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The Egyptian God cards, also known in Japanese as the Three Legendary Gods (
Contents
- 1 Design
- 2 Appearances
- 2.1 Yu-Gi-Oh!
- 2.1.1 History
- 2.1.2 Battle City
- 2.1.3 World of Memories
- 2.2 Yu-Gi-Oh! manga
- 2.2.1 Yu-Gi-Oh! R
- 2.2.2 Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions
- 2.3 Yu-Gi-Oh! anime
- 2.3.1 Virtual World
- 2.3.2 Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light
- 2.3.3 Waking the Dragons
- 2.4 Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
- 2.5 Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
- 2.6 Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
- 2.1 Yu-Gi-Oh!
- 3 Anime and manga effects
- 3.1 Shared effects
- 3.2 In the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga
- 3.3 In the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime
- 3.4 Individual effects
- 4 Naming
- 5 OCG/TCG cards
- 5.1 Illegal prints
- 5.2 Legal prints
- 6 Playing style
- 6.1 Weaknesses
- 6.2 Recommended cards
- 6.3 Egyptian God + "Archfiend" Deck (December 13, 2017)
- 6.4 V-Jump magazine
- 7 Video games
- 8 Trivia
- 9 See also
- 10 Notes
- 11 References
Design[edit]
The Egyptian God cards are based on the three Ancient Egyptian divine beasts whose likenesses surround the Millennium Puzzle on the Tablet of Lost Memories. Their names are derived from the deities or items featured in Egyptian mythology. According to Ishizu Ishtar, they are believed to represent the polarities of the universe, while Pharaoh Atem regards them by their respective titles.
"Obelisk the Tormentor" is named after an obelisk, a tall, four-sided, monument with a pyramid-like shape on top, represents the polarity of light and dark, and is regarded as the "god of the earth". The Japanese name of "Slifer the Sky Dragon", "The Sky Dragon of Osiris", is named after Osiris, the Egyptian god of life, death, and fertility, represents the polarity of good and evil, and is regarded as the "god of the sky". (The name "Slifer" is named after Roger Slifer, the producer of the English language adaptation of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime.) "The Winged Dragon of Ra" is named after Ra, the Egyptian god of the sun, and represents the polarity of heaven and earth.
"Holactie, the Creator of Light", the combined form of the 3 Egyptian Gods, is named after "Ra-Horakty", the combination of the Egyptian deities Ra and Horus, who are both depicted with a falcon's head.
In the English manga, the Egyptian God cards are all often simply referred to as "God", although their original names are still used.
Appearances[edit]
Yu-Gi-Oh![edit]
History[edit]
During Maximillion Pegasus's second trip to Egypt to create the Duel Monsters game based on the ancient Shadow Games, he is taken to an underground city by Shadi and discovers a tablet containing the carvings of the three Egyptian Gods. When Pegasus decided to make the Egyptian Gods into cards, everyone involved in the project were killed the angered spirits of the Egyptian Gods (disappeared in the dub), so Pegasus decided to create the cards on his own, under the protection of his Millennium Eye. When Pegasus finished the artwork of the prototypes, he had a nightmare of the Egyptian Gods attacking the world. Shadi warned Pegasus that he angered the Egyptian Gods before they attacked him. Pegasus woke up injured after this nightmare and decided the cards were too powerful and dangerous to be mass-produced, so he had Ishizu Ishtar, the Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities bury them in the Pharaoh's tomb.
Marik Ishtar, the leader of the Rare Hunters, was able to acquire "The Winged Dragon of Ra" and "Slifer the Sky Dragon" using the power of the Millennium Rod, but Ishizu was able to protect "Obelisk the Tormentor" from him. Marik and his Rare Hunters tested counterfeit copies of "The Winged Dragon of Ra". Some ended up being crippled, some lost their minds, and some even died the moment the card was played. Marik came to the conclusion that the Gods respond to the strength of heart of the Duelists, of which none of the members of the experimental group had. To this end, he gave his adoptive brother Odion a copy of "Ra", reasoning that he would be able to control it due to his past as a servant of the Tomb Keepers.
Battle City[edit]
During Ishizu's trip to Domino City, she invited Seto Kaiba to the Domino City Museum where she held The Art of Egypt exhibition. She explained the Egyptian God cards, which would grant anyone who wielded all three of them the title of "King of Games", the Rare Hunters, and requested he would organize and host a Duel Monsters tournament in the city to lure the Rare Hunters and bring the other Egyptian God cards with them. Kaiba, intent on claiming the cards for himself to secure his title as the strongest Duelist, agreed, accepted "Obelisk the Tormentor" given to him by Ishizu, and organized the Battle City tournament.
Before the start of the tournament, Kaiba arranged a Duel with a Duel Machine (Duel Robot in the anime) to test out the power of "Obelisk the Tormentor". Despite the machine gaining an early advantage with quickly Summoning Kaiba's "Blue-Eyes White Dragons", Kaiba Summons "Obelisk", destroys the machine's monsters, and quickly depletes its Life Points to 0. During the Battle City tournament, Kaiba Summons "Obelisk" to defeat Koji Nagumo, which alerted Marik and the Rare Hunters to the location and identity of the card's user. "Obelisk" is Summoned during his Tag-Team Duels with Yami Yugi against the Rare Hunters, including Lumis and Umbra.
After Yugi defeats Arkana, Marik used the Millennium Rod to possess Arkana, revealing to Yugi Muto his plan to collect the Egyptian God cards and get revenge on the Pharaoh. He also explained the three God cards and the Millennium Puzzle were required to unlock the Pharaoh's hidden memories. Using his mind puppet Strings, Marik used "Slifer the Sky Dragon" against Yami Yugi, but he was ultimately defeated via Deck out by using the effect of "Slifer" against him. Yami Yugi obtains "Slifer" in accordance with Battle City's ante rules.
During the tournament quarter-finals, Yami Yugi used "Slifer" for the first time to defeat Yami Bakura. During Odion's Duel against Joey Wheeler, the former discovers that Marik placed a copy of "The Winged Dragon of Ra" in his Deck without his knowledge, telling him that usage of the card against Joey was needed to prove to those watching that Odion was Marik, who used the pseudonym "Namu" to keep his true identity secret. After Odion was struck down by "Ra's" rage for using a counterfeit of its card, Marik was taken over by Yami Marik, who Dueled Mai Valentine in the next round.
Mai successfully took "The Winged Dragon of Ra" from Yami Marik's Deck with "Amazoness Chain Master" and Summoned it, but was unable to read the hieratic text on the card needed to recite to control it and remained in its Sphere Mode. Yami Marik successfully took bak control of "Ra" by reciting its text, transformed it into its Battle Mode, and used it to defeat Mai.
In the final round of the quarter-finals, Kaiba Dueled Ishizu, who entered the tournament to save her brother and reclaim "Obelisk" from Kaiba. Using her Millennium Necklace to foresee Kaiba's moves, Ishizu allowed him to Summon "Obelisk" with the intent to destroy it with "Blast Held by a Tribute", but a vision from Yami Marik's Millennium Rod convined Kaiba to win by Tributing "Obelisk" and "Gadget Soldier" to Summon "Blue-Eyes White Dragon", thwarting Ishizu's strategy.
In an unofficial fifth Duel later that night, Yami Bakura Dueled Yami Marik. Yami Bakura used a combination of "Dark Designator" and "Multiple Destruction" to place "Ra" in the Graveyard, apparently eliminating it, but later Yami Marik revived it with "Monster Reborn" and revealed its secret abilities (Instant Attack and Point-to-Point Transfer) to win the Duel. In the anime, Yami Bakura used "Exchange" to seize "The Winged Dragon of Ra" instead, and with the help of the spirit of the original Marik, he was able to Summon and control "Ra", but this was thwarted when Yami Marik decreased the ATK of the monsters used to Tribute Summon it to 0 with "Joyful Doom", leaving "Ra" with 0 ATK. Yami Bakura is forced to abandon "Ra", allowing Yami Marik to revive it and win the Duel with its secret abilities.
Yugi holding the three "Egyptian God" Cards at the end of the Battle City tournament
Yami Marik and Joey Dueled in the semi-finals, where Yami Marik revealed "The Winged Dragon of Ra's" Phoenix Mode and burned Joey, wounding so badly that he fell unconscious before he could finish the Duel. In the next Duel, Kaiba and Yami Yugi battled each other and Summoned their respective Egyptian Gods. Eventually, both "Obelisk" and "Slifer" battled with an equal match of 4000 ATK and destroyed each other in a Double KO, triggering a vision of the Duel between Priest Seto and Pharaoh Atem in Ancient Egypt, and a vision of their two Gods petrified. Yami Yugi was eventually able to win the Duel with "Dark Paladin", claiming "Obelisk".
During the final Duel against Yami Marik, Yami Yugi was able to Summon "Slifer" and "Obelisk", but it was revealed that "Ra" was stronger than the other God cards and defeated "Slifer" with ease. Yami Yugi was forced to sacrifice "Obelisk" to survive. Using the combined forces of "Dark Magician" and "Dark Magician Girl", (via "Magical Dimension" in the manga and "Ragnarok" in the anime), Yami Yugi destroyed "Ra" while Yami Marik was infused to it via its Point-to-Point Transfer effect. The original Marik regains control from his darker half, destroys it by surrendering the Duel, and gave "Ra" to Yami Yugi.
World of Memories[edit]
Yami Yugi presented the Egyptian God cards to the Tablet of Lost Memories and entered the world of the Pharaoh's memories. In this reality, Yami Yugi acts as the Pharaoh in what is actually a role-playing Shadow Game orchestrated by Yami Bakura, who served as Bandit King Bakura. During Yami Yugi's battle with Yami Bakura, he summons the Egyptian Gods against Diabound, which destroys "Slifer" and gains its power, but is destroyed by "Ra". Since the Summoning of "Ra" was as a result of outside interference from Yugi, Yami Bakura used his ability as a player of the Shadow RPG to rewind time and prevent the Summoning of "Ra". Yami Yugi later Summons the Egyptian Gods to battle Yami Bakura's true identity, Zorc Necrophades, who defeats them and badly injures the Pharaoh. Upon learning his name, Yami Yugi (whose true name is revealed to be "Atem") uses it to merge the Gods into "Holactie the Creator of Light", destroying Zorc and winning the Shadow RPG.
During the battle between Yami Yugi and Yugi Muto during the Battle Ritual inside the Pharaoh's tomb, Yami Yugi quickly Summons the Egyptian God cards against Yugi, who is able to weaken and defeat them. When Yami Yugi uses "Monster Reborn" to revive "Slifer" from the Graveyard, Yugi negates it with "Gold Sarcophagus", allowing him to win the Duel. As Atem passes into the afterlife, the tomb collapses, causing the Egyptian God cards to be destroyed.
Yu-Gi-Oh! manga[edit]
Yu-Gi-Oh! R[edit]
Prior to the series, Maximillion Pegasus created the Wicked God cards sometime after creating the Egyptian God cards to keep them in check. They were used by Pegasus's protégé Yako Tenma, who claimed them to be the twins of the three "Egyptian God" cards, and that Pegasus himself was too afraid to produce them, but Yako completed them based on Pegasus's designs.
Yami Yugi Summoned "Slifer" during his first Duel against Yako. Yako then Summons "The Wicked Avatar" whose spherical appearance reminded Yami Yugi and his friends of "Ra's" Sphere Mode before it transformed into a darker version of "Slifer". Yami Yugi attempted to use "Slifer's" ATK-draining effect on it, but it failed, as "The Wicked Avatar" shared the same Hierarchy as "Ra" before it destroyed "Slifer". He later uses "Slifer" to offhandedly dispatch Cedar Mill.
Yami Yugi briefly Summoned "Ra" during his second Duel against Yako to destroy "The Wicked Dreadroot", but the Summoning was negated by Yako with "The Selection".
Yami Yugi later Summoned "Obelisk" during his final Duel with Yako. During the battle against "The Wicked Avatar", "Obelisk" gains ∞ ATK via its effect, and the effect of "The Wicked Avatar" forcibly matches the ATK. He then uses "Divine Evolution" to match its Hierarchy with "The Wicked Avatar", transforming it into "Obelisk The Progenitor before destroying both monsters in a Double KO.
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions[edit]
In Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions, "Slifer the Sky Dragon" briefly appears in a flashback when he remembers the Ceremonial Duel with Atem.
During his Duel against Diva in the Pharaoh's tomb, Kaiba pulls "Obelisk the Tormentor" out of the ground and Summons it. In the Japanese version, Diva believes this "Obelisk" to be one of the tomb's lingering memories of the Ceremonial Duel, which Kaiba was able to bind to his will. Kaiba uses "Obelisk" to reduce Aigami's Life Points from 8000 to 1000, but terminates the Duel once he gets the chance to abscond with the Millennium Puzzle.
Yu-Gi-Oh! anime[edit]
Virtual World[edit]
The Egyptian God cards did not appear during the Virtual World arc, since The Big Five had the cards forbidden from their database that was used to choose a player's Deck.
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light[edit]
The three "Gods" combined.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light, Yami Yugi uses the effect of "Obelisk" to Tribute "Slifer" and "Ra" and defeat Kaiba with infinite strength in a computer simulation.
After Yami Yugi Summons "Slifer", Kaiba used "Obligatory Summon" to Special Summon "Obelisk and "Ra" from his Deck before activating "Pyramid of Light" to banish the Egyptian God cards. Yami Yugi used the effect of "Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon" to destroy "Pyramid of Light" and Special Summoned the God cards with "Return from the Different Dimension". Yami Yugi uses "Obelisk's" effect to destroy Anubis' "Theinen the Great Sphinx" and win the Duel.
Waking the Dragons[edit]
Before the World of Memories arc, Yami Yugi attempted to unlock the Tablet of Lost Memories with the Egyptian God cards, but the tablet is frozen over by the power of Dartz, preventing him from regaining his memories.
The God cards are later stolen by Dartz's henchmen while Solomon Muto is caring for them, which then materialize over Domino City. Gurimo briefly uses "Obelisk" against Yami Yugi, and while it was successfully controlled by "The Seal of Orichalcos", the combination of both cards' power caused Gurimo to suffer discomfort. After Yami Yugi destroys "Obelisk" and wins the Duel, Dartz's henchmen take the God cards to his temple where their energies were drained to fuel the revival of the Great Leviathan. During the final battle, the Egyptian Gods are retrieved by Yami Yugi, empowered with the light of Dartz's captives, and defeat the Great Leviathan in physical form.
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX[edit]
In Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, the dorms of Duel Academy are named after the God cards: Slifer Red, Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue.
The series also introduced the Sacred Beasts, the evil and twisted counterparts of the Egyptian God cards.
The disgruntled Industrial Illusions card designer Franz stole a copy of "The Winged Dragon of Ra" created for testing purposes, and used it during the Genex Tournament held at Duel Academy and tracked down by Maximillion Pegasus (who confirmed that the God cards were indeed destroyed after Yami Yugi departed for the afterlife). Jaden Yuki Duels Franz, who quickly Summons "Ra" and restrains it with "Mound of the Bound Creator", causing it to cry. Despite Franz using the known abilities of "Ra" to gain an advantage, Jaden Summons "Ra" to his field, uses its Point-to-Point Transfer effect to increase its ATK, and win the Duel. After Franz's defeat, "Ra" dematerializes.
During the climax of Jaden's Duel with Yugi Muto, Yami Yugi appears and takes over, who Special Summons "Slifer" from his Graveyard.
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's[edit]
In Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, the Egyptian God cards make a cameo when Taro compared the power of "Zushin the Sleeping Giant" with the Egyptian Gods.[1]
Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V[edit]
In Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, the Fusion Dimension Duel Academy has an elite squad of Duelists called the Obelisk Force. They wear helmets similar to the face of "Obelisk the Tormentor". The dubbed version also maintains the dorms seen in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. It is unknown why they are named after "Obelisk" in this series, as no mention of the Egyptian God cards' existence has been made.
Anime and manga effects[edit]
[edit]
In the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga and anime (as well as the Wicked Gods in the Yu-Gi-Oh! R manga), the Egyptian God cards share similar effects, and as these shared effects are not written on the cards themselves, it is likely that either the DIVINE Attribute or the Divine-Beast Type—both referred to as "God" (
Since their effects can be portrayed differently between anime and manga, they could possibly be reconstructed as follows:
| Both mediums |
|
|---|---|
| Manga |
|
| Anime |
|
The Egyptian God cards' Summoning condition requires three monsters to be Tributed to be Tribute Summoned in accordance to the Battle City Rules regarding Level 10 monsters. Prior to this, Kaiba Normal Summoned "Obelisk" without Tributing monsters in accordance to the Duelist Kingdom rules to Normal Summon monsters from their hand regardless of their Level.[2] Certain other effects are also standard manga rules or mechanics that are carried over to the anime as their personal effects, like newly Summoned monsters changing the attack or effect target to them when Summoned during their resolution or battle position change during the same turn a monster is Summoned.
Cards like "Brain Control" or "Mirror Force" are shown to be useless on them, and Yami Marik claims "Soul Taker" would be wasted on them as they cannot be Tributed by the opponent. Activated cards or effects that can affect them will only work on them for one turn (i.e. "Spellbinding Circle"), but continuous effects will work on them as long as they're face-up on the field (i.e. "Nightmare's Steelcage"). This is also the reason why they return to the Graveyard when Special Summoned by cards like "Monster Reborn".
As their effects are also treated as attacks (i.e. "Obelisk's" damaging effect, "Slifer's" ATK/DEF-decreasing effect, "Ra's" Phoenix Mode), activating them fulfills the requirement of cards like "Surprise Attack from Beyond" and allows cards like "Mirror Force" to be activated in response to their activation. Their effects cannot be activated when they cannot declare an attack (i.e. "Swords of Revealing Light").
Cards that apply their own effect to other cards can bypass the Egyptian Gods' inherent protection, like "Blast Held by a Tribute", which became a part of "Obelisk" after it was Summoned by Tributing "Zolga" chosen by the card. During Seto Kaiba and Ishizu Ishtar's Duel, Ishizu had a vision from her Millennium Necklace that she would have been able to destroy "Obelisk" with its effect.
In addition to their Divine-Beast Type, the Egyptian God cards are sometimes stated to be different Types: "Obelisk" is a Warrior, "Slifer" is a Dragon, and "Ra" is a Machine. The three are classified as these Types in various video games such as Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sacred Cards and Yu-Gi-Oh! Reshef of Destruction. In the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga and anime, Yami Yugi's "Buster Blader" gains 500 ATK due to "Slifer" being treated as a Dragon monster.[3][4]
The depictions of the Egyptian God cards in the manga and anime, however, are different from each other.
In the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga[edit]
In the manga, the Egyptian God cards possess a Hierarchy amongst themselves.[5] In Yu-Gi-Oh! R, Yako Tenma explains this Hierarchy to like a pyramid, with "Ra" at the top, and "Slifer" and "Obelisk" at the bottom as equals.[6] The Wicked God cards also belong to this same Hierarchy.[6] Only monsters that have the same Hierarchy or higher can affect the Egyptian God cards in the manga. Because of this, the effects of non-Egyptian God monsters do not work on them, like "Slifer" being immune to the effect of "Dark Necrofear", and the effects of "Slifer" do not work on "Ra" or "The Wicked Avatar", while the effects of "Obelisk" and "Slifer" will work on each other for one turn.[7][6][8]
Hierarchy also grants the Egyptian Gods protection in battle from monsters with lower Hierarchy, and its controller takes no battle damage, shown when the attack of "Obelisk the Tormentor" do not work on "Ra".[5] However, an Egyptian God's Hierarchy can be increased with "Divine Evolution", making "Obelisk" able to destroy "Avatar" by battle.[9] However, they can be destroyed by battle by any other means, such as any non-Egyptian God monsters (they do not have a Hierarchy), or card effects that also treat it as an attack, shown when Dark Yugi used "Dimension Magic" to combine the power of his "Dark Magician" and "Dark Magician Girl" to destroy "Ra" during the climax of Dark Yugi and Dark Marik's Battle City Duel.[10]
They are also unaffected by Trap Cards and Virus Cards.[11][12] This also extends when said cards are already active on the field, such as when Kaiba Summoned "Obelisk" while Aigami controls "Cubic Mandala".[13] However, they can still be affected by Trap Cards with magical effects (which can be destroyed by "De-Spell"), shown when Yami Yugi used "Spellbinding Circle" to weaken "Slifer's" ATK by 700 during Dark Yugi and the Doll's Duel.
In the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime[edit]
The anime removes Hierarchy, making "Ra" vulnerable to the attacks and effects of "Slifer" and "Obelisk", with Yami Marik using "Class System" to save "Ra" during Yami Yugi and Yami Marik's Battle City Duel, and "Slifer" being able to destroy "Ra" during the Battle Ritual, though "Obelisk" cannot destroy "Slifer" with its effect during Yami Yugi and Seto Kaiba's Battle City Duel. In the anime, the Egyptian Gods also can be affected by other monsters' effects, such as "Sword of Soul" during Yami Yugi and Seto Kaiba's Battle City Duel. During Yami Yugi and Yami Bakura's Battle City Duel in anime, "Dark Sanctuary" is used in place of "Dark Necrofear", where the Egyptian Gods are instead able to destroy the cards equipped to them.
Though they are shown to be immune to "Mirror Force", and that Yugi claimed "Ground Erosion" was able to both reduce the ATK of and negate the effects of "Obelisk" because it affected the Monster Zone that "Obelisk" was Summoned to, rather than "Obelisk" itself, the Egyptian Gods in the anime are vulnerable to certain cards such as "Ragnarok" which destroyed "Ra", "Magnet Force" which redirected "Slifer's" effect, and "Pyramid of Light" which banished them.[14][15][16][17][18]
The Egyptian Gods in the anime seem to stay on field when Special Summoned by Trap Card, such as "Summoning Clock".
According to the anime, only Duelists linked to the Ancient Egyptian past can control an Egyptian God card.[19] The only exception to this is when Gurimo controlled "Obelisk" using "The Seal of Orichalcos", albeit not without discomfort.[20], and when Franz restrained the replica of "Ra" with "Mound of the Bound Creator".[21]
Individual effects[edit]
| Slifer | This card is also a Dragon-Type monster. Its original ATK/DEF become the number of cards in your hand ×1000. |
|---|---|
| Obelisk | (Quick Effect): While this card can attack: You can Tribute 2 other monsters to activate 1 of the following effects. ● Destroy all monsters your opponent controls (this is treated as declaring an attack) and inflict damage to your opponent equal to this card's ATK (this is treated as battle damage). |
| Ra | When this card is first Summoned, it is in Sphere Mode until its hieratic text is recited, which only appears under this card's own light. While in this mode, this card cannot attack or activate its effects, but does not prevent your opponent from attacking directly. The player who successfully recites the hieratic text gains the control of this card. It can attack even if there are effects or conditions that would prevent it and its attacks cannot be negated (except its own). |
Naming[edit]
The names of the "Egyptian God" Cards are derived from the names of items in Egyptian mythology:
- "Slifer the Sky Dragon" ("The Sky Dragon of Osiris" in Japanese, though the anime/manga card bears the English "Saint Dragon - The God of Osiris"): Derives from the name of Osiris, the Egyptian God of afterlife, resurrection, and fertility. The English name is an inside joke, derived from the name of Roger Slifer, a producer of the English-language adaptation to the anime. Its attack is called "Thunderforce Attack" in English and "Super Electrical Conduction Wave - Thunder Force" in Japanese. Its effect, treated as an attack from the second mouth, is called "Lightning Blast" in English and "Summon Thunder Blast" in Japanese.
- "Obelisk the Tormentor" ("The Giant Divine Soldier of Obelisk" in Japanese, though the anime/manga card bears the English "The God of Obelisk"): Derives from the term "obelisk", a type of monument. Its attack is called "Fist of Fate" in English and "God Hand Crusher" in Japanese. The effect that destroys monsters is called "Fist of Fury" in English and "God Hand Impact" in Japanese. The effect that increases its ATK to infinity is known as "Soul Energy MAX".
- "The Winged Dragon of Ra" ("The Sun Dragon of Ra" in Japanese, though the anime/manga card bears the English "The Sun of God Dragon"): Derives from the name of Ra, the Egyptian God of the sun. The effect that allows it to attack during the turn it was Summoned from the Graveyard, regardless of any effect in play or rule, is called "Instant Attack". Its attack is called "Blaze Cannon" in English and "God Blaze Cannon" in Japanese. The effect that absorbs its controller's Life Points is called "Point-to-Point Transfer" in English and "One-Turn Kill" in Japanese. The ability to transform into a phoenix is called "Phoenix Mode" in English and "God Phoenix" in Japanese.
In the English manga, they are all often simply referred to as "Gods", though their original names are still used.
"Slifer the Sky Dragon" in the anime
"Obelisk the Tormentor" in the anime
"The Winged Dragon of Ra" in the anime (blank)
"The Winged Dragon of Ra" in the anime (hieratic text)
The names of the "Egyptian Gods" are the basis for the names of the dormitories of Duel Academy in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX; Slifer Red, Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue. This also reflects how Seto Kaiba viewed the three "Egyptian god" cards; "Slifer" was owned by Yugi Muto, his arch-rival, so it was only natural that he holds the card in such contempt. "The Winged Dragon of Ra" is in the middle, since it was owned by Marik Ishtar, until Yugi won it from him in Battle City; Seto Kaiba was thus neutral to this card. Of course, with Obelisk Blue, it was plainly obvious why he based this dorm off of "Obelisk The Tormentor"; it was the first and only "Egyptian God" card he received, and indeed seen the power it holds, until Yugi won it from him in the Battle City Finals.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, the Fusion Dimension Duel Academy has an elite squad of Duelists called the Obelisk Force. These Duelists wear helmets based on the head of "Obelisk the Tormentor".
OCG/TCG cards[edit]
Each Egyptian God has two separate versions in the physical card game: an illegal version that cannot be used in official tournaments, and a legal version that can. Each version of the Egyptian God cards has seen reprints.
Illegal prints[edit]
The latest Illegal versions of the OCG/TCG Egyptian God cards feature the following:
- The limitation text "This card cannot be used in a Duel."
- Flavor text as card text, based on their anime flavor text.
- Non-standard card background color, based on their anime card background colors.
- Non-standard card backing colors, based on their card background colors.
- For "Slifer the Sky Dragon", its undefined ATK/DEF is written as X000/X000.
- For "The Winged Dragon of Ra" in the OCG and the early TCG, its undefined ATK/DEF is written as????/????.
In the Japanese versions, the Illegal versions also feature Series 2 card layouts, even on their reprints.
The Illegal versions were printed in the following printings in the Japanese OCG:
- Promotional cards for the Japanese Game Boy Color game Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 4: Battle of Great Duelist, released on December 7, 2000 (original printing).[a]
- Promotional cards for the Game Boy Advance game Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters International — Worldwide Edition, released on April 17, 2003.[b] Notably, this version is printed in English and matches the cards' appearances in the English TCG, with the only difference being a Japanese limitation text.
- In the Memories of the Duel King sets, released in 2014.[c]
The Illegal versions were printed in the following printings in the North American English TCG:
- "Ra" was printed as a promotional card for the Xbox game Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dawn of Destiny, released on March 23, 2004.[d]
- "Slifer" was printed as a promotional card for the Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie Ani-Manga (an ani-manga of Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light), released on November 23, 2004.[e]
- "Obelisk" was printed as a promotional card for Shonen Jump magazine subscribers, released in May 2005.[f]
- In the Legendary Collection collector's set, released in October 2010.
- In the Yugi's Legendary Decks set, released in November 2015.
Other regional and language printings can be found on the cards' individual pages.
"Slifer the Sky Dragon" (Illegal version)
"Obelisk the Tormentor" (Illegal version)
"The Winged Dragon of Ra" (Illegal version)
Later on, they were reprinted in early 2024 as part of the Stainless Steel Egyptian God Cards set based on their anime/manga artworks, names, and texts.
"Saint Dragon - The God of Osiris" (Non-game card)
"The God of Obelisk" (Non-game card)
"The Sun of God Dragon" (Non-game card)
Legal prints[edit]
All three of the Egyptian God cards have received legal prints as Effect Monsters. The legal "Obelisk" and "Slifer" possess effects virtually identical to their video game effects, while the legal version of "Ra" has its effects severely weakened (it cannot be Special Summoned, does not gain ATK equal to the total ATK of the monsters Tributed for its Tribute Summon, and its Point-to-Point Transfer effect can only be used upon its Normal Summoning, thus limiting the player's choice and making it incompatible with its "Phoenix" effect).
The only immunity of "Obelisk" was that it cannot be targeted by card effects, whereas the two other "God" Cards can be destroyed by anything. The immunity of the Egyptian Gods was later introduced as part of the effect of "Mound of the Bound Creator".
"Slifer the Sky Dragon" (Legal version)
"Obelisk the Tormentor" (Legal version)
"The Winged Dragon of Ra" (Legal version)
Playing style[edit]
Egyptian Gods Decks focus on Tribute Summoning the three Egyptian God monsters and supporting them with their dedicated support cards. Egyptian God support cards either support the monsters individually, or support their DIVINE Attribute or Divine-Beast Typing.
Egyptian God support cards focus on searching out the Egyptian Gods and providing Tribute for ther 3-Tribute requirement for Normal Summoning, and secondarily focus on providing powerful effects if the player controls the Egyptian God monsters. Key searchers for the Egyptian Gods include "Soul Energy MAX!!!" (if it is in the GY, which can be done with "Foolish Burial Goods") for Obelisk, "Thunderspeed Summon" for Slifer and Ra (requires setup of Three Musketeers of Face Cards), and "Ancient Chant" for Ra.
Egyptian God support cards that provide Tribute include "Reactor Slime" and "Egyptian God Slime". "Soul Crossing" allows a Spell Speed 2 Tribute Summon of an Egyptian God using the opponent's monsters.
Once on the field, the Egyptian Gods have signature move cards, as well as other monster-specific support cards, that provide more powerful interactions beyond the monsters' individual effects. Slifer is supported by "Thunderforce Attack", Obelisk is supported by "Fist of Fate", and Ra is supported by "Blaze Cannon". Other general on-field support cards for Egyptian Gods include "Mound of the Bound Creator" and "Divine Evolution".
Multiple Egyptian God support cards, including "Dark Spell Regeneration", "Magical Trick Mirror", "Ultimate Divine-Beast", and "Millennium Revelation", provide revival for Egyptian God monsters in the Graveyard. Notably, several of them specifically require interacting with "Monster Reborn" to function.
Typically, Egyptian God Decks focus on a single Egyptian God and its support, as their support are specific to themselves and lack synergy between them. Notably, Ra has a search card for its support cards, "Guardian Slime", making its strategy relatively more consistent.
Weaknesses[edit]
- The Egyptian Gods have little field protection, and can be easily removed by removal cards like "Raigeki".
- The Egyptian Gods require a hefty investment to consistently search out and summon, meaning that it is easy to disrupt their summoning process by removing their monster Tributes or by negating their searches with "Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring".
Recommended cards[edit]
Egyptian God + "Archfiend" Deck (December 13, 2017)[edit]
A Deck that makes use of “Masterking Archfiend” (that appeared in “LINK VRAINS PACK”)
You can Link Summon “Masterking Archfiend” with the effects of cards like “Phantom Skyblaster” and “Tour Guide from the Underworld”.
You can pay the activation cost of the effect of a “Edge Imp Sabres” in the GY to put a card on top of your Deck, and then add the card to your hand with the effects of cards like “The True Name” and “Archfiend’s Oath”.
You can easily get “Edge Imp Sabres” to the GY via 2 ways:• Special Summon it with the effect of “Tour Guide from the Underworld”, then send it to the GY via things such as using it as material for the Link Summon of “Masterking Archfiend”• Or you can send it from the Deck to the GY with “Masterking Archfiend” by paying an 800 LP cost (to match its 800 DEF), with cards such as “Psychic Blade” or “Brain Control”.
Level 6 monsters like “Archfiend Commander” can be used as materials to Xyz Summon “Inzektor Exa-Beetle”, whose effect can make “The Winged Dragon of Ra” an Equip Card, that you can send to the GY, allowing you to Special Summon “The Winged Dragon of Ra – Immortal Phoenix”.
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V-Jump magazine[edit]
In the Febuary 2012 issue of the V-Jump Magazine, a Deck was posted on how to Summon all three of the "Egyptian Gods" as well as "Holactie the Creator of Light".[22]
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Video games[edit]
The "Egyptian God" cards are present in Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sacred Cards, Yu-Gi-Oh! Reshef of Destruction, Yu-Gi-Oh! Nightmare Troubadour, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Spirit Caller and Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force 2.
In Tag Force 2, they can be obtained only if the player has the original Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force UMD Disc.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force 3, they can be obtained only if the player has Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force 1 and 2.
In Spirit Caller, the game must be connected with Nightmare Troubadour in order to obtain them. Since it is possible to "trade" between Nightmare Troubadour, Spirit Caller and Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2007 by buying cards from Nightmare Troubadour, it is possible to have the "Egyptian God" cards in any of these games. Additionally, in Spirit Caller, the player can see the "Egyptian God" Cards by unlocking Yami Yugi.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2008, they can only be obtained via the Card Download function, like with "Thunder King Rai-Oh".
In Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's World Championship 2009: Stardust Accelerator, "Obelisk" is an Effect Monster, but "Slifer" and "Ra" are their own individual Monster Card types, unseen in the game's navigational menus. They are all Level 10, DIVINE Attribute, Divine-Beast Type, and cannot be targeted by cards or effects. The Summon of an Egyptian God card cannot be negated, and cards cannot be activated in response to their Summon. Each Egyptian God card requires three Tributes to be Normal Summoned, and cannot be Set. If Special Summoned, they are destroyed during the End Phase.
Trivia[edit]
- In the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga and the Japanese version of the anime, the card text of the Egyptian Gods (except the hieratic text of "The Winged Dragon of Ra") is written in English, likely due to the one-of-a-kind cards being created by Maximillion Pegasus, who is from the United States of America.
- However, they are still referred to their Japanese names, rather than the English names printed on the cards.
- The anime uses a slightly different card layout as well, likely due to not being finished as a result of the curse associated with them.
- Each of the Egyptian God cards in the OCG/TCG are focused on a certain play-style:
- "Obelisk" is offensive, using its 4000 ATK & DEF combined with its targeting immunity to destroy everything and overwhelm the opponent.
- "Slifer" is defensive, using its effects to weaken and destroy Summoned monsters to compensate for its fluctuating ATK/DEF.
- "Ra" is OTK based, using its effect to significantly increase it ATK to enormous Levels, and potentially defeat the opponent that turn. Alternatively, using its destruction effect can aid in allowing for other monsters to do so.
- In the manga, "Ra" is the only Egyptian God Card that was never Summoned by Yami Yugi.
- In the anime, however, Yami Yugi Summons "Ra" during his Ceremonial Duel against Yugi Muto.
- The Egyptian Gods have spawned many trinities of powerful cards that tend to be important in the series they have been featured in. These include the following:
- The Legendary Dragons from the Waking the Dragons story arc
- The Wicked Gods from Yu-Gi-Oh! R
- The Sacred Beasts from the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime
- The "Aesir" from the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds anime
- Eve's three boss monsters, "Phantasm Emperor Trilojig", "Timelord Progenitor Vorpgate", and "Number XX: Infinity Dark Utopic", as well as the G.O.D. series from the Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V manga.
- The illegal prints of the Egyptian God cards once demanded high prices on the secondary market. This was prior to their current widespread availability. During this time, countless counterfeit copies were made and distributed primarily throughout East Asia.
- In the Filipino anime, "Ra's" name is changed to "Apollo", the Greek equivalent of Ra.
- The ranks of the dorms in the Duel Academy, named after the Egyptian Gods, reflects how Seto Kaiba viewed the three cards:
- Slifer Red is the lowest rank, as "Slifer" was owned by Yugi Muto, his arch-rival.
- Ra Yellow is the middle rank, as "Ra" was owned by Marik Ishtar, whom Kaiba was neutral to.
- Obelisk Blue is the top rank, as "Obelisk" was owned and prized by Kaiba himself.
- In the Basic Game Play FAQ on the Former Official UDE Web Site there was a question that asked "What do the Egyptian god cards do?" and it was answered with "Nothing. They're not legitimate Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game cards. They have no effects and can't be used in your Deck".
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ↑ See:
- ↑ See Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters International: Worldwide Edition promotional cards.
- ↑ See:
- Memories of the Duel King: Battle City Arc ("Obelisk")
- ↑ See Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dawn of Destiny promotional cards.
- ↑ See Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie Ani-Manga promotional card.
- ↑ See Shonen Jump May 2005 subscription bonus.
References[edit]
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's - Episode 121
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel 148 (Duelist Duel 89): "The God of the Obelisk"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel 66 (Duelist Duel 7): "The Trap"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel 173 (Duelist Duel 114): "Combo of Despair!!"
- ↑ a b Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel 275 (Duelist Duel 216): "One Point of Life!"
- ↑ a b c Yu-Gi-Oh! R Duel Round 2: "Avatar's Menace!!"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel 208 (Duelist Duel 149): "The Line of Fire"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel 256 (Duelist Duel 197): "God vs. God!"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! R Duel Round 43: "Mutually Assured Destruction"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel 340 (Millennium World Duel 62): "The Ties That Bind"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel 236 (Duelist Duel 177): "The Dark God is Born!"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! R Duel Round 30: "The Invincible "1""
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 68: "Legendary Fisherman, Part 1"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 221: "The Final Duel - Part 1"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 142: "The Final Face Off - Part 5"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 222: "The Final Duel - Part 2"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 92: "Mind Game: Mai Vs. Marik, Part 3"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 146: "A New Evil - Part 2"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! GX episode 85: "Rah, Rah, Ra!"
- ↑ V-Jump magazine
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