DARK
4Shaddoll Dragon
Archetype:
Shaddoll
ATK:
1900
DEF:
0
View:
6881
FLIP: You can target 1 card your opponent controls; return it to the hand. If this card is sent to the GY by a card effect: You can target 1 Spell/Trap on the field; destroy it. You can only use 1 "Shaddoll Dragon" effect per turn, and only once that turn.
65± 6/ 100
Power Score
Intrinsic
63
Deck
66
Shaddoll Dragon — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 65 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 62.6 · Deck: 65.7 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Material body · Secondary: Removal, Recovery/Recursion
Why it scores here
Shaddoll Dragon scores as a compact, near-universally played 1-of in Shaddoll-style Fusion decks: it is a Level 4 DARK Spellcaster body that converts into free Spell/Trap destruction whenever it is sent to the GY by a card effect (typically when used as Shaddoll Fusion material), plus a FLIP bounce for grindier games. Its 1900 ATK and 0 DEF earn nothing here — the value is the material utility and the removal stapled to a body you were going to fuse anyway. It is not a starter: recorded combos list it 0% as starter, 0% as searched, 0% as material and 0% as payoff, and it offers no negation, so it stays a strong role-player rather than a carry.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 62 | Appears in 400/400 sampled decks in the main deck at 1.14 average copies and at 100% inclusion in one Shaddoll archetype's lists, but 0% of recorded combos list it as searched, so access is archetype-shaped rather than generic (observed). |
| Combo & Conversion | 45 | Recorded combos show 0% starter role, 0% searched-for role, 0% material role and 0% payoff role, so it supports existing lines rather than building a board on its own (observed). |
| Resource Economy | 52 | Both modes are 1-for-1 (FLIP bounce, GY Spell/Trap pop) with no draw or recursion, but the GY trigger is effectively free because the card is already being spent as fusion material (verified). |
| Effect & Interaction | 48 | Provides targeted removal — FLIP: return 1 card the opponent controls to the hand; GY trigger: destroy 1 Spell/Trap on the field — but no negation and only one of the two effects per turn (verified). |
| Material Utility | 72 | A Level 4 DARK Spellcaster with 1900 ATK is clean material for Rank 4/DARK lines and a named Shaddoll Fusion material for El Shaddoll Construct (76.5% co-deck), Apkallone (64.8%) and Winda (61.2%) (observed). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 58 | Live in hand (fusion material), on field (FLIP) and in the GY (trigger), but the GY effect only fires when the card is sent by a card effect — not by battle or cost — and the name is once-per-turn (verified). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 68 | Costs a single main-deck slot with no lock, no garnet and no Extra Deck tax; 351 of 400 lists run exactly one copy, though the name-wide once-per-turn discourages stacking extras (observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Material body/Normal + 0.3 Removal/Negation. Intrinsic ≈ 62.6, Deck ≈ 65.7, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Exceptional compactness (1). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Free Spell/Trap removal when used as Shaddoll Fusion material (sent to GY by card effect).
- FLIP effect returns any 1 card the opponent controls to the hand (outs most threats, including untargetable-by-destruction bodies).
- Level 4 DARK Spellcaster with 1900 ATK is clean material for Rank 4/Xyz and DARK/Fusion lines, and a named Shaddoll Fusion material for Construct, Apkallone and Winda.
- Extremely cheap to run: a single main-deck slot, no garnet, no lock, no Extra Deck tax.
- Highest observed board quality among combos it appears in (avg power index 88.8) and 100% main-deck inclusion in one Shaddoll archetype sample.
Weaknesses
- Not a starter or extender: 0% starter role / 0% material role / 0% payoff role in recorded combos.
- Only one 'Shaddoll Dragon' effect can be used per turn and only once that turn, so extra copies add little beyond bodies.
- The GY trigger requires being sent by a card effect — battle destruction or being used as a cost/for a tribute will not trigger it.
- No negation or protection; its interaction is single-target removal that can be played around.
- Value is largely tied to Shaddoll Fusion-style shells (Shaddoll Fusion co-deck 88%); outside those its effects are low-impact.
Counters / choke points
- GY-effect negation and effect negators (e.g. Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, which co-occurs in 57.5% of its decks, targets the fusion/effect chain).
- Negating or removing Shaddoll Fusion before it resolves denies the GY trigger entirely.
- Banishing/removal that keeps it out of the GY, or preventing it from being sent by card effect.
- Boards that do not rely on face-up Spell/Trap or on a single returnable card blunt both of its effects.
Best use
Stock 1-of main-deck Shaddoll name: fusion material plus on-theme Spell/Trap removal when sent to the GY. Decks: Shaddoll, Branded, Tearlaments, Dracotail, Gem-Knights, Invoked, Fiendsmith. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: FLIP — target 1 card the opponent controls; return it to the hand.; Card text: if sent to the GY by a card effect, target 1 Spell/Trap on the field; destroy it.; Card text: only 1 'Shaddoll Dragon' effect per turn, and only once that turn.; Identity: Level 4 DARK Spellcaster, 1900 ATK / 0 DEF, Shaddoll archetype, legal in TCG/OCG/Master Duel/Duel Links.
- Observed: 400/400 sampled decks run it in the main deck; average 1.14 copies, with 351 lists at exactly 1 copy.; Co-deck rates: Shaddoll Fusion 88%, El Shaddoll Construct 76.5%, Apkallone 64.8%, Beast 64.5%, Schism 63%, Winda 61.2%.; 53 distinct archetypes appear alongside it, with Shaddoll at 32.5%, Branded 8%, Tearlaments 5.8%, Dracotail 5.5%, Gem-Knights 4%.; Combo evidence: present in 10 recorded combos (100% of sample) but 0% as starter, searched, material or payoff; average board power index 88.8 with average starter count 0.9.; Usage statistics: 100% inclusion (1 copy) in one Shaddoll archetype and 50% inclusion (1 copy) in another.
- Inferred: Its practical accessibility comes from being a Shaddoll main-deck name in decks already running archetype tutor/recursion pieces (Hedgehog 56.2%, Wendi 60.2%, Ariel 50.8% co-deck), rather than from any generic searcher.; The GY trigger is effectively cost-free in Shaddoll Fusion lines because the card is already being sent to the GY by card effect as fusion material.; Since the name is once-per-turn across all copies, running more than one copy mostly adds bodies/materials rather than additional removal, matching the observed 1-copy norm.; Its high average combo power index (88.8) reflects the quality of the Shaddoll/Branded/Gem-Knight shells it sits in, not its own board-building contribution.
- Data gaps: no banlist token — assumed 3 copies (unlimited) combo data lists Shaddoll Dragon with an empty combo role array, so no explicit starter/material/payoff label is given no dated metagame or format-usage snapshot supplied, so meta power is provisional/null no side-deck data (all 400 recorded decks run it in the main deck) card legality per format (legal copies) is empty in the evidence