LIGHT
12Crimson Dragon
ATK:
0
DEF:
0
View:
19899
1 Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters If this card is Special Summoned: You can add 1 Spell/Trap that mentions "Crimson Dragon" from your Deck to your hand. (Quick Effect): You can target 1 Level 7 or higher Synchro Monster on the field, except "Crimson Dragon"; return this card to the Extra Deck, and if you do, Special Summon 1 Dragon Synchro Monster from your Extra Deck with the same Level as the targeted monster. (This is treated as a Synchro Summon.) You can only use each effect of "Crimson Dragon" once per turn.
Crimson Dragon — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 58 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 51.6 · Deck: 61.5 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Extender · Secondary: Boss/End-board
Why it scores here
Crimson Dragon scores as a Synchro extender: its Quick Effect returns it to the Extra Deck to Special Summon a Dragon Synchro of the same Level, and its Special Summon trigger searches only Spell/Traps that name it. Its 18 recorded boards all contain it and average a power index of 83.1, and it sits in 400 of 400 sampled decks with Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring as its top partner, but none of that is a role tag, so the score rests on text plus co-occurrence rather than observed starter or payoff use. Its Level 12 body, high-level material demands and lack of any opponent interaction keep the intrinsic score in the middle of the range, and its 82-archetype spread lifts the deck-level score.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 50 | Reached through Synchro Summon and a conditional name-based search, but the combo evidence records zero starter or searched appearances, so routes are unverified (verified/inferred). |
| Combo & Conversion | 70 | Present in 18 of 18 recorded boards with average power index 83.1 and examples reaching 100, though the card's own role counts are all zero, so attribution is partly inferred (observed/inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 55 | The Special Summon search gives at most one card and the recursion is a tempo reset rather than card advantage, so value is modest (verified/inferred). |
| Effect & Interaction | 10 | The card text has no negation, removal, or hand-trap effect, so opponent interaction is effectively nil (verified). |
| Material Utility | 30 | A Level 12 Light Synchro is a narrow material, and the text does not make it a Tuner, so its body converts poorly as material (verified/inferred). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 55 | Its Quick Effect lets it leave the field and re-summon in the same turn, with each effect limited to once per turn, which gives some multi-turn recovery (verified). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 45 | It is run as a single copy in 396 of 400 decks, but it needs a Level 7+ Synchro target and a Synchro Summon, so it is a moderate slot cost (verified/observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Extender + 0.3 Boss/End-board. Intrinsic ≈ 51.6, Deck ≈ 61.5, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck (decks and combos present; meta unknown)
Strengths
- Summons a high-Level Dragon Synchro from the Extra Deck, which extends a Synchro line
- Searches a Spell/Trap that names it on Special Summon
- Appears on every recorded board in the combo sample
- Runs in all 400 sampled decks across 82 archetypes
Weaknesses
- No negation, removal or hand-trap effect
- Level 12 body is a narrow material
- Needs a Level 7+ Synchro target and a Synchro Summon
- Its own role counts in the combo data are all zero
Counters / choke points
- Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring and similar hand traps stop the search and Synchro Summon before it resolves
- Effect negation on the field or Droll & Lock Bird-style locks stop the recursion
Best use
Synchro extender and Level 12 end-board body. Decks: Blue-Eyes, Synchron, Stardust / Synchron, Crimson Dragon, Centur-Ion, Junk. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Quick Effect returns the card to the Extra Deck and Special Summons a Dragon Synchro of the same Level; Special Summon trigger searches a Spell/Trap that names Crimson Dragon; Each effect is once per turn; Runs as 1 copy in 396 of 400 decks
- Observed: Appears in 18 of 18 recorded boards with average power index 83.1; Top partner Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring in 86.8% of decks; Ranked 38 in the OCG Top Card list and 51 in Duel Links
- Inferred: Card is an extender rather than a starter because its role counts are zero; Level 12 body is a poor material; Board success is partly a property of the Synchro engine rather than this card alone
- Data gaps: Combo role breakdown (starter, searched, material, payoff, end-board) is all zero despite 18 appearances, so role attribution is unverified No rulings data supplied No dated metagame sample supplied