Medium of the Ice Barrier

Medium of the Ice Barrier — Power Evaluation

Final Score: 69 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium

• Intrinsic: 69 · Deck: 69 · Meta: provisional
• Primary role: Floodgate/Control · Secondary: Material body

Why it scores here

Medium of the Ice Barrier scores as a specialized going-second control tool, not a universal powerhouse. Its floodgate effect—locking opponents to 1 Spell/Trap per turn—is exceptionally strong and hard to play around, but only triggers when you are significantly behind on board (requiring a 4-card deficit). In Ice Barrier (45.8% of the 400-deck sample) and Icejade (16%), this condition is reliably met in going-second scenarios, making it a high-value control anchor; in other archetypes, it is peripheral. The 2200 ATK body has Synchro material utility (Coral Dragon appears in 66% of co-decks), but the card neither generates board presence nor multiplies resources—it disrupts. High deck inclusion (97%) confirms accessibility, not strength; it earns its score through reliable floodgate value in its homes, not multiplicity.

Axis scores

Calculation

Weight profile: 0.85 Floodgate/Control + 0.15 Material body. Intrinsic ≈ 69, Deck ≈ 69, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck

Strengths

• Hard floodgate lock (1 Spell/Trap per turn) is exceptionally difficult for opponents to navigate once established
• Conditional summon eliminates garnet risk while enabling reliable going-second control setups in Ice Barrier and Icejade
• Near-universal inclusion (97% of 400-deck sample) with consistent 1x copy confirms archetype anchor status
• Level 7 WATER Spellcaster provides Synchro material value, especially with Coral Dragon in 66% of co-decks
• Splashable across 52 distinct archetypes, not locked to primary home

Weaknesses

• Generates no board presence or resource multiplication—pure disruption without combo acceleration
• Conditional summon (requires opponent 4+ card advantage) limits early-game utility and forces going-second dependency
• Minimal redundancy (1x per deck norm) and no built-in recursion mean field loss equals card loss
• Negation during summon or instant removal leaves card stranded with no fallback
• Floodgate is weaker against pure monster-strategy decks relying on monster effects over Spell/Trap activation

Counters / choke points

• Spell/Trap negation during summon (Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, Infinite Impermanence, Called by the Grave)
• Pure monster-effect strategies (decks with low Spell/Trap activation density)
• Removal before floodgate resolves (board wipes, targeted destruction)

Best use

Going-second floodgate anchor in control-oriented archetypes. Decks: Ice Barrier, Icejade, Swordsoul. Suggested copies: 1.

Evidence & gaps

• Verified: Card text: conditional Special Summon from hand if opponent controls 4+ more cards; floodgate effect limits opponent to 1 Spell/Trap activation per turn; Archetype: Ice Barrier (from evidence.card.archetype); Deck inclusion: 400/400 decks in sample (387 at 1x, 9 at 2x, 4 at 3x); Legal formats: TCG, OCG, MasterDuel; Top 5 partners by co-deck %: General Raiho (88.8%), Trishula Zero Dragon (85.5%), Trishula Dragon (83.8%), Lancea (81%), Revealer (78%)
• Observed: Gameplay type 7 (control) accounts for 72.8% of decks running this card; 52 distinct archetypes include this card; Ice Barrier dominates at 45.8%, Icejade at 16%; Copy distribution: 96.8% of decks run exactly 1 copy (strong anchor pattern); Icejade guide describes card as node in monster synergy network with floating and board control
• Inferred: Conditional summon is live in going-second games where you trail by 4+ cards—the archetype's intended scenario—making accessibility reliable despite the gate; Floodgate effect is hard interaction; no workaround without negation or removal, strong against Spell/Trap-dependent strategies; Level 7 + WATER + Spellcaster enables Synchro lines (Coral Dragon 66% co-decks confirms practical material value); 1x per deck norm suggests card is an anchor, not filler; high inclusion reflects role reliability, not generic power; Secondary archetype appearances (Endymion 4.2%, Frog 2.5%, Swordsoul 2.2%) indicate niche applicability despite broad archetype count
• Data gaps: No combos supplied—cannot verify combo conversion metrics or board-presence frequency No banlist information—assumed unlimited (3 copies legal in all formats) No usage statistics (StatisticsCard rows)—archetype inclusion % derived from 400-deck sample only, not historical stats No top-card rankings—card not ranked in any format's top-card meta context No worked combo examples or starter-to-board lines—unable to show concrete conversion paths