The 15 Most Overpowered Cards They Used In The Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime
- Photo: 4Kids TV12,593 VOTES
Obelisk The Tormentor Can Make Its Attack Power Infinite With Two Monster Tributes
This terrifying God Card is without a doubt a force to be reckoned with. Just at his base, Obelisk the Tormentor possesses 4000 Attack and Defense Points. As if his extremely high Attack and Defense weren’t enough, Obelisk the Tormentor also has two devastating special abilities. The first allows Obelisk to destroy all Monsters on the opponent’s side of the field and inflict 4000 points of damage to an opponent’s Life Points, all for the low cost of sacrificing two Monsters.
What really makes Obelisk the Tormentor overpowered, however, is its other special ability. By sacrificing two Monsters, the user can make Obelisk the Tormentor’s Attack power infinite. This means that no matter how many Attack Points an opponent's Monster possesses, if Obelisk strikes it in Attack Mode or attacks an opponent’s Life Points directly, the duel is immediately over. With his raw destructive power and insane special abilities, Obelisk is truly worthy of the title Tormentor.
- Photo: 4Kids TV21,895 VOTES
Crush Card Prevents Opponents From Playing Monster With Over 1500 Attack Points
The Crush Card is utilized by infecting a Monster with less than 1000 Attack Points. When that Monster is destroyed in battle, the Crush Card infects the opponent’s deck and prevents them from using any Monster with more than 1500 Attack Points.
This card is to high-level Monsters what the plague was to 13th-century Europeans. There is nothing the duelist it’s used against can do to remove the damage done by this card: it’s active until the end of the duel. Preventing a duelist from utilizing their strongest monsters, without any type of penalty to the user, essentially ensures the opponent's defeat.
- Photo: 4Kids TV31,849 VOTES
The Winged Dragon Of Ra Can Dramatically Increase Its Attack Points And Can Become Temporarily Invincible
It’s not surprising that the Egyptian God Card touted as the greatest would also be overpowered. The Winged Dragon of Ra’s Attack and Defense stats are dependent on the Attack and Defense points of the three Monsters used to Summon it. This means that its Attack can easily soar well above 3000, unless extremely weak Monsters are used as tribute. Even if weak Monsters are used to summon Ra, its special abilities would more than make up for a lack of Attack and Defense points. The Winged Dragon of Ra has a special ability that allows it to absorb the Attack and Defense points of tributed Monsters, and then attack each Monster an opponent has on their side of the field.
Ra’s second ability known as its "God Phoenix effect," and it prevents the user from taking any damage. By paying 1000 Life Points while Ra is in this form, it can destroy all Monsters an opponent controls.
Its last, and possibly most devastating, ability is its “one turn kill” effect. This ability allows Ra to absorb all but one of its owner’s Life Points to increase its Attack and Defense Points. This means that Ra could potentially add 3999 Attack and Defense Points to its already existing stats. The Winged Dragon of Ra was an overpowered beast that even Yugi barely managed to defeat, even when he was using the combined power of Slifer the Sky Dragon and Obelisk the Tormentor.
- Photo: 4Kids TV41,391 VOTES
The Golden Castle Of Stromberg Forces Opponents Monsters To Attack And Then Destroys Them Instantly
The Golden Castle of Stromberg is a card with an interesting backstory. It was originally crafted by Duel Monsters Creator Maxamillion Pegasus, as he created a small number of cards meant to be used as prototypes while constructing the game. It was eventually utilized as a prize during a tournament, but was never meant to be used in actual duels. In fact, it was only able to be played when an antagonist uploaded a virus, allowing it to be used against Yugi during a duel.
So what can this unique card do? First, the user cannot Normal Summon, but can Summon a random Level 4 Monster or lower their deck (and said Monster must attack each turn). It works out, since their opponent’s Life Points will be wide open. See, enemy Monsters must attack each turn, and upon attacking are immediately destroyed. For added fun, they inflict half of their damage to the opponent’s Life Points.
The Golden Castle of Stromberg remains active throughout the entire duel, as it cannot be destroyed by Spells, Traps, or Monster Effects. The only drawback is that it costs half the user's deck to use, but even that can be turned into an advantage. A duelist can fill their deck with Traps, Spells, and Monsters with effects that activate once in the graveyard. It’s unknown why Pegasus would create such a card, since it was only developed as a prototype. He made a wise decision to keep it out of the game, and not subject duelists to this immensely overpowered Field Spell.
- Photo: 4Kids TV51,426 VOTES
Toon World Creates Cartoon Versions Of Duel Monster That Are Essentially Invincible
Toon World is Maximillion Pegasus’s favorite card. It's not really surprising, since it’s just as unfair and demented as he is. By paying 1000 Life Points, Toon World can be Summoned to the field. Once there, it can turn any Monsters the user controls into a cartoon version of themselves. This allows them to enter Toon World, protecting them from enemy Monster attacks.
In truth, Toon Monsters don’t really need to hide in Toon World, since they can dodge any attack thrown at them. To be clear, it isn’t like Pokémon where the owner has to order the monster to dodge, Toon Monsters avoid being hit by attacks of their own volition. Even the anime acknowledged the card was overpowered, as Toon World was never allowed to be released to the public.
- Photo: 4Kids TV61,608 VOTES
Slifer The Sky Dragon Automatically Destroys Any Monster With Less Than 2000 Attack Points
At first glance, Slifer the Sky Dragon appears to be vastly weaker than its God Card brethren. Its power is solely dependent on the number of cards the user holds times 1000. This means that its Attack Points could easily drop to zero if a duelist is not careful. However, what makes Slifer the Sky Dragon truly terrifying is its special ability. When an opposing Monster is Summoned to the field, Slifer will automatically attack with its second mouth. This ability instantly lowers the power of the enemy Monster by 2000 Attack Points, then destroys any Monster whose Attack Points drop to zero.
This means that lower-level Monsters used to Summon stronger Monsters are going to be destroyed the second they are Summoned. Even if an opponent manages to Summon a high powered Monster, Slifer’s second mouth prevents it from being a threat by reducing its Attack Points. Slifer the Sky Dragon’s special ability is devastating enough that it more than makes up for its fluctuating Attack power, as it consistently destroys or significantly nerfs any Monster that faces it.
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Divine Serpent Geh Possess Infinite Attack Points
In terms of raw Attack power, the Divine Serpent Geh has no real equal. It has infinite Attack Points. The only other Monster that can match that type of power (without the aid of a convoluted card strategy) is Obelisk the Tormentor. Obelisk's ability is a little more acceptable, however, as it requires two monster tributes and the effect only lasts for a turn.
Besides having infinite Attack Points, Divine Serpent Geh causes its user to lose all their Life Points. In return for this exchange, that player cannot lose unless Divine Serpent Geh is destroyed.
In order to attack with Divine Serpent Geh, 10 cards must be sent to the graveyard. Honestly, that seems pretty worth it since you’re hitting your opponent in the face with the power of infinity. The only handicap of this card is that it’s difficult to Summon. After the destruction of Orichalcos Kyutora, one must Summon Orichalcos Shunoros. Then, Shunoros has to be destroyed while its Attack is zero (and you have to pay 10,000 Life Points). Even though these difficult requirements must be met in order to summon the Divine Serpent Geh, its consistent infinite AttackPoints make it a total powerhouse. The only thing more absurd than this card's Attack power is the way Yugi beat it. Essentially, he had to create a power beyond infinity. Card games!
- Photo: 4Kids TV81,215 VOTES
The Seal Of Orichalcos Boost All Monsters By 500 Attack Points, And Steals Souls
This Spell Card has multiple abilities that would frighten any duelist unfortunate enough to face it. Once a duelist activates the Seal of Orichalcos, all Monsters they control have their Attack Points increased by 500. As if having an automatic 500 Attack Point increase for every monster isn’t enough, the user of this card can also have more than five Monsters on their side of the field. By utilizing their Spell and Trap Card Zones, they can have a total of 10 Monsters on their side of the field.
Also, Monster Cards placed in the Spell and Trap Card Zones cannot be attacked by enemy monsters until all creatures located in the Monster Card Zone have been destroyed. The Seal of Orichalcos allows the user to not only have a squad of powered-up Monsters but also gives the user the options to protect their stronger Monsters by placing them in the Spell and Trap Card Zones. This way, their Special Monsters can launch attacks while a line of expendable Monsters protect them.
The Seal of Orichalcos also takes the loser of the duel's soul. That obviously sucks if you’re the loser, but also kind of sucks if you’re the winner. What are you suppose to do with someone’s sou, anyway? Most people would rather take their opponent's rarest card, like in the Battle City arc, or get a little money instead.
- Photo: 4Kids TV91,766 VOTES
Exodia The Forbidden One Instantly Grants Victory To Whoever Holds All Five Pieces
Anyone who watched the original Yu-Gi-Oh! anime will remember this Monster well. Once a duelist holds all five piece of Exodia in their hand, they are automatically declared the winner of the duel. Having to pull all the necessary cards to Summon this all powerful Monster may sound difficult, but it becomes easier with a properly constructed deck. A duelist can load their deck with cards like Pot of Greed (which allows them to draw TWO CARDS) and Graceful Charity to increase the number of cards they can draw. This, in turn, raises their chances of getting all five pieces.
Exodia was the reason that Yugi was able to defeat Kaiba in the beginning of the anime. Despite facing all three of Kaiba’s Blue Eyes White Dragons, Yugi managed to Summon Exodia the Forbidden One, instantly granting him victory. When you consider how overpowered this card is, it’s not surprising that Yugi, shortly after his duel with Kaiba, lost three of the five pieces of Exodia when Weevil Underwood threw them off the side of a boat. It would have been very difficult for the audience to be worried about Yugi losing a duel if Exodia could be Summoned to save him, no matter how screwed he was.
- Photo: 4Kids TV101,110 VOTES
Multiply Creates A Massive Wall Of Low Level Monsters That Can’t Be Destroyed
This Spell Card allows the user to infinitely multiply a Monster they control with 500 Attack Points or less. It essentially allows whoever plays it to fill their side of the field with an impenetrable wall of low-level Monster clones.
The absurd defensive power of Multiply was fully displayed when Yugi used it against Kaiba during the Duelist Kingdom arc. Yugi’s endless army of multiplied Kuribohs, a Monster with only 300 Attack Points, withstood multiple attacks from Kaiba’s Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, which had a staggering 4500 Attack Points.
The card’s defensive capabilities are ridiculously high, and it prevents a duelist from having their Life Points attacked directly. It gives the user all the time in the world to relax and wait to draw better cards, and there’s little an opponent can do about it.
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Mirror Force Can Rebound An Enemy Attack And Destroy All Their Attack Position Monsters
Mirror Force is a Trap Card found in Yugi’s deck that has saved him quite a few times. This card activates when an enemy Monster targets a Monster the user controls. Not only does it repel the enemies attack back at them, but it also destroys all Monsters on the opponent's side of the field in the Attack Position.
This card is way too brutal. Mirror Force can completely obliterate an opponent’s defenses, leaving them completely open to a direct attack. If it simply destroyed the attacking Monster that would be fine. However, having up to five of an opponent’s Monsters destroyed at once, regardless of Attack Points, is ridiculously overpowered.
- Photo: 4Kids TV121,045 VOTES
Call Of The Haunted Creates An Army Of Invincible Zombies
Call of the Haunted is a Trap Card that delivers on the promise of its name. Upon activation, up to five Monsters from the user’s graveyard return to the field. That alone would be super overpowered, but the resurrected creatures are also gifted with the power of the undead.
Unlike normal zombies, which can be put down with a headshot, these undead Monsters are invincible and cannot be killed by enemy Monsters. It’s no surprise that Joey needed Yugi to help him devise a strategy to defeat the effects of this powerful card.
- Photo: 4Kids TV13818 VOTES
The Magic Removal Virus Cannon Destroys Most Of An Opponent's Spell Cards
This card is akin to the Crush Card, as it infects an opponent’s deck with a debilitating virus, crippling them for the reminder of the duel. The Magic Removal Virus Cannon was utilized by Kaiba during the Battle City finals against Ishizu, forcing her to send 10 Spell Cards from her deck to the graveyard. Most would consider this card’s ability to be pretty harsh, but it’s even worse when you look into the average composition of a deck.
In real life, an typical deck usually has 40 cards. Half of those cards are Monster Cards, with 10 to 15 Spell Cards and about 5 to 10 Trap Cards. If the duelists in the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime stick to the same card ratio as duelists in real life, then that means this card forces at least 25% of a player’s deck to be discarded. Giving a single card the power to send a quarter of a player’s deck to the graveyard (with no penalty to the user) is extremely overpowered.
- Photo: 4Kids TV141,204 VOTES
Monster Reborn Can Instantly Bring Back A Monster Back From The Graveyard With No Cost To The User
This Spell Card allows the user to revive any Monster from their graveyard (or their opponent’s graveyard) and Summon it to the field. It doesn’t matter if the desired Monster has 500 Attack Points or 5000, just throw this card down and it’s back in the game for no cost.
This card’s power is evident not only by how useful it is - it was often used by Yugi to execute a winning strategy - but also by the fact that everyone and their grandmother had this card in their deck. Monster Reborn is one of the most frequently used cards in the first Yu-Gi-Oh! series, appearing in over 50 episodes of the series. Considering how overpowered it was, it’s not at all surprising it was used in nearly every duel.
- Photo: 4Kids TV151,137 VOTES
The Swords Of Revealing Light Cause An Opponent To Be Unable To Attack For Three Turns
The Swords of Revealing Light should be renamed the Swords of Stalling for Time. When this card is activated, it prevents an opponent from attacking for three turns. Allowing for three attack-free turns can give the user a huge opportunity to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
How many times did we see Yugi play this card when he was getting his butt handed to him? Then, after three turns, not only did he come up with a winning strategy but also managed to draw the necessary cards in order to execute said winning strategy. Like any skilled player, he relied almost solely on unpredictable statistical variance.
