Link Monsters (Japanese: リンクモンスター Rinku Monsutā, abbreviated Ｌ （ リンク ） モンスター in card text since Duelist Nexus) are a type of monsters that must be Link Summoned. Their card frame is colored in dark blue, textured with a hexagonal honeycomb pattern.
Link Monsters are Extra Deck monsters:
If a Link Monster is Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, it must be Special Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone, or a Main Monster Zone that a Link Monster points to.
Link Monsters have a Link Rating in place of a Level or a Rank. A Link Monster's Link Rating can be found next to its ATK, in place of a DEF value. A Link Monster's Link Rating determines the total number of Link Materials required to Link Summon it, and is equal to the number of its Link Arrows.
Because they do not have Levels/Ranks, Link Monsters are unaffected by card effects that depend on a monster's Level/Rank (e.g.: "Gravity Bind"), and cannot become involved in actions that require monsters with Levels/Ranks (e.g.: Synchro Summoning).
Link Monsters also have Link Arrows, indicated by red arrows radiating outward from the art frame. These indicators denote which zones the Link Monster points to. If a Link Monster points to a monster, the monsters are considered to be linked to each other. Two Link Monsters that point to each other are considered to be co-linked to each other. When Link Monsters are Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, they cannot be Special Summoned to a Main Monster Zone unless a Link Monster points to that zone. From New Master Rule (which introduced Link Monsters in 2017) until the 2020 Master Rule revision, this condition applied to all monsters in the Extra Deck to include face-up Pendulum Monsters.
Link Monsters can only exist in face-up Attack Position, and cannot be put in Defense Position through any means. This is because Link Monsters lack a DEF value and because rotating a Link Monster into Defense Position would change the directions its Link Arrows point to. As such, Link Monsters are unaffected by effects that change battle positions, cannot be placed face-down, and cannot be Special Summoned by an effect that summons only in Defense Position (such as "Back to the Front").
Link Materials are the requisite monsters needed to Link Summon the Link Monster. Each Link Monster lists its required Link Materials in the first line of its card text.
A Link Summon is the act of Summoning a Link Monster from the Extra Deck using the requisite number of Link Materials listed on its Link Rating. During the Main Phase, the turn player can Link Summon by sending the face-up Link Materials from their field to the Graveyard.
