Duelists these days have been well trained in the use of Priority – or so they think.  Ever since Version 6.0 of the Official Rulebook was printed, we have an official definition of what constitutes Priority, and how it is to be applied in a duel.  While many are still confused over what Priority is, a greater number of duelists now have a solid grasp of how it works – or so they think.

 

I’ve noticed that people like to cut corners in Yu-Gi-Oh!.  Whether it is for speed, style, or the conservation of energy, the average duelist does not communicate to their opponent everything that they should.  When it comes to Priority, most duelists think that all they need to do is indicate to their opponent that they wish to use their priority to activate a card effect (usually a Monsters’ Ignition effect).  Unfortunately, there is something that has priority over Priority, and cannot be ignored: the process of negating a summons.

 

I summoned that monster…didn’t I?

 

There are many cards that allow a duelist to negate the summons of a monster.  They have different costs, spell speeds and triggers, but they all serve the same purpose: to prevent a monster from hitting the field.  Solemn Judgment, Horn of Heaven, Forced Back, and Royal Oppression are all examples of these types of cards. Unfortunately, the Turn Player often doesn’t provide sufficient opportunity for their Opponent to activate this type of card.

 

It may not be obvious, but there is a time lapse between a player’s announcement of their intention to summon a monster, and when it actually hits the playmat.   If a summons is negated, the monster’s effect (if any) never activates, because it never gets to the field. This can be important in deciding whether or not other cards may be activated.

 

Example:

 

- Little Billy is the Turn Player, and has Sangan in face-down Defense Position.

- Big Bob is his Opponent, and he has a face-down Solemn Judgment.

 

Little Billy announces that he will tribute Sangan to Tribute Summon the Jinzo in his hand.  Since Jinzo has a Continuous Effect, no Traps may be activated, and the effects of all face-up Traps are negated, as soon as he hits the field.  Big Bob isn’t in trouble just yet though, as he announces that he will activate his face-down Solemn Judgment, and negate the summoning of Jinzo!

 

So what happens now?

 

The cost of Tribute Summoning Jinzo (Sangan) must be paid, and so the little critter is sent to the graveyard.  However, the effect of Solemn Judgment will destroy Jinzo as well, and send him to the graveyard.

 

“But doesn’t Jinzo negate Traps”, you ask? Since we’ve already discussed how negating the summons prevents the Monster from hitting the field, Solemn Judgment will activate and resolve before Jinzo’s effect is capable of altering the game state.

 

You got it – Big Bob just killed Jinzo with a Trap Card!

 

This is important because many monsters have costs associated with their Trigger or Ignition effects, and these costs are only to be paid AFTER the monster has been summoned successfully. After all, it’s rather hard to activate the effect of a monster that was never summoned.

 

Too often, I see players declare their Priority to activate an Ignition Effect and pay the cost, without first asking if their opponent wishes to negate the summons!  When you consider the costs associated with cards like Card Trooper and Snipe Hunter, it’s clear that the game state will be irreparably altered should the opponent wish to negate that summons.

 

 

Back off!

 

Just so we all understand how it works, let us run through a scenario together.  We will use Little Billy and Big Bob again, as they have been so helpful to us already.

 

Little Billy: I enter my Main Phase 1

Big Bob: Ok

Little Billy: I special summon my Cyber Dragon to the field.  Do you wish to negate the summons?

Big Bob: No

Little Billy: I pass priority. Do you have a response to Cyber Dragon’s summoning?

Big Bob: No

Little Billy: I normal summon Card Trooper.  Do you wish to negate the summons?

Big Bob: Yes.  I activate my face-down Forced Back.  Do you have a response?

Little Billy: No, I do not.

 

Forced Back will negate the summoning of Card Trooper, and it’s returned to Little Billy’s hand.

 

It’s important to understand that this was done before Little Billy would have used his Turn Priority to activate Card Trooper’s effect, sending 1, 2 or 3 cards from the top of his deck to the graveyard.  Had Little Billy played too quickly, and not given his opponent a chance to activate Forced Back, Little Billy would have accidentally revealed the top 3 cards of his deck to both himself and his opponent.

 

 

Since Little Billy is the Turn Player, he does have Priority to negate the summoning of his own monster before his opponent can.  I don’t know why you would wish to negate the summoning of your own monster, but the rules of Priority apply even here. 

 

Let’s have a look at the same example, only this time Big Bob won’t have a Forced Back ready to go.

 

Little Billy: I enter my Main Phase 1

Big Bob: Ok

Little Billy: I special summon my Cyber Dragon to the field.  Do you wish to negate the summons?

Big Bob: No

Little Billy: I pass priority. Do you have a response to Cyber Dragon’s summoning?

Big Bob: No

Little Billy: I normal summon Card Trooper.  Do you wish to negate the summons?

Big Bob: No.

Little Billy: I use my priority to activate the effect of Card Trooper, and I send 3 cards from the top of my deck to the Graveyard.  Do you have a response?

Big Bob: Yes. I will activate my face-down Chain Disappearance, and target your Card Trooper.  Do you wish to respond?

Little Billy: No.

Big Bob: I do not wish to activate any more effects.

 

Even though Little Billy used his priority to activate the effect of Card Trooper, it still hasn’t resolved yet, making Big Bob’s activation of Chain Disappearance perfectly legal.  Since no other effects were activated, Chain Disappearance will resolve, removing from play that Card Trooper, and any copies of it from Billy’s hand or deck.  Poor Billy.

 

Let’s Talk Turkey:

 

Yu-Gi-Oh! is all about communication!  It may seem a little odd to announce each and every action you intend to perform, until you realize that doing so can prevent confusion and the misplaying of card effects.  Many duelists think that there is no need to even speak to their opponents, and that their hand gestures and the cards themselves are sufficient. Those silent players will find themselves on the receiving end of a Warning or Game Loss for a Procedural Error that could have been avoided, had proper effort been put forth to communicate with their opponent.

 

If you want to play at the top tables of your Regional or Shonen Jump Championship Tournament, then understanding the fundamental mechanics of how this game works is a good start.

 

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