Trap
NormalBarrier Wave
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2592
Activate by Tributing 1 Synchro Monster when an opponent's monster declares an attack. Change all Attack Position monsters your opponent controls to Defense Position. Then, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the attacking monster's DEF.
Barrier Wave — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 45 ± 8 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 46.7 · Deck: 44.5 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Board breaker / Going-second · Secondary: Removal
Why it scores here
Barrier Wave is a reactive Trap whose value is a board-wide position change on the opponent's attack declaration, plus damage equal to the attacker's DEF. That is a real but conditional effect, and it costs a Synchro Monster tribute, so it only works in Synchro-capable decks. The evidence is four decks across two archetypes at two copies each, with no combo or guide data, so the score rests on text plus deck inclusion. Its 1500 DEF-style body is not relevant here; the score comes from the position-change effect and the cost of the tribute.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 45 | Set Trap that needs a Synchro Monster on the field to tribute; it is live on the opponent's attack but depends on a Synchro (inferred from text, 4 decks observed at 2 copies each). |
| Combo & Conversion | 40 | The effect converts one card into a mass position change and damage, but no combo boards were supplied, so conversion is text-only inference. |
| Resource Economy | 35 | Tributing a Synchro is a real cost; the damage is a small return and there is no searching or recursion in the text (verified from text). |
| Effect & Interaction | 55 | Strong reactive board effect that flips all opponent Attack Position monsters on attack declaration; it is not a negation or destruction (verified from text). |
| Material Utility | 5 | A Trap card cannot be used as material, so the body contributes nothing here (verified from text). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 35 | Dies to a trap negate and only functions on an opponent attack declaration; it has no redundancy beyond the copies run (inferred from text and deck sample). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 50 | Two copies in each of four decks with no garnets, but the Synchro tribute restricts it to Synchro-based lists (observed in deck sample, inferred from text). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Board breaker + 0.3 Removal (blended; Removal secondary). Intrinsic ≈ 46.7, Deck ≈ 44.5, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Synchro tribute restriction (-2). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Hits every Attack Position monster the opponent controls in one activation (verified from text).
- Adds damage equal to the attacker's DEF on the same activation (verified from text).
- Consistently run at 2 copies in all four sampled decks (observed from deck evidence).
Weaknesses
- Requires tributing a Synchro Monster, which restricts it to Synchro-based decks (verified from text).
- Trap timing only: it does nothing on the opponent's turn unless they attack (verified from text).
- Sample is four decks across two archetypes, with no combo or guide evidence (observed).
Counters / choke points
- Trap negation or Ash Blossom-style interruptions in response to the activation (inferred).
- Attacking with DEF-low or no monsters on board, which gives the trap nothing to flip (inferred).
Best use
Board breaker that punishes an opponent's attack phase in Synchro decks. Decks: Resonator, Archfiend. Suggested copies: 2.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Trap that flips all opponent Attack Position monsters to Defense Position on attack declaration.; Requires tributing 1 Synchro Monster as a cost.; Damage equals the attacking monster's DEF.; Legal in TCG, OCG, MasterDuel and DuelLinks formats.
- Observed: Appears in 4 of 4 sampled decks at 2 copies each, all Resonator or Archfiend lists.
- Inferred: Accessibility depends on having a Synchro Monster on the field, so it is weak outside Synchro decks.; Negation or interruption of the trap is the main way to shut it off.
- 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); inclusion inferred from a 4-deck sample only