Authority: Community discussion
Official ruling confirmed: unknown
Source: Reddit: r/Yugioh101
Format: TCG
Status: resolved
Related: https://duelpedia.com/2026/09/06/chain-negation-and-multiple-trigger-effects/
1. Question
How does a card that copies another card’s effect handle the original effect’s costs and targeting?
The Reddit question focuses on a situation involving Tellarknight Constellar Caduceus copying the effect of Tellarknight Altairan. Altairan’s effect destroys cards on the field based on the number of LIGHT and DARK Xyz Monsters controlled, and the question asks whether its targeting can still occur when the original activation procedure is not performed.
The same issue is raised with Transaction Rollback copying Fire Lake of the Burning Abyss, whose effect involves sending Burning Abyss monsters to the Graveyard before targeting cards to destroy.
2. Reddit Discussion
Interpretation 1 — Targeting is not a cost
A Judge & Moderator explains that targeting should not be classified as a cost simply because it happens during activation.
Costs are actions such as paying Life Points, Tributing, or discarding cards. Selecting targets is instead part of the activation procedure. Therefore, when an effect is copied without its original cost, its targeting can still be performed.
Interpretation 2 — The copied effect still targets during activation
The discussion then clarifies that the targets are selected when the copying effect is activated, rather than waiting until resolution.
This means that copying an effect that targets does not remove its targeting procedure merely because the original effect’s cost is omitted.
Interpretation 3 — Costs and targeting can coexist without being the same thing
Another response reinforces the distinction by explaining that targeting happens during the same general activation procedure in which costs may be paid, but that does not make targeting itself a cost.
For a copied effect, the player therefore still chooses the relevant targets when activating the copying effect, while the original effect’s cost is not necessarily performed.
Interpretation 4 — Fire Lake demonstrates the same principle
A YGOrganization contributor applies the same distinction to Transaction Rollback copying Fire Lake of the Burning Abyss.
The response explains that the monsters that would normally be sent to the Graveyard are not sent when the effect is copied, but the targets are still selected during activation and the destruction is carried out when the copied effect resolves.
What the Reddit discussion establishes
The discussion consistently separates three concepts:
- Activation conditions — requirements that determine whether an effect can be activated.
- Costs or other activation procedures — actions performed as part of activating an effect.
- Targeting — selecting the cards or monsters that the effect will affect.
The important point is that these concepts should not automatically be treated as interchangeable simply because they occur during activation.
3. Summary of the Reddit Answer
| Interpretation | Result |
|---|---|
| Targeting is not itself a cost | Copying an effect can omit its cost without automatically removing its targeting |
| The copied effect targets during activation | Targets are selected when the copying effect is activated |
| Costs and targeting are separate concepts | Performing targeting does not mean that the original cost must also be performed |
| Transaction Rollback copies Fire Lake | The original sending procedure is omitted, while the copied effect’s targets are still selected and its destruction applies at resolution |
4. Conclusion
The Reddit discussion’s central lesson is that targeting should not be confused with cost.
When an effect-copying card copies another effect while ignoring its original cost, that does not automatically mean that targeting is skipped. The copied effect can still require targets to be selected during activation, while the actions that constitute the original cost are not performed.
For the Fire Lake example, the Reddit explanation is that the monsters normally sent to the Graveyard are not sent when Transaction Rollback copies the effect, but the cards to be destroyed are still targeted during activation and the destruction is applied when the copied effect resolves.
This distinction is also consistent with Konami’s explanation of Problem-Solving Card Text: activation procedures can include costs and targeting, while the actual effect is applied at resolution.
The Reddit discussion should nevertheless be recorded as a community/judge explanation, not automatically as an independent authoritative Konami ruling.
Core rule documented by this discussion:
A copied effect may omit the original cost while still performing the targeting procedure required by that effect.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/Yugioh101/comments/1vzyscd/comment/p69cp9j/?context=3
Date: 27 August 2026
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