MBT

I often talk about why ruling knowledge is important at the highest level of Yu-Gi-Oh competition, and that was put on display perfectly in Game 2 of the finals at YCS Colombus yesterday. Allow me to explain. In the pictured gamestate, Jesse Kotton is trying to find a way to attack for game. Lucas is out of interaction, Jesse's mirrorjade has not yet activated and both his Fallen of the White Dragon & Aluber have 0 ATK. Jesse's Fallen of the White Dragon has also been affected by Forbidden Crown. We know Jesse plays Alba-Lenatus the Abyss Dragon, a fusion monster that can be Special Summoned by sending 1 Fallen of Albaz + 1 or more Dragon(s) from either field to the Graveyard. So this is where the ruling comes into play: Here, Jesse's Fallen of the White Dragon is affected by Forbidden Crown which makes it so Fallen "Cannot be used as material for a Fusion [...] Summon." but Alba-Lenatus is not a Fusion Summon, it is a Special Summon by sending the monsters listed in its text from either field to the Graveyard. In this position, Jesse COULD have sent his own Fallen as well as Lucas' Fallen to the Graveyard in order to summon Alba-Lenatus, used his Mirrorjade to banish Lucas' Ecclesia and attack for game, but seemingly due to not knowing the ruling Jesse ultimately didn't find a line to attack for game and lost this duel. While Jesse does ultimately take game 3 to win the set, I cannot stress enough how much knowledge of intricate rulings and interactions can help even the greatest of players in this game. A lot of people have this belief that knowing rulings isn't really important because judges are there to correct mistakes but judges won't tell you that you can make a play you assume you can't make. I implore anyone that wants to get better at Yu-Gi-Oh to take the time and learn the intricate rules of the game, I promise it will only benefit you! GGs to Jesse for winning and GGs to Sacco for an amazing tournament performance. If y'all have any questions about this ruling or want to understand further feel free to ask away in the comments, I'd be more than happy to clarify.