Yu-Gi-Oh Cards: The Good, Bad and Mech (Page 6)

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Yu-Gi-Oh Cards: The Good, Bad and Meh (Page 6)

Effect Ra: Burnt to a Crisp
I can say definatively this monster's TCG effect version (King's Court) stung everyone that read its effects, especially fans of the anime series. Slifer and Obelisk managed to retain much of their anime effects when they were printed as Effect Monsters, but Ra went totally in the other direction, both in potency and faithfulness to its anime version. Gains nothing for the Tributes, costs nearly all your LP to gain any ATK, can't even be Special Summoned. A true disservice.

Yubel: Terrors of the Field
A terrific trio of monsters that were close to the beginning of the set's contents, each 1 higher rarity than the previous and with more potent effects too. Their ATK and DEF are all 0, but none of that matters when they have some decent effects.
1. Prevented you from taking battle damage from their battles
2. Couldn't be destroyed in battle.
3. Special Summoned the next form when destroyed/removed from the field.
The latter two really provided the potency as Terror Incarnate was basically Dark Hole with legs and The Ultimate Nightmare pretty much follows Yubel's anime effect. They were also all searchable. Can't think of many trios today that hold up that well.

Exodia the Forbidden One: Assembly Required
Probably everyone that played the game in the early 2000s remembers the 5 pieces that gave an automatic victory in Duels. They were extensively hard to get when they debuted in Legend of Blue-Eyes and just owning one piece was expensive as is. Consequently, until the 5 cards were in your hand they were quite vulnerable and there were few ways to speed up the process. Plus they weren't very strong and were eventually limited to 1 each, making Setting them a very last-ditch effort. The idea has gotten a family since their debut, but they lack any real potency.