Trap
CounterFace-Off
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3463
When a Spell/Trap Card, or monster effect, is activated during the Damage Step: Negate the activation, and if you do, destroy it.
Face-Off — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 49 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 49.8 · Deck: 48.9 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Removal / Negation
Why it scores here
Face-Off reliably converts one set trap into one negation plus one destruction, but only inside the Damage Step, which is a narrow window that makes it easy to play around. It has no combo or material presence in the evidence (0 recorded boards), so combo_conversion stays low. Its strong deckbuilding efficiency (one slot, no garnets, usable across 8 archetypes) is what keeps the score from falling further. The card's high view count and deck appearances confirm that it is played, not that it is strong, so they did not add points.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 45 | A set trap that is live only once it is set and drawn, with no searcher evidence and 13 sampled decks at 1.15 copies average (observed). |
| Combo & Conversion | 8 | Reactive card with 0 recorded combo appearances; it does nothing on its own (inferred from text, observed as absent in combos). |
| Resource Economy | 45 | Card-for-card trade: one trap spent to negate and destroy one activation, with no refuel or advantage (inferred from text). |
| Effect & Interaction | 45 | Negates a Spell/Trap or monster effect and destroys it, but only in the Damage Step, which limits reach (verified from text, timing narrowed by inference). |
| Material Utility | 2 | A Trap Card, so it cannot be used as material and provides no body (verified from card type). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 25 | One negate that is dead outside the Damage Step, with no redundancy beyond the copy count (inferred from text). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 85 | Single-slot, no garnet or lock restriction, and generic enough to splash or run with 1.15 average copies (observed from deck sample). |
Calculation
Weight profile: Primary role only (Removal / Negation); no secondary role. Intrinsic ≈ 49.8, Deck ≈ 48.9, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Negates a Spell/Trap or monster effect and destroys it, a clean one-for-one answer
- Generic text that works across 8 distinct archetypes in the sample
- Single-slot, no garnet or lock restriction, cheap to run
Weaknesses
- Only active during the Damage Step, a narrow window
- Set trap, so it is slow and must be set before it can be used
- No recorded combo or material presence (0 boards)
Counters / choke points
- Activating the opponent's effect outside the Damage Step, where Face-Off cannot respond
- Playing around a set trap by baiting it before the Damage Step
Best use
Negation/Interaction. Decks: Swordsoul, -Eyes Dragon, Six Samurai, Chaos Phantom, Pendulum Magician, Dark Magician. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: negates a Spell/Trap or monster effect during the Damage Step and destroys it if negated; Card type: Trap Card, no material use; Present in 13 sampled decks across 8 archetypes
- Observed: Average 1.15 copies per deck (11 decks run 1 copy, 2 decks run 2); Top partners include Harpie's Feather Duster (53.8%) and The Huge Revolution is Over (46.2%); 0 recorded combo appearances
- Inferred: The Damage Step-only timing makes the card narrower than most negation traps; Playing around the card is feasible by acting outside the Damage Step
- 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