WATER
8Snowdust Dragon
ATK:
2800
DEF:
1800
View:
3323
You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by removing 4 Ice Counters from anywhere on the field. Other monsters with Ice Counters cannot attack or change their battle positions.
Snowdust Dragon — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 25 ± 5 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 28 · Deck: 26 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Material body · Secondary: Floodgate/Control
Why it scores here
Snowdust Dragon is a Level 8 WATER Dragon that only self-deploys by removing 4 Ice Counters from the field, a resource that exists only in dedicated Ice-Counter shells, so it is dead weight in almost any other deck. Its combo evidence is empty (0 appearances) and it appears in just 2 sampled decks, both built around Ice-Counter support, so it reliably converts into very little on its own. Once on board it is a 2800-ATK Level 8 body usable as material, but its second effect — locking only Ice-Counter-carrying monsters — is near-irrelevant because opponents rarely hold Ice Counters. The 2800 ATK and Level 8 framing earn essentially no points here; accessibility, conditionality, and deck cost dominate the score.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 12 | Summon condition requires removing 4 Ice Counters from the field, a resource not generally available, and combo evidence shows 0 appearances and 0 as_starter (verified). |
| Combo & Conversion | 12 | With 0 total combos and no as_material/as_starter data, the card builds nothing from a realistic start on its own (observed). |
| Resource Economy | 30 | Self-summoning spends 4 Ice Counters generated by other cards for a single body, roughly breaking even to negative in advantage (inferred). |
| Effect & Interaction | 15 | The only disruption is that other monsters with Ice Counters cannot attack or change battle position, which almost never hits opposing cards (verified). |
| Material Utility | 38 | A Level 8 WATER Dragon 2800/1800 body is serviceable Xyz/synchro material if it can be deployed, but the strict summon condition limits how often that happens (inferred). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 15 | A single negation or removal ends it and, with no recursion in its text, it is dead in most spots once the counters are gone (inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 20 | It needs dedicated Ice-Counter generators (e.g. Cold Enchanter, Snowman Creator) and averages only 1 copy, so it is a dependent slot outside Ice decks (observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Material body + 0.3 Floodgate/Control. Intrinsic ≈ 28, Deck ≈ 26, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Severe conditional summon requirement (-2). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Level 8 WATER Dragon with 2800 ATK — a clean Xyz/Synchro material body when it does land
- Can Special Summon itself from hand without using the Normal Summon, if Ice Counters are available
Weaknesses
- Requires 4 Ice Counters on the field to self-summon, a scarce resource outside Ice-Counter decks
- No combos recorded and only 1 copy in the 2 decks that run it — it is a minor, dependent slot
- The Ice-Counter lockout virtually never affects the opponent's monsters
- No protection or recursion; a single piece of removal or negation ends it
Counters / choke points
- Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring / effect negation on the summon trigger
- Removing the Ice Counters from the field before it can be summoned
- Any targeted removal once it is on board
Best use
Level 8 WATER material body / conditional beater. Decks: Icejade, Ice Counter / Cold Enchanter shells. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: Level 8 WATER Dragon, 2800 ATK / 1800 DEF; Card text: can be Special Summoned from hand by removing 4 Ice Counters from anywhere on the field; Card text: other monsters with Ice Counters cannot attack or change their battle positions; Legal in TCG, OCG, Master Duel, Duel Link
- Observed: Only 2 sampled decks run it, averaging 1 copy, all in main deck; 50% Icejade and 50% unclassified archetype distribution in decks_evidence; Co-occurrence with Ice-Counter pieces: Cold Enchanter, Snowman Creator, Ice Knight, Ice Master (100% co-decks)
- Inferred: Without Ice-Counter generators the card is a near-garnet that cannot self-deploy; The Ice-Counter lockout is nearly irrelevant versus opponents who do not use Ice Counters; As a Level 8 WATER Dragon it is usable Xyz/Synchro material once summoned
- Data gaps: no combos supplied — combo conversion is text-only inference no guides supplied no banlist token — assumed 3 copies (unlimited) no usage statistics (StatisticsCard) — archetype inclusion % inferred from deck sample only