Destruction Substitution – Union vs Six Samurai

With the popularity of Machina Gadget and Six Samurai, destruction
substitution is becoming a common sight in the form of Machina Gearframe
and Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En.

Despite their rather similar effect, the rulings for both are actually quite different.





Machina Gearframe

Machina Gearframe belongs to the new type of Union Monsters, together
with Spirit of the Six Samurai and Heavy Mech Support Platform. In
addition to being able to substitute destruction for battle destruction,
they are able to substitute for effect destruction as well. The FAQ for
Machina Gearframe are extrapolated from Heavy Mech Support Platform.

Ｑ：｢装備モンスター｣と｢装備カード状態のこのカード｣が《最終戦争》や《ブラック・ローズ・ドラゴン》等で同時破壊される場合、どうなりますか？
Ａ：装備モンスターは、フィールド上に残ります。(10/12/11)

Q: When the “Equipped Monster” and “This card in Equipment Card mode”
are destroyed together by “Final Destiny” or “Black Rose Dragon”, what
will happen?
A: The equipped monster will remain on the field. (11th December 2010)

Ｑ：装備モンスターと装備カード状態のこのカードが《ゴッドバードアタック》や《剣闘獣ガイザレス》等で同時に破壊される対象に選択された場合、装備モンスターはフィールド上に残りますか？
Ａ：装備モンスターは、フィールド上に残ります。(11/05/25)

Q: When the “Equipped Monster” and “This card in Equipment Card mode”
are targeted to be destroyed simultaneously by “Icarus Attack” or
“Gladiator Beast Gyzarus”, what will happen?
A: The equipped monster will remain on the field. (25th May 2011)

Source: 《強化支援メカ・ヘビーウェポン》 -遊戯王カードWiki

Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En

Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En, similar to the original Six Samurai
monsters, are able to prevent their own destruction by destroy another
face-up Six Samurai on the field.

Ｑ．「大将軍
紫炎」や「六武衆」と名のついたモンスターが複数体存在する時に、「激流葬」や「ブラック・ホール」等の効果によってフィールド上に存在する全てのモンス
ターが破壊される場合、複数の「大将軍
紫炎」等は、『このカードが破壊される場合、代わりにこのカード以外の「六武衆」という名のついたモンスターを破壊する事ができる。』という効果を適用さ
せる事はできますか？
Ａ．フィールド上に表側表示で存在する全ての「大将軍 紫炎」や「六武衆」と名のつくモンスターが破壊される場合、他の「六武衆」と名のついたモンスターを代わりに破壊する事はできません。

Q. While there are multiple and “Great Shogun Shien” and “Six
Samurai” monsters are on the field, when all monsters on the field are
destroyed by effects like “Torrential Tribute” and “Dark Hole”, etc, can
the multiple “Great Shogun Shien” effect of “If this card would be
destroyed, you can destroy another “Six Samurai” monster you control
instead.” be activated?
A. When all face-up “Great Shogun Shien” and “Six Samurai” monsters are
destroyed, is it not possible to substitute by destroying another “Six
Samurai” monster.

Source: 遊戯王OCG ルール＆ＦＡＱ 公式データベース （日本語版）

Reasoning for the difference

Despite the rather similar effects, the biggest difference is that the destruction substitution effect of Union monsters are Mandatory whereas the destruction substitution effect of Six Samurai are Optional.

In the case of Machina Gearframe, although it is destroyed
simultaneously by effects such as Black Rose Dragon and Icarus Attack,
its Mandatory effect will still resolve, resulting in the protection of
the equipped monster, while forcible destroying its already destroyed
self.

Six Samurai monsters, on the other hand, are optional effects, and
you may not choose to activate it by selecting another destroyed Six
Samurai monster.

In conclusion, Union monsters are superior in terms of their
destruction substitution ability compared to the Six Samurai monsters.
Hence the ruling for Six Samurai should not be used as a basis for the
ruling of Union monsters; a rather common argument in the local
Singapore community.