Xyz Summon

An Xyz Summon (pronounced ik-seez ; Japanese: エクシーズ Ekushīzu Shōkan, abbreivated in card text since Duelist Alliance); Chinese: 超量召喚 Chāoliàng Zhàohuàn "Exceeding Summon") is the Special Summon of an Xyz Monster from the Extra Deck. It is a gameplay mechanic introduced in Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

Xyz Summons can be conducted when there are two or more monsters of the same Level on your side of the field. Those monsters can be used as Xyz Materials to Summon an Xyz Monster whose Rank is the same as the Levels of the monsters used.

In order to Xyz Summon an Xyz Monster, you must first take the required Xyz Materials face-up on your side of the field and stack them together. Then, the Xyz Monster is Xyz Summoned from your Extra Deck, and placed on top of the stack.

Xyz Materials are not sent to the Graveyard. Instead, they are placed on the same Monster Card Zone beneath the Summoned Xyz Monster. In this state, they are not treated as monsters, nor are they treated as being on the field.

Trap Monsters can be used as Xyz Materials, but not Token Monsters, as Tokens cannot be in any state other than being on the field.

The battle positions of the Xyz Materials do not matter, as long as they are all face-up. However, once you have Xyz Summoned your Xyz Monster, ensure that the entire stack is neatly aligned in face-up attack position, regardless of whether or not the Xyz Monster is summoned in face-up ATK or DEF position.

An Xyz Summon is a type of Special Summon, and an Xyz Monster is a Special Summon-only monster.

Xyz Monsters frequently have effects that require you to remove an Xyz Material(s) from beneath it, known as detaching. When this happens, the Materials are sent to the Graveyard. Some Xyz Monsters have negative effects if they have no Xyz Materials left beneath them.

Note that an Xyz Monster Special Summoned via any means other than an Xyz Summon (except in certain cases such as with "Xyz Reborn") will not have any Xyz Materials beneath it, and in such a case, any negative effects that they may have will be applied immediately.

If an Xyz Monster leaves the field or otherwise ceases to be a monster (such as being treated as an Equip Card by "Destiny HERO - Plasma", or being treated as an Xyz Material by "Number 101: Silent Honor ARK"), then its Xyz Materials are sent to the Graveyard, unless the card effect says otherwise, such as those of the "Rank-Up-Magic" archetype. If an Xyz Monster is flipped face-down, its Xyz Materials stay where they are.

Since Xyz Materials are not treated as monsters, they will not be affected by a card like "Dimensional Fissure" (which causes any monsters that would be sent to the Graveyard to be banished instead). While "Dimensional Fissure" is on the field, detaching Xyz Materials still sends them to the Graveyard. If the Xyz Monster leaves the field, its Xyz Materials are still sent to the Graveyard, and if the Xyz Monster is destroyed, it will be banished while its Xyz Materials are sent to the Graveyard.

If a card effect banishes all cards that would be sent to the Graveyard (such as "Macro Cosmos" or "Banisher of the Radiance"), then when an Xyz Monster leaves the field, its Xyz Materials will be banished. An Xyz Monster can still detach its Materials while such an effect is active; the Xyz Materials will be banished instead of being sent to the Graveyard.

In the anime, using monsters to perform an Xyz Summon is known as overlaying them (similar to how performing a Synchro Summon is known as tuning the Tuner monster with the non-Tuner monster(s)). When an Xyz Summon is performed, a red-colored spiral portal known as an Overlay Network appears. The Xyz Materials turn into forms of energy which enter the portal, and then the newly Summoned Xyz Monster emerges from the portal. Certain monsters, especially "Number" monsters, may have unique or specially designed Overlay Networks of a different color or shape. The idea of a spiral-shaped portal is derived from Konami's statement that Xyz Monsters entered our universe through a black hole. However, in Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, all Xyz Summons so far have used the galaxy-style spiral portal used largely by "Number" cards from Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

Trivia

 * When Xyz Summons were revealed in the OCG, they were at first translated as "Exceed Summons" by fans. This was because "Xyz" is not an actual word and has no immediately obvious pronunciation, and 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 Chāoliàng or literally "Exceeding".