The Winged Dragon of Ra

In the manga and anime series Yu-Gi-Oh!, The Winged Dragon of Ra (ラーの翼神竜 Rā no Yoku Shin Ryū, lit. "Winged God-Dragon of Ra") is one of the three God Cards. In the Japanese manga and anime, it is sometimes called by the Engrish name "The Sun of God Dragon", while in the English manga, it is called The Sun Dragon Ra. "The Winged Dragon of Ra" is the name used in the English anime, and on the English version of the real God Cards.

Initially owned by Marik Ishtar, the Winged Dragon of Ra is the deadliest and most powerful of all three God Cards. The two poles it represents are "heaven" and "earth".

Ra is the sun-god in Egyptian mythology.

Contents

1 Effects 1.1 Meaning of the Hieratic Text 1.2 Ra's true abilities 2 Card description 3 Note

Effects

Note: The effects stated in this section are based on the Japanese anime and/or manga of Yu-Gi-Oh!. The real Ra card does not have any effect printed on it, and cannot be used in duels. (See God Cards for more details.)

Normally, in the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga, the card of "The Winged Dragon of Ra" only has three question marks ("???") for its ATK (ATtacK points), DEF (DEFense points) and card description (in the anime, the card doesn't even have these information printed on it). However, when it is summoned successfully into the field, these information will disappear. What appeared instead are several lines (four in the Japanese manga and anime and three in the English version) of strange characters, which Marik referred to as the Hieratic Text (古代神官文字, ヒエラティックテキスト), a special form of hieroglyphic script used only by high-ranked individuals in ancient Egypt. These mysterious characters hold the key to Ra's massively powerful secret abilities, which can only be unleashed when the lines of Text corresponding to the ability one wants to activate are recited (this is not the case in the English version of Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, because it has a totally different meaning for the Hieratic Text (see next section), and the Text was never recited except when Ra was summoned in its Sphere Mode (see "Ra's true abilities")).

Meaning of the Hieratic Text

According to the Japanese version of Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and manga, the Hieratic Text printed on the Ra card records the following three groups of Ra's abilities (quoted from Seto Kaiba's own translation of the Text in Duel 248 of the Japanese manga):

• (1st ability) "太陽神は３体の生贄を束ねてその力を得る　ただし神を従えし者
  古の呪文を天に捧げよ "

• (2nd ability) "神は地より蘇生する　再生の術と術者の命を与えよ　時はひとつであろうとも戦場の敵は炎によって屍と化す "

• (3rd ability) "時ひとつとして神は不死鳥となる　選ばれし魔物は大地に眠る "

When (roughly) translated to English, it reads:

• (1st ability) "Ra shall acquire the power of three tributes. However, only those who offer the ancient incantation to heaven shall God follow."

• (2nd ability) "God shall revive from earth. By offering the Ritual of Revival and his own life, one shall be united with God, and all enemies on the battlefield shall be incinerated."

• (3rd ability) "In an instant, God shall become a Phoenix, and all evil spirits chosen by it shall repose on earth."

These abilities are reflected in the card game as the first two groups of effects explained in the next section, "Ra's true abilities".

In the English version of Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, though, the Hieratic Text appears to have a different meaning. This can be seen when Marik recited the Text while gaining control of Ra during his duel with Mai Kujaku (Mai Valentine in the English anime) in episode 92:

"Great beast of the sky, please hear my cry.
Transform thyself from orb of light and bring me victory in this fight.
Envelop the desert with your glow and cast your rage upon my foe.
Unlock your powers from deep within so that together we may win.
Appear in the Shadow Game as I call your name,
(THE) WINGED DRAGON OF RA!"

Note that in the English version of Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, when Marik attempted to gain control of Ra in his duel with Mai, the viewer can hear him speaking understandable words. However, in the Japanese version of Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and manga, what he recited was the Hieratic Text itself (in the anime, Marik recites some unknown words; in the manga, his speech bubbles are filled with Hieratic Text).

Ra's true abilities

With what are observed in various duels, a deduction of the unique abilities of Ra is concluded below (it appears that some of the effects listed below cannot be deduced from the Hieratic Text printed on the card):

• (1st ability)
  • Ra's ATK is the sum of ATKs of the monsters sacrificed to summon it; its DEF is the sum of DEFs of the monsters sacrificed to summon it. This effect was first revealed by Marik's servant — Rishid (Odion in the English anime) in Yu-Gi-Oh! manga Duel 216 and anime episode 89.
    • e.g., player uses 1 "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" (ATK 3000/DEF 2500), 1 "Red-Eyes Black Dragon" (ATK 2400/DEF 2000) and 1 "Dark Magician"Template:Ref (ATK 2500/DEF 2100) as Tributes to summon Ra. Ra now has ATK 3000+2400+2500=7900, DEF 2500+2000+2100=6600.
    • Note: (1). Whether this effect uses the original or current ATKs and DEFs of the monsters sacrificed is not stated in either the manga or anime of Yu-Gi-Oh!. (2). When Ra is Special Summoned from the Graveyard, since no monster is offered as Tributes, its ATK and DEF = 0.
  • One must be able to speak Hieratic Text to control Ra. This effect is open to both sides of the field. So if one player is not able to recite the text properly, the other player is free to try and take control of Ra. The effect was first revealed by Marik in Yu-Gi-Oh! manga Duel 222 and anime episode 92. (It should be noted, however, that Yugi has been shown summoning the Winged Dragon of Ra without reciting the Hieratic summoning text.)
    • If one summons Ra but fails to recite the Hieratic Text, Ra will remain in "Sphere Mode" (a shinning golden sphere), and one cannot use this mode of Ra to attack or defend (in other words, Ra's Sphere Mode has no battle position, cannot attack, and is never the target of attack (it cannot defend player's Life Points)), or activate its special abilities. Once the player recites the Text correctly, Ra will transform itself into "Battle Mode". Only until then can the player truly control Ra, and unleash Ra's secret abilities (in the Japanese manga and anime, though, this must be done by further reciting the lines of Text corresponding to the ability you want to activate).

• When Ra is Special Summoned from the Graveyard, it obtains one of the following two additional groups of effects:
  1. (2nd ability) (Originally known as "One Turn Kill", this effect was first revealed by Marik in Yu-Gi-Oh! manga Duel 236 and anime episode 97.
     • Transfer all but one of your Life Points (LP) to Ra as its ATK and DEF. This is known as "point-to-point transfer" in the English anime.
       • e.g., Ra has ATK/DEF 0, player has 8000 LP. After using this effect, player has 1 LP, Ra has ATK/DEF 8000−1=7999.
     • In addition, sacrifice any number of monster other than Ra on your side of the field. Their ATKs are added to Ra's ATK. This part of the effect was not revealed until in Yu-Gi-Oh! manga Duel 269 and anime episode 139 by Marik.
       • e.g., Ra has ATK/DEF 0. Player sacrifices 1 "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" (ATK 3000) using this effect, Ra's ATK becomes 0+3000=3000.
       • Note: (1). Neither the anime nor manga of Yu-Gi-Oh! stated that the DEFs of the monsters sacrificed with this effect are added to the DEF of Ra. (2). It is still unknown here whether this effect uses the original or current ATKs of the monsters sacrificed as Tributes.
     • During the turn this effect is activated, Ra can attack once on each monster exists on your opponent's side of the field and, if possible, further attack the opponent's Life Points directly.
     • Additional notes: In Yu-Gi-Oh! anime episode 222 in which Ra was Normal Summoned (not Special Summoned from the Graveyard) again by sacrificing three monsters, Marik stated that Ra can use its "One Turn Kill" effect, which contradicts what is stated above. However, what Marik said also contradicts Kaiba's translation on the meaning of the Hieratic Text printed on the Ra card, which stated that "God shall revive from earth". So it is questionable on whether Marik's statement meets with the approval of Kazuki Takahashi, the author of Yu-Gi-Oh!.
  2. (3rd ability) (When this effect is activated, Ra will transform itself into its "Phoenix Mode", otherwise known as "God Phoenix" (ゴッドフェニックス), the true and ultimate form of Ra.
     • Ra receives no battle damage (i.e., it cannot be destroyed as a result of battle, and its controller receives no damage as a result of its battle). This effect was first revealed by Marik in Yu-Gi-Oh! manga Duel 267 and anime episode 138.
       • According to Marik, Ra's Phoenix Mode is "immortal". Although no Spell effect or Monster effect other than Slifer the Sky Dragon's has ever been used against it, it may be safe to assume that Ra, while in its Phoenix Mode, cannot be sent away from the field by any Spell or Monster effect.
     • When Ra battles with another monster, pay 1000 Life Points to destroy that monster. This effect was first revealed by Marik in Yu-Gi-Oh! manga Duel 249 and anime episode 127.

• Additional effects:
  • Ra can attack during the same turn it is Special Summoned. This effect was first revealed by Kaiba in Yu-Gi-Oh! manga Duel 236 and anime episode 97. It is known as "Swift Attack" (速攻) in the Japanese anime and manga, and "Instant Attack" in the English anime.
    • According to the gaming rules (known as "Super Expert Rules" in the manga) used in the Battle City Tournament, a monster cannot attack during the same turn it is Special Summoned. However, Ra's ability allows it to bypass this rule. (Note that there is no such rule in the real Yu-Gi-Oh! card game.) Also, in anime episode 97, Ra bypasses the effect of a Continuous Spell Card known as "Vengeful Bog Spirit", which prevents all monsters from attacking during the turn they are Normal Summoned, Filp Summoned or Special Summoned. However, in the manga, no similar card effect, including this card's, was used against Ra. (Note, however, that according to Marik, "Vengeful Bog Spirit" 's effect does affect a Normally-Summoned Ra.
  • Ra is unaffected by the effects of "Obelisk the Tormentor" and "Slifer the Sky Dragon". This effect was first revealed by Marik in Yu-Gi-Oh! manga Duel 275.
    • In the Battle City finale, Yugi Mutou attempted to use Obelisk's effect — "Soul Energy Max" to destroy Ra but failed. According to Marik's explanation, the three God Cards are ranked among themselves, and Ra is ranked the highest among them. Because of this, Obelisk's special attack is useless against Ra. However, this scenario did not appear in the anime of Yu-Gi-Oh!, because in the anime Marik used the Quick-play Spell Card "Class System" (階級制度. Effect (translated from the text written on the card): You can activate this card when your opponent's monster attacks your monster or activate an effect on your monster(s). If the Level of your opponent's monster is equal to or lower than that of your monster(s), that attack or effect is negated.) instead of Ra's own ability to stand against Obelisk's effect. This card can be seen in anime episode 141.

There are also certain effects shared by all God Cards; these are listed in that entry for brevity.

Ra (Battle Mode)'s attack is known as "God Blaze Cannon" (ゴッド・ブレイズ・キャノン) in the Japanese anime and manga.

Card description

Card description of the English version Ra card:

"Spirits sing of a powerful creature that rules over all that is mystic."

Note

1. Template:Note Dark Magician is known as "Black Magician" (ブラック・マジシャン) in the Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and manga.

Template:Egyptian God Cards