Basic FAQ: Monster Types & Attributes

In one of the previous articles we explained the different parts of Monster Cards. Now we are going to talk about two of them. Let's take a look at Jinzo again.



Attributes

Each Monster has an attribute. There are six kinds of them in the game:







We can see that Jinzo is a DARK monster. DARK attribute monsters (as well as all other attributes) can benefit from special effects designed specifically for their type. Take Mystic Plasma Zone for example. That is called a Field Spell Card, but we will talk about that later. Right now all we need to know is that it gives all DARK attribute monsters an extra 500 ATK points, but reduces their DEF by 400. What that means is that when activated, our Jinzo will change its ATK to 2900, but reduce its DEF to 1100 points. Also because Jinzo is a DARK attribute, it cannot be used for the effects of cards like Moray of Greed.

Note: There is a seventh element called Divine
. The only cards that use it are the three Egyptian God cards and The Creator God of Light, Horakhty.

Note: Some of the Monsters in the game can be treated as multiple attributes, like Elemental Hero Electrum.

Types

Now lets look at Jinzo's Type. Types do the same things as Attributes - they divide monsters into several groups and each one of those groups has its own support cards. There are 21 types of monsters in the TCG/OCG:
Aqua, Beast, Beast-Warrior, Dinosaur, Divine-Beast, Dragon, Fairy, Fiend, Fish, Insect, Machine, Plant, Psychic, Pyro, Reptile, Rock, Sea Serpent, Spellcaster, Thunder, Warrior, Winged Beast, & Zombie.

Jinzo is a Machine-Type monster, meaning it could benefit from cards like Limiter Removal , but cannot be equipped with cards like Lightning Blade.

Note: As seen above, there is a type called Divine-Beast which is used exclusively by the Egyptian Gods.