We’re a little under a month late to the party, but we’ve finally reached one of two Banlist Weeks at CotD here; that means over the next two weeks we’ll be reviewing cards that moved around on the April 2016 Forbidden/Limited List. Today’s card is the rather infamous Wavering Eyes.
 
We rated this card as the #2 card of 2015 (though it was very close to surpassing our #1 choice, Elder Entity Norden, and could have easily taken the spot). Wavering Eyes was, all things considered, a very powerful designed card. The amount of advantage you could potential gain from it in a Pendulum mirror match was absolutely ridiculous. Being able to wipe out opposing Scales while also potentially banishing a card and searching another copy of Wavering Eyes was a huge momentum swing in favor of the activator, and any Pendulum mirror required you to be in constant consideration of the possibility of your opponent having one set. These so-called “Wavering Wars” added an extra level of depth to Pendulum mirrors, but it didn’t make it any less of a blowout card. This became more apparent when Wavering Eyes’ main counter, Performage Damage Juggler, was banned.
 
Wavering Eyes was also very helpful in upping the consistency of Pendulum Decks. If you had a pair of mismatched Scales and were in need of a high/low one, you could set the two mismatches and then use Wavering Eyes, adding the Pendulum you needed to hand while also loading up your Extra Deck. This became extra noticeable, again, with the banning of Damage Juggler, as well as with the release of Monkeyboard, who could complete Scales on his own.
 
Even before the rise of Performapals, Wavering Eyes saw abuse in Qliphort, giving the Deck the ability to quickly summon Apoqliphort Towers on the first turn. The aptly named Towers Turbo Deck was a major threat up until the November 2015 list banned Towers itself.
 
Unfortunately for Pendulum Decks, the banning of Wavering Eyes is a bit of a blow to not only power, but also consistency, as now matching Scales is more difficult. However, Wavering Eyes was also way too powerful, and its mere existence also made any Pendulum mirror match ridiculous in terms of momentum swings.
 
Rating: BANNED (5/5 when legal)

We have reviewed Wavering Eyes twice since its release and both times I gave it a 4 out of 5. Now it's time is over and with good reason. This card generated way too much advantage in any turn for the player that used it. It also inflicted respectable damage. Finally, it could be activated multiple times per turn. I don't see this coming back unless Pendulums completely fall out of favor. 
 
Score: Banned/5
Art: 4/5
 
-WarlockBlitz

Wavering Eyes

The King of All Things Pendulum. When Arc V and pendulums began their ascent, it was clear the horizon would soon be full of pendulum monsters. We didn’t start with a lot, but many people knew what was coming if they under stood the history of the game. I have a friend who owns a card shop, and I told him to pick up, among a few others, as many of this card as he could. He followed my advice and recognized a very tidy profit later on.

I think it’s kind of a shame actually that this card became so powerful, but I understand it. Pendulums at first were slow, and I think Konami came to an understanding about them only later on. In order to make them strong, you had to be able to destroy and replace them in order to build up the extra deck without the minuses. So when they sped up the game, wavering eyes became a force that they didn’t comprehend happening. To me, it’s proof that it was only a super rare, and soon after a common.

I’m going to be honest, this card isn’t going to see the light of day for a long time, if ever. It’s just too strong and too profitable for no work. No cost, quickplay, splashable in a ton of themes and the side deck. So many reasons. Not until we see the end of pendulums themselves will this even be considered for a comeback. It just can’t. No card should be playable that makes or breaks an entire duel or even match based on who draws it first. That should be the number one rule of the ban list’s purpose. The second should be to remove staples. And that will be the theme of my reviews as we look at a number of banned or restricted cards. I’m going to review cards based on why it was hit, and whether or not it should ever be tapped back in.

Wavering Eyes joins Graceful, Painful, Sixth and a handful of other cards that saw a period of absurd dominance and fades into the sunset never to return again. (Everybody wave goodbye)

Advanced: 5/5

Future Potential: 1/5

Card: Wavering Eyes 

Status: BANNED 

Alas, all good things must come to an end. I just wish our time with Wavering Eyes lasted a bit longer. Now I can understand why this card had to be whittled down from three per deck, as it's the ultimate defense against Pendulumn Cards; but WHY did they have to ban it completely? I only ask this because not everyone plays Pendulumn decks. Some of us downright HATE Pendulumn decks.... But if you take into account that this card comes with multiple ways to screw over your opponent- such as banishing a card, grabbing a Pendeulumn from your own deck, and even grabbing a copy of this card to play it again- then yes, it is rather justifiable. 

They could have, at the very least, took it down to one per deck, that way only one of its effects would be nullified. But maybe someday all of this will change; someday we may need one or two Wavering Eyes to even the field. Until then, I'll be playing Taps for one of my favorite anti-Pendulum cards of all time... 

Final Score: 5/5 for card, 1/5 for the ban