Throughout Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, many talented duelists were introduced to audiences. Yet, few of them were as powerful and dedicated as Yugi’s main rival, Seto Kaiba. Yearning to become the best player in the world, Kaiba spent years acquiring a variety of powerful and unique cards, as well as honing his skills as a Duel Monsters player.
By the end of the series, Kaiba had demonstrated time and time again why he was among the few duelists capable of playing against Yugi himself. His success as a player relied on his high intellect and the outstanding monsters, spells, and traps found in his deck. While Kaiba was often forced to play second fiddle to Yugi, many consider his deck and cards stronger than those of the protagonist.
15 Blue-Eyes White Dragon
First Appearance: Yu-Gi-Oh! Episode 1
Blue-Eyes White Dragon is Kaiba’s ace monster, with him owning the only three copies of it in the world. Much of Kaiba’s identity as a duelist and a person is centered around Blue-Eyes White Dragon, especially in the anime, and that’s eventually revealed to be because Blue-Eyes embodies the soul of Kisara, the lover of Priest Seto, Kaiba’s past life from Ancient Egypt.
Blue-Eyes White Dragon has been a major victim of power creep over the years, as a monster with high attack and nothing else isn’t as effective in modern gameplay as it was in the old days. That being said, Kaiba’s playstyle always finds a way to get the most out of Blue-Eyes White Dragon and its derivatives, and with all the support it keeps receiving, it’s hard to see it as anything other than one of Kaiba’s strongest cards.
14 Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon
First Appearance: Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side Of Dimensions
Blue-Eyes Alternative Dragon maintains the same attack and defense points as its predecessor but is several times easier to summon.
First introduced in the Dark Side of Dimensions movie, this is a new and improved version of Kaiba’s iconic monster. Blue-Eyes Alternative Dragon maintains the same attack and defense points as its predecessor but is several times easier to summon. To make use of this card, the player only needs to reveal an original Blue-Eyes, allowing the Alternative version to be played without tributes. Beyond how easy it is to summon, the card can also destroy an opponent’s monster once per turn, but it becomes unable to attack until the next turn.
Lastly, the name of the card is considered Blue-Eyes White Dragon when on the field, giving it the ability to be used as material for Kaiba’s most powerful Fusion Monsters. These effects solve some of the biggest issues the original Blue-Eyes had, making it a much more reliable card to play. Despite this, the card is still reliant on Seto having a copy of his original Blue-Eyes in hand to be summoned. Since drawing the two cards at the same time is not always guaranteed, the effect can sometimes become irrelevant.
13 Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon
First Appearance: Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side Of Dimensions
The most powerful Fusion monster found on Kaiba’s Deck, this is an alternative form of Seto’s original Ultimate Dragon. Born from the union of three monsters with the name Blue-Eyes White Dragon, this creature stands as one of Yu-Gi-Oh! most powerful monsters in terms of raw strength. Just like the original Ultimate Dragon, Neo has a jaw-dropping 4,500 attack points, enough to get over almost all other monsters. His special ability makes perfect use of Neo Ultimate Dragon’s might, by allowing it to attack up to three times as long as the original Ultimate Dragon is in the Extra Deck.
Thanks to this special ability, Kaiba can finish duels in a single turn, taking away his opponent’s life points with three powerful continuous attacks. The last effect prevents the original Ultimate Dragon from being affected by the opponent’s effects while Neo Ultimate Dragon is in the grave. This ability was woefully never seen in the Dark Sides of Dimension movie. Neo Ultimate Dragon is an extremely powerful card, but it lacks any protection, making it vulnerable to any kind of card removal. This weakness makes the card less reliable than other monsters in Kaiba’s deck.
12 High Speed Aria
First Appearance: Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side Of Dimensions
High Speed Aria is an anime-original Trap Card Kaiba used in the climax of his duel with Yugi in The Dark Side of Dimensions. The card was essential in his final gambit against Yugi, but unfortunately, Yugi was one step ahead of Kaiba and was quick to shut down his strategy before ultimately walking away with the win.
High Speed Aria turns its effect into any Normal Spell Card the player discards at the cost of not being able to activate Spell Cards their next turn; it’s a highly useful card for getting out Spell Cards in an otherwise unideal situation, but the restrictions and costs of it do make it inferior to the anime version of Magical Trick Mirror, another card of Kaiba’s. Still, it’s a very useful card to play, and had Kaiba been dueling anyone but Yugi, it would have won him the game.
11 Magical Trick Mirror
First Appearance: Yu-Gi-Oh! Episode 132
Magical Trick Mirror is a Trap Card of Kaiba’s first used in his duel with Yugi in Battle City. Yugi attempted to stop Kaiba from using Lord of D. to get all three of his Blue-Eyes White Dragons onto the field, but with Magical Trick Mirror, Kaiba stopped Yugi’s attack and summoned all three Blue-Eyes White Dragons, a move that nearly led to his victory.
While the real-life version of Magical Trick Mirror isn’t all that impressive, its effect mostly geared toward supporting Obelisk the Tormentor in a direct reference in the anime, Magical Trick Mirror in the anime allows the user to activate any Spell Card in their opponent’s graveyard right then and there, something that would be incredibly overpowered in the actual game. Kaiba didn’t use Magical Trick Mirror that much, but even so, it’s still one of the strongest Trap Cards he’s ever played.
10 Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy Of The End
First Appearance: Yu-Gi-Oh! Episode 195
Few cards from the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime have been banned from competitive play. Chaos Emperor Dragon is one of them, due to its powerful effect. This imposing creature cannot be summoned by traditional means, instead needing the player to banish a Light and Dark monster from their graveyard. With 3,000 attack points, this already turns this dragon into a foe not to be messed with. Yet, it still has a second ability, which is most likely the reason why it was banned after Kaiba used it against Zigfried.
After paying 1,000 life points, all cards on the field and both players’ hands, Chaos Emperor Dragon included, are sent to the graveyard. Then, 300 points of damage per card sent to the graveyard are inflicted to the opponent. In a regular duel, this amount of damage would almost be enough to guarantee victory for Kaiba. Still, if the damage inflicted by this card is not enough to defeat the opponent, Kaiba would be left with no means to protect himself.
9 Blue-Eyes Chaos Max Dragon
First Appearance: Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side Of Dimensions
Chaos Max Dragon is the ritual version of Kaiba’s signature Blue-Eyes monster, leaving behind Blue-Eyes’ impressive defense to focus entirely on attack power. This terrifyingly powerful creature can be summoned by banishing a Blue-Eyes White Dragon in the graveyard, thanks to its Ritual Spell Chaos Form. Unlike the original Blue-Eyes, Chaos Max has an outstanding 4,000 attack points, while having lost all of its defense points. This impressive power goes hand-in-hand with its special ability. If Chaos Max attacks a defense position monster, it will inflict double the difference between its objective’s defense and the dragon’s attack as damage.
Chaos Max can win a duel in a single turn, keeping in line with Kaiba’s tendency to defeat his opponents as quickly and efficiently as possible. The second effect of this card grants it protection against Seto’s opponent’s card effects, making it a magnificent boss monster. Woefully, the fact that the card is a Ritual monster makes it harder to summon the other cards. The need for a specific Ritual Spell can cause the card to become unplayable in its owner’s hand.
8 Deep-Eyes White Dragon
First Appearance: Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side Of Dimensions
Deep-Eyes White Dragon is Kaiba’s new strongest monster introduced in The Dark Side of Dimensions. Kaiba first summoned Deep-Eyes White Dragon when Yugi destroyed Blue-Eyes Chaos Max Dragon, and it became the biggest obstacle Yugi had to overcome to defeat Kaiba and make him give up on trying to revive Atem.
When Deep-Eyes White Dragon is summoned, it inflicts 600 damage for every Dragon-type monster in Kaiba’s graveyard and can gain the attack of one of those Dragons as well, and to make matters worse, Deep-Eyes White Dragon destroys all monsters on the opponent’s side of the field when it’s destroyed. While Deep-Eyes White Dragon didn’t get a lot of play in The Dark Side of Dimensions, it’s a monster that perfectly fits Kaiba’s playstyle, and it’s one of his strongest cards because of it.
7 The Fang Of Critias
First Appearance: Yu-Gi-Oh! Episode 150
Part of the Three Dragons of Legend, The Fang of Critias is the physical manifestation of an ancient warrior’s power. This powerful card chose Kaiba to become its wielder, giving the young man a way to fight against Dartz and his Orichalcos warriors. The Fang of Critias makes use of Kaiba’s powerful Trap cards to create unique and formidable Dragons. These new creatures’ effects are enhanced versions of the Trap card used for their summons. Kaiba made use of these dragons to overcome situations that seemed hopeless at first, like during his duel against Alister.
The issue with this strategy is that two specific cards are required for these powerful monsters to be summoned.
Tyrant Burst Dragon for example, gives another monster 400 attack points and lets it attack each opposing monster. Virus Doom Dragon can destroy monsters with 1,500 attack points or more. Lastly, Mirror Force Dragon deals damage and destroys all opposing monsters. The issue with this strategy is that two specific cards are required for these powerful monsters to be summoned. While this does not negate how effective the monsters created by it are, it can hinder how often Kaiba would be able to summon them when required.
6 Dimension Fusion
First Appearance: Yu-Gi-Oh! Episode 194
Kaiba is a duelist well known for utilizing each of his cards to their fullest, no matter if they are in his hand, deck, graveyard, or banished from the game. Dimension Fusion is the perfect example of Seto’s play style, allowing him to use cards that had already served their purpose before. After paying 2,000 Life Points, Kaiba and his opponent can summon as many removed-from-play monsters as possible to their respective fields. This card was used only once by Kaiba, during his duel against Zigfried, defeating the latter within minutes after he activated it.
Despite how powerful the card is, it does have several disadvantages, which did not appear to deter Kaiba in the slightest. The need to have at least 2,000 life points, a significant amount in a game with only 4,000 life points in total makes its use very limited. The fact that your opponent can also utilize this effect without paying any life points also makes it dangerous for its user.
When this card was brought to the real-life card game, it was quickly banned, deemed too powerful for competitive play.
5 Return From The Different Dimension
First Appearance: Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid Of Light
One of the most powerful cards in both the anime and real-life card game, Return From The Different Dimension is an alternate version of Dimension Fusion. By paying half his remaining life points, Kaiba can bring to the field as many banished monsters as possible. Each of these creatures comes back with their effects and can attack the turn they were summoned. When the turn ends, they will be once again sent to the banished zone. Nevertheless, this last condition will likely never be met, as Kaiba would have used the advantage to win that same turn.
The only problem Kaiba would encounter when using this card is the fact that, as a Trap, it would need to be set for one turn before being activated. Seto would also need to remove from play the monsters that would help him win the duel. Return From The Different Dimension is an incredibly powerful card that had to be altered before being brought to the real game. The version given to players of the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game prevents the monsters summoned by this card from attacking or using their effects.
Unfortunately, even the altered version of the card was deemed too strong for competitive play, and thus banned.
4 Virus Cannon
First Appearance: Yu-Gi-Oh! Episode 93
One of Kaiba’s most defining traits is his desire to prove to his opponents how much better he is than them. His Virus Cannon is the perfect embodiment of this ruthless behavior. When activated, Kaiba’s opponent is forced to discard 10 Spell Cards from their deck or hand. If the opponent cannot discard 10 Spells, they are forced to send as many cards as possible. While this may not seem as powerful as other cards at first, it is important to remember how crucial Spell Cards tend to be for certain archetypes
.
Most Yu-Gi-Oh! anime decks tend to contain 40 cards, with a wide majority of those pieces being monsters. Statistically, most duelists in the original anime would have 20 monsters, 10 Spells, and 10 Traps in their decks. Kaiba’s Virus Cannon would effectively forbid them from playing a third of their deck, greatly disturbing their strategies. This card would spell doom for almost all players unless their decks are not reliant on any kind of Spell Cards. Such a powerful and unfair card perfectly encapsulates how cold and calculative Kaiba could be during duels.
3 Card Of Demise
First Appearance: Yu-Gi-Oh! Episode 132
Unlike many other card games in which players have a limited amount of resources per turn, Yu-Gi-Oh! is a game where this restriction does not exist. As long as the player can fulfill the activation requirements of a card, they can play them. This is why being able to draw more cards is considered one of the most powerful abilities in the game. Kaiba’s Card of Demise is among the best draw-related cards in the anime. When activated, the card’s owner can draw until they have 5 cards in hand.
When this card was brought to the real card game, its effect was completely changed for being too powerful.
This means that if the cards were played when Kaiba had no other cards in hand, he would instantly get access to 5 new pieces of his strategy. After five turns of this card’s activation, the player who used it will be forced to discard their entire hand. This was often not an issue, as five turns were more than enough for Kaiba to defeat their opponent. When this card was brought to the real card game, its effect was completely changed for being too powerful. Even then, the card quickly became a staple in most decks.
2 Crush Card Virus
First Appearance: Yu-Gi-Oh! Episode 23
Crush Card Virus is one of Kaiba’s oldest and most iconic Trap Cards, the card being a staple of his deck since Duelist Kingdom. With Crush Card Virus, by sacrificing a Dark monster with low attack power, Kaiba can destroy all monsters in his opponent’s hand, deck, and field with high attack power, forcing them to play solely with a deck of low-level monsters.
In the real-life game, Crush Card Virus has had its effect changed more than most other cards to the point that most versions actually hurt the player if they’re used. However, Crush Card Virus in the anime has none of the restrictions of its real-life counterpart, and it essentially wins the game for Kaiba every time he plays it thanks to how much it ruins his opponents’ game plans in a single moment.
1 Obelisk The Tormentor
First Appearance: Yu-Gi-Oh! Episode 52
In the real world, the Egyptian God Cards are considered to be mediocre and too hard to summon for most players. Their anime counterparts, on the other hand, are still among the most powerful cards in the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime. Obelisk is the perfect example of how imposing and terrifying a God can be. To summon this deity, Kaiba needed to send three monsters from his field as tributes. This may seem to be an excessive cost, but Obelisk’s abilities more than make up for this requirement.
Due to its divine nature, Obelisk is unaffected by the opponent’s card effects, making it virtually invulnerable to Spells and Traps. If Kaiba can summon two other monsters while Obelisk is on the field, the divine creature can tribute them to gain infinite attack points until the end of the turn. Its other effect allowed Obelisk to tribute two monsters to destroy all other creatures on the field, to later inflict 4,000 points of damage to the opponent. With these outstanding effects and its almost invulnerable protection, Obelisk was without a doubt Kaiba’s most powerful card in Yu-Gi-Oh!
