FIRE
Number 61: Volcasaurus
ATK:
2500
DEF:
1000
View:
5001
2 Level 5 monsters Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card, then target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; destroy that opponent's monster, and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the destroyed monster's original ATK. This card cannot attack your opponent directly during the turn you activate this effect.
Number 61: Volcasaurus — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 64 ± 4 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 65 · Deck: 64 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Board Breaker / Going-second · Secondary: Material body, Damage acceleration
Why it scores here
Volcasaurus is a flexible removal tool that consolidates advantage from existing combo outputs rather than generating it. Its hard removal with damage scaling provides strong going-second interaction (75/100), but the card requires a Rank 5 XYZ summon, material fuel for each use, and is limited to once per turn, giving it moderate intrinsic power. It appears across 124 distinct archetypes as a staple extra deck option (K9 13.8%, Vanquish Soul 11.5%), confirming accessibility in compatible decks (65/100), but the complete absence of combo data means its practical synergy cannot be empirically verified. The card's strength lies in flexible, hard removal with life-total pressure, not in combo generation or resource refuel.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 65 | Requires 2 Level 5 monsters for Rank 5 XYZ; appears in 400/400 sampled decks across K9, Vanquish Soul, and 122 other archetypes, averaging 1.18 copies per deck (observed) |
| Combo & Conversion | 50 | Effect destroys 1 monster and deals damage; no recursive generation or board extension; acts as a value consolidator rather than a combo driver, limited to once per turn (verified) |
| Resource Economy | 40 | Provides 1:1 removal with no card advantage, material cost is self-limiting (maximum 2 uses per summon), no refuel or draw effects (verified) |
| Effect & Interaction | 75 | Hard removal of any face-up opponent monster with ATK-scaled damage; flexible targeting and damage incentive for high-ATK bodies; reactive cleanup rather than proactive negation (verified) |
| Material Utility | 55 | Rank 5 XYZ can support Rank 6+ summons; 2500 ATK is usable but not exceptional; FIRE Dinosaur typing limits spillover roles (inferred) |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 50 | No text-based protection or recursion; blank 2500/1000 body remains after materials exhausted; optional effect activation allows timing flexibility (verified) |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 70 | Extra deck slot with no garnet risk; 1.18 copies per deck with 90.25% running 1 copy; requires parent deck to naturally generate Level 5 bodies (observed) |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Board Breaker / Going-second + 0.3 Material body. Intrinsic ≈ 65, Deck ≈ 64, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck (decks present, combos absent)
Strengths
- Hard, flexible removal with no type restrictions
- Damage scaling incentivizes targeting high-ATK threats
- Appears as a staple across 124 distinct archetypes
- Extra deck slot avoids main deck garnet risk
- Clean Rank 5 body serves as material for higher Rank XYZ summons
Weaknesses
- Requires Rank 5 XYZ summon (2 Level 5 monsters); not searchable or tutored
- Once-per-turn, material-limited (maximum 2 uses per summon)
- Cannot attack directly the turn effect is activated — limits body damage output
- Zero intrinsic card advantage or resource refuel
- Material utility limited by Dinosaur race (minimal spillover outside Dino-focused decks)
- No text-based protection or recursion
Counters / choke points
- Spell/trap removal negates the effect if activated before resolution
- Monster removal (Kaiju, tribute effects) removes it before effect resolves
- Negation of the XYZ summon itself leaves no backup line
Best use
Flexible removal and life-total pressure for going-second and control strategies. Decks: K9, Vanquish Soul, Cyber Dragon, Artifact, Traptrix. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Effect: destroy target face-up opponent monster and deal damage equal to its original ATK (card text); Once per turn activation; detach 1 Xyz Material from this card (card text); Cannot attack directly during the turn this effect is activated (card text); Appears in 400/400 decks sampled (all formats: TCG, OCG, MasterDuel, DuelLinks); Average 1.18 copies per deck; 90.25% of decks run 1 copy, 9.75% run 2-3 copies (deck distribution)
- Observed: K9 archetype includes it in 13.8% of decks (55 decks); Vanquish Soul in 11.5% (46 decks); Appears in 75.5% of Gameplay type 7 (control/going-second) decks (302 decks); Co-appears with K9-ØØ Lupis in 41% of decks, K9-17 Izuna in 40.5%; U.A. archetype statistical data shows 100% inclusion at 1 typical copy; Broad presence across 124 distinct archetypes
- Inferred: Combo_conversion: moderate — effect consolidates value (1 monster removal + ATK damage) but does not generate additional advantage or board extension; Primary role: Board Breaker / cleanup tool — flexible removal and 75.5% presence in control-oriented decks suggest going-second deployment; Accessibility: depends on parent deck's natural Level 5 body generation (K9 and Vanquish Soul prevalence suggest this is routine in those homes); Material utility: Dinosaur race limits spillover value outside pure Dinosaur-focused strategies; Resilience: once on field, it is a usable 2500/1000 body after materials; no text-based protection makes it vulnerable to standard removal
- Data gaps: Zero combos supplied — cannot measure empirical combo appearance %, role (starter/material/payoff), or board power index when card is present No explicit synergy notes in guides — listed as Extra Deck option but specific K9/Vanquish Soul reasons not detailed Banlist status inferred as unlimited (no banlist token in evidence) No post-rotation or historical-trend data; single snapshot assumed representative