“It is not merely a piece of a sum. It embodies all that is dark.”
—Excerpt from Kozaky's journals

 

The Hex-Sealed Fusion monsters are an interesting group of cards from Flaming Eternity. Thanks to The Dark - Hex-Sealed Fusion, it was possible to special summon King Dragun at the Flaming Eternity Prerelease. Players who used this combo had a powerful tool at their disposal.

 

The Hex-Sealed Fusions have much to offer in standard Constructed decks as well. With The Earth - Hex-Sealed Fusion, it is possible to tribute two monsters and special summon Master of Oz directly from your Fusion deck. You might be thinking, “Tribute two monsters to special summon a 4200 ATK Fusion monster? Has Curtis finally lost it?”

 

Probably. But keep reading, and all will be revealed.

 

Embodiment of All

 

Each Hex-Sealed Fusion monster has the following text.

 

 

This effect is usually applied to Fusion summons—using Polymerization or Fusion Gate to special summon a Fusion monster from your Fusion deck. To perform a Fusion summon, you need to have Polymerization or Fusion Gate as well as each monster required by the Fusion you want to summon. For example, if you want to Fusion summon Master of Oz, you need to have Des Kangaroo and Big Koala in your hand, on your side of the field, or divided between your hand and field. These cards are Master of Oz's Fusion-material monsters.

 

The substitution effect of the Hex-Sealed Fusion monsters allows them to take the place of one of the required Fusion-material monsters in a Fusion summon. If you run a Hex-Sealed Fusion monster in your deck, you increase your odds of successfully performing a Fusion summon.

 

For example, if you have The Earth - Hex-Sealed Fusion in your Master of Oz deck, you have three ways to bring out Master of Oz.

 

1. Des Kangaroo + Big Koala

2. Des Kangaroo + The Earth - Hex-Sealed Fusion

3. Big Koala + The Earth - Hex-Sealed Fusion

 

I call a monster with this type of effect a “Fusion substitute.” Other monsters have the same effect. King of the Swamp from Ancient Sanctuary and Goddess with the Third Eye, Beastking of the Swamps, and Versago the Destroyer from the Tournament Pack are other examples of Fusion substitutes.

 

The effect has a limitation, however. If you use a Hex-Sealed Fusion as a substitute for a Fusion-material monster, any other Fusion-material monsters must be identical to what's written in the Fusion monster's text. Because of this limitation, it isn't possible to use multiple Fusion substitutes in the same Fusion summon.

 

Some Fusion monsters, like Ojama King and Mokey Mokey King, require three Fusion-material monsters. When using one of the Hex-Sealed Fusions as a Fusion substitute, the other Fusion-material monsters must be the correct ones.

 

 

Let's say that I want to Fusion summon Ojama King. If I use The Light - Hex-Sealed Fusion as a substitute for Ojama Green, I'll need to have Ojama Black and Ojama Yellow to complete the Fusion summon. I can't use two or three copies of The Light - Hex-Sealed Fusion, because using a Hex-Sealed Fusion as a Fusion substitute means that the other monsters involved in the Fusion summon must be the correct Fusion-material monsters.

 

With a few exceptions, the Fusion substitution effect works for all of the Fusion monsters in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG. However, Ryu Senshi, Dark Balter the Terrible, and Fiend Skull Dragon can only be Fusion summoned with the Fusion-material monsters specified in each card's text. That means that Fusion substitute monsters like Goddess with the Third Eye can't be used when these cards are Fusion summoned. You can summon Ryu Senshi and Dark Balter the Terrible with the Hex-Sealed Fusions, however. I'll explain how later.

 

Taking on a New Form

 

Each of the Hex-Sealed Fusions has a variation of the following text.

 

 

The attribute changes depending on which Hex-Sealed Fusion monster you are using. The Light - Hex-Sealed Fusion is used to bring out a Light Fusion monster, The Dark -Hex-Sealed Fusion is used for a Dark Fusion monster, and The Earth - Hex-Sealed Fusion is used for an Earth Fusion monster.

 

This part of the effect often causes a lot of confusion. Let's split it up for a closer look.

 

 

This means that the Fusion-material monsters and the Hex-Sealed Fusion must be on the field when you use this effect. It also means that you don't need Polymerization or Fusion Gate to bring out the desired Fusion monster. Let's say that I want to special summon Master of Oz by using The Earth - Hex-Sealed Fusion. To do this, I'll need to have The Earth - Hex-Sealed Fusion and either Des Kangaroo or Big Koala on my side of the field. I can activate the Fusion substitution effect during one of my main phases and then tribute the Hex-Sealed Fusion and one of the Fusion-material monsters. When the effect resolves, I'll special summon Master of Oz from my Fusion deck.

 

It's important to remember that using this effect doesn't mean that the Fusion monster will be “properly summoned.” You won't be able to use cards like Premature Burial or Call of the Haunted to special summon the Fusion monster from your graveyard. A Hex-Sealed Fusion lets you special summon rather than Fusion summon a monster, and Fusion monsters are considered to be properly summoned only when they are Fusion summoned.

 

This can give you an advantage, however. The fact that the effect doesn't perform a Fusion summon means that you can special summon Ryu Senshi and Dark Balter the Terrible. Unfortunately, it also means that you can't use The Dark - Hex-Sealed Fusion to special summon Dark Paladin, because Dark Paladin can only be Fusion summoned.

 

You also can't special summon any of the XYZ Fusion monsters with a Hex-Sealed Fusion. The XYZ Fusions can only be special summoned from your Fusion deck by following the directions on each card. Because of this, The Light - Hex-Sealed Fusion won't be of much help in your XYZ Dragon deck.

 

Until next week, send all comments to Curtis@metagame.com.