megamorph

squid

removed from play
I have an associate that would like to ask for the following question to be put before the Judge's List. Since there are so many judges here, I wanted to ask your help in interpreting this and also posting the question to the board:

The combo

Special summon cyber dragon, equip it with megamorph when your LP are lower, this changes its original attack to 4200. Tribute it away for great maju garzett to create an 8400 ATK behemoth.

Why it works

The first question is in regards to the requirement for GMG's summoning. It gets twice the ORIGINAL attack of the monster that was tributed. It was called into question whether megamorph actually changes original attack. The two questions raised were :

- The text on megamorph refers to doubling or halving the original attack, it doesn't specifically state that the new attack is "original".
- Can any card really change original attack ?

The first issue is quickly resolved. While the text on the card may be ambiguous, the first ruling for megamorph is quite specific and clear

Quote
Megamorph" changes the original ATK of the monster it is equipped to. Having multiple "Megamorphs" equipped to a monster is the same as having one.

And

Quote
Re: Behemoth the King of All Animals] If you have "Behemoth the King of All Animals" with an original ATK of 2000 because you Summoned or Set him with 1 Tribute, and you equip it with "Megamorph", its original ATK will be 4000 when your Life Points are lower, and 1000 when your Life Points are higher.

Let's face it, you can't state it any clearer than "Megamorph changes the original ATK of the monster it is equipped to, can you ? I also posted the second ruling on behemoth because some people are reading a lot into the second phrase of the first ruling. The second ruling, the bold part, illustrates "in practice" that the new value after megamorph is treated as "original" attack.

The second issue is fairly easily revolved by searching the rulings (Netrepâ„¢ or ronin) for the words "original ATK". It immediately gives you a list of cards that have the words in their text, and several of them clearly have the effect of modifying the original attack. Examples are :

- Megarock Dragon
- Thousand Energy
- Tyranno Infinity
- Fusilier dragon, the dual-mode beast
- Triangle Power
- Shield and Sword
- Harpie's Pet Baby dragon

I'm sure I missed quite a few as well. So you can see, this is not a niche market, cornered by megamorph.

Why it really works

After clearing up the mess with the fact that megamorph indeed does change the original attack, someone tried to claim (no idea where it came from) that cyber dragon would somehow lose megamorph in the process of tributing.

First of all, a tribute is always conducted on the field. For this I refer you to the rulings on monster tokens. These tokens cannot exist except on the field. Yet unless otherwise specified they can be used for a tribute of any kind.

Secondly, the attack value for the tribute is also taken on the field. Evidenced by the rulings on deck devastation virus, where the current attack is used. That means the monster can reach 2000 or higher attack by way of an equip card, or another card effect like cybernetic magician. The monster in question would lose all attack boosts once it leaves the field, making it an illegal target for DDV. For a more specific example, allow me to combine the two. Below is a ruling on maju garzett and monster tokens.

When you Tribute Monster Tokens to Tribute Summon "Maju Garzett", the sum of their ATK's will be the ATK of "Maju Garzett".

Why it REALLY, REALLY works

When in doubt, ask UDE. They make the rules. So I did a little search on the UDE judges list for precedents and found the following question and answer :

If you tribute Fusilier for a Great Maju Garzett while Fusilier was summoned
without tributing, does GMG get 2800 ATK or 5600 ATK?

Answer:

"Great Maju Garzett's" ATK will be 2800. (1400 doubled)
This is due to Fusilier Dragon's effect.

Fusilier Dragon resets its ORIGINAL attack (it was one of the examples above of cards that modify original attack) when summoned without a tribute. As a result of this MODIFIED ORIGINAL ATTACK , great maju garzett only had 2800 attack, because the ORIGINAL ATTACK was altered.

Keep in mind that a monster effect is only in effect when it is on the field. If the attack was somehow taken after the actual tribute, then GMG would get twice the printed attack, namely 5600.


------------------
 
Digital Jedi said:
Um, this supports exactly what I was trying to point out. That the Original ATK of a monster equipped with Megamorph remains unchanged. If the original ATK is unchanged, then of course it would inflict 2400 points of damage.
.

But these do not :

[Re: Behemoth the King of All Animals] If you have "Behemoth the King of All Animals" with an original ATK of 2000 because you Summoned or Set him with 1 Tribute, and you equip it with "Megamorph", its original ATK will be 4000 when your Life Points are lower, and 1000 when your Life Points are higher.
[Re: Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast] If you have "Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast" with original ATK of 1400 because you Summoned or Set it without Tribute, and you equip it with "Megamorph", its original ATK will be 2800 when your Life Points are lower, and 700 when your Life Points are higher.
[Re: Power Bond] The ATK bonus for "Power Bond" is not a fixed number. It is a bonus equal to the original ATK. So if the original ATK changes, so does the bonus from "Power Bond". For example, if you equip the Fusion Monster with "Megamorph" to change the original ATK, the bonus ATK for "Power Bond" adjusts so that the bonus is equal to the new original ATK. For example, if you Summon "Cyber End Dragon" and then equip it with "Megamorph" while your Life Points are lower, its original ATK will become 8000, so it gains an additional 8000 ATK from "Power Bond" for 16000 ATK total.

All three of these examples refer to the adjusted value as being ORIGINAL ATTACK. No way to interpret that wrong.

Sorry DJ, but your explanation makes no sense. The new value after megamorph is original value, by UDE's own admittance.
 
"¢ If "Red-Eyes B. Dragon" equipped with "Megamorph" is selected for "Inferno Fire Blast", you inflict 2400 damage to the opponent.

I wouldnt use this ruling to extrapolate anything about original ATK because of this post by KT:
http://lists.upperdeck.com/read/messages?id=5223#5223

At the end you can read:
Kevin Tewart said:
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The oddball ruling, at this time, is "Inferno Fire Blast", which inflicts 2400 damage to the opponent even if the original ATK of "Red-Eyes B. Dragon" is 4800 because of "Megamorph". (Or even 9600 ATK, or 19200.) This is because the original intent of "Inferno Fire Blast" is to inflict 2400 damage. We're discussing with Konami the possibility of an errata to "Inferno Fire Blast" to address this problem, and we'll keep you posted.[/font]
 
Even better, Kevin Tewart himself says that the original ATK is 4800 with megamorph, proving that megamorphs new attack value is indeed ORIGINAL.


Back to the topic at hand, GMG looks at the original attack value, and the attack value of cydra at that point would be 4200.
 
Dunno why no one posted it yet, but the question has already been answered on the Judge List:

http://lists.upperdeck.com/read/messages?id=6577#6577

Just replace Sasuke by CD and that's it :)


GMG checks the original ATK of the tributed monster after GMG is summoned. At this point, the tributed monster is in the graveyard. The original ATK that GMG's effect is referring to is the original ATK in the graveyard (by default; of course this can change, for example if Cosmos is on the field).

densetsu_x said:
Now a card like Catapult Turtle or Mystik Wok works different since those effects say to look at the current ATK/DEF of the monster you are tributing.
The effect of Catapult Turtle will check the ATK of the tributed monster in the graveyard, just like GMG or Ectoplasmer:

http://lists.upperdeck.com/read/messages?id=9386#9386


Btw, Megamorph creates a state where the original ATK of the equipped monster will be doubled/halved based on the LPs. But Megamorph still "remembers" the old original ATK, because this is needed in case the LPs change (else it would not have any point of reference, and it cannot divide or multiply by 4 to compensate that). A 2nd copy of Megamorph will also refer to the old original ATK. This is why multiple Megamorphs cannot stack.
 
And see, this is why I believe the rulings are trying to say something, that even UDE isn't quite seeing. Think about this guys. If Megamorph creates a new Original ATK value, thereby erasing the old one and writing in a new, then wouldn't a a second Megamorph modify the new newly adjusted ATK value? But it doesn't. Two Megamorphs are the same as one. Each Megamorph is looking at the Original ATK. So why would GMG, or Inferno Fire Blast look at the adjusted ATK when looking for the monster's Original ATK, when a second Megamorph does not?

This also wouldn't be the first time Kevin and the gang didn't fully understand a ruling. Remember, this stuff is handed down from Konami, often without an explanation as to why. Its not inconceivable that they simply didn't completely understand, so couldn't properly explain it.

Belgian Blue said:
But these do not :

[Re: Behemoth the King of All Animals] If you have "Behemoth the King of All Animals" with an original ATK of 2000 because you Summoned or Set him with 1 Tribute, and you equip it with "Megamorph", its original ATK will be 4000 when your Life Points are lower, and 1000 when your Life Points are higher.
[Re: Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast] If you have "Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast" with original ATK of 1400 because you Summoned or Set it without Tribute, and you equip it with "Megamorph", its original ATK will be 2800 when your Life Points are lower, and 700 when your Life Points are higher.
[Re: Power Bond] The ATK bonus for "Power Bond" is not a fixed number. It is a bonus equal to the original ATK. So if the original ATK changes, so does the bonus from "Power Bond". For example, if you equip the Fusion Monster with "Megamorph" to change the original ATK, the bonus ATK for "Power Bond" adjusts so that the bonus is equal to the new original ATK. For example, if you Summon "Cyber End Dragon" and then equip it with "Megamorph" while your Life Points are lower, its original ATK will become 8000, so it gains an additional 8000 ATK from "Power Bond" for 16000 ATK total.


All three of these examples refer to the adjusted value as being ORIGINAL ATTACK. No way to interpret that wrong.

Sorry DJ, but your explanation makes no sense. The new value after megamorph is original value, by UDE's own admittance.
All three refer to it, but is it saying that ATK value is rewritten, or is it just poorly phrased sentences? After all, how can Megamorph acknowledge their effect, but ignore its own?
 
Ok, this needs to stop.

"Megamorph" is the most convoluted card in this game. It has rulings that say it re-defines the original ATK and it has rulings that say it only modifies the original ATK.

Because of this, it makes it all but impossible to extrapolate how it will work in situations outside of what's been given in the UDE FAQs.

Densetsu, I'm sorry, but you are wrong about "Tyranno Infinity" and "Great Maju Garzett". If you offer a "Tyranno Infinity" that has an ATK of 3000, then "Great Maju Garzett" will have an ATK of 6000. This is because "Tyranno Infinity" re-defines it's original ATK to a new value OTHER than '?'. The ruling you keep referring to does not apply. The ruling you keep referring to only applies to those monsters that simply modify their ATK value to a new number without re-defining it (like "Gren Maju Da Eiza" and "Maju Garzett").


I have put in numerous requests to UDE to get things straightened out with "Megamorph" and it's rulings over the past 2 years. I have yet to get any of my requests acknowledged or returned.

This is another card that must be ruled exactly how the rulings tell you to for each individual situation even though they clearly contradict each other.

Every time a discussion arises about this card I have to do exactly what I'm doing now.

I would think that the higher level Judges involved in this discussion would know the issues involved with getting into ANY discussion about this card, and I'm surprised you would even consider doing so.
 
Martok said:
Dunno why no one posted it yet, but the question has already been answered on the Judge List:

http://lists.upperdeck.com/read/messages?id=6577#6577

Just replace Sasuke by CD and that's it :)


GMG checks the original ATK of the tributed monster after GMG is summoned. At this point, the tributed monster is in the graveyard. The original ATK that GMG's effect is referring to is the original ATK in the graveyard (by default; of course this can change, for example if Cosmos is on the field).


The effect of Catapult Turtle will check the ATK of the tributed monster in the graveyard, just like GMG or Ectoplasmer:

But we know that's not the case for the garzetts. The ruling in the original post in regard to fusilier dragon shows that for GMG, since fusilier's attack would have been 2800 if it was off the field. Its effect is only valid if it is on the field. So GMG took the attack on the field.

Same for maju garzett, where the rulings show it can use tokens as tributes for its attack. A token only exists, and hence only has an attack value, when it is on the field.

Again, your explanation makes no sense
 
Digital Jedi said:
And see, this is why I believe the rulings are trying to say something, that even UDE isn't quite seeing. Think about this guys. If Megamorph creates a new Original ATK value, thereby erasing the old one and writing in a new, then wouldn't a a second Megamorph modify the new newly adjusted ATK value? But it doesn't. Two Megamorphs are the same as one. Each Megamorph is looking at the Original ATK. So why would GMG, or Inferno Fire Blast look at the adjusted ATK when looking for the monster's Original ATK, when a second Megamorph does not?

This also wouldn't be the first time Kevin and the gang didn't fully understand a ruling. Remember, this stuff is handed down from Konami, often without an explanation as to why. Its not inconceivable that they simply didn't completely understand, so couldn't properly explain it.

All three refer to it, but is it saying that ATK value is rewritten, or is it just poorly phrased sentences? After all, how can Megamorph acknowledge their effect, but ignore its own?

That seems to be the only explanation for me.

If indeed it doesn't work (which still wasn't actually verified since no one at UDE was confronted with all these facts at once and then explained why it didn't work) then the most logical reasons is that UDE has been gravely misleading us with what megamorph actually does. In which case they need to change the rulings on megamorph, promptly.

Either that, or they have to declare this combo legit.

It's one or the other. I hope everyone sees that. It can't be both ways. Rulings clearly show that UDE interprets megamorphs effect as redefining original attack, and that the attack value for GMG is taken on the field. By all counts this combo is valid.

If it is not, then it is an error on UDE's part ...
 
With the FAQ, sometimes our rulings are both ways. We still have some old rulings on the books that contradict each other, and the best we can do is go with majority rule and precedent, partiuclary when judging. Like Skey said, this question has been presented to UDE many times. Sadly, with them, we'll get clarification only when their good and ready to give it to us.
 
*sigh*

Any chance we could petition several players in the top profile teams to all tech 1-2 Megamorph for the next SJC? I bet the question would get cleared up then, if the actual situations started to arise in high exposure areas.
 
We need to know the reason though. Either solution opens up a world of new possibilities.

Either megamorph changes original attack or it doesn't. If it doesn't, it also lifts a lot of the restrictions on megamorph.

If its because the attack value for GMG is somehow taken off the field, then they need to reppeal the rulings on fusilier dragon and tokens.

The "why" really matters here. Is there no one who can supply an answer for us ?
 
Equip cards don't apply one after the other. They are continuously trying to modify the attack. So when a 2nd megamorph is equipped, they're effects are the same as one, because there is no time stamping involved.


E.G.
Equip one Axe of Despair, to Don Zaloog:
1400 + 1000 = 2400

Equip an aditional one:

Incorrect:
1400 + 1000 = 2400
2400 + 1000 = 3400

Correct:
1400 + (1000 + 1000) = 3400
 
Belgian Blue said:
But we know that's not the case for the garzetts. The ruling in the original post in regard to fusilier dragon shows that for GMG, since fusilier's attack would have been 2800 if it was off the field. Its effect is only valid if it is on the field. So GMG took the attack on the field.
You forgot to compare the card effects. Fusilier Dragon has its own effect which is different from Megamorph. Although both effects are somewhat similar, it's still not enough to assume that they share the same game mechanics.

On the opposite, ruling #6577 directly refers to Megamorph, with Sasuke's effect being unproblematic in this case, since it can't affect its ATK in any way. Thus, it is safe to apply this ruling to any other (megamorphed and tributed) monster that doesn't have an effect that could somehow interfere with MM and/or GMG. Like Cyber Dragon.

While you can try and ignore this ruling, it's most probable that the responsible judges won't ignore it ;)

As for GMG's effect, if you re-read my previous posting, you'll find a remark that says "by default", which should exclude tokens, monsters that don't go to the graveyard and Fusilier (whose original ATK is reset when it hits the graveyard). This was because I don't feel like going in-depth here about things that happen between the field and the graveyard. Like "Simon says", it's a redundant discussion and won't lead to anything.

Belgian Blue said:
Same for maju garzett, where the rulings show it can use tokens as tributes for its attack.
Just look at the Netrepâ„¢ rulings for MG. You'll find a ruling that says that its ATK will be zero if you tribute Mirage Tokens for it, so it's not as clear as you maybe thought.

If you stick to reading YGO rulings and FAQs, you'll probably find a lot more rulings/explanations which seem to "make no sense" to you. Get used to it. This is a game with inconsistent rulings and unpublished game mechanics, and I don't think this will change soon ^^
 
You know, the explanation from DaGuy does actually make a lot of sense in regards to solving that situation though. I never thought about it as continuously reevaluating. I was thinking of the time stamp, which is (I guess) how I would have gotten confused.
 
Martok said:
Just look at the Netrepâ„¢ rulings for MG. You'll find a ruling that says that its ATK will be zero if you tribute Mirage Tokens for it, so it's not as clear as you maybe thought.
An old ruling perhaps? Because that's not what it says at the moment:
When you Tribute Monster Tokens to Tribute Summon "Maju Garzett", the sum of their ATK's will be the ATK of "Maju Garzett".
No mention of Mirage Tokens in tandem with Garzett. Preexisting rulings indicate that tributing a token is fine for any effect that doesn't specifically require the monster to go to the Graveyard, and when referencing it, will not reference it off the field.
Hand of Nephthys
You can Tribute a Monster Token as part of this card's cost.

Lava Golem
You can Tribute "Sheep Tokens" to Special Summon "Lava Golem" because it is not a Tribute Summon.

Maju Garzett
When you Tribute Monster Tokens to Tribute Summon "Maju Garzett", the sum of their ATK's will be the ATK of "Maju Garzett".

Metamorphosis
You can Tribute a Monster Token (including a Sheep Token from "Scapegoat").

Scapegoat
You may offer Sheep Tokens as Tributes for Toon Monsters, since they are Special Summoned and not Tribute Summoned.

Statue of the Wicked
You can Tribute a "Wicked Token".

Tribute Doll
You can use Monster Tokens as a cost for "Tribute Doll".
The evidence is still leaning towards the idea that Megamorph does not redefine the original ATK. The Judges list messages seem to be pointing in that direction without UDE even realizing it. Even when you suggest that Megamorph is reevaluating the ATK when a second one is a equipped, if it were reevaluating the Original ATK of the monster and the Original ATK is now something else due to a previous Megamorph, then there's no mechanical reason it would ignore that value.
 
Ah, okay. I see it now. And when you think about it, it does make sense. The Original ATK of a Mirage Token is undefined. Physical Double doesn't create a state that modifies the Mirage Token's Original ATK. It's ATK and DEF are more akin to "?" then anything else. Garzette would have nothing to reference, just as when you tribute a "?" monster, who's original stats remian unchanged, for him.
 
Digital Jedi said:
Even when you suggest that Megamorph is reevaluating the ATK when a second one is a equipped, if it were reevaluating the Original ATK of the monster and the Original ATK is now something else due to a previous Megamorph, then there's no mechanical reason it would ignore that value.



But there's not a "previous" megamorph.



Once you equip the second one, it's exactly the same as equipping two at the exact same time.

Remember, time stamping is only for problem solving out of necessity. We do not apply it unless necessary.
 
I'm not time-stamping, per se. But I'm not ignoring a previous modifier, either. I understand that it continuously recalculates. But with regard to whether the recalculated ATK value is now the monsters new original ATK, then it still cannot be. If dueling Megamorphs did halve/double in that manner, then you'd have two effects vying for the recalculation, each one saying the Original ATK is this or that. It's not sound to have it actual be redefining the attack, and have the ruling it does have placed on it. For continuous recalculation, it needs to be seeing a fixed number. If that fixed number is constantly being altered by another card, then how can the two possibly gel?
 
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