Maybe I've been enjoying too much Edison lately, but man does this deck feel great to play- when you can play it. They're back from their 2010s glory with a fresh coat of "wait, Andal's actually bad" paint and a theme park sheen that'll probably convince opponents that this thing's actually pretty competitive. The spell and trap line-up should definitely change with each iteration of the format and any future releases; however, the core that's presented here is probably long-standing enough to supplement future variants. Let's get into the list.
Pros:
- Safety Nets: The sheer amount of disruption and answer cards we're running in this list make it so that our plays are usually insulated in some way. We should never, ever really be in any remote danger during a game as long as we have a Gladiator Beast and a backline to back them up.
- Amazement Engine: This engine isn't the best, but it's definitely non-intrusive and cycles through enough psuedo-disruption and removal that's relevant enough to run parallel to our gameplan here. Honestly, this archetype goes hand-in-hand with Gladiator Beasts as a whole. Just mind your normal summon.
- No Andal!: Rescue Rabbit openers and lines are great for getting into Panther or Dragases or setting up a three material fusion but boy did it suck drawing into that card and not having it be able to tag out like the others. Well, there's none of that anymore. We've compromised the Andal combos and random chance of drawing into Rescue Rabbit before it in the interest of having more playable hands overall. Just protect your guy(s) and run over the opponents. There's no need for any fancy business.
Cons:
- They're all Garnets. All of them: Opening a Gladiator Beast will probably have you saying "man, I wish this one stayed in the deck or was another Gladiator Beast." That's basically this deck's entire experience and why we're only playing the ones that matter. Sadly, that little dilemma will always remain in this deck and there isn't much to be done about it outside of Contact Fusing or bringing out Augustus. It feels even worse that a Trinity is being spent on Proving Ground just to increase the odds of finding a Glad, especially in a pinch. Pick a Glad and pray.
- Extra Deck: The Extra Deck will usually be useless sometimes if you find yourself in a situation where you need to break down a board before you start committing to anything flashy. It's for this reason that we're not on any Extra Deck Trinities here and I'd personally advise against it. Fortunately, this does also mean that we're pretty insulated against cards like Titanocider which is pretty popular this format.
- Forehead Girl is an FTK: Ash solos. Godspeed.
Now with that out of the way, let's get into some of the demo setups you'll be wanting to aim for.
OPENERS
This list isn't about finding gas, it's about opening defenses and protecting your Gladiator. You'll ideally be wanting to always go first. If you're going with no backup, I'd strongly encourage just combat tricking out the opponent. There isn't any specific opener you'll want to look for since Gladiator Beasts take on a midrange playstyle here (without Andal anyway), so your opening hands determine your line of play. Here's a few pointers though if you're inexperienced with them or the Amazement engine:
- Phalanx: Control a Gladiator Beast and protect them with backrow. If there's something you can use to either change a monster's battle position to make them vulnerable on your turn or modify combat stats so your monster will survive the attack, that's ideal.
- The Blender: The Amazement engine does well to shake up the usual flow of some games. If you happen upon a Ticket and you're not sure what to do with it entirely, going for Comica and setting Horror House is perfectly fine. If you know you'll be able to beat the monster you book, then you can resolve it on the opponent's monster. If you're confident you can get a lot more mileage out of Comica, use Horror House during the Draw Phase and equip it directly to her. This will enable her to act as a monster negate or book of moon on the dime. I recommend trying to be greedy with Comica when possible, especially if you have back row to back her up. Cashing in for the set effect from Horror House is great too, but the monster effect negation is basically infinite for as long as you can maintain it. Grabbing Coaster or Arlekino are fine as well. Arlekino should primarily be used as a means of removal more than just being a body. You don't really need those in this deck.
- Ob-Noxious: If you've opened Noxious and backrow, feel free to set those cards and outright pass. Usually people will just attack you outright, so you punish with Noxious. Bin either something you want to bring back with Darius (who Noxious will tag out into after) or bin something you don't want to draw, like Augustus. Tag as appropriate.
The openers aren't always ideal and will vary from game-to-game, especially post-siding. The main thing to do is plan ahead. Measure your options and weigh your forms of interaction well. Everything in your deck is an extremely limited resource and this deck lacks card draw.
MIDGAME
This is where Gladiator Beasts shine really. You'll be doing your best Unchained-meets-Dragonmaid impression here... despite preceding both of those archetypes. Hmm.
- Bestiari: Your Spell/Trap removal. This card's also really important for making Gyzarus who is your Icarus Attack on-summon. S/T hate's pretty restricted across the board in Trinity format and most decks only rely on generics to get it done. Since Glad Beasts tag out often, you have this form of removal going for you on top of the generic removal you're already running here. It's worth noting that this card's effect to destroy is mandatory, so don't summon it willy-nilly otherwise you might end up having to pop your own backline.
- Murmillo: Your Monster removal. This card's your go-to for checking the board and clearing potential threats. Its combat stats leave much to be desired, but it doesn't have to partake in combat if it's already won now has it? Use it for fusion material when you can, or take an open attack. Don't get greedy with the fish.
- The Tag Team: Gladiator Beast War Chariot's an amazing Counter Trap and since most win conditions in Trinity format revolve around Monster effects, having access to this is nothing to scoff at. Samnite grabs this for you and Equeste loops this for you. Loop these two as necessary to keep up the War Chariot pressure and you'll have your opponent on the ropes.
Games should usually resolve themselves by midgame due to all of the removal, but Gladiator Beasts can definitely go into a late or grind game.
LATEGAME & CLOSERS
The killing blow. Leave absolutely no room for a comeback. This is the Gladiator's Proving Ground.
- Secutor: Resolving Secutor once basically wins the game on the spot. Resolving it during the opponent's turn? Well, that's probably traumatizing to say the least. Ideally you'll be wanting to bring out those that are all-stars in the midgame (as listed above); however, if you're ready to go in for the kill, summon out Laquari or Vespasius instead for fusion setups we'll cover just below.
- Domitianus: Monster effect activation negation with no cost whatsoever and dictates who attacks who during your opponent's turn? Make this when you know it's a valid win condition. Just keep in mind that it only tags out into only 1 other Gladiator Beast. This card is really bad to use mid game as a result since, if it would fall, you would be put severely behind for the contact fusion play. Don't be greedy with Domitianus.
- Heraklinos: Your Spell/Trap activation negation station. This card ain't even once per turn. As long as you have cards to discard, you can keep up the suffocation against your opponent. Unfortunately, this card doesn't have a tag out nor a float, so it should be used exclusively as a finisher where you're confident it will win. If it happens to get removed, you'll be set back pretty far.
The most important thing to note about this list is that any and all Spell/Traps selected here can and should be experimented with and swapped out to fit your playstyle with the deck in a given format. This is not a one size fits all situation and due to the variance concerning the hands, the learning curve with deciphering the best way to spend one's opening turns is definitely pretty steep. Regardless, here's a handful of ideas just to throw your way should you aim to adjust this baseline into something more focused elsewhere:
Melffy engine with Andal, Traptrix/Gokipole engine, Trinities on Gladiator Beast's Comeback, Geartown engine, Loop of Destruction, Ancient Warriors - Ambitious Cao De, Amazement Ambassador Bufo, Amazement Precious Park, Archfiend's Staff of Despair, Gladiator Beast's Battle Manica, Burden of the Mighty
Thanks for reading, and I hope this has convinced you to give the deck a try! This deck's a classic in Yu-Gi-Oh! history and it's honestly incredible to see it in a playable state in modern Trinity's climate. But don't just take my word for it- step on up into the Colosseum to Disarm, Parry, and Lash out against any and all who oppose your bestial fury!
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