Newly Banned
- Burner, Dragon Ruler of Sparks
- Elemental HERO Stratos
- Lightning, Dragon Ruler of Drafts
- Reactan, Dragon Ruler of Pebbles
- Stream, Dragon Ruler of Droplets
- Number 16: Shock Master
- Card Destruction
- Gateway of the Six
- Heavy Storm
- Monster Reborn
- Pot of Avarice
- Spellbook of Judgment
- Super Rejuvenation
- Solemn Judgment
- Ultimate Offering
Most of the other cards are themed. Like I said in my last article, if you take away the top decks, you need to also limit the decks in the lower tiers so we don't have the same 1-3 deck format. Stratos is the best E-Hero. His 1800 ATK is good for a Lv4 monster and he replaces himself. With 3 E-Emergency Call, Stratos definitely needed to go. Shock Master severely limits your opponent's options, and in combination with cards like Number 66: Master Key Beetle, it can be a pain. I see why they banned it, but I feel like a limit would have been fine.
Spellbook of Judgment is what broke the Prophecy Deck. It's a poorly-designed overpowered card, and it should never have been made. Super Rejuvenation is the same thing, but for Dragon decks. Card Destruction and Gateway are enablers for Dark World and Six Samurai. Those decks are solid on their own, but with those two cards, they could definitely have been seen as overpowered this format. Ultimate Offering is there to keep Gadgets in check.
Newly Limited
- Atlantean Dragoons
- Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Spirit
- Deep Sea Diva
- Genex Ally Birdman
- Rescue Rabbit
- Thunder King Rai-Oh
- Evigishki Mind Augus
- Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier
- Constellar Ptolemy M7
- Dimensional Fissure
- Gold Sarcophagus
- Royal Tribute
- Bottomless Trap Hole
- Compulsory Evacuation Device
- Eradicator Epidemic Virus
- Macro Cosmos
- Soul Drain
- Torrential Tribute
I'll start off the easy way with the cards that were limited to prevent the "Set 4 pass" opening play that happens when there's no Heavy Storm around. Dimensional Fissure, Bottomless Trap Hole, Compulsory, Macro, Soul Drain, and Torrential could all be set first turn and stay on the field for as long as you need them to. Eradicator Virus is an easy alternative for Storm that's only usable in certain decks, which gives them an unfair advantage. Augus is the Gishki version of Pot of Avarice, which can also be used against the opponent.
Dragoons and Diva prevent Mermail from being the only top deck this format, just as Rescue Rabbit's limit keeps Dino Rabbit at bay. Like Rooster on the OCG list, Spirit limits 3-axis Fire Fist and Birdman stops Harpie Dancer FTK. M7 and Royal Tribute keep Constellar and Gravekeepers from being too big. Gold Sarc is another little hit to Dragon Rulers, and I can't really think of a good reason for Thunder King to be there. With the loss of preventative traps, his effect that negates Special Summons could come in handy.
Newly Semi-Limited
- Mezuki
- Plaguespreader Zombie
- T.G. Striker
- Fire Formation - Tenki
- Dimensional Prison
Ironically, the smallest portion of this list contains some big changes! The hit to Tenki was expected, and D-Prison is another card that promotes "Set 4 pass", so it's not that surprising when you look at the rest of the list. What is surprising, though, is the two big returns Zombies get. Mezuki has been tossed around the list multiple times before settling at 1. It's a very powerful card that has the utility of a Monster, has a respectable 1700 ATK, and acts as a free Monster Reborn for any Zombie monster. Plaguespreader has been at 1 ever since just after its release in 2008 because it's a reusable Lv2 Tuner and a Zombie, which means it get ALL the support. Striker is another big deal, since limiting it pretty much killed the TG engine that was being used with Plants and Agents.
Newly Unlimited
- Destiny HERO - Malicious
- The Agent of Mystery - Earth
- Tsukuyomi
- A Hero Lives
- Black Whirlwind
- E - Emergency Call
- Hieratic Seal of Convocation
- Pot of Duality
- Scapegoat
Tsukuyomi, Emergency Call, Duality, and Scapegoat are nothing new, but OMG LOOK AT THE REST! With Stratos banned, I guess there's no longer a reason to keep Malicious and A Hero Lives on the list. Hieratics get their searcher back to 3, which probably won't make a difference. We take Black Whirlwind one step further than Japan. This might give Blackwings a small chance, but Gale is still at 1. Striker at 2 opens a lot of possibilities, but bringing Earth back to 3 gives us the entire Agent deck at full force (minus Trishula). To make things better for Agent duelists, D-Fissure and Macro are limited, which makes it harder to counter Hyperion and Kristya strategies.
Usually the ban list is designed to put a stop to decks that ruin formats. It was obvious that Dragon Rulers and Prophecy were going to get hit, but this list takes it two steps further. The decks that were most likely to jump to the top, like Fire Fist and Mermail were hit to prevent that, which was also expected. What makes this list different is that they tried to hit EVERY problem the game has right now. The sacky topdeck cards, the overpowered cards used in under-represented deck types, and cards that enable strategies that are generally bad for the game were all taken care of.
I'm very excited for this format. This is the kind of list that really shakes up the game. It is now entirely possible to build a deck and still have 5-10 slots open for cards you normally wouldn't have had the opportunity to try. I'm really leaning toward starting the format off with X-Sabers just because they're not that effected by the list. The only thing they lose are traps. The also have Hyunlei to replace Heavy Storm.
What are you going to be playing next month? Let us know in the comments or get the conversation going on our Facebook page!
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