A plethora of impressive cards were used throughout Yu-Gi-Oh! Battle City, all of which varied in power. Across the franchise's second season -- comprised of 48 episodes -- 324 cards can be seen, including 166 monsters, 104 spells and 54 trap cards. This article will attempt to uncover which cards had the greatest overall impact on the series, and how viable they would be in competitive (IRL) play.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Battle City sees six different categories of cards used. These include Normal Monsters, Effect Monsters, Ritual Monsters, Fusion Monsters, Spell Cards and Trap Cards. Here are the most powerful cards used in the series in each category.
The Most Powerful Normal Monster: Vorse Raider
- Episode Appearances: 070, 071, 082, 083, 093, 094
- Attack: 1900
- Defense: 1200
In Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist Kingdom, high-level monsters (Level 5-12) such as Blue-Eyes White Dragon could be summoned to the field without a tribute. In Battle City, however, the rules of Duel Monsters were brought more in line with the real-life metagame in an effort to reflect the player experience. Consequently, the big boss monsters that had previously been slammed on the field with little thought now had to be strategically used since their summon required a hefty cost.
Normal, non-tribute monsters, such as Vorse Raider, became the go-to fodder for the majority of games. Since these cards don’t have any special abilities, their stats are the only measurable characteristic that mattered. With 1900 Attack, this four-star monster is the most powerful non-tribute normal monster in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Battle City, which Kaiba often used to great effect to take down his opponent's weaker monsters.
The Most Powerful Effect Monster: Jinzo
- Episode Appearances: 058. 059, 063, 074, 087, 088, 089
- Attack: 2400
- Defense: 1500
- Effect: As long as this card remains face-up on the field, negate the activation and effect of Trap Cards. When this is summoned, destroy all traps on your opponent’s side of the field.
While the appearance of Effect Monsters was rather scant in Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist Kingdom, they would become a far greater part of the franchise's second installment. Iconic cards like Dark Magician Girl and The Legendary Fisherman were introduced during this season; however, Jinzo arguably took the prize for becoming the best-known card due to its devastating effect that led to it seeing considerable competitive play. This card’s inbuilt protection against traps made it incredibly difficult to destroy outside of battle, and with 2400 Attack points, this wasn’t exactly the easiest of tasks.
By April 2003, Jinzo had been used competitively to such a degree that it had an entire format named after it: Android Format. Yu-Gi-Oh! Battle City didn’t shy away from showing off Jinzo’s powerful effect, which played a crucial role in Joey’s success in the tournament and his battle against Odion.
The Most Powerful Ritual Monster: The Masked Beast
- Episode Appearances: 071, 072
- Attack: 3200
- Defense: 1800
- Effect: This monster can only be Ritual Summoned with the Ritual Magic Card "Curse of the Masked Beast". You must also offer monsters whose total Level Stars equal 8 or more as a Tribute from the field or your hand.
Unfortunately, only three ritual monsters were ever summoned during Yu-Gi-Oh! Battle City -- and none managed to match the power level of Pegasus’ Relinquished from the previous season. However, Umbra and Lumis’ The Masked Beast is by far the most powerful ritual monster that was shown during the tournament.
Despite its level of power, it’s quickly taken down by Yu-Gi and Kaiba after they equip Beast of Glifer to reduce its attack to 2700, which enables Kaiba to use his Blue-Eyes White Dragon to take it down.
The Most Powerful Fusion Monster: Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon
- Episode Appearances: 054, 064
- Attack: 4500
- Defense: 3800
Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon would have been the most powerful fusion monster in Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist Kingdom if it hadn’t been for the unique abilities of Pegasus’ Thousand-Eyes Restrict (TER). However, since TER never featured in Yu-Gi-Oh! Battle City, Kaiba’s iconic card takes the top spot due to its incredible attack power, which wouldn’t be bested for years to come.
The Most Powerful Spell Card: Pot of Greed
- Episode Appearances: 065, 066, 068, 072, 085, 090
- Effect: Draw 2 cards from your deck.
Pot of Greed may appear to be simple with its single short line of text; however, its ability to allow players to draw two fresh cards from the top of their deck has become a staple throughout the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. While other powerful spells -- such as Change of Heart, Monster Reborn and Harpie’s Feather Duster -- have a greater immediate impact on the state of a game, Pot of Greed’s ability to increase the chance of finding these cards, and others, at opportune moments is invaluable.
This spell is one of the few inherent plus-one cards in the game and requires zero skill or strategy from a player to achieve this result. In comparison, other spells often require a combination of cards to be in play, or for the player to play them correctly to gain an advantage.
The Most Powerful Trap Card: Solemn Judgment
- Episode Appearances: 051
- When a monster would be Summoned, OR a Spell/Trap Card is activated: Pay half your Life Points; negate the Summon or activation, and if you do, destroy that card.
While Solemn Judgment only featured in a single episode of Yu-Gi-Oh! Battle City, its power shouldn’t be underestimated. Shortly after Bandit Keith -- who is under the control of Marik Ishtar -- ritual summons Zera the Mant, he proceeds to attack Yu-Gi’s Dark Magician. Yu-Gi responds by activating Mirror Force in the hopes of destroying Keith’s monster and protecting his own. However, Keith quickly foils this plan by using Solemn Judgment; it negates the effect of Mirror Force by paying half of his Life Points, which allows Zera the Mant to destroy Dark Magician.
Since its release, Solemn Judgment has often been a staple within competitive decks due to its ability to stop a variety of different plays in the game. While its cost is high, when used correctly it can swing the game in favor of its user by stopping the opponent from going ahead with their strategy.