This is not the same as the "activate" used for P-011.
Activate (発揮 Hakki) is an action performed by a player in order to apply the effect of a triggered effect (an effect that is pending activation?). Players choose a triggered effect to apply.
Summary[]
Declaring the use of an effect is called "activating" the effect. You would choose to activate an effect that was triggered last. While effects can trigger at the same time, effects must be activated one at a time. Activating an effect is not the same as "triggering" an effect.
It is possible for a player to select an effect to not activate and this would remove its status as "triggered" or "pending activation". Players can also choose effects that don't meet their activation conditions, in this case effects will fail to activate but the "pending activation" status will still be removed.
[Once Per Turn] conditions prevent an effect from being activated more than once per turn. If an effect fails to activate, it does not count towards the [Once Per Turn] count.
Note: Official Bandai materials often confuses and swaps the "trigger" and "activate" around, but they are regardless not the same as the Detailed Rules document and emails have pointed out. Please be careful when extrapolating from materials that confuse the two.
Activation Conditions[]
Activation Conditions are commonly denoted by "if". Activation Conditions are only checked when a player chooses an effect to activate. If an effect the player has chosen meets its activation conditions, the effect is considered to have activated. If it fails to meet its conditions, it is not activated.
Effects that fail to meet their activations do not use up their [Once Per Turn] but are still removed from pending if they were declared by a player. [Once Per Turn] counts and conditions are checked at the same time as activation conditions.
Failing to Activate[]
After being chosen, a set of conditions are checked to verify whether an effect can succeed in activation. An effect can only fail to activate under the following conditions:
- If the effect belongs to a Digimon or Tamer, and the Digimon/Tamer has left the required area (Trash or Battle Area) or lost the effect.
- The effect is a [Once Per Turn], [Twice Per Turn], or [Thrice Per Turn] effect and has already been successfully activated that many times this turn (per card).
- The effect fails to meet its Activation Conditions.
It is important to note, that [Once Per Turn] effects are not used up if the effect fails to activate due to the above conditions. However, if an effect successfully activates the [Once Per Turn] is used up even if the effect has no affect on the game state.
Activating from the Trash[]
Digivolution cards stop being treated as Digivolution cards when they're placed in the trash, but when activating their [On Deletion] effects, the effect activates as if they were in the same state they were in when deleted. (Example: A card with the inherited effect "[On Deletion]: If this Digimon has [Greymon] in its name" is deleted as one of the digivolution cards in a [Greymon] card. It stops being treated as a digivolution card when it moves to the trash, but is still able to activate its effect as if it were one of [Greymon]'s digivolution cards.)
If a card with a pending [On Deletion] effect moves from the trash to a player's hand/deck/battle area/breeding area, the card is no longer in the trash, so the effect doesn't activate.
Additionally, if the [On Deletion] effect belongs to a digivolution card, even if the card with the effect itself remains in the trash, if the Digimon card placed on top of the card at the time of deletion leaves the trash, the card with the effect will no longer be considered to be a digivolution card, so the effect doesn't activate. If the digivolution card leaves the trash, the effect can still be activated as the effect is considered one of the Digimon's effects and not the digivolution card's effect.
(Example: An [Agumon] with an [On Deletion] inherited effect is deleted as part of a [Greymon]'s digivolution cards. If the [Greymon] card returns to your hand from the trash while [Agumon]'s inherited effect is pending activation, [Agumon]'s inherited effect will no longer be able to be activated.)
The same applies to other effects triggered in the trash such as [EX2-039 Impmon]'s "when this card is trashed from your deck" effect.
Even though tokens are removed from play instead of sent to the trash, they can still activate [On Deletion] effects.
Once Per Turn Effects[]
[Once Per Turn] effects cannot be activated more than once per turn. [Once Per Turn] are counted Once per Turn per card.
If multiple Digimon have the same [Once Per Turn] all of those Digimon can use it once as they are different cards. If the same Digimon instance is given the same effect by a different card (even if it has the same Card ID), that Digimon can use the [Once Per Turn] effect again because it is a different card. If a [Once Per Turn] effect fails to fulfil its activation conditions even though it's a mandatory [Once Per Turn] effect can still be activated during the turn. If a card moves out of the Digimon Instance it becomes a different card.
- A Digimon uses its own [Once Per Turn] effect and is ＜De-Digivolve＞. It then digivolves back into another of the same card. That effect is from a new card so it can use the [Once Per Turn] again.
- A Digimon uses an inherited [Once Per Turn] effect and is ＜De-Digivolve＞ so that it loses the inherited effect. If it digivolves back into a new Digimon. That effect is from the same card so it cannot use the [Once Per Turn] effect again.
- A Digimon uses a [Once Per Turn] effect a series of actions happen so that it is played by [ST2-15 Kaiser Nail] as a new Digimon. While the effect is from the same card, it is from a new Digimon so it can use the [Once Per Turn] again.
- A Digimon uses a [Once Per Turn] effect, the card the [Once Per Turn] effect was attached to leaves to another zone. It is then placed back underneath the same Digimon by another effect. It is the same Digimon but a new card so it can use the [Once Per Turn] effect again.
Examples[]
A [BT5-056 Rafflesimon] uses its [Once Per Turn] and then digivolves into another [BT5-056 Rafflesimon]. The [Once Per Turn] can be used because it is depending per card even if it is the same Digimon. It is a different Rafflesimon card so the [Once Per Turn] was not used up for that card.
[BT5-022 Bulucomon]'s inherited effect is activated and the Digimon on top is hit by a ＜De-Digivolve＞ that causes it to become [BT5-022 Bulucomon] again and lose its inherited effect. If you digivolve that [BT5-022 Bulucomon] into another Digimon the [Once Per Turn] cannot be used, because even though it lost and re-gained the effect. [Once Per Turn] is dependent on card, and because it's the same [BT5-022 Bulucomon] card the [Once Per Turn] was already used.
[BT5-022 Bulucomon]'s inherited effect is activated and then the same [BT5-022 Bulucomon] card is played by the effect of [ST2-15 Kaiser Nail]. It digivolves into another Digimon. If a source is trashed its [Once Per Turn] can still be used because even though it is the same card because it was played as a separate Digimon.
[BT6-022 Strabimon] is activated, it is then ＜Digi-Burst＞ by a card effect. The effect of [BT7-085 Takuya Kanbara] is then used to place the same Strabimon card underneath the same Digimon. It is allowed to use the same [Once Per Turn] effect it was placed underneath the same Digimon as a new card.
Sources[]
- Detailed Rules Explanation
- General Rules FAQ
- Carddass Email English 21/07/2021: Majiramon UlforceVeedramon and Sora Joe
- Carddass Email English 21/09/2021: All Previous [Once Per Turn] questions
- Carddass Email English 16/11/2021: Additional [Once Per Turn] Question
- Carddass Email English 14/01/2022: Effects Triggered in the Trash
- Carddass Email 20/01/2022: Inherited [On Deletion] Effects
- Carddass Email 09/02/2022: Aqua Viper and Token and Deletion
- Carddass Email English 30/08/2022: Triggered Effect, Unactivated, De-Digivolve