Subject: Tips for building a Necrovalley Deck - The New Era Outlaw
Howdy, boys and girls, this is the New Era Outlaw, back again from a few months of hibernation to offer some pointers! First off, I would like to thank everybody who has written back to me with their questions, comments (and somewhat insightful arguments) pertaining to my previous articles, 'Tips for building a Toon Deck' versions 1 and 2. To me, there is no greater learning experience than to sit back and soak in the feedback from people, you get to know a lot.
Anyway, as you probably would've guessed from the title, this article looks not at Toons, but of another category of cards that possesses a lot of potential, and has reaped me a lot of success at weekly tournaments here in
It has gotten me respectable places in several tournaments (it got me second place twice in a row), and it also makes opponents re-think their strategies.
Probably the biggest cripple to your opponents is the inability to raid their Graveyard.
However, I've seen many instances where people just get confused over the whole ' negate all effects involving Graveyards' effect of Necrovalley.
Fear not, for i have the official rulings of upperdeck on this matter, and I'll reveal which cards are affected by Necro valley, and which are not.
Some of the cards on the 'not' list may surprise you.
Anyway, without further ado, on to the GRAVEKEEPERS!!
Now, you probably already know this, but one of the most important elements of a successful Necrovalley deck is that group of monster cards known as the Gravekeepers. Let's face it....they are the lifeblood of this deck, and they are staples, that is, if you want to keep the theme intact.
The great thing about these monsters is that they possess effects that can not only totally harass your opponent, but some of them are just built for speed. Your opponent can only watch in horror as Gravekeeper upon Gravekeeper gets summoned on the field, and soon, an army of rabid Egyptians will be gnawing on his armpits faster than you can say.....
Okay, I think I've made my point.
Here is a list of Gravekeepers you should definitely have in your Necrovalley deck:
* Gravekeeper's Assailant: Alone, he's not really much of a threat.
Heck, most monsters of the beatdown variety would have a field day on this card. When combined with the power of Necrovalley, however, most monsters would have good reason to run home crying for their mommies. Why? Not only does Necrovalley boost his attack to 2000, but he carries a nasty effect, too.....got a Summoned Skull that's harassing you? Got a Jinzo that's giving you a major headache? Hit 'em where it hurts! Declare an attack, and send them to defense mode when Necrovalley's on the field, and destory them! that's right, when Necrovalley's on the field, as soon as you say, I attack, you can turn a monster to defense mode before the attack goes through. Nifty effect, if I do say so myself.
* Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier: What's not to like about a 1500 attack monster that can pierce your opponent's defenses? Here's something even
better: a 2000 ATK monster that can pierce your opponent's defenses whne Necrovalley's on the field! To tell the truth, most effect monsters that your opponent will lay down will have defense less than 1500, so this card isn't that bad. Plus, the effect works even if Necrovalley's not on the field, so plunk him down and TRAMPLE AWAY!!!
* Gravekeeper's Spy: You can't have an effective Necrovalley deck without this monster. This monster possesses great defense (2000 alone, 2500 with Necrovalley!) and a nifty flip effect that adds to the speed of this deck. You can summon any Gravekeeper monster with 1500 or less attack from your deck when Spy is flipped!! And since nearly all Gravekeepers have 1500 or less ATK, you're almost guaranteed to give Spy a helping hand when there's trouble afoot!
* Gravekeeper's Guard: This monster is just EVIL. 1900 defense (or 2400 when Necrovalley's on the field) and the flip effect that sends one of your opponent's monsters back to his/her hand is just a very decent combination.
Unlike Hane-hane and Penguin Soldier, that just do their job and leave, Guard will most likely just remain there until you can assemble your army.
Got Jinzo? Hah! He can't touch this card when Necrovalley's on the field!
Try putting three of these in your deck...it's just that darn good.
* Gravekeeper's Chief: Ah, yes....Gravekeeper's Chief. The Leader of the pack. the Big cheese. The big, bad booty daddy that can totally kick some serious behind when he's out! When you have him on the field, your Graveyard isn't affected by Necrovalley, so cards that wouldn't otherwise work, (like Monster Reborn) would work, so long as it involves your Graveyard. Now, I know what you're thinking: '1900 for a trbute? that sucks!' but....when you do tribute Summon him, you get to Special Summon ANOTHER Gravekeeper from your Graveyard! Even if he gets a Trap Hole or another counter card like that, you still get to pull a Gravekeeper from your Graveyard! With Necrovalley on the field, he's 2400 attack....just enough to square off with Jinzo. If you had a Assailant in your graveyard, however, you won't have to, though. Just turn him with Assailant's effect and destroy him with Assailant's attack, then Cheif can unleash 2400 ATK on your opponent!! (that is...if he had no other monsters...or something.) These are basically the staple monsters you would need to keep the theme intact. You're probably asking yourself: 'What about Gravekeeper's Curse and Gravekeeper's Vassal'? Well, those cards have pretty mediocre effects and less than decent ATK of DEF power, so I wouldn't bother using them.
Curse has potential, but there are better cards out there.
Now, let's look at some Spell and Trap cards that are crucial to this deck's success:
* Necrovalley: Well, duh....this card is to a Gravekeeper's deck what Toon World is to a Toon deck. Although Gravekeepers are not 100% reliant on Necrovalley like Toons are to Toon World, Necrovalley makes playing with them much more versatile. It adds 500 ATK and DEF to all Gravekeepers on the field, which boosts them to unbelieveable proportions. Plus, it comes with the effect of negating cards that manipulate the Graveyard. this is a really evil effect, since 99.9% of the time, your opponent's winning strategy involves bringing back cards from the graveyard. Before i continue,though, there has been some confusion as to what cards are affected by Necrovalley and which are not. Below is the rulings on Necrovalley by Upperdeck, some of which may surprise you:
Necrovalley
---Necrovalley negates any effect that specifically designates a card or cards in the Graveyard as a target.
---So Necrovalley WILL negate the effect of Monster Reborn, Premature Burial, Call of the Haunted, Question, Backup Soldier, Spear Cretin, Shallow Grave, and Magician of Faith.
---Necrovalley WILL negate the effect of Fiber Jar.
---Necrovalley WILL negate effects that require removing cards from the Graveyard, so Bazoo the Soul-Eater's effect cannot be used, you cannot Special Summon Dark Necrofear from your hand by removing 3 Fiends, etc.
---Necrovalley WILL NOT negate effects that are activated when a card is sent TO the
Graveyard, so it WILL NOT negate Sangan, Witch of the
---Necrovalley WILL NOT negate the effects of cards that do not specifically designate a target, so it WILL NOT negate Sinister Serpent, Dark Necrofear (if sent to the Graveyard from the field), Revival Jam, or Winged Sage Falcos.
---Necrovalley WILL NOT negate effects of cards IN the Graveyard, so it WILL NOT negate the effect of Buster Blader, Shadow Ghoul, Marie the Fallen One, etc.
I hope that clears up a few things....
* Rite of Spirit: Further adds insult to injury when it comes to the speed power of a Necrovalley deck. Got a gloating opponent who's yelling 'In your face!' when he's wiped out a Gravekeeper? Just bring that monster back with this card, and watch his jaw drop at sheer disbelief. This card not only carries Monster Reborn's effect for Gravekeepers, but it's unaffected by Necrovalley....a double shot in the face for your foe. just be timely about it, because a Raigeki or a Dark Hole isn't affected by Necrovalley either...... Put three of these in your deck. You won't be sorry.
* Ordeal of a Traveller: This is a MUST, especially in a Necrovalley deck. Why? when you're bombarding your opponent with Gravekeepers and he finds a way around them and starts to pick them off, defend them with this!
Play a guessing game with your opponent with this fun card. He guesses wrong, that monster goes back to his hand, leaving one less monster to stand between you and his LP. Ouch.
Now, a deck is only as good as its accessories, right?
Here are some assist cards you should drop in with your deck:
* Jinzo -can't have a deck without him.
* Cyber Jar- useful if you have a lot of Gravekeepers.
* Witch of the
* Morphing Jar #2- when alone on the field, this card is dangerous.
* Mystical Knight of Jackal- I think with the speed of summoning that this deck poses, two tributes won't be much trouble. plus, you can nail your opponent with a Jackal lock, since his effect isn't negated.
* Cat of Ill Omen, Owl of luck- you can put them in if you want, but they just take up space at times. They'll make things easier for you, though.
* Magician of Faith, Mask of Darkness- 'But wait!! Didn't you say those cards would be negated by Necrovalley? Why those cards?!' Let's face it....Necrovalley won't be on the field 24/7. Have these cards to fish it back from the Graveyard or get back your Rite of Spirit cards when they get dumped. Simple, right?
* Monster Reborn, Premature Burial, Call of the Haunted- Read above.
You need a back-up plan if your Necrovalley strategy is going downhill, so have these cards at the ready! Plus, if Gravekeeper's Cheif is on the field, would Necrovalley be an issue?
* Tribe Infecting Virus- This card can be quite handy. Just have some cards at the ready and get ready to ravage your opponent's monsters!!
* United We Stand, Mage Power- Need I say more?
* Terraforming- Not a staple card, mind you, but it makes looking for Necrovalley a simple task.
* Hysteric Fairy, Gemini Elf, and other strong beatdowns- You need some strong beatdowns on your side in you want to win with this deck. Slip a few of these guys in and you'd be covered on all sides, Necrovalley or not.
* Imperial Order, Seven Tools of the Bandit, Mirror Force, Ring of Destruction, etc.- Fortify your deck with some strong counter cards.
* Ceasefire- Your opponent would take a fair share of damage, especially if you've got a lot of Gravekeepers on your side (all of whom has effects)! Plus, if you have a Necrovalley powered Gravekeeper's Assailant on your side, ravage your opponent's LP by turning any weak offense monster you turned up with Ceasefire into ATK mode and destroy them!!
Well, that it from me for today.
If you have any comments, questions or suggestions about this or any one of my other articles, contact me at <mailto:neweraoutlaw@hotmail.com>neweraoutlaw@hotmail.com .
Until then....adios, amigos!!