[MW] The Allure For Old Cards And Past Formats Staples

Nostalgia sells, right? Maybe if it’s old enough and catches the eye of the players.

This week, I want to look at nostalgic cards as we’re finally in a cooldown after a recent YCS and a Core Set release. We will be looking at cards from the Astral Pack, OTS Tournament Packs, and everything in between, as they hold many hidden gems that lie in bulk, along with other oddities as well.

From Legendary Collection 4: Joey’s World, an extremely powerful Trap Card was finally imported into the TCG after not being printed for 13 years. Sixth Sense was brought into the TCG at the weirdest of times, as it was during the peak of Dragon Ruler format, and this card, despite the Limited status it gained on TCG release, gave the Rulers an additional boost. This Trap Card has been Forbidden in the TCG since January 2014, while in the OCG, it was Forbidden since March 2005. Some of you might be asking, “Why is this card so powerful?” Well, by declaring 2 numbers from 1 to 6, your opponent rolls a six-sided die, and if the result is one of those declared numbers, you draw that many cards. But if it isn’t, you send a number of cards from the top of your deck to the GY, equal to the result. For example, if you declare 5 and 6, and the die lands on 6, you’d draw 6 cards, but if it lands on 4, you send the top 4 cards of your deck to the GY. In other words, you get to either fill up your hand or place additional cards in your GY, possibly including more monsters to banish for your Dragon Rulers.

This card has always been in players’ minds because of the October 13th, 2013 Dragon Ruler format, where every deck had access to playing this card, and oddly enough, it never received a reprint since it was printed in either the TCG or OCG.

With Voiceless Voice released back in 2024 via Phantom Nightmare, some players have been wondering when Skull Guardian will receive a reprint. With it and Novox’s Prayer, they are the last two cards from the original days of the game where both of these cards mention “Magic Card”, and Novox’s Prayer is still labeled as a “Magic Card” for the TCG, outside of the official database where it has been errata’d. It’s odd that it’s taken this long for these cards to see a reprint, as over the past 17 years, many players have wanted a reprint of this iconic and nostalgic card. Only time will tell if either will see a reprint.

It’s somewhat baffling that many cards from Tournament Pack: 2nd Season haven’t been reprinted, which is causing the prices to be higher compared to other cards.

Back in 2011 and 2012, Dinosaur Rabbit was one of the top decks in the format, and Sabersaurus & Kabazauls have both been rising in price over time. These two Normal Monsters are the main monsters you want to Special Summon off of Rescue Rabbit as attackers, then use those two to Xyz Summon either Evolzar Dolkka or Evolzar Laggia. Both dinos are great when paired with cards like Skill Drain and great against Fiendish Chain. Along with having 1900 ATK and 1700 ATK, respectively, they are also monsters that are harder to get around. While both monsters are Level 4s that grant you access to the vast R4NK pool, these cards can hold their ground in the older formats. While they do have multiple prints across the years of the game, only the higher rarities of the cards have been going up a ton.

Overall, it is great that older formats are starting to shine like Dino Rabbit and HAT format, but only time will tell what else will prop up in the coming months.

With this next card only ever being printed in the 25th Anniversary Tin: Dueling Mirrors, players have been going after Heavy Polymerization as a card to play for their Lunalight Decks post-Duelist’s Advance. The Deck has been using this card, either in the Main Deck or Side Deck, as it is a way to help you Fusion Summon Lunalight Panther Dancer by banishing Lunalight Cat Dancer from your Extra Deck at the cost of 2400 LP. This is especially useful to summon out indestructible, tower-like monsters that the opponent will have a hard time dealing with. You can also banish Lunalight Leo Dancer (which is another Lunalight Fusion Monster) with 3 other Lunalight monsters from the hand or field to Fusion Summon the new Lunalight Liger Dancer (YGOrganization Translation) in order to cause more issues for your opponent, as it is another towers-like monster, and it even has a once-per-turn effect that destroys all monsters your opponent controls by sending 1 Lunalight monster from your Extra Deck to the GY. 

Even though this card isn’t as old as the others, it’s an option to definitely look at for future deck building.

Along with Heavy Polymerization, Fire Formation – Tenki has been receiving many sales for Lunalights as it’s a main starter for the deck thanks to it being able to search out any Level 4 or lower Beast-Warrior monster, which is the majority of the deck. Along with Lunalight monsters, it can also grab a copy of Tri-Brigade Fraktall, which can send itself from your hand or field to the GY to send 1 Level 3 or lower Beast, Beast-Warrior, or Winged Beast monster from your Deck to the GY. This can send Lunalight Silver Hound (YGOrganization Translation) to the GY, and since she was sent to the GY by a card effect, it allows you to Special Summon any Lunalight monster from your Deck while locking you into only being able to Special Summon Lunalight monsters from your Extra Deck. This is great for Lunalight as it adds the additional consistency needed for the deck and has made Lunalight a decent option in the Duelist’s Advance format.

While this card has many copies going around on the market, many players have been picking up the high-end copies from AP03, Duelist League Colorful Rares, and others too.

For the majority of past formats, Mystical Space Typhoon was the main form of Spell/Trap removal ever since it was released back in Magic Ruler/Spell Ruler. With over 60 different prints thus far, this card’s high-end version has been going up majorly as the popularity of past formats has hit an all-time high due to players taking a break from the current modern format. From having an Ultimate Rare to the recently new Quarter Century Secret Rare to everything in between, many versions of the card are up above $1 a copy with how much demand this card currently has.

Being one of the original targeting Spell/Trap removal cards, it has a place in many players’ hearts as the nostalgia grows for the past formats.

Traptrix Rafflesia has once again entered the Extra Deck of Ryzeal Decks as a way to utilize Gravedigger’s Trap Hole once more. By detaching 1 material from Rafflesia and sending 1 Hole Normal Trap Card that meets its activation conditions from your deck to the GY, Rafflesia’s effect becomes that sent card’s activation effect. This can be extremely useful against decks like Maliss, as you can send Gravedigger’s Trap Hole to negate their ability to Special Summon themselves from your banishment, or even against Mitsurugi, as it can stop Ame no Habakiri no Mitsurugi or any of their GY effects when Mitsurugi monsters are Tributed.

Still being a powerhouse of a Rank 4, Traptrix Rafflesia always surprises people as it can counter and end their turn at very important points of their combo.

Many nostalgic options have been going up in price, and there are many more to keep an eye out for as more and more players explore past formats to their fullest to see what we could’ve done with today’s knowledge.

Edited and co-written by Angryjon