Expert Gameplay FAQ: Status on the Egyptian Gods

The Egyptian God Cards, also known in Japan as the Three Phantom Gods, are a series of cards in Yu-Gi-Oh! that serve as a focal point in the series' manga, the second series anime, and numerous video games.

Naming
The names of the Egyptian god cards are derived from the names of items in Egyptian mythology:

-Slifer the Sky Dragon - Original name derived from the name of Osiris, the Egyptian God of Life, Death, and Fertility. The English name is an inside joke, derived from the name of Roger Slifer, a producer of the English-language adaptation to the anime.
-Obelisk the Tormentor - Derived from the term "obelisk," a type of monument.
-The Winged Dragon of Ra - Derived from the name of Ra, the Egyptian God of the Sun.

In the Filipino anime, Ra's name is changed to "Apollo", the Greek equivalent of Ra.
The names of the Egyptian gods are the basis for the names of the dormitories of Duel Academy in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX; Slifer Red, Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue. This also reflects how Seto Kaiba viewed the three Egyptian god cards; "Slifer" was owned by Yugi Muto, his arch-rival, so it was only natural that he holds the card in such contempt. "The Winged Dragon of Ra" is in the middle, since it was owned by Marik Ishtar, until Yugi won it from him in Battle City; Seto Kaiba was thus neutral to this card. Of course, with Obelisk Blue, it was plainly obvious why he based this dorm off of "Obelisk the Tormentor"; it was the first and only Egyptian god card he received, and indeed seen the power it holds, until Yugi won it from him in the Battle City Finals.

Real God Cards
The use of the god cards is forbidden in all sanctioned tournaments of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game because of their unique color templates and backings (red/blue/yellow), their lack of any printed effects, and the fact that the cards themselves state that they may not be used in a Duel. As they do not possess effect text, conflicts arise over how they operate once Summoned. Some local hobby stores allow people to play "unofficial matches" provided everyone playing agrees on their effects.

Although the original Egyptian God Cards are unusable in an official Duel, all three of the Egyptian God cards have been released as Effect Monsters. The legal "Obelisk" and "Slifer" possesses effects virtually identical to its video game effects, while the legal version of "Ra" has its effects severely weakened (it cannot be Special Summoned, and it reduces your Life Points to 100 rather than 1).

These were the only DIVINE monsters released, until late 2011, when the legal version of "Slifer the Sky Dragon" was released, with many effects similar to its anime counterpart (except it has ? ATK and ? DEF, which substitutes for its X000 ATK and DEF, and its effect which makes the opponent's monsters lose 2000 points only works on face-up Attack Position monsters). A OCG release for the legal version of The Creator God of Light, Horakhty, was announced shortly after Slifer's release.

The first version of the god cards was released by Konami as a privilege for those who made a pre-order of the Japanese Game Boy Color game Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 4: Battle of Great Duelist released on December 7, 2000. The second set was released by Konami on April 17, 2003 as special pack-in cards in the Game Boy Advance game Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters International — Worldwide Edition, the Japanese version of the English-language Yu-Gi-Oh! Worldwide Edition: Stairway to the Destined Duel.

Unlike previous versions, the third version of the god cards was not released simultaneously. "The Winged Dragon of Ra" was included as a limited edition card in the Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dawn of Destiny game for Xbox, released March 23, 2004. "Slifer the Sky Dragon" was released as a special pack-in card for the ani-manga of Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light, published November 23, 2004 by Viz Media. "Obelisk the Tormentor" was released as a gift to subscribers of Shonen Jump magazine in May 2005.

The unusable versions of the God Monsters once demanded high prices on the secondary market. This was prior to their current widespread availability. During this time, countless counterfeit copies were made and distributed primarily throughout East Asia.

These were originally released as promotional cards (in Gameboy Worldwide Edition Promos) for people who just wanted to say they had them, but the cards were later used in Duels and complaints were sent into Konami. Konami responded to this in an FAQ that said these cards weren't to be used. They were, in fact, normal monsters, according to Shonen Jump. Official tournaments stopped allowing these cards, although there have been rumors that certain official tournaments will allow Obelisk the Tormentor by Tributing three monsters but Obelisk will have no other effects. Most people won't Duel against these cards at all, but some people will agree to various conditions.

Egyptian God Deck
With the release of "Obelisk the Tormentor", "Slifer the Sky Dragon" and "The Winged Dragon of Ra" in tournament legal form, it is now possible to create a deck which revolves around the use of the Divine-Beast-Type. It's usually suggested that you focus on a single kind of Egyptian god in your deck since it'll make your strategy more reliable, and the chances of Summoning more than one of them are practically zero.
(The only exception to this advice would be the case in which you want to create an instant win deck with Horakhty, case in which you'd need all of them on the field)

These cards require 3 tributes to Normal Summon but prevent effects from being activated on their Summon and cannot be targeted--thus the strategy of the deck focuses on stalling and swarming until 3 tributes are available. However, stalling may be countered if your opponent has an instant win, such as "Exodia the Forbidden One", "Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes", "Final Countdown", "Destiny Board", and "Last Turn". As well, efforts must be made to protect your God card from the effects that can harm it, like "Lightning Vortex" or "Dark Hole"; cards like "Pole Position", "Dark Bribe", "Solemn Judgment", "My Body as a Shield", etc., can help here.

If Ra is used, cards like "Draining Shield" and "Life Absorbing Machine" should be used to aide in the Life Point cost for using the effect of "Ra". An "Obelisk" Deck may wish to include cards like "Call of the Haunted" and "Monster Reborn" to revive "Obelisk" in order to use its field-clearing effect.

Weaknesses
Even though the Egyptian Gods are powerful, they can be stopped by many cards. Just using something that doesn't target (like Hammer Shot) can easily destroy them. "Ojama Trio" may limit the amount of tributable monsters to 2, making it impossible to Summon them. Last but not least, cards that make them lose their effect (like "Destiny HERO - Plasma") can be devastating (although Obelisk retains his 4000 ATK).

Another notable weakness is that each playable god card has a significant weakness in the form of their Wicked God counterparts and, in one-on-one match-ups, the Wicked Gods win in battle. The Wicked Dreadroot's effect to halve all other cards' attack hampers Obelisk. The Wicked Eraser's power to take everything with it when it's destroyed is notably useful against Slifer. Finally, The Wicked Avatar is always the most powerful monster on the field, despite Ra's attempts to increase ATK.