Soul Exchange Question

[azselendor]

Hi, I searched the board here, the judge's forum, and elsewhere low and high on the net. Over the last two weeks, I've been debating with the tournament judge about Soul Exchange and if it requires a monster or not on your side of the field to activate. While there is a post on the judge's board stating you do not need a monster for Curtis, the post is more than a year old the text on Soul Exchange was errated a few months ago.

It now states...
Soul Exchange (Tournament Pack 7, Starter Decks: Yugi, Kaiba Evolution)
Select 1 monster on your opponent's side of the field. This turn, if you would Tribute a monster on your side of the field, Tribute the selected monster instead. You cannot conduct your Battle Phase during the turn that you activate this card.


I feel it doesn't require require a monster on my side to active still, but he and several ranking players insist it does.

I was hoping to get someone, a high ranking judge or someone with UDE to answer this clearly, but I can't access the judge's board to ask.

 

[azselendor]

My Understanding of Soul Exchange, which UDE has recently confirmed via email, is that this line

This turn, if you would Tribute a monster on your side of the field, Tribute the selected monster instead.

Basically says "If you play a card or use a game mechanic that requires a monster from your side of the field, that you may or may not currently have on your side of the field, use your opponent's monster targeted by this card for that card effect or game mechanic."

You're not required one way or another to have the monster, you just need to be able to target a monster on your opponent's side of the field.

 

[DaGuyWitBluGlasses]

.... if you tribute the monster targetted by Soul exchange, you wouldn't be tributing a monster on your side of the field, therefore you couldn't tribute it for soul exchange... you get a paradox.

So jsut by thinking about it, one can assume the simplest interpretation, that it allows you to tribute an opponent's monster.

Its an effect that exposes the grammatical limitations of concise english. (e.g. If it just said "You can tribute the opponent's monster targetter by this effect" You might interpret it as tribute for nothing, or maybe an effect that overrides other effects/conditions that say you cannot tribute a monster)

The text is not inaccurate, only unprecise.