DARK
5Vampire Duke
Archetype:
Vampire
ATK:
2000
DEF:
0
View:
4217
When this card is Normal Summoned: You can target 1 DARK "Vampire" monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon that target in face-up Defense Position. When this card is Special Summoned: You can declare 1 card type (Monster, Spell, or Trap); your opponent sends 1 card of that type from their Deck to the Graveyard. You can only use this effect of "Vampire Duke" once per turn. This card cannot be used as an Xyz Material for an Xyz Summon, except for the Xyz Summon of a DARK monster.
Vampire Duke — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 54 ± 7 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 55.1 · Deck: 56.8 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Combo enabler · Secondary: Extender, Recovery/Recursion
Why it scores here
Vampire Duke converts an in-archetype Normal Summon into a second body by reviving a DARK "Vampire" from the Graveyard, and it can also be Special Summoned to mill one declared card type from the opponent's Deck. Within the Vampire deck it is a real, consistently included support piece (78 sampled decks, roughly 87% Vampire lists, 1.42 copies average), but it is an archetype-locked extender rather than a generic starter, and the complete absence of combo evidence means its board-building ceiling is inferred from text only. Its 2000 ATK earns nothing here: the score reflects reliable GY recursion plus usable Level-5 DARK material, minus the DARK-only Xyz restriction and the Tribute cost of its Normal Summon line.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 55 | Level 5 means a Normal Summon costs a Tribute, so it is normally Special Summoned or searched inside its own archetype, and it appears in 78 sampled decks but usually as a 1-of (avg 1.42 copies) (observed). |
| Combo & Conversion | 55 | On a Normal Summon it revives a DARK "Vampire" from the Graveyard, producing two bodies toward a DARK Xyz or Vampire Sucker, but no combos evidence exists to confirm the size of the resulting board (inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 50 | The Normal Summon effect is direct recursion of an existing GY Vampire (board +1) and the Special Summon effect sends one opponent card from Deck to GY, though that mill often feeds opposing Graveyard strategies (verified). |
| Effect & Interaction | 30 | Its only disruptive element is the Special-Summon effect declaring a card type and sending one such card from the opponent's Deck to the GY, a soft effect that many GY-based decks welcome (verified). |
| Material Utility | 65 | It is a clean Level 5 DARK Zombie body that feeds DARK Xyz such as Crimson Knight Vampire Bram and Vampire Sucker, with the caveat that it cannot be Xyz Material except for a DARK Xyz Summon (verified). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 55 | It has two separate summon triggers (revive on Normal Summon, mill on Special Summon) so it retains value on either route, and its own GY body becomes revival fodder for the archetype (verified). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 52 | It occupies one or two slots in Vampire builds with only a mild self-restriction on Xyz Materials; 50 of 78 decks run a single copy, making it a low-commitment piece (observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Combo enabler + 0.3 Extender. Intrinsic ≈ 55.1, Deck ≈ 56.8, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Self-restriction on Xyz Material (-2). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Normal Summon effect revives a DARK "Vampire" from the Graveyard, converting the archetype's Graveyard into a second body
- Level 5 DARK Zombie body that cleanly supports DARK Xyz Summons and Vampire Sucker
- Two independent summon triggers (Normal Summon and Special Summon) give it usefulness on multiple routes
- Consistently included in Vampire lists (78 sampled decks, 1.42 copies avg) and listed among core cards in Vampire guides
- Low commitment: most decks run a single copy
Weaknesses
- Archetype-locked: the Normal Summon effect only revives DARK "Vampire" monsters, so it does nothing comparable outside the deck
- Level 5 means its Normal Summon line costs a Tribute unless it is Special Summoned by another card
- Only interaction is a single-card mill from the opponent's Deck, which frequently helps opposing Graveyard decks
- Cannot be Xyz Material except for a DARK Xyz Summon, limiting generic material use
- No combo evidence exists, so its practical end-board contribution is unverified
Counters / choke points
- Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring can negate the Special Summon mill effect (it sends from Deck to GY)
- Graveyard hate such as D.D. Crow or Called by the Grave removes the target DARK "Vampire" and blanks the Normal Summon effect
- Necrovalley / macro-style effects shut off the Graveyard recursion entirely
- Effect negation (Infinite Impermanence, Effect Veiler) on the Normal Summon trigger stops the revived body
- Generic removal before it is used as material denies the Xyz/Link payoff
Best use
In-archetype extender that revives a DARK "Vampire" body and provides Level 5 DARK material. Decks: Vampires, Vampire Zombie hybrid, DARK Zombie / Bystial Vampire builds. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Text: on Normal Summon, target 1 DARK "Vampire" in the GY and Special Summon it in face-up Defense Position; Text: on Special Summon, declare a card type and the opponent sends 1 card of that type from their Deck to the GY, once per turn; Text: cannot be used as Xyz Material except for the Xyz Summon of a DARK monster; Stats: Level 5 DARK Zombie, 2000 ATK / 0 DEF
- Observed: 78 sampled decks run it, 78 in the main deck and 0 in the side; Average 1.42 copies per deck (50 decks run 1, 23 run 2, 5 run 3); Roughly 87% of sampled decks are Vampire-archetype builds; Top partners: Vampire Familiar 92.3%, Vampire Retainer 91%, Vampire's Domain 88.5%, Vampire's Desire 84.6%, Vampire Sucker 76.9%; Featured in the Core section of the basic Vampire guide and in both sampled Vampire guides
- Inferred: The revive effect produces a second body that can enable DARK Xyz or Link plays, though no combo record confirms the resulting board; Its Tribute requirement on Normal Summon means it is realistically brought out through archetype Special Summon effects; The mill effect is low-value disruption because sending a card from the opponent's Deck to the GY frequently benefits Graveyard decks
- 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 and the final score is provisional deck archetype rows include duplicate names ('Vampires' appears under three different archetype_ids), so the distinct archetypes count of 8 overstates real diversity