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RikotheFoxKid on Yu-Gi-Oh!
April 2015 Forbidden/Limited List Review
It’s been a little over a week since the April 2015
Forbidden/Limited List was announced. Traditionally in the
past I have always done my review of the list (whether
through a video on YouTube or an article on Pojo)
immediately after its announcement. However, this time
around I decided to wait for two reasons:
1) Pojo was on vacation so even if I had written this last
week you’d only be getting it now.
2) This gave me time to digest the list and see if my
opinions on some of the cards changed (and they did).
I was extremely disappointed with the January 2015 List, so
let’s see if this one is any better.
But first:
A QUICK RECAP OF THE FORMAT:
I shall attempt to summarize the January format (“attempt”
mainly because I didn’t actually play in this format aside
from one small tournament; wasn’t the biggest fan of the
metagame at this time, and therefore spent most of my time
playing Super Smash
Bros. instead).
The January format began as pretty much a continuation of
the post-NECH October format: Burning Abyss was at the top,
Qliphort was right behind it, and Shaddoll was hanging on
for dear life. This remained the same after the list
changed.
Secrets of Eternity
did little to change this, and in fact only succeeded in
making the game even faster: With access to even more
Malebranches, Burning Abyss was able to go Trapless (outside
of 2 to 3 Fire Lakes), and the addition of Qliphort Stealth
and the innovation of cards like Storm allowed Qliphort to
follow suit. Shaddoll got shafted again through this; the
only new support cards were a subpar Fusion Spell and an
outright awful Fusion monster, and the smaller backrow made
Denko Sekka a poor choice. Satellarknight got a boost
through Diamond and began to make some showings, and
HERO Strike
introduced Masked HERO Dark Law to the game. Overall things
looked generally the same with some minor changes.
Then everything changed when the
The Secret Forces
brought three new Decks to the table; Yosenju, Ritual Beast,
and Nekroz. Nekroz quickly took off and succeeded in
completely dominating the entire metagame, just barely
missing the 65% representation needed to be considered Tier
0. In the meantime, Burning Abyss vanished almost as quickly
as it came, being unable to keep up with Nekroz without
reverting back to its original defensive strategy. Qliphort
maintained its spot at #2 by returning to the floodgate
strategy it implemented on release. Satellarknight pretty
much stayed where it was, and Shaddoll ceased to exist; its
strategy was completely hard countered by Nekroz, and they
couldn’t fix it without severely hampering their (already
bad) Qliphort matchup. Of the other two new Decks, Yosenju
quickly carved itself as an anti-meta Deck, while Ritual
Beast flew under the radar, making a couple of showings at
events.
The very end of the format saw the release of
Premium Gold 2;
this set most notably brought rise to Dark Matter Dragon
Ruler, which was getting a significant amount of hype.
And with that, let’s get into the banlist proper:
NEWLY FORBIDDEN:
Blaster, Redox, Tempest, and Tidal:
And then all of that hype died. This change was also adopted
by the OCG (in which Dark Matter Ruler was already making a
large impact), and the fact that Konami went the extra mile
to take the Deck down before it even reached the TCG really
says something. Dark Matter Ruler was legal in the TCG for
eleven days;
that’s some Airblade level craziness.
That being said, the Dragon Rulers are four of the most
powerful monsters in the game’s history, and it took the
immense amount of power creep from
Duelist Alliance
to finally push them into obscurity after being around since
their introduction in 2013. They really limited what future
support for Dragons could do, as they were always under
threat of becoming powerful again; the release of Dragon
Shrine, Soul Charge, the new Lightsworn cards, and Dark
Matter Dragon all showed this, and even further down the
line, the new Red-Eyes support would’ve emphasized this
further. Cards that hamper future design like that are a
major red flag, and banning these guys was a step in the
right direction.
That being said, the Rulers are four of my favorite cards in
the game’s history. They added an interesting dimension to
the game, and their banning marks the end of an era that
started all the way back in May 2013. Despite this, they
really did need to be banned; it was only a matter of time
before something broke them again.
Snatch Steal:
I think Konami realized that they screwed up with this one.
I predicted that Snatch Steal would not be healthy, and I
was right; the card straight up won games during the three
months where it was legal. It fell to the wayside when
Nekroz took over, but that doesn’t change the fact that the
card is stupid and should never be legal.
NEWLY LIMITED:
Sinister Serpent, Temple of the Kings, and Exchange of the
Spirit:
These are three of the five cards that received erratas that
allowed them to be unbanned. All three of them are no longer
anywhere near useful with their new text, and therefore will
likely make zero impact on the game.
Tour Guide From the Underworld:
This was the hit that I expected to happen to Burning Abyss,
because it’s an indirect but still significant one. Burning
Abyss is still very playable without three Tour Guides, but
in a Nekroz format it becomes a lot tougher; Burning Abyss
has to play defensive right now, which conflicts with their
strategy of being aggressive at the expense of no backrow.
Tour Guide alleviated this, but now she can’t reliably do
that anymore. The introduction of Libic allows Mathematician
to somewhat fill the role of a pseudo-Tour Guide, but it
will take a card out of your hand to summon instead of the
one-card investment of Tour Guide.
Dragon Ravine:
This could go to 3 without the Rulers. Lord knows Dragunity
could use the boost.
Preparation of Rites:
This was the most unfair card in Nekroz because it was a
free +1 at almost any given point in time and didn’t waste a
Normal Summon. Losing two copies of this card isn’t enough
to knock the Deck off of the top, but it is still
significant; Nekroz has to be a lot more conservative with
their resources or they run the risk of burning out early.
Hitting Preparation of the Rites also doubles as a
preemptive hit of any potential future Ritual Decks that
could become a problem.
Saqlifice:
I have always firmly believed that this was the sole problem
in Qliphort (not counting the two floodgates). The card
simply did too much, between protecting their monsters as
well as floating when it went to the Graveyard. Losing this
card also means Qliphort loses access to Storm, one of their
biggest blowout cards.
Symbol of Heritage:
I’m surprised how many people I’ve seen wondering why this
card was hit; if you look at when the OCG made this change a
few months back, it’s obvious to tell that it was done
because Lonefire Blossom was put to 3 (which I’ll be
covering later). That being said, Symbol isn’t something I
would exactly call a healthy card; every time it’s been
relevant has been through some insane loop. Lonefire isn’t
the only card that’s had to be hit for it either; Dewloren
was initially Semi-Limited because of it. Much like the
Rulers, Symbol restricts what you can do with future cards
that interact with themselves, so it’s better to hit it now;
any card that gets stronger with every new release is bound
to get hit eventually (e.g. The Rulers, Rescue Cat, Future
Fusion, etc.). Does Symbol need to be banned? Not
necessarily, but the Limit was a good move.
Crush Card Virus:
If you had asked me last week my opinion on this card, I
would have said that it’s still pretty good, but a lot
weaker and harder to use. If you ask me now, I will tell you
that this card is still broken. The card is a shell of its
former self, no doubt about it, but being able to look at
your opponent’s hand and wipe out
every single one
of their stronger monsters is insane; the inability to deal
damage hardly makes up for the sheer amount of advantage you
gain. The card is very matchup dependent now; it is almost
entirely useless against the likes of Burning Abyss and
Shaddoll, but is an absolute blowout against Nekroz,
Qliphort, and Satellarknight. That being said, situationally
broken is still broken, and this card will straight up win
you games. What’s best is that any Deck that can make a Rank
4 can use Crush Card thanks to Rhapsody in Berserk. I’m
beginning to have doubts that getting Crush Card back, even
in a weakened state, was a healthy move, but I’ll let it
play out.
Ring of Destruction:
This is the last of the cards to be errata’d, and I think it
received the best one. The new version of Ring of
Destruction takes away everything that made the card unfair
but still left it playable. Given the state of backrow in
the TCG, a versatile, chainable, 1-for-1 is a welcome
addition.
Skill Drain and Vanity’s Emptiness:
These were more or less hits to Qliphort, but the two cards
are also simply two of the most powerful floodgates in the
game’s history. Both of these going down means you no longer
have to worry about strengthening your Nekroz matchup at the
expense of your Qliphort matchup. Ironically though, the
hits to Qliphort mean that Vanity’s Emptiness will probably
see a rise in use, but hey, maybe that means we’ll see it
get banned next.
NEWLY SEMI-LIMITED:
Qliphort Scout:
This was surprisingly the tamest hit that Qliphort got, but
it still is a meaningful one; a double MST is enough to
significantly ruin the Deck’s day now. On a side note, Scout
is only the fifth Normal monster to be hit in the history of
the game (the other four being the limbs of Exodia).
Nekroz of Brionac:
Nekroz has to be more conservative now, and Shurit loses a
card to search out, but really this is no more than a slap
on the wrist.
Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En:
Irrelevant. Sams are still bad.
Charge of the Light Brigade:
It is really sad to think that the
only thing
Lightsworn is missing to be at full power is a third copy of
this card, and the Deck is nowhere near relevant. That being
said, the Deck is still really sacky and will steal a couple
of games, especially with the consistency boost it gets
through Charge, but their time has certainly passed. Charge
coming up is a big boost to Decks that utilize the
Lightsworn engine, such as Infernoid and Chaos Dragon,
however.
Sacred Sword of Seven Stars:
Without the Rulers, this card can go to 3.
NEWLY UNLIMITED:
Burner, Lightning, Reactan, and Stream:
These cards are all useless without the big Dragon Rulers,
so this was expected.
Brotherhood of the Fire Fist – Spirit:
This coincides with the OCG’s unlimiting of Rooster. 3-Axis
Fire Fist never had its chance to shine in the TCG, and it
probably won’t get it now, but it’ll be interesting to see
if the Deck makes any showings at events. Keep in mind that
the last time Fire Fist was at full power in the OCG it was
keeping up with full power Mermail, so it’s certainly a
possibility.
Gladiator Beast Bestiari:
I’m surprised they actually did it. Glads still suck though.
Gorz the Emissary of Darkness:
My only gripe with Gorz moving to 3 is that Tragoedia is
still at 2. Like, seriously, Gorz is way better.
Lonefire Blossom:
The only thing that kept this card at 2 was Symbol of
Heritage. I have doubts that even then it would’ve been a
problem, but now with Heritage at 1 there’s absolutely
nothing wrong with this card at three.
Goyo Guardian and Hieratic Seal of Convocation:
These are both irrelevant. It’s kind of ironic to say that
about Goyo Guardian though.
HOW DOES THIS AFFECT THE META?
By the end of the January format, I would say there were
seven “viable” Decks (by that I mean you could take them to
a regional and probably do well): Nekroz, Qliphort, Burning
Abyss, Satellarknight, Shaddoll, Yosenju, Ritual Beast. I’ll
now go over how I think this list affects each of them, as
well as one other Deck that’s getting some attention now:
Nekroz:
The hits the Deck received are noticeable, but extremely
minor. Nekroz is still by far the best Deck, and is actually
probably better off now with its main threat, Qliphort,
likely falling to the wayside. Will it be Tier 0? I’m not
sure. But what I am sure on is that Nekroz is once again the
Deck to beat this format.
Qliphort:
This Deck is probably going to fall off. Losing Skill Drain
and Vanity hurt, but losing Saqlifice was the final nail in
the coffin; Qliphort has to play all out aggression now
(which it can’t even do as well without Storm), and in a
Nekroz format that’s not going to get you anywhere.
Burning Abyss:
The loss of Tour Guide is a big deal because it harms the
Deck’s strategy in dealing against Nekroz. You’ll probably
still see it make showings, but I don’t expect it to make a
large impact.
Satellarknight:
This Deck was unchanged from the list, but it’ll be getting
a boost soon thanks to
World Superstars.
The release of the Star Seraphs in that set will give
Satellarknight a lot more options to work with, although
with triple Soul Charge and Shock Master, it’s uncertain as
to how big of an impact this will be. Still, this is a Deck
to look out for.
Shaddoll:
Despite receiving no direct changes, Shaddoll probably
received the biggest buff from this list due the changes
that occurred to everything around it. Nekroz has become a
more manageable matchup, and with Qliphort (their worst
matchup) being out of the picture, that gives the Deck the
ability to better suit itself for Nekroz Decks. Shekhinaga
is a huge thorn in that Deck’s side, especially when backed
up by a card like Effect Veiler, Book of Moon, or Ring of
Destruction to deal with Unicore. To make things better,
next to Burning Abyss, Shaddoll has the easiest time
resolving Crush Card Virus due to how easy it is getting
Falco onto the field, giving it
another strong
card for the Nekroz matchup. The Star Seraphs in
World Superstars
also give the Deck a strong LIGHT engine (though I have
doubts on whether or not they fit into this metagame), and
in May the Deck will be receiving its WATER Fusion, giving
it another strong answer to the Nekroz matchup. Shaddoll is
not a Deck to sleep on anymore; it is very likely to make a
large comeback under this list, and may even take the #2
spot behind Nekroz.
Yosenju:
The loss of two Vanity’s Emptiness is a significant one, and
cuts down the number of floodgates the Deck can run from
five to three (1 Vanity, 1 Macro, 1 D. Fissure). That being
said, the Deck will still probably make one or two
appearances, stealing games from Decks that lose to these
three cards.
Ritual Beast:
Much like Shaddoll, Ritual Beast got a noticeable buff due
to proximity; they have a strong Nekroz matchup (and from
what I’ve heard, a good Shaddoll matchup too), and their one
difficult matchup (Qliphort) was neutered. Unfortunately,
Ritual Beast is still plagued by horrible consistency issues
(which get remedied slightly with the release of
Ulti-Gaiapelio, but that’s still a little ways away), but I
would still expect them to make some more showings this time
around.
Sylvan:
Out of all the rogue Decks in the game, the one getting the
largest amount of hype is by far Sylvan. The Deck never
really had its time in the limelight; it made a breakout
appearance at the North American WCQ thanks to Patrick
Hoban, and then took a few top spots in the following
months, but it completely fell to the wayside (along with
every other Deck at the time) with the release of
Duelist Alliance.
Everything is lining up in the Deck’s favor right now
though; Along with triple Lonefire increasing the Deck’s
consistency and giving it access to Symbol of Heritage,
Premium Gold 2
gives the Deck access to Rose Lover and Rose Paladin, two
cards that boost the archetype even further. Sylvan is able
to very easily get one or two Felgrands, a monster that so
happens to be useful in the Nekroz matchup, out extremely
early, and probably makes the best use of Soul Charge,
pretty much autowinning if drawn with Lonefire Blossom. The
Deck has access to loads of draw power between Sylvan
Charity and Upstart Goblin (and you can even experiment with
cards like Trade-In and Sacred Sword of Seven Stars),
increasing its chances of an early blowout, and can also use
Super Solar Nutrient to get Lonefire out faster. Sylvan has
a lot of tools at its disposal, and can easily become a
sleeper hit of the format.
Dark Matter Ruler:
LOL, I feel legitimately bad for anyone that invested in
this Deck. RIP in peace.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
In contrast to my reaction of the January list, I feel like
this banlist made several steps in the
right direction.
Even though Nekroz has gotten better with Qliphort out of
the picture, Decks that were able to retool themselves for
the Nekroz match, but lost to Qliphort, now have a lot more
breathing room, and no longer have to fear completely
throwing away a game to a Deck that it couldn’t properly
prepare for. Something like that creates a more enjoyable
game, and in my opinion, the paradox that was created by
Qliphort’s existence was quite frankly ruining the fun I had
playing, so I am certainly glad it’s gone.
While the January list succeeded in killing my enthusiasm
for the game, the April list singlehandedly succeeded in
revitalizing my interest in it. Combined with my inability
to play Super Smash
Bros. competitively thanks to my class schedule
prohibiting it, I will probably start taking this game more
seriously again.
That’s all for now. I hope you all enjoyed this banlist as
much as I did.
~Riko
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