SDMA Part 2: Children Of The Grave

The Structure Deck: Marik includes most of the Gravekeeper Monsters along with their key Field Spell Card Necrovalley. They are all DARK, Spellcaster-type monsters. Gravekeeper monsters were first introduced in Pharaonic Guardian, and received some additional support through the years. While Marik didn't actually play with Gravekeeper Monsters, his job in Ancient Egypt was being a grave keeper himself. Some of the Gravekeeper Cards are not actually included in the Deck, but let's just review them all in this article.

Let's start with Gravekeeper's Spy:

FLIP: Special Summon 1 "Gravekeeper's" monster with 1500 or less ATK from your Deck.

Spy has a Flip Effect. It doesn't target.

Next, we have Gravekeeper's Curse:

When this card is Summoned, inflict 500 damage to your opponent.

Curse has a Trigger Effect that activates upon its successful Summon. It can be negated by Pulling the Rug or Swallow Flip accordingly.

Then, we have Gravekeeper's Guard:

FLIP: Select 1 monster your opponent controls and return it to the hand.

Guard has a Flip Effect too. This one does target an opponent's monster.

Moving on, we have Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier:

During battle between this attacking card and a Defense Position monster whose DEF is lower than the ATK of this card, inflict the difference as Batte Damage to your opponent.

Your usual trampling effect. It's a Continuous Effect.

Then, we have Gravekeeper's Cannonholder:

You can Tribute 1 "Gravekeeper's" monster, except "Gravekeeper's Cannonholder", to inflict 700 damage to your opponent.

Cannonholder has an Ignition Effect. It tributes a monster as a cost. Note that you cannot tribute ANY Gravekeeper's Cannonholder you control, not just this one. You can't even tribute a face-down Cannonholder.

And then, we have Gravekeeper's Assailant:

If "Necrovalley" is on the Field when this card declares an attack, you can select 1 face-up monster your opponent controls and change its battle position.

Assailant has an Optional Trigger Effect that you activate upon Attack Declaration. It targets a face-up monster your opponent controls, but it can be a different monster than the Attack Target.

Outside of the Structure Deck, we also have Gravekeeper's Vassal:

Battle Damage this card inflicts to your opponent is treated as Effect damage instead.

Vassal has a really unique Continuous Effect. Much as its text explains, instead of inflicting Battle Damage, this damage is treated as Effect Damage instead. This has some useful implications. For example, since inflicting Battle Damage is an event without Spell Speed, Cards that need to be chained to Effect Damage like Barrel Behind the Door cannot respond to this effect. Waboku cannot prevent a player from taking damage when Vassal would inflict Battle Damage to them. It's also worth mentioning that if an effect restricts Vassal from inflicting Battle Damage, such as Union Attack, then Vassal would still inflict Effect Damage to your opponent. For example, if Phantom of Chaos copied Vassal's effect, then you could damage your opponent with Phantom, even though it can't inflict any Battle Damage.

And another missing Gravekeeper is Gravekeeper's Watcher:

When your opponent activates an effect whereby your opponent discards a card(s) from his/her hand, you can send this card from your hand to the Graveyard to negate the activation of the effect and destroy it.

Watcher has an Optional Quick Effect. Sending this Card from the Hand to the Graveyard is a cost, so the effect can't be activated if Macro Cosmos is active. It negates the activation of an effect that includes the effect of discarding Cards from your opponent's Hand. Since effects are not costs, it cannot negate Cards like Raigeki Break or Phoenix Wing Wind Blast (more importantly, your opponent would have already discarded the Cards already). Also, since it negates activations, it doesn't target. It cannot negate the effects of an already-active S/T Card like Depth Amulet.

Back to the Deck, the last of the PGD batch of Gravekeepers is Gravekeeper's Chief:

You can only control 1 "Gravekeeper's Chief". Cards in your Graveyard are unaffected by "Necrovalley". When this card is Tribute Summoned, you can select 1 "Gravekeeper's" monster from your Graveyard and Special Summon it.

The first line is a highlander clause, which we have already reviewed before. Then, it has a Continuous Effect that stops Necrovalley from affecting your Graveyard. We'll deal with Necrovalley in a minute, but pretty much it means exactly that: Everything that Necrovalley stops doesn't count for your Graveyard. The last sentence is an Optional Trigger Effect activated upon this Card's successful Tribute Summon, so it can be negated by Pulling the Rug. It targets a Gravekeeper in your Graveyard.

Straying from the Deck once again, we have two monsters that are related to Necrovalley that are also from PGD, one being A Cat of Ill Omen and the other being An Owl of Luck:

FLIP: Select 1 Trap Card from your Deck and place it on top of your Deck. If "Necrovalley" is active on the field, you can add the selected card to your hand instead.

FLIP: Select 1 Field Spell Card from your Deck and place it on top of your Deck. If "Necrovalley" is active on the field, you can add the selected Field Spell Card to your hand instead.

Both Cards work exactly the same rulings-wise. Both have a Flip Effect that helps you getting a specific Card from your Deck faster, and they only differ in which Card they can search. This effect doesn't target. The effect only requires "Necrovalley" to be on the Field to add the Card to the Hand, it doesn't need to have its effect active. So even if Gravekeeper's Chief or Imperial Order are disrupting Necrovalley's effect, you can choose to add the Card to the Hand. If Thunder King Rai-Oh is face-up, the Card must be placed on top of your Deck. You are unable to choose in that case.

We also have Charm of Shabti:

Discard this card from your hand. Until the End Phase, make the Battle Damage to monsters that include "Gravekeeper's" in their card name 0.

Charm has an Optional Quick Effect. Discarding it is a cost. While its wording is a little ambiguous, it means that your Gravekeeper monsters are not destroyed in battle, but you still take any necessary Battle Damage. This effect doesn't target, and it will affect Graveekeper monsters that were Summoned after the effect resolves or that were face-down. Note that the effect also affects your opponent's Gravekeepers.

As for some old Gravekeeper Spell Cards, we have Gravekeeper's Servant:

Your opponent cannot declare an attack unless they send 1 card from the top of their Deck to the Graveyard.

Servant is an interesting Card. By itself, it doesn't mean much to today's Cards' standards, but it has two funny rulings. The first one is that, despite being a Continuous Spell Card, it counts as a Gravekeeper Card due to its name, and if you Summon it with Magical Hats, it can benefit from the Gravekeeper support Cards. This was one of the first Cards with this loophole, even though nowadays it's a little more common. The other ruling involves more about the Card's effect. Basically, Servant places a cost on declaring an attack. This doesn't use the chain, and is required to start declaring an attack. If your opponent doesn't have enough Cards in the Deck, s/he can't declare any attacks. The other funny ruling comes here. If Macro Cosmos is active, then the cost to declare an attack cannot be paid, as the Cards cannot be sent to the Graveyard, and so, if both Macro Cosmos and this Card are active, the opponent can't declare any attacks no matter how many Cards are left in his Deck.

We also have Royal Tribute:

Activate only when you control "Necrovalley". Both players discard all Monster Cards in their hands.

Controlling Necrovalley is only an activation requirement, so even if it is destroyed, the effect still resolves properly. If activated via Diamond Dude, you don't need to control Necrovalley. At least 1 player must control Cards in his/her Hand in order to activate Royal Tribute, but you can activate it with no Monster Cards in your Hand or no Cards at all. Both players must also reveal their Hand to verify that there are no more Monster Cards in their Hand.

And to finish with the nostalgia, the last PGD Card for Gravekeeper's is Rite of Spirit:

Select and Special Summon 1 "Gravekeeper's" monster from your Graveyard. This effect cannot be negated by the effect of "Necrovalley".

Rite of Spirit targets a Gravekeeper in your Graveyard. It's only bonus is that it's not negated by Necrovalley.

A few years later, we have Gravekeeper's Commandant:

You can discard this card to the Graveyard to add 1 "Necrovalley" from your Deck to your hand.

Commandant has an Ignition Effect. Discarding it to the Graveyard is a cost, so if Macro Cosmos is active, the effect can't be activated. It adds a Necrovalley to your Hand, and it doesn't target. If Thunder King Rai-Oh is face-up, you can't activate this effect.

And back to 2010, we have Gravekeeper's Priestess:

The field is treated as "Necrovalley". If there is a face-up Field Spell Card, this effect is not applied. All face-up "Gravekeeper's" Monsters gain 200 ATK and DEF.

Priestess has two Continuous Effects. The first one treats the Field as if Necrovalley was active. Note that you don't get ANY of Necrovalley's effects by merely controlling Priestess, so your Gravekeeper's won't gain 500 ATK/DEF and the Graveyards are NOT protected, ironically. The purpose of this effect is to "pretend" that there is a face-up Necrovalley Card, so that Cards like Gravekeeper's Assailant and An Owl of Luck can benefit from it. The restriction while there is a Field Spell Card refers to this effect, not the second one. The second effect is simply an ATK/DEF increase.

Then, we have Gravekeeper's Descendant:

You can Tribute 1 face-up "Gravekeeper's" monster you control, except this card, to destroy 1 card your opponent controls.

Descendant has an Ignition Effect.Tributing a Gravekeeper is a cost, and the effect targets an opponent's Card.

The last Gravekeeper monster is Gravekeeper's Visionary:

You can Normal Summon this card by Tributing 1 "Gravekeeper's" monster. This card gains 200 ATK for each "Gravekeeper's" monster in your Graveyard. If this face-up card on the field would be destroyed, you can discard 1 "Gravekeeper's" monster instead.

Visionary has a Summoning Condition that allows you to Summon it with only one tribute. Then, it has a Continuous Effect that provides it with an ATK increase. Finally, the last effect is a substitution effect. It's a Continuous Effect that discards a Gravekeeper monster when Visionary would be destroyed (when the effect that destroys it resolve, or during the Damage Step if it's about to be destroyed in battle).

The last support Card before reviewing  Necrovalley is Gravekeeper's Stele:

Select 2 "Gravekeeper's" monsters in your Graveyard and add them to your hand. This effect cannot be negated by the effect of "Necrovalley".

Stele targets two Gravekeepers in your Graveyard. If one of the targets is no longer in the Graveyard by the time the effect resolves, you still add the remaining one to the Hand. It also has the bonus of being unaffected by Necrovalley.

And finally, we have the most infamous Spell Card, Necrovalley:

All "Gravekeeper's" monsters gain 500 ATK and DEF. Cards in either player's Graveyard cannot be removed from play. Cards in either player's Graveyard cannot be affected by card effects, except for their own effects.

Necrovalley has three Continuous Effects. The first one is an evident ATK/DEF increase which isn't exactly problematic.

The second effect prevents Cards in the Graveyard from being Removed from Play. This covers every possible way to do this, be it an effect, or a cost. If it involves Removing Cards from Play, then the Card cannot be activated, and if it's necessary to perform a Summoning Condition, then the Summon cannot be initiated. This means that effects like D.D. Crow, Spore, or Gladiator Beast Retiari cannot be activated, Cards like Soul Release or Book of Life cannot be activated, and monsters like Chaos Sorcerer's or Enishi, Shien's Chancellor cannot be Special Summoned by their Inherent Special Summon. If Gravekeeper's Chief is face-up, you can Special Summon these monsters, but your opponent can Remove from Play Cards from your Graveyard as well.

However, the last effect is more meaningful. Through the years, this effect's rulings have been reversed back and forth just too many times. Thanks to the last reversal caused by its reprint in the Marik Structure Deck, Necrovalley has returned to its actual glory, and most importantly, can be summed up briefly.

The third effect negates the effects of Cards that affect Cards in the Graveyard. What does "affect" cover here? It involves effects that try to take out Cards out of the Graveyard other than Removing them from Play (which the second effect already covers). That is to say, this effect negates effects that Special Summon monsters from the Graveyard (Monster Reborn), effects that add Cards from the Graveyard to the Hand (Salvage, Gladiator Beast Equeste), effects that return Cards from the Graveyard to the Deck or Extra Deck (Pot of Avarice), and other effects that simply try to take a Card out of the Graveyard. A key exception to this is mentioned in the text, and that is a Card whose own effect moves it out of the Graveyard. For example, effects like Stardust Dragon's Trigger Effect, Plaguespreader Zombie's effect, or Sinister Serpent's effect.

Notice how the third effect only deals with effects, not costs, so you can take out Cards out of the Graveyard as a cost. This means you can activate the effect of Scrap Recycler by returning Cards from the Graveyard to the Deck, and you can also Special Summon Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord by its Summoning Condition.

Finally, the third effect is only restricted to taking Cards out of the Graveyard. If an effect only counts or refers to Cards in the Graveyard, Necrovalley won't negate it. For example, Necrovalley will not negate the effects of Gravekeeper's Visionary or Totem Dragon, even though they need to know if certain Cards are in the Graveyard. Similarly, Necrovalley will not negate the effects of Tragoedia or The Tyrant Neptune, even though they target a monster in the Graveyard to modify some of their statistics. None of these effects try to take Cards out of the Graveyard.


Well, that's all for the Gravekeeper monsters and the dreaded Necrovalley. Stay tuned for the final batch of Cards of the Marik Structure Deck.

SDMA Part 1: The Mummy: Spikey Hair

One of the most classic characters from the original Yu-Gi-Oh! anime makes a return in the form of a Structure Deck. The Structure Deck: Marik contains the Gravekeeper monsters and some Cards used by the character of that name. Let's take a look at Marik's monsters.

We start off with Mystic Tomato:

When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, you can Special Summon 1 DARK monster with 1500 or less ATK from your Deck in face-up Attack Position.

Tomato is your average recruiter monster, which we have mentioned many times. It has an Optional Trigger Effect that you activate at the End of the Damage Step. It doesn't target. It cannot Special Summon monsters with "?" ATK.

Next, we have Viser Des:

When this card is Normal Summoned, select 1 monster your opponent controls. Destroy that monster during your 3rd Standby Phase after the Summon. This card cannot be destroyed by battle until this effect is resolved.

Viser Des's first effect is Mandatory Trigger Effect activated upon its Normal Summon, meaning you can use Pulling the Rug against it. This effect targets. This effect will also destroy the target monster a few turns later, but since it won't do so when it resolves, effects like Stardust Dragon cannot negate this effect. The destruction also doesn't use the chain either. Furthermore, until these turns pass, Viser Des cannot be destroyed in battle. If either Viser Des or the target are Removed from the Field, the target won't be destroyed and Viser Des is no longer protected from being destroyed in battle. If Viser Des is flipped face-down, the target won't be destroyed either. If Skill Drain is activated and is later destroyed, then Viser Des will keep targeting the monster, so once Skill Drain is gone, it will still be protected from battle and will still destroy the monster at the third Standby Phase.

Moving on, we have Legendary Fiend:

During each of your Standby Phases, this card gains 700 ATK.

Legendary Fiend has a Mandatory Trigger Effect. If Fiend is flipped face-down, Removed from the Field, or has its effects negated, it will lose all the ATK gained through the turns.

Then, we have Dark Jeroid:

When this card is Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned, or Special Summoned successfully, select 1 face-up monster on the field. As long as the monster remains face-up on the field, decrease its ATK by 800 points.

Dark Jeroid has a Mandatory Trigger Effect activated upon its Summon (so it can be negated by Pulling the Rug or Swallow Flip accordingly). This effect targets, and if Dark Jeroid is Summoned while no other monster is face-up, it must reduce its own ATK. The ATK reduction does not depend on Jeroid's existence on the Field.

We also have Newdoria:

When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, destroy 1 monster on the field.

Newdoria has a Mandatory Trigger Effect that you activate at the End of the Damage Step. It targets a monster.

Then have Drillago:

When there are only face-up monsters with ATK 1600 or more on your opponent's side of the field, this monster can attack your opponent's Life Points directly.

Drillago has a Continuous Effect that allows it to attack directly. The only Cards that your opponent must control are face-up monsters with high enough ATK.

Moving on, we have Bowganian:

During each of your Standby Phases, inflict 600 points of damage to your opponent's Life Points.

Bowganian has a Mandatory Trigger Effect. Not much else to say.

And finally, we arrive to the most emblematic monster used by Marik, other than the illegal The Winged Dragon of Ra: Lava Golem:

This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card can only be Special Summoned to your opponent's side of the field by Tributing 2 monsters they control. You cannot Normal Summon or Set the turn you Special Summon this card. The controller of this card takes 1000 points of damage during each of his/her Standby Phases.

Lava Golem is Special Summoned through an Inherent Special Summon. It's Summoning Condition is one of the few times in this game in which you can use your opponent's Cards to pay your own tributes. Lava Golem is considered to be Summoned by the player that holds it in his/her Hand, and it's Summoned to the opposite player's side of the Field. This means that the opposite player can activate Bottomless Trap Hole, even though the monster is on his/her own side of the Field, because it was the other player who Summoned Lava Golem. Other than that, its effect to inflict damage is a Mandatory Trigger Effect.

That's all for this first part of the review of Marik's Structure Deck. Stay tuned for some Gravekeepers!

DREV Part 8: Delaying The Inevitable Uprise

*Deep sigh*

Once again, a few technical difficulties. Sorry about that. Aside from time  issues, rulings have been quite convoluted lately, mainly with Cards from the set we are currently reviewing. So let's get down to business and finish this set.

Let' start with the monsters, the first one being Earthquake Giant:

Once per turn, when the battle position of this card is changed, you can select 1 monster your opponent controls and change its battle position.

Giant has an Optional Trigger Effect. Don't let the "once per turn" wording confuse you, it's only there to restrict how many times you can activate the Trigger Effect. This effect targets an opponent's monster, and it will activate if Giant's position is changed manually or by a Card effect (even if you Flip Summon it).

Next, we have Effect Veiler:

During your opponent's Main Phase, you can send this card from your hand to the Graveyard to select 1 face-up Effect Monster your opponent controls. Negate the effect(s) of that monster until the End Phase.

Effect Veiler has an Optional Quick Effect which targets an opponent's monster. The effect negation is similar to Junk Synchron's, negating effects that activate or apply on the Field, even if the monster generating it is no longer on the Field. Flipping the monster face-down and then face-up will prevent its effects from being negated.

You can chain Effect Veiler's effect to the activation of the effect itself, providing the target is still on the Field after activation. So if your opponent Normal Summons Infernity Mirage, and tributes it as a cost to activate its effect, Effect Veiler's effect can't be chained to it, because the target is no longer on the Field. Regarding the expiration of the effect, it involves rules of priority, so it depends how you are and your opponent pass priority to each other during the End Phase.

Moving on, we have Dash Warrior:

If this card attacks, it gains 1200 ATK during the Damage Step only.

Dash Warrior's effect is Continuous. It begins applying as soon as you move into the Damage Step.

Then, we have Damage Eater:

During your opponent's turn, when your opponent activates a card or effect that would inflict damage, you can remove from play this card in your Graveyard to change that effect so it increases Life Points by the same amount instead.

Damage Eater has an Optional Quick Effect. You chain it directly to an effect that would inflict Effect Damage, and Removing it from Play is a cost. The effect cannot be activated during the Damage Step. The effect must be guaranteed to inflict Effect Damage, so you cannot chain this effect to Dice Jar or similar. The effect must also use the chain, so you cannot respond to effects like Skull Invitation. In the strange case in which Bad Reaction to Simochi is active, and an effect that would cause you to gain Life Points is activated, you cannot respond with Damage Eater's effect, because it can't resolve properly (damage cannot be converted to Life Point gain due to Simochi).

We also have A/D Changer:

You can remove from play this card in your Graveyard to select 1 monster on the field. Change its battle position.

A/D Changer has an Ignition Effect. It targets, and Removing it from Play is a cost. If you target a face-down Defense Position monster, it is flipped to face-up Attack Position. Do note that this is an Ignition Effect, so it cannot be activated during the opponent's turn.

Next, let's look at Stronghold Guardian:

If a Defense Position monster you control is attacked, during the Damage Step, you can send this card from your hand to the Graveyard to have that monster gain 1500 DEF until the End Phase.

Guardian has an Optional Quick Effect, which does not target. Sending it to the Graveyard is a cost, so it can't be activated while Macro Cosmos is active. It's similar to Honest, only that it increases the DEF of a monster. The monster must be in Defense Position when the effect is activated and when it resolves. However, the monster doesn't need to be in Defense Position at the time the attack is declared. So if your opponent attacks one of your monsters that has a lot of ATK but little DEF, and uses Book of Moon to exploit this, once you are within the Damage Step you can use the effect of Stronghold Guardian. This effect can be activated from the Start up to Damage Calculation included.

Moving on, we have Trident Warrior:

When this card is Normal Summoned, you can Special Summon 1 Level 3 monster from your hand.

Trident has an Optional Trigger Effect activated upon its Normal Summon. It can be negated by Pulling the Rug. The effect doesn't target, but you must have a valid monster to Special Summon.

Then, we have Delta Flyer:

Once per turn, you can select 1 other face-up monster you control and increase its Level by 1.

Flyer has an Ignition Effect. It targets, and the Level increase remains as long as the target remains face-up on the Field. This is not related to Delta Flyer's existence on the Field.

The last monster from this set is Ambitious Gofer:

Once per turn, you select up to 2 monsters your opponent controls. Your opponent can reveal 1 monster in their hand to negate this card's effect. If they do not, destroy the selected monsters.

Ambitious Gofer has an Ignition Effect. It targets up to 2 monsters. The opponent cna choose to negate it when the effect starts resolving

Now, let's look at the Spell Cards, starting with Blind Spot Strike:

Select 1 face-up Defense Position monster your opponent controls and 1 face-up Attack Position monster you control. The monster you control gains ATK equal to the opponent's monster's DEF, until the End Phase.

Strike targets both monsters. It can be activated during the Damage Step before Damage Calculation.

Then, we have Double Cyclone:

Select 1 Spell/Trap Card you control and 1 Spell/Trap Card your opponent controls. Destroy the selected card(s).

Double Cyclone targets both Cards. It cannot target itself. If one of the targets is missing, the other one is still destroyed. You can chain Double Cyclone to a S/T Card and choose that Card as one of its targets, even though it was already activated.

We then have some Equip Cards, one being Pestilence:

Equip only to a Warrior-Type, Beast-Warrior-Type, or Spellcaster-Type monster. Its ATK becomes 0. During each of your Standby Phases, inflict 500 damage to the controller of the equipped monster.

Pestilence has a similar effect to Shrink, or even better, Megamorph, due to its Equip Spell Card status. It forces a value into the ATK, to which you later apply all other necessary modifiers. Pestilence also has a Mandatory Trigger-like effect that inflicts damage.

The other Equip Spell Card is Cursed Armaments:

The equipped monster loses 600 ATK for each monster you control. When this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard, you can select 1 face-up monster your opponent controls and equip it with this card.

Cursed Armaments has an ATK reduction effect, but its most important effect is the second one. This one is an Optional Trigger-like effect. You can activate it if Armaments is sent to the Graveyard because it was sent there by a Card effect, or if the monster it was equipped to is no longer face-up. This second effect targets.

Note that this effect does not provide Spell Counters to Royal Magical Library, as only the Spell Card's effect is being activated, not the Spell Card itself. This means that you cannot get infinite Spell Counters by equipping this Card into an opponent's Gearfried the Iron Knight over and over.

We than have Wiseman's Chalice:

If you control no monsters, Select 1 monster in your opponent's Graveyard. Special Summon it. During the End Phase of this turn, give control of that Special Summoned monster to your opponent. The monster cannot be Tributed, or used as a Synchro Material Monster, while it is face-up on the field.

Chalice targets an opponent's monster in the Graveyard. Then, two conditions are set on the monster: It will return to the opponent, and it has certain restrictions on what it can be used for. If the monster is flipped face-down or Removed from the Field, the restrictions are gone. Note that the restrictions don't expire at some point, not even when the monster returns to the opponent. If you activate this Card's effect via Diamond Dude, you can activate the effect while you control a monster, but the conditions will still be placed on the Summoned monster.

We then have Summoning Curse:

When a monster is Special Summoned, the controller of that monster chooses 1 card in their hand and removes it from play. During each of your End Phases, pay 500 Life Points or destroy this card.

Curse has a Mandatory Trigger-like effect, which doesn't target. The controller of the monster is determined when this Trigger-like effect resolves, so if a player chains Enemy Controller to this Card's effect, that player must Remove a Card from Play. If multiple monsters are Summoned to the same side of the Field, that player only Removes from Play 1 Card, and if multiple monsters are Summoned to both sides of the Field, each player Removes from Play 1 Card. Since Summoning Curse needs to know who is controlling the monster, if the monster is Removed from the Field before Curse's effect resolves, Curse resolves without effect. Paying 500 Life Points is a Maintenance Cost.

The last Spell Card is definitely the most special Card of the set: Pot of Duality:

Reveal the top 3 cards of your Deck, add 1 of them to your hand, then shuffle the rest back into your Deck. You can only activate 1 "Pot of Duality" per turn. You cannot Special Summon a monster(s) during the turn you activate this card.

Pot of Duality reveals 3 Cards as part of its effect. The Cards are revealed even when you decide which one to add to your Hand and which ones to shuffle in the Deck. Pot cannot be activated if Thunder King Rai-Oh is face-up, and if it appears on the Field before Pot resolves, the Card that would go to your Hand is sent to the Graveyard instead. During the turn in which you activate Duality, you cannot perform a Special Summon before or after activating Pot, or in a chain to Pot of Duality. If you activate an effect that would perform a Special Summon and it is negated, Pot can be activated. However, if you initiate an Inherent Special Summon (such as Cyber Dragon or Machina Fortress) and it is negated, it will count as a Special Summon for Pot of Duality, much like how a negated Normal Summon counts as your Normal Summon for that turn. If you activate this Card's effect via Diamond Dude, you can activate another Pot of Duality and you can Special Summon monsters during the turn.

The first Trap Card left is Parallel Selection:

Activate only when a Synchro Monster you control is destroyed by your opponent (either by battle or by card effect) and sent to the Graveyard. Select 1 of your removed from play Spell Cards and add it to your hand.

Parallel Selection targets a Removed from Play Spell Card. The Synchro monster must be face-up when destroyed by a Card effect in order to activate Parallel Selection.

Next, we have Reanimation Wave:

Activate only when your opponent's monster declares a direct attack. Select 1 Synchro Monster in your Graveyard with a Level less than or equal to the attacking monster's. The Battle Damage you take from that attack is halved. At the end of the Damage Step, Special Summon the selected Synchro Monster from the Graveyard.

Reanimation Wave is activated upon Attack Declaration. It targets a Synchro Monster in your Graveyard. Then, it sets two conditions, one that will halve Battle Damage, and one that will Special Summon the Synchro Monster. In order to Summon the Synchro, the attack must proceed until the Damage Step, even if you don't take Battle Damage. The Special Summon doesn't use the chain. If a Card prevents you from Special Summoning (such as Archlord Krystia), you can still activate this Card to reduce the Battle Damage. Furthermore, Royal Oppression cannot negate this Card's effect, as it will not perform a Special Summon when it resolves, nor does the effect to Special Summon start a chain (even though it would be within the Damage Step).

We then have Barrier Wave:

Activate by Tributing 1 Synchro Monster you control when your opponent declares an attack with a monster. Change all Attack Position monsters your opponent controls to Defense Position. Afterwards, inflict damage to your opponent's Life Points equal to the DEF of the monster the attack was declared with.

This Card is activated upon Attack Declaration. Tributing a Synchro Monster is a cost. This Card does not target. You can only inflict damage if the attacking monster is still face-up, and if a monster was changed to Defense Position.

Moving on, we have Chain Whirlwind:

Activate only when a card on the field is destroyed by a card effect. Select 2 Spell/Trap Cards on the field and destroy them.

Whirlwind responds to the destruction of any Card on the Field by a Card Effect. Note that you don't chain it to a destructive effect itself. If Chain Whirlwind is about to be destroyed, there's nothing you can do. It targets 2 S/T Cards on the Field. It cannot target itself. It cannot be activated during the Damage Step.

As for another popular Card, we have Solemn Warning:

Pay 2000 Life Points. Negate the Summon of a monster OR the activation of a Spell Card, Trap Card, or Effect Monster's effect that includes an effect that Special Summons a monster(s), and destroy that card.

Paying Life Points is a cost. Warning can negate either:

-A Normal, Flip, or an Inherent Special Summon.

-The activation of a Spell/Trap Card or the activation of a Monster Effect that might Special Summon a monster.

The first situation is no different from Horn of Heaven. The second one is the one that confuses people the most. Solemn Warning can only negate the activation of a S/T Card (placing it face-up on the Field) if it will Special Summon a monster when it resolves. Not later, only at that time. For example, it can negate the activation of Call of the Haunted, because it will Special Summon a monster when it resolves, but it can't negate the activation of Geartown, Infernity Launcher, Supervise, etc. It also cannot negate Ignition-like, Trigger-like, or Quick-like effects of already-active S/T Cards. Being a Counter Trap Card, it can be activated during the Damage Step to negate effects like Mystic Tomato or Gorz the Emissary of Darkness.

We then have Anti-Magic Prism:

Activate only when your opponent activates a Quick-Play Spell Card. Select 1 card on the field and destroy it.

Prism responds to the activation of a Quick-Play Spell Card. It targets a Card on the Field. Not much else to say.

And for another Counter Trap Card, we have Chivalry:

Activate only during the Battle Phase, when the effect of an opponent's Effect Monster is activated. Negate the activation and destroy that card.

Chivalry is chained directly to a Monster Effect that activates, much like Divine Wrath. It can be activated at any point of the Battle Phase, from the Start Step to the End Step, including within the Damage Step. This means it can negate effects like Exarion Universe (Battle Step), Mystic Tomato (Damage Step), and the tag-out effect of Gladiator Beast Monsters (End Step).

And finally the last Card is Light of Destruction:

When an opponent's card effect sends a card(s) from their Deck to the Graveyard, send the top 3 cards of their Deck to the Graveyard.

Light of Destruction has a Mandatory Trigger-like effect. It will always send 3 Cards no matter how many Cards are sent by your opponent in the first place. If Macro Cosmos is active after your opponent sends Cards to the Graveyard, the Cards sent by Light of Destruction are Removed from Play. Note that Light of Destruction won't activate its effect if the Cards are sent to the Graveyard as a cost (such as with Card Trooper).

Well, that finally covers Duelist Revolution. Sorry for the long delay, guys Q_Q