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Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game
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The Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game is a collectable card game based on Duel Monsters, which is the main plot device in the popular Japanese manga Yu-Gi-Oh!, as well as the three anime series by Toei and NAS. Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game, often shortened TCG, is the part of the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game formerly manufactured by Upper Deck Entertainment under Konami's direction. The TCG was played Worldwide, but mostly in North America, Europe and Australia.
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Encyclopedia
The Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game is a collectable card game based on Duel Monsters, which is the main plot device in the popular Japanese manga Yu-Gi-Oh!, as well as the three anime series by Toei and NAS. Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game, often shortened TCG, is the part of the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game formerly manufactured by Upper Deck Entertainment under Konami's direction. The TCG was played Worldwide, but mostly in North America, Europe and Australia. The Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG began in 2002. For information on the anime, see the articles Yu-Gi-Oh! (first series anime) and Yu-Gi-Oh! (second series anime).
In these fictional settings, the game is referred to as either Duel Monsters or Magic and Wizards or M&W. Thus the trading card game is the realization of a fictional game which was invented by the author Kazuki Takahashi. The cards and rules of the fictional game are entirely subservient to the plot of the story, and so they cannot be made into an actual trading card game without modification. Konami has produced most of the cards named by Takahashi with the powers he gives them. The rules of the trading card game are quite distinct from those of the fictional game. They are more consistent and balanced and do not change as they do in the fictional contexts. The original manga and the first English printing of Volumes 1-3 and part of Volume 4 used the name Magic & Wizards while the other and newer English productions and both anime versions use Duel Monsters.
The trading cards are distributed in Asian countries by Konami as Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters: Official Card Game (OCG). Elsewhere, Upper Deck Entertainment served as the manufacturer under Konami's direction until 2009, when Konami took control of the Upper Deck TCG. In response, UDE had sued Konami for $75 million, supposedly the full amount of the game's global cost, citing a breach in contract. As of December 27, 2008, UDE had won the injunction with Konami, preventing the transfer of distribution rights in the western world. A few months later, UDE lost total control of the franchise and removed it from their website. The solid future of the franchise is currently unknown, but Konami is continuing to introduce new cards and are developing a new rating system called "COSSY.
Formats
Organized play
Many local shops that carry this game have hosted tournaments. In addition, Upper Deck, Konami, and Shonen Jump had organized numerous tournament systems in their respective areas. These tournaments attracted hundreds of players to compete for prizes such as rare promotional cards. As of February 2009, however, all Organized Play Events in North America were canceled.
There are two styles of tournament play called "Formats;" each format has its own rules and some restrictions on what cards are allowed to be used during events.
The Advanced Format is used in all premier Upper Deck and Konami tournaments, including the World Championship. This format follows all the normal rules of the game, but also places a complete ban on certain cards that are deemed too advantageous for tournament play. These cards are on a special list called the Forbidden, or Banned List. This list is updated every six months and is followed in all tournaments that use this format.
Traditional format is an alternative format which reflects the state of the game before the Forbidden Card list was created. Cards that are banned in Advanced are limited to one copy per deck in this format. This format only applies to the countries where Upper Deck distributes the game and was not widely used by Upper Deck in its sanctioned tournaments, leaving only local and unsanctioned tournaments to use it.
Rating Systems
The trading card game formerly incorporated worldwide rankings, but since Konami canceled organized play, the ratings were obsolete. Konami is currently developing a new rating system called "Cossy," (Konami Card Game Official Tournament Support System) which according to a company press release, will launch in April, and possibly internationally.
Casual play
Casual players typically agree in advance to follow the rules of either the Advanced Format or the Traditional Format. In addition, there are countless other unofficial variants, such as multiple player duel (where three or more duelists play every-man-for-themselves) and use of the Egyptian God Cards (promotional cards from the anime/manga adaptation, which are illegal in official tournaments). For these unofficial variants of the game, the rules, such as what cards are legal or not, are agreed upon ahead of time. However, very recently, official Tag Duel rules have been introduced into the main game, advertised in the form of Tag Force 2 and Championship 2008.
Product information
Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Cards are available in Starter Decks, Structure Decks, booster packs, and occasionally as promotional cards.
Booster packs
As in all other Trading Card Games, booster packs are the primary avenue of card distribution. In Konami's distribution areas, five random cards are found in each booster pack, and each set contains between fifty and sixty different cards. However, in Upper Deck's areas, early booster packs contained a random assortment of nine cards (eight common cards and one uncommon card) with the whole set ranging around 130 cards. In order to catch up with the Japanese meta game, two or more original sets were combined into one. Now, more recent Upper Deck sets have simply duplicated the original set. Some booster sets are reprinted/reissued (e.g. Dark Beginnings Volume 1 and 2). This type of set usually contains a larger amount of cards (around 200 to 250), and they contain twelve cards along with one tip card rather than the normal five or nine.
Starter Decks and Structure Decks
Starter Decks are used to help beginners. Starter Decks were released in order for new players to learn most of the basic gameplay and mechanics, also named after various characters from the second animated series. Structure Decks, however, are for more advanced players, as they are focused on a single strategy and tend to have powerful cards and combos. Each Starter Deck contains forty or fifty different cards, a game mat, and a rule book. Each Structure Deck contains exactly forty cards, a game mat, a rule book and a small leaflet with recommendations for cards, strategies and booster packs to improve the deck. Structure decks are usually built to adhere to the current Advanced-Format Forbidden Card list.
Character Starter Decks
There are currently seven Starter Decks available in the United States:
- Yugi Starter Deck (SDY): features Yugi's Dark Magician.
- Kaiba Starter Deck (SDK): features Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
- Joey Starter Deck (SDJ): includes Joey's Red-Eyes Black Dragon.
- Pegasus Starter Deck (SDP): has Pegasus' "Toon" monsters and his Relinquished card.
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Starter Deck 2006 (YSD) & Yu-Gi-Oh! Starter Deck 2007 (YSD2): include Elemental Hero cards and old spells and traps. Based on the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX series.
- Jaden Yuki Starter Deck (YSDJ): includes cards used by Jaden in the show.
- Syrus Truesdale Starter Deck (YSDS): includes cards used by Syrus in the show.
- 5D's Starter Deck (5DS1): includes the new Synchros and Tuners card types, as well as older cards. Based on the new Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's series.
Character Structure Decks
There are also eight character-based Structure Decks released in Japan. They are similar to their U.S. counterparts except that they contain different cards and are called Structure Decks. These decks tend to be more powerful than the Starter Decks and have been notable among fans as being "playable from the box". The Structure Decks are:
- Yugi Structure Deck (YU): features Dark Magician Girl, the Dark Magician family, and other cards used by Yugi in early parts of the Battle City arc of the anime.
- Jonouchi ("Joey") Structure Deck (JY): This deck sucks major ass!
- Kaiba Structure Deck (KA): features the Vampire Lord, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Blue-Eyes White Dragon (three in the deck, one with Japanese writing, one with Chinese writing, and one with English writing, referencing the Manga, which mentioned the previous owners of the BEWD's were from those countries ), and other cards used by Kaiba in early Battle City arc of anime. Also includes a coin with the Millennium Puzzle printed on it, usually for card effects which needs a toss coin.
- Pegasus Structure Deck (PE): features cards that are used by Pegasus in the Duelist Kingdom arc of the anime. Examples include the "toon" monsters and Relinquished without pants. Also includes the three (non-playable) "invitation" cards that were sent to Yugi before the Duelist Kingdom.
- Yugi Volume 2 Structure Deck (SY2): features cards used by Yugi later in the Battle City arc in the anime. Some examples are Dark Paladin and Dimensional Magic.
- Kaiba Volume 2 Structure Deck (SK2): features cards used by Kaiba later in the Battle City arc in the anime. Some examples are XYZ Dragon Cannon and Shrink.
- Jonouchi ("Joey") Volume 2 Structure Deck (SJ2): features cards used by Jonouchi later in the Battle City arc in the anime. Some examples are Gilford the Lightning and Foolish Burial.
- Marik Structure Deck (SDM): features cards used by Marik in the Battle City arc in the anime. Some examples are Lava Golem, Magic Shard Excavation, and Unholy Calamity.
Evolution Starter Decks
The Yugi and Kaiba Starter Decks have been re-released with slightly different cards since their initial release in the U.S., and the second set is known as the Evolution series. It is generally thought that the Evolution series improved the respective deck of each character, and they are more readily available than the initial release. The codes for the Evolution Series decks are:
- Yugi Evolution Starter Deck (SYE): contains the Ritual Monster
Black Luster Soldier, the Ritual Spell Card Black Luster Ritual, and Dark Magician (LOB artwork)Kaiba Evolution Starter Deck (SKE): includes a Kaiser Sea Horse card along with the Continuous Trap Card Shadow Spell and Blue-Eyes White Dragon (LOB artwork)
Type Structure Decks
The Type Structure decks contain forty cards each. These decks do not follow the theme of being based on a character from the show, though some characters from the show may use similar decks. Instead they are based on a specific Monster type or attribute. The main purpose is to help new players start the game with stronger cards and combos. These decks may also contain multiple copies of same named cards and common versions of hard-to-find cards, making these decks powerful even without modifications.
In addition, all decks include an instruction booklet with tips on how to use the deck's current goal (for example, the Fury of the Deep Structure Deck explains how to use Gravity Bind and A Legendary Ocean as a combo to allow four-starred monsters to attack), and how to expand on that goal with new cards. Each Structure Deck also contains one or more cards that can only be found by buying that deck. The codes for the structure deck, and what they are based on, are:
- Dragon's Roar Structure Deck (SD1): Based on Dragon Type monsters. The new card is
Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon.
- Zombie Madness Structure Deck (SD2): Based on Zombie Type monsters. The new card is
Vampire Genesis.
- Blaze of Destruction Structure Deck (SD3): Based on Fire Attribute monsters. The new card is
Infernal Flame Emperor.
- Fury of the Deep Structure Deck (SD4): Based on Water Attribute monsters. The new card is
Ocean Dragon Lord - Neo Daedalus.
- Warrior's Triumph Structure Deck (SD5): Based on Warrior Type monsters. The new cards are
Gilford the Legend, Warrior Lady of the Wasteland, and Divine Sword - Phoenix Blade.
- Spellcaster's Judgment Structure Deck (SD6): Based on Spellcaster Type monsters. The new cards are
Dark Eradicator Warlock, Mythical Beast Cerberus, Magical Blast, (and for TCG) Nightmare's Steelcage, Magical Dimension, and Mystic Box.
- Invincible Fortress Structure Deck (SD7): Based on Earth Attribute monsters. The new cards are
Exxod, Master of the Guard; Great Spirit; and Canyon.
- Lord of the Storm Structure Deck (SD8): Based on Wind Attribute monsters. The new cards are
Simorgh, Bird of Divinity; Sonic Shooter; and Hysteric Party.
- Dinosaur's Rage Structure Deck (SD09): Based on Dinosaur Type monsters. The new cards are
Super Conductor Tyranno, Jurassic World, Big Evolution Pill, Tail Swipe, Hunting Instinct, Survival Instinct, Volcanic Eruption, and Seismic Shockwave. The Special Edition Version of this Deck also released for the first time in the TCG the Five-Headed Dragon (known as Five-God Dragon in Japan).
- Machine Re-Volt Structure Deck (SD10): Based on Machine Type monsters. The new cards are
Ancient Gear Gadjitron Dragon, Ancient Gear Engineer, Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Chimera, Boot-Up Soldier-Dread Dynamo, Ancient Gear Workshop, Ancient Gear Fist, Ancient Gear Explosive, and Ancient Gear Tank. This deck also releases in the TCG the Gadget cards Red Gadget, Yellow Gadget, and Green Gaget monsters and Stronghold the Moving Fortress.
- Surge of Radiance Structure Deck (SD11): Based on Light Attribute monsters. The new cards are
Neo Parshath the Sky Paladin, Metius, Sage of the Sky, Harvest, Angel of Wisdom, Freya, Spirit of Victory, Nova Summoner, Radiant Jeral, Gellenduo and Aegis of Gaia. This deck has not been released in the TCG, although the new cards are already available as Secret Rares in the "Strike of Neos" set.
- Curse of Darkness Structure Deck (SD12): Based on Dark Attribute monsters. The OCG version is available. Due to the rumors of no release for SD11 there is speculation that there will be no deck either in TCG. The new cards in this deck were released as secret rares in Force of the Breaker, except for
Shield Crush.
- Rise of the Dragon Lords (SDRL),TCG: Based on reviving Dragon type monsters from the Graveyard.
- The Dark Emperor (SDDE): Based on the infamous "Monarch" monsters and removing monsters from play. OCG release by December and TCG release in 2008. This deck was released in April 2008 and featured only the new DARK Monarch, 'Caius, The Shadow Monarch' and revolves around removing monsters from play.
- Zombie World(SDZW): This Deck contains widely popular Zombie-Type monsters, adapting it to the new format to build and create new Zombie-Type decks. Also includes the the Red-Eyes Black Dragon counterpart, the
Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon.
Tournament Boosters
There are special booster packs that are given to those who attend a tournament. These sets change each time there is a different tournament and have less cards than a typical booster pack.
- Tournament Season 1
- Tournament Season 2
- Tournament Season 3
- Tournament Season 4
- Tournament Season 5
- Tournament Season 6
- Tournament Season 7
- Tournament Season 8
- Champion Pack: One
- Champion Pack: Two
- Champion Pack: Three
- Champion Pack: Four
- Champion Pack: Five
- Champion Pack: Six
- Champion Pack: Seven
- Champion Pack: Eight
Promo cards
Some cards in the TCG have been released by other means, such as inclusion in video games, movies, and Shonen Jump manga magazines. These cards often are exclusive and have a special type of rarity or are never-before-seen to the public. Occasionally, cards like Cyber Valley and Cimeritech Fortress Dragon have been re-released as revisions.
Character Booster Packs
- Jaden Yuki's Duelist Pack 1
- Jaden Yuki's Duelist Pack 2
- Jaden Yuki's Duelist pack 3
- Chazz Prinston's Duelist Pack
- Zane Truesdale's Duelist Pack
- Aster Phoenix's Duelist Pack
- Jesse Andersen's Duelist Pack
- Yusei Fudo's Deulist Pack
- Yugi Muto's Duelist Pack(coming soon)
Card rarity
These cards are normal monster, spell, and trap cards that usually have made previous appearances in other booster packs.
Normal Rares are identical to Commons, except they are slightly harder to find. Comparable to the now-discontinued TCG Short Print and Super Short Print rarities, Normal Rares only exist in the OCG.
Short Prints are identical to Commons, except they are slightly harder to find. This only existed in the TCG, and were discontinued after Ancient Sanctuary, but have since been re-introduced in the TCG in Phantom Darkness.
Super Short Print's are identical to Commons and Short Prints, except they are much harder to find. They only existed in the TCG, and were discontinued after Ancient Sanctuary.
Holofoil Rares are used for early Gameboy Promos. They are akin to Super Rares, but have a coating very similar to Parallel Common cards. However, this coating has none of the consistent layout and texture of the usual Parallel coating.
A Rare card is identified by having a silver card name and the image is not holofoiled. There is a rare in every pack but would be replaced by a something higher than a rare. Only in "The Duelist Genesis" and "Crossroads of Chaos" you can get a rare and a something higher than a rare.
A Super Rare card is identified by having a black or white card name and the image is a holofoil. More recent video game promo cards have been Super Rares. Currently there is a 1:5 chance of getting one in a booster pack.
An Ultra Rare card is identified by having a gold card name and a holofoil image. The odds of getting an Ultra Rare in a Booster Pack was around 1:12 in Booster Packs before Soul of the Duelist. from Soul of the Duelist onwards the odds became around 1:24. However reprint sets released after Soul of the Duelist such as Dark Revelation Volume 3 use the 1:12 ratio. Although after Tactical Evolution the odds dropped back down to 1:12.
An Ultimate Rare card has an "embossed" foil on the Card Artwork, including the borders of artworks, Attribute icon, and on Monster Cards, the Level Stars. The card name is printed gold, like an Ultra Rare. When scanned, the embossed image may be muted and the image indistinct from the background. This card rarity is very hard for Scalers to find, since the card is much thinner than a normal Super Rare or Ultra Rare, with a weight comparable to that of to a Common. Ultimate Rare cards usually also come in a less rare variety that can be found in the same booster with the same card number.
OCG Ultimate Rares tend to scan much better than their TCG counterparts, due to a slightly reflective coating present on all OCG cards (but lacking on TCG cards). This has the advantage of brightening the image, and making the foil image more distinct than on a TCG equivalent. In the OCG, Ultimate Rares have been known to be printed as independant rarities, while they are used exclusively as an additional Booster Pack rarity in the TCG.
On the internet market, Ultimate Rare Cards are often much more valuable than others, even if their effectiveness in the game is only above average.
Ghost Rare is a fairly recent rarity introduced in the TCG version of Tactical Evolution. It appears to have a very shiny silver lettering, much like a Secret Rare, with some colours removed from the card image. The overall effect of these changes is a pale, "Ghost-like" appearance to the card art, especially when scanned. There are only 6 Ghost Rare TCG Cards: Rainbow Dragon, Elemental Hero Chaos Neos, Rainbow Neos, Honest, Stardust Dragon and Black Rose Dragon, which each represent alternative foil patterns for a single secret rare card in their respective sets. This is the TCG version of Holographic Rare. The odds of obtaining a ghost rare in a box of 24 booster packs stands at approximately 1 in 36.
Holographic Rare is a fairly recent rarity introduced in the OCG version of Tactical Evolution. It appears to have silver lettering like a Secret Rare Card, with many colours removed from the card image, while the entire card appears to be holographic. Currently, there are six Holographic Rare cards: Rainbow Dragon, Rainbow Neos, Elemental Hero Chaos Neos, Stardust Dragon, Honest and Black Rose Dragon. This is the OCG version of Ghost Rare.
The angle of the card changes the reflected colour, just like a hologram.
A Secret Rare card is identified by having a silver card name and the image has a unique holofoil known as a parallel holofoil (named due to the parallel dot effect on the image). In sets that are older than Tactical Evolution, secret Rares are all either the first (#000) or last cards in a set.
Secret Rares were at first discontinued due to excessive use of electronic scales, however, they have been re-introduced in Strike of Neos. Currently, the odds of getting a Secret Rare in a Booster Pack is 1:24.
This refers to European Secret Rare promos, whose glittery holographics follow a very different 'prism' pattern to their North American counterpart(s).
A Ultra Secret Rare has the Ultra Rare foil over the image, but has the sparkly silver card name like a Secret Rare. There are very few of these cards; only one currently exists in English (the GSE version of "Elemental Hero Wildheart"), with the remaining ten in Japanese.
A Secret Ultra Rare has the Secret Rare foil over the image, but has the Gold card name like a Ultra Rare.
There is only one image known for this type of rarity, is an apparently misprinted version of "Gaia the Dragon Champion" in the original Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon booster pack.
Parallel Rare is a generic term, used to refer to cards where the entire card surface is holographic (that shows up as an even "haze" on most scans). There are four types of Parallel Rare:
- Normal Parallel Rare: Normal black or white title, normal picture. Also known as "Parallel Common."
- Super Parallel Rare: Normal black or white title, holographic picture.
- Duel Terminal Parallel Rare: Only found on Duel Terminal Series cards, these are based on Normal Parallel Rares, but with a different Parallel Coating design.
- Ultra Parallel Rare: Gold title, holographic picture.
A Rare Parallel Rare is a theoretical rarity that has all the characteristics of a Rare card (ie. no foil image and a silver card name) but has a coating which makes the whole surface reflect. The coating tends to stiffen the card and when scanned the coating creates a uniform haze on the card.
A Rare Parallel Rare is a theoretical rarity that has all the characteristics of a Rare card (ie. no foil image and a silver card name) but has a coating which makes the whole surface reflect. The coating tends to stiffen the card and when scanned the coating creates a uniform haze on the card.
A Super Parallel Rare has all the characteristics of a Super Rare (ie. foil image and a black card name) but has a coating which makes the whole surface reflect. The coating tends to stiffen the card and when scanned the coating creates a uniform haze on the card.
An Ultra Parallel Rare has a gold card title like Ultra Rares, but also has a coating across the surface to make the whole card reflect. The coating tends to stiffen the card and when scanned the coating creates a uniform haze on the card.
Gold Ultra Rare is a new type of rarity introduced in the Gold Series. It has gold lettering and a holographic foil image like an Ultra Rare, but also has a holographic gold image border, lore text border, and card border. On Monster Cards, the Level Stars are embossed in gold foil, similar to what is found on Ultimate Rares.
Using physical cards in Yu-Gi-Oh! video games
Nearly every card has a unique eight-digit code printed on it. When that code is entered into one of the Yu-Gi-Oh! video games which accept said codes, a digital copy of that card will be added to the player's virtual cards. Thus, players can port their real-world decks into the games.
Some cards do not have this code. For example, all but two copies of Japanese Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon cards say "Replica" where the code should be (They are considered replicas of the other two that were given as prizes in a Yu-Gi-Oh! tournament in Tokyo).
Some cards do not have anything at all. For example, the Shadow Ghoul monster card from the English Metal Raiders and Dark Beginning 2 booster sets has no code number, as opposed to being a replica card. Some other examples of cards that don't have any codes at all are Labyrinth Wall, Gate Guardian and its "pieces", Cosmo Queen, and Dian Keto The Cure Master.
Controversy
Due to the nature of the inspirations of some of the cards, such as ancient mythology and Japanese folklore, the card game was an obvious potential target for Christian advocate groups to accuse of promoting idolatry, among other things. Perhaps to alleviate their concerns, the English names of the cards were not always given a direct translation, instead opting for a name less controversial. For example, the "Black Magician" in the original Japanese was changed to the "Dark Magician" in English, which reduced its association with black magic.
See also
External links
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