Stats:
Gravekeeper’s Guard is,
shock-of-shock’s, a Level 4 Dark/Spellcaster.
As usual, this is a pretty solid
combination-Dark is
Chaos Food and Spellcasters do have some
specialized support. Being a Level 4 let’s you
drop it into play with ease. Moving on, we see
an ATK of 1000. On the upside, that means it
can be searched out via Sangan, Gravekeeper’s
Spy, and Mystic Tomato. It has a 1900 DEF,
which is good enough to stop the average
beatstick, but
things like GAF are pretty common… fortunately,
like all Gravekeeper Monsters, this one gets
plus 500 to both ATK and DEF with Necrovalley on
the field, which means it take’s a Dark Ruler Ha
Des to finish it off then. Still, on its own
this doesn’t cut it, but like all Gravekeeper’s,
this is an Effect Monster.
Effect(s):
Mixed blessing is, this is a Flip effect. That
mean’s that Nobleman of
Crossout loves hitting it, but also that
it has a nice tendency to go off on your
opponent’s turn, messing them up. Gravekeeper’s
Guard let’s you return an opposing monster to
its owner’s hand. Pretty
solid, since we have a stellar DEF on this card.
Keep in mind, it’s not optional, so sometimes
you might help them out-returning a GAF, for
instance, has often backfired in my experience.
Also, returning to the hand is both good and
bad. Normally, it’s nice because this prevents
them from using recursion to get it back.
However, this is a Gravekeeper, so normally
Necrovalley is out to prevent that. Still, with
the newest ban list that goes into effect in
October, I think we might see more “Special
Summon”-only cards, as they have a bit better
staying power now.
Uses/Combinations:
With the relative “increase” of deck space in
the latest ban format, squeezing a copy or two
of this can be nice, for some related monster
“removal”. Plus with Necrovalley out, it’s an
okay attacker and a good (but not the best for
the Gravekeepers) defender.
One nifty trick is to combine it with Royal
Tribute. It makes sure you nail something.
Note, this is not a
true combo so much as just a tiny bit of
synergy-using one of those cards wouldn’t be a
huge incentive to run the others. Similarly, it
makes nice food for Gravekeeper’s
Cannonholder if you
are running those as well.
Ratings
Just a quick reminder, these scores are for use
in an actual Necrovalley deck. Again, this goes
against how I used to rate cards, or else I
wouldn’t even mention it.
Casual:
3.25/5, 3.5/5 with bans, 3.75/5 with October 1st
bans. Right now, it is a pretty solid card, but
in such a packed arena, being solid means
little. With some of the mass removal and deck
“staples” banned, its usefulness starts creeping
up, and again with the newest bans to go in
effect on the first. This may be a tad
optimistic though. It helps that this format
tends to see more use of Special Summon only
monsters.
Tournament:
3/5, 3.25/5 with bans, 3.5/5 with October 1st
bans. As usual, this environment tends to be
Spike invested, which tends to punish
creativity. In other words, you have to stumble
across the next big thing, or play the current
big thing. Long story short, that means half a
point less across the board.
Limited:
3.75/5-Good DEF scores are much more useful in
this format, and it’s apt to clear you
opponent’s field and survive while doing
it. Even if it doesn’t, in this format, an open
shot at your opponent’s LP usually means taking
off a quick fourth their LP, and that’s if you
summon a weak attacker. Add on that this is a
Gravekeeper and you have a pretty good pull.
Summary
As I said, now that there is going to be more
room in decks, this card is worth a look. It
can fill the need for Monster removal while
remaining true to the Gravekeepers theme and
providing a decent defense. I almost left this
card out of this week’s line-up, in spite of it
being reviewed in the last two (well, one and a
half) week Gravekeeper block.
