The End of an Era (And Why We Should Be Happy) -Snodin
The End of an Era (And Why We Should Be Glad), by Snodin


Writer's Note: This is going to be one of those pro-banned list rants, so if you don't want to hear it, you might as well stop reading now. I will not accept hate mail, and I will not change my mind. This is all my opinion; you don't have to like it, I would just appreciate your time to hear me out. Thank you.


I'd like to tell you all a story; it's short and sweet, and has a surprise ending. A couple years ago, the trading card game Pokemon created its own ban list, taking from tourney play many of its original sets. That's right- they didn't just take out cards, they took out entire sets of cards. What inevitably happened is that most of the population of Pokemon players has dropped from tourney play altogether, thanks to the ban list. The plot twist? The game is still being played, by the most hard-core of gamers. It is these people that have taken to heart the fact that no matter how drastically the game changes, they still have a love for the game.

The same can be said about the great controversy of the Yu-Gi-Oh trading card game; many people would like to think that the ban list of Japan will never reach the Western shores, but most of us are already preparing for it by re-editing our decks, taking out the likes of Raigeki, Change of Heart, Imperial Order, and the like. But they are not whom I am writing this article about- I'm here to discuss the people who will inevitably join in the tragic part of Pokemon's evolution; the ones who will stop playing Yu-Gi-Oh, just because of the ban list.

Whether you like it or not, the ban list in coming; whether it be months, years, or even days. It's like Judgement Day; you know it's coming, you just don't know when. And when it gets here, you better be prepared. …But the real question is, should you be prepared to surrender? Now here's where it gets interesting.


Many people have already been warring over this issue; names have been called, hate mail has been sent, and rumors have been spread. I have spoken to duelists of all kinds; from those who fear the ban list to those who accept it. And let me tell you, I have heard from both sides, and both sides make very good points. But that's where I come in.

Let me take a moment to talk about certain issues that make this such a controversial topic- I'm going to look at one side of the spectrum, and then explain it thoroughly so that duelists of all kinds, from the Newbies to the n00bs, could fully understand the whole concept of ban-list dueling.

1.) "Konami's just using this as means of getting people to buy more cards."

So what if they are? Wasn't the only way to get a Raigeki or Jinzo was by buying cards? The point here, ladies and gentlemen, is that no matter how old the game gets (look at Magic, for example), the game is always evolving, always improving old rules. Look at Silpheed, for example; Silpheed is what I call "the Poor Man's Don Zaloog." Like the Don, it has a discard effect, like so many- only this one is cheaper, and it requires a Battle sacrifice. Very creative, and very strategy-based, in my opinion. Cards like these are already coming out, and yet, everybody seems to be complaining. If you don't like where the game is going, based on new cards, then you shouldn't even be playing the game in the first place. And besides, if Konami were to stop bringing out new cards altogether, then the game would definitely die. Adaptation is one of the key elements of being a hard-core gamer.

2.) "Anybody that wants the ban list to come is a coward! They're only bitching because they don't have the best cards, unlike me!"

This is the true-blue n00b talking. These people are never to be confused by the Newbie; Newbies are generally good people who lack dueling experience, but want to get better at it. N00bs, on the other hand, are trying to take the easy way out. They are the ones who lie, cheat and steal to win tourneys. They are the ones who want more than anything to get what's good at the moment- right now, it's Chaos- just to win. Afterwards (or later), it'll be Exchange of the Spirit. Then after that, who knows? But my point is this: once the ban list comes, they're out of here. The ban list will not mark the end of the Yu-Gi-Oh trading card game, it will be the end of the tourney n00b. It happened to Magic, it happened to Pokemon, it will most certainly happen here.

3.) "I'll never be able to play my [insert card name here] ever again! I wasted all that money for nothing!"

I saved this for last, because it is the most important of all: thinking that the ban list will mark the end of playing a certain card completely. This is not true. Tourneys may ban certain cards, but online and casual play can go on forever, and without limits. Just because you dumped your entire life savings away to get a Jinzo* or a Don*, or the whole nine yards does not mean it'll be all for nothing. If you want to use the card, then you can… in casual play. Tourneys are just about being the best of a group, and by means of a fair, original strategy. Cookie-cutters may be a thing of a past, but only in tourney play.

[*Don and Jinzo are not on the banned list, this I'm aware of. I just used them as examples of cookie-cutter worthy cards, or generally any card that people would dump their life savings for on account of their expensiveness. Okay, Jinzo's not that expensive anymore; all the more reason why I think he could be banned eventually.]


Now, I already have a few friends that are working around the controversy, and trying to come up with an alternative solution, so that all players could be happy. Think of it as a club, or something. For one thing, we have what's called a "Painful Choice Method," which allows all players to keep only one of the banned cards in their deck. This is all for casual play, and trust me, it works. If you want more information about the Painful Choice Method, e-mail me. There are other plans of alterations in the works; I'll be back to explain them further once they go underway.

In closing, I would like to say that Yu-Gi-Oh is still, as it ever was, a wonderful trading card game. Children to adults play it, and it really brings out the best in one's imagination, as well as one's overall thinking (strategy and mathematics-wise). And like Pokemon and other known trading card games, the game will go on, ban list or not. But odds are very good that if and when the ban list does cross the globe, it will indeed mark the end of an era. …But not the end of Yu-Gi-Oh, for the hard-core gamers will play on. And that, my friends, is the reason we should all be happy.



Snodin: KaodMaster@aol.com