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Talking Turkey
The Damage Step
April 6, 2007 

One of the aspects of dueling that separates good duelists from bad ones is a firm understanding of basic game mechanics.  I am consistently surprised at how many duelists do not comprehend the fundamental components of Yu-Gi-Oh, and yet expect to succeed at their local tournaments.

Recently at a Regional tournament where I was judging, I had the opportunity to table judge the Top 8 matches.  In the Quarterfinal round, Player 1 had a face up Elemental Hero Wildheart and a face down Spell or Trap card.  His opponent, Player 2, had a face up Cyber Dragon and Hydrogeddon, with a face down Spell or Trap of his own.

Player 2 declared an attack with his Hydrogeddon on Player 1’s Elemental Hero Wildheart.  Player 1 immediately flipped over his face down card: Rush Recklessly.   Player 2 paused for a moment, and then said “I assume you waited for the Damage Step?”, to which Player  1 responded “Yes”.

I sat there shocked, as Player 2 placed his Hydrogeddon into the Graveyard, and subtracted 500 of his life points.  I reeled even further as Player 2 then played Book of Moon from his hand to flip Wildheart face down, and then stomp on him with his Cyber Dragon.  What was worse though was next turn seeing him flip over his face down card in response to an attack, only to reveal an Enemy Controller.

After the match was over, with Player 1 being the victor, I informed Player 2 of his mistake.  Since Player 1 had simply flipped up his Rush Recklessly, without waiting for the Damage Step, Player 2 could have chained either the Book of Moon from his hand, or the Enemy Controller from his field, and preserved the life of his Hydrogeddon.  That one mistake likely cost him the game.

Mistakes like the one described above are altogether too common, and many skilled pushes forward result in failure, simply because the turn player doesn’t understand how the Damage Step truly works.

Since Shrink, arguably the best card in Yu-Gi-Oh that can be activated in the Damage Step, has now been mass released, I think it appropriate that we review the basics.

The Damage Step occurs during the Battle Phase, which to the surprise of many has several different steps or phases.

On page 17 of the Official Rulebook (ver 6.0) we can see the following chart.

Sadly this chart is a very simplistic description of how the Battle Phase works, and is likely why so few people properly understand it.

On page 32 we have an outline on the restrictions of the Damage Step, but this also is far too brief for my tastes.

So, to help me out, I’ve invited both Seto Kaiba and Yugi Moto here to show how a proper Battle Phase should be conducted.

Kaiba: Let’s get on with this already; I have a multi-billion dollar company to run.

Yugi: Yeah, and I’m due at the hair salon for a re-dye.

Turkeyspit: Ok, so Kaiba has a Blue-Eyes White Dragon on his field, and Yugi has his Dark Magician, with a face-down Spell or Trap card.

Kaiba: Who said that? Answer me now!

Yugi: Yami? Is that you?

Turkeyspit: Pay no attention to the man behind the monitor.  Now conduct your Battle Phase please.

Kaiba: Fine.  Prepare to be defeated Yugi!

Yugi: Me and my deck are ready.

Kaiba: Enough talk. I enter my Battle Phase! (Start Step)

Yugi: Ok.

Kaiba: I do not wish to activate any cards.  What about you?

Yugi: No thank you, not right now.

Kaiba: Fine. I declare an attack with my Blue-Eyes White Dragon, on your pathetic Dark Magician.  Do you have any response? (Battle Step)

Yugi: I do not have a response.

Kaiba: I thought not. You’re pathetic.  I enter the Damage Step, and choose to not activate any cards.  (Damage Step) Do you give up yet?

Yugi: Not yet. I activate my face-down card: Shrink!

Kaiba: What?! That’s impossible!  Only I have that card!

Yugi: Looks like you are mistaken.  Since it decreases the Attack strength of your Monster, it’s legal to activate in the Damage Step.

Kaiba: I know that! It’s not like I don’t know how to play this game!

Yugi: Do you have a response to my activation of Shrink?

Kaiba: No, I don’t. Curse you Yugi.

Turkeyspit: Ok. So now your Blue-Eyes White Dragon has 1500 ATK, and it’s time to resolve the Damage Calculation.

Kaiba: Who is that!?

Turkeyspit: Nevermind!  Since Yugi’s Dark Magician has 2500 ATK and your Blue-Eyes has only 1500 ATK, your dragon is destroyed, and you take 1000 LPs of damage.  Since there are no other effects to resolve, we can proceed right to the end of the Damage Step, and send your Blue-Eyes White Dragon to the Graveyard.

Kaiba: I’ll get you for this Yugi.  Since I have no other monsters to attack you with, I must end my Battle Phase. (End Step)

So there you have a rough idea of how the Damage Step works.  In the example I gave above, the player controlling the Hydrogeddon could have chained either his Book of Moon or Enemy Controller to his opponent’s Rush Recklessly, as his opponent did not declare that he was waiting until the Damage Step to activate his spell.  Had he done so, it would have been illegal to activate Book of Moon or Enemy Controller.

But what about face down monsters?  Well, the same procedure is followed, but since the Damage Step and Damage Calculation only begin after the face-down Monster has been flipped up, it is only then that you can activate cards that either increase or decrease the statistics of either monster.

Let’s Talk Turkey:  Understanding how the Damage Step works is critical to you being a successful duelist.  Comprehending what can and cannot be activated during that part of the Battle Phase can impact heavily both your strategy, and your deck construction.  I realize that it may seem silly to announce every action and every step of this game, but doing so will ensure that there are no misunderstandings, and that each duelist knows what’s going on at any given point in the duel.  Don’t let a lack of knowledge lead you to making critical mistakes that could cost you the duel!

If you have any suggestions for articles, or just want to leave a comment, please send your e-mail to turkeyspit@gmail.com