My own vision on the September F&L list (aka banlist speculation)

We’re nearing the end of July. With all WCQ tournaments worldwide over, I think it’s very clear what decks are dominant this format (Dragon Rulers and Prophecy, obviously).

Halfway August (somewhere around August 15) we’ll get to see the real list in the V-Jump magazine. In the meantime, this is my personal list of cards that need a hit.

The list (only the changes)

Newly Forbidden:

• Spellbook of Judgment (from unlimited): I think I made this clear a few months ago. This card is busted beyond repair and should never have been written this way. The only solution is to get rid of it. Chances is that Konami will only limit it (due to it being quite new and a money making card for them), but it will become forbidden eventually.
• Super Rejuvenation (from unlimited): The more you overextend, the more you can refill your hand. I never liked the card, because it promoted bad playing (overextending without thinking and profiting because of it). Dragon Deep Draw abused this card already, but Dragon Rulers now do as well. Since Konami will probably not touch the Dragon Rulers nor Dragosack, they're going to have to get rid of this one instead.

Newly limited:

• Atlantean Dragoons (from unlimited): I think this is an obvious pick to hit Mermail decks. It’s the Stratos for Sea Serpent decks, so it needs the similar treatment: Limited.
• Abyss-sphere (from unlimited): I know many people will not agree with me on this one, but hear me out. This card provides consistency, throwing Linde and/or any level 7 mermail, depending on what you wanted to achieve. If both Dragoons and this card are limited in use, nobody will have that much trouble again with Mermails.
• Gold Sarcophagus (from unlimited): This card was limited back when Necroface was around (aah, good ol’ Necroface). It slowly became unlimited again list after list (Necroface was limited, Pot of Duality was considered “faster”, etc). But since Dragon Rulers abuse the living sh!t out of this card even more than Necroface decks ever did, it’s time to reinstate its old status: Limited.
• Number 11: Big Eye (from unlimited): I know Dragosack is a more preferred hit, but the card is still quite new. So in terms of probability, Big Eye has a bigger chance to get hit than Dragosack. And if it gets hit, it will get hit hard, since multiple Big Eyes on the field in mirror matches is just ridiculous to watch.

Newly Semi-Limited:

• Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind (from limited): Blackwings didn't see more play after they gained another Kalut. So let’s give them a card that really matters, a real anti-meta card that can be used outside of the Birds deck.
• Deep-sea Diva (from unlimited): Konami must give their diva the Tour Guide treatment. I personally would prefer a limit, considering she now has way more targets than Tour Guide ever had. But a semi-limit is more realistic.
• Fire Formation – Tenki (from unlimited): If Konami does not want Fire Fist to rule solo in September, they need to give it a “little” hit. Everybody knows where it hurts: Tenki is the ROTA for Beast-Warriors.
• Evilswarm ophion (from unlimited): Unsure about the specific choice when hitting Evilswarm. They’re mostly an anti-meta deck, but Ophion is a troublesome card to get over (2550 is a high attack, its ability to search protection cards is also annoying).
• Mezuki (from Limited): A long-time request to return. Shadow specters will see the return of Zombie decks. Give the type the boost it needs and return Mezuki to 2!
• Spellbook of Secrets: If Spellbook of Judgment gets limited instead of forbidden, this will be the next thing to hit. What better way to hit a deck than its main search card. Best thing to say is that with the new list, all allowed playable cards of Judgment and this card together will be three (1 judg, 2 secrets or 2 judg, 1 secret).
• T.G. Striker (from limited): Never should've been limited! T.G. is an anti-meta archetype mostly and is hard to play with only 1 striker. We need 2 of them.
• The Transmigration Prophecy (from limited – experimental): I’m a fan of returning this card to 2 again. The “broken” plays you can do with it are limited (making Rescue Rabbit or Reborn Tengu live, wow), but the anti-meta potential of this card is high enough to have multiples of it (you could then actually use it against Prophecies or Dragon Rulers).

Newly unlimited:

• Archlord Kristya (from semi-limited): The original Semi-limit was a joke, since nobody used three copies of it (safe bad players). That this card is still on the list is an even bigger joke.
• Magican Stone Excavation (from semi-limited): Cost is too high. Nobody uses it at two, nobody will use it at three.
• Thunder King Rai-Oh (from semi-limited): You semi-limited it to promote your new archetypes. That time is up, so bring back Rai-oh.
• Tsukuyomi (from semi-limited): Continuing the trend. I don’t think having three Tsukuyomi’s is that bad.

Less likely hits

• Card Destruction: Saw some play in Dragon Rulers, but got in disuse quickly, because of the many mirror matches (horrible card in mirror matches). Many people would like to see this card become forbidden (also due to it being broken in Dark World decks). But I don’t really see it happening soon.
• Mecha Phantom Beast Dragosack: Konami’s still making money of LTGY, so I doubt they will pick off the money card from the set (although that sounds weird, considering I want judgment to become forbidden). So if it gets hit, it will only become semi-limited.
• Evilswarm Kerykeion: If Konami wants to end Evilswarm, they will hit Kerykeion. However, I doubt they’ll hit this card. It’s new in TCG and Evilswarm are mostly anti-meta, rather than meta.
• Gishki Aquamirror: The most troubling card in Gishki OTK cards. It’s not the ritual monsters, it’s that damn’ return clause on this ritual spell. Hit it and you can return all the limited ritual monsters. But it will probably take another Gishki OTK to make Konami see that…

What would the end result be?

Well obviously Prophecies are going to disappear from the tier 1 stage again. Dragon Rulers will have taken a hit, but won’t be gone (it will rely more on Sacred Sword in the future) and depending on how Smart Konami is, Mermails will disappear as well (seriously, I don’t want another format with the fishmen winning every event).

And that’s about it. I know people will ask for a banning of broken cards like Monster Reborn, Card Destruction or BLS, but I don’t see this happen anytime soon. If it does happen, I won’t regret it; the three cards ARE broken and great top-decks (or great opening-hand cards in Card Destruction’s case).

That's it for now. "Enjoy" the last weeks of the format... And seriously, do NOT believe any list that appears before the week of August 15. It's ALL fake. Don't get tempted into buying Goyo Guardians (again) until there's an actual confirmation. Until that moment, V out.