Strategy can get you far in any game unless your opponent drew five cards that cause an instant win, that is. Fans of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and card game are pretty familiar with Exodia, a monster that can be assembled through its five pieces, resulting in a devastating loss no matter how much of an advantage the other duelist has. Given that ability, Exodia has a level of intimidation to it, one that means instant defeat.
As you'd expect, like just about anything popular, Exodia has spawned a good amount of memes, some that only true fans of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise would understand, but all of which are hilarious and also tragic to the point where they scream, "don't cry for me."
10 TOM, JERRY, AND EXODIA?
You could say that the classic cartoon Tom and Jerry has become a meme icon lately, taking on a variety of different meme templates that have been used pretty successfully. "Buff Tom" is no exception, seeing a ginormous and absolutely ripped version of Tom towering over Jerry.
This one, in particular, has a pretty fun Yu-Gi-Oh! twist to it featuring an itty bitty Kaiba in the place of Jerry as Tom stares him down, complete with a good recoloring and Exodia's face pasted on for good measure. The big grin on Exodia's face says it all.
9 WEEVIL'S STRATEGY
Considering that Weevil Underwood took the first chance to toss all of Yugi's Exodia cards into the salty waters below them, fans probably didn't need a reminder of how big of a scumbag Weevil was. However, this meme here drags up those old wounds to hilarious effect.
This version of the "Roll Safe" meme sees Weevil and the logic of his underhanded plan. To his credit, he wasn't wrong. If nothing else, this meme is proof that some of the best Exodia memes don't always have to feature Exodia himself.
8 ONE DOES NOT SIMPLY...
One does not simply beat a classic. While playing Yu-Gi-Oh! is definitely easier than walking into Mordor, perhaps going up against anyone with Exodia in their deck is still challenging regardless. Fortunately, this meme knows the sting of a duel that's been ended before it has the chance to begin.
While the chances of drawing all five pieces of Exodia on the first turn is rare, it can be done if one has the right cards at the right time. Just because something rarely happens doesn't mean it's impossible to do, and anyone who has suffered such a humiliating defeat on the first turn can relate to this meme.
7 KRONK YUGI IS BEST YUGI
Thanks to the power of memes, certain shows and movies have gotten a new kind of spotlight. One movie that definitely benefitted from this was Disney's The Emperor's New Groove and just about anything featuring the fan-favorite Kronk. For this meme, it would appear Kronk likes to play "Duel Monsters" as well.
What really sells this one is the stellar use of editing, with Kronk having Yugi's iconic hair and all the cards that actually fit well and make it look like he's actually looking at the hand of cards. Attention to detail is always appreciated.
6 CALM DOWN KAIBA, IT'S JUST EXODIA.
Spongebob Squarepants and Yu-Gi-Oh! aren't exactly two franchises that go together, but this meme pulls off this crossover for some good laughs. If fans of the anime thought that Seto Kaiba was a massive jerk and needed to be taken down a peg, then this might just be the perfect meme for them.
This meme features a reenactment of the scene where two officers use a wanted poster to scare Patrick, but this time they show Kaiba a wanted poster featuring The Forbidden One, and all Kaiba can do is cower in fear any time they show it to him. Kaiba's face is perfect in this one and perfectly captures the humor of that scene. This won't be the last meme on this list from Spongebob.
5 THOR SUMMONS EXODIA
One of many popular memes that came from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, features the scene where Thor reveals to Hela that Surtr is loose. There've been many good uses of this template, so naturally, it was only a matter of time till a Yu-Gi-Oh! one reared its head.
Acting as sort of an abridged version of the first episode, Kaiba takes the place of Hela as he faces off with "Yugi Thor," only for Exodia appear before him. It seems you can only get so far with three Blue-Eyes White Dragons.
4 HOW THE TABLES HAVE TURNED, WEEVIL!
Now, this would have made for an interesting episode. Weevil made himself out as a major jerk throughout the series, but perhaps throwing the Exodia cards overboard was his most heinous act. Fans are valid to dislike him on that example alone, to the point where a new kind of payback meets Weevil in the form of a good meme.
Here Exodia is the one throwing the cards off the ship, each card containing a piece of Weevil himself as Yugi and Joey stare in awe. How the tables have turned, indeed.
3 FAMOUS LAST WORDS
Famous last words for Kaiba, no doubt. Yet another meme template is used here, this time being the "Savage Patrick" meme, and it is used to great effect as we see Patrick (as Yugi) staring down at his cards, knowing that the end for Kaiba is near.
This is one that's also elevated by some good edits, from Patrick's head of Yugi hair to the gameboard on the bottom panel, but it wouldn't have been complete without that arrogant quote from Kaiba to bring it all together. So much for a "last pathetic card."
2 "BUT THIS DOES PUT A SMILE ON MY FACE"
There's been a good amount of memes featuring Thanos, the Mad Titan, and with a good handful of memorable quotes, it's easy to see why. This meme features Thanos collecting something perhaps more powerful than the Infinity Stones (for the world of Yu-Gi-Oh!, anyway), the five pieces of Exodia.
While the Yugi hair sporting Thanos is without a Duel Disk in this picture, he does have the five cards in his Infinity Gauntlet, with Pot of Greed to boot. This might not kill half the universe, but it will finish any duel within seconds.
1 CONNECT EXODIA
They don't call Yugi the "King of Games" for nothing, it would seem. Combing Yu-Gi-Oh! with the famous board game, Connect 4, this meme features the edited box art for the game with a certain set of five cards for an intense twist.
The look on Kaiba's face is absolutely priceless and is only sent into a further realm of hilarity when used in tandem with the innocent photo of two kids playing the game. Given Exodia's power to end the game instantly though, Kaiba has every right to be scared.
