VCR makes a Saltlist

[VCR_CAT]

Contrary to what many of you probably think of me, I do indeed know a BIT about this game. I'm also willing to admit that I myself do not know what's 100% best for this game. The list I've got below is more-or-less what I think would be GOOD, but I also had to take time to consider what is ACTUALLY "good" for the game. For a quick sparknotes, I've come to realize that the competitive player prefers the tier-0 format because it makes matchups predictable and easy to side for, while the multi-tier-1 formats rely a lot more on luck of what you're going up against. And then on the flip-side, casual players much prefer the variety in a metagame as it means that they can play the deck they like and it will stand a good chance as opposed to "Play the best deck or always lose."

So Tl;DR: it's impossible to please everyone.

With that said, I'm mostly just going to focus on cards that I think would just make the game a bit better in terms of fairness as opposed to completely and utterly changing the format.

So anyways, here goes.

Banned: 5

• Djinn Releaser of Rituals
• Royal Magical Library
• Blaze Fenix, the Burning Bombardment Bird
• Tellarknight Ptolemaeous 
• Raigeki

Limited: 10

• Qliphort Disk
• Nekroz of Unicore
• Lavalval Chain
• El Shaddoll Fusion
• Instant Fusion
• Reinforcement of the Army
• A HERO Lives
• Nekroz Cycle
• Lose 1 Turn
• Mistake

Semi Limited: 7

• Left Arm of the Forbidden One
• Denko Sekka
• El Shaddoll Construct
• Mask Change
• Summoner's Art
• Dragon Ravine
• Mind Crush

 

For the banned cards, I feel no explanation is necessary.

 

For the limited, I gots some explaining to do I'm sure. Disk is one of the primary set-up cards for Qliphorts. At 1, he's still usable and searchable, but lowering him down limits the explosive setups that Qliphorts can create without utterly neutering the deck. Chain's fine at 1; that feels like enough to stop out the decks that really abuse him will still letting the decks that like to use him use him. Hitting Unicore and Cycle was a choice I considered over directly hitting Trishula. Nekroz are a fun deck, and I feel that limiting the recycling they have going and the removal of their lock still keeps the deck playable without utterly destroying their presence. Lose 1 Turn and Mistake are very effect floodgates, but they don't exactly deserve to be banned.

 

For Semi-Limited, I feel like Denko doesn't quite deserve the instant-ban some feel he does. I heavily considered limiting him, but I think semi-limit is enough. Most decks don't have anything to search this guy out, and at 2 this guy will still see SOME play, but he won't have the consistent presence he's having now. I've seen a lot of mixed responses to this card, and I don't feel he needs  to be executed on the spot. Construct at 2 is another ditto. Shaddolls have a healthy design that I'd like to see more for this game (non-linear decks that promote creativity in the builds and plays). I feel with El Shaddoll at 1 and Construct at 2, the deck takes a bit of a hit but without neutering its capabilities. I also considered hitting Dark Law, but you would need to ban him in order to make any kind of significant hit, and I'd rather not just make HEROs suddenly utterly useless. I'm still a little iffy about that Mask Change at 2 instead of 1, but with A HERO Lives at 1, this might be fine at where it is. Summoner's Art at 2 also gives a bit of a hit to Qliphorts, but considering that the card isn't as splashable as Reinforcement of the Army, it's fine at being at 2 instead of 1. I THINK that's all the semi-limits I made that people wouldn't expect...

 

 

 

Again, by no means do I think I know what's best for the game. This is an idea of what I think COULD be good for the game, but by no means do I consider this my definitive wishlist. I don't really have one tbh, and I'm sure Konami could do a better job at this "Banlist" business than me.