Cards that are not legal in a given region may not be used in tournaments in that region. If there is any region a card is not legal in, it may not be used in World Championship events.
Generally, a card becomes legal in a region when it has been officially released in a product in that region. For example, Shonen Jump promotional cards become tournament-legal in North America upon their release, but they are not tournament-legal in South America, Europe, Australia, or Africa until they have been formally released in a product in those regions, since Shonen Jump is distributed exclusively in North America.
This term is distinct from illegal, used for cards which have Limitation Text and will never be legal anywhere, and Forbidden, used for cards that are legal for tournament use but are currently restricted to zero copies in the Main, Side, and Extra Decks for all Advanced Format events.
Currently, cards that are not legal do not have an indication of that status on their pages on this wiki. This page lists some cards that are not legal in various regions, but the information here may be incomplete, out of date, or otherwise incorrect.
Not legal outside of Asia
Any cards that are OCG exclusive have not been released in the TCG, and so are not legal in regions that the TCG covers, namely North America, South America, Europe, Australia, and Africa.
Not legal in Asia
Any cards that are TCG exclusive have not been released in the OCG, and so are not legal in regions that the OCG covers, namely Asia.
Not legal in South America, Europe, Australia, and Africa
The following cards have been released in both the OCG and TCG (making them legal in Asia), but their only TCG release has been through a region-restricted method in North America. They are thus not legal in South America, Europe, Australia, and Africa, despite all these regions also following the TCG. They may eventually become legal once re-released in the TCG through a non-region-restricted method.
Shonen Jump promotional cards
As the Shonen Jump magazine is only distributed in North America, cards that have only been made available in the TCG as Shonen Jump promotional cards are only TCG legal in North America.
Cards whose only TCG release so far has been as a Shonen Jump promotional card are the following:
| Japanese name | Primary type | Secondary type | Attribute | Type | Level/ Rank | ATK | DEF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End | 混沌帝龍 －終焉の使者－ | Effect Monster | DARK | Dragon | 8 | 3000 | 2500 | |
| Dark Armed, the Dragon of Annihilation | 撃滅龍 ダーク・アームド | Xyz Monster Effect Monster | DARK | Dragon | 7 | 2800 | 1000 | |
| Darkness Metal, the Dragon of Dark Steel | 闇鋼龍 ダークネスメタル | Link Monster Effect Monster | DARK | Dragon | 2800 | |||
| Elemental HERO Stratos | Ｅ・ＨＥＲＯ エアーマン | Effect Monster | WIND | Warrior | 4 | 1800 | 300 | |
| Judgment, the Dragon of Heaven | 熾天龍 ジャッジメント | Synchro Monster Effect Monster | LIGHT | Dragon | 8 | 3000 | 2600 | |
| Trishula, the Dragon of Icy Imprisonment | 氷獄龍 トリシューラ | Fusion Monster Effect Monster | WATER | Dragon | 9 | 2700 | 2000 | |
| Troposphere | トラファスフィア | Effect Monster | WIND | Winged Beast | 6 | 2400 | 2000 |
| Japanese name | Card type | Property | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Judgment of Pharaoh | ファラオの審判 | Trap Card Normal Trap Card | Normal Trap Card |
| Unity | 結束 ＵＮＩＴＹ | Spell Card Quick-Play Spell Card | Quick-Play Spell Card |
| Yu-Jo Friendship | 友情 ＹＵ－ＪＹＯ | Spell Card Normal Spell Card | Normal Spell Card |
Manga promotional cards
The following cards' only TCG release has been as promotional cards for volumes of the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL and Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V manga. As the manga is only distributed in Asia and North America, the following cards are not legal in South America, Europe, Australia, or Africa until released again through a non-region-restricted method:
| Japanese name | Primary type | Secondary type | Attribute | Type | Level/ Rank | ATK | DEF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clear Wing Fast Dragon | クリアウィング・ファスト・ドラゴン | Synchro Monster Pendulum Monster Effect Monster | WIND | Dragon | 7 | 2500 | 2000 | |
| D/D/D Destiny King Zero Laplace | ＤＤＤ運命王ゼロ・ラプラス | Pendulum Monster Effect Monster | DARK | Fiend | 10 | ? | 0 | |
| Gagaga Head | ガガガヘッド | Effect Monster | DARK | Spellcaster | 6 | 2100 | 2000 | |
| Infernity General | インフェルニティ・ジェネラル | Effect Monster | DARK | Fiend | 7 | 2700 | 1500 | |
| Number 72: Shogi Rook | Ｎｏ．７２ ラインモンスター チャリオッツ・飛車 | Xyz Monster Effect Monster | EARTH | Beast-Warrior | 6 | 2500 | 1200 | |
| Odd-Eyes Phantasma Dragon | オッドアイズ・ファンタズマ・ドラゴン | Pendulum Monster Effect Monster | DARK | Dragon | 8 | 3000 | 2500 | |
| Timelord Progenitor Vorpgate | 時械神祖ヴルガータ | Synchro Monster Effect Monster | DARK | Fairy | 10 | 0 | 0 | |
| White Aura Bihamut | 白闘気双頭神龍 | Synchro Monster Effect Monster | WATER | Fish | 10 | 3300 | 3000 |
Other cards
There are also cards whose only TCG releases so far have been North America-exclusive, but were not released as either Shonen Jump or manga promotional cards.
These cards are the following:
| Japanese name | Primary type | Secondary type | Attribute | Type | Level/ Rank | ATK | DEF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shiba-Warrior Taro | 柴戦士タロ | Effect Monster | Tuner monster | EARTH | Beast-Warrior | 2 | 800 | 600 |
External link
- yugioh-card.com/uk/ Cards not Legal for play in Europe
- yugioh-card.com/oc/ Cards not Legal for play in Oceania
