Top 10 "Yu-Gi-Oh!" Monsters You Want Destroyed in Battle

Destroying Monsters in Battle

Eliminating your opponent's monsters is a key part of winning any duel; you begin directly attacking life points once your opponent controls none. And being able to battle immediately is one of the advantages granted to the player not going first.

While you don't normally want to lose your cards, many monsters use destruction effects when defeated, helping you recover from the loss. Some of these only trigger from battle destructions, while others can also be used from effect elimination; either way, these are ten monsters you want destroyed in Yu-Gi-Oh!

10. Unchained Twins - Rakea and Aruha

Use in: Unchained decks

The Unchained Twins thrive on destruction, both summoning a different Unchained from your hand or deck when destroyed (from either battle or effect). And they can often do so themselves; Rakea can destroy your card as a quick effect, while Aruha can destroy a card to summon itself from hand.

When destroyed, you'll often summon Unchained Soul of Disaster from deck, who can link summon using opposing monster, often building to the link-4 boss Unchained Abomination.

9. Surgical Striker - H.A.M.P.

Use in: Sky Striker decks

Hamp is always treated as a Sky Striker card, and as long as you control one, you can summon Hamp to either field by tributing a monster from that field. This is similar to a Kaiju card, offering a great way to get around enemy monsters that can't be destroyed or targeted.

From there, attack your own Hamp and destroy it to trigger its destruction ability (which activates from your graveyard even if you summoned Hamp to your opponent's field), letting you target and destroy a card they control.

8. Dinomorphia Diplos and Therizia

Use in: Dinomorphia decks

When Diplos is summoned, he sends a Dinomorphia card from deck to grave; Therizia instead sets a Dinomorphia trap from deck. And when either is destroyed, they banish a trap from GY to summon a different level 4 or lower Dinomorphia from graveyard. Two useful on-archetype monsters with both entrance and exit effects, plus both are easily searched with the spell Fossil Dig.

Oh, and since both are dark monsters with zero defense, they're recoverable from graveyard by the spell Recurring Nightmare.

7. Dupe Frog

Use in: Water decks

Dupe Frog has solid 2000 DEF and finds a different Frog when sent from field to grave; he also prevents opposing monsters from attacking your other cards. But he's often used as a bonus to the feared xyz monster Toadally Awesome, who can negate effects and detach materials to summon Frogs.

So, either summon Dupe from deck with Toadally, or use Dupe alongside another level 2 (Paleozoic cards work well) to summon Toadally. You can also recover two water monsters with 1500 or less ATK in your graveyard with the spell Salvage.

6. Odd-Eyes Wizard Dragon

Use in: Pendulum and Lair of Darkness decks

The most underrated Odd-Eyes card, you'll often pendulum summon Wizard, who wields solid 2500 ATK/DEF. And when destroyed, he summons a different Odd-Eyes from hand, deck, or graveyard, then lets you find the spell Spiral Flame Strike from grave. This also forms a fantastic combo with the scale effect of Odd-Eyes Arc Pendulum, who summons an Odd-Eyes when one is destroyed; wait for your opponent to destroy Wizard, use its effect to summon an Odd-Eyes and grab Spiral, then revive Wizard with Arc Pendulum!

Heck, while Arc Pendulum's effect is once per turn, Wizard's isn't, so if destroyed again in the same turn, he can activate yet again. And Lair of Darkness decks also use Wizard for its first effect, summoning itself by tributing a dark monster (Lair lets you use opposing cards).

5. The Legendary Exodia Incarnate

Use in: Exodia decks

You can only special summon Exodia Incarnate by tributing a Forbidden One card, any of the five Exodia pieces (which win the game when collected in hand). Once out, Incarnate Exodia is unaffected by opposing card effects, an amazing defensive power, and gains 1000 ATK for each Exodia piece in your graveyard.

He also recovers a piece at the end of your turn, and when destroyed by battle, lets you reveal any number of pieces in hand to draw that many cards! That really accelerates your Exodia collection, and to quickly get pieces in grave to boost Incarnate's ATK, use the continuous trap Obliterate.

4. Purple Poison Magician

Use in: Pendulum Magician decks

Here's one of the best pendulum magicians in the game. Purple Poison has nice 2100 DEF, a great low-scale value of 1, and can destroy himself in the scale to boost your dark spellcaster by 1200 ATK for one fight.

Plus, when destroyed (whether by battle or card effect, including its own), you can target and destroy an opposing face-up card. This simply forms a brutal removal loop; keep pendulum summoning Purple Poison and popping enemy cards, especially when combined with the continuous Magician trap Time Pendulumgraph.

3. Fire Hand/Ice Hand

Use in: Any deck, especially 60-card ones

Fire and Ice Hand both activate when destroyed and sent to the grave; Fire destroys an enemy monster and summons an Ice Hand from deck, while Ice hits a spell/trap and summons Fire.

Notably, they can only summon from deck, not hand or graveyard, but this still wreaks havoc on enemy fields and can be triggered manually by attacking stronger cards. You can also get destroyed Hands back in deck with Pot of Avarice, or use the spell Salvage to recover Ice Hands from graveyard.

And even when you run out of new monsters to summon, you still at least get the removal effect when they're destroyed.

2. Mathematician

Use in: Decks using the graveyard, like Shaddoll and Branded

Normal summon this innocuous-looking card to send a level 4 or lower monster from deck to grave, similar to the classic spell Foolish Burial. From there, you have a decently-strong 1500 body that draws when destroyed by battle. Unlike many cards, this only works with battle destruction, but it's still a great bonus on top of the graveyard effect.

1. Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon

Use in: Branded/Despia decks

Mirrorjade has quickly proven one of Yu-Gi-Oh's best fusion monsters; he's easily played using Branded Fusion (which can be searched by Aluber the Jester of Despia) and Lubellion the Searing Dragon. Once out, you have a 3000 ATK beatstick who can banish an enemy monster (without targeting!) by sending another fusion monster from extra deck to graveyard that mentions Fallen of Albaz.

This also triggers effects on cards like Albion the Branded Dragon, and if your opponent manages to remove Mirrorjade (even if he's banished or tributed), he destroys all their monsters at the end of the turn.

Two great removal effects in one potent package, both of which get around targeting immunity. Heck, you can even revive Mirrorjade from your graveyard using the field spell Despia Theater of the Branded, so it won't be long before he's back.

Banishing From the Graveyard in Yu-Gi-Oh!

Today we've seen many great cards that trigger when destroyed in battle, but remember that several of them check if they're sent to the graveyard, so denying access to it can stop effects.

Cards like Dimensional Fissure, Masked Hero Dark Law, and Virtual World - Kyubi Shenshen work great at banishing enemy graveyards, but for now, share your favorite removals and I'll see you at our next YGO! countdown!

© 2022 Jeremy Gill