Trap Cards will help you out with different effects, just like Spell Cards. The big difference between them is that you can activate Trap Cards during your opponent’s turn. Many Spell Cards have effects useful for offense, but Trap Cards have the ability to surprise the opponent by disrupting their attacks and strategies. Using Trap Cards can sometimes be tricky, since your opponent might have to do certain things before you can unleash them.
Before you can activate a Trap Card, you must Set it on the field first.
You cannot activate a Trap in the same turn that you Set it, but you
can activate it at any time after that—starting from the beginning of
the next turn.
Normal Trap Cards:
Normal Trap Cards have single-use effects and once their effects are
resolved, they will be sent to the Graveyard, just like Normal Spell Cards.
They are also similar to Normal Spell Cards because once activated,
their effects are not likely to be stopped. However, your opponent can
destroy your face-down Trap Cards on the turn they were Set, or before
the time is right to activate them. Because of this, you must be smart
about how you use your Trap Cards.
Continuous Trap Cards:
Just like Continuous Spell Cards, Continuous Trap Cards remain on the field
once they are activated and their effects continue while they are face-up on the
field. Some Continuous Trap Cards have abilities similar to the Ignition Effects or
Trigger Effects that can be found on Effect Monster Cards.
Counter Trap Cards:
These Trap Cards are normally activated in response to the activation of other
cards, and may have abilities like negating the effects of those cards. These
types of Traps are effective against Normal Spell Cards or Normal Trap Cards,
which are otherwise hard to stop, however many Counter Trap Cards require a
cost to activate them.