Xyz Monster

An Xyz Monster (pronounced ik-seez ; Japanese: エクシーズモンスター (モンスター in the card text since The Duelist Advent) Ekushīzumonsutā; Chinese: 超量怪獸 Chāoliàng Guàishòu "Exceed Beast") is a type of Monster Card that is colored black. They are stored in the Extra Deck. The card frame is also stylized by having it appear as if one is flying through space with many stars in the frame giving the appearance of one streaking by them and other stars appearing stationary due to relative distance (giving a realistic depiction of moving through space). According to Konami, Xyz Monsters are made of antimatter, and have traveled to Yuma's dimension from the other side of a black hole.

Instead of a Level, Xyz Monsters have a Rank. This Rank determines the required Levels of the Xyz Materials needed in order to Xyz Summon your Xyz Monster. An Xyz Monster's Rank is depicted by a row of yellow stars in black orbs (as opposed to the yellow stars in red orbs of a monster's Level) that extend outwards from the left-hand side of the card (opposite to where a monster's Level would be depicted), similar to Dark Synchro Monsters. However, unlike Synchro Monsters, an Xyz Monster's Rank is not the total sum of the monsters' Levels used to Summon it; thus, if 2 Level 3 monsters are required, then the Xyz Monster would be Rank 3, not Level 6.

An Xyz Monster's Rank is not its Level. Xyz Monsters do not have Levels. Therefore, they cannot be used for Synchro, Ritual, or Xyz Summons unless explicitly named as a requirement. Any effects that would refer to the Level of a monster, such as those of "Gravity Bind", "Level Limit - Area B", "Roulette Barrel", "Star Changer" and even "Burden of the Mighty" cannot be applied to any Xyz Monsters under any circumstances.

Most Xyz Monsters require you to "detach" (meaning "place in the Graveyard") their Xyz Materials in order for their effects to activate, limiting their effect usage. When an Xyz Monster is removed from the field, its Xyz Materials are sent to the Graveyard. Some also have negative effects when they have no more Materials attached, so it may be best to use such effects sparingly.

Generally, Xyz Monsters with 3000 or more ATK have either negative effects or rather difficult summoning requirements (high Level monsters or specific materials). Additionally, Xyz Monsters have the drawback that they can usually only use their effects while they have Xyz Material, meaning the player will usually only be able to use their Xyz Monster's effects up to the number of its Xyz Materials. However, Xyz Monsters are easier to Summon since they don't need a specific kind of monster (like a Tuner) or a Spell Card (such as Ritual Spell Card or Fusion Spell Card). Thus, there is little restriction in the monsters that can be used as Xyz Materials and can fit into almost any Deck.

In Order of Chaos, a particular Xyz Monster was released: "Number C39: Utopia Ray", that can be Xyz Summoned by using a face-up "Number 39: Utopia" you control as Xyz Material; its Xyz Materials become the Xyz Materials of "Number C39". This kind of Xyz Summon is called "Xyz Evolution" and consists on using a preexisting Xyz Monster as Xyz Material of another one. Among the monsters that can be Xyz Summoned by this method include "Constellar Ptolemy M7", "Gaia Dragon, the Thunder Charger" and "Downerd Magician".

This kind of Xyz Summoning evolved to more complex ones, such as "Rank-Up", which uses "Rank-Up-Magic" Spell Cards to perform Xyz Summons. The monsters Xyz Summoned this way are all "Number C" or "CXyz" monsters (except for Xyz Monsters Summoned via "Rank-Up-Magic Astral Force"), have a higher Rank than its base form, and any of them can be Xyz Summoned by the generic way; however, it would be more difficult, as the regular Xyz Summon requires a high number of monsters (generally of a specific Type or Attribute), and most of them require their base form to be attached to use their main effect. Most of the "Number C" and "CXyz" monsters have effects that inflict damage to your opponent. Some examples include "Number C39: Utopia Ray V", "Number C96: Dark Storm", "Number C101: Silent Honor DARK", "CXyz Skypalace Babylon" and "CXyz Coach Lord Ultimatrainer". "Rank-Down-Magic Numeron Fall" is an exception between the Spell Cards that are used to perform Xyz Summons, as it uses an Xyz Monster to Summon another one with a lower Rank (albeit it is only used for the "Utopia" Archetype).

Forms of Xyz Summoning

 * Xyz Summoning
 * Chaos Xyz Evolution
 * Shining Xyz Evolution
 * Rank-Up

Trivia

 * When Xyz Monsters were revealed in the OCG, they were mistakenly translated as "Exceed Monsters" by fans. This was likely because "Xyz" is not an actual word and has no immediately obvious pronunciation. The word "Exceed" was likely the closest English equivalent to the Japanese "エクシーズ Ekushīzu".
 * This term has fallen into official use in the Chinese OCG, where the term for "Xyz" is "超量" or literally "Exceed".


 * Similar to how Synchro Monsters played a big role in the plot of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's and were meant to destroy the world, Xyz Monsters play a similar role in Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL and are claimed to be destined to destroy all universes, namely the "Numbers".
 * Similarily, Xyz Monsters appear to be the opposite of Synchro Monsters; hence their black color opposed to Synchro Monsters' white color, and their Ranks (rather than Levels) being on the opposite side of the card. This is further noted by the "Evilswarm" archetype, which contains Xyz counterparts of several Synchro Monsters.


 * In anime, during an Xyz Summon, Xyz Materials will transform into light entities, while colored by their respective Attributes. Then, when the Xyz Monster is Summoned, its Xyz Materials will be floating around it as orbs colored by its Xyz Monster's Attribute.
 * LIGHT is yellow, DARK is purple, FIRE is red, WATER is blue, WIND is green, and EARTH is orange - each being a color of the visible spectrum. Some monsters when being used in an Xyz Summon that have the same attribute may have different color shadings.


 * Background image (the black part) of every Xyz Monster card is very similar to the card artwork of "Rank-Up-Magic Numeron Force".