It's Time For Yu-Gi-Oh! To Get a New Attribute

After 25 years, Yu-Gi-Oh! needs a new monster attribute to shake things up.

When the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG first saw its worldwide release in the early 2000s, there were six monster attributes: Dark, Light, Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. In 2004, the seventh attribute, Divine, came to the TCG, which remains exclusive to the Egyptian God cards and their alternate forms.

Although several new monster types have appeared since 2004, there haven't been any new attributes since Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Egyptian God cards first debuted. Yu-Gi-Oh!'s 25th anniversary is an excellent time for Konami to introduce a new attribute, and thanks to Yu-Gi-Oh!'s rich lore and extensive media, the designers have plenty of sources to pull from.

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Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Earth Attribute Makes More Sense as Separate Attributes

One option that makes a lot of sense is for Yu-Gi-Oh! to split its Earth attribute into Metal and Wood attributes. Konami could create cards based on the Dragon Cards game featured in the original Yu-Gi-Oh! manga, before it revolved around Duel Monsters. The Dragon Cards game features five dragons, each representing one of the five elements from the Wuxing concept of Taoism: Wind, Fire, Water, Metal and Wood. Each element has its own strengths and weaknesses.

Certain older Yu-Gi-Oh! monsters could either have their attribute retroactively changed, with select Machine and Plant-type monsters changing to Metal and Wood attributes, respectively. Alternatively, they could keep their Earth attribute while getting an erratum that specifies they are also Metal or Wood, so as not to change their effects if they involve Earth attribute monsters in some way.

Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Most Villainous Monsters Could Have an Evil Attribute

While Yu-Gi-Oh! doesn't have a strengths and weaknesses system like types in the Pokemon TCG outside of a few older video games, each of the first six attributes has an opposing attribute. Dark and Light, Fire and Water, and Earth and Wind are all opposing attribute pairs. The seventh attribute, Divine, has no opposing attribute, despite several cards existing that would be perfect for it.

Dark Master - Zorc, a monster based on the first incarnation of Zorc Necrophades from the original Yu-Gi-Oh! manga, could get a retrain based on the final incarnation of the character, who served as Yu-Gi-Oh!'s final villain, while also introducing an Evil attribute. The three Wicked Gods from the Yu-Gi-Oh! R spinoff manga, designed to oppose the Egyptian Gods, could also have this attribute, along with a new combined monster to match the Egyptian God's Holactie, the Creator of Light, and the Sacred Beast's Armityle the Chaos Phantom.

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'No Attribute' Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards Would Be an Interesting Twist

Another option is to introduce Yu-Gi-Oh! cards with no attribute, and Konami has experimented with this idea before. The Clear archetype from the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime series, which only has one monster card in the TCG that happens to be Dark attribute, has no attribute and uses a strategy revolving around affecting any of the opponent's monsters that have one.

The Clear archetype was also playable in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Tag Force 3 video game, so converting this archetype to be playable in the TCG and introducing a new empty attribute should be easier than expected. Unlike other possible attributes, besides Clear Vice Dragon, no other monsters would need their attributes retroactively changed either, as all other monsters of the archetype would be making their TCG debut since they were previously anime and game-exclusive.

Yu-Gi-Oh!'s 25th Anniversary Is the Perfect Time for a New Attribute

Even with new monster types like Psychic, Wyrm, Cyberse and Illusionist appearing over the years, Yu-Gi-Oh! has yet to add another attribute to the TCG despite having several great sources. Similar to the introduction of Pendulum Summoning and Pendulum Monsters in 2014, players will likely grow to enjoy it as more new cards release.

Whether a new attribute comes with a new archetype or monster type, or causes retroactive changes to older cards, it would provide a major change to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG that hasn't happened since the introduction of Link Monsters in 2017. Although a change this significant might happen at any point, Yu-Gi-Oh!'s 25th anniversary is the perfect occasion to make what may be Yu-Gi-Oh!'s best year even better.

Source: cbr.com