EARTH
4Checkker
ATK:
2000
DEF:
0
View:
677
Cannot be Normal Summoned if you control a monster. You can Tribute this card; Special Summon 1 Machine monster from your Deck whose ATK equals its own DEF, but return it to the hand during the End Phase. You can banish this card from your GY and discard 1 card; Special Summon 1 "Iron Rubble Token" (Machine/EARTH/Level 1/ATK 0/DEF 0), but it cannot be used as material for a Fusion, Synchro, or Link Summon. You can only use each effect of "Checkker" once per turn.
Checkker — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 49 ± 8 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 52 · Deck: 51 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Extender · Secondary: Recovery/Recursion
Why it scores here
Checkker's power is in two separate once-per-turn effects: a Tribute that Special Summons a Machine with ATK equal to DEF from the Deck (returned in the End Phase), and a Graveyard banish-and-discard that makes an Iron Rubble Token. The two effects work from different zones, which lifts resilience, but the card does not negate, remove, or draw, so its conversion stays modest. Its 2000 ATK and Level 4 body earned no points; the 17-archetype spread supports portability, not strength, and the absence of combo and guide evidence keeps combo conversion at text-only inference.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 50 | Playable in 30 of 30 sampled decks at 1.73 copies on average, but it cannot be Normal Summoned while you control a monster, so it is awkward from an empty-board hand (observed, verified). |
| Combo & Conversion | 45 | Two conversions are written in the text (a Machine body from Deck and a token from the GY), but no recorded board shows it as starter, searched, or payoff (inferred from text). |
| Resource Economy | 45 | The GY effect costs one discard and the Tribute effect costs the card itself, and the summoned Machine returns to hand, so net card economy is roughly even to slightly negative (verified text, inferred net). |
| Effect & Interaction | 15 | No negation, removal, or hand-trap reach is written in the text (verified). |
| Material Utility | 40 | A Level 4 EARTH Machine body is usable as Tribute fodder, and the token is barred from Fusion, Synchro, and Link material, leaving Xyz use unstated (verified text, inferred). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 65 | Two effects usable from the field and the GY, each once per turn, give more than one live zone and turn (verified text, inferred resilience). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 60 | Average 1.73 copies with a 1–3 copy spread, no garnet or brick, and only a mild Normal Summon restriction (observed deck stats, verified text). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Extender + 0.3 Recovery/Recursion. Intrinsic ≈ 52, Deck ≈ 51, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: self-locking restriction (-2). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck, then -2 modifier (decks present, combos absent, meta unknown)
Strengths
- Two once-per-turn effects that work from the field and the Graveyard
- Tribute effect puts a Machine with ATK equal to DEF from the Deck onto the field for a turn
- Graveyard effect makes a token, so the card still has value after being banished or sent to the GY
- Appears across 17 archetypes, so it is portable between homes
Weaknesses
- No combo, guide, or ruling evidence to confirm practical conversion
- Cannot be Normal Summoned while you control a monster
- Tribute and return-to-hand effects are card disadvantage with no interaction
- Iron Rubble Token cannot be used for Fusion, Synchro, or Link Summons
Counters / choke points
- Graveyard-hate or banish-based hand traps could shut off the Graveyard token effect (inferred from text, not from opponent evidence)
Best use
Extender that adds a Machine body from the Deck and a Graveyard token. Decks: Train, R.B., Machina, Synchro Event, Kaiju, Ancient Gears. Suggested copies: 2.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: Tribute Special Summon of a Machine with ATK equal to DEF from Deck, returned in the End Phase; Card text: GY banish plus discard makes an Iron Rubble Token, which cannot be Fusion, Synchro, or Link material; Card text: Cannot be Normal Summoned while you control a monster; each effect once per turn; Decks: 30 sampled, 17 archetypes, 1.73 copies on average, Urgent Schedule and Clockwork Night each in 60% of decks
- Observed: Usage statistics: 100% inclusion in Black Luster Soldier and Kuriboh archetypes at 3 copies (sample limited to 2 archetypes); Gameplay split: 21 decks type 7 and 9 decks type 4
- Inferred: Extender role, since the Tribute effect adds a body from the Deck; The Graveyard token is a resource that outlasts a field removal; Net card economy is roughly even to slightly negative
- Data gaps: No combos supplied, so combo conversion is text-only inference No guides supplied No banlist token, so 3 copies assumed No rulings supplied for the Tribute/return timing or the token's Xyz use Usage statistics cover only 2 archetypes No avg_starter_count_when_present, so deck resilience is inferred from archetype spread