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Deck Profile: Brian Prange’s Counter Fairy Gladiator Beast Deck

June 19th, 2011

Brian Prange’s Counter Fairy Gladiator Deck has more control than a standard Gladiator Beast Deck, and is capable of more aggression than a typical Counter Fairy Deck. Prange’s Deck uses a full Gladiator Beast line-up, plus 3 copies of Bountiful Artemis for some extra draw power. His Deck takes the best from both worlds, as it’s able to Summon a Gladiator Beast Deck’s best monsters including Gladiator Beast Gyzarus, and able to draw him cards when he activates a Gladiator Beast Deck’s best Trap Card, Gladiator Beast War Chariot.

Monsters:
1 Gladiator Beast Bestiari
2 Gladiator Beast Equeste
2 Gladiator Beast Laquari
1 Gladiator Beast Murmillo
1 Gladiator Beast Darius
3 Bountiful Artemis

Spells:
3 Upstart Goblin
3 Gladiator Proving Ground
3 Pot of Duality
3 Gladiator Beast’s Respite

Traps:
1 Mirror Force
2 Solemn Warning
3 Seven Tools of the Bandit
1 Solemn Judgment
2 Compulsory Evacuation Device
3 Drastic Drop Off
3 Gladiator Beast War Chariot
3 Safe Zone

Prange thins his Deck with Gladiator Proving Ground, Gladiator Beast’s Respite, Upstart Goblin, and Pot of Duality in order to quickly create the setup he wants. He aims to draw 1 monster, either Bountiful Artemis or a Gladiator Beast monster, and then protect that monster with 5 back rows. One monster is all Prange needs to maintain total control and claim victory!

Ideally, Prange will Summon Bountiful Artemis early on, and never see it leave the field. Then, whenever he activates a Counter Trap Card, he can draw a card, putting him in a position where his cards completely outmatch his opponent’s. Prange runs a total of 12 Counter Traps, including a full set each of Seven Tools of the Bandit, Gladiator Beast War Chariot, and Drastic Drop Off. He’s also using 2 copies of Solemn Warning and a copy of Solemn Judgment.

To help keep his Artemis on the field, Prange uses Safe Zone to prevent his Artemis from being destroyed or targeted. Safe Zone also doubles as a Trap Card that can protect his Gladiator Beast monsters, allowing them to tag-out whenever it protects his Gladiator Beast in battle.

“Using Artemis and Drastic Drop Off together is really common,” Prange told me. Activating Drastic Drop Off while he has Bountiful Artemis on the field will not only force an opponent to discard a card from his hand, but it will also allow Prange to draw a card.

When Prange has Artemis and a Gladiator Beast on the field, he can attack with a Gladiator Beast and negate an opponent’s Trap Card with Seven Tools of the Bandit when his opponent tries to stop the attack. Artemis’s effect will then allow him to draw a card. Then, if the monster he attacked has an effect that activates or triggers like the effect of Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter, he can use Gladiator Beast War Chariot to negate the effect and draw another card from Artemis’s effect. Prange’s favorite moves are plays like this one, in which he activates multiple Counter Traps in a single turn in order to draw multiple cards with the effect of his Bountiful Artemis.

Gyzarus is also very easy for Prange to Summon. This is a key strength of his Deck. Prange can fuse Bestiari with any of his other Gladiator Beasts to Summon Gyzarus and destroy 2 of his opponent’s cards, and since Prange is able to protect his plays with Seven Tools of the Bandit, strong Gyzarus plays get through against his opponents all the time.

One of the coolest things about Prange’s Deck is how surprising it is to his opponents. “I’ve never lost to someone the first time I played them,” he told me. Duelists don’t know what they’re dealing with when they see Bountiful Artemis in a Gladiator Beast Deck, and simply aren’t prepared to beat Prange’s strategy of maintaining a field with just 1 monster on it.

Brian Prange combined the 2 key cards from 2 major Decks into his ultimate creation of a Counter Fairy Gladiator Deck. Access to both Gladiator Beast Gyzarus and Bountiful Artemis made Prange’s Deck one of the deadliest in the tournament.