Trap
NormalChain Detonation
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2676
Inflict 500 damage to your opponent. If this card was activated as Chain Link 2 or 3, add this card to the Deck and shuffle it. If this card was activated as Chain Link 4 or higher, return this card to the hand.
Chain Detonation — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 52 ± 8 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 52 · Deck: 52 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Recovery / Recursion · Secondary: Utility
Why it scores here
Chain Detonation converts a chain position into a small, repeatable 500 damage and recycles itself to hand or Deck instead of being spent, which is why resource_economy and resilience_flexibility carry the score. The card's power comes from that recursion and its cheap, clean deckbuilding, not from its damage or any stat. No combo evidence exists, so combo_conversion stays low, and the 13-deck spread across 8 archetypes confirms it is a practical, generic piece rather than raising its strength.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 55 | A trap that must be set and is spread across 8 archetypes with 3 copies in most decks, but there are no starter or searched combo stats to confirm a reliable route (observed deck spread, inferred set-and-go access). |
| Combo & Conversion | 20 | Its only text effect is 500 damage plus recursion, and no recorded boards show it building anything (inferred from text; no combo evidence). |
| Resource Economy | 60 | Returning itself to hand or Deck on Chain Link 4+ or 2-3 means it is not consumed, giving near-even card economy with repeat use (verified from card text). |
| Effect & Interaction | 25 | 500 damage is chip, with no negation or removal, and it only punishes an opponent's chain activation (verified from card text). |
| Material Utility | 0 | It is a Trap Card, so it can never be Xyz, Link, Synchro, or Fusion material (verified from card type). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 65 | Recursion to hand or Deck lets it reappear across turns, though a negate on the chain still stops its effect (verified from card text, inferred for the negate case). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 85 | Three copies is the common count with no garnet, lock, or brick restriction, so it is cheap to run (observed copies distribution). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Recovery/Recursion + 0.3 Utility (blend). Intrinsic ≈ 52, Deck ≈ 52, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Self-recursion to hand or Deck means it is rarely spent.
- Cheap to run with 3 copies and no garnet or lock restriction.
- Played across 8 archetypes, so it is a portable generic piece.
Weaknesses
- Only 500 damage, with no negation or removal.
- Chain Link timing requirement limits when it is useful.
- No combo evidence showing it builds anything.
Counters / choke points
- Negation of the activation (inferred from chain-based trap effects).
- Opponent holding back chain responses so the Chain Link count never reaches the condition (inferred).
Best use
Recursive chip-damage trap that rewards chain position. Decks: Chain Burn, Greed, Ojama.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Deals 500 damage to the opponent.; Returns to Deck on Chain Link 2 or 3 and to hand on Chain Link 4 or higher.; Trap Card type, so it cannot be monster material.; Legal in TCG, OCG, MasterDuel, and DuelLinks.
- Observed: Present in 13 of the attached decks, all in the main deck.; Average 2.46 copies per deck, with 9 decks running 3.; Eight archetypes, led by Chain Burn, Greed, and Ojama, with Chain Strike and Ceasefire as the most common partners.
- Inferred: Recursion gives repeat value across turns, so resource_economy and resilience are the main score drivers.; Chain Link timing is fiddly enough to cost some rules reliability.; Access relies on a set trap plus the usual search or draw support in the decks.
- Data gaps: no combos supplied, so combo conversion is text-only inference no guides supplied no banlist token, assumed 3 copies (unlimited) no usage statistics (StatisticsCard), so archetype inclusion % is from the deck sample only no ruling or metagame sample, so meta_power is null