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how do link cards work?

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Dokutah Proficient

Dokutah

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We start with the new rule: The Master Rules 4

 

Introduced Link Monsters, Link Markers, Link Summons and Linked States.

Changed the layout of the playing field.

The Left-most and right most Spell & Trap Zones can be use either for regular S/T or placing Pendulum Monster as Scale

The 5 original Monster Zones we know were classified as Main Monster Zones.

2 new Monster Zones, the Extra Monster Zones, were introduced, located in the 2nd and 4th columns between the 2 sides of the field, and are exclusively used for the Summoning of monsters from the Extra Deck.

While an Extra Monster Zone is unoccupied, it does not belong to either player's field.

Monsters Special Summoned from the Extra Deck must be Summoned to either an Extra Monster Zone or a Main Monster Zone a Link Monster points to.

 

[spoiler=Link]

A Link Monster (Japanese: リンクモンスター Rinku Monsutā) is a type of Monster Card. The color of their card frame is dark blue, which is similar to that of a Ritual Monster, but with a hexagonal pattern similar to a honeycomb structure. These cards are placed in the Extra Deck.

 

Like other Extra Deck monsters, Link Monsters cannot exist in either the hand or the Main Deck (even with card effects). If a Link Monster would be moved to the hand or Main Deck, it is returned to the Extra Deck instead. If a card like "Transmigration Break" or "Degenerate Circuit" is applying, the Link Monster would be banished rather than returning to the Extra Deck.

 

If a Link Monster is not Link Summoned first, it cannot be Special Summoned from the Graveyard or while banished (unless it specifies another way to properly Special Summon it).

 

Contents[show]

Link Ratings and lack of DEF

Main article: Link Rating

Link Monsters have a Link Rating in place of a Level or Rank. A Link Monster's Link Rating determines the total number of Link Materials required to Link Summon it. A Link Monster's Link Rating is also equal to the number of Link Arrows it has. A Link Monster's Link Rating can be found next to its ATK, in place of the traditional DEF value.

 

Link Monsters do not possess Levels or Ranks, therefore they cannot be used as material for a Ritual, Synchro, or Xyz Summon. Also, Level or Rank-modifying cards such as "Harmonic Waves", "Feedback Warrior", or "Xiangsheng Magician" do not affect Link Monsters. The same thing can be said for Spells/Traps that affect Levels/Ranks such as "Gravity Bind", "Level Limit - Area B" or "Planckton".

 

Link Monsters can only exist in face-up Attack Position (they do not have a DEF value) and cannot be placed in or changed to Defense Position (either manually or through a card effect); this is because rotating the card into Defense Position would change the directions its Link Arrows point to. Because of this, Link Monsters are unaffected by effects that change battle positions and are unable to be placed face-down, and cannot be Summoned by an effect that would Special Summon monsters only in Defense Position (such as "Back to the Front").

 

Link Arrows

Main article: Link Arrow

Link Monsters also have Link Arrows, indicated by red arrows radiating outward from the art frame. These indicators denote which zones and monsters that Link Monster points to.

 

Monsters in the Extra Deck (Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, face-up Pendulum, and Link Monsters) can be Special Summoned from the Extra Deck to a Main Monster Zone a Link Monster points to. If a Link Monster points to a monster, the monsters are considered to be "linked" to each other.

 

Link Summoning

Main article: Link Summon

A Link Summon is the act of Summoning a Link Monster from the Extra Deck using the requisite number of Link Materials listed on its Link Rating. During the Main Phase, the turn player can Link Summon by sending the face-up Link Materials from their field to the Graveyard.

 

Playing style

Link Monsters commonly grant benefits to monsters they point to or gain more powerful effects depending on the number of monsters they point to. As such, Decks focused around Link Monsters require methods to quickly Summon monsters in order to Summon Link Monsters as well as into the zones where the Link Monsters point to. When attempting to Summon multiple Link Monsters, it is important to decide which order to Summon them in, as their Link Arrows will dictate where the others can be Summoned and what monsters will be Linked to them.

 

Link Monsters with higher Link Ratings can be Special Summoned more quickly by Link Summoning multiple weaker Link Monsters first. This also helps to place them in locations that will take better advantage of their Link Arrows.

 

Powerful Link Monsters are typically balanced by having a higher Link Rating and forward-pointing Link Arrows, allowing the opponent to summon more Extra Deck monsters. For example, "Decode Talker", "Firewall Dragon", "Topologic Bomber Dragon" and "Encode Talker" all have Link Arrows that point towards the opponent's field when they are placed in the Extra Monster Zone, while weaker Link Monsters such as "Missus Radiant", "Gaia Saber, the Lightning Shadow" and "Link Spider" do not.

 

 

 

[spoiler=pendulum]

A Pendulum Monster (Japanese: ペンデュラムモンスター Pendyuramu Monsutā, abbreviated Ｐペンデュラムモンスター in card text), also called a Pendulum Card in the early episodes of the Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V anime, is a type of Monster Card that is half green. They first appeared in the Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V anime, and were introduced to the OCG and TCG in Starter Deck 2014 and Super Starter: Space-Time Showdown respectively. A Pendulum Monster can also be activated from the hand as a Spell Card in a Pendulum Zone; if there are Pendulum Monsters in both Pendulum Zones, the player can perform a Pendulum Summon.[1][2][3]

 

So far, Normal, Effect, Fusion, Synchro and Xyz Pendulum Monsters have been seen. Pendulum Monsters can also be Tuner, Flip and Spirit monsters.

 

Contents[show]

Mechanics

A Pendulum Monster can be used in two ways: either as a Monster card by Summoning it, or as a Spell Card by activating it in the Pendulum Zone.

 

If a Pendulum Monster (even if face-down) would be sent from the field to the GY (either as a Monster Card or Spell Card), it is placed face-up in the Extra Deck instead. (Pendulum Monsters can cause the total size of the Extra Deck to be larger than would be allowed during Deck building.) A Pendulum Monster is sent to the Graveyard like normal if it is sent from any location other than the field (including if it has its activation as a Spell Card or Summon negated).[1][2][3]

 

Pendulum Monsters cannot be used to pay costs that send cards from the field to the Graveyard, as they would be placed in the Extra Deck instead; however, Pendulum Monsters on the field can be Tributed for costs. If the effect of a card like "Macro Cosmos" (which banishes cards which would be sent to the Graveyard) or "Grave Protector" (which shuffles monsters destroyed by battle into the Deck) is being applied, this will override the Pendulum Monster's ability to go to the Extra Deck. [1][2][3]

 

As Monster Card

While not in a Pendulum Zone, a Pendulum Monster is treated as a Monster Card, and its monster effects are applied. It can be Special Summoned by appropriate card effects. If it is also a Normal or Effect Monster, it can also be Normal Summoned/Set from the hand, just like any other Normal or Effect Monster.

 

As Spell Card

Main article: Pendulum Zone

While in a Pendulum Zone, a Pendulum Monster is treated as a Spell Card and not as a monster. A Pendulum Monster can be activated from the hand as a Spell Card in the player's Pendulum Zone (Pendulum Monsters cannot be Set in the Pendulum Zone). Upon resolving, it remains face-up in the Pendulum Zone as a Spell Card, its Pendulum Scale is active, and Pendulum Effects, if any, apply. (Its monster effects are not applied at this time)

 

Although a Pendulum Monster is treated as a Spell Card while in the Pendulum Zone, it is not considered a Normal, Continuous, Field, Equip, Quick-Play, or Ritual Spell Card. As long as there is an available Pendulum Zone on the player's field, they can activate a Pendulum Monster from their hand in that zone. [1][2][3]

 

Pendulum Summon

Main article: Pendulum Summon

Once per turn, during the Main Phase, while there are Pendulum Monsters in both Pendulum Zones, the turn player can perform a Pendulum Summon, using the Pendulum Monsters' Pendulum Scales to determine the Levels of the monsters that can be Summoned.[1][2][3]

 

 

Extra Deck Pendulum Monsters

While most Pendulum Monsters are also Normal or Effect Monsters (originating in the Main Deck), a small number of Pendulum Monsters are also Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz Monsters (originating face-down in the Extra Deck). Because they cannot be activated in the Pendulum Zone from the hand, they have effects to place themselves in the Pendulum Zone. Face-down Pendulum Monsters in the Extra Deck cannot be Pendulum Summoned, but can be Fusion, Synchro or Xyz Summoned (depending on their monster card type). Face-up Pendulum Monsters in the Extra Deck cannot be Fusion, Synchro or Xyz Summoned, but can be Pendulum Summoned.

 

As Xyz Monsters do not have Levels, Xyz Pendulum Monsters usually have a condition that allows them to be Pendulum Summoned from face-up in the Extra Deck if their original Rank matches a Level whose monsters their possessor can currently Pendulum Summon. Otherwise, they have a condition that prevents them from being Pendulum Summoned.

 

Card layout

As the Pendulum Effects and the Pendulum Scales take up the space where the Set Number would usually be placed, it is placed in the bottom left corner of the card instead, in the same line as the ATK/DEF values of the Pendulum Monster. The art frame of a Pendulum Monster is increased in size, to the same width as the Effect boxes, and the Pendulum Effect box is partially transparent, allowing the art to be seen beneath it. The upper bit of the Effect box (more or less corresponding to the Type line's height) is also transparent, but to a lesser degree than the Pendulum Effect box.

 

Playing style

A good Pendulum-based Deck has the ability to do what the anime calls "going beyond the Pendulum", which involves using Pendulum Summoning to gather Materials for a Fusion, Synchro, Xyz or Link Summon, as Tributes for a Tribute or Ritual Summon, or to activate multiple effects that activate when Summoned (possibly using SEGOC to prevent the important one of being negated).

 

Pendulum Monsters' main weakness is their hand advantage cost to place in the Pendulum Zone, causing them to be vulnerable to nuke effects as they will destroy the field and shut down Pendulum Decks until a Pendulum Scale can be restored. Furthermore, cards like "Hand Destruction" and "Solemn Warning" that can cause the Pendulum Monsters to be sent to the Graveyard can be problematic as well, since most Pendulum Monster Decks don't have ways to get cards back from the Graveyard, though you can remedy to this with cards like "Pot of Riches" or "Pendulum Reborn".

 

Cards that banish (like "Divine Knight Ishzark" and "Chaos Sorcerer"), specifically counter Spell Cards (like "Spell Canceller"), and deplete the Extra Deck (like "Zaborg the Mega Monarch" and "Extra Gate") are problems for Pendulum Decks. "Anti-Spell Fragrance" will also prevent Pendulum Monsters being placed in the Pendulum Zone at all, since cards cannot be Set in the Pendulum Zone. "Pot of Acquisitiveness", Spell & Trap removal (preferably Quick-Play, such as "Mystical Space Typhoon") and "Imperial Iron Wall" can deal with these cards, however.

 

Pendulum-based Decks also require that you either open with a sufficient amount of monsters or with the ability to search for them. If you don't open with enough monsters, Pendulum Summoning doesn't provide much of an advantage.

 

 

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