Welcome to Gaia! ::

So, first to explain what is in the tiny text. Inside of it are the records of YCS, WCQ and SJC from January 2007 (the release of Gadgets) to now. I've marked when Mayhem was released.

So let's start with this beautiful chart.





Basically what I'm showing here is the topping of decks using Gadgets. The red bars are original Gadgets (no STUN or Machina), the blue are Machina Gadgets, and the green are Gadget STUN. The black bar shows the release date of Machina Mayhem. Below you will find a table of the variations on numbers, in case you get confused by the colorful chart. As you can see most of the tops with Gadgets in the TCG meta are from Machina variations. This shows that it's the Machina side of the house that's giving Gadgets any kind of lime light.



Now why is this? Why Gadgets over other kinds of machines? Well, of all the machine archtypes, outside of Machina, Gadgets are the most structurally sound. They are self replacing cards that help thin the deck. Thus, they are easily mixed in with the Machina archtype.

Now, how were these decks topping? Well, we already know how Gadgets are supposed to work from the original deck dubbed "5th Gadget" that ran nine gadgets total and supported them with a plethora of one for one spells and traps. A gadget deck uses the deck thinning and constant flow of gadgets to continue to have monsters in hand for front row presence while utilizing a lot of one for one spells and traps to simplify as much as possible and end up with positive card count to the opponent's zero card count. Their opponent would end up top decking and the gadget player would have the resources to answer whatever they top deck. Gadget STUN was basically no different. It took the theory behind 5th Gadget and applied more universal counters to it. Thunder Kings and Doomcaliber Knights were slipped into the deck and the nine gadget count was dropped to six. So, we could really count the Gadget STUN in with the Gadgets of our chart and table. I did not make a second set of each because Gadgets vanished from both as it was. Just look at green and think red and you'll see it.

So, what made Machina Gadgets so much better? Obviously, the Machina side of the house. Machina is what was winning it, not the Gadgets. Original Machina Gadget lists did build off of the original gadget theory of simplification but you look later and you see that they deviate. Yes they simplify but they brought in more answers to the back breaking Cyber Dragon. Especially in the side deck as most people were siding the Cyber Dragons for the match up. Books of Moon, Bottomless Trap Hole, Solemn Warning, even Zombie World saw play time, all to counter the ridiculousness of Cyber Dragon.

But our intention here is to show that Gadgets are terrible. As I already stated the charts show that it was Machina that made their victories possible, not the Gadgets themselves. The use of Gadgets was merely consequence as the best synergy for the Machina archtype.

Now, you may be thinking, "But they are still topping." Yes but we are in a new format. New formats always begin with a mass of diversity and falling back on things that players know to be stable. A lot of players go to events at this time not exactly sure of what they should be expecting. Sidedecks are built to counter the known biggest threats; Samurai, Plants, X-Sabers, Gravekeeper's, Fish OTK and Formula Monarchs. Gladiator Beasts and Machina are decent choices as they are less sided against and less combo oriented, meaning they are more structurally sound. But, with Machina losing two of their Books of Moon as counters to the Cyber Dragon plays, the release of Trishula, the increased play of Effect Veiler, and so on, their innate ability to stand against main decks and even side decks is starting to dwindle. While they were a decent choice at the beginning of the format, their effectiveness will continue to drop. Of course, this is theory and has yet to be seen but the theory is sound.

Machina will continue to be a good fall back deck that is able to side swipe those who do not expect it to be seen. It will also continue to be able to lucksack like a champion with silly plays like Limiter Removal. However, use of the Gadget archetype is also very likely to drop due to the increased support being released for the Karakuri archetype. Already we've been seeing Karakuri Machina Plants taking up the reigns as a better Machina supporting deck, especially given its OTK potential. Aside from the OTK deck, Karakuris themselves have a lot more flexibility in their playstyle than the straight forward Gadget variation.

As we know and have known for years, the more flexible decks are generally the better to play. This theory is generally only broken by decks whose basic focus is the OTK (Frog FTK, KMP, etc etc) or utter control by a single line of play (Samurai, X-Sabers).

Gadgets and now Machina Gadgets are things of the past. Things to be remembered due to the theory (simplification with continuous replacement) and specific cards (Machina Gearframe and Fortress) that pushed them to victory in their times.

Thanks goes out to Mustard for collecting the below information.
SJC St. Louis February 2007 - None
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugiohc2cd.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=8094

SJC Houston March 2007 - One Gadget
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugioh20d0.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=8161

SJC Columbus March 2007 - One Gadgets
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugiohe2cd.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=8250

SJC Montreal April 2007 - None
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugiohd3f4.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=8330

SJC Anaheim April 2007 - None
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugioh8226.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=8401

SJC Philadelphia May 2007 - None
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugioh63f4.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=8464

UK Nationals May 2007 - One Gadgets
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugiohec4a.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=8483

SJC Minneapolis June 2007 - One Gadgets
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugioha114.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=8519

Canadian Nationals June 2007 - One Gadgets
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugioh3cfc.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=8576

US Nationals June 2007 - None
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugiohdd98.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=8632

European Nationals July 2007 - None
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugioh4a8e.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=8702

SJC Detroit July 2007 - None
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugioh3ff0.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=8791

SJC Indianapolis August 2007 - None
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugioh3f64.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=8867

SJC District of Columbia September 2007 - Two Gadgets
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugioh286f.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=8947

SJC Chicago September 2007 - Two Gadgets
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugiohcfe3.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=8996

SJC Durham October 2007 - None

http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugiohc18b.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=9062

SJC San Mateo December 2007 - None
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugiohf031.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=9155

SJC Orlando January 2008 - Four Gadgets
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugiohe321.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=9266

SJC Houston February 2008 - None
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugiohc870.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=9337

SJC Costa Mesa March 2008 - Two Gadgets
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugioh3ff8.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=9427

SJC Columbus March 2008 - None
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugioh71d3.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=9494

SJC Nashville May 2008 - None
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugioha58f.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=9619

United States Nationals June 2008 - One Gadget
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugiohad48.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=9762

Canadian Nationals June 2008 - None
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugioh84a5.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=9820

SJC Philadelphia July 2008 - None
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugiohb50f.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=9865

SJC Honolulu July 2008 - None
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugioh214c.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=9915

SJC Toronto July 2008 - None
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugiohbccd.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=9977

SJC Indianapolis August 2008 - None
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugioh3cbc.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=10048

SJC Baltimore July 2008 - None
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugiohd5f3.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=10116

SJC Tulsa July 2008 - None
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugioha731.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=10181

SJC Seatle October 2008 - None
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugioh9551.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=10234

SJC Charlotte October 2008 - None
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugiohbcce.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=10292

SJC Chicago November 2008 - None
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugiohb866.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=10368

SJC Atlanta November 2008 - None
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugioh1ac2.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=10419

SJC Detroit December 2008 - One Gadget STUN
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugiohdf4e.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=10472

SJC San Francisco January 2009 - None
http://gillysgonnawalk.com/metagame/yugiohc119.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=10558

-----------DISCLAIMER--------------

SJC Austin October 2009 - None
http://www.konami.com/yugioh/blog/?p=584

SJC Columbus November 2009 - None
http://www.konami.com/yugioh/blog/?p=1070

SJC Los Angelos January 2010 - None
http://www.konami.com/yugioh/blog/?p=1527

23 February 2010 - Machina Mayhem Released!

Changes in Ban List 01 March 2010

SJC Nashville March 2010 - None
http://www.konami.com/yugioh/blog/?p=1856#more-1856 

SJC Edison April 2010 - One Machina Gadgets, one Gadget STUN
http://www.konami.com/yugioh/blog/?p=2327

YCS Washington May 2010 - Two Machina Gadgets
http://www.konami.com/yugioh/blog/?p=2597

YCS Chicago June 2010 - One Machina Gadgets
http://www.konami.com/yugioh/blog/?p=2928

United States WCQ July 2010 - Two Machina Gadgets
http://www.konami.com/yugioh/blog/?p=3347#more-3347

Canada WCQ July 2010 - One Gadget STUN
http://www.konami.com/yugioh/blog/?p=3015

South America WCQ July 2010 - None
http://www.konami.com/yugioh/blog/?p=3012

Gen Con Indy August 2010 - None
http://www.konami.com/yugioh/blog/?p=3564

Changes in Ban List 01 September 2010

YCS Toronto September 2010 - One Machina Gadget
http://www.konami.com/yugioh/blog/?p=3893

YCS San Jose September 2010 - Three Machina Gadgets
http://www.konami.com/yugioh/blog/?p=4187

YCS Philadelphia October 2010 - Two Machina Gadgets
http://www.konami.com/yugioh/blog/?p=4497

YCS Atlanta November 2010 - One Machina Gadgets
http://www.konami.com/yugioh/blog/?p=4861

YCS Dallas February 2011 - Two Machina Gadgets
http://www.konami.com/yugioh/blog/?p=5172

Changes in Ban List 01 March 2011


YCS Charlotte March 2011 - None
http://www.konami.com/yugioh/blog/?p=5393

YCS Anaheim April 2011 - One Machina Gadgets
]http://www.konami.com/yugioh/blog/?p=5695#more-5695

The possibility exists if they start dropping Ultimate Offering and/or Double Summon (the -1 is zeroized by the second Gadget's summon, just throwing stuff at the wall). I actually hadn't considered Exceeds myself as the argument was born out of the current TCG format. If the OCG says anything it won't be too capable compared to everything else.

As for their Exceed capability...

The biggest issue will be getting two lv4s out at a time. Previously I'd let them drop two or even three Gadgets before sweeping through them but now I'll have to nail them immediately. Puppet Plant is a little more situational, given it's really only sided against GKs and Samurai. Mind Control could be an issue but, from what I've seen, most cards in the current format aren't lv4. Those that are usually don't stay on the field long.

If they were to become too popular though, due to Exceeds, you would likely start seeing Electric Virus to do the exact same thing right back to them.

Good catch, I'll look into it more when I wake up. I'm very tired.

I've actually known for a while now that gadgets weren't all that good, aside from deck thinning.

they have no decent support, low stats, no chance of making it past the plethora of cards that can take them out.

I'm pleased to see this article posted, and I look forward to more like it.

I was about to argue that gadgets are good, but then one of my friends has a gadget deck, and i always win with my peice of Sh*t Irl deck, and then this other kid at my school made a machina deck and it's better than most things there...

i agree with GM on this one.


Also gm would you like me too post the deck i use irl so you can have a heart attack? blaugh


EDIT- also whats the big black line at the start of 2010?

I thought GM was a dude....in which case slut = player (Ain't double standards wonderful?) then again i gave up figuring people's gender when i found out Mustard was a dude....

Anyway dude, give it up she beat all of your "arguments" and now you are resorting to name calling which means you ran out of arguments (assuming you had some to begin with) and therefore lost. Just accept your defeat and move on....


PS: GM you mind taking a look at my scrap deck?

First, LabyrinthKnight, you haven't seen the whole conversation..... Don't make asumptions...

Second, I left this guild, STOP quoting me.

Third, Gravitational Molestation, you're dumb beyond imagination. You obviously can't read and comprehend correctly, so why bother arguing? And practice what you preach, your last post had nothing relevant either, aswell as you saying the statements I was apparently making.

"Not in the slightest Babycakes" -Great argument there, also, you forgot your comma.

"No, no you didn't" -Once again, bravo to your stunning support.

"No kid, they are terrible. Gadgets are bad, it's a very simple thing. Machina is what wins, not the Gadgets. Machina is decent and Gadgets are flat out bad in this format." -Must I repeat myself? Telling me they are bad doesn't support your argument no matter how many times you say it.

And the rest of your post has been the same thing...

And for the last time, do NOT quote me.

No? Stop arguing and I'll stop replying Babycakes.

Derp, most of my last post was pointing you to the first post of this thread.

Oh yeah, it's all just me saying "No". I couldn't have motioned you towards the first post of this thread at all, right? No way. Oh wait, I did! TWICE!

Um... no? It's most definitely not against ToS to quote you. Especially since you just said you left the guild, it'd be very easy to ignore the quoting post.

This is very true. I've not seen anything in the OCG local tournaments on Shriek that mentions a gadget Exceed deck winning.

Sams and GKs do tend to have a lot of level 4s on the field, while puppet plant ALSO works well vs. heroes, since they tend not to have more than one monster on the field. Those are the decks I would expect these kinds of antics to be used against. It's a nice little consistency buff against decks that overpower them. Any deck can do it, but only they get the continual +1s for doing so.

Electric virus is currently on my "im not sure if I should side deck it" list, due to the recent rise in KMP. It nails about every monster they summon, synchro or main deck. Also, yea, lets me do it to them.

Here to help. I just saw you made a pretty thorough post, and thought I would bring up what I've been noticing from them.