So, after much anticipation, we finally have a new banlist to work with.
Probably just in the nick of time, too....Brain Control was raging out of control, Destiny Hero draw mechanics were heaping on severe advantage, and Gadgets...well, they're just annoying.
Unfortunately, while many of the previous banlists ruled and always served as a refreshing change to the game, this one.....well, it ultimately sucks. Quite frankly, this has to be one of the worst banlists I have ever seen, next to the one where Black Luster Soldier: Envoy of the Beginning escaped being banned for the final time.
Why do I feel this way, though? You'll see.
For now, here are my thoughts on what changes were made to the banlist for September 1st, 2007.
FORBIDDEN
Snatch Steal- Once again, Snatch Steal is banned. Why? Upperdeck wanted to clip the constant seizing of monsters that are oh-too-familiar in Monarch decks, and the first card to go was Snatch Steal. Like I had said in a previous article, Snatch Steal is basically tantamount to taking a monster for free, because no sooner does your opponent take it when a Monarch appears. Free Life Point bonus my A**. I'll miss this card, because there is no way to shift advantage to your favour anymore in the event of a swarm (by seizing the strongest monster and holding them off.)
Ring of Destruction- Everytime Upperdeck bans this card, I get pissed off. I'm not kidding. I still see no reason to ban Ring of Destruction, other than blowing up indiscreetly and dealing damage. In case Konami hasn't noticed, now that we have 2 Jinzos, Breaker back in the game, and enough Wildhearts running around, Traps have become severely passé this time around. Ah, well.
Confiscation - Now this was a well earned timeout in the penalty box. Why? I am of the belief that the second this card hits the field early in the game, you might as well throw in the towel. People don't use this card just for the discard. Ooooh no. They take some time to memorise the cards in your hand, as well. And that can mean a hell of a lot of difference, because he'll know what cards you'd put out for him, at least for a turn, and reason out what comes next in the following turns to come. I personally hate this card, and I hope it doesn't come back.
Metamorphosis- It's banned because of the "Doom Dozer - Maximize!!!" combo found in Demise- King of Armageddon decks. Just swap your Doom Dozer for a Cyber Twin Dragon, and that's game. I can dig it, seeing as how I have been the unlucky recipient of a few of these, but...to really have some impact, something needed to be done about Advanced Ritual Art/Demise King of Armageddon as well. I guess the drop in this deck's play saved it from being totalled.
RESTRICTED TO ONE
Brain Control- Holy God, YES. I was anticipating this one, as were a lot of people. You know, I really don't care what other people say...when this card was out in 3's, it was broken. In 3's, face-up monsters were far from being safe. As a matter of fact, it pretty much created a situation of 'screwed if you do, screwed if you don't', because, even if you managed to put it face-down...well, there is Soul Exchange, and now there are 2 Nobleman of Crossout (for some insane reason, and one reason why I hate the new banlist). This should stay at one for a while.
Trap Dustshoot- Also well deserved, because of its Confiscation-like ability to read your hand and your moves for a turn, and punt a Monster card back in your deck. This card puts to a screeching halt any plans you may be thinking of at the moment, and counters Sangan like a mother.
Destiny Hero- Disk Commander- Well....to be honest, it doesn't really matter, since most decks do just fine with using one anyway. Anyway, it's watered down to one out of fears that more than one Destiny Hero- Fear Monger being destroyed on the field would see people drawing upwards from 4 to even 6 cards in a single battle. Combine this with the fact that there exists a card called Destiny Draw, and you see a case of 'something needs to be done'.
Megamorph- Well....who really didn't see this coming? A 5600 attacking Cyber Twin that could attack twice for 11,200? How about a simple Doom Dozer coming out and smacking you about for half that much? When Metamorphosis went, Konami also took an extra step of precaution and limited this, making a potential OTK that much harder to draw.
Breaker, The Magical Warrior- Well....Breaker's back. My feelings towards it are pretty neutral. You see....we have something that can help out in most people's decks back. On the flip side, I'm seeing a card that I have to make room for in my deck. Personally, it could have stayed banned and make room for substitutes like Chiron the Mage to step in, but, I have no objections to it being back, either.
Magician of Faith- She's baaaaack. Once again, I'm pretty neutral towards this card, for the same reasons I am with Breaker. As a matter of fact, maybe only Breaker should have returned, because, in essence, Konami just natched the need to obtain (the severely overpriced) Magical Shard Excavation. Not only that, but, with the recent semi-restricting of cards like Nobleman of Crossout and Pot of Avarice, a Magician of Faith back in the game may make things VERY hectic for a while. Now that she's back, Apprentice Magician's a useful card again.
Fissure/Smashing Ground- Smashing Ground pretty much had it coming, and, while Fissure can easily be countered by Scapegoat/Call of the Haunted, it still warranted being cut down to 1 also, all because of the Gadgets.
Card Trooper- Thank GOD. This card in multiples all out at once was a sheer cause of annoyance for many a duelist, because, unless you could find some way to remove ALL of them from play, your opponent was drawing more cards out the wazoo, because, once it hits the Graveyard, the owner draws a card. No ifs, ands or buts about it. At one, its brokenness should be effectively natched, especially with the Apprentice-friendly Crystal Seer out now.
Marshmallon- One of my favorite cards in the game. NOTHING CAN STOP THE BLOB! Upperdeck cut this one down as a precaution, because of its stalling capabilities, and because they don't want to repeat the impact three Spirit Reapers had on the field when they were all out at once.
Snipe Hunter- This card SUCKS. I can't tell you how many times people have thrown for this card, and ended up with 1 or a 6. Ironically, despite that, Snipe Hunter can still cause problems by being able to wipe out a field of defenses. The odds of him missing a throw are actually lower than succeeding, and, despite the gamble, can still cause hell for an opponent.
Wall of Revealing Light- I could care less about a card that people hardly play, but, the effect is enough to warrant some concern. All you have to do is pay 3000 and your opponent can't attack. At all. And it's not Swords....this card is here for keeps. Still...I can't say I really give much of a damn towards this card, because 2 Jinzos and 1 Breaker = PWN this card.
The Transmigration Prophecy- I'm not too crystal clear on this one, but, from what SPK tells me, more than one can actually prevent a person from decking out at all. Just have 1 in your Graveyard, activate this card, and shuffle the other copy and another card back into your deck. You will eventually draw it, and the cycle continues from there.
Gold Sarcophagus- The more broken form of Different Dimension Capsule, where ANY card can be yours in two turns. No two ways about it. Unless your opponent stops it there and then, that card is as good as yours.
SEMI-RESTRICTED
Jinzo- This one has everybody talking, including me. Apparently, Upperdeck is either trying to phase out Traps, or bring Jinzo back in style. Truth be told, nobody was playing Jinzo in the Championships....they were too busy focusing on Monarchs rather than take something that just stalls. Machine decks just got a HUGE boost with the Jinzo-mint Twins, and, because of this move, Traps became even more touchy to add to a deck. Something tells me, though, that this may be a decision Upperdeck may soon regret....
Green/Red/Yellow Gadget- Pfft. You know, while everybody saw this as a limitation to Gadgets, to be honest, people can still work around it and still be annoying with those cards. Believe you me....I saw that for myself. In any case, this was still something that I saw coming, despite some people's insistence that it would 'kill Gadgets'.
Pot of Avarice- Why Konami would seek to semi-restrict this card is beyond me. Pot of Avarice still gives me the same feeling of disgust that Pot of Greed did back in its day, and probably more so, because not only is your opponent drawing 2 cards, but he's going to put back cards I worked DAMN hard to kill, like Monarchs, or Breaker, or MoF, or Sangan, or Jinzo, or.....
Nobleman of Crossout- What.....with Shield Crush coming? Are your completely insane? This was FINE at one. Two of these were a serious erection killer, and when Shield Crush comes, putting down a face-down would be as feasible as licking asphalt on the Churchill Roosevelt highway during rush hour. This wouldn't concern me as much, but MoF is back too, and this can only spell serious trouble for players forced on the defensive.
Destiny Hero- Malicious- Yeah, the ability to block at a whim and serve as fodder for Crush Card Virus is annoying, but two should be okay.
CARDS THAT WERE SET FREE
D.D. Assailant- Now, here's a card that's practically begging, "Play me! PLEASE!" Not since the whole 'DDA/Slate Warrior' season has this card really been seeing much play. Granted, a few still play it, but, now that we have a lot of cards to deal with defensive strategies, you might as well put this card back at 3. I also suspect that she's back (yes, DDA has BOOBS) because of the Monarchs and 2 Jinzo cards.
Good Goblin Housekeeping/Protector of the Sanctuary- That's nice. Nobody CARES. Next!
Deck Devastation Virus- Well, in contrast to what I had said earlier, two wasn't the end of the game, and three isn't going to be, either. I suppose this was done to big up cards like Plague Wolf, but it should still work out just fine.
Yeah, so there you have it.
Now, as to why I don't like this banlist:
1) Why wasn't anything done about :
- (insert Monarch name here)
- Treeborn Frog
- Soul Exchange
- Grandmaster of the Six Samurai
- Destiny Draw
- Book of Moon (with two Jinzo cards, this should be Semi-Limited)
2) Why did Konami interfere with the following cards?
- Nobleman of Crossout
- Magician of Faith
- Breaker the Magical Warrior
- Jinzo
- Ring of Destruction
3) Knowing how cheap and virtually old the Apprentice mechanic is, why did Konami resurrect it? Do they like seeing people s**t cheese wheels, or something?
So, as is, the new banlist has accompished several things.
It reduced the usefulness of Traps, Control is a thing of the past, it brought back a frustrating deck mechanic that is older than Moses, it did virtually nothing to curb the prevalence of Monarchs and Gadgets, and is rewarding savage beatdown from which there may be no return.
Needless to say, this banlist has me very unhappy right now. It's a very ill-conceived one, and will cause more troubles than it seeks to rectify. Mark my words.
