FIRE
2Decoy Dragon
ATK:
300
DEF:
200
View:
3738
If this card is targeted for an attack: Target 1 Level 7 or higher Dragon-Type monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it, and if you do, change the attack target to it and perform damage calculation.
Decoy Dragon — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 53 ± 8 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 53 · Deck: 53 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Recovery / Recursion · Secondary: Utility
Why it scores here
Decoy Dragon is a 2-Level, 300-ATK Dragon whose only real value is its attack-redirect effect: when it is attacked, it Special Summons a Level 7+ Dragon from the Graveyard and moves the attack onto that monster. That recovers a GY Dragon for free, so the card converts a dead attack into a board recovery, but it only works on attacks against it and has no recorded combo or guide evidence to show how often that happens. The 300 ATK and Level 2 body earn nothing on their own, and the card's wide deck presence (36 decks, 19 archetypes) confirms it is a playable, cheap staple rather than adding strength by itself.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 45 | Plain Level 2 body with no searcher in the text and only one copy in most decks, so it is live when drawn but not reliably reached (observed deck count; no as_starter/as_searched data) (inferred). |
| Combo & Conversion | 50 | The text gives a real conversion: a free GY-to-field Level 7+ Dragon summon plus an attack redirect, but no combo boards are recorded to confirm how far it goes (inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 55 | The GY revive is a one-for-zero recovery of a Dragon with no card cost, so it is card-neutral to slightly positive; there is no netCardAdvantage data (inferred). |
| Effect & Interaction | 35 | Only triggers when the card is attacked, so it is situational defensive protection and not disruption against spells, traps or effects (verified from text). |
| Material Utility | 45 | A Level 2 Dragon body is a usable but generic material, and the effect does nothing when negated; no as_material combo data (inferred). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 40 | It fails to any non-attack removal or effect and needs to be on the field at the moment of attack, with no redundancy beyond the single body (verified from text). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 75 | A single-copy 300-ATK body with no garnet, lock or brick restriction, so it is cheap to run in 36 decks across 19 archetypes (observed from deck evidence). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Recovery/Recursion + 0.3 Utility (secondary) blended. Intrinsic ≈ 53, Deck ≈ 53, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Free Graveyard recovery of a Level 7+ Dragon when attacked, which turns a wasted attack into board value
- Single-copy, no-restriction body that fits into 19 archetypes at low slot cost
- Frequently paired with Blue-Eyes White Dragon in 83% of its decks
Weaknesses
- Only activates when the card itself is attacked, so it does nothing against spells, traps, or effect-based removal
- Low 300 ATK and Level 2 body with no searcher or combo payoff evidence
- Its value depends on having a Level 7+ Dragon already in the Graveyard
Counters / choke points
- Non-attack removal or negation (e.g. effects that target or destroy it directly)
- Opponent choosing not to attack into it, which leaves the effect unused
Best use
Recovery / Recursion (defensive attack redirect that revives a GY Dragon). Decks: Blue-Eyes, Amorphage, Red-Eyes, Hole, Archfiend. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Effect text: when targeted for an attack, Special Summon a Level 7+ Dragon from the GY and redirect the attack to it; Single-copy usage in 32 of 36 decks (avg 1.14 copies)
- Observed: Present in 36 decks across 19 archetypes; 83% of decks also run Blue-Eyes White Dragon; Gameplay distribution concentrated in gameplay type 7 (55.6%)
- Inferred: Recovery value depends on a Level 7+ Dragon being in the GY; Accessibility is ordinary for a Level 2 body without a searcher
- Data gaps: no combos supplied, so combo conversion is text-only inference no guides supplied no usage statistics (StatisticsCard), so archetype inclusion % is inferred from the deck sample only no banlist token; assumed 3 copies (unlimited)