Trap
NormalIce Barrier
Archetype:
Ice Barrier
View:
7220
When an attack is declared involving your opponent's monster: Change that opponent's monster's ATK to 0, negate its effects, also it cannot change its battle position. You can banish this card from your GY; send 1 Level 5 or higher WATER monster from your Deck to the GY, then, you can add 1 WATER monster from your GY to your hand, also, until the end of your next turn after this effect resolves, you cannot Special Summon monsters, except WATER monsters. You can only use this effect of "Ice Barrier" once per turn.
Ice Barrier — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 63 ± 8 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 62 · Deck: 64 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Removal/Negation · Secondary: Recovery/Recursion
Why it scores here
Ice Barrier converts a live attack declaration into a negation: the opponent's monster drops to 0 ATK, loses its effects, and cannot change battle position. Its GY effect (banish itself, mill a Level 5+ WATER, add a WATER from the GY) adds modest recursion. The score comes from reliable access and a cheap, flexible slot (400 of 400 sampled decks run it, 1.46 copies on average, 52 archetypes), not from any stat line; no combo evidence exists to reward a board-building role.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 70 | Runs in all 400 sampled decks at 1.46 average copies, but no searcher or combo route is observed in the evidence (observed + inferred). |
| Combo & Conversion | 35 | Text-only: it neutralises one attack rather than building a board, and there are zero combo appearances (inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 50 | Self-banish plus a Deck-to-GY send in exchange for one WATER monster added to hand is roughly card-neutral, with a small gain (inferred from text). |
| Effect & Interaction | 70 | Strong attack-declaration negation (ATK to 0, effects negated, no battle-position change), but it only answers attacks involving the opponent's monsters (verified from text, observed in 400 decks). |
| Material Utility | 10 | Trap card with no material or level body, so this axis is near zero (verified from card type). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 55 | Works from the GY as well as the field, and is spread across 52 archetypes, but it is a set backrow card vulnerable to backrow removal (inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 72 | Cheap to run at about 1.5 copies with no garnet or lock restriction, and 52 archetypes show it is splashable (observed from decks, inferred from text). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Removal/Negation + 0.3 Recovery/Recursion. Intrinsic ≈ 62, Deck ≈ 64, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Attack-declaration negation that also zeroes ATK and blanks effects
- Present in all 400 sampled decks at about 1.5 copies, across 52 archetypes
- Low deckbuilding cost with a cheap GY recursion option
Weaknesses
- Answers only attacks involving the opponent's monsters, not spells or summons
- No observed combo role, so board-conversion value is text-only
- Set backrow card exposed to backrow removal
Counters / choke points
- Backrow removal or destruction of set traps
- Effect-negating or interrupt traps that stop the Trap's activation
- Attacks outside the battle step (spells, summons, direct effects)
Best use
Battle-step negation for attacks involving opponent monsters, with GY recursion of a WATER monster. Decks: Ice Barrier, Icejade, Shark, Umi, Frog, Kaiju, Swordsoul, Penguin. Suggested copies: 2.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Trap Card type and card text: negates an opponent's attacking monster on attack declaration (ATK to 0, effects negated, no battle-position change); GY effect: banish itself, send a Level 5+ WATER from Deck to GY, add a WATER from GY to hand, once per turn; 400 of 400 sampled decks run it; 1.46 average copies; 52 distinct archetypes
- Observed: Appears in top partner lists alongside Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring and Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier; Present in one guide's Staple section
- Inferred: Recursion and card economy are roughly neutral with a small gain; Backrow vulnerability as a set trap; Splashable and cheap to run given copy counts
- Data gaps: no combos supplied: combo conversion and combo centrality are text-only inference no banlist token: assumed 3 copies (unlimited) no per-format legal_copies: legal status not verified card type is Trap Card while the text reads like a monster-style GY effect: scored on the text as supplied