These guys were at the top of the T1 List back before September Format hit and they haven't changed much. The fact is, MST at 3 isn't really that big a deal, and neither is Heavy storm. Sure it changes a few things but any good deck won't get phased by 2 cards.
Now then, on with the deck.
Problems they face
From my experience this format, Gravekeepers' greatest weakness are boss monsters. Boss monsters are pretty much ran in every deck and without Royal Oppression Gks are finding it more difficult to stop them. The most common one in this format is the Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning (BLS), but that's the great part about GK's; they stop cards like BLS from even hitting the field with Necrovalley. Should any other monsters hit the field with above 2500 attack there are several strategies to counter it.
How to get over Boss Monsters
GK Descendant's pop effect, which basically can only be used on a boss monster if you already had field advantage. BW Gale's amazing permanent half effect which can pay off against Shi En and Stardust, but considering Gale is limited then there is the obvious problem of barely having it when you need it. Another Effective yet not always possible method to take the field back is Synchro Summoning Arcanite Magician and using its effect ONE counter at a time.
Now that that's been covered to an extent, next subject.
Consistency
Probably the most important aspect of a deck. Whether or not it can keep up its power constant and not relying on sacky tactics is what makes a deck good. There are several consistency engines in this deck that are easily visible; GK Recruiter, Allure of Darkness, Pot of Duality, Wonder Wand.
Wonder Wand is a great card because it basically trades in 2 of your cards for 2 more and also doubles as a +500Attack equip card. A great combination I use on occasion to usually is the Recruiter Wand combo. It's essentially a +1 from using Recruiters ability to search out another GK but also getting 2 new cards from Wonder Wand. When I say +1, please refer to this article for Shane's input on the concept of plus and minus. Next up are the Pot of Dualities. These cards should basically be staples in any deck that isn't special summon heavy. With these GKs, the only special summoning they're capable of is using the two tuners and Spy. The latter usually occurring on their turn leaving the dualities less limited.
The Sacky Sector
Sacky signifies reliance on luck. In this deck there are a few sacky cards. the ones to name are basically the tuners and breaker which are all at 1, that contributes to the deck's inconsistency. It is a problem but these cards are difficult to become dead draws.
Starlight on the other hand, (nicknamed Sacklight Road by the team) is often really activated due to luck. The usage of the field spell however basically makes it guaranteed heavy storm protection, also most people overlook that starlight road has the potential to easily gain extra advantage when ramming into mirror force, or when the occasional dark hole is dropped although both scenarios require advantage in the first place so it's pretty sacky anyway.
Royal Tribute is pretty much the sackiest but most powerful card Gravekeepers have at their disposal excluding Necrovalley. It essentially is a punch in the dark that hopefully hits them right in the crotch but it comes with a heavy risk and shouldn't be used first turn unless you're not going to minus again (In my earlier GK days i dropped it on vu's gladiator beasts and went minus 3). So anyway, don't try to gamble royal tribute if you're risking your hand as well. Nowadays i usually set my stuff before hand.
Time for the concluding piece
Necrovalley
This is the greatest field spell to ever hit the meta. All kinds of shit gets ruined by this card. Let's just list some of them for funsies; BLS, Spore, Monster Reborn, Avarice, Agents, Hero Beat, Blackwings, Coth, Junk Doppel.
What Necrovalley does is it keeps everything that is in the grave inside the grave hence gravekeeper. It also gives a 500 Attack/Defense boost which is one of the highest field spell stat bonuses in the game.
What I like most about Necrovalley is that any knowledgeable player can understand it doesn't force a complete lockdown but it limits the potential moves your opponent can make thus allowing you to anticipate more of their strategies or plays and find countering them a shit load easier.
It also gives them something to direct their backrow hate towards which adds to the ease of predicting their initial strategies.
Well I hope this read helped you understand Gravekeepers better whether it was studying up to perform better against them or to improve your own build.
Happy Dueling guys.
- Felix
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