deck are certain "Flamvell" monsters to increase the deck's speed, namely "Flamvell Firedog" and "Neo Flamvell Lady". "Firedog" is especially useful because it can search for many of the "Laval" Tuners. With "Rekindling", this Deck is capable of unleashing massive Synchro Monsters such as "Shooting Quasar Dragon" or "Red Nova Dragon" on the first turn, even though this requires a fair amount of card luck to be achieved. As for the Link Summon side, "Searing Fire Wall" can be used for massive Link Summoning plays after a successful "Molten Conduction Field" activation, as well as offering pinpoint banishing possibilities.
Recommended cards[edit]
Weaknesses[edit]
- Since Laval strategies are Graveyard-dependent, cards that directly banish cards, like "Macro Cosmos" and "Dimensional Fissure" can be highly harmful to the Deck - however, "Laval Cannon" can counter this up to a certain point. By the same token, cards like "Necrovalley", "The End of Anubis" and "Silent Graveyard" are dangerous due to disrupting several key effects such as those of "Handmaiden" or "Lakeside Lady".
- Anti-Special Summon cards such as "Archlord Kristya" and "Vanity's Emptiness" can also force this Deck into a screeching halt.
- Much like other FIRE-based archetypes, this Deck is highly oriented towards "Rekindling", and they tend to be very vulnerable if it is negated.
- Similarly to the "Gusto" archetype, "Discord" makes a potent counter against more Synchro-oriented versions of "Laval" Decks.
