Spell
NormalOld Mind
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2704
Look at 1 random card in your opponent's hand, then apply 1 of the following effects. ● Discard both that opponent's card and 1 card from your hand of the same type (Monster, Spell, or Trap), then add this card from the field to your opponent's hand, and if you do, draw 1 card. ● Lose 1000 LP. You can only activate 1 "Old Mind" per turn.
Old Mind — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 48 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 49 · Deck: 48 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Removal / Negation · Secondary: Utility
Why it scores here
Old Mind is a situational hand-disruption utility spell that provides conditional removal of opponent hand cards paired with modest card draw. It appears consistently across 12 distinct archetypes at 2–3 copies per deck, indicating decent splashability and accessibility; however, the card lacks any combo board applications (0 combos recorded) and offers no strategic depth beyond one-time disruption. The once-per-turn activation limit and conditional effect (requiring a matching card type) restrict its reliability, while giving Old Mind to the opponent's hand after resolution limits resilience. The result is a middle-tier utility card most valuable in draw-heavy control shells.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 52 | Runs in 17 decks at 2–3 copies average across multiple formats with no archetype lock, showing decent availability through normal draws, though with no identified active search routes (verified). |
| Combo & Conversion | 35 | Appears in zero recorded combo boards and does not extend plays; the single card draw is modest and not combo-generative, making it a utility card rather than a combo engine (observed). |
| Resource Economy | 42 | Effect 1 discards one opponent card and one of your matching-type cards, then adds Old Mind to opponent's hand in exchange for one draw, yielding roughly even card parity; Effect 2 (1000 LP burn) offers no card value (inferred). |
| Effect & Interaction | 45 | Provides hand disruption that is conditional on deck composition (requires a matching card type) and semi-random (opponent's card is chosen at random), limiting the reliability and consistency of the disruption (inferred). |
| Material Utility | 0 | As a Spell Card, cannot serve as monster material (Synchro, Xyz, Fusion, Link) and possesses no special material properties; Spell Cards are non-material by type (verified). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 30 | One-shot activation with once-per-turn limit; after use, Old Mind goes to the opponent's hand as a regular card, offering no recurring value, protection from disruption, or multi-turn presence (inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 60 | Generic Spell Card with no archetype lock or special deckbuilding restrictions; splashable across 12 distinct archetypes and runs comfortably at 2–3 copies without garnet or brick risk (observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: Removal / Negation primary role. Intrinsic ≈ 49, Deck ≈ 48, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Splashable across 12 distinct archetypes with no archetype lock or deckbuilding requirement
- Provides hand disruption paired with card draw, offering modest resource value
- Generic Spell Card status enables clean inclusion in diverse control and draw-heavy strategies
Weaknesses
- Conditional effect: requires a matching card type in hand to activate primary disruption, limiting consistency
- One-time-per-turn activation severely constrains multi-turn impact and repetitive utility
- Zero combo board applications; purely utility-focused with minimal strategic depth
- After activation, Old Mind goes to opponent's hand, providing no recurring value and gifting the opponent an additional card
Counters / choke points
- Hand-trap negation effects (e.g., Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring) interrupt the spell activation
- Decks running few duplicate card types fail to meet the type-matching discard condition
- Opponent hand-disruption that removes your matching cards before Old Mind resolves
Best use
Utility hand disruption in main deck for hand interaction and modest card advantage. Decks: Control-focused strategies, Draw-heavy decks, Shadow Six Samurai, Generic midrange shells. Suggested copies: 2.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Normal Spell Card, no archetype restriction or archetype tag; Appears in 17 decks across 12 distinct archetypes spanning TCG, OCG, and MasterDuel formats; Copies per deck: 1 (41.2%), 2 (17.6%), 3 (41.2%); average 2 copies; Card text verified: Look at 1 random opponent hand card, then apply one of two effects: (1) discard both cards of matching type, add Old Mind to opponent hand, draw 1; or (2) lose 1000 LP; Once-per-turn activation limit confirmed
- Observed: High archetype spread (12 homes) indicates strong splashability and generic accessibility; Top partners include multiple card-draw and card-manipulation spells (Card Destruction, Upstart Goblin, Cup of Ace, Into the Void), suggesting use in draw-focused strategies; 23.5% of running decks have no specific archetype, reinforcing generic applicability; 76.5% of running decks are control-focused gameplay type, indicating a control-oriented utility role
- Inferred: Effect 1 provides approximately even card advantage (−1 discard from you, +1 draw, −1 discard from opponent; Old Mind leaves your field) with the trade-off of giving Old Mind to opponent's hand; Conditional on matching opponent's random card type from hand, restricting reliability of primary effect; Effect 2 (1000 LP burn) serves as fallback when matching card types are unavailable in your hand; No natural searchers identified; accessibility depends entirely on deck thinning and natural draws; Spell Card type prevents use as monster material (Synchro, Xyz, Fusion, Link), eliminating material-body value
- Data gaps: No combos supplied — combo conversion is text-only inference, not empirically observed No guides supplied — no human strategic commentary on card role, synergies, or meta positioning No banlist token — assumed unlimited 3-copy limit across all formats No usage statistics (StatisticsCard) — archetype inclusion percentages and typical copies inferred from the 17-deck sample, not a larger historical dataset No top-card rankings — card is not identified as meta-defining in any format