Gravekeeper's

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Gravekeeper's
From left to right: "Heretic", "Nobleman", "Oracle", "Ambusher" and "Shaman"
From left to right: "Heretic", "Nobleman", "Oracle", "Ambusher" and "Shaman"
Japanese
  • はかもり
  • 墓守 (base)
  • はかもり (ruby)
  • Hakamori (romanized)
  • はかもり (anime)
  • 墓守の (base)
  • はかもりの (ruby)
  • Hakamori no (romanized)
French
  • Protecteurs du Tombeau
German
  • Grabwächter
Italian
  • Custode di Tombe
Korean
  • 묘지기
  • 墓지기 (Hanja)
  • Myojigi (romanized)
  • 묘지기의
  • 墓지기의 (Hanja)
  • Myojigi-ui (romanized)
Portuguese
  • do Coveiro
  • Coveiro (formerly)
Spanish
  • Cuidador de Tumbas
Sets
TCG
OCG
Korean
Anime appearances
Lists

"Gravekeeper's", known as "Gravekeeper" (はかもり Hakamori) in the OCG, is an archetype of Spellcaster monsters based on ancient Egyptian tomb-keepers. The theme is heavily related to the "Necrovalley" archetype of Spell and Trap cards, and its strategy revolves around the eponymous "Necrovalley" Field Spell. In Japanese, the archetype was originally known as "Gravekeeper's" (はかもりHakamori no), but was changed to just "Gravekeeper" (はかもり Hakamori) with the print of "Gravekeeper's Priestess" in Advanced Tournament Pack 2013 Vol.4 in 2014. All subsequent "Gravekeeper's" support printed or reprinted in the Japanese OCG use the new name. Gravekeeper's Chief and Assailant appeared as characters in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.

Design[edit]

Members[edit]

Character counterparts[edit]

The "Gravekeeper's" monsters that were released in Starstrike Blast and Absolute Powerforce bear a strong resemblance to members of the Ishtar family, who are a family of Tomb Keepers in the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and manga. Additionally, one "Gravekeeper's" monster released in Legacy of the Valiant bears resemblance to Thief King Bakura, an ancient Egyptian character from the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and manga.

Gravekeeper Corresponding Yu-Gi-Oh! character
Gravekeeper's Visionary Ishtar forefather
Gravekeeper's Descendant Marik Ishtar
Gravekeeper's Priestess Ishizu Ishtar
Gravekeeper's Recruiter Odion
Gravekeeper's Heretic Thief King Bakura

Aged counterparts[edit]

Some "Gravekeeper's" monsters have changed, either by age or by other events:

Younger version Older version
Gravekeeper's Assailant Night Assailant
Gravekeeper's Commandant Gravekeeper's Visionary
Gravekeeper's Descendant Gravekeeper's Oracle
Gravekeeper's Heretic Gravekeeper's Supernaturalist
Gravekeeper's Nobleman Gravekeeper's Watcher
Gravekeeper's Priestess Gravekeeper's Shaman

Playing style[edit]

The "Gravekeeper's" archetype is a stun Deck revolving around the Field Spell "Necrovalley". "Necrovalley" is a floodgate that prevents both players from moving cards out of either Graveyard, shutting down large amounts of interactions and combos that involve the Graveyard. It is supported by "Gravekeeper's" monsters, who can search out "Necrovalley" and have simple beatdown-based effects, and numerous supporting Spell/Traps with further floodgating effects, such as "Royal Tribute" or "Hidden Temples of Necrovalley".

Individual "Gravekeeper's" monsters typically have simple searching, offensive, or defensive effects. Due to their comparatively lower power level, most "Gravekeeper's" decks focus on the floodgating effects of "Necrovalley" and its supporting Spell/Traps, using the "Gravekeeper's" monsters as searchers and beatsticks. In this role, the key "Gravekeeper's" monsters are "Commandant", who can search for "Necrovalley" by discarding itself, and "Priestess", who treats the field as "Necrovalley" with its effect.

For additional, easily accessible board presence, the Deck primarily relies on "Spiritualist", who can perform a Fusion Summon to summon the archetype's Fusion Monster, "Supernaturalist", and "Headman", who revives a Level 4 "Gravekeeper's" monster on Normal Summon (without being affected by "Necrovalley"). The Deck's main search spell is "Necrovalley Throne".

The "Necrovalley"-related Spell/Traps are the Deck's main victory conditions, and most of them require "Necrovalley" and/or controlling a "Gravekeeper's" monster to function. These include "Royal Tribute", which forces both players to discard all monsters in their hand, "Hidden Temples of Necrovalley", which prevents both players from Special Summoning non-"Gravekeeper's" monsters, and "Imperial Tombs of Necrovalley", a Counter Trap negate.

Weaknesses[edit]

  • The deck lacks accessible searchers for its Spell/Traps that are not "Necrovalley", making its game plan slow and inconsistent.
  • The deck lacks strong and easily accessible swarming or boss monster options, making its monster boards extremely fragile.
  • As the deck revolves around "Necrovalley", removing "Necrovalley" shuts down the Deck instantly.
  • As a DARK-based Deck, the Deck is countered by anti-DARK cards like "Consecrated Light" or "Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror".

Recommended cards[edit]

Recommended cards

Trivia[edit]

  • Though the archetype was not used by Ishizu Ishtar and Marik Ishtar in the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, it became retroactively associated with them; the two are shown using "Gravekeeper's" cards in some video games, and Structure Deck: Marik includes some "Gravekeeper's" cards.
    • The connection likely originates from the fact that Ishizu and Marik shared the archetype's theme of being Tomb Keepers. Several "Gravekeeper's" monsters also resemble the Ishtar family.