Trap
CounterPulling the Rug
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3120
Negate the activation and effect of an Effect Monster whose effect activated when a monster was Normal Summoned (even itself), and destroy that Effect Monster.
Pulling the Rug — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 63 ± 7 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 62 · Deck: 63 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Removal / Negation · Secondary: Board breaker
Why it scores here
Pulling the Rug is a strong but condition-limited negation trap that finds consistent play across 58 archetypes, with particularly high adoption in Blackwings (27%) and Heroics (14%). Its core strength lies in hard negation plus destruction against Normal Summon-triggered effects, paired with exceptional deckbuilding efficiency at 2 copies. However, its conditional trigger—only activating against Effect Monsters whose effects respond to Normal Summon—and purely reactive role (building no combo of its own) substantially cap its overall power in diverse metagames.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 60 | Easily Set face-down and appears in 400 main-deck lists across 58 archetypes, but activation requires opponent to trigger an Effect Monster's Normal Summon-activated effect. (verified) |
| Combo & Conversion | 15 | Zero combo boards supplied; as a response trap, it does not generate or extend your own combos, only disrupts opponent plays. (verified) |
| Resource Economy | 50 | Costs one trap card to negate and destroy an opponent's Effect Monster; roughly neutral in card economy unless stopping major value generation. (inferred) |
| Effect & Interaction | 70 | Hard negation of both activation and effect plus destruction is strong disruption, but limited to Effect Monsters with Normal Summon-triggered conditions; misses Quick Effects and non-Summon mechanics. (verified) |
| Material Utility | 5 | Trap cards have no practical material utility outside rare niche archetypes; effectively unusable as synergy engine. (verified) |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 65 | Face-down traps benefit from inherent protection, and reactive activation timing is defensive; however, no recursion or recovery once activated. (inferred) |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 85 | Runs at 2+ copies across 58 archetypes with zero brick/garnet risk, demonstrating exceptional splashability and minimal deckbuilding friction. (observed) |
Calculation
Weight profile: Primary role Removal / Negation. Intrinsic ≈ 62, Deck ≈ 63, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Hard negation of both activation and effect, plus destruction—strong single-card solution
- High adoption in Normal Summon-reliant archetypes (Blackwings 27%, Heroic 14%)
- Excellent deckbuilding efficiency: splashable across 58 archetypes, no garnet risk
- Face-down trap protection and reactive timing provide defensive resilience
- Consistent 2-copy average across diverse metagames
Weaknesses
- Extremely conditional: only activates against Effect Monsters with Normal Summon-triggered effects
- Misses Quick Effects and other non-Summon-triggered interaction patterns
- Pure response card; does not advance your own combo, board, or resources
- Trap card frame limits material utility and synergy contributions
- Effectiveness heavily metagame-dependent; bad into non-Summon-reliant decks
Counters / choke points
- Decks that rely primarily on Quick Effects rather than Normal Summon-triggered effects
- Decks with few or no Effect Monsters
- Hand traps that negate Counter trap activations
- Fusion, Synchro, Link, and Pendulum summoning methods that bypass Normal Summon
Best use
Removal / Negation. Decks: Blackwings, Heroic, Synchron, Lightsworn, Machina, Generic trap-heavy control. Suggested copies: 2.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Trap card, Counter subtype; text: negate activation and effect of Effect Monster whose effect activated when a monster was Normal Summoned, destroy that Effect Monster; Legal in TCG, OCG, MasterDuel, DuelLinks; 400 decks run it (main deck only); distribution: 1 copy (34 decks), 2 copies (302 decks), 3 copies (64 decks); avg 2.08; Zero combo boards supplied (0 appearances), confirming pure response-only role
- Observed: 58 distinct archetypes; top archetypes Blackwings 27.2%, Heroic 14%, Synchron 8%; 89.2% gameplay type 7 (going-first setup); 0% side deck adoption; Strong partnerships with removal and negation traps (Mirror Force, Bottomless, Torrential); Consistent 2-copy adoption across all major homes
- Inferred: Highly splashable negation trap; condition-limited trigger (Normal Summon dependency) narrows scope but does not lock it to one archetype; Accessible via face-down Set; reactive activation provides defensive positioning; Resource economy neutral-to-positive when stopping major opponent value lines; Pure disruption engine; does not drive user's own combo or board development
- Data gaps: No combos supplied—combo conversion is text-only inference; cannot verify real board contribution or combo centrality No guides supplied—cannot confirm archetype-specific roles or positioning guidance No banlist data—assumed unlimited (3 copies), actual format restrictions unknown StatisticsCard data only for Elemental HERO (100%, 2 copies)—sparse coverage of true historical inclusion