Gladiator Beast

Gladiator Beast
剣闘獣「グラディアルビースト」 (Guradiaru Bīsuto)
The Battle Beast with "Gladiator Beast Murmillo", "Gladiator Beast Augustus" and "Gladiator Beast Secutor".
Translation	Gladial Beast
Other names
French	Bête Gladiateur
German	Gladiatorungeheuer
Italian	Gladiatore Bestia
Korean	검투수 劍鬪獸 (Hanja) Geomtusu (romanized)
Portuguese	Besta Gladiadora
Spanish	Bestia Gladiador
Sets
Sets	Gladiator's Assault Phantom Darkness Light of Destruction The Duelist Genesis Crossroads of Chaos Crimson Crisis V Jump Edition 3 Extreme Victory Primal Origin Chaos Impact
Sets	Gladiator's Assault Phantom Darkness Light of Destruction The Duelist Genesis Crossroads of Chaos Crimson Crisis V Jump Edition 3 Extreme Victory Primal Origin Chaos Impact
TCG Sets	Cybernetic Horizon Duelist Saga Battles of Legend: Light's Revenge
TCG Sets	Cybernetic Horizon Duelist Saga Battles of Legend: Light's Revenge
OCG Sets	20th Anniversary Pack 1st Wave Collectors Pack 2017 LINK VRAINS Pack Tournament Pack 2019 Vol.3
OCG Sets	20th Anniversary Pack 1st Wave Collectors Pack 2017 LINK VRAINS Pack Tournament Pack 2019 Vol.3
Appearances
Anime appearances	Yu-Gi-Oh! 3D Bonds Beyond Time Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Anime appearances	Yu-Gi-Oh! 3D Bonds Beyond Time Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Lists
Members Support Anti-support
Members Support Anti-support

"Gladiator Beast", known as "Gladial Beast" (剣闘獣 (グラディアルビースト) Guradiaru Bīsuto) in the OCG, is an archetype of monsters with various Attributes (primarily DARK and EARTH) and Types (primarily Beast, Beast-Warrior, and Winged-Beast) released in Gladiator's Assault. They are used by both the Battle Beast and Sanders in Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V.

Design

Appearance

The archetype resemble futuristic versions of the ancient Roman Colosseum slave-warriors.

Etymology

The archetype's name comes from "Gladiator", a man trained to fight with weapons against other men or wild animals in an arena.

Each monster is primarily named after types of gladiators that fought in the Roman Colosseum, while others are named after famous fighters from the Roman Empire.

Members

Gladiator Beast	Origin		Unique effect
	Reference	Creature
Alexander	Alexander the Great	Winged lion	Unaffected by Spell effects.
Andabata	Andabata	Hadrosaurid	Special Summons 1 Level 7 or lower “Gladiator Beast” Fusion monster from your Extra Deck, ignoring its Summoning conditions. Special Summons 2 "Gladiator Beast" monsters from your Deck.
Andal	Andabata	Black bear	N/A
Attorix	Gladiatrix	Caracal	Sends 1 "Gladiator Beast" monster from your Deck or Extra Deck to the Graveyard, this card's Level and name become the sent monster' until the End Phase.
Augustus	Augustus Caesar	Dragon	Special Summons 1 "Gladiator Beast" monster from your hand in Defense Position.
Bestiari	Bestiarii	Red-crowned amazon	Destroys 1 Spell/Trap Card on the field.
Darius	Darius the Great	Horse	Special Summons 1 "Gladiator Beast" monster from your Graveyard.
Dimacari	Dimachaerus	Cape buffalo	Attacks twice during the Battle Phase.
Domitianus	Titus Flavius Caesar Domitianus Augustus		Special Summon 1 "Gladiator Beast" monster from your Deck.
Dragases	Constantine Dragases Palaiologos	Bald Eagle	Protects your attacking “Gladiator Beast” monster(s) from being destroyed by battle and prevents your opponent from activating cards or effects until the end of the Damage Step. Special Summons 2 "Gladiator Beast" monsters with different names from your Deck.
Equeste	Equites	Winged Centaur	Adds 1 "Gladiator Beast" card from your Graveyard to your hand.
Essedarii	Essedarius	Gorilla	N/A
Gaiodiaz	Gordias	Tyrannosaurus	Inflicts damage to your opponent whenever it destroys an opponent’s monster by battle, equal to the DEF of the destroyed monster. Special Summons 2 "Gladiator Beast" monsters from your Deck, except "Gladiator Beast Spartacus".
Gyzarus	Gaius Julius Caesar	Unknown bird	Destroys up to 2 cards on the field whenever it's Special Summoned. Special Summons 2 "Gladiator Beast" monsters from your Deck, except "Gladiator Beast Bestiari".
Heraklinos	Heracles	Chimera	Negates the activation of a Spell/Trap Card and destroys that card, by discarding 1 card (Quick Effect).
Hoplomus	Hoplomachus	Rhino	DEF becomes 2400.
Lanista	Lanista	Eagle	Gains the name of 1 "Gladiator Beast" monster that was banished from your Graveyard.
Laquari	Laquearius	Tiger	ATK becomes 2100.
Murmillo	Murmillo	Carp	Destroys 1 face-up monster on the field.
Nerokius	Nero	Bat	Cannot be destroyed by battle and when this card battles, your opponent cannot activate cards or effects until the end of the Damage Step. Special Summons 2 "Gladiator Beast" monsters from your Deck.
Noxius	Noxii	Leopard	Special Summons itself from your hand when your opponent declares a direct attack and redirects the attack to itself then proceeds to damage calculation; also, it cannot be destroyed by that battle. Sends 1 Gladiator Beast monster from your Deck to the Graveyard.
Octavius	Gaius Octavius	Bald eagle	Destroys 1 face-down Spell/Trap Card on the field.
Retiari	Retiarius	Crocodile	Banishes 1 card from your opponent's Graveyard.
Sagittarii	Sagittarii/Sagittarius	Centaur	Discard 1 "Gladiator Beast" card to draw 2 cards.
Samnite	Samnite	Smilodon	Adds 1 “Gladiator Beast” card from your Deck to your hand whenever it destroys an opponent’s monster by battle.
Secutor	Secutor	Lizard	Special Summons 2 "Gladiator Beast" monsters from your Deck, except itself.
Spartacus	Spartacus	Dinosaur	Adds 1 "Gladiator Beast" Equip Spell Card from your Deck to your hand.
Tamer Editor	Taming/Editor	Deer	Special Summons 1 “Gladiator Beast” Fusion monster from your Extra Deck, except itself, ignoring its Summoning conditions. Special Summons 1 “Gladiator Beast” monster from your Deck, by shuffling 1 “Gladiator Beast” monster that battled into your Deck or Extra Deck.
Torax	Thraex	Blowfish	Allows you to draw 1 card by shuffling itself into your Deck.
Tygerius	Tiberius	White tiger	Adds 1 “Gladiator Beast” monster from your Deck to your hand by discarding 1 “Gladiator Beast” card.
Vespasius	Titus Flavius Vespasianus		All monsters you control gain 500 ATK.

Support

Card	Origin
Colosseum - Cage of the Gladiator Beasts	Colosseum
Gladiator Beast War Chariot	Chariot
Gladiator Beast's Battle Archfiend Shield	Scutum
Gladiator Beast's Battle Gladius	Gladius
Gladiator Beast's Battle Halberd	Halberd
Gladiator Beast's Battle Manica	Manica
Thumbs Down	Pollice verso
Trojan Gladiator Beast	Trojan Horse
Virtus of Gladiator Beast	Virtus

Playing style

With a few exceptions, all non-Fusion "Gladiator Beasts" have an effect to return to the Deck during the end of a Battle Phase when it battled, and then to Special Summon another "Gladiator Beast" monster to replace it (this is also known as 'tagging out'). The newly Special Summoned "Gladiator Beast" monsters usually gain another effect when Special Summoned in this way.

"Gladiator Beasts" also have seven Fusion Monsters, four of which require a specific "Gladiator Beast" monster and either one or two other "Gladiator Beast" monsters as Fusion Material. However, "Polymerization" is not required to Fusion Summon these monsters. Instead, the correct "Gladiator Beast" Fusion Material Monsters are returned to the Main Deck to Special Summon the appropriate "Gladiator Beast" Fusion Monster. This process is otherwise known as Contact Fusion. Several of the "Gladiator Beast" Fusion Monsters are also able to 'tag out' to Special Summon 2 or more "Gladiator Beast" monsters from the Deck.

Nearly every card in the archetype is capable of being returned to the hand, field, or Deck from the Graveyard by utilizing the effects of "Gladiator Beast" monsters or their support cards. The "Gladiator Beast" Deck includes a mix of destruction, aggro, and toolbox cards and tactics. It is this versatility which landed this Deck as one of the top Decks in the Shonen Jump Circuit.

The September 2010 Forbidden List caused "Gladiators Beasts" to become more popular, especially with the banning of "Heavy Storm" and Limiting of "Royal Oppression", both of which were a threat to their strategy.

The April 2015 Forbidden List made the previously Limited "Gladiator Beast Bestiari" Unlimited, making the entire deck not as susceptible to having a "Bottomless Trap Hole" or other card that banishes monsters used on "Bestiari", which would render "Gladiator Beast Gyzarus" inaccessible for the remainder of the Duel.

Previous incarnations of the Deck used "Rescue Cat" to Summon monsters such as "Gladiator Beast Samnite" and "Test Tiger" to make big plays. With the Errata of "Rescue Cat", however, the Deck changed its strategy. With the release of "Rescue Rabbit", the new version of the Deck uses "Gladiator Beast Andal" to allow for the quick Summon of "Gladiator Beast Essedarii", "Gladiator Beast Heraklinos", "Gladiator Beast Nerokius" or "Gladiator Beast Dragases".

With the release of "Gladiator Beast Tamer Editor" and "Gladiator Beast Andabata", the deck is now able to special summon their boss monsters with ease, allow them to focus more on swarm their field rather than try to get the appropriate material off their deck. But shortly after that, with the release of Master Rules 4, the entire deck is hindered again because both "Tamer Editor" and "Andabata" requires an extra slot for Extra deck monster, while their Link monster is not too good and put an extra weight on their already weak swarming power.

The deck got their second wind with many new supports from Chaos Impact. "Test Panther", is a Link monster that combine searching power with a "Test Tiger"-like effect, both incredibly valuable to the deck. "Gladiator Beast Domitianus" is a new boss monster with big stats and a built-in monster negation, while easy to bring out with "Tamer Editor" or "Andabata". The deck also get two new Gladiator Beast monsters with "Destiny Draw" and "Prisma"-like effect.

The deck also got their own them's Fusion Spell, "Gladiator Beast United", a Quick-Play Spell Card that also accept material from GY as well. "Gladiator Rejection" and "Gladiator Beast's Comeback" both help the deck on swarming the field, not only allow them to make a better play without relying too much on "Rescue Rabbit"/"Prisma", but also open their chance to use some powerful generic Link monster like "Apollousa, Bow of the Goddess".

Recommended cards

Monsters

Normal Monsters

• Gladiator Beast Andal

Effect Monsters

• Elemental HERO Prisma
• Gladiator Beast Augustus
• Gladiator Beast Vespasius
• Gladiator Beast Bestiari
• Gladiator Beast Darius
• Gladiator Beast Equeste
• Gladiator Beast Laquari
• Gladiator Beast Sagittarii
• Gladiator Beast Murmillo
• Gladiator Beast Noxious
• Gladiator Beast Retiari
• Gladiator Beast Samnite
• Gladiator Beast Secutor
• Rescue Cat
• Rescue Rabbit
• Test Tiger
• Thunder King Rai-Oh

Extra Deck

Fusion Monsters

• Gladiator Beast Andabata
• Gladiator Beast Essedarii
• Gladiator Beast Heraklinos
• Gladiator Beast Gyzarus
• Gladiator Beast Nerokius
• Gladiator Beast Tamer Editor
• Gladiator Beast Domitianus

Xyz Monsters

• Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Tiger King
• Ghostrick Alucard
• Lightning Chidori
• Mechquipped Angineer

Link Monsters

• Gladiator Beast Dragases
• Test Panther
• Fire Fighting Daruma Doll
• Mistar Boy
• Missus Radiant

Spells & Traps

Spells

• A Hero Lives (When using Prisma)
• Gladiator Proving Ground
• Book of Moon
• Fire Formation - Tenki
• Fire Formation - Tensu
• My Body as a Shield
• Onslaught of the Fire Kings (For GB Laquari)
• Unexpected Dai
• Gladiator Beast's Comeback
• Gladiator Beast United
• Gladiator Rejection

Traps

• Gladiator Beast War Chariot
• Starlight Road
• Waboku
• Gladiator Beast Charge
• Gladiator Naumachia

Weaknesses and counter-strategies

• Prevention of Special Summoning - As "Gladiator Beast" Decks focus heavily on Special Summoning, they become crippled by cards that prevent it. "Solemn Warning", "Archlord Kristya" and "Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo" are all common Main Deck and Side Deck cards that prevent Special Summoning, or neutralize it. In the case of "Kristya", the Deck finds it hard to get over a monster with 2800 ATK without Contact Fusion, as long as it is protected from the high Trap Card count with cards like "Forbidden Lance". Other options include "Vanity's Fiend", "Vanity's Ruler", "Deck Lockdown", "Corridor of Agony" and "Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring".

• Counter-destruction - Often, it is the "Gladiator Beasts" with the effect to destroy cards that are the most troublesome, but there are several cards that can be used to combat this. "Starlight Road" is a common card that is particularly effective against "Gladiator Beast Gyzarus". Other options include "Divine Wrath", "Destruction Jammer", and "Stardust Dragon".

• Destroy on Summoning - Cards such as "Torrential Tribute", "Bottomless Trap Hole" and especially "Mirror of Oaths", that destroy the monsters when Special Summoned are great against "Gladiator Beasts".

• Effect canceling - Cards such as "Skill Drain", "Chivalry" or "Effect Veiler" can prevent your monsters from tagging out or negate the effects of the ones that are Summoned, leaving them defenseless against high ATK monsters. "Clear Wing Synchro Dragon" and "Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon" are also very effective, as they can negate the effects of the Gladiator Beasts upon summon or when they 'tag out', leaving them often helpless.

• Attack negation/prevention - You can only 'tag out' a "Gladiator Beast" when it "attacks or is attacked", therefore, any Spell, Trap, or Monster Effect that lets you negate a monster attack would prevent the opponent from tagging out their "Gladiator Beasts".

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