Shadow Duel

Shadow Duel
Rōmaji	Yami no Duel
Japanese translated	Duel of Darkness
English	Shadow Duel
Appears in (anime)	Yu-Gi-Oh! second series anime Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL
Appears in (manga)	Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

Shadow Duels, known as Duels of Darkness in the Japanese version, are Shadow Games involving Duel Monsters. This term was introduced in the manga and was also featured in all anime and manga series thus far. It causes the players to suffer real damage from the effects of any card played on the Duel.

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

Jaden Yuki mentions that the King of Games, Yugi Muto, faced many Shadow Duels and triumphed. That means that the Shadow Duels that Yugi played were part of the Shadow Games. This also means that it became common knowledge that Yugi played Duels involving elements of magic.

Jaden, while Dueling against Nightshroud, noticed that Shadow Duels really existed. Unlike the Shadow Duels in the Yu-Gi-Oh!, which were invoked with a Millennium Item, these Duels were invoked by spirits of Duel Monsters or by Shadow Charms. Shadow Duels featured in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX:

Players	Episode(s)	Winner	Notes
Atticus Rhodes vs. Lyman Banner	-	Lyman Banner	The loser was trapped in the darkness.
Nightshroud vs. Gravekeeper's Chief	-	Nightshroud	The spirit lost, so he let Nightshroud escape.
Jaden Yuki vs. Titan	6	Jaden Yuki	It was called "Yami no Game". The loser was trapped in the darkness.
Jaden Yuki vs. Jinzo	14	Jaden Yuki	It was revealed to be a Shadow Duel in episode 29. The spirit lost, so it disappeared.
Jaden Yuki vs. Gravekeeper's Chief	27 - 28	Jaden Yuki	It was revealed to be a Shadow Duel in episode 29. The spirit lost, so he let Jaden and his friends escape.
Jaden Yuki vs. Nightshroud	29 - 30	Jaden Yuki	The loser's soul was trapped in a card.
Vellian Crowler vs. Camula	31	Camula	The loser's soul was trapped in a doll.
Zane Truesdale vs. Camula	32	Camula	The loser's soul was trapped in a doll.
Jaden Yuki vs. Camula	33	Jaden Yuki	The loser's soul was trapped by the Illusion Gate.
Chazz Princeton vs. Don Zaloog	39	Chazz Princeton	This Shadow Duel was played without the knowlege of Chazz and his friends. The loser's soul was trapped in a card.
Jaden Yuki vs. Abidos the Third	40	Jaden Yuki	The loser went to the afterlife.
Alexis Rhodes vs. Titan	41	Alexis Rhodes	The loser was trapped in the darkness.
Alexis Rhodes vs. Amnael	44	Amnael	The loser was trapped in the Emerald Tablet.
Chazz Princeton vs. Amnael	44	Amnael	The loser was trapped in the Emerald Tablet.
Jaden Yuki vs. Amnael	45 - 46	Jaden Yuki	The loser was banished.
Jaden Yuki vs. Kagemaru	48 - 49	Jaden Yuki	The loser's energy and life was supposed to be given to the winner, although when the Duel ended, nothing happened.

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's

The Dark Signers are capable of turning Duels into Shadow Duels. When a Dark Signer engages in a Duel, the arena is surrounded by a forcefield of light, taking the shape of the Dark Signers' corresponding Nazca Line and becomes a Shadow Duel. When a brainwashed Dark Signer servant engages in a Duel, the arena is instead surrounded by a circle-shaped purple glow. When a brainwashed person loses a Shadow Duel the Dark Signers' mark disappears and they return to their original state.

Shadow Duels are damaging to the Dark Signer's opponent, their environment, and even the Dark Signer who is dueling. The blasts from the attacks can be fatal and often cause damage to the surrounding area, Jack and Trudge blew up half a hospital. The Nazca Line shape around the area viciously tears up any objects in its path as it forms.

Many concepts similar to Shadow Dueling have existed throughout Yu-Gi-Oh! series, including the original Shadow Games of Duel Monsters, dueling with the "Seal of Orichalcos" and Psychic Dueling, as well as the technology at the disposal of Yliaster. Shadow Dueling is said to be similar to Psychic Dueling, but is much more powerful. However, unlike the past series, these Duels are never referred to as "Shadow Games."

Shadow Turbo Duel

Nazca Giant Dueling Circuit

Killer Whale Dueling Circuit

Hummingbird Dueling Circuit

Rex Goodwin within his Condor geoglyph circuit

A Shadow Turbo Duel is a derivation of a normal Shadow Duel against a Dark Signer.

It possesses all the characteristics of this kind of Dark Dueling, except that it occurs within the rules of a Turbo Duel. However, similar to shadow dueling, all impacts coming from monster attacks and effects are real. This results in the possible damaging of a Duel Runner as it occurred to Yusei Fudo.

Another consequence led by this dangerous kind of Turbo Dueling is that wherever area on which the Nazca Line geoglyph materializes, its surroundings is surely to be trashed and destroyed. As while this Dark Turbo Duel takes place through all the respective area, the attacks coming from either player's monsters which becomes real, whatever impact coming from these indirectly results in the devastation of any near object. As this was clearly seen during the Shadow Turbo Duel between Crow and Greiger.

The 5 Shadow Turbo duels that have occurred have been Yusei against Kalin, twice, Crow against Greiger, Jack Atlas against Carly Carmine and Yusei, Jack and Crow against Rex Goodwin.

However, in the last Shadow Turbo Duel that occurred between Yusei, Jack and Crow versus Rex Goodwin, Goodwin is at the top of altar of the Stairway to the Dragon Star, while Yusei, Jack and Crow are on their Duel Runners which are on the track formed by Goodwin's Condor geoglyph. This is the only Turbo Duel so far in which someone is not on a Duel Runner or a Duel Board. However as long as someone has a Speed World card they could use a Duel Disk.

Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL

Shadow Game Begin

In Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL, Vector, in his past life, initiated a Shadow Duel (which he referred to as a "Shadow Game") against Shark/Nash, where whenever a player's monsters are destroyed also had their respective armies lose some of its warriors. Though Nash was victorious, his entire army was decimated due to the amount of monsters that were destroyed.

Similar to Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, there are several other concepts similar to Shadow Duels in the series. The Baria Sphere Cube damages its occupants when they take damage inside it, and this effect is applied to the Earth when it begins to merge with the Barian World. The souls of losing Duelists in the latter are sent to the Barian World. Dueling is also more intense in Astral World, during which Yuma was blown off his feet simply after one of his Defense Position monsters was destroyed.

It is important to note that while the AR Vision technology can cause shockwaves that can harm duelists, the damage from the Shadow Duel between Vector and Nash proved far more dangerous as when either player took a hit in the duel, the damage to the player was visibly more brutal. Likewise the damage done through influence of Barian power, was capable of damaging duelists to the point of losing conciousness and in the case of Kite Tenjo, cause his death.