LIGHT
4Gray Layer
Archetype:
Konami Arcade Games
ATK:
1200
DEF:
1000
View:
556
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 average starter count when present is null, so deck resilience is inferred from archetype spread No rulings supplied