You may remember Ira Jones from the SHONEN JUMP Championship in Edison, New Jersey. It was his first ever SHONEN JUMP Championship, and he made it to the Top 32 with his unique Gladiator Beast Deck running 2 copies of Honest and a bunch of other LIGHT monsters to work with them. He was back at this event, competing for an invitation to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG World Championship for the first time. He stuck with his favorite Deck type and updated it for this weekend’s tournament.

Monsters:

2 Honest

2 Thunder King Rai-Oh

1 Phantom Dragon

2 Elemental Hero Prisma

2 Cyber Dragon

1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness

2 Doomcaliber Knight

2 Gladiator Beast Laquari

2 Gladiator Beast Darius

1 Gladiator Beast Bestiari

1 Gladiator Beast Murmillo

1 Gladiator Beast Hoplomus

1 Gladiator Beast Equeste

2 D.D. Crow

Spells:

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

1 Giant Trunade

2 Book of Moon

1 Heavy Storm

Traps:

1 Royal Oppression

2 Gladiator Beast War Chariot

2 Magic Drain

2 Starlight Road

2 Dust Tornado

2 Bottomless Trap Hole

1 Solemn Judgment

1 Mirror Force

Jones’s Deck is a combination of a Stun Deck and a Gladiator Beast Deck. He trimmed down the Gladiator Beast lineup to exclude commonly used cards like Gladiator Beast Samnite and Gladiator Beast Secutor. He also excluded Test Tiger, making quick plays for Gladiator Beast Gyzarus in Main Phase 1 hard to do. But his inclusion of Gladiator Beast Laquari, Gladiator Beast Darius, Gladiator Beast Murmillo, Gladiator Beast Hoplomus, and Gladiator Beast Equeste makes sure that he still has plenty of options when tagging in his Gladiator Beasts.

In exchange for the speed he sacrificed, Jones gained an element of control that surpasses the controlling potential of most Gladiator Beast Decks. “My favorite play? Anything with Honest. I just like to see the look on my opponent’s face when I drop an Honest in my Gladiator Beast Deck.” But running Honest in Gladiator Beast Decks is more than just cool. It’s also an incredible counter to some of the most popular plays.

Jones is using Thunder King Rai-Oh, Cyber Dragon, Elemental Hero Prisma, and a Phantom Dragon in his Deck. All of these cards are LIGHT monsters and can be boosted with Honest. That means they can disrupt his opponent’s biggest plays. When X-Saber opponents make their big play, Special Summoning a bunch of monsters with Rescue Cat and XX-Saber Faultroll, Jones can Special Summon Phantom Dragon from his hand to protect himself. And when his opponent tries to attack over it with Faultroll or another of his strongest monsters, Jones can send Honest from his hand to the Graveyard will destroy that monster. Since Honest gives an ATK boost that lasts for the entire turn, Jones can feel safe with any LIGHT monster on the field and an Honest in his hand. Protecting Thunder King Rai-Oh with Honest can also be game-breaking, since it will prevent Jones’s opponent from searching his Deck for cards, longer than that opponent may anticipate.

Jones’s decision to run Elemental Hero Prisma without Test Tiger is an unusual one. With so few Gladiator Beasts in his Deck, Jones knew that if he ran Test Tiger, he’d have a high risk of drawing them without having the necessary Gladiator Beasts to send back to his Deck for its effect. Instead, Jones uses Prisma to set up plays for later in the Duel. Sending Bestiari or Laquari to the Graveyard in any given turn, even if he can’t immediately use it, will let him tag-in a Gladiator Beast Darius later on for a quick Summon of Gladiator Beast Gyzarus or Gladiator Beast Heraklinos. Protecting Prisma with Honest also allows Jones to start his next turn with Prisma on the field. This lets him easily Summon Gyzarus, simply by Summoning another Gladiator Beast to the field and changing Prisma’s name to Gladiator Beast Bestiari.

Jones increased his Deck’s control over his opponents by including Doomcaliber Knight and Gladiator Beast War Chariot to negate Monster Effects, Magic Dragon to negate Spell Cards, and 2 copies of Starlight Road to negate mass-removal effects like Heavy Storm and Torrential Tribute. He’s also using Royal Oppression to negate Special Summons, and playing other cards that provide Jones with a solid defense or destructive effect.

Ira Jones’s Deck puts a completely new spin on a Deck that’s been around since Gladiator’s Assault. He added a whole new level of control to an already controlling Deck, and managed to surprise tons of opponents with his card choices. These surprises have lead to some dominating victories for Jones.