RULES UPDATE: Infinite Loops and End-of-Turn Discard

Special thanks to discord user MMF for compiling information pertaining to how card interactions that create infinite loops (the infamous "Pole Position") were ruled during Edison Format, as well as additional information  concerning the End-of-Turn discard a player must perform to ensure they do not exceed their hand size limit. The Edison Format Rules page has been updated with these rules (numbered #10 and #11). Hop on over to give them a read, or click "Read More" to see them presented below. Additionally, "Pole Position" has been added to the Individual Rulings page.

Edison Format Rules

EDISON FORMAT RULE # 10 - End-of-Turn Discard

In Edison Format, players can't respond to the end-of-turn discard for hand size at all, as this must be the last action a player performs in a turn [REF1, REF2]. However, when a mandatory Trigger Effect is triggered by this discard, a chain will be built with special properties:

• Spell Speed 2 effects can be Chained here IF (and only if) they negate activations or effects.
• Spell Speed 3 effects can be Chained here, regardless of whether or not they negate activations or effects.

This differs from the rules surrounding the end-of-turn discard in contemporary Yu-Gi-Oh!. These differences are best illustrated as follows:

• Example 1 (Mandatory Trigger Effect): At the end of Player A's End Phase, Player A has 7 cards in hand. Player A proceeds to discard "The White Stone of Legend" for the end-of-turn discard. The mandatory Trigger Effect of "The White Stone of Legend" must activate. Player A cannot chain "Super Rejuvenation" from his hand to this effect. However, Player B can chain his Set "Divine Wrath" to negate the activation of this effect. Additionally, if either player controls a face-up "Doomcaliber Knight", it will immediately Tribute itself and add a Chain Link onto the chain with "The White Stone of Legend", as its Quick Effect is mandatory.
• Example 2 (Optional Trigger Effect): At the end of Player A's End Phase, Player A has 8 cards in his hand. Player A proceeds to discard "Peten the Dark Clown" and "Manticore of Darkness" for the end-of-turn discard to bring their hand size down to 6 cards. Player A cannot activate the optional effects either card that was just discarded.
  

EDISON FORMAT RULE # 11 - Infinite Loops

In contemporary Yu-Gi-Oh!, when an infinite loop is created, a nuanced procedure is performed wherein players and judges determine which card is the "primary cause" of the loop; that card is then sent to the Graveyard by game mechanics. In Edison Format, this is only true for "involuntary" infinite loops (see Example 4), when an infinite loop is initiated by game mechanics and not by the action of a player. Conversely, in Edison Format, any "voluntary" action that would cause an infinite loop is simply illegal (as depicted in Examples 1, 2, and 3).

• Example 1: Player A has a "Gemini Elf", a "Luminous Spark" and a "Pole Position" face-up on the field. Since "Gemini Elf" is the monster on the field with the highest ATK, it is unaffected by Spell Cards. If Player B Summons "X-Head Cannon", "Luminous Spark" will raise its ATK to 2300, making it the highest ATK monster on the field and causing it to become unaffected by Spell Cards, reducing its ATK to 1800, only for "Luminous Spark's" effect to once again increase its ATK to 2300, and so on. This voluntary action by Player B (Summoning "X-Head Cannon") would create a "voluntary" infinite loop. Thus, Player B cannot Summon "X-Head Cannon".
• Example 2: Player A has a "Gemini Elf" and an "Opticlops" equipped with an "Axe of Despair" face-up on the field, as well as a Set "Ring of Destruction". Player B has a "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" and a "Pole Position" face-up on the field. If Player A activates "Ring of Destruction" to destroy Player B's "Blue-Eyes White Dragon", then "Opticlops" would become the monster with the highest ATK on the field, causing it to become unaffected by Spell Cards (including the equipped "Axe of Despair") and thus it will cease to be the monster with the highest ATK on the field and the effect of "Axe of Despair" will once again apply and raise its ATK, and so on. Therefore, Player A cannot target Player B's "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" with "Ring of Destruction" as resolving that card would create a "voluntary" infinite loop.
• Example 3: Player A has a face-up "Opticlops" and a face-up "Gemini Elf". Player B has a Set "Pole Position" and no other cards. Player A activates "Axe of Despair", selecting "Opticlops" as the target. If Player B voluntarily chains "Pole Position", it will create a "voluntary" infinite loop upon the resolution of "Pole Position" and "Axe of Despair". Therefore, Player B cannot chain "Pole Position", nor can they activate it while those are the only face-up monsters on the field while "Axe of Despair" remains equipped.
• Example 4: Player A has a "Pole Position" and an "Opticlops" face-up on the field. Player B has a "Muka Muka" equipped with an "Axe of Despair" face-up on the field with no cards in his hand. Player B draws a card at the start of his turn, making "Muka Muka's" ATK rise to 1900. Since "Muka Muka" is now the monster on the field with the highest ATK, it becomes unaffected by the effects of Spell Cards. But once unaffected by the effects of Spell Cards, "Muka Muka" no longer has the highest ATK on the field. An "involuntary" infinite loop has been created by an action that could not be avoided. Therefore, "Pole Position" is destroyed by game mechanics.