Basic Game Play

BASIC GAMEPLAY
If you have questions about the basics of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME, there are two great ways to find out most of the answers. The first is the rulebook. The rulebook is available in every Structure Deck, and can be downloaded from this site. The second is the Duel Master's Guide found with a Beginner's Guide in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Starter Deck. This instructional DVD will teach you everything you need to know about the basics of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game.

If you can't find the answer in the rulebook or Duel Master's Guide, you can look here, or in the other sections of our FAQ. If you have a question that isn't covered, please click "Contact Us" on the bottom of this page for additional resources.

Here are the answers to some common questions:

Synchro Monsters August 2008
White Synchro Monster Cards are a powerful new kind of monster. Synchro Monsters go in your Extra Deck – they do not go in your Main Deck.

In order to Synchro Summon a Synchro Monster, you need 1 Tuner monster (look for “Tuner” next to its Type). The Tuner Monster and other face-up monsters you use for the Synchro Summon are called Synchro Material Monsters. The sum of their Levels is the Level of Synchro Monster you can Summon.

To Synchro Summon a Synchro Monster:

1. Have a Tuner monster and 1 or more non-Tuner monsters face-up on the field.
2. Make sure the Levels of the monsters you want to use add up exactly to the Level of the Synchro Monster you want to Summon. (You don’t have to use all your monsters)
3. Send the Tuner and the other monsters you are using to your Graveyard.
4. Special Summon the Synchro Monster from your Extra Deck. You can choose to Summon it in either face-up Attack Position or face-up Defense Position.

Example:
You have “Junk Synchron” (Level 3), “Atlantean Pikeman” (Level 2), and “Marauding Captain” (Level 3) face-up on your side of the field.

You can send “Junk Synchron” (Level 3) and “Atlantean Pikeman” (Level 2) to your Graveyard to Synchro Summon “Junk Warrior” (Level 5).

You can send “Junk Synchron” (Level 3) and “Marauding Captain” (Level 3) to your Graveyard to Synchro Summon “Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth” (Level 6).

You can send “Junk Synchron” (Level 3), “Atlantean Pikeman” (Level 2), and “Marauding Captain” (Level 3) to your Graveyard to Synchro Summon “Colossal Fighter” (Level .


Some Synchro Monsters require a specific Tuner monster or specific Non-Tuner monsters, so be sure to refer to your Synchro Monster’s text when making your choice. For example, the Synchro Monster “Junk Warrior” requires the “Junk Synchron” Tuner monster, and the Synchro Monster “Avenging Knight Parshath” requires Non-Tuner LIGHT Monsters. You can only Synchro Summon these monsters if you use the correct Synchro Material Monsters.

If you have a Monster Token or a Trap Card like “Zoma the Spirit” that is being treated as a monster, you can use it as a Synchro Material Monster. When you use a Monster Token as a Synchro Material Monster, the Monster Token is removed from the field and no longer used. If you use a Trap Card like “Zoma the Spirit”, it is placed into the Graveyard.

If “Macro Cosmos” or “Dimensional Fissure”, etc. is face-up on the field, you can still perform a Synchro Summon. In this case the Synchro Material Monsters are sent to the Removed Zone instead of being sent to the Graveyard, and you Synchro Summon your Synchro Monster as normal.

If you successfully Synchro Summon a Synchro Monster and afterwards it is sent to the Graveyard or Removed Zone, you can Special Summon it with “Monster Reborn”, “D.D.R. – Different Dimension Reincarnation”, etc. If you attempt to Synchro Summon a Synchro Monster and your opponent negates the Summon with “Solemn Judgment”, “Black Horn of Heaven”, etc., you cannot Special Summon the Synchro Monster with “Monster Reborn”, etc.

If a card effect would send a Synchro Monster to your hand or Deck, it is sent to the Extra Deck instead.

Older cards in your collection with “Fusion Deck” in their card text now affect your Extra Deck. Cards with “Fusion Monster” in their card text still only apply to Fusion Monsters, and not to Synchro Monsters. WHAT IS A REPLAY? Revised May 2006
A replay is triggered when an attack has been declared, and then during the attack a potential attack target on the opponent’s side of the field appears or disappears. A replay can also occur because the attack target is no longer a legal target during the attack.

A replay causes the attack to “rewind” to the time when the attacking player chooses their attack target. The attacking player can choose to keep attacking with the monster, but choose a new attack target (including the original target, if possible & desired), or to not attack with that monster at all.

Note that a replay involves the continuation of the attack or non-continuation of the attack. It does not involve a new attack. If you pay 1000 Life Points to attack with “Dark Elf”, and a replay occurs, you do not have to pay again in order to continue the attack.

The monster that was attacking when the replay occurred is still considered to have attacked the original target, even if you decide not to continue with attacking that target when the replay happens. It can not attack again after another of your monsters, nor can you manually change its battle position in Main Phase 2.

A replay does not rewind to the beginning of the Battle Phase. So attacks by other monsters that turn which have been completed are totally unaffected by a replay.

Example #1 of a replay:
The turn player attacks with “Battle Ox”. His opponent has no monsters on the field, so the turn player thinks he will get to attack his opponent’s Life Points directly. But the opponent activates “Call of the Haunted” and Special Summons “Blue-Eyes White Dragon” from the Graveyard. This triggers a replay because a potential attack target has appeared on the opponent’s side of the field. The turn player goes back to selecting “Battle Ox’s” attack target, and can decide NOT to attack.


Example #2 of a replay:
The opponent has a face-up Attack Position “Magician of Faith” and a face-up Attack Position “Reflect Bounder”. The turn player attacks the “Magician of Faith” with “Gemini Elf”. The opponent responds by activating “Mystic Wok”, Tributing “Magician of Faith”. Because a potential attack target has disappeared, a replay occurs and the turn player returns to target selection for the attack. The turn player can now choose to have “Gemini Elf” attack “Reflect Bounder”, or not attack at all.


Example #3 of a replay:
The opponent controls 3 cards: “The Legendary Fisherman” , “Umi”, and a face-down "Mystical Space Typhoon". The turn player controls “Battle Ox” and “Summoned Skull”. The turn player attacks with “Battle Ox”, and attacks directly because of the effect of “The Legendary Fisherman”. The opponent responds to the attack by destroying “Umi” with “Mystical Space Typhoon”. A potential new attack target (“The Legendary Fisherman”) appears on the opponent’s side of the field. A replay occurs. The turn player can continue “Battle Ox’s” attack, but it would be destroyed by “The Legendary Fisherman”. If the turn player calls off the attack, and destroys “The Legendary Fisherman” with “Summoned Skull”, “Battle Ox” cannot attack again this turn because it already declared an attack.


Example #4 of a replay:
The turn player controls “Injection Fairy Lily” equipped with “Shooting Star Bow – Ceal”, which allows it to attack directly. “Injection Fairy Lily” declares an attack against the opponent’s Life Points, but the opponent responds with “Dust Tornado” and destroys the “Shooting Star Bow – Ceal”. Because “Injection Fairy Lily” can no longer attack directly, its attack is no longer legitimate and a replay occurs.

Example #5 of a replay:
The turn player controls “Asura Priest” (1700 ATK), which can attack each opponent’s monster once each. The opponent has “Mokey Mokey” equipped with “United We Stand” (1100 ATK) and has a face-down “Scapegoat” card. The turn player attacks “Mokey Mokey” with “Asura Priest”. The opponent activates “Scapegoat” and Special Summons 4 “Sheep Tokens”, raising “Mokey Mokey’s” ATK to 4300. A replay happens and the turn player must decide whether to continue to attack, and against what target. If “Asura Priest” continues its attack against “Mokey Mokey”, it will be destroyed. So the player continues the attack but changes the target to a “Sheep Token”, destroying it. After that, the “Asura Priest” attacks the other 3 “Sheep Tokens” and destroys them all. Even though “Mokey Mokey” is back at 1100 ATK, “Asura Priest” already declared an attack against “Mokey Mokey” this turn (and then backed off), so it cannot attack “Mokey Mokey” again.


Example #6 of a replay:
The turn player controls “Chaos Sorcerer” and attacks directly when the opponent has no monsters. The opponent activates “Gateway to Dark World” and Special Summons “Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World”. A replay occurs. The turn player chooses not to continue “Chaos Sorcerer’s” attack. During Main Phase 2, the turn player cannot activate the effect of “Chaos Sorcerer”, because it did declare an attack.

Example #1 of a situation that is NOT a replay:
The turn player attacks with “Blue-Eyes White Dragon”, attacking the opponent’s “Dark Magician”. The opponent activates “Reinforcements”, increasing “Dark Magician”’s ATK to 3000. This does not trigger a replay, as no potential attack targets have appeared or disappeared on the opponent’s side of the field, and the attack proceeds as normal.

Example #2 of a situation that is NOT a replay:
The turn player attacks with “Blue-Eyes White Dragon”, attacking “Dark Magician”. The opponent activates “Mirror Wall” in the Battle Step, cutting “Blue-Eyes White Dragon’s” ATK in half. This does not trigger a replay. Even if the attacking player activates “Scapegoat” or “Call of the Haunted” to increase his number of monsters, this does not trigger a replay as no new potential attack targets are appearing on the opponent’s side of the field. However, if the attacking player activates “Ojama Trio” to give the opponent 3 new monsters, then a replay occurs because new potential attack targets have appeared on the field (the “Ojama Tokens”).

Example #3 of a situation that is NOT a replay:
The turn player attacks with a monster, and the opponent activates “Gravity Bind” to stop the attack, or flips the attacking monster face-down with “Book of Moon”. Even though the attack has stopped, this is not a replay. Even if the “Gravity Bind” is destroyed, or a card flips the monster back into face-up attack position during the Battle Phase, the monster cannot attack again. These are not examples of the attack no longer being legal. Instead, the attack is actually stopping.

CAN I USE "MONSTER REBORN" ON MY "ARMED DRAGON LV7"? Added January 2005
No, you will never be able to Special Summon “Armed Dragon LV7” with “Monster Reborn” because “Armed Dragon LV7” is a monster that can only be Special Summoned by the method described in its text. These monsters can be identified by the text “This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by …”. This means that the method described after the “except by” is the only way that monster can ever be Summoned. This prevents it from being Special Summoned from the Graveyard with “Monster Reborn”, “Call of the Haunted”, or any other effect, even if it was properly Summoned by its own effect first.
Some earlier prints of cards do not have the “This card cannot be Special Summoned except by…” text, but are still included in this category of monsters. These cards include “Exodia Necross”, “Berserk Dragon”, and “Mirage Knight”.

IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SPELL & MAGIC CARDS?
There is no difference. All future releases will have green-colored cards called Spell Cards. The two types of cards are considered the same. A card like "Imperial Order" or "De-Spell" will affect both types of cards.

WHAT IS A MONSTER TOKEN? Added June 2005
Some cards will tell you to Special Summon Monster Tokens. A Token is a representation of a monster card. You should use a coin or similar marker that can be placed in 2 different positions for Attack or Defense Position. (Heads and Tails on a coin).

Monster Tokens are placed in Monster Card Zones, and are treated as Monsters and Cards for all effects. If destroyed, Tokens are simply taken off the field. They are not removed from play. If a card effect returns a Token to the hand, to the Deck, or would remove a Token from play, it is just taken off the field instead.

A Monster Token is always face-up, and cannot be turned face-down, even by a card effect.

WHAT'S A SPELL COUNTER?
A Spell Counter is just a marker of some kind. Coins, glass beads, dice, bottle caps, pretzels, hair clips, cotton balls, cufflinks, gold pieces-of-eight, leaves, bits of thread, stickers, and pen caps all work fine as Spell Counters.

A Spell Counter has no special powers or abilities. It's just a numerical counter on the card. You "count" Spell Counters; they don't "counter" anything.

WHAT DO THE EGYPTIAN GOD CARDS DO?
Nothing. They're not legitimate Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game cards. They have no effects and cannot be used in your Deck.

DO I DRAW A CARD ON EACH OF MY TURNS?
Yes. You must draw 1 card at the beginning of your turn, including the first turn of the Duel. Even if you have no cards in your hand, you are only allowed to draw 1 card at the beginning of your turn. Drawing a card is the beginning of your turn, you cannot activate anything before you draw.

WHAT ARE THE THREE KINDS OF SUMMON?
As outlined on pages 14-15 of the Official Rulebook version 6.0, Summons are categorized into Normal Summons or Sets (including Tribute Summons or Sets), Flip Summons, and Special Summons.

The category "Normal Summon or Set" includes a Tribute Summon (or a Tribute Set). You only get 1 Normal Summon or Set per turn, whether it's a Summon or Set, through Tribute or not. If your Normal Summon (or Set) is negated, or if the monster is destroyed with a card like "Trap Hole", you do not get another Normal Summon (or Set) that turn.

The second category is the Flip Summon. This is when you have a face-down Defense Position monster that was Set on a previous turn, and Flip Summon it to face-up Attack Position. You can perform as many Flip Summons as you like during your turn. A Flip Summon only occurs when you "manually" change the position of a monster in this manner. Flipping a face-down Defense Position monster into face-up Attack Position using a card effect like "Stop Defense" or "Curse of Fiend" simply 'flips' the card and does not trigger a Flip Summon, so "Trap Hole", etc. cannot be used, even though a Flip Effect would be activated due to the card being flipped face-up.
The third category is the Special Summon. A Special Summon occurs when a Trap Card, Spell Card, or Effect Monster causes a monster to be Summoned to the field (examples include "Monster Reborn", "Premature Burial", "Call of the Haunted", "Cyber Jar", and "The Fiend Megacyber"). You can perform as many Special Summons per turn as you like

CAN I NORMAL SUMMON IN FACE-UP DEFENSE POSITION?
A Normal Summon (including a Tribute Summon) can only be played in face-up Attack Position. A Set can only be played in face-down Defense Position.

SPECIAL SUMMONS
Unless otherwise specified on the card, a Special Summoned monster is summoned in face-up Attack Position or face-up Defense Position (summoning player's choice). Sometimes a monster is Special Summoned in face-down defense position; this is still a Special Summon, not a Set.

CAN I FLIP SUMMON TO DEFENSE POSITION?
No. A Flip Summon is when you change a monster's battle position from face-down Defense Position to face-up Attack Position. Flipping a face-down monster because it was attacked, or flipping a monster face-up because of a card effect like "Swords of Revealing Light" or "Book of Taiyou", is not a Flip Summon.

IF I USE "MONSTER REBORN" ON "DARK MAGICIAN", DO I HAVE TO TRIBUTE?
No, you do not. If you Special Summon a high-level monster that normally requires Tribute, you do not have to Tribute. Remember that you cannot use "Monster Reborn" on a monster that has Special Summoning requirements unless it was properly Summoned to the field and then sent to the Graveyard.

CAN I DISCARD "DARK NECROFEAR" AND USE "MONSTER REBORN" ON IT?
Certain monsters cannot be played with a Normal Summon or Set, only via a Special Summon. Examples of such Special Summon-only monsters include Fusion Monsters, Ritual Monsters, Toon Monsters, "Gate Guardian", "Great Moth", "Wall Shadow", "Dark Necrofear", "Spirit of Flames", "Aqua Spirit", "The Rock Spirit", "Fenrir", "Chaos Sorcerer", etc.
Fusion Monsters and Ritual Monsters have standardized methods to play them. All of the other monsters listed have specific methods written on the cards as to how to play them. You cannot play these monsters by any other method.

If a Special Summon-only monster is successfully Special Summoned to the field, using the proper method, and is then sent from the field to the Graveyard, you may use "Monster Reborn", etc. to revive the monster back to the field, and you do not have to use the proper method again. (For example, if you Special Summon "Aqua Spirit" by removing 1 WATER monster in your Graveyard from play, and "Aqua Spirit" is then destroyed and sent to your Graveyard, you may use "Monster Reborn" on "Aqua Spirit" without having to remove another WATER monster in your Graveyard from play.)

However, if a Special Summon-only monster is placed in your Graveyard because it was discarded from your hand, or some other method that did not involve the monster being Special Summoned to the field using the proper method, you cannot use "Monster Reborn", etc. on the monster.

The proper method to summon a Fusion Monster is via a "Fusion Summon". A Fusion Summon can only be performed using "Polymerization" or "Fusion Gate". Any other method of playing these monsters is not a proper summon, and if the monster is then sent to the Graveyard it cannot be revived with "Monster Reborn". Some Fusion Monsters have additional restrictions.

For example: "Dark Paladin" has the text, "This monster can only be Special Summoned by Fusion Summon." This means that you can Fusion Summon "Dark Paladin" from your Fusion Deck using "Polymerization" or "Fusion Gate". You cannot Special Summon "Dark Paladin" from your Fusion Deck using "Magical Scientist" or "Summoner of Illusions" or "Metamorphosis". Even if "Dark Paladin" is Fusion Summoned properly, you cannot "Monster Reborn" him because this would be a Special Summon that is not a Fusion Summon.

"Dark Balter the Terrible" has the text, "This monster can only be Fusion Summoned by the above Fusion-Material Monsters." This means that you cannot use "substitute" Fusion Monsters like "Goddess with the Third Eye". You CAN Special Summon "Dark Balter the Terrible" with "Magicial Scientist", "Summoner of Illusions", etc., because "Dark Balter the Terrible's" text only restricts Fusion Summons, not Special Summons in general. If "Dark Balter the Terrible" is properly summoned, you can use "Monster Reborn", etc. to revive him from the Graveyard.

WHAT CAN I DO IF MY FIELD IS FULL?
If your Spell & Trap Card Zone is full with 5 cards, you cannot set new Traps, nor can you set nor activate more Spell Cards. You can’t even play Equip Spell Cards (because they always go in your Spell & Trap Card Zone and take up 1 of your 5 spots) or activate Normal Spell Cards like "Dark Hole" (because they are played to a Spell & Trap Card Zone, then are sent to the Graveyard). Remember that Field Spell Cards do not occupy a space in your Spell & Trap Card Zone but go in your Field Spell Card Zone instead.

You cannot voluntarily discard Spell & Trap Cards to free up additional space, nor may you take them back into your hand. The only exception is Spell & Trap Cards that have a continuous payment ("Messenger of Peace", "Imperial Order", etc.), which you may discard by choosing not to pay the cost at the appropriate time. But other cards such as Field Spell Cards, Equip Spell Cards, Continuous Trap Cards (like "Gravity Bind" and "Dragon Capture Jar") remain on the field and you cannot discard them without reason. You can destroy them with cards like "Remove Trap" or "De-Spell", even though they are your own cards.

If your Monster Card Zone is full with 5 monsters, you cannot Summon nor Set additional monsters. Nor can you voluntarily discard monsters or return them to your hand for no reason just to make room. You CAN perform a Tribute Summon, however, as the cost (Tributing) is performed first, and then the resolution (summoning the new monster). You must be performing a legitimate Tribute Summon. So Tributing "Beaver Warrior" for "Summoned Skull" is OK, and Tributing "Beaver Warrior" and "Summoned Skull" for "Dark Magician" is OK, but Tributing "Beaver Warrior" for "Giant Soldier of Stone" is not.

CONTROLLING YOUR OPPONENT'S MONSTERS & THE GRAVEYARD
Whenever your opponent takes control of your monster (with "Change of Heart", etc.), and that monster is destroyed, your monster is sent to your Graveyard because you are the owner of the card. If the monster has an effect that activates when the monster is "sent to the Graveyard" (such as "Sangan", "Witch of the Black Forest", or "Mystic Tomato"), because the card was sent to the owner's Graveyard, it is the owner who gets the monster's effect.

WHAT IF MY FACE-DOWN FLIP EFFECT MONSTER IS DESTROYED?
If a Flip Effect monster is destroyed while face-down, without being flipped (such as with "Dark Hole", "Man-Eater Bug", "Tribute to the Doomed", "Raigeki", etc.) then its Flip Effect does not activate because the monster is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard. The fact that the monster is face-up in the Graveyard does not mean that it was "flipped" and had its Flip Effect activated.


Note that "Sangan" and "Witch of the Black Forest" are not Flip Effect monsters, so if destroyed while face-down the owner still gets the effect of these monsters when they are placed in the owner's Graveyard.

CAN I USE EFFECT MONSTERS ON MY OPPONENT’S TURN?
Most Effect Monsters, including "Relinquished", "Barrel Dragon", "Cannon Soldier", "Time Wizard", "Exiled Force", "Tribe-Infecting Virus", "Breaker the Magical Warrior", and "Karate Man" can only have their effects activated during Main Phase 1 or Main Phase 2 of your own turn.

You can use some monsters' effects during your opponent's turn. These include monsters that have effects which can be used in the Damage Step (such as "Injection Fairy Lily"), cards which can be used when your opponent attacks (such as "Sanga of the Thunder"), and cards that must be chained to other effects (such as the Spell-negating effects of "Dark Paladin" and "Maryokutai", or the Trap-negating effect of "Ryu Senshi").

"NEGATE" vs. "DESTROY"
"Destroy" (destroy a card and send it to the Graveyard) is different from "negate" (prevent the card's effect from happening).

Chaining "Mystical Space Typhoon" (or "Dust Tornado") to a card like "Raigeki" (or another Normal Spell or Normal Trap Card, a Quick-Play Spell Card, or a Ritual Spell Card) has no effect, as it does not negate the card's effect. So if "Raigeki" is activated, and the opponent chains "Mystical Space Typhoon" to destroy "Raigeki", "Raigeki"'s effect still resolves as normal. Sure, "Mystical Space Typhoon" will destroy "Raigeki", but since "Raigeki" was headed for the Graveyard anyway, it doesn’t make any difference.

In order to stop the "Raigeki" Spell Card, you would need to use an effect that "negates" "Raigeki"’s effect. Examples of this would include "Magic Jammer" and "Imperial Order."

If you "negate" the effect of a card such as an Equip Spell Card, that does not necessarily mean that the Equip Spell Card is destroyed. For example, if I equip my "Dark Magician" with "Axe of Despair", if my opponent chains "Imperial Order", or has the "Spell Canceller" monster on the field, my "Axe of Despair" is still equipped to my "Dark Magician". As long as "Axe of Despair"’s effect is negated, "Dark Magician" doesn’t gain the +1000 ATK. But the "Axe of Despair" remains on the field and, if the "Imperial Order" or "Spell Canceller" is removed from the field, then the +1000 ATK will re-activate.

However, if I equip my "Dark Magician" with "Axe of Despair", and my opponent chains a card like "Magic Jammer" to the activation of "Axe of Despair", then "Axe of Despair" is "negated and destroyed" so it is sent to the Graveyard.

HOW MANY CARDS CAN I HAVE IN MY HAND?
During YOUR End Phase if you have more than 6 cards in your hand your must discard down to 6 cards. At any other time it does not matter how many you have in your hand.

THE BATTLE PHASE
If you do not wish to make any attacks, you may skip your Battle Phase and go straight to your End Phase.
It is important to understand the Battle Step and Damage Step, and which cards can be used during each part. (See pages 28-32 of the Official Rulebook version 6.0)

Spell / Trap Cards
Remember that Quick-Play Spell Cards & Trap Cards can be activated during the Battle Phase, but they cannot be activated during the Damage Step unless they specifically modify ATK or DEF ("Reinforcements", "Castle Walls", "Rush Recklessly", "Mirror Wall", "Limiter Removal", etc are OK and can be activated during the Damage Step. "Waboku", "Reverse Trap", "Mirror Force", "Magic Cylinder", "Imperial Order", etc. are not OK and cannot be activated during the Damage Step.)

Counter-Trap cards may be used during the Damage Step to negate an appropriate card. You can use "Magic Jammer" against "Rush Recklessly", for example, or "Seven Tools of the Bandit" against "Reinforcements".

Face-Down Monsters
Face-down monsters are not flipped face-up until the Damage Step. If my "Neo the Magic Swordsman" attacks a face-down monster, and it turns out to be "Giant Soldier of Stone", it's too late for me to activate "Waboku" (and prevent damage to my life points). But I can still activate "Reinforcements" to increase "Neo the Magic Swordsman"’s ATK in the Damage Step after the monster is flipped. Of course, my opponent could also use "Castle Walls" to raise his monster's DEF.

Flip Effects
Flip Effects are not activated until the "Resolve effects" portion of the Damage Step. This is extremely important for effects like "Man-Eater Bug" and "Hane-Hane", as these effects are not activated until after damage calculation is performed. Usually, the "Man-Eater Bug"/"Hane-Hane" is destroyed during damage calculation because their DEF is so weak. However, there is a difference between being destroyed (which happens in "Calculate and apply damage") and being sent to the Graveyard (which happens last, in "Send to the Graveyard"). In-between these 2 portions is when the flip effect is resolved.

For example, "Summoned Skull" attacks a face-down "Man-Eater Bug." In the Damage Step, first "Man-Eater Bug" is flipped face-up. Then damage calculation is performed, the result of which is that "Man-Eater Bug" is destroyed. Next we resolve "Man-Eater Bug"’s effect and destroy a monster on the field (any monster, but let's pick "Summoned Skull"). Finally, in "Send to the Graveyard", both monsters are placed in the Graveyard. The result is that "Man-Eater Bug" uses its Flip Effect to destroy "Summoned Skull", BUT "Man-Eater Bug" is still destroyed by the attack.

Now let's change the example so that "Summoned Skull" attacks "Hane-Hane." "Hane-Hane" is flipped face-up during the Damage Step. During damage calculation, "Summoned Skull" destroys "Hane-Hane." Then "Hane-Hane" resolves its flip effect. "Hane-Hane" can return 1 monster on the field to its owner's hand. However, note (on page 32) that you "Do not apply effects to monsters that are already destroyed." This means that "Hane-Hane" cannot use its effect on itself, because it has already been destroyed, even though it has not yet been sent to the Graveyard. "Hane-Hane" can use its effect to return "Summoned Skull", or any other monster other than "Hane-Hane" itself, to the owner's hand.

WHAT DOES "AS A RESULT OF BATTLE" MEAN?
A card is destroyed "as a result of battle" when it is destroyed by damage calculation during the Damage Step. In other words, it is destroyed because of an "Attack Results" determination from the list on pages 33-34 of the Official Rulebook version 6.0. If a monster attacks, and is destroyed by "Mirror Force" or a Flip Effect such as "Man-Eater Bug", that is not being "destroyed as a result of battle."

CAN I USE "MIRROR FORCE" WHEN A TOON ATTACKS?
Yes. Some monsters (Toon Monsters, "Mystic Lamp", "Rainbow Flower", "Jinzo #7", etc.) have the ability to attack your opponent’s Life Points directly. This is still an attack and is subject to all the normal rules of attacking, except that the monster can attack the opponent's Life Points directly even if the opponent has monsters on the field.

If the monster cannot attack (due to "Swords of Revealing Light", "Ekibyo Drakmord", "Gravity Bind", etc.) then it still cannot attack, even if it would normally attack Life Points directly. Likewise, cards like "Mirror Force", "Waboku", and "Enchanted Javelin" can still be used in response to the attack.