With the introduction of Quarter Century Secret Rares and the 25th Anniversary Rarity Collection, many cards in the game ofYu-Gi-Oh!received reprints and upgrades in rarities, making collectors shell out copious amounts of money in the secondary market for their shiny rectangles in 2023.
2023 was an amazing celebration of the game. 25 years is no joke and Konami made sure every single fan was pleased. The cards may have shifted the way the game is played in the foreseeable future, but at least the max rarity cards will be a constant in your local game store.
10Visas Starfrost (Starlight Rare)
The Interdimensional Explorer
Visas Starfrost was first released in 2022, but received the Starlight Rare treatment with the release of Cyberstorm Access in 2023. Coupled with the Tearlaments, Kashtira, and Mannadium archetypes, Visas Starfrost quickly became a popular card.
Although the card is not all that great, Visas Starfrost is a required material for many Extra Deck monsters from that group of cards, meaning tons of YGO fans were eager to get shiny Starlight copies of it.
9Diabellstar The Black Witch (Quarter Century Secret Rare)
The Treasure Hunter
With the release of the Snake-Eye archetype,Diabellstarbecame one of the most powerful draw engines in the game. All the Snake-Eye Monsters are Level one Fire Attribute, making them synergize perfectly with archetypes like Rescue-ACE and even the last Structure Deck of the year, Fire Kings.
The combos that Diabellstar can accomplish can be a bit complicated, but once you find the cards you need for them, these beautiful Quarter Century Secret Rares will look incredible on your playmat.
8Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring (Quarter Century Secret Rare)
The Best Hand Trap In The Game
The 25th Anniversary Rarity Collection was one of the best sets released in 2023. It included many important reprints like Forbbiden Droplet and thestaple hand trap, Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring. The set reprinted these cards in seven different rarities, including the coveted Quarter Century Secret Rare.
Ash Blossom has seen nonstop play since its release back in 2017. This card can stop your opponent from adding cards from the deck to their hand, stopping most starters in the game of Yu-Gi-Oh!.
7Guiding Quem, The Virtuous (Starlight Rare)
A Great Extender For Branded Decks
Branded decks are some of the most popular archetypes in Yu-Gi-Oh! With cards like Fallen Of Albaz and Aluber The Jester Of Despia, you can create some of the deadliest dragons in the game.
Guiding Quem is an excellent addition to Branded decks. This card can send Fallen Of Albaz to the Graveyard, which unlocks many of your Fusion conditions. Once you summon something from your Extra Deck, Quem lets you Special Summon Albaz from your graveyard as well, giving you another Monster to fuse.
6Super Starslayer TY-PHON - Sky Crisis (Quarter Century Secret Rare)
Excellent Disruption
Just like its counterpart in XX Zeus, TY-PHON is a great way to disrupt your opponent from playing their turn with an Xyz Monster that is not summoned traditionally. This card has been a staple in many of the top meta decks because of its lax summoning requirements.
With a beautiful Quarter Century Secret Rare chase card found in the set that it originated from, many players bought one too many booster boxes to get their hands on a coveted TY-PHON.
5The Bystial Lubellion (Quarter Century Secret Rare)
The Bystials Have Arrived!
As Konami releases new sets, the Branded archetype, and lore continues to grow in scope and power. Darkwing Blast introduced the Bystials, powerful new versions of the dragons that the Fallen Of Albaz can transform into.
Lubellion is a great way to set up your graveyard with a ton of different Branded names, while also filling your hand with the necessary pieces for your combos. This version of Lubellion was released in Battles Of Legend: Monstrous Revenge as a previous for the new rarity.
4WANTED: Seeker Of Sinful Spoils (Quarter Century Secret Rare)
Combo With Your Diabellstar
This is the card that you want to open every time you are playing the Diabellstar engine. WANTED will be able to find your copies of Diabellstar from your deck while maintaining your advantage by setting spells and traps from your banish pile or your graveyard.
If you know anything about the game of Yu-Gi-Oh!, then you know that the banish pile is one of the hardest locations for your cards to interact with, except for specific archetypes like Floowandereeze, making this card a great way to recycle your cards.
3I:P Masquerena (Quarter Century Secret Rare)
One Of The Best Link Monsters
With the introduction of Master Rule Four, Link Monsters shifted the game into a board control-esque game. Still holding onto the basic rules of Yu-Gi-Oh!, Link Monsters and their arrows opened the game to a positional-based game board where you can only Link Summon in the Extra Monster Zone, and any subsequent Links would have to be “linked” by the arrows displayed on your Monsters.
I:P Masquerena takes the idea of Link Summoning and adds a layer of disruption into the mix. This card allows you to Link Summon during your opponent’s main phase, letting you Summon strong monsters that can respond to your opponent’s board.
2Mirrorjade The Iceblade Dragon (Starlight Rare)
The Most Popular Branded Dragon
One of the main boss Monsters for the Branded archetype, it’s no surprise to see such a high price tag on a max rarity copy of Mirrorjade The Iceblade Dragon. This monster can banish a card on the field by sending one of your Extra Deck Monsters to the graveyard.
Not only does Mirrorjade remove a card from the field without targeting it, but it does so by banishing it, making it extremely hard for your opponent to bring it back. This effect, plus the stunning beauty of the Starlight Rare foil, makes this card extremely desirable.
1S:P Little Knight (Quarter Century Secret Rare)
Best Removal Tool In The Game
Just like most of the best cards in the game,S:P Little Knighthas excellent removal. Little Knight can remove a card by banishing it, but it can continue to do so whenever your opponent activates an effect, as long as you have other cards on the field to offer for its cost.
Most, if not all, top decks at the end of the year included at least one copy of this generic Link Two card in their extra deck. Its low commitment, plus incredible effect, and only printed once, makes this card one of the most expensive in the game.
