Yu-Gi-Oh! started out as a 1996 manga series by Kazuki Takahashi. It follows the character Yugi Muto, an avid fan of games. One day Yugi solves an ancient relic called the Millenium Puzzle the bestows upon him dark powers as he becomes the host to a mysterious spirit with a mastery of games. The card game that most fans of the series are familiar with came with the introduction of Yugi's rival, Seto Kaiba. Originally called Magic & Wizards, Kazuki Takahashi decided to make it a main plot device of the series when it was widely well received by readers.
The object of the game within the series and in real life is about the same. Players create decks filled with Monster, Spell, and Trap Cards and battle their opponents, though sadly without all the cool holographic technology. Each player begins with the same amount of "Life Points" which get deducted with each monster attack, spell and trap effect that successfully hits. A player loses when all their life points are gone. The card game became very popular and was even named the top selling trading card game by Guinness World Records in 2009. Even today there are new cards and tournaments made.
There are thousands of different cards out there for players to collect with a few considered to be the rarest of the rare, that any hardcore fan of the game would gladly empty their pockets for if given the chance to buy them. Here are 25 Yu-Gi-Oh! cards that are impossible to find, and how much they're worth.
25 Doomcaliber Knight - $700
Just like in the manga and anime series, there have been a number of tournaments around the world where players can battle one another for prestige within the card game community, the championship title, and fantastic prizes. Often the champion is awarded a promo of a super rare card. And Doomcaliber Knight was the prize card for several of the SHONEN JUMP Championships in 2008. It's worth around $700. It is one of the least expensive cards on this today we have, as wild as that might sound.
24 Gold Sarcophagus - $1372
We have to wonder if there's maybe some actual gold in this promo card with how much its worth. One promo Gold Sarcophagus card runs about $1372 and higher, with some of the lowest prices listing it at around $999.
There were only about 25 of these cards designed and were only given out during a few of the SHONEN JUMP championships and during the Pharaoh's Tour in 2007. This card just might be the perfect addition to the deck of any "King of Games."
23 Number 89: Diablosis The Mind Hacker - $450
This super rare card was one of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Prize Cards. Its rarity has made a near mint condition version of its original print cost $450. To be fair, it gives you a pretty awesome effect. One material can be detached and the owner is able to choose one face-down monster from their opponent's extra deck to banish. If the card destroys a monster through battle, you can target one face-down card in your opponent's GY. It can only be used once per turn, but it's pretty powerful!
22 Dark Magician Girl - $1,100
Dark Magician Girl is probably considered to be one of (other than the Dark Magician and Blue Eyes White Dragon) the mascot characters of the series, with her being a monster often used in Yugi's deck. Because of her popularity, she has a lot of re-releases and variations in the card game. But the first Japanese promo card that features her is considered to be the rarest of Dark Magician Girl cards. It was given to the winner and participants in a card tournament in 1999.
21 Minerva, The Exalted Lightsworn - $1,900
The three categories of cards (monster, spell, and trap) are broken down into even more categories which are based on a number of things like attributes, effects, etc. Certain cards can only be used when specific conditions are met, and certain monster cards can only be used when they are summoned. Minerva, The Exalted Lightsword, is one of those specially summoned cards. She's an XYZ monster that can only be summoned from a player's extra deck. This card was a promo card given to the winners of the 2015 Championship. She's worth about $1900.
20 Crush Card Virus - $2,474
Most fans of the series will remember the first appearance of the Crush Card Virus. It was used by Kaiba against Yugi in Duelist Kingdom and caused him quite a bit of trouble!
It doesn't have quite the same devastating effect as in the show, but it does allow a player to take out some of their opponent's strong monsters in one move! Only about 40 copies of this iconic card were released, with a few given out to the winners of the SHONEN JUMP Championships in 2007. The card is worth about $2474, with some listing for over $3000!
19 Number 93: Utopia Kaiser - $300- $600
This super rare card was one of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Prize Cards. It's out of stock pretty much everywhere, but it'll run you somewhere between $300 and $600 to get one of these. Once per turn with this card, according to the, a player can "Special Summon Rank 9 or lower Number monsters with 3000 or less ATK that have different Ranks from each other from your Extra Deck, up to the number of Xyz Materials with different names attached to this card, but their effects are negated, then detach 1 Xyz Material from this card."
18 Shrink - $1,200
The Shrink card is a pretty common card. It is a spell card and has a neat effect of cutting a monster's attack power in half for a turn. The first edition of Shrink is the one that even the most dedicated player will have trouble finding. There were only 26 of these cards released between May and December of 2006 and was given out as a prize to the winner of the 50th SHONEN Jump Championship. It is estimated to be worth around $1200.
17 Chinese Blue Eyes White Dragon - $1,300 - $3,900
The Yu-Gi-Oh card game isn't just popular in the United States and Japan, it has a pretty big fanbase worldwide, including in China. It is also, apparently a pretty lucrative hobby to have if a player plans on selling their cards.
This version of the card was the first edition sold in China and is considered to be one of the more exclusive editions.
One of these Blue Eyes White Dragon cards can be worth anywhere between $1300 to $3900. Anyone still kicking around with an old school deck might just be playing with a mini fortune!
16 Chinese Dark Magician - $800 - $1,600
Another reason why Yu-Gi-Oh! cards in different languages are so impossible to find and become so expensive is that there was a limited number of them ever produced. That's the reason for this Chinese Dark Magician, as it was not only released back in 1999 but there were only 100 ever made. It can be worth about $800 and even double that amount. It might not be one of the more expensive cards on the list, but we're pretty sure this gem is a rare find at most tournaments.
15 Aggiba, The Malevolent Sh'nn S'yo - $400
This extremely rare card has been made illegal in tournament play and official Duels because of how powerful it is. Adding one to your deck in the first place comes at a price of $400, so that might not be much of a problem for most players! It is unable to be Special Summoned and must be Tribute Summoned using three Fiend monsters. If this monster is used in a direct attack that lowers your opponent's LP to zero, you are automatically crowned as the winner of the Match.
14 Rainbow Dragon "Misprint" - $400
Most would think that misprints wouldn't hold any value and would be largely unwanted. But the opposite is true; lots of players actively seek out misprints! A misprint happens when there is an error with the printing press for a card. Usually if the errors are caught before the card are distributed, they get destroyed but sometimes they manage to slip through before they are discovered. And this Rainbow Dragon is one of the more rarer ones, as, it has the wrong picture and shows the artwork of "Elemental HERO Chaos Neos." It goes for around $400.
13 Des Volstgalph - $1,530
Dragon cards are always pretty popular in the card game, and Des Volstgalph is definitely one of those cards that a lot of players have their eyes on. Unfortunately, only a few of these cards even exist (this edition at least), a very limited amount of 20! And out of those 20 five had already been given out to the winners of the Pharaoh's Tour back in 2005. This card packs a double whammy of an effect too, it can deal 500 damage to an opponent is destroyed and gains more attack power with every normal and quick-play spell activated!
12 Red Eyes Black Dragon - $800 - $1,300
The Red Eyes Black Dragon is definitely another monster that fans of the series are familiar with. It became one of Joey Wheeler's strongest monsters when he won it from Rex Raptor and is often considered to be the antithesis of the Blue Eyes White Dragon. It's also from the very first booster boxes, "Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon", making this rendition of the card the oldest and most hard to find version. In January of this year one of these cards sold for $1300 on eBay.
11 Stardust Divinity - $2,100
This incredibly rare card is currently unavailable from even the most specially targeted marketplaces, including Troll and Toad - but the last known selling price was $2100, so scarcity isn't the only thing that stands between most players and adding this monster to their collection!
It's illegal to use in official Duels and tournaments, and it even has limitation text right on it that states that it cannot be used in a Duel!
It's a card that must be Synchro Summoned, but it will automatically grant you a win if it reduces your opponent's LP to zero through a direct attack.
10 Mechanical Chaser - $1600
This card might surprise a few people by being on the list, but it definitely belongs on this list. Mechanical Chaser was an Ultra Rare card from Tournament Pack Season 1. What's a Tournament Pack? Well, they are rare cards that were only available in the packs given out at various Yu-Gi-Oh card tournaments. And Mechanical Chaser is the rarest of Tournament Pack Season 1 and sold for an amazing $1600 online. Apparently, there's only 11 of these in circulation too, so anyone lucky enough to have gotten one might want to hold onto it.
9 Chaos Emperor, The Dragon Of Armageddon - $1,200
This super rare card was one of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Prize Cards. It's almost impossible to find because it's out of stock virtually everywhere, even on eBay and specialized marketplaces like TCG Player, but anyone lucky enough to track one down is looking at a price tag of somewhere near $1200. Getting your hands on the card isn't the only thing that's super hard to do, though - even using it is pretty tricky because this monster can actually only be used by sacrificially banishing a Dark and Light monster from your hand or Extra Deck to Special Summon it!
8 Blood Mefist -$2000
This super rare card was one of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Prize Cards. It is a pretty difficult find that is not even in stock on TGC Player, but anyone who can find it will be looking at a price that is somewhere in the range of $2K. This card grants the ability to inflict 300 damage onto each of an opponent's controlled cards during their Standby Phase, so it is easy to see why it's such a popular one any player would want to get their hands on!
7 Ascension Sky Dragon - $2500
The Ascension Sky Dragon was given out as a prize in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series, so it's safe to say that it's a pretty rare find. Though it was reprinted and that version is significantly cheaper and more common, a nearly mint version of the original print will cost you up to $2500! As ridiculous as that sounds, it's easy to understand why, because this card has the ability to Special Summon the monsters used to Synchro Summon it, if they are in your Graveyard when this card is destroyed.
6 Cyber-Stein- $3,400
This Frankenstein-inspired monster card is worth around $3400. It has come common variants but this particular one is extremely rare, with only 18 of them released. It was given out as prizes to winners of the SHONEN Jump Championships that took place in 2004. It even made an impressive bid of $23,000 on an online auction.
The hype for this card makes a bit more sense, as there are few extant copies of this card in English.
Any player that manages to find one of these cards is very lucky!