One mistake I see time and time again in tournament play is when duelists only take notice of decks that 
actually won the tournament. Attention is paid to how this player’s Dark Armed Return deck was built and what made it more exceptional than the others. Rarely does anyone take a look at the decks that were ultimately unsuccessful but still made Day 2 competition. As such, they leave uncommon decks out of their testing loop, playing only Dark Armed mirror matches and testing OTK games against the goldfish.
However the few who do go out and seek alternative decks to play on the competitive scene could have picked up on what was coming at the Shonen Jump in Minneapolis
Gladiator Beasts weren’t an unheard of deck by the time Paul Levitin took them to a Shonen Jump victory. In fact it was months before that when they first became widely known as a competitive deck. Anthony Alvarado had built the deck with some spare commons and after trouncing Paul’s Dark Armed Return in a few test matches, they discovered that it was a tournament-viable strategy. Paul played it in a Regional event that day and despite not knowing what any of his monsters did until he drew them, went on to make the Top 4.
Despite unsuccessful attempts at Shonen Jumps in Costa Mesa and Columbus the team knew the strength of the deck because of its success in test matches. They stuck with it and made it stronger, and in Minneapolis everything just clicked. Both Anthony and Paul made Top 16 with the same build, and Paul was able to ride his win streak all the way to the finals. Here’s the Gladiator Beast deck they built to topple Dark Armed Return:
I find the easiest way to think about Gladiator Beasts is to compare them to Monarchs. Both have monsters that will take care of one specific problem when they are summoned to the field. Unlike Monarchs which need to be normal summoned by tributing a monster, Gladiator Beasts must be special summoned from the deck by the effect of a different Gladiator. In order to do that, Paul’s Gladiator Beasts need to be involved in battles that don’t destroy them before the end of the battle phase.
What makes Gladiator Beasts playable is the fact that defensive cards are few and far between right now. There’s not really a point to playing Sakuretsu Armor when Dark Armed Dragon is going to destroy any unchainable defensive option anyway. Many players have even taken Mirror Force out of their decks because of its tendency to be useless against decks that can special summon Dark Armed Dragon so fast. This means any direct shot is probably going to go through, allowing a Gladiator Beast to replace itself with an effect-activated one.
The Beasts you’re going to want to get the most are Gladiator Beast Murmillo and Gladiator Beast Bestiari. Murmillo destroys a monster when it is special summoned by the effect of a Gladiator Beast and Bestiari destroys a spell or trap card. If you get a direct shot in with a monster other than Bestiari, he’s the guy you’ll want to special summon. Free spell and trap destruction is wonderful, and destroying bluff cards like Return from the Different Dimension before they can be activated really slows down the Return decks. Murmillo is the answer to your opponent’s monster cards, and hopefully will pave the way for a direct attack and the activation of Gladiator Beast Bestiari.
Unfortunately, that pair of monsters doesn’t possess the highest ATK or DEF stats. As such, other Gladiator Beasts are included to make successful attacks and special summon the destructive Beasts. Gladiator Beast Hoplomus is a purely defensive card. With most players dropping Cyber Dragon from their decks and attacking on the first turn with either Elemental Hero Stratos, Dark Grepher, or Armageddon Knight, 2100 DEF may as well be Spirit Reaper. Attacks bounce off Hoplomus like water, and then he can switch out for Murmillo to destroy the very attacker that swung in. Bestiari could also be special summoned depending on the situation. Gladiator Beast Secutor or Gladiator Beast Laquari could even be more optimal choices and aren’t out of reach for Hoplomus.
Laquari is the beatdown monster in the deck. With an original ATK of 1800, Laquari can compete with most early game monsters easily. Only Elemental Hero Stratos bumps heads with him. Laquari could also be special summoned to boast an impressive 2100 ATK. This turns out to be essential in the mirror match, but most of the time you’re going to stick with Murmillo. With that said, Laquari is necessary for one huge reason: Gladiator Beast Heraklinos is a game-winning Fusion, and Laquari is part of his contact Fusion cost.
Gladiator Beast Secutor is how you’re going to bring him out. After special summoning Secutor, a direct attack with him will result in a total of three Gladiator Beasts on your side of the field. Assuming you special summon Laquari with Secutor, you can then return the three monsters to your deck to "contact Fuse" for Heraklinos. Big Herk sports enough ATK to power over almost anything and an effect that allows you to negate a number of opposing spell or trap cards equal to your hand count. This means you can effectively lock the opponent out of the game if you’ve got more cards than him or her.
In fact, the trap line-up is totally built around supporting Heraklinos and the other Gladiator Beasts. Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror shuts down Dark Armed Return quite nicely and thankfully only affects two of Paul’s monsters. Solemn Judgment and Heraklinos are used to help protect the Mirror, along with anything else deemed valuable. Together with Heraklinos’ 3000 ATK and the Mirror’s ability to negate Dark monster effects, Gladiator Beasts can achieve an insurmountable position over Dark Armed Return players.
Obviously a deck geared around beating Dark Armed Return is going to play the three big pre-negators. Mind Crush, Crush Card Virus, and Trap Dustshoot all made the cut for Paul, whose risky two-Dark build is actually less risky than it seems. Should Paul draw Crush Card Virus without a target to use it, the Crush can simply be discarded to the effect of Heraklinos. Torrential Tribute and Mirror Force also made the cut here for obvious reasons. The shutdown trap cards Paul plays can often turn the game into a beatdown battle. Defensive traps are power cards in these situations.
Ojama Trio is the final trap in Paul’s deck. The main reason for it is to give Paul three good 
attack targets for his Gladiator Beasts. Forcing attacks through isn’t always an option given your opponent’s field presence, so having three 1000 DEF blockers alongside that Dark Magician of Chaos is going to give Paul outs for attacks. Paul can simply swing a Gladiator Beast into a token and special summon Murmillo or Bestiari to take care of the threat. Gladiator Beast Secutor can also dive into the tokens to special summon Heraklinos right under your opponent’s nose.
Paul’s spell line-up is quite plain. Smashing Ground and Soul Taker are the best free monster removal cards around and pave the way for direct attacks. Swords of Revealing Light can give Paul up to three turns to press freely without any fear of counterattack. Gladiator Beasts can make plenty of things happen in just three turns, and if you don’t take care of Swords, don’t be surprised to find yourself with no field, staring down Heraklinos.
The final card I’m going to discuss is the speed card that makes Gladiator Beasts playable. Test Tiger is to Gladiator Beasts as Brain Control was to Monarchs. It is the essential speed card that allows you to achieve your monster’s effect right away in main phase 1. As long as you have another Gladiator Beast in hand or already on the field, Test Tiger can come down 
with it to exchange it for a fresh Beast from the deck. That Beast is considered to have been special summoned by a Gladiator Beast, so it’s going to get its effect. This means instant access to Murmillo’s monster destruction or Bestiari’s spell or trap destruction. Laquari can be swapped onto the field with 2100 ATK and Gladiator Beast Darius can come out and bring a friend from the graveyard.
But perhaps the biggest prize is Gladiator Beast Secutor. By using Test Tiger with any Gladiator Beast, you can special summon Secutor to make a successful attack and special summon enough monsters to contact Fusion summon for Gladiator Beast Heraklinos. How often does your opponent open with a simple "set one spell or trap and pass?" It’s probably not a defensive card, so imagine being able to respond with "summon Gladiator Beast, special summon Test Tiger, get Secutor, and attack directly. Then I’ll special summon two more Beasts and bring out Heraklinos." It’s possible that you’ve won the game right there. If you’ve got Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror you probably have, since you can negate anything useful your opponent controls and he or she won’t even break your 3000 ATK Fusion.
Of course, drawing multiple Test Tiger cards is nuts and can allow you to take care of multiple problems on one turn, something not even Monarchs could achieve. Recognizing this, Overdose included a copy of Rescue Cat in their deck. The Cat can special summon two copies of Test Tiger, which make the crazy antics mentioned above that much more likely. Think of a simple three-card hand like this. You set Gladiator Beast Hoplomus, who is attacked by Stratos next turn. You swap out for Murmillo and next turn summon Rescue Cat. Using the Cat’s effect, you special summon two Tigers, swap out Murmillo for Bestiari to destroy your opponent’s spell or trap card, then swap Bestiari out for Secutor and attack directly. Special summon Heraklinos, set Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror, and pass with four cards in hand. Game essentially over.
Gladiator Beasts are a real threat. With the combined factors of the deck being relatively cheap to make, its ability to contend with Dark Armed Return, and its Monarch-like playstyle are going to make Gladiator Beasts quite a popular archetype in the tournaments to come.
—Matt Peddle