Monster Cards

Monster cards are one of the three types of cards in the TCG and HCCG. Monsters are the main cards used to conduct battles among the players, and can inflict battle damage, the most common victory condition. Every monster has many different stats: Type, Attribute, Level, ATK, and DEF. Furthermore, each monster can be in one of two battle positions, Attack Position or Defense Position.

Playing a monster face-up is known as a "Summon", and playing a monster face-down is known as a "Set". Each player is allowed one Normal Summon (face-up Attack Position) or Set (face-down Defense Position) per turn (unless specified otherwise by a card effect), and as many Special Summons as desired per turn within the range of their card effects (unless the card specifies, a Special Summoned monster can be played in face-up Attack Position or face-up Defense Position). Any monster of Level 4 or lower can be Normal Summoned immediately from the hand, while any monster of Level 5 or 6 can be Normal Summoned by Tributing one monster the player controls, and any monster of Level 7 or higher can be Normal Summoned by Tributing two monsters the player controls. In addition, any monster can change its battle position once per turn provided it was not Summoned that turn and it has not attacked that turn. If a Set monster is changed to Attack Position, it is immediately flipped face-up and considered Flip Summoned. (A face-down Attack Position monster that is Flip Summoned cannot change its battle position that turn.)

Each face-up Attack Position monster can attack once per turn in the turn player's Battle Phase. Unless otherwise stated by a card effect, a monster can attack the opposing player directly only if the opponent does not control any monsters. If two Attack Position monsters battle, the monster with the lower ATK is destroyed, and that monster's controller takes battle damage equal to the difference in ATK values. If they have the same ATK, they are both destroyed. If the ATK of an attacking monster is higher than an opposing Defense Position monster's DEF, the opposing monster is destroyed but no battle damage is received. If the ATK of an attacking monster is lower than an opposing Defense Position monster's DEF, neither monster is destroyed but the attacking monster's controller takes battle damage equal to the difference in stat values. If the ATK of an attacking monster is the same as an opposing Defense Position monster's DEF, nothing happens.

There are 5 different types of Monster cards in HCCG.

Normal Monsters
Normal monsters are the standard type of monster, with no additional effects. They are color-coded yellow.

Effect Monsters
Effect monsters are the most common type of monster, and they each have an additional effect that activates when certain conditions are met. They are color-coded orange.

Fusion Monsters
Fusion monsters are monsters that require 2 or more specific monsters to be in the player's possession in order to be summoned. Most of them also require the use of Polymerization. They are color-coded violet, and are placed in the Extra Deck. Some Fusion monsters are also Effect monsters.

Ritual Monsters
Ritual monsters are monsters that require their Ritual Spell Cards in order to be summoned, and they also require additional monsters needed to be Tributed from the player's possession. They are color-coded blue. Some Ritual monsters are also Effect monsters.

Synchro Monsters
Synchro monsters are monsters that require a Tuner Monster face-up to be summoned, along with any other monsters whose total Levels equal the Level of the Synchro monster being summoned. They are color-coded white, and are placed in the Extra Deck. Some Synchro monsters are also Effect monsters.

Card Subdivisions
There are 6 different Attributes to classify monsters in HCCG.
 * FIRE
 * WATER
 * EARTH
 * WIND
 * LIGHT
 * DARK

There are 21 different Types to classify monsters in HCCG.
 * Aqua
 * Beast
 * Beast-Warrior
 * Dinosaur
 * Dragon
 * Fairy
 * Fiend
 * Fish
 * Insect
 * Machine
 * Plant
 * Psychic
 * Pyro
 * Reptile
 * Rock
 * Sea Serpent
 * Spellcaster
 * Thunder
 * Warrior
 * Winged Beast
 * Zombie

Finally, there are some subclasses of monsters called "subtypes", which are generally treated as Effect monsters (with some exceptions) but have special properties common to all in their subtype.
 * Toon Monsters
 * Spirit Monsters
 * Union Monsters
 * Gemini Monsters
 * Tuner Monsters