It has finally happened, Konami has finally updated the Limited/Forbidden List for the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game (TCG). Konami has already done a good job keeping us on pins and needles, and with how meaty this update is, we’ll just dive right in.
Newly Unlimited
We’ll tackle the newly Unlimited cards first. While we’re not downplaying their significance, their return to Unlimited status means that the format's current environment is healthy enough to support their reappearance.
Cyber Jar's reappearance at three copies is not a surprise. Flip effect monsters are considered too slow to be viable in a modern competitive format. It’s the same story, but to a lesser extent, for both the Danger!? monsters, EVA, and Monkeyboard.
At this point in modern Yu-Gi-Oh!, their relevance to the competitive scene is almost non-existent. The Danger?! engine doesn’t run away with card advantage as it used to. Similarly, EVA is no longer the threat it used to be since no archetypes currently meta can abuse it.
Even the Performapal archetype isn’t as toxic as before since absurd combos with link monsters -as well support for the other special summoning types- can easily keep up with all special extenders pendulum used to have over the other monster types.
At best, we may see a rogue strategy come out of nowhere, just like how a Fire King deck won the Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series (YCS) in Birmingham back in February.
This is unlikely to happen again, though, as that particular event was predicated on the fact that the player (Dinh-Kha Bui) had to carry a lot of the weight with skillful play and meta-knowledge.
Newly Forbidden
We’re moving to the other end of the spectrum as Knightmare Gryphon, Link Decoder, Abyss Dweller, and Bahamut Shark have all made their way to the Forbidden List.
Knightmare Gryphon was a pleasant surprise to see, but not unexpected. Sharing the same feature as Abyss Dweller, these two generic floodgates tend to shut down some archetypes completely. Floodgates like these can be rather meta-warping and have a bad habit of creating poor play patterns. Their disappearance from the format is welcome.
Link Decoder being forbidden is likely a precautionary action on Konami’s part. With Maliss being a strong competitive archetype, Link Decoder’s presence is ripe for abuse by being a good generic extender for any Cyberse archetype.
Bahamut Shark was removed from the format thanks to its role as an extender in multiple archetypes. The Mermail/Atlantean archetype has used Bahamut Shark to cheat out Toadally Awesome for a quick omni-negate that can play under board wipe hand traps like Nibiru, the Primal Being.
Even when not in a Water-focused deck, cards like Surfacing Big Jaws and Drake Shark can be included in many decks -Ryzeal being the prominent culprit—for an easy Bahamut Shark line of play.
Putting Bahamut Shark onto the Forbidden List was probably the best move Konami could make to address how easy it was to make use of Toadally Awesome without being forced to play to its actual summoning conditions.
Overall, while not exactly what players were looking for, there is a general sigh of relief as Abyss Dweller was finally put to rest after all of its antics in the TCG.
Newly Limited; Released from Prison
We’re skipping ahead and saving the best for last as we first look at the newly Limited list. In this section, you can find all of the cards that were recently on the forbidden list.
Starting out with the former, we see Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King, Mathmech Circular, and Brilliant Fusion coming back from the Forbidden List.
Master Peace was expected to happen at some point with both the Official Card Game (OCG) and Master Duel having this veteran card at maximum copies. Coming back as a single copy is more than likely a ceremonial move on Konami’s part, just in case someone takes over the format with it.
This is highly unlikely, given what we’ve touched upon regarding Master Peace's return when the OCG updated its own Limited/Forbidden list.
Brilliant Fusion is more than likely in the same boat as Master Peace. There are enough hand traps, negations, and floodgates to stop Gem Knights from utilizing their old First Turn Kill (FTK) capabilities.
But we must admit that seeing Mathmech Circular come back was a surprise. Even at a single copy, this card is on par with a lot of competitive staples in its design.
A two-for-one package of a special summon using the deck and a possible search if its parameters are met made Circular a one-card combo vector without needing extra input.
Circular’s return from the Forbidden List -even at a limited status- may be met with some apprehension, there are more than enough reminders from the past how this card made Cyberse decks monstrous to play against.
Notably, the Maliss archetype, generally considered among the best decks in the current TCG format, may benefit from the return of Circular, making this particular unban a dangerous one.
With all that said and done, there are a few more Limited additions that we need to talk about.
Newly Limited; Restraining Power Levels
While all of the above cards were on the forbidden list before appearing on the Limited list, there are a few cards that have been restricted to one copy instead of unrestricted. A lot of players rejoiced as Crossout Designator, Triple Tactics Talent, and Dimension Shifter are finally getting jailed to a single copy.
These cards were met with a good amount of disdain as they straight up prevented any form of interaction between players (Designator and Shifter), or offered a very powerful and versatile package in a single card (in the case of Talent).
Pot of Greed shares an effect with Triple Tactics Talent, and the former is still on the Forbidden List to this day. If Konami doesn’t put Triple Tactics Talent on the Forbidden List as well down the line, the Limited List is going to be this card’s new home for many formats to come.
Moving on, the cards of Bonfire, Bystial Druiswurm, and Ryzeal Detonator have been restricted to a single copy. Amidst the positive reception, this was also a long time coming.
Bonfire basically shares the same traits with a lot of powerful search cards already on the Limited List, like Reinforcement of the Army (RotA).
Bystial Druiswurm is a generic targeted board removal tool that is far too powerful, considering its ease of access.
And unfortunately for Ryzeal, Detonator was just too good at its job, especially when at full power. This is probably Konami’s best move to curb the overwhelming set-up Ryzeal has access to without killing the archetype outright.
Newly Semi-Limited
While the Semi-Limited list rarely excites players, there are a ton of changes impacting it that are exciting players. This may be the direction Konami needs to continually take to make the Semi-Limited list more effective in the future.
The least exciting change on the Semi-Limited list, Morphing Jar. Like its cousin (Cyber Jar), flip effect monsters don’t have the overall firepower they once had.
An intrepid deck builder may be able to use the Jars to full effect, but more than likely, they’ll remain a rogue strategy or end up forgotten to the sands of progress.
In a decision that caught a lot of players off-guard, we see Black Dragon Collapserpent, White Dragon Wyverburster, Unchained Soul of Sharvara, Snake-Eye Ash, and Snake-Eyes Poplar moving into the Semi-Limited List.
We’re not sure what Konami has planned, but we can say that players should monitor the competitive scene.
While Dragon Link, Snake-Eye, and Unchained aren’t the overwhelming powerhouses they used to be during their heyday, their capabilities cannot be denied even in this weakened state.
But that leads to our most interesting part of this update. Konami has decided to give a consistency hit to both the Ryzeal and Maliss archetypes.
For Ryzeal; Ext, Ice, and Sword all took a hit. With Detonator already reduced to a single copy, the deck will be forced to shift the weight of its plays, as a lot of their extenders and searchers have been reduced.
For Maliss:
Dormouse,
White Rabbit, and In Underground were the casualties. Like Ryzeal, many starters and extenders took a hit, dropping the archetype’s overall consistency without killing it altogether.
Curiously, Konami didn’t limit any of the extra deck monsters from the Maliss archetype. One has to wonder if Ryzeal Detonator was seen as the more significant threat.
All eyes are now on the next YCS -to be held in Providence, RI on May 3rd to 4th- as this update to the Limited/Forbidden List is taking effect almost immediately (April 7th). For those interested in looking at the original announcement, you can find them on X (formally known as Twitter), here.