Arc-V: How to Pendulum Summon!
Introduction
Hello and welcome Duel Links Meta Fans, my name is
, I am a content manager on DLM and writer of the Farm Guides. With Arc-V World coming to Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links at the end of September 2021, many Duel Links players, new and old, will be introduced to the world of Pendulum Summoning for the first time. Now while some of you are versed in all summoning methods, some of you may have the question: "What is a Pendulum Summon and how do I do one?" This is the question I hope to answer today.What Is a Pendulum Monster?
Now before we get started with Pendulum Summoning, we should start with the Pendulum Monsters themselves, as they can be quite intimidating at first glance. Let's take a look at one now:
Now again, this might look crazy at the start, but let's break it down. Loading... is a Normal Pendulum Monster. You can Normal Summon it just like any other Normal Monster, and while it's on the field in the Monster Zone, it acts just like a Normal Monster, aside from the fact that when it would be sent from the Field to the Graveyard, it goes face-up to your Extra Deck instead.
Now you may have noticed the Text Box and the Arrows above the usual text box. This is because Pendulum Monsters are also Spell Cards. While acting as a Spell Card, a Pendulum Monster only uses the top text box for its effects, functioning similarly to a Continuous Spell card with the effect listed in the top text box (it will also go to the Extra Deck face-up instead of the Graveyard). This is known as its Pendulum Effect. In the Case of Loading... , while it's a Spell Card it can increase the Level of monsters on the field, and is no longer able to attack, defend or do anything else you usually do with Monsters (It should be noted that there are Pendulum Effect Monsters like Loading... which would usually have monster effects. While these cards are Spell Cards, they can no longer use their Monster Effects). You can activate a Pendulum monster as a Spell Card by placing it in the Pendulum Zone. Now what is a Pendulum Zone? We'll cover that next!
What is a Pendulum Zone
When Arc-V World comes to Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links, the leftmost and rightmost Spell and Trap Card Zones will become Pendulum Zones.
You can still activate and set Spell and Trap Cards in these Pendulum Zones just like normal. The only difference being that Pendulum Monsters can only be activated as Spell Cards in the Pendulum Zones. If both of your Pendulum Zones are occupied, you cannot activate a Pendulum Monster in the middle Spell and Trap Card zone. While in the Pendulum Zone, your Pendulum Monsters act as Spell Cards and will only use their Pendulum Effects (the effects listed in the upper Text Box), and not their Monster Effects (the effects listed in the lower Text Box). Pendulum Monsters in your Pendulum Zones will also be sent face-up to your Extra Deck instead of being sent to the Graveyard.
Now the final thing you may notice is these arrows and numbers. These are known as Pendulum Scales. We'll cover those next!