Yugioh is a trading card game that began in 1999 in Japan and reached North America in 2002. This TCG has many fans and collectors.
The rarest cards can go for a lot of money. A PSA 10 version of Dark Magician from the Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon set went for $5500 in 2021.
Starter Decks
The starter decks come with a pre-built deck and a guide for playing. They’re easy for beginners to use, but they won’t be able to out-duel more experienced players with stronger decks.
A starter deck can also contain rare cards that aren’t available in booster packs or other sources. These cards are generally worth a lot more than their retail price. One such card is Joey, which was first released as a Prismatic Secret Rare in the 2002 Legend of Blue-Eyes White Dragon tournament pack 2 promotion. A flawless PSA Gem Mint 10 copy of the level 7 fire-breather recently sold for more than $10,000.
A second highly valuable card in the starter deck is Exodia the Forbidden One. This monster is a vital part of the deck’s strategy. The goal is to get the five distinct parts of Exodia into your hand so that you can win the duel, just like Yugi defeated Seto Kaiba in the anime’s first episode.
Structure Decks
Structure Decks offer an easy entry point to the Yugioh TCG for casual players. Generally, they contain a unique boss monster and some staples to help new players get a feel for the game. But they also have the potential to be long-term gold if they include some awesome debut cards or cool reprints.
For example, the 2017 Structure Deck: Cyber Strike contains a lot of stuff that’s pretty good in the current meta including the reprint of Infinite Impermanence, the most popular hand trap, as well as Micro Ray which lowers DEF for potentially piercing and the very useful Waboku. Additionally, it has a couple of good beaters in Pyramid Turtle and Double Coston.
The bad news is that the Structure Decks from 2005 and beyond aren’t worth much these days. They were pretty awful by modern standards. The only exception was Warrior’s Triumph which had Royal Decree (which was only available as a mega-pricy Tournament Pack foil) and a few other good cards.
Booster Packs
Booster packs are the smaller and cheaper counterpart of starter decks. They contain a small number of randomly assorted cards. Typically, one basic land, three rare or mythic rare cards and nine common cards are found in each booster pack.
Depending on the set, booster packs have different rarity distributions. For example, the first base sets had 11 cards in a booster pack and later on it was reduced to 9.
Many players buy anywhere between a few and several booster boxes each time a new set is released. They can then use the cards to build their own decks.
Purchasing a booster box can also help you obtain a variety of rare cards that may have significant value when traded on the secondary market. These cards can have holo highlights and foiling which make them more desirable than their common counterparts. In addition, they are often numbered which can increase their overall value. For this reason, it is important to learn how to evaluate a card for its potential worth before making any purchases.
Collectible Tins
A tin can provide an attractive display for collectable cards. While some collectors get hung up on the exact age of the tin, it usually does not impact value much at all. A tin in near mint condition can bring in ten times the amount of a non-mint tin.
Some of the older Yugioh trading cards are very sought after in top condition. This is especially true for cards that were issued in the first main set, Legend of Blue-Eyes White Dragon. A first-edition copy in gem mint condition sold at auction in 2021 for $10,600 (£8,000).
Another card that is highly prized is Exodia, Forbidden One. This card was only available as a prize for those who competed in the Yugioh World Championship tournaments back in 2009. In order to summon this monster, players need to have all five pieces of Exodia — head, body, two arms and both legs. This card is so rare that many consider it the most valuable Yugioh card of all time.