Their main strategy is shut your opponent out of their graveyard using Necrovalley, while being able to manipulate their graveyard as much as you like. And after 10 years of playing this game I’m only just realizing this is because they are literally grave keepers…) Just a sidenote: to really understand the strategy that Gravekeeper’s go for, and to get the most out of this list, you’ll need to know what Necrovalley is used for. Necrovalley does exactly this: Whether you’re looking to spice up your deck with a few Gravekeeper’s monsters, or if you’re looking to build a full blown anti-meta Gravekeeper’s deck, this list will show you the way.
10. Gravekeeper’s Descendant
Gravekeeper’s Descendant is a fantastic piece of removal. By tributing another Gravekeeper’s monster you control, you can target and destroy any card your opponent controls. This means you can destroy spells, traps, monsters, the list goes on and on. Normally in a good Yu-Gi-Oh deck you’ll have cards that remove these threats individually. Meaning you’ll have effects that remove monsters (something like Man Eater Bug or Nobleman of Crossout), and you’ll have effects that remove spells and traps (Mystical Space Typhoon, Harpie’s Feather Duster, all those cards you know and love!) This card wraps these all into one – leaving you room in your deck for more powerful strategies and monsters.
9. Gravekeeper’s Priestess
Necrovalley is the field spell for Gravekeeper’s that prevents your opponent from moving cards in and out of the graveyard. It’s pretty much the win condition for this deck, allowing you to special summon a bunch of monsters from your graveyard, while your opponent is unable to! Sadly, a lot of other decks have also got great field spells. And as such, the main search cards for field spells (Terraforming and Metaverse) have both been limited to one copy each. This makes searching out field spells near impossible. However, while Gravekeeper’s Priestess is on the field, the field is treated as Necrovalley anyway. This means you’re effectively running 6 copies of Necrovalley in your deck, or a total of 8 if you’re running Terraforming and Metaverse!
8. Gravekeeper’s Headman
Admittedly, 500 attack doesn’t scream “I’m a powerful monster”. But Gravekeeper’s Headman has a fantastic effect that makes it worth including in any Gravekeeper’s strategy! When it’s summoned (that’s special or normal summoned) you can then special summon a level 4 Gravekeeper’s monster from your graveyard, either in face-up attack or face-down defense. This effect is not affected by Necrovalley, which normally prevents cards moving in and out of the graveyard. This means you can go for the offensive with this card and bring back some strong attackers, or you can build up a nice defensive wall.
7. Gravekeeper’s Ambusher
A monster with 0 defense may not seem like the best card to set in defense position. I mean, literally anything can defeat it in battle, right? Well, Gravekeeper’s Ambusher is best used when it’s destroyed in battle! When it hits the graveyard after being flipped face up, you can add a copy of Necrovalley from your graveyard to your hand. This is great for keeping the Necrovalley strategy going. A lot of Yu-Gi-Oh players know exactly how strong a Gravekeeper’s deck can be, and will try to destroy Necrovalley as fast as they can. With Gravekeeper’s Ambusher, this isn’t a problem anymore. And you can keep your opponent locked out of their graveyard for good.
6. Gravekeeper’s Commandant
Speaking of cards that search out Necrovalley, you can discard this card from your hand to search for a copy of Necrovalley from your deck. Sounds good to me. This makes searching out your field spell even easier, while also being a powerful monster to boot. This monster is one of the better attackers in a Gravekeeper’s strategy. It’s a 1600 attack monster at level 4, and while this may not sound all too impressive, Necrovalley gives all of your Gravekeeper’s monsters a 500-point attack boost. This turns Gravekeeper’s Commandant into a 2100 attack normal summon, which is insanely high for a monster that requires no tributes to summon.
5. Gravekeeper’s Nobleman
Gravekeeper’s Nobleman is a great defensive card in a Gravekeeper’s strategy. When it’s destroyed in battle, you can special summon a Gravekeeper’s monster from your deck in face-down defense position. Not only are there some great flip-effect Gravekeeper’s to choose from (see cards higher up this list), but this effect also makes sure that you’re not left defenseless when your opponent is on the war path. You know what they say: a good defense is a great offence!
4. Gravekeeper’s Shaman
One of the easiest ways your opponent can shut down a Gravekeeper’s strategy is by destroying your copy of Necrovalley. Once they do that, they can freely access their graveyard, while all of your Gravekeeper’s monsters lose that much needed attack boost. Gravekeeper’s Shaman provides a great defense against just that, by preventing field spells from being activated or destroyed. This monster also negates any effects that would trigger in the graveyard unless they’re Gravekeeper’s monsters. In a format absolutely dominated by hand-traps (which typically trigger in the graveyard once they’ve been discarded), this card is a powerful tool in keeping your monsters, and their effects, safe and on the field.
3. Gravekeeper’s Chief
The best bit about Necrovalley messing up the graveyard is making it entirely one sided. Gravekeeper’s Chief ensures that all of your plays are completely unaffected by Necrovalley, for Gravekeeper’s and non-Gravekeeper’s alike. This card is a definite staple if you’re considering a Gravekeeper’s hybrid deck, or if you run monster cards that aren’t in the Gravekeeper’s archetype. With this card, you can special summon them back from the graveyard without being restricted in the slightest. While 1900 attack for a one tribute monster is pretty poor, when this guy is tribute summoned, you can special summon any other Gravekeeper’s monster from your graveyard. Meaning you’ll get a whole lot more attack power than you normally would for a one tribute monster.
2. Gravekeeper’s Guard
This card and our number 1 pick are both easily the best generic Gravekeeper’s cards. And this one is a staple of GOAT format Yu-Gi-Oh – a format that involves cards up to (and including) The Lost Millennium. Here’s how this card works: When it’s flipped face-up, you can return one monster your opponent controls to the hand. The best targets for this effect would be any monsters that were special summoned from the extra deck – that way your opponent will have to waste their monsters all over again to summon it back. Offering 1900 defense is decent, and this guy also has a pretty decent attack stat, which will stop most level 4 attackers right in their tracks.
1. Gravekeeper’s Spy
Gravekeeper’s Spy is without a shadow of a doubt the best Gravekeeper’s card in Yu-Gi-Oh. It’s a 2000 defense wall, which even in modern Yu-Gi-Oh is an absolute pain to get over. Chances are your opponent will have to either tribute summon a larger monster, or summon something bigger from the extra deck, and neither of those are easy feats. When Gravekeeper’s Spy is flipped face-up, you can special summon a Gravekeeper’s monster with 1500 or less attack from your deck in any position – whichever is best for the current game state! The most typical play with this card is to summon another Gravekeeper’s Spy, effectively doubling up on that high defensive wall. And this card is actually a great way of making sure that you have two level 4 monsters on the field at the same time, making it a great way to set up XYZ summons from your extra deck.
