Gravekeeper Decks have seen a resurgence in competitive Dueling, lately. Gravekeeper Duelists choose the Deck chiefly for Necrovalley and its related control cards, which offer a strong matchup against Frogs and X-Sabers. But Gravekeeper Duelists have a new trick this weekend: Malefic Stardust Dragon. With 2500 Attack Points, an easy Special Summon ability, and an effect that protects Field Spell Cards from being destroyed, Malefic Stardust is a natural fit for Necrovalley strategies. Devin Djuricin is one of several Duelists who’ve answered that call this weekend.

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The Gravekeeper Decks in contention here today are largely split into two groups: pure Gravekeeper Decks focused chiefly on Necrovalley and Gravekeeper monsters, and teched out versions running cards like Doomcaliber Knight, Thunder King Rai-Oh, and Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo. Djuricin has taken the dedicated route, and while he does play Thunder Kings, his focus is really on the Gravekeeper core. That allows him to have a stronger defense, and make better use of Gravekeeper’s Descendant. Necrovalley makes it extremely easy for Djuricin to shut down Graveyard-related effects. It also allows him to play Royal Tribute to eliminate his opponent’s in-hand monsters, which can be devastating on the first turn of the Duel.

A lot of Gravekeeper Duelists turn their Gravekeepers into Tributes for Caius the Shadow Monarch, but Djuricin instead plays with a greater emphasis on Gravekeeper’s Descendant, and he can also use his monsters for Synchro Summons via Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind. Since Gale is a Level 3 Tuner and Djuricin has such easy access to extra Level 4 Spellcasters, Arcanite Magician is easily unleashed, clearing away whatever’s keeping Djuricin from making big attacks.

And thanks to Malefic Stardust Dragon, big attacks happen more often than they normally would in previous Gravekeeper builds! At any time Djuricin controls Necrovalley, he can flop 2500 ATK to the field without using his Normal Summon. Malefic Stardust keeps other monsters on Djuricin’s side of the field from attacking, but it means he can summon a big attacker and play aggressively while he continues to build up his defense at the same time. So if something does go wrong, he’s got the proper setup to recover and keep the pressure up. If the opponent uses defensive cards like Dimensional Prison or Book of Moon on Malefic Stardust, Djuricin can follow through with a different big attacker.

Royal Oppression remains a top card against X-Sabers, Frogs, and Infernities, and Djuricin doesn’t lose much of his aggression when Oppression is active. He won’t be able to Synchro Summon with Gale, but he can still use its effect to cut a big monster down to size. He won’t be able to Special Summon Malefic Stardust Dragon either, but if he can summon Malefic Stardust before Oppression is in play, it makes for an imposing field alongside Necrovalley and Oppression.

Gravekeepers are simple, effective, and a powerful counter to a lot of the top strategies in this format. With several Gravekeeper Duelists still alive in this tournament, we could see the Deck in the Top 16 tomorrow.