After a brief side trip into the world of big-tournament preparation,* it’s time to get back into the technical details of chaining! Interestingly enough, I had several Nationals competitors stop by the judge stand to tell me that the chaining series had actually improved their strategies for the big event—particularly the trick of chaining Return from the Different Dimension to another card. And we certainly saw a lot of Return that weekend. I cannot help but feel partially responsible . . .

Anyway, the last time we dealt with chains, we discussed the differences between starting a new chain and adding an effect onto an existing one. We spent a great deal of time on triggered effects and discussing how they can create a new chain when triggered midway through the current chain, as well as a bit of information on how a chain is structured when multiple trigger effects take place simultaneously.

After reading that article, you may have concluded that a new effect that arises as the result of a resolving chain will always have to wait until the current chain is cleared before resolving. Under most circumstances, you would be correct. Activating a trigger effect cannot come in between links of a chain, and you certainly cannot activate effects by choice while a chain is resolving. No matter how much you want to, you can’t chain your Scapegoat to the opponent’s Heavy Storm and then activate Torrential Tribute. However, there are some situations in which an effect can actually cut into a chain between links and resolve before the next link of the chain. It’s not as complicated as it sounds, and it’s really helpful to understand, because it answers questions that I’m sure you’ve encountered in your duels.

You’ve probably heard of things happening in between links of the chain, but you might not be clear about what they are, exactly. But eventually, you will find that it can mean the difference between a win and a loss. I’m going to explain a few different ways this can occur, and I’ll look at several of them in ways you’re likely to encounter on the dueling field, to help keep them relevant and useful to you, rather than a vague sort of academic blustering. Sound fun? Let’s have at it!

I’ve mentioned before that continuous effects don’t use the chain—they are treated as part of the game state, and as such, they can occur in between the links of a chain when appropriate. Here are some examples.

Monkey Bomb

Say you’ve got Berserk Gorilla out on the field and a set Skill Drain. Your opponent has a set monster and set spell or trap card. You declare an attack with Gorilla, and when your opponent has no response to the attack declaration, you activate Skill Drain to prevent him from getting the effect, figuring it’s got to be a Reaper or a Magician of Faith or something annoying like that . . . and hey, if that set was Sakuretsu Armor, he’d have used it! Well, it’s not Sakuretsu Armor, but it is an Enemy Controller, and your opponent decides to chain it to the Skill Drain, turning the monkey to defense position.

So, we’ve got Skill Drain >>> Enemy Controller, all riding on a mad monkey.

Now, if the Gorilla’s effect were delayed until after the chain resolved, of course Skill Drain would shut it off and it would survive the defense shift. But because its effect is continuous, it doesn’t use the chain, and it goes off between the links of the chain, right after Enemy Controller resolves and turns the Gorilla to defense position. End result: the monkey turns sideways and blows itself up with its own effect, Skill Drain activates, and then the attack resolves, with the set monster remaining free to use its effect if Skill Drain can be destroyed next turn.

Other continuous effects that interrupt a chain include:

Spirit Reaper

Reaper works a lot like Berserk Gorilla, with a continuous effect that destroys it in between links of a chain when it’s targeted by an effect. (And good riddance, too! Pesky monster—it totally had it coming.)

Level Limit - Area B

When Level Limit - Area B is active on the field and a new monster is summoned, the effect of Level Limit does not start a chain. Again, it’s a continuous effect. If I have two monsters on the field and use them both to tribute summon Dark Magician of Chaos, the Magician will immediately turn to defense position when it enters play. Then, the Magician’s effect that allows me to retrieve a spell card from my graveyard will activate, and become the first link of a new chain. The same can be said for Breaker the Magical Warrior or Zaborg the Thunder Monarch when summoned to a field under the influence of Level Limit - Area B.

Skilled Dark Magician

The effect that places a spell counter on Skilled Dark Magician when a spell card is activated is a continuous one. You can’t use Divine Wrath against it, and the counter is placed on the monster after the resolution of the spell card. If several effects have been activated as part of a chain, it comes in between links of the chain.

It’s not only continuous effects that you need to watch out for, though. There are other situations in a duel where you may encounter an interruption, and it can make a difference in correct play. Here are a few others. One is quite obvious, but you’d be surprised at how often players overlook it!

Other Things that Happen In Between Chain Links Include . . .

Dark Crisis Archfiends

The effect of cards like Vilepawn Archfiend, Desrook Archfiend, Shadowknight Archfiend, Darkbishop Archfiend, Infernalqueen Archfiend, Terrorking Archfiend, and Skull Archfiend of Lightning, which require you to roll a die when an effect targets the Archfiend, doesn’t use the chain. While it is a trigger effect, and not a continuous one, the die roll is done when resolving the opponent’s effect, and therefore it happens in between links. Tricky! Don’t include the die roll on the chain.

Anything That Establishes A Game State

There are plenty of cards that establish a “game state,” and therefore won’t be part of any chain. For example, Elemental Hero Necroshade’s effect that allows you to normal summon an Elemental Hero from your hand without tributing, or Second Coin Toss’s “re-toss” of a coin both establish a condition in the game that allows you to perform a certain action. The establishment of those conditions does not use the chain. Last Will works in a similar way, introducing a game state where a certain effect can occur when the conditions are correct.

Winning The Game

This is one that people often overlook, for some odd and unknown reason. Winning the game will interrupt the chain—whether you win with a condition such as holding all pieces of Exodia, or the usual way by reducing your opponent’s life points to zero. Once that has happened, the remainder of any given chain becomes irrelevant. The game is over the instant the win conditions are met, and it doesn’t matter what else is still lined up waiting to happen.

Don’t get this confused with the end-of-match procedure that happens when you pass three extra turns and are looking to compare life points. Once the round has ended, and the extra turns have been played, life point comparisons will be made to determine the winner. If they are the same, play continues until the first change in life points—but in this case, you will allow a chain to fully resolve before comparing the life points, as quoted from Upper Deck Entertainment’s Yu-Gi-Oh! Tournament Policy:

•    If a winner has not been determined by the end of the additional three turns, the player with the greater Life Point total wins the game. If both players’ Life Points are equal, play continues until the first change in Life Points. Always resolve all effects that are already on the chain before comparing the players’ Life Points.

At the end of the fourth turn, the player with the greatest Life Point total wins the Match. If the Life Point totals are equal, continue play until the first change in Life Points. Always resolve all effects that are already on the chain before comparing the players’ Life Points.

Note that if a player manages to reduce the opponent to zero, that will interrupt the chain, because that is a recognized win condition. The same applies to a win by any other condition, such as Exodia. In this instance, it just refers to finishing a chain that raises or lowers life points (such as one player chaining his or her Ceasefire to the opponent’s) before comparing the life points to determine the winner (assuming the change didn’t bring one player to zero life points).

This certainly isn’t a definitive overview of absolutely every card and effect that will interrupt a chain, but it’s sufficient to give you a better understanding of what it means to interrupt a chain.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this rather long series. Judging from the feedback I’ve received, plenty of you have found it interesting and relevant. Since that’s what the column is all about, I’m happy it worked out that way. See you next week!

*I was pleased and surprised at how many people came up to me to tell me that they’d read the “Preparing for Nationals” article, and that it was useful to them.