So, what does “were attacking” actually mean? 

Essentially, it specifically refers to if an attack has been declared. It doesn’t matter if the declared attack is still happening, it doesn’t need to be fully completed, it simply has to have been declared in the first place during the Attack Declaration Step. In the case of Lightning, she checks for 2+ and 3+ attacks declared by Category XIII Forwards for her draw and damage respectively. To put it another way, this is what Lightning should really say:

When 1 or more Category XIII Forwards you control declare an attack, all the Forwards you control gain +1000 power until the end of the turn. If 2 or more attacks have been declared by Category XIII Forwards this turn, also draw 1 card. If 3 or more attacks have been declared by Category XIII Forwards this turn, Lightning also deals your opponent 1 point of damage.

Note that while Lightning’s auto has no restriction on how many times per turn it can trigger, Lightning’s auto trigger is worded in such a way as to prevent multiple triggers from a single attack, meaning in the case of a party attack, even if there are 3 Category XIII Forwards in that party declaring an attack, her auto will still only trigger once.

When her ability resolves, she will check how many Category XIII Forwards have declared an attack so far that turn. So, if the first attack you declare in a turn is a party attack with at least 3 Category XIII Forwards, this means you’ll get both the draw and the damage when she resolves, and then for each attack declared involving at least one Category XIII Forward you’ll get both the draw and damage. Note that you will always get the +1000 power each time Lighting’s ability resolves, regardless of anything else.

Note that the effect doesn’t care if the attacks made were by unique Category XIII Forwards or not. If the first 3 attacks in a turn were made by the same Category XIII Forward, then that’s still valid as far as Lightning is concerned for the damage (and draw after 2 attacks).

Attack Scenarios

Let’s break it down a bit based on different attack scenarios:

Scenario 1: Declare an attack with a party containing 3 Category XIII Forwards.

Scenario 2: Declare an attack with a party containing 2 Category XIII Forwards.

Scenario 3: Declare an attack that has only 1 Category XIII Forward (be it an individual attack or party).

For scenario 1, when Lightning resolves, we get the +1000 power, and both the draw and the damage, as 3 Category XIII Forwards have declared an attack (“were attacking”) this turn now. Any subsequent attack made with at least one Category XIII Forward will result in both a draw and damage, on top of the +1000 power.

For scenario 2, when Lightning resolves, this will result in us getting the +1000 power and the draw. Any subsequent attack made with at least one Category XIII Forward will result in both a draw and a damage, and of course, the +1000 power.

For scenario 3, when Lightning resolves, we get no draw or damage (but still get the +1000 power). If we attack after this with another single Category XIII Forward, this will give us the +1000 power and the draw. Any attack that includes a Category XIII Forward after that will result in the +1000 power and both the draw and the damage.

If, instead, after scenario 3 we declare an attack with a party that contains at least 2 Category XIII Forwards, then when Lightning resolves from this attack, we get the +1000 power, the draw and the damage, and then any subsequent attacks that include a Category XIII Forward will give us the +1000, the draw and the damage.

Before I end with a handy breakdown of Lightning, let me note one final thing:

While, naturally, Lightning has to be on the field when the attack is on the field to trigger, she does not need to be on the field for any part of the effect to resolve, specifically, I note this because the damage part says “Lightning” (aka “this card”) deals the point of damage but this specific wording, besides maybe being potentially confusing, is more about identifying the “source” of the point of damage, rather than actually needing Lightning to be there.

Final Breakdown

Let’s end our look at Lightning with a breakdown of everything:

• Lighting’s auto triggers (once) each time an attack is declared that includes at least one Category XIII Forward.
• Lightning’s auto will always give the +1000 power when resolved successfully.

• Lightning’s auto checks at a resolution if:

a. 2 or more attacks have been declared by Category XIII Forwards in the current turn, and if so, the controller of the auto ability draws a card

b. 3 or more attacks have been declared by Category XIII Forwards in the current turn, and if so, the controller deals their opponent 1 point of damage.

• An attack by a Category XIII Forward counts towards Lightning’s auto as soon as it is declared in the Attack Declaration Step.
• Every attack declared by a Category XIII Forward in the same turn, including each Category XIII Forward attacking as part of a party, and multiple attacks by the same Category XIII Forward counts individually towards the count of declared attacks for Lightning’s auto.
• Lightning does not need to be on the field when her ability resolves for any part of it to resolve properly, including dealing a point of damage to the opponent.

Were Rulesing

Thanks for reading. I hope any confusion/questions you had regarding Lightning’s wording were rulesed. Or, in some form of actual English, I hope this article has helped and made things clearer. I initially was going to add another card into this article along with Lightning but then I remembered one of my nearly-sort-of-not-really-complete articles is covering that card and I quickly removed it. So, uh, maybe you’ll see that one day! I’ve been thinking about the way I lay articles out and going forward I’m going to aim to just jump right into the topic and I can have all my inane ramblings mostly contained to the final thoughts bit (that’s this part you’re reading now) going forward. While I’m sure everyone will be super disappointed, I figured it’s easier for those jumping in at any point, and, of course, keeps the article focused on the actual point, at least until the end.

Don’t forget the sources are at the bottom now, to avoid cluttering the article with sources to “prove” I’m not just talking out my ass (at least for the rules parts). I got a few questions as to where they were after my last article, which made me a little worried those people were blind, but may as well mention it in case more blind people were just not asking.

Anyway, bye bye.

“I am frequently attacked.”

– Indira Gandhi

Sources

• Jecht Tama’d In
• Damage after 3 XIII Attacks + Lightning Gone for Damage
• Forwards Don’t Have to be Unique
• Lightning Attack Scenarios
• Another Lightning Tweet

Rules Processing Material

• Twitter
• FFTCG Discord

Article updated 13/03/23 to clarify the +1000 power effect always applying when resolving, and some additional clarification/clean up in other parts.

El. Psy. Kongroo

– Yoh Zoey Ceeza