Top 10 Rarest and Most Expensive Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards
Even the rarest anime watchers probably know of the iconic Yu-Gi-Oh! This article, however, focuses on the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Cards. To be more specific, this article tells you what the top 10 rarest and most expensive Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards are.
What is Yu-Gi-Oh!
Yu-Gi-Oh! started as a manga that made its debut back in 1996. The manga was about an ordinary high schooler named Yugi Mutou who acquires mystical powers when he starts playing a mysterious card game.
Less than two years after its debut, the manga was turned into an anime that first aired between April and October 1998 and later recreated and re-aired in 2000 through 2004.
The manga has inspired a whole franchise featuring multiple anime series, including a few spin-offs, a world-famous trading card game, and a couple of video games.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Cards
Considering the manga itself was the story of a boy who played cards, it was only a matter of time before the franchise released its playable trading cards.
The trading cards and episodes from the anime made their debuts in the USA in 2001. Since then, over 22 billion copies of the cards have been sold thus far.
The TV show stopped airing a long time ago, and it has been 25 years since the manga first came out, yet the trading card aspect of this franchise is yet to lose its momentum.
Considering all of this, it comes as no surprise that the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Cards are very valuable and can be an excellent investment opportunity.
10 Rarest And Most Expensive u-Gi-Oh! Trading Cards
In case you are looking to use Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading cards as an investment or only looking to collect them all, here is a list of the top 10 rarest and most expensive Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards.
1. Tournament Black Luster Soldier
This card is truly one of a kind. The Tournament Black Luster Soldier was given away as the price for the first-ever Yu-Gi-Oh! Tournament held back in 1999.
In 2013, the card was listed on a Japanese auction site, and the seller had listed an asking price of 998 million yen, which is about 9.5 million USD.
The card's general scarcity coupled with the artistic brilliance showcased on it, along with the fact that it was printed on a sheet of steel, has made the most coveted Yu-Gi-Oh! Card of all time.
While the card was valued at $9.5 million, it was sold for just $2 million. Sadly, this card cannot be used to play in a tournament.
2. Dark Magician Girl
The Dark Magician Girl Card features the female version of the infamous Dark Magician starred in the series. This card was also given away as a prize during a lottery held exclusively in Japan.
Only a hundred copies of the Secret Rare-classed versions of the card were ever printed, making the card very rare and sought-after. There are a lot of fakes of this particular, so be wary of them.
If you have a cool half a million dollars just lying around, then this card can be yours.
3. Armament of the Lethal Lords
Yet another prize card to add to the list of the rarest and most expensive Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards of all time.
The Armament of the Lethal Lords Card was rewarded to the participants of the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championships held back in 2006. This card is so rare that it has become a legend of sorts.
While people had pushed their luck and listed this card at over a million dollars, there are no reports of people buying the card for that price. The card's most likely value is at US$9,000 - which may be significantly less than a million but still is a pretty significant number.
4. Skuna, The Leonine Rakan
Next up, we have another prize card. This time, the Skuna, The Leonine Rakan Cards were awarded to the winners of the 2009 Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championships.
Reportedly, only six of these cards exist, which means the cards are scarce. This particular card rarely ever makes it to any selling list, but the usual asking price is somewhere near $6,000.
The card itself has an aura of mystery surrounding it, which adds to its premium pricing. The prices of the Skuna, The Leonine Rakan Cards are expected to rise significantly with time.
5. Cyber- Stein
The Cyber-Stein Card was a prize card for the first-ever Shonen Jump Championships held in 2004 and a few other tournaments held afterward. The card is chock full of power and can, quite simply, bulldoze your opponent.
Its strength, coupled with the fact that it's a championship-exclusive card, has only driven its price upwards. The Cyber-Stein can be yours for just $7,000.
6. Minerva the Exalted Lightsworn
While the reprinted version released in 2015 doesn't hold much value, the card's earlier editions are considered very rare and are worth a lot. The 2015 reprinted version was given out at the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championships held that year.
An original Minevara, the Exalted Lightsworn, usually goes for up to $2,300 in online auctions.
7. Shrink
You can find hundreds of Shrink cards listed for just 99-cents on eBay, but that isn't why the card made it to this list.
The Shrink Card is yet another championship card that were first released during the Shonen Jump Yu-Gi-Oh! Championships in 2006. The first-edition cards are the ones with real value and can be sold for up to $2,000.
8. Gold Sarcophagus
Only 25 copies of ancient- Egypt-inspired Gold Sarcophagus Spell Card were ever printed- making it one of the rarest cards on this list.
The card was rewarded to the top players of two Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading card championships held between '05 and '06. This card is a staple in all top-class duelist's collections and usually goes for about $1,400.
9. Dark End Dragon
The top participants of the Shonen Jump Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship in 2009 was rewarded The Dark End Dragon Card as a prize. Only genuinely talented duelists are ever able to get their hands on this card. However, it can be yours for just $800.
10. First Edition Blue-Eyes White Dragon
The Blue-Eyes Dragon plays a significant role in both the manga and the anime, plus it is a mighty powerful card. You can fuse the three cards to get the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. All these factors make this card one of the most iconic cards in connection to Yu-Gi-Oh!
These cards were first released in Japan and soon after made their way to the United States. In 2002, the card was reprinted and released for promotional purposes for the Game Boy Color game “Yu-Gi-Oh!: Dark Duel Stories”.
However, the reprinted versions are worth much, much lesser. You can get a 1st Edition Blue-Eyes Dragon Card in mint green condition for a couple of thousand dollars, while the 2002 reprint will only go for a couple hundred.