A beatstick, as its name suggests, is a Monster that is used primarily to attack due to its high ATK. Usually, a beatstick has a low Level, making it easy to Summon. While one would think of Normal Monsters like "Gene-Warped Warwolf" (a 2000 ATK, Level 4 Monster) or "Frostosaurus" (a 2600 ATK, Level 6 Monster), the "best" beatstick Monsters usually have any or all of the following properties:
- Effects that aren't prejudicial to its owner ("Skilled Dark Magician" in a Deck without "Dark Magician").
- Effects that allow them to be Special Summoned without a major setup ("Cyber Dragon", "Hieratic Dragon of Tefnuit", "Kaiser Vorse Raider", or "Photon Thrasher", all of whom Special Summon themselves while their owner controls no monsters).
- Effects that actually help the player ("Gigantes" and "Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer").
- Effects that raises their ATK value ("Kaiser Vorse Raider" and "Cyber Dragon Zwei").
Also, for a low-level Monster to be considered a beatstick, it must have at least the "standard" ATK points to be considered a "strong" attacker, or being able to raise its own ATK to the "standard" levels easily and without a major setup. While it depends on the Metagame entirely, the usual ATK score for a low-level beatstick is between 1700 and 2000 ATK. For a high-level Monster to be considered a beatstick it should have any or all of these properties:
- Having high ATK that can't be reached easily ("Blue-Eyes White Dragon").
- Require only 1 or no tributes ("Jinzo" or "Cyber Dragon", who both have 2000+ ATK).
- Being able at least to tie with the "standard" ATK power of Tribute Summoned monsters (usually 2400 ATK, the ATK of most "Monarchs" and "Jinzo"), or having an effect that allows it to quickly raise its own ATK above this standard ("Kaiser Vorse Raider").
- Having an effect that allows them to be easily Summoned ("Cyber Dragon" or "Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon").
"Cyber Dragon" is considered one of the best beatsticks ever printed, with an effect that allows itself to be Special Summoned easily, and having 2100 ATK, higher than the ATK and DEF of most Level 4 or lower monster (the major exception being "Big Shield Gardna" who has 2600 DEF) and even some Level 5 or higher monsters ("Blackwing - Gofu the Vague Shadow" and "Quickdraw Synchron"). Other commonly used beatsticks are "Alexandrite Dragon" and the more recent "Kaiser Vorse Raider".
Easily Summoned beasticks that surpass "Cyber Dragon" include "Mermail Abyssmegalo", "Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon", "Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon", and "Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning", all of whom also have powerful effects. "Neo Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon" is a 4500-ATK beatstick with a non-targeting "Brain Control"-like effect that allows for any taken Xyz Monsters to be used as Xyz Material for other beasticks such as "Galaxy-Eyes Full Armor Photon Dragon", "Number 95: Galaxy-Eyes Dark Matter Dragon", and "Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Blade Dragon" (as it changes the taken monsters' names to "Neo Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon").
A recurring theme regarding Level 4 beatsticks is that they have effects and/or Summoning Conditions that make them more difficult to manage. Some examples are "Tardy Orc", "Wulf, Lightsworn Beast", and "Elder Entity N'tss". This is not the case with "Alexandrite Dragon", as it is a Normal Monster.