Skill Drain

[DividedZero]

How the ♥♥♥♥ does this even work? I understand it negates monster effects, but I still sometimes see people mange to activate them anyway like a recent example I seen someone use The Weather's monster effects go off. Is there some way around Skill Drain?

[Aldain]

Basically some effects don't fully function on the field, so they bypass being negated.

Stardust Dragon for example tributes itself as a cost to trigger its effect, in order for the effect to be considered active, the tribute happens first, which makes Stardust not present on the field, which renders Skill Drain ineffective on it.

[DividedZero]

So anything that moves the card out of the field as its activation requirement can bypass Skill Drain?

[Aldain]

Originally posted by DividedZero:

So anything that moves the card out of the field as its activation requirement can bypass Skill Drain?

That's my understanding of it, though somebody more experienced could likely expound on more similar issues for clarity.

The thing about Stardust is it is tributed as a cost to activate the effect, if it were the other way around (activate effect to tribute it as a cost) Skill Drain would block it.

YGO wording and rulings are all over the map because of how persnickety the wording can be.

[Ichmag 🔑🌙]

If a monster effect is something like "tribute this card; summon something", it will still work, since the effect triggers in the GY. (thats why "called by the grave" would work on those effects) The tribute is not the effect, but the cost.

Same thing with effects that resolve on the field, but have a cost. Cards like "discard a card; special summon something" will still allow you to discard a card, since that is the cost to activate the effect. The effect itself will be negated and nothing happens from that, though.

If we're talking about "the Weather painter rainbow", then effect 1 and 2 are unaffected by skill drain. Effect 3 would not give other monsters the quick effect.

[Silamon]

Aldain has it right. You can't negate a cost, and if the cost of a card activation causes it to leave the field skill drain can't stop it.

Originally posted by Ichmag:

Same thing with effects that resolve on the field, but have a cost. Cards like "discard a card; special summon something" will still allow you to discard a card, since that is the cost to activate the effect.

Important to note, though you can pay the cost if the card does not leave the field it still gets negated.

[dabestgamer]

So there a couple of distinctions to be made here.

The first is:
- "Activation": This is the act of creating the Chain Link. When you activate an effect, you immediately perform the activation procedures it has (if any), such as paying LP, discarding, targeting, etc. Whatever is written before the semi-colon.
- "Resolution": This is where you actually perform whatever the effect says to do.

The second is:
- "Negate": This only concerns when an effect is *resolving*. A negated effect will simply do nothing. This, however, does not prevent any attempts to activate that effect or create a Chain Link; it only influences the resolution of the effect.
- "Cannot activate": This means the Chain Link cannot even be created.

Skill Drain only negates the effects of monsters on the field that apply while face-up and those that activate on the field, if they are still face-up during resolution. However, it doesn't prevent the players from *activating* them and creating the Chain Link, which is why it has that text saying players can still *activate* them.

So if a monster activates its effect on the field, if that monster is no longer face-up during resolution of that effect, it will *not* be negated by Skill Drain.

Stardust Dragon is one example of a card that avoids being negated by Skill Drain. Another would be activating a monster effect while Skill Drain is face-up and then activating Book of Moon as Chain Link 2, targeting that same monster whose effect activated.

[TheLtColonel]

"Cost" is the keyword that is, unfortunately, not on cards in this game. If its a "cost" then no matter what the card must preform said "cost". So the "cost" of it activating its effect is to remove it from the field, and of course once its off, its off and can effect freely.

[Silamon]

Originally posted by TheLtColonel:

Cost is the keyword that is, unfortunately, not on cards in this game. If its a cost then no matter what the card must preform said cost. So the cost of it activating its effect is to remove it from the field, and of course once its off, its off and can effect freely.

For any card printed in the last 15 years or so, you will know an effect is a cost if it has a semicolon.

The cost will be something like "Target one card on the field;" or "pay 2000 lifepoints;".

[TheLtColonel]

Originally posted by Silamon:

Originally posted by TheLtColonel:

Cost is the keyword that is, unfortunately, not on cards in this game. If its a cost then no matter what the card must preform said cost. So the cost of it activating its effect is to remove it from the field, and of course once its off, its off and can effect freely.

For any card printed in the last 15 years or so, you will know an effect is a cost if it has a semicolon.

The cost will be something like "Target one card on the field;" or "pay 2000 lifepoints;".

So I should have brought this up when I posted that comment, thats an excellent point. However, for new players, that means nothing to them.

[Ichmag 🔑🌙]

Originally posted by TheLtColonel:

Originally posted by Silamon:

For any card printed in the last 15 years or so, you will know an effect is a cost if it has a semicolon.

The cost will be something like "Target one card on the field;" or "pay 2000 lifepoints;".

So I should have brought this up when I posted that comment, thats an excellent point. However, for new players, that means nothing to them.

does it not? OP is asking and probably learned from that tidbit afterall

[DividedZero]

Thanks for the help everyone. I now see why and have a better understanding

[TheLtColonel]

Originally posted by Ichmag:

Originally posted by TheLtColonel:

So I should have brought this up when I posted that comment, thats an excellent point. However, for new players, that means nothing to them.

does it not? OP is asking and probably learned from that tidbit afterall

No no no, I don't mean like... It means NOTHING to someone who read it like OP now has access to. I mean like, it means nothing to someone who has no idea what "" means on a card who just booted the game.

Master Duel is a great game and a great step in the right direction, but other card games make a big deal about Keywords that this one just doesnt do for new players. Honestly, a simple text highlight in the card description, with the ability to hover over it and see the keyword "COST" would be amazing help for newerplayers who don't know anybetter.