EARTH
7Mechanical Hound
ATK:
2800
DEF:
1500
View:
2596
While you have no cards in your hand, your opponent cannot activate Spell Cards.
52± 7/ 100
Power Score
Intrinsic
54
Deck
51
Mechanical Hound — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 52 ± 7 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 54 · Deck: 51 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Floodgate / Control · Secondary: Material body, Utility
Why it scores here
Mechanical Hound scores in the middle range because it provides a strong, unique Spell-prevention lock but requires a fragile condition (empty hand) to activate and offers no combo synergy or resource advantage on its own. Its 2800 ATK and generic EARTH Machine typing provide some defensive value as a body, but the primary appeal is situational Spell disruption in control-focused strategies like Morganite. The absence of combo evidence and single-copy status in all lists indicate it's a tech choice rather than a core engine piece.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 55 | Appears in 77.5% of Morganite decks as a natural draw, with secondary homes in Speedroid and Kashtira, indicating moderate accessibility despite no search routes being mentioned (observed). |
| Combo & Conversion | 25 | No combo appearances recorded and the text creates a passive lock rather than an active combo builder, so conversion is limited to board-state contribution rather than combo initiation (verified). |
| Resource Economy | 40 | It neither generates nor consumes card advantage directly; value comes from disruption, not refuel or draw, placing it roughly even in resource terms (inferred). |
| Effect & Interaction | 55 | Provides a strong Spell-only prevention lock against Spell-heavy decks, but the requirement to be hand-empty makes it situational and limits its disruptive flexibility (verified). |
| Material Utility | 60 | As a Level-7 EARTH Machine with 2800 ATK, it serves as usable though not optimal generic material even when its effect is negated, and its Machine typing offers synergy in Earth Machine strategies (inferred). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 35 | The effect is fragile, requiring a hand-empty state that breaks with any new draw, and it's run as a single copy with no redundancy or recovery routes, making it vulnerable to disruption (inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 70 | As a 1-of tech slot with no special summoning requirements or archetype locks, it imposes minimal deckbuilding cost and is splashable across multiple control-focused strategies evident from its presence in 8 distinct archetypes (observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: Floodgate/Control primary role. Intrinsic ≈ 54, Deck ≈ 51, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Unique Spell-prevention lock with no direct competitors in current meta
- 2800 ATK provides decent defensive body presence on-field
- Minimal deckbuilding cost as a 1-of tech slot
- Strong primary home in Morganite control strategies (77.5% inclusion)
Weaknesses
- Effect requires you to have 0 cards in hand (severe constraint)
- Lock duration limited to while your hand is empty (fragile condition)
- Spell-only lock (does not stop Trap activations or Monster effects)
- No combo conversion on its own; no observed synergy in combo boards
- Single-copy only in all lists (zero redundancy)
- No search routes mentioned; relies on natural draw
Counters / choke points
- Hand destruction effects that force you to refill (breaks lock)
- Cards that force card draw on your side (breaks lock)
- Trap-based disruption (Traps bypass the Spell lock)
- Monster effect negation (blanks the entire card)
- Removal or bounce before lock is established
Best use
Floodgate / Spell lock tech. Decks: Morganite, Kashtira, Speedroid. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: 'While you have no cards in your hand, your opponent cannot activate Spell Cards'; Appears in 40 main-deck lists (0 side-deck lists) across 40 distinct decks; Primary home: Morganite archetype at 77.5% inclusion (31/40 decks); Always run as single copy (1 of 1 copies per deck in all 40 instances); 2800 ATK / 1500 DEF Level-7 EARTH Machine monster
- Observed: 87.5% co-occurrence with Clockwork Night, Solemn Judgment, and Harpie's Feather Duster in Morganite lists; 90% co-occurrence with Harpie's Feather Duster specifically (36/40 decks); Secondary homes in 7 other archetypes: Speedroid (5%), Kashtira (5%), Therions (2.5%), Sky Striker (2.5%), R.B. (2.5%), Train (2.5%), Earth Machine (2.5%); Morganite decks run it as part of a disruption package alongside Spell-negation tools; Mentioned in 1 guide (Kashtira Control Build) under Tech and Engine section
- Inferred: Effect is passive and requires hand-empty state to function (not active on-demand); Spell lock applies continuously while you have 0 hand cards (fragile condition); No searchable routes mentioned; relies on natural draw or generic tutoring; Can be normal summoned or special summoned from deck (standard Monster rules); Generic EARTH Machine typing suggests synergy with Earth Machine strategies; Primary role is situational Spell lock rather than combo engine
- Data gaps: No combos supplied — combo conversion is text-only inference, cannot verify actual board participation No banlist token — assumed 3 copies unlimited in all formats (TCG/OCG/MasterDuel) No usage statistics (StatisticsCard) — archetype inclusion percentages inferred from 40-deck sample only, not historical large-scale data No search routes mentioned — accessibility assumes natural draw, cannot confirm if searchable Guide mention lacks specific role explanation — only listed in Tech and Engine section without context No metagame-dated context — cannot assess if Spell-heavy meta validates the effect's utility