Link Summon

A Link Summon (Japanese: リンク（しょう）（かん） Rinku Shōkan; usually abbreviated （リンク）（しょう）（かん）) is the act of Special Summoning a Link Monster from the Extra Deck.

Mechanics[edit]

During their Main Phase, the turn player can Link Summon a Link Monster from their Extra Deck by sending face-up monsters they control to the Graveyard as Link Materials, such that:

• The materials sent collectively meet the Link Monster's listed Link Material requirements (usually 2+ monsters of any property).
• The number of materials sent is equal to the Link Monster's Link Rating.

After that, the player Special Summons the Link Monster from the Extra Deck to an unoccupied Extra Monster Zone or a Main Monster Zone that a Link Monster on the field points to, in face-up Attack Position.

When using a Link Monster for a Link Summon, it can be treated as 1 Link Material, or multiple Link Materials equal to its own Link Rating.

Link Summoning with alternate conditions[edit]

• "Underworld Goddess of the Closed World" can be Link Summoned using 1 monster the opponent controls as material.
• "Ghostrick Festival" can be Link Summoned using a face-down "Ghostrick" monster the player controls as material.

Link Summoning with a card effect[edit]

Treating a Special Summon as a Link Summon[edit]

Interactions with effects[edit]

• "Salamangreat Sanctuary" lets the player use 1 "Salamangreat" Link Monster as the only material to Link Summon another copy of itself.
• Card effects can allow the player to use monsters from their hand as Link Materials.
• Card effects can allow the player to use Spell or Trap Cards as Link Materials.

Examples[edit]

Example A (Standard Link Summon)[edit]

• 👁 Cyberse Wizard
  

  A monster (1) ("Cyberse Wizard")

• 👁 Stack Reviver
  

  + A monster (1) ("Stack Reviver")

• 👁 Backup Secretary
  

  + A monster (1) ("Backup Secretary")

• 👁 Decode Talker
  

  = A Link-3 Link Monster ("Decode Talker")

Example B (Treating a Link Monster as multiple Link Materials)[edit]

• 👁 Encode Talker
  

  A monster (1) ("Encode Talker")

• 👁 Decode Talker
  

  + A Link-3 Link Monster (3) ("Decode Talker")

• 👁 Firewall Dragon
  

  = A Link-4 Link Monster ("Firewall Dragon")

In media[edit]

Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS[edit]

In the Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS anime, using monsters to perform a Link Summon is known as Setting [them] in the Link Arrows (Setting [them] in the Link Markers in the Japanese version). There are two primary visual procedures for a Link Summon; the first was used until episode 14, while the second has been used since then. Unlike previous summoning methods in the anime, the Duelist states the summoning conditions of the Link Monster before calling out the monsters he/she is using to summon it.

With the first procedure, when a Link Summon is performed, the Duelist shoots forward a burst of energy which creates a Circuit in the sky which the Duelist and their monsters fly through. The Link Materials then transform into red and white streaks of energy that enter the appropriate Link Arrows, causing them to turn red. The Link Arrows are then said to have its Circuit combined, or linked in the dub. The Circuit then glows white and energy converges to form the monster and the Link Arrows around it. The monster and the Duelist then emerge from the Circuit. If a Link Monster is being used for a Link Summon, then copies of that monster will appear equal to the Link Rating of the monster and enter the appropriate Link Arrows. The color of the area that a Duelist enters to Link Summon differs, depending on the monster's Type, Attribute or Link Rating.

A truncated version of this sequence is performed in a flashback in Yu-Gi-Oh VRAINS episode 64, where the monsters used to Link Summon "Gaia Saber, the Lightning Shadow" jumped into the alternative world and entered the Circuit from there.

With the second procedure, the Circuit appears in front of the Duelist as with the previous style. The monsters used for the summoning then transform into different colored hurricanes and fly into the Link Arrows. The Link Monster then appears on the other side of the portal. The selected monsters then shoot into the Link Arrows with a hurricane-like effect (thought sometimes it would appear to be pure energy) corresponding to their color-scheme (thought some monsters "hurricane effect color" could vary between episodes). Link Monsters used to fulfill multiple markers typically split into multiple of these spirals before entering the markers. Regardless, the Link Monster is then formed out of converging energy. This procedure was also done in the flashback in Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS episode 65 while Yusaku was in the mysterious ruins.

The following deviations of the 2nd procedure are as follows:

Circuit Manifestation

• Emma Bessho emitts strings of energy from her fingertips which form the Circuit beneath her feet.
• Spectre and Earth have their circuits appear beneath them.
• Windy spawns his Circuit with a tornado.
• Lightning spawns his Circuit with a yellow lightning bolt.
• When Yusaku Link Summoned in the mysterious ruins, the portal appeared on one of the ceiling slabs.

Material Insertion

• At certain times: When Yusaku Summoned certain Link Monsters like "Firewall Dragon Darkfluid" and "Accesscode Talker" the materials would be blue energy effects.
• When Yusaku performed a Link Summon in the mysterious ruins, the materials he used turned into purple spirals regardless of the monster's color-scheme. This could be foreshadowing that Ai was behind the ruins, which he later reveals to Yusaku during the final Duel of season 3.
• Varis turns his Link Material into bullets.
• When Bohman used "Chimera Hydradrive Dragrid" to Summon "Perfectron Hydradrive Dragon", the former turned into a spiral that entered the center of the Circuit rather than split into 5 pieces and go into the Arrow Markers. This seems to be a reference to the Reincarnation Link Summon animation.
• Roboppi turns their material into sparks of electricity, referencing their original nature as an electronic appliance.
• Pandor turns her material into puffs of whitish blue smoke, seemingly a non-elemental effect to reference the elemental effects of the Ignis detailed below.
• Ignis or their partners (barring Yusaku) make their materials into effects that match their elemental theme, mostly ignoring the materials' color theme.
  • Soulburner (empowered by Flame) has his material turn into fiery spirals, while still color-coded to reflect the material's color-scheme. For the animation of when he does for Reincarnation Link Summon, see that page.
  • Blue Maiden (empowered by Aqua) has her material turn into light blue foamy water.
  • Earth turns his material into muddy spirals.
  • Windy turns his materials into silvery wind spirals.
  • Lightning turns his materials into yellow light energy.
  • Ai turns his materials into purple dark energy.

Yu-Gi-Oh! OCG Structures[edit]

In Yu-Gi-Oh! OCG Structures, the Duelist declares a Link Summon by saying "I set the Link Arrows with '(Monster name)'". The materials, like in Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS, then transform into streaks of energy that enter the appropriate Link Arrows, from which the monster appears. However, a blank Link Monster frame is shown, rather than the Circuit from VRAINS.

In other languages[edit]

Trivia[edit]

• Link Summon is the only Summoning mechanic other than Fusion Summon that does not require monsters with specific Levels as materials.