A look at Gladiator Beast Tech

I'm an avid Gladiator Beast player, that I can't deny. For the deck to evolve I've found that the most important piece to the puzzle is the 1900 beater Normal Monster Andal. This card is a house right now. Against Anti-Meta it knocks heads with tough to kill monsters Doomcaliber Knight and Thunder King Rai-Oh and can kill a Legendary Jujitsu Master. Against Flamvell it can bump heads with a Flamvell Dog, run over Arkus the Lightsworn Druid or Super Mega Hamster.

The fact it can be recycled into more positive card advantage off an Equeste is just insane. This card is impossible to kill without investing a card first, like Book of Moon or Enemy Controller. Against Blackwings it can run over a Shura and force them to either waste a Kalut or a defensive trap. The card is so good right now I run two along with 3 Proving Ground just to ensure I can have one whenever I need one. If your running Gladiators I would definitely pack one of these main board, you won't be disappointed!

Slower Format Ahead

Finally with the nerfing of the Lightsworn deck (Dropping Charge, Lumina and Necro Guardna to one) the format will more than likely become slower. I am very anxious to see how Starlight Road will affect the meta, and what decks can take the top. There is a regionals this Saturday where a lot of my friends will be attending. Even though I can't go I will be reporting what decks make it to the top. In my opinion Flamvell Sworn is VERY viable this format, and I would also watch out for X-Sabers and Gladiator Beasts. X-sabers are incredibly powerful, can build unbeatable card advantage and have a varying control over the game with Saber Hole and Saber Slash. I played the deck with my Gladiator Beasts and while I won 2-0, it was more or less because my opponent was not as skilled as me and the deck still needed some work. If I had the cards to build X-Sabers I would, but for the time being I will continue to run Gladiator Beasts. Drop me a comment on what decks you are running at the moment and which ones you think can make a splash. Maybe Gravekeepers or Infernities? Let me know!

Format definer? Starlight Road

For those of you who don't know what Starlight Road does, this is the translation : Activate only when an effect was activated that destroys 2 or more cards you control. Negate that effect and destroy that card. Then, you can Special Summon 1 "Stardust Dragon" from your Extra Deck.

Many think this card will be a format definer and for good reason. Turning an opponents Heavy Storm, Judgment Dragon, or Gladiator Beast Gyzarus into a Stardust for you and a card lost by the opponent is game breaking. Look for more people to be playing Giant Trunade, Cold Wave, Dust Tornado, Phoenix Wing Wind Blast, and other cards that will neutralize the impact of this card. Remember this card is a horrid topdeck, and is useless if an opponent plays around it. The risk reward is high though so look for this to be a staple at one in every deck, just to scare opponents if nothing else. Just seeing this game one in the mainboard will make an opponent think you might have it game two, even if you have sided it out in favor of a more useful card.

It might also reduce the playability of Mirror Force and Torrential Tribute. Many may play 3 maindecked Dimensional Prisons instead, and maindecked Trap Holes on top of Bottomless Trap Hole. In other words one for one card trade cards like Fissure and Smashing Ground.

Sorry about that

Been a while since the last post.....over a month! In the coming week I will be looking at a few cards I think can flourish in the new banlist. Cheers

About the Site Layout

Now I know from user feedback I need to update this blogs look! I will be working hard in the next few weeks to update the look once I learn more about how to do it. Also be on the lookout for another poll, allowing you to pick the popular deck type (Lightsworn, Blackwings, Zombie, Gladiator Beasts, + others) I will make Tech choices for in the next week. Kudos!

I can run 4 Heavy Storms?

Today I'm taking a look at a card that could see play in sideboards. Malevolent Catastrophe is a trap card that destroys all spell and trap cards on the field but can only be activated when your opponent attacks. Sounds powerful right? It's almost like the powerful and broken Heavy Storm. This card is mostly used against aggro decks that run Royal Oppression or against anti-meta decks who main board tons of spells/traps to protect their Doomcaliber Knights and Thunder King Rai-Oh. This card is fairly useful against Blackwings as it can destroy multiple copies of Black Whirlwind, Royal Oppression, or Icarus Attack. Its also very strong against Gladiator Beasts hitting their key Trap cards in the battle phase like War Chariot. This is a great sideboard choice for Lightsworn, although I think Cold Wave is a better choice, or My Body as a Shield. If the game ever slows down look for Malevolent Catastrophe to make a splash in a lot of control oriented decks.

Overlooked but not forgotten: Mind Crush

Today I'm looking at a card that is tournament worthy but not too often seen play lately. Mind crush allows you to declare a card name, and if your opponent has the declared card(s) in their hand they must discard them. Mind Crush can be good as it should always be at least a 1 for 1 in card advantage, or possibly a +1, or even rarer a +2. It can be set as a bluff and chained to magic/spell removal. Against Lightsworn this card is VERY good. It allows you to knock the card they search with Charge of the Light Brigade from their hand, knock any threats out that the oppenent may have got gotten with a Beckoning Light, or hit their Honests when they declare an attack on your monster with higher attack. Against Blackwings it can do the same thing against Kalut, or be used as a -1 to make them discard their search with Black Whirlwind. Same can be said against zombies where this card is normally a 1 for 1 in card advantage, as they may search cards out with Goblin Zombie or Gold Sarcophagus.

Make no mistake this card requires a lot of skill to use. If you know your opponent is sitting on Judgment Dragon or Dark Armed Dragon then you can use this to foil their plans in the standby phase. Mainly I would only use this card against Lightsworn, as it doesn't solve any problems on its own and is a bad topdeck when your losing. If your having trouble with Lightsworn, this might be your answer.

Tech Update: My Body as a Shield

Today's tech update is an old card that first came out in Magicians Force and never saw play until Solemn Judgment was limited to one. Were looking at of course My Body as a Shield!! This card is a quickplay spell card, allowing you to play it from your hand on your turn, or set it and activate it on your opponents. For 1500 lifepoints it allows you to negate the effect of destruction on your monsters and destroy the card. So why is this card being played? Well for one it offers the turn player the protection to go all out for an OTK, being able to negate such power cards as Torrential Tribute or Mirror Force. It can also work on Dark Armed Dragon and Judgment Dragon the two most powerful monster cards in the game. With a lot of decks running Lightning Vortex it can also stop that as well as stopping Bottomless Trap Hole. Also in some rare instances where a monster on the field is trying to special summon another monster from somewhere else, it can stop Royal Oppression. Overall right now this card splashed at one copy in any deck is a viable option.

First Post!!

Hey ALL!! This is my first post and theres a lot of work yet to do with site colors and formatting. However, I want to throw one post out there now to get this blog rolling. Tomorrow I should post up the first strategy article, picking a card that is pretty hot tech for many decks right now. Stay tuned for more updates as things progress!