LIGHT
4Gray Layer
Archetype:
Konami Arcade Games
ATK:
1200
DEF:
1000
View:
529
You can Tribute this card, then reveal 1 Machine monster in your hand; add 1 Machine monster with a different Attribute from your Deck to your hand, then if you added a monster with 1200 or less ATK, you can Special Summon 1 Machine monster from your hand. If a monster(s) in your possession is destroyed by card effect, while this card is in your GY (except during the Damage Step): You can banish this card; destroy 1 card on the field. You can only use each effect of "Gray Layer" once per turn.
Gray Layer — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 57 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 55 · Deck: 59 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Searcher/Tutor · Secondary: Removal/Negation
Why it scores here
Gray Layer's score comes from what it reliably converts: a Tribute-cost search for a Machine with a different Attribute, which can chain into a Special Summon when the added monster has 1200 or less ATK, plus a once-per-turn Graveyard banish that destroys 1 field card after a monster is destroyed by card effect. Its 1200 ATK and Level 4 body earned no points on their own. The 23-deck spread across 13 archetypes and strong partner overlap (Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring at 73.9%) support real, practical accessibility and a broad home, but frequency alone is not treated as power. No combo data exists, so the combo and material axes rest on text inference only.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 60 | Runs in 23 recent decks across 13 archetypes, but it needs a Machine in hand to activate, so access depends on the rest of the hand (observed deck count, text for hand requirement; inferred for reliability). |
| Combo & Conversion | 45 | Searches one Machine and can add a Special Summon, a modest 1-for-1-plus-body line; there are no combo boards to confirm a larger conversion (inferred from text). |
| Resource Economy | 50 | Tribute cost, search, and an optional Special Summon roughly net to even or +1, and the Graveyard banish is a one-for-one removal trade, so card advantage is limited (inferred from text). |
| Effect & Interaction | 40 | The Graveyard effect destroys 1 field card, but only after a monster is destroyed by card effect and only once per turn, so it is conditional rather than a negation (verified from text). |
| Material Utility | 45 | A LIGHT Level 4 Machine is a usable generic material, but its own Tribute cost takes it off the field, which lowers its value as material (inferred from text and level/attribute). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 55 | The Graveyard effect works from the Graveyard and gives a second activation zone, but both effects are once per turn and only one is tied to the other (verified from text). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 70 | Average 1.52 copies per deck with a mostly single-copy distribution and no garnet or lock requirement, so it is cheap to run (observed deck stats). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Searcher/Tutor + 0.3 Removal/Negation. Intrinsic ≈ 55, Deck ≈ 59, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Searches a Machine from the Deck, so it turns a live Machine in hand into a search
- Optional Special Summon when the added monster has 1200 or less ATK
- Graveyard effect works from the Graveyard and can destroy 1 field card
- Cheap to run: mostly single copies and no garnet requirement
- Runs across many archetypes (13 in the 23-deck sample)
Weaknesses
- Needs a Machine in hand to activate, so it is a dead card in hands without one
- Tributes itself to activate, which takes it off the field
- Each effect is once per turn
- The Graveyard effect needs a monster destroyed by card effect first
- No combo data to confirm conversion strength
Counters / choke points
- Generic negation or hand-trap interaction that stops the search effect before it resolves (inferred; no specific counter card in evidence)
Best use
Machine searcher with a Graveyard removal backup. Decks: B.E.S., Fiendsmith, Cyber Dragon. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Searches a Machine with a different Attribute from the Deck after a Tribute cost; Optional Special Summon when the added monster has 1200 or less ATK; Graveyard banish that destroys 1 card on the field after a monster is destroyed by card effect; Each effect is once per turn
- Observed: Appears in 23 recent decks, 13 archetypes, average 1.52 copies per deck; Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring co-occurs in 73.9% of its decks
- Inferred: Access depends on having a Machine in hand; Tribute cost plus search and optional summon net to roughly even; Negation of the search is the main counter pattern
- Data gaps: No combo evidence (0 boards), so combo conversion and material roles rest on text alone No guides supplied No banlist token; assumed 3 copies No StatisticsCard usage statistics; inclusion inferred from the 23-deck sample The activation location of the first effect is not stated in the supplied text The Machine searchable pool and its contents are not in the evidence avg_starter_count_when_present is null, so deck resilience is inferred from archetype spread No rulings supplied