Yes, that special time that only comes twice a year. A time when your either full of elation or rage. Ban list time. Let's get started right away with a look at the newly banned cards.
- Goyo Guardian
- Cold Wave
- Mass Driver
Goyo has the highest ATK of any Synchro Monster under level 8. He's easy to summon and permanently steals your opponent's monsters when he destroys them in battle. It's a poorly designed card that's been limited for so long for a reason. Nowadays, you would usually just go for Brionac anyway, so it's not like Goyo was a huge problem.
Cold Wave is a huge nuisance card that is arguably more harmful than the banned Heavy Storm. Locking down your opponent's Spell/Traps for 2 turns is a game changing move, especially if followed by something like Black Rose Dragon or XX-Saber Hyunlei. Cold Wave can't be stopped by cards like Starlight Road or Stardust Dragon either, so if Heavy Storm is banned, this should be as well. The only reason for Mass Driver's existence is to otk, and no one likes being otk'd. Good riddance.
Now for the newly limited cards.
- Honest
- Dandylion
- Blackwing - Kalut the Moon Shadow
- Book of Moon
- Gateway of the Six
It looks like Konami has realized that damage step killers like Honest and Kalut are a bad idea. Two of the top decks in Japan right now are Blackwings and Agent Fairies so it's really no wonder these cards were cut to 1. Blackwings still have plenty of tricks, but this is going to hurt them. Dandylion at 1 really hurts Plant decks. Even if you only need 1 to keep reviving with Debris Dragon, it only takes 1 D.D. Crow to shut you down. Book has been all over the list since it's release and now we're back at 1. This card alone can shut down combos and Synchro Summons. It's also a great attack stopper that's not affected by Trap Stun. Many decks will miss this card, especially X-Sabers. Gateway is the reason Six Samurai is the top deck right now, and with Shien's Dojo coming out, it can stay at 1 forever.
Or newly semi-limted cards are....
- Card Trooper
- Archlord Kristya
- Spirit Reaper
- Debris Dragon
- Royal Tribute
- Overload Fusion
- Megamorph
- Solemn Warning
- Icarus Attack
Trooper is something that should have gone to 2 a long time ago. Long gone are the days of Troop-Dupe-Scoop, and at 2, it's not worth running the otherwise dead card, Machine Duplication. Kristya is a huge free beater with a built in Oppression, and again, Agents are tearing up the OCG right now. Spirit Reaper is very surprising. It helps out slower decks wile hindering decks like X-Sabers that don't have much monster destruction. Debris at 2 isn't a huge hit to Plants since they can be recycled with Avarice, but this in combination with Dandylion at 1 is really bad for them.
Royal Tribute is a big part of what makes Gravekeeper's such a disruptive deck. I don't see this affecting them too badly, but it's nice to know you can only lose your hand twice per game now. Overload at 2 isn't as bad as it seems at first. Sure it's automatically a huge monster that can attack every monster your opponent has, but you're going to need to clear the field of all disruptions, and with only 2 MST and 1 Trunade, good luck with that. Megamorph at 2 is also surprising, especially with Demise at 3. Solemn Warning is a very debatable card. Some say it's balanced, while others say it needs to go to 1. I believe it's balanced. By paying a fourth of your life points, you get to negate 1 summon, which may have won your opponent the match. It's one of the best traps in the game right now, and it's good at 2. Icarus Attack was a big disruptor in Blackwings. With Kalut going to 1, did they really need to hit this?
Now for the cards that leave the list
- Chaos Sorcerer
- Demise, King of Armageddon
- Snipe Hunter
- Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier
- Gold Sarcophagus
- Skill Drain
- Ultimate Offering
Sorcerer is an easily summoned card with a great effect. The last time this card was at 3, Chaos Return was the main deck. Now, it can easily be taken down by almost any Synchro Monster. Demise at 3 really doesn't change anything. Maybe the 2nd Megamorph will have people trying out the old Doom Dozer combo. Snipe Hunter never belonged on the list at all. Discard a card for a chance to destroy a card. Without Premature Burial, there was little reason for Dewloren to be at 1 anyway. Sarcophagus at 3 doesn't change anything. It's still a slow card. Skill Drain could make a comeback with this. If only Destiny Draw got bumped up, maybe we'd see a resurgence in that deck. And lastly, Ultimate Offering at 3 doesn't mean anything for anyone.
There's our next 6 months of Yugioh. Samurai and Blackwings get hurt while X-Sabers are left virtually untouched. We might see some chaos decks pop up, and maybe even Infernity will make a small comeback.
