Nobleman of Crossout
Written by Gary Haynes
Destroy 1 face-down Monster Card and remove it from play. If the monster destroyed has a Flip Effect, both players must remove all Monster Cards of the same name from their respective Decks and remove them from play. The Decks are then shuffled.
Remember when this game did not have real mechanics and the basis for rulings on cards like this went something like:
In the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, you only check the validity of whether a card can be played, and whether the target of the card is correct, when you announce your intention to play the card. If later steps in a chain render it so that the targeting is no longer correct, or the conditions no longer valid, the card still resolves.
Not sure where I dragged this up from, but it was an interesting concept at the time.... or not...
Rulings like this drove the crossover card game players crazy. Heck, rulings like this drove the Yu-Gi-Oh! players crazy. The least of which were the Japanese players that said, "huh?"
The ruling for Nobleman of Crossout (along with its cousin Extermination) have had a history of being questioned just because of what we've been used to in different games player prior. Targets SHOULD be legal at activation AND resolution. In Yu-Gi-Oh!, this was not the case. These differences made the Yu-Gi-Oh! game unique, but also confusing at the same time... even frustrating. It almost seemed like the game had a specialized ruling for every card in the game that had an effect.
Judges didn't know what to really rule, since rumors flew over revisions, contradictions, Japanese rulings, Japanese ruling revisions, Japanese ruling revision contradictions, ... well, you get the idea. You literally needed to confirm with the Head Judge of the event to verify what they would rule on certain cards that you were playing due to the incredible ambiguity of the game. Please note, that the ruling for this card was established when the card was first introduced to the American market and has NEVER been revised, altered, or updated until just recently... NEVER!
But as I stated, recently, Yu-Gi-Oh! has fallen in line with all the other games on certain interpretations of how and why effects do and do not resolve. This, in a way, makes the game better overall, since there is a consistent pattern of mechanics in the game. On the other hand, Yu-Gi-Oh! begins to lose its uniqueness and become just another game in a series of games on the market.
Getting back to the discussion, players had the question that if a player chained Ceasefire to the activation of Nobleman of Crossout, what would occur. Well, the debate is finally over, and everyone seems to be happy regarding the latest ruling on the card (actually, this ruling is the same for both Crossout and Extermination). The new ruling states that the target for the Nobleman cards MUST be valid at BOTH activation AND resolution. Therefore, going back to our question, if a player chained Ceasefire to the activation of Nobleman of Crossout, if the Ceasefire resolves normally, Nobleman's effect would Disappear due to the target now being face up.
Another question with respect to Nobleman of Crossout has been:
When the target is destroyed do I get the graveyard effect (i.e., Witch of the Black Forest , Sangan, etc.)?
The answer to this is, no! The reason for this is that the destroyed card goes directly out of play and never enters the graveyard. Therefore, since the card is never actually in the graveyard the "graveyard effect" never triggers.
Let's try a similar question:
If Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer is face up on the field can I activate Nobleman of Crossout?
The answer to this is, yes! The reason for this is similar to that of the previous question, that the destroyed card goes directly out of play and never enters the graveyard. Since Kycoo's effect prevents players from removing cards from the GRAVEYARD from play, it does not have any effect on effects that remove cards from the FIELD or DECK from play.
How about another common question:
If I don't have any other monsters of that name in my deck, or if the monster destroyed is limited to ONE, do I have search my deck?
Well, since you know what is IN your deck, you most likely do not have to search your deck. You MAY, in fact, do a search of your deck to actually look AT your deck. If the card was on the "Limited to 1" list, the opponent may ask the judge for a ruling with respect to stalling. Therefore, if you use this tactic, it would be prudent to spend a small amount of time actually searching your deck for a card that both you and your opponent know is not there.
The follow up question is:
If I don't have any other monsters of that name in my deck, or if the monster destroyed is limited to ONE, do I have to prove it to my opponent?
Now we get into what was once, and most likely still is, the ruling for the card. Your opponent may indeed ask that you prove there are no more of that card in your deck. It is their right to do so. The ruling is in place in order to allow the opponent the opportunity to verify that you do not have a 2 nd or 3 rd copy, if the card is not on the limited list. Unfortunately, the ruling opens the door, that the opponent gets a chance to look at your deck. Now, you do NOT give your deck to your opponent, but you may fan through it to verify that there is not another card of that name in it. The opponent may NOT take the time to stop and read card effects, look at other cards, or use this as a stalling technique themselves. This almost comes down to a courtesy that if you don't look at mine, I won't look at yours, or if you look at mine, I will look at yours. So this part of the ruling almost never comes up in play.
Now remember that Nobleman of Crossout does, in fact, destroy the face-down card no matter if it has a flip-effect or not. Only IF the card has a flip-effect do you search both decks for copies.
Nobleman of Crossout works well with Book of Moon during a player's own turn, where the player may use the Book to flip a very annoying monster card face down, then destroy it with the Crossout in the following chain. Now a little off topic but something to remember, token monsters may NEVER be face down, so this strategy will NOT work on token monsters.
The current environment really doesn't have room for a card like this in a deck. One of the main uses was to rid the field of an annoying Fiber Jar that your opponent is grinning behind (heck, even ANY of the Jars for that matter, since they're ALL annoying).
With the new banned list on the horizon (and the return of the Jars), this card may actually begin to see play, at least in the sideboard against stall decks, direct damage, and a few others that may have a viable chance in tournament play.
Heck, with Book of Moon, you can rid yourself of a Black Luster Soldier, Jinzo, or some other monster that is creating grief for you.
I hope this was informative and helped in some small manner.
Happy gaming, and good luck in the upcoming tournaments....
Written by Gary Haynes
Destroy 1 face-down Monster Card and remove it from play. If the monster destroyed has a Flip Effect, both players must remove all Monster Cards of the same name from their respective Decks and remove them from play. The Decks are then shuffled.
Remember when this game did not have real mechanics and the basis for rulings on cards like this went something like:
In the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, you only check the validity of whether a card can be played, and whether the target of the card is correct, when you announce your intention to play the card. If later steps in a chain render it so that the targeting is no longer correct, or the conditions no longer valid, the card still resolves.
Not sure where I dragged this up from, but it was an interesting concept at the time.... or not...
Rulings like this drove the crossover card game players crazy. Heck, rulings like this drove the Yu-Gi-Oh! players crazy. The least of which were the Japanese players that said, "huh?"
The ruling for Nobleman of Crossout (along with its cousin Extermination) have had a history of being questioned just because of what we've been used to in different games player prior. Targets SHOULD be legal at activation AND resolution. In Yu-Gi-Oh!, this was not the case. These differences made the Yu-Gi-Oh! game unique, but also confusing at the same time... even frustrating. It almost seemed like the game had a specialized ruling for every card in the game that had an effect.
Judges didn't know what to really rule, since rumors flew over revisions, contradictions, Japanese rulings, Japanese ruling revisions, Japanese ruling revision contradictions, ... well, you get the idea. You literally needed to confirm with the Head Judge of the event to verify what they would rule on certain cards that you were playing due to the incredible ambiguity of the game. Please note, that the ruling for this card was established when the card was first introduced to the American market and has NEVER been revised, altered, or updated until just recently... NEVER!
But as I stated, recently, Yu-Gi-Oh! has fallen in line with all the other games on certain interpretations of how and why effects do and do not resolve. This, in a way, makes the game better overall, since there is a consistent pattern of mechanics in the game. On the other hand, Yu-Gi-Oh! begins to lose its uniqueness and become just another game in a series of games on the market.
Getting back to the discussion, players had the question that if a player chained Ceasefire to the activation of Nobleman of Crossout, what would occur. Well, the debate is finally over, and everyone seems to be happy regarding the latest ruling on the card (actually, this ruling is the same for both Crossout and Extermination). The new ruling states that the target for the Nobleman cards MUST be valid at BOTH activation AND resolution. Therefore, going back to our question, if a player chained Ceasefire to the activation of Nobleman of Crossout, if the Ceasefire resolves normally, Nobleman's effect would Disappear due to the target now being face up.
Another question with respect to Nobleman of Crossout has been:
When the target is destroyed do I get the graveyard effect (i.e., Witch of the Black Forest , Sangan, etc.)?
The answer to this is, no! The reason for this is that the destroyed card goes directly out of play and never enters the graveyard. Therefore, since the card is never actually in the graveyard the "graveyard effect" never triggers.
Let's try a similar question:
If Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer is face up on the field can I activate Nobleman of Crossout?
The answer to this is, yes! The reason for this is similar to that of the previous question, that the destroyed card goes directly out of play and never enters the graveyard. Since Kycoo's effect prevents players from removing cards from the GRAVEYARD from play, it does not have any effect on effects that remove cards from the FIELD or DECK from play.
How about another common question:
If I don't have any other monsters of that name in my deck, or if the monster destroyed is limited to ONE, do I have search my deck?
Well, since you know what is IN your deck, you most likely do not have to search your deck. You MAY, in fact, do a search of your deck to actually look AT your deck. If the card was on the "Limited to 1" list, the opponent may ask the judge for a ruling with respect to stalling. Therefore, if you use this tactic, it would be prudent to spend a small amount of time actually searching your deck for a card that both you and your opponent know is not there.
The follow up question is:
If I don't have any other monsters of that name in my deck, or if the monster destroyed is limited to ONE, do I have to prove it to my opponent?
Now we get into what was once, and most likely still is, the ruling for the card. Your opponent may indeed ask that you prove there are no more of that card in your deck. It is their right to do so. The ruling is in place in order to allow the opponent the opportunity to verify that you do not have a 2 nd or 3 rd copy, if the card is not on the limited list. Unfortunately, the ruling opens the door, that the opponent gets a chance to look at your deck. Now, you do NOT give your deck to your opponent, but you may fan through it to verify that there is not another card of that name in it. The opponent may NOT take the time to stop and read card effects, look at other cards, or use this as a stalling technique themselves. This almost comes down to a courtesy that if you don't look at mine, I won't look at yours, or if you look at mine, I will look at yours. So this part of the ruling almost never comes up in play.
Now remember that Nobleman of Crossout does, in fact, destroy the face-down card no matter if it has a flip-effect or not. Only IF the card has a flip-effect do you search both decks for copies.
Nobleman of Crossout works well with Book of Moon during a player's own turn, where the player may use the Book to flip a very annoying monster card face down, then destroy it with the Crossout in the following chain. Now a little off topic but something to remember, token monsters may NEVER be face down, so this strategy will NOT work on token monsters.
The current environment really doesn't have room for a card like this in a deck. One of the main uses was to rid the field of an annoying Fiber Jar that your opponent is grinning behind (heck, even ANY of the Jars for that matter, since they're ALL annoying).
With the new banned list on the horizon (and the return of the Jars), this card may actually begin to see play, at least in the sideboard against stall decks, direct damage, and a few others that may have a viable chance in tournament play.
Heck, with Book of Moon, you can rid yourself of a Black Luster Soldier, Jinzo, or some other monster that is creating grief for you.
I hope this was informative and helped in some small manner.
Happy gaming, and good luck in the upcoming tournaments....