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Inherent special summons are the kind of special summons that can be negated by Thunder King Rai-Oh, Vanquishing Light, Solemn Judgment, & Black Horn Of Heaven. They can also be negated with the unique effect of Royal Oppression, because it has the ability to negate both inherent special summons, & effects that activate with the possibility of perform a special summon. One of the ways that I've been able to understand what they are is to separate them them into two main groups or classifications, remembering that neither of them start of claim a chain link. In that respect, they are much like normal & flip summons. Simply put, this because they are actions performed, but not "activated" by the player.
(Note - the wording reflected below has to do with the old way of writing summon conditions & won't necessarily apply to the newer cards written with Problem Solving Card Text)
The 1st classification includes effect monster cards like Gigantes, Chaos Sorcerer, Cyber Dragon, Judgment Dragon & Spell Striker's ability to be special summoned from your hand &Test Tiger's ability to be special summoned from your hand. Unless specified otherwise, such as in the rare case of Endymion, The Master Magician, these inherent special summon conditions are only applied from the hand. Also, it's important to remember that performing a summon condition like this does not claim a chain link because you're not activating an effect.
While the exact wordings will differ depending on the card, there are a few key things to look for when determining whether or not a monster falls into this category or not. The rulings won't always say, so understanding the phrasing patterns is quite important. If the special summon text acts in its own sentence, phrase, or follows a state of being, rather than a specific action taking place, then there's a good chance that it's inherent. Also, inherent special summon conditions will use one of the following three designations to determine whether or not they can be special summoned from the graveyard or RFG zone by Monster Reborn & friends. They will either read "can only", "except by", or simply say "can be".
"can only" - This monster cannot be normal summoned or set. This means that if the monster in question, lets say The Dark Creator or Chaos Sorcerer, is in the graveyard or RFG zone, it may be special summoned with Monster Reborn... but only if it was sent there from the field, and after being properly summoned.
"except by" - This monster cannot be normal summoned or set. This means that even if the monster, lets say Dark Armed Dragon or Judgment Dragon, is in the graveyard or RFG zone, it cannot be special summoned with Monster Reborn.
"can be" - A card such as Cyber Dragon or Spell Striker that reads like this has no restriction on being normal summoned or set, so it can be special summoned with cards like Monster Reborn, regardless of how it went to the graveyard. Along with being normal summoned or set these monsters simply have the option (rather than a need) to be special summoned by their own condition that doesn't claim a chain link.
The 2nd classification refers to Fusion Monsters that are special summoned from the Extra Deck by fulfilling their specified requirements such as "This card can only be Special Summoned from your Fusion Deck by returning the above cards you control to the Deck. (You do not use "Polymerization".)", rather than by resolving Polymerization or Fusion Gate's effect. Examples include XZ-Tank Cannon, Elemental Hero Storm Neos, Gladiator Beast Gyzarus, & Gladiator Beast Heraklinos. This also extends to the newly introduced Synchro Monsters that are Synchro summoned from the Extra deck by the default mechanic. Much like with the first classification, it's important to notice which monsters read along the lines of "can only", and which ones read along the lines of "except by". Since Fusion Monsters can never be normal summoned or set, it's gotta be one of those options, and Synchro Monsters always fall into the "can only" group of things unless specified otherwise.
When a player "activates" a card or effect that aims to special summon during that link, such as from Mystic Tomato, Zombie Master, Monster Reborn, Future Fusion, Polymerization or Fusion Gate, this is an effect that activates & claims a chain link. As such, we must remember that it is not the same as announcing an inherent special summon. Returning a face-up Gladiator Beast monster such as Laquari back to the owner's deck to activate its "tagging" effect works the same way, and cannot be negated by cards that negate inherent special summons like Thunder King Rai-Oh, Vanquishing Light, Solemn Judgment, & Black Horn Of Heaven. This is because much like with Monster Reborn, you are activating a card effect by claiming a chain link. While there are some monsters that do so from the hand, such as Phantom Dragon, Voltanis, & Gorz, their texts are quite clear in that they need to trigger or respond to something.
As I poked at earlier, Royal Oppression is a little different. This is because along with negating the inherent special summons that Solemn Judgment can, it can also be used negate the effect of a spell speed 2 or lower effect that activates as the most recent chain link outside of the damage step, with the possible intent of special summoning a monster in or as a result of that chain link's resolution. Simply put, Royal Oppression is super effective.
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Now that we know the basic differences between inherent & effect summons, lets take a look at how to respond to their announcement or activation, as well as the resolution or completion of the successful summon. While the official rules haven't broken down this process into numerical steps, I've found that looking at it step by step can be really helpful when learning what comes first & when monsters are technically considered to be on the field, and when they're still in their place of origin.While the official rules haven't broken down the summon response process into numerical windows, I've found that looking at it step by step can be really helpful when learning how they work.
(1) Pay Costs - The first thing that needs to be done is to pay the summon cost if any applies, and take note of effects such as that of Sangan that are triggered. If so, they will activate as part of the segoc chain that responds to the summon because they are either mandatory effects that can't miss the timing, or unique optional trigger effects that use the word "If" instead of "when".
(2) Negate the Summon - If the summon is inherent or otherwise doesn't use the chain, the players will have an opportunity to negate the monster's summon with cards like Solemn Judgment, Horn of Heaven, & Royal Oppression. If the summon is generated by an effect, it claims a chain link and can be negated with cards like Divine Wrath, War Chariot, as well as with the unique effect of Royal Oppression. This is the window of opportunity where the players can negate the summon or effect attempting to cause the summon before the monster reaches the field, depending on which one applies. If the summon is negated, stop reading below because the summon will not be considered successful.
(3) Apply Continuous Effect & Conditions - Now that a monster has been successfully summoned, it is considered to be on the field. All continous effects such as Burden of The Mighty & Level Limit - Area B that pertain to it are instantly applied to that monster before any chains are started, and so are any conditions such as that of Torapart & Hardened Armed Dragon that apply to the summoned monster. This is a small, but important step to take note of.
(4) Respond to the Summon - With continous effects already being accounted for, all appropriate trigger effects such as that of Monarchs, Breaker & Arcanite Magician's effect to acquire spell counters, Silent Insect & Summoner Monk's effects to switch to defense position, King Tiger Wanghu's destruction of small monsters, Black Garden's halving & token summoning, as well as unique effects like that of Alien Dog, Dragon Ice & Phantom Dragon that trigger to the summon will/can activate if the conditions are correct at this time. In the case of multiple effects wanting & able to activate at this time, a SEGOC chain will be formed.
If the summon is performed by the Turn Player during their Main Phase, and no trigger effects are activated in response to it,
(5) Add to the Chain - Once all trigger effects have been activated and added to the chain being created in response to the summon, players may continue building & adding to this chain with cards such as Bottomless Trap Hole, Torrential Tribute, Shrink, and other appropriate spell speed 2 or higher effects. It's important to note that if a player wishes to activate a card like Solemn Judgment, Dark Bribe, or anything else that aims to negate the activation of a card or effect, they can only negate the the most recent activation in the chain. Once neither player wishes to further contribute to this chain, the effects will resolve in reverse order.
Keeping to the wonders of King Tiger Wanghu, did you notice how unlike Burden Of The Mighty which has a continous effect (this it is applied without using the chain, before anything activates), Shrink is an effect governed by spell speed, and needs to wait until all trigger effects have already been added to the chain in order to be activated? This means that in order for King Tiger's effect to trigger to a monster's summon, that monster must already meet the activation condition at that time. You cannot wait until Black Garden or Shrink's effect resolves, and then somehow create another chain that responds to the same summon, because there can only be one chain that does so.
tl;dr said:
These are the general steps that all summons that don't claim a chain link go through. For summons that DO result from the resolution of an effect, start from the 3rd bullet point where you apply the continous effect. This is simpler to understand anyway, and I'll likely be drawing up some sort of diagram in the near future.
- Announce that you're performing the summon & pay any cost/fulfill the summon requirement.
- See if the summon is being Negated, usually by passing the chance to negate your own summon & asking your opponent if they'd like to.
- If the summon isn't negated, the monster will be on the field & the summon will be successful. Apply any continuous effects & conditions before chains are built.
- Activate any appropriate Trigger Effects according to SEGOC rules to start the response chain, remembering that all targets are selected at this time.
- Once both players pass consecutively (one right after the other), you'll do one of 2 things.
- Announce that you're performing the summon & pay any cost/fulfill the summon requirement.
- See if the summon is being Negated, usually by passing the chance to negate your own summon & asking your opponent if they'd like to.
- If the summon isn't negated, the monster will be on the field & the summon will be successful. Apply any continuous effects & conditions before chains are built.
- Activate any appropriate Trigger Effects according to SEGOC rules to start the response chain, remembering that all targets are selected at this time.
- In the case of Trigger Effects claiming the early links, the player who didn't activate the most recent Trigger Effect now has priority to add to the chain with a spell speed 2 or higher effect first (before the other player can), and the chain goes on from there.
- If no Trigger Effects were present, and if responding to a summon performed by the Turn Player, priority for the Turn Player extends to being able to activate the Ignition Effect of any monster first, not "just" a spell speed 2+ effect like it usually is after Trigger Effects. If responding to a generic event's resolution or succession (such as a non-summoning chain's resolution or set of a card), then priority only exists to spell speed 2+ effects after the Trigger Effects have been looked at.
- Once both players pass consecutively (one right after the other), you'll do one of 2 things.
- Resolve the chain & start over from the 4th bullet. (You'll be building the chain that responds to the previous chain's resolution.)
- Since there wasn't a chain to resolve, priority will exist for the Turn Player to do anything that can be done during the Phase (such as activate an Ignition Effect, change a battle position or summon/set a card).
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Along with cutting off the proverbial balls of ignition effects, trigger effects can also be quite tricky when it comes to restricting what players have priority negate & respond to. The first example that I'm going to mention involves using clever trigger arrangement to prevent the opponent from being able to negate your first link, as it will be followed by a 2nd that your opponent is either unable, or not wanting to negate the activation of. One of the ways this situation can arise is when a player special summons 2 or more monsters that have trigger effects that respond to the summon. While people will often mistakenly associate this trickery with "missing the timing", it's really a case of how trigger effects work in relation to their SEGOC arrangement.If Murmillo & Equeste are special summoned by the effect of a Gladiator Beast monster, both of their effects trigger to join the same chain that responds to their summon. If the controller of those cards & effects has Murmillo as the 1st link & Equeste as the 2nd, the chain will look as follows.
Link 1 - Mumillo's effect that targets a face-up monster.
Link 2 - Equeste's effect that targets a Gladiator Beast card in the graveyard.
Since it's not until these two links have already been built that non-trigger effects can be activated, Stardust Dragon's effect has no way of sneaking in between and negating the activation of Murmillo's effect. This is because effects such as Stardust Dragon & Divine Wrath that aim to negate the activation of something can only negate the activation of the most recent chain link. It's important to note that if a player wanted to chain something like Forbidden Chalice as the 3rd link, they would be free to target the Murmillo to negate his effect. This is because while Forbidden Chalice negates effects, it doesn't negate the activation of effects.
Think of it like this. If my Giant Rat attacks your Giant Rat, both trigger effects form a chain with mine being the 1st link. As such, if you wanna play Divine Wrath, you cannot negate the activation of my effect because it's not the most recent effect to activate. While it may not be something that we think about too often, it's too important to be caught off guard when it happens.
Along with using trigger effects to get around what activations can be negated, we can also use our understanding about them to eliminate certain resolutions from being responded to, notably summons. Simply put, in order for cards to "respond to a summon", the summon has to come from the last effect to resolve in the said chain. Heck, when it comes to regulating the resolutions, you don't even need trigger effects to get around your opponent having priority to activate that Torrential Tribute or Bottomless Trap Hole. While Call Of The Haunted is banned, cards like Escape/Return From A Different Dimension & Limit Reverse are perfectly legal, and can be used with the same nefarious (yet perfectly legal) intent that Call Of The Haunted was.
All you need to do is activate something else, & pass priority to your opponent. Unless they respond with a counter-trap, you'll generally be free to respond to their effect or your own previous activation with your chainable special summon card. When this chain goes to resolve, since your summon won't be the last effect to resolve, the opportunity to "respond to a summon" will not be created, and neither you or your opponent will have priority to activate cards like Torrential Tribute or Bottomless Trap Hole.
Edited by Nomad, 25 April 2012 - 03:39 PM.
edited to reflect the changes on Ignition Effect priority
