Archetype Analysis: B.E.S.

Last updated: 09.01.2023

“B.E.S. Big Core“, “B.E.S. Tetran“, and “B.E.S. Crystal Core” in the artwork of “Boss Rush“.

Back in the day, when Synchro, Xyz, Pendulum and Link Summoning were yet unknown concepts and big monsters still entered the field from the hand via Tribute Summon, there was an edition called Rise of Destiny. The main cards you wanted to draw from it was “Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch“, one of the earliest spawns of the “Monarch” series, and “The Creator“, which was the monster printed on the front of those booster packs. In midst the medley of mostly forgotten cards from the mid-2000s, there was a card called “Big Core“, a seemingly weak tribute monster with a battle protection effect based on counters. Back then no one could have known that this one monster would spawn an entire archetype we now know as “B.E.S.” and which is, unsurprisingly, the theme of this article.

Disclaimer: None of the information given by me is set in stone. Having an open mind in deck building and including creative ideas is always helpful, if only to further understand the playstyle and strategy of the deck you are about to build. There are probably choices that I list which can be labled as debatable, but no platform I know of gives a broad overview over both the archetypes and all the card choices, so I aimed to do just that. I will try to keep this page (as well as the other ones, once they are made) up-to-date, so if any reader feels like I skipped some amazing tech choice or a crucial card, just drop me a note and I will add the missing information if necessary. Furthermore, I use a number of sources for ideas and information, so a list with links that I deem useful is attached to the end of the page and credit is given whenever I can point to a source to do so.

“B.E.S.” is a Machine archetype which consists entirely of Tribute monsters; or at least monsters with a minimum level of 5. They all enter the field with counters of no further description, which are removed whenever the monsters fight and give them battle protection for as long as they have said counters. All of the monsters automatically destroy themselves whenever they fight without any of those non-descript counters. The deck itself functions in a rather unique way, which you will see right away with the first card we are going to look at:

Archetype:

Name: “B.E.F. Zelos“
Type: Field Spell

When this card is activated: You can add 1 "Boss Rush" from your Deck to your hand. All "B.E.S." monsters you control gain 500 ATK and DEF, your opponent cannot target them with card effects, and they cannot be destroyed by your opponent's card effects. Once per turn: You can Special Summon 1 "B.E.S." monster from your hand. If a "B.E.S." monster(s) is Normal or Special Summoned to your field: Place 1 counter on it.

I normally start the “Archetype” section with the Main Deck monsters, since most archetypes have strategies that are mostly executed by monsters and their effects all while they are further supported by Spell/Trap support. “B.E.S.” is one of the exceptions to this rule and you will shortly see why this is the case. Enter stage left, the “B.E.S.” Field Spell “B.E.F. Zelos”. I cannot stress enough how important this card is to the survival of the deck; protect this piece of cardboard with your life, because you will certainly run out of options and life points if you don’t. So, let us talk about the myriad of effects “B.E.F. Zelos” brings to the table: When activated, you can search one “Boss Rush” from your deck, which does not help us at the moment, but is the next card I will be talking about. For now, just keep in mind that playing “B.E.F. Zelos” is technically neutral in card economy terms without even looking at any other effects. All “B.E.S.” monsters gain a bonus 500 ATK and DEF, boosting an archetype that consists entirely of big spaceships even further. Your opponent cannot target your “B.E.S.” monsters with card effects and they cannot be destroyed by opposing card effects, which is added protection in addition to the battle protection via counters. Furthermore, you can Special Summon one “B.E.S.” monster from your hand once per turn, which is amazing since you can simply throw out beatsticks like nobody’s business. And lastly, “B.E.S.” monsters that are summoned to your field gain one extra counter, which means that they even gain one if they would normally not have any since they were summoned the wrong way. This card with two “B.E.S.” monsters and a “Limiter Removal” is pretty much always threatening the opponent for an OTK, and even without such a setup “B.E.F. Zelos” has everything you need and more. At the risk of repeating myself, all this is both a blessing and a curse, since on one hand the card is fantastic and of paramount importance to all your plays but on the other hand means that it is also your main weakness due to a total lack of any protection for the Field Spell, a fact that any cunning opponent will use against you. In short, “B.E.F. Zelos” is an amazing card and basically the reason “B.E.S.” even works as an archetype. If you could play five copies you should do it, but since that is illegal, you have to work with the three copies that you are allowed to play.

Recommended copies: 3

Name: “Boss Rush“
Type: Continuous Spell

You cannot Normal Summon or Set. During the End Phase of the turn that a "B.E.S." monster or a "Big Core" is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, you can Special Summon 1 "B.E.S." monster or 1 "Big Core" from your Deck.

The next and last card in the backrow (yes, really) of the “B.E.S.” archetype is the aforementioned “Boss Rush”. You might remember that “B.E.F. Zelos” searches a copy of it when activated, so playing the Field Spell automatically nets you the full combo. “Boss Rush” is a Continous Spell that starts by prohibiting you from summoning via Normal Summons and Sets. While this is odd, keep in mind that we are talking about an archetype that starts at Level 5 in the monster line-up, of which none will be summoned via tribute if everything works out. Therefore, while this drawback seems quite severe, it all makes perfect sense when looking at the second effect: If you lost a “B.E.S.” monster due to a destruction effect, you can search for another one during the End Phase of that turn and Special Summon it to the field. There is a number of facts that make this card rather interesting: Multiple “Boss Rush” cards will allow you to search more monsters since you can fetch one for each copy even if only one monster was destroyed. Also, the effect of “Boss Rush” does not care how exactly the “B.E.S.” monster was destroyed, so there is a wide variety of cards that blast the entire field to smithereens like “Dark Hole” or “Interrupted Kaiju Slumber” and causes only you come out card positive. Even “Limiter Removal” works for that effect, so boosting all your spaceships to 5000 ATK and swinging with them only to restore your board during the End Phase is totally legitimate. “Boss Rush” is a vital part of the “B.E.S.” strategy and searchable by the most important card in the archetype, which is why I would run three copies of it.

Recommended copies: 3

Since I already do the entire line-up out of order, I will now continue with the monster in order of release rather than the alphabetical order. The reason is that the archetype grew (very slowly) into its current shape over the course of the last fifteen years, and while there are old options that are perfectly playable, it makes more sense to me to go through them this way.

Name: “B.E.S. Big Core“
Level/Rank: 6
ATK/DEF: 2300/1100
Attribute/Type: Dark Machine

If this card is Normal Summoned: Place 3 counters on it. Cannot be destroyed by battle. At the end of the Damage Step, if this card battled: Remove 1 counter from this card. If you cannot, destroy it.

In the monster line-up, we start with the aforementioned “B.E.S. Big Core”, also simply known as “Big Core” on the older releases. “B.E.S. Big Core” is as bog standard as it gets with “B.E.S” monsters. With 2300 ATK, it was unable to defeat the ever-present army of “Monarchs” that inhabited every deck back in the day, making it irrelevant as a counter option since it could not destroy them in battle. Nowadays, the stats are less important, but more damaging is the fact that “B.E.S. Big Core” only receives its battle protection counters when Normal Summoned. Since playing “Boss Rush” is part of the standard play and Special Summoning the monsters to the field is actually the number one method, “B.E.S. Big Core” will enter the field with no counters most of the time and therefore die instantly in battle if something decides to take it on. Granted, it will gain a counter when summoned via “B.E.F. Zelos“, but there are better options to consider which might not enter with the full number of counters when summoned via Special Summons, but at least have effects to make up for it. “B.E.S. Big Core” is, while being the original “B.E.S.” monster, still horribly outdated and normally played at zero copies.

Recommended copies: 0

Name: “B.E.S. Crystal Core“
Level/Rank: 5
ATK/DEF: 2100/1000
Attribute/Type: Water Machine

When this card is Normal Summoned, put 3 counters on it. This card cannot be destroyed by battle. If this card attacks or is attacked, remove 1 counter from this card at the end of the Damage Step. If you cannot, destroy it. Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you can change 1 face-up Attack Position monster your opponent controls to face-up Defense Position.

Next up is “B.E.S. Crystal Core”. “B.E.S. Crystal Core” is a straight upgrade of “B.E.S. Big Core” even considering the lower Level and lower stats. It gains counters the same way “B.E.S. Big Core” does (meaning via Normal Summon), but the fact that makes “Crystal Core” better is the added effect that allows it to interact with said counters. “B.E.S. Crystal Core” can remove one counter from itself during the Main Phase to change to battle position of one face-up Attack Position monster your opponent controls into face-up Defense Position. Granted, that is not the most powerful effect imageable, but many heavy hitters suffer from low DEF, which potentially allows the “B.E.S.” monsters to kick over them without wasting cards like “Limiter Removal“. The counters needed for this effect come from “B.E.F. Zelos“, which simply summons “B.E.S. Crystal Core”, as well as any other “B.E.S.” monster, with one counter when it enters the field, therefore allowing it to use its effect. Overall, “B.E.S. Crystal Core” is only slightly better than “B.E.S. Big Core“, but the effect allows it to be somewhat useful at up to one copy.

Recommended copies: 0-1

Name: “B.E.S. Tetran“
Level/Rank: 6
ATK/DEF: 1800/2300
Attribute/Type: Wind Machine

When this card is Normal Summoned, put 3 counters on it. This card cannot be destroyed by battle. If this card attacks or is attacked, remove 1 counter from this card at the end of the Damage Step. If you cannot, destroy it. Once per turn, you can remove 1 counter on this card to destroy 1 Spell or Trap Card on the field.

Exactly one edition after “B.E.S. Crystal Core” saw the light of day, “B.E.S. Tetran” spawned into existence. Unsurprisingly, it does much of the same: It shares its Level of 6 with “B.E.S. Big Core“, so you can get Rank 6 Xyz Monsters onto field should you actually decide to run the original “B.E.S.” monster. Stat-wise, “B.E.S. Tetran” is more defensively minded and it still only gains its counters by being summoned via Normal Summon. The change comes with its extra effect, which allows the player to remove one counter to destroy one Spell/Trap card on the field. This makes “B.E.S. Tetran” one of the main ways to deal with pesky backrow, since the rest of the deck is normally more focussed on monster destruction, with the “B.E.S.” cards exclusively dealing with their problems by battle. “B.E.S- Tetran” is also by no means a good card, but it does its job with “B.E.F. Zelos” which is why I would give it one to two deck slots.

Recommended copies: 1-2

Name: “B.E.S. Covered Core“
Level/Rank: 7
ATK/DEF: 2500/800
Attribute/Type: Earth Machine

When this card is Normal Summoned, put 2 counters on it. This card cannot be destroyed by battle. If this card attacks or is attacked, at the end of the Damage Step toss a coin and call it. If you call it wrong, remove 1 counter. If this card battles without a counter, destroy it at the end of the Damage Step.

Next up is a card that feels to me like we are taking a step back in the “B.E.S.” card design: “B.E.S. Covered Core”. If you ever want to give this card its standard amount of counters, (which is only two in this case and not three like any other “B.E.S.” monster covered so far), you have to tribute two monsters since its Level is 7. And even then, it does not offer an added effect that you can simply pump a counter into. “B.E.S. Covered Core” does not automatically lose a counter after battle, instead it calls for a coin toss and if you called correctly, no counter is removed after battle. Should you guess wrong “B.E.S. Covered Core” works exactly like the rest of the “B.E.S.” monster, simply losing a counter with no further bonus or drawback. While this effect potentially gives enough longevity to “B.E.S. Covered Core” to survive even four or five attacks, realistically speaking this effect will never pay for itself and you will rarely ever use it. “B.E.S. Covered Core” is therefore an oddball of an archetype member. You can run it if you want to; I personally do not give up any deck space for a coin flip card without any further benefit to the overall strategy.

Recommended copies: 0

Name: “B.E.S. Big Core MK-2“
Level/Rank: 6
ATK/DEF: 2400/1100
Attribute/Type: Fire Machine

If you control no monsters, you can Normal Summon this card without Tributing. When this card is Special Summoned, place 3 counters on it. This card cannot be destroyed by battle. If this card attacks or is attacked, remove 1 counter from this card at the end of the Damage Step. If you cannot, destroy it.

Jumping a few years ahead, we get to the first really useful “B.E.S.” member: “B.E.S. Big Core MK-2”. After “B.E.S. Big Core” got its rework to MK-2, the ATK stat finally managed to get up to 2400, which unfortunately was less relevant at that point in time because Synchro Monsters were just around the corner. The really important part comes with its summoning condition though: If you control no monsters, you can Normal Summon “B.E.S. Big Core MK-2” without needing any tribute. That means that you can start your plays (if you do not have “Boss Rush” or intend to not play it during that turn) by simply summoning this guy as a Normal Summon and then continue with the Special Summon via “B.E.F. Zelos” to have a decent field assembled. This obviously also means that “Big Core MK-2” is finally a “B.E.S.” monster that enters the field with all its counters and therefore can actually function as a wall against battle-focussed archetypes. “B.E.S. Big Core MK-2” was, and still is, the next step in the “B.E.S.” board building capability, and should be run with two to three copies in my humble opinion.

Recommended copies: 2-3

Name: “B.E.S. Big Core MK-3“
Level/Rank: 8
ATK/DEF: 2700/1900
Attribute/Type: Light Machine

If your opponent controls a monster and you control no monsters, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand) in Defense Position. If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: Place 3 counters on this card. Cannot be destroyed by battle. At the end of the Damage Step, if this card battled: Remove 1 counter from this card. If you cannot, destroy it. You can banish this card from your Graveyard; shuffle all "B.E.S." monsters from your Graveyard into the Deck.

And then there was silence around the “B.E.S.” archetype. From 2009 till 2017, “B.E.S.” existed as an archetype, yes, but it was nearly unplayable and the few times it was mentioned in Yugioh media it was also categorized as such (for example in Rata’s “Legacy of the Worthless” series). With the release of Maximum Crisis however, the “B.E.S.” archetype had its own personal exodus: Both “B.E.F. Zelos” and the “B.E.S. Big Core MK-3” came out and changed the way “B.E.S.” should work in the future. While “B.E.F. Zelos” is the craziest card in power level terms, “Big Core MK-3” does not need to hide in shame: Level 8 and a juicy 2700 ATK stat is paired with a “Cyber Dragon“-esque effect, allowing you to simply Special Summon “B.E.S. Big Core MK-3” if the opponent controls a monster and you do not. And to add to that, “B.E.S. Big Core MK-3” gains the full amount of counters regardless of summoning procedure. Furthermore, you can also banish “B.E.S. Big Core MK-3” from your gravevard to shuffle all “B.E.S.” monsters from your graveyard back into the deck to work against the monster loss introduced by extensively using “Boss Rush“. All this makes “B.E.S. Big Core MK-3” an absolute powerhouse of a card, which gets even better under “B.E.F. Zelos” with nigh indestructability, 3200 ATK and 4 counters to battle with. This one is certainly worth three places in your deck.

Recommended copies: 3

Name: “B.E.S. Blaster Cannon Core“
Level/Rank: 9
ATK/DEF: 2500/3000
Attribute/Type: Earth Machine

If your opponent controls more monsters than you do, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand). You can only Special Summon "B.E.S. Blaster Cannon Core" once per turn this way. If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: Place 3 counters on this card. Cannot be destroyed by battle. At the end of the Damage Step, if this card battled: Remove 1 counter from this card. If you cannot, destroy it.

This brings us to the newest and last member of the “B.E.S.” line-up: “B.E.S. Blaster Cannon Core”. This is simply the culmination of everything “B.E.S.” has worked towards so far. “B.E.S. Blaster Cannon Core” has no fancy effect for its counters, instead it has everything else desireable in “B.E.S.”: The stats are amazing with an ATK stat of 3000 when boosted with “B.E.F. Zelos” and it gains the full amount of counters no matter how it was summoned. Talking about summoning, “B.E.S. Blaster Cannon Core” has also the easiest requirement for the Special Summon, simply asking for more monsters on the opposing side of the field. It does not matter if you already have two spaceships out, if the opponent still has more monsters this one will fly to the rescue. “B.E.S. Blaster Cannon Core” is really straightforward in its design, but it works perfectly well and adds yet more cards that can profit from the two “B.E.S.”-Spells. It is, in essence, the logical way for the archetype to evolve and probably the best monster the archetype has to offer; enough reason for me to play it at three copies.

Recommended copies: 3

Recommended Engines:

Machine decks as a whole are a bug group of buddies: They stick together. This means that there is a sizeable amount of options you can include into your “B.E.S.” deck, some of them listed right here:

“Cyber Dragon”:
First of all, the original “Cyber Dragon” is a very useful addition to the deck, being Special Summonable and, for a change, a card that does not rely of “B.E.F. Zelos“, giving the deck more consistency by putting monsters on the field. Together with both “B.E.S. Tetran” and “B.E.S. Crystal Core“, you can overlay into “Cyber Dragon Nova” and therefore go into “Cyber Dragon Infinity“; or stay in “Nova” and surprise the opponent with a “Cyber Twin Dragon” when they destroy it via card effect. Additionally, the ability to go into “Chimeratech Megafleet Dragon” is also nothing to scoff at.

“Infinitrack”:
With the help of “Infinitrack Harvester” and “Infinitrack Anchor Drill“, using the Extra Deck becomes a normal occurance in “B.E.S.” instead of a rare opportunity. By combining the Levels of the “Infinitracks” with the “B.E.S.” lineup, you can access any Rank from 7 to 12, which open quite a variety of options to become viable such as “Number 9: Dyson Sphere” or “Number 11: Big Eye” (or potentially even “True King of All Calamities” if it gets unbanned at some point). Also, “Anchor Drill” works as a searcher for “B.E.S. Blaster Cannon Core” (and “B.E.S. Covered Core“, if you really want to play that one).

“Kaiju”:
“Kaijus” work beautifully well with “B.E.S.”. First off, any problem that you cannot remove via the array of destruction effects you run in the deck can easily be taken care of by your Godzilla monsters. Additionally, with the boost of “B.E.F. Zelos“, you can even run most of the “Kaijus” over stat-wise, which even makes the usage of them helpful if you have no mass removal on hand. “Interrupted Kaiju-Slumber” blasts the entire board apart, fetches you the bigger monster, allows you to still Special Summon certain “B.E.S.” monsters and triggers “Boss Rush” for even more reinforcements during the End Phase. Lastly, “Jizukiru, the Star Destroying Kaiju” is preferable for your board, as it profits from “Limiter Removal” as much as the rest of your team.

Further useful cards:

Main Deck monsters:

“Gizmek Orochi, the Serpentron Sky Slasher“:
This is one beast of a card that actually got quite budget-friendly over the course of time. A 2450/2450 body that you can Special Summon by simply banishing cards from your deck is a solid start, but bringing much needed spot removal against monsters together with the Special Summoning effect also working in the graveyard to give you more access to monsters on the field is quite a lot on offer. Oh, and since it is a Machine-Type monster it will regularly grow to 4900 ATK via “Limiter Removal“, further interacting with the deck’s main ideas.

“Planet Pathfinder“:
Not a perfect fit for the deck, but allows you to search for “B.E.F. Zelos” for the small cost of your Normal Summon and locking you out of playing “Boss Rush” for the turn.

Spell cards:

“Dark Hole“:
Your normal everyday field nuke. “Dark Hole” is a little bit better in “B.E.S.” than most other decks due to the effect of “Boss Rush” renewing your field during the End Phase after the mass destruction occured.

“Dark Ruler No More“:
“B.E.S.” is a typical go-second deck. You have no negation or even Quick Effects to set up going first, and access to your Extra Deck is limited if you do not want to go out of your way. No, “B.E.S.” wants to kick and kick hard; which is difficult if the opponent has a board you cannot get past. Cue “Dark Ruler No More”: Sure, you do not deal damage for the rest of the turn, but if that is what is needed to bring all opposing monsters offline and then break their board, I am all for it.

“Iron Draw“:
Decent draw option. The need for two Machine monsters is rather unhelpful, but combinations like “Cyber Dragon” + “B.E.S.” monster via “B.E.F. Zelos” give you exactly the right amount of monsters to trigger the effect.

“Limiter Removal“:
Primary OTK tool, since it makes every spaceship enormous stat-wise while also triggering “Boss Rush” during the End Phase if you did not use your spaceships to summon Link/Xyz monsters in Main Phase 2 or just flatout won during the Battle Phase due to overwhelming damage.

“Monster Reborn“:
Revival for your big options. Since pretty much every monster you play is useable as a big beatstick, you can choose whatever you want.

“Pinpoint Landing“:
One of the possible draw options you can use in this deck. “Kaijus” are summoned from the hand, as is a small portion of “B.E.S.” monster, the rest of them via “B.E.F. Zelos” and “Cyber Dragon“.

“Pot of Extravagance“:
This should be your go-to draw spell in “B.E.S.”; and with it price now being down to payable numbers, it can be. “B.E.S.” could not care less about the Extra Deck, which is mostly fifteen random cards you have access to once in a blue moon, so banishing them for more card draw is an easy price to pay.

“Terraforming“:
Searches “B.E.F. Zelos” and is therefore pretty much mandatory, since you want the Field Spell at all costs.

Trap cards:

“Metaverse“:
“Metaverse”, as in so many decks, is a fine addition to any strategy that relies on its Field Spell. “B.E.F. Zelos” normally is the thing that fuses your board together, so more options to get it on the field are very welcome.

“Skill Drain“:
With “Skill Drain”, your spaceships trade their ability to use counters whenever they battle with the nice board state change of only having big beatsticks while the opponent cannot get their plays started. The card is almost always more damaging to your opponent and should therefore be played whenever possible.

“Torrential Tribute“:
Same idea as “Dark Hole“, but as a Trap. Triggering this during your opponent’s turn will cause your opponent to lose their field; well, so do you, but you can search for a “B.E.S.” monster for every copy of “Boss Rush” you have on the field, allowing you to get deadly during your turn.

Extra Deck monsters:

“Barricadeborg Blocker“:
This card might seem like a weird choice to include, but it is one of the very limited amount of options to recover “B.E.F. Zelos” from your graveyard. It also protects your Field Spell from destruction if you have “Barricadeborg Blocker” on the field, but that is just an added bonus.

“Double Headed Anger Knuckle“:
Not even close to being the best Extra Deck option in this deck, but “Double Headed Anger Knuckle” can be used as a semi-competent tribute engine. Should you lose your monsters to a “Limiter Removal” during the End Phase while not having any copies of “Boss Rush” available, you can still go into this monster, allowing you to make the most of the situation, while giving you the option of a potential revive for any “Jizukiru, the Star Destroying Kaiju” you might have while also setting up “Double Headed Anger Knuckle” as a tribute monster should it hit the graveyard. “Double Headed Anger Knuckle” also fulfills the criteria to resummon “Infinitrack” Xyz monsters from your graveyard, so there is also some synergy there. The situations in which all of this occurs in-game are going to be fairly rare, but “B.E.S.” has plenty of Extra Deck space, so there is no harm putting a copy into the Extra Deck.

“Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon“:
With two Level 8 monsters in form of “B.E.S. Big Core MK-3” and certain “Kaijus”, you can access this beast. By detaching one material, you can snatch an opposing monster that you would otherwise have trouble dealing with via destruction and make it a 3000 ATK beater on your side of the field. The effect automatically disallows you from attacking directly form the rest of the turn, but against spammy decks like “Fire Fists” or “Fur Hire”, you can deal with the problem card and then proceed to ram your superior attack force into the enemy line-up.

“Number 9: Dyson Sphere“:
Solid wall that can attack the opponent directly if they have a monster with higher ATK than 2800 (which can be arranged via “Jizukiru, the Star Destroying Kaiju“).

“Number 11: Big Eye“:
In case you manage to get two Level 7 monsters on the field and are in desperate need of non-destruction removal because your opponent put up some battle-immune wall, why not go for “Big Eye”? Its effect allows you to take control over an opposing monster, dealing with the obstacle in a non-destructive way, while also clearing the field for other monsters you might have ready to go.

“Pentestag“:
Rather costly option, but if all you need is some piercing damage to get through a defensive wall “Pentestag” might be the way to go.

Playstyle/Combos:

Your plays in this deck are almost always relying on “B.E.F. Zelos“. I might seem to sound like a broken record here, but this card is so powerful that it kickstarts your deck from relative unplayability to a consistent and surprisingly strong start every time. Start by playing “B.E.F. Zelos“, search one copy of “Boss Rush” and play that one aswell. Now you can put any cards on the table that have a Special Summon condition like “B.E.S. Blaster Cannon Core” or “Cyber Dragon” before you use the Special Summon effect of “B.E.F. Zelos” to bring some other “B.E.S.” monster on board. This should be the first turn every time, as it is the strongest start you can manage to get in this deck.

However, that does not mean that you cannot amplify the combo even further. With “Dark Hole” or preferably “Interrupted Kaiju Slumber“, you can clear the opposing board of pesky monsters and with the second option already guarantee some damage by giving “Gameciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju” to your opponent and keeping “Jizukiru” for yourself. The aforementioned “Limiter Removal” turns almost every board with two “B.E.S.” monsters, or one “B.E.S.” monster and some metallic addition into an OTK-able board. So long as you have your Main setup with “B.E.F. Zelos” and “Boss Rush” on the field, you should have a relatively nice time playing the deck.

Unfortunately, drawing into the necessary cards is not always the case. While the deck almost runs itself under the influence of “B.E.F. Zelos“, you will start to struggle as soon as it is not available. Certain cards like “B.E.S. Tetran” and “B.E.S. Crystal Core” become useless since you cannot get them onto the field and you run only so many monsters that can be Special Summoned without the help of the Field Spell. For this reason, securing a copy is the main priority: The addition of “Terraforming“, “Metaverse” and sometimes even “Planet Pathfinder” serves no other purpose than making sure the card is in reach. This is the nature of this deck: If you lose your Field Spell, you are mostly done for.

Weaknesses/Counters:

As mentioned in the paragraph above, backrow removal is extremely potent as a counter to “B.E.S.” since it destroys the frequently mentioned powerhouse called “B.E.F. Zelos“. Getting rid of “B.E.F. Zelos” causes the deck to be much less consistent nor nearly as fast as it would normally be. I mean, just imagine what your board loses: One free Special Summon per turn, no additional counter generation, -500 ATK/DEF for all “B.E.S.” monsters and a loss of both the destruction and the targeting immunity; you certainly feel when the card is missing. This is extra bad if you already played “Boss Rush“, which lets be honest will be played right after you searched it, since it blocks your Normal Summons and therefore prohibits the summon of cards such as “B.E.S. Big Core MK-2“. The deck is also countered by the usual suspects: “Solemns” and other Counter Traps can stop key cards and therefore cause decisive blows against the deck’s overall strategy. Since “B.E.S.” almost exclusively needs to Special Summon to get its members on board, cards like “Archlord Kristya“, “Jowgen the Spiritualist“, “Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo“, “Vanity’s Ruler“, “Vanity’s Fiend” and other cards with similar effects will deal significant damage to the playability of the cards overall. And since all monsters are in the deck are Machine-Type, the archetype also suffers against cards like “System Down” or “Chimeratech Fortress Dragon“.

Sample Decklist (January 2023):

If you are not sure what certain cards are or if you would like to download the deck, you can find anything necessary under this link: https://ygoprodeck.com/b-e-s-kaiju-beatdown/.

This is the current build for my “B.E.S.” deck. The strategy is pretty simple: You want to get “B.E.F. Zelos” as soon as possible and with three copies of the card plus one “Terraforming” and one “Metaverse” an eighth of the deck is Field Spell-oriented. Three copies of “Boss Rush” might seem a lot since you automatically search them via “B.E.F. Zelos“, but keep in mind that multiples of it stack their effects, so drawing into it is not that bad. Monster-wise, I simply added the “B.E.S.” core as descripted in the article, with three copies of “B.E.S. Blaster Cannon Core“, “B.E.S. Big Core MK-3” and “B.E.S. Big Core MK-2“, while the one copy of “B.E.S. Tetran” and “B.E.S. Crystal Core” each are mostly there for their effects. The Kaijus bring more removal through their own effects and give you the option of playing an upgraded “Dark Hole” in form of “Interrupted Kaiju Slumber“, while “Jizukiru, the Star Destroying Kaiju” is also a Machine-Type and therefore profits from “Limiter Removal“. The rest pretty much consists of options that are nice to have in various situations.

Monsters (18):

2x “Jizukiru, the Star Destroying Kaiju“
3x “B.E.S. Blaster Cannon Core“
3x “B.E.S. Big Core MK-3“
2x “Gizmek Orochi, the Serpentron Sky Slasher“
1x “Gameciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju“
1x “Kumongous, the Sticky String Kaiju“
3x “B.E.S. Big Core MK-2“
1x “B.E.S. Tetran“
1x “Cyber Dragon“
1x “B.E.S. Crystal Core“

Spells/Traps (22):

3x “Pot of Extravagance“
3x “Dark Ruler No More“
1x “Upstart Goblin“
1x “Terraforming“
1x “Monster Reborn“
2x “Interrupted Kaiju Slumber“
3x “Limiter Removal“
3x “Boss Rush“
3x “B.E.F. Zelos“
1x “Metaverse“
1x “Skill Drain“

Extra Deck (15):

1x “Chimeratech Megafleet Dragon“
1x “Number 9: Dyson Sphere“
1x “Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon“
1x “Number 38: Hope Harbinger Dragon Titanic Galaxy“
1x “Number 107: Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon“
1x “Number 11: Big Eye“
1x “Borrelsword Dragon“
1x “Decode Talker“
1x “Knightmare Phoenix“
1x “Akashic Magician“
1x “Pentestag“
1x “Knightmare Cerberus“
1x “Double Headed Anger Knuckle“
1x “Barricadeborg Blocker“
1x “Underclock Taker“