Spell
NormalMonster Gate
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Tribute 1 monster; excavate cards from the top of your Deck until you excavate a monster that can be Normal Summoned/Set. Special Summon it, also send the other excavated cards to the GY.
Monster Gate — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 58 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 58 · Deck: 63 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Searcher/Tutor · Secondary: Extender, Recovery/Recursion
Why it scores here
Monster Gate is a milling tutor that shines in banish-from-GY decks like Infernoid, where excavation fills the GY with fuel for their summoning loop while also generating a body on-field. It runs at high density (3 copies in 67% of decks) and appears in 48 distinct archetypes, showing broad splashability. However, spell speed 1 vulnerability to hand traps, a tribute cost, and zero opponent interaction limit its power profile; it is a strong combo piece, not a standalone threat. The TCG-only 1-copy limit further restricts its role as a redundant engine piece in the primary Western format.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 68 | Highly searchable via Reasoning (98% co-deck rate) and splashes into 48 archetypes, but costs a tribute and is not live in hand (observed) |
| Combo & Conversion | 62 | Excavates multiple cards and special summons a monster, milling GY fuel for banish decks; no combo boards supplied, so conversion is inferred from 100% Infernoid inclusion and milling synergy (inferred) |
| Resource Economy | 58 | Tributes one monster but special summons one back, with GY mill providing setup for banish effects; roughly even trade in economy, slightly positive for decks that intentionally mill (inferred) |
| Effect & Interaction | 12 | Pure milling and tutoring with zero opponent interaction; no disruption, negation, or removal (verified) |
| Material Utility | 8 | Spell card cannot itself be material; however, it tutors a monster that becomes material for combos (verified) |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 46 | Spell speed 1 leaves it vulnerable to hand traps like Ash Blossom; no recovery if tribute is wasted, but excavation effect is stable once it resolves (inferred) |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 78 | Spell card with no garnet issues; 267 of 400 decks run 3 copies showing high-density acceptance; splashes into 48 archetypes cleanly (observed) |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Searcher/Tutor + 0.3 Extender. Intrinsic ≈ 58, Deck ≈ 63, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: TCG Limited-to-1 (-3). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Core milling tutor for Infernoid's banish-from-GY engine; 100% inclusion in both TCG and MasterDuel Infernoid lists
- Highly searchable via Reasoning (98% co-deck rate)
- Splashable into 48 distinct archetypes with no self-locking restrictions or garnet issues
- Runs efficiently at 3 copies in 67% of matched decks, indicating strong redundancy acceptance
- GY fill creates synergy with banish-from-GY, mill-synergy, and recursion-based decks
Weaknesses
- Spell speed 1 leaves it defenseless against hand traps (Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, Droll & Lock Bird)
- Requires a tribute, which is a cost when already ahead on board
- Effect fails to excavate a monster if deck contains few monsters or is depleted
- Limited to 1 copy in TCG format, severely restricting redundancy in the primary Western competitive format
- Zero opponent interaction; pure milling and tutoring provide no disruption or control
Counters / choke points
- Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring (negates excavation via hand trap)
- Called by the Grave (negates activation in GY)
- Droll & Lock Bird (locks excavation and deck search)
- Decks that cannot afford the tribute cost or do not benefit from GY setup
Best use
Milling tutor that generates board presence while filling GY for combo engines. Decks: Infernoid (primary home, 100% inclusion), Fairy Tail, Diabellstar, Azamina, Snake-Eyes, Shaddoll, Lightsworn, Any deck with banish-from-GY or milling synergy.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card effect: excavate until hitting a monster that can be Normal Summoned/Set, special summon it, send other excavated cards to GY (card description); Limited to 1 copy in TCG format (legal_copies); Appears in all 400 matched decks in main deck (decks_evidence); 100% inclusion in Infernoid TCG and Infernoid MasterDuel (usage_statistics); Reasoning is 98% co-deck partner (top_partners)
- Observed: Runs at 3 copies in 267 of 400 decks (66.8%); Average 2.4 copies per deck with clear majority preferring max copies; Appears in 48 distinct archetypes, showing broad splashability beyond Infernoid; Infernoid is dominant home at 33.2% of matched decks; That Grass Looks Greener (78.2% co-deck) is second major partner, confirming milling synergy; 5 guides list it as core or staple, with emphasis on Infernoid and Lightsworn synergies
- Inferred: Excavation and special summon provide dual function: tutoring a monster while filling GY with milled resources for banish decks; Tribute cost is offset by the special summon and GY setup, especially in Infernoid where milling is intentional fuel; 48 archetypes suggest the card is portable beyond Infernoid, though Infernoid is the flagship home; Spell speed 1 makes it vulnerable to hand trap negation, but the effect resolves instantly once it resolves; No once-per-turn clause means multiple copies can resolve on the same turn in a chain
- Data gaps: No combos supplied — combo conversion and board-building power are inferred from card text and deck inclusion only No top-card rankings across formats — metagame performance and format-specific tier placement unknown No rulings clarification on edge cases (e.g., whether special-summoned monster is subject to summon negation) Thin evidence for secondary homes — Fairy Tail (6.8%), Diabellstar (6.5%), and Azamina (6.2%) lack guide snippets confirming synergy role