SDCC 2014: Konami Tips The Scales With ‘YuGiOh’ And Pendulum Summoning

At Comic Con, Konami’s booth was a giant celebration of all things YuGiOh. Everywhere you looked, all of the best cards, characters, and even a con exclusive Kaiba themed play mat were on display for new and old players to see. But the main focus wasn’t on the past, but on the future of the game, starting with the newest game mechanic, Pendulum Summoning.

Debuting with YuGiOh: Arc-V, the new anime series that saw its debut back in April, the 2014 starter deck was the first chance that North Americans got to try out the new monster type. Having only been released recently, the card game experts at the booth had numerous tables set up for the demonstrations as to how these monster turned spell cards have the potential to completely change the way the game is played.

The most immediately noticeable change is the color of the card. With its orange top half and its green bottom, color schemes that are typically reserved for effect monsters and spell cards respectively, this visual difference further illustrates the hybrid nature of these new cards. Featuring attack, defense and spell effects, duelists have the choice of playing them like normal monsters, or using them in one of the two new Pendulum Zones. While placed on these spaces, players can use its spell effect once per turn until the card is destroyed. Essentially becoming a Continuous Spell Card, it avoids many of the counters that are designed to stop these effects , since the new cards aren’t classified as any existing spell. Not only that, but when they do get destroyed by an attack or monster effect, they go face up on top of your Extra Deck, keeping them out of the graveyard. Why does it matter? That’s where their real power comes in.

Pendulum Monsters each have a value that can differ depending on which one of the two zones they’re placed on. Now, once one monster is placed on each side, their respective values come into play, potentially allowing a Pendulum Summon. What that means is that any Pendulum Monster that is between the levels of the two cards’ values can be special summoned to the field from your hand or Extra Deck on that turn. For example, if one monster has a scale value of one and the other is six, you can potentially fill your field with level two through five beasts, all while the potential spell effects of the two monsters on the scales can still be used. The best part? Each summon is a standalone move, so to my understanding, cards like Solemn Judgment, which negates the activation of a card before destroying it, would only affect one summon. The rest are free to win you the game.

Of course, this is with the best case scenario in mind. While the mechanic is still in its infancy, if Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz Summoning are any indication, then it’s safe to say that this new generation will add tons of support cards that will make us forget that these other summon types ever existed. But until then, the future looks exciting for the next stage in the popular card game’s evolution.

We hope to have some more detailed, hands on impressions with Pendulum Monsters, including a full breakdown of the Starter Deck, in the near future. Until then, stick with Geekscape.net for the rest of your Comic Con news!