Level
| Level | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||
| Japanese |
レベル or | ||
| Japanese (ruby) |
レベル | ||
| Japanese (base text) |
星 | ||
| Japanese (romanized) |
Reberu | ||
| English |
Level | ||
| |||
A Level (formerly Level Star in the card text of Ritual Monster Cards and Ritual Spell Cards; Japanese: レベル or
A monster's Level usually provides a rough indication of how powerful it is.
Levels play an important role in Normal, Synchro, Xyz, and Pendulum Summoning. They are also commonly important for effects that perform Ritual Summons.
Contents
Card layout
The original Level of a Monster Card is represented by a number of stars 
printed in the top-right. As an exception, monsters with a printed Level of 0 have exceptional Summoning condition based on its printed Level and a Level condition that treats their original Level as a different value.
In the OCG and TCG, monsters' original Levels can range from 1 to 12. Effects can increase the Level of a monster to arbitrarily high values, but cannot lower them below Level 1.
Mechanics
Not all monsters have Levels. Xyz Monsters have Ranks and Link Monsters have Link Ratings, instead. Spell/Trap Cards Special Summoned as monsters by the effect of "Magical Hats", as well as Boss Duel monsters, do not have Levels.
A monster can only have a single Level at a time.[1] Card effects can freely raise a monster's Level to arbitrarily large values in excess of 12, but cannot lower it below 1.
Normal Summoning
Excluding monsters with Summoning conditions that specify otherwise,
- Level 1 to 4 monsters can be Normal Summoned or Set without Tributes
- Level 5 and 6 monsters require 1 Tribute to be Normal Summoned or Set (this is a Tribute Summon or Tribute Set)
- Level 7 and higher monsters require 2 Tributes to be Normal Summoned or Set (this is a Tribute Summon or Tribute Set)
If the Level of a monster in the hand is changed (such as due to the effect of "Level Conversion Lab" or "A Legendary Ocean"), the modified Level is considered when Normal Summoning the monster.
Role in Special Summons
A monster's Level is also important in Ritual, Synchro, Xyz, and Pendulum Summoning.
- Most Ritual Spell Cards require monsters to be Tributed who total Levels are greater than or equal to the Level of the Ritual Monster to be Ritual Summoned.
- To Synchro Summon a Synchro Monster, the player must use Synchro Materials whose total Levels exactly equal the Synchro Monster's Level.
- To Xyz Summon an Xyz Monster, the player must use 2 or more Xyz Materials whose Levels all equal the Xyz Monster's Rank.
- Pendulum Summoning allows the player to Special Summon multiple monsters who each have a Level that is between the Pendulum Scales of the cards in the Pendulum Zones.
Negative Levels
In the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's anime and manga, as well as in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Tag Force series of video games, Dark Synchro Monsters can have negative Levels. It is not possible for monsters to have negative Levels in the TCG/OCG.
Gallery
A Level 4 monster ("Flash Knight")
A Level 11 monster ("Star Eater")
Trivia
- There is an observed convention of an "upper limit" to the amount of ATK a monster at a certain Level can have; monsters who go beyond their "limit" will typically have negative effects to make them harder to use.
- Level 3 monsters generally have no more than 1750 ATK
- Level 4 monsters have no more than 2000 ATK
- Level 6 monsters have no more than 2600 ATK
- Level 8 monsters have no more than 3000 ATK
- Level 10 monsters have no more than 4000 ATK
- Level 12 monsters have no more than 5000 ATK
Notes
- ↑ This abbreviated form (with the kanji character meaning "star", literally) is only used in the card text of Trap Monster Cards and cards that Summon a Token.
References
- ↑ Konami. Yu-Gi-Oh! Official Card Game - Perfect Rulebook 2015. p. 48.
