The good guys in the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime would claim that they used the Heart of the Cards to win their duels. It was this faith in the idea that they would always draw the card they needed that set them apart from the villains of the show.
To be successful in competitive card games in real life, you need money more than faith. The creators of games like Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh! will make the best cards in the game as rare as possible, in order to make people spend money in search of them.
If you want to compete in tournaments, then you will need to drop a lot of cash to build a deck that is strong enough to win. You will also have to do this several times a year, as older sets will be made illegal to use in tournaments, so you will have to keep up with the new ones.
Yu-Gi-Oh! has built up a library of cards that are worth a lot of money to collectors. These are cards that hold a particular historical value to Yu-Gi-Oh! fans or are ones that are unique for unusual reasons, such as featuring misprints.
We are here today to look at the Yu-Gi-Oh! cards that are worth the most on the second-hand market-- from the devilish prize card to the creature that used to win matches in one turn.
Here are the 15 Most Valuable Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards You Need To Add To Your Collection!
15. Blood Mefist
The official Yu-Gi-Oh! tournaments will give away unique cards as prizes. These cards tend to be worth a lot of money, as very few of them exist and their origins can easily be traced.
They aren't quite worth the same amount as the cards Pegasus gave away during the Duelist Kingdom tournament, but you can still expect to fetch a few hundred dollars for a prize card.
Blood Mefist is the prize card given away to the winners of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series 2011. This is a card that deals damage to the opponent equal to the number of cards they control, as well as dealing additional damage every time they set a card the spell/trap zone.
The limited edition version of Blood Mefist from the Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series 2011 has been sold for $599.
14. Number 89: Diablosis The Mind Hacker
The latest card to be released on this list is Number 89: Diablosis The Mind Hacker. This was the card given away to the winners of the main and side events of the Yu-Gi-Oh Championship Series 2017, which was held in August of last year.
Number 89: Diablosis The Mind Hacker isn't actually that great as a card. The only reason it is worth so much is due to the fact that only a handful of them exist. The strength of the card is irrelevant, as you aren't likely to see one being used during a regular match, that is unless you happen to be playing Elon Musk or Scrooge McDuck during a tournament.
A high-quality copy of Number 89: Diablosis The Mind Hacker prize card from Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series 2017 has sold for $650.
13. Corrected Dark Paladin
There have been instances when cards have been released with incorrect text or artwork, due to an error in the printing process. You can usually send these cards to Konami in order to receive free versions of the updated cards. This is generally a bad idea, as the misprinted cards can be worth a lot of money.
Dark Paladin is one such card that received an incorrect release. The version of the card that was released as part of the Magician's Force set originally featured the wrong artwork. This original Dark Paladin featured the artwork from the promotional Dark Paladin that was given away alongside the Duel Masters Guide book.
A high-quality corrected version of the Dark Paladin card from Magician's Force has been sold for $710.
12. Exodia The Forbidden One
Exodia the Forbidden One and his four body parts are some of the most famous cards in Yu-Gi-Oh! This is due to the fact that Yugi uses it to defeat Kaiba in the first episode of the anime, in what has become one of the most famous scenes of the show.
Exodia has always maintained a presence in the competitive Yu-Gi-Oh! scene, due to the fact that it offers an alternate win condition. Players have come up with numerous strategies in order to help them bring forth Exodia in a swift fashion.
A high-quality copy of the Ultra Rare version of Exodia the Forbidden One from the Legends of Blue Eyes White Dragon set has been sold for $799 online.
11. Stardust Dragon
The vast majority of the cards on this list belong to earliest Yu-Gi-Oh! sets. This is due to a mixture of growing nostalgia for TV shows and video games from the early '00s and for the fact that the early cards weren't cataloged and kept in the same as the rare cards from the later sets.
Stardust Dragon is one of the cards that was made famous during the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's era of the anime. An especially rare version of this card, known as a Ghost Rare, was released as part of The Duelist Genesis set. Ghost Rares generally used a unique coloring/hologram image on the card that made the monster appear three-dimensional, which set them apart from the other rarities.
A Ghost Rare version of Stardust Dragon from The Duelist Genesis set has been sold for $799.
10. Dark Magician
The Dark Magician is Yugi Muto's signature monster. It was later revealed that the Dark Magician has an important role in the backstory of Yu-Gi-Oh! as it represents one of the servants of the Pharoah who protects him, even after death. The Dark Magician would receive numerous support cards due to its popularity, with many Dark Magician-themed decks becoming viable in the competitive scene.
The version of Dark Magician that was released as part of Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon features different artwork from the Dark Magician that came in the Yugi-Muto Starter Deck. The fact that it was released as part of the first set means that there are few copies of this version of the card around.
A high-quality copy of the Dark Magician from the Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon set has been sold for $900.
9. Holactie The Creator Of Light
The Yu-Gi-Oh! card game holds the Guinness World Record for being the highest selling trading card game in the world. The game exploded in popularity outside of Japan after the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime was broadcast in English for the first time.
There have been very few Yu-Gi-Oh! cards that have not received a worldwide release at this point. A lot of cards have had their artwork censored, but they were still printed and sold.
Holactie the Creator of Light was only given away as part of a promotion for the book called DUEL ART - Kazuki Takahashi Yu-Gi-Oh! Illustrations. This promotion was only held in Japan, which means that no English language version of the card was ever released. Holactie's effect allows you to win the game if you can summon her, though you need the three Egyptian God Cards on the field to do so.
A high-quality copy of Holactie the Creator of Light has been sold for $990.
8. The Misprint Rainbow Dragon
A misprint that actually makes its way into production can be worth a lot of money. This is especially true of Yu-Gi-Oh! as many cards have been released with printing errors that have swiftly been recalled. These cards tend to go for a lot of money, as they are truly unique.
Rainbow Dragon was involved with two different misprints during the time it was printed in the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game. The first one involved Rainbow Dragon's name being printed on the Elemental HERO Chaos Neos card, while the second one involved Elemental HERO Chaos Neos' artwork being printed on Rainbow Dragon's card.
The version of Rainbow Dragon that has Elemental HERO Chaos Neos' image on the card from the Tactical Evolution set has been sold for $999.
7. Gaia The Dragon Champion
Gaia the Dragon Champion was a fusion monster that Yugi Muto used during the early parts of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime. He would later phase this monster, as well its component pieces (Curse of Dragon and Gaia The Fierce Knight) out of his deck in favor of better creatures.
It would receive several updated variants, while Curse of Dragon would receive Curse of Dragonfire, which could destroy Field spell cards, as well as use it for a free fusion.
Gaia the Dragon Champion was one of the Secret Rare cards of the Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon set. This means that it is very difficult to come across a decent quality version of the card.
A high-quality version of Gaia the Dragon Champion has been sold for $999.
6. Summoned Skull
Summoned Skull is one of the signature monsters of Yugi Muto. A copy of Summoned Skull could be found within the Yugi Muto Starter Deck that was released early on. The players quickly realized that Summoned Skull was actually better than the Dark Magician, due to the fact that it had the same ATK score but only needed one sacrifice to bring it out on the field.
It was possible to get a Summoned Skull card in the Metal Raiders set, which was the 2nd one every released for the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game. It was one of the Ultra Rares of the set and is highly sought by collectors.
A very high-quality copy of Summoned Skull from the Metal Raiders set has been sold for $999.
5. Blue-Eyes White Dragon
The Yu-Gi-Oh! video games have often been bundled with promotional cards that cannot be acquired any other way than buying the game. These cards generally aren't considered to be rare, considering how many copies of the Yu-Gi-Oh! games are shipped.
One of the earliest Yu-Gi-Oh! games was Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Duel Stories for the Game Boy Color. This game has two different versions that come with their own set of promotional cards. The first version of Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Duel Stories came with a Prismatic Secret Rare version of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card.
Due to how early it was in the franchise's lifespan, it is difficult to acquire high-quality versions of the Prismatic Secret Rares from Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Duel Stories. A high-quality Prismatic Secret Rare version of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon has been sold for $999.
4. The Original Blue-Eyes White Dragon
In the world of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and manga, there are only four copies of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card in existence. Kaiba keeps three of them in his deck and destroys the fourth one so that it can never be used against him. This means that Kaiba is the sole user of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon in Yu-Gi-Oh!
The same cannot be said for the real version of the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game, as the Blue-Eyes White Dragon has received numerous reprints and variants that feature new artwork.
This happened as early as the start of the game, as two different versions of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon existed-- the one from the Kaiba Starter Deck and the one from the Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon set.
A high-quality version of an original Blue-Eyes White Dragon card from the first ever Yu-Gi-Oh! set has been sold for over $1000.
3. Harpie's Feather Duster
Mai Valentine used a deck based on Harpie monsters in the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime. The Harpies would receive extra support in the form of new cards, which made decks that use Wind-type monsters especially good in the competitive format.
The best card with Harpie in the title has nothing to do with the type of monster. The Harpie's Feather Duster is a spell card that destroys all of the opponent's spells and traps on the field. This is one of the most powerful Yu-Gi-Oh! cards in the game, which means that it has been banned for a long time in tournaments.
A high-quality version of the Harpie's Feather Duster that was released as part of Tournament Pack 8 has been sold for $1500.
2. Red-Eyes B Dragon
The Red-Eyes Black Dragon became the main monster used by Joey Wheeler in the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime. The Red-Eyes Black Dragon always paled in comparison to the power of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, but it received lots of support from other cards due to its popularity, which meant that viable Red-Eyes Black Dragon decks exist.
The one way in which the Red-Eyes Black Dragon card has exceeded the Blue-Eyes White Dragon is in its price. A high-grade quality Red-Eyes from Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon is worth a lot of money.
This is due to the fact that it came from the first Yu-Gi-Oh! set released outside of Japan. You can tell the card is genuine from the fact that the text of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon's name is lower than normal.
A high-quality Red-Eyes Black Dragon from Legends of Blue Eyes White Dragon has sold for $2500.
1. Cyber-Stein
Cyber-Stein was once one of the most feared cards in Yu-Gi-Oh! due to its incredible combo potential that could net you a victory within a single turn.
The most infamous combo involving Cyber-Stein required the use of a Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and the Megamorph spell. If you drew Cyber-Stein and Megamorph on a turn where the enemy couldn't defend themselves, then you won the match, as the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon would drain the opponent's life points in a single hit.
The version of Cyber-Stein that is worth a lot of money is the one given away to the winners of the Shonen Jump Championship. This was the first major official Yu-Gi-Oh! tournament, which adds value to anything associated with it. It's believed that only eighteen copies of the prize version of the card exist and they have sold for ridiculous prices online.
A copy of the Shonen Jump Championship prize version of Cyber-Stein has been known to sell for over $6000.
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Are there any other extremely valuable Yu-Gi-Oh! cards that we missed? Let us know in the comments!