Luxord

Oh no! The water! I'm in big trouble if I don't fetch it!

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Issues: KHIIFM synopsis

"I'd rather we just skip the formalities."

—Luxord

Luxord, the Gambler of Fate (運命を賭す者, Unmei o Tosumono^?), is Rank X within the original Organization XIII. He possesses the power of time manipulation, and uses his ability to force his opponents to play timed games, with unfortunate consequences if they cannot learn the rules and lose. He commands the Gambler Nobodies.

He harassed Sora and his friends in Port Royal, playing a game with them involving the cursed Aztec treasure there. He later battles Sora alone in the World That Never Was, and is the third-to-last member of Organization XIII to fall.

Along with the rest of Organization XIII, Luxord appears in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days as a playable character in Mission Mode.

Story

Between Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

On an unknown world, Luxord's original persona became a Heartless, his strong will allowing his body to continue on as his Nobody, Luxord. He was later found by an unknown member and became the tenth member of Organization XIII.

At a table, Luxord was beating Axel at a game of cards. Embarrassed, Axel challenged him for another game. At Axel’s words, Luxord started shuffling the cards, laughing, as Xigbar arrived. Luxord asked him for a game, but he refused. The trio started to talk about Xemnas going out of the castle, as it was an important time for Organization XIII.

When Axel asked what, Xigbar replied that the world is moving. Although, this made both Axel and Luxord confused. Xigbar refused to tell more, leaving them puzzled. Luxord commented about the original six members having been companions since before Organization XIII was formed and that he did not understand what they were planning. Grinning, Axel dropped the subject and the pair started to play cards again.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

Luxord observes as Xion joins the Organization.

Luxord is present when Xion joined Organization XIII, and often teams up with Roxas in missions in Wonderland. This association with this world is more than likely thanks to the Queen of Hearts's card army. Luxord joins Roxas on other missions and stays in the Grey Area as well. Luxord takes all of his missions as a game, and tends to comment on them as such to Roxas. He appears shocked when Xemnas announces at an Organization meeting the truth about Xion being a Replica, and remarks, "If only the whispers from the top of the ladder carried to the bottom rung," before vanishing from Where Nothing Gathers. If Roxas talks to him before leaving on his mission, he remarks that "No game is complete without pawns," seemingly resigned to his own role as a pawn in the Organization.

Kingdom Hearts II

Luxord guns down the Interceptor while Sora and his friends are still aboard.

Luxord appears with all of the other Organization members in the confrontation with Sora in Hollow Bastion and stands behind and to the left of Saïx.

Immediately after taunting Sora, the Organization returns to their meeting chamber. In response to talk about making plans, Luxord says that he will "pass out some cards," meaning he intends to dabble around here and there, stirring things up to see what he can do. This inadvertently instigates a small argument between Xigbar and Demyx, and after Xaldin breaks it up, Luxord disappointedly remarks, "There goes my entertainment."

Upon making second rounds to the worlds in search of Organization XIII's stronghold, Sora once again allies with Jack Sparrow in Port Royal, where he learns that Will Turner has gone missing while investigating the theft of cursed pirate gold by a man in a black hood. They seek out Will using the Black Pearl, and find him on the Interceptor.

Luxord appears on the Black Pearl as soon as they recover Will, with the cursed gold beside him, and greets Jack Sparrow. He reveals that he is at Port Royal to assess the value of the cursed gold to the Organization, and summons the Grim Reaper Heartless. After the Heartless is thrown overboard, Luxord invokes the right of parley before Jack can get off a shot with his pistol. He agrees to hand over the chest, but takes four medallions while passing it over and gives them to his Gambler Nobodies, who vanish. This reactivates the curse on Jack, as well as placing it on the Grim Reaper.

The Grim Reaper then knocks Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Jack onto the Interceptor, and has the cannons of the Black Pearl destroy the ship. Sora and the others survive and track down the medallions, after which they head to Port Royal and defeat the Grim Reaper, lifting the curse on Jack. Even with Luxord's experiments having failed, he manages to bring the heart that the Grim Reaper was holding to Kingdom Hearts, and promptly flees.

He is again seen just before Sora enters The World That Never Was, discussing Axel with the remaining members. He notes that Axel may have gained something by putting his life on the line to help Sora. When Xigbar retorts that, as Nobodies, they have no life to put on the line, Luxord replies, "Yes, Axel gambled with something he didn't have—and he probably won." He then adds with a smile, "Obviously a cheater."

"You play the game quite well."

—Luxord

Luxord spirits away Sora's friends and challenges the Keyblade wielder to a game.

Luxord appears once more in Organization XIII's fortress in The World That Never Was. When Sora, Kairi, Riku, Donald and Goofy enter the area where Luxord waits, Sora walks ahead of the rest. Materializing between Sora and his friends, Luxord uses his cards to remove Sora's allies from the area, and challenges Sora to a game involving time. Luxord fights against Sora, using a variety of tricks and games of luck with his playing cards, but in the end, Sora is able to wear Luxord's time down and defeat him. As Sora readies a finishing blow, Luxord raises his cards to shield himself, but Sora slices through the cards and finishes Luxord off. His last words are "How could you......Roxas?" before fading out.

Appearance

Luxord wears the usual all-black attire of Organization members, but his cloak is somewhat different than normal, sporting slightly pointed shoulders and very loose sleeves. Luxord's platinum blond hair is very short and worn in a Caesar cut, and he has blue eyes. He is also the only member of Organization XIII to have facial hair, a goatee with the same blond color as his hair. Luxord wears five silver piercings on his ears; four helix piercings in the form of two hoops on each ear and one piercing shaped like the Nobody symbol dangling from one earlobe. The latter piercing hangs from his left ear in-game and his right in some artwork, indicating that both earlobes are pierced.

Personality

"Only a fool bends to the cards. We shape our course through action."

—Luxord imparts his wisdom to Roxas

Luxord is a man of games and luck; his challenge to Sora and Jack to find the medallions has an element of chance to it and the Heartless he summons cannot be attacked unless all the coins are in the chest, giving a side-objective to the battle. He also uses games of chance in his own battle with Sora. However, his enjoyment for games can backfire on him, both in and out of battle. His enjoyment of games is further portrayed in his additional scenes in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, which show him in an almost uncaring light - he seems to not be bothered as long as he can continue to gamble and see interesting things. In Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, much of Luxord's dialogue makes references to cards, games, and luck.

Luxord is also portrayed as a master of rhetoric, with an advanced vocabulary (for example, describing the Grim Reaper Heartless as "a veritable maelstrom of avarice", meaning endlessly greedy, using it to taunt his opponents). Like Xaldin, he also possesses a notable English Received Pronunciation accent in the English translation, furthering his air of sophistication. Another interesting note is that, unlike most other members of Organization XIII, who banter with Sora in some fashion before fighting, when Luxord appears to him he calmly smiles and says "I'd rather we just skip the formalities", and begins the battle right away. This somewhat contrasts his appearance in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, where he talks a good deal to Roxas on their missions.

Abilities

Luxord uses his attribute, time, in unorthodox methods when compared to other Organization XIII members. One might not even see his element as time at first glance. He shortens the odds originally by dispatching of Sora's companions before attacking Sora himself. Luxord does not have a HP bar; during the battle, Luxord and Sora each have a "time" bar that depletes over time and when they are damaged. The first to have theirs depleted loses the battle. This means that the player must watch Sora's HP and time gauges to make sure neither are emptied. He can blast his enemies with magic presumably of his element when they are far away, but he mainly uses his cards to fight them.

In Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Luxord has a Limit Break called Jackpot. During Jackpot, Luxord summons a card in front of him. While it is summoned, the card alternates between a cross and a flashing symbol similar to Roxas's pendant. Selecting the cross results in the card merely exploding and Luxord will visibly flinch while selecting the flashing symbol will create a few powerful energy blasts that follow a trail between Luxord and the target.

During Luxord's Final Limit, Luxord summons two cards in front of him instead of one. The player now has three alternating symbols to choose from: double crosses, the flashing symbol and an additional red symbol or two large red symbols. The crosses cause the cards to explode as before, the flashing symbol and the red symbol create the exact same energy blasts as summoned by one card. When the two large red symbols are selected, Luxord will create more energy blasts than with one card, with the final blast being much bigger and more powerful. Both versions of the attack are reminiscent of the "Begin Game" Reaction Command that Luxord and the Gambler Nobodies shared in Kingdom Hearts II.

Weapon

Luxord's weapons are very flexible, both literally and figuratively. He uses Cards, called Fair Game, of varying sizes, some reaching likely more than ten feet in the air when stood on end. The back of each Card has five Nobody symbols on it, while the opposite side resembles a clock (referencing Luxord's element of time) that has Nobody symbols as the minute and hour hands, and the Roman numerals for 1-12 for the clock numbers (the numeral for 13 is in the center, just under the clock hands). Luxord uses these Cards the way that most members of Organization XIII use their element. He can turn himself into a giant Card and hide among similar Cards, turn his enemies into Cards, throw flurries of razor-sharp cards at an enemy, create defensive barriers, and at times by will can warp reality. The Reaction Command "Flip" causes the Cards to vanish, but some of them have a booby trap (represented by a symbol on the one side of the Card) that "Flip" triggers. He can also use them as sleight of hand cover, or to disorient his enemies.

Oddly, most of the Cards (that lack booby traps) Luxord uses in battle are blank on one side, while the ones he uses to "trap" Sora's companions bear the aforementioned clock design.

Gambler Nobodies also use Cards as their weapons, and have the ability to turn an enemy into a Card after winning a "game". They also use Dice, and have a similar ability to turn an enemy into a Die.

The front and back of Luxord's Fair Game Cards