Casually dropping a Yu-Gi-Oh banlist like Lolkonami does...

Today in Konami office:
- "Hey, err... when are we going to release that new Forbidden & Limited list again?"
* "Wait, we didn't release it last week? We were supposed to release that last week to..."
- "Didn't get that memo."
* "Oh holy F...."

New Forbidden & Limited list, effective from NOW!

The list

Source: http://yugioh-card.com/uk/gameplay/detail.php?id=1155

Listed are only the changes for TCG.

Forbidden

• Dinomight Knight, the True Dracofighter (from unlimited)
• Grandsoil the Elemental Lord (from unlimited)
• True King Lithosagym, the Disaster (from unlimited)
• Denglong, First of the Yang Zing (from unlimited)
• Daigusto Emeral (from unlimited)
• Zoodiac Broadbull (from unlimited)
• Zoodiac Drident (from unlimited)

Limited

• Ignis Heat, the True Dracowarrior (from unlimited)
• Miscellaneousaurus (from unlimited)
• Zoodiac Ratpier (from semi-limited)
• Dark Hole (from semi-limited)
• Gateway of the Six (from forbidden)
• Interrupted Kaiju Slumber (from semi-limited)
• True King’s Return (from unlimited)

Semi-Limited

• Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning (from limited)
• Luster Pendulum, the Dracoslayer (from limited)
• Mathematician (from limited)
• Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier (from limited)
• T.G. Hyper Librarian (from limited)
• Brain Control (from limited)
• Burial From a Different Dimension (from limited)
• El Shaddoll Fusion (from limited)
• Preparation of Rites (from limited)

Unlimited

• Debris Dragon (from smi-limited)
• Honest (from semi-limited)
• Rescue Cat (from limited)
• Rescue Rabbit (from limited)
• Summoner Monk (from semi-limited)
• Witch of the Black Forest (from forbidden)
• Charge of the Light Brigade (from semi-limited)
• Dragon Ravine (from semi-imited)
• Wavering Eyes (from forbidden)

First thoughts

Oh, jeezes, Konami. Didn't the list get an approval last Friday? This is so friggin' random, casually dropping the list on a Monday and saying it's effective on the day the list drops? That's why we keep calling you Lolkonami.

So since the list just dropped like a few hours ago, so I'm still processing this. Because at first glance, the hits seem... kind of random.

Okay, hits like Broadbull and Drident were to be expected. But I did NOT expect Dino's to get slaughtered this way. And True kings? I think they're somewhat fine. Because even with all the True Draco cards being on this list, Master Peace, Diagram and Heritage did NOT get hit, nor did Terraforming.

Also, on the Zoodiac side, Zoodiac Barrage also did not get hit, making Zoodiac still alive... somewhat (as an engine, rather than a full deck). Most surprising to see not getting hit is ABC.

What I'm also surprised about is the massive push to get re-aligned with the OCG list. A lot of these hits are to make the lists (somewhat) hole again. But then on the other hand we get random hits again, like Grandsoil and Daigusto Emeral. Yes, they're great cards... but OP enough to be forbidden? No way.

What decks are going to be best?

SPYRAL, definitely. Especially after the release of Double Helix this October (*cough*definite secret rare*cough*). Then I assume Invoked to finally take flight (in combination with what's left of Zoodiac or True Draco) and ABC will probably see a return in popularity. And last but not least: Red-Eyes (with the release of Legendary Duelists) + Zombies (with possibly the new Vendread support in Circuit Break).

That's it for now. I'm now going to sit down, take my popcorn and see how the rest of the world is going to process this random list drop.
Until next time, V out.

TCG Forbidden & Limited List is out

So I was busy preparing a post about the new OCG set when suddenly...

http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/limited/

TCG Forbidden & Limited List is out today and goes in effect from Monday already. Saying that's fast is quite an understatement.

The April 11, 2016 Forbidden & limited list

Listed are only the changes

Forbidden

• Performage Damage Juggler – Already hit on the adjusted list
• Performage Plushfire – Already hit on the adjusted list
• Tellarknight Ptolemaeus- Already hit on the adjusted list
• Chicken Game – Previously Unlimited
• Wavering Eyes – Previously Unlimited

Limited

• Luster Pendulum, the Dracoslayer – Already hit on the adjusted list
• Performapal Monkeyboard – Already hit on the adjusted list
• Performapal Skullcrobat Joker – Already hit on the adjusted list
• Wisdom-Eye Magician – Previously Unlimited
• Elder Entity Norden – Previously Unlimited
• Thousand-Eyes Restrict – Previously Forbidden
• Ignister Prominence, The Blasting Dracoslayer – Previously Unlimited
• Draco Face-Off – Previously Unlimited
• Reasoning – Previously Unlimited
• Upstart Goblin – Previously Unlimited

Semi-Limited

• Debris Dragon – Previously Limited
• Allure of Darkness – Previously Limited
• Emergency Teleport – Previously Unlimited

Unlimited

• Dark Magician of Chaos – Previously Forbidden
• Tragoedia – Previously Semi-Limited
• Advanced Ritual Art – Previously Semi-Limited
• Crush Card Virus – Previously Limited

First impressions

Well, they confirmed EVERY change on the adjusted list without thinking about it if the hits were right or not.

Next to that, I see cards I kind of predicted (Ignister, Draco Face-off, Reasoning and arguably Wavering Eyes (thought it was going to be limited, but I'm just as happy with it being forbidden tbh).

Also surprised that Konami decided to take (minor) hits towards Kozmo, while officially still supporting them with new cards. This by Semi-limiting E-Teleport (hardly a hit in my eyes) and Reasoning (seen them abuse this). But for some reason I doubt they'll feel very salty about it. Might be that there's going to be another batch of support for them in the next set.

And... did Konami read my article about Monarch/Magical Explosion FTK? Because they made Chicken game forbidden instead of Life Equalizer. And as I said in that post, Monarch FTK deck is dead without Chicken Game.

Other than that, glad with the hits on Norden and Upstart Goblin; glad with the release of Thousand Eyes Restrict and DMoC. But I find it sad that Wisdom-Eye had to go as well. I admit, it's an OP searcher. But as the owner of an Odd-Eyes Magician deck I find it sad that a deck that hasn't topped (much) is being hit INSTEAD OF B.A. or MONARCHS?

 

That's it for now. Kind of figuring out what to do with my Odd-Eyes Magician deck now.

V out.

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.

The April 1st TCG Forbidden and Limited List - What the...?

So, it's finally upon us, the new list in here. But serious, what the hell's with the Jar-hate?

The Changes

Newly forbidden:

• Morphing Jar (from limited)
• Morphing Jar #2 (from unlimited)

Newly limited:

• Coach Soldier Wolfbark (from unlimited)
• Mermail Abyssgunde (from unlimited)
• Rekindling (from unlimited)
• Infernity Barrier (from unlimited)

Newly semi-limited:

• Necroface (from limited)
• Hieratic Seal of Convocation (from unlimited)

Newly unlimited:

• Magical Stone Excavation (from Semi-Limited)
• Primal Seed (from Limited)

The decks that are hit

1. Empty Jar: Not really a competitive deck atm, but with its key cards gone, it's totally dead now.
2. Fire Fist: With Wolfbark (and Rekindling) Limited, it's up to the Fisters (wait, that sounds too wrong) to make a new mix between 3 and 4-axis (Dragon will return).
3. Fire Kings/Laval/Flamvell: These three decks kind of relied on Rekindling as a finishing card. We saw an occasional Fire King or Laval deck top in regionals from time to time; but I guess those times are over now.
4. Mermail: While I was initially disappointed that those 2 spam cards (Steuss & Sphere) weren't hit, Gunde is a hit that's about just as good. Three Monster Reborns in the deck was kind of a lot. But while I expected the Fishes to be butchered, they're still allowed to play on the top tables.
5. Hieratic DRuler: Called it. Though I kind of expected to see Atum return to 2 as well. Oh well, we'll see if people will still play that dreadfully awkward deck.
6. Infernity: One of the most busted counter traps in the game limited? I can only applaud that choice.

My initial reaction

10 changes is small, but with a list-frequency like this, that's kind of to be predicted. Why the hell is this list until half of July? That's such a random date (unless all continental championships are held just before this date, that would kind of make sense).

But what's with the Jar-hate here? It's been ages since I've seen anyone play those cards (safe a random Jar #2 in the side-deck). So why make them forbidden? That's just an overzealous hit towards "annoying" decks (in this case, Empty Jar) and potential OTK enablers (Jackpot 7 works better with the Dark Scorpian Burglars anyway).

The other hits can be classified as predictable (Wolfbark, Convocation, Stone Excavation), (surprisingly) good hits (Abyssgunde, Rekindling, Infernity Barrier) and a few surprises (the return of Necroface and Primal Seed). Not that 2 Necrofaces or three Primal Seeds will do much...

That's it for now. V is going to cheer up a sad jar.

"All these hits make me
a saaaaaaad jar."

Analysis of the End-of-Year Banlist – The good, the bad and the ug… surprises.

So the weekend has passed and people had some time to let the new list sink in (surprisingly, with not that many #freestratos posts (lol, the fans either don't know yet, or are still in denial).

So now that the initial raging has calmed down a bit, let’s take a deeper look into the new Forbidden and Limited list.

First off, I’d like to add a side-note. I’m not sad or angry that any of the following cards have been hit or have returned. I’ve arrived to the acceptance stage of banlist grieving. So yes, three Tenki’s will be f**king annoying, but we’ll live. Yes, my Prophecy deck will miss that second Fate, but we’ll get on with it. And so on… This post is just me sitting back and thinking about the cards and whether or not the hits themselves are good, bad or rather surprising/interesting.

The Good hits

• Blaster, Redox, Tidal and Tempest limited: This was to be expected and anyone thinking anything else is naïve (and that’s saying it nicely). The Dark Dragon Ruler (DAD) is limited for a few years now; the Light Dragon Ruler (JD) was limited during the peak of Lightsworns. Dragon Rulers had their time and now it’s over. Yes, Dragon Rulers pushed the best duelists to fight at their peak and the better duelists won while the scrubs were weeping in the corner. But Konami has to sell their newer products and let’s be fair: we all want to see different decks topping, right? So let’s call this a good hit and let’s get over it already.
• Return from the Different Dimension forbidden: This card IS an OTK card. I couldn’t agree more than making this card forbidden for eternity.
• Self-Destruct Button forbidden: This makes so much sense it almost shames me I never thought of this card getting a hit. Konami judges HATE this card with a passion. It caused endless discussions and ruling situations. And because of this card the judges created the weird rule that three game ties in a match does not equal a tie as end result. Self-Destruct button is more a troll-deck than anything else, but let’s cut the judges some slack and make this deck disappear.
• Sixth Sense forbidden: Never should've been legal. This was just a marketing trick to sell LC04. Though I heard people say that Konami would keep the card legal because “it’s a bad card mid-game or late-game”. After I explained them the comparison with Future Fusion in Chaos Dragons those idiots people got quiet.
• Spellbook of Fate limited: I’m a Prophecy player and I think this is a good hit (now saying this out loud just feels weird). No, seriously. Of all cards that they could hit in a Prophecy deck, this is the most preferred one. The opponents hate this card (because it doesn’t target and banishes) and the Prophecy deck can still be played with 1 Fate. Better this card than Blue Magician or Secrets.
• Archlord Kristya unlimited: Nobody played this card three times. I’ve said it the moment this card got semi-limited and kept saying it ever since. It was a joke that this card was semi-limited in the first place.
• T.G. Striker unlimited: This card being limited was only because of T.G. Agents being popular in OCG. This is a TCG list now, so I’m glad it’s back.

The Bad hits

• Dragon Ravine Forbidden: Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not sad that this card is gone, I never liked the card. I just think it’s sad that the Dragunity Deck is dead because of this. They could have limited this card instead. Seriously, now nobody will be interested in that Vajrayana reprint.
• Sacred Sword of Seven Stars: Sorry, but this is just overkill on the DRuler part. Again, don’t misunderstand me: I’m not sad it’s limited. I just think Sacred Sword is just as bad as Trade-In or Cards of Consonance. But I think hitting one and not the others is kind of silly. But I guess this is just a signal from Konami to let go of DRulers and play with the new stuff.
• Divine Wind of Mist Valley Limited WITH Constellar Ptolemy M7 unlimited: Wut? I don’t even…? This is just weird. Last list they hit Birdman and M7 in order to prevent the Harpie Dancer OTK. Now that Harpie Dancer is available in TCG, I thought they might hit Valley (or leave it unlimited because who plays Divine Wind, seriously). But this exchange is just absurd. They hit Divine Wind to return an OTK enabler to unlimited status? WHY?
• Fire Formation Tenki Unlimited: Marketing trick to sell Bujins. Next year this time around, this card will be limited (or semi-limited again). Mark my words.
• Final Countdown Limited: Lots of players don’t like this card/deck, calling it a degenerate strategy. I never played it either because I don’t like the deck myself. So yeah, I can guess where they’re coming from (though I never had any problem beating this deck because Prohibition is still my default side-deck card!). In the end, Final Countdown limited or unlimited I don’t care either way. But thinking about it… is it a good hit? NO! Why? Because how many times did Final Countdown decks top anything, seriously? Are YOU seriously afraid of encountering a Final Countdown deck? Or is this because somebody combined it with Ghostricks and created the ultimate annoying deck or so (if so, this argument becomes invalid obviously)?

The interesting changes

• Debris Dragon limited Vs Lonefire Blossom Semi-Limited: These two cards were part of the classic Plant Synchro deck. You can look at Debris Dragon taking a hit as a result of the “Plant” variant of Dragon Rulers, but mostly I think It’s a pre-emptive hit because they wanted Lonefire to return. And we do know that two Lonefires and two Debris at the same time is not a good idea. So Konami did an exchange. And obviously, Lonefire's return is because of the Sylvan archetype.
• The Return of Magician of Faith: This card is old, this card is slow, and most of the broken spell cards are now forbidden. This card will thus fare the same path as BLS/Tsukuyomi (people will complain about its return, try to play it, but leave it out eventually).
• Chaos Sorcerer Semi-Limited: Oh, poor Sorcerer. Konami just doesn’t know what to do with you. You have danced around on the F&L list more than any other card (it's pure chaos!). Now you’re back to Semi-Limited status, but god knows for how long? What will happen when the Chaos Gaia’s come out in TCG?
• Tour Guide from the Underworld Unlimited: Now this is interesting. I said it before: Ever since the Atlantean Structure Deck came out last year, Deep Sea Diva has more interesting targets than Tour Guide ever had. With Sangan on the Tour Bus to Forbidden Realms, this card lost its most important target and got into disuse. Will we see her again next format?
• Mezuki and Plaguespreader Zombie Unlimited: Now THIS is interesting. Last format, Two of each of these didn't do much to Zombie decks (but that’s the fault of Dragon Rulers, mostly). Now this duo returns to unlimited status… in the hopes that Shadow Specters will sell a little more (obviously another marketing trick). But it’s interesting. Will Zombie decks do anything now that they’re back to full force?

Afterword:

Obviously, the first months will be filled with people saying “Dragon Rulers still works”, “Dragon Rulers aren't dead”, but that’s what they say about every deck that gets butchered (remember Inzektors, Chaos Dragons and Wind-ups? Yeah, my point exactly…). My expectations is that they're going to splash all DRuler variants together and see what happens. But that won't last for long (I think).

Next format... Bujins. Next to that, it depends on the TCG exclusives and OCG world premiere cards in the January Booster. Other competitors will be the current top decks: Constellars, Fire Fists, Mermails (why didn't that get hit?), Fire Kings, Evilswarm, Noble Knight, etc.

What will I play next format? I dunno, honestly. But with 3 Tour Guides and 2 Chaos Sorcerers, I might as well rebuild my Chaos Dragons deck and see what happens (lol). or maybe Tele-DAD just for the lolz.

Until next time, V out.

Analysis of the TCG F&L List September 2013

Now that my initial surprise of the list is over, it’s time to analyze each hit on this list:

Burner, Lightning, Reactan and Stream, the Baby Dragons forbidden

It was on the OCG list and it shouldn't come as a surprise to see it on the TCG list as well. The Dragon Rulers were supposed to boost each attribute of its respective element, but the baby’s made it possible to create a deck of the dragons itself. The baby’s created a problem deck, so getting rid of the babies solved the problem.

Spellbook of Judgment forbidden:

Glad that this was hit and not any other Prophecy/Spellbook card. THIS was the problem card, as stated months ago.

Card Destruction and Super Rejuvenation forbidden + Gold Sarcophagus Limited

The older support cards that were abused in Dragon Rulers are hit as well and hit hard. Card Destruction already deserved a place on the forbidden list for years, Super Rejuvenation promotes overextending and Gold Sarc… well… maybe we can now see the return of Necroface? (pretty please?)

Elemental HERO Stratos forbidden + E-Emergency Call, A HERO Lives and Destiny HERO Malicious unlimited

Most people complaining about this list are actually complaining about the fact that Stratos is gone and that HERO decks “just died”. But honestly, does the existence of 1 card really have to cause a limit on three other cards? NO! I’d rather see three E-Calls, 3 A HERO Lives and 3 Malicious than 1 Stratos. So to all you whiners: GET OVER IT!

Number 16: Shock Master forbidden

This card has become the face of “You-can’t-play-Yugioh” cards. It’s the source of many frustrations and it’s rightfully forbidden. It locked down opponents completely after they suffered a virus attack; it blocked an opponent completely if the solely relied on either monster effects or spell cards. It caused more frustration than any other card. Should it be limited instead of forbidden? Maybe, but I don’t think it’s bad that this card is gone completely.

Gateway of the Six forbidden

THANK YOU, Konami. Worst TCG Exclusive EVER made! Six Sams don’t need this card to win, but it makes them overpowered if they do draw it. It’s like Dark Worlds opening with Card Destruction; Chaos Dragons opening with Future Fusion, or Machine Decks opening with Limiter Removal (hint, Konami, hint).Those decks can win without the named cards, but as an opponent you don’t want to face these cards: because you’ll have an incredibly high chance of losing.

Ultimate Offering forbidden

Ever since XYZ came out, this card proved to be just broken in Gadget decks. Glad it’s gone, it didn't do any good.

Heavy Storm, Monster Reborn and Pot of Avarice

They’re game-changers and top decking these cards may give you the win, even if you don’t deserve it. Many people were asking for these cards to be gone, so let it be.

And Pot of Avarice has two replacements in Daigusto Emeral and Pot of Duplicity.

Solemn Judgment Forbidden; Bottomless Trap Hole, Compulsory Evacuation Device and Torrential Tribute Limited and Dimensional Prison Semi-Limited

This is a huge bite that Konami just took out of the staple Trap cards. Considering Heavy Storm is gone, I guess this is a justified cut-back of these traps. It’s already going to be a backrow-heavy format as it is, so limiting the traps isn't bad at all.

Atlantean Dragoons & Deep Sea Diva Limited

Thank god. The main search engines of the Mermail deck is cut. The Mermail players already confirmed weeks before this list came out that the deck is still playable and good with only 1 Diva and 1 Dragoons. And in return, Konami also limited the following cards.

Rescue Rabbit, Dimensional Fissure and Macro Cosmos limited

Yeah, Konami obviously hates Macro Rabbit. I personally didn't have any problem with it, but it was no surprise that the deck was everywhere in the past year. Ever since the tins of last year, Macro Rabbit was the cheapest (anti-)meta deck to build. Since the deck had a good match-up versus Mermails, it was just as popular in the March Format (until the Dragons attacked). So bye-bye Rabbit.

Indirectly, Evilswarm Decks are hit by this as well. I guess they won’t be using Rabbit and Heliotrope anymore. Enough other choices, though.

Soul Drain, Thunder King Rai-Oh, Eradicator Epidemic Virus and Royal Tribute limited.

Like Shock Master, these cards only classify as “You-can’t-play Yugioh” cards. No activating of card effects in the grave; no searching of cards; no use of spells or traps; or not having monsters at all. None of these cards are fair in multiples, so I don’t regret their limit.

Brotherhood of the Fire Fist – Spirit limited and Fire Formation – Tenki Semi-Limited

Fire Fists required a hit, otherwise they would become the overpowering archetype this format. Tenki was an obvious choice. And while OCG hit Rooster, that card is kind of new in TCG, so our Konami hit Spirit instead. Guess we’ll only have the 4-axis then, huh?

Genex Ally Birdman, Evigishki Mind Augus, Dewloren Tiger King of the Ice Barrier and Constellar Ptoley M7 limited

These cards are classified as OTK/FTK enablers. That’s their only use when multiples are available.

I liked Birdman and M7 a lot, but it’s a justified hit to stop OTK decks. Still… Doesn’t Konami see that Aquamirror is the problem, not the Gishki's themselves? They now have 2 Ritual monsters of the same archetype limited!

Mezuki & Plaguespreader Zombie Semi-Limited

Zombies were dead, it’s true. This gives zombie-decks a boost. And it should come as no surprise that Konami wants to boost the popularity of Shadow Specters a little (the set isn't that great), so these two might help that.

T.G. Striker Semi-Limited & The Agent of Mystery Earth unlimited

FINALLY! T.G. Agents was never a popular deck in the TCG, so we found the initial limit on Earth and Striker way too harsh (it killed the T.G. engine). More than Earth, I’m more glad that Striker is back at 2 (which is the number that is generally used).

Tsukuyomi & Scapegoat unlimited

These cards are two reminders that Goat Control was once a feared deck. Tsukuyomi is only used once in certain decks (spelllcasters and control decks), and scapegoat… let’s just say that this choice is intriguing. I’m kind of looking forward what 12 annoying scapegoats can do… My guess: Plasma Control, Piper Control, etc.

Hieratic Seal of Convocation & Black Whirlwind unlimited

Two search cards for previously popular archetypes (mostly in the OCG). It’s interesting to see if they will be picked up massively again. I think Blackwings will become more interesting, with Fortune Tune and Transmodify now available for them.

Note: Transmodify has now leaped over all other cards and became the money card of JOTL. Guess the hype of Infernities, Agents and Wings made it a popular card all of a sudden.

Pot of Duality unlimited

Not that much of a fan of this choice, but probably due to the limit of Gold Sarc. Duality is what OCG players describe as a brain-drain card. It increases consistency of your deck without thinking too much about your deck choices. I found it to be perfect at 2, but I can’t blame people for using three copies of it either.

Afterword

So, that’s it. That’s my analysis. Unlike the OCG list, there aren't many choices that I dislike on this list. The OCG list is more like a typical lolkonami list, with bad cards like Trishula, Gorz or Chaos Sorcerer returning; while the TCG variant actually cares about the players (for once, at least).

I've heard many old players being very positive about this list and making them think to actually return to the game. So I have to say: this list is a good thing for the game in general. I hope that our Konami would keep it up this way, because I like it.

A somewhat pleased V out.

I wake up and see... what the hell is this banlist?

The moment OCG-Konami said they would update the Forbidden & Limited list every few months (after each new booster), I realized that TCG-Konami would publicize a different F&L list. But this? I did not expect it to be THIS different!

The Changes... in TCG

Newly Forbidden

• All baby Dragons (from unlimited)
• Spellbook of Judgment (from unlimited
• Card Destruction (from limited)
• Elemental HERO Stratos (from limited)
• Gateway of the six (from limited)
• Heavy Storm (from limited)
• Monster Reborn (from limited)
• Number 16: Shock Master (from unlimited)
• Pot of Avarice (from limited)
• Super Rejuvenation (from unlimited, became limited in OCG)
• Solemn Judgment (from limited)
• Ultimate Offering (from limited)

Newly Limited

• Genex Ally Birdman (from unlimited)
• Atlantean Dragoons (from unlimited)
• Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Spirit (from unlimited)
• Bottomless trap Hole
• Compulsory Evacuation Device (from unlimited)
• Constellar Ptolemy M7 (from unlimited)
• Deep Sea Diva (from unlimited)
• Dewloren, Tiger king of the Ice Barrier (from semi-limited)
• Dimensional Fissure (from unlimited)
• Eradicator Epidemic Virus (from unlimited)
• Evigishki Mind Augus (from unlimited)
• Gold Sarcophagus (from unlimited)
• Macro Cosmos (from unlimited)
• Rescue Rabbit (from semi-limited)
• Royal Tribute (from semi-limited)
• Soul Drain (from unlimited)
• Thunder King Rai-oh (from semi-limited)
• Torrential Tribute (from semi-limited)

Newly Semi-limited

• Fire Formation - Tenki (from unlimited)
• Dimensional Prison (from unlimited)
• Mezuki (from limited)
• Plaguespreader Zombie (from limited)
• T.G. Striker (from limited)

Newly Unlimited

• E-Emergency Call (from semi-limited)
• Pot of Duality (from semi-limited)
• Scapegoat (from limited)
• Tsukuyomi (from semi-limited)
• A HERO Lives (from semi-limited)
• Black Whirlwind (from limited, became semi-limited in OCG)
• Destiny HERO - Malicious (from semi-limited)
• Hieratic Seal of Convocation (from semi-limited)
• The Agent of Mystery - Earth (from semi-limited)

Did NOT change in TCG, compared to OCG

Please take note, the following changes in OCG are NOT being applied to TCG!

• Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier is STILL forbidden.
• Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Rooster is still unlimited (called it).
• Divine Wind of Mist Valley did not get hit (since we don't have Harpie Dancer, obviously).
• Number 11: Big Eye DID NOT GET HIT (wait, what?).
• Chaos Sorcerer is still Limited (awh, sad panda).
• Wind-up Magician and Shark did not switch places.
• Mermail Abyssteus and Abyss-Sphere did not get hit (Diva and Dragoons did).
• Gladiator Beast Bestiari did NOT return to 2.
• Neo-Spacian Grand Mole did NOT return to 2.
• Gorz did NOT return to 2.
• Advanced Ritual Art did NOT become unlimited.
• Reasoning did NOT become unlimited.
• Mirror Force did NOT become unlimited.

More frequent update

Similar to the OCG, this F&L list will be updated more frequently. Though in our case, it will be once per four months, instead of three. I do like that change, since an average of 3 months is a little too fast for most people.

My opinion

I'm still not over my initial surprise yet. Seriously, this many changes compared to the OCG list! I'll try to convey my initial thought (deeper analysis will follow in the near future).

• Many old, broken cards got banned. Card Destruction, Gateway, Monster Reborn, Storm, Avarice, Stratos, Offering and Solemn Judgment. I'm especially pleased with Card Destruction and Gateway. Those two were just dead broken in opening hands anyway.
• "Sorry, but you can't play YGO"-cards got hit. Limits op CED, Raioh, D-Fissure, Macro Cosmos, Soul Drain, EEV, Bottomless trap Hole, D-Prison and Royal Tribute. And Shock Master is forbidden, which was the most annoying of these type of cards.
• OTK/FTK enablers got hit: Next to Birdman, we also saw the limit on Dewloren, M7 and Mind Augus. Their main purposes are OTK's and FTK's, so I'm not that salty about their limits.
• Archetypes got hit differently. Fire Fists got hit in Spirit, rather than Rooster (which is brand new). It makes the 3-axis dead, but the 4-axis might still live this way. Mermails got hit in Diva and Dragoons, rather than Steus and Sphere (though I'd rather see Sphere hit as well). And Dragon Rulers got hit even more harsh over here. Super Rejuvenation is forbidden and Gold Sarcophagus is limited (opposed to Limited and unlimited). In exchange Big Eye did NOT get hit (one of the few dislikes of this list).
• Trishula doesn't return, but zombies and T.G. Agents do. I like this, seriously. Striker never should've been limited, and T.G. Agents weren't played as much in TCG, compared to the OCG.
• D-HERO lives, E-HERO died (a little): Malicious and a Hero lives come back unlimited, but the problem card (Stratos) is forbidden instead.

What does this mean for the current meta?

• Dragon Rulers got hit even more in their consistency. But the pay-off (the XYZ) is still worth it.
• Prophecies are hit in their problem card, that's it. They go back from broken to "just a good deck". Also good for them, EEV is limited (lol, like that change).
• Mermails got hit in their consistency by hitting Diva and Dragoons. But it has also become harder to fight back, since Macro Cosmos, D-Fissure and Soul Drain became limited. They should've hit Sphere too.
• Gadgets got hit in their Ultimate Offering and their stun card (Shock Master).
• Evilswarm will be more prominent again, since they weren't hit.
• Fire Fists are hit, but not as hard. Will they make a rise with three Roosters?

Afterword

I'm calling it now. Pot of Duplicity will become Secret Rare. With pot of Avarice gone, this will become the replacement card.

Oh, and buy your D-Hero Malicious while they're available. I sense a D-HERO return.

It's a double feeling you have about this list, right?

That List IS real, oh dear...

Yes, I thought it was fake, but it ended up being the real deal. I already stated that I liked the list, safe a few choices.

The September 2013 Forbidden & Limited list

Newly Forbidden:

• Burner, Dragon Ruler of Sparks (from unlimited)
• Lightning, Dragon Ruler of Drafts (from unlimited)
• Reactan, Dragon Ruler of Pebbles (from unlimited)
• Stream, Dragon Ruler of Droplets (from unlimited)
• Spellbook of Judgment (from unlimited)

Newly limited:

• Brotherhood of the Fire Fist – Rooster (from unlimited)
• Genex Ally Birdman (from unlimited)
• Mermail Abyssteus (from unlimited)
• Wind-Up Shark (from unlimited)
• Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier (from forbidden)
• Number 11: Big Eye (from unlimited)
• Divine Wind of Mist Valley (from unlimited)
• Super Rejuvenation (from unlimited)
• Abyss-sphere (from unlimited)

Newly Semi-Limited:

• Chaos Sorcerer (from limited)
• Gladiator Beast Bestiari (from limited)
• Gorz the Emissary of Darkness (from limited)
• Neo-Spacian Grand Mole (from limited)
• Black Whirlwind (from limited)
• Fire Formation – Tenki (from unlimited)

Newly Unlimited:

• Tsukuyomi (from semi-limited)
• Wind-Up Magician (from limited)
• Advanced Ritual Art (from semi-limited)
• E – Emergency Call (from semi-limited)
• Pot of Duality (from semi-limited)
• Reasoning (from semi-limited)
• Scapegoat (from limited)
• Mirror Force (from semi-limited)

Some additions to the first list

There are apparently two additions to the first list that was leaked. The first is Chaos Sorcerer (back to 2) and the second is Tenki (which also got semi'd).

As a chaos fan, I like Chaos Sorcerer's return. It was unfair to be hit so hard (again). Two is the right number to play after all. Tenki on the other hand seems a bit harsh, considering Konami's also limiting Rooster. Fire Fists just died, man. Not to mention, the most expensive card from the most recent TCG booster set (which is out for like a week or two) is just hit. But yeah, Fire Fists were reigning in the OCG as much as Mermails were in the TCG, so it's honestly not that big of a surprise either.

The BIG change

As said before, Konami announced a few changes. The biggest change is that the banlist will be updated after each new OCG booster. (February-April-July-November) releases. This is Konami's answer to the frequent request of set rotations, I guess?

How will this influence the TCG? Well, if our Konami follows in a similar way (new list after each TCG booster), that means our lists will now be updated in January-May-August-November. If our Konami makes this change, it will cause for a separate banlist for OCG and TCG all together. This is something that many people have been asking as well, considering the two regions play in a different style, due to their own set of exclusives.

The other changes is that there will be set rules for Concept Duels (themed decks), duels with specific rules/banlist set by the cardshop, etc. Oh yeah, now the OCG will also have more World Championship qualifiers (there were less tournaments of this kind). These extra changes will probably not affect the TCG at all, so there's less reason to cover them in detail.

Afterword

Well, now we're going to wait until August 20, when TCG-Konami updates their list. Let's see if they're going to hit Rooster as well, or if they're going to wait until the first rotation banlist in November... Hmmm. An intrigued V out.

PS: On a side-note: You will be saying this a lot in the upcoming format.

Low expectations of March Banlist

In about a month from now, we’ll have seen a new Forbidden & Limited list in the V-Jump magazine. But unlike the previous end-of-the-format, nobody’s really looking forward to this one (visible by the obvious lower amount of banlist predictions).

The format has been very diverse, with a variety of decks winning YCS’s (a different one for each YCS). But if you can point to a few overpowering decks, the three big names are Rabbit-style decks (Verz/Dino), Wind-ups and Atlantean Mermails. So expect these decks to take some sort of hit.

There are other decks that "did well", both in OCG as TCG (like HERO beat, Chaos Dragons, Agents, Dark World, Fire Fists, Geargia's, Inzektors, Prophecies, etc...). But these are less likely to take a hit.

So, my prediction?

I’ve gone through the existing list, matched it with the current archetypes and this is my PERSONAL wish list for the upcoming forbidden and limited list.

Forbidden

• Monster Reborn: An overpowered card with enough alternatives.
• Card Destruction: Has always been a flawed card. Dark World just made it worse. Though, since Dark Worlds don't top that much, it's only a low-probability-hit.
• Sangan: Another one I’m pleading for. This card still sets way too many engines into work. Get rid of this rodent already.

Limited:

• Wind-up Magician: Basically does the same as Inzektor Dragonfly, so it should get the same treatment. I’d rather see this card hit than Wind-up Factory, because with this card hit, the archetype can still be played; it’s just less overpowered (less spamming).
• Rescue Rabbit: I know Konami loves this card, because it promotes using vanilla’s, but it’s just… everywhere. I kinda love this card (outside of the Dino build), but it’s better for the game, if it’s brought to 1.
• Atlantean Dragoons: One of the main Search cards in Mermail style decks. But since there’s a low chance Konami will hit the Mermail archetype itself this format (they’re still making big bucks of it), this card has gotten a big target to get hit, especially since the introduction of Mermail Abyssteus in Abyss Rising. Though, if Konami does not hit this card, Mermails will become the most powerful deck in the TCG (not a good thing).
• The Agent of Mystery – Earth: Konami brought the wrong card back to 2, they should realized that. Bring this card back to 1, where it belongs.

Semi-Limited:

• Deep Sea Diva: This should get the Tour Guide treatment, permanently. It basically does the same, for Sea Serpents and with fewer restrictions (and since the structure deck, it has received even more (decent) possible targets than Tour Guide).
• T.G. Striker: This is the one that should come back to 2, not Earth. T.G. monsters are a nice engine that’s not overpowered (it’s mostly used in stun decks) and can be splashed in a lot of things. Though, bringing this card to 2 should only happen if Earth goes back to 1, otherwise this change is asking for problems.
• Mezuki: It’s only because of the manga series that Zombies get decent support. The last support Zombies got through the Manga (Endless Decay & Nr. 22: Franken) are way better than the rest (Chew-bone & Bacon Saver say enough). So, it’s needless to say that Zombie decks crave for a second Mezuki to become playable again (also a manga card, btw!).
• The Transmigration Prophecy: Experimenting time. Konami has been experimenting with long-time limited cards to become semi-limited. And if Mirror Force and Torrential Tribute can become semi-limited, why not this one?

Unlimited:

• Archlord Kristya: With The Earth at 1, Kristya can come back anytime, seriously. Nobody used the card three times (too much dead weight), so nobody will care if it’s either 3 or 2.
• Summoner Monk: Compare this card with other spam-cards we've seen in the past few years, like Inzektor Dragonfly or Wind-up Magician. You’ll wonder why this card is still semi-limited. At least I do.
• Magical Stone Excavation: It’s one of those cards that make you wonder: Why is this still on the list? I’m a Prophecy player and even I wouldn't use this card, even with the high amount of spells I use.
• Spore: Yeah, the return of spore made Plant Synchro broken, right? You can see it at the amount of tops[end sarcasm]. So, yeah. Let's seal the deal and return this card where it belongs, at 3!

Afterword

Generally, what I expect of the banlist is people dropping Dino Rabbits and Wind-ups and Konami using the march list to promote their current archetypes (Fire Fist & Mermails).

The reason why I don't expect a lot from this list, is that if a list like the previous mentioned one goes through, the next format will be as bad as last years with Inzektors & Dino Rabbit running all tournaments, but this time with Fire Fists, Mermails and Phantom Beast Planes.

But in the meantime, let's just hope I'm a little paranoid/negative and it all goes better than expected.

Until next time, V out.