Ancient Gear

"Ancient Gear", known as "Antique Gear" ( Antīku Gia) in the OCG, is an archetype of Machine-Type monsters that are used by Vellian Crowler in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX and Rudolph Heitmann in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. They overwhelm the opponent while preventing them from activating Spell or Trap Cards when they attack. They were released in The Lost Millennium, Shadow of Infinity, and Structure Deck 10: Machine Re-Volt, with further support in Light of Destruction and The Duelist Genesis.

Trap Cards and Quick-Play Spell Cards which activate during the Battle and Damage Steps tend to be some of the most common cards used by players, and the "Ancient Gear" archetype focuses upon preventing your opponent from using them. The concept of having limited Spell and Trap immunity is similar to the Duelist Kingdom arc of the second series anime, where Machine-Type monsters were immune to magical attacks.

The humanoid "Ancient Gears" bear a striking similarity to Ancient Greek soldiers, and so their creation may be linked to the Antikythera mechanism. The four original "Ancient Gear" monsters: "Beast", "Engineer", "Golem", and "Soldier" all have ATK equal to their DEF.

"Ancient Gear Gadjiltron" monsters share a relation with the "Gadget" archetype, gaining additional effects when "Red", "Green" and/or "Yellow Gadget" are Tributed to Summon them.

Strategy
"Ancient Gears" have gained popularity with the release of "Geartown", which simplifies Summoning the high-Level "Ancient Gear" monsters. A number of cards allow them to be Summoned from the Deck exist, such as "Spell Gear" and "Machine Duplication". Most "Ancient Gear" monsters require Tributes to Summon. "Reload" or "Magical Mallet" might be worthy choices for this Deck. "Pot of Avarice", "Pot of Duality and "Ancient Gear Workshop" are also recommended if you use "Ancient Gear Golem" and "Ancient Gear Beast", as they cannot be Special Summoned.

"Ancient Gear Drill" can be used to search out some Quick-Play Spell Cards like "My Body as a Shield", "Shrink", and "Limiter Removal". These cards work well with "Ancient Gear Drill" as they can be activated outside your own turn. You can also use "Cost Down", "Star Blast", "Mausoleum of the Emperor" or even their own support cards, like "Ancient Gear Castle" and "Geartown" to make Normal Summoning the Level 5 or higher "Ancient Gear" monsters easier. Cards such as "Ancient Gear Engineer" have a low ATK for their Level, therefore support cards such as "Gaia Power" are recommended.

"Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Chimera" and "Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon" can be used in combination with the "Gadget" monsters to unlock power effects. Since all of the "Ancient Gear" monsters are Machine-Type, the Spell Cards "Limiter Removal" and "Solidarity" can be necessary.

Another way of summoning is to use "Magical Hats" take out two "Geartowns" and when they are destroyed, you can Special Summon two "Ancient Gear" monsters.

Monsters

 * Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon
 * Ancient Gear Golem
 * Ancient Gear Beast
 * Ancient Gear Knight
 * Ancient Gear Engineer
 * Ancient Gear
 * Ancient Gear Cannon
 * Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Chimera
 * Ancient Gear Soldier
 * Cyber Dragon
 * Black Salvo
 * Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive
 * Green Gadget
 * Red Gadget
 * Yellow Gadget
 * Gearspring Spirit
 * King of the Swamp
 * Emes the Infinity
 * Chronomaly Mayan Machine

Spells

 * Geartown
 * Ancient Gear Tank
 * Ancient Gear Fist
 * Ancient Gear Drill
 * Ancient Gear Castle
 * Ancient Gear Workshop
 * Limiter Removal
 * Polymerization
 * Double Summon
 * Gravity Blaster
 * Terraforming
 * Machina Armored Unit
 * Solidarity (If running Pure Machine build)
 * Machine Assembly Line
 * Mystical Space Typhoon
 * Power Bond
 * Overload Fusion
 * Heavy Storm
 * Galaxy Queen's Light

Traps

 * Stronghold the Moving Fortress
 * Magical Hats
 * Ultimate Offering
 * Mirror Force
 * Negate Attack
 * The Transmigration Prophecy

Extra Deck

 * Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem
 * Chimeratech Fortress Dragon
 * Chimeratech Overdragon
 * Cyber Twin Dragon
 * Cyber End Dragon
 * Daigusto Emeral
 * Black Rose Dragon
 * Ancient Fairy Dragon
 * Number 15: Gimmick Puppet Giant Killer
 * Number 40: Gimmick Puppet of Strings

Weaknesses
"Ancient Gear" monsters are not immune to Trap Cards (aside from targeting "Ancient Gear Engineer"). If your opponent has a Set "Mirror Force", for example, attacking with a non-"Ancient Gear" monster will allow your opponent to destroy all of your Attack Position monsters.

Cards like "Acid Rain", "Magnetic Mosquito", and "System Down" have the potential to shut down an "Ancient Gear" Deck completely. Furthermore, these cards are especially hard to counter. However, "Ancient Gear Beast" can negate Flip Effect Monsters such as "Magnetic Mosquito".