DARK
8The Masked Beast
Archetype:
Mask
ATK:
3200
DEF:
1800
View:
4685
You can Ritual Summon this card with "Curse of the Masked Beast".
The Masked Beast — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 33 ± 7 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 34 · Deck: 36 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Boss/End-board · Secondary: Material body, Ritual target
Why it scores here
The Masked Beast is a Level 8 DARK Fiend Ritual body with 3200 ATK and literally no effect beyond its Ritual Summon clause, so its power rests entirely on how reliably the deck turns two-plus cards (the named Ritual Spell plus Level-8 worth of tribute fodder) into one vanilla body. Pre-Preparation of Rites (co-played in 40% of its decks) can fetch both the Ritual Spell and this monster at once, which is the real reason the card is live at all, and "Curse of the Masked Beast" appears in 80% of those lists. However, it appears in 0 recorded combo boards, contributes no disruption, protection, or recursion, and is a dead card if drawn without its enabler — so its high ATK and Level earn essentially nothing here. The score reflects a cheap-but-narrow vanilla boss, not a 3200-ATK threat.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 46 | Reachable only via its named Ritual Spell "Curse of the Masked Beast" (co-played in 80% of its decks), with Pre-Preparation of Rites (40%) fetching both pieces, but no route exists without a Ritual Spell/tribute line (verified). |
| Combo & Conversion | 25 | It produces one vanilla body from a specific Ritual Spell plus Level-8 tribute fodder and appears in 0 recorded combo boards, so it builds nothing on its own (observed). |
| Resource Economy | 25 | A Ritual Summon spends the Ritual Spell plus tribute monsters for a single body with no draw, search, or GY refuel in its own text — a clear net loss in card advantage (inferred). |
| Effect & Interaction | 3 | The card's only text is its Ritual Summon clause; it offers no removal, negation, or disruption of any kind (verified). |
| Material Utility | 38 | As a Level 8 DARK Fiend it is a usable Xyz/Tribute/fusion-material body once on board, but it cannot be Normal Summoned and must first absorb a Ritual investment, making the body awkward rather than clean (inferred). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 27 | No protection, no self-revival, and no alternate zone function — one negate or bounce ends it, with only external cards like Monster Reborn (50% co-decks) offering recovery (inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 31 | It demands its named Ritual Spell as a paired piece (1.6 avg copies, up to 3) so drawing the monster alone is a brick, though Pre-Preparation of Rites softens the cost to roughly two slots (observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Boss/End-board + 0.3 Material body. Intrinsic ≈ 34, Deck ≈ 36, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Paired-piece dependency (garnet/brick risk) (-3). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- 3200 ATK Level 8 DARK Fiend body that outclasses most Ritual summons of its era
- Curse of the Masked Beast is present in 80% of the decks that run it, so the enabler is realistically paired
- Pre-Preparation of Rites (40% co-decks) fetches both the Ritual Spell and this monster in one activation, giving a genuine search route
- Simple, unambiguous text with no tricky timing or rulings
- Level 8 DARK Fiend typing gives it secondary value as material for Rank 8 or Fiend/DARK fusion lines
Weaknesses
- Completely vanilla — no removal, negation, protection, or recursion
- Requires a specific Ritual Spell plus Level-8 worth of tribute fodder, a multi-card investment for one body
- Brick risk: useless if drawn without its Ritual Spell or a Pre-Preparation route
- Appears in 0 recorded combo boards, so it contributes no observed board-building value
- Easily answered by a single negate, bounce, or banish with no way to recover in-archetype
Counters / choke points
- Negating or removing the activation of "Curse of the Masked Beast" stops the Ritual Summon entirely
- Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring on Pre-Preparation of Rites cuts off the two-for-one fetch route
- Any bounce, banish, or destruction effect on the summoned body leaves nothing behind
- Cards that restrict or prevent Ritual Summons blank the deck's main line
Best use
Ritual boss / Level 8 DARK Fiend body fetched alongside its Ritual Spell. Decks: Red-Eyes, Vampires, Dark Gaia, Masked HERO. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text is only 'You can Ritual Summon this card with "Curse of the Masked Beast"' — no other effect exists; Level 8 DARK Fiend, 3200 ATK / 1800 DEF, Ritual Monster frame; 10 decks run it, all in the main deck, with copies per deck averaging 1.6 (max 3); "Curse of the Masked Beast" co-occurs in 80% of those decks and Pre-Preparation of Rites in 40%
- Observed: 0 appearances across all recorded combo boards (0% as starter, material, searched, or payoff); Deck spread covers 7 distinct archetypes including Vampires, Red-Eyes, Infernoid, Dark Gaia, Masked HERO, and Heroic; 0 guides mention the card; No usage statistics (StatisticsCard) rows exist for this card in the sample
- Inferred: Pre-Preparation of Rites provides a single-activation route to fetch both the Ritual Spell and this monster, which is the practical accessibility engine; As a Level 8 DARK Fiend it has secondary value as Xyz/Tribute/fusion material once summoned; Because it cannot be Normal Summoned, drawing it without its Ritual Spell or Pre-Preparation is a brick
- 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 metagame sample, so meta power is null and the score is provisional