Test Panther

Test Panther — Power Evaluation

Final Score: 60 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium

• Intrinsic: 58 · Deck: 60 · Meta: provisional
• Primary role: Starter / Combo enabler · Secondary: Searcher / Tutor, Material body

Why it scores here

Test Panther converts a generic 2-monster Link Summon (requiring one "Gladiator Beast" material) into a "Gladiator Beast" card searched from Deck plus a tag-out swap that Special Summons a differently-named "Gladiator Beast" from Deck, which is genuinely useful engine work inside its own archetype (100% inclusion in the Gladiator Beast archetype sample). What it does NOT convert into is direct disruption: its own text provides no negation or removal, and the observed combo sample records 0 end-board monsters, 0 boss monsters and an average power_index of only 17.4 when it is present, so its high usage is reach, not raw power. Its 800 ATK earned nothing here; the score is driven by searchable, in-archetype access and low deckbuilding cost, tempered by the absence of any observed payoff.

Axis scores

Calculation

Weight profile: 0.7 Starter / Combo enabler + 0.3 Searcher / Tutor. Intrinsic ≈ 58, Deck ≈ 60, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck

Strengths

• Link Summon searches any "Gladiator Beast" card from Deck, giving the archetype a consistent in-engine tutor
• Second effect tags a "Gladiator Beast" back into the Deck to Special Summon a differently-named one, feeding the archetype's Fusion/tag-out lines
• No self-locking restriction and a low typical copy count (avg 1.32) make it a cheap slot
• Very high adoption inside its own archetype (100% inclusion in the Gladiator Beast sample) confirms the role is real and practical

Weaknesses

• Provides no negation, removal or disruption on its own
• Requires a "Gladiator Beast" monster as Link material, so it is not a generic or splashable Link-2
• Observed combo appearances show no recorded end-board or boss monsters and an average power_index of only 17.4
• 800 ATK body is trivially removed before the tag-out effect can be reused
• Archetype's payoff depends on battle-phase-dependent "Gladiator Beast" effects, which is slow and interruptible

Counters / choke points

• Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring on the Link Summon search
• Effect negation on the Link Summon (e.g. Solemn Strike / Infinite Impermanence lines) to blank the tutor
• Generic monster removal (Infinite Impermanence, Kaiju, board wipes) before the tag-out effect is used
• Graveyard/Deck disruption that empties valid "Gladiator Beast" targets
• Cards that prevent Special Summoning (e.g. Vanity's-style floodgates) since both its value lines end in Special Summons

Best use

In-archetype Link-2 that tutors a "Gladiator Beast" card and tags in a different "Gladiator Beast" from Deck. Decks: Gladiator Beast, Gladiator Beast Tri-Brigade, Primite Gladiator Beast. Suggested copies: 2.

Evidence & gaps

• Verified: Card text: Link Summon triggers a search of 1 "Gladiator Beast" card from Deck to hand; Card text: can shuffle 1 "Gladiator Beast" you control into the Deck to Special Summon 1 differently-named "Gladiator Beast" from Deck, treated as a "Gladiator Beast" effect Special Summon; Card text: each effect is once per turn; Link-2, EARTH Beast, 800 ATK, requires 2 monsters including a "Gladiator Beast" monster; No self-locking restriction appears in the card text
• Observed: 400 decks run it, average 1.32 copies, 400 in main deck and 0 in side; 100% inclusion in the Gladiator Beast usage-statistics sample; 57.1% in a second Gladiator Beast variant with typical 2 copies; 5 combo appearances (100% of the supplied combo sample) with as_starter, as_searched, as_material and as_payoff all 0%; Average power_index when present 17.4, average starter_count_when_present 1.4, and all listed board summaries show 0 end monsters
• Inferred: Because one Link material must be a "Gladiator Beast", the card functions as an in-archetype starter/searcher rather than a generic Link-2; The tag-out effect reuses the archetype's battle-phase-dependent Fusion lines, so its ceiling depends on cards it fetches rather than on its own body; Being an EARTH Beast Link-2 gives it material relevance to Beast-based strategies such as Tri-Brigade
• Data gaps: no banlist token — assumed 3 copies (unlimited) combo sample is only 5 appearances and every role tag (starter/searched/material/payoff/end-board) is 0%, so combo centrality could not be corroborated no archetype-level breakdown of copies beyond the aggregate 1.32 average and the three usage-statistics rows no dated metagame sample, so meta_power is left null