~~~A WORD ON FUSIONS~~~


I. Introduction

     In the world of Yu-Gi-Oh!, Fusions is a very controversial topic for 
all types of duelists.  Experts like them for their effects and amazing 
potential.  Beginners like them because, let's face it, they are pretty 
cool to summon.  Regardless of your experience, Fusions add a unique twist 
to any dueling deck, and, when played right, can make or break your dueling 
career.


II. The Cons

     Don't get me wrong, I realize that Fusions have their share of 
downsides.  I've experimented with them in numerous ways, and they are 
usually a pain in the neck to get onto the field.  Think about it; in order 
to summon a Fusion monster, you need a total of three cards - the two 
Fusion Material monsters and "Polymerization."

     Also realize that, with a Fusion Summon, the two Fusion Material 
monsters have to be specific cards, whereas a normal Tribute Summon can use 
any monster cards.  Let's compare two monsters, "Barrel Dragon" and "Gaia 
the Dragon Champion."  Both have an ATK strength of 2600, and both require 
two tributes in order to be summoned.  But while "Barrel Dragon" can be 
summoned by sacrificing any two monsters you may have on the Field, "Gaia 
the Dragon Champion" can only be summoned with the cards "Gaia the Fierce 
Knight" and "Curse of Dragon."

     When you take a moment to think about this, you realize that the odds 
of holding both of the needed monsters can be pretty low.  I know that you 
won't always get a bad draw, and that there are ways to speed up the 
process (as I'll get into later), but in general it is hard to assemble 
both monsters needed to make the Fusion.  When you throw in the 
"Polymerization" magic card needed, Fusions become even harder to perform.

     Even if Lady Luck is on your side, strong Fusion monsters usually 
require weak and inconvenient Fusion Material monsters.  So if your missing 
just one of the three cards required, the other two will usually just sit 
in your hand, wasting space.  I don't know about you, but when I'm in a jam 
and I need a good card right away, if I drew a crappy Fusion card, I would 
feel like forfeiting the duel right away.

     Despite all of the previously mentioned, let's assume that you've 
successfully performed a Fusion.  Now what?  Most Fusions are relatively 
weak, and are easily picked off by Level 4's such as "7 Colored Fish" and 
"Hysteric Fairy".

     Keep in mind, as well, that Fusions are just as susceptible to magic 
and trap cards as any other monsters.  Imagine working so hard to get your 
"Skull Knight" onto the field, only to have it destroyed by "Mirror Force" 
on the first attack, or by "Dark Hole" on the next turn.  And remember, 
even though a Fusion monster cannot be targeted by "Trap Hole" because it 
is considered a Special Summon, the "Polymerization" card required to 
perform the Fusion can easily be countered by numerous traps.

     To sum up the negative side of this topic, I'll just say that many 
Fusion monsters can be matched and bettered by normal monsters that are 
easier to summon.  Why go through so much trouble and waste so much space 
to create a monster that could be beaten so easily?


III. The Pros

     Do realize, however, that although they are inconvenient to summon, 
Fusion monsters can have extraordinary potential and may give you the 
advantage you need to win the duel.

     Like in the previous section, let's first look at the summoning of 
these beasts.  For the longest time, the deck that I used in my Eternal 
Duelist Soul game featured several good Fusions, and the first thing that I 
noticed was that they were immune to "Trap Hole" because they are 
considered "Special Summons."  For the same reason, you can Normal Summon a 
monster on the same turn that you perform a Fusion.  Provided you have the 
right cards, this can make it very easy to assemble a decent line-up of 
monsters for an offensive strike.

     Another thing I liked about Fusions while playing my GameBoy Advance 
game was that they made for good comebacks.  For example, one time, I had 
no cards on the field, and my opponent had a "Shining Fairy" [1400/1450] on 
their field with two "Axe of Despairs" on it, which gave it an ATK strength 
of 3400.  All I had in my hand were "Red-Eyes Black Dragon" [2400/2000], 
"Fissure", and "Meteor Black Dragon" [1800/2000].  "Fissure" wouldn't help 
because my opponent had other monsters on the field that would be destroyed 
instead of "Shining Fairy," and my two monsters both required tributes in 
order to summon.  I had only one draw left, and what do I draw? "Polymerization!"  
I used my new magic card to fuse my two monsters 
together to create the "Meteor Black Dragon" [3500/2000], just strong 
enough to defeat her "Shining Fairy!"

     I'm aware that this was an extremely lucky draw, but it happened on 
numerous occasions.  My point is that, not only do Fusions make good 
comebacks, but they also provide ways of getting high-level monsters out 
without sacrificing monsters from your field.  It is true that you are 
still paying two tributes for the Fusion monster, but Fusions allow you to 
sacrifice monsters from your hand as well as your field, which is 
considerable easier and more convenient than only from your field.

     At first, the only worthy Fusions were those with high ATK strengths, 
and everything else was, well, crap.  But as more booster packs are 
released, we are starting to see more and more Fusion monsters with effects.

     Some of these effects are used to help perform the Fusion.  Take the 
Fusions, "Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon" and "Chimera the Flying Mythical 
Beast," for example.  The Fusion Material monsters for these Fusions have 
effects that allow you to quickly assemble all of the cards needed to 
perform the Fusion.  The latter Fusion even allows you to put one Fusion 
Material monster back on your field when it is destroyed.

     Other Fusions have more lasting effects.  The most popular of these is 
"Thousand-Eyes Restrict," which allows you to take in the ATK and DEF of an 
opponent's monster and stops all other monsters from attacking.  A more 
recent Fusion, called "The Last Warrior From Another Planet," stops both 
players from summoning any more monsters, including Special Summon and Flip 
Summon.  A Fusion that isn't even out yet, called "Alligator's Sword 
Dragon," says that if the conditions are correct, it can attack your 
opponent's Life Points directly!

     Fusion monsters can give you a huge advantage, whether they slow down 
your opponent or give you massive firepower.  Although many Fusions are 
weak, some have the potential that can outweigh almost any downside.


IV. Conclusion

     All in all, I'd say that, provided your deck has the space, if you 
wanted to include Fusions in your deck, you could.  With new cards like the 
start deck version of "Polymerization" and the LON-common "Fusion Gate," it 
isn't that hard to get the cards you need to make strong Fusions.

     In today's duels, I would suggest only sticking to the effect 
monsters, and maybe "Black Skull Dragon."  Even some of the effect monsters 
may not be worth the effort needed to summon them; it depends on the 
dueling environment in your area.  Just remember to carefully consider the 
topics previously discussed, and keep in mind that nothing is set in 
stone.  There is always room for change, and when facing the ever-shifting 
nature of a Yu-Gi-Oh! duel, it is important that you are able to cope and 
adjust just as fast as the duel shifts so that you can uncover the secrets 
and strategies behind every corner!


--ssjEasterBunny

Email: ssjEasterBunny@hotmail.com

P.S.
     Corny, huh?