Ritual Summon A Ritual Summon ( " Gishiki Shōkan " ) is a method of Special Summon ing a Ritual Monster which normally uses the effect of a Ritual Spell Card . Ritual Summons usually require Tribute s ( from your hand or side of the field ) greater than or equal to the Level of the Ritual Monster that is being Summoned . These Tributes are performed as part of the Ritual Spell Card ' s effect resolution , rather than as a cost . Some Ritual Spell Cards , including most Ritual Spell Cards that are capable of being used for different Ritual Monsters ( such as " End of the World " ) , require the total Level s of the Tributed monsters to exactly equal the Level of the Ritual Monster . Performing a Ritual Summon . A player can Ritual Summon a Ritual Monster by activating a card or effect that performs a Ritual Summon ( usually a Ritual Spell Card ) . When that effect resolves , the player must satisfy the requirements of the card or effect performing the Ritual Summon ( usually Tributing monsters from their hand and / or field ) . After that , the player Summons the Ritual Monster from the hand ( or other specified location ) to an unoccupied Main Monster Zone in face - up Attack or Defense Position . When a card or effect that Ritual Summons resolves , if the requirement cannot be met or the Ritual Monster cannot be Ritual Summoned , no Ritual Summon occurs , nor is any action taken for the Ritual Summon ' s requirement . For example , if a player cannot Special Summon when resolving a Ritual Spell Card that Tributes monsters , no monsters are Tributed . Tributing monsters for a Ritual Summon . If the card or effect that Ritual Summons does not mandate an exact total Level ( e . g . " " You must also Tribute monsters from your hand or field whose total Levels equal 6 or more . " " ) , the player cannot Tribute additional monsters if they already met the minimum Level requirement . Monsters that do not have Levels , such as Xyz Monster s and Link Monster s , cannot be Tributed for a Ritual Summon . A player can activate a card or effect that Ritual Summons even if their Monster Zone s are full , but only if they Tribute one of their monsters on the field when that card or effect resolves ( if all their Monster Zones are still occupied by that point ) . Face - down monsters can be Tributed for a Ritual Summon , unless the card text specifies otherwise ( such as " Forbidden Arts of the Gishki " ) . If a face - down monster has an effect that allows it to be used as the entire monster requirement for the Ritual Summon , such as " Ritual Raven " , that effect can be applied if it is Tributed for the Ritual Summon of an appropriate monster . If the player can Tribute an opponent ' s face - down monster due to a card effect ( such as " Soul Exchange " ) , it cannot be used for a Ritual Summon because its Level is unknown . In manga . In the original manga , besides the needed tributes , Ritual Summon also requires a proper monster to become the vessel for the Ritual Monster . For example , when Yugi used " Black Magic Ritual " and " Black Luster Ritual " , he used " Gaia The Fierce Knight " and " Dark Magician " to summon " Black Luster Solider " and " Magician of Black Chaos " , respectively . Similarly , Maximillion Pegasus used " Dark - Eyes Illusionist " to summon " Relinquished " . Anime . Before " Yu - Gi - Oh ! ARC - V " , there were no common animation patterns for Ritual Summon . In " Yu - Gi - Oh ! ARC - V " , when a Ritual Card is activated , the altar depicted on it appears on the field , and then the Tributed monsters turn into flames ( a number of flames equal to the their individual Levels ) before positioning themselves on the altar . A pillar of fire rises from the altar and explodes in the sky , after which the Ritual Monster descends from the sky .