FIRE
4Zalamander Catalyzer
ATK:
1600
DEF:
200
View:
4170
You can reveal this card and 1 Fiend monster in your hand; Special Summon 1 of them and discard the other. When a monster is destroyed by battle involving your Fiend monster, while this card is in your GY: You can add this card to your hand. You can only use each effect of "Zalamander Catalyzer" once per turn.
Zalamander Catalyzer — Power Evaluation
Final Score: 55 ± 8 · Confidence: Medium
- Intrinsic: 54.7 · Deck: 55.8 · Meta: provisional
- Primary role: Starter / Combo enabler · Secondary: Recovery/Recursion
Why it scores here
Zalamander Catalyzer converts a Fiend in hand into a Special Summon with a discard of the other copy, which makes it a modest two-card body rather than a board-maker. Its real value is the GY clause: it returns to hand when a monster is destroyed by battle involving your Fiend, so it can be recycled. Its 1600 ATK and 200 DEF earn nothing. The card is present in all 400 sampled decks, but that reflects a Fiend-line staple role rather than proven power, and the absence of combo data keeps the score in the middle band.
Axis scores
| Axis | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | 60 | Needs a Fiend in hand to activate from hand, and the GY clause needs a battle involving a Fiend, so it is live in some hands but not reliably (text + decks 400/400, combos absent) (verified). |
| Combo & Conversion | 45 | Summons one Fiend and discards another, so it converts into a body but no recorded board supports a bigger line (text; combo evidence absent) (inferred). |
| Resource Economy | 55 | Net-neutral in cards on the hand effect (one body on field, one discarded); the GY recursion is a conditional refuel on battle (text) (verified). |
| Effect & Interaction | 10 | No negation, removal or hand-trap reach in its text (text) (verified). |
| Material Utility | 50 | Level 4 Fiend monster; a generic Level 4 body that remains a Fiend Level 4 when its effect is negated (text) (inferred). |
| Resilience & Flexibility | 55 | Works from hand and GY across turns, but the GY route depends on a battle destroying a monster (text) (inferred). |
| Deck-Building Efficiency | 60 | One slot in most decks (316/400 run a single copy, avg 1.28), no garnet or lock; the deck-level brick note comes from the guide, not this card (decks + guide) (observed). |
Calculation
Weight profile: 0.7 Starter / Combo enabler + 0.3 Recovery/Recursion. Intrinsic ≈ 54.7, Deck ≈ 55.8, Meta = provisional. Modifiers: none. Final formula: 0.40*Intrinsic + 0.60*Deck
Strengths
- Hand-to-field Special Summon of a Fiend with a built-in discard, giving a flexible body
- Recurs from the GY after Fiend battles, so one copy can be used more than once
- Present in every sampled deck, across 38 archetypes, so it has a consistent home
- Cheap to run: one copy in most decks, no garnet or lock
Weaknesses
- Almost no direct interaction; it does not stop the opponent
- Needs a Fiend in hand and a Fiend battle for its recursion, which narrows where it is live
- No combo evidence, so its conversion value is text-only inference
- High deck inclusion reflects a generic staple role, not proven power
Counters / choke points
- Not stated in evidence; no counter data supplied
Best use
Fiend-line starter and GY recursion body for Fiend-based decks. Decks: Dark World, Danger!, Archfiend, Resonator. Suggested copies: 1.
Evidence & gaps
- Verified: Card text: reveal this card and 1 Fiend from hand, Special Summon one, discard the other; Card text: GY add-to-hand after a battle destroys a monster involving a Fiend, once per turn; Present in 400 of 400 sampled decks; copies avg 1.28, max 3; Level 4, 1600 ATK / 200 DEF Fire Fiend effect monster
- Observed: Played across 38 archetypes, with Dark World 25.2% and Danger! 21.8% of decks; Guide 759 lists it in the Staple section and calls the Dark World deck brick-prone
- Inferred: Converts into a single body, not a multi-card board, from text alone; GY recursion gives repeated value only when Fiend battles happen; Generic Level 4 Fiend body is useful as material
- Data gaps: no combos supplied; combo conversion is text-only inference no banlist token; assumed 3 copies (unlimited) no usage statistics (StatisticsCard); inclusion inferred from deck sample only no rulings or counters evidence