Deck Update: Gladiator Beasts!

[KDE_YGO]

“Gladiator Beast” Decks got a big boost recently, thanks to a new Skill and some new cards from the Striker Expansion Speed Duel Main BOX! Check out some of the new additions to DUEL LINKS that make Gladiator Beast Decks more powerful than ever before!

(1.) Domain of the Gladiator Beasts (Skill)

“Gladiator Beast” Duelists finally have a Skill dedicated to the Gladiator Beast theme! Domain of the Gladiator Beasts is a new Archive Skill that you can use with any Legendary Duelist, and it has a powerful effect that amplifies the strengths of the Gladiator Beast strategy. Once per Duel, by revealing a Gladiator Beast monster in your hand, this Skill lets you place a Gladiator Rejection from your Deck, Graveyard, or among your banished cards on your field face-down. This immediately gives you an extra card with which to work, and it’s a card that helps to pull together most Gladiator Beast strategies.

Gladiator Rejection is a Continuous Spell Card that prevents your opponent from targeting your Gladiator Beasts with card effects, except during the Battle Phase. This protects your Gladiator Beast monsters from popular cards like Effect Veiler and Crackdown so that you can make your plays uninterrupted during your Main Phase. In addition, Gladiator Rejection lets you Special Summon an extra “Gladiator Beast” from your Main Deck once per turn when you Special Summon a “Gladiator Beast” monster from your Main Deck. “Gladiator Beast” Decks are always focused on Special Summoning monsters from the Deck, and Gladiator Rejection makes the strategy even stronger by giving you an extra monster to use for Special Summoning a “Gladiator Beast” Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck.

You need to include at least 8 “Gladiator Beast” monsters in your Deck for the Skill to work, and also can’t Special Summon any monsters other than Beast-Type monsters and “Gladiator Beasts”, except from the Extra Deck, if you’re using this Skill. Fortunately, “Gladiator Beast” Decks are usually dedicated to the theme, and this restriction on the Skill is often inconsequential.

(2.) New Link Monsters!

The new Striker Expansion Main BOX includes two new Link Monsters to include in your “Gladiator Beast” Deck: Test Panther and Gladiator Beast Dragases.

Test Panther is a Link 2 monster that you can Summon by using a “Gladiator Beast” and any other monster as Link Materials. If it’s Summoned, you can add a “Gladiator Beast” card from your Deck to your hand. This will immediately give you access to powerful cards like Gladiator Beast War Chariot, Gladiator Beast United, and Gladiator Beast’s Comeback. Plus, once per turn, you can use its effect to send a “Gladiator Beast” you control back into the Deck and Special Summon a new “Gladiator Beast” monster from your Deck with a different name. That Special Summoned monster is treated as Special Summoned by the effect of “Gladiator Beast” monster, so most monsters that Test Panther Summons will immediately be able to use their effects.

Gladiator Beast Dragases is a Link 2 monster that you can Summon by using 2 “Gladiator Beasts” as Link Materials. Dragases has 2000 ATK and effect that protects your “Gladiator Beasts” if they attack. If a “Gladiator Beast” monster, including Dragases, attacks while Dragases is on your field, that monster can’t be destroyed by that battle, and your opponent can’t activate cards or effects until the end of the Damage Step. In addition, at the end of the Battle Phase after Dragases battled, you can return Dragases to your Extra Deck and Special Summon 2 “Gladiator Beast” monsters with different names from your Deck. Gladiator Beast Dragases helps to protect your “Gladiator Beast” monsters while they’re attacking so that you can be sure that your ”Gladiator Beast” monsters will survive to the end of the Battle Phase and be able to use their effects.

(3.) New Spell Cards!

There are two new Spell Cards in the Striker Expansion Main BOX that “Gladiator Beast” Duelists may consider using: Gladiator Proving Ground and Fusion Deployment.

Gladiator Proving Ground is a simple Normal Spell Card that lets you add a Level 4 or lower “Gladiator Beast” from your Deck to your hand. It can quickly get you Gladiator Beast Bestiari if you want to Summon one to the field so that you can bring out Gladiator Beast Gyzarus, or it can grab a stronger “Gladiator Beast” monster like Gladiator Beast Laquari if you want to Summon a monster and attack.

Fusion Deployment is a new Normal Spell Card that lets you reveal a Fusion Monster in your Extra Deck and Special Summon, from your hand or Deck, 1 of the Fusion Materials whose name is mentioned on that monster. For example, you can reveal Gladiator Beast Gyzarus from your Extra Deck to Special Summon Gladiator Beast Bestiari, or you can reveal Gladiator Beast Domitianus from your Extra Deck to Special Summon Gladiator Beast Vespasius. Plus, Fusion Deployment synergizes with Gladiator Rejection, which you can quickly access with the Domain of the Gladiator Beasts Skill. Special Summon a “Gladiator Beast” from your Deck with Fusion Deployment, and you’ll be able to Special Summon another one with the effect of Gladiator Rejection. This will allow you to quickly Special Summon Fusion Monsters like Gladiator Beast Gyzarus from your Extra Deck.

You can’t Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck, except for Link Monsters, during the turn you activate Fusion Deployment, so you’ll temporarily lose access to Link Monsters like Test Panther if you’re using Fusion Deployment. Fortunately, Fusion Deployment brings enough power to the Deck to justify this sacrifice. Fusion Deployment is currently on the Limited 3 List, so if you use it in your “Gladiator Beast” Deck, you’ll need to cut other powerful Limited 3 cards like Crackdown.

“Gladiator Beast” Decks got a lot of new support in DUEL LINKS. Many powerful “Gladiator Beast” cards are available in the recently released Midnight Terror DECK BUILD BOX, while new cards that improve the Deck are available in the Striker Expansion Main BOX. The Domain of the Gladiator Beasts Skill helps to pull the “Gladiator Beast” theme together and allows the Decks to reach a new competitive height. You can test out the new “Gladiator Beast” cards and Skill in PvP Dueling today!