EARTH
8Ancient Gear Golem
Archetype:
Ancient Gear
ATK:
3000
DEF:
3000
View:
6774
Cannot be Special Summoned. If this card attacks, your opponent cannot activate any Spell/Trap Cards until the end of the Damage Step. If this card attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing battle damage.
Ancient Gear Golem — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 49 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 49.2 · Deck: 49.7 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Boss/End-board · Secondary: Board breaker
Why it scores here
Ancient Gear Golem earns its score from its attack-window text, not its stats. Its 3000 ATK and Level 8 body earn nothing by themselves. The verified effects are a Spell/Trap activation lock during its Damage Step and piercing damage into Defense Position monsters, which give it a soft, situational edge in combat. Its inclusion in all 400 sampled decks confirms it is a reliable core piece, not that it is intrinsically strong (guardrail 3). The Normal-Summon-only restriction and the absence of combo data pull accessibility and deck efficiency down.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 45 | Cannot be Special Summoned, so it needs a Normal Summon; it appears in all 400 decks (343 at one copy), but with no combo or searcher data the route is inferred (inferred). |
| Combo & Conversion | 40 | Text-only: one attack converts into piercing damage and a Spell/Trap lock during the Damage Step, but no recorded boards show what it builds (inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 25 | The text has no card advantage or recursion; it is a Level 8 Normal Summon body that commits a card with no return (inferred). |
| Effect & Interaction | 55 | The lock stops Spell/Trap responses only while it attacks; it does not stop monster effects, so the interaction is soft and situational (verified). |
| Material Utility | 50 | Level 8 Earth Machine with no Tuner text, a generic material shape, but there is no as_material data to confirm use (inferred). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 35 | It is active only when Normal Summoned and attacking, with no recursion or second zone, so a single clean interrupt ends it (inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 45 | Typical use is one copy (343 of 400 decks), which keeps slot cost low, but the Normal-Summon-only restriction limits flexibility (observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Boss/End-board + 0.3 Board breaker. Intrinsic ≈ 49.2, Deck ≈ 49.7, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Self-locking restriction (-3). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Attack-window lock stops Spell/Trap responses during its attack (verified)
- Piercing damage into Defense Position monsters (verified)
- Included in all 400 sampled decks, with a 99% co-occurrence with Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem (observed)
- Generic Level 8 Earth Machine body usable as material (inferred)
Weaknesses
- Cannot be Special Summoned, which restricts how it enters play (verified)
- No combo evidence, so combo centrality is unconfirmed (observed gap)
- Inactive unless Normal Summoned and attacking, with no recursion (inferred)
- Spell/Trap lock is situational, not removal or negation (inferred)
Counters / choke points
- Monster-effect negation or removal, since the attack lock only restricts Spell/Trap cards (inferred)
- Interaction at the Normal Summon itself, before it can attack (inferred)
Best use
Boss/End-board beater that pressures through its attack-window lock and piercing damage. Decks: Ancient Gears (archetype 124), Ancient Gears (archetype 693). Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Cannot be Special Summoned (card text); Spell/Trap activation lock until the end of the Damage Step when it attacks (card text); Piercing battle damage when attacking a Defense Position monster (card text); Level 8, 3000 ATK / 3000 DEF, Earth Machine (card data)
- Observed: Present in 400 of 400 sampled decks, with 343 at one copy and an average of 1.18 copies (decks_evidence); 99% co-occurrence with Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem and high co-occurrence with Geartown and Chaos Ancient Gear Giant (decks_evidence); Inclusion of 100% in G Golem (910) and Ancient Gears (124), and 66.7% in Ancient Gears (693) (usage_statistics)
- Inferred: Entry by Normal Summon only, so reaching the field depends on tributes or a supporting route (text plus level); The attack-window lock is a defensive tool against trap-based responses during its attacks, not against monster effects (text); Little resource return or recursion, so it trades cards without refuel (text)
- Data gaps: No combo evidence (total_combos 0), so combo conversion and centrality are text-only inference No banlist token; assumed 3 copies for all formats No recorded rulings or searcher/Normal Summon route data Tribute cost is inferred from Level 8, not from card text in the evidence Guides are Vietnamese snippets with mixed Duel Links and general context