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Deck Profile – Alex Vansant’s Gladiator Beasts
One of the most popular Decks here today seems to be Gladiator Beasts. It’s no surprise, since Gladiator Beasts have been a top pick for over a year and a half now in big competition. Now, with many players expecting Matches to have slower Duels than last format, Gladiators could be the deck to beat.
Alex Vansant made Day 2 just weeks ago at SHONEN JUMP Championship Indianapolis, He’s made some card selections for his Deck that could give him a big edge in today’s tournament.
| Monsters | Spells | Traps | Side Deck | Extra Deck |
3 Test Tiger |
2 Gladiator Beast's Respite |
3 Gladiator Beast War Chariot |
2 Bottomless Trap Hole |
2 Gladiator Beast Gyzarus |
Gladiator Beast Decks are all about the unique effects each Gladiator Beast monster wields. When a Gladiator Beast successfully attacks and survives until the end of the Battle Phase, its controller can send it back to the Deck to Special Summon a different Gladiator Beast, activating the unique effect of the fresh Gladiator in the process. Gladiator Beast effects can also be activated through the use of “Test Tiger.” With these abilities, the Gladiator Beast Deck uses relatively small attackers to create big combo plays that destroy, retrieve, or Special Summon cards as needed.
Vansant’s Deck differs from many Gladiator Beast Decks in its Spell lineup. Vansant is using two copies of “Gladiator Beast Respite,” giving him a bit more control over his draws and faster access to key cards like “Test Tiger.” Sometimes the toughest part about running Respite is that you need two Gladiator Beast cards in-hand to shuffle back for its effect. But if Duels are slower as Vansant is expecting, he will be able to take his time and hold back on cards, that he’s hoping that shouldn’t be a problem.
Next up, he’s packing two copies of “Dimensional Fissure.” This Spell Card makes it so that monsters that would normally go to the Graveyard get removed from play instead. Vansant explained: “I’m using two “Dimensional Fissures” and a “Gladiator Beast Retiari,” and they shut down Lightsworn, Zombies, Vayu… everything.” All the Decks Vansant mentioned rely on getting monsters into the Graveyard so they can use their effects there, or be Special Summoned back to the field. “Dimensional Fissure” shuts down those combos.
Vansant only runs two “Dimensional Fissures,” but he can dig through his Deck for them with “Gladiator Beast’s Respite,” which also shuffles back into his Deck the Gladiators he’d rather have in his Deck instead of his hand (like little guys with big effects: Murmillo, Secutor, or Retiari).
When playing against Decks that are vulnerable to “Dimensional Fissure,” Vansant will probably want to get it as quickly as possible to keep his opponents from loading up their Graveyards. That will stop his opponents from creating strong plays and combos later on. Once “Dimensional Fissure” is active, his priority will usually be keeping control of the field with a big Gladiator Beast and a copy of “Gladiator Beast War Chariot,” with “Waboku” and “Book of Moon” on standby to create even more trouble for his opponent. Tech cards like “Cold Wave” and “My Body As a Shield” help protect Vansant’s biggest plays when he tries to make multiple attacks in one turn, or lets loose with “Gladiator Beast Gyzarus.”
It’s very possible that “Dimensional Fissure” variants are the strongest of all the possible Gladiator Beast Decks, and if Vansant makes Day 2 his success could influence the direction that Glaidator Beast Decks take in future tournaments.
reported by
Jason Grabher-Meyer
