Only a few media brands have had the same amount of success as Yu-Gi-Oh! It launched with a captivating trading card game and an anime series based on the game, set in an imaginative, mythology-inspired universe where the monsters on the cards come to life.
This combination of monsters and mythology immediately captured young followers and launched an entire mythos of Yu-Gi-Oh! shows, films, video games, and memorabilia. There are a few select trading cards that have achieved attention for their value and rarity, just as there are a few select trading cards that have gained prominence for their value and rarity in the Pokemon and comparable franchises. While some of the most valuable ones were exclusively given out as prizes in tournaments, this was not always the case.
Here are a selection of the more notable cards, along with the prices they have fetched.
#11 – 2002 Morphing Jar Tournament Pack 2 PSA 10 – Sold for $15,000 in February 2021
The bargain on our top ten list of most expensive Yu-Gi-Oh! cards is the 2002 Morphing Jar Tournament Pack 2 PSA 10.
The artwork on this card isn’t especially remarkable or noteworthy, yet it has become one of the most sought-after in the game. When Morphing Jar is used during a game, both players discard their cards and draw five new ones, which might be a sneaky excellent play when you’re up against the wall.
It’s no surprise that this tournament pack 2 promo card is so popular, with a PSA 10 population of only 24. There have only ever been 92 of them graded by PSA, so good luck locating one!
#10 – Doomcaliber Knight – Sold for $15,300 in March 2021
In March 2021, a PSA Near-Mint 7 2008 Shonen Jump Championship Series Doomcaliber Knight #EN006 won a five-figure sum at auction, selling for more than $15,000. We can only speculate on the value of higher grades of this incredibly precious Yu-Gi-Oh! card.
The Dooomcaliber Knight is the newest card on this list, having been released as part of the Shonen Jump Championship Series in 2008. Between 2004 and 2010, this series was designed to promote tournaments in North America. All 75 tournaments included one-of-a-kind reward cards, many of which have since become some of the most valuable in the Yu-Gi-Oh! universe.
#9 – 2002 Dark Duel Stories Blue-Eyes White Dragon PSA 10 – Sold for $20,000 in Feb 2021
The promotional cards for Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Duel Stories are a set of Prismatic Secret Rare cards included with the North American release of Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Duel Stories.
This card has a PSA 10 population of only 131, making it extremely difficult to locate.
#8 – 2002 LOB Blue Eyes Black Dragon 1st Edition PSA 10 – Sold for $29,000 in Aug 2021
Red Eyes B. Dragon cards are one of the most sought-after collectibles out there on the market. This is mainly due to the fact that only 69 of them have ever been graded a PSA 10.
This card comes from the first set of the Yu-Gi-Oh trading card game released in English.
It was released in 2002 as part of the game’s first expansion, Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon. A mint condition Red Eyes sold for $29,000 in August 2021, demonstrating the rarity of cards from that era.
The Red Eyes B. Dragon is the game’s most valued card in 1st edition in mint condition, despite being a weaker and less iconic (only slightly) relative of the Blue Eyes White Dragon. This monster has even been given its own deck class in recent years, thanks to Yugi’s best mate, Joey Wheeler (after he won it from Rex Raptor).
#7 – 999 Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth No Red DDS Promo PSA 10 Sold in August 2021 for $29,999.99
This card had a PSA population of just one when it was sold, but since then, two more PSA 10s have been added to the population report.
Only three copies of this card have ever been graded by the PSA.
Weevil Underwood’s signature card is also one of the most valuable in the game. It is the oldest card on this list, having been published solely as a DDS promo during the game’s first run in 1999.
In August 2021, the Japanese edition of this desired card sold for $29,999.99. This card can only be summoned by tributing a Petit Moth equipped with Cocoon of Evolution after six turns, therefore the person who bought it wasn’t likely doing so to play with it. With 3500 ATK and 3000 DEF, the Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth was a force in the original meta, but even those numbers aren’t worth the wait.
#6 – 2004 Shonen Jump Championship Series Cyber-Stein – Sold in October 2020 for $30,100
This incredibly rare card sold for a whopping $30,100. It is unlike the many typical variations of this Frankenstein monster-inspired card, as the one worth a lot of money is a tournament award edition.
There are a little over a hundred of these cards in existence, all of which were awarded during the Shonen Jump Championship and a few others afterward. Only 21 PSA 10 copies of this card exist, therefore they don’t come up for sale very frequently!
Cyber-Stein was the first ever SJC reward card, given out between December 2004 and July 2005 at the first batch of competitions. The first of these tournaments was conducted at GenCon SoCal (on December 4th, 2004 in Anaheim, California), a short-lived regional edition of the massive North American tabletop game event Gen Con.
#5 – 2002 – Exodia The Forbidden One – Sold for $35,000 in August 2021
Exodia the Forbidden One is part of the Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon (LOB). It’s a very rare card and one of the most iconic cards to own.
Exodia The Forbidden One, the was for a while game’s unofficial mascot and had a pivotal role in the anime’s first season. It remains the archetypal “rare” card, as well as one of the few tournament-legal “instant wins.”
Exodia’s other four “parts” are also uncommon, but there are common variations that don’t take in as much. The most valuable card is Exodia’s head, which is one of the most recognisable in the game. Only 365 of these have ever received an official PSA quality rating.
#4 – 2007 Shonen Jump Championship Series Crush Card Virus – Sold for $49,999 in June 2020
Crush Card Virus was the fourth SJC prize card, with only 40 copies awarded between January and July 2007 at the 10 tournaments. Two more replicas were built for the 2008 Costa Mesa SJC and one for putting in lucite, just like Cyber-Stein. A minimum of three copies were also unintentionally distributed at a sneak peek event, resulting in a total of about 46 copies of this Crush Card Virus variant.
Because its description has been changed four times throughout the years, the valuable Yu-Gi-Oh! card is a trap card that causes some doubt about its purpose. The primary premise of this weapon, which is one of Seto Kaiba’s most destructive, is that you get to kill your opponent’s high-attack monsters that they control and have in their hand. You gain the added benefit of planning for their future strategy by looking through their hand.
For many years, this card was in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Banlist’s Forbidden section, which meant you couldn’t use it in official duels. However, improvements to the way it operates have made it considerably less overwhelming, and you can now have up to three in your deck.
A PSA Gem Mint 10 Crush Card Virus #EN004 sold for a dollar shy of $50,000 in June 2020, one of just two sales ever documented on the PSA website for this exceedingly rare Yu-Gi-Oh! card.
#3 – 2002 Legend of Blue Eyes Dark Magician (1st Edition) – Sold for $85k in June 2021
The Dark Magician is Yugi Mutou’s hallmark card, described as “the ultimate magician in terms of attack and defence.” The level 7 Spellcaster was one of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG’s original formidable armies, with an astonishing 2500 attack and 2100 defence points, so it’s no surprise that a well-cared-for edition commands a hefty sum. Surprisingly, though, one of the most valued Yu-Gi-Oh! cards is not Yugi’s Dark Magician.
The red variation of Arkana’s Dark Magician, which debuted in episode 60, the start of Arkana’s duel with Yugi, claims that title. Throughout the duel, both duelists have Dark Magicians sent to the graveyard and revived, but Yugi eventually defeats Arkana’s Dark Magician using the effect of his Dark Magician Girl, which gains a 600 attack point boost due to the fact that both duelists have a Dark Magician in the graveyard at the time. This defeats a Dark Magician Arkana has on the field (he has three copies in his deck) and is crucial to Yugi’s victory in the duel.
The crimson Dark Magician copy that sold for an incredible $85,000 in June 2021 was also a PSA Gem Mint 10 first-edition, which was an Ultra Rare in the LOB set like Red-Eyes Black Dragon.
#2 – 2002 LOB Blue-Eyes White Dragon (1st Edition) – Sold for $85,100 in Oct 2020
Possibly the most well-known card in the Yu-Gi-Oh! universe. Blue-Eyes White Dragon is a prominent series known for its strength in the trading card game — combining three of them creates Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon — as well as its powerful appearances in the original anime and manga.
Blue-Eyes White Dragon was an Ultra Rare Yu-Gi-Oh! card that was part of the Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon collection. In October 2020, a PSA Gem Mint 10 first-edition 2002 LOB Blue-Eyes White Dragon sold for an astounding amount of $85,000. It’s no surprise that Yugi and his buddies were shocked when Kaiba ripped Yugi’s grandfather’s one in half in the anime’s first episode.
The first of these cards was produced in Japan in 1999, followed by the United States shortly after, and first editions in mint condition are now quite valuable. (One father went viral after selling a few to fund his daughter’s education!)
#1 -Tournament Black Luster Soldier – Sold for $2m
The Black Luster Soldier was an exclusive prize card awarded during the first-ever Yu-Gi-Oh! tournament in 1999, and is probably the most valuable card on this list and on the planet. It is printed on stainless steel and is one of a kind, making it basically priceless due to its sought rarity.
Those who have put it up for sale (with just rumours verifying the price) have sought for millions of dollars. To put it another way, anyone who gets this card by chance has practically won the Yu-Gi-Oh! lottery.
What is YuGiOh?
Kazuki Takahashi wrote and illustrated Yu-Gi-Oh!, a Japanese manga series about trading card games. Between September 1996 and March 2004, it was published in Shueisha’s Weekly Shnen Jump magazine. The storey revolves around a little child named Yugi Mutou who solves the Millennium Puzzle.
