Ancient Fairy Dragon has one of the stranger biographies of any Yu-Gi-Oh Synchro monster: printed in 2009, banned outright in 2018 for breaking deck-building limits, and returned to legal play in 2023 wearing a rewritten effect. That kind of history — on top of being one of the five Signer Dragons from Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s — is exactly why it still pulls steady search volume nearly two decades after its debut.
This is our first single-card Yu-Gi-Oh value guide, and we’re focusing it on the Japanese OCG side of the card’s history, since that’s the market we source from directly out of Tokyo. Below is every catalogued OCG and TCG printing of Ancient Fairy Dragon, what separates a common Ultra Rare copy from the original set’s Holographic Rare chase, and where the Quarter Century Secret Rare reprint fits in.
Ancient Fairy Dragon first printed as ANPR-JP040 in ANCIENT PROPHECY (April 18, 2009), with three rarities in that set alone — Ultra Rare, Ultimate Rare (relief), and the set’s Holographic Rare chase. It picked up a 2012 Ultra Rare reprint (DE04-JP020) and a 2023 Quarter Century Secret Rare treatment (RC04-JP031). No 20th Secret Rare printing of this card exists. We currently have a PSA 10 Holographic Rare ANPR-JP040 listed at ¥98,880 (~$673).
Our own listing price is current as of August 2026, converted at ¥147/USD. We did not find enough comparable outside listings in our sourcing to state a third-party secondary-market range for this specific OCG card at write time, so pricing below is anchored to our own catalogue rather than an aggregated market figure.
What Ancient Fairy Dragon Is
Ancient Fairy Dragon (エンシェント・フェアリー・ドラゴン) is a LIGHT / Dragon / Synchro / Effect monster, Level 7, with 2100 ATK / 3000 DEF. It’s built with 1 Tuner plus 1 or more non-Tuner monsters, putting it in the same general Synchro-summoning bracket as other Level 7 dragon-type Synchros from the 5D’s era.
The card has been errata’d since its original printing, and the current, tournament-legal text reads as a once-per-turn effect with a choice of two modes: either Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower monster from your hand (at the cost of skipping your Battle Phase that turn), or destroy Field Spell Cards, gain 1000 Life Points, and add a Field Spell Card with a different name from your Deck to your hand. That “different name” restriction and the hard once-per-turn limit are the two additions that separate the current, legal version of the card from the pre-errata original — more on why that mattered in the banlist section below.
As a Level 7 Synchro requiring only a single Tuner alongside one or more non-Tuner monsters, Ancient Fairy Dragon sits at an accessible summoning cost relative to its stat line and utility. The Field Spell mode is the effect most collectors and players ask about specifically — searching a different Field Spell from the Deck while also gaining 1000 Life Points is a two-for-one that touches both resource development and the life-point game at once, which is part of why the pre-errata, non-once-per-turn version of the effect was considered strong enough to warrant a ban rather than a lesser restriction.
The Signer Dragon: 5D’s Anime Origin
Ancient Fairy Dragon is one of the five Signer Dragons from Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s, the anime series that introduced the card. In the show, it’s the dragon bound to Luna (ルカ, Ruka), who bears a Mark of the Dragon. The Signer Dragon lineage is part of what keeps the card recognizable outside pure competitive circles — it’s as much a 5D’s collectible as it is a deck piece, which is a large part of why the original ANPR print run still commands attention.
Banned in 2018, Back in 2023: The Errata Story
Ancient Fairy Dragon was placed on the Forbidden list in 2018. In its original, pre-errata form, its Field Spell search-and-destroy effect wasn’t restricted to once per turn, which let it be looped for repeated Field Spell destruction and deck-thinning in ways that went well beyond what Konami intended for a single copy of a card. That combination was considered strong enough to warrant a full ban rather than a Limited or Semi-Limited restriction.
It returned to legal play in 2023 after Konami issued the errata described above, adding the once-per-turn limit and the “different name” restriction on the Field Spell search. The MAZE-EN050 printing (Maze of Memories, 2023) is the TCG printing noted as carrying this corrected, errata’d text.
The mechanics of why it worked as a loop piece are straightforward once you see the pre-errata wording: without a once-per-turn limit, resolving the Field Spell mode repeatedly in a single turn could destroy and re-search Field Spells over and over, each activation adding another 1000 Life Points and thinning the Deck by one more card. Add the once-per-turn restriction back and that repeatable engine collapses into a single activation per turn — the same value on any individual turn, but none of the loop.
We can confirm the ban happened in 2018 and the errata’d return happened in 2023, but the exact Forbidden/Limited list effective dates weren’t independently verified for this guide and can differ between OCG and TCG. If you’re checking legality for a specific event, confirm against the current official Forbidden/Limited list rather than relying on the year alone.
Every Ancient Fairy Dragon Printing
Nine set appearances are catalogued across the OCG and TCG, transcribed from the official Konami card database and ygoprodeck’s card API.
OCG (Japanese) printings
| Set code | Set | Release | Rarities |
|---|---|---|---|
| ANPR-JP040 | ANCIENT PROPHECY | 2009-04-18 | Ultra Rare / Ultimate Rare (relief) / HR Holographic Rare (chase) |
| DE04-JP020 | DUELIST EDITION Volume 4 | 2012-08-11 | UR Ultra Rare |
| RC04-JP031 | RARITY COLLECTION — QUARTER CENTURY EDITION | February 2023 | Multiple foils including Quarter Century Secret Rare (also Collector’s Rare / Extra Secret variants per shop listings) |
No 20th Secret Rare printing of Ancient Fairy Dragon exists. We checked for one specifically because the 20th Secret Rare and Quarter Century Secret Rare finishes look similar at a glance, but this card skipped the 20th-anniversary treatment (2014–2019) entirely and went straight from its original 2009 rarities to the 2023 Quarter Century version.
TCG (English) printings
| Set code | Set | Rarities |
|---|---|---|
| ANPR-EN040 | Ancient Prophecy (2009) | Ultra Rare / Ultimate Rare / Ghost Rare (TCG counterpart of the JP Holographic Rare) |
| CT06-EN002 | Collectible Tins 2009 Wave 1 | Secret Rare |
| LC5D-EN238 | Legendary Collection 5D’s Mega Pack | Common / Ultra Rare |
| LCKC-EN070 | Legendary Collection Kaiba Mega Pack | Ultra Rare |
| MAZE-EN050 | Maze of Memories (2023) | Rare — carries the current errata’d text |
| RA01-EN030 | 25th Anniversary Rarity Collection (Nov 2023) | Super / Ultra / Secret / Ultimate / Platinum Secret / Collector’s / Quarter Century Secret Rare |
The TCG’s original 2009 printing (ANPR-EN040) carries a Ghost Rare instead of the JP set’s Holographic Rare — different finish names for the same “top rarity of this specific print run” role. Exact individual release dates for CT06, LC5D, LCKC, and MAZE beyond the years shown above weren’t independently verified for this guide, so we’re not printing month-level dates for those four.
The Chase: ANPR-JP040 Holographic Rare
ANCIENT PROPHECY (April 18, 2009) printed Ancient Fairy Dragon in three rarities: a standard Ultra Rare, an Ultimate Rare with the embossed/relief foil treatment, and the set’s Holographic Rare — the top rarity slot for this specific booster set, and the printing collectors mean when they talk about “the” chase copy of this card. If you’re trying to identify which one you have, the Holographic Rare is the full-holo treatment rather than the embossed relief pattern of the Ultimate Rare, so the two are visually distinct even before you check the set code.
The DE04-JP020 Ultra Rare reprint from 2012’s DUELIST EDITION Volume 4 put a second Ultra Rare into circulation three years later, but it did not touch the Holographic Rare slot — that finish stayed exclusive to the original 2009 print run until the 2023 Quarter Century reprint arrived with an entirely different rarity system.
The Quarter Century Reprint: RC04-JP031
In February 2023, RARITY COLLECTION — QUARTER CENTURY EDITION (RC04) reprinted Ancient Fairy Dragon as RC04-JP031, and this is where the card picked up its Quarter Century Secret Rare (QCSE) treatment — the finish identified by a speckled holographic champagne-gold card name, a “25th Quarter Century” logo watermark in the text box, and secret-rare foil across the entire card surface. QCSE debuted on RC04 in February 2023 (Korean OCG the following month) and went on to officially replace Prismatic Secret Rare as the top standard-booster rarity from Duelist Nexus (OCG, April 2023) onward. RC04-JP031 also carries Collector’s Rare and Extra Secret variants per shop listings, so the QCSE isn’t the only high-end foil available for this specific reprint.
We don’t currently list an Ancient Fairy Dragon QCSE in graded stock to photograph, so the images below are shown purely to illustrate what the Quarter Century Secret Rare treatment looks like in hand — they’re cards from a different Japanese set, Quarter Century Art Collection (QCAC, February 2025), not printings of Ancient Fairy Dragon itself.
Worth noting for anyone comparing the two anniversary treatments: QCSE is nearly identical to the OCG’s earlier 20th Secret Rare except for the watermark and the gold-vs-red name foil color — but as covered above, Ancient Fairy Dragon never received a 20th Secret Rare printing, so RC04-JP031’s QCSE is the only anniversary-tier foil this specific card carries.
What We Have Listed
We didn’t find enough comparable outside secondary-market listings for Ancient Fairy Dragon in our sourcing to state a reliable asking-price range for this card at write time, so we’re not printing third-party market figures here. What we can anchor on is our own current listing.
This is the original 2009 Holographic Rare printing — the chase rarity from ANPR’s initial print run, not the later DE04 Ultra Rare reprint or the 2023 QCSE. PSA independently determines authenticity and grade, so a PSA 10 label reflects PSA’s assessment of this specific submitted card rather than a claim we’re making ourselves.
How to Get One
ANPR is a 2009 set, so pulling a Holographic Rare from a fresh pack isn’t a realistic path in 2026 — this card circulates almost entirely through the singles market at this point, whether raw or graded. Two practical routes:
- Buy the graded copy directly. Our PSA 10 ANPR-JP040 Holographic Rare is currently listed at ¥98,880 (~$673) — the fastest way to know exactly what condition you’re getting without submitting a raw copy yourself.
- Search raw copies or other printings through Quick Order. For the DE04 Ultra Rare reprint, a raw ANPR copy, or the 2023 RC04 QCSE, our Quick Order page is the fastest way to check availability and build a request.
Confirm which of the three ANPR-JP040 rarities you’re looking at — Ultra Rare, Ultimate Rare (relief), or Holographic Rare — since all three share the same set code and card number, and only the Holographic Rare is the set’s top chase printing.
Where to Buy Ancient Fairy Dragon from Japan
We ship graded and raw Japanese singles from Tokyo with tracked delivery worldwide, including this PSA 10 ANPR-JP040 Holographic Rare. If you’re building out a broader Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh collection rather than hunting one specific card, our Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh cards buying guide covers how to shop OCG singles and sealed product more generally, and our most expensive Yu-Gi-Oh cards guide puts this card’s price in context against the game’s documented sales and OCG grails.
For raw copies, other rarities of this card, or a mixed order alongside other singles, our Quick Order page covers the full catalogue.
常见问题
What is the most valuable Ancient Fairy Dragon printing?
The original 2009 ANPR-JP040 Holographic Rare from ANCIENT PROPHECY is the card’s primary chase printing. We currently have a PSA 10 of this printing listed at ¥98,880 (about $673). The 2023 RC04-JP031 Quarter Century Secret Rare is the other high-end foil for this card, though we don’t currently have one in graded stock to compare directly.
Is Ancient Fairy Dragon banned?
No, not currently. It was placed on the Forbidden list in 2018 because its original effect wasn’t limited to once per turn, which allowed a Field Spell search-and-destroy loop. It returned to legal play in 2023 after Konami issued an errata adding a once-per-turn limit and a “different name” restriction on the Field Spell search.
Does Ancient Fairy Dragon have a 20th Secret Rare printing?
No. We checked specifically for one and found no evidence it exists. The card went from its original 2009 ANPR rarities straight to a 2023 Quarter Century Secret Rare (RC04-JP031), skipping the 2014–2019 20th Secret Rare era entirely.
What does Ancient Fairy Dragon do?
It’s a Level 7 LIGHT Dragon Synchro (1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters), 2100 ATK / 3000 DEF. Its current, errata’d effect is once per turn: either Special Summon a Level 4 or lower monster from your hand (skipping your Battle Phase that turn), or destroy Field Spell Cards, gain 1000 LP, and add a Field Spell Card with a different name from your Deck to your hand.
Who uses Ancient Fairy Dragon in the anime?
It’s one of the five Signer Dragons in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s, bound to Luna (ルカ, Ruka), who bears a Mark of the Dragon.
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