Pendulum Summoning:

Pendulum Summoning is the latest form of special summoning introduced in Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V. So for those who are returning after a break, it is Fusions-Rituals-Synchros-XYZs-Pendulums. We will obviously get a lot more support for Pendulums but frankly, it has already changed the game a lot (damn you Qliphoth).



As you can see in the image above, there are two Pendulum zones (the left being blue, and the right being red). There are monsters with Pendulum effects, in order to give an example I will use Qliphoth Tool and Assembler (as for now, Qliphoth is the main deck to use for Pendulums).

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As you can see, Tool has a Pendulum scale of 9 in both (highlight both) zones. On the other hand, Assembler has a Pendulum scale of 1, again in both zones. These Pendulum monsters can be activated from the hand as a spell card, and is placed in the Pendulum zone (note: it places on the left side automatically first so keep that in mind). After resolving the Pendulum effects of the monster placed in the zone is activated; so with Qliphoth Tool you can pay 800 LP to search out cards from the deck when it is placed. Pendulum effects are different from monster effects as P.effect is only activated when it is treated as a spell (in the pendulum zone) and vice-versa.

As it is treated as a spell, Pendulum cards can be destroyed by S/T removal such as MST. Another important aspect to remember is that unlike field spells, you cannot place a new Pendulum monster over an existing one. When a Pendulum Monster (even if it is face-down) would be sent from the field to the Graveyard, either as a Monster Card or Spell Card, it is placed face-up in the Extra Deck Zone instead.  If a Pendulum Monster is sent from the hand, Main Deck, or Extra Deck to the Graveyard; has its activation as a Spell Card or Summon negated; or is detached, it is sent to the Graveyard like normal (as it was not on the field at the time). A Pendulum Monster in the Extra Deck Zone can be summoned again by Pendulum Summon, as long as its Level is within the Scales.

Phew, now that is nearly everything about the mechanics of Pendulum cards. Now on the Pendulum Summoning; Pendulum Summoning allows the player to summon multiple high-Level monsters all at once. Once per turn, if the player has a Pendulum monster in both of their Pendulum zones, the player can Pendulum Summon any number of monsters from the hand and/or any number of Pendulum Monsters that are face-up in the Extra Deck with a Level between the blue Pendulum Scale in the left Pendulum Zone and the red Pendulum Scale in the right Pendulum Zone. So as the difference between Tool and Assembler is 8 (9-1), you can special summon any monsters up to LV 8 from your hand or face-up in the Extra Deck.


As you may have noticed, the mechanics of Pendulums allows you to summon a number of high-level monsters every turn at the expense of losing resources in setting up the Pendulum zones.

That covers the basics of Pendulums and if you have any other questions feel free to ask.

A special thanks to Dovahkiin who will be responsible for making my guides look fabulous.

-Decato-

Nice Guide Decato