Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys is hard to keep down. Just when you think you’ve managed to destroy it, the Phoenix returns, using its sacred flames to burn down all the spell and trap cards on the field. Along with its faithful servant, Hand of Nephthys, many players have found that the Phoenix is a welcome addition to any deck. Just ask the World Champion—he had both monsters in his deck.

This week, we’ll examine the mechanics behind both cards.

For reference, the text of Hand of Nephthys reads, “Tribute 2 monsters on your side of the field, including this card, to Special Summon 1 “Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys” from your hand or Deck.”

The effect of Hand of Nephthys is an ignition effect that you can only activate during one of your main phases. You activate the effect by tributing two monsters; namely, Hand of Nephthys and one additional monster you control. This will pay the cost for the effect and place it on the chain, and your opponent is then free to respond to that effect. When the effect resolves, search your deck for Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys and special summon it. Or, if you have one in your hand, you can special summon it without looking through your deck.

In order to activate this card’s effect, it must be face-up on your side of the field. Knowing this, players will often ask what happens if the opponent tries to use a card like Book of Moon to turn Hand of Nephthys face-down before its effect resolves. Everyone needs to remember that Hand of Nephthys and the other tributed monster are tributed as a cost when you declare your intent to activate the effect. This means that both monsters will no longer be on the field when the opponent is given a chance to respond, so it won’t be possible for the opponent to use Book of Moon. However, the opponent can use a card effect like Divine Wrath to negate the effect, because Divine Wrath does not have to target a monster on the field.

There is another card that’s quite capable of stopping the effect, and that’s Royal Oppression. If you activate Hand of Nephthys’s effect while Royal Oppression is face-up on the field, your opponent can use its effect to negate the Special Summon of the Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys. With Royal Oppression in play, it’s a bad time to try and use Hand of Nephthys’s effect.

If the opponent is unable to negate the effect, he or she will fall under the watchful eye of the Sacred Phoenix. But negating the summon isn’t the only possible approach. There’s another method that can work just as well.

After you activate Hand of Nephthys’s effect and tribute your monsters for the cost, you will have freed up two spaces in your monster zone. This normally allows plenty of room for Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys to occupy when it arrives on the field. But if you happen to have exactly three open spaces, your opponent could respond to Hand of Nephthys’s effect by activating Ojama Trio.

What happens now, you ask? Whenever you summon a monster, you need an open spot in your monster zone. But thanks to the Ojama tokens created by Ojama Trio, three of your monster zone spaces are now occupied. If your other two monster zone spaces are also occupied, you won’t have any room to special summon your Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys and the effect of Hand of Nephthys will have failed.

Will this happen often? Probably not. But it’s still good to keep the mechanics in mind.

Now that Hand of Nephthys’s effect has resolved, Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys has risen to power. Let’s examine its effect.

Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys reads, “If this card is destroyed by a card effect, Special Summon this card during your next Standby Phase. If you Special Summon this card successfully in this way, destroy all Spell and Trap Cards on the field.”

The first line of the effect tells you that any card effect destroying Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys will cause it to be special summoned back to the field during your next standby phase. Unlike Vampire Lord, Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys doesn’t care which player is responsible for using the card effect, nor does it care what side of the field it’s on.

Suppose your opponent uses Brain Control and takes your Phoenix. She attacks you with it during your battle phase, so you use Sakuretsu Armor to destroy it. During your next standby phase, the Phoenix will rise again, because it was destroyed by a card effect. It doesn’t matter that your opponent was controlling it at the time.

This also means that the person who owns the Phoenix will get its effect. The Phoenix knows who its master is and returns to his or her service. Even being destroyed by Premature Burial and Call of the Haunted will allow Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys to return to play. If either you or your opponent uses Dark Hole on the Phoenix, it will return. Smashing Ground, Sakuretsu Armor, Raigeki Break, and Widespread Ruin will all result in the Phoenix returning to play. With this on a player’s mind, he or she will be looking for alternatives.

Whenever Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys comes up in discussions, someone will eventually ask if discarding the Phoenix is the same as destroying it. Give a solid response of “no” to this question. “Discarding” and “destroying” are two separate game terms and don’t mean the same thing.

If Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys is discarded by an effect like Confiscation, it will not be special summoned during your next standby phase. Tributing Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys won’t make it come back either, because tributing does not destroy the monster. This means a card like Share the Pain or Soul Exchange could be used to permanently eliminate the threat of the Phoenix.

Let’s assume that a player’s Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys is destroyed by a card effect and it’s sent to the graveyard. During his or her next standby phase, the Phoenix is special summoned by its own effect. Now that the Phoenix has been revived by its own effect, its next power is revealed—the flames of destruction.

Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys’s effect begins a chain to which the opponent can respond. The opponent is bound to realize that his or her spell and trap cards are going to be destroyed, so you can bet that he or she will be looking for things to do with them. Since the effect results from the Phoenix being special summoned, the timing is still correct for a player to use a card effect like Torrential Tribute or Bottomless Trap Hole.

Bottomless Trap Hole will make things interesting. It destroys the Phoenix and it removes it from play. Will the Phoenix still be special summoned during the player’s next standby phase?

Unfortunately, the answer is no. Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys’s effect activates while it’s in the graveyard, and will not activate if it’s anywhere else. This means the opponent could also use a card effect like Disappear or Soul Release to remove the Phoenix from play before it has its chance to revive itself. The Phoenix may be able to rise from its ashes, but it can’t rise from another dimension.

The opponent might respond with Divine Wrath, and this can create another problem. Divine Wrath can be used to negate the Phoenix’s effect when it attempts to special summon itself. This is fine and certainly causes few problems. It’s the added part about destroying the monster that’s the real problem.

With Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys lying in the graveyard, it isn’t possible for Divine Wrath to destroy it. Since Divine Wrath doesn’t destroy the Phoenix, the Phoenix will not be returning. This is Divine Wrath’s only chance to accomplish this, so it would be advisable to do so, or risk further agitating the Phoenix.

Until next week, send all comments to Curtis@metagame.com