Trap
NormalSkill Prisoner
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3705
Target 1 card you control; this turn, when any monster effect resolves that targeted that card at activation, negate that effect. During either player's turn, except the turn this card was sent to the Graveyard: You can banish this card from your Graveyard, then target 1 card you control; this turn, when any monster effect resolves that targeted that card at activation, negate that effect.
Skill Prisoner — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 52 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 51 · Deck: 52 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Negation/Interaction · Secondary: Utility
Why it scores here
Skill Prisoner converts a narrow input — monster effects that target a card you control when they activate — into a hard negation, and its Graveyard banish effect lets it repeat that protection a second time on a later turn. Its ceiling is limited: it does nothing proactive, cannot be used the turn it is Set, and only answers a subcategory of interaction, so it functions as a defensive tech rather than a win condition. The 0 ATK/DEF and Trap body earn no points here; the score reflects reliable but narrow interaction, cheap deck cost, and a reusable second mode.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 50 | 185 decks run it in the main deck at 1.55 copies on average and it is a generic Normal Trap needing no archetype, but Traps must be Set for a turn first, so it is never a turn-1 enabler (observed). |
| Combo & Conversion | 15 | It builds no board and contributes nothing offensively; combos_evidence shows 0 appearances, so its contribution is purely defensive (observed). |
| Resource Economy | 45 | It spends itself to negate one effect (roughly a -1 on resolution), but the Graveyard banish effect grants a second, later use without an additional card (verified). |
| Effect & Interaction | 56 | It hard-negates any monster effect that targeted a card you control at activation, but only that narrow class of targeting monster effects (verified). |
| Material Utility | 5 | As a Trap Card it provides no body, Level, Attribute, link material, or name value (verified). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 50 | The Graveyard effect is usable on either player's turn except the turn it was sent, and can protect the same or a different card, giving a second defensive window (verified). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 65 | No archetype lock and no garnet; 1-3 copies are all playable, making it a clean 1-2 slot tech option (observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Negation/Interaction + 0.3 Utility. Intrinsic ≈ 51, Deck ≈ 52, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Hard-negates monster effects that target a card you control at activation
- Graveyard banish effect grants a reusable second activation on any later turn
- Generic Normal Trap with no archetype lock, splashable across many decks
Weaknesses
- Only answers monster effects that target at activation — does not stop non-targeting or Spell/Trap removal
- Must be Set for a turn before it can be used, so it is slow in the opening turn
- Does nothing proactive; contributes no board, advantage, or pressure
Counters / choke points
- Non-targeting removal (e.g. effects that do not target at activation)
- Spell/Trap removal and back-row hate before it can be Set or used
- Effects that negate the Trap's activation
- Itself becomes irrelevant into decks that do not rely on targeting monster effects
Best use
Defensive set-Trap negation tech to protect key cards from targeting monster effects. Decks: Burning Abyss, Phantom Knights, Galaxy Photon, Tindangle. Suggested copies: 2.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: Normal Trap that negates monster effects which targeted a card you control at activation; Card text: Graveyard banish effect re-applies the negation during either player's turn except the turn it was sent; Type is Trap Card (Normal) with 0 ATK/DEF and no archetype membership
- Observed: 185 decks run it, 185 in the main deck, average 1.55 copies (max 3); Top archetypes: Burning Abyss 36.8%, Galaxy Photon 8.6%, Tindangle 8.1%; 31 distinct archetypes run it, confirming broad generic usage; 0 appearances in combos_evidence, consistent with a defensive non-combo role; Appears in 3 guides as a 'Core Tech Slot' / tech option
- Inferred: As a Normal Trap it must be Set for a turn, so it cannot be a turn-1 enabler; Its interaction is narrow because it only covers targeting monster effects; The Graveyard effect provides a reusable but delayed second activation
- Data gaps: no combos supplied — combo conversion is text-only inference no banlist token — assumed 3 copies (unlimited) no usage statistics (StatisticsCard) — archetype inclusion % inferred from deck sample only