EARTH
1Swift Scarecrow
ATK:
0
DEF:
0
View:
4400
When an opponent's monster declares a direct attack (Quick Effect): You can discard this card; negate the attack, then end the Battle Phase.
Swift Scarecrow — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 60 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 58 · Deck: 58 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Hand trap · Secondary: Utility
Why it scores here
Swift Scarecrow reliably converts one card in hand into a saved turn: it negates a direct attack and ends the Battle Phase, which is exactly the resource stall, burn and Exodia-style decks need to survive into their win condition. Its 0 ATK / 0 DEF and Level 1 body earn nothing here — they are irrelevant because the card is discarded from hand and never becomes a board piece, and it does nothing toward building an end board (0 recorded combo appearances, starter role 0%). The score comes almost entirely from effect quality within a narrow trigger, cheap deck cost, and extreme portability (111 distinct archetypes, 400/400 sampled decks main-decking it). The narrow 'direct attack only' condition, the lack of any search route, and the fact it cannot stop effect-based kills keep it from being a high-end defensive staple.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 56 | It is a Level 1 hand trap run at an average of 2.03 copies across 400 sampled decks, but it has no search route and is only live once the opponent declares a direct attack (observed). |
| Combo & Conversion | 10 | Combos evidence shows 0 appearances with starter role and payoff role both 0% — it builds no board and advances no combo on its own (observed). |
| Resource Economy | 40 | Discarding itself is a -1 in card count, but negating the attack and ending the Battle Phase effectively refunds a full turn in stall, burn and Exodia shells (inferred). |
| Effect & Interaction | 60 | Its text negates the direct attack and then ends the entire Battle Phase, a hard stop to combat, though the Quick Effect only triggers on a direct attack declaration (verified). |
| Material Utility | 25 | A Level 1 EARTH Machine with 0/0 would be a clean low-Level body, but it is discarded as a cost rather than summoned, so it functions as material only in fringe cases (inferred). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 52 | It operates from hand so it dodges backrow removal and on-field negation, and discarding as a cost means it cannot be stopped once activated, but it is dead whenever the opponent attacks a monster instead (inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 75 | No archetype lock, no extra engine requirement and redundant copies are fine — 136/117/147 of the sampled decks run 1/2/3 copies respectively (observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Hand trap + 0.3 Utility. Intrinsic ≈ 58, Deck ≈ 58, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Exceptional splashability (2). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Quick Effect from hand that negates a direct attack and then ends the entire Battle Phase
- Discarding is a cost, so once activated the effect is very hard to interrupt
- Works from the hand, dodging backrow removal, board wipes and on-field negation
- Completely generic: no archetype requirement, no locks, redundant copies are fine (avg 2.03 copies across 400 decks)
- Directly buys the extra turn stall, burn and Exodia-completion decks need
Weaknesses
- Only live when the opponent declares a direct attack — dead if they attack a monster or win without combat
- Does not stop effect-based damage, burn, deck-out or combo kills
- 0 ATK / 0 DEF Level 1 body is discarded as a cost, so it contributes nothing to board presence or material value in practice
- No search route; you must naturally draw it
- Running 3 copies consumes real slots in decks that need them for their engine
Counters / choke points
- Effect negation that can chain to a hand activation (e.g. Solemn Strike, Debunk)
- Opponents who close the game without the Battle Phase (effect damage/burn, mill, alternate win conditions)
- Simply attacking an opposing monster instead of directly, which never triggers the effect
- Hand disruption or forced discards before the Battle Phase
- Multi-attack or effect-driven lethal that does not depend on a single direct attack declaration
Best use
Defensive hand trap that converts one hand card into one saved turn. Decks: Exodia, Numeron, Ghoti, Chain Burn, Timelord, Stall/One Day of Peace shells. Suggested copies: 3.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: 'When an opponent's monster declares a direct attack (Quick Effect): You can discard this card; negate the attack, then end the Battle Phase.'; Level 1 EARTH Machine, 0 ATK / 0 DEF, no archetype, legal in TCG, OCG and Master Duel
- Observed: 400/400 sampled decks run it in the main deck, 0 in the side, at an average of 2.03 copies (1/2/3 copy split: 136/117/147); It appears across 111 distinct archetypes, led by Exodia 14.5%, Numeron 7.8%, Ghoti 7%, Synchron 4.2%, Egyptian God 4%; Recorded combo appearances = 0, with starter role/material role/payoff role all 0%; Top co-deck partners are generic staples and stall cards (Harpie's Feather Duster, Called by the Grave, Ash Blossom, Maxx "C", One Day of Peace, Threatening Roar)
- Inferred: The card functions as a battle-phase defensive hand trap whose value is one saved turn, not board development; It has no generic search route, so it is only as reliable as drawing it naturally; Its 0/0 Level 1 body is discarded as a cost, so material value is largely theoretical in real play; Effect negation that can chain to a hand activation would stop it even though the discard is a cost
- 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 no dated metagame sample, so meta power is null/provisional