Trap
CounterForced Back
View:
1866
Negate the Normal Summon or Flip Summon of a monster and return it to its owner's hand.
Forced Back — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 55 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 56 · Deck: 55 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Removal / Negation · Secondary: Hand trap
Why it scores here
Forced Back is a summon-response negate: it turns off one Normal or Flip Summon and returns the monster to hand, so its value is tempo and a clean answer to a specific play rather than card advantage or board building. Its 9-deck presence across 8 archetypes confirms it is run consistently and is cheap to slot (1-2 copies), but that frequency is not treated as power. The Normal/Flip-only trigger narrows its reach, and with no combo or guide evidence its score stays in the mid-50s.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 60 | Run in 9 of 9 sampled decks at 1-2 copies, but it only matters when set and the opponent Summons; no combo starter data (inferred, observed deck count). |
| Combo & Conversion | 20 | Builds nothing on its own and no recorded boards show it as a starter or payoff; text-only inference (inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 45 | Negates the Summon and bounces the monster, which costs the opponent a Summon but is roughly card-neutral; no refuel or search (verified text, inferred balance). |
| Effect & Interaction | 60 | Strong, specific summon negate with a bounce; the limit is that it only hits Normal and Flip Summons, not Special Summons (verified text). |
| Material Utility | 0 | A trap card, so it is never a material and scores 0 here (verified card type). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 50 | Single-copy-per-trigger negate with no recursion; spread across 8 archetypes and two gameplay types gives some multi-home redundancy (observed deck spread). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 70 | Low-cost, non-garnet trap that runs 1-2 copies and needs no restriction; splashability is not evidenced (observed copy distribution). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Removal/Negation + 0.3 Hand trap. Intrinsic ≈ 56, Deck ≈ 55, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Clean answer to Normal and Flip Summons that also bounces the monster
- Run in all 9 sampled decks across 8 archetypes
- Cheap to include at 1-2 copies with no garnet restriction
Weaknesses
- Only hits Normal and Flip Summons, not Special Summons
- Tempo-only interaction; no card advantage or board impact
- No combo or guide evidence of practical conversion
Counters / choke points
- Monsters that Special Summon (not affected by this trigger)
- Players who do not Normal Summon or Flip Summon the threat
Best use
Summon-response negate alongside Solemn Judgment / Solemn Warning / Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring style interaction. Decks: Vanquish Soul, Sky Striker, R.B., Orcust, Hole, Phantom Knights, Mekk-Knights.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Negates a monster's Normal Summon or Flip Summon and returns it to its owner's hand (card text); Card type is Trap Card, race Counter (evidence card block); Run in 9 of 9 sampled decks, 1-2 copies each (decks_evidence)
- Observed: Co-occurs with Solemn Judgment, Solemn Warning and Ash Blossom in 4-5 of 9 decks (top_partners); Spread across 8 archetypes and 2 gameplay types (decks_evidence)
- Inferred: Acts as tempo interaction with roughly card-neutral resource value; Practical value depends on the opponent Normal or Flip Summoning, so reach is narrower than a general negate
- 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 activation timing and cost not stated in evidence — interaction timing scored from text only no banlist token — assumed 3 copies (unlimited)