[Top 10] Land of the Titans Cards To Aim For

Posted by aboxoftim on May 16, 2017 102

Overview

Hey there, ladies and gents. If you came to see which cards you should be looking out for in the newest mini box, you’ve come to the right place. Land of the Titans, like all mini boxes, is a tight bundle of niche-y cards with only 1 copy of each UR / SR. As the name implies, this box adds support mainly to Rock, Beast, and Plant decks.

That being said, this pack is not without its share of useful cards. Situational or not, you might have already seen them around in both PvE and PvP decks. So without further ado, let’s get into it:

#10: Master Monk

The newest iteration of cheesy OTK, the Monks put Karate Man to shame. The rise in Last Gamble popularity saw more flexibility in single turn all-in decks, Monks included. With Storm support, you can easily surprise and overwhelm your opponent with relatively few cards.

Though coming built in with the effect of Twin Swords of Flashing Light-Tryce, Master Monk comes just short of OTK ability on his own.

This isn’t to say he’s useless if he can’t do so, as 1900 ATK is enough to let him stand by himself against any 4 star monster in the game. The obvious caveat remains the requirement of a Monk Fighter to Tribute, as well as a less than satisfying DEF stat. Cheese at your own risk.

#9: Needlebug Nest

While this card only fills a particular niche, it does so quite well. In a 20 card deck meta, one might be appalled at the idea of self-milling your own deck. However, certain decks revel in the idea of having more cards in their Graveyard, namely Skull Lair/banish decks.

Before, part of the inconsistency of running these was it relied heavily on Magical Merchant to mill a monster-heavy deck, providing ammo for Skull Lair. Despite the odds, a number of things could go wrong causing very few cards to actually reach the Graveyard, leaving you vulnerable.

For this purpose, Needlebug Nest serves as a well-needed boost, helping cards like Bazoo the Soul-Eater power through to victory.

#8: Dust Knight

Another fairly niche-y card, Dust Knight brings a unique kind of utility to Duel Links. His Flip Effect allows you to pick and choose any Earth monster from your Deck straight to the Graveyard.

This directly benefits decks like Baboons(more on them later) or Magnet Warriors. When partnered with Delta the Magnet Warrior, preparing the required Valkyrion materials became a lot easier.

One thing to take into account: unlike Delta, Dusk Knight’s is a Flip Effect, meaning it must be Set, making it vulnerable to cards such as Relinquished and Soul Exchange where he’s not given a chance to flip.

#7: Megarock Dragon

A potential powerhouse for the up and coming Magnet Warrior decks. as the core monsters are all Rock, and the goal is to get them into the Graveyard. Thus, in the event that Valkyrion cannot be summoned, Megarock Dragon provides a powerful alternative.

No pushover by any means, Megarock only needs 3 Rock monsters to reach a respectable 2100 ATK, enough to deal with most any standard frontliner. Take note that both his ATK and DEF are boosted by 700 per monster, ensuring his safety post-Enemy Controller/Windstorm.

Also important to note is that his original stats are 0/0, meaning that everyone’s favorite Ritual monster receives no benefit from taking him. Megarock Dragon is loyal to you and you only.

#6: Amarylease

A boon for decks that revolve around Tribute Summoning, this lonely flower is deceptively useful. It can best be seen as a new and improved version of Cost Down. Rather than discard 1 card, Amarylease acts as frontline fodder for 1 turn before it truly shines.

Amarylease unlocks the ability to Normal Summon 5-6 star monsters without Tributes, letting you immediately slap down monsters like B.E.S. Big Core or Beast of Talwar, surprising and overwhelming your opponent.

If run in tandem with cards like Soul Exchange and The Fiend Megacyber, a Tribute focused deck could see great success in PvP.

#5: Yellow Baboon, Archer of the Forest

The flagships of the Mini-box, the Baboons are a force to be reckoned. Although I didn’t want to take up two separate slots, both Yellow and Green Baboons are worthy of mentioning.

Don’t let their 7 star status dissuade you; they are deceptively easy to summon. Both have identical stats, sitting at a sizable 2600 ATK and a decent 1800 DEF, allowing them to steamroll most any opposition in the meta.

Yellow Baboon takes the title since his summoning conditions are more flexible, more so when employing cards such as Bubonic Vermin. By quickly filling your Graveyard with usable Beast cards, Ol’ Yellow can quickly take to the field and start dealing some damage.

His partner in crime, Green Baboon also has his own flexibility in summoning, although the 1000 LP cost makes him slightly less desirable. Lil Green is unique in that he can be summoned from the hand or the Graveyard, effectively giving him multiple lives.

As mentioned previously, Dust Knight can expedite this process by yanking him straight from the Deck to the Graveyard, both thinning your deck and setting up a future power play.

#4: Gearfried the Swordmaster

“This isn’t even my final form”

The powerhouse for the latest Gearfried Last Gamble decks, this card was first seen in Level 57 Equip and Destroy SDs.

The utility is undeniable; whether using Smoke Grenade on Iron Knight or Storm’ing equips on Swordmaster, literally no card your opponent has is safe, be it hand, frontline, or backline.

The stats are also nothing to be scoffed at, with a hefty 2600 ATK and 2200 DEF. Better still is the OTK potential; seeing as Swordmaster is 1400 away from 4000, two 700 ATK Equips are needed.

Appropriate cards include Shine Palace from Pegasus and Stim-Pack from Bandit Keith, allowing you to clear the frontline, then go for the kill.

#3: Retort

Don’t let it’s Normal tag fool you. Upon reaching Plat, the backline pool becomes extremely shallow. Everyone is trying their absolute hardest to reach King of Games, meaning only the most meta cards/decks around.

The standard staples of any high-level deck include Mirror Wall, Enemy Controller, and Windstorm of Etaqua, making this card is more applicable than one would think.

Retort ensures that whoever acts first will gain the advantage. This is even more so the case for mirror matches. If you play Relinquished, you’re more than likely to run into someone with a carbon copy of your deck.

However, if you tech in a Retort or two, you suddenly have a huge safety net. Should you summon your Relinquished first, you can not only negate his summon, but also set up your 2nd Relinquished.

The same can be said for Storm reliant decks. Usually, you’re encouraged to lie in wait until your opponent fills their backline, then Storm it all. But in a Joey vs Joey mirror, having Retort lets you Storm first, negate any opposing Storms, AND recycle your own Storm.

Mirror matches aside, you can play extremely aggressive with Enemy Controller and even “waste” Mirror Wall on sub-optimal plays. At the highest level of PvP, this card will see great success.

#2: Security Orb

Another case where a card’s rarity tag belies its usefulness. In short, Security Orb can best be described as an mashup of Enemy Controller and Wild Tornado. While both cards had secondary effects, one is an SR and the other needs luck with Kaiba farming. For a Rare card, providing the best of both words is more than one can ask for.

Security Orb arguably does a better job and is more relevant in today’s meta. Ignoring Tribute-Take plays, the primary role of Enemy Controller was to stop an attack. Similarly, Wild Tornado’s main purpose is to be destroyed while face-down in order to remove a face-up card (usually the opponent’s monster).

There is a caveat however, in that you can’t Storm your own Security Orb; your opponent has to destroy it. But this shouldn’t be a huge problem as a good chunk of the meta focuses on doing this anyway, namely HHG, Last Gamble, Bluff Trap, and Gaia decks.

Even those that already have Enemy Controllers should definitely consider running Security Orb as an cheaper alternative with a twist in utility.

#1: Gearfried the Iron Knight

When it comes down to raw stats, utility, and just overall versatility, Gearfried stands as possibly the best 4 star beater available in Duel Links.

Though flagships like Dunames Dark Witch and Jerry Beans Man served as the defining elements of the beater meta, their strength came at a crippling cost; their abysmal defense. Following an Enemy Controller / Windstorm, anything not named Sphere Kuriboh could finish them off.

As such, the secure option would be Warrior Dai Grepher, until now. Gearfried has the best of both worlds with an unconditional 1800/1600, the highest raw stats of any 4 star in the game.

Being immune to Mask of the Accursed is also icing on the cake. Years after the anime, Gearfried still finds ways to screw Weevil over.

Gearfried brings a special kind of utility to the game first seen in Level 40 Joey, and later in Level 57 SD’s Equip and Destroy deck. He unlocks one of the few ways to target your opponent’s hand: Smoke Grenade of the Thief. Sphere Kuriboh is no longer safe. Holding Relinquished? Oh no you don’t.

Ironically, the latest Gearfried Last Gamble decks can counter each other. Whoever cracks first, activates Last Gamble, and drops to 100 LP makes themselves susceptible to a Gearfried + Black Pendant combo, finishing the opponent off with a quick burn.

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Though Flame of the Tyrant and Wonders of the Sky offer tough competition, this still Mini-box manages to stand out. Offering refreshers to an otherwise stale PvP meta, Land of the Titans is definitely not to be ignored.