Spell
NormalRevival Swarm
Archetype:
Battlewasp
View:
3626
Target 1 "Battlewasp" monster in your GY; Special Summon it. You can banish this card from your GY, then target 1 Insect monster you control; it cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects, until the end of the next turn. You can only use this effect of "Revival Swarm" once per turn.
Revival Swarm — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 52 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 52 · Deck: 55 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Recovery/Recursion · Secondary: Resilience/Protection, Archetype Support
Why it scores here
Revival Swarm is a specialized archetype tool that recycles Battlewasp bodies from the GY and grants temporary indestructibility to Insect monsters. It scores in the mid-50s because it reliably extends plays in Insect-focused decks (proven by 96.8% partner overlap with Battlewasp core cards) but lacks independent combo power, opponent interaction, or board disruption—it is entirely reactive recovery and self-protection. The card's high deckbuilding efficiency (72) reflects its clean integration into Battlewasp and Beetrooper lists, while its low effect interaction (15) and near-zero material utility (8) reflect that it neither interacts with the opponent nor converts to other material types. Without combo evidence, the recursion power is estimated from text; the card fits well into existing synergies but does not drive them.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 58 | Revival Swarm requires a Battlewasp in the GY before activation, limiting early-game live status, though 31 decks run 1.81 copies on average, proving routine inclusion in Insect archetypes (observed). |
| Combo & Conversion | 52 | The card brings back one Battlewasp and may enable 1–2 additional summons via the recycled monster's effects, but no combo evidence exists to confirm power; conversion is inferred as one-body extension from text (inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 52 | Activating the primary effect breaks roughly even (−1 card played, +1 summon resolved), while the secondary effect (banish from GY) is a net-neutral resource trade; overall refueling without card-advantage generation (inferred). |
| Effect & Interaction | 15 | Revival Swarm has no opponent interaction—it neither negates, removes, banishes, nor disrupts opponent plays; it is purely self-protection and recursion (verified). |
| Material Utility | 8 | As a Spell Card, Revival Swarm cannot serve as monster material (Synchro/Fusion/Xyz/Link) and has no relevance to Battlewasp's mechanics; essentially zero material value even when blanked (verified). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 55 | The card lives in the GY after resolution and activates lazily on turn 2+; the 1-turn protection effect provides a modest shield but expires quickly, and decks run 1.81 avg copies for redundancy, suggesting moderate structural backup (observed). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 72 | Revival Swarm does not lock the player into a summon type or ED space, and 72 copies across 31 decks (distribution: 1×13, 2×11, 3×7) show it integrates cleanly into Battlewasp and Beetrooper lists as a non-free-roll but non-restrictive support card (observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: Recovery/Recursion primary role (100%). Intrinsic ≈ 52, Deck ≈ 55, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Archetype-specific lock (-2). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck (decks known, combos unknown)
Strengths
- Clean recursion engine in Battlewasp decks; 96.8% of sample decks pair it with Battlewasp core monsters (Sting, Arbalest, Twinbow, Pin, Ballista).
- High deckbuilding efficiency: integrates into Battlewasp, Beetrooper, Ragnaraika, and generic Insect decks without garnet or brick risk.
- Dual-effect flexibility: recursion refuels the combo line, and GY banish → protection shields a board piece for one turn.
- Proven accessibility: 31-deck sample with 1.81 avg copies and consistent inclusion across 8 archetypes indicates reliable routing into play patterns.
Weaknesses
- Zero opponent interaction: recursion and protection are entirely self-beneficial; no disruption, removal, or negation for the opponent.
- Turn-delayed utility: activated effects are reactive and turn-2+ plays; not a turn-1 starter or early-game solution.
- Battlewasp-locked primary effect severely limits generic portability; only the protection effect works across all Insect types.
- Minimal material utility: Spell type cannot become Synchro/Fusion/Xyz/Link material; no inherent value when effect is negated.
- No combo evidence: without recorded boards, the exact power of the recursion line is inferred from text, not empirically verified.
Counters / choke points
- Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring: negates the Special Summon effect on activation.
- Infinite Impermanence or Fiendish Chain: blanks the card or its intended target.
- Enemy hand-traps responding to GY activity (Lantern, Destrudo) can strip the GY before Revival Swarm's secondary effect activates.
Best use
Mid-game recursion and protection suite; refuels combo lines after bodies are removed.. Decks: Battlewasp, Beetrooper, Ragnaraika, Insect synergy.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Revival Swarm card text is complete: primary effect Special Summons 1 Battlewasp from GY; secondary effect banishes from GY to grant 1 Insect 1-turn indestructibility.; Archetype: Battlewasp.; Appears in 31 recent decks across 4 formats (TCG, OCG, MasterDuel, DuelLinks).; No banlist restriction supplied; assumed 3 copies (unlimited).; Spell Card type confirmed; cannot be used as monster material.
- Observed: 35.5% of sample decks are Battlewasp, 29.1% are Beetrooper, 12.9% are Ragnaraika, 16.1% are generic Insect.; 1.81 average copies per deck; distribution: 1 copy (42%), 2 copies (35%), 3 copies (23%).; 67.7% of sample decks are Combo gameplay type, 25.8% are Control.; 96.8% of decks run Battlewasp - Sting the Poison and Battlewasp - Arbalest the Rapidfire; consistent core synergy.; Card consistently played across 3+ years (2022-10-23 to 2026-05-31).
- Inferred: Primary role is Recovery/Recursion: the main effect recycles a fallen Battlewasp, extending combo plays mid-line.; Secondary role is Resilience/Protection: the GY banish effect grants 1-turn shield to any Insect, a defensive utility.; Revival Swarm requires GY setup to activate; it is not a turn-1 live starter.; Combo conversion estimated as 1-2 additional summons via the recycled Battlewasp's effects, inferred from text structure.; Archetype-specific lock (Battlewasp-only for primary effect) limits generic portability; secondary effect works on any Insect.; GenericUtility estimated at ~60 from portability across 8 archetypes, moderated by Battlewasp-locked primary.; DeckSynergy estimated at ~62 from high partner overlap and consistent inclusion.
- Data gaps: No combos supplied: combo conversion is entirely text-inferred; no empirical data on how many summons the recursion enables. No guides supplied: no human strategic context on optimal timing or metagame role. No banlist token: assumed 3 copies (unlimited). No usage statistics (StatisticsCard): archetype inclusion % inferred from the 31-deck sample alone. No combo power indices: deck resilience and combo centrality estimated from copy distributions.