Trap
NormalUnion Scramble
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3753
Target up to 3 of your banished LIGHT Machine-Type Normal Monsters and/or LIGHT Machine-Type Union monsters; Special Summon them. During either player's turn, except the turn this card was sent to the Graveyard: You can banish this card from your Graveyard, then target 1 of your banished LIGHT Machine-Type Normal Monsters or LIGHT Machine-Type Union monsters; return it to the hand. You can only activate 1 "Union Scramble" per turn.
Union Scramble — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 55 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 49.9 · Deck: 57.6 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Recovery/Recursion · Secondary: Extender, Material body
Why it scores here
Union Scramble turns an already-built banish zone into a burst of LIGHT Machine bodies, but it never initiates a play: combo evidence records it as a starter in 0% of its appearances, so it is a recovery/recursion tool rather than an engine piece. Its payoff (up to three free Special Summons plus a Graveyard recursion loop) is genuinely strong card economy, yet it is dead without Union monsters that were already banished and is unsearchable in the provided evidence. It earns its mid-50s score from real, observed ABC synergy and refuel value, not from any stat line - it is a 0 ATK/0 DEF Normal Trap with no relevant combat value. The high boards it appears in (avg power_index 89.8) reflect the ABC shell, not this card alone.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 40 | Requires the card to be drawn and set plus LIGHT Machine Normal/Union monsters already banished, and combo evidence shows as_starter 0% and as_searched 0% (verified/observed). |
| Combo & Conversion | 45 | Revives up to 3 banished LIGHT Machine Normal/Union monsters, but it is never a starter or payoff piece in the recorded combos, so it only extends an existing line (observed). |
| Resource Economy | 65 | Up to three Special Summons from the banish zone is a large swing, and the Graveyard effect recycles a banished monster to hand for repeat value (verified). |
| Effect & Interaction | 25 | Provides no negation or removal against the opponent; it is an on-your-board recursion effect rather than disruption (verified). |
| Material Utility | 40 | The revived LIGHT Machine Normal/Union bodies are clean material for ABC-Dragon Buster or LIGHT Machine Xyz, though the Trap itself contributes no body (inferred). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 55 | Works from the field on either player's turn and again from the Graveyard, giving multi-zone, multi-turn rebuild potential after board wipes (verified/inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 50 | Effectively locked to LIGHT Machine Union homes (Union Hangar co-decks 98.4%) and usually run at 1-2 copies, so it costs slots without being a generic splash (observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Recovery/Recursion + 0.3 Extender. Intrinsic ≈ 49.9, Deck ≈ 57.6, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Revives up to three banished LIGHT Machine Normal/Union monsters in one activation, a large swing from a single Trap
- Second effect recurs a banished monster to hand during either player's turn, giving durability and refuel
- Natural fit with ABC/Union Hangar shells, where the correct monsters are banished by normal play
- Appears in 6 of 6 recorded ABC combos with an average board power_index of 89.8, confirming practical end-board presence
Weaknesses
- Never initiates a play: as_starter 0% and as_searched 0% in combo evidence
- Completely dead without LIGHT Machine Normal/Union monsters already in the banish zone
- No disruption, negation, or removal against the opponent
- Effectively locked to LIGHT Machine Union decks, limiting portability despite 19 distinct archetypes in coarse deck data
Counters / choke points
- Cosmic Cyclone / Twin Twisters to destroy the set Trap before it resolves
- Solemn Strike / Solemn Judgment to negate the Special Summons
- Called by the Grave to stop the Graveyard recursion effect
- Macro Cosmos / Dimensional Fissure style Graveyard lockdown, which shuts off the Graveyard effect (main effect still functions from banished)
Best use
Recovery/Recursion - banish-zone revival and refuel for LIGHT Machine Union lines. Decks: ABC (XYZ Union), Therions (LIGHT Machine builds). Suggested copies: 2.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: target up to 3 banished LIGHT Machine Normal Monsters and/or LIGHT Machine Union monsters and Special Summon them; Card text: Graveyard effect banishes this card to return 1 banished LIGHT Machine Normal/Union monster to hand, usable on either player's turn except the turn it was sent to the Graveyard; Card text: only 1 'Union Scramble' activation per turn; Legal in TCG, OCG, MasterDuel and DuelLinks; data_gaps note no banlist token, 3 copies assumed; usage_statistics: 100% inclusion in ABC with typical 2 copies
- Observed: 127 recent decks run it, all in the main deck, averaging 1.54 copies; Union Hangar co-occurs in 98.4% of those decks, and A/B/C pieces in ~87%; Appears in 6 of 6 recorded combos with average detected combo power_index 89.8; Combos show as_starter 0%, as_searched 0%, as_material 0%, as_payoff 0%, in_end_board 0%; Average starter count when present is 0.83, indicating it rides low-starter ABC lines
- Inferred: Primary home is ABC / LIGHT Machine Union decks; the card is not generic; It functions as a recovery/extender piece, not an engine starter, based on the zero starter/search rates; Revived bodies convert into ABC-Dragon Buster or LIGHT Machine Xyz material even when the Trap itself provides no body
- Data gaps: no banlist token - assumed 3 copies (unlimited) combo role breakdown fields are empty for all 6 appearances, so starter/material/payoff rates rest on zero counts only 1 guide mentions the card, and its featuring section snippet is blank no dated metagame sample, so meta_power is null/provisional