Egyptian God

The Egyptian God Cards, also known in Japan as the Three Phantom Gods, (三幻神, Sangenshin), are a series of cards in Yu-Gi-Oh! that serve as a focal point in the series' manga, the second series anime, and numerous video games.

Series History
The Egyptian gods are one-of-a-kind all-powerful cards created by Maximillion Pegasus, who modeled them after three Ancient Egypt divine beasts whose likenesses surround the Millennium Puzzle on the stone tablet said to hold the memories of the nameless Pharaoh. When Pegasus decided to make them into cards, everyone involved in the project was attacked by the spirits of the Egyptian god monsters, so Pegasus decided to create the cards on his own, under the protection of his Millennium Eye. When Pegasus finished the art-work on the prototypes, he was having a nightmare about the cards attacking him. Shadi told Pegasus that he had angered the Egyptian gods. Pegasus woke up injured after this "nightmare". So he decided that these cards were too powerful to be mass-produced, and had Ishizu Ishtar bury the prototypes in the Pharaoh's tomb. The wielder of these great cards is able to acquire the title of "Duel King," but in the wrong hands, they are capable of causing legitimate injury or even death.


 * Slifer the Sky Dragon (「オシリスの天空竜」 Oshirisu no Tenkūryū - Sky Dragon of Osiris)
 * Obelisk the Tormentor (「オベリスクの巨神兵」 Oberisuku no Kyoshinhei - Giant God-Soldier of Obelisk)
 * The Winged Dragon of Ra (「ラーの翼神竜」 Rā no Yokushinryū - Winged God-Dragon of Ra)

Marik Ishtar was able to acquire "The Winged Dragon of Ra" and "Slifer the Sky Dragon", but Ishizu was able to protect "Obelisk the Tormentor". She gave the card to Seto Kaiba with the request he host a dueling tournament to lure Marik and his Rare Hunters to the city, bringing the other God cards with them. Kaiba, intent on claiming the cards for himself to secure his title as the strongest duelist, agreed and hosted the Battle City tournament. During the tournament Marik revealed to Yami Yugi that the God cards and the Millennium Puzzle are needed to unlock his lost memories. Marik used "Slifer the Sky Dragon" against Yami Yugi through Strings, but Yami Yugi was able to defeat Slifer and took it for himself in accordance with Battle City's ante rules.

During the tournament quarter-finals, Yami Yugi used Slifer to defeat Yami Bakura. Marik placed a copy of "The Winged Dragon of Ra" in Odion's deck without his knowledge, telling him that usage of the card against Joey Wheeler was needed to prove to those watching that Odion was Marik, as Marik was keeping his identity a secret. After Odion was struck down by Ra's rage for using a counterfeit of its card, Marik was taken over by Yami Marik, who dueled Mai Valentine in the next round. Mai successfully took "The Winged Dragon of Ra" from Yami Marik's deck with "Amazon Chain Master" and summoned it, but was unable to read the hieratic text on the card one needed to recite to control it. On his next turn Yami Marik did so himself and took back control of Ra to win the duel. In the final round of the quarter-finals, Kaiba faced Ishizu who had entered the tournament to witness the battle between the gods for herself. Using her Millennium Necklace to foresee Kaiba's moves, Ishizu allowed him to summon Obelisk with the intent to destroy it "Blast Held With a Tribute", but a vision from Yami Marik's Millennium Rod convinced Kaiba to win using his "Blue-Eyes White Dragon", thwarting Ishizu's strategy. In an unofficial fifth duel later that night, Yami Bakura and Yami Marik duels, and Bakura seized "The Winged Dragon of Ra" with a combination of "Dark Designator" and "Exchange", and with the help of the spirit of the original Marik was able to summon and control Ra. However, Yami Marik sapped Ra's ATK to 0 with "Joyful Doom" and when Bakura abandoned Ra later in the duel, Yami Marik revived it with "Monster Reborn" and revealed its secret abilities to win the duel. In the semi-finals Marik and Joey dueled, and Yami Marik unveiled Ra's Phoenix Mode, burning Joey and wounding him so badly he fell unconscious and was unable to finish the duel. In the next duel, Kaiba and Yami Yugi faced each other and eventually both got their God cards on the field. After several turns of the two weakening and powering up the two cards, they equalled at 4000 ATK and destroyed each other, the clash triggering a vision of the duel between Priest Seto and Pharaoh Atem in Ancient Egypt. Yami Yugi was eventually able to win the duel with "Dark Paladin", claiming Obelisk. In the final duel against Yami Marik, Yami Yugi used both God cards to battle him, but it was revealed Ra is stronger than both the other God cards and both were destroyed. Nonetheless Yami Yugi eventually claimed victory and Ra.

In Season 4, Yami Yugi attempts to use the God cards to unlock the Tablet of Lost Memories, but it is iced over by the power of Dartz, preventing him from regaining his memories. The God cards are later stolen when Solomon Muto is caring for them by Dartz's henchmen. They are recovered at the end of the season to battle The Great Leviathan.

In Season 5, Yami Yugi uses the God cards to enter the world of the Pharaoh's memory. Here, acting as Atem in what is actually an RPG-type Shadow Game orchestrated by Yami Bakura, Yami Yugi battles Thief King Bakura and his Diabound with the God monsters one by one. Upon learning his name, Yami Yugi/Atem uses it to merge the Gods into "The Creator God of Light, Horakhty", destroying Zorc Necrophades and winning the Shadow RPG. Afterwards Yami Yugi used the God cards again against Yugi Muto in The Ceremonial Battle, Yugi destroying the cards by turning Slifer's effect on itself and the other God cards with "Magnet Force". In the duel's final move, Yami Yugi attempts to revive Slifer with "Monster Reborn", but Yugi foresaw this and seals the card with "Gold Sarcophagus", allowing him to win the duel.

In Yu-Gi-Oh! R, the Wicked Gods are introduced, used by Pegasus's protégé Yako Tenma. In Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light, the three Gods combine to form a monster with infinite strength. This allowed Yugi to destroy Anubis' "Theinen the Great Sphinx" with an ultimate attack, "Titan Firestorm," and win the Duel. In the Japanese version of the second series anime, this is the equivalent of Obelisk's "Soul Energy Max" ability, which, as alluded to by Seto Kaiba, was a "miracle of God's anger."

In Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, the dorms of Duel Academy are named for the God cards - Slifer Red, Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue. The series also introduces the Sacred Beasts, evil and twisted versions of the God cards.

Episode 85 of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Pegasus mentions the God cards are gone. Presumably when Yami Yugi departed to the afterlife after his duel with Yugi, he took the God cards with him. A copy of "The Winged Dragon of Ra" that Industrial Illusions created for testing purposes is stolen by a disgruntled card designer named Franz, who later Duels Jaden Yuki. The abilities of the card as far as immunity goes is not fully disclosed. There is a trend in GX for monsters of significant importance, to simply receive blanket immunity from all Spell, Trap and Monster Effects (e.g. "Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord"). Jaden is able to defeat Franz and the copy of Ra is returned to Pegasus.

In Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds, the God cards are briefly mentioned in episode 121 by Taro, when he compared the power of "Sleeping Giant Thud" to that of the Egyptian Gods.

Abilities
All three Egyptian god cards (in the anime and manga) share these similar effects :
 * Each card requires a Tribute of 3 monsters in order to be Summoned from your hand to the field.
 * They are unaffected by the effects of Spell, Trap and Effect Monster Cards unless the effect is to switch their battle position or increase or decrease their ATK or DEF points, in which case they are affected for one turn.
 * Control of the cards on the field cannot change. However, they can switch possession while not on the field.
 * Only chosen Duelists linked to the ancient past may control a God card.
 * When in defense position, they can block an attack or effect targeting another monster on their controller's field and become the target.
 * If they are Special Summoned from the graveyard, they are returned to it at the end of the turn.

In Yu-Gi-Oh! Nightmare Troubadour, the Egyptian God Cards are affected by card effects that don't target e.g. "Gravity Bind", Field Spell Cards, as well as cards like "Smashing Ground" and "Mirror Force". They are also Tribute Summoned by offering 3 monsters, and include the line that if Special Summoned the card is destroyed at the end of the turn, during the End Phase.

In the original manga, the three Egyptian Gods possess a hierarchy among themselves. This is explained as a pyramid, with "Ra" being at the top, and "Slifer" and "Obelisk" at the base (as equals). Because of this, the effect's of "Slifer" and "Obelisk the Tormentor" do not work on "Ra". The effects of "Obelisk" and "Slifer" will work on each other, for one turn.

It is said that in addition to their Divine-Beast Type, Obelisk is a Warrior, Slifer is a Dragon, and Ra is a Machine. The three are classified as these Types in various video games such as Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sacred Cards and Yu-Gi-Oh! Reshef of Destruction. In the anime, Yugi's "Buster Blader" is said to gain 500 ATK due to Slifer being a Dragon-type, and Obelisk is used by Grerimo, a duelist who uses a Warrior deck.

Obelisk's special ability is to destroy all enemy monsters and inflict 4000 points of Effect Damage to the opponent in exchange for two Tributes. Slifer's ability is to grant it 1000 ATK and DEF for each card the duelist holds in their hand. Its other ability is to "attack" any monster the opponent summons, reducing that monster's ATK or DEF by 2000, depending on if it is in attack or defense position. If a monster's ATK or DEF is reduced to 0 by this effect, it is destroyed.

Ra has the most effects of the God cards. Its ATK and DEF are equal to the combined ATK and DEF of all monsters Tributed to summon it. Ra is immune to any card effects that would prevent it from attacking. The duelist can Tribute monsters to add their ATK to Ra's ATK. The duelist can pay 1000 Life Points to transform Ra into Phoenix Mode, where it is entirely immune to destruction and can destroy any monster on the field. The duelist can also pay any number of Life Points to increase Ra's ATK by the same amount. Under these circumstances Ra is treated as a Fusion monster, and if targeted by "De-Fusion" its ATK drops to 0 while the duelist's Life Points increase by an amount equal to what Ra's ATK had been.

In the Basic Game Play FAQ on the Official Web Site there is a question that says "What do the Egyptian god cards do?" and it is answered with "Nothing. They're not legitimate Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game cards. They have no effects and can't be used in your Deck."

Naming
The names of the Egyptian god cards are derived from the names of items in Egyptian mythology:


 * Slifer the Sky Dragon - Original name derived from the name of Osiris, the Egyptian God of Life, Death, and Fertility. The English name is an inside joke, derived from the name of Roger Slifer, a producer of the English-language adaptation to the anime.
 * Obelisk the Tormentor - Derived from the term "obelisk," a type of monument.
 * The Winged Dragon of Ra - Derived from the name of Ra, the Egyptian God of the Sun. In the Filipino anime, Ra's name is changed to "Apollo", the Greek equivalent of Ra.

The names of the Egyptian gods are the basis for the names of the dormitories of Duel Academy in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX; Slifer Red, Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue. This also reflects how Seto Kaiba viewed the three Egyptian god cards; "Slifer" was owned by Yugi Muto, his arch-rival, so it was only natural that he holds the card in such contempt. "The Winged Dragon of Ra" is in the middle, since it was owned by Marik Ishtar, until Yugi won it from him in Battle City; Seto Kaiba was thus neutral to this card. Of course, with Obelisk Blue, it was plainly obvious why he based this dorm off of "Obelisk the Tormentor"; it was the first and only Egyptian god card he received, and indeed seen the power it holds, until Yugi won it from him in the Battle City Finals.

Real God Cards
The use of the god cards is forbidden in all sanctioned tournaments of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game because of their unique color templates and backings (red/blue/yellow), their lack of any printed effects, and the fact that the cards themselves state that they may not be used in a Duel. As they do not possess effect text, conflicts arise over how they operate once Summoned. Some local hobby stores allow people to play "unofficial matches" provided everyone playing agrees on their effects.

Although the original Egyptian God Cards are unusable in an official Duel, "Obelisk the Tormentor" and "The Winged Dragon of Ra" have been released as Effect Monsters. The legal "Obelisk" possesses effects virtually identical to its video game effects, while the legal version of "Ra" has its effects severely weakened (it cannot be Special Summoned, and it reduces your Life Points to 100 rather than 1). These were the only DIVINE monsters released, until late 2011, when the legal version of "Slifer the Sky Dragon" was released. A legal version of The Creator God of Light, Horakhty, was announced shortly after Slifer's release.

The first version of the god cards was released by Konami as a privilege for those who made a pre-order of the Japanese Game Boy Color game Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters IV: Battle of Great Duelist released on December 7, 2000. The second set was released by Konami on April 17, 2003 as special pack-in cards in the Game Boy Advance game Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters International — Worldwide Edition, the Japanese version of the English-language Yu-Gi-Oh! Worldwide Edition: Stairway to the Destined Duel.

Unlike previous versions, the third version of the god cards was not released simultaneously. "The Winged Dragon of Ra" was included as a limited edition card in the Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dawn of Destiny game for Xbox, released March 23, 2004. "Slifer the Sky Dragon" was released as a special pack-in card for the ani-manga of Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light, published November 23, 2004 by VIZ Media. "Obelisk the Tormentor" was released as a gift to subscribers of Shonen Jump magazine in May 2005.

The unusable versions of the God Monsters once demanded high prices on the secondary market. This was prior to their current widespread availability. During this time, countless counterfeit copies were made and distributed primarily throughout East Asia.

These were originally released as promotional cards (in Gameboy Worldwide Edition Promos) for people who just wanted to say they had them, but the cards were later used in Duels and complaints were sent into Konami. Konami responded to this in an FAQ that said these cards weren't to be used. They were, in fact, normal monsters, according to Shonen Jump. Official tournaments stopped allowing these cards, although there have been rumors that certain official tournaments will allow Obelisk the Tormentor by Tributing three monsters but Obelisk will have no other effects. Most people won't Duel against these cards at all, but some people will agree to various conditions.

Egyptian God Card deck
An Egyptian God deck (as of recently) can focus on on any of the four DIVINE monster; Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon, The Winged Dragon of Ra or The Creator God of Light, Horakhty. Depending on the God chosen, the deck will need to alter slightly. While all of them need to accumulate three tributes, once they are on the field, a player needs a different focus:
 * Obelisk: A deck dedicated to summoning Obelisk will need to focus on summoning of new monsters to use Obelisk's effect, as well as various Beatdown cards to maximise Obelisk's 4000 ATK.
 * Slifer: A deck dedicated to Slifer will need to maintain a high hand advantage, as well/or include various lockdown elements to compliment Slifer's other effect.
 * Ra: A deck dedicated to Ra should be based around maintaing large amounts of points until Ra is summoned, and then gaining life points to use Ra's effect. In addition, as Ra can emerge with the largest ATK power of all the Gods, one can attempt to include field clearing cards to ATK for the game.
 * Horakthy: Horakthy needs no tactic, except to summon all the Gods out at once, in order to instantly win the game. To do this, one needs to be conscious of the the fact that Ra cannot be special summon, while Slifer and Obelisk can. To take advantage of this, one could either attempt to summon the Gods one at a time, where the Gadget series is helpful, or summon out the Gods in one turn, like with Return from the Different Dimension (Note; the aforementioned card CANNOT summon Ra, so three monsters will still be needed for Ra)

Video games
The Egyptian god cards are present in Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sacred Cards, Yu-Gi-Oh! Reshef of Destruction, Yu-Gi-Oh! Nightmare Troubadour, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Spirit Caller and Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force 2. With Tag Force 2, they are only accessible if you have the original Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force UMD Disc and with Spirit Caller, you need to connect with Nightmare Troubadour. Also, there is a special way of seeing but not controlling the 'Egyptian God Cards. You must unlock Yami Yugi. It also should be noted that since you may "trade" between Nightmare Troubadour and Spirit Caller or Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2007 through buying cards from Nightmare Troubadour, it is fully possible to have the Egyptian god cards in either game. The gods are also available in Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2008, but only through use of a cheat device such as Pro Action Replay, a trade through someone who has obtained them, or obtained via the Card Download function, like with "Thunder King Rai-Oh". The gods can also been seen in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's World Championship 2009: Stardust Accelerator — here, "Obelisk" is an Effect Monster, and is categorized as such. However, "Slifer" and "Ra" are their own individual Monster card types, unseen in the game's navigational menus. Each one is Level 10, Divine AtTribute, Divine-Beast Type, and cannot be targeted by Spell, Trap and Monster effects. The Summon of a god card cannot be negated and cards cannot be activated in reaction to their Summon. Each god card requires three Tributes to be Normal Summoned and cannot be Set. If Special Summoned, they are destroyed during the End Phase. Then you can get the Egyptian God cards in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force 3; they are accessible if you have the original ''Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force'' 1 and 2.