Target

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Target

Artwork of "Raigeki Break", an example of a card that targets other cards for its effect.
Artwork of "Raigeki Break", an example of a card that targets other cards for its effect.

Japanese

たいしょう
Verb: たいしょうとする (formerly せんたくする)

Japanese (ruby)

たいしょう
Verb: たいしょうとする (formerly せんたくする)

Japanese (base text)

対象
Verb: 対象とする (formerly 選択する)

Japanese (romanized)

taishō
Verb: taishō to suru (formerly
sentaku suru)

English

target

Targeting (たいしょうとする taishō to suru) is the action of designating which specific cards are affected or used by card effects at the activation of a card effect. A card designated this way is the target (たいしょう taishō) of the effect.

Activation[edit]

If a card or effect targets, its targets must be chosen when it is activated.

Cards can be targeted if they are on the field, in the Graveyard, or banished. Cards in the hand, Main Deck, Extra Deck,[1] or attached as Xyz Material cannot be targeted.

In Problem-Solving Card Text, cards and effects that target always explicitly state that they target, except Equip Spell Cards because they always target. For older cards that do not use Problem-Solving Card Text, targeting is usually indicated by the words "select" or "designate"; however, some cards that target do not use these words, and some cards that use these words do not target, so it is necessary to confirm by checking the specific card's rulings.

While targeting usually implies the player choosing a card, some cards automatically target a specific card without the player's input, such as "Magic Cylinder" and "Dimensional Prison".

Resolution[edit]

If a card was targeted by a card or effect, but when the effect resolves that target has changed location, the target is no longer valid and cannot be affected as the target.[2][3] The player does not get to change their target or select another target at resolution.

Example 1
  1. Player A activates "Magnet Reverse", targeting a "Morphtronic Smartfon" that has been Special Summoned by its own procedure, that is in their GY.
  2. Player B chains "D.D. Crow", targeting "Morphtronic Smartfon" in Player A's GY.
  3. "D.D. Crow" resolves, banishing "Morphtronic Smartfon" from Player A's GY.
  4. "Magnet Reverse" revolves; no monster is Special Summoned, as "Morphtronic Smartfon" is no longer in the GY.

Some cards and effects that target specify that the target must still meet the targeting requirements when their effect resolves. In Problem-Solving Card Text, this is indicated by referring to the target as "that target" in the resolution section of the effect.

Example 2
  1. Player A activates "Offerings to the Doomed", targeting Player B's face-up "Dark Magician".
  2. Player B chains "Book of Moon", targeting "Dark Magician".
  3. "Book of Moon" resolves, changing "Dark Magician" to face-down Defense Position.
  4. "Offerings to the Doomed" resolves; "Dark Magician" is not destroyed. (Because "Offerings to the Doomed" can only target face-up monsters and it uses the term "that target" to refer to the targeted monster in the resolution section of the effect, it cannot affect the target as a target if it has been changed face-down before the effect resolves.) "Offerings to the Doomed" skips Player A's next Draw Phase.
Example 3
  1. Player A activates "Spiritual Entanglement", targeting Player B's face-up "Blue-Eyes White Dragon".
  2. Player B chains "Book of Moon", targeting "Blue-Eyes White Dragon".
  3. "Book of Moon" resolves, changing "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" to face-down Defense Position.
  4. "Spiritual Entanglement" resolves and banishes "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" until the End Phase. (Even though "Spiritual Entanglement" can only target face-up monsters, it uses the term "it" to refer to the targeted monster in the resolution section of the effect, so can still affect the target even if it has been changed face-down before the effect resolves.)

Effects that do not target[edit]

Many effects do not target any cards, even if they require a player to choose specific cards to be affected. For cards with Problem-Solving Card Text, a non-Equip Spell Card targets if and only if it uses the word "target".

Some examples of cards that do not target include:

  • Cards that affect as many cards as possible within a specific parameter, such as "all monsters on the field" (e.g. "Dark Hole")
  • Cards that "choose" a card(s) to be affected (e.g. "Forbidden Droplet")
  • Cards that affect a card(s) at effect resolution, without having to target at activation (e.g. "Fissure")
  • Cards that affect the card/effect activation it is responding to (e.g. "Solemn Strike")

References[edit]

  1. Konami OCG Card Database: If a Pendulum Monster is destroyed and added to the Extra Deck face-up, can "Level Resist Wall" be activated?
  2. The Perfect Rulebook 2017. Konami. p. 136.
  3. Konami OCG Card Database: If a monster in the Graveyard was targeted by "Magnet Reverse", what happens if it is banished when the card resolves?