Trap
NormalFormation Union
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Select and activate 1 of the following effects: ● Equip 1 Union Monster on your side of the field to an appropriate monster on your side of the field as an Equip Spell Card. ● Unequip 1 of your equipped Union Monsters and Special Summon it to your side of the field in face-up Attack Position.
Formation Union — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 40 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 39.8 · Deck: 40.6 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Combo enabler · Secondary: Recovery/Recursion
Why it scores here
Formation Union is a Union-specific Normal Trap whose two modes (equip a Union monster to a monster you control, or unequip an equipped Union monster and Special Summon it) only convert value when a Union monster is already on the field. Its deck evidence is strong (14 of 14 sampled decks, all with Union Hangar and Union Scramble as partners), which confirms it is a reliable piece of the Union line but does not by itself raise its power. Combo evidence is absent, so the score rests on text inference: no card advantage, no interaction, no body, and a set-required trap that is slow and exposed to set-turn interaction. High frequency inside one family earned accessibility and a modest deck-synergy score, not a higher final score.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 45 | Set-required trap that needs a Union monster already on the field; it is in all 14 sampled decks but is dead outside Union builds (inferred from text plus deck evidence, observed). |
| Combo & Conversion | 40 | Its only conversion is redeploying or equipping an existing Union monster, with no combo examples or starter data supplied (inferred from text, no combo evidence). |
| Resource Economy | 30 | No draw, search, or recursion from the graveyard, so there is no card advantage (verified from card text). |
| Effect & Interaction | 10 | No negation, removal, or hand-trap reach; it is a support effect only (verified from card text). |
| Material Utility | 15 | It is not a monster and provides no material body (verified from card text). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 35 | A set trap that cannot respond at instant speed and is vulnerable while face-down, so one interruption can end its line (inferred from text). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 40 | One copy in every sampled deck, but it locks the build into the Union engine, which is a mild restriction (observed from deck copies plus inference). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Combo enabler + 0.3 Recovery/Recursion. Intrinsic ≈ 39.8, Deck ≈ 40.6, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Union-only restriction (-2). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Reliable Union-line support, present in all 14 sampled decks (observed)
- Cheap, single-copy slot with clean timing for a trap (observed plus verified)
- Redeploys an existing Union monster without spending a card (verified from text)
Weaknesses
- Set-required trap, so it is slow and cannot respond at instant speed (verified from card type)
- Zero value when no Union monster is on the field (verified from text)
- No card advantage, interaction, or material body (verified from text)
- Playable only in Union builds, which limits portability (observed plus inferred)
Counters / choke points
- Set-turn hand traps and negation that hit the set trap before it resolves (inferred)
- Board-clearing or field-control effects that remove the Union monsters it needs (inferred)
Best use
Combo enabler: a single-copy Union support trap that redeploys or equips an existing Union monster. Decks: Union builds built around Union Hangar and Union Scramble, Machina and Heavy Mech shells that already run Union monsters (observed partner list). Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Trap Card with two effects: equip a Union monster as an Equip Spell, or unequip and Special Summon it (card text); No card draw, search, negation, or material body in the text (card text); Single copy in all 14 sampled decks (deck stats)
- Observed: Present in 14/14 sampled decks, with Union Hangar and Union Scramble at 100% co-occurrence (deck stats); Five distinct archetypes across the sample, with the largest group unlabelled (deck stats)
- Inferred: Only useful when a Union monster is already on the field (text inference); Slow and exposed to set-turn interaction (text inference from set-required trap timing)
- Data gaps: no combos supplied, so combo conversion and starter/material/payoff roles are text-only inference no guides supplied no usage statistics (StatisticsCard) for inclusion % across archetypes no banlist token, so 3 copies (unlimited) is assumed