By Dylan Ashcraft
In the upcoming weeks, the Trading Card Game “Yugioh” will be seeing an update to their working forbidden/ban list. The update will go into effect on June 12th where it adds a nice little shakeup to the game. Here we’ll be discussing what cards legality were changed and what decks will be impacted by the change.
Newly Forbidden
Elder Entity Norden (Was Limited)
Norden is one of those cards that is extremely good, Norden is/was played in practically every deck that ran rank 4 Xyz monsters, as the instant fusion is a relatively strong one. Norden’s ability to special summon a level four or lower monster from the graveyard upon his summon is extremely versatile. It opens up massive opportunities to go into game changing plays. Whether that is a Number S39: Utopia The Lightning that way you can beat over cards such as Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon or Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King. Or perhaps you would utilize the card to bring back your tuner so you can do synchro plays. No matter the reason, Norden was a fantastic card and that’s why it was limited to one for a long time.
However the reason that Konami had to pull the trigger and place Norden on the banlist was because of how it was abused by the Zoodiac deck to create insane plays and allow the deck to have massive draw potential. Through the utilization of cards, Lunalight Black Sheep, Zoodiac Ratpier, Daigusto Emeral, and Fusion Substitute the deck was able to do things it really shouldn’t have. If an opponent didn’t have a hand trap such as Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit or Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring the combo would create what was practically an unfair advantage for the Zoodiac player.
Decks impacted by the ban are practically everything that ran Norden as an instant fusion target. Examples include Zoodiac, Spyrals, Awesome Heroes, TK Dinos, Fluffals, Metalfoe Zoo, Predaplants, Speedroids, Subterrors, Yosenju, and so many more.
Newly Limited
Speedroid Terrortop (Was Unlimited)
The limit on Terrortop was something that players have expected for a while now as the possibilities this card has presented have always been good. Whether the player made a Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss, Totem Bird, or M-X Saber Invoker, the card has always been good. This was another card getting heavily used in the Zoodiac deck as it was a way to get your Zoodiac Ratpier on board without having to utilize your normal summon.
The fact that terrortop wasn’t seeing much play outside of Zoodiac means this isn’t the hardest hit on the banlist or a hard hit for that matter anyways.
Decks affected are Burning Abyss for those whose are still playing it, Zoodiac, and a few other decks out there. However Zoodiac is the primary target for the limit on terrortop.
The Grass Looks Greener (Was Unlimited)
I’m okay with this limitation because as a player, I hate 60 card decks. I’m not a fan of how one card can set up an entire flow for the game. Because if you open That Grass Looks Greener there’s a strong chance that you’re winning, however if you don’t draw the card, you will most likely lose (unless stall game is on point). This card is a win condition for some decks and the advantage it creates is ludicrous as there’s hardly no way to respond to it.
Well...that was before the introduction of Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring which is a hand trap that was almost single handedly pushing 60 card decks back out of the meta. And then with this banlist update, it serves as the proverbial nail in the coffin. The fact that this card is now limited to one copy per deck means it’s just not worth the hassle anymore. Theoretically decks that revolve around it could still exist in the meta thanks to Left Arm Offering but Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring just kills the deck even more then. “Oh your one of win condition was negated and sent to the graveyard? Okay cool, so I win now.”
Decks that are affected by this update to the banlist include (but is nowhere near limited to) 60 Card Infernoid, 60 Card ZombieSworn, 60 Card Paleozoic Frogs, 60 Card ABC, and practically any deck that utilizes 60 cards.
Newly Unlimited
Pendulum Call (Was Limited)
Oh baby, pepe is coming back. Except it’s really not. Half the deck is still banned or limited to one. But this does mean that pendulum magicians are gonna be playable again (for the month that pendulums can still be relevant) and boy does that make me excited. Pendulum call allows you to add two magician pendulum monsters from your deck to your hands (after discarding one card), essentially allowing you to grab both of your scales for free.
Now if we’re being honest here, the banlist update for this card and a few of the others was most likely done just so Konami of America can try and push the product inside of the next booster set. But hey, players get a pendulum deck that isn’t Metalfoes that they get to use in the meta now. And that also means you can bust that copy of Supreme King Z-ARC out now and have some fun.
Decks affected include Pendulum Magicians, and a few other rogue decks such as Vanilla Pendulums.
Wisdom Eye Magician (Was Semi-Limited)
Again this is a card that was bumped to three mostly just to sell the next set. However it’s another thing that players should be okay with because it allows a lot of different pendulum decks to thrive again. Most importantly Pendulum Magicians as it lets you replace itself in the scale with another from the deck (assuming your other scale is a magician or performapal monster).
Decks affected are Pendulum Magicians, and again a few other strange rogue decks that get use out of it’s effect.
Performapal Skullcrobat Joker (Was Limited)
Man does this guy lets you search for stuff you need. This is one of those cards that can unbrick your hand with little to no assistance from other cards in your deck. And once again, was brought back to three almost solely to help bolster this deck, that way players have incentive to buy the new set. When you normal summon this card, you can search a Performapal, Magician, or Odd-Eyes monsters. That is practically every monster in your deck that you can now search and add to your hand. Did you not have that Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon you needed so you could XYZ summon Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon? What if you have Performapal Skullcrobat Joker in your hand and you haven’t used your normal summon yet? Well then you are all set man. Just normal summon that Joker and search your heart away.
Decks affected by this are, you guessed it, Pendulum Magicians, and for the brave, Pepe.
And remember folks, this update doesn’t go into effect until June 12th, so until then, mill your heart away, abuse that Zoodiac/Norden draw power, and stare at your Pepe deck and weep happy tears. Because a change is on the horizon. And no, I’m not talking about the Master Rule update, that’s an article for another day.
Uncanny! is committed to providing great products and quality service to all of our customers, both in-store and online. To become an Uncanny! Insider, click the logo below, and make sure to enter your email to stay up to date with everything that's happening at Uncanny! and in the comic book, pop culture, and gaming world.
Comments