Spell
QuickBranded Opening
Archetype:
Branded
View:
17448
Discard 1 card, then take 1 "Despia" monster from your Deck, and either add it to your hand or Special Summon it in Defense Position, also for the rest of this turn after this card resolves, you cannot Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck, except Fusion Monsters. If a Fusion Monster(s) you control would be destroyed by card effect, you can banish this card from your GY instead. You can only use each effect of "Branded Opening" once per turn.
Branded Opening — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 59 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 58.5 · Deck: 63.1 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Searcher/Tutor · Secondary: Negation/Interaction
Why it scores here
Branded Opening is a card-neutral Quick-Play search: it discards 1 card to take a Despia monster from the Deck to hand or Defense Position, which is a reliable, live conversion of one card into one board-relevant body. Its near-universal presence (96.7% of combos, 400/400 sampled decks, 2.17 copies average) confirms that it is a dependable staple, but that frequency was deliberately not used to raise the score, and the narrow Despia-only search target keeps generic utility modest. The Fusion-protecting banish clause and the self-restriction on Extra Deck summons are minor, and the card is never material, so the score stays in the mid-range.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 80 | All 400 sampled decks run it at 1 to 3 copies, it is a Quick-Play that can be used on either turn, and it reaches a Despia Deck monster from the Deck, though the search needs a discard as cost (verified text; deck stats observed; 'live' reading inferred). |
| Combo & Conversion | 65 | It appears in 29 of 30 recorded combos with an average power index of 61.5 when present, but it is a starter in only 6.9% of appearances and its top examples are full boards built by other pieces (observed; the conversion itself is inferred from text). |
| Resource Economy | 50 | Discard-then-search is roughly card-neutral (one card out, one card in), and no GY refuel or repeated advantage is shown in the combo data (verified text; netCardAdvantage examples observed). |
| Effect & Interaction | 25 | The only interaction is a once-per-turn banish from the GY that protects Fusion Monsters from card-effect destruction, which is narrow and situational (verified text). |
| Material Utility | 0 | It is a Spell Card and cannot serve as material, so this axis scores zero (verified from card frame and material role of 0%). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 55 | It is a Quick-Play with two separate once-per-turn effects, and the GY clause gives some value after removal, but a single spell negation or hand trap can still stop the search (inferred from text). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 70 | It has no garnet or lock beyond a Fusion-exempt Extra Deck summon restriction that Despia and Branded Fusion decks rarely feel, and it runs 2 to 3 copies, a moderate slot cost (observed deck stats; restriction impact inferred). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Searcher/Tutor + 0.3 Negation/Interaction (blended per rubric). Intrinsic ≈ 58.5, Deck ≈ 63.1, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Self-restriction on Extra Deck summons (-2). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck, then modifiers (total -2): 61.26 - 2 = 59.26 -> 59
Strengths
- Converts one discarded card into a Despia monster, which is a 1-for-1 search that keeps the hand live.
- Quick-Play with two separate once-per-turn effects, so it can be used in response or on either turn.
- Appears in 96.7% of recorded combos and in all 400 sampled decks, confirming it is a dependable, practical staple.
- The GY banish clause gives Fusion Monsters a protection that works after the card is spent.
Weaknesses
- The search target is limited to Despia monsters, which narrows reach outside that archetype.
- Net card advantage is zero, so it adds no resource on its own.
- It is never material and provides no body.
- The Extra Deck summon restriction for the rest of the turn is a self-imposed cost.
Counters / choke points
- Spell negation or hand traps that respond to a Deck-search effect (general mechanic; the specific cards are not in the evidence).
- Opponent interaction that stops the discard cost or the Despia target; no specific counter card is named in the evidence.
Best use
Searcher for Despia monsters in Despia/Branded Fusion engines; the GY clause adds Fusion protection. Decks: Branded (archetype 917), Despia (archetype 633), Dogmatika (archetype 735). Suggested copies: 2.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Quick-Play Spell with a discard cost, a Despia monster take-and-add-or-Defense-summon effect, a Fusion-protecting GY banish, and a Fusion-exempt Extra Deck summon restriction.; Present in all 400 sampled decks (2.17 copies on average, 35 distinct archetypes).; No banlist token; treated as unlimited.
- Observed: Appears in 96.7% of combos, is a starter in 6.9% and in an end hand in 6.9%, with average power index 61.5.; Usage inclusion across the 8 StatisticsCard archetypes ranges from 31.6% to 100%.
- Inferred: The card functions as a Searcher, since the combo data records no searched-for role instances.; The Extra Deck restriction has little practical cost in Fusion-based Despia and Branded decks.; Discard cost and single spell negation make the search interruptible.
- Data gaps: No banlist token; the card is assumed to be unlimited. Combo data records zero searched-for role appearances, so the search route is not tabled and rests on card text. The evidence does not list which Despia monsters are searchable or how many are in the Deck. No rulings or FAQ data were supplied. No dated metagame sample, so meta is unknown. No top-card ranking exists (top-card status false, empty rankings). No combo example shows the Fusion-protection clause in use.