LIGHT
4Reflect Bounder
ATK:
1700
DEF:
1000
View:
5152
Before damage calculation, if this card is being attacked by an opponent's monster, and was in face-up Attack Position at the start of the Damage Step: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to the attacking monster's ATK. If you do, after damage calculation: Destroy this card.
Reflect Bounder — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 49 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 51 · Deck: 47 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Board breaker / Going-second · Secondary: Utility, Material body
Why it scores here
Reflect Bounder is a defensive-reaction card that punishes incoming attacks by reflecting damage; it offers no proactive board disruption or combo generation. Its 1700 ATK provides utility as Rank 4 material, and its presence in 24 distinct archetypes confirms broad splashability. However, the card's reactive nature, single-use destruction, and heavy reliance on opponent attack patterns cap its power at a modest mid-tier level.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 65 | Runs in 62 decks across 24 archetypes at an average 1.21 copies per deck, indicating solid availability as a defensive tech rather than a searchable combo piece (verified). |
| Combo & Conversion | 25 | No combo data supplied; the card does not generate multi-card chains or board extensions, only triggering when attacked and destroying itself (inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 45 | The card trades itself for damage reflection and attacker removal, roughly breaking even in value; top partners like Monster Reborn and Dark Hole suggest control shells where this trade is acceptable (observed). |
| Effect & Interaction | 40 | Reflect Bounder provides soft damage-based disruption rather than hard negation or effect interruption; it punishes but does not stop the attacking play (verified). |
| Material Utility | 60 | As a Level 4 Light Machine with 1700 ATK, it serves as solid Rank 4 Xyz or Synchro material for control decks, and remains useful even if the effect never triggers (inferred). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 35 | The card only functions when controlled, face-up, in Attack Position, and attacked; it is inert against non-attacking strategies and vulnerable to removal before activation (verified). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 70 | Reflect Bounder fits cleanly into control/midrange shells with no archetype lock or garnet risk; most run 1 copy as a modular tech slot (observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: Primary role: Board breaker / Going-second. Intrinsic ≈ 51, Deck ≈ 47, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Reflects attacking monster's ATK as direct damage; most effective against high-ATK strategies
- Clean Rank 4 Xyz and Level 4 Synchro material for control/Cyber Dragon decks
- Splashable across 24+ distinct archetypes with no archetype lock
- Runs as 1–3 copies without bricking; scales with deck defensive needs
Weaknesses
- Purely reactive; does nothing proactively or if opponent declines to attack
- Self-destructs after effect resolution, making it a one-time-use defensive tool
- Damage is the only interaction — no negation, removal, or persistent board presence
- Ineffective against low-ATK decks and non-combat damage strategies
- Vulnerable to pre-attack removal (Mystical Space Typhoon, Heavy Storm)
Counters / choke points
- Low-ATK decks bypass or minimize damage output
- Effect negation (Skill Drain) blanks the damage reflection
- Trap removal before damage calculation prevents activation
- Non-combat damage strategies render the card's effect irrelevant
Best use
Defensive tech / Attack punisher. Decks: Control, Cyber Dragon, Jinzo, Chaos. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Legal in TCG, OCG, MasterDuel, and DuelLinks formats; 62 decks run it across 24 distinct archetypes at 1.21 average copies per deck; Control (41.9%) and Aggro (30.6%) are primary gameplay types; Effect: reflects attacking monster's ATK as damage, then destroys itself; Top partners: Mystical Space Typhoon, Jinzo, Limiter Removal, Heavy Storm, Call of the Haunted
- Observed: 24 distinct archetypes represent broad splashability across deck types; Cyber Dragon decks show strong adoption (19 decks combined from multiple Cyber Dragon entries); Card present consistently from Feb 2023 to June 2026; Most decks run 1 copy; few run 2–3 copies
- Inferred: Reflect Bounder is a defensive-counter tech punishing high-ATK attacking monsters; 1700 ATK makes it acceptable Rank 4 Xyz or Synchro material for control decks; Card body remains useful when the damage effect doesn't trigger; Effectiveness is highly matchup-dependent; scales with opponent's ATK values; Reactive, single-use nature limits combo potential and multi-turn value
- Data gaps: No combos supplied — card does not appear in recorded combo boards, limiting confirmation of real-play role No guides supplied — no human context on intended use or meta positioning No usage statistics — archetype inclusion % and typical copies inferred from 62-deck sample only Not ranked as a top card in any format — no metagame ranking context supplied