Trap
NormalReturn from the Different Dimension
View:
5426
Pay half your Life Points; Special Summon as many of your banished monsters as possible. During the End Phase, banish all monsters that were Special Summoned by this effect.
Return from the Different Dimension — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 34 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 45 · Deck: 46 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Recovery / Recursion · Secondary: Board breaker
Why it scores here
Return from the Different Dimension is a recovery tool that temporarily summons banished monsters at a severe half-LP cost, designed for Synchro-era decks that naturally generate banish resources. However, the card is Forbidden in TCG/OCG and Banned in MasterDuel, eliminating legal competitive playability. Its complete absence from the modern combo database and temporary summon effect (creatures must banish at End Phase) mean it converts resources into fleeting one-turn boards rather than sustained value; the half-LP cost is a major constraint that relegates this to situational recovery rather than core combo acceleration.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 65 | Normal Trap requiring banished monsters as a precondition, run as a 1-of across 330 historical decks spanning 61 archetypes, but activation is situational and setup-dependent (verified: deck and card text evidence). |
| Combo & Conversion | 35 | Produces a temporary board that vanishes at End Phase; zero recorded appearances in the combo database indicate it is not a central combo piece or board builder in modern lines (observed: 0 combo appearances). |
| Resource Economy | 30 | Half-LP cost is a severe drain; returned monsters are temporary, creating a net-negative exchange unless the board generates immediate value before End Phase cleanup (verified: card text). |
| Effect & Interaction | 10 | Card has zero opponent-facing interaction, providing no disruption, removal, or negation capacity; purely self-recovery (verified: card text, observed: zero combo appearances as payoff). |
| Material Utility | 0 | Trap Card cannot serve as material and offers no Attribute, Level, or Type value even when blanked (verified: card frame type). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 45 | Can be set and activated flexibly from Trap zone across turns, but the half-LP cost creates tempo loss if negated, and summoned creatures vanish at End Phase regardless of board state (inferred: activation pattern). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 70 | Runs cleanly as a one-of in 61 distinct archetypes, particularly those that generate banish resources (Lightsworn, Laval, Machina); low garnet rate in intended homes (observed: 330 decks, 61 archetypes, 1-of prevalence). |
Calculation
Weight profile: Primary role: Recovery / Recursion. Intrinsic ≈ 45, Deck ≈ 46, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Forbidden in multiple formats (-10); Severe LP-cost garnet risk (-2). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Recovers banished monsters, a core resource in many archetypes
- Runs as a clean 1-of across 61 distinct archetypes, showing broad adaptability in banish-heavy strategies
- Activates from Trap zone, allowing flexible timing and reactive deployment
- Synchro-era staple in Heroic and Blackwings decks, which naturally generate banish resources
Weaknesses
- Forbidden/Banned in all major formats (TCG, OCG, MasterDuel); unplayable in competitive environments
- Temporary summon effect: all creatures must banish at End Phase, limiting sustained board value to one turn
- Half-LP cost is a severe resource drain, especially acute when no banished monsters exist to recover
- Zero combo-database appearances; not a central piece in modern combo lines or acceleration paths
- No opponent interaction: purely self-recovery with no disruption, negation, or removal capacity
Counters / choke points
- Trap negation (Solemn Judgment, Solemn Warning) wastes the half-LP cost and summon effect
- Creature removal before End Phase has no practical downside since monsters banish anyway
- Decks with minimal natural banishing do not enable this card effectively
Best use
Mid-turn board refresh and recovery in banish-heavy Synchro strategies. Decks: Heroic, Blackwings, Monarch, Lightsworn, Laval.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: pays half LP, Special Summons banished monsters, banishes all at End Phase; Forbidden in TCG/OCG, Banned in MasterDuel (legal_copies = 0 for all formats); 330 decks across 61 archetypes; top archetypes are Heroic (17.6%), Blackwings (17.3%), Monarch (8.2%); Dominant in gameplay type 7 (Synchro/Xyz): 92.7% of decks; Top partners are Synchro-era staples: Stardust Dragon, Mirror Force, Brionac, Heavy Storm
- Observed: Run as 1-of in 316 of 330 decks; 2-of in 14 decks (avg 1.04 copies per deck); Zero appearances in modern combo database (0 total combos); Deck evidence spans 2023-2026, primarily legacy format or pre-ban era; High co-deck percentage with Synchro generators: Stardust Dragon 73.9%, Brionac 73.9%, Colossal Fighter 57.9%
- Inferred: Card functions as a one-turn board refresh in decks that generate banish resources naturally; Half-LP cost is manageable in decks designed to go second or pivot to future turns; Combo absence indicates it is not a combo starter, enabler, or central board piece in modern lines; Recovery tool that requires deck-building support to be effective
- Data gaps: No combos supplied: combo conversion inferred from card text only, not verified against real recorded boards No guides supplied: guide-based context and role confirmation absent No usage statistics (StatisticsCard): archetype inclusion percentages inferred from 330-deck sample only, not a broader historical time-series Card is Forbidden/Banned in all major formats: evaluation proceeds assuming historical or casual play context despite zero legal status Deck evidence is legacy-format era (Synchro/Xyz dominance): modern meta viability unknown and likely not applicable