The Zefra are a super-team of new monsters that unite Shaddolls, Ritual Beasts, Nekroz, ‘tellarknights, and the Yang Zing through the one thing they’ve all never had – Pendulum Summons. As Jerome showed you last week, the Zefra let you mix and match your favorite themes to make new combos and strategies. But they’re so much more than that: each Zefra’s also a powerful problem-solver for its tribe.

Pendulum Summoning and Synchro Summoning go hand-in-hand, because when you Tune with a Pendulum Monster it goes back to your Extra Deck instead of your Graveyard. That means you can Special Summon it back again and again – free Synchro Material! The powerful Field Spell Oracle of Zefra can help you seek out Zefras you need, but since your “Yang Zing” monsters replace themselves with another Yang Zing from your deck whenever they’re destroyed and sent to your Graveyard, the “Yang Zing” Zefras are ridiculously easy to get to. Let’s show you what we’re talking about.

The Yang Zings are all about Synchro Summoning, but they hit a familiar wall: no Tuner? No Synchro Summon. Zefraxi, Treasure of the Yang Zing is a Level 3 EARTH monster that has the answer: if it’s Pendulum Summoned or Special Summoned from your Main Deck, you can target any one of your other “Yang Zing” or “Zefra” monsters, then treat the target as a Tuner for the rest of the turn.

In days past, you had to rely on the Level 1 Chiwen, Light of the Yang Zing or Jiaotu, Darkness of the Yang Zing at Level 2. That was rough, because both are low Level monsters that forced you to combine very specific Synchro Materials. Now thanks to Zefraxi, anything can be a Tuner. Suddenly you’ve got Synchro plays for days. It’s way easier to unleash Baxia, Brightness of the Yang Zing, Yazi, Evil of the Yang Zing… or anything else.

…Even Metaphys Horus. Clocking in at 2300 ATK, this Level 6 showstopper gets more effects depending on what you used for its Synchro Materials: a Normal Monster makes it unaffected by other card’s effects for the turn; an Effect Monster lets you negate the effects of another face-up card on the field, permanently; and a Pendulum Monster steals a monster from your opponent! Tuning Zefraxi and Bi’an, Earth of the Yang Zing will negate a card, swipe a monster, and Bi’an’s effect will make Metaphys Horus impervious to battle.

To keep the world from exploding off its axis, Zefraxi does have a clause that sends it to the bottom of your Deck if it leaves the field. But that only happens if you use its ability to treat another monster as a Tuner. If you don’t, it’s Free Synchro Material City! Speaking of free Synchro Materials…

Zefraniu, Secret of the Yang Zing is a Level 6 for your Synchro Summons, and when it’s Pendulum Summoned or destroyed as a monster, you can search your Deck for a “Yang Zing” or “Zefra” Spell or Trap Card and add it to your hand. There are three big ways to play that ability:

-Pendulum Summon Zefraniu to get a free card, then use it for a Synchro Summon.

-Special Summon Zefraniu from your Deck with a “Yang Zing” monster effect, let it protect you with its 2600 DEF, and when your opponent punches through it get a free card.

-Pendulum Summon Zefraniu to get a free card. Then leave it on the field until your opponent gets rid of it on a later turn, and get another free card.

That’s a lot of free cards. Oracle of Zefra searches a “Zefra” monster from your Deck to your hand, and Zefraniu can snag it out for your Deck for – you guessed it – free. As a Field Spell it also has an effect that lets you stack the top card of your Deck with a monster whenever you Synchro Summon using a “Zefra” monster. That helps you assemble your combos.

Zefra Divine Strike’s a Counter Trap that lets you banish a face-up Zefra from your Extra Deck to negate the activation of a Spell or Trap Card or a monster effect, and then destroy the source card. Search it out with Zefraniu and you’ll stop whatever your opponent’s trying to do for free.

Search Yang Zing Path? Draw two cards for free. Nabbed Yang Zing Creation instead? All of your Yang Zings multiply like Kuribohs when they’re destroyed. And since you can use Zefraniu’s effect once during each turn, the momentum snowballs fast. Yang Zing Creation is particularly notable, because every time one of your regular Yang Zing is destroyed while you have Creation available, you can Summon Zefraxi and another Yang Zing of your choice, change the second Yang Zing into a Tuner, and then Synchro Summon whatever you want even during your opponent’s turn.

And that’s not all! While Zefraxi and Zefraniu make it easier for you to Synchro Summon, Crossed Souls gives you the biggest and baddest Yang Zing Synchro Monster yet: Chaofeng, Phantom of the Yang Zing. With 2800 ATK and three killer effects, it’s the boss monster Yang Zing fans have been waiting for.

-When you Synchro Summon Chaofeng, your opponent can’t activate the effects of any monsters with the same original Attribute as the Yang Zings you used as Synchro Materials.

-When Chaofeng’s Synchro Summoned, then destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, you can search any Tuner from your Deck to recover.

-Once per turn, when one of your opponent’s monsters is destroyed, you can Special Summon a Wyrm from your Deck that matches the Attribute one of the those destroyed monsters had while it was on the field.

Chaofeng locks down your opponent’s moves, and when you’re destroying your opponent’s monsters it searches out more monsters to attack and Tune. When Chaofeng’s destroyed itself, it still searches you free cards so you can take back control of the Duel. Add in the effects of the Yang Zings to make it stronger, and combo Zefraxi and Zefraniu for easy access and free cards, and you’ve got a Duel-demolishing powerhouse.

The gloves are finally off, and the Yang Zing are ready to dominate Duels! Get ready, because this May 15th Crossed Souls is literally a game-changer.