EARTH
4Machina Gearframe
Archetype:
Machina
ATK:
1800
DEF:
0
View:
5287
When this card is Normal Summoned: You can add 1 "Machina" monster from your Deck to your hand, except "Machina Gearframe". Once per turn, you can either: Target 1 Machine monster you control; equip this card to that target, OR: Unequip this card and Special Summon it. If the equipped monster would be destroyed by battle or card effect, destroy this card instead.
Machina Gearframe — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 75 ± 5 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 76 · Deck: 75 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Searcher/Tutor · Secondary: Combo enabler, Extender, Material body
Why it scores here
Machina Gearframe is a consistent searcher that tutors any Machina monster on Normal Summon, providing immediate +1 card advantage and enabling combo lines across 42+ archetypes. Its union mechanic adds resilience through destruction protection and recursion, while its Level 4 Machine body serves as flexible generic material. The 1800 ATK does not drive the score; search efficiency and multi-archetype splashability (62.5–100% inclusion in Machina variants) do.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 85 | Summoned easily as a Level 4 with no restrictions; searches on Normal Summon immediately; appears as a 3-of in 222 of 400 recent decks (55.5%) and is 62.5–100% included across all Machina gameplay types (verified) |
| Combo & Conversion | 72 | Search tutors Machina monsters into hand to seed combo builds; union recursion provides extension, but no combo board data exists to measure full conversion distance (inferred) |
| Resource Economy | 70 | Normal Summon into search yields +1 card; union equip/unequip cycles and destruction protection maintain resources without generating additional cards beyond the initial search (inferred) |
| Effect & Interaction | 40 | Destruction substitution via union equip is soft, preventative interaction; the card itself provides no negation, removal, or active disruption (verified) |
| Material Utility | 78 | Level 4 EARTH Machine with no archetype lock-in; unequip-recursion makes it a clean, repeatable generic material across Synchro/Fusion/Link methods (verified) |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 75 | Destruction protection and Special Summon recovery provide multi-turn resilience; once-per-turn union mechanic is flexible across hand, field, and equipment zones (verified) |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 82 | No garnet; splashable across 42+ distinct archetypes (Machina, Train, Infinitrack, Machines, Gadgets, Therions, Scrap, Ancient Gears, and others); runs well in multiples without redundancy penalty (observed) |
Calculation
Weight profile: Primary: Searcher/Tutor. Intrinsic ≈ 76, Deck ≈ 75, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Tutors any Machina monster on Normal Summon for deck consistency
- Splashable across 42+ archetypes and all Machine-type shells
- Union mechanic provides destruction protection and recursion in multi-turn play
- Level 4 Machine body is generic material without archetype lock-in
- Efficient 3-of with no garnet or brick issues; high inclusion rate validates centrality
Weaknesses
- Provides only soft interaction (protection, not hard negation or removal)
- Union mechanic is once-per-turn, limiting flexibility in tight sequences
- Cannot generate repeated card advantage beyond the initial search
- Effect negation leaves it as a vanilla 1800 ATK material body
Counters / choke points
- Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring (blocks Normal Summon search)
- Effect negation (Synchron Zone, Nibiru, Skill Drain blanks it to vanilla material)
- Non-destruction removal (does not trigger protection, leaves no body)
- Deck-out via Machina mill partners (can be indirectly milled by its own searchers)
Best use
Searcher and combo enabler in first-turn setup and mid-game extension. Decks: Machina, Train, Infinitrack, Machines, Gadgets, Therions, Scrap, Ancient Gears, Springans, Cyber Dragon. Suggested copies: 3.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: tutors any Machina monster from Deck on Normal Summon (except itself); Present in 400 recent decks across 42 distinct archetypes; 222 of 400 decks run 3 copies; 154 run 1 copy (favors 3-of); Top co-deck partners are Machina Citadel (80.8%), Machina Fortress (80%), Machina Ruinforce (71%); Union mechanic allows equip/unequip once per turn and substitutes destruction; 100% inclusion rate in some Machina gameplay variants (usage_statistics); Level 4 EARTH Machine, 1800 ATK / 0 DEF, no archetype lock-in
- Observed: Inclusion rates: 62.5–100% across Machina variants; 100% in some generic Machine archetypes; Typical copies: 3 in combo-focused (gameplay 7) Machina; 1 in control variants; Splashable: appears in Train (63 decks), Infinitrack (32), Machines (31), Gadgets (26), Therions (17), Scrap (16), Ancient Gears (14), and 33+ additional archetypes; Often paired with generic Machine staples and Machina core monsters in all homes
- Inferred: Normal Summon into search = +1 card advantage, enabling downstream combo lines; Union protection and recursion provide resilience in multi-turn sequences; Level 4 Machine body converts cleanly to Synchro/Fusion/Link material when effect is negated; High 3-of frequency (222/400 = 55.5%) and 42+ archetype homes indicate high-value search per copy; No archetype-locking text makes it generically splashable in any Machine deck shell
- Data gaps: No combos supplied — combo conversion is text-only inference; cannot measure how far the search translates into end-board value No banlist token — assumed unlimited (3 copies legal in all supplied formats) No top_card rankings — cannot confirm tournament metagame presence or format-specific performance Combo examples missing — inferred combo synergy relies entirely on deck frequency and partner co-occurrence, not validated board outcomes