DARK
3Phantom Magician
Archetype:
HERO
ATK:
600
DEF:
700
View:
1068
When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard: You can Special Summon 1 "HERO" monster with 1000 or less ATK from your Deck in face-up Defense Position.
Phantom Magician — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 42 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 43 · Deck: 40 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Material body · Secondary: Utility
Why it scores here
Phantom Magician earns its score primarily as a Level 3 HERO body that feeds HERO Link summons in dedicated HERO decks, with a conditional battle-destruction trigger that can recruit another low-ATK HERO from Deck. Its 600 ATK and 700 DEF earned zero points — the score reflects only its material utility and archetype-internal searchability via Stratos, Shadow Mist, and A Hero Lives. The battle-destroy effect is entirely opponent-controlled, making it an unreliable resource engine, and the card has no interaction with the opponent whatsoever. Its ceiling is capped by single-archetype residency and the complete absence of combo or guide evidence to confirm stronger practical lines.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 55 | Within HERO decks it is searchable by Elemental HERO Stratos and Shadow Mist and Special Summonable by A Hero Lives, but it has zero access routes outside that family — all 5 sampled decks are in a single archetype (inferred). |
| Combo & Conversion | 28 | No combo evidence exists; text-only inference — as a Level 3 Normal-Summoned body it contributes as Link material but cannot initiate meaningful boards on its own (inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 32 | The battle-destroy effect is a conditional near-neutral exchange: Phantom Magician is traded for a face-up DEF-position HERO from Deck, but only if the opponent chooses to attack it — observed 0 times in combo records (verified text, observed 0 combo appearances). |
| Effect & Interaction | 5 | The card has no effect that interacts with opponent cards, zones, or timing — zero disruption, zero negation, zero removal (verified from text). |
| Material Utility | 52 | Level 3 DARK Spellcaster provides a usable body for HERO Link summons; top partners Xtra HERO Wonder Driver, Infernal Devicer, and Cross Crusader all co-appear in 80% of sampled decks, confirming the material role (observed via co-deck frequency). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 22 | The effect requires battle destruction — a trigger the opponent fully controls; targeted effect removal bypasses it entirely, and the card is useful in only one archetype home (verified text). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 50 | Run at 1–3 copies across all 5 sampled HERO decks (avg 1.8) with no self-imposed locks, fitting naturally as a 1–2-of without bricking (observed deck distribution). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Material body + 0.3 Utility. Intrinsic ≈ 43, Deck ≈ 40, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Searchable by Elemental HERO Stratos, Shadow Mist, and A Hero Lives within dedicated HERO decks
- Provides a Level 3 HERO body for Xtra HERO Link summons without imposing any deck restrictions
- Battle-destruction trigger can recruit a replacement HERO from Deck at no additional cost if it fires
Weaknesses
- Battle-destruction effect is entirely opponent-triggered and trivially avoided by not attacking it
- 600 ATK / 700 DEF contributes nothing in combat and is easily out-statted
- Restricted to one archetype context with no cross-deck utility
- No opponent interaction: no disruption, negation, or removal
Counters / choke points
- Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring negates the Special Summon trigger if the effect does fire
- Effect destruction or banishment bypasses the battle-destroy requirement entirely
- Opponent can simply refuse to attack it, leaving a 600 ATK 700 DEF vanilla body on the field
Best use
Level 3 HERO Link material with incidental battle-destruction searcher. Decks: HERO, Xtra HERO, Evil HERO. Suggested copies: 2.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Effect triggers only on battle destruction when sent to the Graveyard — opponent fully controls this trigger; Searches 1 HERO monster with 1000 or less ATK from Deck in face-up Defense Position; ATK 600 / DEF 700 — low combat stats earned no score points per rubric guardrail 1; Legal in TCG, OCG, and MasterDuel formats
- Observed: Present in 5 HERO decks, avg 1.8 copies, all main-decked, none sided; Top partners Xtra HERO Wonder Driver, Infernal Devicer, and Cross Crusader each co-appear in 80% of sampled decks, confirming Link-material role; Appears exclusively in one archetype grouping across the entire deck sample
- Inferred: Searchable by Elemental HERO Stratos (any HERO), Shadow Mist (any HERO on GY send), and A Hero Lives (Level 4 or lower HERO); Serves as Level 3 DARK Spellcaster body for HERO Link plays even when its own effect is irrelevant; Battle-destroy recruiter primarily targets low-ATK HERO pieces such as Elemental HERO Bubbleman, Clayman, or applicable Destiny HERO monsters
- Data gaps: No combos supplied — combo conversion is text-only inference No guides supplied — no human context on practical role No banlist token — assumed 3 copies unlimited No usage statistics (StatisticsCard) — archetype inclusion rate inferred from 5-deck sample only No confirmation of which specific 1000-ATK-or-less HERO targets are most commonly recruited by the effect