Yu-Gi-Oh!

1. YU-GI-OH! TCG

1. How to play (beginner) [UNVERIFIED background knowledge; rules are stable]

• Win by reducing the opponent's Life Points (LP) from 8000 to 0. Other alternate wins exist (e.g. Exodia) and decking out (cannot draw) loses.
• Main deck 40-60 cards; Extra Deck up to 15; Side Deck up to 15.
• Card types: Monster (Normal, Effect, Ritual, Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, Pendulum, Link), Spell, Trap.
• Extra Deck monsters (Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, Link) are summoned from the Extra Deck using materials.
• Each player starts with 5 cards in hand; going first skips the draw and cannot attack on turn one.
• Turn phases: Draw, Standby, Main 1, Battle, Main 2, End.
• Normal Summon/Set only once per turn; Special Summons are unlimited via effects.
• Monsters are placed in Monster Zones (5 main plus Extra Monster Zones, a shared zone mechanic since Link monsters); Spells/Traps go in Spell and Trap Zones (5).
• Battle: attacker ATK vs defender ATK (Attack Position) or DEF (Defense Position); difference is dealt as damage in attack-vs-attack.
• Trap cards are set face-down and activated on either player's turn after being set for a turn.
• Chain system: effects activate in chains and resolve last-in first-out (Spell Speed 1-3).
• Resource model: no mana; the resources are cards in hand, a one-Normal-Summon limit, and effect timing/costs; LP is also used as cost.
• A Forbidden & Limited (banlist) restricts powerful cards (Forbidden/Limited 1/Semi-limited 2).
• Formats beyond the TCG: Speed Duel (smaller decks, 4000 LP), Rush Duel (Japan-focused), and the digital games.

2. Languages (official printed)

• English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish in TCG releases (set codes EN, FR, DE, IT, PT, SP) [OBSERVED] — Yugipedia search results. Japanese (OCG) and Asian-English are separate product lines; not verified here.

3. Pricing

• Booster pack MSRP US: $4.49 for Burst Protocol and Maze of Muertos [OBSERVED, search summary of retailer/ygorganization listing; not verified against Konami].
• Konami announced a price increase for booster packs from April 2026 (Japan: 242 JPY to 264 JPY incl. tax) [OFFICIAL via toy-people.com announcement summary; page itself returned 403 so figures come from search snippet]. The US effect on the $4.49 MSRP is not verified.
• Box (24 packs at $4.49 = $107.76 computed) [computed, UNVERIFIED as official box MSRP]. Retailer box listings: dacardworld.com listing exists, prices not captured.
• Starter/structure deck MSRP: not verified. Background recollection is roughly $10-15 [UNVERIFIED].
• Street price 2026: not verified.

4. Rarity tiers (misprint.com [OBSERVED])

• Common (no foil): bulk.
• Rare (silver foil name): pennies unless competitive.
• Super Rare (holo art): minimal value.
• Ultra Rare (holo art, gold name): depends on playability.
• Secret Rare (diagonal holo; vintage 1st Ed hundreds to thousands USD); Prismatic Secret and Platinum Secret variants.
• Ultimate Rare (embossed): $50-$500+ vintage.
• Ghost Rare: $50-$300 raw; $2,000+ graded.
• Collector's Rare: $15-$400.
• Starlight Rare: $40-$400.
• Quarter Century Secret Rare (25th anniversary full-card prismatic): $30-$400.
• Other rarities (Premium Gold, Mosaic, Short Print, Platinum Rare, Pharaoh's/Pharaoh Rare, Duel Terminal) exist but were not sourced. Specific top chase card prices for 2026: not verified. 2026 Quarter Century sets list Starlight Road, Branded Opening, Set Rotation, Xyz Universe etc. as Quarter Century Secret Rares [OBSERVED CardTrader], with no prices captured.

5. How players and collectors use it [UNVERIFIED background, named sites from the task brief]

• YGOPRODeck (deck building, card database), Yugipedia (wiki), Master Duel (digital game), Duel Links (mobile), TCGplayer and Cardmarket (pricing/marketplace), Dueling Nexus / EDOPro / Omega (simulators), Yu-Gi-Oh! Neuron app (official, Konami). Not verified by fetched sources.

6. Community behavior [UNVERIFIED]

• Chase-rarity hunting (Starlight, Quarter Century, Ghost), grading of vintage 1st Edition cards, local game stores run Regionals/YCS-style events. Reddit r/yugioh and Discord communities. Sourced evidence: none fetched.

7. Company strategy [UNVERIFIED unless noted]

• Publisher Konami; regular price adjustments (April 2026 hike announced [OFFICIAL via secondary]). Organised play: Konami Official Tournament Store program, Regionals, YCS, World Championship; digital: Master Duel, Duel Links. Anti-scalping policy: not verified.

Sources

• https://svelte.ygorganization.com/utp1andproductlineup — YGOrganization early 2026 lineup (fetch failed; search snippet only)
• https://www.toy-people.com/en/?p=106194 — Konami price increase from April 2026 (403; snippet only)
• https://www.misprint.com/posts/yugioh-card-rarities-explained — rarities and price ranges
• https://www.cardtrader.com/en/cards/309881 — Starlight Road Quarter Century Secret Rare listing (no price)
• https://yugipedia.com/wiki/DPYG-FR021 — language-coded TCG card pages
• https://www.dacardworld.com/gaming/booster-boxes-from-yu-gi-oh-tcg — retailer box listings (prices not captured)

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