CONFIRMED January 2014 TCG Banlist!!! (with initial reactions)

Hey guys! The new banlist is finally up at http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/limited/index.html, so let's go over the changes real quick:

Newly Banned: 4
Dragon Ravine
Return from the Different Dimension
Self-Destruct Button
Sixth Sense

Newly Limited: 10
Blaster, Tidal, Tempest and Redox
Debris Dragon
Magician of Faith
Divine Wind of Mist Valley
Final Countdown
Sacred Sword of Seven Stars
Spellbook of Fate

Newly Semi-Limited: 2
Chaos Sorcerer
Lonefire Blossom

Newly Unlimited: 7
Archlord Kristya
Mezuki
Plaguespreader Zombie
T.G. Striker
Tour Guide From the Underworld
Constellar Ptolemy M7
Fire Formation - Tenki

***This list is effective from January 1, 2014 until March 31, 2014.

My honest initial reaction is: what the FUCK?

It honestly seems like they introduced a bunch of broken shit to compensate for the destruction of Dragon Rulers. Lonefire is at 2,  Mezuki and Plaguespreader are completely Unlimited, and so is Fire Formation - Tenki. It looks like a shameless attempt to boost the power of recent decks like Sylvans, Vampires, and Bujin. Not cool, honestly. Really not cool.

However, there are also some random hits here and there to alternate win condition decks. Self-Destruct Button and Final Countdown have each been hit to the point where those respective decks are pretty much dead. I think the majority of players will be happy with this, myself included.

Finally, why is this format only going to last for three months? What's the benefit to having one three-month, one four-month, and one five-month format in a given year? (Or is that even what they're planning to do at all? O_o) Why is that better than just having three four-month formats? I'm honestly not sure, nor do I think we'll be getting any sort of explanation for that.

I'll be back in a day or two (or more) with a more complete reaction and analysis of the list, but for now, thanks for reading and I'll see you again soon. Later!