The best Yu-Gi-Oh! Hand Traps 2023

Among the various features I have loved about Yu-Gi-Oh!, the trading card game since the very beginning one of the most relevant is the strong player to player interaction driven by Spell and, most important, Trap cards. This last type of cards in particular has always appealed a lot to me as it gives an opportunity to mess with the opponent's strategy even during their own turn. In fact, this type of cards can lead to very complex chains and to a very deep player to player interaction that is one of the main reasons I love Yu-Gi-Oh! with respect to other TGC games.

Among all the Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards that contributes in making this game's strategy so complex, there is for sure a very peculiar type that players have re-named “Hand traps”. The term, chosen by the community, actually does not refers to a specific type of card but to any card whose effect can be activated directly from the hand. Most important, the aim of this cards is usually to interrupt the opponent's turn and strategy as a standard Trap card would usually do. Interestingly and despite their name, only a few of these Hand Traps are actually Trap Cards. But what are actually these hand trap in Yu-Gi-Oh! and how they work? Above all: why these cards have become so relevant in the current format?

Hand traps: what they are and how they work in Yu-Gi-oh!

As mentioned, there are two key points to know about Hand Traps. First, most of them are not actual Trap Cards but effect monsters and the very first example of them is “Kuriboh”, one of the fan favourite monster from the original manga and anime series. As you may remember from the manga and anime, Kuriboh is not only a cute, little creature, but also a very useful monster that was able to able to protect Yugi against the overwhelming attack of both "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon" and “Obelisk, The Tormentor” due to its ability to be discarded at any time to prevent all damage from a monster for a turn. Kuriboh's power is actually a great example of the second key aspect of any Hand Trap: the ability to use their effect at any time once triggered by a certain condition. These two characteristics are the reason Hand Traps have progressively gained popularity in the last four years to become a must for any meta-relevant deck in 2023.

One of the main reason for this popularity is the fact that players don’t have to set Hand Traps in order to use them. Hand Traps can thus avoid any card/spell/trap removal strategy and they can also provide support to a player going second providing much more balance to the game. The second main reason Hand Traps are so popular is that the large majority of them are also monsters that can provide some protection against attack or that can be tributed to Special Summon more powerful monsters. As these cards double as Monster, they can not only interrupt your opponent but also be potentially used for your own combos during their turn effectively turning the tides of battle in your favour.

After commending all their great strengths, it should be noted that Hand Traps have also some flaws. The first challenge with Hand Traps is knowing when to use them. In fact, while a perfectly timed Hand Trap can disrupt even the most powerful deck, if you choose the wrong timing they might not do anything. Knowing all the archetypes and how your opponent deck works is therefore key requisite for any player in order to exploit these cards efficiently and this can be very challenging for rookies. Moreover, a skilled player can setup baits to lead the opponent in wasting their Hand Traps too early or against minor checkpoints of their engine. For all of these reasons, Hand Traps are often considered the highest skill cards in Yu-Gi-Oh!, because of the knowledge players need to build in order to use them and the ability it takes to use them at their best.

The second key aspect to be reminded is that the opponent will also have Hand traps and will try to use them to counteract any interruption a player will throw to them. Players need therefore to include some additional extenders to protect their main deck strategy together with some extra counters to adapt rapidly to the opponent reactions. Flexibility and adaptability are keys to be successful in current format together with a very well planned deck list.  

The five most used (and abused) Hand Traps in 2023

Now that we discussed the value and challenges to have Hand Traps in your deck, we would like to go through those that have been the most relevant in 2023. We think five of them in particular have seen a lot of games this year before the latest ban list shifted again the balance of the meta-games and we wanted to review them in no particular order as they are very good example of how valuable Hand Traps cards can be in any game.

1. Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring

Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring is usually considered one of the best Hand Traps ever designed due to its high flexibility. Essentially, Ash can be discarded when an effect would move a card from the main deck to anywhere else to prevent that effect. For example, Ash Blossom can also be very effective against Dragon link/Bystial decks and any other that focus on Special summoning from the main deck. Ash can even prevent a player from using cards from the main deck as materials for a Branded Fusion as they are technically sent to the graveyard in order to complete the summoning.   On the other hand, Ash may not be so effective against Kashtira although it is usually included in these deck to protect the deck from the “Book of Eclipse” as its effect involves drawing a card.

As you may face Ash Blossom, there are also a few aspects to be considered. First, if the card you try to activate has multiple effects (for example Pot of Desires), the Hand Trap may stops one of those but you may still attempt to use another. In most cases, in fact, you can only USE one effect per turn but recent ruling clarified that players are allowed to use another one if an effect is not triggered due to Ash. Moreover, it is possible to protect an effect from being negated by this card by properly building your Chain.

2. Nibiru, The Primal Being

Nibiru, The Primal Being is one of those Extinction Level Events that can hit Yu-Gi-Oh! players using Combo Decks. In fact, once a Kashtira or Branded player hits the fifth summon in their combo they know that the opponent can summon Nibiru at any time tributing all the Monsters on the field in order to summon Nibiru. As part of its effect, Nibiru grants the opponent a Token with quite high stats but with no protection at all. Most of the modern decks should have an easy way to take care of this token but there are a few options to also use it to the player advantage. For example, it can be used as material to Special Summon using “Fallen of Albaz” effect or players can use "Owner's Seal" or similar card effects to take control of the token and build a massive offensive line.

Nibiru can be counteracted by just a few cards including for example “Baronne de Fleur”. It should be also noted that it was not very helpful against Tearlaments as it triggered the effects of the monsters of this archetype although this should be a smaller problem now after the last banlist came into effect.

3. Infinite Impermanence

Infinite Impermanence is the most notable Hand Trap that is actually a Trap Card. Technically, some people consider this card more like a Standard Trap with a sort of expanded activation windows but we personally love this card and we feel it fits the definition of a Hand Trap. Infinite Impermanence ability allows a player to negate the effects of a Monster for the turn and can be activated from hand if the player does not control any other cards on the field. Considering this aspect, this card is a perfect option to have in hand if you are going second (or if your board has been cleared) as it can stop the effect of any floodgate monster or defend the player against cards like “PSY-Framelord Omega” or “Invoked Mechaba”. Being a trap, Infinite Impermanence can also provide the added bonus to be used on any of the ends of the pendulum row to also impact your opponent summoning strategies.

4.Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit

Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit is another very effective Hand Trap that can target and destroy pretty much anything on the field including Field and Continuous Spell cards once their activate their effect. Unfortunately, Ghost Ogre does not negate the effect that triggered it, but this can actually be even more powerful as it destroys the source of the effect itself. For example, Ghost Ogre is pretty effective to stop all those combos that require the effect of a monster first and then use the monster itself as material to Special Summon other monsters.

In addition, this Hand Trap is also very versatile to deal with Continuous Traps and Continuous Spell cards as well as against Pendulum scales. Basing mainly on this ability, Ghost Ogre can be quite useful in the current meta against Floowandeereze and Dragon Link decks as they are largely dependent on their Field Spells. Unfortunately, a number of other combo decks will not be stopped by just removing a card once their effect trigger and this can be the main limitation to include this card in your deck with respect to Ash.

5. Artifact Lancea

Artifact Lancea is a very searchable Hand Trap that can be quite impactful in today format as it can prevent any card from being banished. This effect can protect the player from the effect of cards like "Tri-Brigade Shuraig the Ominous Omen", "Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier" or "Called by the Grave" together with preventing any effect that requires a card to be banished in order to activate. This will impact single useful cards like "Pot of Prosperity" or "Pot of Desires" but also some key monster effect from achetypes like "Floowandereeze", "Phantom Knights" or "Shiranui" together with “Kashtyra” (pre-ban), “Dragon-link” and “Branded Fusion”. Moreover, Artifact Lancea can be used both proactively or reactively depending on the flow of the game and the opponent's strategy.

On the other hand, Lancea may not be as flexible as other Hand Traps as it is too linked to some very specific type of effects and decks with respect to other Hand Traps. In addition, Lancea effect only affects the opponent during their turn and therefore can not be used when any effect activates during the owner's turn. Overall, it can be a good card to have but it may lack the flexibility of other cards in this list.

Will Hand Traps still be relevant in 2024?

Given the most recent banlist has basically killed Tearlaments and restored Kashtyra a bit, the beginning of 2024 will likely see the meta game dominated mainly by this last Archetype together with Branded Fusion, Labryinth, Spright and Dragon-Link. Considering this, Hand Traps like Ash Blossom, Infinite impermanence and Nibiru will continue to be the most useful Hand Traps for the format extending the trend we have seen in 2023.

Depending on how the game develops in the next season and what new Archetypes and support cards will be released, we may also see an increase of board breakers cards in next year's decks. If this will be the case it is likely the average amount of Hand Traps in each deck may be reduced slightly but it is hard to think the format can be enjoyed without them. Personally, I am quite a fan of Hand Traps and I would also like to see even more variety and more potential interactions but we will need to see what the new year will bring us. In the meantime, let's make sure we check a more detailed list of Hand Traps to deepen our knowledge before additional cards will be released.