WATER
4Night Sword Serpent
ATK:
500
DEF:
600
View:
4641
If this card is sent to the GY by a card effect: You can Special Summon this card, but banish it when it leaves the field. You can only use this effect of "Night Sword Serpent" once per turn.
Night Sword Serpent — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 54 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 55.5 · Deck: 52.8 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Material body · Secondary: Recovery/Recursion
Why it scores here
Night Sword Serpent is a 500-ATK Level 4 WATER Reptile whose only effect is a once-per-turn Special Summon from the GY after a card effect sends it there, with a banish-on-leave clause. Its value is as a cheap, generic Level 4 body that can come back from the GY, not as a power card. The 38/38 combo appearance and the high average power index (92.6) do not earn points: the card is a material piece in only 2 boards, the starter and searched counts are zero, and the high-index boards are driven by the Mitsurugi line around it. Frequency in Mitsurugi decks confirms the card is played, not that it is strong.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 45 | Single copy in 400 of 400 sampled decks, but it is never searched or started in recorded boards and must first be sent to the GY by another effect (deck data, combo data; observed/inferred). |
| Combo & Conversion | 40 | It appears in every recorded combo, but only as a body in 2 boards, so the 92.6 average power index belongs mostly to Mitsurugi partners rather than to this card (combo data; observed). |
| Resource Economy | 45 | Revives itself from the GY with no card advantage of its own and no searches or refuel; the banish-on-leave clause limits repeated use (card text; verified). |
| Effect & Interaction | 5 | The effect is a Special Summon with no negation, removal, or hand trap, so it provides no opponent interaction (card text; verified). |
| Material Utility | 60 | A generic Level 4 WATER Reptile with no archetype restriction, which is a clean material fit that still works when its effect is negated (card text; verified, with the 500 ATK body being inferred as a weak material value). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 45 | The revive is once per turn and can be stopped by banishing the card from the GY or by negating the trigger, and the guide notes the host deck fears banish-heavy GYs (guide data; inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 70 | One copy, no garnet or lock, and a low slot cost across a wide set of homes, so it is cheap to run (deck data; verified). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Material body + 0.3 Recovery/Recursion. Intrinsic ≈ 55.5, Deck ≈ 52.8, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Generic Level 4 WATER Reptile body that can be Special Summoned from the GY after a card effect sends it there
- One copy, no garnet or lock, low slot cost, and spread across 69 distinct archetypes in the sample
Weaknesses
- 500 ATK with no board impact on its own
- Never observed as a starter or searched piece in recorded combos
- Revive only triggers after another effect sends it to the GY, and only once per turn
Counters / choke points
- Banish effects that remove it from the GY before a card effect can send it back
- Negating the GY-send trigger
Best use
Material body with GY recursion. Decks: Mitsurugi (2027), Mitsurugi (1978), Ryzeal, Fiendsmith. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: Special Summon from the GY when sent there by a card effect, once per turn, banished when it leaves the field; Level 4, WATER, Reptile, 500 ATK / 600 DEF, no archetype; Single copy in 400 of 400 sampled decks
- Observed: Appears in 38 of 38 recorded combos, but as material in only 2 (5.3%), with 0 starter, searched, payoff, or end-board roles; Average power index of 92.6 comes from boards dominated by Mitsurugi partners (99.5% co-occurrence)
- Inferred: Its practical value is as a generic material body with a recursion option, not as a starter; The GY-send trigger is rarely used because no recorded board shows it as a starter
- Data gaps: No banlist token; assumed 3 copies (unlimited) No recorded board shows the GY-revive trigger being used, so its real activation rate is unknown Guides mention it only as a staple body, with no description of its specific role