This week’s mail bag involves a slew of Gladiator Beast questions, with a special appearance by Royal Oppression.
The Equeste Gambit
This is the set up:
Player A controls a Gladiator Beast Laquari and a set Icarus Attack.
Player B controls 2 set spell or trap cards (that he cannot activate, to keep this simple)
Player A attacks directly with Laquari. At the end of the battle phase, he tags-out Laquari to special summon Gladiator Beast Equeste. He activates its effect and then chains Icarus Attack, tributing Equeste for its cost.
Can Player A use Equeste's effect to return Equeste back to his hand?"
When you special summon Gladiator Beast Equeste with the effect of a Gladiator Beast monster and you activate its effect, you must select a legal target at that time. Targets are chosen when we activate our effect, and when we activate Equeste’s effect it is still on the field and cannot be chosen. Icarus Attack is activated after Gladiator Beast Equeste’s effect is activated. Even though you tribute Equeste to activate Icarus Attack, it is placed in the graveyard after its own effect has already selected a target.
It isn’t possible to activate Icarus Attack first and then chain Gladiator Beast Equeste’s effect. Equeste’s effect must be activated at the time it is special summoned by the effect of a Gladiator Beast monster, and its effect is only spell speed 1. Spell speed 1 effects cannot be chained to a spell speed 2 or higher effect. If you start a chain with a spell speed 2 effect, you can’t try to activate a spell speed 1 effect and add it onto the same chain.
Test Ape
Test Ape’s effect activates in its owner’s graveyard, when it is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard. The owner will activate the Test Ape’s effect, so only that player will be able to special summon a Gladiator Beast monster. The same mechanic occurs when we give our opponent a Mystic Tomato or Pyramid Turtle with Creature Swap and then proceed to smash the traitorous swine with a devastating blow. This has been a popular tactic for years.
If you special summon a monster in attack position during your battle phase, you are allowed to attack with the monster during that battle phase. By using Test Ape’s effect to special summon a Gladiator Beast monster during your own battle phase with the method suggested by our submitter, you can attack with it during the same battle phase. Certainly a useful tactic when the monster you take from your opponent was too big to overcome with any of your Gladiator Beasts, or has a very pesky effect like Stardust Dragon’s.
Gladiator vs. Sphere
"When a Gladiator Beast monster attacks a face-down Blast Sphere, can the Gladiator Beast monster tag-out at the end of the battle phase? Is the Gladiator Beast considered to have attacked in this case?"
The tag-out effect of a Gladiator Beast monster can be activated if the battle it is engaged in reaches damage calculation. You don’t have to inflict any battle damage, but the battle must reach this point of the damage step to satisfy the Gladiator Beast’s effect. Effects that stop the attack in the battle step or say that damage calculation is not applied will prevent Gladiator Beasts from using their tag-out effect.
Blast Sphere’s effect says "without applying damage calculation." This means that damage calculation does not occur, so Blast Sphere won’t be destroyed if its DEF is lower than the ATK of the attacking monster and battle damage won’t be inflicted if the attacking monster has the piercing ability, like Spear Dragon. Cards like Waboku or Kuriboh don’t stop damage calculation from occurring; they just prevent battle damage and/or prevent a monster from being destroyed by the battle.
Royal Oppression
When I special summon Grandmaster of the Six Samurai, my opponent chains Royal Oppression’s effect or Solemn Judgment in order to negate the Grandmaster's summon. Will Grandmaster's effect be activated due to the ‘negate and destroy' aspect of those trap cards?"
Royal Oppression can be chained to Magical Dimension because its effect special summons a monster. Even if Royal Oppression is face down when Magical Dimension is activated, it can still be chained. The rules governing the activation of continuous trap cards with ignition-like effects changed in recent months. Both actions are now perfectly fine. The Spellcaster monster that was on the field is not destroyed by Royal Oppression nor is it sent to the graveyard by Magical Dimension. The Spellcaster monster tributed by Magical Dimension is not tributed to pay a cost. It is tributed when Magical Dimension’s effect resolves.
Whenever you Special Summon Grandmaster of the Six Samurai and his summon is negated by your opponent's Solemn Judgment, the Grandmaster's effect will activates because it is destroyed by the effect of your opponent's Solemn Judgment. This is also true for Royal Oppression, but not if the Royal Oppression is sitting on your side of the field. Even though your opponent activated the effect, the rulings for Royal Oppression indicate that you control the card responsible so your Grandmaster's effect won't activate. Dark Necrofear has this same issue.
Until next time, send all comments and questions to Curtis@Metagame.com
-Curtis Schultz