Goat format ruling
Spirit Reaper
Card effect (current official text)Cannot be destroyed by battle. After resolving a card effect that targets this face-up card, destroy this card. When this card inflicts battle damage to your opponent by a direct attack: Discard 1 random card from their hand.
Rulings
- While in Defense Position, Spirit Reaper will stop all Battle Damage to your LP from most monsters, but monsters like Spear Dragon and those equipped with Fairy Meteor Crush can still inflict Battle Damage to your LP with their effects.
- If attacked while face-down, Spirit Reaper flips face-up and its effect preventing it from being destroyed will be applied during damage calculation, so Spirit Reaper will not be destroyed by the attack.
- If Spirit Reaper is attacked by Dark Ruler Ha Des, Spirit Reaper isn’t destroyed during damage calculation, so the effect of Dark Ruler Ha Des does not activate.
- When Spirit Reaper is targeted by an effect, Spirit Reaper is destroyed by its own effect AFTER resolving the effect that targeted it. For example, if Spirit Reaper attacks and Magic Cylinder is activated, designating Spirit Reaper, first Magic Cylinder will resolve, negate the attack, and inflict 300 damage to the controller of Spirit Reaper. Then, after that, Spirit Reaper is destroyed by its effect.
- Spirit Reaper is destroyed by its own effect after a card that targets it resolves. If a Spell Card targets it, and the activation of that Spell Card is negated (such as with Magic Jammer), then Spirit Reaper is not destroyed. However, if the effect of the Spell Card was negated, such as if Imperial Order is applying, then Spirit Reaper is destroyed because the Spell Card resolves (even though its effect is negated). Even if Imperial Order is already applying on the field, you can activate a card such as Tribute to the Doomed designating Spirit Reaper, and Spirit Reaper will be destroyed by its own effect.
- Spirit Reaper is only destroyed by its own effect if it is face-up on the field when the effect designating it as a target activates, AND after the effect designating it as a target resolves. If you Special Summon Spirit Reaper with Monster Reborn, or flip it face-down with Book of Moon, or flip it face-up with Book of Taiyou, it is not destroyed. If a face-down Spirit Reaper is targeted with Change of Heart, then Flip Summoned, it is not destroyed because it was face-down when Change of Heart was activated. If Spirit Reaper is targeted by the effect of Relinquished, Spirit Reaper is an Equip Spell Card after the effect of Relinquished resolves, so it is not destroyed.
- (Search for Spirit Reaper 2 to continue reading)
Rulings data courtesy of Format Library — formatlibrary.com. Spotted an inaccuracy? Flag it in the Goat forum — sourced change requests get reviewed.