Cubic " Cubic " , known in the OCG as " Houkai " ( , " Hōkai " lit . " Direction World " ) is an archetype used by Aigami in the " Yu - Gi - Oh ! The Dark Side of Dimensions " film and by Sera in " TRANSCEND GAME " . Etymology . The Japanese name of the archetype , " " Hōkai " " , is written with the characters for " Direction World " ( 方界 ) . It seems to be a reference to the Buddhist term " worlds of the ten directions " ( 十方世界 , " Jippō Sekai " ) , or the " Dasa - Dikpala " . The individual " Cubic " monsters are based on the , the " Guardians of the Directions " in Hinduism . The kanji 方 can be used to form the word " cube " ( 立方 , " Rippō " ) , a geometric shape that appears on some " Cubic " cards and that is frequently seen being summoned and manipulated by Aigami . The English name of the archetype may be based on this . The cube and multiple worlds motif is referenced by the film ' s title , " The Dark Side of Dimensions " . Playing style . The monsters in the " Cubic " archetype can be largely divided into three series , the Beast " Cubic Beast " series ( with the inclusion of " Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth " ) , the Fiend " Cubic Lord " series , and the Fairy " Cubic King " series ( with the inclusion of " Indiora Doom Volt the Cubic Emperor " ) . In particular , the " Cubic Beast " and " Cubic King " series form the backbone of the archetype , with a few threads of commonality between their members . Both series emphasize a strategy of engaging the opponent ’ s monsters in battle or destroying them by battle in order to fulfill their respective listed conditions and Special Summon their higher Leveled monsters . Both series are comprised of monsters with 0 ATK and DEF , with each series having a single monster in each of the Levels from 2 - 4 . Additionally , the monsters in both series have summoning conditions that require the controller to send from the field to the Graveyard , a number of " Cubic " monsters equal to one less of their respective Levels , before Special Summoning them from the hand . However , the Level 2 and 3 monsters are Special Summon - only monsters , while the Level 4 monsters are Nomi monsters . Each of the monsters in both series have three effects with common characteristics among them . The first effect is applied if the monster is Special Summoned via its own summoning conditions , bolstering the monster ’ s ATK by the product of one less than its Level and an amount common to the series ( 1000 for the " Cubic Beast " series and 800 for the " Cubic King " series ) . The second effect is unique to the series , enabling members of the " Cubic Beast " series ( except " Dark Garnex the Cubic Beast " ) to attack a number of times per Battle Phase equal to one less of their Levels , and members of the " Cubic King " series to inflict 800 damage to the opponent when they are Special Summoned from the hand . For the Level 2 and 3 monsters , the third effect entails sending themselves to the Graveyard once a condition unique to their series ( destroying the opponent ' s monsters by battle for the " Cubic Beast " series and battling the opponent ' s monsters for the " Cubic King " series ) is met , then Special Summoning from the Graveyard , a number of copies of " Vijam the Cubic Seed " equal to their respective Levels , and finally , adding to the hand from the Deck , the monster in the series that is one Level higher than themselves , setting the controller up to Special Summon the added monster by sending the Summoned copies of " Vijam " to the Graveyard . The third effect of the Level 4 monsters instead Special Summon 3 " Cubic " monsters from the Graveyard if the monster is sent there by an opponent ' s card , and then allow the controller to add a " Cubic " card from their Deck to their hand . " Vijam " is at the the core of the majority of the archetype ' s strategies , as the effects of monsters from both series are dependent upon Special Summoning copies of it from the Graveyard to fuel their Special Summons . " Vijam " itself focuses on battling the opponent ' s monsters and then going to the Spell & Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell Card in order to place Cubic Counter s on them , which prevent them from attacking and negates their effects , keeping the opponent from battling " Cubic " monsters or using monster effects on them at a time that is inopportune to the controller . Following this , " Vijam " can simply Special Summon itself from the Spell & Trap Zone and battle another monster , repeating the process for as many times as the controller wishes , leaving the opponent ' s monsters vulnerable to attacks from members of both series once " Vijam " is used to Special Summon any of them . As both series are oriented towards battle in order to summon their higher Leveled monsters , several of the archetype ' s Spell and Trap Cards are focused on decreasing the ATK opponent ' s monsters in order to make this task easier . Another common trait shared by several Spell and Trap Cards is the placement of Cubic Counters on the opponent ' s monsters . In particular , " Cubic Wave " doubles the ATK of one of the controller ' s " Cubic " monsters and halves that of an opponent ' s monster , while also possessing an effect that lets the controller banish it and any number of " Cubic " monsters from the Graveyard , placing a number of Cubic Counters on opponent ' s monsters equal to the number of banished monsters . " Cubic Karma " sends copies of " Vijam " from the Deck to the Graveyard , while also giving one of the controller ' s " Cubic " monsters , except " Vijam " , 800 ATK per sent monster . It also halves the opponent ' s LP by sending itself to the Graveyard when " Vijam " is Special Summoned by a " Cubic " monster ' s effect during the opponent ' s turn , and can banish itself form the Graveyard to allow the controller to add a " Cubic " monster from their Deck to their hand . " Unification of the Cubic Lords " is essential for the Summon of the archetype ' s boss monster , " Crimson Nova Trinity the Dark Cubic Lord " , and can Fusion Summon it if the controller sends its Fusion Materials to the Graveyard for the hand or field . It can also banish itself from the Graveyard to enable the controller to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower " Cubic " monster from the hand or Deck , ignoring the summoning conditions and granting the summoned monster immunity to battle and effect destruction for the turn . " Cubic Mandala " lets the controller target the opponent ' s destroyed monsters in the Graveyard that were sent there that turn and Special Summon them to the opponent ' s field , whilst reducing their ATK to 0 and placing a Cubic Counter on each . The card also plays a key role in further locking down the opponent ' s other monster effects , negating any activated ones while the opponent controls the summoned monsters . " Cubic Rebirth " punishes the opponent for declaring direct attacks by Special Summoning their other copies of the attacking monster from their hand , Deck , and Graveyard , then striping those monsters of all their ATK and placing Cubic Counters on them . It then allows the controller to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower " Cubic " monster from the hand or Deck , ignoring the summoning conditions . " Duza the Meteor Cubic Vessel " is an important combo piece in the archetype , as it sends a " Cubic " card from the Deck to the Graveyard upon its Normal or Special Summon , enabling the " Cubic Beast " and " Cubic King " series to have copies of " Vijam " there to Special Summon with their third effects , should it be sent . Alternatively , the effect of " Duza " can also be used to send " Wave " , " Unification " , or " Karma " , allowing the controller to banish them for their effects without having to activate and send them to the Graveyard first . " Duza " also takes advantage of the tendency for the " Cubic Beast " and " Cubic King " series to send their monsters to the Graveyard , using this influx of monsters to boost its own ATK by 200 multiplied by the number of differently named " Cubic " monsters in the Graveyard for the turn . Duza can also serve as an immense beatstick , in the right circumstances : by summoning Duza and using Cubic Karma to send all Vijam in the deck to the Graveyard as well as a Unification of the Cubic Lords , you can boost Duza ' s attack to at least 4200 , and even use Cubic Wave to increase attack further to 8400 , while Unification of the Cubic Lords serves as a failsafe . The archetype ' s boss monsters are contained in the " Cubic Lord " series , which is comprised of Nomi monsters with high ATK , in stark contrast to the rest of the archetype ' s members , except " Duza " . As the controller may possibly amass " Cubic Beast " and " Cubic King " monsters without any means of summoning them , " Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord " can utilize that to its advantage , Special Summoning itself from the hand if the controller reveals three other differently named " Cubic " cards in the hand . Owing to the fact that it is both unaffected by activated monster effects whose ATK is equal to or below its original ATK of 3000 , and has the capability of attacking again if it destroys a monster by battle , it can serve as a formidable beatstick . This trait is also shared with " Crimson Nova Trinity " , which can be summoned by fusing three copies of " Crimson Nova " using the aforementioned " Unification of the Cubic Lords " . " Crimson Nova Trinity " also shares the multiple attack ability of its Fusion Material , whilst also being untargetable and indestructible by card effects . It is also capable of halving the opponent ' s LP each time it attacks and punishes the opponent should they attempt to skirt around it by inflicting effect damage to the controller , as it also inflicts the same amount of effect damage to the opponent in turn . Weaknesses . As both the " Cubic Beast " and " Cubic King " monsters , along with " Karma " , are heavily dependent on " Vijam " to use their effects , any effects that prevent " Vijam " from being used , such as " Psi - Blocker " and " Prohibition " , can severely cripple the archetype ' s ability to make combos and access its higher Leveled monsters . To a lesser extent , the same debilitating effects can also occur if a specific Level 3 or 4 " Cubic Beast " or " Cubic Emperor " monster is prevented from being used , as it would block the ability of the affected series from summoning it to make power plays . The problem of " Psi - Blocker " can be be addressed , however , by using the effect of " Wave " to place a Cubic Counter on it . Also , as both series focus on Special Summoning " Vijam " and to a lesser extent , other " Cubic " monsters from the Graveyard , effects that banish cards which would go to the Graveyard , such as " Dimensional Fissure " and " Macro Cosmos " , or otherwise prevent cards from being sent there , have a similar ability to shut down the archetype ' s combos by harming its recursive capabilities , especially if " Vijam " is banished with no way for the controller to retrieve it from the Banished Zone . Given that both series also require the controller to add their higher Leveled monsters from the Deck to the hand when using their third effects , the archetype is also disadvantaged if the controller has to duel against a Mill Deck . As monsters in both series , along with " Crimson Nova " , are either Nomi or Special Summon only monsters , being sent directly from the Deck to the Graveyard precludes them from being Special Summoned through their summoning conditions . While " Samsara " and " Unification " can summon " Cubic Beast " and " Cubic King " monsters by ignoring their Summoning conditions , they can only do so from the hand or Deck , rendering their effects useless if the monsters are milled . Any means the controller may have of retrieving such monsters sent to the Graveyard by a Mill Deck may also be milled as well , exacerbating the problem . As both series rely on interaction with the opponent ' s monsters through battle in order to advance their position by Summoning their higher Leveled monsters , cards that prevent the controller from initiating battle , such as " Nightmare ' s Steelcage " , " Swords of Revealing Light " , and " Threatening Roar " , will cause the archetype to slow to a crawl by preventing that advancement . This weakness can , however , be alleviated by using the effects of " Samsara " and " Unification " to Summon the monsters regardless .