Spell
QuickScareclaw Straddle
Archetype:
Scareclaw
View:
4931
You can activate 1 of the following effects. ● Target 1 "Scareclaw" monster or 1 "Visas Starfrost" in your Monster Zone, and 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; your monster gains ATK/DEF equal to your opponent's monster's ATK or DEF (whichever is higher). ● When a card or effect is activated that targets a "Scareclaw" monster or "Visas Starfrost" you control: Negate that effect. You can only activate 1 "Scareclaw Straddle" per turn.
Scareclaw Straddle — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 55 ± 8 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 53 · Deck: 56 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Negation/Interaction · Secondary: Utility
Why it scores here
Scareclaw Straddle is a Quick-Play that does two narrow things: it gives one of your Scareclaw or Visas Starfrost monsters ATK/DEF equal to the higher stat of an opposing face-up monster, and it negates effects that target your Scareclaw or Visas Starfrost monsters. Its interaction is protective and archetype-locked, so it converts into value only when the deck's Scareclaw bodies are the targets, which the deck evidence supports. The score is held down by the absence of card advantage, no material value, and the thin combo sample (one board), not by ATK or popularity; the 100% inclusion rate in Scareclaw lists is treated as archetype staple status, not extra power.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 60 | Runs as a main-deck card in 400 of 400 sampled decks at 1.34 copies on average, so it is live in hand, but no searcher or search route is evidenced and it only works when a Scareclaw target exists (observed/inferred). |
| Combo & Conversion | 50 | The one recorded combo has power index 98 with 2 starters and the card is listed as present but not as starter, searched or payoff, so conversion is only weakly measured (observed, low sample). |
| Resource Economy | 30 | The card is a spell with no draw, search, banish or recursion and gives no card advantage in the evidence; it is a card spent for a stat or negate effect (verified from text). |
| Effect & Interaction | 55 | The negate covers only effects that target your own Scareclaw or Visas Starfrost monsters, which is narrower than general hand traps, but it is a Quick-Play usable on the opponent's turn (verified from text, inferred scope). |
| Material Utility | 20 | The card is not a monster body and provides no material, level or attribute, so its value comes entirely from the stat effect on other monsters (verified from text). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 45 | It is a once-per-turn Spell, so it can be stopped by a generic negation and is limited to one use per turn; the second effect helps it resist disruption on the opponent's turn (verified from text, inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 70 | Typical copies are 1 with no garnet or lock restriction, and 291 of 400 decks run only one copy, so slot cost is low; the once-per-turn limit is mild (observed from deck data). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Negation/Interaction + 0.3 Utility. Intrinsic ≈ 53, Deck ≈ 56, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Live as a main-deck card in every sampled Scareclaw deck (400 of 400)
- Low slot cost: 1 copy in most decks, no garnet or lock
- Protects Scareclaw monsters from targeted effects on the opponent's turn
- Flexible stat boost that can convert a monster into a battle winner
Weaknesses
- No card advantage, search or recursion
- Needs a Scareclaw or Visas Starfrost monster as the target
- Once-per-turn restriction
- Only one combo sample, so combo conversion is weakly measured
Counters / choke points
- Generic negation or spell-negate effects
- Opponent effects that do not target Scareclaw monsters (the negate does not apply)
- Removal that resolves before activation
Best use
Protective negate and ATK-boost Quick-Play for Scareclaw monster boards. Decks: Scareclaw. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: ATK/DEF gain from the higher opposing monster; negate of effects targeting Scareclaw or Visas Starfrost you control; once per turn.; Main-deck inclusion in 400 of 400 decks; average 1.34 copies.
- Observed: Co-occurs with core Scareclaw monsters in 92 to 97 percent of decks (top partners).; Single combo sample with power index 98 and 2 starters.
- Inferred: Protective role for Scareclaw boards against opponent targeting effects.; Usable as a battle-step ATK boost to win combat.; Accessibility is live in hand whenever a Scareclaw target exists.
- Data gaps: Only one recorded combo, so combo centrality and starter/payoff roles are unmeasured. No banlist token; assumed 3 copies (unlimited). Archetype spread (34 IDs) is mostly Scareclaw sub-archetype IDs, so cross-archetype portability is unclear. No ruling or timing data for the second effect's activation window. No top-card ranking, so popularity is not used as evidence.