We start our second banlist week with one of the two cards that is no longer Forbidden: Thousand-Eyes Restrict.
 
This card getting unbanned has honestly been a long time coming; he saw major use during the days of Goat Control as an all-purpose monster remover that could also stun the opponent and was easily summoned with Metamorphosis. The game has evolved a LOT since then, and a play like this wouldn’t be anywhere close to good anymore (it’s a wonder why Metamorphosis is still banned too).
 
The biggest argument people made for keeping Thousand-Eyes Restrict banned was his synergy with Instant Fusion, but that doesn’t consider the fact that such a play makes him nothing more than a 1-for-1 spot remover that costs 1000 Life Points to use and locks you out of attacking for the entire turn. That’s not something I would call particularly broken in a game where Raigeki is legal and Dark Hole is Semi-Limited. That isn’t even mentioning how Elder Entity Norden can serve as better spot removal (through Castel or Diamond Dire Wolf) and is also summonable off of Instant Fusion.
 
That being said, the Instant Fusion play has some marginal use. With Norden now Limited, Thousand-Eyes Restrict is probably the next best thing to summon if you still wanted to play 3 Instant Fusion and have something else to summon so the other two copies aren’t dead (the other next best option is Panzer Dragon, but he’s Deck dependent). Additionally, utilizing Thousand-Eyes Restrict in a Deck like Monarch lets you steal a monster and then Tribute him for a Tribute Summon, effectively letting Instant Fusion act like another copy of The Monarchs Stormforth. This play isn’t super great (as Instant Fusion itself is only slightly above average compared to everything else Monarch has), but it is one to consider. The fact that Thousand-Eyes Restrict targets really hurts him in a metagame infested with Kozmo, however.
 
All things considered, Thousand-Eyes Restrict isn’t the worst card in the game, and he still has interesting applications. He’s nothing to write home about though.
 
Rating: 2/5

Thousand-Eyes Restrict

Wow!  It's finally back!!

TER, Maxamillion Pegasus' boss monster, conjures memories which are nostalgic and painful in equal part.  Last time this card was a major offender was in the Scapegoat format of 2005.  With Sinister Serpent and Magician of Faith in play as well, and Metamorphosis at 3, this card was really easy to summon.  It was a +1, reusable with Tsukuyomi, was a great answer to BLS/Jinzo and it stalled the opponent with an attacking restriction which made it hard to get rid of.  It extended the length of each game by at least 15 minutes which made many resent it.  There was, of course, Tribe-Infecting Virus, Tsukuyomi and Smashing Ground to deal with it, but TER nonetheless changed the landscape by reminding us that bigger wasn't always better.  It was summonable via smaller monsters and it punished players who relied on the brute strength of big monsters.

While leaving it banned for a while was the right thing to do, it could have been taken off the ban list in 2010.  There are several reasons why this card is not as good as it once was.  First, Metamorphosis is gone so there's no free way to summon it.  Instant Fusion, is around, yes, but it comes with costs and restrictions.  You can still absorb the opponent's monster and tribute it for a tribute summon (although, since it is limited, you can generally only do that once).  Limited to 1 is the perfect place for this card at the moment.  It's not broken now, but it may still possibly be abuseable at 3.  We'll see. Second point, the card pools is much much bigger today than it was just over 10 years ago.  There are dozens more cards out which can counter TER than there were before.  So, overall, it's not as good as it once was, but relative to what kind of card it is, it has little competition.  It's one of the best (if not the best) low level Fusion monsters in the game.  Whether a low level Fusion monster is what you need, that's a different question, but since it's an Extra Deck card and faces no draw-probability risks, I'm going to give it a good score. 

4/5

Here's a card that got some good news recently. Thousand-Eyes Restrict was only relevant when Metamorphosis was legal. Now it's back to one and usable with Instant Fusion. I'm surprised but hopeful. I don't think this will ever be Fusion Summoned with it's materials, but Fusion Tag and some substitute cards might work, it might even be worth it. Stealing a monster is a powerful effect. In your Extra Deck, replace one of the missing Nordens with this. If you don't run Instant Fusion, then this recent unbanning won't interest you. 
 
Score: 4/5 Some weird Ritual Deck maybe?
Art: 5/5 Super Creepy. 
 
-WarlockBlitz

Thousand-Eyes Restrict

I love this card, but only because of Instant Fusion. And like Norden, it’s hard to rate a card that is only successful because of another card. In no other viable circumstance are you going to use TER unless you’re running Instant Fusion, so I tend to be on the side of rating this card poorly and detaching my love for it from the actual position.

The effect is great and the future potential is amazing as long as Instant Fusion exists. My current favorite combo is in OCG zombies. Use TER to suck up an opponent monster, summon shiranui sage or unizombie, then do normal unizombie shenanigans to bring out another level 4, preferably Goblin Zombie, and go into Trishula. I think the return of TER will bring about the eventual end of Instant Fusion, which is far too good for its own good. In a format where synchros are making a serious comeback, a free level 1 monster that can take out an opponent monster without destroying it is eventually going to be abused beyond the point of no return. Not to mention it’s a dark spellcaster that can be resummoned after being sent to the graveyard – that’s a big plus. I’ve already seen several decks running Dark Magic Veil from the new movie pack, a card that restores some power to Shaddols and adds to Dark Magician and some others.

But, once again, none of this is really attributable to Thousand Eyes Restrict. My review above would be vastly different without Instant Fusion. And really, this is just a partial review of that broken spell card. Staying on the purist side, I must rate this card based on those facts. Without Instant Fusion, it would never see the light of day again. Enjoy it while it lasts everybody!

Advanced: 1/5

Future Potential: 3.5/5