Welcome to Wotansday Night Matchup! This week we’re going to pit the reigning YCS-winning Deck against the newest reinvigorated old-school strategy, in a matchup that’s sure to define the month of February! In a clash between ancient tomb keepers and legendary Warriors, who will win? It’s Gravekeeper’s versus Samurais in tonight’s Wotansday Night Matchup!

Right off the bat, it’s easy to see that Six Samurais have lots of advantages over Gravekeeper’s.

Gravekeeper’s Decks are primarily focused on shutting down the Graveyard with Necrovalley, destroying monsters with Gravekeeper’s Descendant, and attacking with monsters that have 2000 ATK. Lots of times, Gravekeeper’s Decks can also steal a win early on by activating Royal Tribute and getting rid of all of the monsters in an opponent’s hand. But most of these tactics won’t usually work against Six Samurais! Six Samurais are too fast, too strong, and too versatile to fall for these tricks.

Six Samurai Decks don’t have the heavy reliance on the Graveyard that many other popular Decks have. A Six Samurai Duelist can swarm the field by using just the cards in his hand.Necrovalley may stop a Six Samurai player from using a few of his cards, like Double-Edged Sword Technique or Legendary Six Samurai – Enishi, but Six Samurai Decks can function even without them. Six Samurai Decks are also aggressive enough to keep monsters off of an opponent’s field and prevent an opponent from Tributing a monster to activate the effect ofGravekeeper’s Descendant. Six Samurai Duelists have the perfect counter to Descendant’s effect, too: Musakani Magatama. Musakani Magatama can negate a Descendant’s effect and destroy the Descendant, as long as you control a Six Samurai.

The 2000 ATK that most Gravekeeper’s have with Necrovalley on the field just won’t cut it against Six Samurais, either. Grandmaster of the Six Samurai and Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan will usually have 2100 ATK, which is enough to take down any of the popular Attack Position Gravekeeper’s. With a 500 ATK boost from Gateway of the Six, even the weaker Six Samurai monsters, like Hand of the Six Samurai and The Six Samurai – Zanji, have more than enough ATK to take down an Attack Position Gravekeeper’s monster while Necrovalley is on the field.

Since Six Samurai Duelists use Reinforcement of the Army and Shien’s Smoke Signal to search their Decks for the Six Samurai monsters they need, they can get away with running a relatively low monster count. That makes Six Samurai Decks less vulnerable to Royal Tributethan most others. Even if a Gravekeeper’s Duelist does manage to activate Royal Tribute on his first turn, there’s a good chance that his Six Samurai opponent won’t have a lot of monsters in his hand to discard. There’s also a good chance that the Six Samurai player will be able to recover quickly, by activating a Spell Card on his next turn and searching his Deck for a Samurai that can start the Duel off strong.

Six Samurai Duelists have a bunch of other advantages over Gravekeeper’s too. Since Gravekeeper’s Decks are dependent on the Field Spell Card Necrovalley to make most of their plays, The Six Samurai – Kamon can be a critical card in the Six Samurai versus Gravekeeper’s matchup. Kamon is a Level 3 Samurai that can destroy Necrovalley while you have another Six Samurai monster on the field. Since Kamon can be searched from your Deck with Reinforcement of the Army and Shien’s Smoke Signal, including just 1 copy of Kamon in your Main Deck or Side Deck can boost your edge against Gravekeeper’s Decks.

One of the toughest monsters for a Gravekeeper’s Duelists to get past when facing a Six Samurai Deck is Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En. Shi En has 2500 ATK, which makes it tough for most Gravekeeper’s to destroy it in battle. Plus, it can negate any Spell or Trap Card, including Necrovalley! Once a Six Samurai Duelist Special Summons Shi En by TuningLegendary Six Samurai – Kageki with Kagemusha of the Six Samurai, the Duel may be as good as over.

Fortunately for the Gravekeeper’s Duelist, all hope is not lost when his opponent Summons Shi En. A well-timed Gravekeeper’s Guard can send Shi En back to the Extra Deck, and successful use of Gravekeeper’s Descendant’s effect can destroy it, if the Samurai Duelist has no other monsters on the field to substitute.

One of the best cards a Gravekeeper’s Duelist can draw in the Six Samurai matchup isGravekeeper’s Spy. Since Gravekeeper’s Spy has 2500 DEF with Necrovalley on the field, not even Shi En has enough ATK to destroy it in battle. If a Gravekeeper’s Spy can successfully flip face-up and activate its effect, the Gravekeeper’s Duelist may be able to build up a field and activate Gravekeeper’s Descendant’s effect.

However, attack boosts from Gateway of the Six, and effects of monsters like The Six Samurai – Irou, The Six Samurai – Zanji, and Hand of the Six Samurai, still give Six Samurai Duelists some confidence in taking down Gravekeeper’s Spy. Even if a Gravekeeper’s Duelist manages to hide behind Spy for a little while, it may not be enough time to set up a field that can put him in the lead.

Current Gravekeeper’s Decks will have a tough time dealing with the new Six Samurai Decks. But that doesn’t mean they won’t be able to beat them! With some innovation and strong Side Deck choices, Gravekeeper’s Decks may be able to overcome the Six Samurai matchup and defend their status as the most recent YCS-winning Deck.