Renaldo Lainez made it to the Top 8 of the tournament using a Gadget Deck with Doomcaliber Knight in it. This Top 8 Feature Match pits that Deck against Jake Mattern’s Gladiator Beasts. Lainez’s many monster destruction effects may make this a tough Match for Mattern.

Lainez won the dice roll and chose to go first. He Summoned Yellow Gadget to the field and activated its effect to search his Deck for Green Gadget and add it to his hand. He Set 1 card face-down and ended his turn.

Mattern opened up with Gladiator Beast Equeste, Dimensional Prison, Gladiator Beast Laquari, Compulsory Evacuation Device, and 2 copies of Gladiator Beast War Chariot. He Summoned Laquari and attacked, but lost his monster to Mirror Force. He Set Compulsory Evacuation Device next and ended his turn.

Lainez Summoned Green Gadget next turn and activated its effect to grab Red Gadget from his Deck. Then he attacked with both Gadgets and dropped Mattern down to 5400 Life Points. He ended his turn.

Mattern drew Test Tiger. He Summoned Gladiator Beast Equeste to the field and attacked Lainez’s Green Gadget. Lainez lost 200 Life Points and Mattern tagged out his Equeste for Darius at the end of the Battle Phase. Darius’s effect Special Summoned Laquari from the Graveyard in Attack Position. Next, Mattern Set Dimensional Prison along with a Chariot and ended his turn.

Lainez Summoned Plaguespreader Zombie next turn and Tuned it to his Yellow Gadget to Synchro Summon Goyo Guardian. Goyo attacked Darius, but Mattern flipped Compulsory Evacuation Device to return Goyo to his Extra Deck. Lainez Set a back row and ended his turn.

Mattern drew Starlight Road next turn! He Special Summoned Test Tiger to the field and Tributed it to send Gladiator Beast Laquari back to his Deck. He Special Summoned Gladiator Beast Bestiari in its place, but lost it to Bottomless Trap Hole. Darius attacked and Lainez dropped down to 6100 Life Points. Mattern tagged out his Darius and replaced it with Gladiator Beast Laquari in Attack Position. Mattern Set 2 more back rows and ended his turn.

Lainez activated Hammer Shot to destroy Laquari on his next turn and then Normal Summoned Red Gadget. He used its effect to grab a Yellow Gadget from his Deck and add it to his hand. Red Gadget attacked directly and Lainez ended his turn.

Mattern drew a card and passed back to Lainez who Summoned Yellow Gadget and activated is effect to grab a Green Gadget. Yellow Gadget attacked, and Lainez flipped Limiter Removal in the Damage Step to double its attack. Red Gadget attacked next, and Mattern removed it from play with Dimensional Prison to stay in the game. Yellow Gadget was destroyed in the End Phase due to the effect of Limiter.

Mattern drew a card and then Set one to his back row, ending his turn.

Lainez Summoned Green Gadget next and activated its effect to grab a Red Gadget from his Deck and add it to his hand. Green Gadget attacked directly and Mattern dropped down to just 300 Life Points.

Mattern flipped Call of the Haunted next turn to revive his Gladiator Beast Laquari and then attacked Green Gadget with it. Lainez lost 400 Life Points and Mattern tagged out his Laquari for Gladiator Beast Hoplomus in Defense Position. Mattern Set another card to his back row and ended his turn.

Lainez activated Fissure next turn and Summoned Red Gadget to the field. He searched his Deck for Yellow Gadget with the effect of his Red Gadget and then attacked with his Red Gadget. Mattern switched it to Defense Position with Enemy Controller to stay in the game. But it wasn’t enough! Mattern drew his next card and conceded, unable to destroy the Gadget that threatened the rest of his Life Points.

Mattern would be going first in Duel 2!

Mattern opened up with Book of Moon, Gladiator Beast Equeste, Dimensional Prison, Elemental Hero Prisma, Bottomless Trap Hole, and Dust Tornado. He Set Dust Tornado and ended his turn.

Lainez Summoned Thunder King Rai-Oh and attacked directly, dropping Mattern to 6100 Life Points. He Set a card and ended his turn, but lost his Set Bottomless Trap Hole to Mattern’s Dust Tornado in the End Phase.

Mattern drew Call of the Haunted next turn and then Summoned Gladiator Beast Equeste to the field. He flipped Rai-Oh face-down with Book of Moon and then attacked over it, tagging out for Gladiator Beast Hoplomus in Defense Position. He Set Bottomless Trap Hole and ended his turn.

Lainez activated Smashing Ground and Summoned Green Gadget to the field. He activated its effect to search his Deck for Red Gadget and add it to his hand. Green Gadget attacked directly and Mattern dropped down to 4700 Life Points. Lainez Set a back row card and ended his turn.

Mattern drew Gladiator Beast War Chariot next turn. He Summoned Prisma to the field and changed its name to Cyber Dragon by revealing Chimeratech Fortress Dragon. Then he fused his Prisma with his opponent’s Green Gadget to Summon Chimeratech Fortress Dragon and attacked directly for 2000 damage. He Set 1 more card to his back row and ended his turn.

Lainez activated Fissure next turn. Then Mattern Summoned Red Gadget to the field and activated its effect to search his Deck for Yellow Gadget and add it to his hand. Red Gadget attacked and Mattern dropped to 3400 Life Points.

Mattern drew Trap Dustshoot next turn. He flipped Call of the Haunted to Special Summon Cyber Dragon and then fused it with Red Gadget to Summon Chimeratech Fortress Dragon. Chimeratech Fortress Dragon attacked directly, and Lainez dropped to 4000 Life Points. Mattern Set Trap Dustshoot and ended his turn.

Lainez was up and Mattern activated Trap Dustshoot in his Standby Phase. Laine revealed Plaguespreader Zombie, Swallow Flip, Heavy Storm, and Yellow Gadget. Mattern sent Yellow Gadget back to Lainez’s Deck. Lainez activated Hammer Shot and then Summoned Plaguespreader Zombie to the field and attacked for 400 damage. Mattern dropped to 3000 Life Points.

Mattern Set another card next turn and passed.

Lainez attacked with Plaguespreader Zombie next turn, but lost out to Dimensional Prison. He Set a back row card and ended.

Mattern Summoned Gladiator Beast Murmillo next turn and attacked with it, but Lainez flipped Mirror Force. Mattern flipped  his own Book of Moon to flip Murmillo face-down and save it.

Lainez Summoned Doomcaliber Knight next turn, but lost it to Bottomless Trap Hole. He Set a card to his back row and ended.

Mattern flipped his Murmillo and attacked with it, but when he tried to tag out, Lainez activated Royal Oppression to trap it in the Deck. Lainez Set a card to his back row and ended his turn.

Lainez Summoned Green Gadget next turn and activated its effect to grab a Red Gadget from his Deck. Green Gadget attacked and Mattern dropped to 1600 Life Points. Lainez Set another back row and ended his turn.

Mattern drew Gladiator Beast Hoplomus next turn and Set it.

Lainez Summoned Red Gadget next and added a Yellow Gadget from his Deck to his hand. He attacked with Green Gadget and ran right into Hoplomus, dropping him to 1700 Life Points. Lainez passed his turn.

Mattern drew Pole Position next turn, Set it, and ended his turn.

Lainez used Lightning Vortex to try to destroy Hoplomus, but Mattern flipped Book of Moon to flip it face-down! Next, Lainez Summoned Yellow Gadget and activated its effect to add Green Gadget to his hand.

Mattern drew Starlight Road next turn. He Set it and then ended his turn.

Lainez Summoned another Green Gadget and activated its effect to search his Deck for Red Gadget to add to his hand. Then he switched Yellow Gadget to Defense Position and ended his turn.

Mattern drew Gladiator Beast Equeste next turn and ended his turn without making a play. Lainez Summoned Red Gadget and activated its effect to add a Yellow Gadget from his Deck to his hand. He ended his turn.

Mattern picked up another Pole Position, then Tributed his Gladiator Beast Hoplomus to Set Cyber Dragon in face-down Defense Position. He ended his turn, and then Lainez passed without a play.

Mattern drew a card, Set a back row, and passed back to Lainez, who passed right back to Mattern.

Mattern fused Cyber Dragon with all 5 Gadgets on the field next turn, and when Lainez tried to negate the Summon of Chimeratech with Royal Oppression, Mattern chained Dust Tornado to destroy it. Instead, Lainez activated Bottomless Trap Hole to remove Chimeratech Fortress Dragon from play when it hit the field. Mattern Summoned Gladiator Beast Equeste next, and attacked directly for the win!

Lainez began the final Duel by Summoning Yellow Gadget to the field and using its effect to add a Green Gadget from his Deck to his hand. Then he Set 1 card to his back row and ended his turn.

Mattern opened up with Reinforcement of the Army, 2 copies of Gladiator Beast War Chariot, Pole Position, Mystical Space Typhoon, and Solemn Judgment. He activated Reinforcement of the Army to search his Deck for Elemental Hero Stratos and Summon it to the field, then used Stratos’s effect to add Prisma to his hand. Stratos attacked the Yellow Gadget and after taking 600 damage, Lainez Special Summoned Tragoedia in Defense Position. Mattern Set 4 cards to his back row and ended his turn.

Lainez activated the effect of Tragoedia by discarding Green Gadget and took control of Mattern’s Stratos. Then he switched Tragoedia to Attack Position and attacked directly with Stratos and Tragoedia, dropping Mattern down to 3800 Life Points.

Mattern drew Dust Tornado next turn. He Set Prisma in Defense Position, Set Dust Tornado, and ended his turn.

Lainez attacked the face-down Prisma with Tragoedia next turn and it was destroyed. Then Stratos scored a direct attack, dropping Mattern to 2000 Life Points.

Mattern drew Gladiator Beast Laquari on his next Draw Phase and then flipped Dust Tornado to destroy a Set Royal Oppression. He Summoned Laquari, Set another back row, and ended his turn.

Lainez attacked Laquari with Tragoedia next turn. Tragoedia had 3000 ATK and Mattern lost 1200 Life Points. Stratos attacked directly and Mattern lost the rest of his Life Points!

Laine’s Gadgets defeat Mattern’s Gladiators in a 2-1 victory, letting him advance to the Top 4!

See what our panel of experts had to say after the Duel.

Jason Grabher-Meyer (The Old Man of Dueling)
Mattern might not have won this one, but he made amazing use of Chimeratech Fortress Dragon in the second Duel. Thanks to Cyber Dragon, Elemental Hero Prisma, and Call of the Haunted, Mattern was able to Summon 3 Fortress Dragons, including one with 6000 ATK that effectively ended the Duel by getting rid of 7 of Lainez’s cards all at once! Thanks to Reinforcement of the Army and Elemental Hero Prisma, it’s almost as if a Gladiator Beast Duelist can run up to 6 copies of Cyber Dragon. That’s definitely something Gladiator Beast Duelists should keep in mind in the future.

Michael Kohanim (2009 World Championship Competitor)
In Duel 1, Mattern used Test Tiger to send Gladiator Beast Laquari back to his Deck and Special Summon Gladiator Beast Bestiari in its place. Bestiari tried to destroy a face-down Bottomless Trap Hole and ended up getting removed from the game by it instead. Mattern may have been better off saving his Test Tiger and just attacking with all of his monsters, especially since Lainez had already used his 1 copy of Mirror Force earlier in the Duel.

Michael McTavish (Top 8 Finalist – 2009 Canadian National Championship)
Mattern was in clear control of Duel 1 until he attempted to make the risky move of using Test Tiger to swap his Gladiator Beast Laquari for his Gladiator Beast Bestiari. Bestiari fell victim to a Bottomless Trap Hole and Mattern’s control over the game fell from that point on and he ended up losing what could have been his game. Had he sat on what he had instead of trying for the Bestiari, we might have seen a different person in the next couple rounds.

P.J. Tierney (Duelist from across The Pond)
Mattern began the Match with a promising hand, containing 2 Gladiator Beast War Chariots. All he had to do was keep a “Gladiator Beast” on the field at all times and he could use those Chariots to stop Lainez from getting more Gadgets. In the end though, Lainez just kept getting rid of Mattern’s Gladiators with various destruction effects so make those War Chariots useless.
Mattern made a nice play with Elemental Hero Prisma in Duel 2. In a Gladiator Beast Deck, Prisma is usually used to copy Gladiator Beast Bestiari’s name and send it to the Graveyard before combining with another “Gladiator Beast” to Summon Gladiator Beast Gyzarus. This time though, he used it to copy Cyber Dragon’s name and used this new ‘Cyber Dragon’ to get rid of Lainez’s Gadget by Summoning Chimeratech Fortress Dragon.