DARK
12Dark Guardian
Archetype:
Guardian
ATK:
3800
DEF:
3800
View:
3798
(This card is always treated as a "Gate Guardian" card.) Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must be either Special Summoned by "Dark Element", or Special Summoned (from your hand or GY) by shuffling into the Deck, 1 each of your "Sanga of the Thunder", "Kazejin", and "Suijin" that is in your hand, face-up field, GY, and/or banished. Cannot be destroyed by battle. If this card is Special Summoned by the effect of "Dark Element", it is unaffected by other monsters' effects or your opponent's activated Spell Cards or effects.
Dark Guardian — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 47 ± 8 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 46 · Deck: 47 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Boss/End-board
Why it scores here
Dark Guardian is a 3800-ATK boss whose score comes from how it is reached, not from its stats. It can only be Special Summoned by Dark Element or by shuffling Sanga of the Thunder, Kazejin and Suijin from hand, field, GY or banished, so its accessibility depends on Gate Guardian support that the decks evidence shows is almost always present (Dark Element and the three pieces each co-occur in about 96% of the sampled decks). Its 3800 ATK and battle-destruction immunity earn some resilience credit, but the no-battle-destruction clause is its only real defensive value, and the card carries no verified card advantage, interaction, or material value; its high ATK earned no points. Combo evidence is absent, so the conversion score is a text-only inference.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 55 | Reachable only through Dark Element or the three Gate Guardian shuffle-summon pieces, which co-occur in ~96% of the sampled decks, so the route is live in its home but still needs a second card (observed + verified text). |
| Combo & Conversion | 62 | Once on the field it is a single large body that cannot be destroyed by battle, but no recorded boards exist to confirm what it converts into (inferred from text). |
| Resource Economy | 40 | The shuffle-to-summon cost returns three Gate Guardian pieces to the Deck, which is a cost rather than card advantage; no net advantage is recorded (verified text, no combo stat). |
| Effect & Interaction | 30 | It has no negation, removal, or hand-trap effect; its only protection is immunity to some effects when summoned by Dark Element (verified text). |
| Material Utility | 30 | A Level 12 body with no stated material role; its high level makes it awkward as material, and the card text carries no material clause (inferred). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 55 | Cannot be destroyed by battle, and is unaffected by monster effects and opposing Spells on the Dark Element route; the other summon routes are exposed (verified text). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 35 | It is a single-copy slot whose cost is a commitment to Gate Guardian support, and it is not summonable without that support (verified text, observed deck copies average ~1.4). |
Calculation
Weight profile: Boss/End-board weights only; no secondary role. Intrinsic ≈ 46, Deck ≈ 47, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Self-locking summon restriction (-3). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Cannot be destroyed by battle, so it survives most combat-based answers (verified text)
- Unaffected by monster effects and opposing Spells when summoned via Dark Element (verified text)
- Its Gate Guardian homes are well supported: Dark Element and the three pieces co-occur in ~96% of sampled decks (observed)
Weaknesses
- Summon-only: no route without Dark Element or the three shuffle pieces (verified text)
- Its protections depend on the Dark Element route; other summons remain exposed to monster effects and Spells (verified text)
- No combo or guide evidence confirms what it converts into, so conversion is an inference (data gap)
Counters / choke points
- Interrupting the Dark Element summon or the three-piece shuffle-to-summon, which removes its only route (inferred from text)
- Monster effects and Spells on any summon route other than Dark Element (inferred from text)
Best use
Single-copy boss finisher in Gate Guardian decks. Decks: Gate Guardian, Gate Guardian (archetype 1682). Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Cannot be Normal Summoned or Set; Special Summon routes: Dark Element, or shuffle Sanga of the Thunder, Kazejin and Suijin; Cannot be destroyed by battle; Unaffected by monster effects and opposing Spells when summoned by Dark Element
- Observed: Dark Element and the three shuffle pieces co-occur in ~96% of 216 sampled decks; Gate Guardian archetype inclusion 66.7% with typical 1 copy; Average copies per deck 1.38
- Inferred: Accessibility is a two-card requirement in practice; Conversion value is inferred from text because no combos are recorded; Counters are inferred from the single summon route
- Data gaps: no combos supplied; combo conversion is text-only inference no guides supplied no banlist token; assumed 3 copies (unlimited) Dark Element's own stats and searchability are not in the evidence