Link Monster

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Link Monster

"Firewall Dragon"
"Firewall Dragon"

Japanese

リンクモンスター

Japanese (ruby)

リンクモンスター

Japanese (base text)

Lモンスター

Japanese (romanized)

Rinku Monsutā

English

Link Monster

Lists

Link Monsters (Japanese: リンクモンスター Rinku Monsutā, abbreviated リンクモンスター in card text since Duelist Nexus) are a type of monsters that must be Link Summoned. Their card frame is colored in dark blue, textured with a hexagonal honeycomb pattern.

Characteristics[edit]

Link Monsters are Extra Deck monsters:

If a Link Monster is Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, it must be Special Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone, or a Main Monster Zone that a Link Monster points to.

Link Rating[edit]

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

Because they do not have Levels/Ranks, Link Monsters are unaffected by card effects that depend on a monster's Level/Rank (e.g.: "Gravity Bind"), and cannot become involved in actions that require monsters with Levels/Ranks (e.g.: Synchro Summoning).

Link Arrows[edit]

Link Monsters also have Link Arrows, indicated by red arrows radiating outward from the art frame. These indicators denote which zones the Link Monster points to. If a Link Monster points to a monster, the monsters are considered to be linked to each other. Two Link Monsters that point to each other are considered to be co-linked to each other.

When Link Monsters and face-up Pendulum Monsters are Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, they cannot be Special Summoned to a Main Monster Zone unless a Link Monster points to that zone. From New Master Rule (which introduced Link Monsters) until Master Rule (April 1, 2020 revision), this applied to all monsters in the Extra Deck.

Positioning and Lack of DEF[edit]

Link Monsters can only exist in face-up Attack Position, and cannot be put in Defense Position through any means. This is because Link Monsters lack a DEF value and because rotating a Link Monster into Defense Position would change the directions its Link Arrows point to. As such, Link Monsters are unaffected by effects that change battle positions, cannot be placed face-down, and cannot be Special Summoned by an effect that summons only in Defense Position (such as "Back to the Front").

Link Materials[edit]

Link Materials are the requisite monsters needed to Link Summon the Link Monster. Each Link Monster lists its required Link Materials in the first line of its card text.

Link Summoning[edit]

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.

Examples[edit]

Trivia[edit]

  • "Five-Headed Link Dragon" has the highest ATK of all Link Monsters, with 5000 ATK. It also has the highest number of required Link Materials of all Link Monsters, requiring 5 monsters.
  • Link Monsters are the only monster card type to not have a Pendulum Monster.

See Also[edit]