Trap
NormalRainbow Path
Archetype:
Crystal Beast
View:
3836
When an opponent's monster declares an attack: Send 1 "Crystal Beast" card from your Spell & Trap Card Zone to the Graveyard to target the attacking monster; negate the attack, then you can add 1 "Rainbow Dragon" or "Rainbow Dark Dragon" from your Deck to your hand.
Rainbow Path — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 45 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 46 · Deck: 50 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Removal/Negation · Secondary: Searcher/Tutor
Why it scores here
Rainbow Path provides attack negation paired with a tutor to Rainbow Dragon, making it a utility defensive tool in Crystal Beast decks. However, its requirement of an already-positioned Crystal Beast card in the Spell & Trap Zone and purely reactive nature severely constrain its impact. The card is efficient when conditions align but remains archetype-locked and dependent on opponent strategy.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 35 | Requires both a Crystal Beast card in S&T Zone and an opponent attack to activate; appears as 1-2 copy utility in 25 decks running it (observed). |
| Combo & Conversion | 25 | As a reactive trap with zero combo evidence supplied, it cannot build a board independently; it only responds to opponent threats (inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 60 | Costs 1 Crystal Beast from S&T Zone but tutors 1 Rainbow Dragon from deck, trading a positioned resource for a tutored win condition; roughly even with good value (verified). |
| Effect & Interaction | 65 | Negates 1 attack with hard disruption, but limited to attack triggers only; does not interact with opponent effects or non-attack summons (verified). |
| Material Utility | 5 | Trap card with zero ATK/DEF; cannot be used as synchro, fusion, or XYZ material; negligible utility (verified). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 30 | One-time use effect that can be chained to or negated before resolution; depends on opponent attacking and deck maintaining CB in S&T Zone (inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 50 | Strictly requires Crystal Beast archetype due to S&T Zone storage activation cost; clean 1-2 copy count in its home but unplayable elsewhere (observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Removal/Negation + 0.3 Searcher/Tutor blend. Intrinsic ≈ 46, Deck ≈ 50, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Archetype-specific requirement lock (-3). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck - 3 (archetype lock)
Strengths
- Provides hard negation of attack declarations
- Tutors win condition (Rainbow Dragon or Rainbow Dark Dragon) as secondary effect
- Efficiently integrated into Crystal Beast synergy lines
- Reasonable copy requirement (1-2 per deck) fits deck construction
Weaknesses
- Requires Crystal Beast card already positioned in Spell & Trap Zone to activate
- Purely reactive; only functions when opponent declares an attack
- Cannot interact with opponent effects or non-attack game states
- Single-use effect with no recursion or multi-turn value
- Completely unplayable outside Crystal Beast archetype
- Susceptible to chaining or trap negation before resolution
Counters / choke points
- Hand traps that stop attacks before declaration (Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring)
- Non-attacking or combo-heavy strategies that bypass the battle phase
- Trap negation effects
- Cards that prevent trap activation
Best use
Defensive trap; attack negation and win condition acceleration. Decks: Crystal Beast.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text requires 1 Crystal Beast from Spell & Trap Zone as activation cost; Negates opponent attack declaration; Tutors Rainbow Dragon or Rainbow Dark Dragon from deck; 25 decks run the card; 40% are Crystal Beast archetype; Typical 1-2 copies per deck (average 1.16)
- Observed: 100% paired with Crystal Bond and other Crystal Beast support cards; Crystal Beast is the primary archetype at 40% of deck sample; 20% Sacred Beast inclusion suggests hybrid builds or classification overlap
- Inferred: Card is unplayable outside Crystal Beast context due to S&T Zone storage requirement; Reactive trap nature limits proactive combo potential; Tutor to Rainbow Dragon accelerates win condition in CB strategy; Value higher against attack-reliant meta; lower against pure combo strategies
- Data gaps: No combos supplied — combo conversion is text-only inference No guides supplied — human context unavailable No banlist token — assumed 3 copies (unlimited) No usage statistics (StatisticsCard) — inclusion % inferred from deck sample only No tournament rankings or top-card data Unexplained 20% Sacred Beast classification; may indicate data error or hybrid builds