WATERSplash Mage
ATK:
1100
LINK-2
View:
2780
Link Arrow:
Top-Right
Bottom-Right
2 Cyberse monsters You can target 1 Cyberse monster in your GY; Special Summon it in Defense Position, but negate its effects, also you cannot Special Summon monsters for the rest of this turn, except Cyberse monsters. You can only use this effect of "Splash Mage" once per turn.
Splash Mage — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 72 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 69 · Deck: 75 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Combo enabler · Secondary: Extender, Material body
Why it scores here
Splash Mage earns its score as a cheap, near-universal Cyberse engine piece: an Extra Deck Link-2 that is never a dead draw and turns an already-used Cyberse in the GY into a live material, appearing in 14/14 recorded combos at an average power index of 90.1 with only 1.57 starters present. It is not a one-card starter (0% as_starter in the combo data) and provides zero disruption, so it is an enabler/extender rather than a win condition. Its 1100 ATK, WATER attribute and Top-Right/Bottom-Right arrows are not why it scores — the points come from free Extra Deck access, clean material value even when its effect is negated, and 100% inclusion across @Ignister, Mathmech, Libromancer, Marincess and Code Talker lists. The Cyberse-only Special Summon lock and the pure GY-revival text keep it at the low-70s rather than higher.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 80 | A 2-Cyberse Link-2 stored in the Extra Deck is never drawn and is live as soon as any Cyberse engine makes two bodies; usage_statistics show 100% inclusion in @Ignister, Mathmech, Libromancer, Marincess and Code Talker and 400/400 decks run it in the main deck (verified). |
| Combo & Conversion | 72 | It appears in 14/14 recorded combos with an average power index of 90.1 and only 1.57 starters present on average, so it is part of compact Cyberse lines rather than a one-card starter itself (observed). |
| Resource Economy | 55 | Trading two field bodies for a Link-2 plus one revived Cyberse is roughly card-neutral on field count and it adds no draw or search of its own, only converting an already-spent GY monster into a material (inferred). |
| Effect & Interaction | 5 | The card's only text line is a GY revival with negated effects; it offers no negation, removal or disruption on either player's turn (verified). |
| Material Utility | 75 | A generic WATER Cyberse Link-2 with Top-Right and Bottom-Right arrows stays a clean Link material for Transcode Talker (63.2% co-deck) and Accesscode Talker (61.5%) even if its effect is negated (observed). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 55 | Held in the Extra Deck and leaving a usable body behind if its effect is stopped, but the revival is a single on-field ignition that Infinite Impermanence can negate and Called by the Grave / D.D. Crow can empty (inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 80 | 394 of 400 decks run exactly one copy as a pure Extra Deck slot with no cost, no garnet and no archetype requirement; the only tax is the Cyberse-only Special Summon lock for the rest of the turn (observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Starter/Combo enabler + 0.3 Extender. Intrinsic ≈ 69, Deck ≈ 75, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Exceptional compactness / splashability (3); Self-locking restriction (-3). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Extra Deck card: never drawn, never a dead card in hand
- Converts an already-used Cyberse in the GY into a live material at no cost
- Generic 2-Cyberse requirement with no archetype lock, usable in 39 distinct archetypes
- Top-Right and Bottom-Right arrows plus WATER/Cyberse typing make it a clean Link material even when its effect is negated
- 100% inclusion across @Ignister, Mathmech, Libromancer, Marincess and Code Talker lists
Weaknesses
- Provides no interference at all: no negation, no removal, no hand-trap reach
- Revived monster comes back in Defense Position with its effects negated
- Cyberse-only Special Summon lock for the rest of the turn restricts non-Cyberse extenders
- Effect is once per turn and is a single on-field ignition, so one Impermanence leaves only a body
Counters / choke points
- Infinite Impermanence / Effect Veiler on the on-field ignition
- Called by the Grave or D.D. Crow removing the intended GY revival target
- Graveyard hate (e.g. Dimension Shifter) preventing a target from ever landing in the GY
- Board wipes after the Link climb, since the card itself adds no protection
Best use
Cyberse combo enabler / extender that rebuys a GY body to keep the Link climb going. Decks: Mathmech, @Ignister, Maliss, Code Talker, Marincess, Salamangreat, Libromancer. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: 2 Cyberse monsters; target 1 Cyberse in GY, Special Summon it in Defense Position with negated effects, then Cyberse-only Special Summons for the rest of the turn; once per turn; Link-2, WATER Cyberse, 1100 ATK, Top-Right and Bottom-Right arrows, no archetype; decks_evidence: 400/400 decks run it in the main deck, average 1.01 copies (394 decks at exactly 1); usage_statistics: 100% inclusion in @Ignister, Mathmech (x2), Libromancer, Marincess and Code Talker lists at 1 copy each
- Observed: combos_evidence: present in 14/14 recorded combos (100%) with avg_power_index 90.1 and avg_starter_count_when_present 1.57; Top partners include Cyberse Wicckid (66.8%), Transcode Talker (63.2%), Accesscode Talker (61.5%) and Link Decoder (61.0%); 39 distinct archetypes in the 400-deck sample; guides list it under Extra Deck/Staple sections for Mathmech, Code Talker, Libromancer, Maliss and Salamangreat
- Inferred: Role is Combo enabler/Extender even though combos_evidence records 0% as_starter/as_material/as_payoff and empty role_in_combo tags; The revival effectively trades two field bodies for a Link-2 plus one GY body, making the effect roughly field-count neutral; The Cyberse-only lock makes the card poor in mixed non-Cyberse shells despite the generic '2 Cyberse' requirement
- Data gaps: combos_evidence role breakdown is empty (as_starter, as_searched, as_material, as_payoff and in_end_board all 0/empty role_in_combo), so role confirmation relies on inference rather than tagged combo stats legal_copies reports 0 for TCG and OCG while decks_evidence shows 400 main-deck lists running it; treated as a data artifact rather than a ban, since no banlist text is supplied No dated metagame sample, so meta_power is null and the score is explicitly provisional on the metagame axis Guide snippets are Duel Links-oriented and none describes the card's actual combo route in detail