Yata-Garasu Lockdown

The "Yata-Garasu Lockdown" was an infamous Deck build whose goal was to empty both the opponent's field and hand, followed by Summoning "Yata-Garasu" and attacking with it. Upon dealing Battle Damage, "Yata-Garasu"'s effect would cause the opponent to skip their next Draw Phase. The opponent would then have to start their next turn with no cards to use in their field or their hand, forcing them to pass their turn. The player could then Summon "Yata-Garasu" and attack again, and repeat. The opponent would never be able to play a single card for the rest of the Duel, effectively guaranteeing the player a win.

"Yata-Garasu" has been Forbidden since the very first Forbidden list introduced in September 2004. During the time the lockdown was still usable in Advanced Format, it was very easy to accomplish, requiring access to just 2-3 cards in the hand or field (by comparison, Exodia requires five).

Most Common Method
Before the banning of "Yata-Garasu", the most common method to create the lockdown involved the following cards:


 * "Yata-Garasu" (in the player's Deck)
 * "Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End" (in the player's hand)
 * "Sangan"/"Witch of the Black Forest" (on the player's field)

With "Sangan" or "Witch" on the field, Special Summon "Chaos Emperor Dragon" and activate its effect. This will get rid of all cards on the field and in both players' hands, including "Sangan" or "Witch", allowing its effect to add "Yata-Garasu" to your hand. Normal Summon it, proceed to your Battle Phase, and use it attack directly. This completes the lockdown, as now the opponent has no cards to play and will never have any cards to play since their next Draw Phase has just been skipped.

"Chaos Emperor Dragon", "Sangan", and "Witch of the Black Forest" have all since been Forbidden in addition to "Yata-Garasu".

Alternate method
This method is best in environments where only one Forbidden card is allowed in the player's Deck, such as most video games.

The following cards are needed:
 * "Plaguespreader Zombie" (in the player's Graveyard)
 * "Sky Scourge Norleras" (in the player's Graveyard)
 * "Yata-Garasu" (in the player's hand)
 * "Phantom of Chaos" (on the player's field)

Similar to the first method, "Phantom of Chaos" must be on your field while you can still Normal Summon; this is possible with "Double Summon" or "Call of the Haunted". Activate "Plaguespreader Zombie"'s effect, Special Summoning it by returning "Yata-Garasu" from your hand back to the top of your Deck. Activate "Phantom of Chaos"'s effect, banishing "Norleras" in the Graveyard to copy its effect. "Norleras"'s copied effect will then empty both players' hands and fields, then allowing you to draw 1 card (this will be "Yata-Garasu" which was just put on top of your Deck). Now you can Normal Summon "Yata", enter your Battle Phase, and attack directly with it, completing the lockdown.

Other methods

 * "Ocean Dragon Lord - Neo-Daedalus" can also empty both players' hands and fields, while "Huge Revolution" empties only the opponent's hand and field, but both effects have very difficult activation requirements.
 * It is not strictly necessary to empty the opponent's hand; as long as the opponent has no cards that can get rid of "Yata-Garasu", they will never be able to draw any and the lockdown will remain intact. However, most video games that reward the player for pulling off the lockdown require that the opponent's hand be empty to receive the achievement.
 * Note that "Yata" can be surprisingly hard to get rid of, as it returns to the player's hand during the opponent's turn. Even if the opponent has a powerful card like "Dark Hole" left in their hand, it will be useless.
 * "Demise, King of Armageddon", "Judgment Dragon", "Final Destiny", and other cards can empty both players' fields. If the opponent has few or no cards in their hand at this time, it is unlikely for them to have something that can stop "Yata".

Weaknesses
Before "Yata-Garasu" was Forbidden, there was effectively nothing in the game that could stop this lockdown. However, there now exist a number of cards that can break the lockdown without having to be in the opponent's hand or field:
 * If "Necro Gardna" or "Bacon Saver" is in the opponent's Graveyard, its effect can negate one attack from "Yata-Garasu" even after the opponent's hand and field have been emptied. This allows the opponent to enter their Draw Phase next turn for a potential comeback.
 * If "Blackwing - Calima the Haze" is in the opponent's Graveyard, its effect can Summon a powerful monster to the field for one turn, blocking "Yata" from inflicting Battle Damage that turn and allowing the opponent to enter their next Draw Phase.
 * If "Treeborn Frog" is in the opponent's Graveyard, it can Special Summon itself during the opponent's Standby Phase in Defense Position, preventing "Yata" from dealing Battle Damage that turn and allowing the opponent to enter their next Draw Phase.

Some cards can protect the opponent from having their hand or field emptied:
 * Some cards, like "Trifortressops", are unaffected by monster effects and so will not be sent to the Graveyard while the lockdown is being set up. This will block "Yata" from inflicting Battle Damage.
 * It is important to note that both "Chaos Emperor Dragon" and "Sky Scourge Norleras" send cards to the Graveyard without destroying them. This means that any of the numerous effects that help prevent destruction are not useful.
 * If the opponent controls a card like "Dandylion" or "Lightpulsar Dragon", they will be able to Summon a monster(s) after their field and hand has been cleared, again blocking "Yata" from inflicting Battle Damage.
 * "Divine Wrath" can simply negate and destroy whatever monster effect is used to try to empty the hand and field.

It is also possible to avoid the lockdown entirely by getting rid of its key cards before the strategy can be assembled. Most notably, if "Yata-Garasu" is banished, there is no easy way to get it back, since it cannot be Special Summoned.

Trivia
In most video games, if the lockdown is performed (the player successfully damages the opponent with "Yata-Garasu" while the opponent has an empty hand and field), the opponent will automatically surrender the Duel at the start of their next turn. Humorously, this occurs even if, for example, the player had no cards left in their Deck and would have lost had the opponent not surrendered. This lockdown is the only way to get an AI opponent to surrender.