Control, Advantage, Simplification (Complete Gadget overview)

Updated: May 29th, 2009

Gadget History and hyped Variants

In January of 2007, Red Gadget, Yellow Gadget and Green Gadget were all released in to the TCG. Many variants were hyped from the start, primarily ChimeraGadget, Oppression Gadget, and Fifth Gadget.
ChimeraGadget was a variant that took advantage of Gadgets’ efficient ability to load it’s controller with Machines for a Fusion summon of Chimeratech Overdragon. While a couple teched Overload Fusions were often used, this deck never really made it big. The concept of it seemed pretty solid, a nice controlling deck that had the potential to summon a massive monster at the end of its turn. However, several decklist problems caused this deck to faulter, and possibly even a good list for the deck, back at that time, still wouldn't have real success. Hard to tell.
Oppression Gadgets were also hyped considerably at first, taking advantage of the immense amount of special summoning that has always existed in the game. However, in the Monarch format that Gadgets were first released in, players could easily cope without special summoning, making Royal Oppression subpar. When Raiza the Storm Monarch was released, Royal Oppression became even more risky, until the late Perfect Circle Monarch format, when Oppression Gadgets returned. When this deck was first used, Oppression had not been given the ruling update quite yet, and Monarchs of almost every variant can survive without special summoning. Royal Oppression had proved not to be the tech card of that time.
Fifth Gadget was a deck that ran 45 cards, nine being Gadgets, as to influence the deck to give it one Gadget in every opener – No more, no less. While this deck was probably the best variant at the time of the three non-standard Gadget builds, nine Gadgets is just too many. Six Gadgets is immensely more efficient. This variant is probably what kept Gadgets from releasing their full potential, as nine Gadgets is just too many for any Gadget deck. Six should always be used.
When SJC Orlando 2007 rolled around, 25% of the decks that made the top cut were Gadgets, however they were more standard. They did run 9 Gadgets, but were slimmer than 45 cards. They did run Oppressions, but only in the side deck. They did run Overload Fusion, but only 1 or 2 teched in, not the major player in the deck. It became clear that a ton of 1 for 1 monster removal was the way to run Gadgets. This has, more or less, always held true.

Gadgets continued to see play for a while, until a new build saw play at SJC Houston 2007. This deck was Gadget Monarchs, piloted into the Top 8 by Adam Corn. Monarchs were a very innovative way for Gadgets to simplify the game, and the 3 Brain Controls allowed at the time were an amazing way to gain advantage. As time went on, many Gadget players ridiculed Gadget Monarchs as inconsistent, or lacking synergy. Gadget Monarchs did get Second place at Ireland Nationals 2007, and Ireland Nationals 2008, however the credibility of using that event as evidence is controversial. My opinion on the deck is that it’s good in theory, but just too inconsistent. In a slower format, it may be attempted, but right now it's way too slow.
Fifth Gadget continued to be the standard build for a while, until Joe Whitaker took Second at U.K. Nationals 2007 with Decree Gadgets, dubbing it “Whitaker Gadget”. This innovation was incredibly fast, and had been what I had used until January 2008. (However, after the Troop Dupe format, I should have completely dropped the deck, as it was pretty awful in the Perfect Circle format, despite one Shonen Jump top sixteen during that time.)
This revolutionary build of Gadgets also took top 16 at SJC Washington D.C. However, a more influential credential this deck has is that it won Candian Nationals 2007, piloted by Dexter Dalit. Dexter Dalit is currently the only player to win a noteworthy event with Gadgets.
Gadgets began to see less play in the Troop Doop format, with 3 Trap Dustshoot and 3 Mind Crush taking a devastating toll on the deck. However, they were back at the beginning of the Perfect Circle format. One build made top 16 at the first and second Jumps of the format. This build looked a lot like the remains of the Machine Aggro deck which had influenced the previous format. This Gadget build ran cards such as Cyber Phoenix, a new innovation for Gadgets, which had proved very effective in the beginning.
A few Jumps went by without Gadgets topping. Many Gadget players began hyping Macro Gadgets. This combined many of the tactics of the Macro Cosmos builds at that time with Gadget decks, for an obscenely anti-meta build with advantage pouring out everywhere, and an immortal beatstick. This deck never topped any noteworthy events, but one of my friends went X-2 at SJC Orlando 2008 with Macro Gadgets. The deck is often worth considering, but the inconsistencies and constant risk of dead hands is definitely something that should sway you away.
SJC Costa Mesa 2007 began, and even though zero Gadget builds made the top 16, this was the Shonen Jump Championships that affected Gadgets more than any other tournament to happen yet.. Corey Defeo ran an incredibly innovative Gadget build at this event, running Shadow Imprisoning Mirrors, D.D. Crow, and other anti-meta cards. The deck profile that he scored with his deck changed the entire Theory behind Gadgets in general. Using anti-meta cards was an incredible source of simplification.
SJC Orlando 2008 came and went. This event was the peak for Gadgets. No other event had this many Gadget builds top. An astonishing 4 builds made the top 16. They all had influence from Defeo’s Gadget build, and they all went further with the tech. Many of the builds ran Pulling the Rug, many ran Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer, many ran Royal Oppression, and many ran Banisher of the Radiance. Matt Tuxford took his build all they way to top 4, currently the farthest a Gadget build has ever gone in an SJC. I’ve also played Matt Tuxford in the top 8 of a Regionals, once. The strategy of using tech and anti-meta, alongside 1 for 1 destruction as simplification proved to be a certainly playable strategy.
At the following Jump, ten Dark Armed Return builds topped. Ever since that Jump (SJC Houston 2008) there has never been a good format in Yugioh. Gadgets quickly fell from their throne as a top tier Anti-meta deck. All of the Gadget builds had to adapt, and Oppression Gadgets became accepted as the only way to run Gadgets.
After a decent showing at SJC Costa Mesa, Gadgets scrubbed every event until U.S. Nationals, where they had one top 16 showing. And then not for half a year.
I blame Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo for this enormous lack of success. Fossil Dyna became generally referred to as a staple, in 3’s, in all Gadget builds. While the card has some use in Dark Armed-based formats, it’s utter trash in the Gladiator Beast format that followed it. Fossil Dyna only works in theory, but when you actually run it, gets killed by a monster that was normal summoned. The use of this card in 3’s is what hindered Gadgets from topping. No card has shown to be quite as bad against the Rogue match-up, while only being subpar against the top tier, yet still recieves the hype Fossil Dyna has. When Gadgets finally topped again, Robbie Kohl proved me right by running 0 Dyna. However, the utility of Fossil Dyna is still debate-able in the upcoming format.
When Synchro Dark Armed became the format deck (As of SJC Tulsa 2008) Gadget builds had a new foe to tech. A few Gadget players (including myself, for a short time) began running the old Radget build that had once seen some play. The point of this build is to thoroughly abuse Neo-Spacian Grand Mole or Creature Swap, which both dealt an intense toll to Synchros. Summon Rat, attack one Synchro, search Grand Mole, and permanently remove it.
Or, if they have two Synchros out, Swap them your Rat, take their Synchro, attack the Rat, search Mole, and attack their other Synchro. While the theory behind this deck was solid, the variant never really revealed itself to get off the ground, but perhaps it may happen eventually.
Gadgets continued to decrease in play this format. That was, until Robbie Kohl had topped SJC Detroit with his build of Oppression Gadgets. And there really couldn't have been any better time for this to happen.
Up until that point, all of the Gadget enthusiasts, myself included, prepared for SJC Chicago to revive Gadgets, since Jordan Nasser, that era's most succesful contributer to the Gadget community, would be attending. But this was not the only reason we looked forward to this SJC; Thunder King Rai-Oh was legal for tournament play.
Chicago came and went, and once again, no Gadget decks made the top sixteen. Not even Thunder King could save us. We became discouraged, and ran inferior versions, such as Tele-Gadgets, or stopped running Gadgets altogether.
SJC Atlanta approached, and none of us topped yet again, and we lost even more Gadget players. My Oppression Gadget build (and myself included) had been completely dominated on Day 1 of this Jump, causing more players to switch to other anti-meta variants.
SJC Detroit was approaching, and Gadgets became accepted as a dead deck. All hope was gone. But when the top 16 was revealed, we saw the inclusion of Oppression Gadget extraordinare, Robbie Kohl.
And once again, Gadgets became accepted as a competitive anti-meta deck. Rose Gadget, Fissure gadget (a variant I had hyped) and other inferior forms dissapeared, and Mirror Wall revealed itself as the most recent innovation in Gadgets. Mirror Wall held several advantages over Shrink, including being able to double as Shrink and Threatening Roar.
The lack of Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo also allowed Gadget players to realize how inferior of a card choice the Dyna was.Robbie Kohl also chose to use Soul Taker over Hammer Shot, although this is still a debated choice among Gadget players. Previously and afterwards to the top, Robbe Kohl was a valuable contributer to the Gadget community, and is the most succesful contributor in this current era.
As of this current time (Late May), Gadgets have failed to put forth a strong showing, although this is to be expected seeing as how we've only received one SJC within the last four months. Nonetheless, the confusion within the current format as we still await the next top deck poses a challenge to all anti-meta decks, as we wait to see whether Lightsworns, Blackwings, or Arcanite Synchro prove themselves as the top deck. As happens every few months, a certain percentage of Gadgets players shy away from the deck, but yet again we'll prove the pure advantage engine to still retain success. We're far from over.

The Gadget Theory

1) Control, advantage, simplification.
Hopefully, within the very near future these words will be the first thing to appear in anyone's mind once Gadgets are mentioned. These are the three most important concepts and guidelines for any Gadget deck. In a good Gadget deck, every card must be able to fit under one of these subsections. The best way to tell if a card is completely useless or not is to see if its criteria matches the following descriptions.
Control - Of the three, this is the most open. Negation cards, such as Solemn Judgment, Dimensional Fissure, Neo-Spacian Grand Mole and Royal Oppression are all great cards that maintain control over your opponent. Most anti-meta cards are either classified under control or simplification, but the end result is always the same. Control consists of negation, and softening or preventing the win condition of the opponent's deck. An important thing to keep in mind is that Dark Bribe, even though it loses advantage, does abide to the Gadget Theory for this reason. This can also include cards that put you at a clear advantage over your opponent. Many tuners can create cards that represent this. (Stardust Dragon and Thought Ruler Archfiend come to mind.)
Advantage - This is where the Gadgets themselves come in. You can simplify with your opponent all you want, but the truth is that if you don't hold more cards than they do, the game becomes a war of who can topdeck the most succesfully. Cards such as the Gadgets, Gale the Whirlwind, Gorz, and other simple methods of gaining advantage are ultimately what secures the win. What sets Gadgets apart from other anti-meta forms is that we actually gain advantage instead of simplifying the game.
Simplification - First, you gain advantage. Then you simplify so that your oppponent's card advantage is borderline zero, while your's is bountiful. This method has ruled several other advantage-based formats in past history, and is still the basic principle of Gadgets. However, simplification isn't all Smashing Grounds and Bottomless Trap Holes, these days. Cards such as Banisher of the Radiance and Royal Oppression are excellent at simplifying your opponent out of all options. Synchro summoning for monsters such as Black Rose Dragon or Arcanite Magician are also wonderful methods. Counter Traps also fall under this category. This is the backbone of Gadgets "Filler" choices, as well. Anti-meta choices, or just simply one for one destruction falls under this declension.
2) [color:9697="Orange"]Using the Gadget
Still in its infancy, this flawed theory is slowly becoming more and more popular among Gadget players. The inherent flaw, however, is that just about every current way to "Use the Gadget" is completely obsolete to more succesfuly engines. There will always be more succesful Synchro summoning engines or OTK engines than the focus on tuners or Ultimate Offering in Gadgets.
However, one method I think that no deck can out-perform Gadgets as far as utilizing the floater on your field, is the use of Tualatin. Now, while I certainly don't suggest the use of Tualatin-Gadgets over any part of the First Gadget Theory, Tualatin is an amazing way to wipe out your opponents' field of Blackwings, and then prevent them from summoning any more. Especially with the use of cards such as Giant Rat and Creature Swap, I cannot think of any deck that can beat Gadgets in the area of getting your monsters killed by battle purposefully, without losing advantage, while also not leaving an extra monster on your side. If you're going to adhere to this flawed theory, I highly suggest using this build.


Tech Cards

Pulling the Rug – This card was exceptionally good during the Monarch formats, and when gadget mirror matches were more common. Pulling the Rug is also a great way to handle Stratos, Breaker, and other commonly ran cards. This card was horrid during the Gladiator era, but saw some use again as Tele-DAD decks start running 1 of 2 Caius, a Breaker, a Stratos, and Armageddon, and 2-3 RotA. Monarchs are being hyped somewhat, but this card does not affect Gladiator Beasts or Lightsworns. Side deck it or don't run it.

Kinetic Soldier – Like Pulling the Rug, it’s also only been good in specific formats (Mainly ones where Samurai and DDT were common) but it had been decent because of all of the warriors seen in a Tele-DAD deck. While it can counter a lot of Lightsworn's plays, to some extent anyways, it has no effect on any other deck right now. Don't run it.

Banisher of the Radiance – Yet another tech card that’s great in most formats, with the exception of the first Gladiator Beast format. I have won several games against Tele-DAD when I’ve gone first, summoned this, and set one protection card, and did nothing else the whole duel. This card is nearly auto-win if you can protect it against Lightsworn, and has proven amazing against most upcoming Monarch variations. However, this may fall out of style if Gladiator Beasts reign victorious over Lightsworn. But with Blackwings, SynchroCat, and GB so popular right now, don't main it.

Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer – This card was good, even during the Gladiator era. While Banisher and Kinetic were simply too weak, Kycoo could match or beat any card that Gladiator Beasts would summon on their first turn, when Test Tiger was not involved. Kycoo and Banisher were both deadly during the Zombie format and Perfect Circle formats, and are were deadly again during the TeleDAD format. Kycoo, like Banisher, can completely shut down Tele-DAD, and both have effects that could prevent Stardust from returning. Do not run at this time.

D.D.Crow – This will be edited for every format. Don't run right now.

Dimensional Fissure –This is another card that’s bad during Gladiator formats, but incredible tech during the Zombie format, PCM format, and Tele-DAD format. This auto-matically secures the win against Lightsworn. Definitely side deck three.

Thunderking Rai-Oh – This card will always be very controversial. During the Tele-DAD format, it screamed dominance, as it would completely anihilate Tele-DAD, as it had few cost efficient ways to remove it. However, it hinders us more than a good percentage of our opponents nowadays, and I suggest leaving this to the side deck. Or at least, that's in theory. But when in practice, RaiOh just helps to the extent that I would recommend maindecking some.

Drillroid – This card used to be good when setting was common. But that just doesn’t happen anymore… Drillroid was also a common choice in the past, because Gadgets often get screwed by set monsters. If we ever return to a good format, I suggest running a copy or two of Drillroid, but since we all know that will never happen, Drillroid is retired.

Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo – I hated this card in passed formats. However, it does reveal some positive tendencies against both Lightsworn and Blackwings right now. In fact, my favorite build of Gadgets at the moment runs three of these with bountiful defense.

Creature Swap – This card was amazing in the Synchro format. They do all the work summoning a huge monster, and then I summon a Gadget that replaced itself, and I trade monsters. However, it does little against Gladiator Beasts or Lightsworn, so you may want to consider cutting this from the audition list. Unless you run Tualatin-Gadget, that is.

Dimensional Prison – Incredible Stardust tech. Also gets Sangan, which Gadgets usually have trouble getting around. Just beware Dark Armed, Caius, and Thought Ruler. I suggest 2-3 copies right now. Completely prevents Gladiator Beasts from tagging, and leaves Gladiators unable to revitalize the Gladiator with an Equeste or Darius. It is also a good choice against Lightsworn. It's also been known to work well against Blackwings.

Compulsory Evacuation Device – Not this format.

Mirror Wall - This card is exactly what Gadgets have been looking for to stand up to Synchros last format. Neither Thought Ruler nor Stardust Dragon can really get passed it, and it ends the battle phase essentially. What's not to like? Definitely run it over Shrink if you run Fossil Dyna.

Blackwing Gale the Whirlwind - Several builds are picking up this card because of its amazing versatility. Halving a monster, and then attacking it is amazing for advantage. Synchro'ing with a Gadget to form Black Rose, Dark Strike, Armor Master, and so on is also amazing. Synch it with Kycoo or Breaker for Arcanite, and we're talking major advantage here. Several Gadgeteers, including Robbie Kohl, are testing variants including this card, and Blackwing Shura for maximum utility.


Why run Gadgets over other anti-meta based decks?

Anti-meta based decks, built fully to tech the top deck of the format, admittedly will be better against the top deck than Gadgets. However, put your anti-meta deck against other anti-meta decks, or against any Rogue deck, and it will instantly fail.
Gadgets are much more well-rounded. We’ll typically always beat other anti-meta decks, and do well against the top deck at the same time.
Sure, any anti-meta deck can simplify out its opponent's resources. But if this happens and you aren't gaining advantage, whoever topdecks a more significant card will win. If you run a deck that easily gains advantage, it becomes much more difficult for your opponent to recover.


I have no builds that I am confident enough in at this point to share. PM me though to see my testing bracket, which focusses on Dyna Gadget, CounterGadget (Featuring only 9 monsters), and Tualatin Gadget.

Thanks for the info i liked the ideology behind it. Where did you find it. Also i like that deck build which you posted at the end

I didn't "find" any of it, I wrote the entire thing myself.

Well done i am very impressed with this article i hope that you do many more regarding other deck architypes as well

I usually do one per format. During the Gladiator Beast format, I made one regarding First Turn Kills.

Unsure for the coming format.