Trap
NormalPendulum Back
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If you have 2 cards in your Pendulum Zones: Target 2 monsters in your Graveyard, each with a Level between (exclusive) the Pendulum Scales of the cards in your Pendulum Zones; add them to your hand.
Pendulum Back — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 48 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 47 · Deck: 49 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Recovery/Recursion
Why it scores here
Pendulum Back is a recovery effect that returns up to 2 graveyard monsters to hand, contingent on maintaining 2 Pendulum Zones with a specific level window. While it appears in 25 recent Pendulum-focused decks (Odd-Eyes, Pendulum Magician) with 16 running 2 copies, the lack of combo data and the effect's limited generative power (it recovers, not creates) cap its score. The level restriction and requirement for pendulum zone setup further limit its utility to late-game refueling rather than combo acceleration. Strong deck integration pushes the score above 40, but limited evidence of critical combo impact prevents a higher rating.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 65 | The card requires 2 active Pendulum Zones, limiting turn-1 availability, but appears in 100% of a 25-deck sample where pendulum setup is natural, suggesting reliable mid-game access in its intended archetypes (observed). |
| Combo & Conversion | 40 | No combo boards recorded with this card; inferred from text as a GY recovery effect that returns existing monsters rather than generating new bodies or board disruption, limiting mid-combo value (inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 55 | The effect yields a net +1 card (1 trap for 2 GY monsters) given valid targets, but depends on prior milling or discarding and does not generate inherent advantage—it recycles existing resources (verified). |
| Effect & Interaction | 5 | The card has no hand trap, removal, negation, or opponent-facing interaction; it is purely a self-directed recovery tool with zero disruption value (verified). |
| Material Utility | 2 | As a Trap Card with no inherent material synergies, it cannot be used as tuner, XYZ, link, or synchro material, and an effect-negated state leaves it inert; negligible material value (verified). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 35 | The card is dependent on maintaining 2 Pendulum Zones, which can be destroyed before activation; once resolved, the one-time effect is complete with no persistent protection or recursion on the card itself (verified). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 72 | Included in all 25 decks in the sample (16 with 2 copies, 9 with 1), with no garnet risk or deck-building restrictions in Pendulum archetypes where the zone prerequisite is naturally satisfied; copies are interchangeable (observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: Primary role: Recovery/Recursion. Intrinsic ≈ 47, Deck ≈ 49, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Consistent inclusion in Pendulum-focused decks (100% of sample, 64% with 2 copies)
- Synergizes with pendulum-supporting cards (Pendulum Reborn 100%, Dragonpit Magician 96%, Pendulum Call 96%)
- Enables mid-game and late-game refueling in extended pendulum plays
- Copies are redundant and equally useful in deckbuilding (16/25 decks normalize to 2 copies)
Weaknesses
- Requires 2 active Pendulum Zones (setup gate; effect unavailable turn 1)
- Level-restriction window (exclusive between scales) severely limits recovery targets
- No offensive, defensive, or board-generating utility; purely recycling existing resources
- Effect resolves once; no persistent value or trap recursion
- Vulnerable to pendulum zone destruction before activation
Counters / choke points
- Pendulum zone destruction (field spell removal, Dragonpulse Magician negation, etc.)
- Any effect that clears pendulum scales before trap activation
- Hand traps and negations that stop trap activation (Solemn Judgment, Solemn Strike)
Best use
Late-game GY refueling and resource recycling in pendulum-centric strategies. Decks: Odd-Eyes, Pendulum Magician, Performapal. Suggested copies: 2.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Normal Trap with effect: Target 2 GY monsters (each with level strictly between exclusive pendulum scales); add them to hand.; Appears in 25 TCG format decks, 100% in main deck; 16 decks run 2 copies, 9 run 1 copy (avg 1.64 per deck); Top archetypes: Odd-Eyes (36%), Pendulum Magician (28%); Top partners are all pendulum-support cards: Pendulum Reborn (100%), Dragonpit Magician (96%), Pendulum Call (96%)
- Observed: 6 distinct archetypes use the card (all pendulum or pendulum-adjacent variants); High copy density (16/25 decks run 2 copies) indicates normalized inclusion, not niche tech; Consistent co-appearance with Pendulum Reborn (100% of decks) and other recovery effects
- Inferred: Recovery/Recursion is the primary role: returns graveyard monsters to hand, not a value generator; Accessibility is moderate because 2 active Pendulum Zones are required but naturally maintained in Pendulum decks; Combo conversion is limited: the effect produces no new bodies or disruption, only recovers existing materials; Level restriction (exclusive range between scales) limits valid targets and reduces recovery reliability; Material utility is negligible: trap card with no inherent synergies or interaction with non-pendulum strategies; Resilience is moderate: depends on maintaining pendulum scales, which can be disrupted before activation
- Data gaps: No combos supplied — combo conversion is text-only inference; no measured board impact No guides supplied — no human context on activation timing, role hierarchy, or optimal usage No banlist token — assumed 3 copies (unlimited) in all supplied formats No usage statistics (StatisticsCard) — archetype inclusion percentages inferred from 25-deck sample only No specific rulings on level-between interactions or edge cases with scale-modifying effects