Thursday, February 27, 2014

April 2014 Banlist Wishlist

Hey guys, this might feel weird to read, but it's actually about time for a banlist discussion! The next banlist takes effect on April 1, so it'll probably be released sometime in the middle of March. This makes now a great time to make a post talking about it. As always, if you haven't seen my previous post detailing the different kinds of banlist discussions, you should skim through that for a second to understand which kind this is. I'm not writing a prediction, I'm just writing what I'd like to see happen that may not necessarily come true. It's also inherently a game-changer list, as most banlists end up becoming. This list isn't everything I would do to the game, just the most relevant changes in the context of the past format.

Banned: 8
Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World
Gwenhwyfar, Queen of Noble Arms
Inzektor Hornet
Judgment Dragon

Dragged Down Into the Grave
Limiter Removal
Power Bond
Royal Tribute

Limited: 23
Bujin Yamato
Geargiarmor
Ghostrick Jiangshi
Gravekeeper's Spy
Hieratic Dragon of Su
Infernity Archfiend
Mermail Abyssteus
Mermail Abysspike
Mermail Abysslinde
Spellbook Magician of Prophecy
Karakuri Shogun Burei
Karakuri Steel Shogun Bureido
Evilswarm Ophion

Circle of the Fire Kings
Fire Formation - Tenki
Gravekeeper's Stele
Harpie's Hunting Ground
Hieratic Seal of Convocation
Infernity Barrier
Onslaught of the Fire Kings
Rekindling
Spellbook of Secrets
Accumulated Fortune

Semi-Limited: 3
Coach Soldier Wolfbark
Harpie Channeler
Reckless Greed

Unlimited: 1
Inzektor Dragonfly


So if you couldn't already tell, the goal of this list is mainly to nuke the competitive meta as a whole. I went back through my blog and noted the majority of the decks that topped YCS Sydney, Atlanta, and Berlin, and ARCGS Nashville and Charlotte, then wrote what I believe to be a short-yet-sizable hit to each of them, as well as hits to a few other decks. That being said, the specifics of each decision are probably not necessary to go over except in cases where decks were hit that didn't top. So let's gloss over those very quickly:

Noble Knights: I'm only hitting this deck because I don't believe Gwenhwyfar should exist. It makes it too convenient and easy to avoid some of the deck's core issues while providing extra good effects on top of that and being able to come back from the Graveyard repeatedly at any time. For more details, you can check out the review I did of this card back when it was originally revealed. With this card banned, DNA Surgery would become yet another side-able counter for this deck again, so I'm not convinced that further action would be necessary.

Cyber Dragons: I have to confess that I don't know very much about how this deck works; all I know is that it's (apparently) an incredibly efficient OTK strategy, and I don't believe that decks like that should exist. Limiter Removal has been a morally defunct card forever, but Power Bond is banned specifically to make it harder to instantly kill someone with this deck.

Gravekeepers: Again, this is just something that I don't agree with ideologically, which in this case is a strong control deck. When talking about Gravekeepers specifically, I don't believe in 1-card auto-wins, so Royal Tribute had to go. Gravekeeper's Spy is searchable now and still has the same gigantic DEF that she's always had, so I think now is a good time to hit her. And finally, Gravekeeper's Stele is an instant +1 that conveniently aides the deck's relatively low monster count while giving you some of your best cards back for another use.

Ghostricks: Stall decks = no.

Lavals: I have never agreed with the concept of Rekindling as a card, and if you do, you should probably get your head checked. Either that, or you're a Laval player.


So, that about wraps it up for me right now guys. Please note that hateful, stupid, ignorant or otherwise disrespectful comments will be taken care of, so if you're a flamer with no life and nothing better to do, don't waste your time. Thanks!

No comments:

Post a Comment