DeathJester's Dojo
Time for the Next Ban List:
What’s In and What’s Out? 
Bryan Camareno a.k.a. DeathJester
July 11, 2005 

You know…my original draft for this article consisted of ranting and raving about how horrible the format is combined with a bit of whining about each of my card selections. But instead, here I am…re-writing this entire article at exactly 4:28 A.M. today. I figured you guys, the readers, wouldn’t appreciate the rest of the ranting and whining plaguing the forums as of late. From now until the end of this article I’ll be giving you an educated analysis of what I think could and should be Banned, Restricted, or Semi-Restricted.  

I’ll do my best to give you explanations, in an extreme amount of detail, why each of my selections should be considered for implementation by Konami/UDE. I know they read these articles…for proof check netrep.net. If you look at their website for an article about “Card Advantage” you’ll see a link to my previous article on “Card Advantage.” I’m positive that Konami/UDE is paying attention to what the big names and little guys are saying about the game. This article is being written in attempts to fix this format and turn into a format of skillful decision making and deck archetype equality.  

Can you say…”Banned?” 

Pot of Greed – Pot of Greed has been a mainstay form of draw power since the game began. We’ve all been victim to the miraculous, game-saving draw of Pot of Greed when our opponents really need it. It has been an “out” for many a player, but unfortunately the game has come to a point where knowledge of “Card Advantage” is becoming increasingly important. Pot of Greed provides a near overwhelming amount of “Card Advantage” (+2 cards to be numerically exact). It’s true that we need “outs” or solutions to any of our distressing game situations, but they should not be so easy to utilize and so advantageous to the point where the opposing players can comeback from a near-loss situation with impunity. I would say that Mirage of Nightmare and Airknight Parshath are balanced forms of re-establishing “Card Advantage” from a losing situation. I’m not saying that there can’t be super advantageous cards in the game…let’s just make sure they actually have a balanced cost to go with the advantage.    

Delinquent Duo – My sentiments about this card are being shouted world-wide: “This card returning to the format was a mistake.” Paying a mere 1000 Life Points to bring a player down to 3 cards before he/she can even draw is extremely unfair. Sinister Serpent and Night Assailant can save you from this card’s wrath, but often none of us are that fortunate. Confiscation is a MUCH better choice for the format. 1000 Life Points for 1 card instead of 2 is much better for everyone. Though Confiscation has the added bonus of giving the user a heads-up on the opponent’s plan, the advantage count is a bit more balanced (+1 to be exact).  

Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning – In my opinion, BLS should have been banned in the last format. BLS is often ignored as a threat because of the hefty amount of removal present in the game. The misconception is that most players assume that BLS functions exactly like any other monster, in fact, he does not function like any ordinary monsters. There are few monsters that can remove a monster from play before it gets dealt with. Few monsters can actually deal over 3000 damage in one turn. BLS has defined this format as well as the previous one. Variety is a scarce thing in this format, and many players are starving for equality in the game. BLS’s popularity is obviously portrayed by the Top 8 deck-lists from the 2005 YuGiOh National Championship. There was a copy of BLS in every single Top 8 deck. The Shonen Jump Championships are dominated by Chaos decks with 7 of the decks being Chaos decks and the random original deck in the Top 8 of these events. There’s something wrong with the game when every deck is only 5 cards different from the other. This is a SERIOUS problem and it must be rectified correctly.  

The New Restricted List

Mirage of Nightmare – Mirage is quite possibly the best card-cycler/card-drawer in the entire game of YuGiOh. It has disadvantages and advantages. If Mirage resolves its effect completely, you are losing resources. If you were fortunate enough to destroy the Mirage before it resolves, then you get to keep your cards and begin with a fresh hand. Even when you prevent Mirage from resolving correctly you are still losing resources. You lose one card on the field (Mirage) and you lose a card from your hand (MST, Emergency Provisions). If Konami/UDE attempts to create a more balanced game, Mirage is a sound choice for re-entry into the format.  

Confiscation – This card is a balanced form of Delinquent Duo. It’s a 1 for 1 trade-off with the added ability of looking at the opponent’s hand. The card chosen gets discarded to the Graveyard. This card places the selected card in a place where the opponent has a chance to get it back. The Forceful Sentry places the opponent’s card in a place where the card is hard to retrieve. Confiscation makes it fair for you and your opponent. Balance is the trend here.

Scapegoat – Though we have only recently seen this card explode in popularity in the TCG metagame, we can all attest to how annoying and game-saving this card can be. Working off of a +4 card advantage over your opponent is extremely easy with Metamorphosis, Creature Swap, and Enemy Controller. Alone these tokens do nothing but stall; combined with the aforementioned cards they can produce some devastating results for any opponent. Stalling for 2 or more turns can lead to boring games and easy recovery. Restricting this card to one copy can save everyone a world of trouble and will keep the Goat Control deck down. Sometimes changing a format requires that some decks be “hosed” in order to keep them from becoming TOO strong.   

Witch of the Black Forest – Search is an important mechanic in any game, this one especially. With the lack of quality cards being released in newer sets, plus the lack of search, we should at least be able to search the quality cards we DO have right? When a game has search abilities, the game thus requires more skill and careful thought. Choosing the wrong card with a search effect can cost you the game. We need this kind of decision-making to be more prevalent in the game.  

Magician of Faith – With the amount of powerful spells still in the format after banning Pot and Delinquent, she needs to be restricted. If Change of Heart stays on the Ban List then Magician of Faith must be restricted. Even with the amount of face-down hate we have in the format, it’s not uncommon to see a Magician of Faith go off easily. There’s a thing called ‘protection’. Did your opponent use Crossout? Chain with Magic Drain, Magic Jammer, Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell, or even Desert Sunlight to ensure Magician’s success. A player can even protect Faith from any attacks or force-flipping. Did your opponent play Ceasefire? Chain with Royal Decree or Jinzo. Did your opponent attack with Mystic Swordsman LV2? Respond with Mirror Force, Magic Cylinder, Sakuretsu Armor, Widespread Ruin, Ring of Destruction, Book of Moon, or Enemy Controller. Magician of Faith is a serious threat, be warned. 

Magical Scientist – Magical Scientist is a MUCH needed card in the next format. This card is ONLY broken because of it’s synergy with Catapult Turtle. If the Catapult Turtle is banned, you’ll have a well balanced format in which Scientist can thrive in. Scientist is one of the most balanced cards in the game, in my opinion. Not only does this card have a 1000 LP cost attached to it for each consecutive Special Summon, but the Fusions only last one turn. On top of that, Magical Scientist is only 300 ATK! That in itself is a MAJOR liability. “Swiss Army Knifes” like Scientist is great for all decks; it forces a player to make complex decisions and gives ANY deck much needed options. 

Painful Choice – This card was banned solely to keep BLS from becoming too powerful. I believe that this card will make a triumphant return as a STRONG utility card. If the game is going to be balanced with costs and complex decision making cards, then we will need someway to eliminate bad draws that are so common with cards that have significant costs. Deck-thinning is another mechanic that should be strengthened as well as Graveyard power. The Graveyard is a dangerous place, but making it even more dangerous allows for more careful thought and skilled plays. There are many forms of Graveyard retrieval that aren’t used enough in certain decks. Take The Warrior Returning Alive as an example.   

Semi-Restriction

 D.D. Warrior Lady – I believe that this card should make a valiant return to the format. The removal will be greatly appreciated when Warrior, Zombie, Beatdown, and Control decks begin to reign in the next format. Having an extra D.D. Warrior Lady will not hurt as much since we have D.D. Survivor to keep the D.D. Family at bay. When D.D. Warrior is released in the U.S., D.D. Survivor will become a staple Main Deck or Side Deck card.  

The Cards Have Been Chosen 

These card selections can and will change the format if Konami/UDE chooses to implement them. These selections will also give decks like Tsukuyomi Lock, Burn/Stall, Mill, Hand Control, Warriors, Zombies, Control, and Beatdown a chance to shine. Having multiples deck archetypes on an equal standing gives the tournament player a decision to make on what to play. Having 8 reigning decks is much better than having only 1 deck that reigns supreme. The greatest advantage to multiple dominant deck archetypes is variety. A player will then have to carefully consider what cards the Side Deck against certain decks. Also, this gives the player a lot of decks to test-play against in order to find an optimum build for a deck. Variety, in turn, will cause decks of the same archetype to be built different and thus the game will achieve what all duelists hope for: Variation and a highly-challenging and level playing field.  

What about the Younger Player Base? 

My suggestion for this player base is the have separate tournaments for this age-group. There could be a 16 and under division in which players of this age-group can either choose to compete solely within this tournament structure, or compete with the older, more experienced players. There can be major tournaments for this age-group as well as a worthwhile prize structure. Also, if Konami/UDE does allow cash to be given out at tournaments…Konami/UDE could offer scholarships to the 16 and under division and cash prizes for the older players. There are TONS of 16 and under players; take advantage of this!  What about the Traditional Format?

The Traditional Format is a format that is often looked down upon because of the cards involved. However, there are MANY players that love this format and continue to play it despite its lack of support by Konami/UDE. As an idea, there could be major events for this format as well. That leaves us with major tournaments for each format. Think about it…A Shonen Jump Championship for each format, each month. Not only will this increase the popularity of the game, but it will make everyone happier. It will give every player something to strive for. Why restrict this game to one format? Everyone has different tastes in this game…why not cater to the rest of the players who will opt to play another format if it is worth the effort? Think about it Konami/UDE.  

A Final Word…

 The last issue I would like to address about this game is the lack of quality cards released in new set expansions. It does not make any sense to print sets that only feature one or two quality cards and have the rest of the set consist of “fillers.” This is evident in the recent “Lost Millenium” expansion. If a set contains a total of 64 cards and only 2 of them were of real quality, players will lose interest and spend less money on booster packs and merchandise (Plainly obvious, as it is what is happening now). Sometimes there are semi-quality cards created for specific deck archetypes, but they are often discarded for other solid choices. When this happens, this keeps under-appreciated deck types in the lower tiers.  

However, if upcoming sets feature 60 of those cards as solid and quality cards, then we will have a large amount of player satisfaction and variation. Lower tier deck types might actually have a chance to compete. This does require a lot more work on Konami/UDE’s part, but on the other hand...featuring many quality cards gives the game designers time to create even more quality cards, since the previous expansion is still being “digested” by the players. This will keep the game interesting as well as keep it a challenge for experienced players and novice players alike. The success of this game relies HEAVILY on the satisfaction of the players. If Konami/UDE can listen to our wise words and “fix” this game, then YuGiOh will become a great card game legend like Magic: The Gathering; if not even greater than Magic.

That’s it for me everyone. Until next time…remember to stay focused, be patient, and most importantly…have fun! 

If you’re a pro, new comer, collector, or even if you work for Konami or UDE, drop me an email at: deathjester86@gmail.com. I’ll be glad to talk to you!