The First Monarch

The First Monarch — Power Evaluation

Final Score: 49 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium

• Intrinsic: 51.4 · Deck: 51.4 · Meta: provisional
• Primary role: Combo enabler · Secondary: Material body, Utility

Why it scores here

The First Monarch reliably converts one Continuous Trap activation (plus a discard and a full turn of setup) into 2 Tributes for a same-Attribute Tribute Summon, which is its genuine value in Monarch, Wicked God and Darkest Diabolos shells. Its 1000/2400 Level-6 DARK Fiend body is a secondary benefit only — the ATK/DEF and Level earned no points on their own — and it contributes no negation, removal or disruption whatsoever. The 'you cannot Special Summon monsters, except monsters with this card's Attribute' clause and its Trap-speed delay are what cap the card's ceiling, since accessibility and deck cost dominate the weighting. Frequency of inclusion (184 sampled decks) confirms it is a real, playable role, not that it is intrinsically strong.

Axis scores

Calculation

Weight profile: 0.7 Combo enabler + 0.3 Material body. Intrinsic ≈ 51.4, Deck ≈ 51.4, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Self-locking Special Summon restriction (-3); Compact single-slot inclusion (1). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck

Strengths

• One card becomes 2 Tributes for the Tribute Summon of a same-Attribute monster, efficient fodder for Monarchs and Darkest Diabolos lines.
• Self-summons as a Level-6 DARK Fiend body with 2400 DEF while also remaining a Trap Card.
• Very low slot cost — played as a single copy in the large majority of the 184 sampled decks.
• Appears across ~20 archetypes, so the generic text does port into several shells.

Weaknesses

• Trap speed: it must be Set and activated on a later turn, so it does nothing the turn it is drawn.
• Provides no negation, removal or disruption — it is only a body and Tribute substitute.
• The Special Summon lock to the declared Attribute restricts what can be played after it resolves.
• No searcher or recursion route for the card appears in the supplied evidence.
• No combo records exist, so the actual end boards it contributes to cannot be measured.

Counters / choke points

• Backrow removal while it is Set (Twin Twisters, Cosmic Cyclone, Lightning Storm).
• Monster removal or negation once it has Special Summoned itself.
• Trap negation effects (e.g. Royal Decree-style blanket negation) that stop the activation outright.
• Any effect that removes the discard cost or punishes the extra card lost.

Best use

Tribute-Summon enabler and Trap Monster body. Decks: Monarch, Wicked God, Darkest Diabolos / Lair. Suggested copies: 1.

Evidence & gaps

• Verified: Card text: Special Summons itself as an Effect Monster (Fiend/DARK/Level 6/ATK 1000/DEF 2400) and is still a Trap Card.; Card text: on that Summon you may discard 1 card, declare 1 Attribute, and it can be treated as 2 Tributes for a Tribute Summon of a monster with the same Attribute.; Card text: if Summoned this way, you cannot Special Summon monsters except monsters with this card's Attribute.; It is a Continuous Trap, so it must be Set before it can be activated.
• Observed: 184 sampled decks run the card, all in the main deck, at an average of 1.17 copies (162 run exactly 1).; Archetype spread: Monarch 25.5%, Branded 20.1%, Wicked God 16.3%, Borrel 12%, Bystial 10.3%, with 20 distinct archetypes total.; Top co-deck partners include Monster Reborn (64.7%), Lightning Storm (63.6%), Twin Twisters (62%) and Darkest Diabolos, Lord of the Lair (61.4%).; Zero combo records exist for the card, so starter role / material role / payoff role are all unmeasured.
• Inferred: Its practical role is providing 2 Tributes for a Tribute Summon, which is why it clusters in Monarch, Wicked God and Darkest Diabolos shells.; One Trap plus one discard yielding two Tributes is roughly even card economy with no refuel.; It is not searchable within the archetype based on the supplied evidence.; Because it is a Trap first, it is dead on the turn it is drawn and loses to backrow removal before activation.
• Data gaps: no combos supplied — combo conversion is text-only inference 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 deck sample includes special-summon-heavy archetypes that appear inconsistent with the card's own Special Summon lock, and no combo data exists to resolve that inconsistency