Tactical Evolution Card List and Set Guide

Overview

Tactical Evolution is a 90-card set released August 15, 2007, with codes TAEV-EN000 to TAEV-EN089. 89 cards were new; one had appeared first on a sneak peek participation card, according to the catalog's release dates.

It changes the booster format again. Only 14 cards come at both a regular foil and Ultimate Rare, the Secret Rares grow to ten, and Rainbow Dragon (TAEV-EN006) is printed as a Ghost Rare as well as a Secret Rare, the first Ghost Rare in this list.

Its new card type is the Gemini monster: thirteen monsters that are Normal Monsters until you Normal Summon them a second time, among them Elemental HERO Neos Alius, Il Blud and Chthonian Emperor Dragon. Its archetypes are the Venoms, eleven Reptiles that place Venom Counters and lead to Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes, and the Chrysalis monsters that bring out the Neo-Spacians.

Cards and rarities

Tactical Evolution has 90 set codes, each starting TAEV-EN and printed under the artwork on the right. Where a card comes at more than one rarity, every version shares its code, so the table counts set codes at each rarity and a code printed at two rarities is counted twice.

The 14 Ultimate Rares and the Ghost Rare count again beside their other rarity, which is why the rows add up to 105 printings for 90 set codes. Set completion in TurnZero HQ counts the distinct set codes you own against the set's total, so a card printed at two rarities counts once, with an every-rarity count beside it for collectors chasing each version. How set completion works →

Geminis, Venoms and HEROes

The set's new ideas are Gemini monsters and the Venoms; its most valuable cards are HERO Fusions and Necro Gardna.

Elemental HERO Neos Alius

TAEV-EN018

A Gemini: a Normal Monster until you Normal Summon it again on the field, after which its name becomes Elemental HERO Neos.

Il Blud

TAEV-EN088

A Gemini Zombie. Once Normal Summoned again it Special Summons a Zombie from your hand or either GY once per turn.

Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes

TAEV-EN013

Special Summoned with Rise of the Snake Deity. It gains 500 ATK for each Reptile in your GY and is unaffected by other cards' effects.

Rainbow Dragon

TAEV-EN006

Special Summoned from your hand by having 7 Crystal Beast cards with different names on your field or in your GY. It has 4000 ATK.

Elemental HERO Darkbright

TAEV-EN042

A Fusion of Elemental HERO Sparkman and Necroshade that deals piercing damage and switches to Defense Position after it attacks.

Cards worth knowing

Four more cards from Tactical Evolution, several of them still known well outside their decks.

Necro Gardna

TAEV-EN012

In your opponent's turn, banish it from your GY to negate the next attack that turn.

Crystal Seer

TAEV-EN031

When flipped, look at the top 2 cards of your Deck, add 1 to your hand and put the other on the bottom.

Elemental HERO Magma Neos

TAEV-EN043

A Contact Fusion of Neos, Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab and Neo-Spacian Grand Mole that gains 400 ATK for each card on the field.

Zombie Master

TAEV-EN039

Once per turn, send a monster from your hand to the GY to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Zombie from either GY.

The chase card: Elemental HERO Darkbright

Elemental HERO Darkbright

TAEV-EN042

Rarity Ultimate Rare

Set code TAEV-EN042

1st Edition market price, October 23, 2026 $220.00

The 1st Edition Ultimate Rare Elemental HERO Darkbright (TAEV-EN042) is the most valuable priced card in Tactical Evolution, at $220.00 on October 23, 2026. The 1st Edition Secret Rare Elemental HERO Magma Neos was next at $184.25.

The Unlimited Ultimate Rare was $109.99, and the Ultra Rare version of the same code was $35.00 in 1st Edition.

It is a Level 6 DARK Warrior Fusion of Elemental HERO Sparkman and Elemental HERO Necroshade that must be Fusion Summoned. It deals piercing damage, switches to Defense Position at the end of the Damage Step when it attacks, and destroys a monster your opponent controls when it is destroyed.

Every Elemental HERO Darkbright in Tactical Evolution

Every version shares the set code, so the foil is what tells them apart. Check it before you price the copy in your hand. Reading the set code and rarity →

Chase cards and prices

Elemental HERO Darkbright led Tactical Evolution on October 23, 2026, ahead of the Secret Rare Magma Neos and the Ultimate Rare Necro Gardna. Rainbow Dragon's Ghost Rare has no price in the catalog, so it is not in this list.

These are TCGplayer's 1st Edition market prices on October 23, 2026. They move daily, so treat them as a snapshot. Each card's page shows today's price for every printing. How Yu-Gi-Oh! card prices work →

Tactical Evolution card list

Every set code in Tactical Evolution, in set code order, with each rarity it is printed at: 90 set codes in all, as listed in TurnZero HQ's catalog on October 23, 2026. Each name goes to that card's page, with today's price for every printing.

Playing it

No Tactical Evolution card is on the Forbidden & Limited List as of October 23, 2026, so a deck can run three copies of any of them.

A Gemini monster needs two Normal Summons, one to put it on the field and one to wake its effect, so a Gemini deck wants cards that give it extra Normal Summons.

Deck building rules and the Forbidden & Limited List →

Frequently Asked Questions