Tackle Crusader

Tackle Crusader — Power Evaluation

Final Score: 66 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium

• Intrinsic: 65 · Deck: 64 · Meta: provisional
• Primary role: Material body · Secondary: Removal, Utility

Why it scores here

Tackle Crusader scores as a compact generic utility body rather than a headline threat: as a Level 4 EARTH Rock with no archetype lock it is a clean material for Rank 4 plays such as Gallant Granite, and it still produces a small disruption (flip a face-up opponent monster to face-down Defense, or bounce a face-up opponent Spell/Trap and lock same-name activations) when it is sent to the Graveyard. Deck evidence confirms a real but modest role, appearing in essentially the whole 400-deck sample across 46 archetypes, almost always at exactly 1 copy, alongside Gallant Granite (51.5%), Koa'ki Meiru Guardian (50.5%) and Adamancipator pieces (~48-50%). Its ceiling is low and it is not a starter (0% as_starter, only 1 recorded combo with no role markers), so its 1500 ATK / 1800 DEF and its high inclusion rate earn it nothing here; the score reflects reliable material value plus a cheap one-slot conditional disruption.

Axis scores

Calculation

Weight profile: 0.7 Material body + 0.3 Removal. Intrinsic ≈ 65, Deck ≈ 64, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Compact splashable tech (2). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck

Strengths

• Generic Level 4 EARTH Rock with no archetype lock, so it slots into any Rock or Rank 4 engine without build cost.
• Clean Rank 4 material (e.g. Gallant Granite, whose detach then triggers it) and part of Rock-synergy engines such as Adamancipator and Koa'ki Meiru.
• Its disruption triggers from the Graveyard, so it still delivers value even if its on-field play is interrupted.
• Two flexible trigger options: flip a face-up opponent monster face-down (blanking a Special Summoned boss) or bounce a face-up opponent Spell/Trap and lock same-name activations for the turn.
• Never a dead draw: a 1500/1800 Level 4 body is always normal-summonable, and it costs only one slot at an average of 1.13 copies.

Weaknesses

• Not a starter (0% as_starter) — it needs another card or engine to put it into the Graveyard.
• The effect is a single one-shot trigger only on being sent to the Graveyard; it does nothing if it stays on the field or is banished instead.
• Low ceiling: it contributes a small removal-style disruption, not a full board or a negate.
• Typically a 1-of (351 of 400 decks), so drawing it is inconsistent and deck access is limited.
• The 1500 ATK body is easily outed in combat and does not pressure the opponent on its own.

Counters / choke points

• Banishing or moving it away from the Graveyard (e.g. D.D. Crow, Dimension Shifter) so its Graveyard trigger never resolves.
• Graveyard-trigger negation such as Called by the Grave.
• Negating the on-field use or the Rank 4 summon that would send it to the Graveyard, denying the detach trigger.
• Floodgates or locks that stop the Rock engine from assembling the two Level 4 materials it needs.

Best use

Level 4 EARTH Rock material that triggers a Graveyard disruption when detached or sent to the Graveyard. Decks: Adamancipator, Koa'ki Meiru Rock engine, Chimera, Generic Rank 4 / Rock toolbox. Suggested copies: 1.

Evidence & gaps

• Verified: Card text: optional trigger 'If this card is sent to the Graveyard', choosing either to flip a face-up opponent monster to face-down Defense or to return a face-up opponent Spell/Trap to the hand and lock same-name activations for the turn.; Card identity: Level 4, EARTH, Rock, 1500 ATK / 1800 DEF, no archetype, no link rating, no pendulum scale.
• Observed: 400 sampled decks run it, all in the main deck, at an average of 1.13 copies (351 decks at 1, 47 at 2, 2 at 3).; 46 distinct archetypes use it; top homes are Chimera (27.5%), Adamancipator variants (combined ~29%), Vernusylph (7.8%) and Koa'ki Meiru (3%).; Top observed partners: Gallant Granite (51.5%), Koa'ki Meiru Guardian (50.5%), Adamancipator Analyzer (49.8%), Adamancipator Researcher (47.5%), Block Dragon (38%).; Combo evidence: 1 of 1 recorded combos include it, with 0% as_starter, 0% as_searched, 0% as_material, 0% as_payoff, and an average board power_index of 100.
• Inferred: As a Level 4 Rock with no archetype lock it is a clean generic material for Rank 4 (including Gallant Granite) and fits Rock-synergy engines.; Flipping a Special Summoned monster face-down is effectively permanent because such a monster cannot be Flip Summoned afterward.; Because the trigger location is the Graveyard, the effect still applies when the card is detached as Xyz material or sent there by an engine effect, even if its on-field summon was negated.; The sample is recent (Jan 2024 - Jul 2026) and spread over 46 archetypes, indicating the role is systemic to Rock/Xyz engines rather than one deck.
• Data gaps: no banlist token — assumed 3 copies (unlimited) no usage statistics (StatisticsCard) — archetype inclusion % inferred from the 400-deck sample only only 1 recorded combo, and it carries no role markers (as_starter/as_searched/as_material/as_payoff all 0), so the card's exact function in the line is not directly measured no explicit ruling data supplied for the face-down / same-name activation lock interactions no dated metagame sample, so meta_power is left null and provisional