Like any trading card game, YuGiOh card rarities tell you how common or unique a particular piece of paper is. Unlike other major TCGs, YuGiOh has an awful lot of different rarity types, each with its own distinct visual style. Some of them aren’t even about rarity – they just denote a particular printing method.
In fact, there are so many rarities that you need a dedicated YuGiOh rarity guide to make sense of them all. Below you’ll find a complete YuGiOh card rarity list for the English-language trading card game.
Certain rarities can push up the price of the most expensive YuGiOh cards, and some rarities give a uniform visual look to pre-constructed YuGiOh decks. We don’t teach you how to play YuGiOh in this guide, but we can teach you some fun trivia about its cards.
Here’s every type of YuGiOh card rarity currently in the TCG:
- Common
- Short Print
- Rare
- Colorful Rare
- Super Rare
- Ultra Rare
- Pharaoh’s Rare
- Ultimate Rare
- Prismatic Ultimate Rare
- Ghost Rare
- Platinum Rare
- Secret Rare
- Ultra Secret Rare
- Secret Ultra Rare
- Prismatic Secret Rare
- Platinum Secret Rare
- Extra Secret Rare
- Quarter Century Secret Rare
- Collector’s Rare
- Prismatic Collector’s Rare
- Parallel Rare
- Normal Parallel Rare
- Super Parallel Rare
- Ultra Parallel Rare
- Duel Terminal Normal Parallel Rare
- Duel Terminal Rare Parallel Rare
- Duel Terminal Super Parallel Rare
- Duel Terminal Ultra Parallel Rare
- Gold Rare
- Gold Secret Rare
- Gold Ghost Rare
- Premium Gold Rare
- Starlight Rare
- Starfoil Rare
- Mosaic Rare
- Shatterfoil Rare
Common
Common YuGiOh cards are your standard copies, and you’ll find several of them per booster pack. These cards typically have black (or, for some card types, white) text for the card name, and there’s no holofoil on the text or image.
Short Print
Short Print cards look exactly like Commons, but they’re more difficult to find. There’s no mark to distinguish a Short Print from its counterpart, and outside of statements from Konami, there’s not much official mention of them. You’d only be able to tell a card was Short Printed by comparing mass data on that individual card from different boosters.
Rare
Rare YuGiOh cards usually have a silver or bronze font for card names. Neither the text nor the card’s image are holofoil. This rarity has been retired by Konami and is no longer printed in core sets.
Colorful Rare
These are Rare cards with a card name printed in a color other than silver, with many different colors printed. Colorful Rares were given away as part of the now-retired Duelist League organized play program. Colorful Ultra Rares also come under this category.
Super Rare
Core booster packs are guaranteed to contain a Super Rare card. These used to have a holofoil image and a non-holofoil card name. Later Super Rares, however, also have holofoil on the card’s Level and Attribute symbols.
Ultra Rare
An Ultra Rare looks just like a Super Rare, but the card name is in gold.
Pharaoh’s Rare
A Pharaoh’s Rare is the same as an Ultra Rare card, but there are tiny Egyptian hieroglyphs in the card’s foiling. These were first found in the King’s Court booster set, but they’ve also appeared in the Magnificent Mavens booster set.
Ultimate Rare
Like Ultra Rares, Ultimate Rares have a gold card name and holofoil on the Level and Attribute symbols. These features are also embossed. Currently, there are no Ultimate Rares in core set boosters – they can instead be found in OTS tournament packs.
Prismatic Ultimate Rare
The 25th Anniversary Rarity Collection includes Prismatic Ultimate Rares. These have a holofoil covering everything except the text box. This has a distinct raised, 3D effect.
Ghost Rare
A Ghost Rare has silver-ish font for its card name and the card art has a 3D appearance. The whole effect gives the card a ‘ghostly’ look.
Platinum Rare
The Platinum Rare card type is exclusive to the Noble Knights of the Round Table box set, where every card has this rarity. A platinum foil covers the entire surface of the card.
Secret Rare
Secret Rare YuGiOh cards have a rainbow holographic foil treatment on the card name, artwork, and Attribute and Level symbols.
Ultra Secret Rare
An Ultra Secret Rare has the standard holofoil treatment on its card image, with the Secret Rare foil treatment on the card name. This rarity is more common in the OCG, but the TCG version of YuGiOh only has one Ultra Secret Rare – the GX Special Edition version of Elemental Hero Wildheart.
Secret Ultra Rare
Secret Ultra Rares seem to be misprints of Secret Rares, and only three are known to exist. These cards have the same rainbow foil as a Secret Rare on the image, but the card name is in gold, like an Ultra Rare.
Prismatic Secret Rare
Prismatic Secret Rares have a unique holofoil treatment with a horizontal and vertical parallel pattern on the artwork. Other Secret Rares typically have holofoil with a diagonal pattern. This card type is rarely seen in the TCG – you can mainly find it on promotional cards and in a handful of collector tins.
Platinum Secret Rare
Platinum Secret Rares were first found in Mega-Tin Promos, and they featured a platinum Secret Rare style foil on the card image, borders, and Level and Attribute symbols. Later, they were reintroduced in the 25th Anniversary Rarity collection, with slightly different positioning of the foiling.
Extra Secret Rare
An Extra Secret Rare has the rainbow foil on all parts of the card except the text box and part of the image. They look very similar to Platinum Secret Rares, but the foiling covers slightly different parts of the card.
Quarter Century Secret Rare
The Legendary Collection: 25th Anniversary Edition features Quarter Century Secret Rares – cards with a holographic gold name, the Secret Rare holofoil on the whole card, and a special 25th Quarter Century watermark in the text box.
Collector’s Rare
A Collector’s Rare is mainly found in the OCG version of YuGiOh, but it was introduced to the TCG by the Toon Chaos booster pack. A Collector’s Rare has a rainbow reflective pattern on its Attribute, Level and Rank symbols, plus the artwork, card border, and text box border.
Prismatic Collector’s Rare
These can be found in the 25th Anniversary Rarity Collection. Prismatic Collector’s Rares have all the features of a Collector’s Rare, as well as a layer of sparkly dots on the surface of the card.
Parallel Rare
On a Parallel Rare, the entire card surface is holographic. There are many different types with slight printing differences and feels.
Normal Parallel Rare
A Normal Parallel Rare has the same card name colors as a Common and no foil on its image. However, it has the reflective coating of a Parallel rare.
Super Parallel Rare
A Super Parallel Rare has a foil image and black/white card name, but the complete holographic surface of a Parallel Rare.
Ultra Parallel Rare
Ultra Parallel Rares have a gold card title, holofoil image, and Parallel Rare reflective coating.
Duel Terminal Normal Parallel Rare
‘Duel Terminal Parallel’ cards have a reflective coating that covers their whole surface. A large dot is printed on the film – larger than on other Parallel rares. These cards can be recognized by a Duel Terminal scanner. A Duel Terminal Normal Parallel Rare in particular has the same font as a Common and, like a Common, no foil on its image.
Duel Terminal Rare Parallel Rare
A Duel Terminal Rare Parallel Rare has all the features of a Duel Terminal Parallel card. Additionally, it has a silver card name and no foil on its image.
Duel Terminal Super Parallel Rare
Duel Terminal Super Parallel Rares have the same coating as other Duel Terminal Parallels. They also have a foil image.
Duel Terminal Ultra Parallel Rare
A Duel Terminal Ultra Parallel Rare is, as the name implies, a cross between an Ultra Rare and a Duel Terminal Parallel. It has a foil image and a gold name, as well as the Duel Terminal reflective coating.
Gold Rare
Gold Rares were first introduced in Gold Series booster packs. They feature a gold foil card name and gold foil on the card’s image, image frame, text border, and card border. Some later Gold Rares have gold foil on the Level/Rank symbols, reflective gold foil, or prismatic gold foil.
Gold Secret Rare
A Gold Secret Rare looks like a regular Gold Rare, but it has the Secret Rare pattern on its foil.
Gold Ghost Rare
A Gold Ghost Rare looks like a Gold Rare, but it has a Rare-style foil image, similar to the Ghost Rare.
Premium Gold Rare
A Premium Gold Rare has a holofoil image, and thick embossed gold on the card’s borders, Level/Rank symbols, and some of the image.
Starlight Rare
A Starlight Rare has a horizontal holographic pattern on its foil, which is applied to most of the card.
Starfoil Rare
Starfoil Rares are found in a handful of booster packs – namely Star Packs and Battle Pack: Epic Dawn. These rares have a foil covering the entire card, with a star pattern found in the foil.
Mosaic Rare
First found in Battle Pack 2: War of the Giants, a Mosaic Rare has a shimmering pattern of squares for foil. This covers the entire card.
Shatterfoil Rare
Found in Battle Pack 3: Monster League, Shatterfoil Rares have a reflective foil coating over the entire card, similar to Duel Terminal cards. The name comes from the ‘shattered glass’ look of the foil.
For more helpful data, here’s every YuGiOh set in order. We can also help you stay up to date with the YuGiOh banlist and Master Duel banlist.