As briefly touched on in our previous article, Konami breathes life into the game once again as Master Duel continues its 3rd Year Celebration. The digital version of the Yu-Gi-Oh intellectual property is enjoying a host of new cards and archetypes with the release of its newest selection pack, The Forbidden Liberated, and as the dust of festivities settles, the environment is now on the cusp of starting a new format.
Starting off, Fiendsmith Engraver. One of the newly released cards during the 3rd Year Anniversary of Master Duel, and it’s straight into the semi-limited list at two copies. This card in the Trading Card Game (TCG) and Official Card Game (OCG) has seen lots of competitive success.
This is evident in the former as this particular card had a strong representation in the most recent Yu-Gi-Oh Championship Series (YCS) back in Orlando, Florida last February.
Fiendsmith Engraver was not only part of the deck that won 1st place but also used in almost 50% of the decks that made it to the top sixty-four. It’s not unusual for Konami to immediately set a card onto the Forbidden/Limited list just as it was released. And if anything, Fiendsmith Engraver is still a reliable tool even at two copies.
Stepping away a bit from the limited section, we find Master Duel strangely juxtaposing its siblings. On one hand, we have Secret Village of the Spellcasters outright banned on Master Duel, and it is not hard to see why. The Spellcaster archetype boasts a very adaptable arsenal, and the secret village can easily lock out an opponent from even playing the game if they don’t have an answer to it. Yet on the TCG and OCG front, it’s unlimited.
Based on data from Yugiohmeta, the card hasn’t seen any major showing in organized tournaments since the tail end of last year (2024). And while some decks featuring The Unstoppable Exodia Incarnate had made use of Secret Village of the Spellcasters, the archetype itself is not as widely used as its more prominent rivals like Ryzeal or Fiendsmith.
Joining Secret Village of the Spellcasters on the Master Duel forbidden list is Summon Limit. A trap card specialized in putting the brakes on almost any deck that likes to summon more than two times a turn. Previously, this card was at a single copy before finally being given the deathblow this February 6th.
This puts Master Duel in line with the TCG where Summon Limit also sees itself banned. The last holdout for the card is in the OCG where it’s teetering on the brink with also a single copy. Time will be the ultimate keeper to tell us if this card will be wiped out in its entirety.
From here we veer back to the limited list and we come to the more eyebrow-raising move Konami has made. Maxx “C” has been regarded as one of the more obnoxious cards a player hoped they didn't see in a game, and for the longest time, players in certain circles were calling out for this card to be booted outright to forbidden status. To the relief of some, Maxx “C” has indeed been placed on the forbidden list in TCG.
Master Duel players may see this move as Konami testing the waters. Perhaps in due time, the obnoxious bug will finally be squashed and also make its way to the forbidden list. Other players may see this news and just shrug. Maxx “C” at two copies mirrors its OCG status, and even then, players in the format would still have to make preparations to play through the hand trap.
The Yu-Gi-Oh World Championship for 2025 has already been confirmed for this coming August. Master Duel was also announced to be one of the categories to be featured in this event. It would be interesting to see how different or how similar the two formats would end up becoming on one of the grandest stages the intellectual property (IP) has in its career.
And with that, we finish this by having a quick lightning round of changes. From Unlimited to Semi-Limited, we have Sangen Kaimen and Nightmare Throne. Following up from Sem-Limited to Limited, we have Anti-Spell Fragrance. And from (Semi)Limited to Unlimited we have: Morphin Jar, Cyber Jar, Aluber the Jester of Despia, Bystial Saronir, Destiny HERO - Celestial, Branded Opening.