What Is a Monster Card?

A Monster card is the basic card used to battle your opponent. Battles between these Monster cards are the foundation of any Duel. There are many kinds of Monster cards. This game is more than a simple slugfest, so monsters with high Attack and Defense Points will not be enough. There are also monsters with strong special effects, even though their ATK and DEF points are low. Therefore, your success in a duel depends on how skillfully you can make use of the different types of cards. Let's take a look at the different types of monsters.

There are basic Monster cards without special abilities. Many Normal Monsters have higher Attack Points and Defense Points than Effect Monsters, instead of having special abilities. Since they have no restrictions to Summon them, these monsters are reliable.

Fusion Monsters are special monsters that go in your Fusion Deck (not in your Main Deck) and are Summoned by using the specific monsters listed on the card, combined with the Magic card "Polymerization." For specific instructions on how to Fusion Summon, follow the instructions for "Polymerization." The Attack Points of Fusion Monsters are usually very high and some of them have a special ability as well.

Ritual Monsters are special monsters that are Special Summoned with a specific Ritual Magic or Trap card, along with a required Tribute. Ritual Monster cards are placed in the Main Deck and cannot be Summoned unless you have all the proper cards together in your Hand and on the field. Ritual Monsters generally have high Attack Points and Defense Points, and some have special abilities just like Fusion Monsters.

1. When you have a Ritual Magic or Trap card, along with the matching Ritual Monster card in your Hand, along with the required Tribute (as listed on the Ritual Magic or Trap card), you can activate this Ritual Magic or Trap card in the Magic or Trap card Zone.
2. If the activation of the Ritual Magic or Trap card is successful, Tribute monsters by sending them from your Hand or your field to the Graveyard. The Ritual Magic or Trap card will list the required amount to Tribute.
3. After sending the Tributed monsters to the Graveyard, the Ritual Monster card is placed face-up on the field in either Attack or Defense Position. Finally, place the Ritual Magic or Trap card in the Graveyard, and the Ritual Summon is complete.

An Effect Monster is a monster that has special abilities. The effects of these monsters are split into five categories.

• Flip Effect
• Continuous Effect
• Ignition Effect
• Trigger Effect
• Multi-Trigger Effect

This is an effect that is activated when a face-down card is flipped face-up. This can happen when it is Flip Summoned, attacked while face-down, or flipped face-up by a card effect. These effects start with the word "FLIP:" on the card. If an effect says something like, "When this card is flipped face-up..." instead of "FLIP:", then it is not considered a Flip Effect.

When you have a face-down Monster Card, your opponent must be wary because they don't know if it has a Flip Effect or not.

This effect is active while the Effect Monster Card is face-up on the field. The effect starts when the face-up monster appears on the field, and ends once that monster is gone or is no longer face-up; there is no trigger for its activation. You should prepare some strategy to preserve these monsters.

An Effect that says something like "While this Attack Position card is involved in battle, it is also treated as..." is called an Attack Type Effect. These monsters have an additional Type to the Type listed on the card while attacking or using an Effect.

You can use this type of effect just by declaring its activation. You can normally activate this type of effect only during your Main Phases (see Turn Structure). There are some Ignition Effects that have a cost to activate, like discarding cards from your hand or Tributing your monster. Because you can choose when to activate this type of effect, it's easy to create combos with them.

These cards are activated at specific times, such as "during the Standby Phase" or "when this monster is destroyed." These cards can make for some great combos, but it's easier for your opponent to predict what will happen, so they might try to stop you.

These are special monster effects that you can activate even during your opponent's turn, as long as the specific requirements are met. These types of effects have a Spell Speed of 2, even though most other monster effects have a Spell Speed of 1 (see Spell Speed). Since it's difficult for your opponent to predict these cards, they can give them an unexpected surprise.