FIRE
7Yamata Dragon
ATK:
2600
DEF:
3100
View:
3258
This card cannot be Special Summoned. This card returns to its owner's hand during the End Phase of the turn it is Normal Summoned or flipped face-up. When this card inflicts Battle Damage to your opponent, draw cards until you have 5 cards in your hand.
Yamata Dragon — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 51 ± 8 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 54.6 · Deck: 48.3 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Recovery / Recursion · Secondary: Board breaker
Why it scores here
Yamata Dragon is a 2600-ATK Normal Summon body that cannot be Special Summoned and returns to hand in the End Phase of the turn it was Normal Summoned or flipped. Its value is the draw-to-5 trigger on battle damage, which converts an empty hand into card advantage when the attack connects, and the recursion that lets it be re-Normal-Summoned each turn without being lost. High ATK earns no points; the score is held down by the absence of any interaction, the awkward material role (it leaves the field the same turn), and the lack of combo evidence to show it converting into a board.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 70 | Normal-Summonable from hand every turn and recurs to hand, but there is no searcher and no combo evidence for its starter role (text-based, inferred). |
| Combo & Conversion | 45 | Single body that needs a battle hit to pay off; no recorded combo boards (text-based, inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 60 | Draw-to-5 on battle damage is real card advantage and it is not lost when it returns to hand (text, inferred). |
| Effect & Interaction | 5 | No negation, removal or hand-trap effect in its text (verified). |
| Material Utility | 35 | Level 7 Dragon, but it leaves the field at End Phase so material use is limited to the same turn (text, inferred). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 45 | Recurs to hand each turn, but dies to any battle or removal and has no revival route (text, inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 70 | One copy per deck in the sample, no garnet or lock; the Special Summon restriction is its only cost (observed from decks, verified from text). |
Calculation
Weight profile: Primary role only (Recovery/Recursion); no secondary blend applied. Intrinsic ≈ 54.6, Deck ≈ 48.3, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: Self-restriction (-2). Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Draw-to-5 on battle damage gives real card advantage from an empty hand
- Recurs to hand, so it is not lost when it returns and can be re-Normal-Summoned
- Live in many archetype decks (21 distinct archetypes in the sample)
Weaknesses
- No interaction: no negation, removal or hand-trap effect
- Only reliable when the attack connects; no value if blocked or negated
- Cannot be Special Summoned and leaves the field every turn, so it is a poor material or boss body
Counters / choke points
- Effect negation of the monster (generic; no specific counter list in the evidence)
- Blocking or removal in battle, since value depends on battle damage
Best use
Normal-Summon beater with a draw-on-damage trigger; played as a single copy in generic Spirit and staple-heavy builds. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: cannot be Special Summoned; returns to hand in the End Phase of the turn it is Normal Summoned or flipped; draws to 5 cards on battle damage to the opponent; Deck sample: 104 decks, 21 archetypes, 1.07 average copies, 1 copy in 100 of 104 decks
- Observed: Top partners (Harpie's Feather Duster, Solemn Judgment, Effect Veiler) are generic staples, so they confirm the card is played but do not show its own power (frequency is not power)
- Inferred: Recurring Normal Summon makes it a repeatable draw-on-damage threat each turn; Material use is limited to the same turn because it returns to hand at End Phase
- 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 gameplay type of the deck sample is unlabelled, so format-specific reach is unknown