Machina Cannon

Machina Cannon — Power Evaluation

Final Score: 55 ± 5 · Confidence: Medium

• Intrinsic: 56 · Deck: 55 · Meta: provisional
• Primary role: Combo enabler · Secondary: Material body

Why it scores here

Machina Cannon is a specialized graveyard setup card that discards other Machine monsters to fuel combo payoffs like Machina Fortress and Gearframe, but does not itself generate board advantage—it converts hand resources into a body that enables other effects. The 0 ATK, Special Summon-only restriction, and lack of any disruption severely limit utility outside dedicated Machine decks. Strong deck presence (85.9% co-occurrence with Fortress) across 22 archetypes confirms its role as a flexible cost-outlet, but the complete absence of combo data and guides leaves its actual power ceiling and strategic impact unverified.

Axis scores

Calculation

Weight profile: Combo enabler primary role; Material body secondary (0.7:0.3 blend not applied, primary dominates). Intrinsic ≈ 56, Deck ≈ 55, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck (decks present, combos absent, guides absent)

Strengths

• Splashable across 22 distinct archetypes (Machina, Gadgets, Scrap, Therions, T.G., Synchron, Ancient Gears) confirming flexible cost-outlet role.
• Extremely strong synergy with Machina Fortress (85.9% co-occurrence) and Machina Gearframe (82%), establishing it as a core enabler in the primary Machina strategy.
• Level 8 Machine type provides clean material utility for Synchro combos and archetype-specific synergies.
• No hard deck restrictions or locking clauses that interfere with broader strategy.

Weaknesses

• 0 ATK and Special Summon-only restriction severely limit utility outside Machine-dense decks; cannot be Normal Summoned or use alternative summon methods.
• Generates no card advantage or graveyard refuel on its own; purely a cost outlet for other cards' effects, not a payoff itself.
• Conditional activation risk: requires live machine discard targets in hand, creating potential brick scenarios despite high machine density in intended homes.
• Fragile to Special Summon negation (Ash Blossom, Swordsoul Strategic, etc.); once negated, leaves card stranded in hand with no alternative activation or recovery clause.

Counters / choke points

• Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring (negates Special Summon from hand)
• Any Special Summon negation effect (Swordsoul Strategic, Ghost Belle, etc.)
• Deck strategies with low Machine monster count or minimal hand discard synergies

Best use

Graveyard setup and discard outlet for Machina Fortress/Gearframe combo payoffs. Decks: Machina, Gadgets, Scrap, Therions, T.G., Synchron, Ancient Gears. Suggested copies: 1.

Evidence & gaps

• Verified: Card text: Cannot be Normal Summoned; must be Special Summoned from hand only by sending 1+ other Machine monsters to the GY; gains 800 ATK per monster sent.; Primary homes: Machina (39.1%, 50 decks) and Gadgets (28.1%, 36 decks) represent 67.2% of deck sample.; Top synergy: Machina Fortress at 85.9% co-occurrence (110 of 128 decks), Machina Gearframe at 82% (105 decks), confirming archetype fit.; Zero disruption or opponent interaction in card text (no negation, removal, or hand-trap function).; Distinct archetype count: 22, confirming broad splashability beyond core Machina/Gadget homes.
• Observed: Deck inclusion: 128 decks total, all in main deck (0 side deck), averaging 1.21 copies per deck (110 × 1-copy, 9 × 2-copy, 9 × 3-copy).; Highest concentration in Machina (50 decks) → Gadgets (36 decks) → Scrap (8 decks), with long tail across 22 archetypes.; Partnership pattern shows Cannon alongside Fortress + Gearframe + Gadgets, suggesting unified Machina discard shell.; Average copies trend: most decks run exactly 1, with minority opting for 2–3, suggesting conditional (not forced) redundancy.
• Inferred: Discard outlet function: text explicitly requires 'send to GY,' enabling graveyard-dependent effects.; Enabler (not payoff) role: Cannon is the cost mechanism; Fortress and Gearframe are the actual combo generators and board builders.; Material utility: Level 8, EARTH, Machine type support Synchro lines and archetype-specific tuner/synergies.; Brick potential: Special Summon-only restriction + requirement for machine targets create conditional activation (higher risk if hand is machine-starved).; Negation vulnerability: no clause protecting against Special Summon negation; stranded in hand with no recovery if negated.
• Data gaps: No combos supplied — cannot verify actual board output, average power index, or role centrality (starter vs. material vs. payoff); combo conversion scored via text inference only. No guides supplied — no human context on strategic importance, meta role, or practical deployment patterns. No banlist token — assumed unlimited (3 copies legal) in all formats; actual banlist status unknown. No usage statistics (StatisticsCard) — archetype inclusion percentages inferred from 128-deck sample only, not historical data across larger time windows or metagame snapshots. No metagame ranking — cannot assess whether Cannon is a top-deck card, fringe tech, or niche pick across competitive formats.