Last Will is broken? When did that happen?

Last Will is one of the oldest cards in the game, but recent revisions to its mechanics have altered many players’ perceptions of its usefulness. As they say, what’s old is new again. When it began to appear at Shonen Jump Championships, interest in Last Will was appropriately reawakened. In order to really understand why Last Will is suddenly seeing so much use, we first need to understand the revisions to the card’s mechanics.

Last Will was reprinted in Tournament Pack 7 with the following text: “If a monster on your side of the field was sent to your Graveyard this turn, you can Special Summon 1 monster with an ATK of 1500 points or less from your Deck once during this turn. Then shuffle your Deck.”

Last Will looks for a specific event to occur (or which has already occurred), and once satisfied, it will allow you to carry out its effect almost any time you like. Specifically, it is waiting for a monster on your side of the field to be sent to your graveyard. It doesn’t really matter how you accomplish this, so long as the monster in question was yours and was on your side of the field when it was sent to your graveyard. You could tribute your monster for a summon, destroy it with Torrential Tribute, or ram it headfirst into a stronger monster. It doesn’t matter as long as you can satisfy Last Will’s sole requirement.

The wording behind Last Will’s specific requirement means that you cannot use your opponent’s monster to satisfy it, because such a monster would not go into your graveyard. It also means that destroying your monster while it is under your opponent’s control won’t satisfy Last Will, because the monster was not on your side of the field at the time it was eliminated.

While the text itself may not seem that much different from its previous incarnations, the rulings regarding its behavior have changed. The old text of Last Will said, “…is sent to the graveyard…” and the new text says, “…was sent to the graveyard.” In the past, you needed to activate Last Will before losing your monster to your graveyard. Anything that happened before it was activated would not help, so you needed to plan in advance. Last Will’s condition can now be satisfied by an event that happened earlier in the turn, before you even played it. This utility allows you to react to unexpected events in your turn and surprise your opponent.

After you have satisfied the condition of Last Will, the fun can begin. At almost any time during your turn, you can choose one monster from your deck with an ATK value of 1500 or less, and then special summon it onto your side of the field. You can special summon the monster during one of your main phases, or your battle phase, or even during your end phase. However, you’ll need to obey a few restrictions, which have been outlined in the official FAQ.

For example, it is not possible to use the effect of Last Will during your damage step. The damage step is simply off limits. You can always special summon the monster during your battle step, and—assuming you put it into attack position—you could then proceed to attack it.

A single copy of Last Will is limited to one use of its effect during the turn you play it. This means that one copy of Last Will will only get you one monster from your deck, even if you lose multiple monsters to your graveyard during the same turn. Playing Last Will multiple times during the same turn is possible, and doing so will allow you to special summon one monster each time you succeed in playing Last Will that turn. For example, if you were to play Last Will, retrieve it with Magician of Faith, and then play it again, you would be able to special summon two monsters during the turn.

Also keep in mind that you cannot use the effect of Last Will during a chain. If one of your monsters is sent to your graveyard during a chain, you must wait until after the chain has finished resolving before you can go into your deck to select a monster.

That brings up an interesting point. Does using Last Will’s effect to special summon a monster use the chain? Well, no, but that doesn’t mean your opponent has no say in the matter. It just means that both players will have to wait until after you have special summoned your monster before any responses can occur. For example, after you have selected and special summoned your monster, your opponent could respond to the special summon with Torrential Tribute.

When you special summon a monster for Last Will, your monster choices are wide open. However, some monsters will be off limits.

First you need to evaluate the monster’s printed ATK value. It doesn’t matter what will happen to the monster once it hits the field: only the monster’s printed ATK value is of any concern for the selection process. If the monster’s printed ATK value is too high, it is off limits to Last Will.

Consider Enraged Muka Muka. If you have one card in your hand, it will have 1600 ATK when it hits the field. This puts its ATK above 1500, so it might seem like it is off limits—but we refer to its printed ATK value of 1200 when conducting our selection. A printed ATK value of 1200 makes it a legal choice for Last Will.

On the other hand, there’s Arsenal Bug. While it is the only face-up Insect monster on your side of the field, its ATK and DEF values become 1000. You might think that this makes it a valid choice for Last Will because 1000 is clearly lower than 1500; but Arsenal Bug’s printed ATK value is 2000. When you are conducting your selection, that 2000 printed ATK makes Arsenal Bug off limits to Last Will.

Most monsters have clearly printed ATK values, while some have undefined ATK values that are usually denoted by a question mark, like Destiny Hero - Dreadmaster from Enemy of Justice. Monsters like these cannot be special summoned by Last Will because their ATK value is undefined while they’re in your deck, and thus cannot be determined.

Any ritual monster, no matter how low its ATK value, cannot be special summoned by Last Will. They have a specific method for being summoned, and Last Will won’t meet their requirements. You will find that other monsters with similar limitations, like Cyber Barrier Dragon, are also off limits. Be sure to refer to the monster’s text before deciding to select it.

It can be hard to truly appreciate how the changes to Last Will’s mechanics have affected its playability. I was using Last Will in one of my decks, and when it changed, my ability to pull together combos and strategies greatly increased. I now possessed an ability to react to unforeseen consequences that surpassed anything I had ever enjoyed before.

Next week we will examine some real-life situations where the alterations to Last Will can make an impact. Be sure to return here then for the conclusion!

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