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Pendulum Monsters Banished Instead Of Going To The Face Up Extra Deck

43_pendulum_to_extra_deck_banish_instead_replacement.md

Pendulum Monsters Banished Instead of Going to the Face-up Extra Deck

A Pendulum Monster placed face-up in the Extra Deck instead of the Graveyard is contingent on it being sent to the Graveyard from the field. A "banish instead of the GY" effect (Dimensional Fissure, Macro Cosmos, Banisher of the Radiance, Dimension Shifter) removes the Graveyard destination, so the Pendulum Monster never satisfies the condition for the Extra Deck placement — it is banished instead.

The mechanic

The Pendulum "goes face-up to the Extra Deck" rule is a substitute for being sent to the GY from the field or Pendulum Zone: when such a Pendulum would be sent to the Graveyard, it is placed face-up in the Extra Deck instead.

This requires the card to be on its way to the GY in the first place — it is not an independent "Pendulums always go to the Extra Deck" rule. A "banish instead" replacement also keys off "would be sent to the GY," and it wins: the card is banished, never reaches the GY, and so does not go to the face-up Extra Deck.

Dimensional Fissure — "Any monster sent to the Graveyard is banished instead." (Macro Cosmos, Banisher of the Radiance, Dimension Shifter say "any card.")

Only sends from the field/Pendulum Zone get redirected

The substitution applies only to a Pendulum leaving the field (a Monster Zone or Pendulum Zone). One sent to the Graveyard from any other location goes to the GY as normal — and so is banished as normal under the floodgates above. This includes:

  • A Pendulum Monster detached as an Xyz Material (it is in the Xyz Material pile, not the field) — goes to the GY, not the Extra Deck.
  • A Pendulum Monster Card whose activation as a Spell Card is negated — the negated card is sent to the GY, not the Extra Deck.
  • A Pendulum Monster whose Summon is negated — it was never properly on the field, so it goes to the GY, not the Extra Deck.

Wording matters: "monster" vs "card"

For Pendulums leaving the field, the floodgate only catches the copy if its current form matches the wording.

  • Monster Zone — a Monster, so all every banish-instead effect above catches it; banished, not sent to the Extra Deck.
  • Pendulum Zone — a Spell Card while there. Dimensional Fissure only banishes a "monster sent to the GY," so it does not catch a Pendulum leaving the Pendulum Zone — that one still goes face-up to the Extra Deck. Macro Cosmos, Banisher of the Radiance, and Dimension Shifter say "any card," so they banish the Pendulum Zone copy too.

Worked examples

"Dimension Shifter is active. My Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon in a Monster Zone is destroyed. Does it go to my face-up Extra Deck?"
— Answer: No, banished. The Extra Deck placement only happens for a Pendulum on its way to the GY; Shifter banishes it instead, so it never gets there.
"Under Dimension Shifter, I detach a Pendulum Monster as an Xyz Material. Extra Deck or banished?"
— Answer: Banished. It is sent from the Xyz Material pile, not the field, so it heads to the GY as normal — and the floodgate banishes it.

Judge calls to watch for

  • Do not rule "Pendulums always return to the Extra Deck." The return is a GY-bound substitution, applies only to field/Pendulum-Zone sends, and loses to a banish-instead replacement.
  • Check the floodgate wording — "monster" (Dimensional Fissure) vs "card" (others) — and the zone/location the Pendulum is leaving.
  • A banished Pendulum is not Pendulum-Summonable, unlike one in the face-up Extra Deck. See Pendulum Summoning and Send-to-GY Costs Under Banish-Instead Effects.

Sources

What's new

  • Added to corpus (restored after a rebase had dropped rulings 42–59).