Introduction to Guardian Monsters

Last Updated: July 21st 2022

General Introduction:

Guardian Monsters are a new type of Monster exclusive to Yu-Gi-Oh! CROSS DUEL that can be a force to be reckoned with for any unsuspecting duelist.

These monsters are not summoned to any of the regular 3 Monster Zones on the field, but instead have a unique zone of their own - the Guardian Monster Zone. This zone sits behind your Spell and Trap Card Zones, and only becomes accessible if you have a Guardian Monster available to summon.

Once you summon a Guardian Monster you are unable to change it's battle position during future Main Phases of the duel, meaning you must choose wisely whether to go on the offense or defense depending on the Guardian Monster you have. However, it can be changed by card effects, such as Stop Defense or Block Attack.

They are also unable to move from their Guardian Monster Zone, they do not move along lanes like the other monsters in your deck and therefore cannot be targeted or affected by card effects and skills that target particular lanes, such as Poisonous Winds.

When an opponent's monster reaches one of your Monster Zones, and threatens a direct attack on your Life Points, your Guardian Monster is able to step in and take the damage - from any of your three lanes! Meaning if you are being attacked by all three opponent's at once, they will have to reduce your Guardian Monsters ATK or DEF to 0 to even start dealing you damage and gaining them LP.

Exodia the Forbidden One:

As of launch, Exodia the Forbidden One is the only Guardian Monster obtainable in Yu-Gi-Oh! CROSS DUEL.

Exodia's exclusive Special and Master Skill aim to replicate his devastating "instant win" condition from the physical card game. At the start of the Battle Phase, if you drew a Normal Monster this turn you gain 1 Counter on Exodia. Once that Count reaches 5 you win the duel. With Exodia's Master Skill you also gain 500 ATK each turn - meaning you'll want to summon him in Attack Position to gain the most benefit.

This does place a target on your head during the duel, and your opponent's will try and remove Exodia at their earliest convenience. Blue-Eyes White Dragon's Special and Master Skill allow you to destroy 1 monster as soon as it's summoned. Other Ace Monsters such as Firewall Dragon have skills that can bounce Exodia back to your hand, forcing you to reset your Counter when you summon it on your next turn - depending on how far into the duel you are, this might have shut down your entire win condition.

Because of this, it's recommened to run Exodia with at least 2 of it's Skill Slots unlocked for maximum protection against Skill and Card Effects. Immunity: Destruction Effects is essential for taking Exodia into the higher tiers of Ranked Duels, with Immunity: Bounce/Teleport and Immunity: Position Change being personal choices for the third skill slot.

More Guardian Monsters are expected to be obtainable in the future.