Problem-Solving Card Text

"Marauding Captain" is an example of a card already reprinted with Problem-Solving Card Text. This is the card from Starter Deck: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

Problem-Solving Card Text was an update to card effect text, introduced to Booster Packs with the release of Generation Force,^[1] and Starter Decks with the release of Starter Deck: Dawn of the Xyz, with the intent to simplify card effects to the point that most situations could be resolved simply by applying logic.^[2] It was announced by Kevin Tewart through a series of blog posts to Konami's Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's TCG Strategy Site.^[2]^[3]

Legendary Collection 2: The Duel Academy Years was in part created to reprint many old cards with the new text style (including the "HERO" monsters).

Changes

Several words and phrases change, to simplify the reading of the effect and to save space in the text box:

"Remove from play" → "Banish"^[4]
"Is removed from the field" → "Leaves the field"^[4]
"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 Battle Damage to your opponent." → "If this card attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing Battle Damage to your opponent."^[4] This wording originally appeared years earlier on copies of "Cyberdark Horn" printed in Duelist Pack 4: Zane Truesdale, but then went unused until it was reintroduced in this update.
"Selected as an attack target" → "Targeted for an attack"^[4]

This is the reprint version from Starter Deck: Dawn of the Xyz.

Conditions are now denoted with a colon (:).^[5]
Activation text is now denoted with a semicolon (;).^[5]
Monster Effects and Continuous Spell and Trap cards with Ignition-like effects that start a Chain always have a colon or semicolon (as the activation of a Spell or Trap Card always starts a Chain).^[5]
The word "then" indicates that actions inside the Activation and Resolution phases must happen in that order. The word "and" indicates that the actions happen at the same time.^[6]
The words "that target" or "both targets" and "it" or "they" have different meanings in the resolution of the effect: "that target" or "both targets" indicate that the targets must still be the same targets with the same characteristics in all steps; "it" or "they" indicate that the targets only need the specified characteristics at the time of targetting.^[6]
Some cards with Continuous Effects now indicate precisely if the effect happens during the Chain.^[6]
"While this card is face-up on the field..." (e.g. "Pain Painter" and "Crashbug X")^[6]

Special Summoning origin is now denoted with parentheses (()) in built-in Special Summons.^[7]
"[This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set.] This card can only be Special Summoned by..." → "Cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. Must first be Special Summoned..."^[7]
"[This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set.] This card cannot be Special Summoned except by..." → "Cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. Must be Special Summoned...and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways."^[7]