Spell
NormalIce Mirror
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3857
Target 1 Level 3 or lower WATER monster you control; Special Summon 1 monster with the same name from your Deck, but you cannot Special Summon from the Extra Deck while you control that face-up Special Summoned monster.
Ice Mirror — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 51 ± 8 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 52 · Deck: 54 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Starter / Combo enabler
Why it scores here
Ice Mirror converts one WATER Level 3-or-lower monster already on the field into a same-name copy from the Deck, a card-neutral 1-for-1 body gain that depends on having a qualifying target. It is live in 30 sampled decks across 17 archetypes, which confirms it is a practical generic staple rather than a niche pick, but the deck count does not raise its score (guardrail 3). The Extra Deck Special Summon lock while the copy is face-up is a real cost, and the card has no interaction, no combo-board evidence and no measured starter/payoff role, so the score stays in the low-to-mid 50s.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 60 | Live in 30 of 30 sampled decks (1.3 copies avg, 90% in gameplay type 7) and needs only a WATER Level 3-or-lower target on the field, which is a restriction but not a rare one (observed; text-based target constraint is verified). |
| Combo & Conversion | 45 | Turns one qualifying monster into a same-name body from the Deck, so it adds a single body without a demonstrated multi-card board; combo examples are absent (inferred from card text; no combo observations). |
| Resource Economy | 55 | Spell is spent and the target stays on the field while a same-name monster is added from the Deck, so it is roughly even card advantage (verified from text; no netCardAdvantage data). |
| Effect & Interaction | 10 | No negation, removal or hand-trap reach; the card only summons (verified from text). |
| Material Utility | 40 | The summoned copy is a same-name monster, so its material value depends entirely on the archetype or name it carries; no as_material observations exist (inferred). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 40 | A Normal Spell can be answered by spell-negating interaction such as Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, which appears as a top partner in 18 of 30 decks, and the target requirement narrows which boards it works on (observed partner frequency; inferred risk). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 60 | Low copy count (1.3 avg, max 3) and a single restriction on the target and Extra Deck summons make it cheap to run without garnet-heavy requirements (observed copies; inferred restriction cost). |
Calculation
Weight profile: Starter / Combo enabler, single role, no secondary blend. Intrinsic ≈ 52, Deck ≈ 54, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Self-locking restriction (-2). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Generic WATER-target engine that works across 17 sampled archetypes
- Card-neutral body gain from the Deck with a low copy requirement
- Frequently paired with high-consistency staples such as Called by the Grave, Maxx "C" and Ash Blossom (observed partners)
Weaknesses
- Requires a qualifying WATER Level 3-or-lower monster already on the field
- No interaction, so it cannot stop the opponent
- Extra Deck summon lock while the copy is face-up
- No combo-board evidence to show how far it converts from a realistic start
Counters / choke points
- Spell-negation such as Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring
- Removal or bounce of the qualifying WATER target before resolution
Best use
Starter / body-from-Deck. Decks: Generic WATER-target lines across the sampled archetypes, e.g. Maliss, Frog, Tachyon and Dogmatika.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: targets a Level 3 or lower WATER monster you control and Special Summons a same-name monster from the Deck; Extra Deck Special Summon restriction while the copy is face-up; Formats: TCG, OCG, MasterDuel, DuelLinks
- Observed: Present in 30 of 30 sampled decks, 1.3 copies average, max 3; 17 distinct archetypes; top partners appear in 18 to 19 of 30 decks
- Inferred: Spell-negation is a practical answer to the activation; Material value of the copy depends on its name and archetype
- Data gaps: no combos supplied, so combo conversion is text-only inference no guides supplied no banlist token, assumed 3 copies (unlimited) no usage statistics (StatisticsCard), so archetype inclusion % is inferred from the deck sample only