Trap
ContinuousCall of the Archfiend
Archetype:
Archfiend
View:
3827
You can target 1 Level 5 or higher Fiend monster in your GY; discard 1 Fiend monster, and if you do, Special Summon the targeted monster. You can only use this effect of "Call of the Archfiend" once per turn.
Call of the Archfiend — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 52 ± 8 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 50 · Deck: 54 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Recovery/Recursion · Secondary: Combo enabler
Why it scores here
Call of the Archfiend converts a discarded Fiend into a Level 5+ Fiend revived from the Graveyard, a one-for-one recursion that keeps the Archfiend engine's bodies flowing. It is a set trap, so it is slow and easy to disrupt, and it brings no opponent interaction. Its high deck count (159 decks, 33 archetypes) confirms it is a dependable, portable piece in Archfiend-style lists, but that popularity was not used to inflate the score. No combo boards were supplied, so the conversion value rests on card text and deck placement alone.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 55 | Played in 159 decks across 33 archetypes, but it needs to be set and waited on before use, and no combo starter/searched stats exist (inferred, observed deck count). |
| Combo & Conversion | 55 | Revives a Level 5+ Fiend from the GY at the cost of discarding one Fiend, a real body gain from text, with no board-level confirmation (inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 45 | Spends the trap and a discarded Fiend to return one monster, roughly even to slightly negative in card count, though the discard refuels the GY (inferred from text). |
| Effect & Interaction | 15 | No negation, removal, or disruption on the card; it only recovers a monster (verified from text). |
| Material Utility | 30 | The card itself is not material; the Fiend it revives can be used as material, but no material role stats exist (inferred). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 40 | GY-only target, once-per-turn limit, and a set-trap window leave it exposed to traps, but it works across several archetypes (inferred, observed deck spread). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 65 | One trap slot with generic Fiend-only requirements, typically run at 1–3 copies with no garnet or lock cost (observed, copies per deck avg 1.73). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Recovery/Recursion + 0.3 Starter/Combo enabler. Intrinsic ≈ 50, Deck ≈ 54, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Revives a Level 5+ Fiend from the GY for a single discard, giving a board body back from a dead position (verified text)
- Appears in 159 decks across 33 archetypes, so the recursion role is practical and portable (observed)
- Low slot and garnet cost; generic enough to run 1–3 copies (observed)
Weaknesses
- Set trap that requires a turn before use, slowing its speed (verified rules)
- Zero opponent interaction; it does not negate, remove, or stop a threat (verified text)
- Two-card cost (the trap plus a discarded Fiend) for one monster, so it is card-disadvantageous (inferred)
- Restricted to Level 5+ Fiend targets in the GY, limiting which bodies it can recover (verified text)
Counters / choke points
- Trap negation or set-trap removal during its set turn (inferred)
- GY-based removal or banishment of the Fiend target before activation (inferred)
Best use
Recovery/Recursion. Decks: Archfiend builds, Fiendsmith lists, Summoned Skull and Labrynth builds with Fiend-level targets. Suggested copies: 2.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Set Trap Card; discard one Fiend to Special Summon a targeted Level 5+ Fiend from the GY; once per turn; No opponent interaction (negation or removal) on the card text; Appears in 159 decks across 33 archetypes (deck evidence)
- Observed: Copies per deck average 1.73, max 3 (deck evidence); Top partners include Fiendish Rhino Warrior (49.1%) and Knightmare Phoenix (43.4%) (deck evidence)
- Inferred: Two-card cost for one monster makes the card card-disadvantageous; Set-trap timing makes the card slow and easy to disrupt
- 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