This is a guide to the different types of summoning

Normal Summoning Normal summoning is done when you place a level 4 or under monster on the field in either face up attack position or setting it in face down defense position. you are only permitted to have one normal summon per turn. monsters level 4 or lower in your main deck do not require tributes in order to be summoned. both summoning a monster in attack mode or setting it face down in defense mode count as your one normal summon for the turn.

Tribute Summoning

Tribute summoning is done with monsters in your main deck that are level 5 or higher. Monsters levels 5 and 6 require 1 monster on field to be tributed in order to be normal summoned to the field. Monsters that are level 7 or higher require 2 monsters to be tributed in order to be normal summoned to the field. a tribute summon for any monster level 5 or higher will count as your normal summon for the turn despite if you place it face up in attack mode or face down in defense mode. you are not permitted to normal summon a level 4 or lower monster to the field and then tribute summon a higher level monster on that same turn since both are considered a normal summon. exceptions may be allowed with card effects that permit more than one normal summon in the same turn.

Special summoning

the following ways below are considered special summons. you can have unlimited special summons per turn. special summonable monsters can come from both your main deck or extra deck. be sure to read the card text of the desired monster in order to see its special summon conditions.

Fusion Summoning

Fusion Monsters are also placed in your Extra Deck (not in your Main Deck). They are Summoned by using the specific monsters listed on the card (called Fusion Materials) combined with a Summoning card like Polymerization. They usually have special abilities and very high Attack Points as well. Since Fusion Summons require specific cards, be sure and include those necessary cards in your Main Deck! If you have all the Fusion Materials listed on the Fusion Monster Card, in the places specified on your Summoning card, you can activate your Summoning card by placing it in your Spell & Trap Zone.Send the Fusion Materials to the Graveyard, then take the appropriate Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck and play it in the Extra Monster Zone in either face-up Attack or Defense Position. Finally, place your Summoning card in the Graveyard. (If another card effect causes your Fusion Materials to be sent to a place other than the Graveyard when your Summoning card resolves, send them to that other place, but the Fusion Summon still happens anyway.)

Ritual Summoning

Ritual Monsters are special monsters that are Special Summoned with a specific Ritual Spell Card, along with a required Tribute. Ritual Monster Cards are placed in the Main Deck and cannot be Summoned unless you have all the proper cards together in your hand or on the field. Ritual Monsters generally have high ATK and DEF and some have special abilities, just like Fusion Monsters. When you have a Ritual Spell Card, along with the matching Ritual Monster Card, in your hand, along with the required Tribute (as listed on the Ritual Spell Card), you can activate the Ritual Spell Card, placing it in the Spell & Trap Zone.If the activation of the Ritual Spell Card is successful, Tribute monsters by sending them from your hand or the field to the Graveyard. The Ritual Spell Card will list the required amount to Tribute.After sending the Tributed monsters to the Graveyard, play the Ritual Monster Card in your Main Monster Zone in either face-up Attack or Defense Position. Finally, place the Ritual Spell Card in the Graveyard.

Synchro Summoning

Synchro Monsters are placed in the Extra Deck, separate from the Main Deck. You can Special Summon a powerful Synchro Monster to the field in an instant just by using the Levels of your monsters. They can be Synchro Summoned from the Extra Deck by sending 1 face-up “Tuner” monster and any number of face-up non-Tuner monsters from your field to the Graveyard, when the sum of all their Levels is exactly equal to the Level of the Synchro Monster.

HOW TO SYNCHRO SUMMON

During your Main Phase, you can Synchro Summon when the combined total Levels of 1 face-up Tuner monster and any number of other face-up monsters you control are equal to the Level of the Synchro Monster you want to Synchro Summon. In order to Synchro Summon a Synchro Monster, you need 1 Tuner (look for “Tuner” next to its Type). The Tuner monster and other face-up monsters you use for the Synchro Summon are called Synchro Materials. The sum of their Levels is the Level of Synchro Monster you can Summon. After double-checking the Level of the Synchro Monster you want, send the face-up Synchro Materials from your field to the Graveyard.After sending the Synchro Materials from the field to the Graveyard, take the Synchro Monster from your Extra Deck and play it in a Monster Zone in face-up Attack or Defense Position.

Xyz Summoning

Xyz Monsters (pronounced “ik seez”) are a powerful kind of monster! You can Summon an Xyz Monster whenever you control monsters that are the same Level. Xyz Monsters start in your Extra Deck, not in your Main Deck, and wait for you to call them into action.Materials needed for an Xyz SummonXyz Monster’s Rank - This is the Rank of your Xyz Monster. Xyz Monsters have Ranks instead of Levels. Stronger Xyz Monsters have higher Ranks. You use 2 Level 4 Monsters as the Xyz Materials to Summon a rank 4 xyz monster. you use 2 level 10 monsters to summon a rank 10 xyz monster. some xyz monsters require anywhere from 2 or more monsters of the same level. Xyz Materials must be face-up before you can use them.Xyz Summoning is your cool and easy way to Special Summon Xyz Monsters from your Extra Deck.

Here’s how to do it!Choose an Xyz Monster from your Extra Deck that you have the right Xyz Materials for. The Xyz Materials should be face-up on your field. stack the Xyz Materials on top of each other. Take the Xyz Monster from your Extra Deck and put it on top of the stacked Xyz Materials in the Extra Monster Zone in face-up Attack or Defense Position. When an Xyz Monster tells you to “detach” a material, take one of the stacked Xyz Material cards beneath your Xyz Monster and put it in the Graveyard.

Pendulum Summoning

Pendulum Monster Cards are a unique kind of card that blurs the line between Monsters and Spells! They can be Summoned as monsters to attack or defend, or you can activate them as Spell Cards in your Pendulum Zones to activate extra special abilities and allow you to Pendulum Summon! Pendulum Effect: - When you play this card as a Spell Card in your Pendulum Zone, this is its effect. Some Pendulum Monster Cards may not have PendulumEffects.During your Main Phase, activate Pendulum Monster Cards as Spell Cards in your leftmost and rightmost Spell & Trap Zones. These Spell & Trap Zones also become Pendulum Zones.After you have one in each Pendulum Zone, Check the Pendulum Scales on the sides of your 2 Pendulum Monster Cards, then Special Summon as many monsters as you want from your hand and as many face up Pendulum Monsters from your Extra Deck, whose Levels are in between those Pendulum Scales.Whenever one of your Pendulum Monster Cards on the field (regardless of which Zone it is in, or even if it is a monster or not) would be sent to the Graveyard, place it face-up on your Extra Deck instead. You can Pendulum Summon it back to the field later!

Pendulum Monster Effect: - When you play this card as a regular Monster Card, this is its effect. Some Pendulum Monster Cards may not have monster effects. Pendulum Scale - Pendulum Scale is a number that determines which monsters you can Special Summon during a Pendulum Summon. The Pendulum Scale of this card is 1.You can Special Summon monsters withLevels 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.

Link Monsters

HOW TO LINK SUMMON Check the materials of the Link Monster you want to Summon. Link monsters use link materials in which to summon them. Link Materials are the Link Materials you need to Summon a Monster. send a number of face-up monsters from your field to the Graveyard equal to the Link Rating of that Link Monster. They must also match the material requirements listed in the monster’s “recipe” written on the card. Place the Link Monster from your Extra Deck in the Extra Monster Zone, or one of your Main Monster Zones that another Link Monster is pointing to.If 2 Extra Monster Zones are available, you can choose either one to Summon your monster. If there is a Link Monster already on the field, you can Link Summon a monster in one of your zones it points to.

MONSTER BONUSESLink Monsters already on the field make great material!Normally, 1 monster equals 1 Link Material. But when you use a Link Monster as material for another Link Summon, you can count it as either 1 monster, or as a number of monsters equal to its Link Rating. For example, if you want to Summon a Link 3 monster that requires 2 or more materials in its “recipe”, you can either use 3 monsters (each counts as 1 material) or else a Link 2 Link Monster (counts as 1 or 2 materials) and a second monster (counts as 1 material). you can also Summon monsters from the Extra Deck to any of your Main Monster Zones that has a Link Monster’s red arrow pointing to it.LINK Rating - This is the number of Link Arrows that monster has and the number of monsters needed to Summon it.Link Arrows - A Link Monster can apply its effects on cards or zones that its lit-up, red Link Arrows point to. When a Link Monster’s red arrow points to a monster, those monsters are “linked”. When two Link Monsters have red arrows that point at each other, they are “co-linked”. Link Monsters have no DEF and cannot ever be in Defense Position. They can’t be changed to Defense Position by a card effect. They can’t even be flipped into face-down Defense Position.If your opponent has a monster in the Extra Monster Zone, it’s still a monster they control so you can’t attack directly. You have to battle and destroy all their monsters first, including the one in the Extra Monster Zone.If you take control of your opponent’s monster in the Extra Monster Zone, it moves to your Main Monster Zone. When it goes back to your opponent, it goes to their Main Monster Zone, not the Extra Monster Zone.As long as the materials meet the requirements of the Link Monster you want to Summon, you can use a Token or Trap Card that is treated as a monster as the Link Material. Remember that when you Link Summon, you need to meet 3 goals: The amount of materials you use matches the Link Rating (Link Monsters count as 1 OR their own Link Rating). The number of materials you use meets the number specified in the materials line or “recipe”. The materials match any other requirements in the materials line (such as only Effect Monsters, or only a specific Type of monster.