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I thought of this question while reading Why are there illegal cards?, which mentions that the illegal Egyptian God cards were later printed as legal versions with the same names.

In Magic, all tournament-legal printings (non-tournament-legal ones would be, for example, promotional versions with different card backs) can be used as the up-to-date card. An old card functions identically to a new card of the same new, even if it was originally printed with rules or wording that don't work anymore.

Does such a rule exist in Yu-Gi-Oh!, or are cards as-printed? For example, can the illegal Egyptian God cards (e.g. the original Slifer the Sky Dragon) be used as their updated legal versions (e.g. the updated Slifer the Sky Dragon)? If not, have the rules been maintained in such a way to keep older printings valid?

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    I see from the tournament rules Section K that proxy cards are not allowed, but it doesn't specify whether a different card with the same name is a proxy. Also relevant would be previously Forbidden cards (e.g. Sinister Serpent) that have been errataed so that their effects are changed and are now legal. My gut tells me that you can play with the Forbidden versions if you follow the errata, but I am having a hard time finding a source for it. Hopefully others can have more luck.
    – Thunderforge
    Apr 6, 2017 at 15:47
  • I would think that they are still illegal; like the Collectors' Edition and International Edition cards in Magic.
    – Mosquite
    Apr 8, 2017 at 0:08

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According to this link, the old cards are still valid, but you must ensure that your opponent is aware that the effect has been errata'd and provide them with the new effect.

If you are using an “Old Text” version of a card in your Deck, you must make it clear to your opponent that the effect of that paricular[sic] card is different to what you are currently playing.

With regards to the Slifer the Sky Dragon example, the original card was never legal to be used in a match, Errata or not. It is a promotional card that includes the explicit text "This card cannot be used in a Duel," and is distinct from the actual card that lacks this text and includes the card's actual effect text.

This can further be established by using that website's Card Database and searching for the card (result of the search). On that page, it shows all the legal sources for a given card. The first time the card became legal to play was in August of 2012 when it was distributed in an issue of Shonen Jump. By extension, this excludes the original versions that were released alongside the Gameboy games in the early 2000s.

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  • There are some good information sources in this answer and it does definitely show that some cards can be used in the place of updated cards. However, Slifer shows all of the art, including the "cannot be used" one {but I don't know if that was used on a later printing too}, as the same card. If you're able to use the new text, it replaces the "this card cannot be used" text and so doesn't matter.
    – Samthere
    Apr 26, 2017 at 15:30
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    I've just had a look in the rules: "cards with the same name are considered to be the same card". Given the combination of this and that there are errata'd cards with instructions on how to play with old copies, it seems reasonable that the name is the defining factor for a card.
    – Samthere
    Apr 26, 2017 at 15:31
  • @Samthere Except that if you look up cards by set, the Yugioh-Card database doesn't actually acknowledge the original Egyptian God Cards as belonging to the set. For example, The Dawn of Destiny cards (db.yugioh-card.com/yugiohdb/card_list.action > "Other" > Video Game Bundles > 2004) included The Winged Dragon of Ra as card DOD-001, but it doesn't show up in this list. The presence of the original art is unusual, but the fact that it doesn't register as a card in this pack would seem to indicate that the card remains invalid.
    – MirrorImage
    Apr 26, 2017 at 21:31
  • Hmm, yeah, I have no idea!
    – Samthere
    Apr 26, 2017 at 21:39

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