Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon is the first set of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game. It was first released in North America in English on March 8, 2002. The set was released in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game in English in North America, Europe, Oceania, and Worldwide English; in French in Europe and Canada; and in German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish; in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Official Card Game it was released in Asian-English and Korean.
With many cards from the manga and anime series, the 126 cards in this English set were chosen from the Japanese packs Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon and Phantom God, the former of which this set is named after. These packs are prized for the rare "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" and the "Forbidden One" cards.
Several of the European versions of Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon (European English, European French, German, and Italian) only contained 103 of the 126 cards present in the North American version. Many of the cards not printed in this European release of this set were later printed in the European release of Magic Ruler (for those languages). Later, Upper Deck removed the regional restriction on cards, opening up the North American card market to European collectors and players.
History
Upper Deck Entertainment first announced "exclusive rights to market and distribute" a version of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Official Card Game—which had already sold over 3.5 billion cards in Japan since 1999—in North America on February 11, 2002. In the press release, they announced an upcoming release of "Yu-Gi-Oh! Starter Packs [...] and nine-card Booster Packs", corresponding to Starter Deck: Yugi, Starter Deck: Kaiba, and Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon, to be distributed to stores on March 1. These were not the first cards printed or distributed for the TCG; a different print of the Starter Deck: Yugi "Summoned Skull" had been privately distributed as a sample card some time in 2001, and another different print of it had been distributed during the Kids' WB! "Duelin' Monsters Giveaway" in November 2001.
The set was first released in North America in English on March 8, 2002; in Japan in Asian-English on August 8, 2002; in the United Kingdom in English in December 2002; in France in French in March 2003;[7][9] in Germany in German on April 25, 2003; in Canada in French on July 26, 2003; in Italy in Italian on September 12, 2003; in Oceania in English in September 2003;[15] in Spain in Spanish in October 2003; in South Korea in Korean on December 9, 2003; and in Portugal in Portuguese in June 2004. The Portuguese release was delayed.
On October 4, 2002, the North American set (LOB-XXX) was reprinted in the Booster Pack Collectors Tins 2002. This print changed the name of "Trial of Hell" to "Trial of Nightmare", and removed the references to death from the lore of "Enchanting Mermaid", "Succubus Knight", and "Witty Phantom".
On September 1, 2003, the North American set was reprinted again in the Collectible Tins 2003. This print changed the term Magic Card on all cards to Spell Card. Upper Deck announced on October 14, 2003 that following this release, the Booster Packs Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon, Metal Raiders, Magic Ruler, Pharaoh's Servant, and Labyrinth of Nightmare would be retired.
The European (LOB-EXXX) and Spanish sets were reprinted in the Collectible Tins 2004 on September 1, 2004, and a worldwide English version of the set (LOB-ENXXX) was printed on December 1, 2004 in Master Collection Volume 1. In all regions, the worldwide printing included the 126 cards from the original North American release. This print introduced new errata on many cards.
On October 1, 2005, the Worldwide English set (LOB-ENXXX) was reprinted in Forbidden Legacy.
In 2010, the North American English, European English, Oceanic English, German, and Italian sets were reprinted in Legendary Collection: the German and Italian prints were released on September 30, the European and Oceanic English prints on October 1, and the North American English print on October 5. The English prints ignored the Master Collection Volume 1 errata and used the errata from previous reprints, though it also introduced new errata on a few cards. The German and Italian prints included new errata on many cards. These cards were not printed with stars in their Eyes of Anubis, unlike future Legendary Collection sets, and can be challenging to differentiate from cards released in 2003 Collectible Tins.
On March 15, 2011, the set was re-released in South Korea in Korean. A coupon was included on the front flap of the box lid which could be exchanged for the Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon promotional cards.
On November 15, 2013, the North American set was reprinted in Legendary Collection: Gameboard Edition. This set was reprinted again in 2014 and 2017, with packs denoting these years on their fronts.
In September 2018, the European English and German sets were also reprinted in Legendary Collection: Gameboard Edition. In German, the cards were reprinted with the latest errata listed on the official database at the time of the release.
In September 2019, the set was re-released in South Korea in Korean. Reprinted in the original box style but with black tipped packs rather than the typical blue tips. Boxes produced in 2019 and later continue to carry the 2011 date despite being printed much later. Also, the cards were printed as they were originally, in the corresponding Card layout for the time, and their texts weren't updated for erratas or changes in style, making them hard to distinguish from older cards; however they all carry stars in their Eyes of Anubis (an updated conterfeiting technique). The sets continued to be printed through at least 2021. Later printings from this re-release are far darker and much more saturated than copies made in 2019, which is consistent with other sets re-released at this time including Legacy of Darkness, Pharaonic Guardian and Dark Crisis.
Breakdown
Each TCG and Asian-English pack contained 9 cards and each box contained 24 packs. Each Korean pack contained 10 cards and each box contained 30 packs. In the Korean rerelease, each pack contained 5 cards and each box contained 30 packs (40 in the 2019 version).
The North American English, Oceanic English, Worldwide English, French-Canadian, Portuguese, Spanish, Asian-English, Korean and Korean re-release prints of this set contained 126 cards, including:
- 2 Secret Rares
- 10 Ultra Rares
- 10 Super Rares
- 22 Rares
- 82 Commons
The European English, French, German and Italian prints of this set contained 103 cards, including:
- 2 Secret Rares
- 10 Ultra Rares
- 9 Super Rares
- 17 Rares
- 65 Commons
Galleries
North American English
1st Edition / Unlimited Edition
European English
1st Edition / Unlimited Edition
Oceanic English
1st Edition
Worldwide English
Unlimited Edition
French-Canadian
1st Edition
French-Canadian
Unlimited Edition
French
1st Edition / Unlimited Edition
German
1st Edition / Unlimited Edition
Italian
1st Edition / Unlimited Edition
Portuguese
1st Edition
Spanish
1st Edition / Unlimited Edition
Asian-English
1st Edition / Unlimited Edition
Korean
1st Edition / Unlimited Edition
