Relinquished - Yu-Gi-Oh!

Release the Relinquished!

Relinquished is one of my all time favorite Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. The card has several elements that I like. First, it's a Ritual monster, which is cool enough, but it also is Level 1, making it perhaps the easiest Ritual monster to summon. Also, it's a Ritual Monster with an effect. While the other Ritual guys in Magic Ruler were kind of a yawn, this guy actually does something.

Second is the stats. It's a Level 1 monster with 0 ATK and 0 DEF. This initially seems pretty terrible. It's effects though completely defies this expectation. I love the 0 ATK or Level 1 monsters that can still kick butt and be powerful.

Third, its effect. This card allows you to steal an opposing monster. Creature stealing has always been fun for me in Yu-Gi-Oh, at least when I'm the one doing the stealing. This bypasses indestructible and overpowered monsters, neutralizing them without actually destroying them. And even if your opponent finds a way to get rid of Relinquished, you don't feel too bad, since they also got rid of their own card.

The fourth element is another aspect of the effect. Not only does Relinquished steal monsters, it absorbs them. I am also a huge fan of Union monsters. Something about the flavor of equipping another monster with another monster is magical. Relinquished equips the monster it steals, taking its power for its own. Something about the mechanic, and again the flavor, just feels completely natural.

Another thing I love about Relinquished is how easy it is to grasp the concept. This card is perhaps one of the wordiest cards in the game, yet despite that I am able to understand what the card does, it absorbs other monsters. Yes there are a lot of technical rules and issues with absorbing another monster, but the concept is so strong I'm still able to understand it.

In short, Relinquished is a card that was designed to do something cool, and it's because of that and everything above that I love it!