Trap
CounterHieratic Seal of Reflection
Archetype:
Hieratic
View:
3233
When a Spell Card, Trap Card, or monster effect is activated: Tribute 1 "Hieratic" monster; negate the activation, and if you do, destroy it.
Hieratic Seal of Reflection — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 57 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 58 · Deck: 56 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Removal / Negation
Why it scores here
The card's value is its effect: it negates any Spell, Trap, or monster effect activation and destroys the activated card, paid for by tributing a Hieratic monster. That interaction carries nearly all of the score (effect_interaction 78 under Removal / Negation weights). It scores modestly on combo conversion and material utility because it builds no board of its own, has no recorded combo boards, and is a Trap that cannot serve as material. Its presence in 8 of 8 sample decks and the Hieratic partner density confirm that it is consistently played, not that it is intrinsically strong (guardrail 3).
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 55 | Set Trap that needs a Hieratic monster to tribute; live in 8 of 8 sample decks at 1.62 average copies, but no combo starter or searched stats exist (observed; the access route is inferred from text). |
| Combo & Conversion | 30 | Its text negates and destroys the activated card but does not build a board; zero recorded combo appearances, so conversion is text-only inference. |
| Resource Economy | 55 | Tribute costs one Hieratic monster while the negated card is destroyed, so the exchange is roughly even on cards with a possible GY benefit; no netCardAdvantage data (inferred from text). |
| Effect & Interaction | 78 | Negates any Spell, Trap, or monster effect activation and destroys the card, which is broad, flexible, and hard to play around compared with a single-type negate (verified from card text). |
| Material Utility | 0 | As a Trap card it cannot be used as material or as a level, attribute, or name provider (verified from card frame type). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 35 | Set Trap that depends on a Hieratic monster being on field; no survival data or redundancy evidence was supplied (inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 70 | One copy in 3 decks and two copies in 5 decks, with no garnet or lock; the DuelLinks legal-copy count of 1 conflicts with the 2-copy decks, so the slot cost is treated as clean but limited (observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: Removal / Negation primary profile; no secondary blend (secondary_roles empty). Intrinsic ≈ 58, Deck ≈ 56, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: DuelLinks copy limit conflict (-2). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Negates any Spell, Trap, or monster effect activation and destroys the activated card (verified from text).
- Two-for-one against an opponent's card when the Tribute cost is paid by a Hieratic monster (inferred from text).
- Consistently run in the Hieratic lists sampled: 8 of 8 decks, with Hieratic Dragon partners at 100% co-deck rate (observed).
Weaknesses
- Requires a Hieratic monster on field to tribute, so it is dead without board presence (verified from text).
- No recorded combo boards, so its conversion into a winning board is unmeasured (observed gap).
- Limited to a single Trap-card activation window; cannot be used as material (verified from card type).
Counters / choke points
- Opponent can play around it by activating in windows without an effect on the field to tribute against (inferred).
- Opponent hand traps or set-trap interaction that disrupt the Hieratic monster needed for the Tribute cost (inferred).
Best use
Negation/Interaction: negates a Spell, Trap, or monster effect and destroys the activated card, paid by tributing a Hieratic monster. Decks: Hieratic. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: negates any Spell, Trap, or monster effect activation, Tributes 1 Hieratic monster, and destroys the activated card.; Card type is Trap Card, so it cannot be material.; legal copies lists DuelLinks as 1 copy.
- Observed: Appears in 8 of 8 sample decks (3 Hieratic-family archetypes, 1.62 average copies).; Hieratic Dragon partners co-occur in 100% of decks; 5 of 8 decks run 2 copies.; One guide mention in the Core Cards section of the Hieratics guide.
- Inferred: Tribute-plus-negate exchange is roughly even on card count, a 2-for-1 against the opponent's card.; Access depends on a Hieratic monster being on field, which limits accessibility when no board exists.
- Data gaps: No combos supplied: combo conversion, starter/material roles, and average power index are text-only inference. No usage statistics (StatisticsCard): inclusion % is inferred only from the 8-deck sample. legal copies gives only a DuelLinks entry (1 copy) while 5 of 8 decks run 2 copies; the banlist for other formats (TCG, OCG, MasterDuel) is not supplied. Only one guide mention and no rulings; the 'destroy it' referent is read as the activated card per the standard text. No average starter count when present, so DeckResilience is estimated from archetype spread only.