Card Rulings:Creature Swap

"Creature Swap":

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TCG Rulings

Mentions in Other Rulings

• D.D. Sprite: If you remove from play an opponent’s monster that you control due to Creature Swap, it is returned to your side of the field during the next Standby Phase and you retain control of it.

Previously Official Rulings

• "Creature Swap" does not target. The monsters are chosen when its effect resolves, not when "Creature Swap" is activated.

• The opponent cannot chain "Fairy's Hand Mirror", "Riryoku Field", or "Shift" to "Creature Swap" because it does not target. For the same reason, "Lord of D." does not prevent Dragon-Type monsters from being selected, and "Freed the Matchless General" will not negate the effect of "Creature Swap".

• Both players must have at least 1 eligible monster on the field for "Creature Swap" to be activated. If the opponent chains a card (such as "Ring of Destruction") to destroy the only monster on one side of the field, the effect of "Creature Swap" disappears.

• Monsters affected by "Creature Swap" do not return to their owner's control at the end of the turn, they stay under the opponent’s control until removed from the field or a card effect such as "Remove Brainwashing" says otherwise.

• The battle position of monsters affected by "Creature Swap" may be changed by card effects the turn "Creature Swap" was activated.

• A player may select a monster that had its battle position changed earlier in the turn (manually or by card effect).

• A player may select a Monster Token.

• A player may select a monster Special Summoned by "Call of the Haunted" or "Premature Burial". If the "Call of the Haunted" or "Premature Burial", still on the opponent's side of the field, is destroyed, the monster targeted by those cards is destroyed also.

• A player may select a monster that is equipped with "Snatch Steal". The original owner of the creature, who now controls the creature again, will still gain 1000 Life Points each turn from the opponent's "Snatch Steal" card as long as it remains on the field.

• A player may activate "Change of Heart" to gain control of an opponent's monster, and then activate "Creature Swap" and select that monster to return to the opponent. At the end of the turn, the monster targeted by "Change of Heart" does not switch sides again since it is already on the owner's side of the field.

Mentions in Other Rulings

• Amazoness Tiger: If both players have a face-up "Amazoness Tiger" and you give your opponent your "Amazoness Tiger" with "Creature Swap", then your "Amazoness Tiger" is destroyed.

• Amazoness Tiger: If both players give their "Amazoness Tigers" to each other with "Creature Swap", neither is destroyed.

• Big Shield Gardna: A face-down "Big Shield Gardna" can only negate a Spell Card that targets 1 face-down monster, so it cannot negate ... "Creature Swap" ....

• Blindly Loyal Goblin: Neither player can activate "Creature Swap" if the only monster you control is "Blindly Loyal Goblin". If you control "Blindly Loyal Goblin" and 1 other monster when "Creature Swap" is activated, you must select the other monster.

• D.D.M. - Different Dimension Master: "D.D.M. - Different Dimension Master" can Special Summon monsters in the "removed zone" of its controller. If your opponent controls your monster because of "Creature Swap" and it is removed from play, you can Special Summon it with "D.D.M. - Different Dimension Master" because it is in your removed zone. When the effect of "D.D.M. - Different Dimension Master" is used, the target monster is Special Summoned to the field of the player who controls "D.D.M. - Different Dimension Master".

• Dark Fusion: When you Special Summon a Fiend-Type Fusion Monster with “Dark Fusion” and during the same turn control of the Fiend-Type Fusion Monster is shifted to your opponent (with “Creature Swap”, etc.), your opponent still cannot target that Fiend-Type Fusion Monster with the effects of Spell, Trap, or Monster Cards until the end of the turn, even though they now control the Fiend-Type Fusion Monster.

• Dramatic Rescue: You can activate "Dramatic Rescue" when an Amazoness on your side of the field is targeted, ... [b]ut not when cards like ... "Creature Swap", ... are used.

• Dummy Golem: If control of monsters switches with "Dummy Golem", it stays switched as long as the cards remain on the field. (Like "Creature Swap".)

• Freed the Matchless General: The effect of this card will not negate "Creature Swap" ... or similar Spell Cards that do not target.

• Guardian Kay'est: If "Guardian Kay'est" and another monster are selected for "Creature Swap"'s effect, "Creature Swap"'s effect is negated because switching is impossible.

• Non-Spellcasting Area: While "Non-Spellcasting Area" is active, and only one player has Effect Monsters on the field, you can activate "Creature Swap" but its effect will be negated because none of the non-Effect Monsters can switch control due to a Spell Card's effect.

• Remove Brainwashing: When "Remove Brainwashing" is already active on the field and a switching effect is activated, or "Remove Brainwashing" is chained to a switching effect and is thus active before the switching effect resolves, control switches due to the effect but then switches back to the original owner because of "Remove Brainwashing". So for "Creature Swap", control is changed but then control goes back to the original owners. This means that if you give control of "Griggle" or "Ameba" to your opponent, their effect IS activated even though "Griggle"/"Ameba" then returns to the original owner's control afterwards.

• Remove Brainwashing: If "Remove Brainwashing" is destroyed, control does not revert again, so if I activate "Change of Heart" and my opponent chains "Remove Brainwashing", control of the monster comes to me and then reverts to my opponent. Then, later in the turn, if "Remove Brainwashing" is destroyed with "Heavy Storm", control does not revert back to me and remains with the original owner. (The same for "Creature Swap", etc.)

• Ryu Senshi: The effect of this card will not negate "Creature Swap", ... or similar cards that do not target.

• Spirit Reaper: Examples of cards that will not destroy "Spirit Reaper" because they do not target: "Creature Swap", ....

• Trap Monster: If your opponent has no vacant Spell & Trap Card Zones, you cannot give them “Embodiment of Apophis” for “Creature Swap”. If “Embodiment of Apophis” is your only monster in such a case, neither player can activate “Creature Swap”.

• Trap Monster: If your opponent controls your “Embodiment of Apophis” as a monster with ... “Creature Swap”, and it is flipped face-down, it goes to your opponent’s Spell & Trap Card Zone because he is the controller.

• Trap Monster: ... If your opponent controls your “Embodiment of Apophis” as a monster because of “Creature Swap”, and “Jinzo” is Summoned, it is placed on your opponent’s Spell & Trap Card Zone and remains there meaninglessly.

• Trojan Blast: You can activate "Trojan Blast" when a face-down monster shifts, such as with "Creature Swap". But no damage will be inflicted because it was face-down.

OCG Rulings

• The effect does not target. The monster whose control will be switched are chosen at resolution.

• Each player selects which of his monsters will switch control.

• At the time of a monster changing control due to a card effect like "Brain Control" or "Creature Swap, the Turn Player may use Priority to activate a Spell Speed 2+ effect. Also, Trigger Effects that activate upon a monster changing control will activate. The Turn Player cannot use Priority to Tribute that monster for a Tribute Summon or Tribute Set, nor to activate an Ignition Effect, nor to activate a Normal Spell Card.

• While "Rivalry of Warlords" is active, when "Creature Swap" is activated, players may exchange monsters of different Types. After a monster switches control, if its new controller also controls a monster of a different Type, then the monster which switched control is sent to the Graveyard. However, if you only control one monster after the monsters switch control, then you only control one Type of monster, so the monster whose control you gained is not sent to the Graveyard.

• The effect of "Creature Swap" does not target the monsters that change control. If "Creature Swap" is activated and you select to change control of a face-up "Spirit Reaper", then "Spirit Reaper" is not destroyed.

Mentions in Other Rulings

• When "Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle" etc is destroyed, the controller can apply the effect. If your "Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle" is controlled by your opponent, your opponent can place it in his Spell & Trap Card Zone as a Continuous Spell Card.

• Drill Warrior: The effect of "Drill Warrior" which removes it from play and the effect which Special Summons it are not treated as the same effect; "Drill Warrior" is not treated as being removed from play temporarily. Thus, if the effect of "Drill Warrior" removes it from play after control of it switches by an effect like "Mark of the Rose" or "Brain Control" or "Creature Swap", then "Drill Warrior" will be Special Summoned to its original owner's side of the field during its original owner's next Standby Phase, and its original owner adds a card from his Graveyard to his hand.

• Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon: If "Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon" banishes a monster that you own but your opponent controls because of "Creature Swap", then when the monsters return to the field, the monster returns to your opponent's side of the field and remains under your opponent's control.

• Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon: If your opponent controls your "Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon" because of "Creature Swap" and activates its effect, then when the monsters return to the field, "Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon" will return to the field of your opponent (the player who controlled it when it was banished).

• Nitro Unit: When control of a monster equipped with "Nitro Unit" changes with "Change of Heart"/"Snatch Steal"/"Creature Swap"/"Enemy Controller"/"Brain Control"/etc, "Nitro Unit" is destroyed. This is because the correct target for "Nitro Unit" is an opponent's monster.