Fusion Summon

A Fusion Summon ( Yūgō Shōkan) is the act of Special Summoning a Fusion Monster from the Extra Deck using the effect of "Polymerization" or any other card effects which explicitly states that the summon is a Fusion Summon.

How to Fusion Summon
During their Main Phase 1 or 2, the turn player can Fusion Summon a Fusion Monster from the Extra Deck by first declaring the action and then activating "Polymerization". Following this, they select the Fusion Monster in their Extra Deck that they intend to Fusion Summon. They then send the requisite Fusion Materials in their hand or on their side of the Field to the Graveyard, as listed on the Fusion Monster itself. After that, the Fusion Monster is taken from the Extra Deck and placed on the field in face-up Attack or Defense Position.

Advanced rulings
If a monster is Special Summoned from your Extra Deck by a card effect it is not treated as a Fusion Summon, unless stated on the card. For example Special Summoning a monster from your Extra Deck using "Cyber-Stein" is not considered a Fusion Summon.

Normally, Fusion Monsters cannot be Special Summoned from the Graveyard or Banished Zone unless they were properly Fusion Summoned before being sent. You cannot use "Re-Fusion" to revive a Fusion Monster that has been Special Summoned using "Cyber-Stein" or sent to the Graveyard by "Fusion Guard". Fusion Summoned Monsters can be revived using cards such as "Re-Fusion" unless stated otherwise.

Alternate methods
Other than using "Polymerization", cards can be Fusion Summoned using the effects of the following cards. Be sure to follow the instructions on the card to Fusion Summon the monster correctly.


 * See list Fusion Summons.

Fusion Substitute Monsters

 * See main article Fusion Substitute Monsters.

In the anime
While visual depictions of Fusion Summons have varied significantly among the different anime series, most generally show the Fusion Materials, or their cards, being warped into particles or forms of energy in a spiral direction, which then merge with each other within a spiraling portal, from which the Fusion Monster emerges. It is not until Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V where a standardized version of this method is adopted for all Fusion Summons, with the portal consisting of blue and orange swirls of energy, referencing the artwork of "Polymerization", and the Fusion Material Monsters transforming into differently colored forms of energy (usually the colors being contrasting ones like blue/red, yellow/violet, etc.), which then swirl together into a spiral before entering the portal. Fusion Summon practitioners usually clasp their hands together at the moment the monsters combine, seemingly mirroring that the materials become one.

Prior to ARC-V, another depiction of Fusion Summon, notably used for "Dark Paladin" and "Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste", shows the Fusion Materials being engulfed in a sphere of energy, which then disperses to reveal the Fusion Monster. Other times, the Fusion Monster emerges from a fierce whirlwind.

In the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, under Battle City Rules, which applied during the Battle City tournament, Fusion Monsters cannot attack the same turn they are Summoned. This is exemplified in episode 65, when Strings uses "Quick Attack" on "Humanoid Worm Drake" to bypass that rule in his Duel against Yami Yugi. This rule does not exist in the OCG/TCG and was removed for all subsequent series.

In ''Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V'', a Fusion Summon performed using Fusion Materials that have been previously Pendulum Summoned is referred to as a "Pendulum-Fusion".