Gravekeeper is an under-explored anti-meta deck that aims to win with a combination of stun, field presence, and aggression. It was one of the few non-Goat Control decks to place in the Top 8 of a premiere event in the United States in 2005. However, the deck has had noticeably less success than other anti-meta decks in the Modern Era of Goat Format, like Stun and Warrior decks.
Gravekeeper is one of the few "archetype" decks in Goat Format and it also happens to rely on a Field Spell called Necrovalley. Necrovalley is a pretty nifty card, as it boosts the attack and defense of Gravekeeper monsters and also prevents cards in both graveyards from being moved or banished by other cards. In practice it shuts down the following commonly played cards: Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning, Chaos Sorcerer, Magician of Faith, Night Assailant, Dark Magician of Chaos, Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer, Strike Ninja, Bazoo the Soul Eater, Premature Burial, Call of the Haunted, and Skull Lair.
Adding to the Gravekeeper deck's anti-meta bonafides, two of its strongest monsters, Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier and Gravekeeper's Assailant, absolutely shred Scapegoat, each dealing 2000 damage when they destroy a Sheep token in battle. Rounding out the typical monster lineup are Gravekeeper's Spy, Gravekeeper's Guard, and Tsukuyomi. These cards work in tandem to dominate the field by swarming with more Gravekeeper monsters, bouncing problematic opposing monsters, and recycling both these effects. Like most Gravekeeper monsters, they have good stats and are extremely difficult to destroy in battle when Necrovalley is on the field.
Modern Gravekeeper decks usually play a maximum protection engine that includes 3 copies each of Book of Moon and Compulsory Evacuation Device, making it difficult for control players to dismantle the Gravekeeper player's field as they will struggle to resolve Thousand-Eyes Restrict. One reason the Gravekeeper player can support 6 of these cards is they also have good synergy with the Gravekeeper monsters themselves. Book of Moon can be used to recycle the flip-effects of Gravekeeper's Guard and Gravekeeper's Spy, or to protect a Gravekeeper from being destroyed by face-up removal like Sakuretsu Armor. Compulsory Evacuation Device can be used to dodge any type of removal, including Nobleman of Crossout, which is otherwise difficult to stop in Goat Format. This interaction is fairly important as it can prevent the opponent from banishing all copies of Gravekeeper's Spy, which would otherwise cripple the Gravekeeper deck's engine.
The remaining slots in the Gravekeeper deck are often filled with other "staples" or different protection cards, like Solemn Judgement, My Body as a Shield, Magic Jammer, Spell Shield Type-8, etc. Each of these cards has its pros and cons, and it is not yet entirely clear which combination is the most effective in the Modern metagame. Other cards that might be considered are some of the other Gravekeeper specific cards, like Rite of Spirit and Royal Tribute, or spot removal cards like Dust Tornado and Sakuretsu Armor.
Perhaps if Chaos and/or Dimension Fusion decks become more popular in the near future, or new innovations are made to the deck to make it more reliable, Gravekeeper will gain a more relevant position in the Modern Goat Format metagame. Regardless, the deck is probably one of the better decks in the format that are less commonly brought to tournaments.
Gravekeeper is one of the few "archetype" decks in Goat Format and it also happens to rely on a Field Spell called Necrovalley. Necrovalley is a pretty nifty card, as it boosts the attack and defense of Gravekeeper monsters and also prevents cards in both graveyards from being moved or banished by other cards. In practice it shuts down the following commonly played cards: Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning, Chaos Sorcerer, Magician of Faith, Night Assailant, Dark Magician of Chaos, Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer, Strike Ninja, Bazoo the Soul Eater, Premature Burial, Call of the Haunted, and Skull Lair.
Adding to the Gravekeeper deck's anti-meta bonafides, two of its strongest monsters, Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier and Gravekeeper's Assailant, absolutely shred Scapegoat, each dealing 2000 damage when they destroy a Sheep token in battle. Rounding out the typical monster lineup are Gravekeeper's Spy, Gravekeeper's Guard, and Tsukuyomi. These cards work in tandem to dominate the field by swarming with more Gravekeeper monsters, bouncing problematic opposing monsters, and recycling both these effects. Like most Gravekeeper monsters, they have good stats and are extremely difficult to destroy in battle when Necrovalley is on the field.
Modern Gravekeeper decks usually play a maximum protection engine that includes 3 copies each of Book of Moon and Compulsory Evacuation Device, making it difficult for control players to dismantle the Gravekeeper player's field as they will struggle to resolve Thousand-Eyes Restrict. One reason the Gravekeeper player can support 6 of these cards is they also have good synergy with the Gravekeeper monsters themselves. Book of Moon can be used to recycle the flip-effects of Gravekeeper's Guard and Gravekeeper's Spy, or to protect a Gravekeeper from being destroyed by face-up removal like Sakuretsu Armor. Compulsory Evacuation Device can be used to dodge any type of removal, including Nobleman of Crossout, which is otherwise difficult to stop in Goat Format. This interaction is fairly important as it can prevent the opponent from banishing all copies of Gravekeeper's Spy, which would otherwise cripple the Gravekeeper deck's engine.
The remaining slots in the Gravekeeper deck are often filled with other "staples" or different protection cards, like Solemn Judgement, My Body as a Shield, Magic Jammer, Spell Shield Type-8, etc. Each of these cards has its pros and cons, and it is not yet entirely clear which combination is the most effective in the Modern metagame. Other cards that might be considered are some of the other Gravekeeper specific cards, like Rite of Spirit and Royal Tribute, or spot removal cards like Dust Tornado and Sakuretsu Armor.
Perhaps if Chaos and/or Dimension Fusion decks become more popular in the near future, or new innovations are made to the deck to make it more reliable, Gravekeeper will gain a more relevant position in the Modern Goat Format metagame. Regardless, the deck is probably one of the better decks in the format that are less commonly brought to tournaments.
Modern Era Deck Lists (2017 - present):
The Modern Era of Goat Format coincides with the release of DuelingBook.com, which offers a Goat Format dueling lobby. These lists are a collection of personal, contributor, and tournament winning decks. If you are looking to copy a list to play, choose one of these.
The Modern Era of Goat Format coincides with the release of DuelingBook.com, which offers a Goat Format dueling lobby. These lists are a collection of personal, contributor, and tournament winning decks. If you are looking to copy a list to play, choose one of these.
GRAVEKEEPER - PURE VERSION
This is a pure Gravekeeper deck.
GRAVEKEEPER - TOMATO VERSION
Gravekeeper deck.
Historic Era Deck Lists (2005):
The Historic Era of Goat Format is defined by the Advanced Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG tournaments that took place between June and August of 2005. Contrary to mistaken popular belief, Exarion Universe was not included in the Historic Era of Goat Format. The purpose of displaying these deck lists is to give historical context to the deck lists of the Modern Era. It is strongly recommended that you do not copy these lists and instead copy lists from the Modern Era.
The Historic Era of Goat Format is defined by the Advanced Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG tournaments that took place between June and August of 2005. Contrary to mistaken popular belief, Exarion Universe was not included in the Historic Era of Goat Format. The purpose of displaying these deck lists is to give historical context to the deck lists of the Modern Era. It is strongly recommended that you do not copy these lists and instead copy lists from the Modern Era.
GRAVEKEEPER - DARYL GESSLER
This deck, created and piloted by Daryl Gessler, earned a Top 8 spot at SJC Indiannapolis. The monster lineup is fairly efficient for an old Gravekeeper deck, although Gravekeeper's Guard is missing. Note that 3 copies of Book of Moon allow this deck to compete against Thousand-Eyes Restrict. A single copy of Solemn Judgment also found its way into this list before it became a popular pick aggro decks during the Revival Era.
References:
2005 SJC Indiannapolis Top 8 Deck Lists:
http://kperovic.com/metagame/yugioh6e91.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=3386
2005 SJC Indiannapolis Top 8 Deck Lists:
http://kperovic.com/metagame/yugioh6e91.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=3386
