Blast Off!

 

A while back, in the days of the Super NES, there was a video game I enjoyed playing. It starred a spaceship that, among other things, could create copies of itself, use various lasers and force fields, and was overall a super-cool craft. That game, and the spaceship, were both named Gradius.

 

Yup, Gradius! Long before it was a card, Gradius was a video game. And the various cards to use with it- Cyclone Laser and Gradius’ Option- were power-ups in the game. And with the recent B.E.S. monsters, as well as the new ‘Victory Viper XX03’ in the new Enemy of Justice booster, I shall now construct a Gradius deck!

 

Note: This deck lacks many staples, but was made for fun play, not competitive.

 

Monsters (17)

 

3 Gradius

2 Gradius’ Option

2 Moai Interceptor Cannons

3 Victory Viper XX03

2 Heavy Mech Support Platform

2 Space Mambo

1 Big Core

1 B.E.S. Covered Core

1 B.E.S. Crystal Core

1 B.E.S. Tetran

 

The B.E.S. cards were all bosses in the game. As for the Moai, they were also enemies in the game. So of course we must include them! The B.E.S. bosses are all Tributes, but our Victory Vipers self-produce Option Tokens we can use as Tributes. The Mech Platform is not a Gradius character. However, it protects our fleet from being destroyed, looks like a spaceship, and powers up our sadly pitifully attack-lacking Gradius fliers. It’s in. Space Mambo does not fit in with the Gradius theme, but does fit in with space. Plus it gives some decent power, so it’s in.

 

Spells (14)

 

2 Enemy Controller

2 Cyclone Laser

3 Power Capsule

2 Luminous Spark

1 Boss Rush

1 Limiter Removal

2 Rush Recklessly

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

 

Here we are. Enemy Controller fits in with the video game idea, and Cyclone Laser and Power Capsule are staples for any Gradius deck. Luminous Spark is needed to power up our ships. Boss Rush keeps out our B.E.S. bosses, and the Limiter Removal is a staple for Machines. Rush Recklessly not only reminds us that the Gradius ship could upgrade its speed, but also lets us power up. Remember, the Options have the same ATK and DEF values as the Gradius/Victory Viper. So increasing the ATK of your lone Gradius/Vic Viper will in turn, power up all your Options! As for MST…it has ‘Space’ in the name, so we have to include it.

 

Traps (9)

 

1 Super Junior Confrontation

2 Riryoku Field

2 Ojama Trio

2 Rare Metalmorph

2 Covering Fire

 

Once again, Super Junior Confrontation is a must-have, if for no other reason than it fits the video game themes. Riryoku Field? Riryoku translates to ‘Force’, so ‘Force Field’ fits our deck nicely, don’t ya think? Ojama Trio gives Victory Viper plenty of targets to pick off to get its effects. Rare Metalmorph powers up our mechanical monsters even more, and gives them protection from spells. As for Covering Fire…again, power up one monster, power them all up.

 

Now blast off with your fleet of warships, and see how your intergalactic deck stands up against the competition! Thoughts on Gradius can be sent to aculp_2@hotmail.com