Deep down inside, everyone wants to see their favorite actors, artists, sports heroes, and fictional characters to get together for a crossover! Superhero crossover movies are a pretty big deal right now, and all the major sports leagues in the United States have an all-star game of some sort. Collaborations between artists and actors are commonplace these days and are even crossing different generations of music and musicians. In 25 days, the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME will see its first true crossover when 5 different monster groups join forces in Crossed Souls!

Nekroz, Ritual Beasts, Shaddolls, Yang Zing, and ‘tellarknights each have their own “soul” that defines what the Deck does and how you operate it. Ritual Summoning is the soul of Nekroz, Xyz Summoning is the soul of ‘tellarknights, Contact Fusion is the soul of Ritual Beasts, etc. But the one thing they all have in common is the one thing that none of them have: Pendulum Monsters. By joining forces and combining their powers, 2 monsters that are members of each group also become members of a super-team of Pendulum Monsters, the Zefra!

First, a couple of rules notes. Each pair of monsters that have joined the Zefra also remain a part of their original monster group, so Satellarknight Zefrathuban is a “tellarknight” monster and a “Zefra” monster. Each pair has one monster with a Pendulum Scale of 1 and one monster with a Pendulum Scale of 7, and their un-negatable Pendulum Effects lock you into only Pendulum Summoning “Zefra” monsters and monsters from that pair’s original theme. So if you have Satellarknight Zefrathuban and Stellarknight Zefraxciton, you can Pendulum Summon “Zefra” monsters and “tellarknight” monsters, but if you have Satellarknight Zefrathuban and Shaddoll Zefracore, you can only Pendulum Summon “Zefra” monsters.

So what can you do with the Zefra monsters? Pretty much anything you can think of. Sky’s the limit. If you want to take the Zefra monsters that are for the Deck you already play and put them in there, you can do that. The main effect of every Zefra monster is something that you might see on a regular monster from that theme. If you want to play every Deck all at once and use all of the different Summoning methods at the same time, you can do that too because all of the effects are fully compatible with all of the Zefra monsters as well. If you just want to blend a couple of strategies together, for example, a true “Duelist Alliance” Deck made of ‘tellarknights, Shaddolls, and Yang Zing, you can do that too.

Whatever you decide to do, you need to make sure that you can actually get to the cards you need, when you need them. Certain monster groups, in particular ‘tellarknights, have an advantage in that category and make a strong base for your Zefra-powered Deck, but every theme will find they have better access to their own Zefra monsters along with perks for playing to their strategy if they include the new Oracle of Zefra Field Spell!

At first, Oracle of Zefra acts like Fire Formation – Tenki, adding any “Zefra” monster from your Deck to your hand when you activate it. Then, if you use a Zefra monster as part of your strategy and Tribute it for a Ritual Summon (or banish it in the case of Nekroz Mirror) or use it as one of the Materials when you Summon a Fusion Monster, Synchro Monster, or Xyz Monster, you get a bonus effect from Oracle of Zefra.

If you Summon a Fusion Monster, you get to Special Summon another monster from your hand. Shaddoll Decks are fast paced and want to knock you out of the Duel ASAP, and this effect lets them field another attacker or add a Shaddoll monster to the field to equip with Nephe Shaddoll Fusion. For Ritual Beast Tamers, this gets you more monsters to use for your Contact Fusions or the effects of Ritual Beast Steeds and Ritual Beast’s Bond and in general lets you get excess monsters out of your hand.

If you Summon a Synchro Monster, you get the “Lavalval Chain effect” of putting any monster from your Deck on top of your Deck. In a Yang Zing Deck, this combos well with Baxia, Brightness of the Yang Zing, especially if you can pull off your Synchro Summon during the opponent’s turn – something that’s way easier with the power of Zefra!

If you Xyz Summon, you get to draw 1 card and discard one card. This is perfect for getting excess ‘tellarknights out of your hand and into the Graveyard where they can be Summoned by Satellarknight Altair and Call of the Haunted, and at the same time it helps you dig for powerful Trap Cards like Stellarnova Alpha.

Finally, if you Ritual Summon, you get to shuffle a monster on the field back into the Deck. This isn’t an effect that targets, so it gives Nekroz Decks the ability to deal with things like Leo, the Keeper of Sacred Tree that are usually Summoned in such a manner that they become impossible for the average Nekroz Deck to handle unless the opponent makes a mistake.

As the week rolls on, we’ll start taking a look at how the Zefra interact with each of the five monster groups they represent, and we’ll discuss ways you can combine them all together to create a true Zefra Deck! And that’s not even all that Crossed Souls has to offer. Burning Abyss and U.A. Decks will find a treasure trove of new cards, the second wave of Infernoids awaits, there are strong individual Spell and Trap Cards that anyone can use, fantastic new monsters for your Extra Deck, and even a new friend for Droll & Lock Bird.

It’ll all come together on May 15^th when Crossed Souls launches, but you can get a Sneak Peek of the set at Official Tournament Stores the weekend before on May ^9th and/or 10^th!