DARK
5Power Vice Dragon
ATK:
2000
DEF:
2400
View:
1913
A "Red Dragon Archfiend" that was Synchro Summoned using this card as material cannot be destroyed by battle. You can only use each of the following effects of "Power Vice Dragon" once per turn. If you control no monsters, or all monsters you control are DARK Synchro Monsters: You can Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card is Special Summoned: You can add 1 "Resonator" monster from your Deck to your hand, also you cannot Special Summon from the Extra Deck for the rest of this turn, except DARK Synchro Monsters.
Power Vice Dragon — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 59 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 57 · Deck: 60 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Starter / Combo enabler · Secondary: Searcher/Tutor, Material body
Why it scores here
Power Vice Dragon converts its hand-summon and Special Summon triggers into a 2000-ATK body plus one Resonator added from the Deck, which is a two-for-one on a Level 5 DARK body. Its 2000/2400 stats earn nothing by themselves; the score comes from the searchable route and the Synchro material value. Combo evidence is absent, so the starter and search role rests on card text and deck inclusion, not observed boards, and the score is capped accordingly.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 60 | Hand-summon needs an empty board or only DARK Synchro monsters, and the on-summon search is the live route; it is in 400 of 400 decks at 2.85 average copies (observed deck data, conditional routes from text). |
| Combo & Conversion | 50 | The effect adds one Resonator to hand, but no recorded board shows what it converts into, so the line is text-only inference (inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 70 | Hand-summon plus a Deck search gives a body and a card, with the summoned body staying on the field; no GY refuel exists (verified from card text). |
| Effect & Interaction | 25 | The card has no negation, removal, or hand-trap effect; its only protection is being indestructible by battle as a Synchro, which is narrow (verified from card text). |
| Material Utility | 70 | A Level 5 DARK Dragon fits DARK Synchro lines and keeps the battle-indestructible rider when Synchro Summoned; this is text-based value with no combo data (verified from card text, inferred for use). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 45 | Each effect is once per turn and the hand-summon is board-gated, so one interruption can stop the line; the search is the only route that survives a blank board (inferred from card text). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 65 | It runs at 3 copies in most of the 400 decks and has no garnet or lock; the slot cost is low in Resonator lists (observed deck data). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Starter + 0.3 Searcher. Intrinsic ≈ 57, Deck ≈ 60, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Hand-summon plus an on-summon Resonator search gives a body and a card in one play.
- Level 5 DARK Dragon is a flexible Synchro material and keeps the battle-indestructible rider as a Synchro.
- Runs in all 400 sampled decks at about 3 copies, with a 98% pairing rate with Soul Resonator and The Crimson King.
Weaknesses
- Hand-summon is blocked whenever you control a non-DARK-Synchro monster.
- Both effects are once per turn, so the line is slow to repeat.
- No negation or removal; a 2000-ATK body gains nothing from stats.
Counters / choke points
- Generic hand traps and search-effect negation (inferred from general card knowledge; the evidence supplies no counter data).
Best use
Starter and Resonator searcher. Decks: Resonator, Archfiend, Bystial/Byssted, Crimson Dragon. Suggested copies: 3.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Level 5 DARK Dragon, 2000 ATK / 2400 DEF, formats TCG / OCG / MasterDuel.; Two once-per-turn effects: hand Special Summon when you control no monsters or only DARK Synchro monsters; on-summon add 1 Resonator from Deck.; Synchro-summoned Red Dragon Archfiend using this card cannot be destroyed by battle.; Appears in 400 of 400 decks; 3 copies in 353 of them.
- Observed: Partners Soul Resonator (98.5%) and The Crimson King (98.2%) co-occur in nearly every deck.; Archetype inclusion for Resonator 81.4%, Archfiend 69.0%, Crimson Dragon 100% (StatisticsCard sample).
- Inferred: The hand-summon is the main board-gated access route; the search is the reliable route.; The effect gives roughly +1 card and a body, with no card cost.
- Data gaps: No combos supplied, so combo conversion and starter/material shares are text-only inference. No banlist token and empty legal copies; assumed 3 copies (unlimited). Only one guide mention, and it does not describe the card's specific line. No counter or metagame data supplied.