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- What Are Egyptian God Cards?
- Why Are Egyptian God Cards Banned?
The Egyptian God Cards were some of the most powerful game pieces in the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and manga, and, like other powerful anime-exclusive cards, they were eventually released as promotional cards to reward loyal fans. Unfortunately, these cards were somewhat different from their storyline counterparts.
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PostsThe Yu-Gi-Oh! anime played fast and loose with the rules, especially in the early seasons, and the Egyptian God Cards were no exception. Since the rules vary so much between the game and the show, obviously the Egyptian God Cards would be a little less powerful in print. But why are they banned?
What Are Egyptian God Cards?
The Egyptian God Cards are a set of three Divine Beast-Type Monsters originally introduced in the manga and anime's Battle City story arc. They are Slifer the Sky Dragon, Obelisk the Tormentor, and The Winged Dragon of Ra.
Created by Pegasus and hidden away because they were too powerful, each card was inhabited by the spirit of the god-like being it represented.
In the anime and manga, these cards are one-of-a-kind, and feature all kinds of special rules dealing with how they can be summoned, which spells, traps, and other effects work on them, and what kind of special abilities they have.
The Winged Dragon of Ra even has its rules text written in pseudo-hieroglyphics, limiting its use to people who can read and speak ancient Egyptian dialects.
In the real world, all the Egyptian God Cards were originally released as a preorder bonus with the Japanese release of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 4: Battle of Great Duelist in December 2000, but were not legal for play, and that rule has never been changed.
Why Are Egyptian God Cards Banned?
The Egyptian God Cards aren't exactly banned: they don't show up anywhere on the Advanced Forbidden, Limited, or Semi-Limited lists, but they also aren't legal for play.
Except for the versions that are. While there are multiple printings of both, the Egyptian God Cards can be divided into 'legal' and 'illegal' prints, which means that you can play with some but not with others.
The original prints were all 'illegal' prints, and were never legal for tournament play. These cards featured no rules text in the effect box, only lore text, along with text beneath the effect box that said "This card cannot be used in a Duel."
In addition to this prohibitive rules text, the cards also feature unique coloration: Obelisk the Tormentor is blue, The Winged Dragon of Ra is yellow, and Slifer the Sky Dragon is red. These colors extend to the card backs, making it easy to identify them while they're in the deck.
Cards that can be identified before they're drawn are considered marked, and are prohibited in most trading card games.
Since this original run of promotional cards features backs that aren't compatible with other cards in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game, as well as rules text that explicitly prohibits using them in Duels, they're illegal for tournament play and may be treated as banned cards.
More recent prints, which have the standard card back and the orange coloration of other Effect Monsters, are legal for Advanced constructed play, but the older promos are for display purposes only.
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Like Follow FollowedYu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game
Franchise Yu-Gi-Oh! Original Release Date February 4, 1999 Player Count Two-player (1 vs. 1) Age Recommendation 8 and up Length per Game 20 minutes See at Official Site Expand Collapse
