A lot of factors have made Gadgets a top pick for experienced duelists here today, and competitors like Paul Levitin and Corey Defeo are using that to their advantage. Gadgets are simple, can make use of a flexible range of monsters, and also have a ton of space for tech cards; all three of those strengths are relatively rare in this format. Here’s what Corey Defeo’s undefeated Gadget build looks like:
If there’s tech that a Gadget deck can run, Defeo’s probably using it here. Banisher Gadgets? Hydrogeddon Gadgets? This deck is effectively both, running a full complement of Gadget monsters as well as three copies each of Hydro and Banisher. Hydrogeddon takes advantage of the slow format, picking on popular monsters like Destiny Hero – Malicious and Destiny Hero – Disk Commander. Some of the best strategies in this format are dependent on pint-sized support monsters, and Hydrogeddon tears them to pieces.
Despite the fact that it conflicts with Hydrogeddon’s effect, Banisher is an even better tech card across a wide range of matchups and is certainly worthy of use. Zombie and Light and Darkness Dragon strategies need their graveyard in order to work properly, and an early Banisher can totally destroy their chances at winning. Even just a short-lived, but tactically used Banisher can take out key cards like Treeborn Frog.
A single main decked Drillroid completes the traditional pantheon of Gadget tech monsters, and two D.D. Crow finishes out the monster lineup. A lot of top players are running D.D. Crow in their mains here today with the intent of stopping Light and Darkness Dragon both before and after it hits the field. Defeo can afford it with far greater ease than some of his contemporaries because of the amount of simplification and card swings he generates. Dumping a Crow from his hand usually isn’t a big loss. As for the Crow’s relatively limited utility, that’s not a big problem either; his deck runs very few cards that could be rendered dead draws, and his overall utility is exceedingly high.
Two Shrink help support Hydrogeddon and the Gadgets, while also guaranteeing that Banisher of the Radiance won’t be run over as often as it otherwise would be. Hammer Shot, Lightning Vortex, Smashing Ground, and even a single copy of Soul Taker (Defeo could only get his hands on one copy) provide proactive monster removal. Running one Nobleman of Crossout seems to be the flavor of the month, and Defeo’s decision to eschew a second copy is another calculated effort to keep average utility high and ensure that what he draws is useful.
Three Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror play a starring role here, shutting down Destiny Heroes, Sangan, Light and Darkness Dragon, and many more threats on a repeated basis. It protects this deck from a lot of spell and trap removal too, thanks to Snipe Hunter and Breaker the Magical Warrior’s Dark attributes. That’s a big factor when you’re playing nine relatively reactive trap cards, and it lets Defeo play a bit looser with his spell and trap zone.
The last card this deck maxes out on is Solemn Judgment, a trap that’s seen a striking amount of play today despite the considerable amount of hype behind Forced Back over the past six weeks. Solemn Judgment works here just as it always has in Gadget builds, stopping mass removal and big monsters that would threaten both your security and your ability to deal damage. They’re a very smart inclusion in a deck that works at such a grinding, consistent pace. Today they’re even better than they normally would be, since generic negation is about the strongest weapon you can wield when you don’t know what decks to anticipate. Today’s field is all over the place and Defeo is ready for that.
There’s a lot of main decked tech floating around today, but I’m noticing that most of it is splashed into decks that can’t afford to be running it. Samurai, Light and Darkness Dragon, Demise, Zombies, Burn . . . Those strategies all need to dedicate themselves to their particular themes in order to work properly. Defeo’s running what is arguably the one deck that can afford all this tricky customization, and it seems to be working out for him so far. Can he make it to Day 2? We’ll have to wait and see.