Maximillion Pegasus is mostly remembered for his lovable Toon monsters, but Pegasus had a dark, twisted side to him as well. He used the monstrous Relinquished to turn Yugi’s cards against him, then fused Relinquished into the even more terrifying Thousand-Eyes Restrict! Pegasus’s cards were certainly powerful, considering how Thousand-Eyes has spent most of its existence on the Forbidden List! That side of Pegasus has come forth again, as his signature cards are imbued with the power of his Millennium Eye!

Let’s dive right in with the amazing new Fusion Monster, Millennium-Eyes Restrict!

Much like its older cousin Thousand-Eyes, Millennium-Eyes Restrict is Level 1 DARK Spellcaster. It also uses Relinquished as a Fusion Material, along with any Effect Monster. It’s still able to absorb your opponent’s monsters, though in a different manner than its brethren. Once each turn, when your opponent activates a monster effect, you can equip an Effect Monster they control or from their Graveyard to Millennium-Eyes! Millennium-Eyes can have any number of monsters equipped at a time, and gains ATK and DEF equal to the total of all monsters equipped to it! The monster you equip does not necessarily have to be the same one that originally activated, so feel free to take their strongest or most useful monster.

And that’s not all! Once Millennium-Eyes has absorbed a monster, it turns that monster against its kin! If a monster is equipped to Millennium-Eyes, monsters with the same name cannot attack and have their effects negated! You can let your opponent activate a monster effect, then equip that same card from their field or Graveyard to immediately negate it! Even if the monster has wound up in the Graveyard, such as with Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, you can snatch it from the Graveyard to negate it and all other copies.

The real trick will be to Fusion Summon Millennium-Eyes Restrict. Back in the day, almost nobody properly Fusion Summoned Thousand-Eyes Restrict – it was all done through Metamorphosis (which still lives on the Forbidden List) or more recently with Instant Fusion. To be fair, most people don’t want a Thousand-Eyes Idol in their Deck. Only Pegasus can pull that off so smoothly. Today, you’ll have a much easier time playing Millennium-Eyes Restrict or even Thousand-Eyes Restrict thanks to Relinquished Fusion!

Relinquished Fusion is a Quick-Play Spell, so it’s already awesome. It offers some great flexibility for Fusion Summoning any “Eyes Restrict” Fusion Monster, allowing you to banish the Fusion Materials your hand, field, or even Graveyard. Flip it on your opponent’s turn to surprise them with a Restrict, either blocking all combat with Thousand-Eyes or threatening negation with Millennium-Eyes.

Relinquished Fusion has a secondary effect too – you can banish it from the Graveyard to equip an opponent’s monster directly to your “Eyes Restrict” Fusion Monster or Relinquished! You can even use this the same turn you Fusion Summoned.

Relinquished and Thousand-Eyes Restrict were Pegasus’s big finale against Yugi, but he used many other cards along the way to get there. Two more of his signature cards have been enhanced with the Millenium Eye – first up, it’s the new form of Dark-Eyes Illusionist, the Millennium-Eyes Illusionist!

Pegasus custom made the original Dark-Eyes Illusionist just for his Duel with Yugi. He eventually sacrificed it to play Relinquished, and the new Millennium-Eyes Illusionist is reminiscent of that. Millennium-Eyes Illusionist has a Quick Effect that, by discarding it from the hand, will equip an opponent’s Effect Monster to your Relinquished or “Eyes Restrict” Fusion Monster! Usually your opponent must destroy Relinquished and friends twice – once to get rid of the equipped monster, and once to actually destroy the source. By keeping a Millennium-Eyes Illusionist in your hand, you can surprise your opponent by letting your opponent destroy your Equip Card only to take over another of their cards when they least expect it! This also allows you to dodge Millennium-Eyes Restrict’s “once per turn” restriction and equip multiple monsters in the same turn.

In addition, when a Relinquished or “Eyes Restrict” Fusion Monster is Special Summoned, you’ll add Millennium-Eyes Illusionist from your Graveyard to your hand! Not only does this allow you to repeatedly use its effect from your hand – it also makes Millennium-Eyes Illusionist a fantastic option to Tribute for Black Illusion Ritual or as a Fusion Material for Millennium-Eyes Restrict (If using Polymerization! Remember, Relinquished Fusion would banish it.).

Finally, a card Pegasus used in his very first appearance! Originally, Illusionist Faceless Mage could combine with the anime-only card Eye of Illusion to control opposing monsters and force them into battle. As Pegasus would have it, the Mage has now turned its effects toward his beloved Relinquished, and is now known as Illusionist Faceless Magician!

The Illusionist Faceless Magician’s power makes Pegasus’s ultimate monsters nearly unstoppable! Faceless Magician’s effect comes in two parts. First, if your Relinquished or “Eyes Restrict” Fusion Monster is destroyed (by battle or card effect), you can Special Summon Illusionist Faceless Magician from your Graveyard or your hand. That’s pretty nice on its own – it’s not easy to get rid of those monsters, so replacing them with a 2200 DEF monster can put a stop to your opponent’s remaining attacks.

That’s where you’ll use Illusionist Faceless Magician’s second effect. If it’s sent from the field to the Graveyard, you can Special Summon a Relinquished or “Eyes Restrict” Fusion Monster from your Graveyard! So, if your creepy eyeball monster is destroyed, you replace it with a creepy no-face monster. Then, if that ends up in the Graveyard, it gets back your eyeball monster. Repeat this cycle until you win the Duel! It only makes sense that the creator of Duel Monsters be so… eccentric.

OK, it’s not quite so simple. You can only use each of Illusionist Faceless Magician’s effects once per turn. That’s only fair. Besides, once is enough! If your opponent has found a way to get through your first Millennium-Eyes Restrict, then took down Illusionist Faceless Magician, you’ve got Millennium-Eyes back on the field ready to use its effect again! Combine with Relinquished Fusion and Millennium-Eyes Illusionist to equip extra times, and your monster will be well protected.

Illusionist Faceless Magician is also a fantastic card to combo with Instant Fusion! Play out Thousand-Eyes Restrict or Millennium-Eyes Restrict, hopefully using them to eat up a monster. They’ll be destroyed in the End Phase, allowing you to Special Summon Illusionist Faceless Magician. For just 1000 Life Points, you’ve put a 2200 DEF monster on the field, possibly stolen and then destroyed an opposing monster, and have a horrible creature waiting in the Graveyard until your Faceless Magician can revive it.

Only Pegasus could dream up a card like his beloved Thousand-Eyes Restrict, and only Pegasus would then outfit that creature with his favorite piece of jewelry! You don’t need the Millennium Eye to see how awesome these new Pegasus cards are – find them in Legendary Duelists: Ancient Millennium, in stores now!