LIGHT
1Cipher Etranger
Archetype:
Cipher
ATK:
0
DEF:
0
View:
4202
If this card is in your hand or Graveyard: You can target 1 "Cipher" Xyz Monster you control; attach this card to it as an Xyz Material. If this card is sent to the Graveyard: You can add 1 "Cipher" Spell/Trap Card from your Deck to your hand. You can only use 1 "Cipher Etranger" effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Cipher Etranger — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 58 ± 8 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 55 · Deck: 60 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Searcher/Tutor · Secondary: Starter/Combo enabler, Material body
Why it scores here
Cipher Etranger's value is a Level 1 body that converts into a Cipher Spell/Trap from the Deck once it reaches the Graveyard, and a hand or Graveyard effect that attaches it as Xyz material to a Cipher Xyz Monster. Its score comes from that repeatable access and card-advantage conversion, not from its 0 ATK/DEF or from the 42 decks running it. Deck inclusion (avg 2.05 copies, mostly alongside Galaxy-Eyes Cipher partners) confirms it is a live, practical staple in Cipher lists, but that frequency is treated as accessibility evidence rather than as proof of raw power. There is no combo or interaction evidence here, so the score stays in the middle band and the combo and interaction axes are scored conservatively.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 60 | Live from hand and Graveyard, and it is run in 42 of 42 sampled decks at 1 to 3 copies, which is deck-level inclusion rather than observed searches (observed). |
| Combo & Conversion | 45 | Its Graveyard effect feeds a Cipher Spell/Trap into hand and its hand effect feeds Xyz material, but no recorded board shows it as a starter or payoff, so conversion is text-based (inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 60 | The Graveyard trigger is a +1 search while the hand effect is a -1 that attaches the card, so the net gain depends on the Graveyard route (verified from text). |
| Effect & Interaction | 5 | The card has no negate, removal, or hand-trap effect (verified from text). |
| Material Utility | 50 | It is a Level 1 Light Spellcaster that stays a usable Xyz or Synchro body even when its effect is negated, but it is only a good fit for Rank 1 or Level 1 summons (inferred). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 50 | It works from two zones, but its shared once-per-turn limit and its dependence on a Cipher Xyz Monster on board limit how often it can be used (verified from text, inferred for the resilience reading). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 65 | It is a single-archetype card with no garnet or lock, 1 to 3 copies per deck, and a cheap body, so it is easy to run (observed from deck copies). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Searcher/Tutor + 0.3 Starter/Combo enabler. Intrinsic ≈ 55, Deck ≈ 60, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Live from hand and Graveyard
- Graveyard effect returns a Cipher Spell/Trap from the Deck to hand
- Cheap, easy-to-run body with 1 to 3 copies per deck
- Consistently included across Cipher, Galaxy Photon, Blue-Eyes and other homes
Weaknesses
- Zero ATK/DEF and no board presence of its own
- Shared once-per-turn limit across both effects
- Only useful with a Cipher Xyz Monster or a Cipher Spell/Trap target
- No interaction or disruption
Best use
Graveyard searcher and Xyz material fodder for Cipher Xyz lines. Decks: Cipher, Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon lists. Suggested copies: 2.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Level 1 Light Spellcaster Effect Monster, 0 ATK / 0 DEF, Cipher archetype; Hand/Graveyard effect attaches it to a Cipher Xyz Monster as material; Graveyard effect adds 1 Cipher Spell/Trap from the Deck to hand; Shared once-per-turn limit across both effects; Included in 42 of 42 sampled decks, avg 2.05 copies
- Observed: Deck inclusion mainly alongside Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon, Cipher Wing, Cipher Twin Raptor and Rank-Up-Magic Cipher Ascension; Copies spread 1 to 3 per deck
- Inferred: The Graveyard search is the main source of value; Its Level 1 body is a useful Rank 1 or Level 1 material; Accessibility is high because it is hand-live
- Data gaps: no combos supplied, so combo conversion is text-only inference no guides supplied no counter or interaction cards supplied no banlist token, so 3 copies assumed no usage statistics (StatisticsCard), so archetype inclusion is inferred from the deck sample only no evidence of how often the Graveyard search actually fires