Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sacred Cards is a video game for the Game Boy Advance that was released in North America on November 4, 2003. It is remembered as a somewhat short game that was full of awesome dueling action, the type of stuff that makes games about the popular Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise so interesting.
The story follows the Battle City arc of the anime, where Yugi and his friends participate in a Duel Monsters tournament hosted by KaibaCorp set in the middle of an urban landscape. In addition to the fun gameplay and unique story that delves into the past, players can obtain a ton of incredibly powerful monster cards with which to crush their AI competition.
The best possess monstrously high Attack and colossal Defense while a few even have powerful effects for when sheer force is not enough. These powerhouses also come with neat little card descriptions unique to the game that elaborate on their existence and lore; a nice feature for fans of the franchise's long history and innovative creature designs. The Egyptian God cards will be left out, as acquiring them is locked behind story events and are otherwise unobtainable for one's deck.
Updated July 4, 2023 by Rhenn Taguiam: Although Master Duel offers the most comprehensive multiplayer Yu-Gi-Oh! experience for fans of the franchise, hardcore Yu-Gi-Oh! players may still consider classics such as Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sacred Cards is one of the best video game adaptations of the series.
Players looking to build the perfect The Sacred Cards deck may want to consider using some of the game’s strongest Monster Cards such as a powerful dragon, the game’s best insect, and the series’ iconic God Cards. When used properly, their effects can bring destruction to the enemy’s side of the field, with their high-enough base ATK being the kicker for devastating combat encounters.
15 Meteor B. Dragon - Attack 3500 | Defense 2000
“A dragon whose body is a meteor that roils in red-black fire. Its body heat vaporizes everything nearby.”
Seemingly an evolution of the Meteor Dragon, Meteor B. Dragon is arguably one of the stronger Yu-Gi-Oh! Monster Cards in terms of sheer firepower. Boasting 3500 ATK and 2000 DEF, Meteor B. Dragon is a heavy-hitting Normal Monster that can best most other cards of its category. However, its lack of special effects means it’s susceptible to enemy Traps, which means players may want to ensure Meteor B. Dragon is protected from Monster-destroying effects.
Not only that, its 8-Star Level means it only needs two tributes for a successful Summon, making its resource requirements just the same as the likes of Dark Magician and Blue-Eyes White Dragon but with better offensive power.
14 Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth - Attack 3500 | Defense 3000
“The final evolution of the insect monster Great Moth. It is the most powerful among all the insect-type monsters.”
Perhaps the pinnacle of Insect-Types in the Yu-Gi-Oh! title, Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth is a must-have in Insect decks that want to capitalize on sheer offense. Its 3500 ATK and 3000 DEF for a measly two-tribute Summon allows it to defeat most higher-level Monster Cards with ease.
Not only that, the game’s special mechanics means Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth isn’t just a Normal Card that can be Summoned. If players already have the Great Moth in the field, spending a full turn without Great Moth being destroyed will temporarily evolve it into Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth. This gives the player multiple avenues for setups unless the enemy has a nifty hand Trap ready to counter the player.
13 Obelisk The Tormentor - Attack 4000 | Defense 4000
“A monster that can wipe out all monsters on the foe's field. At the same time, it hits the foe with 4,000LP worth of damage.”
Considered Seto Kaiba’s signature God Card, Obelisk The Tormentor is an equally-menacing Monster Card to use in The Sacred Cards. Players obtain this Yu-Gi-Oh! card by defeating Seto Kaiba, with Ishizu Ishtar granting them access to this blue-clad warrior. As with most God Cards, Obelisk can only be Special Summoned by tributing three Monsters.
What makes the Obelisk such a powerful card in the player’s arsenal is courtesy of its effect. When activated, not only does Obelisk destroy every Monster on the enemy’s field, but it also deals 4000 LP worth of direct damage. Although this card effect is only usable once, halving the opponent’s total LP in one effect should be more than enough to secure a permanent advantage.
12 The Winged Dragon Of Ra - Attack 4000 | Defense 4000
“A dragon that has the power to cut its LP to 1 and hit the opponent with the LP amount that it has lost.”
Notable in the anime as Yami Marik’s signature God Card, players can obtain The Winged Dragon Of Ra in The Sacred Cards by defeating the same character. Similar to its God Card counterparts, the Winged Dragon can be Special Summoned by tributing three Monsters - a worthwhile sacrifice considering its effect.
When activated, the Winged Dragon of Ra reduces the player’s LP to 1 while the opponent takes the same amount of damage lost. In the most ideal of circumstances, this means dishing out at most 7999 LP worth of direct attack damage, which can be enough to one-hit KO opponents.
11 Slifer The Sky Dragon - Attack 4000 | Defense 4000
“A dragon that can power up based on the cards in the hand. For every card in the player's hand, power is upped 3 levels.”
Known throughout the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise as Yugi Muto’s signature God Card, Slifer the Sky Dragon remains a formidable Monster in The Sacred Cards. Like the other God Cards, players need to tribute three Monsters to summon this beast that possesses an extremely devastating effect. When triggered, Slifer gets 1500 ATK for every card in the player’s hand, allowing players to drastically increase their firepower outside the usual Equip Cards.
With the right setups, just three more cards can bump Slifer’s ATK to 8500, which should be more than enough to take care of most other Monsters in the field. Considering how not a lot of Monsters can even oppose Slifer’s 4000 base ATK, it’s safe to say Slifer can comfortably taunt the opponents without fear of retaliation until players get enough hand cards for their desired ATK.
10 Dark Sage - Attack 2800 | Defense 3200
"An imposing and powerful sage that dons striking black clothes. He is a 'Dark Magician' who gained power over many years."
One can think of Dark Sage as an evolution of a Dark Magician, for they are greater in both stats and effects. To summon this elder Spellcaster, duelists will need to sacrifice a Dark Magician immediately after resolving the effect of Time Wizard in which one called the correct outcome of the coin toss. While being very situational, players can thankfully summon Dark Sage directly from their deck.
Players should try to get cards that manipulate the outcome of coin tosses or that can be used as a failsafe if one calls the outcome of Time Wizard's effects incorrectly. Trap cards that prevent damage could be used for such a feat to great effect.
9 Cosmo Queen - Attack 2900 | Defense 2450
"A woman of distinguished demeanor and enormous power. She is said to rule over all the stars and planets in the cosmos."
A behemoth of a Normal Monster card, Cosmo Queen is renowned for being one of the Spellcasters with the highest base attack stat. One would essentially summon her in order to flatten the opposition with brute force. She can become even more mighty after being equipped with one of the many cards that can buff Dark-type monsters.
Getting 2 tributes to stay on the field can be tricky if the opponent has a strong monster on the field, so having monsters with high defense points can be useful for getting enough tribute material to stay on the field long enough to summon Cosmo Queen from one's hand.
8 Blue-Eyes White Dragon - Attack 3000 | Defense 2500
"A legendary dragon that takes pride in its enormous power. Its power of destruction far exceeds comprehension."
Anyone who has ever had even the slightest interest in the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise has likely heard of the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon. It is the strongest regular Normal Monster in the game and an icon known as a bringer of destruction. It is the favorite card of Seto Kaiba, who uses his 3 Blue Eyes to reign devastation upon his foes as often as he can.
There are quite a few dragon-themed spell cards that can help one summon Blue-Eyes from one's deck, so be on the lookout for those as one plays through the game and acquires booster packs.
7 Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon - Attack 3000 | Defense 2500
"A cartoony dragon that was a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. It had been drawn into the Toon World and transformed."
The animated version of a Blue-Eyes White Dragon that has been sucked into and warped by Toon World. It possesses the same tremendous Attack and Defense as the original Blue-Eyes White Dragon, though now also comes with the usual effects of a "Toon" monster, which, among a few other things, lets them attack the opponents directly if the foe does not have a Toon monster of their own.
Having other Toon monsters alongside Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon in a deck would definitely be the best play, as taking advantage of multiple Toon monsters can allow players to steamroll the opposition and devastate their Life Points directly.
6 Black Luster Soldier - Attack 3000 | Defense 2500
"The strongest of all warriors, it suitably wears black. It equals the Blue-Eyes White Dragon in ability."
As its description mentions, it is on par with the mighty Blue-Eyes White Dragon in combat potential, however, Black Luster Soldier is a Ritual Monster that can only be summoned with the "Black Luster Ritual" Spell card. They possess no effects, like their lore-rival, meaning that this card is one ideally used for brute force tactics or possibly greater strategies.
Since Black Magic Ritual is crucial for summoning Black Luster Soldier, players should insert some cards into their deck that can help them search their deck and draw spell cards. This will alleviate having to wait for half of the cards needed to bring out this ritual monster.
5 Black Skull Dragon - Attack 3200 | Defense 2500
"A fiendish dark dragon that is of extremely high rarity. It is the fusion of a rare fiend and a dragon."
Without even looking at Black Skull Dragon's stats, one can glean the depths of their power by taking a gander at their fusion components: one of the strongest Fiend-type monsters and a legendarily powerful Dragon-type beast of darkness. Black Skull Dragon's 3200 Attack is a massive threat to anyone facing this Fusion monster, plus, it also can be boosted by cards that enhance "Archfiends", as this Dark attribute Dragon counts as one.
Decks specializing in fusing monsters will need spell cards that allow such merging to happen, though, cards and card effects that allow one to search their deck for spell cards can be very useful here as well.
4 Gate Guardian - Attack 3750 | Defense 3400
"A combined being that consists of Sanga, Kazejin, and Suijin. Its powers place it among the strongest of all beings."
Gate Guardian is one of the few monsters that are essentially a combination of others but do not need a fusion card to merge. Their special summoning requirement is actually more expensive, in that one must tribute Sanga of the Thunder, Kazejin, and Suijin to get this crazily powerful Warrior onto the field. Sadly, they don't retain the effects of any of their component monsters, which results in them simply being a beastly force of high Attack and Defense points, though one that is not likely to be overpowered.
The toughest part will be to get all 3 component monsters onto the field to tribute, however, once a duelist has summoned 1 of them, gathering the others will be easier, as preventing the opponent from attacking one's weaker tribute monsters is easier with a beefy ally on the field. Using traps that prevent attacks can be useful as well for gathering tribute monsters on one's side.
3 Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon - Attack 4500 | Defense 3800
"The ultimate of all dragons that has three awe-inspiring heads."
A short and sweet description that says it all. Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon is a fusion of 3 Blue-Eyes White Dragons and possesses a power that feels appropriate for its name, lore, and component monsters. It can be tricky to gather the resources to summon this beast of blinding destruction, but it is always worth it to have this mighty Dragon on one's side.
Typical fusion strategies would work to help players summon the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, though, since it requires 3 specific monster cards, players will need to wait until they draw 3 Blue-Eyes White Dragons as well as have a means of fusing them. Since so many components are needed, players should insert cards that let them draw more every turn in order to get the cards they need quicker.
2 F.G.D. (Five-Headed Dragon) - Attack 5000 | Defense 5000
"A gargantuan dragon with five heads that is simply invincible. It is formed by the fusion of five strong dragons."
While F.G.D. (which stands for "Five God Dragon") in The Sacred Cards, the real-world card is known in North America as Five-Headed Dragon and is a Dark-type monster with an effect that makes them nearly indestructible. However, the version in Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sacred Cards is a bit different; instead of being Dark-type, they are Divine-type and they also lack their overpowered effect, resulting in them becoming one of the two strongest monsters in the game in terms of stats instead of just being a completely broken card that everyone would use all the time.
Players will need a very varied Dragon-themed deck to even consider summoning Five-Headed Dragon, as well as a means to fuse 5 monsters at once.
1 Master Of Dragon Soldier (Dragon Master Knight) - Attack 5000 | Defense 5000
"A huge and awesomely strong dragon that can be powered up based on the number of dragons on the player's field."
Equally mighty to F.G.D. is the Dragon Master Knight, known in The Scared Cards as Master of Dragon Soldier, this Light-type monster is a fusion beast borne from Black Luster Soldier and Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. In addition to having ridiculously high Attack and Defense, they also possess an effect that increases their already colossal Attack by 500 for every other Dragon ally on the field.
Players can combine the strategies mentioned for both the Black Luster Soldier and Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon cards in a deck meant for this immensely powerful creature.