WIND
Number 3: Cicada King
ATK:
1200
DEF:
2500
View:
5171
2 Level 3 monsters If the battle position of this card is changed: You can Special Summon 1 Insect monster from your hand or GY in Defense Position. When a monster on the field activates its effect: You can detach 1 material from this card, then target that monster; negate its effects, then make 1 Insect monster on the field either gain 500 DEF, or change its battle position. You can only use each effect of "Number 3: Cicada King" once per turn.
Number 3: Cicada King — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 64 ± 5 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 65 · Deck: 62 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Removal / Negation · Secondary: Material body, Insect support
Why it scores here
Number 3: Cicada King is a solid negation enabler that achieves consistent inclusion across 57 distinct archetypes by providing reliable effect-negation at a reasonable material cost. Its high deck usage (100% in Insect-focused homes like Inzektor, Battlewasp, and Beetrooper) confirms strong accessibility and deckbuilding efficiency, but the lack of combo evidence limits assessment of board-building potential—the card's strength lies in mid-range control and GY recursion for Insects rather than explosive combo generation. ATK of 1200 and material utility do not drive this score; negation quality and archetype flexibility do.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 70 | Appears in 100% of 400 recent decks with 57 distinct archetype homes, confirming multiple practical summon routes in Insect-centric and generic Level-3 decks (verified) |
| Combo & Conversion | 35 | No combo evidence supplied; text shows position-change recursion and negation effects but no board-building multiplier—scores on interaction, not conversion (inferred) |
| Resource Economy | 45 | Position-change effect can return 1 Insect from GY/hand, offsetting the material cost of negation; net roughly even with occasional +1 from recursion (inferred) |
| Effect & Interaction | 72 | Provides hard negation of monster effects (once per turn) at 1-material cost, a flexible and strong disruption tool in mid-range strategies (verified) |
| Material Utility | 42 | Rank 3 body with 1200 ATK / 2500 DEF is usable XYZ material but not particularly valued; low ATK makes it awkward as an end-board finisher (inferred) |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 55 | Multi-turn potential if materials remain; resilience depends on position-change triggers and opponent effect activations, limiting consistency (inferred) |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 68 | Run as 1-of in 396/400 main decks with no garnet/brick penalty; clean slot cost in Level-3-generating archetypes, high portability across 57 homes (verified) |
Calculation
Weight profile: Primary role: Removal / Negation. Intrinsic ≈ 65, Deck ≈ 62, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Reliable effect negation at low material cost (1 material per use)
- 100% inclusion across three Insect-focused archetypes (Inzektor, Battlewasp, Beetrooper)
- Highly portable—appears in 57 distinct archetypes, confirming consistent utility beyond niche homes
- Position-change effect provides GY recursion, offsetting resource economy
- Decent defensive stats (2500 DEF) for mid-range control strategies
Weaknesses
- Low ATK (1200) limits offensive board presence even when negation is available
- Requires 2 Level 3 monsters to summon, limiting accessibility outside Level-3 decks
- Negation relies on opponent effect activation—does not proactively disrupt plays
- Once-per-turn effects cap value even with multiple materials
- No evidence of combo-centered roles; primarily a support/utility piece
- Material utility is underwhelming—not valued as XYZ material in end-board construction
Counters / choke points
- Summon negation (Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring on XYZ monsters)
- Effect negation before activation (Effect Veiler, Infinite Impermanence)
- Destruction before material exhaustion (board wipes, targeting removal)
- Removal of Insect bodies from field (limits position-change recursion value)
Best use
Mid-range negation enabler and Insect support. Decks: Inzektor, Battlewasp, Beetrooper, Radiant Typhoon. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: XYZ Summon requirement: 2 Level 3 monsters (card text); Negation effect targets monster effects on field (card text); 100% inclusion in Inzektor, Battlewasp, Beetrooper per usage statistics; Appears in 57 distinct archetypes across 400 recent decks (deck data); Mostly run as 1-of: 396/400 main-deck inclusions (deck data distribution); Consistent pairing with Radiant Typhoon and Insect staples (top partners)
- Observed: 65.2% inclusion in mid-range/control gameplay type (formats); Appears in 0% of logged combo boards (combo data appearances); Featured in Scareclaw and Beetrooper guide sections (guide data)
- Inferred: Negation provides board control value in mid-range strategies (effect text + deck usage pattern); Position-change → GY summon provides recursion utility for Insect decks (effect text); High archetype diversity (57 homes) suggests consistent utility piece role (deck data distinct archetypes); DEF-focused stats (2500 DEF vs 1200 ATK) align with defensive/control use case; XYZ requirement limits accessibility to Level-3-generating archetypes (frame constraint); Material utility is secondary—board inclusion is about negation and Insect synergy, not material value
- Data gaps: No combos supplied—combo conversion and multi-turn board potential assessed via text inference only No banlist token—assumed unlimited (3 copies); if Limited/Forbidden in a format, score requires adjustment No combo examples to empirically verify whether position-change effect is reliably triggered in practice No top-card ranking despite 100% deck inclusion—suggests lack of meta data or recent sampling cutoff No specific rulings/errata data for timing interactions (position-change trigger window)