Maintenance cost
A maintenance cost is a usually-optional cost required to keep a card on the field. They are typically paid during a player's Standby Phase or End Phase. If a player does not, or cannot, pay the maintenance cost of a card, then it will destroy itself (with the exception of "Gaia Plate the Earth Giant" and "Aerial Recharge", which simply send themselves to the Graveyard).
Maintenance costs are not effects, so they cannot be negated and do not activate or start a Chain Link; even if a card like "Skill Drain" or "Jinzo" is on the field and negating the card's effects, its maintenance cost still needs to be paid. Also, cards such as "Card Guard" and "Field Barrier" cannot protect these cards from destroying themselves due to not paying their maintenance cost, since it is not treated as being destroyed by a card effect.
Mandatory maintenance costs[edit]
"Imperial Order" (after its functional erratum), "Degenerate Circuit", "Destructive Draw", "Mind Protector", "Red Screen", "Number 41: Bagooska the Terribly Tired Tapir", and some "Archfiend" monsters have mandatory maintenance costs. Unlike other maintenance costs, the player does not have the option of choosing not the pay the cost and letting the card be destroyed. However, "Pandemonium" has an effect that specifically disables these costs for "Archfiend" monsters.
If a mandatory maintenance cost requires LP and the player has exactly the specified amount left, since they must pay, they lose the Duel when the cost comes up due to reaching 0 LP (e.g. when the controller of "Imperial Order" happens to have 700 LP during the Standby Phase).[1] In addition, "Destructive Draw" also has the special stipulation that the controller loses all their LP even if they are not enough to pay the cost, making it the only card with a maintenance cost that does not destroy itself.
List of cards with maintenance costs[edit]
Showing all 45 results |
Name | Japanese name | Card type | Property |
---|---|---|---|
A.I.Q | Trap Card | Continuous Trap Card | |
Aerial Recharge | Trap Card | Continuous Trap Card | |
Clear World | クリアー・ワールド | Spell Card | Field Spell Card |
Degenerate Circuit | Spell Card | Continuous Spell Card | |
Destructive Draw | Trap Card | Continuous Trap Card | |
Fairy Box | モンスター | Trap Card | Continuous Trap Card |
Fiend's Sanctuary | デビルズ・サンクチュアリ | Spell Card | Normal Spell Card |
Firewall | ファイヤー・ウォール | Trap Card | Continuous Trap Card |
Golden Castle of Stromberg | シュトロームベルクの | Spell Card | Field Spell Card |
Imperial Order | Trap Card | Continuous Trap Card | |
Iron Core Specimen Lab | Spell Card | Field Spell Card | |
Mask of Brutality | Spell Card | Equip Spell Card | |
Messenger of Peace | Spell Card | Continuous Spell Card | |
Mirror Wall | Trap Card | Continuous Trap Card | |
Predaponics | プレデター・プランター | Spell Card | Continuous Spell Card |
Red Screen | スクリーン・オブ・レッド | Trap Card | Continuous Trap Card |
The Regulation of Tribe | Trap Card | Continuous Trap Card | |
Seal of Wickedness | Trap Card | Continuous Trap Card | |
Spirit's Invitation | スピリットの | Trap Card | Continuous Trap Card |
Spiritual Energy Settle Machine | Spell Card | Continuous Spell Card | |
SPYRAL Resort | Spell Card | Field Spell Card | |
Summoning Curse | Spell Card | Continuous Spell Card |
Showing all 22 results |
References[edit]
- ↑ Hedbergs, Julia (May 2, 2017). "Adjudication Conflagration | Can you pay yourself to death with exact life poibts needed for cost". Facebook. Retrieved January 8, 2024.