Howdy, folks. I just thought I'd stop by and give my two cents on a matter I thought I'd comment on.
It's been a good while since the Forbidden List (or, as we call it, the 'banlist') came into effect in the game.
At first, we absolutely hated it for taking away several of our favorite cards (Raigeki, Harpie's Feather Duster and Chaos Emperor Dragon, just to name a few.)
Then, people slowly began to realise that, with certain cards now out of the way, they could now go on to build other types of decks that didn't have an Envoy in it. Believe you me, before the banlist, you had two options. You run Chaos, or you -die-. No questions asked. Also, with the Envoys and other assorted cards still in the game, it also severely limited the usefulness of certain cards.....for example, if a monster card wasn't LIGHT or DARK, it wasn't even worth running. Also, before the banlist, there were a lot of One Turn Kills rampant in the game...some of them proving to be quite an irritation to many a duelist (Last Turn and Yata-Garasu, I'm looking at you.)
WARNING: RANT DEAD AHEAD! On a side note, too, the new Forbidden list also got rid of some scrubby whiners. I mean no offense to anybody and
everybody who left the game, of course, but if your reasons for leaving were "WAAAAAH MY CHAOS EMPEROR DRAGON IS GONE AND WITHOUT MY INVINCIBLE CARDS I CAN'T WIN
F**K UPPERDECK UP ITS A$$!!!!" or "I spent so much money on these cards and now any duelist can get them because they're common? Screw this game!", GOOD RIDDANCE. In the first instance, if you left because your precious Chaos monsters are gone and you can't, oh, I don't know....
do like everybody else and build something else for a change, then you need help. Such a mentality is that of a whiny noob who needs a security blanket who just can't adjust like the real duelists in the game who go
"Oh well...." and build something else that'd do just fine. If anything, that's what separates the men from the boys.
And, secondly, I've said it once, and I'll say it again. If you're angry to the point of holding your breath until you turn all shades of
blue because your precious cards that you spent three billion dollars for are either banned or common cannon fodder, all I have to say is
TOUGH NOOGIES FOR YOU. Anybody who's been in the card business long enough knows that rare cards don't necessarily
stay rare for much longer. Eventually, the company is going to decide to make what was once a rich man's game accessible to everybody, so, guess what? Some of those cards you chewed off your left nutsack for are going to be released as a common card, and you'd probably have no say in the matter. But, to those of you who can't stand to see these 'lowly poor people getting cards I busted my a** for!', screw you, all right? They are in the game, just like you, and they have just as much right to get a hold of some cards that could make their decks formidable, just like you. If you can't stand it so much, do what so many
smart people do. Take your cards, sell them off, and earn some CASH. That's right.....as a friend of mine put it, these cards are actually frozen CASH. One pal of mine even bought a
car with the money he got from selling off his cards, and that's to tell you just how much potential for gain these cards have.
Or....if you're just going to sit there and whine about it, then go ahead. You won't gain anything, not even a sliver of my respect, because you insist on not being smart about it. In any case,
that's why there's a Traditional Format put in place so you can still use your precious banned cards, so STOP WHINING!Long story short? Don't like the banlist? Then GET THE F*** OUT.
[/END OF RANT]
So, every six months, the banlist undergoes some changes, depending on how people adjust to the game. Believe it or not, with every several cards that gets banned, there are even more out there that are going to be used as an alternative...and, in some cases, used to a point where it causes sheer advantage. And that's what I'm going to talk about.
You see, I tell a lot of people nowadays that Monarchs are becoming the
new Envoys of the Advanced Format. I'm not kidding here. As my friend had put it once:
"I'm willing to BET that come the next tournament, 90% of those damn decks at that tournament will be Monarch decks!....I'm not going to argue with that there, because it's true.
Monarch decks are becoming overly abused right now. And, even if the deck isn't
entirely Monarched-out, guaranteed, there's at least a Mobius tossed in there somewhere, and guar-an-teed, a Brain Control. Why? Simple. You run those cards, or, basically, you die a melty, screaming death, right there, on the table.
True....there are other decks that can compete against Monarchs.
But, here, in Trinidad, just how many people do you see with a Demise King deck?
Dark World? Yeah, they're broken all right, and their sheer numbers can cause trouble, but I'm seeing less and less of those running around nowadays. The same goes for Zombies, although they're more balanced.
Card Trooper decks are becoming the bee's knees in the States, but many of us can't afford so many of those cards.
So, Monarchs? Nearly everybody has them. And it's causing an Envoy situation once again.
You can't go about your business anymore before being hit a Soul Exchange and having a Monarch (most definitely
will be a Thestalos or a Mobius) shoved right up your butt. Leaving monsters face up is
perfect fodder for one of the three Brain Control cards often seen in a Monarch deck.
So, for your scrutiny, here are some cards that I personally believe should be capped off in some capacity or the other, because of how they're affecting the game:
CARDS THAT SHOULD BE RESTRICTED TO ONE:Brain Control- Almost everybody I've met was absolutely stunned when good old brain sex here escaped being cut down to 1 per deck. Despite the 800 LP cost and only being good on face-ups for one turn, that all becomes moot points because they're going to be offered as a Tribute anyway you take it. And, 85% of the time, a Monarch usually follows. So, 800? A small price to pay for a Mobius, which blasts up to 2 of your opponent's defenses. Or a Thestalos.....a card
and possibly damage? Ye gads! Long story short, I'm going to eat my HAT if Brain Control doesn't get corralled sooner or later. Having it in threes means that leaving a monster face up is a severely risky move. Monarchs take too much advantage of this, especially when used in tandem with Treeborn Frog and this other card......
Soul Exchange- Once dismissed as an awful card because losing a Battle Phase was not really desirable, Soul Exchange has become severely broken now for a simple reason. Monarchs, my boy. Who cares about a Battle Phase when those two face-down cards that could have saved your life are now gone? Or that card you were saving in your hand.....you know....that Snatch Steal or Premature Burial you were saving for just the right moment...right up the point where it gets taken from you and you go, "Well.....F**K!!" On top of that, Soul Exchange is like
death. Unlike Brain Control, it waits for no man. Face-up, face-down, attack, defend, big or small, Soul Exchange casually tosses them away like garbage. So, in exchange for your Battle Phase, you get to kill a monster on your opponent's side of the field, and possibly even churn out a Harpie's Feather Duster on 2 cards, a Spirit Reaper, or a Man Eater Bug effect on another monster. Does that sound like a fair excnhage to you?
Advanced Ritual Art- A lot of people are talking about this card, and for a very good reason- namely, the bastard called "Demise- King of Armageddon". This card does like Emeril Lagasse on a Food Network marathon
(go look it up on Wikipedia) and kicks it up a notch, by eliminating the fact that you need fodder in your hand or on the field to perform a ritual, and basically tells you...
"Well.....just look through your deck and toss what you need."So, you no longer need to wait for the right materials to hit your hand anymore before you unleash the nearest substitute we have to Chaos Emperor Dragon. Advanced Ritual Art makes the cost of paying to bring out a Ritual Monster way too easy. On top of that, it works for -any- ritual, so feel free to toss out for a Zorc as well. Oh, and let's not forget that since both Demise and Zorc are level 8, that's an instant Blue Eyes White Dragon in the graveyard that can get retrieved by Premature Burial, Call of the Haunted or Birthright, right?
I say, let's only make ARA good for one shot. You miss it, tough cookies. With a broken effect like "Kill EVERYTHING for 2000!" running rampant, you should be paying through your
teeth for it. Especially since it causes a OTK situation.
Demise-King of Armageddon You know, even with ARA down to one, there's still End of the World and that other card that summons DARK Rituals. As such, you should make finding "
He who kicketh your opponents in the Holy Stones" just as much of a challenge as the card that made it top-tier to begin with. 2000 LP are virtually a small price to pay when you can blow everything
but Demise to kingdom come, and kill your opponent like a damn
frog.Goldd/Silvaa,Wu Lord of Dark World- Discard them from your hand, summon them. A Morphing Jar can mean as much as FIVE of them can appear from a player's hand at any one time, and God FORBID if he Creature Swapped it to you, because that's an instant 2+ cards gone from your field or your hand, and you can't even chain in response to it. I've said it once, and I'll say it again......anything that you can summon by merely throwing it away AND get the added bonus of an additional effect that can royally screw people over worse than Mobius or Thestalos ever could should be cut down to ONE each. On top of that, 2300 is going to be a chore to kill, especially with Sakuretsu running amuck to stop anything from incoming.
On a side note, no, I don't really care that Dark World's not considered top tier in America and Japan. Doesn't make it any less broken, does it?
Mobius, The Frost Monarch- Ah, but here's a card that is universally considered to be a broken card, anyway you take it. Tributing for this card is way too easy for the awesome effect it carries (which, by the way, is completely optional, but good for one turn only). You currently have Treeborn Frog, 3 Brain Control, 3 Soul Exchange, 1 Snatch Steal and possibly a few Enemy Controllers with some mutton to exchange for your fodder. Even I don't dare run a deck without him included or considered, because I'm of the personal opinion that you need something besides Heavy Storm and Mystical Space Typhoon to get rid of things. But more than one is sheer overkill, because it's already a +2 in your favour, at most. And, chances are, what you blasted away were your opponent's chances of winning, or, at least, a card he was saving for later that he's forced to use now (such as Torrential Tribute).
Thestalos, the Firestorm Monarch- Primarily because he is easy to tribute for and gets a free Spirit Reaper effect, in the process. To me, prevention is better than cure, and stopping a strategy before to takes place is much better than trying to stop it when it's laid out. Easily punished by Dark World, but, if you know them down to one, take this down with them, too. This used with Confiscation is annoyance.
CARDS THAT SHOULD BE CUT DOWN TO TWOSakuretsu Armor- As much as I like this card, Sakuretsu Armor can screw people out of a few turns. Having just one behind a monster each turn can stick your opponent for a while unless he happens to have a Brain Control and a Jinzo or a Mobius handy. Still....there should be some defense against some of the big bad monsters out there, so....two should suffice.
So, that's basically it.
Feel free to comment on the matter.
In my opinion, that's what should be at least considered by Upperdeck if they're going to make any changes, whatsoever.
Until next time, hombres....I'm out.
