Forbidden/Limited List Update
The Forbidden/Limited List will be updated on October 28th with a new card added to the list:
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Loading... will be added to the Limited 1 List.
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Loading... will be moved from the Limited 2 to the Limited 1 List.
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Loading... , Loading... , and Loading... will be added to the Limited 2 List
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Loading... , Loading... , and Loading... will be removed from the Forbidden/Limited List
Skill Changes
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Beatdown will be changed to only be used once per Duel
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Light and Dark will now have a 1000 LP Cost (still can be used Twice Per Duel)
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Master of Destiny now requires 7 Coinflip cards instead of 5.
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Blessing of the Cyber Angel now includes Loading... in the pool - and also allows the player to choose what they get instead of it being random.
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Fusion Reserves - Roids will now have a 1500 LP cost instead of 1800.
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Dragonic Fusion now has a 1500 Cost instead of 1800 - and now works like Reinforcements instead of a Draw Sense.
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Fusion Time! now works like Reinforcements instead of a Draw Sense, and also adds a Level 4 Elemental Hero Normal Monster from GY to Hand
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Master of Fusion now has a 1000 LP Cost instead of 1800, works like Reinforcements instead of a Draw Sense, and can be used twice per Duel.
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Master of Rites now has a 1000 LP Cost instead of 1800, works like Reinforcements instead of a Draw Sense, you can now CHOOSE whether you get a Random Ritual Monster or Spell, and can be used twice per Duel.
Top Player Council Thoughts
Luxdar
Master of Destiny sees little deterrence from this new list considering Loading... , Loading... , Loading... , Loading... , Loading... , Loading... , and Loading... satisfy the updated requirement of 7 different Coin Flip cards, and were already commonly used. The deck will still have to figure out how to address the prevalence of Invoked Cocytus with the remainder of its deck slots, but it can assuredly breathe a sigh of relief after this list.
Loading... 's return to 3 is a welcome repair for Zombie-focused decks, as its on-summon effect to mill is more valuable than Gozuki’s ignition effect to mill when it comes to successfully getting the effect off amid disruption cards that flip down or remove. Vampires could see some form of return with Samurai Skull free and access to Limit-2 staple Spells restored, however, the obstacle of Loading... hard-walls the Vampire core, forcing them to adapt with techs such as Loading... if they wish to stick around. The multitude of new foes for Vampire to account for may ultimately wind up overwhelming the deck anyway.
Light and Dark being weakened to require a 1000 LP drop per activation is a critical blow to the various decks that rely on it for consistency, most notably Spellbook and Invoked, which juggle between cards like Loading... , Loading... , and Loading... for ideal positioning. Loading... and other LP manipulation cards may find a sudden surge in usage to attempt to salvage the Skill, but the dependence on LP manipulation cards itself presents a notable knock to the deck’s consistency.
Loading... has been a powerful tool finding a home in many decks, so the hit to 2 will send waves across the meta. Darklord and Neos, the two Tier 1 decks at the time of the list’s announcement, are now deprived of it (among other concerns). Six Samurai, which had been sitting at Tier 2, sees it conflict with 2 other high importance cards of the deck already at Limited 2 each. Even Desperado can no longer consider running the card given Loading... bars any other Limited 2 considerations. The card’s ability to open a door to the opponent’s LP through a monster will now have to compete with Loading... , Loading... , and Loading... and what they each bring to the table for decks.
Negative1
Overall very satisfied with this banlist; the hits to Beatdown , Master of Destiny , and Light and Dark help diversify the meta as they were the only Skills useful. The nerf to Beatdown will likely result in Darklord mirrors being more defensive and focus heavily on the fact that they can get a maximum of 2 uses of Loading... per turn, or just 1 if they are to play around Loading... .
The nerf to Desperado is nice however it would a hit to Loading... would be appreciated as it is one of the least interactive elements of the strategy.
Light and Dark needed to be nerfed because it would only grow more powerful as the card pool increased. Having access to any Light or Dark monster is too abusable (as seen by the toolbox nature of Spellbook Dark Spellcasters) and could result in major unintended consistency boosts. Pure Invoked decks would be able to run 6-7 Loading... which made Loading... a consistent Turn 1 wall. This nerf also acts as an indirect Spellbook nerf which most players can appreciate.
Snyffus