Pendulum Summoning
A Pendulum Summon Special Summons any number of monsters at once from the hand, plus up to a fixed count from the face-up Extra Deck, provided their Levels fall between your two Pendulum Scales.
Setup
- Place a Pendulum Monster in each Pendulum Zone (the leftmost and rightmost Spell/Trap Zones). Activating a Pendulum Monster into a Pendulum Zone is an activation like any other Spell.
- Pendulum Scales come from the card's Blue (left) and Red (right) Pendulum numbers.
- The range: monsters with Levels strictly between the two Scales (exclusive, e.g., Scale 1 and Scale 8 allows Levels 2 through 7) may be Pendulum Summoned.
The Pendulum Summon action
Once per turn during your Main Phase, you can Pendulum Summon as many face-up monsters as possible in one go:
- From your hand — any number of eligible-Level monsters (limited only by available Monster Zones).
- From your face-up Extra Deck — Pendulum Monsters end up face-up in the Extra Deck when they would go to the GY from the field or Pendulum Zone. You may Pendulum Summon them back, but only to the Extra Monster Zone or Main Monster Zones you control that a Link Monster points to.
Extra Deck cap on Pendulum Summon
Under current Master Rules, you may Pendulum Summon any number of monsters from the face-up Extra Deck in a single Pendulum Summon as long as they are summoned to either the Extra Monster Zone or a Main Monster Zone that any Link monster points to.
For a Pendulum Summon with no Link Monsters on the field, the practical rule:
- One Pendulum Monster from the face-up Extra Deck (Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone).
- Any number from the hand (limited by Monster Zone availability and the Scale range).
Worked example
"Yuya has Harmonizing Magician, Purple Poison Magician, and Black Fang Magician all face-up in his Extra Deck. Yuya has Timegazer Magician and Stargazer Magician in his Pendulum Zones and there are no other cards on the field. During Yuya's Main Phase, how many Level 2–7 monsters can Yuya Pendulum Summon?"
— Answer: One (1) from his face-up Extra Deck and as many as he'd like from his hand. Without a Link Monster in a Main Monster Zone extending his available summoning zones, Yuya can only Pendulum Summon one monster out of the face-up Extra Deck into the Extra Monster Zone. Hand-based Pendulum Summons remain unlimited (up to zone availability).
Judge calls to watch for
- Scales are exclusive — Scale 4 and Scale 8 permit Levels 5, 6, 7 only.
- A Pendulum Monster destroyed from the field goes face-up to the Extra Deck. A Pendulum Monster sent from the hand or Deck to the GY goes to the GY, not the Extra Deck.
- Negating the Pendulum Summon itself (e.g., Solemn Strike) negates the whole multi-monster Summon as one action; all intended Pendulum Summoned monsters fail.
Sources
- Konami Rulebook v10 "Pendulum Monsters"
- https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Pendulum_Summon