Yu-Gi-Oh!: The 10 Best Boss Monsters In The Game's History, Ranked
Yu-Gi-Oh has tons of different boss monsters that can pull off some pretty impressive feats. These are the best in the game.
In the game ofYu-Gi-Oh!, much of the metagame is determined by the Boss Monsters of a deck. A Boss Monster is a card that's generally considered incredibly powerful, usually with high stats and fairly hard summoning condition that has fantastic effects. In some cases, they're generic and in others, they're a major part of an Archetype.
Boss Monsters come in all sorts of flavors, and some are so iconic they've warped entire formats around them. In some cases, they were so good that terms were created inspired by them. These Boss Monsters completely warped the game of Yu-Gi-Oh!, and were some of the best cards ever printed in their respective era.
One of the more recent Boss Monsters, Ultimate Conductor Tyranno single-handedly made Dinosaurs into a meta deck. To summon it, you only have to Banish two Dinosaur-Type Monsters from the Graveyard. Once on the field, it does a whole lot.
During either player's Main Phase, you can destroy a Monster in your hand or on your field to flip all Monsters your opponent controls face-down. Ultimate Conductor Tyranno can also attack all Monsters your opponent controls. Flipping Monsters face-down can completely freeze an opponent's turn since they can't be used for non-Fusion Extra Deck Plays, and its ability to field wipe is incredibly powerful.
While having a mouthful of a name, Super Quantal Mech King Great Magnus is also one of the best Xyz Monsters ever released. It could be turboed out, which in some cases would be enough to win the game on its own.
When it had two materials, it could detach one to shuffle a card on the field into the deck during either player's turn. With four,it was unaffected by card effects(except Super Quant ones) and with six, the opponent couldn't add cards from their deck to their hand. It was so good, it popularized using Kaijus since they were one of the only reliable outs to it.
8. Number 16: Shock Master
Number 16: Shock Master requires three level four Monsters to make, and while a large commitment, is more than worth it. Once per turn, you could detach a material from it and declare a card Type, which would prevent those cards from being able to be activated until the end of your opponent's next turn.
It shares asimilar effect with the banned card Cold Wave, and being able to shut down entire mechanics of the game is way too good to be on a card. It's what made Number 16: Shock Master such a good Boss Monster, and why it's been banned for years.
7. Number 86: Heroic Champion - Rhongomyniad
When it was first released, Number 86: Heroic Champion - Rhongomyniad didn't make too much of a splash. However, with the advent of the Link Era, it shot up to top tier status. Thanks to the sheer power of Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights, turboing out Warrior Monsters was a piece of cake.
This allowed Number 86: Heroic Champion - Rhongomyniad to be Xyz Summoned with at least four materials so that the opponent couldn't Summon any Monsters. Not only that, but it would be unaffected by other card effects making it near impossible to get rid of, as you couldn't even Kaiju it with the summon restriction.
In Yu-Gi-Oh!, a "Towers" refers to a Monster that is unaffected by card effects. It got its name from one of the best Boss Monsters ever, Apoqliphort Towers. The Qli deck could easily turbo out Towers, and since it was pre-Link era, almost no Monster could affect it.
RELATED: Yu-Gi-Oh!: The 10 Best Warrior Monsters, Ranked With incredibly high Attack and Defense, it was almost impossible to beat over it with other Monsters, and was immune to Spell and Trap cards as well. Once per turn, it even forced the opponent to send a Monster from the hand or field to the Graveyard, adding onto the sheer power of Apoqliphort Towers to the point it spent some time on the banlist before falling off due to Link Monsters' introduction.
What started as a lacklusterdeck turned Tier 0once the Link Era began, and a part of that reason is due to the power of their Boss Monster, SPYRAL Sleeper. Set up with SPYRAL GEAR - Last Resort and SPYRAL Resort on the field, it was almost impossible to get rid of.
SPYRAL Sleeper destroys two cards on the opponent's field during either player's turn, and thanks to SPYRAL GEAR - Last Resort's protection, it could be done for no cost. SPYRAL decks could very easily turbo the card out and set up the board. It popularized Droll & Lock Bird in the Main Deck since it was one of the only Hand Traps that could stop SPYRAL from setting up SPYRAL Sleeper.
Dark Armed Dragon officially marked when the Dark Attribute was the way of the future for Yu-Gi-Oh! It was easy to summon, only requiring exactly three Dark Monsters in the Graveyard. It could then Banish a Dark Monster from the Graveyard to destroy a card on the field.
What made Dark Armed Dragon devastating is that neither of its effects were once per turn. As such, you could summon three different Dark Armed Dragons, and easily field wipe the opponent.It was such an overpowered Boss Monsterat the time that many players even quit the game because of it.
Firewall Dragon plagued the game since its release, with many players believing it to have "plot armor" from being banned since it was the Ace Monster of an anime protaginst. Firewall Dragon was the most abusable Link Monster ever printed, with no hard once per turn effects enabling it to constantly loop the effects.
Firewall Dragon led to both Extra Links and FTKs, two things that the player base despised. When it was eventually banned, players all over the world rejoiced, as seeing Firewall Dragon on the field likely meant a loss was coming your way. It's since been errata'd, and is likely to return with it.
2. Master Peace, The True Dracoslaying King
Cards that shut down an entire pool of cardsis hated for how good they are, so a card that can shut down two is phenomenal. That's exactly what Master Peace, The True Dracoslaying King did. It could use Continous Spell and Trap cards for its Tribute Summon as well as Monsters, and it was immune to the types of cards used for its Tribute.
This meant that Master Peace, The True Dracoslaying King was practically immune to everything, so it could easily abuse its effect to destroy a card on the field (which was a Quick Effect to boot). It's was banned in 2018 and shows no sign of returning anytime soon.
1. Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy Of The End
The original behemoth of a Boss Monster, Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy Of The End is the reason the Yu-Gi-Oh! banlist exists. Mixed with Yata Garasu, Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy Of The End got rid of all the cards on the field and hands, and with Yata Garasu, prevented the opponent from drawing any cards for the rest of the game. It was easy to summon to boot.
Even without its effect, Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy Of The End had fantastic stats as well, so it could deal massive amounts of damage then use its effect toburn the opponent for a win. Its effect was significantly nerfed, and it's since returned to the game. However, it remains the best Boss Monster in the game's history.
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