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Alternate artwork

Alternate artwork is used to describe the artwork of any card that is different from that of its Original Print. Alternate artworks are typically available in the form of promotional cards and are usually of cards popularized by characters in the anime.

For example, "Dark Magician Girl" has four alternate artworks in the OCG (three of which are present in the TCG and one original artwork).

Note that "alternate artwork" is different from artwork changes from the OCG to the TCG. For example, "Axe of Despair", "Barrel Dragon", "Blowback Dragon", "Exodia the Forbidden One", "Harpie Girl", "Mystic Tomato", "Soul Release", etc. are not considered to have alternate artworks. For those instances of censorship, see list of modified card artworks. This is also distinct from counterparts where a monster's design is reused with a different color scheme for two or more monsters that may or may not be related to one another and may or may not have different characteristics, and these are also distinct from card evolutions which is the same monster but reprinted with a new name and new effect who may or may not have the same appearance, Level or equivalent Rank/Link Rating, and ATK and DEF.

All alternate artwork cards have the same password as their originals, except "Polymerization" (the other version being Polymerization (Fusion)) and one version of "Dark Magician" (the Arkana version).

Currently "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" and "Dark Magician" have the most alternate artworks, with seven and six (excluding their original artworks) respectively.

A list of cards with alternate artworks[]