EARTH
3Junk Defender
Archetype:
Junk
ATK:
500
DEF:
1800
View:
3645
When an opponent's monster declares a direct attack: You can Special Summon this card from your hand. Once per turn, during either player's turn: You can have this card gain 300 DEF until the end of this turn.
Junk Defender — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 55 ± 7 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 55 · Deck: 56 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Material body · Secondary: Utility
Why it scores here
Junk Defender is a Level 3 Warrior body that can be Special Summoned from hand only when an opponent's monster declares a direct attack, and its once-per-turn +300 DEF does not change what it converts into. Its value is mainly as a generic Level 3 material and a free defensive body that appears in 25 of 25 sampled Junk and Synchron-adjacent decks, which supports a real, practical role. The high 500 ATK and 1800 DEF earn no points; the narrow hand-summon trigger, zero recorded combo appearances and lack of any negation or card advantage keep the score in the middle range.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 35 | The hand Special Summon needs an opponent's direct attack, so it is not a live opening-hand play, though it is fielded in 25 of 25 sampled decks (observed; inferred from text for the trigger). |
| Combo & Conversion | 30 | No recorded combo boards (appearances 0), so conversion is text-only: a single body with no follow-up beyond its own stats (inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 40 | Free Special Summon from hand gives a body with no cost and no return, and no GY refuel or draw (verified from text). |
| Effect & Interaction | 15 | Neither negates nor removes anything; it only blocks a direct attack and boosts its own DEF (verified from text). |
| Material Utility | 65 | A Level 3 Earth Warrior is a generic material whose body still converts when its effects are negated (inferred from text and archetype breadth). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 45 | Hand-based summon avoids GY-only interaction and the DEF boost works in either turn, but it has 500 ATK and only one trigger window (verified from text). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 75 | Single-copy-friendly at 1.16 average copies per deck, no garnet or locking restriction, and it is a generic Level 3 body (observed from deck data). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Material body + 0.3 Utility. Intrinsic ≈ 55, Deck ≈ 56, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Generic Level 3 Warrior body with clean material conversion even when its effects are negated
- Free Special Summon from hand gives a body with no cost
- Runs across 12 distinct archetypes and is consistently included (25 of 25 sampled decks)
- Clear, low-risk rules text with no garnet or self-lock
Weaknesses
- Hand summon only triggers on an opponent's direct attack, so it is not a proactive opening play
- No negation, removal or card advantage
- No recorded combo appearances, so conversion value is unproven from real boards
- 500 ATK and 1800 DEF add no score
Counters / choke points
- Opponent's direct-attack avoidance: the monster is never Special Summoned if no direct attack is declared
- Monster-effect negation before the summon, if the opponent negates the attacking monster's effect
- Board wipes or GY-only interaction are not blocked by its hand summon
Best use
Generic Level 3 Synchro/Material fodder with a defensive hand body. Decks: Junk Synchron, Junk Speeder, Synchron-based Junk builds. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Level 3 Earth Warrior Effect Monster, 500 ATK / 1800 DEF; Special Summon from hand on opponent's direct attack; Once per turn: +300 DEF until end of turn, either turn; Formats: TCG, OCG, MasterDuel
- Observed: Present in 25 of 25 sampled decks, 1.16 average copies, 12 distinct archetypes; Top partners Junk Speeder and Junk Synchron each in 22 of 25 decks
- Inferred: Generic Level 3 body converts into material even when its effect is negated; Hand summon is a conditional defensive body, not a proactive starter
- Data gaps: no combos supplied, so combo conversion is text-only inference no guides supplied no banlist token, so unlimited (3 copies) assumed no usage statistics (StatisticsCard), so archetype inclusion is inferred from the 25-deck sample only