Pendulum Monsters are a type of Monster that resides in the Main Deck. They can be Normal Summoned, but also facilitate a Special Summoning method via Pendulum Summoning. They were introduced into the game in 2014, and is the first mechanic to allow for a generic alternative method of summoning for Main Deck Monsters other than Normal. In this guide, we'll take a look at what they are, how to play them, and special rulings that only apply to them.

Table of Contents

    Table of Contents

    What Are Pendulum Monsters

    Pendulum Monsters are a type of Monster with the Pendulum ability (which we will discuss in depth in a minute). They also have effects that allow them to be treated as spells.

    Pendulum Monsters have a set of characteristics that set them apart from the other types of Monsters. The border is the color of the kind of Monster in the top half, but transitions to the green used by spells in the second half. The artwork is wider on the horizontal than all the other cards, but is also shorter on the vertical. Finally, they have a secondary text box above the Lore, flanked by two numbers with a colored gems on top.

    The additional text box is called a Pendulum Effect, while the two numbers on the side are called Pendulum Scales. Both of these are tied to Pendulum Summoning, so we'll discuss them in-depth when we get there.

    Pendulum Monsters can be any kind of Monster:

    So far there are no Link Pendulum Monsters.

    Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon
    A typical Pendulum Monster

    Pendulum Zones

    Those are special Zones that are used by Pendulum Monsters to perform a Pendulum Summon. They overlap with the right-most and left-most Spell/Trap Zones. You can activate Spells/Traps as normal here, but the zones must be empty to do either.

    Pendulum Summoning

    As mentioned in the introduction, Pendulum Monsters can be summoned using traditional methods. What they actually do is facilitate a type of Special Summon for the other monsters.

    The best way to explain how it works is with an example. You start the game, and go first. You draw the following 5 Cards:

    Blue-Eyes White Dragon Card Image Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon Card Image Dark Magician Card Image

    Stargazer Magician Card Image Timegazer Magician Card Image

    Under normal circumstances, this hand is pretty bad. The only card here that is playable here is Timegazer Magician, and its Effect (the one in the lore) isn't very useful.

    Thankfully, we can make another play. Place Stargazer in the left Pendulum Zone, and Timegazer in the right one. At this point, the two cards are treated as Continuous Spells, and the text written in the Pendulum Effect box applies, while the one in the Lore is ignored. 

    Look at the Pendulum Scales on each Monster. Startgazer's right one (red) is a 1, while Timegazer's left one (blue) is an 8. This means you can Special Summon, from your hand, as many Monsters with levels between 1 and 8, EXCLUDING those numbers. This is a Pendulum Summon. In our case, we can summon Odd-Eyes and Dark Magician, but not Blue-Eyes, since its level is 8, which is equal to Timegazer's scale, so it's not allowed.

    When you're done, your board should look something like this (Blue-Eyes is in hand):

    Destroying a Pendulum Monster

    Pendulum Monsters have a unique ability. If they were to be sent form the Field to the Graveyard, they are instead sent face-up to the Extra Deck. From there, they can be summoned back to the field via Pendulum Summoning. However, they have to follow the same restrictions as Link Monsters (link here). They'd still be sent to the Graveyard by cards that discard from your hand (Hand Destruction) or deck (Monster Gate).

    This effect doesn't come without a downside. You can't use Pendulum Monsters to activate effects that require you to send Monsters from the Field to the Graveyard, since they can't get there (you can still use them for tribute). Any sort of Effect that would Banish the Monster would override this property, and they'd be Banished. Cards that revive Monsters (like Monster Reborn and Called by the Grave) would also be more difficult to use with Pendulum Monsters.

    Extra Deck Pendulums

    Like mentioned at the beginning of this guide, there are Pendulum Monsters that are also Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz. As they are Extra Deck Monsters, they cannot exist in hand, so you can't place them in the Pendulum Zone as normal. Instead, they have effects that can place them there from the field.

    When such a Pendulum Monster is destroyed, it'll go back in the Extra Deck face-up. However, you won't be able to summon it using its built-in summoning method, and must be Pendulum Summoned (since Xyz monsters don't have Levels, they'll specify in their Effect the Scales needed to summon them).

    Odd-Eyes Venom Dragon Odd-Eyes Wing Dragon Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon
    A Fusion, a Synchro and an Xyz Monster that are also Pendulum Monsters

    Pendulum Card Staples

    Unfortunately, Pendulum cards were hit hard in 2017, when Link Monsters were introduced. Before that, face-up Pendulum Monsters in the Extra Deck could be summoned in any Monster Zone. After the introduction of Links, Pendulums had to abide by the same rules as Link Monsters, which was also true for Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz Monsters. However, the rules changed again in 2021 (2020 in Japan), and the latter 3 methods had those restrictions lifted, while Pendulums still had to abide by them. As such, Pendulum decks lost their most powerful advantage: the ability to swarm the board over and over again each turn. As it stands, Pendulum Summoning isn't used outside of dedicated decks, thus there are no staple cards that can go in any deck.