Glossary

This page is for any gameplay terminology, whether it's official (in OCG/TCG, Anime, Manga, Video Game), or fan-made.

*For faster search, hit Ctrl+F (or any "search for" function in your browser app), and type in the term you want to search for.*

A

* **Advance Summon**: *Also known as **Tribute Summon**.* A type of Normal Summon, where you tribute a monster(s) on the field to summon a high-level monster (**5~6**: 1 tribute **7+**: 2 tribute, unless a card specifies).
* **Attack Position**: Monster that has been placed vertically. Face-down Attack Position cease exist since the errata change of "**Darkness Approaches**".
* **ATK**: *Short for **Attack Points**.* One of the primary stats for a Monster Cards, located below a monster favor/lore or effects. Represented that monster offensive power.
* **Attribute**: One of the stats for a Monster Cards, located next to monster name. There's total of 7 Attributes in the OCG/TCG: Earth, Light, Dark, Wind, Water, Fire, and Divine. There also some Attributes that only used in early video games, such as Thunder and Wood. Some card effects is depend on the monster Attributes.

B

* **Banish**: *Formerly known as **Remove from play**.* A pile of cards that is removed from the game by certain card effects (such as "**Gravedigger Ghoul**"). In the video games, the Banished Zone is located right next to the Graveyard.
* **Battle Phase**: A fourth phase that each turn cycle happened. During this phase, a Attack Position Monster you control may declared an attack on your opponent's monster.
* **Beatdown**: A term use for the Deck that rely on Monsters with high Attack Points to overpower the opponent's.
* **Brick**: A term use for a hand that contain a cards that useless at that situation.
* **Buff**: A term use for a Monster, Spell, or Trap cards that have their ATK/DEF or their card effects changed to make them stronger.
* **Burn**: A term use for a Deck that using a monsters and mostly a card effects to reduced their opponent's LP as fast as possible.

C

* **Clash**: A term used for a monster attacking another monster with the same ATK.
* **Continuous Spell/Trap**: A type of Spell or Trap Card with this symbol: . Unlike most other type, this type of Spell/Trap will stay on the field.
* **Cookie Cutter**: A term used for the Deck that doesn't have a unique cards or strategies.
* **Counter Trap**: A type of Trap Card with this symbol: . This type of Trap have a Spell Speed 3, the fastest of all Spell Speed.

D

* **DARK**: One of the seven main Attributes for a monster cards.
* **Deck Out**: A term used when a player's cannot draw a card(s) due to their Deck ran out of card(s) to draw. That player automatically lose the Duel.
* **Deck Zone**: A place on the field where you placed your Main Deck face-down. This Zone usually located at the bottom right corner of the field.
* **DEF**: *Short for **Defense Points**.* Another primary stats for a Monster Cards, located below a monster favor/lore or effects, and right next to ATK. Represented that monster defensive power.
* **Defense Position**: Monster that has been placed horizontally.
* **Direct Attack**: When there's no monsters on your opponent's field, you may attack your opponent's directly.
* **DRAW**: A rare occurrence when both player's Life Points becomes 0 simultaneously, or by other card effects (such as "**Last Turn**").
* **Draw Phase**: A first phase that each turn cycle happened. During this phase, player draw 1 card from their Deck.

E

* **Effect Monster**: A orange colored Monster Cards. This term can also be used for a Monster Cards that have at least 1 effect.
* **End Phase**: A sixth and final phase that each turn cycle happened. Certain card effects may activated during this phase.
* **Equip Spell**: A type of Spell Card with this symbol: . This type of Spell usually target a monster on the field to "Equip" to this card. This kind of Spell Card stay on the field until the equipped monster leave the field.
* **Errata**: Changes of text on the card, either to balance the effects, fix mistakes, update a card's terminology, or to clarify the behavior of a card.
* **Exodia**: An archetype of DARK Spellcaster-Type monsters, most notably "**Exodia the Forbidden One**", in which if you have this card in your hand along with "**Left Arm of the Forbidden One**", "**Right Arm of the Forbidden One**", "**Left Leg of the Forbidden One**", and "**Right Leg of the Forbidden One**", you'll automatically won the Duel.
* **Extra Deck**: *Formerly known as **Fusion Deck**.* A pile of cards consist of Fusion, Synchro, XYZ, Pendulum, and Link Monsters. Standard format Extra Deck size is 0~15, Speed Duel format is 0~6. This is completely optional.
* **Extra Deck Zone**: *Formerly known as **Fusion Deck Zone***. A place on the field where you placed your Extra Deck face-down. This Zone usually located at the bottom left corner of the field.
* **Extra Monster Zones**: A place on the field that you can placed a monster that summoned from the Extra Deck. If you would Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, it must be placed here, or placed on the Main Monster Zone a Link Monster points to, but after April 2020 rules revision, Fusion, Synchro, and XYZ Monsters can be Special Summoned to either Extra Monster Zone or a Main Monster Zone. There only 2 Extra Monster Zones on the field (located above the Main Monster Zones), and if a player already controls a monster in one Extra Monster Zone, they cannot Summon a monster in the other Extra Monster Zone unless there is an Extra Link to the other Extra Monster Zone.

F

* **Field Spell**: A type of Spell Card with this symbol: . This kind of Spell Card can only be placed onto the Field Zone.
* **Field Zone**: *Formerly known as **Field Card Zone***. A place on the field where you activated or set a Field Spell Card. This Zones usually located at the top left of the field.
* **Flip**: An act of flipping a card on the field, whether it goes from face-down to face-up, and vice versa. Also used for a monster ability that activated it effect when it flipped face-up.
* **Flip Summon**: A kind of summon that flip the face-down defense position monster into face-up attack position.
* **Forbidden**: One of the status in the Forbidden & Limited List. Your Deck cannot contain any Forbidden cards.
* **Forbidden & Limited List**: A list of cards that show how many copies of that cards are allowed in a player's combined Main Deck, Extra Deck, and Side Deck.
* **FTK**: *Short for **Five Turn Kill**.* A term used for the Duel that finished in five turns or less.
* **Fusion Materials**: A list of Monster Card located below the monster Type, which required to Fusion Summon that Fusion Monster (some Fusion Monster required an exact Fusion Materials).
* **Fusion Monster**: A purple colored Monster Cards that must first be properly Fusion Summoned before it can be Special Summon from the Graveyard.
* **Fusion Summon**: A kind of Special Summon, that usually required a Spell Card "**Polymerization**"/"**Fusion**", then you must send the Fusion Materials that listed on that Fusion Monster from your hand and/or on your side of the field to the Graveyard.

G

* **GY**: *Short for **Graveyard**.* A place on the field where you placed a pile of used Spell & Trap Cards, and Monster that were destroyed, tributed, and etc. This Zones usually located at the top right of the field.

H

* **Hand**: At the start of a Duel, player's draw 5 cards to form their Hand.
* **Hand Size Limit**: A maximum number of cards in his/her hand at the end of each of their turn, should they go over the limit during the End Phase, they must discard a card(s) until their hand is equal to the limit. Standard format hand size limit is 6.
* **Hand Trap**: An unofficial term, used for a monster effect that activated by discarding itself from your hand (usually a quick effect).
* **Heal**: A term use for a Deck that using a monsters and mostly a card effects to increased their LP as much as possible.

I

J

K

L

* **Level**: An orange circle with a yellow star on it . One of the stats for a Monster Card, located below monster name and Attribute. Monster Level can be anywhere between 1~12 (though there is Level 0 monster, but their original Level is always treated as 12).
* **Limited**: One of the status in the Forbidden & Limited List. Your Deck may contain only one copies of that cards.
* **LP**: *Short for **Life Points**.* Represented players health. Each players start with a set number of Life Points (usually 8000), and the player who loses all their Life Points, lose the Duel.

M

* **Main Deck**: A pile of cards consist of Monster, Spell, and Trap. Standard format Deck size is 40~60, Speed Duel format is 20~30.
* **Main Monster Zones**: A place on the field where you usually summoned a monster to. You can have up to 5 monsters at a time. This Zones usually located at the upper center of the field.
* **Main Phase 1**: A third phase that each turn cycle happened. During this phase, player may Normal Summon/Set a monster, activate a Spell Card, or Set a Trap Card.
* **Main Phase 2**: A fifth phase that each turn cycle happened. During this phase, player may Normal Summon/Set a monster (if you haven't already), activate a Spell Card, or Set a Trap Card.
* **Mill**: The act of sending cards from the top of a player's Deck to the Graveyard. This term also used in **Magic: the Gathering**.
* **Monster Cards**: Currently, there total of 8 Monster Card Type in the OCG/TCG: Normal, Effect, Ritual, Fusion, Synchro, XYZ, and Link. Pendulum Monster can also have those Card Type properties (excluding a Link Monster).
* **Monster Type**: Located below the card artwork, represent the monster "tribe" grouping. Currently there's total of 26 Monster Types in the OCG/TCG: Aqua, Beast, Beast-Warrior, Creator God, Cyberse, Dinosaur, Divine-Beast, Dragon, Fairy, Fiend, Fish, Illusion, Insect, Machine, Plant, Psychic, Pyro, Reptile, Rock, Sea Serpent, Spellcaster, Thunder, Warrior, Winged Beast, Wyrm, and Zombie. Some card effects required certain Type.

N

* **Nerf**: A term use for a Monster, Spell, or Trap cards that have their ATK/DEF or their card effects changed to make them weaker, to potentially remove them from the Forbidden/Limited list.
* **Normal Monster**: A yellow/vanilla colored monster cards. This term can also be used for a Monster Cards that doesn't have any effects.
* **Normal Spell/Trap**: A type of Spell or Trap Card that have no symbol on them.
* **Normal Summon**: A once per turn action where you summon a monster in face-up attack position, or face-down defense position.

O

* **One Piece**: Derived from a Spell Card "**One Day of Peace**", as a joke by a certain thai players.
* **OP**: *Short for **Overpower**.* A term used for a card effects that is way too powerful, and usually will be put into the Forbidden & Limited List, or change the errata to make them weaker.
* **OTK**: *Short for **One Turn Kill**.* A term used for the Duel that finished in very first of his/her turn.

P

* **Pendulum Zones**: A place on the field where you placed a Pendulum Monster to use their Pendulum Effects, or to do a Pendulum Summon. Normally the left Pendulum Zone is located in between the Field Zone and Extra Deck Zone, and the right Pendulum Zone was located in between the Graveyard and the Deck Zone, but after the New Master Rule, the Pendulum Zones now merged with Spell & Trap Zones, located in the leftmost and rightmost Spell & Trap Zones. These Zones will be treated as Pendulum Zones only if there is a Pendulum Monster (that is not treated as an Equip Card) in that zone.
* **Phase**: Each player's turn is comprised of 6 phases: Draw Phase, Standby Phase, Main Phase 1, Battle Phase, Main Phase 2, and End Phase.

Q

* **Quick-Play Spell**: A type of Spell Card with this symbol: . This type of Spell have a Spell Speed 2, and can be activate during your opponent's turn if you set them for 1 turn.

R

* **Ritual Monster**: A light blue colored Monster Cards that must first be properly Ritual Summoned before it can be Special Summon from the Graveyard.
* **Ritual Spell**: A type of Spell Card with this symbol: . You need it to Ritual Summon a Ritual Monster.
* **Ritual Summon**: A kind of Special Summon, that usually required a Ritual Spell Card with a Ritual Monster in your hand that can be Ritual Summoned with that Ritual Spell, then you Tribute a monster(s) in your hand (and/or your side of the field) whose total Level is equal or higher than that Ritual Monster.

S

* **Semi-Limited**: One of the status in the Forbidden & Limited List. Your Deck may contain up to two copies of that cards.
* **Set**: An act of placing a card face-down onto the field.
* **Side Deck**: A pile of cards that separate from the Main and Extra Deck. In which the players use to exchange cards between each round of Match Duel. The Side Deck size is 0~15, and after the exchange, Main, Extra, and Side Deck must have the same number of cards at the beginning of the Match. Though this is completely optional.
* **Special Summon**: Unlike the Normal Summon, you can Special Summon as many times as you like (unless certain card effects prevent you from doing so).
* **Spell Card**: *Formerly known as **Magic Card**.* A green colored cards that can be activated from your hand during your turn (aside from certain Spell Type), Spell can be split into 6 Types: **Normal**, **Continuous**, **Equip**, **Quick-Play**, **Field**, and **Ritual**. There also a **Link Spell Card** in the anime.
* **Spell Speed**: Determine how "fast" a card effect resolves after activation, there's total of 3 Spell Speed. When a card effect activates on a Chain, only effects with an equal or greater Spell Speed can respond to it (but Spell Speed 1 cannot be used in response to another Spell Speed 1 effect).
* **Spell & Trap Zones**: *Formerly known as **Spell & Trap Card Zones***. A place on the field where you usually activate a Spell Cards, or Set a Trap Cards. You can have up to 5 Spell & Trap Cards at a time. This Zones usually located at the lower center of the field.
* **Spell/Trap Type**: Located below the card name and Attribute (where the monster Level is). Determine the type of that Spell or Trap Card.
* **Stall**: A term used for the Deck that focus on protecting their LP, negate their opponent's attack, or making the game longer as much as possible.
* **Standby Phase**: A second phase that each turn cycle happened. Certain card effects can be activated during this phase.

T

* **Trap Card**: A magenta colored cards that must be set for 1 turn from your hand before it can be activated. Trap can be split into 3 Types: **Normal**, **Continuous**, and **Counter**.
* **Tribute**: *Also known as **Release** and **Sacrifice**.* An act of sending a monster from the hand or field to the Graveyard, whether it for a Tribute Summon/Set, or as a cost of certain card effects.

U

* **Unlimited**: One of the status in the Forbidden & Limited List. Your Deck may contain up to three copies of that cards.

V

W

X

* **XYZ Monster**:

Y

Z