Overview
The Ancient Gear archetype debuted in Duel Links in October 2017 with the launch of the event Dr. Crowler's Tricky Tests! At the time, Ancient Gears were used in control decks in tandem with Loading... to be a nuisance to heavy backrow decks. As the meta sped up, the niche of Ancient Gears became outdated and the deck was powercrept off the tier list. However, Ancient Gears received meta defining support in February 2019 with the release of Ancient Gear Awakening structure deck, giving the deck much needed power to allow it to compete with the other top tier decks. Additional support was provided upon the release of Dark Side Of Dimensions in Dark Dimension.
About the Author
Hello! My name is Gregulator and I’m the author of the Ancient Gear Guide on DLM. When I was first introduced to Duel Links, I was drawn to the Ancient Gear archetype by their easy access and cool artwork. It was my very first King of Games decklist and helped me learn how to play the game. Between Ancient Gears’ release and the time of this guide’s publication, I’ve become increasingly involved within the Duel Links community. I irregularly participate in tournaments but I have topped an MCS and multiple Meta Weeklies and won a handful of Anytime tournaments. I actively play in Clan Wars for TCG Clan and the Unforgiven Suspects for Team Wars. It is out of confidence and love for the deck that I decided to write this guide, to share my perspective on the deck and its place in our meta and to help newer players get their foot in the door, just like I did many months ago.
Introduction
Today, Ancient Gears are a beatdown oriented deck focused on swarming the field with Loading... (AGRD) to push for fast OTK or controlling the field with access to their multiple backrow destruction while searching their pieces for next turn OTKs. Ancient Gear’s strength as a deck comes from Loading... and Loading... ’s effect to deny the activation of monster effects upon attack declaration, ignoring Loading... , Loading... , Loading... , Loading... , all Subterror Behemoth Flip effects and effects that trigger by battle destruction like Loading... and Loading... . Ancient Gear decks are also equipped with backrow destruction to be used both offensively and defensively, allowing for flexible plays against an assortment of playstyles. While Ancient Gears are no longer on the tier list, the deck remains a strong choice to reach King of Games and can be a niche pick in certain formats as a counter pick for the foreseeable future.
The goal of this guide will be to introduce the core of an Ancient Gear deck, discuss relevant tech cards, provide sample decks, highlight combos and plays, and analyze common matchups.
Skills
- Middle Age Mechs
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The universally accepted skill, Middle Age Mechs (MAM) plays Loading... (Castle) at the beginning of the user’s first turn. Castle’s effect increases the attack of all Ancient Gear monsters by 300 points. Castle accumulates counters for every normal summon by either player. For every counter placed on Castle, the player may choose to tribute Castle over a monster. This skill accomplishes two things. First, it applies a ton of pressure in tandem with Loading... ’s effect to search an Ancient Gear card from the deck. By Turn 3, Loading... becomes live with either a normal summon from your opponent or with Loading... , which allows any player to tribute summon an Ancient Gear monster for one less tribute.This skill allows Loading... to beat over Loading... , Loading... , Loading... , Loading... , and opposing Reactor Dragons in defense position.
Core Cards
The primary win condition of the deck is to special summon Loading... and abuse its effect to dominate the battle phase. Reactor Dragon shuts off many relevant monster effects and prevents the activation of battle traps. Taking advantage of this feature allows the user to dominate the opponent’s backrow, swing over multiple strong monsters, and control the board with little to no punishment. Core cards in the deck facilitate the summon of Reactor Dragon. Loading... can search it or add Loading... or Loading... from the deck to the hand. Destroying Loading... can special summon Reactor Dragon or Wyvern from the deck, hand, or graveyard, while destroying Loading... can special summon Reactor or Wyvern from the hand or graveyard. Loading... ’s effect allows the normal summon of Reactor Dragon for either one tribute or an Loading... with one counter. Lastly, Loading... provides the deck with recovery in grind games where it can constantly revive Reactor Dragon if the opponent manages to clear it from the board. In tandem with one another, the core of Ancient Gear decks all focus on establishing Reactor Dragon on the board in order to apply pressure and push for game. The following cards
Spell/Trap Destruction
The strength of Ancient Gears relies on their versatile spell and trap removal. These cards are used to destroy Loading... or Loading... to special summon Ancient Gear monsters to swarm the field. Additionally, they can be used to remove the opponent’s backrow, limiting the disruption options for the opponent, ensuring Ancient Gear monsters can be safely summoned. Each card carries their own niche. Loading... is often the best card to facilitate plays in a general sense. Loading... is strong versus backrow decks. Loading... is a great quickplay and stronger in formats with dominant field spells or continuous spell and traps. Similarly, Loading... is essentially Twister as a continuous trap. Loading... is best used when spell negation is common in the meta. Loading... is a F2P alternative and is only recommended to new/budget players.