Everything You Need to Know About Yu-Gi-Oh's Fusion Monsters & How to Summon Them

Fusion Monsters are a type of Monster that resides in the Extra Deck. As such, they cannot be Normal Summoned, and need to be Special Summoned via Fusion Summoning. They were introduced in the international version of the game in 2002, in the very first set, and are the very first Extra Deck Monsters that were released with their own method of summoning. In this guide, we'll take a look at what they are, how to play them, and special rulings that only apply to them.

Table of Contents

• What Are Fusion Monsters
• Fusion Summoning
• Using Other Cards for Fusion
• Contact Fusion
• Super Polymerization
• Fusion Card Staples

What Are Fusion Monsters

Fusion Monsters are a type of Extra Deck Monsters, meaning that, when building your deck, you add them to the Extra Deck instead of the Main one. Furthermore, any sort of effect that would return them to your hand or shuffle them into your Main Deck would send them back into the Extra Deck instead.

Fusion Monsters can be recognized by their violet border around the card. Aside from that, they look and behave identical to other Monster cards, save for the need to be summoned via Fusion Summon.

Typical Fusion Monster

Fusion Summoning

Fusion Summoning can be summed up with one card: Polymerization. To Fusion Summon, you activates this card (or another one with this effect), then, as it resolves, you send Monsters, known as materials, to the Graveyard (shortened to GY on cards) from either your hand or your field, then you Summon your Fusion Monster from the Extra Deck. Some effects use materials differently, like banishing them from the GY, for example.

The materials needed are listed on the first line of the card, so pay attention to that when performing the Summon. Those materials tend to be very specific, as Fusion Monsters are strongly tied to their archetypes, and it is one of the most restrictive types of Summoning. On the other hand, materials can also be used while face-down, which you can't do for other methods.

As the name implies, Fusion Monsters, especially in the earliest days of the game, were usually a combination of cards used for its summon. For example, Sanwitch is a combination of Sangan and Witch of the Black Forest, and Naturia Exterio is Naturia Beast wearing Naturia Barkion.

Using Other Cards for Fusion

While crucial to Fusion Summoning, the Polymerization Spell is also one of its biggest weaknesses, since you need to draw into it in addition to needing the materials. As such, any archetype that uses Fusion Summoning as their main play style also has a dedicated Fusion card. Those tend to have a specific synergy with, or can be easily searched by that archetype.

Here are some examples of archetype specific Fusion cards and some of their unique features (none of the following cards can be used outside their archetype):

• Gem-Knight Fusion - Can be returned to the player's hand from the GY.
• El Shaddoll Fusion - Identical to Polimerization, but is Quick-Play and restricted to once per turn.
• Fossil Fusion - Allows you to use Monsters from both your and your opponent's GY as materials.
• Frightfur Fusion - Banishes the materials from the field or GY.
• Dream Mirror of Chaos - Is Quick-Play, but only allows to use materials from the field. It allows you to use materials from your hand or GY if a specific Spell is in play.
• The Eye of Timaeus - Allows you to Summon a Fusion Monster using only one material (in this case, Dark Magician).
• Magikey Maftea - Can be used for both Ritual or Fusion Summon.
• Darklord Uprising - A Trap that lets you Fusion Summon. 
• D/D Swirl Slime - An Effect Monster that allows you to Fusion Summon.

There are also Spells used for Fusion Summoning certain Types of Monsters that aren't tied to an archetype, like Power Bond for Machines or Fire Formation - Ingen for Beast-Warriors. Finally, Instant Fusion allows you to summon a low-Level Fusion Monster without using materials.

Contact Fusion

Neos + Hummingbird = Air Neos

Some Fusion Monsters can be Summoned without the need for cards like the ones described above, and instead can be brought out by their own Summoning procedures. This is semi-officially known as Contact Fusion, since it appears on the flavor text for Elemental HERO Neos, but not on cards that use it or in any rulebook.

Technically speaking, this isn't a Fusion Summon, but the cards that use it are Fusion Monsters. As this is a built-in Special Summon, it does not start a Chain, sso your opponent cannot respond to a Contact Fusion, just the Summon itself. This is also why Cyber Dragons can easily snatch up opposing Machines and Extra Monster Zone Monsters for their Chimeratech Fortress Dragon and Chimeratech Megafleet Dragon.

Other examples include Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon, Thunder Dragon Colossus, and most of the Neos sub-archetype, like Elemental HERO Grand Neos or Elemental HERO Flare Neos.

Super Polymerization

This is an incredibly powerful card that deserves its own section. For the measly cost of discarding one card,  Super Poly allows you to Fusion Summon using materials from either side of the field. On top of that, it's a Quick-Play Spell and neither player can activate cards and effects in response to it. It also bypasses most forms of protection, since using a Monster as a material doesn't count as destroying or targeting it.

It is one of the most powerful removals in the game, assuming your opponent has the appropriate materials on their side of the field, as you still need to meet the requirements of the Monster you're trying to Summon. You can find a list of the best targets to Summon with this card in our 'Staples' section of the guide.

Funnily enough, in Master Duel, this card is an Ultra Rare, while Ultra Polymerization is a Super Rare.

Fusion Card Staples

With all this general information we've gathered, let's see how the mechanic can come to use in decks without building an entire theme around it. One honorary mention goes out to Elder Entity N'tss, which has niche usage by turning the loss of an Extra Deck card into an upside by destroying one card of your choice. 

Predaplant Verte Anaconda

Due to the nature of Fusion Summoning, generic Fusion Monsters aren't really a thing. There is, however, Predaplant Verte Anaconda. This handy Link Monster basically carries the entire Summoning Mechanic on its back. Combining its effect with a Fusion Spell that uses materials from the deck, any 2 Effect Monsters can lead into a Fusion. In fact, Verte has even been banned in the OCG on April 1st, 2022.

Though the possible applications for Verte are varied, notable targets include:

• Red-Eyes Fusion
• Neos Fusion
• Shaddoll Fusion
• Fusion Destiny
• Super Polymerization

Super Polymerization Targets

The effectiveness of these Monsters is dependent on the current meta and therefor shouldn't be prioritized if the Extra Deck space could be filled with something more reliable.

• • Starving Venom Fusion Dragon
  • Panzer Dragon
  • Mudragon of the Swamp
  • Diplexer Chimera
  • Dragonecro Nethersoul Dragon
  • World Chalice Guardragon Almarduke
•  

 Instant & Ready Fusion

To close things out, there's one more method of cheating out Fusion Monsters. Usually when a combo Deck needs an extra Special Summon of sorts, Instant Fusion and Ready Fusion can be considered as fillers. Instant Fusion can at least have some flexibility, with Thousand-Eyes Restrict and Millennium-Eyes Restrict being able to deal with problematic Monsters.