DARK
8Dark Cavalry
Archetype:
Dark Magician
ATK:
2800
DEF:
2300
View:
6965
"Dark Magician" + 1 Warrior monster Gains 100 ATK for each Spell/Trap on the field and in the GYs. If this card attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing battle damage. When a card or effect is activated that targets a card on the field (Quick Effect): You can discard 1 card; negate the activation, and if you do, destroy it.
Dark Cavalry — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 55 ± 8 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 54.7 · Deck: 55.6 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Removal / Negation · Secondary: Boss/End-board
Why it scores here
Dark Cavalry converts the Dark Magician line into a 2800-ATK body that gains 100 ATK per Spell/Trap on the field and in the GYs, plus a field-only quick negate that costs one discard. Its power comes from being a reliable boss with an interaction tool that is hard to answer cheaply, but its summon needs Dark Magician plus a Warrior and its negate only works while it is on the field. The high 2800 ATK and 2300 DEF did not earn points by themselves; the score rests on deck reach (in 400 decks, 56 archetypes) and the negate, not on stats.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 60 | Needs Dark Magician plus a Warrior as fusion material; the top partner Super Polymerization appears in 52.8% of decks and Dark Magician in 73%, so the route is live but specific (observed). |
| Combo & Conversion | 50 | Appears in 4 of 4 recorded boards with an average power index of 43.5 and 1-2 boss monsters per board, but the sample is small and role tags are empty (observed). |
| Resource Economy | 40 | The negate costs a discard and nothing in the text returns cards or draws, so there is no refuel; net card advantage on boards is only +1 to +2 (observed/inferred). |
| Effect & Interaction | 60 | A quick-effect negate with destroy that hits any activation targeting a card on the field, paid by one discard; strong when live, but it only works from the field (verified text). |
| Material Utility | 30 | Level 8 DARK Spellcaster Fusion body with zero as_material appearances in the evidence; it is a payoff body, not a generic material, and no material-role evidence exists (inferred). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 45 | Stays alive only while on the field and its ATK scales with Spell/Trap count, so field-wide removal of backrow shrinks it; no recorded counterplay data (inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 60 | Runs one copy in 378 of 400 decks and never more than two, so it costs one slot and is easy to fit into Dark Magician builds; it does require that archetype (observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Removal/Negation + 0.3 Boss/End-board. Intrinsic ≈ 54.7, Deck ≈ 55.6, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Strong ATK boost from backrow on the field and in the GY
- Field-only quick negate with destroy, paid by one discard
- Reachable through Dark Magician and Super Polymerization in most Dark Magician decks
- Cheap to run: one copy in most decks
Weaknesses
- Summon needs Dark Magician plus a Warrior
- Negate works only while it is on the field
- Little card advantage or refuel
- Weak as fusion material in the evidence
Counters / choke points
- Effects that do not target a card on the field are not negated (inferred from text)
- Field-wide removal of Spells and Traps lowers its ATK (inferred from the ATK formula)
Best use
Boss/End-board body with a field negate. Decks: Dark Magician. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: +100 ATK per Spell/Trap on the field and in the GYs; piercing; quick-effect negate-and-destroy paid by one discard; Level 8 DARK Spellcaster Fusion, 2800 ATK / 2300 DEF; Runs one copy in 378 of 400 decks; two copies in 22; Appears in 4 of 4 recorded combos
- Observed: Dark Magician in 24% of decks; Super Polymerization partner in 52.8%; Average power index 43.5, with 1-2 boss monsters on boards; Average starter count 0.25 when present
- Inferred: Negate is a strong interaction tool because it reaches any field-targeting activation; Weak material value since no recorded as_material appearances; Backrow-removal sensitivity from the ATK formula
- Data gaps: No banlist token; assumed 3 copies (unlimited) No usage statistics (StatisticsCard); inclusion inferred from the 400-deck sample only Combo sample is only 4 boards and has no role tags (as_starter, as_material, as_payoff are all zero) No counter or rulings data in the evidence Material value rests on text inference, not recorded combo use