Specific Card Rulings

NOTE: The following rulings are unofficial.  Many of them we got from the Upperdeck FAQ at yugioh-card.com, but because we are not Upperdeck we cannot claim any rulings on our site to be official.  Most of the rulings you see here are the rulings that we as judges have made.

We have tried to answer every question that has been or could be asked about every card, so there may be some questions that seem stupid, but they have been asked.  If you have a question we haven’t covered, e-mail us at tbones9119@yahoo.com or rocketiger@yahoo.com.

Yugi Starter Deck

SDY-001 Mystical Elf
    -CANNOT transfer its attack power like it does in the show
    -CANNOT power up Blue-Eyes White Dragon like it does in the Dark Duel  Stories video game
SDY-002 Feral Imp
SDY-003 Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress
SDY-004 Summoned Skull
    -Level 6, not 7, so only one tribute is required
SDY-005 Beaver Warrior
SDY-006 Dark Magician
SDY-007 Gaia the Fierce Knight
SDY-008 Curse of Dragon
SDY-009 Celtic Guardian
SDY-010 Mammoth Graveyard
SDY-011 Great White
SDY-012 Silver Fang
SDY-013 Giant Soldier of Stone
SDY-014 Dragon Zombie
SDY-015 Doma the Angel of Silence
SDY-016 Ansatsu
SDY-017 Witty Phantom
SDY-018 Claw Reacher
SDY-019 Mystic Clown
SDY-020 Sword of Dark Destruction
    -can only be used on a DARK-attribute monster
SDY-021 Book of Secret Arts
    -can only be used on a Spellcaster-type monster
SDY-022 Dark Hole
    -destroys ALL monsters on the field, yours, your opponent’s, face-up, face-down, attack or defense position
    -NOT a targeting effect, so Lord of D. does not protect against it
    -face-down flip effect monsters are not flipped, and their effects are not activated
SDY-023 Dian Keto the Cure Master
SDY-024 Ancient Elf
SDY-025 Magical Ghost
SDY-026 Fissure
    -if more than one monster is tied for the lowest attack, the player who activates Fissure chooses which one to destroy
    -NOT a targeting effect, so Lord of D. and Fairy’s Hand Mirror do not work against it
SDY-027 Trap Hole
    -must be used immediately after a monster is flip summoned, tribute summoned, or normal summoned
    -monsters summoned by Ultimate Offering can be affected by Trap Hole
    -cannot be used when a monster is Set
    -monsters flipped by attacks are not summoned, so Trap Hole cannot be used
    -CANNOT be used on Jinzo
    -if used on a flip summoned monster, the monster still gets its effect
    -if negated, a second Trap Hole cannot be used on the same monster
    -NOT a targeting effect
SDY-028 Two-Pronged Attack
    -if you do not have 2 monsters to sacrifice, you can’t activate this card
    -the 2 monsters are NOT a cost to using the card, so if it is negated, the monsters are not still destroyed
    -you must sacrifice monsters from your side of the field, not your hand
    -can be used in response to Mirror Force to destroy an opponent’s monster
SDY-029 De-Spell
    -can destroy one of yours or your opponent’s magic cards
    -CANNOT be used on your opponent’s turn, so it can’t be used in response to Raigeki, Pot of Greed, etc.
    -CANNOT be used on a face-down monster in order to find out what the monster is
SDY-030 Monster Reborn
    -a monster summoned by this card is a special summon, so you don’t pay tribute, and you are allowed another summon in
        the same turn
    -cannot be activated if you don’t have an open space for a monster
    -CANNOT bring back a fusion monster, ritual monster, or special summon requirement monster (i.e. Gate Guardian) unless
        the monster was originally summoned by the method listed on the monster card
    -cannot be used on a fusion monster that was summoned using Versago the Destroyer, Goddess with the Third Eye, or
        Beastking of the Swamps
SDY-031 Reinforcements
    -can be activated anytime during a turn
    -you can activate 2 Reinforcements to increase a monster’s attack by 1000
    -you can target your opponent’s monster
    -is a targeting effect
SDY-032 Change of Heart
    -can be used on a face-down monster
    -a face-down monster taken with this card is not flipped face-up automatically, but can be flip summoned by the player who
        takes control of it, and the current controller could use any effect the monster has (except graveyard effects such as
        Sangan or Witch of the Black Forest)
    -you can attack with, tribute, and/or change the position of the monster
    -the monster is returned to your opponent in the position you left it in
    -is a targeting effect
SDY-033 The Stern Mystic
    -does not negate all effects for the turn, just the effects of the monsters it flips are not activated
SDY-034 Wall of Illusion
    -monster attacking this card is returned to owner’s hand, not controller’s
    -if Wall of Illusion is in attack position and is attacked by a monster with less attack power, the attacking monster is
        destroyed, not returned to the owner’s hand
SDY-035 Neo the Magic Swordsman
SDY-036 Baron of the Fiend Sword
SDY-037 Man-Eating Treasure Chest
SDY-038 Sorcerer of the Doomed
SDY-039 Last Will
    -monster you summon must be face-up
    -monster is considered a special summon, so no tribute, and you can summon another monster in the same turn
    -cannot be used to summon ritual monsters or other monsters that have a special summon requirement
    -can be activated before or after a monster is destroyed
    -1 Last Will can only get you 1 monster, but you can use 2 Last Wills to get 2 monsters when 1 monster is destroyed
SDY-040 Waboku
    -does not negate the attack, and does not end the battle phase (yes, ignore what Upperdeck’s FAQ says, it is wrong)
    -blocks damage from opponent’s monster’s only, not your own
    -blocks damage to your monsters and your life points, so your monster’s can’t be destroyed by attacks that turn
    -face-down monsters that are attacked are still flipped face-up, and any flip effects they have are activated
    -only monsters attacked are flipped, not all monsters (the UD FAQ isn’t necessarily wrong, just poorly worded)
    -does not apply to damage from monster effects or from magic/trap cards, only to attacks
SDY-041 Soul Exchange
    -can be used on face-up or face-down monsters
    -if used on a face-down monster, the monster is not flipped, so any flip effect it has is not activated
    -cannot be used during Main Phase 2
    -if used for a summon, it is still a normal summon, not a special summon
    -can be used for the effect of Cannon Soldier, Catapult Turtle, etc.
    -can be used for ritual summons and for magic cards that require tribute (Share the Pain)
    -multiple Soul Exchanges can be used in one turn
    -the tribute must be used for something, and must be used immediately, so you cannot use 2 Soul Exchanges to summon a
        level 7+ monster
    -skipping your Battle Phase is an effect of the card, not a cost, so if Soul Exchange is negated, you still get your Battle Phase
    -is a targeting effect
SDY-042 Card Destruction
    -the discarded cards are not a cost to using the card
    -applies to both players
    -if a player is unable to draw the number of cards they discarded, they lose; if both players are unable to draw, the game is a
        draw
    -this card is not counted towards the number of cards discarded
SDY-043 Trap Master
    -can be used on you or your opponent
    -if flipped, you MUST choose a card as a target, unless neither player has any magic/trap cards on the field
    -if a face-down magic card is targeted, it must be shown to prove it is a magic card
    -CANNOT target a face-down monster to find out what the monster is
SDY-044 Dragon Capture Jar
    -affects both player’s Dragon-type monsters
    -is NOT a targeting effect, so it is not stopped by Lord of D.
SDY-045 Yami
    -applies to both players’ monsters
SDY-046 Man-Eater Bug
    -you can destroy one of your monsters or one of your opponents
    -you choose who to destroy-it does not have to be the monster attacking Man-Eater Bug
    -the effect can be used on itself, and it must be used on itself if it is the only monster on the field when it is flipped
    -if the effect is used to destroy a face-down monster, the monster is not flipped, and any flip effect it has is not activated
SDY-047 Reverse Trap
    -affects all increases/decreases from magic cards, trap cards, and monster effects
    -does not work on Waboku, Megamorph, or a Gate Guardian piece’s effect
    -increases become decreases, they do not become +0
    -you CANNOT use a second Reverse Trap to counter the effects of the first one
SDY-048 Remove Trap
    -cannot be used in response to a trap card
    -can only be used during a main phase on your own turn
    -can only destroy face-up continuous trap cards
SDY-049 Castle Walls
    -you can activate 2 Castle Walls to increase the defense by 1000
    -can be used on an opponent’s monster
    -is a targeting effect
SDY-050 Ultimate Offering
    -monsters are still normal summons and can be hit by Trap Hole
    -you still must tribute as normal
    -only the player who activated the card may summon with it
    -you can summon as many monsters as you want
    -summons are during one of your own Main Phases or your opponent’s Battle Phase
    -if used during your opponent’s Battle Phase a replay is triggered
    -CANNOT be used to summon Toon monsters

Home