Straight from Konami the basic overview of how the new rules work, without any of the magazine pedigree. Also, keep in mind for the moment this applies to the OCG only. So don’t start pestering TCG judges about it.
This article is a companion article for the video we’ve also done
The new rules go into effect the same day Starter Deck 2017 is released: March 25th, 2017. Link Monsters and Link Summons will be shown in Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS which will air first in Japan.
New Elements of New Master Rule
New! The Newly Established Extra Monster Zone
These are the zones where you can place monsters brought out from the Extra Deck, and during the Duel you may choose either the left or right zone. (One person gets one zone each)
Extra Monster Zone
These are the zones where you can place monsters brought out from the Extra Deck, and during the Duel you may choose either the left or right zone. (One person gets one zone each)
New! Link Monsters Appear for the First Time
Link Monsters are a new type of monster you can bring out from the Extra Deck. In addition to their Link Markers bringing about new potential strategies, they are also a first in that they cannot exist in Defense Position (in fact, they lack DEF) and are always in Attack Position.
Where are the Level or Rank stars?
Link Monsters have neither a Level nor a Rank.
Link Marker
The red Link Markers can grant special effects to zones or cards they point to.
LINK
The number that shows the monster’s total number of Link Markers. The bigger the number the stronger the monster!
New! A Brand-New Summon, Link Summon
Link Summon is a new Summoning method that involves the use of face-up monsters on the field as materials (like Synchro and Xyz Summoning). Use the info on Link Summon to master it and bring out Link Monsters from your Extra Deck!
Basics of Link Summon #1: It uses face-up monsters on the field as materials.
Basics of Link Summon #2: In order to summon a “Link-n” monster, n monsters are needed as Link Materials. Normally, 1 monster is counted as a single Link Material.
Basics of Link Summon #3: The requirements for the Link Materials are written under the Link Monster’s monster type.
With this in mind, let’s look at the following example.
In the case of LINK-1 Link Spider:
It has LINK-1, and its requirements are “1 Normal Monster”…
So send 1 Normal Monster to the Graveyard, and Link Summon it to the Extra Monster Zone!
In the case of LINK-3 Decode Talker:
It has LINK-3, and requirements of “2 or more Effect Monsters”, so…?
Don’t forget the Basics #2 – send 3 Effect Monsters to the Graveyard and Link Summon!
And now, there’s one more thing to remember about Link Summons.
Basics of Link Summon #4: A “LINK-n” monster can also be treated as “n” Link Materials.
For example, a LINK-2 monster can be treated as 2 Link Materials for a Link Summon.
Because of this, Decode Talker, whose requirements are “2 or more Effect Monsters”, can not only be Link Summoned with 3 Effect Monsters, but also with 1 LINK-2 Effect Monster and 1 other Effect Monster.(edited)
New! Cyverse*-Type Appears for the First Time (*Name Subject to Change)
Many of the monsters wielded by the protagonist of VRAINS are of this type, and more will appear in the future.
Changes to Special Summoning Extra Deck Monsters
For all Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, and Pendulum Monsters as well, when Summoning them from the Extra Deck, they will normally be Special Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone. (When Special Summoning from outside the Extra Deck, they are Summoned to the Main Monster Zone as they have been up to now.)
But, there are also methods to Special Summon to zones other than the Extra Monster Zone. You can also Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck to Main Monster Zones pointed to by a Link Monster’s Link Markers. Wield Link Monsters alongside those up to now to grasp victory!
Q&A Summary
If you use Monster Reborn or a similar card on an Extra Deck Monster, they must be Summoned to a Main Monster Zone, not to an Extra Monster Zone.
Book of Moon cannot be used on Link Monsters, as Link Monsters cannot exist in Defense Position.
You cannot be attacked directly if there is a Link Monster (or any monster) in your Extra Monster Zone if your other 5 Monster Zones are empty.
Cards like Wavering Eyes cannot destroy Set/activated non-Pendulum Spell & Trap Cards in the left-most and right-most Spell & Trap Zones: they are not treated as cards in Pendulum Zones. The only cards considered cards in Pendulum Zones are Pendulum Monster Cards that are placed in Pendulum Zones by either [A] activating them from the hand or [B] applying an effect that places them in Pendulum Zones.
