The trees are attacking in Shadow Specters, and their onslaught is being led by a new Rank 3 Xyz Monster – Meliae of the Trees! Don’t be deceived by Meliae’s feeble appearance – it commands a powerful arboreal army. Meliae transports Plants between the Deck, Graveyard, and field to sow the seeds of victory for its allies.

Meliae of the Trees has 2 separate effects. You can activate either one of them each turn, by detaching an Xyz Material from Meliae.

First, by detaching an Xyz Material from Meliae of the Trees, you can send a Plant-Type monster from your Deck to your Graveyard. There are lots of Plants you might want to send to your Graveyard. If you want to fill your field with Fluff Tokens, Dandylion is a prime choice to send from your Deck to your Graveyard. Dandylion Special Summons 2 Fluff Tokens to the field whenever it’s sent to the Graveyard. You may also want to send more powerful Plants from your Deck to your Graveyard with Meliae’s first effect, so that you can Special Summon them later on in the Duel.

Meliae of the Trees’s second effect works best after using its first effect. By detaching an Xyz Material from Meliae, you can Special Summon a Plant-Type monster from your Graveyard. Kick a powerful Plant like Lonefire Blossom to the Graveyard with Meliae’s first effect, and then Special Summon it with Meliae’s second effect on your next turn. Then, you can Tribute your Lonefire Blossom to Special Summon one of the Plant Princesses from your Deck.

All 3 of the Plant Princesses – Tytannial, Princess of Camellias; Talaya, Princess of Cherry Blossoms; and Mariña, Princess of Sunflowers – have a whopping 2800 ATK! That makes them the perfect monsters to Special Summon from your Deck with Lonefire Blossom’s effect, or to Special Summon directly from your Graveyard with the effect of Meliae of the Trees.

If you’re going to command the forests with Meliae of the Trees, you’ll need to Xyz Summon her first. Meliae can only be Xyz Summoned by combining 2 Level 3 EARTH monsters. Fortunately, there are lots of easy ways to get 2 Level 3 EARTH monsters on the field at the same time.

The easiest way to do it is with the effect of Crane Crane. Crane Crane is a Level 3 EARTH monster that Special Summons another Level 3 monster from the Graveyard when it’s Normal Summoned. Special Summon a Level 3 EARTH monster like Dandylion, Card Trooper, Hedge Guard, or another Crane Crane, and you’ll immediately be able to Xyz Summon Meliae of the Trees.

Meliae of the Trees isn’t just your garden-variety Xyz Monster. It gives a big boost to Plant Decks and sets them up for success after its Xyz Summoned. Use Meliae in your Extra Deck to bury your opponent’s monsters with your Plants!