Egyptian God Cards (2024)

The Egyptian God Cards, also known in Japan as the Three Phantom Gods, (三幻神, Sangenshin), are a series of cards in Yu-Gi-Oh! that serve as a focal point in the series' manga, the second series anime, and numerous video games.

History[]

The Egyptian gods are one-of-a-kind all-powerful cards created by Maximillion Pegasus, who modeled them after three Ancient Egypt divine beasts whose likenesses surround the Millennium Puzzle on the stone tablet said to hold the memories of the nameless Pharaoh. When Pegasus decided to make them into cards, everyone involved in the project was attacked by the spirits of the Egyptian god monsters, so Pegasus decided to create the cards on his own, under the protection of his Millennium Eye. When Pegasus finished the art-work on the prototypes, he was having a nightmare about the cards attacking him. Shadi told Pegasus that he had angered the Egyptian gods. Pegasus woke up injured after this "nightmare". So he decided that these cards were too powerful to be mass-produced, and had Ishizu bury the prototypes in the Pharaoh's tomb. The wielder of these great cards is able to acquire the title of "Duel King," but in the wrong hands, they are capable of causing legitimate injury or even death.

• Slifer the Sky Dragon (「オシリスの天空竜」 Oshirisu no Tenkūryū - Sky Dragon of Osiris)
• Obelisk the Tormentor (「オベリスクの巨神兵」 Oberisuku no Kyoshinhei - Giant God-Soldier of Obelisk)
• The Winged Dragon of Ra (「ラーの翼神竜」 Rā no Yokushinryū - Winged God-Dragon of Ra)

These were originally released as promotional cards (in Gameboy Worldwide Edition Promos) for people who just wanted to say they had them, but the cards were later used in Duels and complaints were sent into Konami. Konami responded to this in an FAQ that said these cards weren't to be used. Official tournaments stopped allowing these cards, although there have been rumors that certain official tournaments will allow Obelisk the Tormentor by tributing three monsters but Obelisk will have no other effects. Most people won't duel against these cards at all, but some people will agree to various conditions.

All three Egyptian god cards share these similar effects:

• Each card requires a Tribute of 3 monsters in order to be Summoned from your hand to the field.
• They are unaffected by Trap Cards while they are attacking. Spell Cards and Monster Effects can affect a God card for one turn only.
• Control of the cards on the field cannot change. However, they can switch possession while not on the field.
• Only chosen duelists linked to the ancient past may control a god card.
• When the god card is special summoned in the opponent's turn, it can be use as shield for all monsters you control.

IN episode 85 of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX a copy of The Winged Dragon of Ra that Industrial Illusions created for testing purposes is stolen by a disgruntled card designer, who later duels Jaden Yuki. The abilities of the card as far as immunity goes is not fully disclosed, however it seems to add a slightly different ruling to already established perceptions, that being that it is unaffected by spell cards entirely. There is a trend in GX for monsters of significant importance, to simply receive blanket immunity from all Spell, Trap and Monster Effects (e.g. Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord).

In Yu-Gi-Oh! Nightmare Troubadour, the Egyptian God Cards are affected by card effects that don't Target e.g. Gravity Bind, Field Spell Cards, as well as cards like Smashing Ground and Mirror Force. They are also Tribute Summoned by offering 3 monsters, and include the line that if Special Summoned the card is destroyed at the end of the turn, during the End Phase.

In the original manga, the three Egyptian Gods possess a hierarchy among themselves. This is explained as a pyramid, with The Winged Dragon of Ra being at the top, and Slifer and Obelisk at the base (as equals). Because of this, the effect's of Slifer the Sky Dragon and Obelisk the Tormentor do not work on The Winged Dragon of Ra. Where as the effects of Obelisk and Slifer will work on each other, for one turn. This immunity only occurs in the Manga, and not in the anime.

However, there remain several disputes over the abilities of god cards, due to the way they are used in the anime. Some contend that in addition to the "Divine-Beast" Type, Obelisk is considered to be a Warrior, Slifer a Dragon, and Ra a Machine (mainly due to its Machine-like appearance, although it was classified as a Machine-type monster in the Game Boy Advance games in which it appeared). In an episode of the anime, Yugi Muto's Buster Blader gains 500 points when Slifer is on the field, and it only gains points from Dragon-Type monsters. In the Game Boy Advance games, Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sacred Cards and Yu-Gi-Oh! Reshef of Destruction, the god cards are listed as being of Divine-Attribute, with the above Types. There has been no resolution to the ambiguities, largely as the real-world cards weren't meant for use in competition.

In the Basic Game Play FAQ on the Official Web Site there is a question that says "What do the Egyptian god cards do?"and it is answered with "Nothing. They're not legitimate Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game cards. They have no effects and can't be used in your Deck."

Nearing the finale of the Millennium World storyline in the Manga, there existed a 'Super God', which was a fusion of all 3, called The Creator God of Light, Horakhty. This was never played as an actual card, but was created when the Nameless Pharaoh recovered his lost name, Atem/Atemu, during the Final Ark of the original anime. Horakhty would then destroy the evil Zorc Necrophades, freeing Egypt from its dark power, and impart key information about the final battle that was lost in time.

In Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light, Slifer the Sky Dragon and The Winged Dragon of Ra combine with Obelisk the Tormentor to form a monster with infinite strength. This allowed Yugi to destroy Anubis' Theinen the Great Sphinx with an ultimate attack, "Titan Firestorm," and win the Duel. In the Japanese version of the second series anime, this is the equivalent of Obelisk's "Soul Energy Max" ability, which, as alluded to by Seto Kaiba, was a "miracle of God's anger."

Naming[]

The names of the Egyptian god cards are derived from the names of items in Egyptian mythology:

• Slifer the Sky Dragon - Original name derived from the name of Osiris, the Egyptian God of Life, Death, and Fertility. The English name is an inside joke, derived from the name of Roger Slifer, a producer of the English-language adaptation to the anime.
• Obelisk the Tormentor - Derived from the term "obelisk," a type of monument.
• The Winged Dragon of Ra - Derived from the name of Ra, the Egyptian God of the Sun. In the Filipino anime, Ra's name is changed to "Apollo", the Greek equivalent of Ra.

The names of the Egyptian gods are the basis for the names of the dormitories of Duel Academy in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX; Slifer Red, Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue. This also reflects how Seto Kaiba viewed the three Egyptian god cards; Slifer the Sky Dragon was owned by Yugi Muto, his arch-rival, so it was only natural that he holds the card in such contempt. The Winged Dragon of Ra is in the middle, since it was owned by Marik Ishtar, until Yugi won it from him in Battle City; Seto Kaiba was thus neutral to this card. Of course, with Obelisk Blue, it was plainly obvious why he based this dorm off of Obelisk the Tormentor; it was the first and only Egyptian god card he received, and indeed seen the power it holds, until Yugi won it from him in the Battle City Finals.

Real-Life God Cards[]

The use of the god cards is forbidden in all sanctioned tournaments of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game because of their unique color templates and backings (red/blue/yellow), and the fact that the cards themselves state that they may not be used in a Duel. As they do not possess effect text, conflicts arise over how they operate once summoned. Some local hobby stores allow people to play "unofficial matches" provided everyone playing agrees on their effects.

Although the original Egyptian god cards are unusable in an official duel, Obelisk the Tormentor has been released as an effect monster, with an effect identical to the one it possesses in the video games. It is the first and currently the only tournament playable DIVINE monster.

The first version of the god cards was released by Konami as a privilege for those who made a pre-order of the Japanese Game Boy Color game Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters IV: Battle of Great Duelist released on December 7, 2000. The second set was released by Konami on April 17, 2003 as special pack-in cards in the Game Boy Advance game Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters International — Worldwide Edition, the Japanese version of the English-language Yu-Gi-Oh! Worldwide Edition: Stairway to the Destined Duel.

Unlike previous versions, the third version of the god cards was not released simultaneously. The Winged Dragon of Ra was included as a limited edition card in the Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dawn of Destiny game for Xbox, released March 23, 2004. Slifer the Sky Dragon was released as a special pack-in card for the ani-manga of Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light, published November 23, 2004 by VIZ Media. Obelisk the Tormentor, finally, was released as a gift to subscribers of Shonen Jump magazine in May 2005.

The god cards once demanded high prices on the secondary market. This was prior to their current widespread availability. During this time, countless counterfeit copies were made and distributed primarily throughout East Asia.

Video Games[]

The Egyptian god cards are present in Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sacred Cards, Yu-Gi-Oh! Reshef of Destruction, Yu-Gi-Oh! Nightmare Troubadour, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Spirit Caller and Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force 2. With Tag Force 2, they are only accessible if you have the original Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force UMD Disc and with Spirit Caller, you need to connect with Nightmare Troubadour. Also,there is a special way of seeing but not controlling the Egyptian God Cards. You must unlock Yami Yugi. It also should be noted that since you may "trade" between Nightmare Troubadour and Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Spirit Caller or Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2007 through buying cards from Nightmare Troubadour, it is fully possible to have the Egyptian god cards in either game. The gods are also available in Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2008, but only through use of a cheat device such as Pro Action Replay, a trade through someone who has obtained them, or obtained via the Card Download function, like with "Thunder King Rai-Oh". The gods can also been seen in World Championship 2009-- here, Obelisk is an effect monster, and is categorized as such. However, Slifer and Ra are their own individual Monster card types, unseen in the game's navigational menus. Each one is Level 10, Divine Attribute, Divine-Beast Type, and cannot be targeted by Spell, Trap and Monster effects. The Summon of a god card cannot be negated and cards cannot be activated in reaction to their summon. Each god card requires three tributes to be Normal Summoned and cannot be Set. If Special Summoned, they are destroyed during the End Phase. Then you can get the Egyptian God cards in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force 3; they are accessible if you have the original Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force 1 and 2.