Yu-Gi-Oh! Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon: 2002 and 2023

Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon, coded LOB, is the first booster set of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG. It has two English printings, the first dated March 8, 2002. The second is the 25th Anniversary Edition: its packs first came inside a collector’s set in April 2023, then went on sale on their own on July 14, 2023 at $4.49 for a 9-card pack. Both printings hold the same 126 cards in the same rarities, and the 2023 code simply adds EN.

When did each printing come out?

The 2002 date comes only from the card database.

The first printing is dated Friday, March 8, 2002.

For years the packs could be had only inside a Legendary Collection, and the 25th anniversary made them available as standalone packs. The 2023 printing is dated April 21, 2023, the day the collector’s set launched, and the packs only reached shelves on their own in July. So read a printing’s date as a way to tell printings apart, not as the day a product went on sale.

What is in the set?

The 126 are 87 monster cards, 36 spell cards and 3 trap cards. Konami names three famous cards from the set, among them Exodia the Forbidden One and the spell card Raigeki, and this printing includes both of the set’s Secret Rares. For what separates a Super Rare from an Ultra Rare on the card, see Yu-Gi-Oh! rarities.

Which cards are the top rarities?

The two Secret Rares bookend the set: one has the first number and the other the last. The five Exodia cards sit together at LOB-120 to LOB-124, all Ultra Rare. Every Ultra Rare but Monster Reborn, a spell card, is a monster.

How do the 2002 and 2023 printings differ?

The printings differ in the code, the date and the pack name each is filed under. Each of the 126 cards has exactly two LOB printings:

• 2002: dated March 8, 2002, coded LOB-000 to LOB-125, with no language letters. Hitotsu-Me Giant, for example, is LOB-002.
• 2023: dated April 21, 2023, under the name “LC01 25th Anniversary Edition”, coded LOB-EN000 to LOB-EN125. Hitotsu-Me Giant is LOB-EN002.

The 2023 printing was sold inside the Legendary Collection set, then as 9-card packs.

The number after the letters matches for every card, and so does the rarity: all 126 cards have the same rarity in both printings. Tri-Horned Dragon is a Secret Rare at LOB-000 and at LOB-EN000, and Gaia the Dragon Champion a Secret Rare at LOB-125 and at LOB-EN125.

To tell the two printings apart, let the code in Konami’s database settle it. Our guide to spotting fake Yu-Gi-Oh! cards uses Blue-Eyes White Dragon’s LOB-001 and LOB-EN001 as an example of near twins.

Do LOB cards appear in other sets too?

Many do, under other codes. Tri-Horned Dragon’s database page, for one, also lists a 2012 Super Rare (LCYW-EN157) and a 2026 Starlight Rare (RA05-EN001). In the database, only a code that starts with LOB is filed under this set.

What came in Legendary Collection: 25th Anniversary Edition?

It is a collector’s set that brings back the first Legendary Collection for the card game’s 25th anniversary. It holds:

• Six booster packs, one each of Dark Crisis, Invasion of Chaos, Legend of Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Metal Raiders, Pharaoh’s Servant and Spell Ruler.
• Six Ultra Rare cards: Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Dark Magician, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon and The Winged Dragon of Ra.
• A seventh card, a Quarter Century Secret Rare version of one of those six. Which of the six it is varies from set to set, and the rarity was brand new, made for the 25th anniversary.

It launched on April 21, 2023, with stores in Konami’s official program two days earlier, at a list price of $31.99 a set. Booster packs of Metal Raiders, Spell Ruler, Pharaoh’s Servant and Invasion of Chaos came out on the same July 14, 2023 date as LOB’s.

How many packs are in a LOB box?

A pack holds 9 cards, and the number of packs in a box belongs on the display box’s label; Yu-Gi-Oh! booster boxes shows how to work out a box’s total from it. A booster box is only sealed product while the maker’s wrap is unbroken.

How should you price a LOB card?

From completed sales of the same printing. Rip.fan’s card price lookup covers only English Pokémon cards, so it cannot price LOB. Four things to line up first:

• The code. A 2002 LOB-000 and a 2023 LOB-EN000 are two printings, and a Tri-Horned Dragon coded with other letters, such as RA05-EN001, comes from another set altogether.
• The rarity. Each card keeps its rarity across the two printings, but the set mixes five rarities, so confirm it against Konami’s database.
• The sale price. Only sold listings with dates show what buyers paid; valuing a Yu-Gi-Oh! card and finding what a card sold for go through the method.
• The condition. Two copies of one card, one from 2002 and one from 2023, may be in very different shape; card condition grades defines the terms sellers use.

Grading is covered in grading Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh! and One Piece cards. Konami’s Rarity Collection sets are compared in our guide to all five, and the trading card hub lists our latest trading card guides.

Frequently asked questions

Was Pot of Greed in Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon?

Yes. Pot of Greed, one of the famous Spell Cards the set introduced along with Raigeki, is a Rare in LOB.

How many Fusion Monsters are in LOB?

10 of its 87 monsters, Flame Swordsman among them, and 72 of the others are Normal Monsters. Its 36 Spell Cards include 15 Equip Spells and 6 Field Spells.

What is special about the 6 Ultra Rares in Legendary Collection: 25th Anniversary Edition?

They are variant cards of famous monsters from the original anime series. Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon and The Winged Dragon of Ra come as the original Egyptian God Card promos, long requested by collectors.