Launched by Konami in 1999, Yu-Gi-Oh! is a trading card game known for its huge monsters, complex turns, and combo-winning plays. However, it isn't all cool monsters and fun times. Let us show you the dark side of Yu-Gi-Oh!, the side which hides a sketchy past.
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These are cards that, if used correctly, could wreak havoc on opponents, shut down gameplay, and even achieve victory in an opening move. Here, we have collected the wildest banned or 'forbidden' Yu-Gi-Oh! cards to have ever been introduced.
Cards on this list either are, or once were, banned in either the OCG or TCG formats. They may since have become unbanned, or simply loved to limited or semi-limited.
Updated May 2, 2023 by Joe Parlock: This list has been updated to give a better look at the cards, and also clear up some rules oddities. While some of these cards aren't banned any more, their addition to the forbidden list made an impact on the game that won't be forgotten any time soon.
25 Yata Garasu
We cannot talk about banned cards without mentioning this bad boy. Yata Garasu was forbidden for years, and for good reason. Yata Garasu is a spirit Effect monster who, on getting a clean hit at its opponent's Life Points, will stop them from drawing a card on their next turn. This means that the opponent is stuck with the monsters, spells, etc. that it already has available.
Not only this but, as it is spirit-type, will return to its owner's hand at the end of the turn. This, combined with one of your traps and spells could render the opponent's play to dust in seconds if they do not have the counter monster and attack. This is the power of the infamous Yata-Lock.
24 Morphing Jar
Do not underestimate the power of this jar. Morphing Jar has the power to turn the tide of battle in moments. On activating this card, both players must discard every card in their hand, and draw five new ones.
This is a big gamble, and could completely scupper the plans of an opponent with the perfect hand. You could get your best cards and combos or the worst hand ever. This mid-game reset is best applied after setting a bunch of cards so that you aren't starting completely fresh – play it with an empty hand, and you'll effectively be drawing five cards for free.
23 Cyber-Stein
There's an increasingly common opinion that this card is not as threatening as it once was, but this thing was awful to come up against. Cyber-Stein had low stats, but was a potentially rewarding gamble. You paid 5000 Life Points and could instantly summon a Fusion Monster in attack mode.
That was wild, considering you usually had to sacrifice other monsters to do that, but this means not losing any of your other cards. Low Life Points seem bad, but there are cards that rely on you having a lower score than your opponent that could come in clutch. It's high risk, but high reward.
22 Magical Scientist
This guy is one of the worst cards. Magical Scientist allows you to summon a level six or lower fusion monster from your extra deck by paying the low cost of 1000 Life Points each.
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Now, you have to play by his rules if you want in; this means no direct attacks, and they must return to your extra deck once the turn is over. This means that you can swarm the whole field with monsters and maybe even win if you also use a Catapult Turtle card, but you can't play a purely aggro strategy. It's for the best that Magical Scientist has been banned from most formats.
21 Solemn Judgment
If you come up against this card, you're going to have a bad time. Solemn Judgment stops a monster from being summoned and negates its effects and cancels most spells and traps, all for half your life points.
This is incredibly versatile and handy to have in your deck, as you can just stop an opponent right then and there. One well-timed negation can completely shut down a game-winning turn, and the flexibility of Solemn Judgment lets it do a lot of heavy lifting in keeping you safe and alive.
20 Victory Dragon
We can all agree that dragons are rad. But dragons with the first name Victory and golden scales? You definitely want that one on your team. However, he comes with a price.
To get him out to play, you must sacrifice three dragon-type cards on the field. If this card gets a direct attack on your opponent and reduces their Life Points to zero, you win the entire match.
To the uninitiated, that might sound like how Yu-Gi-Oh! normally works, but note it says "match", not "duel". Matches tend to be best of three duels – if you land the killing blow with Victory Dragon, nothing else matters, and you win the entire thing.
19 Dimension Fusion
In Yu-Gi-Oh! when your monster is defeated, it is either sent to the graveyard or banished from the game entirely. This is so frustrating when your most powerful monsters get sent to the great beyond.
Now, what if we told you that there was a way for you to get those monsters back into the game? Dimension Fusion allows both players to summon as many banished monsters as possible. This costs you 2000 Life Points, but that's a small price to pay for potentially winning the game in one turn.
18 Last Turn
Last Turn is pretty wild. When your Life Points are below 1000, you can play this trap card during your opponent's turn, and forces both players to remove all cards from the field (except one of your monsters). Desperate times, people.
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Your opponent then summons a monster and makes it attack yours. The player whose monster wins this fight also wins the entire duel at the next End Phase. If neither win, the game instead ends in a draw. This is a desperate move to pull, but it could win you the game if you are in a tight spot.
17 Chaos Emperor Dragon-Envoy Of The End
If you thought Victory Dragon was an excellent name, this one will blow your mind. Chaos Emperor Dragon requires you to sacrifice one light and one dark monster to the graveyard and costs 1000 Life Points to use.
On activation, this card forces each player to send all the cards in their hands and on the field to the graveyard. Not only this, but you do 300 points of damage per card that you send to the great beyond. This would allow you to not only disable your opponent but deal a lot of damage at the same time.
16 Obelisk The Tormentor
Obelisk The Tormentor is one of the Egyptian God cards within Yu-Gi-Oh!. These cards are incredibly powerful, with Obelisk the Tormentor being immune to many kinds of cards and attacks. It also helps wipe the board of your opponent's monsters, can't be countered, and stops other cards and effects from being activated. It does a lot.
We love the original description on this card, which reads: 'The descent of this mighty creature shall be heralded by burning winds and twisted lands. And with the coming of this horror, those who draw breath shall know the true meaning of eternal slumber.' It is the most melodramatic thing we have ever read.
15 Pot Of Greed
Pot of Greed is one of Yu-Gi-Oh!'s most famous cards. In a game where having the right pieces in your hand can win you the game, being able to draw two cfor free just by playing Pot of Greed is incredible.
This is particularly useful if you need to collect some cards for a specific attack, combo piece, or just really want to grab that Blue Eyes White Dragon.
14 Harpie's Feather Duster
This card is very handy to have in your deck. Harpie's Feather Duster is a spell card that, when activated, immediately destroys all of your opponent's trap and spell cards.
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While board wipes are quite common in Yu-Gi-Oh!, having this be a card you can play for free without impacting your own board state at all makes it very, very overpowered. Usually wipes need you to also take a hit of some sort, but this takes out your opponent's back row with zero risk to yourself.
13 Painful Choice
This card is yet another high-risk, high-reward card. With this card, you must select five cards from your deck and show them to your opponent. Your opponent then selects one card for you to keep and you must discard the others.
On the one hand, it's highly likely your opponent will make you bin some of your best cards. But if you're playing a deck with lots of yard recursion, or want a big graveyard for other effects, quickly being able to put four extra cards in there isn't anything to sniff at.
12 Change Of Heart
This card was a favorite of Kaiba's in the anime, and with good reason. Change of Heart allows you to control one of your opponent's monsters until the final phase of your turn. This could destroy your opponent's attack or defense strategies, or even give you the chance to directly attack them.
Sure, it is only one turn, but one turn can change the course of the whole duel. You're getting easy tribute fodder, a big beater to hit your opponent in the face, or even just opening up the way to a direct attack.
11 Fiber Jar
Another game changer, Fiber Jar really shakes things up. This card forces each player to put every card in the field, in their hand, and in the graveyard back in their deck before shuffling them away and drawing five more.
This card is great for when you are stuck with awful cards and have sent some great ones to the beyond. It could also ruin any plans your opponent had for their next turn, making them start all over again with you.
10 Heavy Storm
This card is similar to Harpie's Feather Duster... if you boosted it by ten levels. Heavy Storm immediately destroys all spell and trap cards on the field.
Unlike the Feather Duster, this includes your own spell and traps cards as well – a good way of clearing junk you don't need any more, or putting choice cards into your graveyard. It might not be quite as efficient as the Feather Duster in most use cases, but there are definitely times you'd rather get rid of your own things as well.
9 Graceful Charity
Graceful Charity allows you to draw three cards, select the best one and then discard the other two. The damage you could do with this is so not charitable.
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While it isn't quite a Pot of Greed, you don't have to discard cards from the three you've just drawn. This means you can quickly get the junk or key graveyard pieces out of your hand, while taking three potentially game-ending cards, all for free.
8 Imperial Order
This is a continuous trap card that negates all spell cards on the field and nulls their effects. During the standby phase of your turn, you must pay 700 Life Points to keep this card going or destroy it.
This card is an amazing shield that gives you the upper hand in the game for the entire time that it is active. Your opponent would have to rely on their monsters and traps to stop you – completely turning off cards like Harpie's Feather Duster in the process. However, it does go both ways, preventing you from also using spell cards, while also draining you for 700LP each turn.
7 Destiny Hero - Disk Commander
In today's Yu-Gi-Oh! landscape, Destiny HERO – Disk Commander seems almost quaint. But back in the day, this was banned for much the same reason as Pot of Greed – drawing too cards sped the game up considerably.
There are a few hurdles to jump through, though. First, you must send this card to the graveyard, and then special summon it on a future turn. Only once you have done this can you draw two cards from your deck.
Do not underestimate the power of the Destiny Hero - Disk Commander. This changes everything about your turn and again potentially means you win in a single turn, all because you could draw two cards. It has since been unbanned too, meaning you could get some real value out of it.
6 Tribe-Infecting Virus
This card is the Yu-Gi-Oh! equivalent of Plague Inc. Tribe-Infecting Virus makes you say a type of monster, and then destroys any face-up monster on the field.
This means that if your opponent has a powerful Galaxy monster face-up on the field, you could say 'Galaxy' and destroy that threat. It does apply to you too but, used effectively, you could avoid taking damage from powerful enemies. Keep in mind that monster types are a specific group, meaning you can't say things like 'fusion', 'effect', or 'tuner'.
