Spell
NormalHerald of the Abyss
Archetype:
Herald
View:
6282
Pay 1500 LP and declare 1 Monster Type and 1 Attribute; your opponent must send 1 face-up monster with the declared Type and Attribute from their field to the GY, if possible. For the rest of this turn, your opponent cannot activate the effects of monsters with that sent monster's name. You can only activate 1 "Herald of the Abyss" per turn.
Herald of the Abyss — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 56 ± 8 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 54 · Deck: 57 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Removal · Secondary: Floodgate/Control
Why it scores here
Herald of the Abyss converts 1500 LP into one targeted removal: the opponent must send a face-up monster of the declared Type and Attribute to the GY, and that monster's effects are name-locked for the rest of the turn. The score rests on that conditional removal and on its clean deck cost, not on any combo output, since no boards, bodies, or card advantage are recorded. Its near-universal deck presence (400 of 400 sampled decks, 124 archetypes) confirms accessibility and deck cost, but the 88.5% gameplay share and the 6,165 page views earn no points (guardrail 3).
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 55 | In all 400 sampled decks at an average of 1.63 copies (59% run a single copy), so it is usually live when drawn, but no search or starter route is recorded, so it is not a reliable starter (observed). |
| Combo & Conversion | 20 | Zero recorded combo boards; the text is a single removal effect with no body or board, so combo conversion is text-only inference (inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 40 | Costs 1500 LP and removes one opponent monster with no card advantage or refuel; roughly a one-for-one with a life-point cost (verified text, inferred balance). |
| Effect & Interaction | 60 | Targeted removal chosen by declared Type and Attribute, plus a same-turn name-lock on the sent monster's effects, but it needs a matching face-up monster to do anything (verified). |
| Material Utility | 0 | A Spell card that is never on the field, so it cannot contribute as material (verified from frame type). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 35 | Once per turn and a single Spell activation that a generic spell negation can stop; it does nothing when no matching face-up monster exists (inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 70 | Normal Spell with no garnet, lock, or self-restriction, played at one to two copies across 124 archetypes (verified from deck evidence). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Removal + 0.3 Floodgate/Control (name-lock). Intrinsic ≈ 54, Deck ≈ 57, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Splashable generic Spell (2). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Targeted removal: the declared Type and Attribute select the monster, so it does not depend on a blind choice
- Same-turn name-lock on the sent monster's effects
- Generic Normal Spell with near-universal sampled deck presence (400/400) across 124 archetypes
- Low deck-building cost: no garnet, no lock, one to two copies
Weaknesses
- 1500 LP cost with no board, body, or card advantage in return
- Conditional: 'if possible' means no effect when no matching face-up monster is on the opponent's field
- Face-down monsters do not count, so setting a monster blanks it (verified from 'face-up' wording)
- Once per turn, and a single Spell that can be stopped by generic negation
Counters / choke points
- Keeping no face-up monster of the declared Type and Attribute on the field (verified from text)
- Stopping the Spell's activation with a generic spell negation (inferred; no card-specific ruling in evidence)
Best use
Targeted removal and name-lock spell in generic lines with Called by the Grave and Droll & Lock Bird shells. Decks: Diabellstar, White Forest, Azamina, Fiendsmith, Mitsurugi, Blue-Eyes, Ogdoadic/Abhyss.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Costs 1500 LP and requires a declared Monster Type and Attribute; Opponent must send one face-up monster with that Type and Attribute to the GY 'if possible'; Name-lock on the sent monster's effects for the rest of the turn; Once per turn activation restriction; Run in 400 of 400 sampled decks, average 1.63 copies, 124 archetypes
- Observed: Top partners co-occur in 36.8% to 78.5% of sampled decks; usage statistics show 100% inclusion in 3 archetypes at typical 2 copies (small sample); 88.5% of sampled decks are in gameplay type 7
- Inferred: The opponent chooses which matching monster is sent when several match (standard reading, not stated in text); No effect when no matching face-up monster exists; Combo role is text-only because no combo boards were supplied
- Data gaps: no combos supplied: combo conversion is text-only inference no banlist token: assumed 3 copies (unlimited) guide snippets do not describe this card's role; the 3 mentions are section listings only usage statistics covers only 3 archetypes no dated metagame or tier data format 7 is unlabeled in the evidence