The world of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Official Card Game (OCG) is about to enter its newest era. The OCG Forbidden/Limited list has just been updated and will soon come into effect on October 1st, 2025. All eyes are now on the OCG and how these new upheavals may potentially showcase what's coming to the Trading Card Game (TCG) in the future.
Newly Forbidden Cards
Evilswarm Ouroboros and Obedience Schooled
Between the two cards, Evilswarm Ouroboros feels more like a preventative measure rather than a reactionary move. Mostly used in Ryzeal-Mistsurugi decks over in the TCG, the latter archetype (Mitsurugi) will be making its OCG debut in the World Premiere Pack later in the month (September 27th).
Unfortunately for Evilswarm Ouroboros, it is one of those cards that became ripe for abuse when certain cards were introduced to the pool. Ryzeal-Mitsurugi decks like to use Level-4 monsters. It’s incredibly easy to get a copy of Evilswarm Ouroboros out with the resources these two archetypes have available.
Evilswarm Ouroboros is especially toxic going first. Outside of an Infinite Impermanence, there are very few options to stop Evilswarm Ourboros from just ripping a card from the opponent’s hand. Add a copy of Eclipse Twins into the combo, and you can potentially rip two cards instead.
Obedience Schooled getting the axe completely is probably what caught a lot of players off guard. In the TCG, this Spell card was reduced to Limited status, given how powerful the interaction between Obedience Schooled and the Yummy archetype is. Just bringing out three bodies onto the board with almost no drawback is very unhealthy for the game’s format cycle in the long run, nor does it help Konami push any new product coming out.
The OCG has had its hands on Justice Hunters archetypes (K9, Yummy, and Dracotail) far longer than the TCG. This full-on ban could potentially make its way into the TCG if the Yummy archetype still shows overwhelming presence in the higher-level tournaments out in the west.
To Be Limited
K9-66a Jokul, Ketu Dracotail, Herald of the Arc Light, Vanquish Soul Razen, & Eclipse Wyvern
Out of the five cards in this section, K9-66a Jokul and Ketu Dracotail are probably the more devastating moves done to the Justice Hunters archetypes. K9-66a Jokul and Ketu Dracotail’s Limited status does not necessarily kill off the effectiveness of their respective archetype, but still lowers their overall consistency.
On the other side of the coin, Herald of the Arc Light and Vanquish Soul Razen were more or less expected to show up to one degree or another. Both of these cards were hit on the latest TCG ban list, and it was only a matter of time for the OCG to follow suit.
Eclipse Wyvern coming off the Forbidden section is an unexpected surprise, but Burst Protocol is debuting with the new Rokket cards this coming October 25th in the OCG. The release of Eclipse Wyvern from the Forbidden section could be Konami’s minor push for players to go back into Dragon Link decks when Burst Protocol is released.
Semi-Limited Cards
K9-17 Izuna and Yummy★Snatchy
The woes for the Justice Hunters archetypes aren’t stopping. K9-17 Izuna being limited to two copies doesn’t necessarily hurt any K9 decks, given how this card is mostly used for its hand trap capabilities and potential for turn zero plays.
Yummy, on the other hand, will definitely feel the sting of Yummy★Snatchy being hit. The Yummy archetype, while powerful, runs through its resources pretty quickly. Snatchy is one of those rare extra deck monsters you’d want to always run at maximum copies because it facilitates so much of the board interaction for the Yummy archetype due to its ability to synchro monsters at quick effect speed.
Yummy players in the OCG will definitely need to be careful when using Yummy★Snatchy in their play lines in the future. Copies of Yummy★Snatchy are now very valuable resources that can’t be as readily fielded anymore.
Sangen Kaimen, Astrograph Sorcerer, and Bystial Baldrake
Out of the remaining cards in the Semi-Limited list update, Sangen Kaimen feels the most out of place. Tenpai isn’t necessarily the powerhouse it used to be. There is the possibility that Konami may be looking at the Dragonmaid archetype again since Kitchen Dragonmaid can benefit from Sangen Kaimen.
Astrograph Sorcerer unfortunately finds its way onto another ban list update because it’s still a very powerful card advantage tool for Pendulum decks. Solfachord decks are currently running around the rogue waters and are already making use of Astrograph Sorcerer. With Doom of Dimensions arriving in less than a week’s time, there’s a chance that D/D decks might find a slot or two available for some Astrograph Sorcerer shenanigans.
For Bystial Baldrake, we can most likely attribute this movement to Konami laying the groundwork for the near simultaneous release of their Chronicles Structure Deck, The Fallen & The Virtuous, on October 24th/25th worldwide.
EMERGENCY! and Pressured Planet Wraitsoth
Emergency! and Pressured Planet Wraithsoth round out this segment as the traditional step that Konami takes when cards are slowly being moved back to Unlimited status. Like most archetypes past their prime, the Rescue-ACE and Kashtira archetypes are no longer seeing much representation, if at all, in the competitive scene. Either Konami finds that these cards are no longer a threat to the health of the game, or they’re actually seeding the ground for some potential new support coming in the future.
Cards to be Unlimited
Wandering Gryphon Rider, Spright Jet, Mask Change II, Knightmare Goblin, & Emergency Teleport
Cards coming off the ban list in their totality usually means that the current format is robust enough to weather what these tools offered the players in the past. Wandering Gryphon Rider, Spright Jet, Mask Change II, are examples of cards that fostered pretty unhealthy plays back during their heyday. Each one respectively offered a walking omni-negate, a path to a blanket target protection, and a line to an extra deck Macro Cosmos that could also hand rip.
Knightmare Goblin sits as a pretty odd member of this list. Still banned in the TCG, this card’s presence on the ban list was originally due to Master Rule 4. Knightmare Goblin’s unlimited status was a long time coming since Master Rule 5 gave back the freedom to summon any extra deck monster to any monster zone in the game.
Emergency Teleport sits as probably the odd-man-out of the group. In terms of overall design, Emergency Teleport is no longer as oppressive as it used to be, just like the rest of the cards in this segment, however, we can see people still use Emergency Teleport as a bridge between different engines/archetypes just because there are some decks that want/need to use that one copy of a Psychic-type monster that can easily be searched out by Emergency Teleport. This card is an example of an old but still quite usable card by modern Yu-Gi-Oh! standards.