Duel Masters: Rulebook Frequently Asked Questions

Questions?
If you have a question, check this section for the answer. If you can’t find the answer
anywhere in this rulebook, use the contact information at the end of this section.

General Questions
Q: How are creatures different from spells?
A: When you summon a creature, you put it into the battle zone and it stays and fights for
you turn after turn (unless it loses a battle or goes to the graveyard for some other
reason). When you cast a spell, you do what it says and then put it into your graveyard
right away. When you put creatures and spells in your mana zone, though, they both work
the same. You put them there and they stay.

Q: If I have a spell that says to choose a creature, can I still play it even when there are
no creatures I could choose?
A: Yes. You can cast any spell you want as long as it's the right part of the turn for
casting spells and you have the mana to pay for it. When you cast a spell, you follow as
much of its instructions as you can. If you can't do anything the spell says, it just doesn't
do anything and you put it into your graveyard.

Q: If a card makes my opponent and me do something at the same time, who goes first?
A: Usually the order doesn’t matter. But if it does, the person whose turn it is always
goes first.

Deck and Graveyard Questions

Q: When do I lose the game if I run out of cards in my deck? Is it when I draw my last
card or when I try to draw a card but can’t because they’re all gone?
A: You lose as soon as you draw your last card.

Q: Can my opponent look at the cards in my graveyard?

A: Yes. Both you and your opponent can look at what’s in your graveyard. (Only you can
look at what’s in your hand, and nobody can look at what’s in your deck, not even you.)

Questions about Paying Costs

Q: If a creature costs 5, do I have to tap 5 cards in my mana zone whenever I attack with
it?
A: No. Tap the 5 cards only when you first put the creature from your hand into the battle
zone. You never have to pay that cost again.

Q: If I have a darkness card in my hand that costs 4, does that mean I have to tap 4
darkness cards in my mana zone?
A: No. Only 1 of the 4 cards you tap has to be darkness. (If more than 1 is darkness,
that’s okay, too.)
Questions about How Creatures Work in Different Zones
Q: What’s the difference between putting a creature into my mana zone and summoning
it into the battle zone?
A: If you put the creature into your mana zone, none of the things written on it matter.
All that matters is what civilization it is. The cards in your mana zone don’t fight for you
or do anything except tap to pay for your other cards. If you put a creature into the battle
zone (or cast a spell), you read all the text and do what it says. Normally you can’t move
cards between your mana zone and the battle zone, but some special cards let you do it.

Q: How can I tell which of my cards are giving mana and which can fight for me?
A: There are 2 ways to tell. The main one is that your fighting creatures are in the battle
zone, in front of your shields. The cards that give you mana are in your mana zone,
behind your shields. You can also tell because you put the cards that give mana upside
down (so you can’t read their text but you can read their mana numbers).

Questions about Attacking

Q: When one of my creatures attacks my opponent and breaks a shield, who chooses
which shield it breaks?
A: You do. Of course, normally you won’t know what cards the shields are, so it won’t
matter which one you choose. But if you played a card that let you look at your
opponent’s shields, then you might care which one your creature breaks.

Q: In what order do things happen if one of my creatures does something when it

attacks?
A: When you want one of your creatures to attack, you choose the creature, tap it, and
choose what it’s attacking. Then you do any effects that happen because the creature is
attacking. Then your opponent decides whether or not to have any of his or her creatures
block (if they have “blocker”).

Q: If one of my creatures that has “double breaker” attacks my opponent, and the first
shield broken has a “shield trigger” ability that puts my attacking creature in the
graveyard, does the second shield still get broken?
A: Yes. As soon as a creature that has “double breaker” isn’t blocked, it creates the effect
“break 2 shields.” The shields break one at a time, but both get broken even if the
attacking creature leaves the battle zone first. The same goes for a creature that has “triple
breaker” or “crew breaker.”
Questions about Evolution Creatures
Q: How do I play an evolution creature?
A: Just like with a regular creature, you tap cards for mana to pay an evolution creature’s
cost. At least 1 of that mana needs to be of that creature’s civilization. Here’s where it
gets different. The evolution creature’s text tells you which race it evolves from. You
have to play the evolution creature on top of one of your creatures of that race in the
battle zone.

Q: Can I play an evolution creature on top of another evolution creature, creating a stack
of 3 or more cards?
A: Yes. As long as the race is correct, you can play an evolution creature on top of either
a regular creature or another evolution creature.

Q: Can a card that affects a creature also affect an evolution creature?

A: Yes. An evolution creature is a creature in every way.

Q: If my evolution creature leaves the battle zone, what happens to the creatures under it?
A: Once you evolve a creature, the evolution creature and the creatures under it count as
one card until they leave the battle zone. If the evolution creature leaves the battle zone,
the creatures underneath go with it.

Q: If my evolution creature goes to my mana zone, what happens?

A: Both the evolution creature and the creatures under it go to your mana zone. When
they are in your mana zone, they are separate cards again.

Q: If an evolution creature goes to the top of my deck, in what order do I put the cards?
A: Whatever order you like. The deck’s owner gets to choose the order of the cards.

Q: If I play a creature that has summoning sickness and then play an evolution creature
on top of it that turn, can the evolution creature attack that turn?
A: Yes. An evolution creature doesn’t have summoning sickness even if the creature it
evolved from did.