Poly editing tools means polygon editing tools in Maya. We edit poly meshes with these tools. There is no way to construct an item without the help of editing tools.
So the most necessary thing is to learn the use of those tools who edit meshes. There are times when we need to stretch, squeeze, squash, slim, fit, attach, detach, connect, disconnect, joint, replace, fill, make hole, fill hole, extrude, wedge, chamfer, bevel objects in Maya or any 3D software. So we need to understand the use of those tools in every situation. Poly editing tools has been written as a script in MEL ( Maya Embedded Language). They are actually MEL commands that are executed when we apply them on some specific components of an object. But for an artist it is not necessary to know about the language or MEL. An artist is just an Artist and he/she needs only direct tools. Because he/she has ideas and esthetic sense he/she can draw directly whatsoever he/she builds in his mind. The illustrations of his/her mind become the models or 3D objects. So an artist needs to be familiar with tools instead of the language. Poly editing tools are so comprehensive and easy to use that a very beginner level student may use them in fluency and confidence at every time.
