This card hasn't been reviewed since it's release in Ancient Sanctuary nearly 11 years ago.  Monster Gate...not as impractical as it may (or may have once) seem(ed).  In premise alone, Monster Gate seems like an absurd card to play.  The fact you could lose just countless cards, not to mention it's a -1, just to get another Monster from your Deck.  Blasphemy, no?  Remember also, you're merely picking up these cards, and everything until you get a card fitting the described criteria goes to the Graveyard when you do.  Honestly, to me, this card is more about the dumping, than what you get from it Monster wise.  Say you dump 5-10 cards from your Deck in the process.  Half of those cards are going to be Monsters, if not more, but so many Decks rely on assets that are in the Graveyard.  Whether the Monsters activate effects from the Graveyard, cycle back to the Hand eventually, or the Field, or even both, Monster Gate can really speed some things along.  I know we often look at Yugioh as a game of advantage, and in those terms, (as said) this is a -1.  But some cards need to be though of as what they do for you in the future, as opposed to the now.  This helps you later, and probably only more so as you go along.  Think about it.  Monster Gate doesn't need a Deck constructed around it to be successful anymore.
 
Rating:  4/5
Art:  5/5

When I think of the traditional format, I think of the ancient and almighty cards of legend, that only the most veteran players remember: Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End, the presumed star of the format, and Magical Scientist, that random common card from Magician's Force, who secretly was the real star. Rescue Cat, Exchange of the Spirit, and even the occasional Last Turn - all matchups that one had to prepare for, meaning that a side deck consisting almost entirely of hand traps was not an oddity.
 
But the traditional format may have changed a lot over the past few years: "Dark World", and for a while "Dragon Ruler", decks could very well have turned out to be even better than the traditional traditional format decks (see what I did there?) - Duelist Alliance came with a power level even more impressive, which leads me to wonder whether the best deck in the traditional format might not just be the average "Nekroz" deck with all the normally forbidden power cards teched in... Did I mention that some of the game's most colourful cards have seen impactful errata this last year? Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End, Dark Strike Fighter, Cathedral of Nobles/Temple of the Kings, Crush Card Virus, and Ring of Destruction saw horrifying nerfs, although these pale to the abomination that is Exchange of the Spirit in this day and age - simply put, cards that once were the most defining cards of their respective decks or even formats, are now nothing but a shadow of their former glory, and new players find themselves wondering why cards like the ones I mentioned were ever on the forbidden/limited card list to begin with.
 
I digress; like I said, the traditional format, which remained practically unchanged for years, has become very different than it used to be; how different? I'm afraid no one can really tell, as the format is long past its golden age of official Konami support... Considering the reasons presented, it should not be surprising that Pojo as well has finally decided to forego its traditional traditional rating (not nearly as funny the second time, I know): from now on, we'll be rating cards only for the advanced format, a change I'm very pleased with myself.
 
Oh, by the way, remember those errata I was talking about just now? There are more altered cards coming, one of which is of interest for today's topic: soon to join Sinister Serpent as a "card that could have come back without issue, but received an erratum that renders it unplayable just to be sure", is Dark Magician of Chaos. Now I'll admit that Dark Magician of Chaos was a very good card when it was legal, as it could easily be abused with the spell cards that could bring him out: Dimension Fusion, Monster Gate, Monster Reborn... It's generally accepted that Dark Magician of Chaos played a role in the limiting/banning of these cards.
 
Can you see where this is going? Today's topic is Monster Gate, and here comes the point where I say that considering the loss of (a playable version of) Dark Magician of Chaos, the card has no business being anywhere near a forbidden/limited card list.
 
Monster Gate serves to open our special "Infernoid" theme week, as it really does a lot for this currently rather unexplored, but soon to be famous, deck/theme: not a single one of the currently TCG-legal "Infernoid" monsters can be normal summoned, but, in a way comparable to the infamous "Dragon Ruler" monsters, they can all be special summoned by banishing from the hand or graveyard others of their kind - the level 5 and higher "Infernoid" monsters can even special summon themselves from the graveyard this way (note that the "Infernoid" monsters sport a summoning condition, unlike the "Dragon Ruler" monsters' effects to summon themselves: Soul Drain won't stop the "Infernoid", and no chaining cards until they reach the field)! Unfortunately the deck has a hard time managing resources, but Monster Gate and Reasoning are here to mitigate this issue, while allowing the deck to run some interesting tech cards at the same time (Barrier Statue of the Infernois, The End of Anubis, Jinzo, Mechanical Hound/Spell Canceller... No, we did not intend to let you play at all) - Monster Gate and Reasoning are what holds the deck together and what gives it the ability to compete despite its obvious flaws, but more about those later: Monstar Gate is a formidable card in the "Infernoid" deck, and if it is to be allowed at three copies as it is in the OCG, I suggest you prepare your... side deck for "Infernoid": there's a new Don in town!
 
Advanced: 5/5. Now if we would just have access to the three copies we want to use...
 
Art: Heaven's Gate (or "Gate of Destiny" for fans of the dub version)!/5