Spell
NormalPendulum Halt
Archetype:
Magician
View:
3677
If you have 3 or more face-up Pendulum Monsters with different names in your Extra Deck: Draw 2 cards. You cannot add cards from the Deck to your hand for the rest of this turn after this card resolves.
Pendulum Halt — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 48 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 45 · Deck: 50 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Utility · Secondary: Resource/Refuel
Why it scores here
Pendulum Halt draws 2 cards when a Pendulum deck has 3+ different monsters face-up in the Extra Deck, providing reliable resource acceleration within Pendulum strategies—evidenced by consistent inclusion across 70 decks and 25 archetypes. However, the search lock for the rest of the turn creates a meaningful anti-synergy with Pendulum's core searchers (Sky Iris and Duelist Alliance, each appearing in 51.4% of decks). The absence of any combo evidence indicates this is purely a resource generator, not a combo facilitator, which caps its influence on board development.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 55 | Used consistently in 70 Pendulum-focused decks across 25 archetypes, with high inclusion in Odd-Eyes (32.9%) and other core Pendulum strategies, confirming reliable activation mid-game (observed). |
| Combo & Conversion | 35 | Zero combos in the evidence indicate this card does not facilitate combo lines; it functions as a pure draw engine, not a combo enabler (verified). |
| Resource Economy | 65 | Draws 2 cards unconditionally when its condition is met, but locks future searching for the rest of the turn, creating a marginal anti-synergy with partners like Sky Iris (51.4%) and Duelist Alliance (51.4%) (verified). |
| Effect & Interaction | 5 | No disruption, negation, or opponent-facing effects; this is a pure resource generator with no hand-trap or board-breaking capability (verified). |
| Material Utility | 10 | As a Normal Spell Card, it cannot serve as monster material or synergize with material-based strategies, limiting its secondary uses (inferred). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 45 | The card resolves and completes its effect in a single activation; while it can be negated before resolution, the condition requirement makes it situationally inflexible (inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 70 | Clean inclusion in Pendulum decks with no garnet risk and 1.34 average copies per deck, though its exclusive dependence on Pendulum strategies limits splashability (observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: Primary role: Utility (default weights). Intrinsic ≈ 45, Deck ≈ 50, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Reliable resource generator (+2 card advantage) with clean activation in Pendulum decks
- Splashes into multiple Pendulum-related archetypes (25 distinct homes show adaptability)
- No garnet or bricking risk; 1.34 average copies per deck shows optimal efficiency
Weaknesses
- Search lock for the rest of turn conflicts with Pendulum archetype's reliance on Sky Iris and Duelist Alliance (both 51.4% inclusion)
- Zero evidence of combo utility—pure resource generator, not a combo facilitator
- Requires specific board state (3+ different Pendulum monsters in Extra Deck); inaccessible in non-Pendulum decks
Counters / choke points
- Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring (negates activation)
- Forbidden Droplet (negates activation)
- Any effect that removes Pendulum monsters from Extra Deck before activation
Best use
Mid-game resource acceleration. Decks: Odd-Eyes, Pendulum Magician, Metalfoes, Performapal. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text specifies draw 2 cards + search lock restriction; Used in 70 decks across 25 archetypes with no combo appearances (0 combos total); Top partners are core Pendulum pieces (Dissolver 61.4%, Joker 58.6%, Odd-Eyes monsters 40–48%); Odd-Eyes represents 32.9% of deck usage, confirming primary home
- Observed: 1.34 average copies per deck, distributed as 49 decks at 1 copy, 18 at 2, 3 at 3; 71.4% of decks are Control gameplay (type 7), 27.1% Combo (type 4); 26 distinct archetypes in addition to Odd-Eyes show multi-home adaptability; Recent deck data spans 2022–2026, confirming sustained relevance
- Inferred: Primary role is resource generation (draw 2) with a self-imposed search restriction; Search lock creates anti-synergy with high-inclusion searchers (Sky Iris, Duelist Alliance, both 51.4%); Combo conversion is minimal because no combos include this card, making it purely a resource engine, not a facilitator; Accessibility is mid-game dependent on Pendulum board setup; not viable in opening hand; Material utility is negligible—Normal Spell cannot serve as monster material
- Data gaps: No combos supplied—combo conversion is text-only inference; the 0-combo evidence is itself informative No guides supplied—human-written strategy context absent No banlist token—assumed 3 copies (unlimited) in all formats No usage statistics (StatisticsCard)—archetype inclusion percentages inferred from 70-deck sample only, not historical frequency data