Alright so here is my first lesson. I will be discussing almost everything about chains; how they work, when they occur, etc. I will also be discussing PSCT(Problem Solving Card Text) as many people who play Yugioh do not understand what it is and it is an essential part of understanding how chains work.
What is a chain?The formal definition is a stack that determines the order of resolution of multiple cards and effects. What this means is that when an effect or card is activated, a player can respond with another card/effect to what was activated therein forming a chain or chain link. When each player has no further responses then the chain resolves backwards starting from the last card/effect activated.
Now this doesn't mean that you can just activate any card in response to a card/effect. You may only respond to a card/effect if the card/effect you are activating is the same
Spell Speed or higher as the previous card/effect. Now how do we know what the Spell Speed of a card is? Well I will tell you.
Spell SpeedsSpell Speed 1Normal Spell
Field Spell
Continuous Spell
Ritual Spell
Equip Spell
Monster Ignition Effect
Monster Trigger Effect
Spell Speed 2Normal Trap
Continuous Trap
Quick-Play Spell
Monster Quick Effect
Spell Speed 3Counter Traps
Side Note: Now something important to note is that the only Spell Speed 1 cards that can be chained are trigger effects. This is for both monster and spell cards. This means you cannot chain a Normal Spell to the activation of a Field Spell.
Example 1So let's begin with a simple example of a chain. Player B has a set Reckless Greed and no other set Spell or Traps. The turn player A activates Mystical Space Typhoon targeting player B's set Reckless Greed. Here Mystical Space Typhoon is the first card in the chain so it is considered chain link 1. Now since Mystical Space Typhoon and Reckless Greed are both Spell Speed 2, player B can chain Reckless Greed in response to Mystical Space Typhoon. Player B then chains Reckless Greed as chain link 2. Since there are no further responses from player A or B, the chain resolves. A chain resolves backwards from the order of the chain link. So since this example had a chain link of 2, chain link 2 resolves first then chain link 1. So in this example Player B would draw 2 cards, then Reckless Greed would be destroyed by Mystical Space Typhoon.
Activation and ResolutionNow I'll be explaining what is essentially the most important part of chains and how they function. There are two parts to a chain the activation of cards/effects in the chain and the resolution of them. Now I've already discussed when you are able to activate cards/effects but I want to discuss what happens at activation, and to do that I think it's time to talk about PSCT.
PSCTAs I've previously mentioned PSCT stands for Problem Solving Card Text. PSCT was introduced in some set that I'm too lazy to look up but I'm assuming it was during the later half of the 5DS era. It was introduced into the game, as the name implies, to solve problems with cards since with most cards it was vague whether what happened on the card was either during activation or resolution.
Now lets take an example of how a card was altered, for this example it will be Mystical Space Typhoon. The original text of the card was:
Destroy 1 Spell or Trap card on the field. Now with this card text it was not obvious if this card targeted then destroyed or if it just destroyed during resolution without a target.
Now here is the updated card text with PSCT:
Target 1 Spell/Trap Card on the field; destroy that target. Now thanks to PSCT it is easy to tell what happens at activation and resolution. The main update to the text and what is most important here is the semi-colon ";". Now this is important,
anything that is written before the ";" happens during activation. So for MST the target of the card happens at activation, while the destruction happens at resolution.
Lets do another example with Phoenix Wing Wind Blast. Here is the card text:
Discard 1 card, then target 1 card your opponent controls; place that target on the top of the Deck. So taking into account what I said previously the discard and the target happen during activation, while the placing of the target happens during resolution. What is important here is that any action that is during an activation needs to be possible for the card to activate. So if a player would like to use PWWB they would need to have at least one card in there hand so that they are able to discard a card. This is also known as a
Cost. So in order to activate a card you must fulfill the cost.
Side Note:If a card effect does not have a semi-colon on it then the rest of the effect happens at resolution or it is just a continuous effect.
Another thing that PSCT aided was understanding when Trigger Effects occur. Let's do another example comparing pre-PSCT text and post-PSCT text.
Here is Zaborg the Thunder Monarch's pre-PSCT:
When this monster is tribute summoned successfully, destroy one monster on the field. Once again we don't know if the destruction occurs without targeting but also we assume that this is a Trigger Effect where the trigger is when Zaborg is tribute summoned. Here is the post-PSCT:
When this card is Tribute Summoned: Target 1 monster on the field; destroy that target. Here we see that Zaborg targets at activation, but even before that there is a colon ":". For cards with Trigger Effects what happens before the ":" is the trigger and the Trigger Effect can only activate if the trigger is met. So here we can see that Zaborg's trigger is when he is Tribute Summoned which means he can only activate his effect when he is Tribute Summoned.
Side Note: Ignition Effects can also have a colon in the effect. The way you can tell the difference is that Trigger Effects start off with either the word "When" or "If", while Ignition Effects usually have "Once per turn" before the colon. Also something to note is that not all Monster Trigger Effects are Spell Speed 1. There can also be Monster Quick Effects that are also Trigger Effects.
So that should conclude everything concerning PSCT hopefully what I have said will aid in you better understanding the activation and resolution of cards.
RecapSo let's do a quick recap of what I've discussed:
- There are two parts to a chain the activation and resolution.
- You can only chain to cards/effects that are the same Spell Speed or higher.
- Also something to note is that you cannot chain to the resolution of cards/effects only the activation of them.
- Once there are no other cards to be activated in the chain, the chain resolves backwards starting from the last card/effect activated.
- Anything that happens before the semi-colon ";" happens during activation.
- You must be able to fulfill the cost of a card in order to activate it.
- Triggers for Trigger Effects happen before the colon ":".
Now here is just some other trivia/knowledge about chains:
A normal summon or inherent summon does not start a chain.
When activating a card/effect in a chain you must wait to see if your opponent would like to activate the next card/effect in the chain. If they have no response then you may proceed to chain another card/effect. You must do this every time you activate a card/effect in a chain even if your opponent had no response to an earlier card/effect in the chain. If neither player has a response to a card/effect then the chain resolves.
If you would like to active a card/effect which states negating an
activation of a card, then you must chain that card/effect directly in the chain to the card that you wish to negate.
I think that ends this lesson on chains and PSCT. If I need to edit this lesson to add any material or if I happened to forget something then I will make note of it in the lesson.
The next lesson will most likely be on Trigger Effects and Missing The Timing.
