FIRE
4Red Sprinter
ATK:
1700
DEF:
1200
View:
3859
When this card is Normal or Special Summoned while you control no other monsters: You can Special Summon 1 Level 3 or lower Fiend-Type Tuner from your hand or Graveyard. You can only use this effect of "Red Sprinter" once per turn.
58± 5/ 100
Power Score
Intrinsic
59
Deck
61
Red Sprinter — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 58 ± 5 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 59 · Deck: 61 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Starter / Combo Enabler · Secondary: Material Body
Why it scores here
Red Sprinter is a consistent turn-1 opener that converts a Normal summon into a free Fiend Tuner, enabling Synchro summons when paired with non-Tuner bodies. While it shows 100% inclusion across the sampled 400 decks and appears in 30 distinct archetypes, it lacks any disruption or removal itself and offers only combo enablement—it is not a boss, removal piece, or hand trap. Its high deck inclusion reflects excellent accessibility and role fit within Fiend Tuner decks like Resonators and Archfiends, but the absence of combo data leaves its actual board state power unverified, and its vulnerability to hand-trap negation limits resilience.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 78 | Red Sprinter is directly Normal summoned from hand with a turn-1 trigger condition met by empty boards; 100% of 400 matched decks run it in main deck at an average of 1.68 copies, confirming reliable access (verified: deck inclusion). |
| Combo & Conversion | 57 | The card's effect Special Summons one Level 3-or-lower Fiend Tuner, creating a two-card combo (itself plus Tuner) that requires an existing non-Tuner body to complete a Synchro summon; decks evidence shows near-perfect pairing with Red Rising Dragon and Crimson Resonator, supporting this chain (observed: deck partners; inferred: text timing). |
| Resource Economy | 60 | It trades a Normal summon for two field bodies (itself and the summoned Tuner), achieving parity or +1 advantage if the Tuner is recovered from the Graveyard; Resonator guides emphasize GY recursion lines, suggesting net-positive refuel in practice (inferred: GY synergy with Resonator partners). |
| Effect & Interaction | 5 | The card has zero negation, removal, or hand-trap capability; it is a pure combo engine with no opponent-facing disruption (verified: card text). |
| Material Utility | 65 | Red Sprinter is a Level 4 FIRE Fiend Effect Monster that serves as a non-Tuner body for Synchro summons; it is usable in any Fiend Synchro line but is not inherently synergistic and gains no advantage when blanked (verified: card frame and type). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 40 | The card's effect is single-use per turn and triggers only when no other monsters are controlled, making it awkward if the board is established; a hand trap or negation on summon completely shuts it down, and it has no recovery or protection (inferred: once-per-turn clause and conditional activation). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 55 | Red Sprinter requires dedicated Fiend Tuner support and is not splashable outside of Fiend-synchro strategies; within Resonators and Archfiends it is a staple, with 168 decks running 2 copies and 52 running 3, indicating minimal garnet risk in focused archetypes (verified: archetype inclusion; observed: copy distribution). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 × Starter/Combo Enabler + 0.3 × Material Body. Intrinsic ≈ 59, Deck ≈ 61, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Fiend-specific archetype lock (-2). Final formula: 0.40 × Intrinsic + 0.60 × Deck
Strengths
- Reliable turn-1 play with naturally satisfied condition in opening hand
- Generates free Tuner for Synchro summons with single Normal summon
- 100% main deck inclusion across 400 decks confirms strong accessibility and proven value
- Appears in 30 distinct archetypes (Resonators, Archfiend, Crimson Dragon, etc.) showing portable synergy across Fiend homes
- Guide endorsement as 'Core card' for Resonator archetype (April 2023)
- Near-perfect co-inclusion with Red Rising Dragon (98.5%) and Crimson Resonator (99.2%) indicates seamless combo integration
Weaknesses
- Requires Level 3-or-lower Fiend Tuners in hand or Graveyard; not splashable outside Fiend decks
- Once-per-turn effect limits recursion and multi-use on same turn
- Condition 'no other monsters' restricts use after board setup, creating awkward mid-combo windows
- Pure combo enabler with zero disruption or negation; generates no direct opponent interaction
- Vulnerable to hand traps (Veiler, Ash Blossom, Droll & Lock Bird) that negate summon effects
- 1700 ATK body is fragile and requires Synchro completion to generate meaningful value
Counters / choke points
- Veiler (negates the Tuner summon effect)
- Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring (blocks Special Summon of the Tuner)
- Droll & Lock Bird (cuts hand access, preventing Tuner recovery from hand)
- Mirror Force (removes Red Sprinter or the summoned Tuner)
- Early board wipes that force re-setup
Best use
Turn-1 Synchro enabler and combo engine. Decks: Resonators, Resonator, Archfiend Fiend-Synchro.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: When Normal or Special Summoned while you control no other monsters, Special Summon 1 Level 3 or lower Fiend-Type Tuner from hand or Graveyard.; Once-per-turn restriction on the effect.; Level 4 FIRE Fiend Effect Monster, 1700 ATK / 1200 DEF.; 100% main deck inclusion across 400 matched decks.; 99.2% co-inclusion with Crimson Resonator (397 decks).; 98.5% co-inclusion with Red Rising Dragon (394 decks).; Listed as 'Core card' in official Resonator guide (April 2023).; No banlist restrictions mentioned; assumed unlimited (3-copy legal).
- Observed: Appears in 30 distinct archetypes across the deck sample.; Average 1.68 copies per deck (180 decks at 1 copy, 168 at 2 copies, 52 at 3 copies).; Synchro-focused gameplay at 53.2% (gameplay type 7).; Dominant in Resonators (31.8%) and Archfiend (22%) archetypes.; Highest affinity with Red Dragon Archfiend family and Resonator Tuner support.
- Inferred: Combo mechanism: Normal summon Red Sprinter + Special summon Level 3-or-lower Fiend Tuner → two-card setup enables Synchro with existing non-Tuner on field.; Resource economy: GY refuel likely in Resonators based on Crimson Resonator recursion (99.2% co-inclusion).; Turn-1 viability: Condition 'no other monsters' naturally satisfied in opening hand, confirming first-play role.; Deck flexibility: 30 distinct archetypes suggest moderate portability across Fiend Tuner decks, not one-trick strategy.; Late-game restriction: 'No other monsters' condition becomes limiting post-setup, restricting mid-turn reuse.
- Data gaps: No combo boards supplied: combo conversion is inferred from card text and top-partner synergy, not measured from actual board states. True power index and boardPerStarter values are unknown. No banlist token provided: assumed 3-copy unlimited based on no mention of restrictions. If Limited in any format, final score may decrease 2–4 points. No usage statistics (StatisticsCard) available: archetype inclusion percentages inferred from 400-deck sample only. Long-term consistency data is absent. No combo data section: cannot verify the card's actual role distribution (starter role%, material role%, payoff role%) in real board sequences. 1 guide mention from 1 guide total: limited third-party confirmation. Guide is from April 2023; metagame may have shifted significantly. No Top-Card ranking data: cannot confirm competitive impact across formats or tier placement.