Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG
The top of a Yu-Gi-Oh! card and its text box tell you how it plays. The small print under the artwork and along the bottom tells you exactly which printing it is, and whether it's genuine, which is what you need to price it, sell it or add it to a collection. Here's every part, top to bottom.
The name runs across the top left. Its lettering also hints at the rarity: plain black or white on a Common, foil on the higher rarities (more on that below).
The Attribute is the colored circle in the top right corner. Monsters are DARK, EARTH, FIRE, LIGHT, WATER or WIND, and a handful are DIVINE. Card effects often care about Attribute, so it matters more in play than it looks.
Under the name is how strong the monster is on the Level scale, and there are three ways a card shows it:
Pendulum Monsters add one more pair of numbers: a Pendulum Scale on each side of the separate Pendulum effect box that sits between the artwork and the monster's own text.
The color of the card's frame tells you the card type before you read a word of it:
The thin strip just below the artwork is the most useful part of the card for a collector. It carries two things:
The set code is what identifies a printing, and the edition mark is often what moves its price most. Some early English printings use a shorter form of the set code without the language letters, and Pendulum Monsters, whose Pendulum effect box takes up that strip, print it lower on the card. 1st Edition vs. Unlimited, explained →
The type line opens the text box, in square brackets. It gives the monster's Type and its card kinds, like [Spellcaster/Effect] or [Warrior/Xyz/Effect]. Plenty of effects refer to a Type (Dragon, Spellcaster, Warrior and so on), so this line matters in play.
The card text follows. On an Effect Monster it's the effect; on a Normal Monster it's italic flavor text with no game effect. Fusion, Synchro, Xyz and Link Monsters usually list the materials needed to summon them on the first line.
ATK and DEF sit at the bottom right of the text box, like ATK/3000 DEF/2500. A Link Monster shows ATK and its Link Rating instead, like ATK/2300 LINK-3.
The passcode names the card, while the set code names the printing. That's why TurnZero HQ's scanner reads the set code first and falls back to the passcode, and then the name, only when the set code can't be read. How the Yu-Gi-Oh! scanner works →
The hologram is worth checking on any card you buy loose. A genuine card's hologram shifts as you tilt it; a missing hologram, or a flat printed imitation of one, is one of the common signs of a counterfeit, though not the only one.
Unlike a Pokémon card, a Yu-Gi-Oh! card generally doesn't print a rarity symbol. Its rarity is in the foil treatment. The most common ones:
Many more exist, from Ultimate Rare to Starlight Rare, and sets keep adding new ones. Because rarity isn't part of the set code, some sets print the same card at more than one rarity under a single code, and those versions are priced separately.
Spell and Trap cards have no Level, ATK or DEF. The corner where a monster shows its Attribute says SPELL or TRAP instead, and under the name the card is labeled [Spell Card] or [Trap Card], with a small icon when it is a special kind: Quick-Play, Continuous, Equip, Field or Ritual for Spells, and Continuous or Counter for Traps. Spells and Traps carry the same set code, edition mark, passcode and hologram as a monster.
Just under the artwork, on the right. It reads like LOB-EN005: the set's abbreviation (LOB is Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon), a language code (EN for English), and the card's number within that set. It is the most precise identifier on the card, since it names one set and one card in it.
The passcode. It identifies the card itself rather than any one printing, so reprints of a card usually share it (Blue-Eyes White Dragon's is 89631139), although some alternate-artwork versions have their own. It was originally used to unlock the card in some Yu-Gi-Oh! video games.
By the side the stars are on and their color. A Level is a row of red-orange stars on the right, under the name. Xyz Monsters have a Rank instead, shown as black stars on the left. Link Monsters have neither; their Link Rating is printed as LINK- and a number where DEF would be.
It generally isn't printed as a symbol or code. Rarity shows in the foil: a Rare has a silver foil name, a Super Rare has holofoil artwork, an Ultra Rare has both a gold foil name and holofoil artwork, and so on. That's also why one set code can exist at more than one rarity.
The small square hologram in the bottom right corner of a genuine TCG card. Konami added it as an authenticity mark, so a card with no hologram there, or one that is only printed flat rather than holographic, is worth a closer look before you buy it.
Type the set code or passcode, or scan it, and TurnZero HQ adds it to your Yu-Gi-Oh! collection with its price. Free to start.
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.