DARK
4Infernal Dragon
ATK:
2000
DEF:
0
View:
3633
Once per turn, during the End Phase, if this card attacked this turn: Destroy this card. When this card on the field is destroyed and sent to the GY: You can Tribute 1 monster; Special Summon this card from the GY.
Infernal Dragon — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 48 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 48.7 · Deck: 46.7 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Recovery / Recursion · Secondary: Material body
Why it scores here
Infernal Dragon is a Level 4 DARK Dragon body that can return itself from the Graveyard, but only after it attacks, self-destructs, and a monster is Tribute'd. Its value is a repeatable body rather than card advantage or interaction, so it scores in the mid-40s. Its 2000 ATK earns nothing on its own; the score comes from its recursion route, clean material fit, and cheap deck slot.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 35 | Needs to be on the field and attack before it can recur, and no searcher or combo route is recorded, but it appears in 5 decks across 4 archetype labels at 1.4 average copies (observed). |
| Combo & Conversion | 30 | Text shows attack, self-destruct, then GY revival for one Tribute, which converts to a body only with help; no combo boards are recorded, so this is text-only inference (inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 40 | Revival costs one monster Tribute and there is no draw or GY refuel, so the exchange is roughly even at best (verified from text). |
| Effect & Interaction | 5 | Has no negation, removal, or hand-trap effect in its text (verified from text). |
| Material Utility | 55 | Level 4 DARK Dragon is a clean generic material by attribute, race and level; the Level 4 fit is verified from the card data, and use as material is inferred because no Fusion/Xyz/Link evidence was supplied (inferred). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 45 | Recursion from the Graveyard gives some survival after destruction, but the revival needs a monster to Tribute and no redundancy evidence exists (inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 70 | Single-copy use (avg 1.4, max 3), no garnet or lock restriction, and the Tribute cost is the main drawback (observed deck copies plus verified text). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Recovery/Recursion + 0.3 Material body. Intrinsic ≈ 48.7, Deck ≈ 46.7, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Revives itself from the Graveyard for one monster Tribute
- Clean Level 4 DARK Dragon body usable as generic material
- Low deckbuilding cost: single copy, no garnet, no lock
- Appears in 5 recent decks across 4 archetype labels
Weaknesses
- 2000 ATK is not scored; the score comes from the recursion route
- Must attack before its self-destruct and needs a Tribute to recur
- No opponent interaction
- No combo evidence, so conversion is text-only
Counters / choke points
- Mass Graveyard banish or Graveyard-based revival prevention (inferred from text, not from evidence)
Best use
Recurring Level 4 Dragon body that returns from the Graveyard for one Tribute. Decks: Red-Eyes, Blue-Eyes. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Once per turn End Phase self-destroy if it attacked this turn; GY revival by Tributing 1 monster; Level 4 DARK Dragon, 2000 ATK, 0 DEF; 5 decks, 1.4 average copies, max 3; Partner co-occurrence counts from deck data
- Observed: Appears in 5 of the sampled decks across 4 archetype labels; Top partners co-occur in 3 decks each
- Inferred: Recursion gives repeatable body presence, not card advantage; Generic material value of a Level 4 DARK Dragon; Attack-then-destroy window limits the card to attacking turns
- Data gaps: no combos supplied — combo conversion is text-only inference no guides supplied no banlist token — assumed 3 copies (unlimited) no usage statistics (StatisticsCard) — archetype inclusion % inferred from deck sample only no legal copies recorded per format average starter count when present unavailable — DeckResilience estimated