First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Lair of Darkness

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Lair of Darkness
Arrives: April 20
Box basics: 42 cards per structure deck (12 eight-box displays per case)

What’s buzz-worthy: According to Konami, this release date “shall forever be known as the day that Darkest Diabolos and the terrifying tyrants of torment descend upon the earth in Structure Deck: Lair of Darkness. These wicked shadow lords boast immeasurable power, but demand heavy Tribute from any Duelist who seeks to wield it.” The Darkest Diabolos, Lord of the Lair “holds no hint of compassion or mercy, not even for cards that have yet to be played,” while Lilith, Lady of Lament has the Grinning Grave Virus. “This Virus requires the Tribute of a Dark monster to activate, then unleashes a deadly epidemic on your opponent’s hand and Deck,” according to Konami. … There will be 36 common cards, three Super Rare cards, two Ultra Rare cards, one Token Card, one beginner’s guide and game mat per deck. … Decks carry a suggested retail price of $9.99

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First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Flames of Destruction

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Flames of Destruction
Arrives: May 4
Box basics: 24 nine-card packs per box (12 boxes per case)

What’s buzz-worthy: According to Konami, this one “closes out the first dueling season of the Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS era with a bang” with a 100-card booster set that “will shake things up with new cards for established Deck themes, a brand-new Link Monster theme that can be played as its own deck or spliced into existing strategies.” According to the company, there will be powerful Trap Cards, a new Trap Hole that banishes monsters face down, a new “Topologic” Link Monster and more. … There will be 48 common cards, 20 Rare cards, 14 Super Rare cards 10 Ultra Rare cards and eight Secret Rare cards. … Packs carry a suggested retail price of $3.99

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Yu-Gi-Oh! ‘Lost Art’ promo cards begin arriving in February

Six original Yu-Gi-Oh! cards will be resurfacing with new artwork at participating Konami Official Tournament Stores beginning next month, according to to the company.

The Lost Art promo cards should be known to veteran players

“These cards hark back to the original Yu-Gi-Oh! animated series and its pervading Egyptian theme, all used by Yugi in his quest to regain the lost memories of the Pharaoh and save the world from evil,” said a statement from the company. “Monster Reborn and all five pieces of the unstoppable Exodia have been available in Asia for nearly two decades with special card art that was never released outside of that continent. But thanks to The Lost Art Promotion at Official Tournament Stores, those cards will soon become available worldwide.”

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Legendary Collection Kaiba & Yu-Gi-Oh! Star Pack Vrains

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Legendary Collection Kaiba
Arrives: March 9
Box basics: Three Legendary Collection Kaiba Mega Packs, five new cards and game board

What’s buzz-worthy: The packs in this one include four Secret Rares and six Ultra Rares in each one — 30 cards — with the five new cards based on “some of Kaiba’s famous cards like Lord of D, including a new Fusion Monster to Summon with The Fang of Critias,” according to Konami. These will carry a suggested retail price of $29.99.

Keep reading for the details on Yu-Gi-Oh! Star Pack Vrains.

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Wave of Light

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Wave of Light
Arrives: Jan. 19
Box basics: Eight structure decks per display box (12 displays per case)

What’s buzz-worthy: The first structure deck for 2018 arrives with this summary from Konami: “Fairies are back in a big way this new year, harnessing a bounty of wisdom to counter anything their foe throws at them” as part of a structure deck that “takes the popular Counter Trap Fairy strategy to new heights.” … Each deck includes 36 common cards, three Super Rare cards, two Ultra Rare cards, one Token Card, one beginner’s guide and a game mat/dueling guide. … Decks carry a suggested retail price of $9.99.

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First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Extreme Force

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Extreme Force
Arrives: Feb. 2
Box basics: 24 nine-card packs per box (12 boxes per case)

What’s buzz-worthy: The first 100-card booster set for 2018 arrives with “a number of powerful cards that duelists can add to any deck” but also with “brand-new strategies and individual cards to bolster old favorites,” according to Konami. The company promises “several powerful new Link Monsters” as well as two new strategies. There will be 48 common cards, 20 Rares, 14 Super Rares, 10 Ultra Rares and eight Secret Rares in this release. … Packs carry a suggested retail price of $3.99.

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First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Spirit Warriors

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Spirit Warriors
Arrives: Nov. 17
Box basics: Twenty-four five-card packs per box (12 boxes per case)

What’s buzz-worthy: According to Konami, this new 60-card booster set “takes full advantage of the latest updates to the Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game” with Link Monsters, Extra Monster Zones and strategy key while also introducing two new themes. There are new “Six Samurai” cards that are compatible with old ones.  … This booster set includes 40 Super Rares and 20 Ultra Rares. … The packs will carry a suggested retail price of $3.99.

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First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Circuit Break

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Circuit Break
Arrives: Oct. 20
Box basics: nine cards per blister pack (24 packs per box; 12 boxes per case)

What’s buzz-worthy: According to Konami, “Halloween horrors arrive early” here with a 100-card booster set, which his “home to more Link Monsters, including a terrifying new 3000 ATK Dragon that can brainwash monsters it attacks, giving you control over them until their minds burn out.” What else is here?

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Legendary Dragon Decks

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Legendary Dragon Decks
Arrives: Oct. 6
Basics: Three decks (and more) per box (15 boxes per case)

What’s buzz-worthy: There will be three decks per box here — Legendary Dragons of Atlantis, Cyber Dragons and Dimensional Dragons. According to Konami, each Legendary Dragon Decks set contains 153 cards — two 40-card decks with 11-card extra decks along with one 41-card Deck with a 10-card extra deck. This one also includes variant art of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon and Starving Venom Fusion Dragon. Each deck also includes five foil cards. … The suggested retail price on these boxes is $29.99.

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First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Code of the Duelist Special Edition

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Code of the Duelist Special Edition
Arrives: Sept. 22
Basics: Three packs, one Super Rare card and one preview card per pack (12 packs per case)

What’s buzz-worthy: According to Konami, “Code of the Duelist Special Edition is the ultimate value for Duelists” with one of two preview cards and one of two Super Rares in every pack. This 100-card booster set combines Fusion, Ritual, Synchro, Xyz and Pendulum with new Link Monsters while also introducing new Deck strategies where position of cards matters just as much as which cards played. … The suggested retail price on these is $9.99 a pack.

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First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Legendary Duelists

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Legendary Duelists
Arrives: Sept. 8
Box basics: Five cards per pack, two packs per blister (240 packs per case); display boxes will have 36 packs (12 boxes per case)

What’s buzz-worthy: According to Konami, “to reign victorious in the Duelist Kingdom tournament, Yugi had to face off against powerhouse Duelists like Mai Valentine, Mako Tsunami and even his own friend and protégé Joey Wheeler. Now they’re all back with brand-new cards in Legendary Duelists, a booster set that powers up famous strategies from the classic series and beyond.”

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Maximum Crisis Special Edition

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Maximum Crisis Special Edition
Arrives: June 9
Box basics: Three Maximum Crisis booster packs, one of two variant foil cards and one of two preview cards for the summer booster set.

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Machine Reactor & Dinosmasher’s Fury structure decks

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Machine Reactor & Dinosmasher’s Fury structure decks
Arrives: April 14
Box basics: 41 cards per deck (eight decks per display)

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Raging Tempest

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Raging Tempest
Arrives: Feb. 10
Box basics: Twenty-four packs per box (12 boxes per case) or nine cards per blister pack (240 packs per case)

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Invasion: Vengeance Special Edition

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Invasion: Vengeance Special Edition
Arrives: Dec. 9
Box basics: Three packs, one Super Rare and one preview card per deck, 10 decks per display  (12 displays per case)

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Destiny Soldiers

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Destiny Soldiers
Arrives: Nov. 18
Box basics: Five cards per pack, 24 packs per box (12 boxes per case)

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Invasion: Vengeance

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Invasion: Vengeance
Arrives: Nov. 4
Box basics: Nine cards per pack, 24 packs per box (12 boxes per case)

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Dragons of Legend — Unleashed

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Dragons of Legend — Unleashed
Arrives: Aug. 19
Box basics: Five cards per pack, 12 packs per box (12 boxes per case)

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Rise of the True Dragons Structure Deck

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Rise of the True Dragons Structure Deck
Arrives: July 15
Box basics: 41 cards per deck (eight decks per display box)

What’s buzz-worthy: According to Konami, the second half of this year “is a season for Dragons” with this one being the second of four products focusing on the dragon strategy from the original series. It includes “new high-level dragons that banish opposing cards when summoned, and gain more attack points for each card they banish” while “warriors work with any high-level dragons, including dragons from other decks and booster sets.” … Each deck includes two Ultra Rares, three Super Rares and 36 Commons.

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First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! starter – Yuya

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! starter deck – Yuya
Arrives: May 27
Box basics: 43 cards per deck (10 decks per display)

What’s buzz-worthy: According to Konami, this one is “specially crafted to gear up new duelists for the stage as well as adding new support cards” in what is a pre-constructed deck. … According to the company, there are 10 new cards in this one. … The starter deck will contain 35 common cards, three Super Rare, two Ultra Rare and three Token cards.

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First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Shining Victories

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Shining Victories
Arrives: May 6, 2016
Box basics: nine cards per blister pack (240 blister packs per case)

What’s buzz-worthy: According to Konami, this new core booster “marks the return of Blue-Eyes White Dragon and a plethora of specially crafted Blue Eyes monsters and support cards to help crush non-believers of Kaiba.”

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Millenium Pack

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Millenium Pack
Arrives: April 15, 2016
Box basics: 36 packs per box, five cards per pack (12 boxes per case)

What’s buzz-worthy: According to Konami, a five-card pack will contain “a mix of revamped and new cards” as an “easy way for all fans to get ahold of awesome cards” in this release that gives a new look to old favorites from the original Yu-Gi-Oh! television series.

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Premium Gold Infinite Gold

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Premium Gold Infinite Gold
Arrives: March 18, 2016
Box basics: three packs per box with 15 cards  total — six Gold Secrets and nine Gold Rares

What’s buzz-worthy: According to Konami, a five-card mini-pack contains two Gold Secrets “each card a brand-new, never- before-seen card including several powerful monsters for your Extra Deck.”