I’ve been invited to analyze one of the most delightfully versatile monsters in the game. At first glance, Slate Warrior is a simple 1900 ATK monster. However, it was limited in Japan at one point, and it still possesses immense power. I have fond memories of splashing Slate Warrior in a variety of decks, such as this one for the Los Angeles Shonen Jump Championship about a year ago.
Why, you ask? That particular deck used an engine of discarding multiple Night Assailants to retrieve flip effects—and therein lies the key. Slate Warrior’s status as a flip effect monster makes all the difference. You see, most good flip effect monsters have low stats to compensate for their excellent effects. Cards like Magician of Faith, Magical Merchant, and Old Vindictive Magician won’t stand up to much, and they won’t push through damage, either.
Slate Warrior’s effect is not as powerful as the aforementioned cards, mainly for game balance reasons. You see, it comes equipped with superior stats, as well as two effects for the price of one! Let’s take a look at its effect.
Slate Warrior
Wind/Fiend/Level 4/1900 Attack/400 Defense
FLIP: Increase the ATK and DEF of this card by 500 points. The ATK and DEF of a monster that destroys this card as a result of battle is decreased by 500 points.
It’s a Wind/Fiend monster, which is a rather unique combination. However, this makes Slate Warrior one of the best Wind monsters in the game. You can take a look at its prominence in my Wind deck article, but basically it’s one of the few monsters that makes the theme worth playing. The fact that it’s a Fiend monster gives it great synergy with Night Assailant Fiend builds, since you can remove multiple copies for Dark Necrofear.
General Advice, for Those who are Intrigued
Let’s take a look at the ramifications of flip effect status. First, running three copies ensures a very, very powerful dose of damage through Return from the Different Dimension. Slate Warrior is the offensive equivalent of Gravekeeper’s Spy, in that effect monsters should not pack such powerful stats. If you craftily set one, you can load your removed-from-game pile with nearly enough damage to end the game. As for the actual effect itself, it works wonderfully. Imagine if you have Chaos Sorcerer face up on the field, and then set Slate Warrior. If your opponent finds a way to bring out a card like Mobius the Frost Monarch, he’ll likely go straight after the Sorcerer. The next turn, you can then flip Slate Warrior and cancel with a tribute monster!
In fact, Slate Warrior’s immense attacking power, whether flipped or not, allows it to completely dominate the field. The only commonly played monster that can run straight over it is Cyber Dragon. It cancels with Breaker, Airknight Parshath, and other such monsters, and if you can find a way to flip it, your opponent will only be able to take a few attacks before losing due to lethal damage.
In the rare case that a monster can push through, it will be crippled against further maneuvers. That’s because Slate Warrior has an effect that activates in the graveyard, reducing the ATK and DEF of an opponent’s monster by 500. Cyber Dragon becomes a manageable 1600 ATK (go ahead and summon a second Slate Warrior), Mobius and Zaborg become 1900 ATK, and Chaos Sorcerer becomes 1800 ATK. All of these numbers serve to reduce their effectiveness. In fact, Slate Warrior may sometimes be your only way of destroying a threat like Jinzo.
There’s a word for cards that pack a number of weaker effects into a single package. Cards like Enemy Controller, Spell Shield Type-8, and Slate Warrior, while not entirely the best at each of their effects, combine their effects together to form a nice overall package. The combination of its effects with its great stats and flip effect status makes Slate Warrior a keeper.
Now that you’ve resolved to run the card, let’s go over a few synergy tips.
Maximizing the Use Out of Your New Best Friend
The first card you might want to pack is Return from the Different Dimension. Being able to generate an immediate, sizable 5700 points of damage in one turn (assuming you’re running three copies of Slate Warrior) from your opponent’s Nobleman of Crossout is a huge momentum pusher. In fact, in certain rare situations, you can cross out your own Slate Warrior!
Because Slate Warrior is a Wind/Fiend monster, monsters of both types can benefit from its splashability. Silpheed, probably the best Wind monster in the game, would love to have its graveyard removal fueled by a solid Slate Warrior. You might even be able to get away with splashing Return from the Different Dimension in the Wind build! For the Fiend side, you can remove Slate Warrior for Dark Necrofear. And if it seems like Slate loves the removed zone a bit too much, you would be correct.
In addition, Slate Warrior gets along famously with its Fiend buddy Night Assailant. Having these cards in hand when playing discard effects like Graceful Charity and Card Destruction gives you immediate +1 advantages in the resource department, since you can simply return Slate Warrior to your hand.
And don’t forget its face-down synergies as well! Using Book of Moon the turn after you summon it will pump Slate to a meaty 2400 ATK. In fact, you can even Book your Slate to prevent it from being hit with Mirror Force or Sakuretsu Armor, then set your own defense. Now that it’s safe for a turn, you get a nifty 500 ATK boost! This trick also works with Tsukuyomi, the versatile favorite of many an expert duelist. You can summon Tsukuyomi, turn Slate Warrior down, and flip it back up for an added punch.
If it seems like I’ve only begun to scratch the surface of this exciting card, you just might be right! Like with all things so versatile, you’ll have to experiment and tweak your own build and expectations to get maximum mileage out of it. Digging in to a pack of Tournament Pack Season 8 will give you plenty of chances to see what it can do!