Metal Raiders wasYu-Gi-Oh!‘ssecond-ever set released in 2002. The set was the first appearance of counter trap cards which have become a modern staple as one of the best kinds of trap cards. Metal Raiders started effect monsters taking over the game and pushing normal monsters out of the metagame.
RELATED:Yu-Gi-Oh!: Older Archetypes That Still Need Support
Many cards featured in Metal Raiders saw widespread success, with some even seeing play in the modern day. Metal Raiders was the start of the formation of modern Yu-Gi-Oh! with powerful effects on cards that would become staples of card designs in all the sets that followed Metal Raiders.
10Tribute To The Doomed
Tribute To The Doomed is a solid monster removal spell. While it does require you to discard a card, if you want cards in the graveyard Tribute To The Doomed’s cost is hardly a downside. It lets you set up your future plays while eliminating an opponent’s problem monster.
The position of the monster doesn’t matter, unlike many other early targeted removal cards, which gives it more versatility. The card is still a solid removal spell for older formats like Goat Format, where only sets prior to (and including) The Lost Millennium are legal.
9Magician Of Faith
Magician Of Faith is one of the best flip monsters ever released. It was so strong, in fact, that the card was banned from 2008 up to 2014. Spell cards are among the strongest in Yu-Gi-Oh!, so an effect like Magician’s Of Faith that lets you bring a spell back from the graveyard is fantastic.
It is a staple of Goat Format, where most of the powerful spells(including Pot Of Greed)are legal. While its power level has dropped off due to the modern game’s speed, Magician Of Faith is one of the most iconic monsters in the game.
8Sangan
Sangan is a part of the reason thatthe Yu-Gi-Oh! ban list exists. When sent to the graveyard by any means, you get its search. Back in the day, this was accomplished with Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy Of The End, which cleared the field and brought Yata-Garasu into your hand to lock your opponent out of drawing cards.
Sangan’s text was changed to prevent the card being added from using its effect that turn but it’s still fantastic. The card spent most of its time limited in 2003 and was even banned from 2013 to 2017 before being fully unrestricted.
7Witch Of The Black Forest
Witch Of The Black Forest and Sangan are often interchangeable and are used for identical purposes. Since most monsters tend to have a lower defense stat, Witch Of The Black Forest can fetch more monsters than Sangan could. Since the effect triggers no matter how it’s sent to the graveyard, it’s a great choice to send for tribute summons and even link summons in the modern game if you play it.
RELATED:Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Best Cards From Pharaoh’s Servant
The card was limited in 2003 before getting banned just one year later in 2004 for its strength. It wasn’t until late 2017 the card would leave the ban list.
6Mirror Force
Perhaps the most iconic trap card of all time,Mirror Force was one of the biggest menacesof old-school Yu-Gi-Oh! It forced you to attack carefully and not commit to a field of attack position monsters or risk losing them to a set Mirror Force. With how little protection there was in the early days, it completely warped the meta.
Mirror Force was limited on the second-ever banlist in mid-2002 and was even banned on a few others before becoming fully unbanned in 2014. While the power of Mirror Force (and battle traps in general) has greatly fallen, Mirror Force is still a staple of Goat Format decks.
5Cannon Soldier
While the burn damage that Cannon Soldier does may seem minimal, it has become a staple of many FTK (first-turn kill) decks. These decks aim to win before your opponent even has the chance to play the game.
With how easy it tends to be to create infinite loops of monsters coming onto the battlefield in the modern game, creating fodder for Cannon Solider is very easy to do. The effect isn’t once per turn, so you may keep using Cannon Soldier’seffect until your opponent’s life points hit zero.
4Thunder Dragon
Thunder Dragon was introduced in Metal Raiders but wasgiven a full-fledged Archetypein 2018’s Soul Fusion set. This greatly boosted Thunder Dragon’s playability in the modern game (and became an important part of that deck).
Even before it got its own Archetype, Thunder Dragon was a staple of the early game as a way to thin out your deck and set up your graveyard. It is almost never actually used on the field but as a way to trigger Thunder Dragon monsters’ effects or get light monsters in the graveyard for Chaos plays.
3Change Of Heart
An iconic spell card, Change Of Heart’s effect is deceptively simple. Most other cards that can steal an opponent’s monster with no downside have a cost or restriction, but none of those exist on Change Of Heart.
RELATED:Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Best Cards From Spell Ruler
You can steal an opponent’s boss monster and use it for your own benefit or for extra deck material to easily get it off the battlefield. Change Of Heart was limited to one copy on the first ban list in 2002 before being outright banned in 2005, where it stayed for over a decade until it was limited once again in 2022.
2Heavy Storm
One of the best backrow removal cards of all time, Heavy Storm is a way to deal with all spell and trap cards with just one spell card. If you are playing with floodgates and need them gone so you can start attacking, Heavy Storm was a way to clear your own backrow so it stops harming you as well as destroying anything your opponent may have.
It’s been on the ban list to some capacity since 2002 and has been outright banned since 2013. Although it affects both sides of the field, this is more often a benefit than a downside (and why a card like Harpie’s Feather Duster that is the same effect but doesn’t destroy your backrow isn’t banned).
1Solemn Judgment
When Solemn Judgement was originally released, it was widely considered to be a bad card. However, as the game developed and players learned that life points don’t matter until they hit zero, Solemn Judgment saw a large increase in playability.
Itis a staple of control decksand one of the strongest negates ever. It can negate practically anything that isn’t already on the field. It’s an instant include for any kind of deck that wants to control the game state, and it can always be used no matter how low your life point are unlike other Solemn cards. The card was even banned from 2013 to 2018 before being allowed to be played at three copies in 2019.
Next:Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Best Cards From Legend Of The Blue Eyes White Dragon
