Spell
ContinuousStairs of Mail
Archetype:
Tindangle
View:
3017
During your Main Phase: You can activate this effect; discard 1 "Tindangle" card, and if you do, apply 1 of these effects. ● Change 1 face-down Defense Position monster you control to face-up Attack Position. ● Change 1 face-up Attack Position monster you control to face-down Defense Position. This turn, you cannot discard another card with the same name for the effect of "Stairs of Mail" (even if this card leaves the field).
Stairs of Mail — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 42 ± 8 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 38 · Deck: 44 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Utility · Secondary: Extender
Why it scores here
Stairs of Mail discards a Tindangle card as a cost to flip one of your own monsters between face-down Defense and face-up Attack, which is a modest, archetype-bound effect with no card advantage and no opponent interaction. Its strong numbers (in 32 of 32 recent decks, 3 of 3 recorded boards, a 97 average board index) show it is a near-standard Tindangle staple, not that it generates power by itself; the board index is structural and earns no points. The score is held down by the discard cost, zero material value, and the archetype lock.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 55 | Live in all 32 sampled decks and all 3 recorded boards, but it needs a Tindangle card in hand to discard, so access is conditional on the archetype (observed). |
| Combo & Conversion | 40 | Appears in 3 of 3 recorded boards but is never tagged as starter, searched, material or payoff, and combo role is empty, so its conversion value is unproven (observed). |
| Resource Economy | 30 | The discard is a cost and the effect draws, searches and refuels nothing, so the net is -1 unless the discarded monster enables a graveyard effect, which is inference (verified cost, inferred net). |
| Effect & Interaction | 15 | It only changes battle positions of your own monsters and removes or negates no opponent card (verified). |
| Material Utility | 0 | It is a Spell Card, not a monster, so it cannot be used as material (verified). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 45 | It stays on the field as a Continuous Spell after its discard, but no redundancy or multi-zone routes are evidenced (inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 40 | It is one copy-able card that only works in Tindangle lists, a mild restriction seen in 32 of 32 sampled decks (observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Utility + 0.3 Extender. Intrinsic ≈ 38, Deck ≈ 44, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Archetype-locked restriction (-2). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Included in 32 of 32 sampled decks, so access is consistent within its archetype
- Repositions your own monsters without a board cost, letting Tindangle lines switch defense to attack
- Continuous Spell stays on the field after the discard
- Cheap single-copy slot for an archetype that already runs it
Weaknesses
- Net -1 card advantage unless the discard enables a graveyard effect
- Needs a Tindangle card in hand to activate
- Does not start, search, or finish a combo in any recorded board
- No opponent interaction and no material value
Counters / choke points
- Spell/Trap removal of the face-up Continuous Spell (inferred)
- Opponent response that makes the discard pointless, such as no Tindangle in hand (inferred)
Best use
Extender / position-switch utility for Tindangle. Decks: Tindangle.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Text: discard 1 Tindangle card as cost, then change one of your own monsters between face-down Defense and face-up Attack; Text: same-name discard restriction for the rest of the turn; Spell Card with no material value; Running in 32 of 32 sampled decks
- Observed: Appears in 3 of 3 recorded combos, 0 as starter/searched/material/payoff; Tindangle archetype accounts for 68.8% of decks; Usage stats: 100% inclusion in Tindangle, typical copies 1
- Inferred: Net card advantage is -1 unless the discarded Tindangle enables a graveyard effect; Continuous Spell is removable only by backrow or spell removal; Archetype lock limits use to Tindangle lines
- Data gaps: No guides supplied No banlist token; assumed 3 copies (unlimited) legal copies is empty, so per-format legality is unverified usage statistics typical copies is 1 but decks average 2.16 copies; the sources conflict Two archetype ids are both named Tindangle (889 and 2096) combo role is empty for all 3 recorded boards No rulings supplied