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Nick Curtis on Yugioh
Ban List Discussion
September 10, 2009

Well a new ban list has come upon us in the Yugioh TCG universe and from the looks of it; we’re in for a great six months! This article will talk about the new format for September 1, 2009, and what to expect from it.

                For those of you who have been living under a rock the past few weeks, head to http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/limited/ for the new list. I must say that after looking it over carefully, I am overall impressed with the choices Konami has made. Major flaws in the game have been corrected, and some possible future problems have already been dealt with (Mind Master). The prior format of OTK’s and explosive plays are for now, non-existent. This game has slowed down to the pace of a snail basically when it comes to game play. The average player can now set up their strategies over the course of a few turns without having to worry about being OTK’d next turn, or having their field wiped clean. I will breakdown a few of the more vital changes, and foreshadow some decks that may see big play in the months to come.

Dark Strike Fighter – BANNED: All I have to say is, thank God they didn’t limit this and did away with it entirely. And to all the people who kept one in hopes they would just limit, I laugh at you.

Blackwing – Gale the whirlwind – LIMITED: Need I say more? Limiting one of the two best Tuners in the game? Hmm…only makes sense. Broken by itself, and brings out big beaters, you do the math.

Raiza the Storm Monarch – UNRESTRICTED: Broken effect unrestricted? Yes please, I’d like some more! This card turns all of those floaters out there into a time seal basically, while at the same time putting 2400 damage on your opponent, and you control the flow of the game, amazing card indeed!

Bottomless Trap Hole – SEMI-LIMITED: All I have to say is, why? Either put it at 1 or leave it alone. This is one of the best traps in the game right now and should be run in every deck possible. This just goes to show that every list in the past has had some sort of card touched on it, and it didn’t make sense in the end. I just want to know what the thought process behind this was…

Chaos Sorcerer – SEMI-LIMITED: I love this card at 2. Like Goldilocks and the 3 Bears, not too much nor to little, it’s just right. Dark decks can utilize two of these and Dark Armed Dragon, just like Lightsworn can use two Judgment Dragon, or Gladiator Beasts running multiples of Gyzarus and Heraklinos. It’s only fair, right?

                These are the biggest changes in the game in my opinion. I don’t know about you, but my first thought when I saw this list was Chaos. Sorcerer at two is beastly, and with the format being slow it really can be a game breaking card. Thunder King Rai-Oh seems to be one of the main lights used to feed him, or Shining Angel. I personally don’t think recruiter chaos will be tier 1 this format, but other variants of Chaos might be. Three Thunder King and 2-3 Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer main is a good lineup for anti-meta decks, and they obviously feed Sorcerer. I personally am trying out a deck using two Sorcerer and 3 Light and Darkness Dragon’s. So far so good, we’ll see how it goes weeks from now.

                We can’t forget though with Raiza at three, Monarch variants will be back. Monarchs have always had the luxury of being able to have 2-3 versions based on them. You can run the PC engine, or the basic Soul Exchange and floater engine which creates advantage if played right. Also three Phoenix Wing Wind Blast will be popular again with Raiza being unlimited. The “spin” engine is a popular choice for skilled players, as you can control the tempo of the game and literally put your opponent on tilt. How many times have you dropped multiple Raiza’s turn after turn and heard your opponent criticize how “lucky” or “unskilled” you are? Not only that, but if you combine the spin and PC engine, you can utilize PWWB to its max by dumping a Destiny Hero - Malicious, Treeborn Frog, Dandylion or Plaguespreader.  

                Yet again, Gladiator Beasts are tier 1. Gladiator Beast Retiari is a great card again due to Treeborn Frog, Necro Gardna and Plaguespreader Zombie being abused all over the place. Gladiator Beast Gyzarus is still one of the best monsters in the game, and with Heraklinos reprinted and easily accessible Gladiator Beasts are amazing! Oh, did I mention Gladiator Beast War Chariot? That card is BROKEN!!!! And the fact that you can get it with Gladiator Beast Samnite or get it back from the grave with Gladiator Beast Equeste, makes Chariot probably the best card in the entire deck hands down. There are good cards though that shut this down if you have them in the side deck. Deck Lockdown (http://www.pojo.com/yu-gi-oh/cotd/2008/June/18.shtml ) is a side deck card many people are using, as well as Royal Oppression which should either be in your main or at least sided in every deck, and in multiples.

                And then there’s Lightsworn. This deck is good, but not tier 1 in my opinion. It has never won an SJC, or done well at Nats. Judgment Dragon at 2 hinders it a little, but in actuality the new ban list should’ve at least touched Honest or Charge of the Light Brigade. Maybe even put Judgment Dragon at 1. But for the most part, Lightsworn is still the most luck based deck to date. It’s mostly based on what you mill, which is not good enough in my opinion to last a 9+ round SJC or Nationals. Another huge threat is when your opponent uses stalling cards, like Gravity Bind or Level Limit Area B. By using these cards, it’s possible that you empty your deck to 0. Also simple side decks cards like Skill Drain and the more commonly side decked card as of late Macro Cosmos, basically shuts down the deck entirely. I would rather play a skill based deck rather than a luck based deck any day.

                Every time I write an article, I will pose a question to the Yugioh community. Feedback is appreciated, and every following article I will pick out someone who writes in and has some great ideas/responses and feature them here. So tune in every new article, and be sure to leave me ideas for topics you would like to see discussed as well a reply to the question, and maybe you’ll see your name here!

~Nick “Techno Syndrome” Curtis

  AIM: ssjtrunks756

  Email: ssjtrunks756pojo@gmail.com

This week’s question:

What do you consider to be the “best” side deck card overall for the new format so far?