Breakdown: Ban List Aftermath

Now that the dust has settled and the intense ban list wait of this quarter is over, we can review the changes that Konami decided to make and how they affect the game, for better or for worse.  Before looking at the impact, let us have a look at what they decided to change on the list this time.

Newly Forbidden:

• None

Newly Limited:

• Glow-Up Bulb
• Infernity Archfiend
• Raigeki
• Soul Charge
• Super Polymerization

Newly Semi-Limited:

• Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind
• Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
• Ceasefire
• The Transmigration Prophecy

No Longer on List:

•         Coach Soldier Wolfbark
•         Magician of Faith
•         Formula Synchron
•         Reinforcement of the Army

So clearly this is the most impactful forbidden list changes of recent memory. 

Glow-Up Bulb: Probably the most significant change is the limitation of Glow-Up Bulb.  Glow-Up Bulb’s impact on the game upon release was felt almost immediately, by giving plants a significant boost.  It is one of the most versatile tuners ever created, and will undoubtedly impact the game.

Infernity Archfiend: Konami not only smacked the Soul Charge out of the deck, they also smacked a couple of Archfiends out for good measure.  The Infernity Archfiend limitation is probably long over-due, but should entirely decimate the deck as we know it.

Raigeki: To me this is the strangest part of this list.  It makes very little sense to limit both Raigeki and Dark Hole to one.  Why not just semi-limit Dark Hole?  Regardless, Raigeki is back and may not actually be that relevant this format.  I mean, a lot of decks have kept to cutting Dark Hole, many will keep this fashion with Raigeki as well.  A point can be made, however, that Raigeki allows for a lot more OTK potential, as you can already have monsters on the field play it and deal damage through your opponent’s monsters.  I am just uncertain with Burning Abyss and Shaddolls being the mainstays of the format currently, how effective that will be versus them.

Soul Charge: I preferred Soul Charge at three or zero than at one.  This is a major component as to why I did not limit it at all on my mock list.  At three, Soul Charge is fairly easy to get into your hand for both you and your opponent, and you can both use it effectively.  At one, Soul Charge is merely a sack card that if you got it, you got it, meaning that only one player is likely to draw it, and the one who does, has a much greater chance of winning the game.

Super Polymerization: I was really glad that this happened, and was not really convinced that it would, because Konami is normally pretty slow to act on cards like this in most formats.  Super Polymerization is a really disgusting card, and deserves every bit of the limit it got here.  This will make many Shaddoll matchups much easier, and with the additional elements coming, Super Polymerization was only going to get better.

Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind: As I had mentioned in a previous article, Blackwings have been a bit stale for a while now.  They were in need of a pick-me-up and got it in the semi-limit of Gale.  While it will not make the deck tier one, it will make them a solid tier two choice if piloted properly.

Gorz, the Emissary of Darkness: While this is probably fine at the moment, in the long run the game probably does not want Gorz at two.  The card is obscenely powerful with the power to change games significantly.  I would be interested in someone running a build of a deck with two of these and a few less traps, because many players would run right into it now, as it has been pretty insignificant for a while now.

Ceasefire: While I’m not entirely sure how much of an immediate impact this will have on the game, I feel like Chain Burn is cheering on the sidelines, which is not something I am happy about.

The Transmigration Prophecy: This card could probably go to three now theoretically.  By actually playing three of this card, you affect your deck’s consistency pretty significantly in most decks.  There is not a huge reason why this had to stay on the list at all, but it will not have a major impact at two either.

Coach Soldier Wolfbark: Without Wolfbark, Fire Fists were pretty much irrelevant.  Obviously, Fire Fists exist again with this change.  The fact that Fire Fists are able to play pretty much every floodgate, gives them significant playability potential.

Magician of Faith: This will have literally no effect on the game.

Formula Synchron: I am pretty happy to see this card back at three, if only for nostalgic reasons.  I do not for see Formula having a dramatic effect on the format, because most extra decks will not have room to play three anyways.  The decks that play it will likely only play two regardless of it being on the list or not.

Reinforcement of the Army: If you had asked me prior to the existence of Satellarknights if this could happen, I would have said absolutely.  The only thing that it would have done back then is maybe given a small boost to Noble Knights.  Now, Satellarknights and Noble Knights get a boost and Noble Knights will be getting another one with the release of Merlin.  Although Merlin’s effect has not been 100% confirmed, if it is as expected, Noble Knights would be able to play a lot fewer monsters with three tutors in Reinforcement of the Army.

The list affects many “fringe” decks from the previous format.  With Coach Soldier Wolfbark going to three, Fire Fists get better.  With Soul Charge going to one, Sylvans, Infernities, and Dragon Rulers are all severely hit.  With Super Polymerization being limited, Shaddolls get slightly worse, and many others get better, probably most noticeably Bujins as they were the most effected by Super Polymerization.

Off the hop, it seems pretty obvious that the best decks immediately will remain both Shaddolls and Burning Abyss.  It will be interesting to see whether or not another deck will be catapulted into the fray after YCS Dallas.  We all know by now, with the release of the New Challengers coming November 7, 2014, that Qliphorts are on their way soon for us to see first hand at YCS Anaheim.  There remains little doubt that Qliphorts will instantly become another tier one deck in the format.

I am actually pretty excited about this upcoming format, especially with Glow-Up Bulb coming back.  Normally, I give Konami a lot of crap for not doing everything that I feel they should, but from what I have come to expect, this is pretty damn good.  Enjoy the format, it is here to stay.

Rumors Abound

The time of the year that every duelist hates and loves almost simultaneously is ban list season.  The ban list shapes our format for what we will have to deal with for the following three months.  The ban list has a dramatic effect on card values, clearly on playability, and can have a dramatic impact on the format itself.  The current ban list season is like none we have had in recent memory.  As I am writing this, tomorrow will be Wednesday, September 24, 2014, and the ban list still has yet to be released.  Yesterday evening, we got an official update from Konami, via their Official YuGiOh TCG Facebook page, which confirmed that the list would be posted later this week (well thanks tips, we already knew that!).

The effect that the list being so late has is pretty significant.  A number of players will be preparing for YCS Dallas, which is less than two weeks away from today’s date.  I simply cannot imagine what the secondary market will look like at that YCS for specific cards players are looking for last minute.  As I am not going to YCS Dallas this year, I am a little less concerned with this fact.  The more annoying fact for me is that it has allowed for people to once again create obviously fake lists.  Fake ban lists were much more frustrating when the OCG and TCG shared the same ban list as the release of the Japanese magazine V-Jump contained the copy of the ban list upon release.  It was at this time that it seemed as though every Japanese person lost the ability to operate a camera, and most pictures we did get looked as though they were shot with an early cell phone camera with the lights off.  Needless to say, when the lists were separated one of the clear benefits was that it would be pretty difficult to make a fake list as one could just go to the website and debunk it as fake. 

It seems as though because people are getting impatient with the list, they are constantly trolling with photoshopped versions of the list, RickRolls, etc.  There are rumors that popular players throughout the game entertain, such as those posted by Jarel this past weekend stipulating that Shock Master and Trishula were to be limited to one.  While the rumors are clearly more interesting, it still means very little until the actual list comes out.  While it may have us dreaming of Wind-Up formats from the past, that is all they are, dreams.  Nothing more, nothing less.

While we can argue and protest Konami until we are blue in the face to get the list posted, it will do little good and we would just be wasting our time.  Rather than creating fake lists trolling everyone, read a book, go outside, go to locals, play a video game, or watch television, and stop wasting our time.

The Unfixable Problem

While any number of people can tell you that what they believe the ban list should take care of is the right solution to the woes of a particular format, the bottom line is that no matter what actually happens, we as duelists will always be unsatisfied with the outcome.  There will always be some kind of issue or problem that someone has with the ban list, no matter what happens.  In the past few days, I have read over a number of different lists that would vastly change the game if they came to fruition.  While I think the process is rather trivial and will have absolutely no impact on what Konami decides to actually do, it is fun seeing what opinions people within the game have on the topic, and what kind of insight they can offer to the topic.  In my mind, it can show the difference between people who are actually mindful of what is going on in the format, and consequently, the people who are not mindful of what is happening.

I have shared my list on a few different places, including locally amongst friends, and on Duelistgroundz prior to this.  Until now, I had not really given any serious reasons as to what I had on the list, but below I will go into a bit further detail.

Newly Forbidden:

Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning – While I understand that this card had not been seeing much play prior to the release of Shaddolls, I can also recognize that this card is extremely degenerate and bad for the game of YuGiOh in the long run.  Not only being able to steal games, Black Luster Soldier, can single-handedly swing a game’s outcome from a sure-loss to a win.  Black Luster Soldier is not good for the future of the game, because it limits card design in the sense that, decks that have the ability to play good dark/light monsters have the ability to splash Black Luster Soldier at no additional cost to the deck’s consistency or synergy.

Honest – With very similar reasons to Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning, Honest has the ability to absolutely steal games from the opponent that have no business being won.  Additionally, any deck that can play light monsters is given a significant boost, as they are able to splash this card, again for little to no cost to the deck’s consistency.

Mind Control – Simply put, one of the most broken mechanics in YuGiOh, and one of the hardest to play around, is the potential of having your monsters taken by your opponent by cards, such as; Mind Control, Change of Heart, Snatch Steal or Brain Control.  What do three of four of these cards all have in common?  Oh yes, that’s right.  Three of them are banned.  Mind Control should be no exception to this.  It has the ability to heavily impact a game immediately upon activation, many times to the point where the opponent cannot recover.

Spellbook of Fate – In my opinion, this card is very poorly designed.  The ability to banish cards without having to target is absurd.  The ability to recycle the card and use it over and over again is even more absurd.  The limitation of this card to one did very little as many expected, because of the recursion the deck sports with both the Grand Spellbook Tower and Spellbook of Eternity.  Spellbooks become a fair deck in my mind without Spellbook of Fate.

Newly Limited:

Judgment Dragon – Judgment Dragon is one of those cards that whenever I play against Lightsworns I always seem to wonder to myself how the hell this card is still unlimited.  The ability to drop multiple Judgment Dragons and search multiple Judgment Dragons has never been easier with the advent of Eclipse Wyvern a couple years ago.  Of course the loss of player priority on ignition effects had a negative impact on Judgment Dragon, but the card is still extremely overpowered.

Lavalval Chain – Lavalval Chain is one of the best rank four XYZ monsters that exist in the game.  While I do not have a problem with Lavalval Chain in most decks, it makes Infernity very real.  Infernity have been a degenerate deck for a long time, but the ability to dump multiple Stygian Street Patrols and constantly summon Infernity Archfiends from hand is obnoxious.  While I do not want to completely destroy the use of Lavalval Chain all together, I firmly believe that Infernity would still be a deck even with it at one, it would simply limit its options for breakout plays.

Reinforcement of the Army – Hilariously, as soon as this card gets semi-limited, Konami creates a deck full of Warriors with great effects that can create a loop of “endless-Stratos”.  For those who are unaware, that deck is Satellarknights.  The additional Reinforcement of the Army adds another element of consistency to the deck, as their goal is to open Satellarknight Deneb and multiple trap cards each game.  Thus, by playing two copies of Reinforcement of the Army, it is literally a Swiss-Army knife for virtually any monster in your deck.

Super-Polymerization – This card would probably be almost “fair” if you could respond to it.  However, due to the fact that you are unable to respond to it, and the fact that it extremely limits the card design of Fusion monsters, Super-Polymerization has little place but to be limited or forbidden.  Put simply, Super-Polymerization is even more punishing after your opponent makes a big play, as you can essentially spot removal almost anything, and then summon something big of your own.

Newly Semi-Limited:

Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind – The reasons this card was limited are age-old and not really relevant any longer.  If it gives a tier three deck in Blackwings a slight jolt into the stardom of tier two, it is not disappointing anyone.

Coach Soldier Wolfbark – A better version of this card in Satellarknight Altair exists at three, not that this is a good reason for Wolfbark to exist at two.  Since the limitation of Wolfbark, Fire Fist has seen little to no play and could use some revitalization.  There is little reason this card cannot be at two at the moment and in the coming format.

Thunder King Rai-Oh – I absolutely love Thunder King, so I am a little biased in wanting it at two.  Thunder King is a card that is incredibly frustrating when summoned against you on the first turn backed by multiple back row cards.  However, there are more ways than ever to get over Thunder King, and I hate to say it, but Thunder King has actually lost a step or two in that sense.  It coming back to two and potentially even three is not out of the realm of possibility.

Book of Moon – In my opinion, Book of Moon is one of the best and balanced cards ever printed in the game of YuGiOh.  I wish I could put it to three, but seeing as how Konami rarely takes cards from being at one straight to three, I’ve put it to two for the time being.  Book of Moon is not actually detrimental to any gamestate, but can consistently be heralded as a fabulous card to play, usually due to its versatility.

No Longer on List:

Magician of Faith – While a great card, Magician of Faith has a few flaws at the moment.  The first being I cannot actually think of a card outside of Mind Control that I would actually want to retrieve to re-use with Magician of Faith.  The second being that given the tempo of the format and the game today, Magician of Faith is not overpowered at all at three right now.  Sure, back in Goat Format with cards such as Pot of Greed, Graceful Charity, Delinquent Duo, Snatch Steal, and Premature Burial, Magician of Faith was one hell of a good card, but the fact is that the game has increased in speed tenfold since then.  Sad to say, but Magician of Faith plus one is a thing of the past.

In short, this fairly short list of changes that I believe would be for the greater good of the game (at least until Qliphorts drop).  While I do not believe, that any of the changes would drastically impact the game, I believe the small changes made would take away some of the degenerative cards/plays that the game has suffered from over the past few formats.

Instant Impact

As many of you already know, this past Friday, the Realm of Light Structure deck was released on store shelves, showcasing new support for the popular Lightsworn archetype.  Lightsworns have not seen much in the way of support of late, unless you count Lightray Diabolos back in Galactic Overlord or Soul Charge in Dragons of Legend which made numerous decks better, until now.  The structure brings a few relevant cards that will almost undoubtedly push Lightsworn into the tier one category, they include, Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn, Michael, the Arch-Lightsworn, and Minerva, Lightsworn Maiden.  With the addition of Raiden, Lightsworns now have the ability to mill cards in the middle of the turn, just by activating a card effect.  This is highly relevant as most Lightsworn decks will be looking for that one additional Lightsworn monster, a Dragon Ruler, or an Eclipse Wyvern to search for Judgment Dragon.  This is without even mentioning that Raiden is also a level four tuner, allowing easy access to one of the other new Lightsworn monsters, Michael, by simply using Lumina.  Michael, is actually quite unreal, in that you can pay 1000 life points to banish any card on the field.  Michael is useful for situations where you may need to bait something or get rid of a problem before dropping Judgment Dragon on the field.  Michael is a level 7 synchro, so you are able to have further access to Dracossack or Big Eye with the Dragon Rulers, it is conveniently a Dragon as well, and as if that was not enough, it counts as a Lightsworn name for Judgment Dragon’s summon.  The last of the new Lightsworn support is Minerva, Lightsworn Maiden.  Minerva is helpful for a few reasons.  It is a level 3 tuner as well so you have further access to synchro plays, but it also has a nifty effect of giving you an additional mill whenever it is pitched or milled itself.  This can provide some further ammunition for Judgment Dragon, Dragon Rulers or just simply setting up your grave for your push.

Admittedly, upon the news that this support was going to be released, I was skeptical that it would give the deck a huge lift that would be needed to make it relevant.  After seeing it in action over the last few days, I can say with confidence that Raiden single-handedly helps the deck do that.  Raiden is a fantastic monster that provides humungous stability in the early Lightsworn game.  It provides a solid four mills (effect and its end phase effect), can trigger Garoth during the turn and not just the end phase, but in addition if you have Lumina there is cool synergy by getting four mills, bringing it back and bringing out a synchro to deal with your problems, but not before milling another two cards.  The idea is that this generates you options from Eclipse Wyverns, Dragon Rulers, and sets up the graveyard with Lightsworn/light names for Judgment Dragon or Lightray Diabolos. 

This past weekend, the European Championships took place, where there was a solid showing of 91 Lightsworn decks.  Most solid of all was Marcel Burri’s Lightsworn build that landed him first place after swiss and second overall, losing in the finals to Eugen Heidt’s build of Mermails.  Burri’s build of the deck had a few interesting card choices that can be discussed below.  Here is the build.

3 Eclipse Wyvern

3 Judgment Dragon

3 Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner

2 Lightray Diabolos

2 Kuribandit

2 Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress

2 Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn

2 Rainbow Kuriboh

1 Ehren, Lightsworn Monk

1 Minerva, Lightsworn Maiden

1 Jain, Lightsworn Paladin

1 Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior

1 Honest

1 Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos

1 Tempest, Dragon Ruler of Storms

1 Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders

3 Solar Recharge

2 Forbidden Lance

2 Soul Charge

1 Charge of the Light Brigade

2 Needlebug Nest

2 Phoenix Wing Wind Blast

1 Breakthrough Skill

3 Mystical Space Typhoon

2 Ally of Justice Cycle Reader

2 Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter

2 Vanity’s Emptiness

2 XYZ Universe

1 Battle Fader

1 Breakthrough Skill

1 Malevolent Catastrophe

1 The Transmigration Prophecy

2 Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack

1 Number 11: Big Eye

1 Number 101: Silent Honor ARK

1 Evilswarm Exciton Knight

1 Lavalval Chain

1 Mechquipped Angineer

1 Temtempo the Percussion Djinn

1 Divine Dragon Knight Felgrand

1 Star Eater

1 Leo Keeper of the Sacred Tree

1 Ally of Justice Decisive Armor

1 Crimson Blader

1 Michael, the Arch-Lightsworn

1 Black Rose Dragon

As you can see there are a few different choices from your average Lightsworn deck.  The most notable that stood out to me initially was the use of Rainbow Kuriboh.  The use of Rainbow Kuriboh makes a lot of sense as it can be used from the hand, making your hand not completely suck when you draw it, versus what would happen if it were Necro Gardna.  That said it does not have the same amount of versatility as Necro Gardna when coming from the graveyard as it only is effective against direct attacks, when live in the graveyard, thus meaning you are unable to save monsters while it is in the grave.

Some may scoff at Needlebug Nest, but the card is not to be under-estimated.  Needlebug Nest can be a power card in this deck simply because it gets you five cards deeper into your deck.  Your plays become more versatile the bigger the grave you have, milling Eclipse Wyvern is obviously a thing, and you set up your grave for your boss monsters.  The last card choice that some may look at as questionable is Minerva.  While being a helpful card, allowing you to mill extra cards and also being a tuner, Minerva does not do much else, despite the synergy it does have with Wind Blast and Recharge.

After testing numerous games with Lightsworns, against a variety of matchups I can confidently say that it is a good deck, but it can get blown out by floodgates and by bricking itself.  Vanity’s Emptiness is an extremely good card versus this deck, because a well timed Emptiness can literally blow out the opponent from being able to do a damn thing, period.  In short, Lightsworns shortcomings are the same as they have been in the past; inconsistencies with milling, bricking itself, and problems with many commonly played floodgates.  The new cards have clearly helped the deck, as it has an arsenal of new plays that it did not have before, but at the same time it is far from unbeatable. 

Given that the deck has just come second at the European Championship, those going to the North American World Championship Qualifier, should test heavily against that matchup.  The top three played decks at Euros were a distribution of 191 Gears, 177 HAT, and 91 Lightsworns.  The number of Lightsworns is sure to rise given Marcel’s success with the deck and the fact that the deck is relatively inexpensive to build.  To counteract this, ensure that you are siding appropriate cards to combat against this, and even consider maining tech cards against it.  I would not be surprised in the slightest if the number of Lightsworn decks at event goes up percentage wise when compared to our WCQ.  These cards of course include, Dimensional Fissure, Macro Cosmos, Light-Imprisioning Mirror, Ally of Justice Cycle Reader, Vanity's Emptiness, and more.

To all of those travelling to the North American World Championship Qualifier, I hope to see you there and best of luck.

On a side-note, one of my good friends, Yahir Amat, has just started a new ygo site, that will be fully functional shortly, it will eventually have a fully functional marketplace, in addition to decklists, videos, articles, and more.