As I am sure
most, if not all of you know by now, the new TCG ban list was released today,
and man did it drop some bombs. Lets
first take a look at what actually changed.
Newly Forbidden:
Super
Polymerization
Newly Limited:
Artifact
Moralltach
Dark Strike
Fighter
Snatch Steal
Newly Semi-Limited:
Honest
Goyo Guardian
Dark Hole
Newly Unlimited:
Blackwing –
Gale the Whirlwind
Mermail
Abyssgunde
Reborn Tengu
Reasoning
The
Transmigration Prophecy
While the last
few of our lists have actually been pretty respectable, in comparison to
Konami’s past blunders, this list was an atomic bomb. Do not get me wrong, I am not here to rant
and rave about how terrible this new list is or say that I am about to quit
YuGiOh for three months. None of that
bullshit. There are definitely things
that I like about the list, but there are absolutely things I think Konami has
dropped the ball on.
Super Polymerization to 0: This probably should have happened the
last time, so I can respect them doing it now.
If it were not for the last line of text on the card, it would be fair,
however, not being allowed to respond whatsoever to this thing is completely
unreasonable. Especially given that
Shaddolls have El Shaddoll Fusion as well now, we definitely do not need to
have Super Polymerization still around.
Artifact Moralltach to 1: While I am not sure this is completely
warranted, I think that there were people that were tired of seeing Artifacts
splashed into decks as an engine.
Moralltach is a great card, but I just see this as Konami’s way of
killing splashing Artifacts into something and seeing if it sticks.
Dark Strike Fighter to 1: It is reasonable to have figured this
card to return now that the Legendary 5DS Collection has been released and the
reprint is officially out in the TCG.
This move does not strike me as particularly unreal, given that they
have completely neutered Dark Strike Fighter from its previous self. Not being able to attack and being only once per turn will obviously prevent Dark Strike
Fighter, from releasing its past havoc on the new format.
Snatch Steal to 1: In my mind, this change will have the biggest
affect on the new format. The single
game mechanic that is the most “unfair”, in my opinion, is to be able to take
your opponent’s creatures and use them against them. While Snatch Steal can be a pretty skillful
card, in that you can have it and choose not to use it until the best
opportunity presents itself, rather than just taking whatever becomes available
first, it can be a very sacky card in that it can be topdecked for game. This becomes more apparent when both players
have fewer cards, thereby meaning fewer options or outs to your play. By using Snatch Steal in this type of
situation, even just on a beater, you are drastically reducing their chances in
winning the game as they now have to either have an out in the few cards that
they do have, or draw the out quickly.
Especially given these situations happen later into games, often the
opponent is quite low on life points by this time as well. I can already tell that at the beginning of
the format, those who know how to play their Snatch Steal better than others,
(holding for an optimal situation where you in turn gain the most advantage or
field presence) will have a substantial advantage over their opponents. This is probably my second least favourite
thing about the latest list.
Honest to 2: Without question, this should not have
happened. I have no idea what was for
lunch the day Konami decided to make the list, but somebody spiked the
punch. Honest already steals games at
one; just imagine how annoying this stupid card is going to be at two. Honest allows bad players to beat good players
by outdrawing their way to the top. No
question, the worst part about this list.
Goyo Guardian to 2: This change will likely not have much of an
affect. The decks that are able to play
Goyo, will probably not even think about playing two, due to lack of extra deck
space. The simple fact is that Goyo just
is not a problem right now. Synchros are
not nearly as prevalent as they once were and Goyo is just not seeing
significant play.
Dark Hole to 2: Again, this change is unlikely to have a drastic
affect on the current format. It sounds
crazy to say, but pretty much every time you see Dark Hole or Raigeki being
used these days it is barely getting an advantage, and more often losing
it. Pretty much every tier deck gets a
plethora of effects every time their monsters are sent to the graveyard, except
Qliphorts, and even Qliphorts, still have Saqlifice and are able to reuse the
monsters from their extra deck anyways.
Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind to 3: Blackwings are literally irrelevant in
the land of tier two and three decks and while multiple Gales is definitely
better than having only one, it is not causing anyone any sleepless nights
anymore.
Mermail Abyssgunde to 3: I was really surprised they put
Abyssgunde back to three, but really pleased at the same time. Mermails has been one of my favourite decks
out of decks post-ABYR (seems like so long ago now), and with three Abyssgunde
it has a legitimate shot at being a real deck once again. Not saying it will be tier by any stretch of
the imagination, but three Gunde absolutely bolsters the deck’s firepower.
Reborn Tengu to 3: Another change that I have wanted to see happen
for a while, but has never gotten done.
Reborn Tengu was a great card when it was around back in 2011. There had never been a card that regenerated
itself upon any kind of destruction/tributing/etc. This meant insane synchro plays and
fascinating combos and Pot of Avarice allowed you to do it all over again. Well now Reborn Tengu is back to three and
interestingly, almost all the members of the band are back together for
Tenguplants. The only guy missing is
Trishula, maybe Konami is dropping a hint for the next list?
Reasoning to 3: I really doubt that this will have a drastic
affect on the format as it stands, and has been limited far too long.
The Transmigration Prophecy to 3: I absolutely love this card. It is a fantastic way to deal with nifty new
graveyard affects that cannot miss timing.
While it may not seem like a lot, having Transmigration Prophecy at
three makes it a much more viable side deck option than only having one
available, as it is that much more likely that you will draw into it. Good change.
What does this all mean for the new format and what
will the best deck be at the beginning?
Firstly, it
means that there are some pretty drastic changes going into the format. Artifact Shaddolls are probably not going to
exist anymore, sorry Bo Tang. L As mentioned previously Snatch Steal is a
card that always has to be kept in mind if you are summoning powerful monsters
and your opponent’s life points are not zero at the end of your turn, you could
be in trouble. Virtually nothing changed
amongst the biggest decks, Burning Abyss and Qliphorts, meaning that they are
probably still the best decks. If siding
the Transmigration Prophecy becomes a thing, it could have an affect on Burning
Abyss decks, but other than that neither of these two decks got remotely
touched. Not only that, but in the
latest set, Secrets of Eternity, additional cards to power-up both archetypes
are being released.
In short, I
believe that Burning Abyss and Qliphorts will be the best decks immediately,
however, there are interesting times ahead, given some of the drastic changes
to the ban list. Let us not forget that
Nekroz are going to be coming out shortly as well, and will undoubtedly be a
virtually instantaneous tier one deck.