DARK
11Gate Guardian
Archetype:
Gate Guardian
ATK:
3750
DEF:
3400
View:
6931
Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) by Tributing 1 "Sanga of the Thunder", "Kazejin", and "Suijin".
Gate Guardian — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 35 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 34 · Deck: 36 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Boss/End-board · Secondary: Material body
Why it scores here
Gate Guardian is a 3750-ATK body that can only be Special Summoned from hand by tributing three specific monsters (Sanga of the Thunder, Kazejin, Suijin), so its value depends on assembling that trio first. Its ATK earns no points. The 47% co-occurrence of all three tributes with it in the 55-deck sample confirms the line is real inside its home, but the two guides both call the deck brick-heavy and not worth investing in, which pulls down accessibility, deckbuilding efficiency and the final score. The card text gives no opponent interaction and no card advantage, so those axes stay low.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 30 | Needs three named tributes on the field from a hand that must already contain the body; Sanga, Kazejin and Suijin each co-occur in 47.3% of decks, but no combo starter or searched data exists (observed, inferred). |
| Combo & Conversion | 40 | Once summoned it is a single 3750-ATK body with no further effect text in the evidence; combo data has zero boards, and guides describe the deck as brick-heavy (inferred, speculation-free). |
| Resource Economy | 25 | Tribute summon costs three monsters for one, and the evidence shows no recursion, search or refuel (verified from text, inferred). |
| Effect & Interaction | 10 | The supplied text has no negation, removal or hand-trap effect, so opponent interaction is absent (verified). |
| Material Utility | 30 | Level 11 limits it to Level-11 material roles, and the evidence gives no effect-negated material behaviour, so it is awkward rather than clean (inferred). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 35 | A single body that fails to summon if any tribute is removed; Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring is a top partner in 49.1% of decks, which suggests some interaction protection (observed, inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 25 | Requires three specific named tributes, is mostly a 1-copy card (avg 1.05 per deck), and the guides call the deck brick-heavy and not worth investing in (observed, guide-sourced). |
Calculation
Weight profile: Boss/End-board role profile, no secondary blend. Intrinsic ≈ 34, Deck ≈ 36, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Severe brick penalty (-4). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Large 3750-ATK body that is hard to remove once summoned (inferred from ATK and text)
- Strong home synergy: the three tributes and Ash Blossom each appear in roughly half of the sampled decks (observed)
- Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring is a top partner in 49.1% of decks, giving some interaction protection (observed)
Weaknesses
- Summon condition needs three named monsters on the field, so it is hard to reach from hand (verified)
- No opponent interaction, card advantage or recursion in the supplied text (verified)
- Guides describe the deck as brick-heavy and not worth investing in (observed, guide-sourced)
- Archetype-locked: 36% of its decks are the Gate Guardian archetype itself (observed)
Counters / choke points
- Removing any one of Sanga, Kazejin or Suijin stops the Special Summon (inferred from text)
- Hand traps or backrow that answer the tribute monsters before the summon (inferred)
Best use
Boss/End-board finisher within the Gate Guardian archetype. Decks: Gate Guardian. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Summon condition: cannot be Normal Summoned or Set, Special Summon from hand by tributing Sanga of the Thunder, Kazejin and Suijin; ATK 3750, DEF 3400, Level 11, DARK Warrior; Recorded in 55 decks, 55 main-deck, average 1.05 copies per deck
- Observed: Sanga, Kazejin and Suijin each co-occur in 47.3% of decks; Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring co-occurs in 49.1% of decks; Two guides mention the card; both describe the deck as brick-heavy or needing support
- Inferred: Tribute trio must already be on the field for the summon, so accessibility is limited; Level 11 restricts material use to Level-11 roles; Removing a tribute stops the summon
- Data gaps: no combos supplied, so combo conversion is text-only inference no banlist token, so 3 copies assumed legal in all formats no usage statistics (StatisticsCard), so inclusion is from the 55-deck sample only card text supplies only the summon condition; any later effect is unknown and not scored