Forum:Possible Sticky: First Draft

This is a first draft for a potential sticky thread as discussed in this other thread. Please do not alter this draft. Instead, post suggestions/comments either below or in the other thread. Lists are not complete, feel free to suggest additions. Also feel free to suggest additional information for any section. Thank you. Lappyzard (talk • contribs) 01:17, February 3, 2011 (UTC)

ATTENTION! PLEASE READ THIS SECTION FIRST (DON’T JUST TL;DR)
'''This page contains a list of many FAQ’s for rulings. Please do not edit this page; instead, post suggestions/comments/questions below, and don’t forget to sign your posts with four tildes (~).'''

Ctrl+F is your friend. Use it to search this page for the answer to your question(s).

Before starting a new thread, use the Forum Search function to make sure your question hasn’t already been asked and answered. Do NOT type in your whole question, as other people will most likely have phrased it differently. Search only for key terms, such as the card(s) in question. Additionally, you can add “Ruling Queries” (quotes included) to limit your search to only Ruling Query forums.

Before you make a new thread, PLEASE check the card’s Ruling Page. You can link to the page from the card’s article or go directly to it by searching for “Card Rulings:” followed by the name of the card without a space. For example, Card Rulings:Jinzo. Note that all of these rulings ARE official, as they are cited directly from judges or Konami’s website. If a ruling is uncited, you may start a new thread to confirm it, but please let us know that the ruling has no citation. As before, you can use Ctrl+F to search long rulings pages for your specific problem.

Other Pages to Reference
|The Official Rule Book

Breakdown of the Battle Phase

Missing the Timing

Simultaneous Effects Go On Chain

Negating Summoning
Some Monster and Trap cards include the effect of negating Summons. There is often confusion among newer players about what summons can be negated. This section will explain the differences between the types of summoning and why some summons cannot be negated.

Common cards that negate Summons: Thunder King Rai-Oh, Royal Oppression, Solemn Judgment, Solemn Warning

Summons That Can Be Negated
Any Summon of a monster that does not start a Chain can be negated. This includes all Normal and Flip Summons, as well as some Special Summons. Special Summons that can be negated are those that occur from the monster’s own Summoning Condition that does not start a chain. Examples include Cyber Dragon and Machina Fortress. A monster that has its summon negated in this way is treated as not having been properly Summoned, and is also considered to have never hit the field. This means that effects such as Stardust Dragon and Jinzo are never applied. It also means that Semi-Nomi monsters can’t be resummoned through other effects.

Summons That Cannot Be Negated
If a monster would be summoned through a card effect such as Monster Reborn, then the Summon cannot be negated by cards like Thunder King Rai-Oh. This includes any type of Fusion Summon, because the Fusion Monster is Summoned by the effect of Polymerization (or similar). The Summon cannot be negated because the monster is Summoned at the effect’s resolution, and the timing is wrong. However, you can negate the effect that would Summon the monster, as well as activate effects that respond to Summons, such as Bottomless Trap Hole. If a monster is summoned during the Damage Step, such as Gorz the Emissary of Darkness, Tragoedia or monsters summoned by Searchers, then you cannot negate that summon, only the effect that would summon it, and only with a Counter Trap. Royal Oppression cannot be used during the Damage Step.

Targeting
For the sake of avoiding the word target, I shall refer to affected cards as "victims".

Another source of frequent confusion is Targeting. There is often debate on whether a card Targets or not. Generally, if a card includes the term "select", "choose", "designate", "pick", or a similar term, it targets. This also usually applies to cards that designate "1 monster", but not always. For example, Smashing Ground affects one monster, but does not Target because its victim is chosen automatically. (This is still considered true even when you choose the victim in the event of a tie.)

Cards that are commonly debated as to Targeting: Fissure, Smashing Ground

When Targeting Cards are Chained To
If a card that Targets is chained to, and the result is that the Targeted monster is no longer eligible, the Targeting card resolves without effect. This often applies to monsters needing to be face-up. For example, if Brain Control targets a monster, and that monster is flipped face-down by Book of Moon, then it is no longer eligible (Brain Control requires the monster to be face-up) and Brain Control resolves without effect. The reason Smashing Ground does not Target is that if the original victim is flipped face-down, Smashing Ground will automatically redirect to a new monster, because its victim was never declared.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Cards such as Bottomless Trap Hole and Black Whirlwind that are based on ATK and DEF resolve without effect if the monster in question is flipped face-down, because face-down monsters are considered to have unknown ATK and DEF (even though the players know).

Destruction vs. Negation
This is perhaps the most common source of confusion among newer players. This section will discuss the difference between "negate" and "destroy", as well as clarify which cards are also negated when they are destroyed.

Destruction refers to destroying a card and moving it from the field to the Graveyard. This does not necessarily cancel the card’s effect. It does in some cases, but not others.

Any monster that states "while this card is face-up on the field" will have its effect canceled when it is destroyed. Any Equip, Field, or Continuous Spells, along with Continuous Traps are negated when they are destroyed, because they are all treated as containing the phrase “while this card is face-up on the field”, The effect will be canceled if an effect is chained to its activation that would destroy the card.

Any monster that lacks this phrase, along with Normal, Quick-Play, and Ritual Spells, and Normal and Counter Traps, are NOT canceled when they are destroyed. The effect is only canceled if an effect chains to it specifically states that it "negates" the effect.

One of the most common mistakes among newer players is the belief that Chaining Mystical Space Typhoon to any Spell or Trap card will negate the effect.

Jinzo
See also: Card Rulings:Jinzo

See also: The above section on negating Summons.

See also: The below section on Skill Drain.

Jinzo’s summon can be negated with a Counter Trap, because it is considered to have never hit the field, so its effect is not yet applied.

If Jinzo is on the field, Skill Drain cannot be activated. Skill Drain cannot be activated in response to Jinzo’s summoning. Skill Drain can be chained to an effect that would summon Jinzo. If Skill Drain is active before Jinzo is summoned, Jinzo will not negate Traps.

Stardust Dragon
See also: Card Rulings:Stardust Dragon

See also: The above section on negating Summons.

See also: The below section on Skill Drain.

Stardust Dragon be resummoned with any effect, including its own, if it was not Synchro Summoned properly. For example, if it was summoned by Starlight Road or if it had its Synchro Summon negated.

Stardust Dragon cannot negate the effect of a card if it is unknown whether the card will destroy a monster or not. For example, Snipe Hunter may or may not destroy its target, so Stardust Dragon cannot negate it.

If Stardust Dragon would be destroyed during the End Phase, you can Tribute it for its effect and then resummon it during the same End Phase.

Macro Cosmos
See also: Card Rulings:Macro Cosmos

Any effect with a cost requiring sending cards to the Graveyard cannot be activated. Sending cards to the Graveyard is different from discarding.

If you have Gravekeeper's Servant active, your opponent cannot attack because sending a card to the Graveyard is a cost of attacking.

If Imperial Iron Wall is also active, cards are sent to the Graveyard.

Skill Drain
See also: Card Rulings:Skill Drain

Skill Drain has no effect on monsters that Tribute themselves as a cost, because they resolve in the Graveyard, not on the field.

Gemini Monsters on the field are treated as Effect Monsters because their effect treating them as Normal Monsters is negated.

Monsters that would self-destruct, like Elemental Hero Captain Gold, do not self-destruct while Skill Drain is active. If Skill Drain is removed from the field, the monster will self-destruct.

If Jinzo is on the field, Skill Drain cannot be activated. Skill Drain cannot be activated in response to Jinzo’s summoning. Skill Drain can be chained to an effect that would summon Jinzo. If Skill Drain is active before Jinzo is summoned, Jinzo will not negate Traps.