Ritual Monster

Ritual Monster
"Relinquished"
Japanese	儀（ぎ）式（しき）(モンスター)
Japanese (ruby)	ぎしき(モンスター)
Japanese (base text)	儀式(モンスター)
Japanese (romanized)	Gishiki (Monsutā)
English	Ritual (Monster)
Other names French: (Monstre) Rituel German: Ritual(monster) Italian: (Mostro) Rituale Korean: 의식 (몬스터) (儀式 (Monster)) Uisik (Monseuteo) Portuguese: (Monstro de) Ritual Spanish: (Monstruo de) Ritual Traditional Chinese: 儀式怪獸 Yíshì Guàishòu / Ji4 sik1 (Gwaai3 sau3)
Lists	members support anti-support

Ritual Monsters (Japanese: 儀（ぎ）式（しき）モンスター Gishiki Monsutā), colored blue, are monsters that must normally be Special Summoned with a Ritual Spell Card.

Examples include "Magician of Black Chaos", "Demise, King of Armageddon", and "Nekroz of Trishula".

Characteristics

Ritual Monsters are stored in the Main Deck. They are Special Summon Monsters; they cannot be Normal Summoned or Set, cannot be Special Summoned with Pendulum Summoning, and cannot be Special Summoned from the hand or Deck by non-Ritual Summoning card effects, unless:

• The effect specifically states that it Special Summons Ritual Monsters (e.g.: "Ritual Foregone"), and the Ritual Monster being Summoned does not have a "Must be Ritual Summoned" condition, OR,
• The effect Ignores the monster's Summoning conditions.

If a Ritual Monster is not properly Ritual Summoned before being sent to the Graveyard or banished, it cannot be Special Summoned from there by non-Ritual Summoning card effects.

A properly Special Summoned Ritual Monster loses its status if it is returned to the hand or Deck.

Ritual Summoning condition

Main article: Ritual Summoning condition

Every Ritual Monster lists the name of one or more Ritual Spells that can Ritual Summon the Ritual Monster in the first line of its card text. However, the listed Ritual Spell is never the only card that can Ritual Summon the Ritual Monster (the text always states that the player can Ritual Summon this Ritual Monster using the specified Ritual Spell); all Ritual Monsters can be Ritual Summoned using effects of other Ritual Summoning cards, provided that the Ritual Summoning effects apply to the Ritual Monster.

Ritual Summoning

Main article: Ritual Summon

Ritual Monsters must first be Special Summoned by Ritual Summoning, using the effect of a card that performs a Ritual Summon.

Usually, Ritual Summoning is performed by a Ritual Spell Card, with an effect that involves tributing monsters from the player's hand or field whose levels equal or exceed the Ritual Monster being Ritual Summoned, then Ritual Summoning the Ritual Monster from the player's hand.

In the anime

Ritual Monsters have not featured as a major mechanic in the anime.

Yu-Gi-Oh! (anime)

In Yu-Gi-Oh, some prominent characters used Ritual Monsters, including Yugi Muto, Joey Wheeler, Seto Kaiba, Maximillion Pegasus, Dartz, and the Rare Hunters Umbra and Lumis.

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

In Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Ritual Monsters occasionally appeared; Fusion Monsters were more prominently associated with the series. Alexis Rhodes used the first Ritual Monster-focused archetype; "Cyber Angel". Bastion Misawa, Titan, and Kaibaman all used a Ritual Monster.

Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL

In Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL, a single Ritual Monster appeared, used by Kite Tenjo.

Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V

In Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, Ritual Monsters were used by two characters, Alexis Rhodes and Aura Sentia, neither of whom were featured significantly.

Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS

In Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS, Ritual Summoning was the first non-Link Summon Special Summon method reintroduced in the series. Yusaku Fujiki and Theodore Hamilton used one Ritual Monster each, and Ai later used one of his own.

Examples

• 

  Non-Effect Ritual Monster ("Magician of Black Chaos")

• 

  Effect Ritual Monster ("Raging Storm Dragon - Beaufort IX")

• 

  Spirit Ritual Monster ("Shinobaron Peacock")

• 

  Tuner Ritual Monster ("Magikey Mechmusket - Batosbuster")

• 

  Pendulum Ritual Monster ("Odd-Eyes Pendulumgraph Dragon")

Trivia

• Ritual Monsters have the fewest number of anti-support cards of all monster card types, with only 10 cards specifically designed to stop them: "Brutal Beast Battle", "Dimensional Barrier", "Heritage of the Light", "Inspector Boarder", "Invincibility Barrier", "Masquerade the Blazing Dragon", "Ritual Buster", "Ritual Sealing", "Sophia, Goddess of Rebirth", "Steelswarm Sting".
• "Magikey Mechmusket - Batosbuster" is the only Tuner Ritual Monster.
• "Shinobaron Peacock" and "Shinobaroness Peacock" are the only Ritual Monsters to have an ability, both being Spirit monsters.
• "Drytron Meteonis Draconids", "Drytron Meteonis Quadrantids", and "Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon" are tied for having the highest ATK of all Ritual monsters.
  • "Drytron Meteonis Draconids" and "Drytron Meteonis Quadrantids" have the highest DEF of all Ritual Monsters.
• "Odd-Eyes Pendulumgraph Dragon" is the only Ritual Pendulum Monster.