Trap
ContinuousMind Drain
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843
Activate this card by paying 1000 LP. Effects of monsters in the hand cannot be activated.
Mind Drain — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 62 ± 5 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 64 · Deck: 64 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Floodgate/Control · Secondary: Negation/Interaction
Why it scores here
Mind Drain is a generic hand-effect lock that functions as defensive meta-game tech across 119 distinct archetypes, particularly in control strategies (60.5% of sample) where it partners with disruption pieces like Solemn Judgment and Called by the Grave. However, its power is substantially limited by symmetric scope—it prevents your own hand effects as well as the opponent's—and by generating no card advantage or board presence. It trades 1000 LP for pure negation, making it effective control tech but not a primary engine or win condition.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 85 | Runs in all 400 sample decks at 1-3 copies (average 1.68), playable from opening hand with no specific searcher required (verified) |
| Combo & Conversion | 5 | Zero combo board appearances across all recorded combos; not a starter, extender, or payoff—purely a setup trap (verified) |
| Resource Economy | 35 | Costs 1000 LP to activate with zero card draw or body generation, producing pure negation and no resource return (verified) |
| Effect & Interaction | 70 | Negates all hand-monster effects as continuous disruption, blocking key hand traps like Ash Blossom and Droll & Lock, though limitation applies symmetrically to both players (verified) |
| Material Utility | 0 | Trap card with zero synergy as material, tuner, or stats; cannot contribute to summons or special mechanics (verified) |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 45 | Continuous trap vulnerable to Harpie's Feather Duster and spell/trap removal once set; no recovery or redundancy once destroyed (observed: Harpie's co-appears in 96 decks, 24%) |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 85 | Splashable into 119 distinct archetypes with no archetype restriction, playable at 1-3 copies across control and combo strategies (observed) |
Calculation
Weight profile: Primary role: Floodgate/Control. Intrinsic ≈ 64, Deck ≈ 64, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Self-locking limitation (-2). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Extremely splashable across 119 archetypes with no deckbuilding restrictions or archetype lock
- Disrupts hand-effect-based strategies (Ash Blossom, Droll & Lock, searchable hand traps) effectively
- Persistent continuous trap provides ongoing disruption once activated
- Strong meta-game presence with widespread adoption in control strategies (60.5% of sample decks)
Weaknesses
- Symmetric effect prevents your own hand-monster effects, creating strategic liability and deck-building constraint
- Generates no card advantage, draw acceleration, or board presence; pure negation with no resources
- Highly vulnerable to common spell/trap removal (Harpie's Feather Duster, MST, Droll & Lock blocking)
- Requires 1000 LP expenditure with potential accumulation in multi-copy runs or longer games
- Not a combo piece; no synergy with combo extension or board-building lines
Counters / choke points
- Harpie's Feather Duster and other spell/trap removal (Galaxy Cyclone, Cosmic Cyclone)
- Decks with minimal hand-effect reliance (pure board-focused or summon-focused strategies)
- Hand effects that resolve before trap activation (early-game searches, opening hands)
- Anti-trap strategies and blind-spot removal in opponent's sideboard
Best use
Main/side deck meta-tech in control strategies; disruption against hand-trap-heavy formats. Decks: Dinomorphia, True Draco, Runick, Supreme King, Control-focused variants.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Continuous Trap negating hand-monster effects with 1000 LP activation cost; Present in all 400 sample decks at average 1.68 copies per deck; Legal across TCG, OCG, MasterDuel, and DuelLinks formats; Zero combo board appearances across all recorded combo evidence
- Observed: Distributed across 119 distinct archetypes with highest concentrations in Dinomorphia (6.2%), True Draco (5.8%), Runick (4%); 60.5% of sample decks are Control gameplay type; 26% Combo, 9.5% Turbo; Top partners are control/disruption cards: Solemn Judgment (140 co-decks, 35%), Called by the Grave (120, 30%), Ash Blossom (119, 29.8%); Harpie's Feather Duster in 96 co-decks (24%) indicates removal as primary out
- Inferred: Symmetric effect restricts both players' hand effects, creating inherent strategic cost; Generic text with no archetype requirement enables wide splashability across 119 homes; Disrupts meta-game strategies relying on hand-trap effects (Ash, Droll, searchable hand effects); Trap vulnerability to removal makes it meta-dependent rather than universal inclusion
- Data gaps: No combo evidence supplied—combo conversion assessment is text-only inference No usage statistics (StatisticsCard)—archetype inclusion percentages derived from 400-deck sample only Only 1 guide mention—limited strategic context from guide analysis Sample appears control-deck biased (100% inclusion suggests filtering or period selection)