How to build Yu Gi Oh in Dungeons and Dragons (Yugi in DnD)

In honor of the passing of Kazuki Takahashi the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh I wanted to make a character build for Yugi Mutuo in Dungeons and Dragons (D&D 5e)
Character sheet and more on our Patreon here: / dndbuilds
Join our Public Discord: / discord
Making a full blown card wielding summoner in Dungeons and Dragons was a lot of fun, so I'm really happy I got the opportunity to make this build.
#yugioh
#dnd
#dungeonsanddragons
-CHAPTERS-
00:00 Starting Race, Background and Stats
2:00 Starting Class
07:30 Multiclassing
08:20 Using Your Cards
09:45 First Creature Summoned
11:45 2nd Level Cards
12:40 Boosting your Familiar
13:25 Feat you thought I forgot
14:10 3rd Level Cards
14:47 Demons are Dangerous
15:30 Bring the Cards to Life
15:55 4th Level Cards & Exodia
17:00 5th Level Cards & Dragons!
18:23 6th Level Cards & Pot of Greed
19:25 Only for Cool DM's
20:00 7th Level Cards
21:00 8th Level Cards
21:22 9th Level Cards True Card Monsters
22:24 Tweaks for actual play
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Twitter: / dndbuildsrj
Personal Twitter: / rjmclain
Facebook: / dnd-builds-10799128528...
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Instagram: / boba_thetoba

[@jacobmcclenny1602]

He's just a homebrew warlock that gets a special version of the deck of many things

[@LReezy1992]

So I've built two YGO characters in Atem and Jaden, and one fun little roleplay thing i did was actually construct a small 20-25 card deck of yugioh cards, tailored to emulate the spells and traps that i have access to on my character sheet. Then when we roll initiative or if an appropriate rp situation arises, i actually shuffle up and draw a hand and those are the spells/traps/summons i have access to, just like i was actually dueling in the game. It was a lot of fun and added a ton of flavor to the character, although beware, you can actually brick just like in the card game 😂

[@drgandalfai]

any Sheet? I'm thinking of the same idea but im quite new to D&D

[@dndbuilds]

EDIT: one mistake on this build, you can't get an invocation with a level requirement you don't meet in Warlock with that feat, so another feat or invocation choice would be needed. I'm pretty happy with this card casting summoner DnD Build. Pretty happy with how it turned out.

[@LordOfDarkness8296]

New UA dropped today and it has a "Cartomancer" feat. You can use a deck of playing cards as a spellcasting focus AND can store a spell into a card then use a bonus action to flourish the card and cast the spell. There are even spells in the UA based off of the Deck of Many Things. Thought I'd come and tell you since it was just too coincidental that this new UA would have a feat that would fit a Yu-Gi-Oh character so well.

[@dndbuilds]

@@LordOfDarkness8296 I wish you could see the Kermit the Frog style arm waving I'm doing in frustration for terrible timing lol. OF COURSE THAT GETS RELEASE 4 DAYS AFTER I RELEASE A VIDEO ABOUT IT!!! Lol, thanks for letting me know though, I will definitely keep it in mind in case I wind up building Kaiba or another card caster.

[@ps1king]

Isnt it obius dark magecion ad dark magician girl are my favorite

[@dndbuilds]

@@ps1king lol, I think I could have made that educated guess

[@Ubermensch9240]

Hey. Shin Megami Tensei may not be as popular as Persona, but I was wondering if you had any plans for it.

[@anishshirodkar484]

For anyone rewatching this build, the warlock’s expanded spell list is only more options, NOT additional gained spells.

[@reloadpsi]

It's an easy trap to fall into. Misreading the rules is an integral part of any trading card game circle though.

[@Ubermensch9240]

FUCK.

[@mr.prince7086]

DnD abilities literally sound like the names of yugioh cards. This video is underrated

[@dndbuilds]

Thank you I'm flattered, I never realized how much they already sounded like cards lol

[@jmurray1110]

Well sone original sinful spoils sounds like a cool home brew spell but D/D/D super doom king purple Armageddon not so much

[@SebasTian58323]

The pyramid thing around his neck is called The millennium puzzle

[@dndbuilds]

I know :/ , I was just blanking on it while I was recording unfortunately.

[@SebasTian58323]

@@dndbuilds it's all good, I felt like you know it but we're just having a brain fart when you tried to actually remember it.

[@ULTIMATZEKROM]

My favorite cards would probably be Stardust Dragon (5d's is my favorite YGO series, and Stardust was pretty much the main staple of my Synchro Deck when I actually played), Dark Magician Girl (for obvious reasons), and Blue Eyes White Dragon (all these years later, and still as iconic as when the game first came out. Also still the Normal Monster with the Highest Attack).

[@dndbuilds]

I had seen Stardust's card art a few times while making this video, but didn't look into it as much as after you mentioned it. That is a really cool card.

[@MarkoArillius]

@@dndbuilds Yugioh 5ds is probably the most mature Yugioh series yet. It's opening is also fricking amazing. Now, it's still a kids show, but it deals with a lot of mature stuff.

[@alexandercross9081]

So I have 2 methods I take for Yu-gi-oh in D&D. One is RAW the other is homebrew. 1rst, Raw, I go more illusionist wizard, with a focus on Phantasmal Force, Phantasmal Killer, Mental Prison, Simulacrum, and Illusory Dragon. 2nd is Homebrew, specifically an item made to pair with a deck of illusions. Basically, it lets you cast either Fantasmal Force or Fantasmal Killer on the creature you just summoned into illusory life. My favorite monster Red Eyes Black Dragon.

[@herohut725]

Im saying this before watching this video. My friends and i made a Yugioh D&D game. We were playing regular D&D and i asked wouldn't it be cool if we could duel in the story? So i decided to experiments with some ideas. At first i took inspiration from the Labyrinth duel in season 1 then but instead of the monsters moving by their level the characters move their token along squares by a 10 sided die roll. Then the heroes duel against a set number of minions controlled by the dungeon master and one other depending how many heroes there are because the dungeon master controls all the different decks of the minions and is dueling simultaneously with different heroes. There are battle rewards like the minions drop forbidden cards the heroes can use and they must collect the millennium items to help them against the main boss. If a hero loses then they convert to bad guys and if all heroes are converted then the story is over and evil wins. If a converted hero is beaten by a hero then they are heroes again but start with less life points then when the story started. Its basically a long survival duel because after you beat an enemy your field and life points stay the same. You can reset the field on certain conditions and you can gain life points when you beat an enemy. Its a lot of fun. Favorite single card is Dark Magician. Favorite archetype are the Elemental Heroes. If you like casual/character duels and have edopro, my discord is Jankmaker #8829

[@dndbuilds]

That sounds like a really interesting mechanic, I would totally do a few short games like that

[@Getsuei_Tsugikuni]

He forgot to mention that you could Summon Winged Sun God Ra and deal Radiant Damage (to make it more like the god card).

[@ddjacksonjr97]

I never got to play dnd but I'm really into watching dnd podcasts. If I do get a chance I would love to play a summoner type character that has some yugioh flair.

[@chrisham7769]

I definitely like the idea of activating trap cards with this build. I'm working on making a Black Luster Soldier Envoy of the beginning build and a Dark Magican build. So when I use this Yugi character in a campaign, I can "summon" my allies to fight for me.

[@MagusAgrippa8]

I love the Gravekeeper card archetype, which I feel is a great use of the Egyptian theming and could very well be a nod to how the spellcasters of the ancient era did battle before duel monsters became things they could summon from those stone tablets.

[@victorvicg]

my favorite archetype is Odd-Eyes. I love how a dragon can change and evolve in almost every direction and at the time have a variant for each special summon in a fun deck with a lot of options to play with and so many cool cards with sub archetypes to work with as perfomapal and magician >3

[@user-rh6nx9oj6x]

black luster soldier is my favorite monster, the OG blue cards. also gotta mention C62: Neo Galaxy-Eyes Prime Photon Dragon , what an over the top name for a card

[@dragonson04]

My favorite card, for reasons that escape me, is Beaver Warrior. I honestly don't know why.

[@dndbuilds]

I completely forgot that card existed, but just the fact that it has that concept for a monster is hilarious

[@scorpio_the_venom2581]

I know I'm late to the party, but my favorite card is definitely Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End. I have so many good memories of using it in causal plays.

[@cassiedemke303]

I love Joey and the red eyes black dragon

[@Tony_AM009]

I'm glad that I've stumbled onto this channel recently. I've been watching several videos. At some point, unless you've done so already, it would be neat if you would consider making a build for the anime character Asta or Yuno from the anime series Black Clover. Asta, the main character, is an orphan born without mana. He acquires a tainted grimoire that has a devil trapped inside of it, which Asta uses to help people and become a magic knight, specializing in anti-magic via tainted swords. Yuno, the rival of the main character who grew up with him at an orphanage, is a grimoire-using magic knight that casts wind magic. He gains within the first or second season a wind spirit as an ally, who helps boosts the power of his wind magic. The wind spirit is a petite fairy-looking girl. Yuno later on learns that he's the heir to the throne in a neighboring kingdom. In the event you do make a video on a character from this series, it would be good to research the anime and manga.

[@ultimateshadeofwar]

Masked HERO Koga is my favorite card, through i love the HERO Archetype overall, and my favorite Yugioh character would be Jounoichi/Joey if we take just the original series. But if we take the whole franchise then it's Judai/Jaden Yuki. From a teenager that just love playing to an young adult that understands the consecuences of what his actions have, tries to do the right thing, and found it in himself to still enjoy it.

[@christianjustin20]

Unfortunatly Ive never had the chance to play D&D but I like these videos.

[@dndbuilds]

Well I'm glad you're here and enjoying them either way 😁

[@dndbuilds]

Also if you did have an urge to play, some folks on my discord play randomly. Not to mention my Dungeon Master Patron game that I run, but that's really if you wanted to dive in... But if you're just looking to check it out, I highly encourage my checking out my discord.

[@vvxgamelord1061]

My favorite Yu-Gi-Oh card is the spell card cunvolshen of nature it's really cool and fun seeing the cayos unfold because of it thanks sind.V.

[@LordOfDarkness8296]

I have always been a fan of Yami Yugi even though I loved Blue Eyes White Dragon more than Dark Magician.

[@dndbuilds]

I did too, even though Dark Magician was a major staple in Yugi's deck, how could you not like Blue Eyes White Dragon? It was so epic

[@VanillaMidgetSSBM]

My favorite card is Super Conductor Tyranno Big Bungus Dinosaurs were always my favorite, and Super Conductor Tyranno used to be the biggest bungus dinosaur

[@dndbuilds]

There's so many insane cards in this game, I just looked that one up and it's really freaking cool

[@matthewherlihy1106]

You should meet ultimate conductor tyranno.

[@ErikkuBlade]

Light End Dragon. It's originally from the Yugioh GX Manga but it got reprinted during the 5ds Era as a Synchro Monster. Personally, I really love its effect, which has it decrease its own attack by 500 but decrease the opponent's monster by 1500. It's always been my go to when dealing with threats with 3500 ATK or less. Its design is also very cool, its card art makes me think of the Signer dragons too, so when playing one of the DS games for Yugioh 5ds, I always rush to try and get that card as soon as possible.

[@alishlalani2751]

I like this! I will say for a familiar, I use a bat because a 60 ft. Blindsight is OP!! And you can get this as early as level 1!

[@J0EKICKASSS]

Great Yugi build! An interesting build I would like to see would be The Dark Magician himself. Spells like Thousand Knives would be Cloud of Daggers, maybe Mirror Image would be Magical Hats, Blight or Magic Missile could be his signature Dark Magic Attack etc. The Ultimate Wizard in terms of Attack and Defense!

[@aaronsound]

thank you a lot!

[@dndbuilds]

Glad I could help

[@dacomicboi519]

My favorite card is Ultimate Conductor Tyranno, it's the ace card of my deck!

[@pauliepizzo8633]

Love the several hero different types mostly the mask heros

[@prestonshepherd8621]

Blue eyes twin burst dragon is comepletely broken, as it attacks twice with 3000 dmg each

[@timthefluffydragon]

Hey, I just wanted to let you know that you made a mistake in this video as well as your Joker video. When an eldritch invocation has a level prerequisite, it means warlock level not character level. So Yu-Gi can't take protection of the talisman and Joker can't take chains of carceri, they may be a high enough level character but they are not a high enough level warlock to gain those invocations. I don't think this breaks either of these builds as I'm sure you could substitute the invocations and or the feats for different more general options like devil's sight or tough. Other than that small mistake I really love both these builds and cant wait to see what you come up with next. Keep up the great work!

[@dndbuilds]

Yeah, I actually realized that thankfully before spending too much time on a recent build, I'm going to add a note in the comments of those videos just to make sure. Thanks for pointing it out, especially in a respectful way. I'm glad you're enjoying the vids!!!

[@Lastofthesigilites]

One thing you gotta know about magic jar. You possess someone then cast clone in their body. Then when you die you go into the cloned body of that person. That Barbarian with a capped con mod and high dex? Yeah I'm borrowing your body bro

[@kathieaiguier6774]

My favorite card is mirrorforce dragon

[@zinaku2003]

Blue eyes for me been playing since 2001

[@dndbuilds]

I knew I wouldn't be alone as a Blue Eyes fan, it's definitely a well loved card

[@butterbaconcomic5140]

ITS TIME TO D-D-D-D-D-DUEL

[@dndbuilds]

I absolutely had to throw in that clip lol

[@frogmad13]

For me it is Dimension wall. My deck mostly trap cards and life point damage base cards.

[@dndbuilds]

Whenever I play a TCG I love that deck style

[@khaledchoucri1567]

I would've gone for Shadow sorcerer instead of wizard as all of yugi's magic is pretty much "Dark"-themed plus it is more inherent rather than a result of studying and stuff

[@BoyKagome]

Yugi is the definition of Kelathiar... He has a second soul inside of him.

[@noditianniz-emir7075]

Yugioh is not a franchise that appeals to me, but a summoner build sounds interesting.

[@dndbuilds]

Totally understand, I'm hoping this turns out to fill that need to be a summoner as much as possible.

[@darksan34]

correction on the protection of the talisman. you have to be a 7th level warlock for it. not a 7th level character.

[@masakitheweeb496]

11 o’clock on the dot

[@dndbuilds]

Yup, trying to stick to that as much as possible, so you have a weekly DnD Build to enjoy every week

[@grootyoda7759]

17:46 sorry, but as a Yu-Gi-Oh nerd, I have to point out it is pronounced SLY-FER, and the lucky feat would fit here, but great build! RIP Kazuki Takahashi, the true King of Games.

[@dndbuilds]

Yeah I always struggle with my pronunciation and pretty much anything so thanks for the correction, I wish I could say I was a bigger Yu-Gi-Oh nerd but I'm sure you probably have me beat, so I bow down to a true Master duelist

[@grootyoda7759]

@@dndbuilds By the way, what is the source for the image at 17:27 ?

[@dndbuilds]

@@grootyoda7759 I got that one from Wallpaper Abyss, which could source it from almost anywhere unfortunately. But at least for me I got to it by googling "dragon yu gi oh wallpaper" and it was like the second image. But that's just luck of the algorithm. If I could post a link I would, but I think that might set off some sort of flag on YT's side.

[@grootyoda7759]

Thanks!

[@Creativegenius47]

My favorite card woud usually be Strdust dragon cause of 5D's, but im gonna have to go with my first love Black Rose Drangon and my First card ever Obelisk The Tormentor!!!!!

[@jonathanpotter4197]

My favorite "cards" more or less deck is the Toon Deck Pegasus

[@grootyoda7759]

My favorite character is probably Yuto, and my favorite card is probably heavymetalfoes electrumite. #makependulumgreatagain

[@dndbuilds]

When you said "heavymetalfoes electrumite" I thought it sounded like it might be kind of a cheesy card. But then I looked it up, and could see why you liked it, it's pretty badass.

[@lucarioknightb7685]

I’ve seen a couple other Yugi builds, but this took a different direction, and that’s a lot of fun. Build seems really relevant; only thing really holding it back being the point-by stat acquisition.

[@dndbuilds]

Yeah, if you rolled for stats instead and got really lucky you could max out one or two of them a bit more easily and really pull off some interesting stuff. I tend to just lean towards one of the more standard ways of getting points though just so no build relies just on luck. Except for maybe my Sonic or one punch man build lol

[@lucarioknightb7685]

@@dndbuilds wise choice. Best to show it can still work in less than perfect scenarios. :)

[@Rbrcka]

Got some more DND Build ideas! Saw a DND meme… it was a tortle monk with both oogway from kung fu panda and Michelangelo front TMNT. So how about the Furious 5 with Po/Shifu/Oogway and then the TMNT team with Splinter/April (bard imo)/ Casey Keep it up!

[@dndbuilds]

I've been thinking a lot about some TMNT builds, but I do want to save them as a surprise for a DnD session I have in mind.

[@darksan34]

Number Ic1000: Numerounius Numerounia is my favourite card

[@HeHndz]

my favorite yu-gi-oh card is monster card time wizard

[@satsumar]

favorite Yu-Gi-Oh! Card: The Seal of Orichalcos

[@noir4180]

My favorite monster, would have to be dark flare dragon I think

[@jmurray1110]

You know Druid could work for specific deck types like natures or melffy or if you want to get weird flowercardian

[@NightmareJackle]

My favorite card is gate guardian and yubel

[@christianjustin20]

My favorite Yugioh card is Mystic Mine.

[@opheliatrahan4185]

My favorite card is Fallen Angel of Roses

[@wowguy1243]

my favourite Character is Mai Valentine and my favourite card is Monster reborn

[@RiotNSmile]

Not really a favorite card as you need all three, but the masked knight lv3 lv5 and lv7 are by far my favorites, it's sad that there's no actual cards of them, but konami has put them into duel links which is how they became my favorites and a staple of any deck i use in that game.

[@chrisfreese8713]

My favourite is torn between black skull dragon and buster blader

[@gleeposworld1908]

I suggested this Wahoooooooo

[@dndbuilds]

Yeah, I'm happy you got the chance to see it. I had some fun with this one.

[@eleanordawes8634]

Favourite yugioh card would be eldlich the golden lord or aliester the invoker

[@clintonmeyers7267]

My favorite character is Yugi/Yugioh/Atem/Pharaoh Favorite card(s) are Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl

[@AdamX84]

Kaiba and Blue-Eyes White Dragon RIP Kazuki Takahashi

[@dndbuilds]

Blue eyes truly is iconic!!!

[@LordDeathwing17]

Quick question: can this build be used for other characters from Yugioh? I ask because I’m trying to build Shun Kurosaki/Shay Obsidian from Arc-V, and he uses a deck of mechanical birds.

[@dndbuilds]

You could definitely still stick with that, and I might actually recommend if you're going with mostly mechanical things to go with an artificer and possibly a battle smith

[@SneakattackMTG6833]

Im homebrew the milenium items the puzzle for example gives the user the lucky feat

[@dndbuilds]

I could see Pegasus' eye used as the spell Foresight, but I like the concept a lot!

[@SneakattackMTG6833]

@@dndbuilds the scale will fuse two players together like the dragon ball fusion dance

[@johncosco2348]

My favourite card is Dragonmaid Sheou

[@Mistwalker801]

The holding off on the feats and eldritch invocations chosen is tripping me up, cuz I thought it you don't use it upon level up you sort of lose it? You can't really just delay the choices during level up, can you?

[@dndbuilds]

So you can take whichever one you want at the very beginning, but the feat explicitly says that whenever you gain a level up you can replace the invocation with another one. So early on it really doesn't matter, and then once you hit that level 7 you finally get to use it in a way that makes the most sense.

[@Mistwalker801]

@@dndbuilds Ah, I see, that definitely helps! So I can choose any other eldritch invocations in the meantime until I hit 7 and I can change it accordingly, which definitely helps. As much as I want to start at level 7 to get all the goodies proper from the start, unfortunately I can only start at level 1 or 5 and have to work my way up; ah well, such is the way of AL ;-P

[@jeremytapia2384]

Dark Magician

[@azariahemery849]

Slifer the sky dragon and Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon

[@DarkFire352]

Monster Reborn

[@nickbest2229]

So what is your celestial Parton ? Who you pick ?

[@anishshirodkar484]

Yami Yugi, The spirit inhabiting the Millennium puzzle

[@stormrogers5318]

Can you do Pegasus

[@gleeposworld1908]

I know I just suggested something but what about Kratos for God Of War

[@dndbuilds]

I definitely want to do Kratos, but I know they're going to be coming out with a new God of War in the near future, so I might try to time it a bit closer to the next game.

[@mafiakickproductions]

Did you just create a better version of Dungeon Dice Monsters :O

[@dndbuilds]

I've never actually tried that game, but if I'm happy you seem to like it 😁

[@ShoshanTheElegant]

Dark magician, all day long.

[@benjaminusplus1]

Felgrand Dragon

[@mybrainhurts3727]

DDD Oracle Kind D'Arc is mah girl.

[@clintonmeyers7267]

Dark Magician/Dark Magician Girl

[@dndbuilds]

They're a definite close second for me!

[@franciscodircio6793]

Tasuke knight

[@dndbuilds]

I had to look that one up, I like how it's a knight but the card art is has him posed almost like E. Honda with his hands out.

[@silk4710]

🥑

[@dndbuilds]

I was almost starting to worry I hadn't seen the trusty Silk with that Avocado yet. Something new this time, for stats, how about an avocado race. Avocado Speed:0 Age: up to 2 weeks before mush Special ability: indestructible core - upon death, in the right environment, core can be reborn into a new avocado.

[@phillipreel1774]

Chromatic Orb is actually a stupid expensive spell to cast.

[@vacantsix1586]

My favorite card is my profile picture

[@TheArkLich]

Persuasion will also be great so you can cheat at card games on the regular by just making up random shit lol

[@dndbuilds]

Totally valid, although you might wind up leaning more towards deception with that but either way solid charisma check

[@inferniteninja8792]

Don't you mean duel disk?

[@loganphillips2166]

I never cared about Yu-Gi-Oh. That creates a weird curiosity since I assume it will be a summoner with maybe illusion spellcaster.

[@godanubis6665]

12:58 im sorry what 🤨

[@dndbuilds]

Yeah, you can cast touch based spells through your familiar, that turns into a big exploit with dragon's breath. It's honestly one of the best combos when using a familiar in combat.

[@Mario.1997]

Summoner build much.. 😆

[@dndbuilds]

Hell yeah it is, and I love it lol

[@emmanuelhall8926]

black paladin and my boy buster blader. fuck dragons lol

[@dndbuilds]

That's a bold statement lol

[@Baes_Theorem]

His name is not YuGiOh. It's just Yugi. Or Atem.

[@novaprime9084]

Obnoxious Celtic Guardian