It's time to duel! Join Ashley as we look over the most iconic monsters from across Yu-Gi-Oh's anime
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most iconic monsters
00:12to appear across the illustrious history of Duel Monsters.
00:26Number 20, Kuriboh
00:35More of a mascot than anything, this fluffball has made itself shockingly useful over the
00:40course of the anime. Seriously, this thing has been the deciding factor in so many of
00:45Yu-Gi's duels. It's absurd. Whether creating an opening for victory or acting as the ultimate
00:52defense, Kuriboh seems to have no shortage of tricks up its non-existent sleeve. As long
00:57as you summon him at the right moment with the appropriate anime deus ex machina, victory
01:03is guaranteed.
01:10Number 19, Number 39, Utopia
01:13Having a mechanical angel serve as your ace monster certainly isn't the worst option
01:18for a fledgling duelist. That of all the number cards that fall into the grasp of Yuma
01:29and Astral, Utopia remains a standout. Not only for its handy ability to undo incoming
01:36attacks as long as it discards material from itself, but thanks to a variety of forms,
01:42it soon became the shining monster of Zexal's anime, scoring wins one after another. Guess
01:4839 is a lucky number after all.
01:58Number 18, Black Luster Soldier
02:00Behold the creature that made all duelists both enthralled and terrified of ritual monsters.
02:10First summoned in Yugi's battle against My Valentine, this was a monster that boasts
02:24not only incredible attack points, but also one of the slickest designs in the series.
02:29Portrayed as a knight of darkness, it only made a couple of appearances throughout the
02:34series, but it soon became clear that if Yugi summoned it, then a dragon was about to get
02:39slain. Harpy's pet dragon? The five-headed dragon? Seriously, this thing is probably
02:44what dragon-type monsters have nightmares about.
02:56Number 17, Odd Eye's Pendulum Dragon
02:59That of all the signature monsters belonging to Yu-Gi-Oh! protagonists, this might just
03:04be the strangest. Though fitting for someone like Yu-Gi-Oh! who lives to both entertain
03:14and smite others on the battlefield. Aside from having a radical design among all the
03:20odd-eyed beasts that filled his deck, this dragon was also the poster boy for the new
03:25Pendulum Summons mechanic, making it a trendsetter for the anime and trading card game. Even
03:31if you despise the gimmick, at least this monster made it appealing from the outset.
03:43Number 16, XYZ Dragon Cannon
03:47Despite what you may think, Kaiba's not solely dependent on a certain blue-eyed lizard
03:52to win his duels. He's got other tricks up his sleeve, mainly this combination of
03:58decker. Given how easily it can be special summoned, as well as automatically eliminate
04:08an opponent's card right off the bat, it's easy to see why a billionaire who loves squashing
04:14his rivals would be so fond of it. It's also technically a dragon, so it's still
04:28on brand for him.
04:29Number 15, Red Dragon Archfiend
04:33Of course, a man like Jack Atlas, an uber-rich bad boy who calls himself king while playing
04:39card games on motorcycles, would have a creature like this as his personal signer. This thing
04:53is all about attacking no matter the cost, given that it can eliminate all of an opponent's
04:59monsters that are in defense mode, while simultaneously destroying its user's other summons if they
05:05don't attack on the same turn. It's quite the price to pay, but for having something
05:20as awesome as this in our deck, we'd say it's worth it.
05:24Number 14, Zork the Dark One
05:28It may not actually be a card, but how could we ignore the monster that served as the main
05:32antagonist for the explosive Dawn of the Duel arc? Created from the evil in the hearts
05:53of humans and the forger of the Millennium Items, this beast was so strong he managed
05:59to defeat Exodia, the three Egyptian gods, and the Blue-Eyes White Dragon one after another.
06:18Now that takes some doing. Hard to make a creature with a dragon for a crotch look intimidating,
06:23but somehow they made it work.
06:26Number 13, Cyber Dragon
06:38Stepping in for the likes of Kaiba, you've got Zane, a no-nonsense duelist who boasts
06:44an impossibly powerful deck, with a collection of cybernetic creatures serving as its foundation,
06:50namely the Cyber Dragon, which, along with its various evolutions, is GX's answer to
06:56all Blue-Eyes. Not only do they boast crazy attack points, but they have quick-fire methods
07:12that allow them to be swiftly summoned to the field. A few of their variations even
07:17have some nasty ways of stripping away an opponent's life points directly. Not a bad
07:23bunch to build a deck around.
07:25Number 12, Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon
07:29A rival with a bitter personality but goodness in their hearts, who is also in possession
07:35of an awesome dragon-type monster, we're starting to see a pattern here. Not that we're
07:51complaining, because Galaxy-Eyes here is epic. One of Kite's best summons, the real danger
07:57Galaxy-Eyes possesses is in its ability to be re-summoned, with added attack points depending
08:03on how material was lost along the way. When strategically implemented, this dragon can
08:09do some gnarly damage.
08:19Number 11, Summon Skull
08:21Going back to when Yugi had only just begun his dueling career, he had this fiendish monster
08:27handy in order to get out of bleak situations. Considering these were the days where you
08:38could summon any monster no matter their power level, Summon Skull managed to land Yugi more
08:43than one victory. It nearly bested Pegasus, and had the distinct honour of shutting up
08:51Weevil Underwood by electrocuting his precious insects. We don't see much of him nowadays,
09:02but he certainly made his mark.
09:04Number 10, Jinzo
09:06We're surprised that Joey managed to actually get as far as he did in the Battle City Tournament,
09:12because going up against this monster is a recipe for disaster.
09:21Not only does it have higher attack points, but this futuristic Frankenstein has the infuriating
09:27ability to negate all trap cards in play. As such, it became a powerful tool at Joey's
09:33disposal that served him well throughout the remainder of the tournament after he won it.
09:41Heck, Jinzo proved to be so popular that he came back as an actual villain in the Virtual
09:50World Arc.
09:52Number 9, Firewall Dragon
09:54Possibly the most overpowered signature monster belonging to a Yu-Gi-Oh! protagonist to date,
10:00not only does Firewall Dragon have a slick design to its name, but its ability is absurd.
10:07If you've hunted an opponent's monster and it leaves the field, Special Summon another
10:11monster from your hand and reap the rewards.
10:23As you can imagine, it can easily turn into a one-sided slaughterfest, to the extent it's
10:29a miracle that Yusaku ever lost a duel.
10:38Number 8, Buster Blader
10:56Upon entering the Battle City tournament, Yu-Gi-Oh! had managed to fashion himself a
11:01new deck that had an impressive collection of monsters. One of the new guys on the block
11:06was this rather powerful summon that held the handy ability to gain 500 attack points
11:12for every Dragon-type monster on the opponent's side of the field or in their graveyard. As
11:17you might expect, it was a major pain in the backside for Kaiba. In fact, we're pretty
11:23sure this card was made just to piss him off.
11:31Number 7, Elemental Hero Neos
11:39Jaiden's deck was already chock-full of awesome superhero-based monsters that, time
11:44after time, pulled off some monumental wins. But Neos is a whole different package.
12:00Aside from its epic drip and boasting solid stats, the amount of fusions this thing can
12:05unleash is nuts. And thanks to that handy contract fusion clause, it's all too easy
12:11for him to take on a variety of forms for any given duel dilemma at the drop of a hat.
12:23Jaiden really got lucky with this one.
12:26Number 6, Red-Eyes Black Dragon
12:37You can probably pinpoint Joey's prominent rise to being a decent duelist to the time
12:42when he managed to acquire this bad boy. It may be less powerful than its blue-eyed counterpart,
12:47but Red-Eyes has still won its fair share of duels and secured itself as a monster worth
12:53having in your deck. Even when going up against tougher summons, the Dark Dragon has come
12:58out on top with its series of alternate forms, ranging from the Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon
13:04to the Black Skull Dragon.
13:12Number 5, Exodia the Forbidden One
13:15We're not sure whether having a monster that actually lets you win the game just by
13:20holding it is cheating at its finest or actually quite brilliant. But either way, Exodia is
13:27definitely a monster all duelists live in fear of.
13:41Making one hell of an introduction during the pilot episode, it secured Yugi's first
13:46ever win against Kaiba by obliterating three Blue-Eyes White Dragons in a single strike.
13:52Due to its instant-win ability, it's understandable why the show would find a way to get rid of
13:58him. But hey, at least we got to see it go toe-to-toe with Zork.
14:07Number 4, Stardust Dragon
14:09You can't keep a good dragon down. Yusei's most famous card isn't only a powerhouse
14:23in its own right, but seems to do everything possible to ensure it summons itself to the
14:27field post-haste. Facing down a card or monster effect that spells doom for you? Stardust
14:33will happily cancel out the effect for you, and if you're lucky, you'll even be able
14:38to summon it from the graveyard. Synchro monsters don't get much better than this. Plus, how
14:43can you not love that design?
14:53Number 3, The Egyptian Gods
14:56You have rare cards, you have super rare cards, and then you have the three Egyptian Gods.
15:08The driving force behind the anime's second season, these three legendary beasts are some
15:13of the strongest monster summons you'll ever come across. With ridiculous attack points,
15:19lethal special abilities, and the nasty habit of giving duelists ancient Egyptian flashbacks,
15:25Obelisk the Tormentor, Slytherin the Sky Dragon, and the Winged Dragon of Ra stand tall as
15:30some of the most destructively awesome monsters to ever appear in Yu-Gi-Oh!
15:38My mighty Egyptian God card is here at last!
15:43Individually, they're powerful, but together? Oh boy, good luck.
15:48Number 2, The Dark Magician
15:50Dark magic attack!
15:57Before Yu-Gi started adding deities to his deck, this spellcaster was the monster he
16:02was most famous for summoning. Possessing decent attack points and a memorable design,
16:08what's most notable about this shadowy conjurer is his tendency to have a whole flock of alternate
16:14forms.
16:23From the Dark Sage all the way to the Dark Paladin, Yu-Gi's signature card has a whole
16:28plethora of tricks under his sleeve. We also have to give mention to his voluptuous assistant,
16:35the Dark Magician Girl, the only Yu-Gi-Oh! card we've fallen in love with.
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16:55Number 1, Blue-Eyes White Dragon
16:58The mighty Blue-Eyes White Dragon!
17:06As much as we'd hate to add to Seto Kaiba's monumental ego, we can't deny he has a great
17:12choice in monster cards. Though, we'd have to say making a Blue-Eyes White Dragon jet
17:18plane might be going a little overboard. As one of the most powerful dragon-type monsters
17:23out there, its high attack points have often spelled doom for Kaiba's enemies. Count
17:28yourself lucky if you only have to face off against one, because if three of these monsters
17:33end up on the field together, then chances are they'll end up fusing into the Blue-Eyes
17:39Ultimate Dragon, and that is a customer you don't want to mess with.
17:53What was your signature card? Mine was Tree-Born Frog. Let us know yours in the comments below.
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