Question about Genome Hacking Arceus Vstar's Trinity Nova

[CloudMTL]

Hello!

We had an interesting scenario occur at our LCS last week that stirred up quite the debate. I've been looking for a definitive answer to this case:

- Mew ex (with no V Pokemon on the bench) uses Genome Hacking on opponent's Arceus VStar, copying Trinity Nova.

The debate we were having was; does the Mew ex player shuffle their deck due to failed search? Someone went a step farther and said the attack wouldn't even work, citing Nest Ball's behavior with a full bench (how the "and" condition can't be resolved), that you can't even play the card. It's worth noting, maybe, that Arceus Vstar can fail the search because it is it's own target, whereas Mew ex isn't. Is the difference with Trinity Nova and Nest Ball the fact that one is an attack, and the other a Trainer Card? Someone cited the "Do As Much As You Can" rule, but I can't find any official documentation on this rule at the moment.

In the end, the Mew ex player shuffled his deck, but we're still unsure if that was the correct call.

Any feedback on this would be appreciated! Thanks

 

[BJJ763]

To me, "Do as much as you can" would allow the damage to be done but since there are no valid targets, you cannot search your deck. Having a valid target seems to be the key these days.

 

[Cealgair]

There is this ruling that might be relevant

Pokémon Rulings Compendium

Q: Can you use Manaphy's "Pulling Currents" attack when your opponent has a full bench? A: It's public knowledge that you can't put down any additional Basic Pokemon on your opponent's full Bench, so although the attack can be used you cannot look at your opponent's hand and you cannot put any...

compendium.pokegym.net

 

[PokePop]

To me, "Do as much as you can" would allow the damage to be done but since there are no valid targets, you cannot search your deck. Having a valid target seems to be the key these days.

This is correct