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Normal Monsters colored yellow, are Main Deck monsters with no monster effects. In the card description box (which
contains the effect on Effect Monsters), Normal Monsters include a brief description of its lore. Starting from Starter
Deck: Link Strike onwards, all Normal Monsters also include the designation "/Normal" on their Type/Ability lines.
Only Monster Cards with "yellow" backgrounds are Normal Monsters. There are Tuner and Pendulum Normal Monsters, such as "Tune Warrior" and "Flash Knight". Non-Effect Fusion, Ritual, Synchro, Xyz and Link Monsters are not Normal Monsters. Some non-Normal Monsters can be treated as Normal Monsters with card effects, most notably Gemini monsters and some Trap Monsters. The card text (or flavor text) on Normal Monsters is for illustrative purposes only, and has no effect on gameplay (except archetype conditions, such as on "Summoned Skull" and "Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts" in the English TCG). These texts provide lore on how the monster related to other cards in the game, such as the flavor text of "Opticlops" which explicitly states that it serves "Dark Ruler Ha Des". |
| Effect Monsters are Monster Cards with an orange color border, and were first introduced in the Vol.3 booster pack. Effect Monsters necessarily have at least one card effect or condition. Effect Monsters are designated by the text "/Effect" on the Type/ability line. Originally, Effect Monsters which also had abilities (such as Toon and Gemini) or were Tuners would display their subtype and not "/Effect". From Battle Pack 3: Monster League onward, all Effect Monsters now include "/Effect" regardless of their abilities or status as a Tuner monster. Regardless, monsters that have abilities are always Effect Monsters (although this is not the case for Tuner monsters). |
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Fusion Monsters are a type of Monster Card. The color of their card frame is violet. These cards are placed in the Extra Deck.
To be properly Special Summoned, Fusion Monsters must first be Fusion Summoned. If they leave the Extra Deck without being properly Special Summoned, they cannot be Special Summoned while they are banished or in the Graveyard. Most Fusion Monsters have a set of Fusion Materials, which are listed on the first line of the card's text. These are the materials used to perform the Summon of that monster. Like other Extra Deck monsters, Fusion Monsters cannot exist in the hand or Main Deck (even with card effects). If a Fusion Monster would be moved to the hand or Main Deck, it is returned to the Extra Deck instead. If a card like "Transmigration Break" or "Degenerate Circuit" is applying, this will override the Fusion Monster's ability to return to the Extra Deck. |
| Ritual Monsters colored blue, are monsters that must be Special Summoned with a Ritual Spell Card. Examples include "Magician of Black Chaos", "Revendread Slayer" and "Nekroz of Trishula". Ritual Monsters are Special Summon-only monsters. This means that they cannot be Normal Summoned or Tribute Summoned from the hand and cannot be Special Summoned from the Graveyard or while banished unless they were first Ritual Summoned (even with a card like "Fulfillment of the Contract"). |
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Synchro Monsters are a type of Monster, to which the card frame is white. These cards are placed in the Extra Deck.
To be properly Special Summoned, Synchro Monsters must first be Synchro Summoned. If they leave the Extra Deck without being Synchro Summoned, they cannot be Special Summoned while they are banished or in the Graveyard. Like other Extra Deck monsters, Synchro Monsters cannot exist in the hand or Main Deck (even with card effects). If a Synchro Monster would be moved to the hand or Main Deck, it is returned to the Extra Deck instead. A Synchro Summon is the act of Summoning a Synchro Monster from the Extra Deck using a Tuner monster with additional non-Tuner monsters. During the Main Phase 1 or 2, the turn player can Synchro Summon a Synchro Monster from the Extra Deck by sending monsters they control to the Graveyard (at least 1 Tuner and 1 or more non-Tuner monsters), provided the total Level of those monsters matches exactly the Level of that Synchro Monster. While most Synchro Monsters require exactly 1 Tuner to be Synchro Summoned, "Red Nova Dragon", "Hot Red Dragon Archfiend King Calamity", "Tyrant Red Dragon Archfiend" and "Vylon Omega" require 2, and "Red Supernova Dragon" requires 3. "XX-Saber Gottoms" must be Synchro Summoned using a Tuner and EARTH monsters, but it does not specify that the EARTH monsters must be non-Tuners. Therefore, up to 5 Tuner monsters can be used for its Synchro Summon. Tuner Synchro Monsters are Synchro Monsters that are also Tuner monsters (i.e. [Type/Synchro/Tuner]). Such monsters typically have effects that make Synchro Summoning easier, such as "T.G. Wonder Magician" and "Phonon Pulse Dragon"; the former allows its controller to Synchro Summon during the opponent's turn and the latter manipulates its own Level. Synchro-focused decks usually use a large number of monsters, with swarming capabilities, to take the advantage that Synchro Summoning provide. Many of these decks have low level monsters to control over which Synchro Monster would be Summoned. Another common trait shared is that cards that can manipulate levels are used to further aid this tactic. Strategically speaking, Synchro Monsters allow for a large amount of rapid power to be Summoned with relative ease and speed. Most of them have very potent effects in addition to their ease in Summoning. |
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Link Monsters is a type of Monster Card. The color of their card frame is dark blue, which is similar to that
of a Ritual Monster, but with a hexagonal pattern similar to a honeycomb structure. They first appeared in the
Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS anime, and were introduced to the OCG and TCG in the Structure Deck: Cyberse Link.
These cards are placed in the Extra Deck. Like other Extra Deck monsters, Link Monsters cannot exist in either the hand or the Main Deck (even with card effects). If a Link Monster would be moved to the hand or Main Deck, it is returned to the Extra Deck instead. If a card like "Transmigration Break" or "Degenerate Circuit" is applying, the Link Monster would be banished rather than returning to the Extra Deck. |
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Xyz Monsters are a new type of monster with a black frame. Xyz Monsters don’t have a Level. Instead they have a Rank,
which is displayed on the opposite side of the card to where the Level Stars would be. The Rank of an Xyz Monster gives a
clue as to how to Summon it. Rank 2 Xyz Monsters are Summoned using Level 2 monsters, Rank 3 Xyz Monsters are Summoned using
Level 3 monsters, and so on. The Xyz Monster itself will tell you how many monsters you need to use in the same place that a
Synchro Monster tells you what monsters you need to use. Unlike Synchros, you can usually make Xyz Monsters out of any 2 monsters
that are the same Level!
Just like Synchro Monsters, Xyz Monsters have their own type of Summon that you perform when you want to play them. Here’s how Xyz Summons work: When you control 2 face-up monsters with the same Level, put them on top of each other, then put the appropriate Xyz Monster on top of them. That’s an Xyz Summon! Take the monsters with matching Levels and put them on top of each other. Then put the Xyz Monster on top of the pile! The monsters you used to Summon it become the “Xyz Materials” of your Xyz Monster and are not sent to the Graveyard; instead they stay under the Xyz monster until you use them for that monster’s effects or the Xyz Monster is destroyed. An Xyz Summon is a type of Special Summon, just like a Synchro Summon, and it follows all the same rules for reviving your monsters if they are destroyed. |