We don’t see enough of Man Beast of Ares these days.
Q: Performage Trapeze Magician (ATK 2500) is face-up in my Monster Zone, and I activated the second effect of Performage Damage Juggler this turn that reduces the next battle damage I take to 0. If I would take 1000 battle damage, which effect is applied; Performage Trapeze Magician or Performage Damage Juggler?
A: Battle damage becomes 0 by applying the effect of Performage Trapeze Magician. The effect of Performage Damage Juggler is not applied. (Therefore, the next time you would take battle damage this turn, it is reduced to 0.)
In this situation, only the effect of Performage Trapeze Magician is considered when calculating battle damage, and the battle damage is 0 as a result. In that case, the effect of Performage Damage Juggler is not applied.
For example, if you would take 3000 battle damage in the above situation instead, you would still take battle damage even if you consider the effect of Performage Trapeze Magician. In that case, the effect of Performage Damage Juggler is also taken into account when calculating battle damage. When both effects are applied, the effect that reduces battle damage to 0 is considered first, so that battle damage is reduced to 0 by the effect of Performage Damage Juggler.
Q: Can a face-down Defense Position monster be used as a Link Material for a Link Summon?
A: As a general rule, face-down Defense Position monsters cannot be used as materials for a Link Summon (only face-up monsters can be used as materials for a Link Summon).
As an exception, you can use a face-down Defense Position “Ghostrick” monster you control as Link Material for the Link Summon of Ghostrick Festival, as stated in its text.
Q: When resolving the effect of my opponent’s Evenly Matched, if I control multiple cards including Metaphys Executor, what happens?
A: Follow the card text as written. (You can still choose Metaphys Executor as a card to banish.)
The effect of Evenly Matched is an effect applied to the opponent, and when it resolves, the opponent banishes their own cards they control face-down. In this case, cards banished when resolving the effect are not considered banished by a card effect. Therefore, there is no need to take the effect of Metaphys Executor into account when activating or resolving Evenly Matched.
Furthermore, even if the following effects are applying that prevent a monster from being banished by card effects, they can be banished the same way as Metaphys Executor when resolving Evenly Matched.
– Libromancer Firestarter
– Libromancer Bonded
Q: My opponent controls a Cyberdark End Dragon, which is unaffected by its opponent’s activated effects. I control a Blue-Eyes White Dragon to which the effect of The Ultimate Creature of Destruction was applied this turn. What happens if these two monsters battle?
A: In this scenario, you take 2000 battle damage when performing damage calculation, which is the difference in ATK between these two monsters. Your Blue-Eyes White Dragon is not destroyed by battle, and after damage calculation, your opponent’s Cyberdark End Dragon is destroyed.
Your opponent’s Cyberdark End Dragon is unaffected by effects activated by the opponent, which means it is not affected by effects applied when resolving an effect (when resolving its Chain Link). However, it is still affected by effects that apply outside of a Chain Link’s resolution.
The effect of The Ultimate Creature of Destruction that destroys the monster that battles the targeted monster is not applied when the card’s Chain Link resolves, but rather applied at the end of the Damage Step when the targeted monster battles. Therefore, this effect can be applied to monsters that are unaffected by activated effects, and destroy them.
The following monsters are also destroyed the same way:
– A monster Special Summoned by the second effect of Accel Synchro Stardust Dragon
– Expurery Noir
– Psychic End Punisher while its first effect is applying
– Trickstar Bella Madonna while its first effect is applying
– Monsters affected by Forest of Lost Flowers
Q: While I control a Fusion Summoned Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon, my opponent Tributes it to Special Summon their Gadarla, the Mystery Dust Kaiju to my field. In this case, can I activate the last effect of Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon? Also, if my opponent sends Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon to the Graveyard as Link Material to Link Summon Underworld Goddess of the Closed World, can I activate the last effect of Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon?
A: In either case, the effect of Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon can be activated. (Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon left the field because of your opponent.) Furthermore, during the End Phase of that turn, Underworld Goddess of the Closed World will be destroyed by the effect.
Q: My opponent controls Underworld Goddess of the Closed World, which is unaffected by the opponent’s activated effects that do not target it, and Cyberdark End Dragon, which is unaffected by the opponent’s activated effects. In this situation, what happens I activate Skill Drain? Also, what happens if I activate Crackdown targeting Cyberdark End Dragon?
A: In that case, the effects of Skill Drain and Crackdown are applied normally. Monsters with a Continuous Effect that makes them unaffected by activated effects are not affected by effects applied when resolving an effect (when resolving its Chain Link). However, they are affected by effects applied outside of the Chain Link’s resolution.
The effects of Skill Drain and Crackdown start applying as soon as the Chain Links made by their activation resolve, and continuously apply to monsters afterward. Therefore, their effects are applied to monsters that are unaffected by activated effects.
The same applies to the following monsters:
– A monster Special Summoned by the second effect of Accel Synchro Stardust Dragon
– Expurery Noir
– Psychic End Punisher while its first effect is applying
– Trickstar Bella Madonna while its first effect is applying
– Monsters affected by Forest of Lost Flowers
– Dinosaur monsters a player controls while the first effect of their Miscellaneousaurus is applying
Q: If Necrovalley and Zombie World are both face-up in the Field Zones, what Types are monsters on the field and in the Graveyard treated as?
A: Monsters on the field will be Zombie-Type. Due to the effect of Necrovalley, effects that change the Type of a monster in the Graveyard are not applied, so the Types of monsters in the Graveyard do not change.
Q: Can I send Zektrike Kou-ou itself to the Graveyard for its activation cost?
A: No, you cannot. If a Spell/Trap is sent to the Graveyard after being used, such as a Normal Spell/Trap, the card cannot be used for its own activation cost. This is the case not only when sending cards to the Graveyard as cost, but also when banishing cards or returning cards to the Deck as cost.
Q: The effect of The True Sun God that prevents monsters other than The Winged Dragon of Ra from attacking the turn they are Special Summoned is applying. In this situation, can The Winged Dragon of Ra – Phoenix Mode attack the turn it is Special Summoned?
A: Yes, it can. The second effect of The True Sun God is an effect that affects monsters (it continuously applies). Monsters that were Special Summoned this turn cannot attack as long as they are affected by this effect during the Battle Phase. However, The Winged Dragon of Ra – Phoenix Mode is unaffected by card effects, so effects that apply to monsters will not affect it. Therefore, it is unaffected by the second effect of The True Sun God.
Q: I have a Libromancer Firestarter with 1800 ATK in my Monster Zone, and its Continuous Effect that increases its ATK/DEF by 200 each time my opponent activates a card effect is applying. My opponent activates the effect of Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind, targeting that Libromancer Firestarter. What happens to the ATK of Libromancer Firestarter?
A: It will end up with 1100 ATK. The ATK/DEF increase from the effect of Libromancer Firestarter is applied immediately after resolving an effect activated by your opponent.
So in the above situation, when resolving the effect of Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind, the ATK of Libromancer Firestarter first becomes 900, which is half of 1800. Immediately after the effect resolves, the effect of Libromancer Firestarter will increase its ATK/DEF by 200.
Furthermore, the following monsters that are like Libromancer Firestarter will further change their ATK with their Continuous Effect each time their ATK changes due to an activated effect.
– Des Volstgalph
– Hermit of Prophecy
– Man Beast of Ares
– Naturia Tulip
– Stellar Wind Wolfrayet
Q: I activated the first effect of Exosister Martha, whose text states I cannot Special Summon monsters during the turn I activate that effect, except “Exosister” monsters. If Skill Drain is activated in this situation, can I Special Summon monsters other than “Exosister” monsters this turn?
A: No, you cannot. Card text that states “the turn you activate this effect” is a condition that must be met during that turn, including before and after the activation of that effect, and is not a condition applied by resolving the effect. Therefore, if you activated an effect with a “the turn you activate this effect” condition, then as long as the activation was not negated, the condition must be met during that turn regardless of whether or not the effect itself was applied.
In this situation, regardless of if Skill Drain was chained to the effect of Exosister Martha to negate it* or activated after it resolved, you cannot Special Summon monsters other than “Exosister” monsters during that turn.
The same applies to the following monsters:
– Altergeist Multifaker
– Ancient Warriors – Rebellious Lu Feng
– Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning
– Dakki, the Graceful Mayakashi
– Drytron Alpha Thuban
– Floowandereeze & Robina
– Fluffal Mouse
– Flying Pegasus Railroad Stampede
– Frightfur Leo
– Hi-Speedroid Kendama
– Hot Red Dragon Archfiend
– Junk Speeder
– Nekroz of Sophia
– Number 61: Volcasaurus
– Number 99: Utopia Dragonar
– The Six Samurai – Yaichi
– Thunderclap Skywolf
– Transcode Talker
*The ruling seems to imply Skill Drain could negate the effect of Exosister Martha that activates in the hand, but it cannot. They just picked a bad example. The ruling is true if Matha’s effect is negated by Ash Blossom, for example.
Q: If The Arrival Cyberse @Ignister is Special Summoned while the effect of Skill Drain is applying, what happens to its effect that makes it unaffected by other card effects? Also, if Skill Drain is activated after The Arrival Cyberse @Ignister was Special Summoned, what happens to its effect that makes it unaffected by other card effects?
A: If The Arrival Cyberse @Ignister is Special Summoned while the effect of Skill Drain is applying, the effect that makes it unaffected by card effects is negated by Skill Drain. (After that, if the effect of Skill Drain stops applying, that effect of The Arrival Cyberse @Ignister is reapplied.)
If Skill Drain is activated after The Arrival Cyberse @Ignister was Special Summoned, the effect that makes it unaffected by card effects is applying, so it is unaffected by Skill Drain.
The same applies to the following monsters:
– Blackwing Full Armor Master
– Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon
– Geomathmech Final Sigma
– Number 86: Heroic Champion – Rhongomyniad
– Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon
– The Legendary Fisherman III
– Timaeus, the Knight of Destiny
– Traptrix Cularia
– Traptrix Rafflesia
– Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes
