Gouki Bearhug – Yu-Gi-Oh! Review

WarlockBlitz

Happy Monday! Gouki Bearhug starts Gouki week. Why? Because we hadn’t done it before and it’s still meta-relevant is why. Bearhug is a Level 6 Earth Warrior-type monster with 2400 Atk and 0 Def. Decent stats and Warriors have tons of support. Upon Normal Summon or Gouki Special Summon you get to halve the attack of an opponent’s targeted face-up monster until the end of the turn. More than likely you will be able to attack over something and cause damage so the effect is appreciated if under utilized. The second effect is more the reason why Goukis do well. Upon being sent from the field to the grave, you can search any Gouki card except another Bearhug. Both effects are once per turn, but this enables more Link Climbing and is another Gouki name in the deck whether it be engine or full. Both effects are once per turn, but that is to be expected. Searching and more specifically thinning the deck for big advantage boards is the name of the game, so good marks all around. I just wish the theme didn’t need 0 defense. 

Score: 4/5     Art: 3/5

Crunch$G

A themed week that you could say is long overdue but we are finally getting to, this week we will look at the Gouki archetype starting with their strongest monster in the Main Deck, Gouki Bearhug.

Bearhug is a Level 6 EARTH Warrior with 2400 ATK and 0 DEF. 2400 ATK works for me on a Level 6, all Goukis have 0 DEF and you’ll soon know why, and being a Warrior is great but I don’t think EARTH offers that much on a Level 6, though EARTH Warriors don’t offer much as a whole with Invoker being gone. If this card is Special Summoned off the effect of a Gouki card or is Normal Summoned, you can target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls and its ATK becomes half its original ATK until the end of the turn. You likely won’t Normal Summon this, but the option is nice. The ways you’ll likely get this effect is summoning it off Suprex or Rematch since Goukis love those cards, especially the Knightmare variants that have seen competitive success. Bearhug also has the effect of being able to search for any Gouki card that isn’t Bearhug when it is sent from the field to the graveyard. This effect was on most of the Main Deck Goukis, which is another reason they saw competitive success, and made each Gouki that searched worth being a one-of. It’s another name for Gouki variants, especially in the Knightmare version that really cares for those searches, so one is all you need because you have to Tribute Summon this if you want to Normal Summon it while Riscorpio can get around the tribute. It’s another name to search, which is the bare minimum you really need.

Advanced Rating: 3/5

Art: 4/5 Time for a good ‘ol fashioned Bear Hug!

Alex
Searcy

One of the themes Austin said he’d like to cover is Goukis, so post holiday, post Legendary Duelist month, and pre Ban List, here we are.  Gouki Bearhug opens the week, being a Level 6, Earth type, Warrior Monsters with 2400 attack and 0 defense. We should immediately be off put by 0 defense, even with the now seeming standard of 2400 for a Tribute.

If Bearhug is Normal or Special Summoned via the effect of a theme specific card, you have the option to Target a face-up Monster your opponent controls and half its attack for the turn.  Versatility here is appreciated as this happens with a Normal or Special Summon.  The loss of attack should be sizable, and with the 2400 base attack, that should make for a good piece of Damage for you.

Next, if this card leaves the Field, regardless of how, or which player did it, so long as it goes to the Graveyard, you get a Gouki card from your Deck to your Hand, other than this card.  1-for-1 trades like that are always good and work in your favor.  This is even more versatile than the first effect, so I like that too.  Both effects here are, naturally, once per turn.  But that makes sense too.

Rating:  3.25/5

Art:  4/5  That’s a big bear.  A bear hug joke seems too obvious, but at the same time, imagine that bear hugging you.  Looks kinda native, doesn’t he?