A long time ago near the turn of the millennium, there used to only be four types of standard summoning methods in the Yu-Gi-Oh!trading card game. Then things got crazy...
RELATED:Yu-Gi-Oh!: The 10 Most Powerful Dragon Cards, Ranked
Along with Normal Summons, Flip Summons, Tribute Summons, and Fusion Summons they added new forms of summoninglike Synchro, Xyz, and other random phrases that each resulted in brand new ways thrown down a monster onto the battlefield. So whether someone is looking to get into the trading card game or simply needs a refresher course, let's go ahead and go over every type of standard summoning methodavailable.
10 Normal Summon
By far the simplest method. As long as a Monster Card is level four or below (denoted by the stars on the card) they are allowed to summon it from their hand and onto the field in face-up attack position. A player can typically only Normal Summon once per turn unless stated otherwise by another card.
Other than that, there are no other bells or whistles to keep track of. Though normal summoning isoften a crucial first step in the more complicated forms of summoning monsters.
9 Tribute Summons
Just a bit more complicated than a Normal Summon. For monsters level 5 and above,they require a sacrifice of a monster or more that a player currently controls. Typically resulting in sacrificing level 4 or below monsters that were Normal Summoned on previous turns. Just like Normal Summons, they are often limited to once per turn.
For monsters level 5 or 6, they require one monster. For monsters 7 or above, they require two. One notablerule is that Egyptian God Cards require 3 sacrifices to summon.
8 Flip Summons
A Flip Summons is the action of turning over a Monster Card from the face-down defense position. This can happen on a player's turn by simply flipping the face-down card over to face-up attack position, often triggering nasty card effects when doing so.
RELATED:Yu-Gi-Oh: The 10 Best Wind Xyz Monsters, Ranked
It is important to note that setting a monster face-down on the battlefield isn't considered a summon. It is only considered set onto the battlefield and only summoned once it has been flipped over. Furthermore, if a monster is face-down in defense position and forced to flip over from an attack or other card, it also isn't considered summoned.
7 Special Summon
Special Summon is more of a catch-all phrase than a specific summoning method. Most require the special effect of a card to perform and can even break the rule of only summoning a single monster on a single turn.
Eachsummoning methods beyond the first three on this list are all considered Special Summons. Though, this term also describes any other type of summon beyond those standard methods.
6 Fusion Summon
AFusion Summonis exactly what it says on the label. This allows the player to take two monsters and bash them together to make another. The end result often a monster that is more powerful than either sacrifice.
Unfortunately, not every monster can be used in any combination to pull out a new creature. Each Fusion Monster Card has a summon formula in the text box below its picture. The two or more monsters from the field or the player's hand are then combined with the Spell Card Polymerization to summon a Fusion Monster from the player's Extra Deck (another deck specifically for Extra Monsters)onto the field. One notable exception to this rule is the monster D/D Swirl Slime that allows a player to summon a Fusion Monster without Polymerization.
5 Ritual Summon
A Ritual Summonrequires a specific Spell Card that summons a particular monster and the tributes as stated on the card. More often than not,the Monsters Cards sacrificed combined must equal or surpass a certain level when combined.
The one drawback to a Ritual Summon is that Ritual Monsters are not stored in the Extra Deck. Meaning the player must have the monster in their hand to summon it.
4 Synchro Summon
A Synchro Summon requires that all tributes be face-up on the playing field. From there, they can combine one Tuner Monster (a monster used to initiate a Synchro Summon) and one or more other monsters to summon a Synchro Monster from the Extra Deck.
RELATED:10 Strongest Cards in Seto Kaiba's Deck
Unlike with Ritual Summons, the combined level of the tributes, including the Tuner Monster, must be exact to the level of the monster Summoned. It is important to note that there is no limit to the number of Synchro summons that can be done in a turn.
3 Xyz Summon
Xyz Monsters can only be summoned when stacking two monsters vertically of the same level as the monster being summoned. They may also require particular monsters as stated in the text box of the card.
Once summoned from the Extra Deck, the Xyz Monster is placed on top of both of the stacked monsters in either face-up attack position ordefense position. Xyz Monsters often come with special effects that require a player to remove an Xyz Material from beneath the card (known as Detaching) and also may come with a detriment if all cards are removed.
2 Pendulum Summon
Pendulum Summons require the player to use the Pendulum Zones. Two positions on opposite sides of the Spell and Trap Card Zone where Pendulum Monsters can be played as Spell Cards. While in the Pendulum Zone, it's Pendulum Effects are in effect while it's Monster Effects are not. The scales (two numbered arrows on either side of the Pendulum Effect text) also come into effect.
The left-most Pendulum Zone is treated as the minimum number, and the right-most zone is treated as the maximum number. Thus allowing the player to summon any monster from their hand into play as long as its level is between both of those numbers. For example,if the left-most zone has a scale rating of 2 and the right-most zone has a 7, they are allowed to summon any number of monsters from levels 3 to 6. Furthermore, if a player wants to summon a Pendulum Monster from their extra deck, they may summon them to the Extra Zone or where a Link Monster's Link Arrow is pointing towards.
1 Link Summon
Link Monsters do not have a level or Defense Points. In their place is a Link Number and arrows that point towards different spots on the Main Monster Field. That link number then determines how many face-up monsters must be used as Link Material to Special Summon the monster into the Extra Monster Zone. Other Link Monsters may also be used to summon a Link Monster and can be treated as a single monster or a number of monsters equal to their Link Number.
From there a player is then allowed to summon other Extra Field Monsters into the spots the red arrows on the card point towards.The cards on those parts of the field sharing effects with the Link Monster. Furthermore, if a Link Monster is summoned onto one of those zones, the link extends onto the zones the new monster points towards.
NEXT:Yu-Gi-Oh: 10 Best Cards In Yugi/Atem's Deck
