Splash Capture

Splash Capture — Power Evaluation

Final Score: 44 ± 7 · Confidence: Medium

• Intrinsic: 47 · Deck: 47 · Meta: provisional
• Primary role: Removal / Negation · Secondary: Floodgate/Control, Utility

Why it scores here

Splash Capture converts into a single, genuinely powerful swing: one Trap plus two Fish-Type monsters banished from the Graveyard permanently steals the opponent's face-up Xyz Monster, so it reads as a one-for-one removal that also denies the opponent their boss. Its ceiling is capped by how narrow the access is — it is a Normal Trap that only triggers 'When your opponent Xyz Summons', targets (so targeting protection stops it), and demands a pre-loaded Fish-Type Graveyard, which is why it shows up in only 6 recent decks and in 0 recorded combo lines. Its 0 ATK/DEF and Trap frame earn no points here; the score comes from the size of the steal versus the situational cost of running it. With no combo evidence at all, the card is scored mostly on text-inferred interaction quality, not on observed combo centrality.

Axis scores

Calculation

Weight profile: 0.7 Removal / Negation + 0.3 Floodgate/Control. Intrinsic ≈ 47, Deck ≈ 47, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Situational / matchup-dependent brick (-3). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck

Strengths

• Permanently steals the opponent's face-up Xyz Monster, a control change that ignores destruction protection and denies the opponent their boss
• Removes a threat without destroying it, so it also bypasses 'cannot be destroyed by card effects' bodies
• Cost is paid from the Graveyard (2 Fish-Types) rather than from hand, leaving hand resources intact in Fish decks that naturally fill the GY
• Fits the main deck at a low 1–2 copy investment and is used in 6/6 recent recorded decks

Weaknesses

• Narrow activation window: it only responds to an opponent's Xyz Summon, so it is dead against decks that do not Xyz Summon
• Hard Graveyard requirement of 2 Fish-Type monsters; without a Fish-Type engine the card cannot be activated at all
• The effect targets the face-up Xyz Monster, so targeting protection blanks it
• Being a Trap it must be set first, telegraphing the play and exposing it to backrow removal before it resolves
• No recorded combo appearances, starter, material, or payoff usage — it is a reactive tech, not a combo piece

Counters / choke points

• Backrow removal such as Cosmic Cyclone or Mystical Space Typhoon played before the Xyz Summon
• Xyz Monsters with targeting protection or 'cannot be targeted' clauses
• Matchups that win without Xyz Summoning (Link, Fusion, Ritual, pure Synchro lines)
• Graveyard hate that removes Fish-Type monsters from the GY or prevents banishing/using them
• Trap negation such as Counter Trap engines or blanket Trap negates

Best use

Reactive control-steal Trap that punishes the opponent's Xyz Summon by taking their Xyz Monster. Decks: Shark, Ghoti, Fish-Type Xyz builds. Suggested copies: 1.

Evidence & gaps

• Verified: Card text: Normal Trap — 'When your opponent Xyz Summons: Banish 2 Fish-Type monsters from your Graveyard to target that face-up Xyz Monster; take control of that target.'; Type/frame: Trap Card, Normal, 0 ATK / 0 DEF, no archetype, legal in TCG, OCG, Master Duel and Duel Links; The effect targets the opponent's face-up Xyz Monster and requires banishing 2 Fish-Type monsters from the controller's Graveyard
• Observed: 6 recent decks run it, all in the main deck, average 1.5 copies (distribution: three decks at 1, three at 2); Archetype spread: Shark 4 decks (66.7%), White Forest 1 (16.7%), Ghoti 1 (16.7%); combo data: 0 appearances, 0 starter role, 0 searched-for role, 0 material role, 0 payoff role, average power index null; Top partners are Fish/Xyz pieces (Double Fin Shark, Lantern Shark, Fish Depth Charge, Bahamut Shark, Shark Drake lines) at 100% co-deck rate
• Inferred: Because it is a Trap requiring a prior opponent Xyz Summon plus 2 Fish-Types in the GY, it is a reactive tech card rather than a proactive combo starter; The 2-Fish banish cost is affordable in Shark/Fish builds that fill the GY, but it can compete with Graveyard/banish-based Fish recursion; Targeting means common targeting-protection bosses blank it, and non-Xyz matchups make it a dead card
• 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