This week, we’re looking at cards that bring us the element of surprise—trap cards. All trap cards share similar limitations on when they can be activated, but each type of trap has its own quirks that need to be understood. This week’s article is a refresher course on how traps work.
Here are the basic rules for using trap cards.
To activate a trap card, you must set it in the spell and trap card zone.
A trap card can’t be activated on the same turn it was set.
You can activate a set trap card any time after the start of the turn following the turn in which that trap was set. Just make sure the trap’s activation requirements are met.
Normal Trap Cards
Normal traps are the most basic type of trap. They have one-shot effects and are destroyed when those effects resolve unless the card’s text says otherwise. These traps are often played in response to the summoning of a monster, an attack, another card’s activation, or sometimes for no particular reason at all.
For example, Mirror Force can only be activated when your opponent declares an attack with one of his or her monsters. Trap Hole can only be activated when your opponent normal summons, tribute summons, or flip summons a monster that has at least 1000 ATK. However, you can play Jar of Greed whenever you want to draw a card, because Jar of Greed doesn’t have a specific trigger.
Continuous Trap Cards
Continuous trap cards activate like normal trap cards but remain in play after they resolve. Like continuous spells, continuous traps sometimes need “maintenance costs” to be paid to keep them active.
For example, you need to pay 700 life points during each of your standby phases to maintain
Imperial Order. If you don’t pay this cost, the trap is destroyed. The choice to pay the maintenance cost is up to you.
A continuous trap’s effect is usually constant, but some continuous trap cards have one-shot effects that can be reused. Ultimate Offering, Royal Oppression, Skull Lair, and Astral Barrier are cards of this type. Activating the effect of a continuous trap uses the chain, and your opponents can respond to it.
Example: Ultimate Offering
Let’s say I have a set Ultimate Offering. During my main phase, my opponent activates a set Mystical Space Typhoon and targets my set Ultimate Offering. I can activate Ultimate Offering, but I can’t use its effect to summon a monster. This is because I still need to activate the effect of Ultimate Offering, and I can’t do that in the same chain.
Because of their ongoing nature, continuous trap cards have to stay face up on the field for their effects to remain active. If a continuous trap is destroyed or removed from the field, its effect will disappear. This is true even for continuous traps with reusable effects.
Example: Call of the Haunted
Let’s say my opponent activates Call of the Haunted and targets Summoned Skull. If I respond with Mystical Space Typhoon and destroy Call of the Haunted, the trap’s effect disappears and my opponent can’t special summon a monster. This is because Call of the Haunted is a continuous trap and needs to be face up on the field for its effect to work.
Counter Trap Cards
Counter traps have the highest-level effects in the game. Most counter traps negate specific events or types of cards. For example, Magic Jammer negates the activation of a spell card. Seven Tools of the Bandit negates the activation of a trap card, and Horn of Heaven negates the summoning of a monster.
Counter traps usually have to be activated in immediate response to the card or event they will negate.
Example: Can’t Jam the Jar
Let’s say my opponent activates Pot of Greed, and I activate Imperial Order in response to negate the spell’s effect. My opponent responds with Dust Tornado to destroy my Imperial Order. At this point, I can’t activate Magic Jammer to negate Pot of Greed, because Magic Jammer can only be activated in immediate response to the spell card it will negate. It’s too late to use Magic Jammer now. A counter trap Card like Seven Tools of the Bandit is a better choice, because I can use it to negate Dust Tornado.
Traps and the Damage Step
During the damage step, the only traps you can activate are counter traps and traps that modify the ATK or DEF of a monster. This means you can play a counter trap like Magic Drain during the damage step in response to a card activated in the damage step.
Here are some examples of traps you can activate during the damage step: Castle Walls, Mask of Weakness, Snake Fang, Mirror Wall, Magic Jammer, Seven Tools of the Bandit, and Magic Drain.
On the other hand, you can’t activate Reverse Trap during the damage step, because (strictly speaking) the trap doesn’t modify a monster’s ATK or DEF. Even though the card reverses all increases and decreases to ATK and DEF, Reverse Trap can’t be used during the damage step because it doesn’t create the stat changes.
Additionally, Magic Cylinder, Mirror Force, and Waboku can’t be activated during the damage step because they don’t specifically modify the ATK or DEF of a monster. Magic Cylinder and Mirror Force must be used during the Battle Step. Waboku is more versatile and has no activation requirement, but the damage step is still off limits.
I hope that this article has helped clear up the different types of traps and how they work.
Until next week, class is dismissed.