Spell
NormalSystem Down
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4142
Pay 1000 LP; banish all Machine-Type monsters your opponent controls and in their Graveyard.
System Down — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 54 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 53 · Deck: 54 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Board breaker / Going-second · Secondary: Removal
Why it scores here
System Down converts a single drawn card into a non-targeting mass banish of every Machine-Type monster the opponent controls and in their Graveyard for only 1000 LP, a genuine multi-for-one swing in Machine matchups; the 400 sampled decks and 108 distinct archetypes running it confirm that role is practical rather than theoretical. Outside those matchups the card is blank, it has no search route, contributes no body or material, and appears in zero recorded combos, so the score is driven by narrow-but-real removal quality plus a very low deckbuilding cost. Its 0 ATK/DEF and its page popularity earn it nothing here. This lands it in the middle of the scale: a reliable, cheap piece of conditional hate rather than a card that converts into a board or a win by itself.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 50 | A Normal Spell with no archetype and no searchable route in the evidence, so it is only live when drawn and only useful against Machine opponents, though it appears in 400 sampled decks (observed). |
| Combo & Conversion | 25 | It builds nothing on its own and shows up in 0 recorded combos, converting only into opponent removal rather than into a board or an extension (observed). |
| Resource Economy | 58 | For 1000 LP it strips the opponent's entire Machine field and Graveyard with one card, a strong multi-for-one in that matchup but a dead slot otherwise (verified). |
| Effect & Interaction | 50 | Banishing every Machine monster the opponent controls and in their GY is strong, non-targeting removal that dodges destruction protection and floating, but it is entirely conditional on the opponent's Type (verified). |
| Material Utility | 5 | As a Normal Spell it provides no body, Level, Attribute, Type, or material value of any kind (verified). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 30 | It is a one-shot, single-turn effect with no recursion or Graveyard use, and its usefulness collapses completely outside Machine matchups (inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 68 | No archetype lock, no garnet, and only about 1.8 copies on average across 108 archetypes make it cheap to slot, though those slots are dead in the wrong matchup (observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Board breaker/Going-second + 0.3 Removal/Negation. Intrinsic ≈ 53, Deck ≈ 54, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Non-targeting mass banishing of every Machine-Type monster the opponent controls and in their Graveyard is a huge multi-for-one swing in the right matchup.
- Banishing bypasses destruction protection and most floating/recovery effects, and it also strips the opponent's Graveyard resources.
- Fully generic with no archetype restriction, so it is splashable: observed in 400 decks spanning 108 distinct archetypes.
- Very low deck cost — average 1.8 copies, no locks, no garnet, and only a 1000 LP cost.
Weaknesses
- Completely dead against any opponent not playing Machine-Type monsters.
- No in-archetype searcher, so it is only accessible when drawn.
- No negation and no lasting presence — a single one-shot effect with no recursion.
- Effect can still be answered by Spell/Trap negation before it resolves.
- Provides no body or material value, so it never advances a combo by itself.
Counters / choke points
- Solemn Judgment and other Spell/Trap negation
- Decks that do not rely on Machine-Type monsters (simply playing another Type blanks the card)
- LP-payment prevention effects (the 1000 LP is a cost)
- Games where it is drawn after the Machine matchup's key resources have already been converted
Best use
Going-second / main-deck Machine-removal tech, often as a mirror-breaker in Machine decks. Decks: Gadgets, Blue-Eyes, Synchron, Orcust, Bystial/Byssted. Suggested copies: 2.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: 'Pay 1000 LP; banish all Machine-Type monsters your opponent controls and in their Graveyard.'; Card is a Normal Spell with no archetype and 0 ATK/DEF.; Legal in TCG, OCG, MasterDuel and DuelLinks per the formats list.
- Observed: 400 sampled decks run it, all in the main deck, none in the side deck.; Copies per deck average 1.8 (max 3); distribution 170x1, 140x2, 90x3.; 108 distinct archetypes use it, with top partners Artifact Lancea (50.2%), Maxx "C" (45.5%) and Called by the Grave (45%).; usage statistics: Gadgets 100% inclusion at 1 typical copy.; combo data: 0 appearances across recorded combos, 0 as starter/searched/material/payoff.
- Inferred: The card functions as conditional Machine-hate removal rather than a starter, extender, or combo piece.; It has no searchable route (no archetype, no searcher shown), so accessibility is draw-dependent.; Its observed presence in Machine decks (Gadgets, Blue-Eyes, Synchron, Orcust) suggests it is at least partly used as a mirror-breaker.; Spell/Trap negation is the primary counterplay since the effect does not target.
- Data gaps: no combos supplied — combo conversion is text-only inference no guides supplied no banlist token — assumed 3 copies (unlimited) no dated metagame sample, so meta power is null/provisional