Card Game
Card of the Day
TCG Fan Tips
Top 10 Lists
Banned/Restricted List
Yu-Gi-Oh News
Tourney Reports
Duelist Interviews

Featured Writers
Baneful's Column
Anteaus on YGO
General Zorpa
Dark Paladin's Dimension
Retired Writers

Releases + Spoilers
Booster Sets (Original Series)
LOB | MRD | MRL | PSV
LON | LOD | PGD | MFC
DCR | IOC | AST | SOD
RDS | FET
Booster Sets (GX Series)
TLM | CRV | EEN | SOI
EOJ | POTD | CDIP | STON
FOTB | TAEV | GLAS | PTDN
LODT
Booster Sets (5D Series)
TDGS | CSOC | CRMS | RBGT
ANPR | SOVR | ABPF | TSHD
STBL | STOR | EXVC
Booster Sets (Zexal Series)
GENF | PHSW | ORCS | GAOV
REDU | ABYR | CBLZ | LTGY
NUMH | JOTL | SHSP | LVAL
PRIO

Starter Decks
Yugi | Kaiba
Joey | Pegasus
Yugi 2004 | Kaiba 2004
GX: 2006 | Jaden | Syrus
5D: 1 | 2 | Toolbox
Zexal: 2011 | 2012 | 2013
Yugi 2013 | Kaiba 2013

Structure Decks
Dragons Roar &
Zombie Madness
Blaze of Destruction &
Fury from the Deep
Warrior's Triumph
Spellcaster's Judgment
Lord of the Storm
Invincible Fortress
Dinosaurs Rage
Machine Revolt
Rise of Dragon Lords
Dark Emperor
Zombie World
Spellcaster Command
Warrior Strike
Machina Mayhem
Marik
Dragunity Legion
Lost Sanctuary
Underworld Gates
Samurai Warlord
Sea Emperor
Fire Kings
Saga of Blue-Eyes
Cyber Dragon

Promo Cards:
Promos Spoiler
Coll. Tins Spoiler
MP1 Spoiler
EP1 Spoiler

Tournament Packs:
TP1 / TP2 / TP3 / TP4
TP5 / TP6 / TP7 / TP8
Duelist Packs
Jaden | Chazz
Jaden #2 | Zane
Aster | Jaden #3
Jesse | Yusei
Yugi | Yusei #2
Kaiba | Yusei #3
Crow

Reprint Sets
Dark Beginnings
1 | 2
Dark Revelations
1 | 2 | 3 | 4
Gold Series
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
Dark Legends
DLG1
Retro Pack
1 | 2
Champion Pack
1 | 2 | 3 | 4
5 | 6 | 7 | 8
Turbo Pack
1 | 2 | 3 | 4
5 | 6 | 7

Hidden Arsenal:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4
5 | 6 | 7

Checklists
Brawlermatrix 08
Evan T 08
X-Ref List
X-Ref List w/ Passcodes

Anime
Episode Guide
Character Bios
GX Character Bios

Video Games
Millennium Duels (2014)
Nighmare Troubadour (2005)
Destiny Board Traveler (2004)
Power of Chaos (2004)
Worldwide Edition (2003)
Dungeon Dice Monsters (2003)
Falsebound Kingdom (2003)
Eternal Duelist Soul (2002)
Forbidden Memories (2002)
Dark Duel Stories (2002)

Other
About Yu-Gi-Oh
Yu-Gi-Oh! Timeline
Pojo's YuGiOh Books
Apprentice Stuff
Life Point Calculators
DDM Starter Spoiler
DDM Dragonflame Spoiler
The DungeonMaster
Millennium Board Game

- Magic
- DBZ
- Gundam
- Pokemon
- Digimon 
- Harry Potter
- Anime

- Advertise on Pojo
- Our Sponsors
- Pojo Polls

 


Pojo's Yu-Gi-Oh Card of the Day

Royal Keeper
Common

Zombie / Effect Monster
You can flip this card into face-down Defense Position once per turn during your Main Phase. When this card is flipped face-up, increase the ATK and DEF of this card by 300 points until the end of the turn that this card is flipped face-up.

Type - Earth / 4 / 1600 / 1700
Card Number
- PGD-018

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale 1 being 
the worst.  3 ... average.  5 is the highest rating

Date Reviewed - 7.28.04

ExMinion OfDarkness Wednesday:
Royal Keeper

This card is a very interesting addition to a Zombie deck.

You can't search it, but you can make it into a Beatstick for a turn. It's the only one of the "flip back down in Main Phase Two" monsters whose effect triggers if it is attacked instead of flip-summoned. HOWEVER...the effect occurs after damage calculation -- meaning if a 1900 Attacker attacks this, IT STILL DIES.

It can hold its own against control, and can pretend it's a beatstick for a turn...not a bad addition for Zombie. But it doesn't stand out like any of the other major zombies.

2.5/5 
Tranorix Wednesday: Royal Keeper

Royal Keeper is an interesting monster. The stats make him unsearchable by all but Pyramid Turtle, but his relatively decent DEF might be enough to defend him against certain attacks and he can do some damage in a pinch. The effect is what makes him worthwhile, obviously.

It has the Flip Up, Flip Down effect similar to Stealth Bird, Guardian Sphinx, etc., which is easy enough to understand (and if you don't think it is, just read reviews on those cards for more in-depth explanations). The other effect is also pretty nice. If it's flipped face-up, it gets a 300/300 bonus. Flip Summon him on your turn and he becomes a 1900 that can run away and hide after it attacks. Not bad at all, right?

One negative is that if your opponent attacks Royal Keeper, he won't get his DEF bonus until AFTER Damage Calculation, meaning he'll still be killed if a Gemini Elf attacks him. It's unfortunate but true, and it does significantly decrease his playability. Regardless, he still might be worth using in a Zombie deck.

Typical tournament deck: 2.5/5
Zombie deck: 3/5
OVERALL RATING: 2.8/5 
Otaku

Stats: Royal Keeper is a Level 4 Earth/Zombie from Pharaonic Guardian.  As a Level 4, it can be dropped into play, no problem.  I count 11 other Zombies matching this type, but Pyramid Turtle is probably the best of them.  Individually, both types are fairly well supported.  As for the ATK and DEF, they are not bad, but not great-1600/1700 will frustrate support and Control monsters, but not much else, and also means that Pyramid Turtle is your sole-searching option.

Effect(s): Fortunately, it gets a solid effect.  If you if it’s flipped, it gets a +300/300 to its stats until the end of the turn.  Sadly, this is applied after damage calculation should it be flipped by an attack (but at least it does go off after that if the ruling didn’t change).  It also has the ability to flip itself back facedown, which can be useful if your opponent, for example, has some weenie monster in ATK mode and one huge attacker in play-hit the weenie then hide in DEF mode so you don’t lose LP too.

Uses/Combinations: This is support for a Zombie deck pure and simple.  Use it with other Zombie support cards, like the aforementioned Pyramid Turtle.  Earth decks could use it, but it would probably be a waste.  I suppose a deck built around the Flip Summon/Re-Set effect based monsters could also use it, but would such a deck be worth the effort?

Ratings

Casual: 2.5/5-As usual, take it in context-in a deck with a compatible theme, it’s just filler.

Tournament: 2/5-It’s still filler here, but I needed another Zombie card for the week that hadn’t been reviewed. ;)  It’s not abysmal, but it’s really not going to see play unless you are short on cards.

Limited: 3.5/5-Solid pick here, with all the Zombie support floating around.  If not, lack of competition makes its stats better, and there’s a good chance of it pulling its effect once, if not multiple times.

Summary

I mainly covered it as filler-it’s not utterly worthless, but it really should only see play as filler for the decks I mentioned above, while people try to get the cards they really need.

MerrilHess Royal Keeper

This is still a great Zombie beatstick. I'd use him for fun.

Pros:
It gets it's effect when it is flipped face-up, so he could be attacked and get his ability, or by effects like Swords of Revelaing Light. It's also a 1900/2000 when it gets it's effect. 1600 attack can hold off Dons, Tomatoes, Witch, Sangan, Angels, Pyramid's, and other element searchers and can suicide into a counter-less Breaker and Tribe. It's a Zombie, so it can be Pyramid searched, but it can't by Witch or Sangan. It's also Book of Life-able.
It also is good to use if you can't get any good Zombie's like Regenerating Mummy or Soul-Absorbing Bone Tower.

Cons:
It's not searchable by Witch or Sangan. It's also not Giant Rat-able, but who plays that nowadays in Zombies? Nobleman of Crossout pwns this like cell phones in mall basements. Other than that, I don't see much else wrong.

Overall, I give Royal Keeper a 8.4/10 in Zombie decks and a 7.6/10 in anything else. 
JAELOVE

Wednesday: Royal Keeper

Rated For: Zombie Decks

Little Boy: Hey look! Your Gemini elf attacks my Royal Keeper. It gets 2000 defense! You lose 100!
Jae: Sorry little boy. You're wrong! It gets the effect after damage calculation, only if it survives.
Little Boy: Wow, this card's weak! I'm taking it out immediately for a godlier card!
Jae: Great! What are you going to switch it for
Little Boy: Buster Blader!
Jae: (sighs in despair)

    Well the little boy learned a lesson from me that day. Royal Keeper must survive to keep its effect! Will this hurt the score? Yes indeed!

Advantage F/H: A 1600/1700 monster with the chance of hitting 1900 for a turn you say? Excellent! That provides some semblance of field advantage. 6/10.

Best Draw for the Situation: Need a monster? Need to stop that D.D Warrior Lady, Tribe-Infecting Virus, Breaker for a turn? This is your man. Unfortunately, he's rather worthless when you're losing to Berserk Gorillas and such. 5/10.

Attributes/Effect: 1600/1700. Zombie. Earth. He also possesses one of those nifty flip effect features. For what you might ask? A puny 1900 attack zombie? Decent, but hardly spectacular or use-worthy. 5/10.

Dependability: You'll probably get his effect off 50% of the time. He'll get crossed out rarely, and I'm giving him a slightly worse score than a basic 1900 monster. 6/10.

The Bottom Line: Yes, I know zombies need a solid 1900 monster. This isn't it. With Regenerating Mummy out, you have no excuse to use this card.

A BAD Score: 22/40= 5.5/10 x 10 = 55/100.

Cards it combos with: Book of moon/Taiyou if you're feeling frisky and in a mood to burn some cards. Book of life.

 

 Copyright 1998-2004 - Pojo.com 

This site is not associated with KAZUKI TAKAHASHI.  Yu-Gi-Oh is a registered trademarks of KAZUKI TAKAHASHI.
This is NOT an official site.  This is a fan site.