Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel has just uploaded their ban list, and considering the current state of the TCG metagame, there are certainly some concerns to discuss. Snake-Eye decks are absolutely in full force, consistently representing 80%+ of the top-cut at recent competitive Yu-Gi-Oh! events. Snake-Eye is also available to play in the Master Duel client and looks insanely powerful in-game, too.
Snake-Eye’s dominance isn’t quite as extreme on Master Duel, but it is still very dominant. 30% of all top-cut decks in community tournaments on Master Duel are Snake-Eye, which is more than double the amount of any other archetype. Notably, there are some cards making waves in the TCG that are missing in Master Duel, but that’s not enough to stop our new Reptile overlords.
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This, of course, means that the recent Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel ban list should make sure that Snake-Eye will be in line with the other competitive archetypes on the client, right? …Right?
The Ban List
While Snake-Eyes got completely ignored in these ban list changes, there are some notable changes that should be talked about. instead of Snake-Eyes getting put in line, other competitive archetypes are instead getting a boost. It seems as if the gates of chaos have been opened.
Prank-Kids decks are getting a significant boost! Prank-Kids Meow-Meow-Mu, the biggest payoff available for the archetype, is going from 1 to 3 copies legal in Master Duel decks. While this is an undeniable win for Prank-Kids fans, it could have a larger consequence than intended.
Unfortunately, Prank-Kids can synergize quite effectively with Snake-Eye cards, and Meow-Meow-Mu moving to three could theoretically allow a Snake-Eye Prank-Kids build to compete with the pure Snake-Eye builds that are currently available on Master Duel. While this is technically some variety, I don’t think it's the variety that players had in mind.
Another notable move is the Semi-Limiting of the Superheavy Samurai Soulpiercer. While Superheavy Samurai is a very powerful archetype on Master Duel, the rise of Snake-Eye has made this deck a lot less impressive. Thanks to that, Superheavy Samurai is getting a buff where it otherwise may not have been touched. This should allow some more consistency with the deck’s one-card combo starts.
Archetypes Negatively Affected
Despite Snake-Eye getting no attention at all, some popular archetypes are getting negatively impacted by this ban list update.
Both Branded and Math Mech archetypes appear to be getting a slight nerf, as Branded Opening and Parallel eXceed are getting Limited and Semi-Limited, respectively. While this may not affect the viability of either archetype too much, it’s still bizarre to see these decks getting negatively impacted, while Snake-Eye is multiple times more effective than either archetype.
A Big Miss
Snake-Eyes should have been hit here. I don’t think there’s any excuse as to why it should not have been hit. Many players appear to speculate that Konami’s lack of attention to the new archetype is in an effort to get more players to shell out some cash to buy the cards and play them. Once an ample sum has been made, maybe the problem will disappear.
Needless to say, Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel players are somewhat disappointed with these ban list changes, as it really does not change much. Snake-Eye will continue to reign supreme until morale improves.
Here is a full list of ban list changes that will come into effect on March 8, 2024:
King of the Swamp will become Unlimited. It is currently Limited
Prank-Kids Meow-Meow Mu will become Unlimited. It is currently Limited.
Water Enchantress of the Temple will become Semi-Limited. It is currently Limited.
Superheavy Samurai Soulpiercer will become Semi-Limited. It is currently Limited.
Parallel eXceed will become Semi-Limited. It is currently Unlimited
Branded Opening will become Limited. It is currently Semi-Limited.