Box Review: Gaia Genesis Published on August 23, 2018 by superforms

This is the 14th Main Box and was released on August 26, 2018.

Card List

Ultra Rare Cards

Super Rare Cards

Rare Cards

Normal Cards

Top Player Council Thoughts

The Top Player Council : Best performing players in tournaments/KC Cups over a 3-month season.

Overall box rating: 6 / 10. No obvious top-tier decks have jumped out on a first review but multiple strong tech/engine cards like , , and have all received praise from Top Player Council memebers.

On Mermails/Atlanteans

Mistilteinn :

They are missing too many cards to be good. Without or they just don’t have any protection.

Mr. Cellophane :

Mermails and Atlanteans have the tools they need to be a good deck. However, I can see them having consistency issues and lack powerful turn 1 plays. They may need to be mixed with and other Water cards from the previous box Abyss Encounters to make a more viable build.

Jason :

Strong cards, optimization will be needed.

grucius :

It’s a really cool deck, but without Abysslinde and Abyss-sphere it loses a lot of consistency. I don’t think it’s gonna be a tiered deck.

kwrowe :

Underwhelming. They could be a functioning deck that floats at the bottom of the Tier List. Still, that’s disappointing when the hype surrounding their release is considered. They just have no ability to search a boss monster that’s still only a 2400 beater once summoned.

Yehhey :

The archtype we’ve all been waiting for since the original leaks is finally here but the big question is: Did they give us enough to work with? Based on the cards we’ve been given, the Mermail playstyle is similar to how Dark Worlds were when was released; a very all-or-nothing strategy, with minimal followup. We were given who made waves in the TCG because his effect triggered the Atlanteans to stomp fields with and to destroy face-up and face-down cards and search an amazing card. The only issue is that he can’t search anything good here, in the TCG he’d search Abyss-sphere. Both equips available are lackluster and is completely useless. Unfortunately I don’t believe Mermail will be the meta shaker people hoped it would be because of the poor card pool we received. I believe the Atlanteans will do more with and Sea Stealth Attack than with Mermails, because Whale also triggers their effects. We also start with 1 less card in this game than in the TCG so that limits what you can do even more when you go first with 4 cards.

Negative1 :

From my testing, Mermails — and by extension, Atlanteans — will be a sacky deck with very poor recovery. I started with a pure Mermail/Atlantean deck, then transitioned to a Mermail/Atlantean deck with a few SSA cards teched in, and finished with an SSA deck with Mermail/Atlantean cards teched in. Their only searching method is with and even then you are only able to search Atlantean Marksman, , and . If the deck doesn’t start with Mermail Abyssmegalo then it doesn’t have many effective methods to stall or thin for it. In other words: They are garbage.

look at god :

Maybe not all the way there yet. I feel this deck might get the Dark World treatment and have their support be spread out through multiple boxes since it’s a fan favorite deck.

On U.A.s

Mistilteinn :

Same problem as the Mermail support; we got the offensive package and none of the very needed defensive cards. I don’t expect to carry it to Tier 1 alone, but it’s at least better than Mermails. + is a great combo.

Mr. Cellophane :

They have too many Level 5+ monsters and not enough ways to get them out. There may be a way to make them work with Monarch cards or skills like . By themselves they are far too inconsistent to work.

Jason :

Could have some potential, Stadium is really strong.

grucius :

Inconsistent version of Amazoness.

kwrowe :

Brick central. Once set up they’re an upgrade on Fur Hire. But unlike Fur Hire they don’t set up easy and are over-reliant on having Midfielder early.

Yehhey :

U.A.s don’t have a consistent enough way to get Midfielder on the field to go off. We didn’t receive which helps out with the lack of low level monsters. The only consistent way to normal summon without Midfielder and trigger Stadium is to tribute summon with cards like , , or + Cyber Style but that doesn’t seem consistent enough. was also not included in this set and is a key card, negating problematic cards. I think U.A. will be stronger than Mermail and is probably the best standalone archtype in the set, but I’m still undecided if it will change the meta in any way.

Negative1 :

I have not adequately tested U.A.s and am unable to judge their true ability. As of now, I think that they have some interesting plays and combos, but may not be super consistent. Only more testing will tell.

look at god :

I’m ready to dunk on the ladder with this deck. Certified banger.

On the new Gemini support

Mistilteinn :

is awesome support, but I don’t expect Gemini to be good enough to compete.

Mr. Cellophane :

and Gemini Spark are VERY powerful cards. Combined with , , , and I can see them becoming a formidable control deck.

Jason :

Where’s the trash emote?

grucius :

Gemini Spark really helps the Gemini engine, but still isn’t enough to compete against the current top tier decks.

kwrowe :

Most promising support the box has. Gemini Spark is a very good standalone card and could be used in a Gemini deck that had a lot of destruction power and I believe some form of this deck will make the lower end of the Tier List. The slower the format the better this deck will perform.

Yehhey :

Spark is an amazing card and has great range in what it can destroy. It also replaces itself with the draw which not many cards do. The issue with Geminis is lack of special summoning power. After you tribute your monster with Spark your field is wide open, you have no aggressive plays and will have to set tons of backrow.

Negative1 :

Geminis are great if you ignore every interruption card in the meta right now. In other words: They are garbage.

look at god :

In-archetype disruption is really nice for this deck, but I’m not sure if it’s enough to make it legit.

On Koa’ki Meirus

Mistilteinn :

Very cool engine, but it would be so much better if we had or . Will probably act as the new Dark World deck in that it can cheese OTKs with fairly easily.

Mr. Cellophane :

Koa’ki Meirus have many good monsters but without the deck struggles very hard to get going. I think the best use for Koa’kis are to splash them into decks such as Fire Fists that can satisfy their alternative maintenance costs.

Jason :

Trash.

grucius :

This archetype will be fun. Not sure about top tier.

kwrowe :

Trash.

Yehhey :

Traditionally they’ve been anti-meta cards used in side decks. As a whole archtype without they won’t be consistent enough. is probably the best Rare card in the set; it can demolish an established but needs a specific deck built around it if you want it to stick around.

Negative1 :

Koa’ki Meirus self-destruct if you don’t meet specific End Phase requirements; few of their monsters generate advantage, not to mention that their key card, Iron Core of Koa’ki Meiru makes you skip your Draw Phase if you don’t want all of your monsters to get blown up. In other words: They are garbage.

look at god :

The deck is super all-in; you lose if your push gets stopped.

On the Aquaactress/Aquarium archetype

Mistilteinn :

Trash.

Mr. Cellophane :

A very simple beatdown archetype. They might not be able to do enough on their own to be relevant but could be used with other archetypes to make them work.

Jason :

Trash.

kwrowe :

Trash.

Negative1 :

This archetype is quite interesting because of its search power and support cards. I think their biggest problem is not that the cards are bad, but that not enough cards were released to make a full deck. In other words: They are garbage.

look at god :

We don’t have too many cards yet, but I can see the potential in the Aquarium spells. Unfortunately the deck just has no turn 1 plays.

On the new Cloudian support

Mistilteinn :

The better Cloudians arrive, but I fear it is too late to have any real impact. The cards are good but don’t fix the archetype’s issues, especially with cards like and being so popular in the format.

Mr. Cellophane :

Not enough to make Cloudians good.

Jason :

These still exist?

kwrowe :

Trash.

Negative1 :

Cloudians are monsters that have defense from battle destruction, which Amazoness — one of the most popular decks — completely ignores. They also lack special summoning methods to swarm the board. In other words: They are garbage.

look at god :

I mean, with less decks able to run … Nah, nevermind.

On other significant cards

Mistilteinn :

I think is a fantastic card, and it will almost definitely see immediate use. Should not underestimate how good that card is in decks like Amazoness.

Mr. Cellophane :

will definitely see play in Dark World decks and maybe Archfiend decks. Others are talking about Drowning Mirror Force being played in decks like Amazoness but personally I don’t think it will be very relevant as it is fairly easily played around.

Jason :

Drowning Mirror Force.

grucius :

is gonna be a really good card against Amazoness.

kwrowe :

Drowning Mirror Force could be an annoying card when paired with a deck that runs triple . But it’s questionable how much play it will see over . Maybe one to watch though.

Negative1 :

Drowning Mirror Force: is good to destroy an opponent’s monster and Wall of Disruption is good for pacifying large boards, Drowning is good because it can result in material advantage and can shut down a deck like Silent Magician Spellbooks. Even if the card sees fringe use upon release, Drowning will likely see play when Synchros come out. It doesn’t target and shuffles all opposing attackers into the deck (or extra deck).

look at god :

The Gates of Dark World. seems like kind of a good budget card, but I don’t know, there are better traps in the game.

On cards with future potential

Mistilteinn :

is an absurdly broken card, and it doesn’t need a whole lot of support to become a staple card for a ton of Synchro formats in 5D’s.

Mr. Cellophane :

Swap Frog released without any of the other good Frogs might mean Konami has plans to release them all and milk the player base for as much money as possible.

Jason :

The Gates of Dark World, Galaxy Cyclone.

kwrowe :

Not really… Box has left the game with a kind of empty feeling. Lots of original promise but not much actually there. could be nice but we already had that.

Yehhey :

Like most sets we’ve received recently, these archtypes just need a couple more cards to be very powerful. Be on the look out for the TCG cards I mentioned for U.A. and Mermail.

Negative1 :

The Gates of Dark World: Gates may help an OTK/FTK strategy with its thinning power. For all of the wallet warriors out there, best of luck winning coinflips and flexing your URs on everyone else.

Swap Frog: Frogs are a powerful engine; whether the deck becomes good is all about what cards Konami gives us and when.

Overall thoughts: Most of the decks that come from this box will be very sacky, all-in decks. The value of this box will likely be from the tech cards rather than the archetypes, but many of the cards in this set may increase in value if Konami releases even more support for some of these archetypes.

look at god :

Galaxy Cyclone is pretty cool if we ever get back into a grind format. Swap Frog is crazy. is the nuts.

Tell us your own thoughts on the box in the comments below!