Sanga of the Thunder – #MAZE-EN032
Kazejin – #MAZE-EN033
Suijin – #MAZE-EN034
Once while face-up on the field, during damage calculation in your opponent’s turn, if this card is being attacked (Quick Effect): You can target the attacking monster; make that target’s ATK 0 during damage calculation only.
Date Reviewed: May 25th, 2023
Rating: 1.33
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is awful. 3 is average. 5 is excellent.
Reviews Below:
King of
Lullaby
Hello Pojo Fans,
Throwback Thursday is a triple this week, reviewing the sires of the Gate Guardian archetype: Sanga of the Thunder, Kazejin, and Suijin.
Each have the same ability, allowing you to make the attacking monster’s ATK 0 during their turn only. It wasn’t bad enough that the monsters are all Level 7 with no Special Summon ability on them (I know these are from DM days but retrains could’ve happened), but you can only use this effect during the opponent’s turn when they are attacking. If it was like Waboku where you could use it offensively and defensively it would be a little better. No one is going to attack into one of these pieces just to lose their monster and take 2000+ to their LP even if LP aren’t a major concern and haven’t been for quite a while. At least now these pieces are searchable within their own archetype and together they make a monster that is FAR superior to the original Gate Guardian.
Those who tried to make Gate Guardian work in the past were punching far above their weight class. They aren’t anything to anyone except pieces for Fusion Summons and now with Fusion Summons for every combination of these three, including tomorrows card choice, they actually serve a purpose now.
Advanced-1/5 Art-3/5
Until Next Time
KingofLullaby
Crunch$G
We kinda looked at Gate Guardian last year, and honestly he isn’t even worth running in the dedicated Gate Guardian Deck anymore, so instead we’ll look at the 3 pieces for Throwback Thursday in a triple-header: Sanga of the Thunder, Kazejin, and Suijin.
Sanga of the Thunder is a Level 7 LIGHT Thunder with 2600 ATK and 2200 DEF, Kazejin is a Level 7 WIND Spellcaster with 2400 ATK and 2200 DEF, and Suijin is a Level 7 WATER Aqua with 2500 ATK and 2400 DEF. Sanga is the best in terms of stats since it does have more ATK. For the Attribute hierachy, it probably goes LIGHT, WATER, then WIND and for the Type hierachy it’ll probably go Spellcaster, Aqua, then Thunder, so all balances out really there. The reason we can look at all 3 at once and not take forever is cause they all got the same effect, which you can only trigger once while they’re face-up on the field during the damage calculation of the opponent’s turn when their monster attacks the corresponding piece, targeting the monster and making the said monster’s ATK become 0. I mean, it at least ensures that they won’t get ran over at least once each unless you set them or remove them from the field and return them. Most likely, however, the opponent isn’t running into these unless they’re really not threatened by the effect or can optimally structure their attacks so it isn’t as effective as it could be. These things will more often end up being removed by effects then they would be attacked, though. These are certainly 2002 cards, and even then you had Fissure, Dark Hole, and Raigeki to ensure you don’t have to worry about these and made you wish you went with Blue-Eyes White Dragon just for its raw ATK. I mean, you still play these three in a Gate Guardian Deck since they’re used to summon the new monsters and were probably the only monsters in the Paradox Brothers’ Deck to not get retrained, though they probably needed it the most. At least you get to them so easily, even from the banished pile, that you don’t need 3.
Advanced Rating: 1.5/5 each
Art: 3/5 Alternate arts that show off the design of each monster would be cool, or said retrains we likely won’t get now.
Mighty
Vee
This week’s Throwback Thursday is, naturally, the original Guardian trio, consisting of Sanga of the Thunder, Kazejin, and Suijin, most known as the ace monsters of the Paradox Brothers from the anime. All of them are level 7, with Sanga being a LIGHT Thunder monster, Kazejin being a WIND Spellcaster monster, and Suijin being a WATER Aqua monster. For the most part, these aren’t particularly relevant, though in some builds, you can take advantage of Kazejin being a Spellcaster to send it to the Graveyard with Magicians’ Souls, and in a pinch you can make Rank 7 plays as well. Stat wise, Sanga has the best stats, with 2600 attack and 2200 defense, though for a level 7 monster they’re still not much to brag about. Suijin trails slightly behind with 2500 attack and a slightly higher 2400 defense, again being decent but not great. Kazejin is firmly the weakest in both regards, having a paltry 2400 attack and 2200 defense. Aside from being placeable by the various Gate Guardian support cards, you can also grab each piece with Fusion Deployment. Neat!
All three share the same Quick Effect that can only be used once while face-up on the field, making it practically a once per duel. If they’re targeted for an attack, you can target the opponent’s monster and make its attack 0 during damage calculation. That’s it! No protection, no real disruption, just a rather weak battle protection effect. Despite the support, they’re still level 7 monsters that can’t Special Summon themselves, relying on their own deck effects or external support to get on the field, and their sole effect relies on the opponent blindly attacking. It’s not a surprise that these guys have been irrelevant for two decades; during their time, they were decent beaters with a nice effect, though they were still largely outclassed by vanillas that were either straight up stronger (Blue-Eyes White Dragon) or infinitely easier to summon (Summoned Skull). Fortunately, Konami has graciously decided to keep them alive through support, even if the monsters themselves are house building materials. Overall, in Gate Guardian decks proper, you should run at least 1 of each; I wouldn’t go any more unless you like bricking.
Advanced: 1.5/5
Art: 3.25/5 Nostalgic, but the zoom-ins make them feel pretty funky.
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