Explanation and Ginny remarks by /u/Superpoly
OKAY, HERE WE GO, TIME TO FUCKING RIDE THIS.
Introducing Link Summon
There we go.
and changes to the Dueling Field
Oh god not again. It took me a year to get used to Pendulums.
(as well as Pendulum Summons)
Jesus. Whatever this is, it's gonna be good.
Example Card: Decode Talker Decode Talker DARK Cybers-Type Link Effect Monster
Cybers....Type? So...it's not Thunder or Psychic. But at least it's not a Warrior tbh.
LINK 3
???????
ATK 2300
So is it the Junk Warrior rather than the Stardust Dragon? Also, where is the DEF??????
Materials: 2 or more Effect Monster
Oh god I've heard this song before.
(1) This card gains 500 ATK for each monster Linked to it.
Seems alright. But wtf is a Linked monster.
(2) When an opponent’s card effect that targets a card you control is activated: You can Tribute 1 of your monsters Linked to this card; negate that activation, and if you do, destroy it.
So a Linked monster is a monster...on the field? But that is a good effect, wow.
OKAY MORE INFO!
Look at those distinctive Link Markers! Use these Markers to develop brand new strategies! It goes into your Extra Deck!
New extra deck monsters. Wonderful.
There are 2 ways of Link Summoning!!
!!!!!!!!!
Send Materials to the Grave Equal to the Link Number! You can Link Summon something from your Extra Deck by sending the same number of monsters that meet the material requirements written in the card’s effect box, whose total numbers equal to the LINK number, from the field to the Graveyard.
Okay cool. So it's like Contact Fusion and Xyz. Decode Talker is LINK3, and his materials are just 2 or more Effect monsters, so we'd send 3 Effect monsters to the graveyard to summon him by this procedure. But there's a second way, eh.
Decrease Materials by Using Link Monsters. Link Monsters are treated as the same number of materials as its LINK Number, however to use them you must match the requirements written on the card!
So basically, it's like synchro laddering but with contact fusion...sort of. If I wanted to summon another Link Monster, I could do it the normal way, or I could do it the normal way but also substitute Decode Talker for 3 of the Materials, because he's a LINK3 monster. Not bad.
IN THE CASE OF “DECODE TALKER” You can either -Use 3 Effect Monsters or -Use 1 Link 2 Effect monster and 1 Effect Monster
Okay, cool. This is easy enough.
Pay Attention to the Direction of the Link Markers!
Oooor not.
The Zones pointed to by each Link Marker and the cards in them will be affected by the Link Monster, and this will create new strategies!
The.......zones.
The zones.
The series introduces a mechanic that has to do with zones.
And _Cyber-_Type monsters.
Cyber...dark Impact............
We were fools not to notice.
ANYWAY, MOVING ON'
They have no defense…!!!
What.
Link monsters have no defense points and they have the special characteristics of being unable to change their battle positions or turning to defense position by effects.
That's....pretty great. I can live with that.
The Newly Created Extra Monster Zone You can only use one of them!
Yeah, I noticed! But they're not called Link Monster Zones. They're called Extra Monster Zones.....? Hmmmm.
When the Duel begins, neither Extra Monster Zone is considered to belong to a specific player. When a player Special Summons a monster to one of them, that Zone then becomes treated as part of that player’s field, and the other then becomes treated as the other player’s field. The tactics of a Duel will change drastically depending on who can grab an Extra Monster Zone first! An Extra Deck Monster can only be Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone!
WHOA.
WHOA.
WHOA.
This is. HUGE.
I am a big fan. And all this about claiming an Extra Zone first makes me really excited for strategies, but it also makes me worried that the first-turn player will be even more privileged.
But if you Summon a Link Monster to one of the Extra Monster Zone first, you can utilize it to its max potential!
Good fucking shit.
Extra Deck Monsters, like Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, and Link, cannot be Summnoned to the Main Monster Zone, beware!
Oh god this is actually happening.
Synchro is dead.
Xyz is dead.
They're fucking dead.
Even Fusion gets hurt by this, but not nearly as much. Fluffals cry, but Lunalights? Lunalights laugh and laugh.
– What has been the [Monster Zone] up till now is now the [Main Monster Zone]
I cannot express to you how big a fan I am of this. This shit is huge. This is how you slow down the game. This is how you revolutionize the system.
Konami, you fucking madmen.
The [Pendulum Zone] is on the left and right of the [Spell & Trap Zone]. You can use it as a normal [Spell & Trap Zone], but when you place Pendulum cards there, it is treated as the [Pendulum Zone]
WHAT. THE FUCK.
THEY KILLED EVERYTHING.
THEY KILLED. EVERYTHING.
FUSION. SYNCHRO. XYZ. PENDULUM.
DEAD.
My Zefras...my Majespecters!
And even still. I am in love with this new mechanic.
The Zones Pointed at by Link Markers Can be Used to Bring Out Extra Deck Monsters Although Extra Deck Monsters can only be Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone normally, if you have a Link Monster in the Extra Monster Zone, the Zones pointed at by their Link Markers can be used to Summon Extra Deck Monsters! So if you get out a Link Summon quickly, you can bring out Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz Monsters in succession. Of course, you can Summon another Link Monster in one of these Zones, so if you play your cards right, you can fill your entire Main Monster Zone with Extra Deck Monsters! The new metagame will require careful consideration of where to place monsters!
Okay. Okay. Deep breaths.
So what you're saying is that Pendulum got hit the hardest. The rest can still do some things.
But my god, they'll have to do them with strategy.
This is fucking unbelievable. This is ambitious. This is art.
Super Quick Q&A for the New Rules! Q: If Special Summoned an Extra Deck Monster normally, and it goes to the Graveyard, and I want to Special Summon it with “Monster Reborn”, which Zone does it go to? A: It goes into the Main Monster Zone, not the Extra Monster Zone.
Yessssss. So that's at least versatile. So they're only locked to the Extra Zone when they're being summoned from the Extra Deck. Not bad. This also hits Xyz a lot, and makes other shit use a ton of resources.
Q: Can you use “Book of Moon” on Link Monsters? A: Link Monsters cannot be face-down, so you cannot target them with “Book of Moon”.
Oh, right, these exist. Fucking hell, I love this so much.
Q: If your opponent’s only monster is in their Extra Monster Zone, can you attack them directly? A: If there’s a monster in the Extra Monster Zone, unless some kind of effect is in play, you would have to attack that monster first.
Okay cool so basically we can control six monsters now gj konmai jk ilysm
Q: Can you destroy 2 Set Spell & Trap Cards in your Left Most and Right Most Spell & Trap Zones with “Wavering Eyes”? A: The Left Most and Right Most Spell & Trap Zones are regular Spell & Trap Zones, and do not become Pendulum Zones unless you activate a Pendulum Card in them, or if a Pendulum Card is placed in them by a card effect. A Set Spell & Trap Card in either of those Zones cannot be destroyed by “Wavering Eyes”.
Okay. Okay. Okay.
I have to stop now before I explode with exuberance. But this. This is beautiful. And it's only the beginning.
EDIT: FEW THINGS
It's important to note that, if you're summoning a Link Monster, you have to use its Materials all the time. This comes before that laddering method we talked about. Even if you use a Link 2 monster as material for Link 3, it has to also be eligible as material. So you can't use a Link 2 non-Effect monster (for instance) to summon Decode Talker, since it requires 2 or more Effect Monsters.
SECOND. I didn't realize how much this added. This link mechanic is literally a new dimension to the game. Every zone matters. And. It can be balanced because, guess what? The arrows on the Link Monsters can point to your opponent's field, too. Meaning that you have to be real careful what you summon and what you leave out. It's an amazing way to balance things, and the zone mechanic itself also just adds a new angle of strategy to literally every move in the game. This is what I call good design.
I just hope they've tested it enough that someone doesn't break it in a week. I give Lithium two days.