Card Spotlight - Luduan

The Card Spotlight series reviews cards that we don’t typically see in competitive play. In the spotlight I'll talk about each card’s strengths and what decks could use them.

Luduan

Luduan is a friendly blue fella who wants to give you more cards. The price for his kindness is harvesting from your opponent's Faeria well. Luduan was once a force to be reckoned with and a large part of the competitive scene. These days he is vulnerable to popular removal cards such as Flame Burst and Wind Soldier. This has led to Luduan being forgotten and his enemies no longer fear that happy little smile.

Luduan often has a target on his back because of his powerful ability. Gaining additional cards from outside your deck is often powerful especially when they have their cost reduced. Luduan’s power level is of high variance. Sometimes you will get something relevant, other times he will give you something underwhelming. The longer he collects Faeria, the more resources and chances you have to swing a match. Your opponent must respect Luduan and find an answer before you gain too much value.

Luduan has natural synergies with land movement tricks. Positioning Luduan in between the wells can be achieved very quickly. Prophet of Tides, Sunken Tower and Shifting Tide accelerate Luduan’s position and will force you opponent to respond.

Harvesters collect Faeria in a specific order when a turn begins. Collection happens from left to right. This image shows that a creature in the “1” column will collect Faeria from the wells before a creature in the “2” column. This is important for Luduan and was perhaps another reason why he sees less play. Luduan wants to slot in between two wells to get the most value. Column 1 is the best choice because it isn’t disrupted by your aggressive creatures in column 2. Column 7 is the worst because your aggressive creatures in Column 6 will harvest Faeria before Luduan. When playing Luduan you should prioritise the left side but sometimes you will have to challenge the right to disrupt your opponent.

Why play Luduan?

If you enjoy cards like Spellwhirl then Luduan might be for you. Luduan gives you an early harvester and a bonus if he collects from an opponent's well. Luduan is best in mono Blue because you want to keep your focus on his land type. This makes playing cards like Dream Reaver and Aurora's Dream more reliable due to their high lake cost.

Spellwhirl overshadows Luduan in the current meta-game. Both cards achieve the same goal but Spellwhirl offers instant gratification while Luduan needs to be set up. If you're a bit bored of Spellwhirl then Luduan could spice things up as a replacement.

Potential Decks

Blue has recently had its Blue Jump archetype nerfed. Triton Trainer was toned down to open further deck building options in the colour.

Luduan can still fit in the deck thanks to Blue Jump's powerful board control. I did try a traditional Mid-Range Blue but it lacked the power level of Blue Jump.

Blue Casino is fun deck that utilises the high variance cards of Blue. This deck isn't as competitive as a Jump list but it will entertain you. It has the potential to snowball hard but packs more conventional power cards from Blue such as Wavecrash Colossus and Battle Toads.

Conclusion

Luduan may not see much play these days but it must be respected and answered when it shows up in a match. If left unchecked this card can potentially win you the game if you get the correct cards. Spellwhirl is ultimately a better card but Luduan can out-shine it in the right situation.