With Cyberdark Impact imminent, the time has come to take another look at some old friends that were introduced back in Soul of the Duelist: The LV (A.K.A. “Level”) monsters.

LV monsters suffer from several misconceptions resulting from their own inherent effects (or confusion about the entire “leveling up” system in general). In order to help everyone prepare for their Sneak Preview tournament this weekend, this week’s class will focus on the basic mechanics of the LV monster.

I have always had a fondness for the LV monsters. I liked the concept of monsters that grew as they engaged in battle, becoming stronger by accomplishing feats of strength, tactics, or courage, or simply by surviving. In this way, they are very much like any of us, which I think made them truly representative of the soul of a duelist.

Naturally their journeys, like our own, are not easy. Every LV monster has its own course and in order to see it successfully through to the end, you needed to focus. Having too many LV monsters would often pull you in too many directions at once and make it difficult to get anywhere with any of them.

Every LV monster has a basic starting form, usually a low level somewhere between 1 and 4. Every LV monster states, in its text, what it can grow into and what is required to get it there. For example, Armed Dragon LV3 can grow into the more powerful Armed Dragon LV5 simply by being face up on your side of the field during your standby phase. It need only pass this one test of courage, and from its success, it earns the strength to turn into the physically powerful LV5 form. From here, Armed Dragon LV5 only needs to pass a test of strength by destroying one of your opponent’s monsters in battle. After doing this, it can grow and become the even more powerful Armed Dragon LV7.

Here’s an interesting thing to note about LV monsters: You are not forced to “level” your monster if you do not want to. If you don’t have a more powerful version in your hand or your deck, or you would prefer to keep the lower level version, you can choose not to activate the “level” effect.

For example, what if I succeed in satisfying the “level” condition for Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6, but I lost my only copy of its LV8 form to my graveyard? If I choose to try and “level” my monster, I won’t have its next form available and will get absolutely nothing in return. It would be a complete waste!

Some LV monsters have a more difficult path to follow than their brethren. In order to use each LV monster to its fullest, you must understand what is required to set them on their path and how best you can support them in this endeavor.

Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 is a loyal fighter that grows into Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6 by destroying a monster in battle. After you accomplish this, you can send it to the graveyard to special summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6 from your hand or deck. The LV6 form has the same requirement and, once fulfilled, you can then special summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 from your hand or deck. This form of “leveling” is common among the LV monsters, and easily satisfied.

LV monsters like Silent Magician LV4 have a much more arduous path to follow. This little gal gains spell counters when your opponent draws a card (or cards) from his or her deck, eventually accumulating enough spell counters to become the more powerful Silent Magician LV8. Fortunately you can speed up the process by using a card like Pitch-Black Power Stone to add spell counters.

Mystic Swordsman LV2 has the same requirement as Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4, but his effect causes all sorts of confusion. In an odd twist of fate, the Mystic Swordsman’s effect actually runs against its requirement for “leveling up.” You see, if it destroys a face-down monster with its effect, the destroyed monster is not considered to have been destroyed in battle. This monster was destroyed by a card effect, and thus the Mystic Swordsman has not yet passed its test of strength. Its higher form, Mystic Swordsman LV4, has the same problem.

For monsters like Mystic Swordsman LV2, the spell card Level Up! can give them some assistance. By using Level Up!, a player can take a lower LV form and transform it into another LV form written in the LV monster’s text. In most cases this means taking a lower LV form, like Silent Swordsman LV3 and “leveling” it into its nearest higher form, Silent Swordsman LV5. The only LV monster written in the text of Silent Swordsman LV3 is its LV5 counterpart, so that will be your only choice for Level Up!

Sending a LV monster from your side of the field to the graveyard is a cost you must pay when you activate Level Up! In most cases this isn’t even an issue, but it has been a source of great confusion for one special LV monster: Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6. I can’t recount how many times I’ve been asked this question at events. It seems like it has comes up at least once at every regional I’ve judged.

This tactic works, and it works because Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6 is only protected from the effects of spell cards. Costs are another matter entirely and are not part of a spell card’s effect.

Chazz Princeton introduced us to an entirely new form of LV monster: the devastating Armed Dragon LV10. Unlike other LV monsters, Armed Dragon LV10 cannot be reached through the effect of a previous form or through the spell card Level Up! Armed Dragon LV10 is special and has its own specific demands that must be met, but once you’ve succeeded, this ferocious beast will rain destruction upon your opponent’s face-up monsters.

Chazz also introduced us to a rather uncommon tactic for LV monsters when he dueled against Alexis in the currently running second season of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. I won’t get into what this tactic was, but you may see it again. Maybe sooner than you think.

Be sure to get out to a Cyberdark Impact Sneak Preview event so you can meet our newest LV friends! Until next time, send all comments to Curtis@Metagame.com.