Linked

This article is about the gameplay mechanic. For the property on Link Monsters, see Link Rating. For other uses, see Link (disambiguation).

Linked
Japanese	リンク状（じょう）態（たい）
Japanese (ruby)	リンクじょうたい
Japanese (base text)	リンク状態
Japanese (romanized)	Rinku Jōtai
Japanese (translated)	Link State
Other names Italian: Linkato

A monster is linked (リンク状（じょう）態（たい） Rinku Jōtai, "Link State") if it points to another monster, OR if another monster is points to it; in both cases, they are linked to each other.

Co-linked

Two monsters are co-linked (相（そう）互（ご）リンク Sōgo Rinku, "Mutual Link") if both of them point to each other.

Examples

Example A: Linked Monsters

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Example B: Co-linked Monsters

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Extra Link

An Extra Link (Japanese: ＥＸ（エクストラ）リンク, Ekusutora Rinku) is a series of five co-linked Link Monsters that go from one Extra Monster Zone to the other. This allows a player to control both Extra Monster Zones simultaneously. Since both are occupied, the opponent cannot use either of the Extra Monster Zones, unless they remove a monster from one of those zones.

A player can perform an Extra Link so long as the following conditions are met:

1. A Link Monster is in the Extra Monster Zone while the other Extra Monster Zone is unoccupied.
2. Three Link Monsters occuply all three central Main Monster Zones on one side of the field. It is possible for the player performing the Extra Link to use the opponent's monsters for these three.
3. Each of the above Link Monsters must be co-linked with each other orthogonally.

In that case, the player who controls the Link Monster in the Extra Monster Zone can Link Summon a second Link Monster to the unoccupied Extra Monster Zone, as long as it would be co-linked to the Link Monster from the Extra Link in that column. However, performing the Link Summon must not disturb the Extra Link by using the involved Link Monsters as Link Materials.

The final result is a U-shaped chain of five Link Monsters, in which each Link Monster is co-linked with the monsters orthogonally adjacent to it.