Have you been getting tired of this Snake-Eye Fire King meta? Even after a recent ban list change from Konami, it seems that Snake-Eye is mainly held on to its tier zero throne. The pure Snake-Eye archetype definitely took a hit from the recent ban list updates thanks to the bane Linkuriboh among other things, but other variants of Snake-Eye that include Fire King or Diabellstar/Sinful Spoils cards remain top contenders in the current metagame.
While the banlist may have only managed to curb Snake-Eye’s dominance, the next best thing to cause a real shift in any TCG metagame is new cards! If you’re yearning for a much-needed shakeup in the Yu-Gi-Oh TCG metagame, Legacy of Destruction could be the catalyst for change we've all been waiting for.
Legacy of Destruction Officially Releases Tomorrow
On Friday, April 26, a new Yu-Gi-Oh! set will officially release across North America. That said, the set is already available on shelves for players to purchase worldwide. Legacy of Destruction hosts some powerful tools for TCG players that should grant some much-needed support to non-Snake-Eye archetypes. Unfortunately, the most sought-after card in the set may end up buffing Snake-Eye cards further.
Perhaps the most exciting card coming in Legacy of Destruction, at least according to TCGplayer prices for basic variants of each card, is Diabellze, the Original Sinkeeper. Unfortunately, this card synergizes with a package that already sees play alongside Snake-Eyes: the Diabellstar/Sinful Spoils package.
Forcing an opponent to set their spells and traps before playing them, Diabellze can shut down trap cards that activate from the hand like Evenly Matched and Infinite Impermanence. While non-Quick-play spells will only be delayed slightly (no Anti Spell Fragrance here), Diabellze does give you one pop effect per turn that triggers an opponent setting a spell/trap. This could allow you to try and snipe a spell before your opponent flips it, but the pop effect is universal, allowing you to deal with bigger threats if appropriate. Diabellstar Snake-Eye decks already include a way to Special Summon Diabellze in them, so the inclusion may be somewhat effortless. That said, Diabellze has not seen a ton of Snake-Eye play in the OCG thus far.
For reference, a Snake-Eye Diabellstar deck won the recent 1793-player YCS Reigeigh event, proving that the archetype is still the deck to beat.
Other pricy cards out of the gate include Nightmare Apprentice, an easily Special Summonable support card for the Illusionist archetype; Nightmare Throne, an absolutely absurd Field Spell for the Yubel archetype, and Varudras, Bringer of the End Times, a bizarre level 10 XYZ monster that can negate and destroy a ton of different cards.
Will Legacy of Destruction bring some much-needed shake-up to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG metagame, or will Snake-Eye continue to be the de facto best deck? Thanks to recent bans, players already have an opportunity to try new things. But with this new set, the possibilities are endless. Maybe, just maybe, this could be the moment when unique strategies rise and reshape the competitive landscape.