Quick answer
CardSpicy takes a card’s legality from the game’s own rules body rather than from a price guide, and Yu-Gi-Oh!’s Forbidden & Limited List is published as exactly that. It carries four statuses counted in copies — Forbidden (0), Limited (1), Semi-Limited (2) and Unlimited (3) — and the count applies across the Main, Extra and Side Deck combined, not per pile.
The list restricts card names rather than objects, so every printing of a restricted name is affected equally — and a card’s place on it says nothing about what it is worth.
Yu-Gi-Oh! is unusual in that its most-discussed list is not a rarity chart and not a set list. It is a legality list, and it is published by the game’s own rules body rather than by a price guide.
Four statuses, counted in copies
| Status | Copies allowed in a deck |
|---|---|
| Forbidden | 0 |
| Limited | 1 |
| Semi-Limited | 2 |
| Unlimited | 3 (the default for any name not on the list) |
The count is applied across the Main, Extra and Side Deck combined, so the limit is on the deck as a whole rather than on one pile of it.
It works on names, not on objects
This is the part that catches people out. The list restricts card names. Every printing of that name is affected equally, which means an alternate artwork of a forbidden card is exactly as unusable as the original. A player cannot solve a restriction by owning a different version of the same card, because there is no different card — in the rules there is only the name.
Why a card is on the list
The list is a balancing instrument. A name is restricted because of how it plays, not because it is old, rare or expensive. That means its presence on the list has nothing to do with its collectibility, and its collectibility has nothing to do with its presence — the two are separate questions that people regularly conflate when they look at a card whose status has changed.
Legality is a property of a date
The list is revised periodically, and names move on and off it. Since the physical card never changes, a collection can gain or lose playability without a single object being altered. That is why a card’s legal status should always be dated: “legal” is not a property of the card, it is a property of the card at a moment in a particular environment.
More than one list exists
Yu-Gi-Oh! does not run a single list for everyone. The OCG and the TCG keep separate lists, and the Simplified Chinese event environment has been given its own list as well; some other formats and the digital games carry their own. The OCG and TCG article covers why the game is split that way.
What this page does not claim
No prices, and no reproduction of the list itself. The list changes on the publisher’s schedule, and a copy of it here would go stale. Read it from Konami, and read it dated.
Frequently asked questions
How many copies of a forbidden card can I play?
None. A Forbidden card has a deck limit of zero across the Main, Extra and Side Deck combined.
Does the list restrict a printing or a card name?
A card name. Every printing of that name is affected equally, so an alternate artwork of a restricted card carries the same restriction as any other copy.
Why do two players in different countries use different lists?
Because the OCG and the TCG are separate environments with separate card pools, and each keeps its own Forbidden & Limited List. The Simplified Chinese event environment has also been given its own list.
Can a card come off the list?
Yes. The list is revised periodically, and names move on and off it. Since the physical card does not change, legality should always be quoted with a date.
Does a rare card get restricted more often?
No. The list is about how a card plays, not about how rare or old it is. Rarity and legality are separate questions.
Sources
Sources and further reading
- Konami — the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME official card database (Yu-Gi-Oh! Neuron): the card search, the set list and the Forbidden & Limited List. The database is published in Japanese, English and Simplified Chinese.
- Konami — the official Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG rulebook: the parts printed on a card, deck construction by card name, and the current Forbidden & Limited List.
- Card names, attributes, types and printed ATK/DEF values are taken from the publisher’s own database rather than from third-party price guides.
- This page was compiled 2026-10-06. Where the publisher’s database does not define something, this page says nothing about it.
Card names, attributes, types and printed ATK/DEF values are quoted from Konami’s own card database at the date cited and are subject to change. This page is identification and structure, not valuation: we publish no price for Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, because we have not yet run a checked pull of graded sales for the game.
Related reading
- The Yu-Gi-Oh! card index — how the game is structured
- OCG and TCG: the two card pools, explained
- One name, many printings
Where to go next
- The CardSpicy card index — every card we track, with its PSA 10 population and market history (195 cards).
- The illustrator index — every artist behind those cards, card by card (110 artists).
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