User:MrVariant/Current Ban List Thoughts

It is quite amazing how much yugioh changed in the 5 years since I played it last. I can't play any form of Monster Reborn nor can I even use Sangan. I don't mind since this encourages creativity; removing derivative cards enhances gameplay because it completely restricts or bans something (like Brain Control being banned and Mind Control restricted). I also recommend using ygopro to test your decks because the interface is amazing with good music though the AI can be silly and accidentally scrolling through filters can be a pain if you don't click a card.

The most creative decks I've made have used Dark Magician, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and Beast King Barbaros. These monsters now have all sorts of combos besides getting them out the old-fashioned way. The game has gotten faster, so we need to have some sort of board wipe as well as have our centerpiece cards be used as background cards.

In other words: Trade-In for Blue-Eyes/Barbaros, and Allure of Darkness or Sacred Sword of Seven Stars with Dark Magician. Blue-Eyes can't even bother being a straight dragon or light deck because it is way too easy to throw in a few dragons like Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon and splice in Demise, King of Armageddon. Silver's Cry is pretty scary once I get rid of blue-eyes with Advanced Ritual Art to summon Demise; I even use the lame Blackland Fire Dragon to summon Paladin of White Dragon and remove both for Black Luster Soldier and having Blue-Eyes White Dragon to play Burst Stream of Destruction since it can't attack anyway.

Beast King Barbaros does the same thing when I use Reborn Tengu and Destiny Hero - Malicious for tribute fodder, and even Destiny Hero - Dasher to hopefully draw and play Barbaros as a 3000 ATK monster without tributing. Dark Grepher is a nice failsafe should I draw either of those.

Playing to a strict theme is suicidal unless there is a ton of support, and even then it may not be competitive unless it has some kinda board wipe. My Dark Magician deck has Endymion, The Master Magician and Toon Dark Magician Girl for a lot of spell counters. I feel Spell Power Grasp has become obsolete, especially with Magician of Faith. I do like Gagaga Magician, though its really a Mind Control combo card; I don't think revolving a whole deck around its low stats and mediocre support is a good idea.

The XYZ and Synchro Monsters make Summoner Monk a staple in any combo type of deck. I Summoner monk is an easy summon for Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning if you choose a light monster. It also does wonders for my Blue-Eyes deck. I feel that XYZ/Synchro Monsters have replaced tribute monsters in general since special summoning is a lot easier since you don't need to have the combo in your hand; just 1 card and you can be ready to go.

Final thoughts: Mirror Force is completely obsolete. You need Torrential Tribute or Bottomless Trap Hole or else a Dark Armed Dragon, Caius the Shadow Monarch, etc. will destroy it before attacking. I am surprised it's semi-restricted because putting more than 1 is a serious gamble, plus we special summon from our graveyards so much that it isn't much of a strain. I emphasized board wipe because Yu-Gi-Oh is designed for quick gameplay and being able to destroy everything (if not win) in a single turn even when you don't use an annoying one-turn kill deck. Even with Heavy Storm and Giant Trunade banned, I can still clear the field with all 3 decks Dark Magic Attack and Breaker the Magical Warrior backed with Magical Citadel of Endymion work wonders.