Effects and Summoning Conditions

Alright, so this rose out of a Duel I played yesterday where my opponent tried to negate my special summoning of Photon Thrasher with Effect Veiler. We then proceeded to have a slight argument which ended when he called me a cheater and rage quit the Duel. He didn't understand the difference between an Effect and a Summoning Condition.

First of all, a Summoning Condition, henceforth referred to as a condition, is not the same thing as an effect. I'll use the above situation as an example to show the difference between a condition and an effect.

Photon Thrasher- Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) while you control no monsters. If you control another monster, this card cannot attack. This is the text of the card and it contains, like most monsters these days, an effect, but it has a condition.

Photon Thrasher Condition- Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) while you control no monsters

This is the condition for summoning Photon Thrasher. It can only be special summoned and only while you control no monsters and it has to be from the hand. Notice how no effects have been activated yet, these are simply the conditions under which Thrasher can be summoned (though you can summon it from the Graveyard regardless of how many monsters you control, as long as you control less than 5). As this is not an effect, it can not be negated by Effect Veiler, but it can be negated by something like Solemn Warning.

Photon Thrasher Effect- If you control another monster, this card cannot attack.

This is what my opponent was actually negating when they used Effect Veiler. I'm not sure why would Effect Veiler this, but he did think he was negating the summon so I guess it makes a little sense. The effect is pretty self-explanatory. It just prevents this monster from attacking while you control another monster, which is why it's good for Xyz's or Synchro's because most of the time, you're not going to be wanting to attack with Thrasher so the effect never really does anything bad to you.

Let's take a look at a few more examples.

Firstly, Black Luster Soldier- Envoy of the Beginning

BLS Condition- Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing 1 LIGHT and 1 DARK monster from your Graveyard.

The banishment of monsters is not effect. The reason? You generally can't activate effects from the hand (though cards these days seem to break this rule, so you can be forgiven for getting confused), there the banishments can not be Effect Veiler'd or Skill Drain'd because A) it's not an effect and B) even if they were, Effect Veiler and Skill Drain can not target effects that would activate off the field.

BLS Effect- ● Target 1 monster on the field; banish that target face-up. This card cannot attack the turn you activate this effect.
● During the Damage Step, if this attacking card destroys an opponent's monster by battle: It can make a second attack in a row.

Obviously these effects can be negated with something like Effect Veiler, which is something you definitely want to do unless you have a plan to deal with it. For example, you might want your monster banished instead of in the graveyard because you're running a deck that relies on having cards banished. Alternatively, you might want BLS to attack (which it could do anyway) because you might have a set Draining Shield or Mirror Force to deal with or get some use out of BLS.

Secondly, any Xyz or Synchro monster.

The overlaying or Tuning of two or more monsters is also not effect but a condition. On the topic of Synchro's, being a Tuner if not an effect either. It is essentially a monster type and so can not be Effect Veiler'd.

So how can you tell if something is a condition or an effect? Normally the card will say something like "You can special/normal summon this card if/by..." or it will say "this can not be summoned..." and then tell you how it can be summoned. If you see those words, or words in a similar structure, what you are reading is a condition. If you are still unsure, check the ruling online, and if your opponent still argues with it, send them the link to the ruling (if Dueling online), have a hard copy handy if you find yourself consistently having an argument over it. If you're at a tournament, most players are going to know the difference anyway, but you can get a judge or an official to clarify it. Anything you see after that sentence finishes is usually an effect and that is what will be negated by Effect Veiler/Skill Drain.