My thoughts on the OCG Forbidden and limited list

Wow, i'm late with this one. Yeah, it's been a busy few weeks at work, so I got a bit of delay on this post. #priorities

In the March edition of V-Jump, the newest Forbidden and Limited list (aka, the banlist) for the OCG (not the TCG!) has been published. This one will go into effect from April 1st (no joke).

The Changes

Listed are only the changes compared to previous OCG list:

Forbidden:

• Performapal Monkeyboard
• Lavalval Chain
• Life Equalizer

Newly Limited:

• Sangan
• Thousand-Eyes Restrict
• Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss
• Scarm, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss
• Performapal Skullcrobat Joker
• Ignister Prominence, the Blasting Dracoslayer
• Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer
• Draco Face-Off
• Wavering Eyes
• Luster Pendulum, the Dracoslayer
• Mask Change Second
• Tour Guide from the Underworld
• Emergency Teleport
• Domain of the True Monarchs
• Pantheism of the Monarchs
• Pendulum Call
• Reasoning
• Monster Gate

Newly Semi-Limited:

Super Rejuvenation

Unlimited:

• Glow-Up Bulb
• Kuribandit
• Destiny Hero – Malicious
• Mermail Abyssteus
• Mind Control
• Book of Moon
• Gold Sarcophagus
• Allure of Darkness
• Dragon Shrine
• Crush Card Virus

Analysis

A quick run-through of the list sees a slaughtering pattern in the top decks of ritual B.A., Monarchs and DracoPals.

The OCG hits PePe as well as the TCG did last month. Although in this case, the focus is on the DracoPals variant instead of the Performage variant. Now if only people would stop calling DracoPals PePe, that would seriously stop a lot of confusion (where's the "Pe" in Dracoslayers? For real!)

Draco Face-Off is limited (card is broken), just like Luster Pendulum and Ignister (wow). Monkeyboard is forbidden (wow), together with the limit of Skullcrobat Joker and Sorcerer. And finally to take its head of completely, Wavering Eyes has been limited. That's one top-deck completely eliminated.

Also, surprisingly, OCG Konami paid attention to the new Magical Explosion FTK by making Life Equalizer forbidden!

But most surprising is the pre-emptive hit of the OCG towards Kozmo! Both Reasoning and Emergency teleport have become limited before even one Kozmo card hits the OCG. Wow, that's harsh.

On another note: What is with the returned cards? I'm sure many people are pleased with the return of three Books of Moon, as well as the Dragon Shrines and Malicious. But why three Allure of Darkness? Why three Mind Control? And Thousand-eyes restrict legal again? I'm not sure if I like those changes.

And while we're talking about returns...

Sangan is back from prison!

"Free at last!"

Yes, Sangan's been released from prison in the OCG, after his "Mistaken Arrest" and "Mistaken accusation"(lol). The only thing needed was a "few tweaks" in his card text. So here's the updated text (changes are in bold).

The effect of “Sangan” can only be used once per turn. When this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard: Add 1 monster with 1500 or less ATK from your Deck to your hand. If you add a monster to your hand with this effect, you cannot activate the effects of monsters with the same name during that turn.

So it's no longer useful to keep reviving Sangan during the same turn, due to the once-per-turn effect.

Sangan's story will now need a continuation now. So I expect an "Early parole" card to be released somewhere in the future, with artwork of Sangan being freed with a few "parole rules" in place (lol).

Where's the TCG list?

Ever since the OCG and TCG banlist split apart, it's harder to predict what OCG changes will be adopted intp the TCG F&L list. But the ones I think will be adapted into TCG are:

• Life Equalizer Forbidden
• Monkeyboard Forbidden (instead of limited)
• Draco Face-Off & Ignister Limited
• Wavering Eyes Limited
• Emergency Teleport Limited
• Reasoning & Monster Gate Limited
• Dante limited

So as to the question: "Why hasn't Konami posted the new list yet?", the previously listed cards have a few pointers, right?
A lot of these cards have been reprinted in the latest Gold Series (and in the OTS pack). Konami can't really hit the cards they're trying to sell right now, right?

This is why I expect the TCG list to not be revealed until (at least) half of April, to be in effect from May 1st (just before the new booster is released).

Effect on current meta in OCG?

YGOrganization has posted a few OCG tournament results from places that have adapted the new list already. the results aren't really surprising. With all top decks gone, pepole are now just throwing working engines together to try and see what "sticks" around. The speedroid engine, Phantom Knight engine, Quantum engine, Magician engine etc. So that's why there's suddenly weird decks like Speedroid Abyss Monarchs or Artifact Abyss Madolche (lol).

Other older decks are also profiting from this massive top-tier slaughter. Suddenly decks like Satellar, Evilswarm and even an updated version of the classic anti-meta deck are topping again.

Afterword

Anyway, the road is now open again for Konami to give the OCG a new expansion with brand new power cards and archetypes. And it's needed, because the Shiranui, Dinomist and Amorphage archetypes haven't really done anything (yet).

Until next time, V out.

Starter Deck 2016: Bears, Flying Squirrels and tons of Hippo's (but no Pendulum Sorcerer)

I shortly mentioned the Starter Deck in a previous post and didn't give it much afterthought because I thought that everybody knew what Starter Decks were about. But when talking to people on a regional last weekend (obviously talking about the Gold Series reprints), the Yuuya starter deck was brought up (which is already weird) and everybody was talking about how Pendulum Sorcerer will "definitely" be in there.

I was baffled and tried to explain reality, but they were so hung-over on "how Konami is killing the second-hand market" and how "everything is getting a reprint" that they're forgetting one thing: What is the purpose of a Starter Deck?

Starter Decks: A first step for new players to enter the game

Have you ever really analyzed the content of a Starter Deck? It always contains cards aimed at NEW players. People who have no idea as to what to play yet. People who probably haven't done anything but playing the Yugioh videogames and watching the animes.

The cards in a starter deck are hardly ever overpowered. They're no "absolute must-haves". But they're a starting point until you have a sight about what Yu-Gi-Oh is about in real life and you have an idea about what to play exactly.

After obtaining a Starter Deck, a new player is almost always pushed into the direction of Structure Decks; these are the next step. A structure deck provides a single deck strategy and also has cards that are useful in Yu-Gi-Oh in general.

Each structure deck provides building blocks which lay upon that first block of a starter deck. After that, you're ready to decide a deck; either one built from one of the structure decks (3 copies of the Monarch structure deck and you have a working deck, for example), or buying boosters/tins or buying single cards and deck cores from other players.

But everything starts with a Starter deck (in Konami's eyes). Though reality has it that most people skip the starter deck all together. Because most people realize that only a little amount of cards are actually useful.

A Starter Deck is not a Structure Deck

The fact that there's a difference between Starter and Structure decks apparently confuses a lot of people. I've seen lots of people that seem to mix up the two or don't know the difference between the two. And it doesn't helped that they're packed in a very similar matter. I've seen many people become disappointed when they see the Starter deck, thinking that it's just another Structure deck that sucks.

What a starter deck does not have compared to structure decks is reprints of powerful or formerly OCG promo cards. Thus the chance you'll run into cards like Battle Fader, Tragoedia, Night beam or Breakthrough Skill in these is very low. Let alone a Pendulum Sorcerer (Not happening! Keep dreaming!).

The reality is that the average "good" cards in a Starter Deck are usually limited to MST, Dark Hole, Book of Moon and a few basic traps like Mirror Force or Torrential Tribute. Yes, cards like Raigeki or Bottomless Trap hole are usually considered too good for a Starter deck! That's saying something, isn't it?

Only if the Starter Deck is a good character-related starter deck, there's a few good character-specific cards that are useful (like the Synchron cards in the Yusei starter decks). But not every starter deck even has those.

So, is THIS starter deck a GOOD Starter deck?

YES! Yes, it is. I've been looking at the new cards created and by god, there are a few REALLY interesting new cards in here! Of all the new cards revealed so far (10), the following are interesting.

Performapal King Bear (Scale 7, Lv 6)

Pendulum Effect: During the End Phase, if this card was activated this turn: You can destroy this card, and if you do, add to your hand, 1 Level 7 or higher monster among the face-up Pendulum Monsters in your Extra Deck and the monsters in your Graveyard.
Monster Effect: This Attack Position card cannot be destroyed by Spell/Trap effects. This card gains 100 ATK for each "Performapal" card you control during your Battle Phase only.

So basically it's a different version of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. but in this case, instead of searching for a limited amount of Pendulum monsters from your deck, this time you're re-adding Lv 7 or higher monsters from the extra deck or your grave (read: detached Xyz materials) back to your hand.

Also, read that card text carfully. The way it's worded now, the monster you recycle from the graveyard... doesn't have to be a Pendulum monster. This way, you might as well be recycling cards like High Priestess, Kozmo Dark Destroyer or a frigging Mega Monarch.

Performapal Carpet Momonga: Scale 7 (lv 3)

Pendulum Effect: Unless you have a card in your other Pendulum Zone, destroy this card. Halve all battle damage you take.
Monster Effect: FLIP: You can target 1 Set card on the field; destroy it.
If this card is Special Summoned: You can change this card to face-down Defense Position.

Ignore its Pendulum effect, because the times it'll be used that way are slim (though not non-existent). What IS interesting however, is the monster effect!

Carpet Momonga is a Beast that destroyes SET cards when flipped face-up (both backrow and monsters, thus), but it also allows itself to be set face-down when special summoned! And it being a Pendulum monster means it could basically be special summoned every turn. Use this card in combination with cards like Quaking Mirror Force, Book of Moon, Swords of Consealing Light or even Ghostrick Monsters in general and you can cause lots of destruction. That's hilarious and an absolute must-have for troll decks!

Super Hippo Carnival (quick-play spell card)

Special Summon 1 "Performapal Hip Hippo" from your hand, Deck, or Graveyard, then you can Special Summon as many "Hippo Tokens" (Beast-Type/EARTH/Level 1/ATK 0/DEF 0) as possible. These Tokens cannot be Tributed. You cannot Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck while a "Hippo Token" is in a Monster Zone. For the rest of this turn after this card resolves, if you Special Summoned a "Hippo Token" by this effect, your opponent cannot target monsters for attacks, except "Hippo Tokens".

Again, read that carefully. The tokens are optional, but you will always get Hip Hippo.

Performapal Hip Hippo suddenly turned from a "meh" card to a card you can summon from anywhere, anytime you want (safe the banished zone) and use for Xyz or Synchro shenanigans. And with Hippo being a Lv 3 Earth Beast, you have easier access to LOTS of monsters (most prominently Naturia Beast and Barkion)

Also, since it's another rendition of Scapegoat, you can still use it and the tokens during your opponent's turn to prevent you from being OTK'd.

When?

This Starter deck is set for release on March 19th in the OCG. So I guess we'll see the full contents around that time. But I think the "most exciting" cards from this starter deck have already been revealed.

The TCG will get this at the end of May (26/27th). Still quite a few months away, but enough time to see if anyone actually will use any of these new cards.

Until next time, V out.