Trap
ContinuousAnd the Band Played On
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Neither player can Special Summon monsters with the same Level as those they control. Neither player can Special Summon monsters with the same Rank as those they control.
And the Band Played On — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 58 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 60 · Deck: 57 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Floodgate/Control
Why it scores here
As a Continuous Trap, this card converts nothing into a board or a card-advantage line on its own. Its value is a symmetric Special Summon lock on same-Level and same-Rank monsters, which hits the opponent's extra-deck and mid-game plays while also restricting the controller's own summons. The 328 sampled decks running it (avg 2.06 copies across 81 archetypes) confirm it is a real, widely accepted lock, but that frequency is not scored as power. High stats earn nothing here; the score rests on interaction and on the card being cheap to run.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 60 | Sampled in 328 of 400 decks at an average of 2.06 copies, so it is reliably drawn, but the evidence has no searcher or starter data (observed). |
| Combo & Conversion | 20 | No combo boards are recorded, and the card builds no extra bodies by its own text, so conversion is text-only inference (inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 10 | No card-advantage or refuel effect appears in the text, and no combo evidence shows it as a net-positive piece (verified). |
| Effect & Interaction | 68 | The text locks same-Level and same-Rank Special Summons for both players, a broad floodgate hard to play around in the sampled archetypes (verified). |
| Material Utility | 10 | It is a Trap, not a monster, so it provides no material, level, or attribute (verified). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 55 | It stays on the field across turns, but the evidence records no backrow removal or negation data, so resilience is partly inferred (inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 60 | A single-copy-friendly, non-garnet Trap at 1–3 copies, but its lock is symmetric and can restrict the controller's own Level and Rank plays (verified + inferred). |
Calculation
Weight profile: Primary role only (Floodgate / Control); no secondary blend. Intrinsic ≈ 60, Deck ≈ 57, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Symmetric self-lock restriction (-3). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Broad symmetric Special Summon lock on same-Level and same-Rank monsters
- Cheap to run: 1–3 copies, non-garnet Trap
- Present across 81 sampled archetypes, so it is portable between homes
Weaknesses
- No card advantage, refuel, or combo conversion
- Restricts the controller's own Level and Rank summons as well as the opponent's
- Effect strength depends on the opponent's summon pattern, which the evidence does not measure
Counters / choke points
- Backrow removal (inferred, not in evidence)
- Opponent plays that avoid same-Level or same-Rank summons (inferred)
Best use
Floodgate / Special Summon lock. Decks: Magical Musket, Fiendsmith, Runick (Mysterune), Dinomorphia. Suggested copies: 2.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: symmetric same-Level and same-Rank Special Summon lock; Sampled in 328 of 400 decks, avg 2.06 copies, 81 distinct archetypes
- Observed: Archetype spread: Magical Musket and Fiendsmith at 57 decks each (17.4%); Top partners include Harpie's Feather Duster and S:P Little Knight
- Inferred: The lock also restricts the controller's own Level and Rank summons; Floodgate strength depends on opponent summon patterns
- Data gaps: No combos supplied: combo conversion is text-only inference No guides supplied No banlist token: assumed 3 copies (unlimited) No usage statistics (StatisticsCard): archetype inclusion % inferred from deck sample only No top-card context, so no cross-format rank signal