u/ogetsumi

This is one of the most Legendary and rare pages in this binder. 

Two cards—“Fortress Whale” and primarily “Garma Sword”—are exceedingly rare cards. Both had their first TCG release in Tournament Pack 7 and Tournament Pack 8 respectively. “Fortress Whale” was given a rerelease in the Speed Duel series cards, but “Garma Sword” only exists in TCG as a TP8 exclusive. 

It took a while and a good deal of luck to find this English copy in NM condition, and with how carelessly packaged it was I’m surprised it arrived to me NM. Most searches for this card result in the German version of the card lol. 

The “Fortress Whale” is slabbed which I don’t care much for, especially with the company it’s slabbed in, and though I’ve cracked a handful of cards in the past, I’m simply too nervous to free this one for fear of damaging it lol. 

The Speed Duel variant holds its binder place but fortunately the slab can lie on top of it for the photo shoot. As a fun Joke I decided to cross out the lousy company name on the slab rather than the certification number because I just despise that company lol. 

Favorites on this page:

“Fiend’s Mirror” - I’m glad they gave this one a TCG release even if it was much later in the game. The classic Ritual Monsters are so perfect. 

“Fortress Whale” - This was such a cool card to see in the anime. Loved the rematch again Jonouchi and Kajiki, and Jonouchi ended up getting two prize cards for his victory!

“Garma Sword” - Completely awesome card. It’s so mean looking! And I love the extra arms—such a cool look. I also love the exclusivity and rarity of the card itself. I keep meaning to pick up the OCG Series 2 version (too bad it wasn’t Series 1). I gave it center page because it’s so cool and also I feel the card is safest in the center lol.

“Hungry Burger” - I always enjoyed this card. It reminds me of simpler and better times. 

Happy Wednesday y’all!

Lucky Number 13!

Gather your robes and ready your chants—the Ritual Ceremonies shall commence!

Ritual Monsters organized so that their Magic card is touching them. Each page will have one space left blank. I could have put some gimmick there but decided against it for less distraction. 

This section should be all Ritual Monsters from the early GBA days up to Labyrinth of Nightmare. I’m actually just realizing there weren’t many Ritual Monsters in some sets that would have been really cool to have them in. I can imagine some really awesome rituals having been a part of sets like Pharaoh’s Servant, Legacy of Darkness and Pharaonic Guardian. Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t recall any Rituals in any of those sets.

These are probably my top favorite pages in the binder (but all of them I truly love). There’s just such a fun and unique aspect to Ritual Monsters from back in the day. I wonder how the game would have been if they were used how I prefer to use them, which is having the Ritual Monsters be part of the Extra Deck and only needing their Magic card and the tributes to summon them. Or at the very least all of them being able to be summoned from the deck itself. 

I’m glad some of these like “Resurrection of Chakra” and “Chakra” finally received TCG releases much later than their actual introduction. And I’m a fan of the really rare Tournament Pack Rituals like “Dokurorider” and “Revival of Dokurorider” that are genuinely rare.

Favorites on this page:

“Chaos Soldier/Black Luster Soldier” - What a revolutionary card. I’ll always remember this card finally getting released in the Yugi Evolution deck. It blew my mind. Seeing this card in the anime against Mai was so awesome. 

“Resurrection of Chakra” - This is tied with one other Ritual Magic card for my favorite in the entire game (the other coming later). The uncensored version is naturally superior. Even so, I’m glad this card and its Monster got their TCG release. Such a nostalgic Ritual pair for me.

“Dokurorider” - Such a sav. I remember thinking this was a totally sick looking monster. One of my favorite classic Tournament Packs is TP2 specifically for the rituals and “Warrior of Tradition” cards. 

“Revival of Dokurorider” - A very cool looking Ritual Magic card. This one is highly nostalgic for me as well. The artwork is so clear in my minds eye recalling them in 2004 World Championship and Worldwide Edition.

The festivities continue tomorrow! Peace!

The cycle begins again.

The final page of Effect Monsters is today!

This page has it all—Collector’s Tin, Video Game Promos, Tournament Pack 1, SDY, Japanese Spirit Monsters and McDonalds Promos! A lot of fun! 

From seeing all these Tin Promos I’ve been feeling more compelled to get the actual tins themselves. It’d be cool to get them sealed, but also potentially hefty for the wallet lol. Then it spirals into “I really love the very first Battle Tins, and also love both sets of the Collector’s Tins” and quickly get overwhelmed lol.

For Japanese cards on the page, “Yata Garasu” and “Yamata Dragon” both compete the final Spirit Monsters. 

As for “Zombyra the Dark” I went with the Japanese version for uncensored art. Not sure why exactly they felt the need to omit his name from the artwork. Maybe Konami USA really really wanted to spell his name “Zombyra” and needed to get around the fact it was spelled “Zombire” in his art lol. 

Favorites on this page:

“Total Defense Shogun” - This was just a really cool card. Super unique at the time for attacking while in defense position. Also cool that when you summoned him he would turn to defense position. 

“Versago the Destroyer” - This is one of the coolest cards. The name is totally epic. It looks so wicked too. It’s a Kaiba card which I always found to be cool. And it’s a rare from Tournament Pack 1 so it’s of high status. 

“Wall of Illusion” - My favorite thing about this card is its text saying “The monster attacking this creature…” because it’s not present on any other card I can’t think of. The look of this card is very good. It’s a perfect classic. And the effect and defense was really good for the time.

“Yamata Dragon” - A totally awesome artwork for this monster. This one always felt like an accomplishment to summon and use the effect. I loved the 3100 defense too! I remember drawing this one and Hino-Kagu Tsuchi a few times in my childhood art days but unfortunately can’t locate much of my old artwork.  

“Yata Garasu” - Straight up Legend! This bird was insane lol talk about a potential nightmare! The colors and design of the monster are absolute perfection and make for a stunning card. It’s so interesting to see the difference in rarities between OCG and TCG where this was Common for its first release in Japan and Secret Rare for TCG.

“Zombyra the Dark” - My favorite original Hero! If I’m recalling this right he was a comic book hero in the manga. This card was always very cool and I would often use him in my decks. I love that he’s getting a retrain too! Much deserved!

Alright, wave goodbye to the Effect Monsters—Bye Effect Monsters! Now prepare your cauldrons and torches, draw your Magic circles, and ready your sacrifices because tomorrow is the dawn of the true Ceremony—Ritual Magic and Monsters!

Friday hath come! 

O the spirits sing the arrival of the Sun God!

This page is so sick it should be illegal! God I love posting these binders and talking about cards lol. 

“Granadora” is placed on this page alphabetically in “S” because its name in the old GBA games (and likely in OCG) is “Swallow Tail Spike Lizard.” I always thought it was cool this card was in those games long before Invasion of Chaos released. 

Another later released monster for TCG is “Swordsman from a Distant Land” (I think it was called a Foreign Land in the old games). My favorite thing about those early games was seeing cards that I thought were non existent in the real world. 

The final monster of the DDS era that received a release 20+ years later is here! She is “Talons of Shurilane” and she is wicked awesome! Fortunately found the uncensored Asian English version so I’m more than pleased with her. This is just such a badass looking creature. There’s so many more awesome cards from DDS that I hope get a release someday.

“The Unhappy Maiden” I used the OCG series 1 version because I just love Series 1, but also didn’t have an MRD 1st Edition that I could find to use it lol.

Favorites on this page: 

“Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight” - Totally sick card. Classic Collector’s Tin gold with an awesome artwork and cool background and color-scheme. 

“Talons of Shurilane” - Just lovely in a terrifying sense. I can’t say enough how much I wish for more of these old DDS era exclusives to receive an official printing.

“The Unhappy Maiden” - Despite her sadness I find this card to be very beautiful. I love the setting with the building in the background and the cold Winter Night. It’s a sad homage to the story of “The Little Match Girl.”

“The Winged Dragon of Ra” - The Glorious Sun God. Damn, the mystery surrounding the card in the anime was so captivating. Crazy card for sure in the anime lol. And I just saw all the new support from the Immortal Phoenix set coming out in Japan—purely awesome stuff!

“Time Wizard” - Simply a fun nostalgic classic. I actually have gamble decks in those GBA games using all coin and dice cards just for fun. My one thing is I wish he was released as a Magic Card like in the anime instead of a monster. 

“Toon Mermaid” - A beautiful toon to steal my heart. Mermaids are among my favorite mythological creatures. Plus being a Pegasus card adds to the coolness. If only they would release “Tears of a Mermaid” in real life!

Last effect monster page will be on Monday! Then comes the true Ceremony for Rituals!

Have a great weekend!

Here we go! I love this page!!

O I beckon to the Saint Dragon Osiris!

This page is so colorful and beautiful. Many special and memorable cards for me. I was happy with “Slate Warrior” landing in the center for the symmetry of the monster—it’s visually pleasing to me. 

One of my favorite Secret Rares ever is “Rocket Warrior” for a few reasons. It was a Jonouchi card from my original favorite arc Battle City. It was first released in the Collector’s Tins and I clearly see it on the store shelves. And the colors of the card are just dazzling with the classic Secret foiling. 

A few cards from the Ancient Past are here that received prints much later for TCG (and two of them for OCG as well). The first is one of my classic go to monsters “Skelengel.” The other two are from the DDS era and didn’t receive an official print until recent years, the two being “Soul Scissors,” a regular monster from those days, and “Soulicer Crystal,” another of the construct monsters.

Favorites on this page:

“Rocket Warrior” - In addition to the love stated above, this was just a fun card to use. It was unique for the times too making it more interesting.

“Sanga of the Thunder” - I love the “Gate Guardian” pieces! This one was my second favorite of the three.

“Sinister Serpent” - Another go to for me. I just loved this card. I thought it was such a cool effect. Also being a video game Prismatic Secret it holds a special place in my heart.

“Skelengel” - This was always just a cool artwork. I always wondered what it would look like if the rest of the body was visible. It was a fun card to use in the early days.

“Slate Warrior” - The Newt! Such a strange and wonderful card. A must in any deck I made. Loved the double effect of this creature too, and also that it was a Flip monster.

“Slifer the Sky Dragon” - The Pharaoh holds his head high! This is probably the most memorable God card for me because of the anime. The Duel between Yugi and Strings is burned in my mind. Everything about it was groundbreaking and captivating. I loved that Yugi actually had to face it and overcome it to obtain it.

“Suijin” - My favorite piece of the “Gate Guardian” hands down. This is the piece I remember seeing most in my childhood. It’s just such a cool looking monster. I really love the color blue and water is such a fascinating substance. This one really pulls me in.

Happy Thursday y’all!

Ooooo this page is super sick!

Two awesome ladies, an original and an alternate art, a classic TP card (one day I’ll upgrade it to the TP1 version), a couple classic Prismatics, and the Grim Reaper of Cards. I’m stirring with excitement!

“Otohime” in her uncensored Japanese artwork continues the theme of the Japanese version for Spirit Monsters. Just a stunning card in its entirety.

I remember “Panther Warrior” releasing in the Collector’s Tins and being so excited for another Jonouchi card. Those Collector’s Tins were always such fun things to see in the store as a kid. They used to make them much more appealing with the design of the tin, the window showing the card inside. Just the whole experience was great. 

Another major memory is the Starter Deck Joey and Pegasus. Christmas memories of my cousin getting Pegasus and me getting Joey, and then me wishing I got Pegasus for “Graceful Charity” but still being happy I had a “Penguin Soldier” lol.

The two Prismatic Secrets share the fact that they’re both really awesome looking monsters that are both too inconvenient to use at all lol. I did recently play my Worldwide Edition GBA game and managed to pull off summoning the “Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth” against Weevil AND defeated him with it lol. 

Favorites on this page:

“Otohime” - She is the top of my Spirit Monster appreciation. She has such a dynamic pose in this uncensored version. Her outfit, her look—just everything about her is lovable up to her mystical name. 

“Panther Warrior” - just an all around cool looking and fun card for the times. I would always use him in a deck for that nice 2000 even if I didn’t really attack much with him lol. Both arts are just so tight.

“Princess of Tsurugi” - I always thought she was such a cool fierce looking chick. Her outfit and pose are super cool. A perfect depiction of classic Yu-Gi-Oh! style that is rarely found today.

“Reaper of the Cards” - Such a sick monster. Also has one of my favorite oddities with its unusually and inconvenient stats. It really has the Duelist Kingdom vibe. 

“Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon” - Too cool! For sure easier to pull off than the Moth, but still the hoops to jump through were iffy in that time. Damn though what a sick card.

Alright y’all! Peace!

O let the Light of Destruction shine with the first of the Gods!

Eye like this page a lot. A cool World Championship pack card, a couple classic Tournament Pack cards, a God, and a couple monsters that finally got a release. Let’s begin!

The first card “Mirror Swordknight” is another of the DDS era construct monsters composed of two other cards. Like all but one of the other constructs this card finally received its first official card release 20+ years after its introduction. Little gems like these are what keep me hopeful for more to come.

“Morphing Jar” was a must for this binder (of course I’d love the TP2 one but there’s no way I’d come anywhere near what people try and get out of it lol). I decided to include “Morphing Jar #2” because it was always such a confusing card to me in the video games and I just liked that lol.

“Needle Ball” is another card I always loved seeing in those early GBA games and just thinking it was some made up card for the games. Glad it got a release officially in TCG.

One of the other exceptions for stepping out of the criteria for this binder (cards from 2004 World Championship and Worldwide Edition GBA games) was wanting to include the God cards since I had an extra of the G4 releases. These were available in The Sacred Cards GBA game along with many other fun and never released cards (“Bear Trap” and “Beckon to Darkness” and “Invisible Wire” and a handful of other cool cards).

Favorites on this page:

“Monster Eye” - Eye always loved the art for this card. Simple is often better for me. The purple and red look really nice together. I always thought it was a cool effect for the time too.

“Morphing Jar” - Such a cool card. Another card Bakura used (three copies of—jeeze!). Just an all around crazy card. I’d Throw one in every deck on my GBA lol.

“Needle Worm” - My little friend lol I love this card. There’s something adorable about it that resonates in my heart. I’d usually throw a copy in most of my decks.

“Obelisk the Tormentor” - This was so groundbreaking to me seeing it for the first time in the anime. I remember my friend and I pretending to have one when we would duel prior to its release and just making up insane effects for it lol. I loved that Kaiba ended up having the first God card too. 

Sweet! Enjoy the day all!

Yo! Hop to it Frogger!

We resume with a neat page. “Luminous Soldier,” a nice classic Tournament Pack Ultra Rare is the lead. Probably the cheapest Tournament Pack Ultra Rare out of the eight—I don’t get it, but I’ll take it! 

Of course the original “Machine King” with its unusual white name text. I always enjoyed the oddity of that. Plus being a Duelist League Promo is cool—those were always cool cards that had a handful of first TCG prints from the OCG.

Another part of this page I enjoy is the four Rare cards from MRD, MRL and LON. Basic Rare rarity is a nice rarity to me. I love the silver for the name and the non holo on the art to fully appreciate the artwork. 

As for “Karakuri Spider” landing in the “M” section of the binder, this is due to the card being called “Mechanical Spider” in the early GBA games.

Favorites on this page:

“Machine King” - This is just a cool classic card. It has that cool swaying tiger striped background that I love. Bow before the King!

“Magician of Faith” - The first spirit monster of Anzu! I loved the episode where she and the others were turned into their monster by Bakura as a cool homage to the last episodes of the Toei Series. An all around lovely card. She was in every deck I had growing up. Always loved her look and effect. 

“Marie the Fallen One” - She will always hold this name in my mind. It just sounds so cool. Such a cool looking card. I always enjoyed her blueish-black skin and wings with that pink dress for contrast. Such a unique card. And she’s from Labyrinth of Nightmare—one of my favorite sets.

“Masked Beast Des Guardius” - This thing is sick as hell. The classic Mask cards are really awesome and fun cards. I wish they would release some cool modern support for them, and also some of the anime Mask cards from Lumus and Umbra. I still need the OCG version of this card for uncensored purposes.

“Masked Sorcerer” - Something about this card looks so cool. It’s like the creature is emerging from a dimensional rift. And what is that little trinket it’s holding? Such a mysterious monster. 

“Metalzoa” - Despite never using this card, and being slightly disappointed that it was one of the three video game promos for Falsebound Kingdom (I think that was one of the weakest promo sets in video games for usability lol), I always though at least it looked cool and was a Bandit Keith card. 

Let us seize the day!

In the process of going through random boxes from having moved a lot and trying to find cool things from the past. Another drawing I uncovered from my Freshman Year lol. It’s a little beat up lol. Hoping I’ll find some more soon!

Finally Friday has come!

This page, if not tied with my absolute favorite is very close to it. I really enjoy the pleasing layout of each card together with each other. It’s a nice balance of colors. 

Again I love how the layout happened to fall in place with the Psycho Shocker “Jinzo” at the center. 

“Inaba White Rabbit” continues the Japanese Spirit Monster theme. The original Spirits were groundbreaking for me at the time for the experience of a new type of monster.

“Insect Queen” is one of my cool misprints being the Ultra Secret rare version. I remember this tin coming out and thinking it was cool to finally see this as a real card.

“Leo Wizard the Dark Fiend” is included in this binder because the artwork on the card is the exact artwork the original “Leo Wizard” had in the DDS GameBoy Game. I love anything to do with those games so naturally this was a must to include. 

“Light Law Medium” is another construct monster from the DDS era, being composed of two other cards that create this card. She’s such a cool card! After 20 plus years she finally received a release! Ideally if they release an Asian-English uncensored version I will replace this with that.

Favorites on this page:

*All cards listed above are included in my favorites.

“Hourglass of Courage” - I love an hourglass. I really want to find a nice full hourglass that has a similar appearance to this (wings would be added lol). I’m glad this received a TCG release even if it was much later. 

“Invader of the Throne” - This was always a cool card. A pretty lady with a cool pose. Her dress looks really nice with all the folds running throughout. Her effect was always an interesting one to me, though I don’t recall using it.

“Jinzo” - Because I didn’t really give him the proper love above he gets it here. 
This is one of the coolest monsters in the game. Everything about his look, effect and stats is simply perfect. This was and still is my brother’s favorite card in the entirety of Yu-Gi-Oh! We still buy the occasional PSV anniversary packs in hopes that he can finally pull a “Jinzo” (of course it hasn’t happened yet lol). So cool that Jonouchi ends up getting this.

“Kazejin” - The Wind God! The “Gate Guardian” pieces are really nostalgic cards for me. I always thought their effects were very cool. If I were to use them today against somebody casually I would say they can be played as a Magic card in addition to a monster lol.

Have a great weekend everyone! I’ll be posting another drawing I found tomorrow, and continuing this binder on Monday. PEACE!

Happy Thursday showcasers!

Let us Ride the Lightning and dance among the Spirits! There are Legends on this page in the purist sense. Most of this page appeared at some point or another in the anime, from deck masters to personal ace cards.

The Japanese version of “Gilford the Lightning” is used because, for whatever reason, this artwork has never received a TCG release. It’s actually one of the silliest things for an alternate are not having a TCG print. This version is the coolest version of the art to me, especially being the art used in the anime. Hopefully one day we get this art in the TCG!

The Japanese version of the Spirit monsters are also used to continue the theme of using their Japanese prints as homage to their origins. Plus some of them are uncensored which is always a high priority to me. 

Favorites on this page:

“Gilford the Lightning” - I always considered this card to be Jonouchi’s God Card. He could offer three tributes for its summon and clear the opponents field with Holy Lightning. His attack strength was respectable for the time. And he just looks Godly.

“Goddess of Whim” - The MP1 promos are one of my favorite special releases. This monster is just beautiful. This is one I would typically use the Japanese print for considering this one is censored, but the Japanese one I have is for a different binder where she would be more appropriately aligned with the set she was part of.

“Goddess with the Third Eye” - Give it up for Shizuka’s (Serenity’s) Deck Master! TP1 Rares are very special cards to me. Personally TP1 is the best classic Tournament Pack because everything in it was an exclusive and really cool/obscure card. It’s the most special of the Tournament Packs followed by TP2. Also love that she’s the recolor of “Witch of the Black Forest.”

“Harpie Lady Sisters” - O how I love these three. Know their names—Airo, the most beautiful with her red hair; Ocupete, the mischievous with orange hair; Keraino, the fierce with blue hair. These are their names derived from mythology as given in the GameCube game “The Falsebound Kingdom,” a game I recommend to any true lover of Yu-Gi-Oh! monsters.

“Harpie’s Pet Dragon” - I remember FMR being such a cool set but never actually getting it because we didn’t have the console—talk about a let down. Dazzling Prismatic Secret rare and a powerful card of Mai. I just love it.

“Hino-Kagu Tsuchi” - One of my favorite Spirit monsters. This guy was always the coolest looking Spirit to me. Just a totally sick pose, and I really felt satisfied pulling off his effect in those early GBA games. Had to get the Parallel Rare version for their elegance. 

Enjoy the day all!

This is one of my favorite pages for the Effect Monster section. These cards are so cool to me for a few reasons:

“D.D. Warrior/Dimensional Warrior” is from my favorite series of cards in Yu-Gi-Oh!—the original D.D. Different Dimension. I’m a Sci-Fi nerd and I always loved removing cards from play in a duel. Both converge in the Different Dimension cards!

Another reason I love this page is for “Exarion Universe.” This is one of the sickest cards to me. Centaurs are really cool, and this one is cool max! Epic looking design, and all the colors are so complimentary—I love the green skin and that purple-blueish background with the lightning. 

The last card that really sets this page apart for me is the legendary “Flying Elephant!” I never thought this card would exist outside the anime. I love the design and how they kept it essentially like the anime appearance of the card. I really love that they gave it a special win condition effect that went unstated in the anime. 

Pegasus has a boy come and take his place against Bandit Keith in a flashback. Keith has “Garnecia Elegantis” on the field and the kid plays the weaker stat “Flying Elephant” and simply wins the duel. It was insane lol. 

“Garnecia Elefantis” is Earth and “Flying Elephant” is Wind, and Wind beat Earth no matter the attack difference in the early GameBoy games so this could be a factor, but the win still went unstated. This card being a Pegasus card with a win condition is beyond awesome!

Favorites on this page:

*The three cards above are included in this.

“Dragon Seeker” - I always thought this was a cool looking card. It’s also a classic Tournament Pack card and I love the hell out of those sets. Lovely colors on the art.

“Fairy King Truesdale” - I never used this card, but I always enjoyed the art. Very nostalgic. Plus it’s a Prismatic Secret rare.

“Gate Guardian” - Never used this either but always loved it for its uniqueness at the time. This copy has some strange printing error with the border of the art. It gets thinner in some spots and merges with the art of the monster in others (images in the main image section).

“Gearfried the Iron Knight” - I love a Jonouchi card! His Battle City deck was always memorable and fun. I would pull this card often in PSV packs lol.

Happy Wednesday y’all! Peace!

Yo! 

The art on this page is awesome! About half the page is horror, something classic Yu-Gi-Oh! was capable of producing. There really isn’t anything like it today for my preferences. 

I’m always pleased when a later set would include cards that never released in TCG from the time they existed in the GBA days—“Dark-Eyes Illusionist” and “Dark Artist” being the ones unique to this page.

As for the mix of Japanese cards and English cards, this was intentional for my displaying purposes. I wanted the Spirit Monsters all to be in Japanese due to their Japanese Mythology.  I did not include all the original Spirits because not all were present in the games I played. 

2004 World Championship and/or Worldwide Edition only had about half of LOD and PGD in the games. Strangely they only included around half the Spirits, and in light of space I decided to roll with that fact. Dark Elf I simply couldn’t find my MRD version so this is my placeholder till I find her lol.

Favorites on this page:

“Cyber-Stein” - Talk about a Legendary card. This was in all my decks just waiting to summon a “Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!” Of course many times I would attack and “Magic Cylinder” would be activated and I’d lose the duel lol. 

“Dark Elf” - I love recolored counterpart monsters. She and “Mystical Elf” have always been such lovely cards to me. 

“Dark Magician Girl” - So beautiful. Seeing her in the anime for the first time was groundbreaking. When Magician’s Force released and I learned she was in it my brain melted lol.

“Dark Necrofear” - This thing is insanely awesome. This is my favorite horror monster in the game. One of the creepiest cards to me especially at the time of her release. This is just such a cool card. The design is perfect and the background is one of my favorites. The fact it’s a Bakura card is even more incredible. 

“Dark Ruler Ha Des” - Also a cool card used by Bakura. I went with the LART version for uncensored purposes. Such a badass monster. Took me forever to link Ha Des to Hades lol.

“Dark Sage” - Despite it being too complicated to summon this was still a really cool card. I loved seeing its appearance in the anime after Jonouchi thought he successfully beat Yugi’s “Dark Magician” with “Time Wizard.” Timeless, lol.

“Dark-Eyes Illusionist” - I love Pegasus cards. His mix of comical and horror perfectly contrast each other and both serve his personality well.

Alright my friends, cheers till the next one!

It shouldn’t be so hard to avoid glare during the photo shoot! I was taking pictures of this binder for almost two hours! I’ve been told a tip recently that I will use for my next binder photo shoot lol.

Fun cards for page 2! Lots of classic era power ready to strike. 

The love of my Yu-Gi-Oh! life is on this page. Harpie Lady for me is the most beautiful monster in the game (especially with the blue skin in her original art). She actually has a name too—“Airo”—as well as her sisters given in one of my all time favorite video games, “The Falsebound Kingdom.” If the layout would have worked I would have placed her in the center as she deserves. 

Toons were (and based on the new support still are) some of the coolest cards. I always thought it was insane to just jump over your opponent with such high attack points. Pegasus was always such a cool and fun character too. 

“Castle of Dark Illusions” is also a really cool card. I love random inconvenient stats lol. 

Something I never noticed until having the card in person—“Cockroach Knight” has an anti-human shield! It almost looks like the Neighborhood Watch Signs. They really hate us, but we really hate them too lol. Where’s my “Eradicating Aerosol” when I need it? 

Edit for above: it’s an aerosol can as Zaborg pointed out! It’s more obviously an aerosol can on the monster‘s DDS artwork lol.

And for those wondering how and why “Cornfield Coatl” is included in this binder I’ll share a brief history lol. This monster debuted in the “Dark Duel Stories” game for GameBoy. It’s a Construct Card made up of two other cards, but different than a fusion. There are many many more of these types of monsters from the past days of the game, and I really hope they release many more of them like this (even though a lot are quite hilarious and ridiculous, but I still love them). Currently five exist in the real card game.

Favorites on this Page:

“Buster Blader” - Legendary card. He just looks so cool. That sword is epic. I remember thinking him fusing with “Dark Magician” was a perfect match when “Dark Paladin” was introduced. 

“Copycat” - Such a cool looking card. It was fun seeing Jonouchi (Joey) use it in Duelist Kingdom. I love that it was originally a Jump Promo too—those were always fun!

“Cyber Harpie Lady” - Harpie Lady SB (I wish she kept that name cause it sounds so cool, but I guess it would have been CB in English lol). LEGENDARY! BEAUTIFUL! The 1800 attack was great in those early GBA games.

“Cyber Jar” - This thing saved me many times in the GBA days. Such a cool crazy card. My second favorite of the jars following “Morphing Jar.”

Alright y’all peace!

The time has come! Phase 2 of my initial binder series is here! All other posts won’t be as long lol I just like setting the stage.

I’m excited to finally start posting this second phase. The initial reveal was all Normal Monsters that were very obscure and mostly rare cards from Tournament and Champion Packs, short prints and OCG exclusives from the time of the 2004 World Championship and Worldwide Edition GBA video games.

This binder will feature Effect, Fusion and Ritual Monsters, and Magic and Trap Cards from the same early era of the game, organized alphabetically. There are many gems throughout.

And now for the first page!

Some Yugi, Kaiba and Bandit Keith cards lead off the reveal. Outside of the obscure cards that I’m in love with I have a very special place in my heart for character cards. Most of the decks I have are character decks because I love feeling like I have a piece of the manga and anime to hold.

My absolute favorite card on this page is a card with a rarity I never knew existed for it—“Barrel Dragon” in classic Prismatic Secret Rare. 

This is my favorite foiling for any card. It’s the most nostalgic rarity for me. This Barrel Dragon is interesting. All VB5 are English on the front, but the backs and foiling differ. This one is an Asian English back. Then there is an Asian English back with normal secret rare foiling, and a Japanese back with secret rare foiling. There may even be a fourth one with reverse foiling I think, but can’t totally recall. When I discovered this prismatic one I jumped on it!

Other favorites:

“Ancient Lamp” - Kaiba was my favorite character growing up and still is, but Bakura overtook him for my favorite many years ago. I always thought this card was cool. I believe it was a Magic or Trap Card in the anime/manga.

“Beast of Gilfer” - I call cards by the names they had in the old video games and alphabetized them in this fashion. I always thought this was a badass card, and loved that Yugi used it. I love the background colors and how dark the beast itself is for contrast. 

“Beastking of the Swamp” - Love me a TP1 rare. Always thought this thing was super sick looking. I like when cards have a background fitting with the monster. The purple sky and trees behind it create a cool atmosphere.

“Berfomet” - This was a really cool card that took forever to get a TCG release from its appearance in the anime. Such a great pose and another pleasing background. 

“Big Shield Gardna” - Dark Beginning 1 was an incredible pack. It finally gave us cards that took forever to release in TCG like this guy and Makyura the Destructor. 

“Blade Knight” - I always think back to getting the Tin with this card in it. I was happy to see I had the DB2 version as well and decided to use that in place of the tin. Typically I go for original release, but I make exceptions in certain scenarios. 

Feels good to finally post this! I’ll probably skip weekends cause we’re all busy lol. Happy Friday!

Images: Cards, Merch, Handmade Drawing.

Bakura has been my favorite character in Yu-Gi-Oh! since I was a child. He has the best voice in the dub and a perfect chilling voice in the sub. His Toei series depiction is one of the coolest characters. Everything about the guy is downright awesome. I love all the occult themes in his decks—the cards are so sick!

This Ouija Board is one of the coolest pieces of merch I own! I believe it was available on the pop up Kaiba Online Store some years back. It’s a very well made piece of merch. The Board itself is pretty heavy (not sure if it’s brass or just some colored metal) and the Planchette is magnetized to safely slide around the board. It’s simply too sick.

Naturally I had to spell out the Message with the OCG cards. It was extremely entertaining lol. Do you dare to reveal the Message in its entirety…?

Finally, a drawing I did of the man himself maybe 8 or so years ago when I was first getting back into drawing. I squeezed as much as I could into it lol.

I made this for my cousin like 7 years ago while working at a small coffee shop, and yesterday he brings it out to show me (I couldn’t believe he saved it lol). I had about 30 seconds to draw this on his cup before making his drink so it absolutely was rushed lol. I would doodle on everyone’s cup, and try and make cool designs in latte art too that I have some pictures of as well, though they aren’t Yu-Gi-Oh! related, just some random Nintendo stuff.

Hoping to find more of my Yu-Gi-Oh! art from back in the day as well as showing some of the stuff I‘ve made as my art has grown.

Multiple pictures for the various foil effects.

I was compelled to recreate the winner’s Grand Prize card set from the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters II: Dark Duel Stories Duelist Legend in Tokyo Dome tournament back in 1999. I had an extra three card acrylic case from my OCG Kaiba Briefcase Blue-Eyes display that I found the greatest use for. 

Series 1 is my favorite layout of OCG cards. I was beyond excited when they released the Tokyo Dome Premium Pack 25th anniversary edition. Konami hit it out of the park with this one including all the very rare cards from the 1999 tournament in Japan.

I never thought I would have a Series 1 layout of Serpent Night Dragon, Sengenjin, Firewing Pegasus, Meteor Black Dragon, and especially Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! Even though they have the Eye of Anubis I couldn’t be happier owning these in Series 1 layout. 

Recently got a couple classic magazines from Ghostmasters and Beckett at my local pawn shop.

Found another Ghostmasters one today from 2003 with this really cool looking Dark Magician Girl sample card image. I’ve never seen anything like this before so wanted to show off this interesting design. Not sure if the magazine just doctored it up or if it was some promo image of her actually made by Konami. Either way it’s really cool, and she’s beautiful in yellow and without her hat lol.

My top four Asian-English grails. These are some of the most nostalgic and treasured cards to me. I love that they’re all super rare (although I would have preferred Prismatic Secret or Ultra Rare). Quite rare as they are Prize cards and Participation cards from older tournaments in Japan and the USA.

“Kanan the Swordmistress” - My favorite lady warrior. I’ve talked about her before and could talk about her till the end of time. Such a lovely monster that brings tremendous nostalgia for me. I love her pose and expression. She’s simply incredible. I wish I got her slabbed—maybe one day I will.

This specific card was distributed a few times. Initially in Japan it was a qualifier card in a 2003 GBA game tournament (listed as a “Phantom Rare” but actually was a super rare). 

Following this it was given as a top 100 Prize card at the Duelist King Tournament in Japan, and finally it was issued as a Prize in the US World Championship 2004 GBA tournament. 

“Sengenjin” - The Legendary creature that carries Millennium Items. Such a cool lore for this guy. This one was always a really cool card. Reminds me of a Hinox from Zelda lol.

This version was given to the participants in the 2004 Japan Duel Monsters: Expert 3 National Tournament. 

“Firewing Pegasus” - This is such a beautiful card. It’s so majestic and mystical. I vaguely recall reading something about the art for this card being owned or tightly guarded by Konami, which is why it has so few prints, but I can’t find the article at the moment lol.

This was given out as one of the Participation Prize cards at the World Championship 2005 event held in Tokyo. 

“Seiyaryu” - My favorite dragon monster, and one of my top all time favorite cards. This is one of the most beautiful cards in the game to me. The colors are all so enchanting, and the mystical aura of the card is unparalleled. 

This was given out as one of the Participation Prize cards at the World Championship 2006 event. 

These were a fun handful of cards to collect!