Branded Deck #730288 — Yu-Gi-Oh! OCG

Deck — Deck Power Evaluation

Final Contextual Deck Power: 64/100 (±6 · Confidence: Medium)

• Primary strategy: Combo
• Secondary strategies: Midrange, Toolbox
• Format: ocg

Legality

Main 40 / Extra 15 / Side 0 — status: Legal.

Identity & game plan

• Win condition: Fusion Summon Level 8 Fusion Monsters with negation/removal effects to establish board pressure and grind through disruption.; Synchro pivot via Despian Luluwalilith or Ecclesia and the Dark Dragon if Fusion lines are blocked.
• Turn 1 (going first): Set up 1–2 Fusion Monsters (Mirrorjade, Rindbrumm, or Titaniklad) with negation/removal layers and graveyard setup for recursion. Pass turn with interaction ready.
• Turn 2 (going second): Use six-card hand to attempt board breach via Forbidden Chalice (negate) + Mirrorjade/Rindbrumm (removal). Summon own Fusion threat if successful.
• Recovery: Use graveyard recursion (Rindbrumm, Dramaturge, Lubellion, Granguignol effects) to rebuild Fusion plays on subsequent turns. Aluber + Branded Spells search for extended sequences.
• After siding: Unknown (no side deck provided). Presumed inclusion of hand traps (Ash Blossom, Ghost Ogre) and board breakers for turn-2 adaptation.

Why it scores here

This Branded deck opens a functional Fusion board with negation/removal layers roughly 72% of the time via 14 dedicated starters and 21 searcher cards, setting it on solid ground for turn 1 execution. The Extra Deck's 13 diverse Fusions and strong graveyard recursion engines (Dramaturge, Lubellion, Rindbrumm) allow recovery through moderate disruption, though the median output is a single Fusion plus one or two interaction effects rather than the layered boards of meta-optimized lists. However, the deck deviates significantly from established Branded standards (20% meta-core inclusion vs. 90%+ in optimized builds), lacking high-inclusion cards like Ecclesia and the Dark Dragon, The Fallen & The Virtuous, and critical hand traps. This choice fundamentally weakens going-second capability—with zero hand traps, the deck cannot proactively disrupt opposing turns and must instead rely on six-card opening hand luck to set removal pieces. The absence of combo-parsed evidence prevents verification of claimed ceilings and floors, forcing all consistency and board-quality claims into inference. The deck is coherent and playable (Medium confidence), but scores as a non-standard or experimental variant that underperforms the archetype's potential.

Dimension scores

How the score was computed

Strategy profile: Combo. Structural ≈ 65, Going First ≈ 64, Going Second ≈ 58, Meta = provisional, Tournament Reliability ≈ 62. Modifiers: Missing meta-core cards (-3); Zero hand traps (-2); High singleton density (-1). Final formula: 0.80·Structural (65) + 0.20·TournamentReliability (62) + Modifiers (−6) = 64 ± 6 (Meta Provisional, no dated metagame sample)

Probability & combo summary

• Opening a starter: P(≥1) ≈ 0.72 · key two-card combo ≈ — · full-brick estimate ≈ 0.02 (all Inferred)
• Combo output: best PowerIndex —, median —, board-per-starter —
• Turn order: 0 going-first lines vs 0 going-second lines

Strengths

• High searcher density (21 cards with searcher text) provides 98%+ opening-hand access to a search option, enabling turn-1 setup in nearly all games.
• 14 dedicated Fusion starters (Fallen of Albaz, Despian Tragedy, Aluber, Albion, Fusion Deployment, Branded in High Spirits, Branded Opening) create multiple independent entry points, reducing single-choke-point dependency.
• Diverse Extra Deck (13 distinct Fusions) covers all major utility angles: removal (Mirrorjade banish, Rindbrumm bounce), search/extension (Lubellion, Albion, Dragon that Devours), and niche interaction (Dramaturge negate, Quaeritis ATK lock, Luluwalilith ATK buff).
• Solid graveyard recursion (Dramaturge return-to-hand, Lubellion Fusion-again-from-Extra-Deck, Rindbrumm Special-Summon-next-turn, Granguignol send-and-setup) enables recovery through moderate disruption.
• Flexible Main Deck (13 singletons) allows straightforward post-game adaptation for side-deck tuning against specific meta matchups.

Weaknesses

• Significantly deviates from meta-standard Branded, running only 2/10 meta-core cards (20% inclusion rate). Missing Ecclesia and the Dark Dragon (90% inclusion, though 1 copy is in Extra Deck vs. expected 1–2), The Fallen & The Virtuous (71%, not present), Branded Fusion (51%, not present), and others. This likely underperforms vs. optimized lists in the same metagame.
• Zero hand-trap density (0 copies of Ash Blossom, Ghost Ogre, Infinite Impermanence, etc.) eliminates proactive going-second interaction. Cannot disrupt opponent's turn-1 setup, forcing a reactive removal-only plan that succeeds ~50–60% vs. tight boards.
• Limited going-second board-breaking capacity: only Mirrorjade (banish 1/turn), Rindbrumm (bounce 1/turn), and Forbidden Chalice (negate 1 effect) available for breach. Against multi-negate boards or heavy spell/trap backs, the deck struggles to push through.
• High variance from 13 singleton cards: opening hands can range from 'ideal searcher + starter' to 'four tech cards + one starter,' introducing unreliability despite solid core consistency.
• No combos scored in evidence, preventing verification of actual ceiling, floor, and median output. All board-quality claims are text-inferred and lack empirical validation.
• Slow offensive closing: 2500–3000 ATK Fusions require 3–4 uninterrupted attack phases to clock the opponent. No OTK, direct-damage, or multi-attack mechanics available.

Critical choke points

• Extra Deck disruption: If a single key Fusion (especially Mirrorjade for going-second removal or Lubellion for recursion) is banished or inaccessible, many lines lose efficiency. Most lines have fallbacks, but losing Mirrorjade (premium removal) is particularly painful.
• Early negate on Aluber or Branded in High Spirits: Negating the deck's primary search engine (Aluber) or its best tempo tool (Branded in High Spirits) can collapse a turn, forcing pivot to manual Fusions without additional value.
• Going-second without hand traps: The deck opens with ~70% probability of having a playable line going-second (6-card hand, 1+ starter), but the 30% brick rate + zero proactive disruption means many turn-2 attempts fold to tight opponent boards.
• Graveyard banishment (Dimensional Fissure, Macro Cosmos): If the GY is blanked, Dramaturge, Lubellion, Rindbrumm recursion, and Granguignol setup are all disabled. Resilience drops from 64 to ~50 in a banish-heavy meta.

Recommended changes

Evidence & confidence

• Verified: Legality: main 40, extra 15, side 0; no copy-limit violations; Gold Sarcophagus Limited ×1 in-limit; status Legal.; Card names, types, attributes, levels, ATK/DEF, and archetype assignments via description_excerpt.; Card role hints: 21 searcher-text, 10 negation-text, 10 removal-text cards.; Composition: 24 distinct Main, 13 distinct Extra; 5 three-copy, 6 two-copy, 13 one-copy.; Extra Deck breakdown: 13 Fusions, 2 Synchro.; Archetype detection: Branded primary; Despia, Albaz Dragon, Springans, Tri-Brigade secondary.; Probabilities: hypergeometric P(≥1 in 5-card hand) for 3-copy cards = 0.3376, for 2-copy = 0.2372, for 1-copy = 0.125.; Searcher-text P(≥1 in 5-card hand) = 0.9823 (21 searcher cards).; Hand-trap group: 0 copies present.; OCG format confirmed (gameplay_slug).
• Observed: Core card inclusion: 2/10 meta-core present (Fallen of Albaz, Fallen of the White Dragon); 8/10 missing (Ecclesia, The Fallen & The Virtuous, Mulcharmy Fuwalos, Mirrorjade, Titaniklad, Harpie's Feather Duster, Rindbrumm, Branded Fusion).; Extra Deck diversity: 13 Fusions covering negation (Dramaturge, Luluwalilith), removal (Mirrorjade, Rindbrumm, Granguignol), search (Lubellion, Albion, Dragon that Devours), and utility (Quaeritis, Secreterion).; Main Deck composition: coherent Branded/Despia/Albaz core (~20 cards) + Branded Spells (~8 cards) + tech/flex slots (~12 cards).
• Inferred: Engine accessibility (D1 = 72): 14 starters + 21 searchers → ~72% opening-hand consistency for T1.; Opening-hand quality (D2 = 68): ~98% hands have starter or searcher; 13 singletons + zero hand traps introduce variance.; Combo ceiling (D3 = 65): 13 Extra Deck Fusions with diverse effects suggest 2 Fusions + 1–2 negation/removal; missing meta-core cards cap ceiling vs. optimized builds.; Combo floor/median (D4 = 62): Starter diversity + Fusion materials → typically 1 Fusion + 1 effect.; Interruption resilience (D5 = 64): Multiple starters + GY recursion support recovery from one disruption; zero hand traps limit proactive defense.; Resource economy (D6 = 66): Discard-heavy engine + solid GY regeneration (Dramaturge, Lubellion, Rindbrumm, Granguignol) = slow grind (~-1 to 0 net per turn).; End-board interaction (D7 = 67): ~5–6 negation sources (Aluber, Retribution, Mercourier, Rindbrumm, Annihilate, Chalice); typical T1 board = 1–2 negation effects.; Going-second board-breaking (D8 = 59): Mirrorjade (banish 1/turn), Rindbrumm (bounce 1/turn), Chalice (negate 1) only; ~50–60% success vs. tight boards when hand has starter.; Offensive closing power (D9 = 54): 2500–3000 ATK Fusions, no OTK or multi-attack setup; requires 3–4 turns to close.; Main Deck efficiency (D10 = 62): 40-card minimum, coherent core, but 13 singletons trade consistency for flexibility.; Extra Deck efficiency (D11 = 71): 13 Fusions diverse in function; high Main Deck search density ensures rotation through options.; Side deck adaptability (D12 = 50): No side deck provided; post-side plan is speculative.; Matchup format fit (D13 = 58): 20% meta-core inclusion suggests deviation from optimized Branded; format fit provisional without dated metagame.; Pilotability (D14 = 65): ~5–8 combo steps per turn, 4–6 decision points; moderate complexity and error tolerance.
• Provisional: Meta Power: No dated metagame sample supplied. Branded as an archetype is historically strong, but this build's 20% meta-core inclusion rate suggests underperformance vs. meta-optimized lists. Meta Power remains null and Provisional.; Matchup coverage (D13): No tournament link. Archetype meta-share and per-pilot match record absent. Format fit cannot be confirmed without a dated competitive sample.; Post-side performance (D12): No side deck provided. Presumed to include hand traps and board breakers, but without evidence, post-side adaptability and tournament reliability remain provisional.
• Data gaps: No combos scored: `total combos: 0, scored combos: 0`. Cannot empirically verify ceiling (D3), floor (D4), median output (D4), interaction density (D7), or resource efficiency (D6). All board-quality claims are text-inferred (Inferred tier, not Observed). No tournament link: Archetype meta-share, per-pilot match record, and format-specific win rates absent. Meta Power and matchup fit (D13) remain Provisional. No win-rate telemetry: YGOVN does not track going-first/second rates, matchup data, game-level brick/starter/OTK rates, or tournament results for this deck. Going-first/second power and tournament reliability are inferred from composition, not observed. No side deck: Side count 0, distinct side 0. Post-side adaptability (D12) cannot be assessed. Presumed to include hand traps and board breakers, but without evidence, post-side plan and tournament reliability are speculative. Archetype meta-core deviation: Core cards 2/10 present (20% inclusion). Without a dated metagame sample, cannot determine if this is an intentional counter-meta build, a budget variant, an experimental setup, or a lag behind current meta shifts. Format fit (D13) remains Provisional.