Kalani's Unofficial Guide to Priority: Introduction
The Unofficial Guide to Priority
Like many other aspects of the game, “Priority” is one area in which many players have a great deal of confusion. Up until recently, the only source of information surrounding “Priority” was from interpretation of Individual Card Rulings by experts of the Game.
Given its increasing impact on the game however, Konami made the wise decision of covering player priority in the most recent versions of the official rulebook however, given the complexity of this subject, and the subtle timing issues surrounding player Priority at various points in the game, the information contained in the rulebook is nothing more than a beginners guide and barely scratches the surface of “Priority” in its most basic form.
This guide is intended as a comprehensive reference document on the subject of “Priority” and what can be accomplished by each player at various points in the game. As there are minor differences between formats, this guide will focus exclusively on priority as it relates to the Advanced / Traditional Format. For information relating to Priority in the Team – Dueling Format, please see Appendix A.
What is “Priority”?
At its most basic level, “Priority” as it applies in Yugioh can be compared to Chess, in that it determines which player has current control over the game, and is entitled to make the next move.
In both games, Priority (or Control) passes back and forward between both players on a continual basis, with each player having “Priority” to respond to their opponents last action or lack there-of (in the case of Yugioh).
It is this latter point which causes most of the confusion for new and experienced players alike, and in which the similarity between games ends.
In Chess, you only have priority (control of the game) on your turn (aka: when you are the “Turn Player”), and it is mandatory for you to make a move, each and every time priority returns to you.
As with chess, each time a player performs an action in Yugioh, whether by choice, or as a result of a mandatory trigger effect – priority passes to their opponent, regardless of whether they are the turn player or not.
As in chess, under no circumstances can a Yugioh player perform multiple actions without their opponent having an opportunity to respond, although there are situations in which the turn player may activate multiple effects as part of a single action.
In almost every case, this applies exclusively to the activation of multiple Trigger Effects of the same type (mandatory or optional).
Unlike chess however, your opponent is under no forced compulsion to make a response to any action you perform (whether that action was mandatory, or by choice), and is entitled to “pass priority” back to you without performing an action of their own (unless they too have a mandatory effect which must be activated).
In either event, once a player passes priority or performs an action (regardless of type), priority once again shifts to their opponent who now has control of the game. This is mandatory, and cannot be circumvented.
In fact, the only time you will ever be able to activate multiple individual effects in sequence, without your opponent having an opportunity to respond to each effect is when multiple simultaneous effects are being added to a single chain. On the forums, you will often hear this referred to as a SEGOC (Simultaneous Effects Go On a Chain).
While it may not be politically correct, for the purposes of this article and in an effort to save confusion – I will treat the activation of multiple simultaneous effects of the same type (eg. mandatory trigger effects), activated by the same player as a Single Action.
What is “Turn Player” Priority
Put simply, “Turn Player” Priority simply means that the Turn Player always has priority to perform a Legal Action (whether chosen or mandatory) before their opponent.
The difficulty herein, lies in defining what constitutes a Legal Action at any specific point of the game. This fact is such a critical element of the game that the primary purpose of this guide will be to provide a comprehensive list of the different actions which a player can undertake at any given point in the game.
Priority in the Game
Now that we have a working understanding of “Priority”, the remainder of this guide will focus on detailing the different action types that a player has priority to perform, at any given point in the game – and the order in which specific actions must be performed.
It should be mentioned that for the most part, each of these steps while mandatory, generally occur behind the scenes until such times as an issue of “Priority” arises, however it should be mentioned that in an ideal world – each of these steps should be announced as it would save confusion and help prevent conflicts from occurring in the first place.
Continued in Part II: Priority in the Draw Phase
