FIRE
6Red Dragon Ninja
Archetype:
Ninja
ATK:
2400
DEF:
1200
View:
3650
When this card is Summoned: You can banish 1 "Ninja" or "Ninjitsu Art" card from your GY, then target 1 Set card your opponent controls; reveal that Set card, then return it to either the top or bottom of the Deck. Your opponent cannot activate the targeted card in response to this effect's activation. You can only use this effect of "Red Dragon Ninja" once per turn.
57± 6/ 100
Power Score
Intrinsic
56
Deck
57
Red Dragon Ninja — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 57 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 56 · Deck: 57 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Board breaker · Secondary: Removal, Material body
Why it scores here
Red Dragon Ninja is a specialized board-disruptive tool that targets and returns Set cards to the opponent's deck while preventing their activation in response. It delivers solid value as a Level 6 material body with clean Synchro/XYZ utility, but its one-time summon effect provides no advantage generation or multi-turn impact, and the GY banish cost requires Ninja archetype setup. It excels within Ninja decks where it has strong core synergy, but situational disruption and accessibility limitations prevent higher scoring.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 55 | Level 6 monster requiring dedicated summon setup or archetype support; present in 60% of Ninja decks with consistent access via that archetype's XYZ/Synchro enablers. (verified) |
| Combo & Conversion | 40 | Summon effect returns opponent's Set card to deck with no board extension or material generation; purely a one-time disruption with no combo scaling. (inferred) |
| Resource Economy | 45 | Banishes 1 GY card to return 1 opponent's Set card to deck; resource-neutral trade with no card advantage generation or refuel capability. (verified) |
| Effect & Interaction | 60 | Targets and disrupts Set cards (traps, Set monsters) with activation lock during effect window; strong against trap-heavy strategies but weak against open-field decks with few Set cards. (verified) |
| Material Utility | 65 | Clean Level 6 Winged Beast body with 2400 ATK and Ninja typing; remains functional as Synchro/XYZ material even if effect is negated or used. (verified) |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 45 | One-time summon trigger with no recursion, multi-zone utility, or protection; once effect resolves, card is a static paper body with minimal resilience to opponent interaction. (inferred) |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 60 | Requires GY setup with Ninja/Ninjitsu Art cards and Level 6 summon access; consistently run as 1 copy in all 10 found decks without redundancy issues. (observed) |
Calculation
Weight profile: Primary role: Board breaker. Intrinsic ≈ 56, Deck ≈ 57, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Clean Level 6 material utility for Synchro/XYZ summoning
- Strong synergy with Ninja archetype core cards
- Targets and disrupts opponent's Set cards and traps
- Activation lock prevents targeted card response
- Clear, straightforward card text with no fiddly rulings
Weaknesses
- Requires GY resource setup (Ninja/Ninjitsu Art banish)
- Requires Level 6 summon access (limited portability)
- One-time effect with no multi-turn value or recursion
- Provides only tempo disruption, no advantage generation
- Situational against decks without Set cards or traps
Counters / choke points
- Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring (negates Summon effect)
- Called by the Grave (blocks GY banish cost)
- Decks with few Set cards or open-field strategies
- Opponent's hand traps activated in response window
Best use
Going-second Set card disruption. Decks: Ninja. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Red Dragon Ninja is a Level 6 Effect Monster with triggered summon effect targeting Set cards (card text); Effect banishes 1 'Ninja' or 'Ninjitsu Art' card from GY as cost, then returns target Set card to top or bottom of Deck (card text); Activation lock prevents targeted card's response activation during this effect's resolution (card text); Once-per-turn activation clause on effect (card text); Runs in 10 recent decks, primarily Ninja (6/10, 60%) and secondarily Elemental Hero (2/10, 20%) (deck data); Consistent 1-copy inclusion across all 10 found decks (deck data); Strong co-occurrence with Ninja core cards: Jioh, Kagero, Hanzo, Mitsu, Tobari (80% partner frequency) (deck data)
- Observed: Four distinct archetypes in deck sample (Ninja, Elemental Hero, Book Of, Ninja) suggests limited but real portability (deck data); No presence in recorded combo boards (zero appearances) suggests non-starter role in practice (combos data); Deck recency spans Feb 2023–Apr 2025, indicating sustained but niche usage (deck timestamps)
- Inferred: Returns Set card to deck (not destroy), providing tempo disruption rather than permanent removal (card text + game state); Level 6 body enables clean Synchro/XYZ summoning and material utility even if effect is negated or used (card type + rules); GY banish cost requires archetype setup and deck-building around Ninja/Ninjitsu Art cards, limiting accessibility outside Ninja (card cost + evidence); One-time summon effect provides no multi-turn value, recursion, or protection once resolved (card text → resilience); Requires either Normal Summon of Level 6 or dedicated Special Summon enabler (Synchro/XYZ), not free-roll access (card level + game rules)
- Data gaps: No combos supplied — combo conversion role is text-only inference, not empirically verified No guides supplied — human strategy context unavailable No banlist token — assumed 3 copies (unlimited) in all formats No usage statistics (StatisticsCard) — archetype inclusion rates inferred from 10-deck sample only, not historical stability Limited deck sample (10 recent decks) — no metagame snapshot or competitive tier ranking available No Top Card ranking data — unclear if competitive mainstay or niche archetype-specific pick