Trap
CounterEarthbound Wave
Archetype:
Earthbound
View:
3293
When your opponent activates a Spell/Trap Card while you control a "Earthbound Immortal" monster: Negate the activation, and if you do, destroy it.
Earthbound Wave — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 51 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 52 · Deck: 53 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Removal / Negation · Secondary: Floodgate / Control
Why it scores here
Earthbound Wave is a conditional counter trap: it negates a Spell/Trap activation and destroys it, but only while you control an Earthbound Immortal monster. Its interaction is real and fairly broad within that condition, and the 21-deck sample (13 Earthbound-tagged) confirms it is consistently played in its home. High stats are irrelevant here; the score comes from interaction quality, a one-for-one trade, and a restriction that makes it dead without its archetype's monster.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 55 | Backrow trap that is set in the opening hand and live only when an Earthbound Immortal is on the field; included in 21 of 21 sampled decks (verified, observed). |
| Combo & Conversion | 30 | No combo boards recorded and no combo example; the card converts nothing beyond a single negate-and-destroy (inferred from text). |
| Resource Economy | 50 | One card spent to negate and destroy one opposing Spell/Trap, a roughly even one-for-one trade with no refuel or draw (verified from text). |
| Effect & Interaction | 60 | Negates any Spell/Trap activation, a wider target set than most, but gated on an archetype monster and blind to monster effects (verified from text, observed in decks). |
| Material Utility | 0 | Trap card with no monster body and no material role (verified from card type). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 40 | Depends on the Earthbound Immortal monster staying on the field, so monster removal shuts it off; only a single backrow copy is needed to play it (inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 55 | Average 1.38 copies per deck, max 3, with no garnet or lock; it does require running the Earthbound theme (observed, verified from text). |
Calculation
Weight profile: Primary role Removal / Negation; no secondary blend applied (secondary weights not used in the axis calculation). Intrinsic ≈ 52, Deck ≈ 53, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Conditional restriction (-2). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck, then modifiers
Strengths
- Negates and destroys any Spell/Trap activation with no summon or cost beyond the card itself
- Consistently included in its home archetype (21 of 21 sampled decks, 13 Earthbound-tagged)
- Single-copy-friendly, no garnet, cheap to run
Weaknesses
- Blank against monster effects and does nothing without an Earthbound Immortal on the field
- Narrow archetype dependence limits portability (6 archetype tags, mostly one theme)
- No combo evidence, so its conversion value rests on text alone
Counters / choke points
- Removing or negating the Earthbound Immortal monster before the trap is needed (inferred from text)
- Monster-based plays or effects that are not Spell/Trap activations (inferred from text)
Best use
Backrow interaction for Earthbound Immortal boards against Spell/Trap-based plays. Decks: Earthbound. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Trap Card; negates a Spell/Trap activation and destroys it only while you control an Earthbound Immortal monster; Included in 21 of the 21 sampled decks; 13 in the Earthbound archetype; Average 1.38 copies per deck, max 3
- Observed: Co-appears with Ultimate Earthbound Immortal in 17 decks and with Earthbound Whirlwind in 17 decks; Played across 2 gameplay types (7 in 16 decks, 4 in 5 decks)
- Inferred: Earthbound Immortal monster presence is the practical gate for activation; Monster removal or negation shuts the card off in most spots
- Data gaps: no combos supplied — combo conversion is text-only inference no guides supplied no usage statistics (StatisticsCard) — archetype inclusion % inferred from deck sample only no banlist token — assumed 3 copies (unlimited)