The March 2011 Forbidden/Limited list

Attention Duelists! My hair has noticed the new ban list, and if you haven't seen it too, you NEED to go see it! http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/limited/index.html. There you go. I even linked you to it, so there is no reason not to know what is on it. Now, I'm going to go through and give my own commentary on each and every change! YAY! Well, lets gets started.

First on the list we have Goyo Guardian. 

You should know this card pretty well, as it has been around since the beginning of Synchros, and has lived in everyone's Extra Deck since. 2800 attack, 2000 defense, and it revives any monster it kills to your own side of the field. It was pretty apparent early on that this was going to be a commonly used and a very powerful and useful card. But ban it completely? I can see it. Even though it saddens me greatly, being that this is one of my favorite cards, it has always been overly powerful, and it never lost its place in the Extra Deck of those who had it. It is generic, an easy 6 stars, WAY too strong, and has an amazing effect. Honestly, this was over due. Into the collection binder you go, my friend.

Our next card to focus on is one that many people think should have been banned years ago. Cold Wave!

Cold Wave has been seen with dread for quite some time. During the reign of the Gladiator Beasts, it foretold the other players demise. Lately, it has seen use in things like Blackwings and X-Sabers to shut down the opponents response ability to swarm for game. I have heard more complaints about this one card than I have about any other card in the game. And I've been playing this since day 1. Good riddance to this pest of a card, and may you STAY there for the rest of time!

Ah, the infamous FTK concept. This is one that has annoyed me personally for a long time. Mass Driver.

There really isn't all that much to say about this one. It needed to go. Any card which can create a first turn kill should be removed from the card pool. I just wish they wouldn't stop here. Get rid of Shadow Priestess of Ohm, Toon Cannon Soldier, Cannon Soldier, et al and just END the problem, rather than skirting it like they have for so long. We could bring back cards like Dark Magician of Chaos and Dimension Fusion.

Well that does it for the actual banned cards. The above cards are NO LONGER permitted in sanctioned play, or in unsanctioned tournaments I run. Next, I'm going to touch on all the cards which got moved to the limited list.

First, we have Blackwing - Kalut the Moon Shadow. This card should be fairly familiar, as it was previously run in triplicate in every single Blackwing deck on the market. Well, Konami decided to cede to reason and dock their love child deck just a bit. Blackwing players should not start overreacting now though. Sure, you lost 2 cards, admittedly good ones, but the deck was solid before Kalut, and will continue to be so in the future. For now, I suggest replacing the 2 Kalut you lost with another Vayu (if you haven't already got 3) and maybe a Dark Grepher or Spirit Reaper. You'll be fine until the Duelist Pack Crow comes out, and Extreme Victory has YET MORE Blackwing support for you. You'll be fine.

Now we have Dandylion. In reality this card should never have even come back to 2. It should have stayed limited indefinitely. It has way too much utility in way too many decks to be given the free reign that it has had this last 6 months. A good card, and well deserving of this spot.

Next up is one that hit me pretty hard. Honest has been staple in every Lightsworn Deck since Lightsworn came out in Japan. And why not? It has so much synergy with them! Of course, us Lightsworn players saw this as yet another hit in a series of beatings the mediocre deck has been taking since its release. We are down to 1 Honest, 1 Lumina, 1 Charge of the Light Brigade, and 2 Judgment Dragons. But, unlike some people I know and talk to, I look ahead to the Japanese meta, at least to an extent. I happen to know that Angels (fairies in the TCG) have been a royal pain in the ass over there, and that Honest is but one of the cards on this list intended to knock them down a notch. I personally feel that they should have given Lightsworn something back, whether giving us back a Lumina, or even a Charge, but unfortunately, Konami didn't see it that way.

This next one has a bit of controversy attached. Book of Moon has for a very long time been considered staple, whether at 1, 2, or all 3 copies. During the last format, every deck ran 3 of the bugger due to it's extreme utility. Any card that has 'staple' status needs some kind of check to keep it balanced. This card belongs at 1, even though it completely kills Emtpy Jar (Also known as mill or deck out decks), a far from competitive deck type. On the other hand, it makes it so that boss monsters can run rampant this format without all that much recourse, and Gravekeeper's don't get to recycle their Spy's as often. I still feel it was a good choice.

As a Six Samurai player, this card was fully expected, but I need to get something straight with you. Gateway of the Six, although a good card on its own, and downright deadly when all 3 copies are on the field, is NOT necessary for a Samurai deck, much less a Samurai win. It is essentially icing on the cake. With the synergy that the Legendary Six Samurai gave this long forgotten and amazing archetype, the card is just unnecessary. It wouldn't have even made all that much difference had the card been banned.

Now we have the semi-limited cards. You can only run 2 of these cards in any deck.

Archlord Kristya has been considered a very powerful card since it was released, even though it saw very limited use. It is really only useful in Fairie decks, or in some strange builds of Lightsworn. Lost Sanctuary will see the release of a common version of this card, making it available to everyone, rather than just the wealthy or the lucky. I think that it is a good preemptive weakening for the US, though the Japanese are probably wishing more had been done.

Card Trooper is one of those cards that is only going to get played no matter where it is on the list. In my opinion, this did nothing. It didn't bring back the Troop-Dupe-Scoop format, nor did it really help the usefulness of the card.

Debris Dragon is another of those cards that is just too useful. Only time will tell us whether or not dropping it to 2 was enough, though with the Exceed summoning coming soon, I don't think dropping it to 2 will help.

All I can say to Spirit Reaper is it is about damn time. This card has been limited for way too long. It is a stall card, that is all. Don't bother with this one. Sure, it will see some extra use, like in Gravekeeper's, but you won't see X-Sabers or Six Samurai changing their line up just to add in another of this ugly jerk.


Megamorph saw use during the format of Demise OTK, as well as in some other, older OTK style decks. I think it is good to come back. The meta just isn't what it used to be, and these older decks don't really compare to the might of Synching or the sheer speed of Samurai and Sabers.

Overload Fusion  is another of those old OTK cards. Sure, it will allow Cyber Dragon OTK a second chance, but honestly, it isn't going to work in this format, so this card doesn't worry me in the slightest.

Ah, Royal Tribute. One of those really old cards that never saw use until some dillweed comes out at a YCS and does well with it. Needless to say, it is WAY over powered, and almost single-handedly made Gravekeeper's a workable, nay META deck. We can expect to continue to see Gravekeeper's in the top at tournaments in the future, maining as many copies of this card as possible.

Semi-Limiting Icarus Attack was a minor blow to Blackwings, but one that is easily recovered from. Just replace it with a Phoenix Wing Wind Blast. You'll be fine.

Despite only being a mid-range card in usefulness, Solemn Warning has been elevated to damn near staple status. The only decks I personally play them in is Gladiator Beasts and Six Samurai. Other than that, they are WAY too expensive, in spite of the fact that players lost a copy in the main.

The following cards were also brought back to 3 as of this list.

Chaos Sorcerer - Konami has been flirting with this blast from the past for 3 lists now. It is finally out in the clear, and seeing use in various chaos hybrids and Lightsworn. Could we possibly see it's big brothers come back sometime in the future? We won't know until it happens.

Snipe Hunter - Although a good card, it was never all that amazing, and it is finally coming off the list.

Demise, King of Armageddon - Well, it's back folks. Will this deck see major play in big tournaments, like Charlotte and Anaheim? I think not. It MAY take a few regionals, and definitely a few local victories.

Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier  - By far the weakest of the Ice Barrier Synchros, it should never have been limited, and is back where it belongs.

Gold Sarcophagus - This card is well past its prime. 2 turns to wait for a card is too long, and it really sees little play, and is far from useful.

Skill Drain - Finally. It is back. Time for the Barbaros/Fusilier decks to be built once more.

Ultimate Offering - Same with Skill Drain. This makes Gemini decks better, as well as giving us the ability to abuse monarchs. Expect this card to see play again in big tournaments.

Well, that's the last of them. A little long, but it was a big change. I hope you learned a little something, or at least enjoyed some of the commentary. Look forward to more gaming related blog posts, including a Card of the Week, and several other running articles. Laters!