Spell
NormalSales Ban
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8210
Declare 1 card name; for the rest of this turn, your opponent cannot activate cards, or the effects of cards, with the same original name as that declared card. The same restrictions apply to you, but for the rest of this Duel instead of just this turn. You can only activate 1 "Sales Ban" per turn.
Sales Ban — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 42 ± 7 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 43.6 · Deck: 40.9 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Floodgate/Control · Secondary: Negation/Interaction
Why it scores here
Sales Ban is a one-turn name lock on the opponent that carries a permanent self-lock on the same name for the rest of the Duel. The effect is a single-name floodgate with no card-type restriction, so it can hit any one staple, but the opponent escapes it by simply playing a card with a different original name. The 400-deck inclusion across 108 archetypes confirms the card is practically playable, not that it is powerful, and that spread earned little on its own. High practical inclusion did not earn points; the card converts nothing into a board, generates no card advantage, and cannot be used as material.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 45 | A normal Spell that is live in hand with no searcher or extender evidence and no starter/searched appearance in the combo sample (observed, inferred). |
| Combo & Conversion | 15 | Builds nothing on its own; the single recorded combo shows an empty role_in_combo, so the card has no confirmed starter, material or payoff role (observed). |
| Resource Economy | 15 | Costs a card and gives no return; the only resource effect is a turn-limited lock, with no searches, draws or GY refuel in the evidence (verified, inferred). |
| Effect & Interaction | 40 | Opponent interaction is a single declared name for one turn; it is situational and easy to play around by switching names (verified, inferred). |
| Material Utility | 0 | A Spell cannot be used as material, so this axis is zero and does not change with effect negation (verified). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 35 | A single-copy name lock with no redundancy; it is dead when the chosen name is not in the opponent's hand or deck, and nothing in the evidence shows recovery (inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 45 | Each copy requires a declared name the controller will never use again for the rest of the Duel, a real but manageable restriction; copy counts of 1 to 3 across decks show it is run without heavy brick risk (verified, observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Floodgate/Control + 0.3 Negation/Interaction. Intrinsic ≈ 43.6, Deck ≈ 40.9, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Self-locking restriction (-4). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Hits any single declared card name with no card-type limit
- Practical in 400 recent decks across 108 archetypes, so the role is real and not niche
- Cheap to run, with 1 to 3 copies and no garnet requirement
Weaknesses
- Lock on the opponent lasts one turn, while the self-lock lasts the whole Duel
- Adds no board, card advantage or material value
- Dead when the declared name is not in the opponent's hand or deck
- Only one activation per turn and no evidence of multi-turn reach
Counters / choke points
- Opponent plays a card with a different original name (verified, from card text)
- Opponent negates the activation with a responsive effect (inferred, not in evidence)
Best use
Single-name floodgate tech against a known staple, played only when the target name is clear. Decks: Gimmick Puppet, Therions, Tenpai Dragon. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: declared name lock on opponent for the turn, self-lock for the Duel, once per turn; Formats TCG, OCG, MasterDuel; no banlist token, assumed 3 copies; Cannot be material (Spell)
- Observed: Included in 400 of 400 attached decks, avg 1.89 copies; Distinct archetypes 108; top partners are staples; Single combo appearance with empty role_in_combo; power_index 100 belongs to the board, not the card
- Inferred: Single-name floodgate role is practical, not powerful; Self-lock cost outweighs its value unless the target name is clear
- Data gaps: Single combo sample with empty role_in_combo; card's role in boards unconfirmed No banlist token; assumed 3 copies No rulings data for original-name and self-lock timing interactions Guide evidence is one generic mention, not a Sales Ban-specific role usage_statistics limited to 5 archetypes with small samples