novel peak
Hello and welcome to another guide, today we will be explaining how to Link Summon. Link Summoning is the newest Main Line Summoning mechanic of Yu-Gi-Oh! and for newer players can be a bit confusing as to how to correctly use it. In this guide I will be explaining how this summoning mechanic works, and how to perform this summoning mechanic.
Part 1. What is a Link Monster?
A Link Monster is an Extra Deck Monster shown with a blue background with hexagonal patterns, along with arrows surrounding its card art, with certain arrows in orange and while, while others are shown in black and gray. Alongside these features is a LINK - ? rating in the bottom right corner. You'll notice that unlike all other monsters, Link Monsters do not have a DEF stat. This means card effects that would interact with the defense position will have no effect on Link Monsters regardless of the effect.
Part 2. How to Link Summon
When you're Summoning a Link Monster, you need to keep an eye out for its "Link Material". Link Material is the monsters needed to summon a Link Monster. It is always shown just like how other Extra Deck Mechanics work and will explain what type of monsters are needed. You’ll notice in the bottom right corner of the card is LINK - 2, which explains what rating a Link Monster is. This will come in handy for link climbing and certain card effects.
So for example, if we wanted to Link Summon a copy of "Code Talker" we would need 2 Effect Monsters.
Now, let’s say we wanted to Link Summon a card like Decode Talker:
For his summon, we'd need "2+ Effect Monsters"
Now when it says 2+ Effect monsters, this means you can use 2 monsters, or 3 to make this summon. Link monsters, unlike other types of monsters, are allowed to use other links as sort of an extra piece to summon of another Link Monster. In which would allow us to summon our copy of Decode Talker correctly.
Now lets look at a card named Rasteliger
Rasterliger's Summon requirements also require 2+ Monsters, but unlike the others, he cannot use tokens for his Link Summon.
Many monsters have such restrictions to their summoning requierment, like specific type of monster or archetypal monsters only allowed, this is fairly prevalent in the archetype “Gouki”.
"Gouki the Great Ogre" States that it needs specifically "2+ Gouki Monsters" which means you CANNOT use non-Gouki monsters for his summon, unless they are a “Gouki”., regardless of their name, unless they are a Gouki
Part. 3, Link arrows
Link Monsters all have Link Arrows, which are vital to Link Summoning and how to ensure you do not misplace a card and lock yourself out of Link Summoning.
Big note: ALL LINK MONSTERS MUST START IN THE EXTRA MONSTER ZONE
I cannot stress enough how important the Extra Monster Zone is. The only monsters able to be summoned into the Extra Monster Zone are Extra Deck Monsters and Pendulum Monsters summoned from the Extra Deck.
In this picture, Code Talker's Link arrow is pointing Downwards, which allows the player to correctly Link Summon another monster beneath him without needing to use him as material.
In this picture, since you've Summoned your XYZ into your Extra Monster Zone, You CANNOT LINK SUMMON WITHOUT USING THAT MONSTER IN THE EMZ AS MATERIAL, this is very important to remember if you're using more then one type of Summoning mechanic in your deck.
In this photo, Knightmare Phoenix’s Arrows do not point Downward towards your own field. In order to link summon again, you would need to use Knightmare Phoenix as material.
Part. 4, Co-Linking
Co-Linking is the act of Link Monster Arrows pointing to each other. Do not confuse this with Linked Monsters, which are monsters that have a Link Arrow pointing at them, but not the other way around.
Certain Monsters gain special effects while co-linked, such as the Knightmare monsters and Firewall Dragon. It is important to remember where your Link Arrows point, especially when you’re attempting to co-link your monsters.
For example, in this board, Code Talker and Knightmare Phoenix are Co-Linked, while Knightmare Phoenix and Cyberse Wizard are only Linked.
In this photo, your Honeybot and Trickstar Black Catbat are both Co-Linked together while linked with your Cyberse Wicckid.
In this photo, none of your monsters are Co-Linked and are only pointed at by other Link Monster
Part 5, Link Arrow Summoning
When you’re Link Summoning, you’ll only be able to Link Summon to zones that a Link Monster is currently pointing to.
For example, Cyberse Wicckid's arrows are circled to show where he can and cannot Summon a Link monster to. When working with Link monsters, make sure to remember where your monsters' link arrows point to not get tangled up in positioning your monsters.
In this photo, due to now having Honeybot, her arrow now points to the zone Wicckid could not Link Summon to prior. This is due to how Link arrows work and allows you to summon to any arrow as long as it's not the other Extra Monster Zone. In Duel Links, you cannot Summon 2 monsters to both Extra Monster Zones, which is also known as a U-Link.
Part 6. Conclusion
