Card Rulings:Level Eater

"Level Eater":

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TCG Rulings

• Special Summoning "Level Eater" is an Ignition Effect that activates in the Graveyard. It targets 1 face-up Level 5 or higher monster you control.

• You reduce the target monster's Level when you resolve the effect.

• The Level reduction lasts as long as the targeted monster is face-up on the field.

• If the target monster is no longer in the field when the effect resolves, you do not Special Summon "Level Eater".

• If the target monster's Level is less than 5 when the effect of "Level Eater" resolves, you still reduce the monster's Level by 1 and Summon "Level Eater".

• If this card is no longer in your Graveyard when its effect resolves, you still reduce the monster's Level by 1 but you don't Summon "Level Eater".

Mentions in Other Rulings

• Apocatequil: If "Apocatequil" is Level 5 due to its effect and you choose to lower it to Special Summon "Level Eater," "Apocatequil" becomes Level 4. If the Tuner is removed from the field, it becomes Level 3. If you Summon another Tuner, "Apocatequil" becomes Level 5 again.

OCG Rulings

On Special Summoning/Reducing a Monster's Level

• The effect of "Level Eater" which Special Summons it is an Ignition Effect which activates in the Graveyard. This effect targets one Level 5 or higher monster on your side of the field. The targeted monster's Level is decreased by 1 when resolving the effect.

• When resolving the effect of "Level Eater", if the targeted monster's Level is 4 or less, then the monster's Level is still decreased by 1 and "Level Eater" is still Special Summoned.

• If the effect of "Level Eater" cannot lower the monster's Level by one - such as if an effect like "Book of Moon" or "Compulsory Evacuation Device" is chained to so that the targeted Level 5 or higher monster is not face-up on the field at resolution - then "Level Eater" is not Special Summoned.

• When resolving the effect of "Level Eater", if "Level Eater" cannot Special Summon itself - such as if an effect like "D.D. Crow" is chained and removes "Level Eater" from the Graveyard - then the monster's Level is still decreased by one, even though "Level Eater" is not Special Summoned.

• After "Level Eater" decreases a monster's Level by one, the Level 5+ monster's Level remains decreased as long as the monster remains face-up on the field.

Versus Specific Monsters

• Apocatequil: If "Apocatequil" is being treated as Level 5 and its Level is lowered by 1 by the effect of "Level Eater", then the Level of "Apocatequil" becomes 4. Afterwards, if all Tuner monsters are removed from the field, then the Level of "Apocatequil" becomes 3. Furthermore, if a Tuner monster is later Normal Summoned to the field, then the Level of "Apocatequil" will become 5 again.

• Tragoedia: If "Tragoedia" changes its Level by its own effect and then the effect of "Level Eater" lowers the Level of "Tragoedia" by 1, then during the End Phase when the effect of "Tragoedia" disappears the effect of "Level Eater" is still applied.
  • Example: "Tragoedia" is Level 8 because it activated its effect and removed from play [sic] "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" (Level 8). Then, the effect of "Level Eater" activates and reduces the Level of "Tragoedia" by 1, to Level 7. When the effect of "Tragoedia" is no longer applied, the Level of "Tragoedia" becomes 9 (its original Level of 10, reduced by 1 by the effect of "Level Eater").

• Tragoedia: If "Level Eater" lowered the Level of "Tragoedia", then when "Tragoedia" changes its Level through its own effect, the Level of "Tragoedia" becomes the same as the Level of the targeted monster. The effect of "Level Eater" is no longer applied and the Level of "Tragoedia" is no longer decreased by one, even after the effect of "Tragoedia" disappears.

On Not Tributing

• The text "This card cannot be Tributed, except for a Tribute Summon." of "Level Eater" is an effect which is only applied as long as "Level Eater" remains face-up on the field. A face-down "Level Eater" may be Tributed for a purpose other than a Tribute Summon.