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{{Redirect|Spirit|the [[archetype]]|[[""Spirit "" (archetype)]]|the Type|Spirit (Type)}}

| image name = LastTurn-TF04TF05-JP-VG-artwork.jpgpng | image caption = "Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi" and "Yamata Dragon" in the artwork of "Last Turn"

| kanji = スピリット(モンスター)<ref group=Notes>The parentheses here specify what part is not shown on the cards' [[Type]]/[[Ability]] line.</ref> | romaji = Supiritto (monsutā) | japanese translated = | english = Spirit (monster) | french = (monstre) Spirit | german = Spirit(-Monster) (Geister Monster in the anime) | italian = (mostro) Spirit | korean = 스피릿 (몬스터) ''Seupirit (Monseuteo)'' | spanish = (monstruo) Spirit | portuguese = (monstro) Espírito<br/>Formerly: Spirit |chinese =靈魂(怪獸) ''Línghún (Guàishòu) / Ling4 wan4 (Gwaai3 sau3)''

| sets =

* [[Circuit Break]]* [[Dawn of Majesty]]* [[Cyberstorm Access]] | anime =

| list = List of Spirit monsters | support list = List of Spirit monster support cards | anti-support list = List of Spirit monster anti-support cards

'''Spirit monsters''' (スピリットモンスター ''Supiritto monsutā'') are [[Effect Monster]]s with the [[ability]] "Spirit". With the exception of the [[Special Summon Monster]] "[[Yamato-no-Kami]]" and "[[Shinobird]]" [[Ritual Monster]]sUsually, they cannot be [[Special Summon]]ed , and each have an effect that returns them to their owner's the [[hand ]] during the [[End Phase]] of the turn they are [[Normal Summon]]ed or [[flip]]ped [[face-up]] (or the turn they are Special Summoned, in case of Spirit monsters that must be Special Summoned). They debuted in ''[[Mythological Age]]'' and first received support in ''[[The Duelist Genesis]]'', almost 7 years later.

The designs of many most Spirit monsters are based on icons beings from Eastern mythology, primarily Japanese ones. They all have very similar purple backgrounds, ostensibly the ''Spirit Worldand often feature ''. Their OCG names are in [[Wikipediawikipedia:KanjiOnibi|kanjionibi]], but the [[Wikipedia:Furigana|furigana]] is in [[Wikipedia:Katakana|katakana]] which normally would indicate a foreign-language word'' lights on their card artworks.

==History==There are no [[archetype]]s focused on Spirit monsters debuted in '', but the [[Mythological AgeShinobird]]'' and received support for the first time in ''[[The Duelist GenesisMartial Art Spirit]] [[series]]'', which was released almost 7 years laterdo. When they While most Spirit monsters are reprintednot members of an archetype, it is usually in a few Spirit monsters belong to the "[[Ice Barrier]]" ("[[Sacred Spirit of the Ice Barrier]]") and "[[Gishki]]" ("[[Structure DeckGishki Natalia]]s " and "[[Tournament PackGishki Emilia|Emilia]]s") archetypes, both of which exist in the [[Duel Terminal]] card storyline; these Spirit monsters are not based on mythological figures, but instead represent revived spirits of deceased characters in their storyline.

There are no [[archetype]]s focused on ==Characteristics=====Shared effects===Most Spirit monsters. The only share the following two archetypes that have Spirit monsters as members are "[[Ice Barrier]]" ("[[Sacred Spirit of the Ice Barrier]]") and "[[Gishki]]" ("[[Gishki Natalia]]" and "[[Gishki Emilia|Emilia]]")effects:* Cannot be Special Summoned. Both archetypes are [[WATER]]-Attribute* Once per turn, and their Spirit monsters don't represent any mythological figureduring the End Phase, instead representing revived spirits of dead characters of their storyline. All of these Spirit monsters were introduced in if this card was Normal Summoned or flipped face-up this turn: Return it to the ''[[Hidden Arsenal (series)|Hidden Arsenal]]'' serieshand.

Due The effect to return to the low speed of a dedicated Spirit Deck, as well as their lack of Special Summons and field presence, hand during the End Phase only activates during the turn they are Normal Summoned or flipped face-up. If they never experienced competitive relevance as a Deck theme do not return to the hand in that End Phase (although individual members did). There are several competitively noteworthy Spirit monsters, such as due to "[[Yata-GarasuDimensionhole]]", the fundamental part of the ''[[Yata-Garasu Lockdown]]'', which has long been or "[[ForbiddenChalice]]; "), this effect does not activate in subsequent turns. If a Spirit monster with this effect was [[TsukuyomiSpecial Summon]]", ed face-up (which used to be Forbidden due to its ability to would usually require an effect that [[SetIgnoring the Summoning conditions|ignores the Summoning conditions]] [[Flip monster]]s again to allow them to ), then this effect does not activate their effects again, enabling powerful loops; and "[[Asura Priest]]", whose ability to attack every opposing monster as it was unique at the time of its releasenot Normal Summoned or flipped face-up.

===In the anime===These effects are not universal among all Spirit monsters. Notable exceptions include:In the ''* The [[Martial Art Spirit]]s can be [[Yu-Gi-Oh! (anime)|Yu-Gi-Oh!Special Summon]]'' animeed. They return to the hand during the End Phase of the turn they were Normal Summoned or flipped face-up, in episodes like most Spirit monsters.* "[[YuYamato-Gino-Oh! - Episode 117|117Kami]] and ", "[[Yu-Gi-Oh! - Episode 118|118Konohanasakuya]]", and the [[Noah KaibaShinobird]] used Spirit monsters in his duel against Ritual Monsters cannot be Normal Summoned/Set; they must be Special Summoned by their own Summoning procedure or [[Yami YugiRitual Summon]]. According They return to him, the Spirit monsters hand during the End Phase of the turn they were created by Special Summoned.* "[[Amaterasu]]" cannot be Normal or Special Summoned; it must be [[Maximillion PegasusNormal Set]] when he was traveling , and it still returns itself to Eastern Asia and drew inspiration from hand during the End Phase of the religions and mythologies from that regionturn it is flipped up.

In ''==Design==Most Spirit monsters are based on specific beings from Oriental mythology, which includes both Japanese [[Yu-Gi-Oh! GXwikipedia:Yōkai|Yōkai]]'' and ''various other Asian folklore. The only Spirit monsters not specifically based on Oriental mythology are the [[Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-VMartial Art Spirit]]''s, "Asura Priest" and "Dark Dust the Spirit" had cameo appearances, in episodes monsters belonging to the [[Duel Terminal]] storyline. The [[Shinobird]] [[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX - Episode 111|111series]] and is, as a whole, based on the story of the ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V - Episode 021wikipedia:Tanabata|21Tanabata]], respectively''.

==Text==Latest effect text (using Most of these Spirit monsters' Japanese names are written in [[Problem-Solving Card Textwikipedia:Kanji|PSCTkanji]]) reads as followwith [[wikipedia:{{QuoteFurigana|Cannot be Special Summoned. furigana]] written in [[...wikipedia:Katakana|katakana]] Once per turn, during the End Phase, if this card was Normal Summoned or flipped face-up ; this turn: Return it is a reference to how Japanese orthography commonly writes the handnames of major Japanese ''kami'' in katakana.}}

{| class==Playing "wikitable" style=="text-align: center" |+ {{nowrap|Mythological Spirit monsters return to the hand during }}! Spirit monster !! Origin|-| [[Konohanasakuya]] || [[wikipedia:Konohanasakuya-hime|Konohanasakuya-hime]]|-| [[Amaterasu]] || [[wikipedia:Amaterasu|Amaterasu]]|-| [[Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi]] || [[wikipedia:Kagu-Tsuchi|Kagutsuchi]]|-| [[Yamata Dragon]] || [[wikipedia:Yamata no Orochi|Yamata no Orochi]]|-| [[Dark Dust Spirit]] || [[wikipedia:Shinigami|Shinigami]]|-| [[Yamato-no-Kami]] || [[wikipedia:Susanoo|Susanoo]] and the End Phase heads of the turn they were Normal Summoned [[wikipedia:Yamata no Orochi|Yamata no Orochi]]|-| [[Fenghuang]] || [[wikipedia:Fenghuang|Fenghuang]] or flipped face"Hou-up, so it is difficult to maintain field presence. This can be worked around with cards like Ou"|-| [[Great Long Nose]] || [[wikipedia:Tengu|Red Nose Tengu]]|-| [[Spiritual Energy Settle MachineSusa Soldier]]", "|| [[Mirror of Yatawikipedia:Susanoo|Susanoo]]" and "[[Izanagiwikipedia:Kusanagi|Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi]]|-| [[Yaksha]] || [[wikipedia:Yaksha|Yaksha]]|-| [[Rasetsu]] || [[wikipedia:Rakshasa|Rakshasa]]|-| [[Amano-Iwato]] || [[wikipedia:Amano-Iwato|Ama no Iwato]]"|-| [[Hebo, which allow Spirit monsters to remain on Lord of the field in spite of their effects. AlsoRiver]] || [[wikipedia:Kappa|Kappa]] or [[wikipedia:Hebo|Hebo]]|-| [[Asura Priest]] || [[wikipedia:Asura|Asura]]|-| [[Maharaghi]] || [[wikipedia:Dogū|Shakoukidoguu]]|-| [[Fushi No Tori]] || [[wikipedia:Phoenix|Phoenix]]|-| [[Izanami]] || [[wikipedia:Izanami|Izanami]]|-| [[Tsukuyomi]] || [[wikipedia:Tsukuyomi|Tsukuyomi]]|-| [[Gundari]] || [[wikipedia:Kuṇḍali|Kuṇḍali]]|-| [[Aratama]], "[[Shinobaron PeacockNikitama]]" , and "[[Shinobaroness PeacockSakitama]] || [[wikipedia:Mitama|Mitama]]|-| [[Inaba White Rabbit]] || [[wikipedia:Hare_of_Inaba|Hare of Inaba]]|-| [[Otohime]] || [[wikipedia:Oto-hime|Oto-hime]]" can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Spirit monster (|-| [[ignoring the Summoning conditionsYata-Garasu]]), which in turn will stay on the field, since it will not have been Normal Summoned. Alternately, some cards provide positive effects whenever a Spirit monster returns to the player's hand|| [[wikipedia: "Three-legged crow|Three-legged crow]]|-| [[Kinka-byo]] || [[Spirit's Invitationwikipedia:bakeneko|Bakeneko]]" forces an opponent's monster to return to the hand whenever a Spirit returns to the hand.|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" |+ {{nowrap|Spirit monsters have a wide variety of effects, including searching for cards (e.g. "support}}! Support card !! Origin|-| [[AratamaIzanagi]]"), allowing an extra Normal Summon (e.g. "|| [[Nikitamawikipedia:Izanagi|Izanagi]]"), retrieving fallen monsters (e.g. "|-| [[IzanamiMirror of Yata]]"), locking the opponent's attacks (e.g. "|| [[Great Long Nosewikipedia:Yata no Kagami|Yata no Kagami]]"), and destroying all monsters the opponent controls (e.g. "|-| [[Dark Dust SpiritSword of Kusanagi]]"). "Shinobaron Peacock" and "Himekujaku" Special Summon a Spirit monster || [[ignoring its Summoning conditionswikipedia:Kusanagi no Tsurugi|Kusanagi no Tsurugi]] while getting rid |-| [[Orb of up to 3 opposing cards in the process, and "Yasaka]] || [[Shinobird Salvationwikipedia:Yasakani no Magatama|Yasakani no Magatama]]" destroys an opposing card once per turn when a Spirit monster returns to the hand.|}

Since Spirit monsters only return , as an individual Spirit-focused deck, are focused on overcoming their negative self-restrictions, and utilizing Spirit support cards to bring out powerful individual Spirit monsters and use their strong effects in the hand during the End Phase of the one turn they stay on the field. Due to their Main Deck nature and Special Summoning restriction, Spirit-focused Decks are primarily focused on [[Normal Summoned or flipped face-upSummon|Normal]] and [[Tribute Summon]]ing; however, if they fail to return to Spirit Decks focused on the hand, such as due to "[[DimensionholeShinobird]]" or "Ritual Spirit boss monsters focus on [[Forbidden ChaliceRitual Summon]]", they will not return to the hand in subsequent turnsing instead.

===Recommended cards===Some of the generic cards While Spirit monsters can be played as staple monsters in historical Decks due to having relatively strong effects that may help a made up for their negative effects (relative to their contemporaries), most Spirit Deck include:monsters have become obsolete as the metagame progressed.

* Spirit monsters have a wide variety of effects. Key Spirit monsters that provide consistency include "[[Gorz the Emissary of DarknessAratama]]", a monster searcher, "[[TragoediaNikitama]]" and "[[Battle FaderSakitama]]": due , who grant extra Normal Summons to the lack of field presenceSpirits, the player is likely to be frequently open for direct attacks. Alsoand "[[Konohanasakuya]]", these monsters can be used as fodder for the Tribute a Special Summon of extender with a GY effect to let a Spirit monsterstay on the field (by preventing its return-to-hand effect from activating).

* "[[Marshmallon]]" and "[[Major Spirit Reaper]]": Since these boss monsters cannot be destroyed in battle, they can be survive long enough to be used as tributes for a high-level monster, as long as your opponent doesn't use card effects to destroy them. Use "[[My Body as a Shield]]", "[[Magic Jammer]]", "[[Seven Tools of include the Bandit]]", and other spell/trap/destruction negation cards to protect them.following:

* "[[Black Luster Soldier Hino- Envoy of the BeginningKagu-Tsuchi]]": empties the opponent's entire hand before their Draw Phase if it can be a great inflicts battle damage.* "[[beatstickYamata Dragon]], and can be Summoned by banishing, for example, "Nikitama", fills its controller's hand with up to 5 cards if it inflicts battle damage.* "[[OtohimeDark Dust Spirit]]", destroys all other face-up monsters when Normal Summoned.* "[[Asura PriestFenghuang]]" or destroys all of the opponent's Set Spell/Traps when Normal Summoned.* "[[Effect VeilerAmaterasu]]" and "Yamato-no-Kami", "which can only be [[AratamaNormal Set|Set]]", will [[Banish]] every card on the field other than itself if it flips face-up.* "[[Great Long NoseAmano-Iwato]]" etc, giving which prevents all non-Spirit monsters from activating their effects. It is arguably the fallen most powerful Spirit monsters boss monster, as it can be easily summoned, and provides a last utilitystrong continuous lockdown effect, providing real field presence in the opponent's turn if the player manages to have "Amano-Iwato" stay on the field.

* The Ritual Spirit monsters "[[Forbidden ChaliceShinobaron Peacock]]" and "[[Shinobaroness Peacock]]": can be very useful, despite their status as it can negate the signature effect of Ritual monsters, are arguably the most accessible, powerful, and relevant Spirit monsters and keep them on in the fieldgame. Use this card after you used their main effectBeing Ritual monsters, they have access to large amounts of Ritual support, like after attacking with including the powerful "Hino[[Pre-Kagu-TsuchiPreparation of Rites]]" or after destroying a . Their Ritual Spell/Trap Card with , "Yamato-no-Kami[[Shinobird's Calling]]", can use GY Spirit monsters as resources for their Ritual Summon. This card is more valuable when used on high-level monstersOnce Summoned, such as they can both remove up to 3 opposing cards and Special Summon a Spirit monster [[ignoring its Summoning conditions]] (typically "Great Long Nose" or "Yamata Dragon[[Amano-Iwato]]", or Spirits whose effects don't activate which will stay on the field), and after they return to the hand in the End Phase, will float into two tokens. These two Ritual monsters are easily accessible and instantly provide removal and board presence upon being Normal Summoned or flipped face-uphitting the field, such as "Asura Priest" or "Fushi No Tori"making them extremely effective Spirit boss monsters.

* "[[D.D. Sprite]]": this monster can also be used to keep a Spirit monster on the fieldIn terms of supportive Spell/Traps, Spirits lack efficient consistency Spell/Traps, and since it is a [[Tuner monster]], it can allow the Deck to perform [[Synchro Summon]]smostly have obsolete battle-focused Spell/Traps or conditional card effects that remove their self-return effects. "[[Ancient Sacred Wyvern]]" is a useful [[Synchro Monster]] that can be Summoned by using one of the Level 6 Two Spirit monsters; since the Deck frequently has cards support Spell/Traps that increase the difference between the players' [[LP]] (still have some relevancy are "[[Spring of RebirthShinobird Power Spot]]", "[[Orb of Yasaka]]"which provides stat boosts and conditional searches, and "[[Fushi No ToriShinobird Salvation]]", etc.), this which destroys an opposing card when a Spirit monster can be used at its maximum potentialreturns to the hand.

* "[[Creature Swap]]"/"[[Mystic Box]]": the Spirit monster given to the opponent will return to its owner's hand anyway{{Decklist|Recommended cards<!-- This is not an exact Decklist.Do not add multiples or staples.-->

|effect monsters =* "[[The Monarchs StormforthBattle Fader]]"/"* [[Soul ExchangeBlack Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning]]* [[Electromagnetic Turtle]]* [[Speedroid Menko]]": These cards can be used to get rid of an opponent's monster while also Tribute Summoning a Spirit monster.

|spirit monsters =* "[[Soul TransitionAmano-Iwato]]": this card's drawback of not allowing Special Summons during the turn it is used generally is not a problem. It is best used if the monster tributed as cost is "Nikitama", while you control another Spirit monster, preferably "Aratama": in this scenario it is possible to draw 3 cards while also replacing the Tributed "Nikitama" with another copy of it, searched by "Aratama". {{Decklist|Recommended cards|monsters =<!-- This is not an exact Decklist. Do not add multiples or staples.-->* [[Amaterasu]]

* [[KinkaYata-byoGarasu]] |tuner monsters =* [[D.D. Sprite]] |pendulum monsters =* [[Disablaster the Matchless Turret]] |ritual monsters =

* [[Izanagi]]* [[Battle Fader]]* [[D.D. Sprite]]* [[Level Eater]]* [[Marshmallon]]* [[Speedroid Menko]]* [[Spirit Reaper]]* [[Electromagnetic Turtle]]* [[Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning]]* [[Gorz the Emissary of Darkness]]* [[TragoediaShinobaroness Peacock]]

* [[Slacker Magician]]* [[Daigusto EmeralConstellar Ptolemy M7]]

|normal spells =<!-- This is not an exact Decklist. Do not add multiples or staples.-->* [[Creature Swap]]* [[Mystic Box]]* [[Soul Exchange]] |equip spells =* [[Mirror of Yata]]* [[Orb of Yasaka]]

* [[Creature Swap]]|quick-play spells =* [[Mystic BoxForbidden Chalice]]

|normal traps =<!-- This is not an exact Decklist. Do not add multiples or staples.-->* [[Legacy of Yata-Garasu]] (Combine with "Creature Swap" or , "Mystic Box", or "Hebo, Lord of the River")* [[Soul Transition]]* [[The Golden Apples]] |continuous traps =* [[Metal Reflect Slime]]

* [[Metal Reflect Slime]]* [[The Golden Apples]]* [[Soul TransitionThere Can Be Only One]]

* The main weaknesses Despite having several strong boss monsters, the lack of the consistency support for Spirit Monsters are the fact that they can't stay on the field for long monsters, and cannot be Special Summoned (except "Yamato-No-Kami"), which make them having limited swarming capabilities. Due their inability to swarm the difficulty in maintaining field advantagefor combo plays, this Deck is susceptible still makes it difficult to direct attacksquickly summon Spirit boss monsters. Most Spirit decks thus play extremely slowly, so [[Beatdown]] and [[Aggro]] Decks, like "[[Six Samurai]]", "[[Dark World]]", "[[Yosenju]]", "[[Karakuri]]", "[[Noble Knight]]", "[[Spellbook]]", etc are good against this Decktheir plays can be easily disrupted.* [[Stall]] Decks are a large threat Because Spirit monsters have return to this Deckthe hand during the End Phase, since it is inherently slow due to its lack of swarming and Spirit Decks have very little field presence. If "Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi" or "Yamata Dragon" is Summoned but doesnstaying power, leaving the player't get a chance s board wide open to activate its effect, a lot of resources are wasted. As such, "[[Vengeful Bog Spirit]]", "[[Level Limit - Area B]]", "[[Threatening Roar]]", "[[Gravity Bind]]", "[[Chain Energy]]" and even "[[Skill Drain]]" can mean trouble.* "[[D.D. Designator]]" and "[[Mind Crush]]" can easily pick a card from the playeropponent's hand, since monsters frequently return thereattacks.

==ExampleExamples=={{Show card image gallery| Amaterasu | Effect Spirit Monster| Shinobaron Peacock | Ritual Spirit Monster| Kuro-Obi Karate Spirit | Pendulum Spirit Monster}} ==In the anime==In the ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! (anime)|Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' anime, in episodes [[File:AratamaYu-SHSPGi-Oh! - Episode 117|117]] and [[Yu-ENGi-ROh! -1EEpisode 118|118]], [[Noah Kaiba]] used Spirit monsters in his duel against [[Yami Yugi]]. According to him, the Spirit monsters were created by [[Maximillion Pegasus]] when he was traveling to Eastern Asia and drew inspiration from the religions and mythologies from that region.png In ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX]]'' and ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V]]'', "Asura Priest" and "Dark Dust Spirit" had cameo appearances, in episodes [[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX - Episode 111|center111]] and [[Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V - Episode 021|360px21]], respectively.

* All [[Pendulum Monster|Pendulum]] Spirit Monsters in the game are part of the "[[Martial Art Spirit]]" series.** They are the only Spirit Monsters that can be Special Summoned under any given circumstances, in which case it does not trigger their effect that returns them to the hand. * The Spirit monster "[[Yata-Garasu]]" is infamous for [[Yata-Garasu Lockdown|its complete lockdown]] of the opponent's hand when combined with "[[Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End]]"; thus, Yata-Garasu was [[Forbidden]] from 2004 until 2022. * "[[Izanagi]]" is the only non-Spirit monster Monster that has ''Spirit World'' in its background and is the only non-Spirit monster Monster that directly supports Spirit monstersMonsters.

* "[[Soul Resurrection]]" is the only card that have has the ''Spirit World'' in its background with absolutely no relation to Spirit monstersMonsters.

* The effect that returns Spirit monsters Monsters to the hand, as well as their transparent appearance, may be a reference to them not being able to stay on the physical plane for long.

{{GameplayCard types}}