Yu-Gi-Oh! · Card Colors
Black Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards: Xyz Monsters
A black Yu-Gi-Oh! card is an Xyz Monster. It starts in your Extra Deck, and you Summon it by stacking two or more monsters of the same Level, which stay attached under it as materials. It has a Rank instead of a Level, and black arrived with the ZEXAL era in 2011.
Black is the frame of a Xyz Monster. It starts in the Extra Deck. Xyz Monsters: Extra Deck monsters with a Rank, made by stacking monsters of the same Level. Number 39: Utopia is black.
588 cards released in the TCG are black, as of November 2, 2026. See the full color chart →
What a Black Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Is
Black is the frame of an Xyz Monster, usually with a starry pattern in it. The first line of the text box is its Xyz Material, such as "2 Level 4 monsters". The stars along the left side are its Rank, not a Level, and that difference matters: an Xyz Monster has no Level at all.
The materials do not go to the Graveyard. They stay on the field under the Xyz Monster, and most black cards' effects cost you one: "detach 1 material from this card". When an Xyz Monster leaves the field, its materials go to the Graveyard.
How Xyz Monsters Play
An Xyz Summon needs no Spell. During your Main Phase, take the listed number of face-up monsters you control with the same Level, stack them, and put the Xyz Monster from your Extra Deck on top. Two Level 4 monsters make a Rank 4, such as Number 39: Utopia.
Some Xyz Monsters can also be Summoned on top of another Xyz Monster you control, taking over its materials, as Cyber Dragon Infinity can on Cyber Dragon Nova. Its text says so when it can.
What to Know About Black Cards
- Black cards go in the Extra Deck, never the Main Deck.
- No Level means a card that asks for a Level, such as a Synchro Summon or "a Level 4 or lower monster", cannot use an Xyz Monster.
- Count the cards under it: an Xyz Monster with no materials left often cannot use its effect.
- A black Pendulum (black over green) is an Xyz Pendulum Monster and also starts in the Extra Deck.
Black Cards by the Numbers
Counted from YGOPRODeck's card database, the source of TurnZero HQ's Yu-Gi-Oh! catalog, as of November 2, 2026: every card with a TCG release, each counted once however many times it was reprinted. 588 of the 14,012 cards released in the TCG have the black frame.
Black Card Examples
4 cards that show what a black frame means, chosen to explain the color rather than to rank the best ones. Each links to its card page with every printing and its price.
Number 39: Utopia
BLAR-EN000
Signature Xyz
Cyber Dragon Infinity
BOSH-EN094
Summoned on another Xyz
Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder
BLMR-EN084
Board wipe
Abyss Dweller
ABYR-EN084
Detach to disrupt
- Number 39: Utopia: Rank 4, 2 Level 4 monsters. Detach a material to negate an attack; if it is attacked with no materials, it is destroyed.
- Cyber Dragon Infinity: Rank 6, 3 Level 6 LIGHT Machines, or Summoned on Cyber Dragon Nova. It attaches monsters as materials and detaches one to negate an activation.
- Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder: Rank 12. Detach 2 materials to send every other card on the field to the Graveyard.
- Abyss Dweller: Rank 4. Detach 1 material and your opponent cannot activate card effects in their Graveyard that turn.
The Two-Tone Version: Black and green
A Xyz Pendulum Monster is black on top and Spell green on the bottom: a Xyz Monster that can also be placed in a Pendulum Zone. It starts in the Extra Deck, the same as a plain black card.
Black and green: Xyz Pendulum Monsters Xyz Pendulum Monsters: Extra Deck Xyz with a Rank and a Scale, like Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon.Every Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Color
The other frame colors, each with its own page. Main Deck colors come first, then the Extra Deck, Tokens and the two-tone Pendulum frames.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a black Yu-Gi-Oh! card mean?
A black card is an Xyz Monster. It starts in your Extra Deck, and you Summon it by stacking two or more monsters of the same Level you control, which become its materials. It has a Rank, not a Level.
What is the difference between Rank and Level in Yu-Gi-Oh!?
Level is on every monster except Xyz and Link Monsters, in stars on the right. Rank is only on Xyz Monsters, in stars on the left. An Xyz Monster has no Level, so an effect that checks Levels cannot use it.
What happens to Xyz materials?
They stay attached under the Xyz Monster and are not treated as cards on the field. Effects often cost a material, which you detach and send to the Graveyard. If the Xyz Monster leaves the field, its remaining materials go to the Graveyard.
Sort your Yu-Gi-Oh! cards in TurnZero HQ.
Scan cards by their set code, see what each printing is worth, and build a deck checked against the Forbidden & Limited List. Free on iPhone, Android and the web.
Create Free AccountYu-Gi-Oh! card names and images are the property of Konami Digital Entertainment and their respective owners. ©Studio Dice/SHUEISHA, TV TOKYO, KONAMI. TurnZero HQ is not affiliated with, sponsored, or endorsed by Konami. Card data comes from YGOPRODeck, and prices from TCGplayer via TCGCSV.