Today I open up the mail bag for more reader-submitted questions.

The Skilled Apprentice

With the release of Crystal Seer and changes to the Forbidden list that brought back Magician of Faith and Breaker the Magical Warrior, I’ve received an increase in questions related to Apprentice Magician.

When Apprentice Magician was first released in Magician’s Force, he had text similar to that of Mystic Tomato and other “recruiter monsters,” but did not work in the same way. In those days, his effect activated when he was destroyed as a result of battle, during the time when the flip effects of attacked monsters were resolved. This had an impact on how other effects would interact with the Apprentice Magician.

The rulings have since changed and Apprentice Magician now works in a similar fashion to the recruiters, with a bit of a twist. He must still be destroyed in battle, but now his effect activates at the time monsters that are destroyed in battle are sent to the graveyard. This might make you think that Apprentice Magician is a “graveyard effect,” but the card’s original intent remains. Apprentice Magician only needs to be destroyed in battle. He does not care if he is sent to the graveyard or removed from play when he finally gets cleared off the field.

Example: Dimensional Traveler

Darren has Apprentice Magician in face-up defense mode. His opponent Teri has Dimensional Fissure face up on her side of the field. Teri attacks Darren’s Apprentice Magician with Alien Shocktrooper, destroying the Magician in battle. At the end of the damage step, the destroyed Magician is removed from play instead of being placed into the graveyard, but his effect still activates because he only needed to be destroyed in battle. It does not matter that Apprentice Magician is removed from play.

This change in rulings has caused a minor change to the Magician’s interaction with a few of the “D.D.” monsters like D.D. Warrior and D. D. Warrior Lady. In the past, Apprentice Magician’s effect would have formed a chain with the effect of the Warrior or Warrior Lady, but now the timing for each effect is different. When D.D. Warrior battles with Apprentice Magician, both cards are removed from play before Apprentice Magician can be sent to the graveyard. That said, Apprentice Magician still only needs to be destroyed in battle to satisfy his effect. Being removed from play by D.D. Warrior or D. D. Warrior Lady doesn’t change this and will not prevent Apprentice Magician’s effect from activating.

This change in ruling also affected what would happen when you took control of your opponent’s Apprentice Magician. Since the card’s effect activates at the time he is sent to the graveyard, the player who owns Apprentice Magician will receive the Magician’s effect. This added a new tactical edge to use with cards like Creature Swap and allowed you to set up for other Spellcasters, like Crystal Seer.

When Apprentice Magician’s effect is resolved, you select a level 2 or lower Spellcaster-type monster from your deck and special summon it in face-down defense position. When doing so, you must first show your opponent the monster you have selected so he or she can verify your choice. The Apprentice Magician himself falls into this category, but if you select him you will not able to use his spell counter effect . . . at least, not right away.

Whenever Apprentice Magician is normal, flip, or special summoned, his trigger effect activates, placing one spell counter onto a card that can hold such counters. Apprentice Magician himself is incapable of holding onto spell counters, so this effect is often unused outside of specific decks relying on spell counters and the occasional interaction with Breaker the Magical Warrior. This effect begins a chain at the time Apprentice Magician is successfully normal, flip, or special summoned, much like the trigger effect that activates whenever Breaker the Magical Warrior is successfully normal summoned.

It’s Showtime!

A few weeks back, I received the following question:

“Can I activate the effect of Hysteric Party again and again, whenever I want to?”

Hysteric Party’s effect is similar to that of Call of the Haunted, only with an added cost at activation and the opportunity to affect multiple monsters. Hysteric Party is intended to swarm Harpie Lady onto the field at the cost of one card discarded from your hand. This cost is paid when you first activate (flip face up) your Hysteric Party and can only be used at this time. This effect cannot be reused like Ultimate Offering.

When the effect is resolved, you will select as many “Harpie Lady” cards as you can from your graveyard. This includes the original Harpie Lady, and any other card that shares the name or changes its name to Harpie Lady, like Cyber Harpie Lady or Harpie Queen. Every Harpie Lady is special summoned onto the field simultaneously in the battle position of your choice. These special summoned “Harpie Lady” cards are tied to the Hysteric Party that special summons them. If anything removes Hysteric Party from the field, every “Harpie Lady” it special summoned is destroyed.

Unlike Call of the Haunted, Hysteric Party doesn’t have any provision to handle what happens when the Harpie Ladies it special summoned are destroyed or removed from the field. The Hysteric Party will remain on the field until another card effect forces it to leave, even if you’ve already lost every “Harpie Lady” card you had special summoned via its effect. If you use Hysteric Party to special summon five “Harpie Lady” cards and your opponent destroys them all with Lightning Vortex next turn, your Hysteric Party will just sit around doing nothing.

Who Gets It?

Our last question is a brief one and will serve as a reminder of how equip cards work.

“Which spell and trap card zone is Mask of the Accursed placed onto—your own or your opponent’s?”

This is a question you can expect to receive from newer players who are still learning how equip cards work in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG. It is easy for them to understand that an equip card equipped to their own monster must be placed onto their spell and trap card zone, but when they put the equip card onto an opponent’s monster, they sometimes apply this same rule to the opponent instead.

Whenever you attach an equip spell to a monster, the equip is placed on your spell and trap card zone. It doesn’t matter who controls the monster, nor does it matter what type of equip card you have. If you activate the equip card, you have to deal with the equip hanging around on your side of the field.

This applies to monsters that become equip cards too. If your opponent attacks your face-down Adhesive Explosive, it will equip to his or her attacking monster, but it will still be placed onto your spell and trap card zone. Your opponent caused the effect to activate, sure, but you are the controller of the effect and as a result you must maintain the equip on your side of the field.

Until next time, send all comments and questions to Curtis@Metagame.com.