[Duel Links] KoG Ananta II

Skill: Last Gamble

Monsters: 11
3 Ananta
3 Gagagigo
2 Worm Cartaros
2 Worm Apocalypse
1 Gale Lizard

Spells: 5
3 Econ
1 Nobleman of Extermination
1 Painful Decision

Traps: 4
2 Floodgate
1 Wall of Disruption
1 Anubis

This deck is good enough to only need to Last Gamble maybe 40% of the time while climbing. Last Gamble is slower and risky, and is a fairly unpopular skill competitively. But LG just makes sense to me, as it synergizes with Ananta itself, and can help get rid of cards not appropriate for whatever situation you're in. Tbh rolling a 3 or higher should usually mean you win the game; 2 is meh, and obv a 1 blows. Since there's only one result that's really terrible, I honestly feel like this skill usually works well whenever you need to use it. At least more dependable than Rebrick. I want to try maybe Shadow Game and see how it runs.

The ideal I found is to hopefully pop backrow, then summon an Ananta at 1800+, though it can get much higher if the game goes a while. I won many games by Econ taking, then summoning a big Ananta to push for game. If you have proper protection you can summon it early, hoping to ensure the 2nd Ananta is bigger and can win the game outright. Otherwise you'll be playing small ball with your other Reptiles, tho a key Apocalypse or Gale can open things up, and an 1850 Gagagigo can put damage up quickly sometimes.

Last season I called this deck a meme since it really didn't compare to the top 2 decks both in speed and consistency. But now that CA's and Red Eyes were nerfed, this deck has a better chance to beat them for sure. Apocalypse popping Spirits in the dmg step, and Ananta forcing Red Eyes players to use cards in less optimal situations gives them fits. For CA, if they open busted then it's unfortunate. If you draw into Econ or Floodgate, 5 cards in this deck, it gives you a good chance to get somewhere. A big Ananta after they may have already used MAR can steal games easily. I honestly feel Ninjas are the worst matchup: BDN is insane, and RDN makes your set monsters fairly worthless. The best hope is to get off an Apocalypse effect, then summon an early Ananta and hope they don't have resources.

GB's are tricky, in that Half Shut and maybe Chalice are good cards against this deck. But generally whoever uses their resources the best wins, imo GB's are predictable and can be dealt with if they don't have endless backrows. Also, I feel like certain types of Mill or troll decks are naturally bad matchups, as stuff like Massivemorph and WoD might tilt you if you simply can't find a way to close a game quickly. (Yes, you can banish useless monsters on the field for Ananta, but if you summon it and they have 3 backrow, how often will you be able to take control of the game?) My ideal is to set 2 Apocalypse, draw into Nobleman, flip/play all 3, then LG and win the game. Overall the main reason this deck can lose is drawing into 3 or 4 monsters turn 1 and being overwhelmed, or just a top deck drawing nutty.

I honestly don't think 3 Ananta are absolutely necessary, since you can sometimes open double Ananta and a bunch of backrow cards. I would seriously try 2 Ananta 2 Gale if I had the 2nd copy. If your playstyle is to protect a 600 ATK/DEF Ananta then a 3rd is needed. If your strategy can put pressure on opponents regardless, then Ananta turn 1 isn't the goal 100% of the time, which is what this deck does ideally.

Nobleman is a solid card period, allows you to freely make aggressive turns, can help banish multiples traps from the deck, but you usually pop a set Econ. It's more preferred than AMA since you don't often OTK, and it's easier to play than Xing when drawn from LG. Tbh, every deck needs to either have s/t hate or be willing to grind through, which Ananta can do by itself but it makes games much longer, and you'll need to play the guessing game with the opponent to not take risks. Painful Decision is a new addition to the deck, which lets you thin and get closer to Ananta or good control cards. Definitely a player preference card since it can be dead with just 3 targets in deck, and you need at least 2 to use it at all. Good card for LG fodder, or when a game is grinding out, to set and pop with Ananta at the end phase.

Floodgate is arguably the best trap in the game right now, and is perfect in this deck. Can slow down or outright halt almost any strategy, feel really lucky to have 2 as F2P. Extends the game for the LG turn, allows Ananta to pop other cards the opponent has, gain advantage, etc., it's amazing. WoD and Anubis are fine cards in the format, tho I feel better players won't run right into a WoD, plus GB and AG laugh at it, so I feel it's best as tech rather than a card in multiples you always want to depend on.

Overall I feel like Ananta is very overlooked, not for bad reasons tbh but it's a card you have to try for yourself. I would definitely argue it's better than Ancient Gears or more orthodox Control using Electro's, Heavy Knights, etc which you beat often while climbing with this. GB's could be considered the best control deck rn, but this wouldn't be far behind. IMO this is a Tier 3 deck that simply needs to show itself in a tournament to prove its worth.