The great maelstrom of battle has ended. The victor would soon emerge, and the defeated would never rise again.

The epic battle has ended. The time has come for the winner to be determined and the duel to end. But this process is not a simple one—many events can still occur in the duel to change who wins and who loses. It’s even possible for the duel to end in a draw!

With this much hanging over our heads, we’ll need some good examples so we can really understand this concept. Like many other judges, I’ve had a lot of encounters with Last Turn duels and their repercussions. Things can become very complicated very quickly, and sometimes everything can go horribly wrong.

“The player whose monster remains alone on the field at the End Phase of this turn wins the Duel. Any other case results in a DRAW.”

That sounds simple, right? If I’m the only player with a monster on the field, I win. The victory check itself is often quite easy to apply. It’s the circumstances leading to it that cause the greatest amount of confusion.

Example 1: Complete Success

During her turn, Karen uses Kaibaman to special summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon on her side of the field. She sets Last Turn and ends her turn. She has only 500 life points left, so she knows that Last Turn will be ready. Her opponent, William, begins his turn. Karen decides not to take any chances and activates her Last Turn in William’s draw phase.

William has no response to this, and when Last Turn resolves, Karen chooses Blue-Eyes White Dragon as her champion. The battlefield is swept clean, and there are no activated effects. William searches through his deck and chooses his strongest monster, which is Summoned Skull.

Now, the special battle phase (SBP) begins. Karen’s Blue-Eyes White Dragon easily wins the battle, destroying William’s Summoned Skull. With no other options, William proceeds to the end phase of his turn. It is here that Karen’s Last Turn checks to see who has a monster. Since Karen is the only player with a monster, she wins the duel.

Scenario 1 was a pretty straightforward victory for the Last Turn player. When the battle is determined solely by the SBP and no other effects interfere, it’s often very easy to find the winner. But now, we’ll mix things up a bit. The following scenarios can actually occur in real-life duels, and every player and judge can benefit when he or she understands how to deal with them.

Scenario 2: That oh-so-Sinister Serpent

Let’s reuse the above example. Karen chose Blue-Eyes White Dragon and William was forced to special summon Summoned Skull, which quickly lost in the SBP without putting up much of a fight. Karen had used Last Turn during William’s draw phase, because she didn’t want to take the risk that he could have a removal card in his hand. This means the entire SBP has occurred during William’s draw phase.

After the draw phase, William enters his standby phase. He looks through his graveyard and pulls out Sinister Serpent, revealing it to Karen. He places it into his hand and proceeds to his main phase one. William then summons his Sinister Serpent. He knows that it doesn’t stand a chance against the legendary destructive power of Blue-Eyes White Dragon, so he doesn’t dare attack with it—but he is quite content to leave it on the field.

The duel proceeds to William’s end phase. It is here that the effect of Last Turn looks to see which player has a monster. It quickly discovers that both players have a monster. In this case, there’s no choice but to declare the duel a draw.

A draw? Why would we want that? Ideally, we wouldn’t. But any time that Last Turn checks the duel and finds a situation where both players have a monster, the duel ends in a draw. This falls under the provision of “any other case results in a DRAW.” You will quickly realize that Last Turn can lead to frustrating draw games that you never intended to occur. Many unforeseen interactions can occur in a given duel that Last Turn just isn’t prepared for. It’s up to the player who’s using Last Turn to successfully avoid these pratfalls.

Scenario 3: Jowgen, Master of Spiritualism

Karen’s previous draw game with William taught her that she needed to find another way for Last Turn to give her a solid victory. She studies up and learns that Jowgen the Spiritualist can be a great asset to her Last Turn deck. With Jowgen now in her deck, she’s ready to challenge William again.

She draws her initial hand of cards and is pleased to find Jowgen in her opening hand, along with Last Turn and Wall of Revealing Light. She normal summons Jowgen and sets both trap cards, then ends her turn.

William begins his turn. Karen decides she will once again not wait any further and activates Wall of Revealing Light, paying 7000 life points. William can sense what is coming, but has no way to respond, so Karen follows with Last Turn. The chain resolves and Karen chooses to have Jowgen the Spiritualist be her champion.

William knows that he is sunk. With no cards in his hand or on the field and with Jowgen preventing him from special summoning a monster, he has no way to bring any monsters onto the field. He will lose this duel.

Jowgen the Spiritualist is a truly powerful addition to any Last Turn deck. Its effect, which prevents players from special summoning monsters, makes for a quick lockdown and an easy win for the Last Turn player. However, Jowgen is far from perfect, as it’s very weak and can’t stand up to a battle.

Scenario 4: Jowgen fears the Serpent

Under Scenario 3, Jowgen has successfully stopped William from special summoning a champion monster for the SBP. He may have lost the SBP, but he hasn’t lost the duel. He enters his standby phase and reveals Sinister Serpent. He places it into his hand and continues to main phase one. He summons Sinister Serpent, and then enters his battle phase.

Sinister Serpent has 300 ATK. Normally this isn’t very good, but Jowgen the Spiritualist has only 200 ATK. Jowgen is easily defeated in battle, leaving Sinister Serpent as the only monster on the field. This duel belongs to William.

Jowgen the Spritualist is more effective in defense position, but even then it can be stopped. Simply by summoning Sinister Serpent, William altered Karen’s plan and defeated Last Turn. Keep in mind that Sinister Serpent is not the only card capable of defeating Jowgen the Spiritualist. Regenerating Mummy from Ancient Sanctuary activates its effect when the opponent’s Last Turn sends it to the graveyard. It uses its effect to return to its owner’s hand, thus giving its owner a monster that’s able to be summoned after the SBP.

Events that occur during the SBP will affect which player is declared the winner. Sometimes the monster that loses the fight can use an effect that will manipulate the outcome of the duel.

Scenario 5: Assailant from a Different Dimension

Karen has brought Blue-Eyes White Dragon into play and has a set Last Turn. This time, she waits until William’s main phase one to activate Last Turn. William chooses to special summon D. D. Assailant. The SBP begins and the two monsters battle.

When D. D. Assailant is destroyed in battle, its effect is activated, which removes both itself and Blue-Eyes White Dragon from play. Because neither player has a monster during the end phase when Last Turn checks to see who wins, the duel results in a draw. This falls under the condition “any other case results in a DRAW.”

See how important monster’s effects are in the SBP? If your opponent chooses the right monster, he or she can easily ruin your plan for victory. This is the reason why Jowgen the Spiritualist is often the monster of choice for Last Turn decks. By preventing the opponent from special summoning a monster, Jowgen makes victory that much more certain.

During the end phase, the turn player has priority and can choose to activate card effects before Last Turn performs its check for monsters. This can sometimes alter the outcome of the duel.

Scenario 6: The Dragon Returns

Let’s suppose that Karen activates Last Turn with Blue-Eyes White Dragon in attack position on her side of the field. The duel has been a long one and William has exhausted most of his options. He special summons Twin-Headed Behemoth, which is quickly defeated by Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

The end phase arrives and William, as the turn player, decides that he wants to resolve the effect of his Twin-Headed Behemoth. He uses its effect to special summon it to the field. With no further actions, he passes priority to Karen. The turn cannot end without Karen’s Last Turn determining a winner. Because both players control a monster, the duel ends in a draw.

Karen was close, but the arrival of Twin-Headed Behemoth kept her from achieving victory. The opposite can occur when the turn player uses an effect like Brain Control to take a monster from the Last Turn player. If this situation lasts until the end phase, the turn player can be forced to give up their “Brain Controlled” monster before Last Turn performs its check.

However, the odds of this happening are very slim. The turn player will typically attack with the “Brain Controlled” monster and simply finish the duel. But sometimes, the monsters in question are simply too weak to inflict enough damage—for example, if the opponent took Jowgen the Spiritualist. Judges need to be prepared for these rare instances.

Last Turn is certainly one of the most complicated cards in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG. If three weeks of analysis doesn’t prove this, consider the FAQ entries. Its FAQ entries are longer then any other card in the game! A lot of mishaps can occur, and the FAQ was written to help us all deal with these situations when they arise. Be sure to refer to it whenever you have difficulties with Last Turn.

Send all comments to: Curtis @ Metagame.com.