EARTH
3Cockroach Knight
ATK:
800
DEF:
900
View:
2537
When this card is sent to the Graveyard, it is returned to the top of the Deck.
Cockroach Knight — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 53 ± 8 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 55 · Deck: 52 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Recovery / Recursion · Secondary: Material body
Why it scores here
Cockroach Knight is a cheap Level 3 body whose only text is a self-recycle: when it is sent to the Graveyard, it returns to the top of the Deck, so it is redrawn next turn. That is a modest recursion engine, not a board-making or interaction card, so the score comes from reliable recovery of a generic body rather than from its 800 ATK or 900 DEF. The 12 decks, 11 archetypes and 100% Genex inclusion show the card is portable and consistently played, but that frequency is treated as confirmation of accessibility, not as evidence of power. With no combo or guide evidence, combo conversion stays low and the score stays in the middle band.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 60 | Reliable return to the top of the Deck once it reaches the Graveyard, and it appears in 12 of 12 recent decks across 11 archetypes; no combo starter data exists to confirm how often it is drawn in practice (verified text, observed deck count). |
| Combo & Conversion | 30 | Its text converts one Graveyard send into a redraw of itself, not into a board; no combo examples exist, so conversion rests on text-only inference (inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 55 | The return-to-Deck effect recovers the card without generating extra cards, so it is card-neutral recycling rather than advantage (verified text, inferred). |
| Effect & Interaction | 5 | The card has no negate, removal, or hand-trap effect, so it brings no opponent interaction (verified text). |
| Material Utility | 50 | A generic Level 3 Insect Earth body that can serve as Xyz or Synchro material; when its effect is negated the body still converts as material, but the recursion is lost (verified text, inferred). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 45 | The recursion works from the Graveyard and only needs its one trigger, so a single negate of the effect removes the value, though the body remains (inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 80 | One copy in most lists, no garnet or lock restriction, and a cheap generic Level 3 slot that is easy to splash or run alongside any deck (observed copy distribution, verified text). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Recovery/Recursion + 0.3 Material body. Intrinsic ≈ 55, Deck ≈ 52, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Returns to the top of the Deck from the Graveyard, so it is redrawn rather than lost
- Generic Level 3 Insect body with no restrictive garnet or lock cost
- Played across 11 different archetypes, so it is portable between homes
- Cheap single-copy slot that is easy to fit into most decks
Weaknesses
- No opponent interaction: no negate, removal or hand trap
- 800 ATK / 900 DEF body does no board work on its own
- Its value depends on the card reaching the Graveyard and on the effect not being negated
- Recursion gives a single redraw, not card advantage or a combo line
Counters / choke points
- Negating its Graveyard effect removes the recursion, leaving only a vanilla-like Level 3 body
- Board-breaking removal of the Graveyard card is not relevant, but Graveyard hate or banish effects would stop the return
Best use
Recovery / recursion body and Level 3 material filler. Decks: Arcana Force, Genex, Phantom Knights. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: when sent to the Graveyard, it is returned to the top of the Deck; Stats: Level 3 EARTH Insect Effect Monster, 800 ATK / 900 DEF, no archetype; Appears in 12 of 12 recent decks (main deck) across 11 distinct archetypes; Genex usage inclusion 100%, typical 1 copy (single archetype statistic)
- Observed: Copies per deck avg 1.25 (9 decks run 1 copy, 3 decks run 2); Top partners are co-occurrence counts only (Upstart Goblin, Light Barrier, Chicken Game at 75% of decks)
- Inferred: Recursion gives a reliable redraw of a cheap body, which supports accessibility and resource economy; Generic Level 3 body is clean material for Xyz/Synchro summons, so material utility is moderate; Negation of the effect would remove the recursion and leave a vanilla body
- Data gaps: no combos supplied — combo conversion is text-only inference no guides supplied no banlist token — assumed 3 copies (unlimited) usage statistics covers a single archetype (Genex) only