Battle Step

Order of a Turn:


 * Draw Phase
 * Standby Phase
 * Main Phase 1
 * Battle Phase
 * Start Step
 * Battle Step
 * Damage Step
 * End Step
 * Main Phase 2
 * End Phase

In the Battle Step of the Battle Phase, the Turn Player selects, and announces 1 monster he/she wishes to attack with, and either targets 1 of the opponent's monsters he/she wishes to attack, or, if he/she is able to, announces that he/she wishes to attack the opponent's Life Points directly.

When an attack is declared, the Turn Player retains Priority to activate effects. At this time he/she is free to activate cards that perform an action when a monster attacks or any other effect with timing he/she can meet.

If the Turn Player decides that he/she will pass, the opponent is given a chance to activate effects that respond to the attack ("Sakuretsu Armor", "Mirror Force", etc.) or any other effects with timing he/she can meet.

If the Turn Player passes, and the opponent passes as well, the chance to activate cards like "Sakuretsu Armor", "Mirror Force", "Magic Cylinder", etc. is GONE.

Example 1
The Turn Player declares an attack with a monster and passes priority. The opponent responds with his Set "Sakuretsu Armor". The Turn Player then Chains "Trap Jammer". Neither player has a response, so "Trap Jammer" negates and destroys "Sakuretsu Armor".

The opponent then wants to activate another copy of "Sakuretsu Armor", but he/she cannot! The response window has closed. It is no longer possible to activate cards like "Sakuretsu Armor" in response to this attack.

Example 2
The Turn Player declares an attack with a monster and passes priority. The opponent responds with his Set "Sakuretsu Armor". The Turn Player then Chains "Trap Jammer". Neither player has a response, so "Trap Jammer" negates and destroys "Sakuretsu Armor".

The opponent then wants to activate "Book of Moon", and he/she can't, because "Book of Moon" cannot be chained to "Trap Jammer". The initial response window has passed.

Example 3
The Turn Player declares an attack with a monster and passes priority. The opponent passes back. The Turn Player then wants to activate "Magician's Circle", but he/she cannot! The chance to respond to the attack is over, because both players passed. If the Turn Player had wanted to ensure the activation of his "Magician's Circle", he/she should have retained priority and activated it when he/she first declared an attack.

Example 4
The Turn Player declares an attack. He/She retains priority to activate "Magician's Circle". The opponent responds with "Seven Tools of the Bandit". The Turn Player passes, so the Chain resolves, and "Magician's Circle" is negated and destroyed. The chance to activate effects that respond to the attack declaration has passed.

The Turn Player then activates "Enemy Controller", using its first effect, and targets the monster he/she was planning to attack. The opponent Chains "Ring of Destruction", targeting the same monster the Turn Player selected. Neither player activates any further effect, so the Chain resolves. "Ring of Destruction" destroys its target, and "Enemy Controller" loses its target and its effect because its target was removed by "Ring of Destruction".

Now that the attack target has been removed from the field, a replay occurs. The Turn Player must redirect their attack.

In the Battle Step, "Book of Moon" can be used on a vulnerable monster that has had an attack declared against it. The monster will flip face-down, and if no other actions are declared, it will flip face-up during the Damage Step. This way, Flip Effects can be re-used, and since the number of monsters on the field (and therefore, the number of potential attack targets) has not changed, a replay is not triggered.

The Battle Step doesn't immediately proceed to the Damage Step after both players pass. Players can still activate cards or card effects in the Battle Step. However, at this point it is too late to use cards that need to respond to an attack. Other cards may still be used if their timing and speed is correct, though.