Top Number: Top 10 Forbidden Yu-Gi-Oh Cards

Since 1996, Yu-Gi-Oh have become a popular card game right around the world, spawning an anime series Yu-Gi-Oh, and its 4 spin-off series, Yu-Gi-Oh GX, Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s, Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal and currently in its first series, Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V; as well as a popular manga series as well, and many tournaments. With new cards being added each year, there will always be one continuously updated aspect of the game, and that is the banned list.

I’ve talked about the game Yu-Gi-Oh twice before. The first ever countdown list I’ve done focused on the top 5 broken, but legal cards in the game. The second time I talked about the game was in one of my ‘… Of the Week’ articles, where I chose the free game, YGOPro as my game of the week.

This week, I will be talking about the cards that have been forbidden from official tournament play, and for good reasons as well. All these cards are forbidden from being played have the ability to give the person who played any one of these cards an unfair advantage, rendering their opponent incapable of holding their own or even turning the tables. When you’ve read the effects of each card on this list, you will be thankful that they have been banned. But that doesn’t mean you cannot use them.

Casual Play allows any and all cards, if all the participants involved agree beforehand. Personally, I enjoy playing with banned cards, and not because they are incredibly powerful. On the contrary, I duel people are in agreement with the use of banned cards, and they are more than likely have a few of their own, and most of the time, banned cards do level the playing field when versing each other. But of course, if you have a certain combination, you can do some serious damage.

Below, I will be talking about 10 cards that currently sit in the banned list. I’ve sorted them in order of how much they can change the game’s direction in one turn.

Number 10:

Number 16: Shock Master

Details: Card type – XYZ Monster; attribute – Light; Rank – 4; Attack – 2300, Defence – 1600.

Effect: 3 Level 4 Monsters. Once per turn: You can detach 1 XYZ Material from this card to declare 1 card type (Monster, Spell, or Trap); that type of card (if Spell or Trap) cannot be activated, or (if Monster) cannot activate its effects, until the end of your opponent’s next turn.

If you are able to summon this Monster on the field, your opponent won’t be able to do much during his next turn. He won’t be able to activate any Spell Cards or Trap Cards, or even any Monsters’ effects. All he would be able to do is summon or set one Monster on the field. This can leave your opponent defenceless when it is your turn once more. And, because this card has 3 XYZ Materials, you can activate this effect twice more, giving your opponent no chance to actually make any sort of comeback.

Does it have a weakness? Yes. Just because you’ve taken away the ability to activate any effects from your opponent, doesn’t mean he cannot summon during his next turn. This Monster only has 2300ATK, which means, if your opponent has a Monster that is stronger than it, their Monster will be able to attack and destroy it. This means you have cannot rely on this Monster being your entire defence. Plus, you will only be able to activate this effect three times. Granted, three times is a lot in this game, but if your opponent is lucky enough to survive during those three times, you had better think of a different strategy.

Number 9:

Monster Reborn

Details: Card type – Normal Spell Card.

Effect: Target 1 Monster in either player’s Graveyard; Special Summon it.

A simple but powerful effect. Let’s say that you were able to destroy your opponent’s most powerful Monster, but your opponent doesn’t seem to be backing down any times soon. So, what do you do, you use that Monster against him. You are able to Special Summon that Monster back onto the field, under your control, leaving your opponent having to try and defeat it. As well as that, this card can help you summon the monsters you want. You are only allowed to perform one Normal Summon per turn, but you are able to perform as many Special Summons as you can, so if you already have one Monster on the field, and you need two to then tribute to summon the Monster you want, you can activate this card, take one Monster from your opponent’s Graveyard and Special Summon it. Now you have two Monsters on the field, and you are free to summon the Monster you want. This can turn the tables of any duel around when no one is expecting it.

Does it have a weakness? Yes. Some Monsters’ effects prevents them from being Special Summoned from the Graveyard, or can only be Special Summoned via specific ways, so if your opponent has more of those cards than not, I’m afraid to say that it’ll be slim pickings.

Number 8:

Snatch Steal

Details: Card type – Equip Spell Card.

Effect: Equip only to a monster your opponent controls. Take control of the equipped monster. During each of your opponent's Standby Phases: They gain 1000 Life Points.

There is another card that has a similar effect called Change of Heart. That’s also banned. But, unlike Snatch Steal, Change of Heart only allows you to take control of your opponent’s Monster until the end of your turn. Whilst still incredibly damaging to your opponent because you’ve taken their strongest Monster from them and hit them directly in the Life Points with it, they receive it back. Snatch Steal on the other hand, allows you to keep it for as long as either the Monster or this card is destroyed. Until then, it’s yours indefinitely.

Does it have a weakness? Yes. During each of your opponent’s Standby Phrases, they gain 1,000 Life Points. So, although you do have their Monster, even if you are able to attack them, they will (slowly) recover.

Number 7:

Harpie’s Feather Duster

Details: Card type – Normal Spell Card.

Effect: Destroy all Spell and Trap Cards your opponent controls.

Another simple by powerful effect. Let’s say your opponent has three cards in their Spell and Trap Card Zone. One of them is a Spell Card, Snatch Steal, and it has taken your strongest Monster from you. The other one is also a Spell Card, preventing you from attacking them. And the third one is face-down, so you aren’t sure whether it is another Spell Card or a Trap Card. Either way, you don’t want to take the risk. So, what do you do? Well, you activate Harpie’s Feather Duster and wipe all three cards out, which will in turn allow you to take your Monster back, allow you to attack, and when you do, you don’t have to worry about wandering into a Trap. You are free to attack, and his field is clear. You’ve won the duel. It’s as simple as that.

Does it have a weakness? Yes. There are plenty of cards that can negate the activation of Spell Cards, so although this is incredibly powerful, it can be easily stopped.

Number 6:

Thousand-Eyes Restrict

Details: Card type – Fusion Monster; attribute – Dark; Level – 1; attack – 0, defence – 0.

Effect: "Relinquished" + "Thousand-Eyes Idol" Other monsters cannot change their battle position or attack. Once per turn, you can equip 1 monster your opponent controls to this card (max 1). This card's ATK and DEF become the same as the equipped monster's. If this card would be destroyed by battle, the equipped monster is destroyed instead.

Once this card is on the field, your opponent cannot attack. In fact, this is the only Monster that can attack. It may have no attack points, but it can take one Monster from your opponent’s side of the field and absorb its attack points. If a Monster has 3000ATK, then Thousand-Eyes Restrict will also have 3000ATK. And your opponent wouldn’t want to attack it, because it won’t be destroyed. The equipped Monster will be instead, meaning this Monster is free to take the Monster that attack it previous turn, bringing it full circle. It may be a Level 1 Monster, but it certainly packs an incredible punch.

Does it have a weakness? Yes. It’s totally defences when it doesn’t have a Monster equipped to it, so whilst it cannot be attacked, you can still destroy it via other means, including Spell or Trap Cards.

Number 5:

Apoqliphort Towers

Details: Card Type – Effect Monster; attribute – Earth; Level – 10; attack – 3000, defence – 2600.

Effect: Cannot be Special Summoned. Requires 3 "Qli" Tributes to Normal Summon/Set. If this card is Normal Summoned/Set, it is unaffected by Spell/Trap effects and by activated effects from any monster whose original Level/Rank is lower than this card's current Level. All Special Summoned monsters lose 500 ATK and DEF. Once per turn: You can make your opponent send 1 monster from their hand or their side of the field to the Graveyard (their choice).

This Monster’s effect is a little bit more complicated to explain. It can only be Normal Summoned if you have three of a certain type of Monsters – so there’s its first weakness – and it cannot be Special Summon – meaning the effect of Monster Reborn cannot touch it therefore creating its second weakness. But once it is out on the field, it can cause quite a stir. It is completely unaffected by Spell Cards and Trap Cards, and from any Monster whose original level is lower than this card’s current level. For example: This Monsters is Level 10, so a Monster that is Level 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1, will not be able to touch this card. That is a lot of Monsters to say the least. This card is even safe from Thousand-Eyes Restrict’s effect. In other words, whilst no card can be officially classed as indestructible, this Monster most definitely touches upon that definition.

Does it have a weakness? Yes… ish. You have to destroy it first. Or you can summon a Monster that has more attack than it, or is of a higher level so that its effect can affect it.

Number 4:

Ultimate Offering

Details: Card type – Continuous Trap Card.

Effect: During your Main Phase or your opponent's Battle Phase: You can pay 500 Life Points; immediately after this effect resolves, Normal Summon/Set 1 monster.

Need to Summon a Monster this turn to keep yourself from losing but you cannot activate Monster Reborn’s effect because your opponent only has Monsters that cannot be Special Summoned? Well, don’t worry because this Trap Card will smash through that limitation and will keep you standing tall for many more turns to come yet. By paying a measly 500 Life Points out of 8000, you can perform another Normal Summon or Set this turn, increasing your defence or allowing you to Summon your strongest Monster. This card can even allow you to Summon that very same Monster on your second turn, decreasing the duel’s time by a substantial amount.

Does it have a weakness? Yes. It’s a trap card so it can be easily stopped by Harpie’s Feather Duster, or anything else that destroys Trap Cards.

Number 3:

Fiber Jar

Details: Card type – Effect Monster; attribute – Earth; Level 3; attack – 500, defence – 500.

Effect: FLIP: Each player shuffles all cards from their hand, field, and Graveyard into the Deck, then draws 5 cards.

I don’t think anyone has ever used this card for anything other than its effect. It might be a Level 3 Monster with a tiny attack and defence, but its effect packs an almighty punch. Picture the scenario: You’re staring at a Monster that you’ve struggled to defeat for several turns now, their Spell and Trap Card defence is strong, and upon trying to make a comeback, you’ve used up the majority of your deck, leaving your with hardly any cards left to fight with. It’s the end of the line for you and you know it. Fiber Jar can save the day by resetting the entire duel back to turn 1 but keeping the Life Points the same. You get a second chance.

Does it have a weakness? Yes. It’s effect can only be activated once it has been flipped-summoned, so before that, it is just sitting there on the field, waiting. Thousand-Eyes Restrict prevent all Monsters from changing their position, so Fibre Jar cannot do anything at all. Plus, there are plenty of cards that can negate the activation of Monsters’ effects, so it might be a very useful card, just don’t let its strength cloud your vision.

Number 2:

Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End.

Details: Card type – Effect Monster; attribute – Dark; Level – 8; attack – 3000, defence – 2500.

Effect: Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing 1 LIGHT and 1 DARK monster from your Graveyard. You can pay 1000 Life Points; send all cards in both players' hands and on the field to the Graveyard, then inflict 300 damage to your opponent for each card sent to the Graveyard by this effect.

Considered to be one of the most broken cards in the game because of how game changing it is, Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End can wipe ever point your opponent has left without breaking a sweat. All you have to do is give up 1000 Life Points, and your opponent will be losing so much more. All Monsters on both sides of the field, and all cards in both player’s hand are forced to the Graveyard. So, if there are five cards on the field, and the total of cards both you and your opponent has add up to five, once they have been sent to the Graveyard, your opponent will receive a grand total of 3000 points of damage. The more cards sent to the Graveyard via this effect, the more damage they will receive.

Does it have a weakness? Yes. This card can only be Special Summoned if you have the correct requirements to do so, otherwise it will be sitting in your hand simply waiting. If you do not have 1000 Life Points to spare, you cannot activate this effect. As well as sending all cards to the Graveyard, it sends itself as well, leaving the entire field completely empty. This can be risky because if you cannot do anything after the effect has resolved, your opponent may then Summon a Monster and defeat you, so you had better have a plan before you activate its effect, but most of the time, your opponent will lose.

Number 1:

Victory Dragon

Details: Card Type – Effect Monster; attribute – Dark; Level 8; attack – 2400, defence – 3000.

Effect: This card cannot be Special Summoned. To Tribute Summon this card, you must Tribute 3 Dragon-Type monsters. If this card attacks your opponent directly and reduces their Life Points to 0, you win the Match.

No card deserves the top spot more than Victory Dragon. The name says it all, to be honest. In official tournaments, you play what is known as a Match. A Match consists of three duels, and the winner of the most duels within that Match wins. Victory Dragon’s effect so destructive, you can win the entire Match on the first duel, all you have to do is reduce your opponent’s Life Points down to 0.

Oddly enough, there are several match winning Monsters in the game, but this is the only one that is banned. All the others are one-hundred percent illegal, which is an entirely different list altogether. This card, because of how powerful it is, can create a huge dent in your wallet as they can fetch anything around a couple of hundreds of pounds, and that can be the starting price.

Does it have a weakness? Yes. If you are unable to reduce your opponent’s Life Points down to 0, its effect is useless. Plus, your opponent does have the right to surrender before this card can attack, forcing both players to play out the next duel. 

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

My book, Sector 22: Zoey, is now available on Amazon, eBay, and SkyCat Publications' website:

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sector-22-Antony-Hudson-ebook/dp/B00LC8QVD4/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1450701601&sr=1-1&keywords=sector+22+zoey

eBay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sector-22-Zoey-/121836251280?hash=item1c5e01a890:g:hpUAAOSw9NxTsSEC

SkyCat Publications:

http://www.skycatpublications.com/

Ask me anything at:

ahudsonpresents@live.co.uk