DARK
5Vampire Dragon
Archetype:
Vampire
ATK:
2400
DEF:
0
View:
3695
When this Tribute Summoned card is sent from the field to the Graveyard: You can add 1 Level 4 or lower monster from your Deck to your hand.
Vampire Dragon — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 36 ± 6 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 38 · Deck: 39 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Searcher/Tutor · Secondary: Material body
Why it scores here
Vampire Dragon earns its points almost entirely from a broad, non-archetype-locked search: once a Tribute Summoned copy is sent from the field to the Graveyard it adds any Level 4 or lower monster from the Deck. That payoff is gated behind a two-step setup (Tribute Summon first, then reach the GY), and no combo evidence confirms it is converted in practice — it appears in 0 recorded combo boards across a 33-deck sample. Its 2400 ATK Level 5 DARK Zombie frame is not scored as power; it only contributes modest material utility and does not compensate for the clunky deployment or the complete absence of disruption. The result is a niche Vampire/Zombie one-of tutor rather than a reliable engine piece.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 32 | Appears in 33 sampled decks (avg 1.06 copies) but the search only works on a card that was first Tribute Summoned, and 0 combo appearances show no starter route (observed). |
| Combo & Conversion | 26 | 0 recorded combo appearances and no starter role/material role/payoff role tags; the effect only converts after two setup steps, building nothing from a realistic start (observed). |
| Resource Economy | 40 | Adds 1 monster from Deck in exchange for a Tribute Summon plus a field-to-GY send, so it is roughly a wash on card count rather than a net gain (inferred). |
| Effect & Interaction | 5 | The text grants no disruption, negation, or removal — it only touches your own Deck and hand (verified). |
| Material Utility | 45 | A Level 5 DARK Zombie body remains usable as Synchro/Xyz/Link material in Zombie shells even when its effect is negated or never triggered (inferred). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 30 | The 'when ... sent from the field to the Graveyard' trigger is conditional on the card having been Tribute Summoned, and banishing or bouncing it blanks the effect entirely (verified). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 35 | Usually a single copy, but it is a Level 5 with no self-Special Summon and a conditional payoff, making it a low-redundancy near-brick slot (observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Searcher/Tutor + 0.3 Material body. Intrinsic ≈ 38, Deck ≈ 39, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Conditional two-step setup cost (-3). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Search adds any Level 4 or lower monster from the Deck to hand, a wide and not archetype-locked target pool (verified).
- Natural fit in Vampire/Zombie strategies, where the searched Level 4 or lower can be an existing combo piece (observed: 33 decks, Vampire-heavy partners).
- Level 5 DARK Zombie body keeps some material value for Synchro/Xyz/Link plays even if the effect is never used (inferred).
Weaknesses
- The search only functions if the card was Tribute Summoned and then sent from the field to the Graveyard — a two-step conditional setup (verified).
- Level 5 with no self-Special Summon makes it slow and awkward to deploy (verified).
- Provides no disruption, negation, protection, or removal of any kind (verified).
- Appears in 0 recorded combo boards, so no observed conversion into a useful end board (observed).
- Typically run at a single copy, giving the line almost no redundancy (observed).
Counters / choke points
- Banishing removal prevents the card from ever reaching the Graveyard, blanking the search (inferred).
- Summon negation stops the Tribute Summon condition from being met at all (inferred).
- Graveyard-search negation such as Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring stops the add when it does trigger (inferred).
Best use
One-of tutor that converts a spent Tribute-Summoned body into a Level 4 or lower search. Decks: Vampire, Zombie. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: 'When this Tribute Summoned card is sent from the field to the Graveyard: You can add 1 Level 4 or lower monster from your Deck to your hand.'; Stats and frame: Level 5, DARK Zombie, 2400 ATK / 0 DEF, Effect Monster, Vampire archetype.; Legal in TCG, OCG, Master Duel, and Duel Links.
- Observed: 33 of the sampled decks run it, all in the main deck, at an average of 1.06 copies (32 decks at 1 copy, 1 deck at 3).; Observed archetypes include Vampires (18.2% + 15.2%), Spright (9.1%), Nemeses (9.1%), Monarch (6.1%), Red-Eyes (6.1%).; Top partners: Vampire Scarlet Scourge (69.7%), Vampire Sucker (57.6%), Crimson Knight Vampire Bram (48.5%).; 0 combo appearances with 0 starter role, 0 searched-for role, 0 material role, and 0 payoff role counts.
- Inferred: Requiring both a Tribute Summon and a subsequent field-to-GY send makes the effect a two-phase setup that is rarely live early.; As a Level 5 DARK Zombie it can serve as material for Zombie-toolbox Synchro/Xyz/Link plays.; Its 'Vampire' name implies archetype-based support routes, but no search support is shown in the evidence.; Absence of any observed combo conversion keeps combo_conversion low despite the wide tutor target pool.
- 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 deck sample spans 2022-10 to 2024-06 only, with no current metagame data