Trap
NormalPendulum Scale
Archetype:
Pendulum
View:
3542
If you have 2 cards in your Pendulum Zone, apply this effect based on the difference between their current Pendulum Scales. ● 0: Destroy 2 Spells/Traps on the field. ● 1 to 3: Add 1 Level 2, 3, or 4 Pendulum Monster from your Deck to your hand. ● 4 to 6: Add 1 Level 5, 6, or 7 Pendulum Monster from your Deck to your hand. ● 7+: Return up to 2 cards from your Pendulum Zone to the hand, then you can Special Summon 1 Pendulum Monster from your hand. You can only activate 1 "Pendulum Scale" per turn.
Pendulum Scale — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 52 ± 8 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 50 · Deck: 52.75 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Utility · Secondary: Searcher/Tutor, Removal
Why it scores here
Pendulum Scale is a conditional modal trap: it only works with two cards in the Pendulum Zone, and the Pendulum Scale difference picks the mode. At difference 1 to 6 it adds a Pendulum monster from the Deck to hand, which is real card advantage and a reliable search. At 0 it destroys 2 Spells/Traps on the field, and at 7+ it recovers and can Special Summon. The score is held down by the Pendulum Zone requirement, the fact that it is a trap with no body (so material_utility is 0), and the absence of combo data to confirm how often it converts. High deck inclusion (11 of 11 decks, single copy) confirms it is a reliable staple in Pendulum shells, not that it is intrinsically strong.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 40 | Requires two Pendulum Zone cards to activate, and the decks show 11 of 11 running one copy with no combo evidence to confirm how often that setup is live (inferred, from deck data and card text). |
| Combo & Conversion | 55 | The effect converts into a search or a 2-card removal or a recovery plus Special Summon depending on scale difference, but no combo examples exist to show what board it reaches (inferred from card text). |
| Resource Economy | 65 | The 1 to 6 search is a clean +1 card; the 0 mode can be card-positive when it destroys two opposing Spells/Traps, but the text does not say which side it targets (verified from card text, with the rest inferred). |
| Effect & Interaction | 50 | The 0-difference mode is real Spell/Trap destruction, but it is conditional on an exact scale difference and does not negate anything (verified from card text; frequency inferred). |
| Material Utility | 0 | A Trap card cannot be used as material, so this axis is 0 (verified from card frame trap). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 40 | Four modes give some flexibility, but it is a single trap with a once-per-turn limit and no redundancy, and it can be stopped by interaction while set (inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 60 | One copy in every observed deck with no garnets, but it adds a Pendulum Zone dependency that limits which decks can run it (observed from deck data, inferred from text). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Utility + 0.3 Searcher/Tutor (primary Utility, secondary Searcher). Intrinsic ≈ 50, Deck ≈ 52.75, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Four-mode effect that scales with the Pendulum Zone scale difference, giving a search, a removal, or a recovery
- Reliable Pendulum monster search (1 to 6 mode) adds real card advantage
- Consistently run at one copy across 11 Pendulum-adjacent decks in 6 archetypes
Weaknesses
- Requires two Pendulum Zone cards before anything happens
- Trap card with no body, so it contributes nothing as material
- Once per turn and scale-difference-dependent, so the mode is not always the one you want
- No combo or guide evidence to confirm its typical role
Counters / choke points
- Stopping the trap while it is set or being activated (inferred from trap type; no specific cards named in the evidence)
- Blanking or destroying the Pendulum Zone cards it needs (inferred from text)
Best use
Utility search and removal trap in Pendulum shells. Decks: Pendulum Magician, Odd-Eyes, Performapal, Silent Magician. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Trap card with no body, so material_utility is 0; Two Pendulum Zone cards required; mode chosen by scale difference (0, 1 to 3, 4 to 6, 7+); Run at 1 copy in 11 of 11 sampled decks across 6 archetypes
- Observed: Co-occurs most with Performapal Skullcrobat Joker (90.9% of decks) and several Magicians and Odd-Eyes monsters; Gameplay types 7 (72.7%) and 4 (27.3%)
- Inferred: Effect converts into a search or removal most games where the Pendulum Zone is set up; Trap activation timing and interaction risk while set; Deck co-occurrence reflects the Pendulum shell rather than the card's own power (causal caution)
- Data gaps: no combos supplied, so combo conversion and starter/searched/material shares are text-only inference no guides supplied no usage statistics (StatisticsCard); inclusion rates come only from the 11-deck sample activation timing and which side the 0-difference destruction targets are not stated in the evidence no banlist token; assumed 3 copies (unlimited)