Hey there this is just a shout out to all you Yu-Gi-Oh! players out there.  A few of my friends and I are making a webpage where you can see all the rulings on all the current cards out there that are playable.  We will let you know when its up so you can see the results and hopefully it will help solve some problems.  Until next time Get your game on!

Hello once again.  Today we are going to talk about Ritual, Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz monsters.  The first one is Ritual Monsters. (Blue Cards)  These monsters go straight into your deck just like Normal and Effect monsters.  Ritual Monsters are summoned by the use of playing their specific spell card.   (there are some ritual spell cards that can be used to ritual summon ritual monsters without the use of their specific spell card which we will talk more about in another blog)  For the basics you will need both the Ritual monster and its specific Ritual spell card in your hand.  First you activate the Ritual spell card by placing it in one of the spell and trap card zones.  Next send from either your hand or field to the graveyard (Also known as the discard pile) monsters on the field that are equal to or greater than the Ritual monster that you are going to summon.  (Some Ritual spells will require you to tribute monsters with levels equal to the level of the monster you are trying to summon)  Next place the Ritual monster that you are summoning onto the field in either face up attack position vertically or face up defense position horizontally.  This is called a special summon so you can still normal summon or normal set in the same turn you Ritual Summon. (We will talk more on special summoning in another blog).  Last send the Ritual spell used to summon the monster to the graveyard.  One of my favorite monsters to Ritual summon is Demise, King of Armageddon.  If you have ever seen this monster you are probably thinking of the song that has the line, "Its the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine."  That's because its Ritual Spell card is called  "End of the World".  The next monster we will discuss is the Fusion Monster (purple cards)  These monsters just like ritual monster require a specific spell card.  That card is Polymerization.  (there are other ways to bring out fusion monsters but this is the most common way) Fusion monsters are NOT included in your main deck.  They have a special deck called the Extra deck.  (we will talk more on extra decks in another blog)  First you will need to get the monsters listed on the fusion card (they are found right below the picture) on the field or in your hand.  Next you will need that spell card Polymerization.  Once you have those cards in your hand or on the field you are ready.  First you activate Polymerization in the spell and trap card zone.  Next send the monsters listed on the Fusion Monster card that you want to summon, from the field or hand to the graveyard.  Next special summon the Fusion Monster in either face up attack position vertically or face up defense position horizontally.  Then send Polymerization to the graveyard.  Fusion Monsters are considered special summoned.  Elemental Heroes use a lot of fusion monsters to create some pretty incredible combos that can overcome almost anything.   If fact right now they are one of the most common decks seen in current tournament play with other popular decks like Mermails, Spellbooks, and Wind-ups.  The next monster is the Synchro Monster (White Cards).  These monsters just like Fusion Monsters go into the Extra Deck.  Synchro Monsters are relatively easier to summon than Fusion Monsters because you don't need Polymerization.  First you will need to summon/special summon face up on the field one or more Non-Tuner monster(s) and one Tuner Monster.  You can tell if a monster is a Tuner or not by checking next to the monsters Type.  If it says Tuner then you have a Tuner monster.  When both your non-Tuner monster(s) and Tuner monster is on the field you can then declare a synchro summon.   You must choose a Synchro Monster who's level is equal to the total levels of all the Non-Tuner Monsters and Tuner Monster that you will use for the Synchro Summon.  Next send the appropriate monsters to the Graveyard and special summon the Synchro Monster in either face up attack or defense position. (Some Synchro Monsters do require specific Types or Attributes in order to summon them)  The most popular of all the Synchro Monsters is Stardust Dragon.   Last but not least is Xyz Monsters (Black Cards).  These monsters believe it or not are even easier to summon than Synchro Monsters.  Xyz Monsters are also put in the Extra Deck, Not the Main Deck.  All you need is at least two monsters that have the same level.  Yes! its that easy.  Just two monsters face up on the field that are the same level.  Next declare that you are performing an Xyz Summon.  This is where it gets a little different from Rituals, Fusions, and Synchros, instead of the monsters going to the Graveyard they are stacked on top of each other and then those monsters are placed under the newly summoned Xyz that has the same Rank as the level of the monsters used.(Xyz don't have levels like all the other monsters.  They have Ranks that are in the upper left hand corner just below the name of the monster.) The monsters that are now under the Xyz are used as Xyz materials. Materials are usually used to activate the Xyz Monsters effect.  There are lots of Xyz that are being used in tournaments but my favorite is Wind-Up Zenmaines.  Note:  Xyz's are considered special summoned and can be summoned in face up attack or defense position. Well there is how to summon all the rest of our monsters.  If anything is confusing just let me know.  Until next time, get your game on!

Last post we talked a little bit about monster cards and the basics of summoning.  You probably noticed that all the cards I used in the example pictures were all normal monsters (yellow cards).  This post I want to concentrate on Effect monsters. (brown cards).  There are 5 different kinds of effects that effect monsters could have; for example: Flip Effects, Continuous Effects, Ignition Effect, Trigger Effect, and Quick Effects.  So in this post I want to break it down so you can understand each of these types of effects and how they work.  First to bat is the FLIP: effect.  It is a pretty easy card to find because in the text right below the monsters type it will have the word FLIP: and then what happens.  FLIP: effects activate when the monster that has this effect goes from face down on the field to face up on the field.  So it can be attacked and get flipped, be effected by a spell or trap like Swords of Revealing Light and get flipped, or you could just flip it face up on your next turn.  After the monster has been flipped follow the instructions on the card and do them in the order that you read them.  Example: Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter.

  The next effect is a continuous effect.  These effects start as soon as the monster is summoned and don't leave the field until the monster is removed from the field or flipped face down.  In my experience Elemental Hero Wildheart is one of the best.  As soon as he hits the field no trap cards can effect him until he is gone. (Although there is ways to get around his effect by the use of cards like Effect Veiler and Skill Drain if it has been activated before Wildheart hits the field.)

  The next effect is called Ignition Effect.  This affect becomes active when you declare its activation during a main phase.  Some Ignition Effects require you to pay a cost such as discarding cards or paying life points.  Shutendoji is a good example of a monster that has an Ignition Effect.

  The next effect is Trigger Effects.  These effects activate at almost any time that is specified on the card for example:  When this card is destroyed or during the standby phase.  Mystic Tomato and Shining Angle are good examples of Trigger Effects.

  The last effect is Quick Effects which happen to be my all time favorite effects.  These are effects that can be activated during either players turn.  These monsters effects have a spell speed of 2 and can sometimes be chained to other cards. (we will talk more about spell speed when we discuss chains in another post) Maxx "C" is a good example of this effect.

 These effect monsters can all be summoned the same way as was described in the last post, although some effect monsters can be special summoned by their own effects which will be discussed in more detail in another post.  In our next post we will talk about summoning ritual, fusion, synchro and Xyz monsters.  Thanks for reading.  Until next time, get your game on!

Hey there Yu-Gi-Oh! fans its me again and I am here to introduce to you the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG (Trading Card Game) to all of those who are new.  If you already know the game then maybe reading this post will just refresh your memory of some of the basic rules.  In the game of Yu-Gi-oh! you will have two players each with an individual and unique deck consisting of Monsters, Spells, and Traps, somewhere between 40-60 cards.  Each player starts with 8000 life points and uses the cards found in their decks to try and decrease the others life points to zero.  Today we are talking monsters which in most decks make up to almost half or more of the cards you will use in your own deck.  In the game of Yu-Gi-Oh! there are 6 different kinds of monster cards: Normal, Effect, Ritual, Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz.

  Each of these monster can come with one of the 22 different types, and one of the 6 different attributes.  (we will discuss more on attributes and types in another post) In the upper right hand corner of each card (except Xyzs) there will be stars (somewhere between 1-12), these stars tell you the level of the monster.  In the game of Yu-Gi-Oh! you can only normal summon or normal set one monster per turn.  Monsters with a level of 1-4 can be normal summoned directly to the field in either face up attack position vertically or norml set in face down defense position horizontally.

  Monsters with a level from 5-6 requires you to tribute one monster that is on your side of the playing field to normal summon or normal set that monster.

Monsters with an even higher level 7-12 require you to tribute 2 monsters that is on your side of the playing field to normal summon or normal set that monster.

  Important:  remember you can only summon or set one monster per turn so you can't summon a level 3 monster and then tribute it to play a level 6.  you must first play the level 3 monster and wait until your next turn to tribute it to play the level 6.  The type of the monster can be found on the left side right below the picture.  The Attack (ATK) and Defense (DEF) can be found on the lower right hand corner of the card.  Note:  All monster will usually have a different ATK/DEF from one another but occasionally you might find a few with the same ATK/DEF.  We will talk more about the ATK/DEF later on in another blog.  Don't want to overload you with too much info.  Until next time, get your game on!

Hello Yu-Gi-Oh! fans.

Brian here just letting you all know that I am starting a cool new blog on everything Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG. (Trading Card Game)  I am a current judge for the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG and actually run my own events through a public library.  I am trying to get out there and help those who are looking for a fresh look at some things in the card game that you may not have known.  That's right everything from the basics all the way through cool tips and tricks on decks and card combos.  I hope this new blog will help anyone seeking to learn more about the game or just looking for something new and different.  This is just a test blog really to make sure everything is working, so keep and eye out for the next installment of Spelling out Yu-Gi-Oh!  Please feel free to leave comments and questions  and I will try and answer what I can.  Happy dueling and get your game on!

Brian
Spelling out Yu-Gi-Oh!