EARTH
5Rustin Mammoth
ATK:
2100
DEF:
2100
View:
703
If this card is in your hand: You can banish Machine Link Monsters from your Extra Deck whose combined Link Ratings equal exactly 5; Special Summon this card. You can target 1 card you control and 1 card your opponent controls; return them to the hand. This is a Quick Effect if this card is linked to a Link-3 or higher Machine Link Monster. You can only use each effect of "Rustin Mammoth" once per turn.
Rustin Mammoth — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 57 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 55 · Deck: 59 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Starter / Combo enabler · Secondary: Board breaker
Why it scores here
Rustin Mammoth converts a hand held with a Machine Link monster in the Extra Deck into a Special Summoned Level 5 body plus a bounce of one card on each side. Accessibility is the main driver, since 90 of 90 sampled decks run it and it sits alongside high-frequency partners. The 2100 ATK/DEF earns nothing, and the deck-count signal is treated as consistency rather than strength. No combo boards were supplied, so the conversion score rests on the text alone.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 72 | Hand activation with a Link-5-total banish requirement is conditional but deck-backed, appearing in 90 of 90 decks with partners at up to 92% co-occurrence (observed). |
| Combo & Conversion | 45 | Summons itself and bounces one card per side, which is one body and a tempo swing with no combo data to confirm more (inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 35 | The Special Summon is free from hand, but the bounce returns its own target at a cost, and no net card advantage is shown (inferred). |
| Effect & Interaction | 40 | Bounce of any opposing card is soft interaction, and the Quick-speed clause only applies when linked to a Link-3+ Machine (verified). |
| Material Utility | 55 | Level 5 Machine EARTH is a clean generic material body that remains a Level 5 body even when its effects are negated (verified). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 45 | A single negation of the hand effect ends it, and its two effects are each once per turn with no redundancy in the text (inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 60 | Average of 2.06 copies per deck and no garnet or lock clause; the Link-5 requirement is the only real restriction on the deck (observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Starter / Combo enabler + 0.3 Board breaker. Intrinsic ≈ 55, Deck ≈ 59, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Hand-activated Special Summon gives it an early body without needing a search
- Bounce answers one opposing card in addition to its own tempo
- Present in 90 of 90 sampled decks across 21 archetypes with 2–3 copies typical
- Level 5 Machine body stays usable as material even if its effect is negated
Weaknesses
- Requires a Machine Link monster in the Extra Deck with combined Link Rating exactly 5
- Bounce returns a card you control, which costs tempo
- Single negation of the hand effect ends the line
- Quick-speed timing depends on Link arrow placement
Counters / choke points
- Negation of its hand-activated effect
- Opponent-side removal or bounce of the Machine Link monsters that meet the Link-5 requirement
Best use
Starter / Combo enabler. Decks: R.B., Sky Striker, Train. Suggested copies: 2.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Hand-activated Special Summon with a Link-5-total Machine Link banish cost and a once-per-turn limit on each effect; Level 5, Machine, EARTH, 2100/2100 Effect Monster legal in TCG and OCG; Present in 90 of 90 sampled decks at an average of 2.06 copies
- Observed: Present in 93.3% of decks in gameplay type 7; Co-occurs with Droll & Lock Bird in 92.2% of decks and with R.B. shell cards in about 82% of decks
- Inferred: The bounce is soft interaction rather than removal; The Link-5 requirement is achievable in R.B. and Sky Striker shells but is restrictive elsewhere; Resilience is limited by a single negation of the hand effect
- Data gaps: No combos supplied, so combo conversion and starter/material shares are text-only inference No guides supplied usage statistics lists only Deskbots (1 copy, 100%), which conflicts with the 21-archetype deck spread and was not used for scoring No Extra Deck contents or Link-rating evidence, so the Link-5 requirement's practicality is inferred No banlist token; assumed 3 copies (unlimited)