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In the original _Yu-Gi-Oh!_ series (English dub), the Heart of the Cards is
very important to Yugi. By believing in his cards and having faith that they
will provide him with what he needs when he needs them, he can ~~stack the
deck~~ draw the right card when he needs it the most.

In a number of episodes, Yugi tells other people that they should trust in the
Heart of the Cards. Joey is the only one who seems to take this advice
seriously, but I don't recall it ever working for him (unless his ridiculous
luck worked for him).

Does the Heart of the Cards work for anybody?


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2017-12-31T01:54:54.097
44010
2020-05-29T13:48:49.933
27906
question
yu-gi-oh
Does the Heart of the Cards work for anyone or just Yugi?


## Yes, everyone can come to use it

First off, the definition of Heart of the Cards is a little hazy. The best
definition I can come up with is:

  * Having something worth dueling for besides yourself (e.g. friendship)
  * Having faith that your cards will come through for you when you need them to

In _Yu-Gi-Oh!_ 1x22 "Face Off, Part 1", Seto Kaiba comes to an understanding
of what the Heart of the Cards is, focusing on the first definition.

> Kaiba: Yugi, you said you won [last time we dueled] by tapping into the
> Heart of the Cards. And for a long time, I didn't know what that meant. But
> now, I think I do. And it took Pegasus to show me. _[Kaiba pulls out a
> necklace with a picture of Mokuba as a kid]_ He gave me a reason to put my
> heart in the cards. […] For the first time, Yugi, I can duel with fire and
> passion in my heart.
>
> Yugi: I can feel it. _[Yugi thinks to himself]_ Kaiba has changed. I can
> sense it. He's fighting for more than just himself this time. There's a new
> belief…in the Heart of the Cards.

I'm pretty sure that Kaiba later mocks Yugi for the Heart of the Cards, but in
this scene at least, Yugi flat out agrees that Kaiba is believing in the Heart
of the Cards.

In the _Yu-Gi-Oh! GX_ two-parter "The King of Copycats" (1x18 and 1x19), Jaden
Yuki duels a copycat duelist who steals Yugi's deck and pretends to be him.
Naturally, the copycat starts talking about the Heart of the Cards.

> [Draws a card] Perfect! The Heart of the Cards has served me again!

Jaden starts lamenting that he can't beat a deck with the Heart of the Cards
before he gets insight from Winged Kuriboh.

> Yugi's deck is just so powerful. I thought I could win, but now, I don't
> know. Huh?
>
> _[Winged Kuriboh's spirit appears]_
>
> Kuriboh. Sorry, but what can I do? He's got the Heart of the Cards on his
> side.
>
> _[Winged Kuriboh starts poking Jaden, then points towards his opponent]_
>
> Uhh! Ow! Oh! What do you mean "no"? Come on, that's Yugi's deck! Oh! Wait a
> sec, that's it! That's Yugi's Deck! There's no way the heart of the cards
> can be on Dimitri's side! The Heart of the Cards come from believing in your
> own cards, not someone's you stole!
>
> _[Winged Kuriboh nods in approval]_
>
> And I believe in my deck. So if the Heart of the Cards is on anyone's side,
> it's on mine!

He then draws the card he needs to turn the duel in his favor.

* * *

My interpretation of these events is that the Heart of the Cards does work for
anybody, but not everyone has an equally strong faith in it, or is attuned to
them using it. There have been cases where the person dueling for the right
reason wins, and there have been times when someone draws the one card they
need without necessarily relying on the Heart of the Cards. Heck, I even saw
one fan theory saying that Mai's supposed psychic powers was her using the
Heart of the Cards and not realizing it.

But given that apparently anyone can use it, even Seto Kaiba, I think that
yes, anybody can use it.


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2017-12-31T05:37:50.653
2020-06-17T09:17:53.303
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