How to Make Leader Abilities Work in Yu-Gi-Oh!

Gain experience points to increase the rank of your deck leader. The deck leader earns experience by being played face up on the battlefield, being in play at the end of the match and defeating enemy monsters. You are notified when the deck leader reaches a higher rank. The rank needed for each special ability to activate varies between deck leaders and abilities. Most deck leaders do not gain a special ability until reaching the rank of major and need to reach the rank of at least rear admiral to access all of their abilities.

Avoid losing experience points. Your rank can decrease if you lose enough experience, which causes you to lose the ability to use a leader ability. Any situation causing a leader to be put into a graveyard causes experience to be lost. This loss occurs even if the deck leader was never placed into play, such as if you discard the deck leader.

Move a monster of the same monster type as your deck leader into any square adjacent to your deck leader to activate the Increased Strength of Friendly Types, Increased Resistance of Friendly Types or Increased Movement of Friendly Types abilities. Increased Strength increases the attack and defense of that monster by 100 to 500 points based on the current rank of the deck leader. Increased Resistance makes the monster immune to traps, spells and some monster abilities. Increased Movement increases the range the monster can move by one square.

Move your deck leader so it's adjacent to an enemy monster of the type indicated on its skill to activate the Weaken Enemy Type or Destroy Enemy Type abilities. For example, Weaken Enemy Type: Dragon lowers the attack and defense of enemy dragons by 100 to 500 points based on your leader̵7;s rank. Destroy Enemy Type: Fiend automatically destroys enemy fiends.

Play a monster of the same type as your deck leader to activate the Decrease Summoning Cost ability. The cost to play that monster is decreased by up to two based on the current rank of your leader card.