Breaking Down the Yu-Gi-Oh TCG April 7th, 2025 Forbidden & Limited List
Crunch$G
What if Konami looked at the best Decks in the room and just semi-limited all their good cards? Hello Pojo Readers, Crunch$G here finally with the first Forbidden & Limited List update for the TCG in 2025. It’s been four months since the last list, with Ryzeal and Maliss being the clear-cut best Decks and Fiendsmith still being everywhere. Mermail Atlantean has also risen up to 3rd or 4th place next to Blue-Eyes, but there are still several diverse options that can top in this format at a Regional or YCS. I mean, Memento just won YCS Houston where the list was announced, and we had a pure Fire King win not long ago. Anyway, it’s time to see how the meta will change by what Konami decided to hit on this list.
Abyss Dweller
From Unlimited to Forbidden
We start with the only ban the OCG did to start 2025, that being Abyss Dweller finally leaving the game after 12 years. This does admittedly make sense for how strong of a floodgate Xyz that Dweller has been against a ton of strategies that need to make use of the graveyard to make their plays, and Ryzeal being a new Rank 4 toolbox that’s competitive, it makes sense to hit one of the best generic Rank 4s in the game now, especially since this can be an indirect hit to Atlantean Mermail as they lose this as a way to trigger Altantean Dragoons, but don’t worry as that’s not the only thing the Deck lost to pull that play off.
Bahamut Shark
From Unlimited to Forbidden
If they were going to take away Atlantean Mermail’s access to Toadally Awesome, it was either go straight for the Toad or hit the card that’s been cheating Toad out for over 8 years now. Honestly, even with Atlantean Mermail getting some YCS wins in this format, I don’t know if it’s popped up so much that the Deck needed to get hit, especially in this way where a bunch of other WATER strategies are indirectly hurt by this like Sharks, though I guess Konami TCG didn’t want us accessing Toad in a format without Dweller, since the OCG has already banned Toad itself. Now, Toad is limited to the Decks designed to make it like Frogs and Paleozoic, which probably a card like that should have always been limited to. I will miss Bahamut Shark the most out of the banned cards on this list, to be completely honest.
Knightmare Gryphon
From Unlimited to Forbidden
After 6-7 years, a third Knightmare Link joins the Forbidden section of the list now that Knightmare Gryphon is no longer in the game. This hit does make a ton of sense considering how much Maliss has used it to prevent the opponent from using most of their monster effects to attempt to play the game, and this card is revivable off A Bao A Qu, making it even better. Not to mention you could get back Maliss Traps you already used that turn after summoning your Gryphon. Gryphon benefited Maliss a ton, and now with it gone, they focus more on Firewall Dragon and @Ignister plays instead of using a floodgate like Gryphon.
Link Decoder
From Unlimited to Forbidden
The last ban on this list is a double whammy for Maliss as they now also lose the best Link-1 they had access to in Link Decoder. Honestly, Link Decoder might not look too strong on paper, but Maliss being able to get this back after summoning any of their Link Monsters to make even more Links is pretty crazy, so losing Decoder takes away an extra body the Deck had to do all the Link climbing they were able to do. This also hurts generic Cyberse strategies, but I don’t feel as bad as I do for other WATER strategies losing Bahamut Shark, especially with what Cyberse got back on this list.
Bystial Druiswurm
From Unlimited to Limited
Now we get to the big limit section on this list, with a hit I’m honestly surprised didn’t happen a long time ago. Feels crazy we went this long in the TCG with Magnamhut being the only Bystial hit on the list, but with how powerful they were in Maliss, it was time for another to go to 1, and Druiswurm is easily the second-best Bystial in the game. Being able to use it as Link Material to then send an opponent’s monster to the graveyard for example is very strong for anything to have access to, point blank, so it was about time we saw Druiswurm go to 1, and hopefully we don’t have to get to the point where Baldrake joins Magnamhut and Druiswurm.
Dimension Shifter
From Unlimited to Limited
This has to be one of the most in-demand hits for the TCG in a long time, especially after the OCG and Master Duel had semi-limited and later limited Dimension Shifter. Shifter is a very strong card if you open it, basically nullifying a ton of different strategies by not letting them use the graveyard, all while not hurting the Decks that can run it and in some cases even benefit the strategy you run Shifter in. I’m sure many would have liked Shifter to get the ban instead of making it a super sacky 1-of, but this is certainly a step in the right direction for now, especially as Maliss remains a contender in the format.
Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King
From Forbidden to Limited
When I initially talked about the banned cards a few years ago, I said for sure that Master Peace could not return to the game. Several years of power creep and a bunch of floodgates getting limited or banned later, I’m willing to retract that opinion and I’m fine at this stage that Master Peace is back in the game. Sure, it’s removal each turn that can be unaffected by 2/3rds of the card types in the game, but we’ve progressed enough that Decks can play around the singular removal that Master Peace provides and out it entirely. I do think this could have shot straight to 3, as that’s where it sits in the OCG with triple Dragonic Diagram as well, so hopefully the TCG doesn’t slow burn this and put both this and Diagram to 3 next list.
Mathmech Circular
From Forbidden to Limited
Cyberse loses one toy and they regain another with Mathmech Circular being legal once again. I’m fine with this, as the best Cyberse Deck is Maliss by a country mile and they aren’t going to run a Mathmech package more than likely in the most optimal builds. This is a boost to the generic Cyberse piles and other Cyberse Decks that do gain some value off of Circular, which I can understand not being a fan of existing, but I don’t think these strategies are so overwhelmingly strong that we have to keep Circular locked away any more. It could be broken again in the future, but it should be fine for now, especially since I don’t think this moves beyond a single copy for a long time, if ever.
Ryzeal Detonator
From Unlimited to Limited
Finally a direct hit for Ryzeal, and it’s super relevant as nearly every Ryzeal build I’ve ever seen has played at least 2 Ryzeal Detonators. Being able to make 2 Detonators potentially also sounds super annoying, or even you outing the first Detonator just for the second to come down and cause the same issues. This is similar to Kashtira Arise-Heart in the sense that now you only have to deal with a singular copy of Detonator, which could be done as we’ve seen this format with Metatltronus. This doesn’t kill Ryzeal, nor will the rest of the hits the Deck took, but it’s a fair way to knock the strategy down a peg.
Bonfire
From Unlimited to Limited
Now for an indirect Ryzeal hit as Bonfire is now at 1 after being broken in both the Ryzeal and Snake-Eye strategy of this and previous formats. I get why they held off putting Bonfire to 1, letting Ryzeal come out the gate with as much consistency as possible since the TCG had yet to have Seventh Tachyon in the format, but now that Ryzeal has that card to keep their consistency up, it’s fair now for Konami to put Bonfire to 1 to make sure it isn’t too overwhelmingly consistent, though for many I’m sure this is a super long overdue hit for us to have from when Snake-Eye dominated the game.
Brilliant Fusion
From Forbidden to Limited
The last banned card returning to the game makes a ton of sense with new Gem-Knight support coming in June, with Brilliant Fusion coming back to 1. When this was it, it was to limit the power of Thunder Dragons and anything running the 1-of Brilliant Fusion to summon Seraphinite, but now Thunder Dragons are fairly power crept and I don’t think Decks are willing to run the bricks for a single copy of Brilliant Fusion to get the extra Normal Summon anymore, except for interesting combo strategies that’ll actually run Predaplant Orphys Scorpio to search it. This will just boost Gem-Knights in the TCG more than anything, which is fine since they do look like a fun, yet competitive strategy that doesn’t focus on the FTK anymore.
Crossout Designator
From Unlimited to Limited
We’ll end the limited section off with some cards that have been ran to counterplay all the hand traps your opponent would run to neuter your combos. Crossout Designator now joins Called by the Grave being at 1, as the best Decks in the room keep getting powerful enough to be able to play through the hand traps and still pull off a somewhat competent combo, so having them be able to actually ignore a hand trap and do their full combo without being punished seems unfair. OCG has had Crossout at 1 for several years now, though they do have 2 Called by the Grave. The TCG might be in a better position with Called by and Crossout at 1 to ensure hand traps resolve.
Triple Tactics Talent
From Unlimited to Limited
What’s worse than having your hand trap get hit by a Called by or Crossout? Potentially having it resolve, just to get severely punished for it. Triple Tactics Talent has been a mainstay in the TCG for a while now, with strategies using multiple copies to punish the opponent for hand trapping you by letting you choose from three of some of the most powerful effects in the game between Pot of Greed, The Forceful Sentry, and Change of Heart. The variety in having those options in the case of having one of your cards eat an Ash Blossom feels supremely unfair, and Talent now being at 1 should make it appear less often and make hand trapping the opponent a much safer call to make.
Black Dragon Collapserpent and White Dragon Wyverburster
From Limited to Semi-Limited
Now for the 12 semi-limits, where I just batch a bunch of stuff together that is meant to go together, starting with Black Dragon Collapserpent and White Dragon Wyverburster coming back to 2 each. With the position that a Deck like Dragon Link is currently in, it is fine for them to get back some more tools, so having Baby Chaos Dragons back at an extra copy each should give them a slight boost in a world without Borreload Savage Dragon, Chaos Space being at 1, and the second best Bystial now being limited. I expect these will be back at 3 very soon, and that should also be fine, but I get testing the waters for now in a format where Dragon Link has been so popular.
Ext Ryzeal, Ice Ryzeal, and Sword Ryzeal
From Unlimited to Semi-Limited
When you don’t want to hit a Deck getting support very soon but want to give it enough of a nerf to make players happy, I guess you get the three best Ryzeal names all going to 2. Ext Ryzeal is the best one without a doubt since it can start your plays without using your Normal Summon, getting Eclipse Twins into the graveyard or sending Aggregator to negate an opponent’s monster and then searching another Ryzeal name that you can summon like Sword Ryzeal. Speaking of Sword, the OCG did just put this to 1, so a hit isn’t completely out of nowhere. Sword is just great when you got your Ryzeal setup started, summoning itself and then getting a Ryzeal for the next turn, or being a Normal Summon starter if needed. Ice Ryzeal is a hit unique to the TCG, and it’s a good one as well since it summons any Ryzeal from the Deck on Normal Summon to speed up Rank 4 summons in the Deck a lot, plus it has its own Special Summon effect, even if at the cost of a card unlike Sword and Ext. These three at 2 should slow the Deck down a bit and make it more bearable, especially with Detonator and Bonfire at 1. Seventh Tachyon becomes more of a staple in the Deck and I could see more good Level 4 stuff like the Aratama and Sakitama being played for more bodies, but they at least get Star Ryzeal soon to do combo and already have Ryzeal Cross.
Maliss <P> Dormouse, Maliss <P> White Rabbit, and Maliss in Underground
From Unlimited to Semi-Limited
Just like Ryzeal, Maliss also have their best starters going from 3 to 2 with Dormouse, White Rabbit, and Underground all being semi-limited. Dormouse and Underground are probably the best starters in the Deck, each banishing a Maliss from the Deck that you can then summon with its effect, and White Rabbit setting your Traps from the Deck that you can activate that turn by banishing a Maliss you’ll likely just resummon anyways. These three at two means that Maliss is a bit more inconsistent, but not enough to where the Deck is dead, even if Gryphon and Decoder are banned while Druiswurm and Shifter are at 1. They are soon to get March Hare, which will help the Deck a ton as well.
Morphing Jar
From Limited to Semi-Limited
We saw the OCG move Morphing Jar from 1 to 2 to 3 between two lists while they’ve also unbanned Cyber Jar and now have that at 2 as well. This is just pure evidence that Empty Jar is far from the threat that it once was, which will be the only thing you’d ever see Morphing Jar in, assuming you run into an Empty Jar player to begin with. Dark World will for sure not be running Morphing Jar in 2025 with all the tools they have. I expect this will also be at 3 on the very next list and we’ll have full-power Empty Jar, potentially for the first time ever in the TCG I believe? We’ll see the very next format, I just hope they don’t get too confident and bring Fiber Jar back.
Snake-Eye Ash and Snake-Eyes Poplar
From Limited to Semi-Limited
They went to 1 together in the TCG, and now they are at 2 together. In a world where Original Sinful Spoils is banned, Snake-Eye does hardly anything with Ash and Poplar at 1, so it’s more than fair to bring these to two and see if Snake-Eye does anything on a casual level at the bare minimum. It didn’t help the Deck that Bonfire also went to 1, limiting your way to search for either of these cards, so I guess it’s nice to get extra copies so now you can hard draw into them to do combos, though a Normal Summon of Poplar doesn’t do too much I believe, so you’d probably be hoping to draw into the Ash.
Unchained Soul of Sharvara
From Limited to Semi-Limited
For the last card going to 2, Sharvara is moving off the list now that we’ve had some time pass for Unchained to be power crept and Yubel being in a worse state with Phantom of Yubel at 1, though I believe Yubel would only ever use 1 Sharvara to begin with. This will mostly give a boost to Unchained more than anything, which is fine after over a year and all the powerful cards we’ve seen released since the Unchained legacy support arrived in Duelist Nexus. I do think Unchained can still be a nice rogue strategy, but it shouldn’t be the powerful threat it was in late 2023 and early 2024, so I assume this also returns to 3 on the next list.
Cyber Jar, Danger!? Jackalope?, Danger!? Tsuchinoko?, Eva, and Performapal Monkeyboard
From Semi-Limited to Unlimited
For the sake of not repeating myself too much with these articles, any time multiple cards have moved from 1 to 2 on a previous list and then the next list they go back to 3, I’m just lumping them together in discussion to save time, same will go for cards going from 0 to 1 to 2 to 3. Cyber Jar has the same logic as Morphing Jar, with Empty Jar being a non-factor in 2025. The best thing to use the Danger cards is Dark World, and they haven’t torn the world on fire, so Jackalope and Tsuchinoko are both fine to be free. Eva didn’t break Drytron any after being initially unbanned, so its progression makes sense. Finally, Performapal Monkeyboard is fine in a format where Electrumite still remains banned, though you can have Electrumite back I believe and not break the game with all the best generic endboard pieces that Pendulum Decks would make all being banned.
In Conclusion
Overall, I think all the hits Konami made on this list were well handled. They slowed these new strategies that people have been upset down a good bit without hitting them hard enough to where they are non-factors going forward in the meta, which makes sense with Ryzeal and Maliss getting more support soon. They also lost some generic cards they’ve made use of like Dweller, Gryphon, Shifter, etc. Bahamut Shark really hurts WATER strategies making Rank 4s, but I guess Atlantean Mermail was a Deck with high demands for getting hit. Circular, Brilliant Fusion, and Master Peace are welcome additions back to the game, and everything moving from 1 to 2 and 2 to 3 are all welcome. The only thing that wasn’t hit was Fiendsmith, which I assume Konami wants to sell more before they do something as drastic as limiting Engraver and Tract or just outright banning Requiem, which all feels like the best way to hit that engine. I would have liked Catapult Turtle to get banned to not have to see a Tachyon FTK steal an event, but that’s more of a wishlist thing. There’s a ton of stuff on the list that could have come off. All the previous suspects that were unbanned in the OCG are still waiting to return, we still have no Summon Sorceress errata, Zoodiac Drident has proven in the OCG to be fine to come back now, and a reprint makes it stand out now that for some reason, Wind-Up Carrier Zenmaity has been banned for 12 years. Hopefully, we get more cleanup on this list soon, cause there’s still so much that doesn’t belong in the spot it belongs on the list.
