Trap
NormalNEXT
Archetype:
Elemental HERO
View:
6658
Special Summon any number of monsters with different names from your hand and/or GY, in Defense Position, that are all "Neo-Spacian" monsters or "Elemental HERO Neos", but negate their effects, and as long as you control any of those Special Summoned monsters face-up, you cannot Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck, except Fusion Monsters. You can only activate 1 "NEXT" per turn. If you control no cards, you can activate this card from your hand.
NEXT — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 60 ± 4 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 59 · Deck: 60 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Recovery/Recursion · Secondary: Utility, Combo enabler
Why it scores here
NEXT is a specialized recovery tool for Neo-Spacian and Elemental HERO Neos decks, restoring monsters from hand or graveyard to the field in Defense Position. Its hand-activation clause provides going-second utility when behind, and the Extra Deck lockdown (except Fusions) actually aligns with Elemental HERO's Fusion-centric strategy. However, negating the summoned monsters' effects limits them to board presence rather than activated value, and the complete absence of combo evidence shows this is an archetype-specific utility card without breakthrough power. The 60 score reflects solid, clean integration within its narrow home rather than metagame impact.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 70 | Hand activation when controlling no cards provides going-second recovery access; appears in 52 decks with 1.31 average copies, clearly accessible within the archetype (verified). |
| Combo & Conversion | 55 | Summons multiple Neo-Spacian/Neos monsters but negates their effects, yielding board presence rather than activated value; no combos supplied to confirm breakout combo lines (inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 60 | Recovers monsters from GY (refuel value) and generates board presence, but effect negation limits play value; net card advantage is roughly neutral or +1 (inferred). |
| Effect & Interaction | 35 | No removal, negation of opponent plays, or hand-trap reach; Extra Deck lockdown is self-imposed and strategic rather than directly interactive (verified from text). |
| Material Utility | 50 | Summoned monsters in Defense Position with negated effects serve as material for Fusion Summons, which integrates naturally with Elemental HERO's Fusion-centric game plan (inferred). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 50 | Hand activation provides going-second resilience; board is fragile to removal and one negation of the trap disables the lockdown benefit (inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 65 | Clean archetype fit with 1–2 copies typical and no bricking pattern; the Extra Deck lockdown aligns with Fusion focus rather than working against it (verified from deck evidence). |
Calculation
Weight profile: Primary role: Recovery/Recursion. Intrinsic ≈ 59, Deck ≈ 60, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck (decks present, combos absent)
Strengths
- Hand activation when controlling no cards provides going-second recovery and comeback potential
- Strong synergy with Elemental HERO Neos (92.3% co-deck rate) and entire Elemental HERO/Neo-Spacian archetype families
- Extra Deck lockdown (except Fusions) aligns with and reinforces Elemental HERO Fusion-centric strategy
- GY recovery provides efficient resource management and play extension
- Once-per-turn clause prevents degenerate loops and maintains balanced activation
Weaknesses
- Negation of summoned monsters' effects severely limits them to board presence only
- Self-imposed Extra Deck lockdown restricts hybrid or non-Fusion strategies within the deck
- Trap card activation timing makes it vulnerable to removal before resolution
- No combo evidence showing breakout power or competitive meta impact
- Once-per-turn limitation restricts activation rate
- Archetype-specific utility without broad portability
Counters / choke points
- Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring (negates trap activation)
- Effect Veiler or similar continuous negation effects
- Trap Stun and trap-disabling effects
- Cards that remove face-up monsters before they can serve as Fusion material
Best use
Going-second recovery tool and board-building enabler for Fusion Summons. Decks: Elemental HERO, Neo-Spacian, Vision HERO, Destiny HERO. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Activates from hand when controlling no cards (card text, going-second utility clause); Negates effects of all Special Summoned Neo-Spacian and Elemental HERO Neos monsters (card text); Restricts Extra Deck Special Summons to Fusion Monsters while controlling any summoned monsters (card text); Once-per-turn activation limit (card text); 92.3% co-deck rate with Elemental HERO Neos (deck evidence confirming primary archetype fit); Appears in 52 decks across 14 distinct archetypes with 1.31 average copies (deck evidence)
- Observed: Vision HERO archetype shows 66.67% historical inclusion rate at typical 2 copies (usage statistics); 14 distinct archetypes run this card, primarily Elemental HERO and related families (deck evidence); Not currently a Top Card across any format (top_card_context)
- Inferred: Primary role is recovery/recursion for Neo-Spacian/Neos monsters based on card text and top partners; Hand-activation clause provides going-second utility when in a losing position; Negation of summoned monsters' effects converts them from combo pieces to board-presence bodies; Extra Deck lockdown (except Fusions) reinforces Elemental HERO Fusion-centric game plan rather than hindering it; Clean 1–2 copy inclusion pattern suggests balanced utility without brick concerns
- Data gaps: No combos supplied — combo conversion is inferred entirely from card text and archetype synergy, not from recorded combo boards No guides supplied — strategic context and meta positioning inferred from deck evidence only No banlist status — assumed 3-copy unlimited based on formats listed (TCG, OCG, MasterDuel, DuelLinks) No Top Card ranking — cannot validate competitive impact through leaderboards or tournament results Limited to 52-deck sample; historical usage shows only Vision HERO at 66.67% inclusion rate