Stats:
Yet another Gravekeeper Monster for this week.
Gravekeeper’s Spy is a Level 4 Dark/Spellcaster,
like the bulk of useful Gravkeepers. As always,
a Level 4 (unless it has extra summoning
requirements) is easy to get into play. Being
Dark, in addition to having some Support
available, also means that a Spy in the
Graveyard is food for a Chaos Monster.
Spellcasters are well supported, but as of yet
has not been hit by any specific
“anti-Spellcaster” cards. Moving on, we see
that this card has a somewhat pitiful 1200 ATK,
but a good 2000 DEF (unless you area is plagued
by basic beatdown decks). The 1200 ATK won’t
prove overly useful on it’s
own, but it a) is low enough that the effects of
Mystic Tomato, Sangan, and the Spy itself can
target it, and b) when pumped up by Necrovalley,
it will be a solid 1700. The Defense will often
prove useful, since most comparable monsters
(other searchers) are so low in stats. There
are only a few level
4 “defenders” bigger than this one, and it ties
the DEF stat and surpasses the ATK score of most
other Level 4 defenders. With Necrovalley, it
becomes the biggest Level 4 in terms of DEF:
2500. That’s enough to stop all but the biggest
monsters. It also means major damage to a fool
hardy enemy that smashes into it-and given that
most people expect some much smaller, it’s not
as unlikely as one might think.
Effect(s):
As usual, being a Flip Effect is a mixed
blessing. The monster can give an effect on the
opponent’s turn without having to die, which is
somewhat rare. It can also be used on your
turn, if you wish. Alas, that requires a turn
of sitting or another card’s assistance to be
used immediately. The effect itself is
wonderful-you are allowed to Special Summon a
Gravekeeper’s Monster with an ATK of
under 1500 in either
face-up ATK or face-down DEF mode. Only
Gravekeeper’s Chief is thus an illegal target.
Don’t forget, Necrovalley would not add to the
searched out monster’s ATK until it hit the
field (meaning you are effectively allowed up to
a 2000 ATK). This ties into the best par tof
the Gravekeeper’s (after Necrovalley’s Graveyard
denial)-swarming.
Uses/Combinations:
This is pretty much a staple in a Gravekeeper’s
deck. No, you won’t always run the max, but
generally one is a safe bet, and two fairly
standard. If you have room, a third copy is an
excellent choice since it thins the deck if it
is flipped. Also, its high DEF can stop many
opposing monsters, and makes it a likely
candidate to serve as Tribute for Gravekeeper’s
Chief. Simple, but
effective.
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:
3.5/5, 3.75/5 with bans, 4/5 with October 1st
bans. This card can block a lot of attackers
while helping you swarm. Still, it’s not
uncommon to cut them if you are already low on
space and high on monsters.
Tournament:
3.25/5, 3.5/5 with bans, 3.75/5 with October 1st
bans. It’s a bit mixed here-at least until the
bans hit. Once most massive monster removal is
gone, this serves as a useful blocker while the
rest of your deck’s resources amass. Before the
latest wave of bans, it still is pretty useful
for shrinking your deck, and basically requiring
something other than brute force remove it.
Smashing Ground will almost always end up
nailing this… saving some of your more useful
monsters. Also fun against Chaos Control when
Necrovalley is out-you can’t summon the Chaos
Monsters to get rid of it, and most other
control monsters are way too small to remove
it. You have to take 1000 damage to remove it
with D.D. Warrior Lady!
Limited:
4/5-Great DEF, which is actually quite good in
this format. Your opponent has little choice
but to attempt to plow through to clear your
field. That means they will rack up some
damage, which is more significant with the lower
starting LP. You also have a good chance of
pulling some additional support. If you manage
to get a Necrovalley with this, you can possibly
block someone’s entire decks!
Summary
Solid before the assorted bans went into effect,
and quite useful with the latest listing to go
into effect October 1st.
Under those bans, Mirror Force is gone. As
such, many have adopted a “might as well just
smash it” approach to attacking facedown
monsters. I actually won a game because my
opponent had an 1800 smash into three of these…
when their LP was at 2100. Of course, now that
person knows that I was running three of it. It
also makes solid “in-deck side-deck fodder”-a
card that is usually useful, but can be
side-decked for your side-deck’s more specific
cards.
