Here it is! For weeks there’s been a low buzz in dueling communities about another piece of world-exclusive Gladiator Beast support in Gladiator’s Assault, and now we finally get to see it. Test Tiger borrows a playbook page from another world-exclusive classic, Grandmaster of the Six Samurai. And yet, it’s so much more. Here’s what it does:

Test Tiger    

Beast / Earth

Level 3                  

ATK 600/DEF 300     

If you control a “Gladiator Beast” monster, you may Special Summon this card. You may Tribute “Test Tiger” to return a "Gladiator Beast" monster you control to your Deck, then Special Summon a "Gladiator Beast" from your Deck. The new monster is treated like it was Special Summoned by the effect of a “Gladiator Beast.”

Test Tiger may not be very big when it comes to ATK and DEF, but make no mistake: this kitty’s got claws. It’s searchable by Sangan, Giant Rat, and even Rescue Cat. Like Grandmaster of the Six Samurai, you can special summon it for free when you control a monster of the matching theme, a mechanic that’s been a proven winner in the past. However, the card’s real potential comes from its second effect, which makes Gladiator Beasts totally different from what they were in Japan.

Faster, Stronger

Gladiator Beasts are essentially a new spin on the Warrior Toolbox concept, letting you search your deck for a number of monsters with various effects to grab the right one for the right situation. The problem is that a lot can happen between the time you summon a Gladiator Beast and the end of the battle phase. Odds are good that a great majority of the time, you need that “right effect” before you head into battle, not after.

Test Tiger’s effect does just that, giving you a way to bring out virtually any Gladiator Beast before battle. Sure, doing so costs you a card since you have to tribute Test Tiger, but the Tiger will let you claim the new Gladiator Beast’s effect upon summoning. Bring out Gladiator Beast Murmillo and you’ll get to destroy an opposing monster, immediately balancing your loss of the Tiger. Gladiator Beast Bestiari will blow away a spell or trap card to the same end result. Gladiator Beast Dimacari becomes a double attacker when Test Tiger summons him, so he can more than level the playing field, while Gladiator Beast Secutor can bring out two more Gladiator Beasts later in the same turn.

Awesome stuff. And it gets better.

Octavius’s Sweet New Ride

Go ahead. Picture Octavius riding Test Tiger. Pretty sweet, huh!?

As cool as that mental image is, the on-table equivalent is even cooler. If anyone had any complaints about Octavius, it was the fact that it would be better to use his effect before attacking instead of after, due to the risk of Sakuretsu Armor or Mirror Force. That risk could be skillfully played around, don’t get me wrong, but it would be way better if that just wasn’t necessary.

Test Tiger makes that dream a reality. You can summon a Gladiator Beast, special summon Tiger, tribute it to bring out Octavius and immediately blow away a spell or trap. That balances the use of Test Tiger much like Gladiator Beast Bestiari did, but Bestiari has 1000 less ATK than Octavius. With 2500 ATK, Octavius will have no problem swinging through darn near anything on the field, and he’ll also clear the way for any other Gladiator Beasts you might have on deck.

There may be times when another Gladiator Beast is a better pull with Test Tiger, but the option to drop a 2500 ATK behemoth that immediately acts as a mini-Mobius is awesome. As much as the Gladiator Beasts share ties with the regular Warrior Toolbox concept, Reinforcement of the Army just doesn’t search out a 2500 ATK Breaker the Magical Warrior. Test Tiger, however, does.

Double Toolboxing       

One of the neat things about play sequences involving Test Tiger is that while you’ll get to toolbox once before battle, a successful attack with the freshly summoned Gladiator Beast you searched for means you can toolbox again at the end of the battle phase. So you could summon a Gladiator Beast, special summon Test Tiger, and then tribute it to trade your Gladiator for Gladiator Beast Bestiari. It would destroy a spell or trap card. Then, it could attack over a defending monster, destroying another card. Finally, since Bestiari was in battle, you could trade it back to the deck for Gladiator Beast Murmillo and destroy another monster your opponent controls. You gave up Test Tiger, but you destroyed three of your opponent’s cards in the meantime. Ouch.

Alternatively, you could do the same trick and bring out Gladiator Beast Dimacari with the Tiger. Run over two monsters and then trade Dimacari for something beefier (say, Octavius) at the end of the battle phase to get you through the next turn. His 2500 ATK should deter most attackers. Again, your opponent is losing up to three cards to what’s essentially just a one-card combo on your side: Test Tiger and any Gladiator Beast.

One Last Trick

If you’re really familiar with the Gladiator Beasts, you’ll know that they all have a particular restriction: you can’t bring out one Gladiator Beast with the effect of the same Gladiator. But when you special summon one with Test Tiger, you get to ignore the name of the Gladiator Beast you sent back. That means that no matter what you returned to your deck, you can special summon virtually any Gladiator Beast you like, even if it’s the same one you just sent away. Without Test Tiger, the Gladiator Beasts have no way of doing that, and running a consistent strategy with multiple copies of your favorite Gladiators could actually come back to haunt you.

The speed and number of ridiculously big plays that Test Tiger lets you pull off is exactly what the Gladiator Beasts needed to be viable in serious competition. On their own, the Gladiators are a grinding control deck with aggressive flare, but they don’t have enough flexibility. Test Tiger gives them versatility in a wide array of situations, and the double toolboxing element gives them the explosive power they need. One big Test Tiger play can create such a handicap for your opponent that the rest of the duel becomes academic.

Thanks to Test Tiger, the Gladiator Beasts really have a fighting chance (no pun intended) in today’s environment. Any Gladiator Beast deck will want to run three copies, because if even just one Test Tiger works to its maximum potential, it can be a game-winning force.  Expect it to be a well-prospected card at your local Sneak Preview this weekend.