Trap
NormalS-Force Chase
Archetype:
S-Force
View:
4229
Target face-up cards your opponent controls, up to the number of "S-Force" monsters you control with different names; return them to the hand. If a "S-Force" monster you control would banish a card(s) from your hand to activate its effect, you can banish this card from your GY instead. You can only use each effect of "S-Force Chase" once per turn.
65± 5/ 100
Power Score
Intrinsic
60
Deck
65
S-Force Chase — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 65 ± 5 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 60 · Deck: 65 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Removal / Negation · Secondary: Recovery/Recursion, Utility
Why it scores here
S-Force Chase earns its score as a highly efficient archetype-specific support trap offering dual utilities. The bounce effect provides conditional board disruption (soft removal scaling with S-Force monsters), while the GY cost substitution enables S-Force effects to activate without hand banish cost. Inclusion in 72% of S-Force decks at 2.5 copies average and 64% maxing at 3 copies reflects strong archetype integration; however, limited combo generation, lack of material utility, and dependence on board state prevent higher scoring.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 72 | Appears in 400/400 S-Force decks in sample at 2.5 average copies, with 64% preferring 3 copies (maximum), indicating consistent mid-game availability within the archetype (verified from deck data). |
| Combo & Conversion | 35 | As a trap with reactive bounce, it supports existing S-Force lines rather than initiating them; lacks combo-generating text and no combo data supplied to assess interaction depth (inferred from card type and role). |
| Resource Economy | 48 | Bounce returns opponent cards neutrally with no net card gain; GY cost substitution avoids hand cost but generates no advantage, providing efficiency rather than acceleration (inferred from effect text mechanics). |
| Effect & Interaction | 64 | Bounce disrupts opponent board conditionally (up to X face-up cards) but is soft removal that does not negate or banish permanently; scales with S-Force monster count, making it situational (verified from card text and effect type). |
| Material Utility | 0 | Trap cards lack level, attribute, and body; cannot serve as synchro, xyz, link, or fusion material in standard play, and provides zero utility even when effect negated (verified from card type). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 60 | Two-effect structure (bounce + cost substitution) enables use across field and GY zones; 64% deck preference for 3 copies suggests players value redundancy, though once-per-turn limits sustained application (verified from copy distribution and text). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 82 | Zero brick or garnet risk; 64% of decks run 3 copies (maximum), and 29 distinct archetypes show splashability across Scareclaw, Knightmare, Inzektor, and others, despite primary bounce being S-Force-gated (verified from distribution and archetype spread). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Removal/Negation + 0.3 Recovery/Recursion. Intrinsic ≈ 60, Deck ≈ 65, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Portability bonus (2). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Extremely high inclusion rate in S-Force decks (72% of sample at 2.5 copies, 64% run 3-copy maximum).
- Two-effect structure provides both board disruption and resource efficiency (bounce + GY cost substitution).
- Zero brick, garnet, or self-locking risk; clean deckbuilding profile requiring no sacrifices.
- Splashes into 29 distinct archetypes (Scareclaw, Knightmare, Inzektor, Firewall, Mathmech, etc.), signaling utility beyond S-Force core.
Weaknesses
- Bounce is soft removal (returns to hand, not destruction or banishment).
- Bounce effect scaling depends on controlling multiple different-named S-Force monsters; dead without established board.
- Trap card timing limits to Main Phase 2, reducing reactivity versus instant-speed removal or hand traps.
- No combo-generating potential; serves support role, capping score ceiling.
- Zero material utility as trap card; provides no body for synchro, xyz, link, or fusion strategies.
Counters / choke points
- Negation of trap activation prevents both effects from resolving.
- Cards unaffected by face-up effects (e.g., untargetable monsters, own-controller-only effects) avoid the bounce.
- S-Force board disruption before this card activates (removal of S-Force monsters) reduces bounce scaling to zero.
- Opponent recursion makes the bounce less impactful (bounced cards return to hand, not banished from play).
Best use
Conditional board removal with cost substitution support. Decks: S-Force (core), Scareclaw, Knightmare, Inzektor, Firewall, Mathmech. Suggested copies: 3.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card type: Trap Card (Normal Trap).; Archetype: S-Force.; Deck inclusion: 400/400 decks in sample, 72% are S-Force archetype.; Copy preference: 2.5 copies per deck average; 64% prefer 3 copies (maximum), 22.5% run 2, 13.5% run 1.; Distinct archetypes: 29 total (Scareclaw, Knightmare, Inzektor, Firewall, Mathmech, Fiendsmith, Heroic, and others).; Bounce effect: Targets opponent's face-up cards up to the number of different-named S-Force monsters you control; returns them to hand.; Cost substitution: Allows S-Force monster effects to banish this card from GY instead of banishing from hand.; Once-per-turn clause on each effect.; Material utility: Trap cards cannot be synchro, xyz, link, or fusion material.
- Observed: 72% of decks running this card are S-Force archetype (288/400).; 28% of decks run this card in non-S-Force homes (Scareclaw, Knightmare, Inzektor, Firewall, Mathmech, Fiendsmith, Heroic, and 22 others), indicating utility beyond primary archetype.; All 10 top-deck partners are S-Force core cards (Gravitino, Lapcewell, Justify, Bridgehead, Edge Razor, Pla-Tina, Rappa Chiyomaru, Retroactive, Showdown, and Knightmare Unicorn).; 64% of decks run maximum 3 copies, suggesting players prioritize redundancy despite archetype-gated effect.
- Inferred: Primary role: Removal/Negation (bounce is soft disruption).; Secondary roles: Recovery/Recursion (GY cost substitution), Utility (flexible support).; Bounce board control scales with S-Force monster count; limited without established board.; Cost substitution provides resource efficiency by avoiding hand cost, but does not generate net card advantage.; Trap timing (Main Phase 2) reduces reactivity compared to instant-speed or hand-trap options.; No combo generation; supports existing archetype lines rather than enabling new ones.; GenericUtility: ~60 (4+ archetypes present, but bounce is S-Force-gated).; RulesReliability: ~80 (text is clear, timing straightforward, no unusual rulings noted).
- Data gaps: No combos supplied — cannot assess interaction depth, appearance rate in real board sequences, or average combo power. No guides supplied — human context on archetype role and strategy unavailable. No banlist token — assumed unlimited (3 copies per format); actual ban status unknown. No usage statistics (StatisticsCard) — archetype inclusion % based on 400-deck sample only; larger historical sample not provided.