The release of Starter Deck: Link Strike marks the beginning of a brand-new Dueling era! Alongside the introduction of Link Monsters, some exciting updates to the official rules will also take effect. There are two big changes that you definitely want to know if you plan to get your game on, and the first is a revamp of the field.

The Pendulum Zones are no longer two separate zones and instead are represented in your outermost Spell/Trap Card Zones. You can still play Spells and Traps there just like before, but if you want to play a Pendulum Monster Card as a Spell Card, then it will need to be in one of those two zones. It is not considered a Pendulum Zone unless a Pendulum Spell is placed there, so if you don’t plan to use Pendulums then you don’t really need to worry about it. This reduces the clutter of the field substantially and also makes room for something completely brand new: the Extra Monster Zone.

Starting July 21st, this is where you put monsters that you Summon from the Extra Deck, like Fusion, Xyz, Synchro, and now, Link Monsters. You won’t be able to Summon from your Extra Deck to the Main Monster Zones without the aid of a Link Monster. Link Monsters give you the ability to Summon monsters from your Extra Deck to Main Monster Zones as long as one of the red Link Arrows on the Link Monster points to the zone you want to use. Normally, each player can only use one of the Extra Monster Zones. A monster placed in this zone does not count towards the 5-monster limit of your Main Monster Zone either, so it’s now possible to control 6 monsters at the same time!

Many Decks will not be affected by these updates at all, but some may require some extra thought and a modified gameplan to keep them running smoothly. It doesn’t mean that you can’t play a Deck focused around a strategy that wants to Summon multiple monsters from the Extra Deck at the same time, but you may need to spread your Summons out across a turn or two or incorporate some Link Monsters into your Extra Deck.

Starter Deck: Link Strike beckons exciting new changes to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, and these updates will go in affect as soon as the product is released, so make sure to check it out when it hits shelves July 21st!