Now we get to one of the most hated cards in the game. Yata-Garasu was the one card you never wanted to see your opponent summon before September 2004. It meant that if you did not have an answer for the illusive bird then you where going to loose. Because it is a Spirit monster, it can keep dodging your opponent’s possible answers. Even if you did have an answer, all Yata has to do it hit once to gain card advantage.
 
As we talked about on Monday, Yata-Garasu works wonders in a deck with Chaos Emperor Dragon and either Sangan or Witch of the Black Forest. You can also use Sky Scourge Norleras as it also clears the field and hand of cards. All you need is a special summoned Sangan. Call, Limit Reverse, Monster Reborn, and Mystic Tomato work great in accomplishing that.
 
Yata-Garasu is one of those cards that most people agree is so broken that it should never be brought off the ban list.
 
Traditional: 5/5
Advanced: 5/5 if it were not banned.

The last card of this short week is a very, very hated card, by me at least.  I remember being pecked to death by today's card, Yata-Garasu, several times. Being a Spirit monster, this card returns to its owner's hand at the end phase, and by then, it's done its damage. When Yata deals damage, your opponent skips their next draw phase. This happened over and over until the player getting pecked gave up, or whoever was doing the pecking summoned either Chaos Emperor Dragon or Black Luster Soldier to end the game. Yata's built in Time Seal ability stops your opponent from drawing over and over. So unless they had something to stop Yata at that point in time, it was pretty much over. This bird is extinct for very good reason. The control factor is comes with is ridiculous and way over powered. But never fear, for Konami would never release this fould monster upon humanity again.....would they?
 
Traditional: 4.5
Advanced: *If it were playable* 3 Only because there are a few more ways to stop it nowadays.

We haven’t reviewed this card in about 8 years and with good reason, because it is forbidden!  This pesky pigeon pummeled many people into rage quitting many matches. 
 
Yata-Garasu
Fiend/ Spirit/ Wind/ Lv 2/ 200 ATK/ 100 DEF
“This card cannot be Special Summoned. This card returns to the owner's hand during the End Phase of the turn that it is Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned, or flipped face-up. When this card inflicts Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points, your opponent skips his/her next Draw Phase.”

This little bugger caused a whole commotion when it came to its own control deck.  When Chaos Emperor Dragon was thrown into the mix, it only made things easier because of the complete annihilation effect and Sangan and Witch of the Black forest were around for search power. Regardless, if your lifepoints were hit with this card it is a good sign that the game will be ending soon.

There was a similar lockdown that required 3 cards: Mask of Restrict, Tsukuyomi, and Time Seal/Drop Off.

Pros: Searchable via Sangan/Witch, Lockdown abilities, and returns during the end phase.

Cons: Weak stats and a spirit monster cannot be special summoned.

Advanced: Forbidden! (Otherwise 4/5)
Traditional: 4/5

If you thought Spirit Monsters were bad, well...this one's the "worst" of them all.

200/100 and requires to deal damage to activate an effect that won't get destroy all cards on the field or destroy every card in your opponent's hand. Cannot be Special Summoned and must be Normal Summoned turn after turn. How is it remotely threatening?

When I first saw Yata, I extremely underestimated it, but that's because I thought the Draw Phase was best avoided, as it leads you closer to decking out. Of course, in high-level play, that almost never happens, and the Draw Phase is incredibly important for allowing a Duelist to get more and more cards. Imagine if Yata hits you directly (and with powerful cards like Raigeki at your disposal, it's not a rare occurence). You're not allowed to get another card. Then if you have no way of preventing Yata from pecking you again, it will just keep hitting you again...and again...and AGAIN and you'll NEVER get any new cards to protect yourself. This card is so potent that in some video games, it's the only card powerful enough to make the computer player surrender the game voluntarily. It's the most fiendish Fiend that's ever existed, and Konami wasn't kidding when they made it the Secret Rare #000 of Legacy of Darkness.

Yata is often described as the single best card ever, but there are certain cards that can be tremendously beneficial for the "Yata Lock." Four extremely popular cards, Delinquent Duo, Confiscation, The Forceful Sentry, and Trap Dustshoot all steal at least one card right out of your opponent's hand (and all four of them are banned just like Yata so you know they've GOT to be good). After all, the less cards your opponent has in hand to defend with, the more vulnerable they are to getting completely doomed by Yata. Of course, another card that helps ruin your opponent's hand is Chaos Emperor Dragon. Find a way to get Special Summon Sangan or Witch of the Black Forest and then summon the Dragon (or maybe even Sky Scourge Norleras, Sophia, or Ocean Dragon Lord - Neo-Daedalus). Use the effect to not only wipe out your opponent's hand, but the entire field, including your Sangan or Witch. With Sangan or Witch's effect, get out Yata from your deck, Normal Summon it, game over. Yata constantly returning to your hand may seem annoying and may even make it vulnerable against the likes of Confiscation, but it's better than having a 200 ATK monster sitting awkwardly on the field. Not being able to be Special Summoned hurts, though.

Also, it gets all the Spirit Monster support cards. ...Yeah, that doesn't mean anything.

Trad: god/5

Adv: I don't have that much personal experience using Yata-Garasu outside of video games, and sometimes I wonder if it is still worthy of its Forbidden status. Then I think back to how easily Inzektors wipe the field and how Wind-Ups snipe out your hand, then I think, yeah, it's good where it is.

Aesthetics: 4.8/5 It's kinda creepy-looking. Um, the raven is a harbringer of death, which is rather fitting as once your opponent summons it, you know your time has come. Yatagarasu actually translates to the Eight Span Crow, though. The blue ball the bird is standing on is the Spirit Monster Equip Orb of Yasaka, which ironically is only ever useful if the equipped monster is strong enough to survive battles. The Orb of Yasaka is a real-life governmental object that has a sacred place in Japanese history, but actually has nothing to do with the real Yatagarasu legend, a (usually three-legged) crow god that helps guide people to find awakening and blessing after tragedies, very opposite to the draw-blocking effect (actually, three-legged crows are commonly present in many Asian and African cultures). In some versions of the Noah's Ark story, both the crow and the raven were cursed to be forced to help people, because they were so selfish in looking for food when the dove brought back an olive branch. This could help explain why it's a Wind Fiend, but I think Dark Winged Beast would've been better. In the Japanese religion Shinto, both Amaterasu (the ultimate goddess, controlling the universe and ancestor of the imperial family) and Yatagarasu are both related to the sun.

Philosophy Corner: "This card is why the ban list was created. Before the first ban list, you either ran Yata or you lost, pretty much. You cleared their field, disrupted their hand, and the little bird finished 'em off." -Michael Lucas, former CotD reviewer

Riddle: What is everything doing at the same time? Getting older.

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