FIRE
3Volcanic Counter
Archetype:
Volcanic
ATK:
300
DEF:
1300
View:
4174
When you take battle damage while this card is in your Graveyard: Banish it from your Graveyard, then if there is a FIRE monster other than "Volcanic Counter" in your Graveyard, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the amount of battle damage you took.
Volcanic Counter — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 42 ± 8 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 40 · Deck: 42.5 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Utility
Why it scores here
Volcanic Counter converts battle damage it takes into direct damage, but only from the Graveyard, and only when a FIRE monster other than itself is in the Graveyard. Both conditions depend on the opponent's attacks and the rest of the board, so the card is a conditional finisher rather than a reliable engine. Its 300 ATK, Level 3 body and 54-deck presence earn little on their own. The deck count confirms it is played inside the Volcanic shell, not that it is strong.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 35 | Run in 54 of 54 sampled decks at about 2 copies each, but it only becomes live after it is in the Graveyard and battle damage is taken, and no combo evidence shows it being searched or started (observed for the deck count; inferred for the trigger condition). |
| Combo & Conversion | 25 | The effect deals damage equal to the battle damage taken, so it adds no board on its own and needs a battle-damage event first; no recorded boards exist to show a fuller conversion (verified for the text; inferred for the scope). |
| Resource Economy | 20 | Banishing itself from the Graveyard is a cost with no card return, so there is no card advantage or refuel (verified from text). |
| Effect & Interaction | 10 | It is not a negation, removal, or hand trap and only deals damage after the fact, so it provides little opponent interaction (verified from text). |
| Material Utility | 35 | Level 3 FIRE Pyro gives generic material fit, but no text or combo evidence shows its material role (verified for level and attribute; inferred for usefulness). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 40 | It works from the Graveyard, which is hard to remove but still exposed to Graveyard hate and to a board with no FIRE monster in the Graveyard (inferred from text). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 70 | Costs one or a few slots at 1 to 3 copies, with no garnet or lock; the 22 decks running 3 copies show that multiple copies are fine (observed from deck data). |
Calculation
Weight profile: Utility default (no clear role; no combo evidence to break the tie). Intrinsic ≈ 40, Deck ≈ 42.5, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Converts battle damage taken into direct damage when its Graveyard conditions are met
- Activates from the Graveyard, so it can be a late-game burn source after it is discarded or sent there
- Enabled by a FIRE monster in the Graveyard, which the Volcanic shell supplies
- Cheap to run with no garnet or lock
Weaknesses
- Needs battle damage to be taken, which the player does not control
- Needs a FIRE monster other than itself in the Graveyard for any damage to occur
- No combo evidence of being searched, started, or used as material
- Low ATK and DEF body with no field-side interaction
Counters / choke points
- Avoiding or negating battle damage stops the trigger
- Graveyard hate or banish effects remove the card before it activates
- Having no other FIRE monster in the Graveyard means the effect deals no damage
Best use
Utility: Graveyard-triggered burn finisher. Decks: Volcanic, Fire King. Suggested copies: 2.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: Graveyard-only trigger on taking battle damage, banish as cost, damage equal to battle damage if a FIRE monster other than itself is in the Graveyard; Level 3, FIRE, Pyro, 300 ATK / 1300 DEF; Legal in TCG, OCG, MasterDuel and DuelLinks; Present in 54 sampled decks, 1.98 average copies, 3 copies in 22 decks
- Observed: Volcanic archetype accounts for 55.6% of sampled decks; 92.6% of sampled decks use gameplay type 7; Top partners (Volcanic Emperor, Volcanic Rimfire, Blaze Accelerator) co-occur in about 80% of decks; Zero recorded combo boards include the card
- Inferred: The battle-damage trigger is hard to set up on demand; Graveyard presence is gated by the Volcanic shell's FIRE monsters; Level 3 material fit is generic but unproven
- 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