Subject: The real rules to CHAIN ENERGY - Shadow Chain Energy - MRL-046 Although "Chain Energy" was released a long long time ago in Magic Ruler, most duelists these days don't know the true rules of the card. Granted, not many duelists use it in a deck these days, but I have found it to be a very powerful addition to my deck (Stall/Burner). I'll first talk about the rules of the card and how it really works, and then I'll post a bunch of fun uses for this card. I'm also going to append my correspondence with UD at the end. Here's the rules: Card text: "As long as this card remains face-up on the field, both you and your opponent must pay 500 Life Points per card to play or Set cards from your respective hands." The explanation: Pretty much anytime you play a card from your hand you must pay 500 life for each "Chain Energy" on the field. The key words are "From Your Hand". This effect is for both players, controller and opponent. UD Tournament Card Ruling: "Play or Set card" means (1) Normal Summon or Set of a monster (2) activation of a Magic Card (3) activation of a Effect Monster from hand ("Kuriboh", etc.) (4) Set of a Magic and Trap Card. A card for Cost or Tribute monster are excluded. When you have Life Points of lower than 500 Life Points and then activate a card to increase your LP ("Dian Keto", etc.) apply this card's effect first, therefore you do not survive. The explanation: (1) Any summon from your hand, whether it's face-up or face-down. This does not include revivals as they are being summoned from the grave, not your hand. Of course, to play "Monster Reborn" or other revival cards from your hand would cost 500 life. Also, I wrote in to UD to check on special summons from the hand like "The Fiend Megacyber" and they told me that since it was from the hand, it would also cost 500 life. (2) Ok, now this part is a little different. Believe it or not, the activation of ANY magic card, whether from your hand or already on the field is included in this. I sent 3 emails to UD about this one because I simply didn't believe it myself. This also includes any spirit message played from your hand, even though it's being moved as a result of the trap, "Destiny Board". I specifically checked that with UD as well. However, if the letter is played from the deck to the board, it does not cost life. (3) This one is pretty well explained by the "Kuriboh" example. This also includes special summon effect monsters like "The Fiend Megacyber", "Dark Necrofear", and any other monster where you use it's effect to summon it from your hand. (4) If you put a magic or trap card on the field in face down position from your hand, it's gonna cost you 500 life. (the rest of the text) Costs from your hand such as the one card sacrifice cost for "Magic Jammer" or "Tribute to the Doomed" do not count. The activation of "Tribute to the Doomed" would cost 500 life, but not the additional card being discarded. "Graceful Charity" works the same way, 1 cost to play/activate it, but the discards don't count. Sacrifice costs from your hand, such as monsters sacrificed from your hand for a ritual monster do not count. The 500 life point cost must be paid immediately upon play/activation, before the resolution of the card you are playing. Thus, if you play "Heavy Storm" or even "Mystical Space Typhoon" to destroy "Chain Energy", you still pay the 500 life points first. Also, note that multiple "Chain Energy" cards on the field means a heavier cost of life: 1 "Chain Energy" active = 500 life 2 "Chain Energy" active = 1000 life 3 "Chain Energy" active = 1500 life The ideas: How can "Chain Energy" benefit you when both players must pay this cost? Lots of ways! 1) "Giant Trunade". Pay the cost to play "Giant Trunade". Then, reset all your M/T, do your summons, your attack, etc... At the end of your main phase 2, replay "Chain Energy". Your opponent will have to pay again to play any M/T cards they had to pick up, whereas you got to replay all of yours and do your summons for the single cost of "Giant Trunade". If you're lucky enough to draw the cards, toss a "Raigeki" in there to clear their field completely, and they'll have to pay life just to get some defense out. 2) First turn. If you draw one and are going first, do your summon and set your M/T, then put out the "Chain Energy". Again, your opponent will be forced to pay life just to get out some defense. 3) Stall/burn decks (which is what I play this in): watch your opponent burn themselves to death trying to play their normal beatdowns. 4) Toss in cards like "Nimble Momonga" (yes, the Killer Squirrels) or "Giant Germ". Since their effect summons the other squirrels and germs from your deck, it doesn't cost you a thing, and it's a good defense in case your opponent does get a monster out he/she can attack with. 5) Any mass destruction/return card ("Harpie's Feather Duster", "Raigeki", even "Penguin Soldier"). You may have to pay to play one card, but your opponent has to pay for more to replace them. 6) More "Chain Energy"! It may cost 500 to play another, but raising the stakes can really slow your opponent down. 7) You have the advantage! Once you learn what's worth playing and what isn't when a "Chain Energy" is on the field, it becomes a huge advantage over opponent's who aren't used to playing with them. Usually, opponents end up taking out half of their life points on their own by playing cards that just aren't worth it. I won a semi-final game against a really good beatdown guy simply because he didn't know how to play around the 2 "Chain Energy" cards I had active. 8) This combo takes the luck of getting two limited cards, but it's well worth it in the rare case it happens. If you have an "Imperial Order" on the field, you can use that to pause the effect of "Chain Energy". On it's own, this isn't that great as you can't get rid of "Imperial Order" until your next standby phase, and your opponent would get a turn to play cards for free too. But, if your last play of the turn is to put out a "Jinzo", whether by summoning him or by bringing him back from the graveyard, "Imperial Order" will be put on hold, and your "Chain Energy" will be back to it's life eating ways. 9) Endgame. If your opponent is near death, toss out a paralyzing "Chain Energy". If they can't pay the life, then they can't afford to play. Oh well! You could also activate a "Minor Goblin Official" to really tick them off. 10) Have the lead? Keep it! Since you are the one that has the "Chain Energy" you can simply play it when you already have the lead. Then, if you and your opp end up paying the same amount of life to it, eventually your opponent will run out of life before you. If you're losing, you don't have to play it, duh. 11) ... Come up with your own. There's many, many other uses for it. Here's a tourney report where I successfully used "Chain Energy" a few times. Just open the page and do a search for "chain energy" to find the specific duels. You can also see the deck I used. You may want to note that at the time I didn't know about the rule where you had to pay 500 life to activate a magic card that was already set (and yes, I still think it's a bogus interpretation by the UD staff). But, since that's what my emails say, I'll be playing that way from now on. Anyway, here's the link: http://www.pojo.com/yu-gi-oh/KillerDecks/May2003/KDR-5/The_Nuisance_Burner_ Shadow_Waukesha_WI1.htm Correspondence with UD: (indented is my emails to them, not indented was their response) 1) I'm looking for more clarity on "Chain Energy" (MRL-046). I've read the Tournament Card Rulings pdf document, but I'm still facing a lot of irritated duelists in tournaments who disagree with my interpretation of the card and the tournament card ruling document. In the end, I'm looking to have an official response to clear up some of the arguments about this card. a) The card ruling document refers to both the set of a magic card and activation of a magic card as an action that would trigger the effect of "Chain Energy". I was pretty certain the activation of a magic card refered to activating directly from your hand, but it has been debated that it includes the activation of a magic card already on the field. b) This effect only applies to cards going from your hand to the field. Thus, playing "Tribute to the Doomed" directly from your hand only counts as 1 play as the 2nd card (the cost) goes directly to the graveyard. Also (and this from an actual game), if a "Giant Germ" is killed in battle, the owner can search his deck for any additional "Giant Germ" and special summon it to the field from the deck without triggering "Chain Energy", as the effect summons "Giant Germ" directly from the deck, and not from the hand to the field. Would the activation of the "Thunder Dragon" effect be one single cost? c) "Chain Energy" vs "Spirit Message X" - If a spirit message is placed to the field from the players hand and not from the deck, is "Chain Energy" triggered? 1. "play or Set card" means (1) Normal Summon or Set of a monster (2)activation of a Magic Card (3) activation of a Effect Monster from hand (Kuriboh etc) (4) Set of a Magic and Trap Card. A card for Cost or Tribute monster are excluded. When you have Life Points of lower than 500 Life Points and then activate a card to increase your LP (Dian Keto etc.) apply this card's effect first, therefore you do not survive. Chain Energy is triggered if a Spirit Messages comes from the hand and not the deck. Ian Estrin Upper Deck Entertainment 1. If possible, I need a couple more of the specifics for "Chain Energy". The previous reply is pretty much the verbatim of the official card ruling pdf document, which has left many of the local duelists questioning what some of it means. (a) does "activation of a Magic Card" include the activation of a magic card that had previously been set on the field, or is it specifically the activation of a magic card from the hand. As "Chain Energy" is not activated when a trap is flipped, it would seem that the "activation of a Magic Card" statement is specifically meant for playing a magic card from the hand to the field. Also, otherwise, a magic card could activate "Chain Energy" twice, once to set it, and once to activate it. (b) In the "Giant Germ" scenario (a player's "Giant Germ" is destroyed in battle, and the player searches for and summons the other two from his/her deck), would the effect of "Chain Energy" ever take place? What about the special summon of "The Fiend Megacyber"? 1. You would pay to set and pay to activate. 2. Giant Germ - No cost because they came directly from the deck. 3. Fiend MegaCyber - You would still pay because it was played from your hand Ian Estrin Upper Deck Entertainment (In regards to magic cards vs. "Chain Energy"): "1. You would pay to set and pay to activate." So, even though "Chain Energy" says it must be from the players' hands, the activation of a magic card that has been previously set on the field is an additional cost??? Activating a set magic card requires the 500 life cost, but you don't have to pay to activate a set trap card? Or did you mean it would be 500 life to set a magic card from your hand and 500 life to activate a magic card from your hand? No, it may seem weird, but if you were to set and then activate a magic-card (face down MST and then activate next turn), you would pay to set and pay to activate. You do not have to pay to activate a trap. Ian Estrin Upper Deck Entertainment -Shadow Email is ShadowNuisance@yahoo.com Send me whatever. If I think you're a moron from the first sentence or even subject, I'll just delete it. I'll try to respond to any reasonable questions. Suggestions/Critiques are always welcome. If you disagree with something I wrote, I'd be happy to hear it, just don't be an idiot about it.