My week is over today
;.; Today we're looking at the most powerful
monster in the English version so far, Gate
Guardian.
Card Text:
Dark/Warrior/11/3750/3400
Effect:
This
card can only be Special Summoned by offering
"Sanga of the Thunder", "Kazejin",
and "Suijin" on your side of the Field
as a Tribute.
Analysis:
Upon first look of
this card, your jaw drops. 3750 attack power
is second to NONE in the English version of this
game. 3400 defense would let it abuse Shield &
Sword, as no monsters have a higher defense than
that currently. This card would surely
become a deck staple, right?
Then we read the
effect.
It says we must have
Sanga of the Thunder, Kazejin, and Suijin on the
field to Special Summon it. Let me clarify
this. In order to bring it into play, you can't
use the regular 2 Tributes for a Level 7+ monster
(otherwise this guy would be broken and
restricted). You must
summon it through the effect. You can't
revive it with Monster Reborn should it go to your
graveyard, UNLESS you've used the
effect to Special Summon it. If you use the
effect to Special Summon it, and it makes its way
to the Graveyard, feel free to use Monster Reborn
to bring it back and devastate your opponent.
The only problem is
getting it onto the field in the first place.
All 3 monsters required on the field are Level 7.
So that means, unless we use a clever combo of
dumping them all into the cemetery + Monster
Reborn + 2 Magician of Faiths, we have to do a lot
of tributes. If we summon all 3 parts
normally, that's a total of 6 Tributes, then 3
more to Tribute Gate Guardian. That's 9
Tributes. NINE. Give
me a break. I'd rather play Great
Moth or Skull Servant
than this card.
There ARE some
creative ways to get this guy into play, however.
We can use the clever combo outlined above, or we
can use Harpie Lady + Elegant
Egotist to fill your field with digitally
painted flying woman creature thingies. Ultimate
Offering fulfills the same purpose of
filling your field, for a small LP cost.
It's not worth it, though.
Combos:
Outlined above.
Counters:
Availability:
It's
a Secret Rare, good luck getting it.
Playability:
Almost
impossible to get out.
Should YOU
play it?
Unless you want one of
the ultimate challenges in deck building, stay
far, far away.
Score:
Well, I have to cut
Gate Guardian some slack for having 3750/3400
stats, so he gets a 1.5.
This number would be increased by 3.5 if it didn't
have that stupid effect.
Note to Pojo: I think
we should start doing tournament scores next week,
because official league play began August 1st.
