WATER
5Crystal Shark
Archetype:
Shark
ATK:
1100
DEF:
800
View:
3978
If this card is used for the Xyz Summon of a "Number" monster, it can be treated as a Level 3 or 4 monster. If this card is in your hand or GY: You can target 1 WATER monster on the field; Special Summon this card (but banish this card when it leaves the field), and if you do, halve that monster's ATK, also, you cannot Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck for the rest of this turn, except Xyz Monsters. You can only use this effect of "Crystal Shark" once per turn.
Crystal Shark — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 63 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 60.4 · Deck: 64 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Starter / Combo enabler · Secondary: Material body, Board breaker
Why it scores here
Crystal Shark is scored as a hand/GY self-summon that needs a WATER target on the field, so it converts into a 1100-ATK body plus a once-per-turn ATK halving rather than a large board. Its strongest value is flexibility: the text lets it act as a Level 3 or 4 for Number Xyz Summons, so it stays useful as material even when the summon is not the play. Deck evidence (400 of 400 decks, 29 archetypes, very high co-occurrence with Shark partners) confirms it is a live, practically accessible card, but that frequency is not used to inflate the score. High ATK and the Shark-heavy inclusion rates earned no points on their own.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 70 | Hand/GY Special Summon with no searcher needed and a live route in 400 of 400 recent decks, though it still requires a WATER monster on the field as a target (verified text, observed deck count; the summon route is not confirmed by combo data). |
| Combo & Conversion | 45 | The card only adds its own body and halves one WATER monster's ATK, with a restriction on Extra Deck Special Summons for the turn; no recorded boards exist to show a larger conversion (verified text; inferred conversion, combo data has 0 appearances). |
| Resource Economy | 25 | It is a body that banishes itself when it leaves the field and gives no card advantage or refuel, so the economy is roughly one-for-one at best (verified text). |
| Effect & Interaction | 35 | The ATK-halving effect is soft, situational interaction on a single WATER monster, and it is not a negation or removal (verified text, inferred strength). |
| Material Utility | 70 | The Level 3/4 treatment for Number Xyz Summons gives it clean material value, and it is still a Level 5 WATER body when not used as material (verified text, observed as Shark staple across 29 archetypes). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 50 | The effect works from hand or GY and survives a negated effect as a material body, but a single negation of its summon ends the effect (verified text, inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 80 | The card runs at 1 copy in most decks (avg 1.13, max 3) with no garnet or lock restriction; the Extra Deck summon limit only applies for the rest of the turn (verified text, observed copies per deck). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Starter/Combo enabler + 0.3 Material body. Intrinsic ≈ 60.4, Deck ≈ 64, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Hand/GY self-summon gives a live route from a dead hand
- Level 3/4 flexibility for Number Xyz Summons keeps it useful as material
- Played in 400 of 400 recent decks across 29 archetypes, with a 1-copy average
Weaknesses
- Needs a WATER monster on the field as a target
- ATK halving is soft interaction rather than negation or removal
- Banishes itself when it leaves the field, with no card advantage or refuel
- Restricts Extra Deck Special Summons for the rest of the turn
Counters / choke points
- Negating the Special Summon (verified text: the effect is a monster effect that can be negated)
- Having no WATER monster on the field as a target
Best use
Hand/GY self-summon starter and Number Xyz material body. Decks: Shark, K9, Dominus, Icejade, Umi. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Hand/GY Special Summon with a once-per-turn limit and banish-on-leave clause (card text); Halves the ATK of one WATER monster on the field (card text); Treated as Level 3 or 4 for Number Xyz Summons (card text); Appears in 400 of 400 decks, average 1.13 copies (deck data)
- Observed: Shark archetype inclusion 56-69% across three gameplay types (usage statistics); Co-occurs with Abyss Shark in 97.8% of decks (deck data top partners); Mentioned in one Shark guide as part of the CORE section (guide data)
- Inferred: The Extra Deck restriction limits follow-up Special Summons in the same turn, reducing conversion; Soft ATK halving gives weak board-breaking value compared with negation or removal
- Data gaps: no combos supplied: combo conversion is text-only inference (combo data.total combos = 0) no banlist token: assumed 3 copies (unlimited) no rulings or metagame sample supplied