This article is about a gameplay strategy. For the card of the same name, see Hand Destruction.
Hand destruction, also known as hand looping, is the strategy of winning by physically depriving your opponent of available strategies to devise, by making sure they do not have access to many cards, if at all. Hand looping effects are typically one of the following:
- Your opponent discards
- Sends from your opponent's hand to your opponent's Graveyard
- Returns from your opponent's hand to your opponent's Deck
- Banishes from your opponent's hand
- Destroys hand
Many cards on the Forbidden and Limited lists of both the TCG and OCG have hand looping effects, which are at their most powerful on the turn of the player going first. Those that are not on the Forbidden/Limited lists are compromised by a strict activation condition (such as "Introduction to Gallantry") or require going into battle (such as "Spirit Reaper", "Don Zaloog" etc.)