Spirit Monsters

Spirit monsters are a kind of Monster card in the TCG and HCCG; specifically, they are a subtype of Effect Monsters. They are not a very common subtype, and fewer than 10 Spirit monsters currently exist in HCCG. They are color-coded orange.

All Spirit monsters in the HCCG so far have the special ability of returning to their controller's hand at the End Phase of the turn they are Normal Summoned or flipped face-up, if they are still on the field. However, they cannot be Special Summoned. At first, this mandatory effect might seem hindering because it requires the player to waste Normal Summons and Sets indefinitely, as well as provide no protection during his/her opponent's turn. On the flip side, this mechanic makes Spirit monsters much harder to destroy in battle, and it always ensures the player with a playable monster (unless the Spirit monster is Level 5 or above).

Spirit monsters do not have a built-in effect, because in the TCG, there are some Spirit monsters which do not share the above method of Summoning and do not return to the player's hand after being Summoned of flipped face-up.

Because many Spirit monsters can result in negative field advantage, they are generally considered inferior to other Effect monsters. Currently, the Carley archetype is the only HCCG archetype that features a Spirit monster, the monster in question being Evelyn, White Witch of Carley. In addition, the monster Tri-Colored Turtle is currently the only support card for Spirit monsters.

To see a list of Spirit monsters in HCCG, see this page.