Ritual Summon

For the list of cards that can Ritual Summon monsters, see Ritual Summons.

Ritual Summon
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Japanese	儀（ぎ）式（しき）召（しょう）喚（かん）
Japanese (ruby)	ぎしきしょうかん
Japanese (base text)	儀式召喚
Japanese (romanized)	Gishiki Shōkan
English	Ritual Summon
Other names French: Invocation Rituelle Verb: Invoquer Rituellement German: Ritualbeschwörung Verb: beschwören als Ritualbeschwörung Italian: Evocazione Rituale Verb: Evocare tramite Rituale Korean: 의식 소환 (儀式召喚) Uisik Sohwan Portuguese: Invocação-Ritual Verb: Invocar por Invocação-Ritual Spanish: Invocación de Ritual Verb: Invocar por Ritual Traditional Chinese: 儀式召喚 Yíshì Zhàohuàn / Ji4 sik1 Ziu6 wun6

A Ritual Summon (儀（ぎ）式（しき）召（しょう）喚（かん） Gishiki Shōkan) is a method of Special Summoning a Ritual Monster which normally uses the effect of a Ritual Spell Card.

Ritual Summons usually require Tributes (from your hand or side of the field) greater than or equal to the Level of the Ritual Monster that is being Summoned. These Tributes are performed as part of the Ritual Spell Card's effect resolution, rather than as a cost.

Some Ritual Spell Cards, including most Ritual Spell Cards that are capable of being used for different Ritual Monsters, such as "End of the World", requires the total Levels of the Tributed monsters to exactly equal the Level of the Ritual Monster.

Performing a Ritual Summon

A player can Ritual Summon a Ritual Monster from the HAnd by activating a card or effect that performs a Ritual Summon (Usually Ritual Spell Card). When that effect resolves, the player tributes Monsters they control or their hand, providing the Level of those monster is equal to or greater than the Ritual Monster they attempt to Summon. After that, Summon the Ritual Monster in the Main Monster Zone

Alternate Requirements

• There does not always need to be an appropriate Ritual Spell Card in the hand or Set on the field; a player can use an alternate card or effect that allows them to Ritual Summon, such as "Urgent Ritual Art", "Zefrasaber, Swordmaster of the Nekroz", or a "Luminous Dragon Ritual" in the Graveyard.
  • For "Urgent Ritual Art", the Ritual Summon does not necessarily have to be conducted during the Main Phase of the activating player's turn.

• The Ritual Monster does not always need to be in the hand; cards such as "Nekroz Cycle" and "Odd-Eyes Advent" allow the Ritual Monster to be in the Graveyard.

• There does not need to be an appropriate amount of monsters in locations specified by the card or effect that Ritual Summons, if any of the following are true:
  • There is a single monster in an appropriate location, such as "Ritual Raven" or "Gishki Shadow", that has an effect allowing it to be used as the entire monster requirement for the Ritual Summon.
  • There are monsters in a separate location that have effects that allow them to be used for the Ritual Summon, such as "Djinn of Rituals" monsters in the Graveyard.
  • The card or effect does not use monsters for the Ritual Summon, such as "Gishki Photomirror" (which uses LP instead), and those requirements can be met.

Clarifications

• A player can activate a card or effect that Ritual Summons even if their Monster Zones are full, but only if they Tribute one of their monsters on the field when that card or effect resolves (if all their Monster Zones are still occupied by that point).

• Face-down monsters can be Tributed for a Ritual Summon, unless the card text specifies otherwise (such as "Forbidden Arts of the Gishki").
  • If a face-down monster has an effect that allows it to be used as the entire monster requirement for the Ritual Summon, such as "Ritual Raven", that effect can be applied if it is Tributed for the Ritual Summon of an appropirate Monster (in this case, DARK).
  • If you are allowed to Tribute an opponent's face-down monster by a card effect such as "Soul Exchange", you cannot use it for a Ritual Summon since its Level is unknown.

• If the card or effect that Ritual Summons does not mandate an exact amount of Levels (e.g. "You must also Tribute monsters from your hand or field whose total Levels equal 6 or more."), the player cannot Tribute additional monsters if they met the minimum Level requirement already.
• Monsters that do not have Levels, such as Xyz Monsters or Link Monsters, cannot be Tributed for a Ritual Summon.

• When a card or effect that Ritual Summons resolves, if monsters cannot be used for the Ritual Summon or the Ritual Monster cannot be Ritual Summoned, no Ritual Summon occurs, nor are any monsters used for the Ritual Spell Card's monster requirement.

• A Ritual Monster cannot be Special Summoned from the Graveyard or while banished (except by Ritual Summon), unless it was originally Summoned by Ritual Summon.
  • As long as the monster is not returned to the hand or Deck, it is considered to have been originally properly Special Summoned, so it can still be Special Summoned from the Graveyard or while banished.

Example

• 

  Ritual Spell Card ("Black Luster Ritual")

• 

  + A Level 7 Tribute ("Gaia The Fierce Knight")

• 

  + A Level 4 Tribute ("Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands")

• 

  = A Corresponding Ritual Monster with Level equal to or less than the tributes' (Level 8 Ritual Monster: "Black Luster Soldier)

Anime

Before Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, there are no pattern for Ritual Summon.

In that series, when the Ritual Card is activated, the altar depicted on it appears on the field, and then Tributed monsters turn into flames, the flame number is equal to the Tribute's Level,and position themselves on the altar. A pillar of fire rises from the altar, and explodes in the sky. After that, the Ritual Monster is Summoned, descending from the sky.