[Goddess of Boundaries] Most likely OPed, suggestions for balancing it?

[Darj]

2 Level 4 Spellcaster-Type monsters

You can only control 1 "Goddess of Boundaries". While this card has Xyz Material, it cannot be targeted for an attack or by your opponent's card effects, and monsters you control cannot declare an attack. Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card to target 1 card on the field, then activate 1 of these effects;

• Return that target to the hand.

• Send that target to the Graveyard.

• Banish that target.

• Shuffle that target into the Deck.

 

Basically, she has a built-in watered down Safe Zone effect (doesn't protect from destruction), gives your Summons and monster effects a pseudo-Spell Speed 4, and sends any card to wherever she wants.

Her drawbacks? She doesn't have ATK to battle the opponent, and she is available only to decks with Level 4 Spellcasters.

 

I got the inspiration for this card from certain character who manipulates borders (portals, light barriers, etc.) and is considered one of the strongest in its franchise (hint: it's the character in the artwork). Because of the latter, I got carried away trying to make the card as powerful as the character and it ended up, in my opinion, overpowered; but others might find it actually balanced, so I am posting it mostly for feedback through the following questions:

 

1. Do you think it is indeed overpowered?

2. If so, what would you recommnend to balance it?

3. After the recommendations (if any), would you include it in your Extra Deck if you had the chance of summoning her?

 

 

P.D. I am using the artwork of an existing character for this card because I have not found yet any image of an original character manipulating portals/barriers. Still, I am posting the card in this section because I want it to be taken as a realistic card, and reviewed as such.

 

 

EDIT:

Removed 1 of the effects.

 

EDIT 2:

1. Other monsters now cannot attack while the card has an Xyz Material.

2. Removed the ability of activating the second effect during the opponent's turn.

3. Now you can only control 1 "Goddess of Boundaries" at a time.

[goddamnit names are a pain]

I think it is a little OP, considering there is virtually no way to get rid of her.

2. Take out the "Opponent cannot activate cards or effects" and/or the "this card can not be targeted by (you choose which one to get rid of) opponent for attacks or card effects. Finally, maybe consider a LP cost to activate effect. Any of these might help!

3. Yes, I would. Awesome art, great effect, helps when I have no Utopia in my Gagaga Deck. 

[Nathanael D. Striker]

I think it is a little OP, considering there is virtually no way to get rid of her.

2. Take out the "Opponent cannot activate cards or effects" and/or the "this card can not be targeted by (you choose which one to get rid of) opponent for attacks or card effects. Finally, maybe consider a LP cost to activate effect. Any of these might help!

3. Yes, I would. Awesome art, great effect, helps when I have no Utopia in my Gagaga Deck. 

 

Life Point costs mean little as of late. And tbh, I doubt this card even needs it.

 

OT: Why did you give it so many options? A card shouldn't be able to combat that many situations, which means it does too much for its own good. The first clause protects it and everything else too much. You should either have one effect in that clause or the other; you can't have both or it does too much in protection. TBH, I don't like cards that try to do too much. It takes away from the overall flavor, and it tends to make it OP'd the majority of the time.

[Darj]

Her last effect has multiple options to reflect her power over boundaries (send the card to virtually anywhere through a portal).

As I mentioned in the OP, I wanted to give effects that make justice to the character's god-like powers but I overdid and ended with those 3 effects; then I didn't know which of them I should be removing so I resorted to posting the card here for feedback.

 

After TechGenus suggestion, I will get rid of the pseudo-Spell Speed 4, which is pretty much an overkill. The built-in Safe Zone is not fully impervious as the card can still be destroyed and affected by cards that don't target, so I guess it can keep that effect along the multiple-choice effect.

[Trebuchet MS]

I knew it'd be Yukari when I saw the card name in the thread title.

 

This card's effects remind me of AEtherling in MtG, where its flexibility tends to win games. Its innate protection makes it difficult to properly get rid of, because most card effects that don't target tend to destroy. Unless we somehow get a boardwipe that bounces or banishes cards, but that's highly unlikely.

 

Perhaps if you bump it up to 3 Xyz Materials to raise the Summoning difficulty, it might work out. I would give the card the ability to self-flicker, since nothing stops Yukari from dodging attacks via gaps, but flickering also has that nasty side effect of stripping Xyz Monsters of their Material.

[Darj]

Good to see that at least 1 noticed the un-targeting effect makes a reference to Yukari's ability of dodging bullets.

 

Requiring 3 Materials might work, but I am against it because she would be really difficult to Summon and you would have to build a deck dedicated to summoning 3 Spellcasters; my goal is to make a card who supports decks with Level 4 Spellcasters, not a boss who requires her own deck to work.

Then with 3 materials she will be able to use her effects up to 3 times, and backed up with the un-targeting effect it would be too disadvantageous for the opponent. Instead, with only 2 Materials, you have to give up the built-in protection to activate the effect a second time.

 

I had not known about that "self-flicker" effect you mention, but I assume is removing an Xyz Material to avoid destruction (Zenmaines, Maestroke) or, in this case, targeting (Slacker Magician). The suggestion is tempting but I don't want her to become an Slacker Magician with a removal effect, nor a counterpart of Maestroke (avoiding destruction vs. avoiding targeting), affecting her originality. Then I would have to give her some ATK to compensate the reduction on her walling capabilities, further distorting the original concept I had in mind for her.

 

Just to remind you, the goddess is not immune to destruction and after the edit she is vulnerable to somewhat-staple Traps such as Bottomless and Torrential, so the opponent should still have outs to her. And should she ever become a problem, players could always side a couple of Smashing Grounds.

 

However, I agree that she still is difficult to get rid of, and I know that just because she can be countered by some cards it doesn't mean she is balanced.

 

I think she is fine now, but I might be biased because it is my card. So in case others still find her overpowered, how about adding the following text in bold to her first effect?

"While this card has Xyz Material, it cannot be targeted for an attack or by your opponent's card effects, and monsters you control cannot declare an attack."

That way, as long as she remains walling the opponent, you cannot attack him/her and thus you will be unable to drop his/her LP and/or gain advantage through battle. If you want to attack, you will have to use the Goddess' effect a 2nd time and give up her built-in protection.

 

In other words, she can remove 1 card on the field, then work as a wall to give you time to set up; when you are ready, remove a 2nd card from the field and proceed to attack.

[Maeriberii Haan]

She definitely does too much for a 2 materials rank 4 monster. The effect is actually fine, ignoring the fact that it can be used on your opponent's turn, which made the effect to be ridiculously broken. You can bump her rank, narrow her options, and increase its material, but the during either player's turn will still be broken. Also, Yukari is lazy, why would she bother herself to act during your opponent's turn? And the above fix is still not enough to justify cockblocking your opponent during their turn. This is basically a far better version of Pleiades that can't attack.

[Darj]

That was originally my intention: A Pleiades who cannot attack nor be attacked, and less splashable.

But you got a point in that being able to activate during the opponent's is just too good, and that flavor-wise Yukari would be too lazy to do that.

 

Fair enough, I will remove the ability to activate her effect during the opponent's turn. Would she still be fine with the rest of the effects untouched? (including my previous suggestion)

[Maeriberii Haan]

I think that should be fine.

[Darj]

Ok then. I will update the OP.

I feel the "other monsters cannot attack" effect would cripple her more than intended, but I guess it is good for discouraging the player from continuously walling the opponent.

[Maeriberii Haan]

Also, a ''can only control 1 Goddess of boundaries'' clause should be in there in conjucntion or instead the no attacking clause. This is to prevent you from stalling and whittling your opponent's resource until they can't do anything while you rack some advantages.

[Darj]

Hmm, I am not really a fan of that clause because it is not like you will be Xyz Summoning every turn, but I understand what you mean.

 

I will add the clause.

[Darj]

Not planning to make further changes to the card, but I miss the Quick-Effect property on the second effect, so in theory:

Which kind of further restrictions would she need if her second effect could be activated during the opponent's turn?

[Trebuchet MS]

I had not known about that "self-flicker" effect you mention, but I assume is removing an Xyz Material to avoid destruction (Zenmaines, Maestroke) or, in this case, targeting (Slacker Magician). The suggestion is tempting but I don't want her to become an Slacker Magician with a removal effect, nor a counterpart of Maestroke (avoiding destruction vs. avoiding targeting), affecting her originality. Then I would have to give her some ATK to compensate the reduction on her walling capabilities, further distorting the original concept I had in mind for her.

When I meant "self-flicker" I meant an effect among the lines of "You can banish this card until the End Phase", like Interdimensional Matter Transporter. Of course, when you put this on an Xyz Monster...

[Darj]

I completely got wrong what it meant.

The effect is interesting, but I would have to redo the card almost entirely to include it. And giving that effect to an Xyz is not a good idea because, as you mention, it would strip the card's Xyz materials. So I am sticking with the effects it has now.