Ruling Mega Gengar EX and Phantom Gate Attack

Gengar master

shiny Pokémon bait
Member
I was wondering when do you have to do the secondary effect when copying an attack with Mega Gengar's Phantom Gate. I know you would have to discard the energy for certain attacks like Land's Judgement.

Is it safe to pretend X attack is basically on my Mega Gengar EX already?

When do the secondary effects come into play?

Thanks in advance!
mega-gengar-ex-card.png
 
I'm not entirely sure what you're asking. You do the damage from the attack, and then you apply the effects of the attack. I believe the general rule is you do as much as you can. You can copy Land's Judgment and you have to discard at least one Fighting Energy if you want to do the extra damage. You can't copy Plasma Gale without discarding a Plasma Energy. If you have a particular instance you want to inquire about, you should ask and include scans of any other cards involved.

Gengar master said:
Is it safe to pretend X attack is basically on my Mega Gengar EX already?

Kind of but not exactly. Gengar has access to the attack it is trying to copy, but technically the attack isn't on M Gengar EX. Some of the rulings can be quite tricky, especially when you want to try to copy things like G Booster and attacks from pre-evolutions with Time Recall. Again, if you have something particular in mind, you can ask and we'll be happy to help you.
 
For an attack on a pokemon that discards "two electric energies" like Bolt Strike on Zekrom BW. Can I not use the attack if I can't discard 2 Electric Energies?

And yea I thought I was being confusing,sorry
 
You can use the attack if you cannot discard energy. As long as there is no effect causing the attack to fail, it is a legal move. (I assume you mean Zekrom-EX's Strong Volt, since Zekrom BW doesn't discard when it uses Bolt Strike.) In any sense the attack goes through. You do as much of it as it says (damage) but since you have no [L] energy to discard nothing else happens. However, if you did have at least one [L] energy, and that includes Rainbow, you would have to discard it, or two if you had two attached (this isn't optional). Contrast this with Lugia-EX's Plasma Gale, which states that if you can't discard a Plasma Energy, the attack does nothing. Technically, you can still Phantom Gate Plasma Gale no matter what, since there is no clause stopping you from declaring the attack. However, if would do no damage if you didn't discard a Plasma Energy, but only because that's actually part of the attack's text.
 
Thanks for the help. I did mean Zekrom EX (even though I wont be seeing it much).

Mega Gengar EX could be a really good card if used right.
 
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