Trap
NormalBallista Squad
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5173
Tribute 1 monster, then target 1 card your opponent controls; destroy it.
Ballista Squad — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 60 ± 8 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 61 · Deck: 60 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Removal / Negation
Why it scores here
Ballista Squad is a single-target removal trap: it converts one tributed monster into the destruction of one card the opponent controls, with no searcher or board-building text. The score comes from its live access in the sample (316 of 400 decks run it, mostly in Live☆Twin and Altergeist) and from its trap-speed targeted removal, not from any combo evidence, since no combo boards were supplied. Its material value is near zero because a trap never sits on the field as a body, and the tribute cost keeps resource economy at roughly even.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 55 | Runs 1.82 copies average across 400 decks and is live in 81.5% of gameplay-3 decks, but as a trap it is not reliably in the opening hand and has no searcher evidence (verified deck stats; inference on access). |
| Combo & Conversion | 40 | Text is a 1-for-1 trade with no board-building or extra body, and combo data is empty, so the value is text-only (verified text; inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 40 | Tribute 1 monster plus the trap card for one destroyed card is roughly even card economy with no refuel or draw (verified text; inferred). |
| Effect & Interaction | 70 | Targeted destruction of any opponent card, usable at trap speed, is strong disruption that is hard to play around without a counter (verified text; inferred). |
| Material Utility | 5 | A trap never remains on the field as material, and the tribute is a cost paid from monsters, so the card contributes almost nothing here (verified text; inferred). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 55 | Can hit any opponent card across zones and turns, but a single negation ends it and no counter evidence was supplied (inferred; data gap). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 75 | A single trap slot with no garnet or lock restriction and a 2-copy typical allocation makes it cheap to run (observed copies distribution; verified text). |
Calculation
Weight profile: Primary role Removal / Negation; no secondary role blended. Intrinsic ≈ 61, Deck ≈ 60, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Targeted destruction of any opponent card at trap speed
- Live in a large share of recent decks (316 of 400 sampled)
- Cheap to run with no garnet or lock restriction
Weaknesses
- Costs a monster tribute, so it is a 1-for-1 trade with no board presence
- No searcher or combo support evidence supplied
- Concentrated in two archetype homes (Live☆Twin 60.8%, Altergeist 18.2%)
Counters / choke points
- Negation effects that answer the activated trap
- Monster-removal or hand-trap plays that remove the tribute body in response
Best use
Removal / Negation trap slot for answering a key opponent card. Decks: Live☆Twin, Altergeist. Suggested copies: 2.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: tribute 1 monster, destroy 1 opponent card; 400 decks run it with a 1.82 average copy count; 81.5% of decks are gameplay type 3
- Observed: Live☆Twin archetype in 60.8% of decks, Altergeist in 18.2%; Knightmare Unicorn co-occurs in 82.8% of decks
- Inferred: Removal / Negation primary role from text; Trap-speed targeted removal is hard to play around without a counter
- Data gaps: No combos supplied, so combo conversion is text-only inference No banlist token; assumed 3 copies (unlimited) No usage statistics (StatisticsCard) available No counter or ruling evidence supplied