WATER
4Abyss Soldier
ATK:
1800
DEF:
1300
View:
3597
Once per turn: You can discard 1 WATER monster to the Graveyard to target 1 card on the field; return it to the hand.
Abyss Soldier — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 53 ± 8 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 54 · Deck: 53 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Board breaker · Secondary: Material body
Why it scores here
Abyss Soldier converts its Level 4 WATER Aqua body into one tempo interaction per turn: it discards a WATER monster to return one field card to the hand. Its 1800 ATK earns nothing, and the 57-deck presence across 20 archetypes confirms it is a practical generic piece rather than adding points on its own. With no combo evidence and a discard cost that is roughly card-neutral, combo conversion and resource economy stay modest, so the score rests on interaction, material usefulness, and cheap deckbuilding.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 40 | Appears in 57 of the sampled decks at about 1.6 copies each, but no combo starter or searched data exists to confirm how reliably it is drawn (observed). |
| Combo & Conversion | 30 | Text is a one-shot bounce with a discard cost and no combo boards are recorded, so it converts to little beyond a single tempo swing (inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 40 | Discarding one WATER monster costs a card and returning a field card gives back at most one, so the exchange is roughly even and only helps when it bounces the opponent's card (inferred). |
| Effect & Interaction | 45 | Once-per-turn targeted return of any field card is real but soft interaction with no negation, so it is situational rather than strong (verified). |
| Material Utility | 60 | A Level 4 WATER Aqua body is a clean generic material for WATER Xyz and similar summons, and it stays usable when its effect is negated (inferred). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 40 | A single once-per-turn effect that can be negated, and it only targets one card per turn, so the line has little redundancy (inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 80 | No garnet or self-lock text, 1800/1300 generic stats, and 2 legal copies make it a near free-roll slot (verified). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Board breaker + 0.3 Material body. Intrinsic ≈ 54, Deck ≈ 53, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Targets any field card for a bounce each turn, giving flexible tempo
- Level 4 WATER Aqua body is a generic material that stays usable when its effect is negated
- Spread across 20 archetypes in the sample, so it is portable between homes
- Near free-roll to run, with no garnet or self-lock restriction
Weaknesses
- Discard cost means it is roughly card-neutral and can lose value
- Once per turn and one target per use limits repeated interaction
- No recorded combo boards to show it converts into a larger board
- Its effect can be negated, leaving only a vanilla-like body
Counters / choke points
- Generic negation of its monster effect, which the evidence does not name specifically
Best use
Board breaker (tempo bounce) that also works as a Level 4 WATER material body. Decks: D/D/D (D.D.), Monarch, Solemn, Umi, Dark Magician. Suggested copies: 2.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Once per turn: discard 1 WATER monster to the Graveyard to target and return 1 field card to the hand; Level 4, WATER, Aqua, 1800 ATK / 1300 DEF, Effect Monster; Appears in 57 of the sampled decks (main deck in all 57) with 20 distinct archetypes; Legal copies: GOAT 2
- Observed: Average 1.61 copies per deck, most often 2; Most common partners are generic staples such as Graceful Charity (50 co-decks); Gameplay distribution: most decks in gameplay type 6 and 7
- Inferred: Bounce is tempo rather than card advantage, and only nets value against an opponent's card; The Level 4 WATER body is a usable material for WATER-summon lines even when its effect is negated
- Data gaps: No combo evidence (total_combos = 0), so combo conversion rests on card text only No StatisticsCard usage data (usage_statistics.available = false) Activation speed (quick or ignition) is not stated in the evidence text No rulings supplied for interactions with the discard cost or the bounce target Guide mention is a snippet about another Water Xyz deck, not this card's specific role