Monday
 
This week we're looking at cards that have had their status changed on the most recent Banned/Restricted List, and we open with Monster Reborn.  There's pretty much two things to say about Monster Reborn...First, everyone plays it for obvious reasons, and second, Monster Reborn is one of those cards that just should stay Banned, forever.  It is positive advantage, immediate, and there is no cost for playing it.
 
Ratings:
 
Traditional:  Monster Reborn is actually better in Traditional because there are awesome monsters to revive that you can't in Advanced...we're looking at something like 10/5
 
Advanced:  5/5 
Art:  5/5

This week's theme is all about the Unforgivable Cards, which were recently released from Azkaban after I read waaay too much Harry Potter and dreamed about Quidditch. Our first criminal? Monster Reborn. But you already knew that.

Monster Reborn becomes an instant super-monster. It's too versatile, costless and fast to be able to exist. Nobody knows why this was allowed to become Limited for the second time, especially when Call of the Haunted is still at 1.

You run this in every deck or don't play.

5/5
Art: Why does the thingy have hair?
Fun Fact: I found two Sickles and a dung bomb. Oh, and, "This Dumboldore won't open."
Tomorrow: The other new staple.

This week we seem to be looking at some of the TCG’s biggest mistakes… by which I mean some of the most powerful cards, two of which have been banned and three of which have been at one-per deck status at some point in their life.  Now I originally planned on explaining exactly how and why this card is “broken”, but I decided I should just write a separate article if I really want to delve into it.  I mean, broken itself means different things to different people. 

Monster Reborn is the standard by which monster revival cards are measured, partially due to it being among the very first cards released in the United States (as well as many other territories, if I am reading the information correctly).  The other reason we compare all subsequent revival cards to it is that it is the simplest and yet also the most versatile.  The text of Monster Reborn wasn’t always so simple, but it came from redundancies owed in part to the game essentially being “new” when it was first printed.  So now the card just reads “Special Summon 1 monster from either player’s Graveyard to your side of the field.”  As long as there is a legal revival target, it is very hard to be unable to use this card for something.  In the modern era, perhaps the card is at its most versatile: most decks can now use “fodder” monsters as Tribute or Synchro Materials.  That alone is incredibly useful and would secure a spot in probably half the decks in the game.  The fact that many of the best or most powerful monsters in the game can be revived with it, even if they aren’t your monsters originally, pushes it clear over the top.  A format where this card isn’t a must run at the maximum allowed is almost inconceivable. 

It is possible to “improve”, or rather, make this card more potent.  It could be a Quick-Play Spell.  It could allow you to revive to the opponent’s side of the field, as there are a select few circumstances where that would help.  You could even just jack up the power by allowing more monsters to be revived or tacking on extra effects.  It still scores perfect fives when it comes to play. 

Instead of rating art and name separately, especially since they are intertwined – how good can a name be when it doesn’t fit the art or effect – I am combining them into an Aesthetic score.  Hardly a huge deal and it will rarely affect how a card is played, but still a part of the card.  Monster Reborn is an odd sounding name with an odder symbol.  I know the Japanese art is an ankh (an Egyptian symbol for life), but that little charm was introduced for international release to avoid possible religious connotations.  Looking at a translation of the Japanese name, over there it is Raise Dead.  Given the time when this happened, guess we should be grateful we got what we got.  I mean, just two sets later gave us Cyclone becoming Mystical Space Typhoon.  All in all, it is a functional card and name, but nothing really brilliant. 

Ratings 

Traditional: 5/5 

Advanced: 5/5 

Aesthetic: 2.5/5