As you guys have heard the banlist for October 2016 has landed, So in a previous article Ken Sir has gone through what we think are the reasons for the ban and if you haven't read it here it is. Now I shall bring you through decks that are affected and how they are affected by the banlist.
No. 1 Inzektors
Since their demise back in September 2012 after getting crippled by the banlist
With their engine Inzektor Dragonfly back at 2, We should expect to see this fellows up and back in action.
Now that the meta has sped up considerably compared to back in 2012, They are finally allowed back. Being a deck that is able to spam a wide range of different ranked XYZ monsters and thriving on having to destroy their own cards for effect, they can be splashed in a wide range of decks currently in the meta (Metalfoes). Since I have never fought against them before I'm not that sure how they will affect the current meta but I do expect to see them back in action at least for a while. After all they were on the banlist for a reason.
First off the decks that is now declared dead (unplayable).
No. 1 deck that is now dead : Synchro Dark.
With Level Eater banned, the deck's ability to abuse T.G. Hyper Librarian's effect to draw when a Synchro summon is perform has been curbed. This is due to Level eater's level to summon itself from the graveyard after "eating" the level of one level 5 or higher on the field, which now denies the ability to control the monster's level on the field, the combo of Coral Dragon turning into Stardust Charge Warrior with T.G. Hyper Librarian to draw 3, and their other combos that relies on Level Eater is now no longer viable.
That's not all too, if a combo card is gone just replace it with another combo right? But what happens when your win condition gets hit? You cry! And the said win condition is triple PSY-Framelord Omega, removing the whole of your opponent's hand. With PSY-Framelord Omega at 1, well lets just say they have been royally screwed over by Konami.
Konami sniped this deck as it was gaining too much power as a rogue deck. Being able to compete with the meta. And it can technically win the game in the first turn quite consistently (by removing your opponent's whole hand), and the Konami that we are know and "love" won't leave this kind of FTK decks lying around for too long. And the final kicker is, the cards is this deck is not made from cards debuting in recent packs so there is no sales profit, and thus incentive, to leave it breathing.
Well a DARK synchro deck may be far from dead, but at least we can bid the first-turn hand loops goodbye.
Well a DARK synchro deck may be far from dead, but at least we can bid the first-turn hand loops goodbye.
No. 2 deck that dead : Junk Doppel
Junk Doppel: an old deck that relies on Synchro spamming similar to Sychro Dark but not to the degree of triple PSY-Framelord Omega. It relies on Level Eater too. And with Level Eater not just limited but Banned shuts down most of the combos that are can be executed by the deck. Effectively killing it.
This deck was just a casualty among the crossfire produced by Konami shooting down Synchro Darks. I loved this deck too, it was my first deck coming back into Yu-Gi-Oh!. May it rest in peace... until someone finds some way to revive it.
Once again, it is far from dead. But it has seen better days, hence its status on this list. Without a way to manipulate the levels freely, it will be a tough road to march upon.
Once again, it is far from dead. But it has seen better days, hence its status on this list. Without a way to manipulate the levels freely, it will be a tough road to march upon.
Moving on to decks that are affected negatively by the change in the current banlist.
No. 1 D/D/D (my main deck which I have be neglecting to update for months now)
To summarize the impact on the deck form the banlist is; Deck's consistency has taken a hit. That's all folks. It is far from over. And this summarises Part 3 of D/D/Detailed Guide...
Hitting D/D Swirl Slime to 2 just firstly decrease the chances of drawing it on the first turn, by theory of probability. And this would prevent a nicer field set up for D/D/D players. With only two copies, the deck's ability to sustain in the late game stages is also put to a test. This is not that big of a deal as D/D has the ability to filter out the card easily, and D/D is a deck that rarely goes into overtime games so that is not that big of a issues.
The hit on D/D Lamia reducing it to 2, just reduces the ability to go into Synchro, as it's the main tuner in the deck (meta variant). This impact can easily be reduced by putting in another level 1 tuner monster like Glow-Up bulb to replace the missing D/D Lamia. Thou the replacement can't be use for fusion.
Overall, this is a hit that is still cope-able for the deck, and with a little bit of innovation and lots of good resource management. The deck still have potential to top! AKABA~!
No. 2 Metalfoes
One of the cards that gave Metalfoes the ability to keep up with other meta deck, is without a doubt Majespecter Unicorn. Having the ability to return almost any monster your opponent controls back to their hand. Being un-targetable and indestructible by opponent's effects on top of all that, it is a problematic foe which can activate its effect at any moment.
Now this pain in the neck is limited to 1, effectively reducing the threat of Majespector Metalfoes as players now do not need to deal with multiples of them. Majespecteor Unicorn is still playable even at 1; as it can be re-summoned through the pendulum summoning mechanics, and it can be searched out from your deck using Majespector Raccoon(still at 3). Even if Unicorn is no longer in the deck, Majespecter Raccoon can be used to filter out the remaining Majespecter Raccoon from your deck too, effectively thinning out your deck and reducing the risk of dead draws. The limitation does not outright kill Metalfoes, as many substitutes can be splashed in to replace Kirin, something which Ken Sir will address soon enough. But the hit just reduces the deck's ability to zone out the opponent and getting rid of monsters that are a threat. It has just lost consistency but can still be played.
Now this pain in the neck is limited to 1, effectively reducing the threat of Majespector Metalfoes as players now do not need to deal with multiples of them. Majespecteor Unicorn is still playable even at 1; as it can be re-summoned through the pendulum summoning mechanics, and it can be searched out from your deck using Majespector Raccoon(still at 3). Even if Unicorn is no longer in the deck, Majespecter Raccoon can be used to filter out the remaining Majespecter Raccoon from your deck too, effectively thinning out your deck and reducing the risk of dead draws. The limitation does not outright kill Metalfoes, as many substitutes can be splashed in to replace Kirin, something which Ken Sir will address soon enough. But the hit just reduces the deck's ability to zone out the opponent and getting rid of monsters that are a threat. It has just lost consistency but can still be played.
Another card that affects Metalfoes would be Cyber-Stein's limitation; some variants of Metalfoes abuse its ability to summon big floodgates like Naturia Exterio and The Last Warrior from Another Planet. This hit doesn't really affect the current meta version of Metalfoe as most of them had already dropped Cyber-Stein for other cards like Jowgen, Raremetalfoes Bismagia, and Fullmetalfoes Fusion. So this hit will only affect the outdated builds. That having said though, many players are playing back Cyber Stein in recent weeks. But this hit will leave players no choice but to revert to the more fusion-orientated build.
In conclusion for Metalfoes, their ability to zone and remove threats has been reduced but the current build is still playable. They can also chose to change into the Yang Zing - Metalfoes build which is also relatively strong. And we will continue to see Metalfoes in the upcoming meta.
No. 3 Majespecters (and any variant that uses its engine)
Their ace in the hole, their boss, their ticket to winning; Majespecter Unicorn - Kirin has now been sentenced to serve time in the banlist until godnami knows when. Simliar to how Metalfoes has been using Unicorn, there has been other pendulum-based deck using it to boost their power. But unlike Metalfoes, without Unicorn they cannot stand up to the current Meta at all.
We will most likely be seeing lesser and lesser rogue pendulum decks that relies on the Majespecters engine as well as lesser Majespecters deck themselves.
Now with all the negativity over lets' move on to decks/archetypes that has been buffed by the upcoming banlist.
Their ace in the hole, their boss, their ticket to winning; Majespecter Unicorn - Kirin has now been sentenced to serve time in the banlist until godnami knows when. Simliar to how Metalfoes has been using Unicorn, there has been other pendulum-based deck using it to boost their power. But unlike Metalfoes, without Unicorn they cannot stand up to the current Meta at all.
We will most likely be seeing lesser and lesser rogue pendulum decks that relies on the Majespecters engine as well as lesser Majespecters deck themselves.
Now with all the negativity over lets' move on to decks/archetypes that has been buffed by the upcoming banlist.
No. 1 Inzektors
With their engine Inzektor Dragonfly back at 2, We should expect to see this fellows up and back in action.
Now that the meta has sped up considerably compared to back in 2012, They are finally allowed back. Being a deck that is able to spam a wide range of different ranked XYZ monsters and thriving on having to destroy their own cards for effect, they can be splashed in a wide range of decks currently in the meta (Metalfoes). Since I have never fought against them before I'm not that sure how they will affect the current meta but I do expect to see them back in action at least for a while. After all they were on the banlist for a reason.
No. 2 Qli
With their searcher back to 3 and recently receiving more support from the INOV, namely Qliphort Down - a trap monster that can be treated as 3 tributes for their bosses Apoqliphorts, and if they are summoned this way they protect 'Qli' spell/traps from destruction for that turn which provides the much needed protection that Qli needs.
Now, they will have better consistency and have more resources to expand.
But we will most likely not see much Qliphort in the current meta. Why you may ask. it is due to a simple reason there are too many cards that counter Qliphort that is popular as side deck chioces now namely; System Down and Cosmic Cyclone. However Qli's main selling point is their ability to abuse Skill Drain which could prove to be problematic for many meta decks. Some variants even daringly employ Anti-Spell Fragrance after they have placed Scout on the scales.
No. 3 Shaddoll
Now, they will have better consistency and have more resources to expand.
But we will most likely not see much Qliphort in the current meta. Why you may ask. it is due to a simple reason there are too many cards that counter Qliphort that is popular as side deck chioces now namely; System Down and Cosmic Cyclone. However Qli's main selling point is their ability to abuse Skill Drain which could prove to be problematic for many meta decks. Some variants even daringly employ Anti-Spell Fragrance after they have placed Scout on the scales.
No. 3 Shaddoll
They got not just one, but two of their cards released from the banlist. What's more: Mathematician is now allowed at 2 too. But many of you might be asking why not free Construct from it's ban status, the answer is simple it require 1 Shaddoll + 1 LIGHT Monster. The problem is the light monster, it will just get abused similar to how Gem-Knight Seraphinite is being abused using the Brilliant Fusion engine. But at least Brilliant Fusion has a limitation of its own; Shaddoll Fusion doesn't. Releasing Construct is a risky move which Konami isn't prepared to do just yet.
Well they might also be able to take advantage of the fact that Magician of Faith being released to make a Flipping Shaddoll deck. There will be many variants out there due to the deck's synergy with almost any graveyard based deck, and flip effect monsters. Since currently it is a very graveyard-centered meta you might even see some meta decks joining forces with Shaddolls. So do keep an open mind for options.
No. 4 Six Samurai
With Gateway of the Six, now currently unlimited. You might finally see some six sam shenanigans finally. So keep your heads up & don't be surprised when someone springs a sudden Six Samurai deck on you! Also, the FTK variant exists.
No.5 Chaos Deck
With Black Luster Solider - Envoy of the Beginning released to two, and Charge of Light Brigade back to unlimited. We are bound to see someone attempt to bring back Lightsworns, and even Chaos Deck where light and dark interact with each other, with Chaos Emperor previously released to 3 and now Black Luster Solider following in its footsteps. Well we shall see.
No. 6 Many other decks
To be honest, with this banlist, a lot more decks has more potential now. This list is not exhaustive. Furthermore, with Monster Gate to two, we might witness Infernoids creep up the tier list once more.
To conclude the article lets not forget about the only meta deck unaffected by the banlist: Blue Eyes. It seems that Konami is aiming for a more chaos-ish format with this banlist, where anything goes and the current meta decks are not being crippled but toned down. The reason why Blue Eyes was not hit was simply because any hit that can affect Blue Eyes will kill the deck at the same time. And lets not forget that their main card Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragon is a movie promo card. Plus it's Kaiba's deck. Bribery maybe?
Well they might also be able to take advantage of the fact that Magician of Faith being released to make a Flipping Shaddoll deck. There will be many variants out there due to the deck's synergy with almost any graveyard based deck, and flip effect monsters. Since currently it is a very graveyard-centered meta you might even see some meta decks joining forces with Shaddolls. So do keep an open mind for options.
No. 4 Six Samurai
No.5 Chaos Deck
No. 6 Many other decks
Another deck that wasn't touched by the banlist alongside blue eyes was ABC if I'm not mistaken. An interesting trend that's been happening recently since the banlist is that ABC players are starting to main deck maxx c now, whereas before the banlist nobody mained maxx c, is their a particular reason for this?
ReplyDeleteEdit: btw I love all your posts on the website and enjoy reading them, keep up the good work!
DeleteThanks for the compliment.
DeleteYes, ABC remained untouched by the banlist and with their main competition and bad matchup, Metalfoes, nerfed, ABC propelled to the top in popularity and tier level.
The previous meta had many players sided Maxx "C" as it wasn't favourable against Metalfoes. More often than not it was a 1for1 card exchange. Now that Metalfoes is crippled, Metalfoes rely on Gofu and Fusion summons more often and thus Maxx C is once again applicable.
The upcoming 12 Zodiac archetype also has their plays start from Speedroid Beigomax/Terratop, similar to how Deep Sea Diva leads to explosive plays back then when Atlantean Prince debuted. Maxx "C" hence proves as an answer/response to the opponent's first turn plays.