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Article 42: Assessing the Forbidden List
February 23, 2006

This is our game.

From the seven year old who picked up his first booster pack to pull an E-Hero Sparkman, to Max Suffridge, Nationals Champion. Everybody has an equal say into the game, and preserving it should be the main goal. There are two sides of the fence that Konami and Upper Deck must play to. The enormous popularity of the show feeds life and vigor into the sales of the cardgame. However, fads without substance fade away almost immediately.

The research and development team at Upper Deck understands this. You need only read some of the excellent articles from the Versus designers, the message board posts from Kevin Tewart, or to look at how much has been done on the judging and rulings front to realize the depth of contribution. However, more must be done. This current forbidden list set the precedent for a different list, where American players could actually voice their suggestions and have Mr. Tewart take heed. He would then relay these facts to Konami, which would listen.

The fact is that making our views public creates listeners. So the next time you create a thread in the Pojo.com forums, you are reaching an audience. Anyone from Jason Grabher Meyer, the poster child for professional Yu-Gi-Oh coverage, to a random person who has visited a message board for the first time has equal say. Having said that, here is my opinion on the forbidden list. My views follow after years of play, from seeing the game without a restricted list to the advent of Chaos control.

Throughout this time, I have made every attempt to punish users of cookie cutter decks by creating novel concepts that generate advantage. If someone assumes safety behind a wall of Scapegoat tokens, I wanted to snap that barrier with Dust Tornados. Having said that, there are many users who simply want to use the cop-out argument, “learn to play, side-deck, and counter the cards you’re complaining about.”

The statement classifies as an ad-hominem attack, ignoring the bounds of the discussion to assault the messenger, and it fails for a number of levels. First, I understand side-decking to its full degree, whether it be based on position, theme, or anti-theme. Second, my qualifications and the qualifications of nearly every professional at this game who agrees with me points to the fact that we can indeed counter these cards. But there is still a problem with this line of thought.

One of the best counters to BLS was Bottomless Trap Hole. It removed it from play, removed Light monsters like Airknight Parshath from play, and so on. Unfortunately, it still led to two for one losses. BLS would take priority to remove a monster, and Bottomless would remove it.

A great counter to Spirit Reaper is Enemy Controller. Unfortunately, if Reaper has already made a successful attack, it still leads to two for one losses. Sure you can side-deck three copies of Enemy Controller (which makes for a weaker deck), but that still does not account for Reaper’s broken nature.

I would ask all dissenters to focus on the merits of the claim from even a scientific standpoint. I am making a clear case for a fair forbidden list based on the past history that Konami and Upper Deck have shown. That is, I’m using their own arguments to show what cards should join and leave the ban list. Note that Konami in general has a strong dislike of alternate strategy decks (lockdown/burn), decks that achieve a win condition in one turn, and draw power (which would augment Exodia a bit too much.)

A general rule of thumb is that Konami has deemed two for one cards as overpowered. Any form of mass removal or draw power that immediately and decisively can create a two for one trade has been summarily banned. Mass removal cards with drawbacks, however, which are basically Dark Hole, Torrential Tribute, and Heavy Storm, have been allowed to stay on the list.

These three cards rightfully punish overextension. We all know this, but the bigger key is that they prevent overextension by both players. Your Dark Hole simultaneously prevents your opponent from setting a third monster, and you from setting a third monster! Same with Heavy Storm and Torrential Tribute! I agree with this stance. These three cards have been proven to be balanced, and extremely skill-based cards.

The Current Forbidden List:

Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning

Butterfly Dagger - Elma Change of Heart

Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End

Delinquent Duo

Fiber Jar

Graceful Charity

Harpie's Feather Duster

Imperial Order

Magical Scientist

Makyura the Destructor

Mirage of Nightmare

Mirror Force

Monster Reborn

Painful Choice

Pot of Greed

Raigeki

Ring of Destruction

Sinister Serpent

The Forceful Sentry

Tribe-Infecting Virus

Witch of the Black Forest

Yata-Garasu

Of these, it’s impossible to argue with the vast majority. Makyura, Magical Scientist (aside from its other harmful properties), and Butterfly Dagger are featured in one turn kill decks. They should remain on the list.

My basic principles are this. First, any 1 for 0 trade, 2 for 1 trade, or 1.25 for 1ish trade that does not have some sort of specialized condition should be summarily banned immediately. I’ll give an example of each. There is a fourth category, called “Ridiculous,” which applies to a card that as the realistic potential to at any time gain more than three resources at once without a significant cost.

1 for 0:

-Black Luster Soldier removes a monster, putting the onus on your opponent to destroy it with a spell or trap after losing a monster already.

- Imperial Order negates a spell card, putting the onus on your opponent to destroy it after losing a spell card already.

- Fiber Jar flips. During that same turn, your opponent draws five while you will draw your sixth. You will also get a clear shot at his life points. Fiber Jar is ridiculous to begin with.

- Yata-Garasu negates your opponent’s next draw phase, putting the onus on them to get rid of it AFTER it hits. It also ends games ridiculously.

2 for 1:

- Raigeki destroys two monsters.

- Harpie’s Feather Duster destroys two spell/traps.

- Pot of Greed draws two, Delinquent Duo discards two.

- Mirage of Nightmare draws four, then you use a piece of s/t removal to destroy it. This is a two for one, done twice.

1.25ish for 1:

- The Forceful Sentry is a 1 for 1 trade, with a look at your opponent’s hand.

- Ring of Destruction is a 1 for 1 trade, with the ability to end games without your opponent having any say.

- Painful Choice is a 1 for 1 trade with deck thinning, Treeborn Frog tutorage, and Pot of Avarice abuse.

- Graceful Charity is a 1 for 1 trade with immense draw power.

Ridiculous:

- Chaos Emperor Dragon is the best card in the game. Period. It can create six for ones, twelve for ones, fifteen for ones, and so on.

- Sinister Serpent creates as many +1’s as you can find the time to combo for.

- Fiber Jar, Mirage of Nightmare, Pot of Greed, and such fall into this category as well.

By creating these four categories for broken cards, we can begin to round up the current offenders and lump them in.

The cards I have not named are Mirror Force, Change of Heart, Witch of the Black Forest, Monster Reborn, and Tribe-Infecting Virus. These cards should simply not be banned. I’m almost tempted to include Raigeki in this, because it’s such an overrated card, but that’s not such a good idea.

Unban Mirror Force- This card can trigger to be a two for one. However, the smart opponent will almost never lose two monsters from it. It is susceptible to Mobius, Jinzo, Royal Decree, spell or trap removal, and such. The card is a highly situational piece of mass removal. If you’re going to leave Dark Hole and Torrential Tribute in the game, it’s highly inconsistent to leave this card in, which is inferior to both.

Unban Change of Heart: This is a one for zero trade. You lose one card for some life point damage. And you can’t run as many flips if this card is back now, can you?

Unban Witch of the Black Forest- This is solely based on the fact that Sangan came back. This and Sangan are the two most metagame dependent cards on the forbidden list. If there are lots of broken monsters like Yata, Magical Scientist, and the like, these cards are extremely overpowered and should be banned without question. If almost every broken card in the game is banned, these cards become extremely skill-based floaters.

They also both detract and help theme continuity. You can dig out almost any card for your theme you want, but Witch will also be a staple for every deck. However, after my proposed series of ban lists, the best monster you’ll be able to search from Witch will be one copy of Spirit Reaper, or a tribute monster. This makes the card quite balanced. It also adds a lot more skill to Torrential Tribute and Dark Hole. We’ll get back to Witch later.

Unban Monster Reborn: This is a one for one trade. It rewards decks that run lots of tributes (which it should). After all, tribute based decks suffer from worse draws and are generally inferior to non-tribute based decks. There’s almost no consistent reason for leaving this card on the ban list. Think about it. It’s a one for one trade. Sure you can overextend to deal lots of life point damage, but Dark Hole, Cyber Jar, Torrential Tribute, and Mirror Force should have something to say.

Unban Tribe-Infecting Virus: With the banning of Sinister Serpent, this card should have never been banned in the first place.

            Now that I’ve listed what cards should return to the restricted list, why not discuss bannable (or at the very least restrictable) cards?

Ban Morphing Jar: This card can create a 9 versus 5 situation, easily.

Ban Cyber Dragon: I wrote an article about Archfiends for Metagame. This deck single-handedly kills their viability. It also kills the Beast archetype, the Zombie control archetype, the Light based deck archetype (which could otherwise use Roulette Barrel and Airknight Parshath), the Earth archetype (Gorillas), the Spellcaster archetype (Skilled Dark Magician), and so on and so forth.

The general rule of thumb is that a tribute monster should never be restricted. We saw this through Vampire Lord. The one exception is if it single-handedly destroys a theme. The only two cards that can claim this are Jinzo and Cyber Dragon. It should be banned or restricted.

Ban Breaker the Magical Warrior: I’m sorry, but this card is splashable and overpowered.

Ban Injection Fairy Lily: This card has been banned before because it’s the strongest monster in the game (attack value wise). In a format without as many defensive walls, this just might be a natural precaution. If you want to say “zomg Jae’s list is retarded, nobody plays Lily”, you’re taking this one out of context. This would only be banned if the rest of the restricted list was implemented. And it has been banned before.

Ban Nobleman of Crossout: The defense position mechanic ensures an exchange of passivity for safety. You cannot be aggressive in the turn you set a monster, but you should be safe. There are plenty of ways to destroy face-down monsters without requiring an uncosted one.

Ban Confiscation: This is one of the best cards in the format. It should always be side-decked period. I would advocate banning it. I guarantee it’s as good as advertised and that I’m not overrating it. Make a match between Matt Peddle and any player in the world. The very best will go 50/50 with him or 40/60.

Give Matt Confiscation every opening hand going first. He will win 85% of his games, minimum. And because you always have the option of going first in a duel at least once (if you lose one game), you’ll always have the chance to side-deck into a Confiscation. There is NO EXCUSE not to do this.

In fact, Confiscation is the best side-deck card in the game. It’s the only card that cuts all alternate win condition decks in half. To those who don’t understand its power, you probably never will.

Ban Winged Kuriboh and the Unhappy Maiden: These two battle-phase negators are completely overpowered. Any time a card lets you completely skip a game mechanic (in this case, the battle phase), you’re dealing with stuff printed that is almost unfathomably broken. The last few ban lists made a most terrible mistake of ignoring this unholy duo, but I’m sure it will be fixed.

Restrict Chaos Sorcerer: This card is very powerful and should merit restriction. It creates the same two for one trade that BLS can make, but it’s a lot more situational. It requires a face-up monster to remove, and can be destroyed in battle by other tribute monsters (or even normal summoned monsters).

Restrict Reinforcement of the Army: This card needs to be restricted, period.

Restrict Gravekeeper’s Spy: This card was never intended to fetch out other copies of Spies. It was intended to bring out a 2000 attack Spear Soldier or Assailant. Restricting this card would not hurt Gravekeeper’s much, seeing as how Assailant is their kill card. What it would do is limit the ridiculous splashing of this card in every competitive deck in the tournament scene. It would also undercut the power of Soul Control in the new format I propose, which is needed.

Restrict Spirit Reaper: The reasons for this are self-explanatory. You can almost draw a parallel between this card and Yata-Garasu (it’s about 75% as disruptive and powerful). It should be banned or restricted.

Restrict Royal Decree: This card is a bit too powerful. Automatic 1 for 0.

That just about does the changes to the restricted list. Now let’s talk about the current choices on the forbidden list and discuss what should happen. At this point, you can read this two ways. I will write about the glum reality of the situation (The point of this article), and the cohesive unity of my grand dream (which was alluded to in Champions of Yu-Gi-Oh!) Ignore the grand dream of restricting every unthemed piece of drivel in the game right now. That will likely never happen. Instead, let’s focus on the glum reality of the situation.

Unrestrict Book of Moon: In the grand dream, where sets would be chock-full of good themed support and such, this card would be restricted. Unfortunately, sets release 80% garbage and lots of great themed decks are not entirely workable.

Within the glum reality of a themeless environment, Book of Moon has no reason to be banned whatsoever. It is a 1 for 0 trade that has the potential to combo for a 1 for 1 trade. No more, no less. There are rare cases where it can create a two for one, but this card should be unrestricted, period.

Unrestrict D.D Warrior Lady: This card is overrated. There is no conceivable monster in the game it can destroy that does not entail a 1 for 1 trade. Yes, this card is ALWAYS a 1 for 1 trade, no matter what.

Now if D.D/Return decks get too dominant, you can semi-restrict or restrict this card. But Chaos is now dead, and this card is not overly powerful in the least.

Unrestrict Exiled Force: This card is always a one for one trade. If the player wants to be foolish enough to waste a normal summon each turn on a piece of monster removal, let them do it.

Unrestrict or Semi-Restrict Night Assailant: This card is always a one for one trade (unless multiples are discarded via Card Destruction). It also requires a flip effect in the graveyard, requiring a coherent theme.

Unrestrict or Semi-Restrict Reckless Greed: If players want to run multiple copies in the hopes of juggling more than one at a time as a win condition, by all means go for it.

Unrestrict Reflect Bounder: If players want to use situational life point loss as a deck theme, let them go for it.

Semi-restrict Scapegoat: This card should have never been restricted. If Morph and Tsuku are down to one copy each, this card should not be considered overpowered. It was never overpowered in the first place. It’s a net 1 for 0, in the sense that you only get tokens. You can use tokens for cards like Morph, but the card should not be restricted because it cuts the value of Monster Gate decks, Share the Pain decks, and others.

It also creates overextensions on the field that can be punished by board locks, Dark Holes, and Torrential Tributes. With the main win conditions of Soldier pushes gone, there’s no need to leave this card on the restricted or even semi-restricted list.

Unrestrict Twin-Headed Behemoth: I was told the only reason this card is restricted is that it’s impossible to tell which ones have used their effect after a Fiber Jar flip. That’s a ridiculous reason. If players want to create a theme of tributes, or of floaters pushing through for damage, by all means let them.

Restrict Smashing Ground and Sakuretsu Armor: This is more of a judgement call, but Widespread Ruin and Fissure have drawbacks. Versions of cards with drawbacks that have absolutely none should not be allowed to stick.

Restrict Soul Exchange after the first few Shonen Jumps if it’s too powerful.

Let’s take a look at the decks which can actually win under this new format.

Zombie Control with Vampire Lord as the win condition: The removal of Spy and Cyber Dragon make this a top tier deck. Zombies are still solid in this current format, but not as much.

Night Assailant Control with Tribe, Vortex, Wing Blasts, etc: The return of Witch makes Thunder Dragon fetchable. All of the key kill cards can be used without unbalancing the game.

Warrior Toolbox: The return of Witch makes up for the loss of Rota. This deck still assumes prominence against a Scapegoat meta, because all effect monsters can be done away with by D.D Survivor, D.D Warrior Lady, and Mystic Swordsman LV 2.

Airknight Based Draw Engine Decks: Monster Reborn makes this deck a threat, but its effectiveness is tempered by the 3 copies of Smashing Ground, Widespread/Bottomless, and Sakuretsu that everyone is running. In addition, Mobius can wreck it as well.

Dark Control with Newdoria, Don Zaloog, and Mystic Tomato: Tomato will fetch out Witch or Sangan.

Flip Effect Chaos Control: This still works in the new format, but with less effectiveness because of the loss of cards like Sakuretsu Armor and the proliferation of Exiled Force and such.

MPT: This deck still works, but Chaos Sorcerer’s restriction and the lack of solid spell or trap defenses at all time make Tsuku locks more unlikely. The deck will require beat-down support from other sources.

Beasts: Playing upon the weakness of Scapegoat based decks, Beasts should become top tier, or relatively close.

Demise/Ritual: In the current Reaper filled format, this deck is very difficult to play properly. Throw in another copy of Scapegoat and restrict Reaper, however, and the deck WILL become top tier.

Freed the Brave Wanderer/Light Deck: The ability to fetch Thunder Dragon, coupled with Roulette Barrel’s return to respectability, mixed with Blade Knight’s newfound power again makes this deck a very strong archetype.

Soul Control: This deck remains top tier. With Scapegoat protecting the life points, however, Mobius loses quite a bit of power. Spies are gone, Reapers are gone, so Soul Control will revert to the Vargas variant of Scapegoats. A quick push, however, can still rain on its parade.

Floater Based Beatdown: Three copies of the Behemoth, Witch, Sangan, Peten the Dark Clown, Robbin Goblin, and such would make a flavorful combination. However, the restriction of Smashing Ground would make it difficult to ensure pushes, since Scapegoat effectively counters Scapegoat. This sounds so balanced!

Burn, Strike Ninja, and all the other decks that won before this new list!

This is just a rough sampling of decks that all have the chance to be top tier with the simple removal of a few broken cards. Specifically Spirit Reaper, Gravekeeper’s Spy, and Cyber Dragon.

I’ll be back with the grand unified dream of Yu-Gi-Oh, if I ruled the world (imagine that).

Forbidden:

Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning- 1 for 0 trade

Imperial Order- 1 for 0

Yata-Garasu- 1 for 0 trade

Butterfly Dagger – Elma- OTK

Magical Scientist- OTK

Makyura the Destructor- OTK

Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End- Ridiculous

Mirage of Nightmare- Ridiculous

Sinister Serpent- Ridiculous

Fiber Jar- Ridiculous

Graceful Charity- Easy 1.25 for 1

Painful Choice- Easy 1.25 for 1

Ring of Destruction- Easy 1.25 for 1

The Forceful Sentry- Easy 1.25 for 1

Delinquent Duo- 2 for 1

Harpie's Feather Duster- 2 for 1

Pot of Greed- 2 for 1

Raigeki- 2 for 1

New: Breaker the Magical Warrior- 1 for 0, Confiscation- Easy 1.25 for 1, Cyber Dragon- 1 for 0, Injection Fairy Lily- 1 for 0, Morphing Jar- ridiculous, Nobleman of Crossout- Easy 1.25 for 1, The Unhappy Maiden- Ridiculous, Winged Kuriboh- Ridiculous.

Limited:

Book of Taiyou

Call of the Haunted

Card Destruction

Ceasefire

Change of Heart

Chaos Sorcerer

Cyber Jar

Dark Hole

Dark Magician of Chaos

Exchange of the Spirit (Available at Shonen Jump's Elemental Energy Sneak Preview!)

Exodia the Forbidden One

Gravekeeper’s Spy

Heavy Storm

Jinzo

Left Arm of the Forbidden One

Left Leg of the Forbidden One

Lightning Vortex

Mage Power

Magic Cylinder

Magician of Faith

Metamorphosis

Mirror Force

Monster Reborn

Mystical Space Typhoon

Pot of Avarice

Premature Burial

Protector of the Sanctuary

Reinforcement of the Army

Right Arm of the Forbidden One

Right Leg of the Forbidden One

Royal Decree

Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys

Sakuretsu Armor

Sangan

Smashing Ground

Snatch Steal

Spirit Reaper

Swords of Revealing Light

Thousand-Eyes Restrict

Torrential Tribute

Treeborn Frog

Tribe-Infecting Virus

Tsukuyomi

United We Stand

Witch of the Black Forest

New: Change of Heart, Chaos Sorcerer, Gravekeeper’s Spy, Mirror Force, Monster Reborn, Pot of Avarice, Reinforcement of the Army, Royal Decree, Sakuretsu Armor, Smashing Ground, Spirit Reaper, Treeborn Frog, Tribe-Infecting Virus, Witch of the Black Forest

Semi-Limited:

Abyss Soldier

Creature Swap

Deck Devastation Virus

Emergency Provisions

Good Goblin Housekeeping

Gravity Bind

Last Turn

Level Limit - Area B

Limiter Removal

Manticore of Darkness

Upstart Goblin

New: Deck Devastation Virus, Limiter Removal