Soul Binding Gate

Soul Binding Gate — Power Evaluation

Final Score: 22 ± 7 · Confidence: Medium

• Intrinsic: 26 · Deck: 26 · Meta: provisional
• Primary role: Removal / Negation · Secondary: Floodgate/Control, Utility

Why it scores here

Soul Binding Gate converts very little reliably: its activation is gated behind controlling no monsters, having a Set Spell/Trap destroyed by card effect this turn, plus Z-ONE in the GY for the payoff, so it is dead in the vast majority of opening hands despite being searchable only indirectly. When live it offers a single conditional monster destruction plus a symmetric 800-damage burn, which is soft interaction at best. Its stats are irrelevant (a field Spell with no body), so it earns no ATK/DEF credit; the score is driven by the severe activation conditions, the Z-ONE dependency, and the absence of any combo evidence. The 10-deck sample confirms it is a niche tech in Z-ONE-style control builds, not a broadly powerful card.

Axis scores

Calculation

Weight profile: 1.0 Removal / Negation (primary) — text is a conditional destroy with burn, no combo evidence to blend a secondary. Intrinsic ≈ 26, Deck ≈ 26, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Severe activation/garnet condition (-4). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck

Strengths

• Destroys a monster Summoned alone if its ATK is below your LP, then burns the opponent 800 as reach
• Continuous Field Spell that can trigger on later turns once its conditions are met
• Provides Z-ONE-deck synergy and a recurring removal threat while on the field

Weaknesses

• Extremely restrictive activation: no monsters on your field and a Set Spell/Trap destroyed by card effect this turn
• Effect requires Z-ONE in the GY, creating a hard archetype/garnet dependency
• Only triggers on exactly 1 monster Summoned with ATK below your LP, so it misses wide boards and big monsters
• Self-inflicts 800 damage, reducing your own safety margin
• No combo evidence — never appears in recorded boards (0 appearances)

Counters / choke points

• Removing the Field Spell with Cosmic Cyclone / Twin Twisters before it triggers
• Summoning multiple monsters at once or monsters with ATK above your LP to dodge the trigger
• Denying Z-ONE access to the GY (D.D. Crow, Called by the Grave, Imperial Iron Wall)
• Negating the activation with Solemn Judgment or similar Spell negation

Best use

Conditional control/removal Field Spell with burn reach. Decks: Z-ONE control builds, Stardust/Junk Synchro control shells, Vanquish Soul tech. Suggested copies: 1.

Evidence & gaps

• Verified: Activation requires controlling no monsters and a Set Spell/Trap destroyed by card effect this turn; Effect requires Z-ONE in the GY to destroy a single Summoned monster with less ATK than your LP; Effect inflicts 800 damage to yourself and 800 to the opponent; Card is a Field Spell in TCG, OCG, and Master Duel
• Observed: 10 decks run it (all main deck, avg 1.2 copies, max 2); Z-ONE co-occurs in 60% of those decks; 0 combo appearances across recorded boards
• Inferred: The Z-ONE GY requirement turns the card into a near-garnet tied to Z-ONE builds; It only interacts with single-monster Summon lines, missing multi-Summon or high-ATK boards
• 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