Duel Monsters (manga)

A game of Duel Monsters being played

Duel Monsters, known as Magic & Wizards (マジック＆（アンド）ウィザーズ or Ｍ＆Ｗ（マジックアンドウィザーズ）, Majikku ando Wizāzu) in the Japanese version and earlier English printings, is a card game played in the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga.

This is the very first incarnation of Duel Monsters and served as the basis for many of the variations to follow, including the Yu-Gi-Oh! Official Card Game and Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game.

Duel Monsters debuted when the manga had an episodic format and featured a different game nearly every week. However due to its popularity among readers, it ended up becoming the main game played throughout the series.

Name

The game is called Magic & Wizards or M&W for short in the Japanese manga. However, due to its similarity to Magic: The Gathering, the game was renamed to Duel Monsters in other media. Despite this, the Japanese manga continued to call the game Magic & Wizards throughout its run.

When the English manga was first printed in the Shonen Jump magazine, it used the name Magic and Wizards. However when those chapters were reprinted in volumes, the name was changed to Duel Monsters.

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  The game being called "Magic and Wizards" in the English manga

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  The game being called "Duel Monsters" in a reprint

Cards

Layout

"Monster Reborn" with the first and second layout

The layout of the cards is simplistic compared to other iterations of the game. All cards are white with black border around them. While concepts like Attribute and Type exist, they are not reflected on the card's layout. Sometimes cards have effects not printed on them, such as "Time Wizard".

The rules on the placement of elements on a card are not strictly enforced. The rules below are generally followed, but numerous exceptions exist.

Initially the layout consisted of the following in this order:

• The card name
• For non-Monster Cards, the card's type appeared in brackets after the name. This did not include the word "Card". e.g. a Spell Card would say "(Spell)", not "(Spell Card)".
• For Monster Cards, a number of stars indicating the Level appeared on the same row as the name or the next row, depending on space.
• The card's artwork, surrounded by a border.
• For Monster Cards, a row with the word "ATK" (攻（こう）撃（げき）力（りょく）), followed by the ATK value and a row with the word "DEF" (守（しゅ）備（び）力（りょく）), followed by the DEF value.
• Text for the card's effect
• If a Monster Card has an effect, its ATK and DEF are put on the same row, making space for the effect to be printed above them.
• Card's have a prismatic corner stamp, but these are not visible to the reader.

Beginning with "Challenge!!", the layout changed a bit:

• The word "Card" appears after the card type. e.g. "(Spell Card)". The card type is completely omitted for a number of cards.
• Level and card type are more frequently placed on the line after the name.
• On Monster Cards, the card's effect is placed above ATK and DEF.

Rules

Basic

The basic rules being explained.

The following rules were used in Duel Monsters first appearance and Death-T.

The English translation retroactively referred to these rules as "first edition Duel Monsters", as it was printed after later versions of the rules had been featured.

• There are two players in each Duel.
• Each player makes a Deck using 40 cards. The Decks are shuffled before a Duel.
• There are two kinds of cards; Monster Cards and Spell Cards.
• Each player starts with 2000 Life Points. If a player runs out of Life Points they lose.
• At the beginning of a Duel, each player draws five cards, which become their hand.
• The players take turns. Each turn the turn player draws one card from their Deck.
• The turn player can Summon cards from their hand in Attack or Defense Mode. Attack Mode is vertical. Defense Mode is horizontal.
• The turn player can attack with Attack Mode monsters.
  • If an Attack Mode monster battles another Attack Mode monster, the monster with the lower ATK is destroyed and its controller loses Life Points equal to the difference.
  • When Attack Mode monsters with equal ATK battle, both are destroyed.
  • If an Attack Mode monster attacks a Defense Mode monster and its ATK is higher than the defending monster's DEF, the defending monster is destroyed and no Life Points are lost.
  • If an Attack Mode monster attacks a Defense Mode monster and its ATK is lower than the defending monster's DEF, neither monster is destroyed and the controller of the attacking monster loses Life Points equal to the difference in the ATK and DEF.
  • If a player does not have a monster to defend from their opponent's monsters attack, the monster's ATK is deducted from the defenseless player's Life Points.
• Destroyed cards go to the Graveyard.
• The turn player can activate Spell Cards from their hand.
• Spell Cards cannot battle, but can be used to affect other cards or the players.
• Spell Cards can be played face-down on the field until they are ready to be used.
• Monsters with the power of flight have a 35% chance to evade ground-based attacks, allowing them to avoid being destroyed when battling monsters with the same ATK.

Standard

The strengths and weaknesses of the four types of Magic Users being explained, in Japanese and English

The Standard rules contained the basic rules, with some additional ones. These were used during the Japanese National Duel Monsters Championship and the Duelist Kingdom tournament.

• More types of cards were added, including Equip, Trap, Illusion and Virus.
  • Trap Cards can be activated during either players' turn in response to certain actions.
  • Virus Cards are used to destroy cards in the opponent's Deck using a virus.
• Monsters were divided into Monster and Magic-User Cards. This distinction is rarely mentioned.
• Monsters and Magic-Users have Attributes, each with strengths and weaknesses.
  • The Attributes of Magic-Users are Black Magic, White Magic, Demon Magic (called "Demons & Devils" in the English manga) and Illusion Magic (called "Illusionists" in the English manga). Black Magic is strong against White Magic, White Magic is strong against Demon Magic, Demon Magic is strong against Illusion Magic, Illusion Magic is strong against Black Magic.
  • Other Attributes include Earth, Lightning, Water, Fire, Wood, Light and Dark. Lightning is strong against Water.
  • What happens when monster of opposing Attributes battle is inconsistent. Sometimes the monster of the weaker Attribute loses half its ATK. More often, nothing happens.
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    Field Power Sources being explained, in Japanese and English
    (Attribute 属（ぞく）性（せい） is localized as "Element" in this instance.)
    On the Duelist Kingdom island, monsters received Field Power Sources depending on the terrain they were played in.
    • Forest strengthens the Wood Attribute and the Insect and Beast Types.
    • Grassland strengthens the Fire Attribute and the Warrior and Beast-Warrior Types.
    • Mountains strengthens the Lightning Attribute and the Winged Beast, Dragon and Birdfolk Types.
    • Wasteland strengthened the Earth Attribute and the Dinosaur and Zombie Types.
    • Ocean strengthened the Water Attribute and the Fish and Sea Serpent Types.
    • Graveyard strengthened the Zombie Type.
• Monsters can be played in face-down Attack Mode. However, this is rarely done.
• Monsters can be fused together using the card "Polymerization". "Polymerization" and the Fusion Material monsters are still in play after a Fusion. The Fusion Monster does not have a physical card.
• Ritual Spell Cards can be used to Ritual Summon a monster by sacrificing monsters that meet a certain criteria.

Expert

Dark Yugi and Kaiba using the Expert rules

The Expert rules were used with the first version Duel Disks. This alters many of the previous rules and adds more.

• Each player can only hold five cards at a time.
  • If a player has five cards at the start of their turn, they cannot draw a card.
  • If a player has feer than five cards at the start of their turn, they draw until they have five.
• The Duel Disk contains five stages; the main card stage and four sub card stages. The main card is played in the main stage. All the player's other cards in their hand are played in the sub stages.
• Monsters in the main monster can be played in Attack or Defense Mode. Monsters in the sub stages are all in Attack Mode.
• The main card gets special abilities and powers from the sub cards.
• Sub cards are face-down until used or attacked.
• Sub cards can be flipped face-down and shuffled.
• A player's main monster can attack their opponent's main monster or any of the opponent's face-down cards. Normal rules of battle are applied if they attack a Monster Card. Non-Monster Cards are automatically destroyed if they are attacked.

Super Expert

The Super Expert rules were introduced in the Battle City tournament. They are based on the standard rules, contain additional rules and alter previous ones. The Expert rules do not apply in Super Expert.

• Each player starts with 4000 Life Points.
• A player's hand cannot contain more than seven cards
• High Level monsters require sacrifices to be Summoned.
  • Level 5 and 6 monsters require one sacrifice.
  • Level 7 or higher monsters require two sacrifices.

History

Egyptian Diaha

Ancient Egyptian magicians had power to seal monsters in stone tablets and summon them to fight battles, Diaha. The magicians eventually died out and the stone tablets fell asleep deep below the earth. The legend was recorded in the Book of Thoth and passed down from generation to generation. All card games were said to have sprang from this source.

Duel Monsters creation

Maximillion J. Pegasus became interested in the ancient Egyptian beliefs in life after death, following the death of his lover, Cyndia. This led him to Egypt to learn more.

At the village, Kul Elna, Pegasus failed to bargain with Shadi for the safety of a a thief who was to persecuted for his attempt to steal the Millennium Ring. Pegasus spied on the thief being put on trial to see if he was chosen by the Ring. However the Ring rejected the thief as a host, burning him to death in the process. Pegasus was caught spying on the ritual and not permitted to leave unless he became bearer of a Millennium Item. For his trial, Pegasus had his left eye was cut out and the Millennium Eye inserted into in its socket. The Eye accepted Pegasus and showed him an apparition of Cyndia.

In the Valley of the Kings, Pegasus heard the legends of the Egyptian magicians that battled using the monsters sealed in tablets. He created Duel Monsters as a means of bringing the ancient games to the modern world.

Duel Monsters became a huge success in the United States, with players said to be in excess of twenty million and many tournaments hosted with large prizes.

Introduction of Solid Vision

The game features a number of valuable cards, with one fan in America alleged to have sold his house to pay for a single card. Initially "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" was considered to be one of the most powerful cards, so overpowered that production was ceased, causing it to gain a high monetary among collectors. Four copies were known to exist. They fell into the hands of collectors in the United States, Germany, and Hong Kong and Sugoroku Mutou in Japan.

Seto Kaiba's attempt to steal the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" from Sugoroku Mutou resulted in him being challenged to a Shadow Game of Duel Monsters by Dark Yugi. In this game, the monsters came to life as they were Summoned. On defeat, Kaiba was subjected to a Penalty Game, resulting in him imagining he was trapped inside a card, causing him to reside in the World of Duel Monsters, where he suffered the Experience of Death at the hands of monsters.

Kaiba invented the Solid Vision technology and Virtual Simulation Battle Boxes, which created 3-D simulations of cards, as players played Duel Monsters, recreating what he witnessed in the Shadow Game. And allowed him to inflict a reconstruction of the Experience of Death on the loser.

KaibaCorp send an offer to Pegasus to develop Virtual Simulation Battle Boxes together with Industrial Illusions, to enhance the experience of playing Duel Monsters. Pegasus was fond of the Solid Vision technology as it was capable of creating projections that were more lifelike than simple holograms. He hoped to takeover KaibaCorp, so he could have the technology and use it to create a lifelike projection of Cyndia.