Trap
ContinuousEmpty Machine
Archetype:
Timelord
View:
4132
The first time this face-up card on the field would be destroyed by an opponent's card effect, it is not destroyed. Once per turn, you can activate 1 of these effects. ● Discard 1 Level 10 monster; draw 1 card. ● If this is the only card in your Spell & Trap Zone: Target 1 "Timelord" monster in your GY; shuffle it into the Deck, then, you can Set 1 "Infinite Machine" directly from your hand or Deck.
Empty Machine — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 49 ± 8 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 47 · Deck: 51 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Recovery/Recursion · Secondary: Negation/Interaction
Why it scores here
Empty Machine is a Timelord-dependent Continuous Trap whose value is recursion: once per turn it can discard a Level 10 monster to draw, or return a Timelord from the Graveyard to the Deck and Set Infinite Machine from hand or Deck when it is the only card in the Spell & Trap Zone. Its protection clause only blanks one opponent destruction effect on itself, so it is a soft, single-use interaction rather than a strong negate. Its high deck count (69 decks, 44.9% in the Timelord archetype, 3 copies in 51 of them) and near-total partner overlap with the Timelord core confirm it is a dependable supporting piece, but that inclusion is not counted as power; with no combo data, the combo and resource axes rest on text alone.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 60 | Run as a 3-copy Trap in 51 of 69 decks and co-appears with the Timelord core in 85–94% of decks, so it is usually in hand, though its only home is the Timelord archetype (observed). |
| Combo & Conversion | 40 | The card text sets up a Timelord recursion and a Set from Deck, but no recorded boards exist (combos_evidence total 0), so its conversion is text-only inference (inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 55 | Discarding a Level 10 monster to draw 1 is card-neutral and needs a specific body, while the GY-to-Deck return of a Timelord is a recycle rather than an advantage gain (inferred). |
| Effect & Interaction | 40 | It protects only itself, and only once, from an opponent's card effect destruction, with no hand-trap reach or flexible negation (verified). |
| Material Utility | 5 | It is a Trap and cannot be used as material, so the score is near zero (verified). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 50 | It survives one destruction effect and can reuse its once-per-turn effects across turns while it stays face-up, but it is still easy to dislodge (verified). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 45 | It is a 3-copy slot that only works in Timelord shells, which is a mild restriction on where it can be run; no garnet or lock cost is evident in the text (observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Recovery/Recursion + 0.3 Negation/Interaction. Intrinsic ≈ 47, Deck ≈ 51, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: single-archetype dependency (-2). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Dependable 3-copy inclusion in the Timelord core, with near-total partner overlap (observed)
- Protects itself once from an opponent's card-effect destruction (verified)
- Once-per-turn recursion: returns a Timelord from the GY to the Deck and can Set Infinite Machine (verified)
Weaknesses
- Its discard cost needs a Level 10 monster, which is a narrow condition (verified)
- The recursion route needs the Spell & Trap Zone to be otherwise empty for the Set clause (verified)
- Power is confined to the Timelord archetype; it is not a generic piece (observed)
Counters / choke points
- Opponent's effect-based removal can be used twice in one turn to remove a protected card after the protection is spent (inferred)
- Non-effect destruction or the card being sent while face-down or in hand bypasses the protection (inferred)
Best use
Recovery/Recursion support trap that keeps the Timelord engine rebuilding after removal. Decks: Timelord (archetype 700), Timelord (archetype 274). Suggested copies: 3.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Trap Card, Continuous: first opponent-effect destruction is negated for itself; Once per turn: discard 1 Level 10 monster to draw 1; Once per turn: if the only S&T card, target a Timelord in GY, shuffle into Deck, may Set Infinite Machine from hand or Deck; Timelord-only; not a Material body
- Observed: Present in 69 decks; 3 copies in 51 of them, avg 2.61 copies; Co-appears with Timelord partners at 85–94%; Archetype concentration: Timelord 700 (44.9%) and 274 (14.5%)
- Inferred: Recursion route makes it a Recovery piece; Combo conversion is text-only, since no boards were recorded; Soft interaction, one-time self-protection
- Data gaps: no combos supplied — combo conversion is text-only inference no guides supplied no banlist token — assumed 3 copies (unlimited) no usage statistics (StatisticsCard) — archetype inclusion % inferred from deck sample only